How I Met Your Mother is the best comedy on network television this side of The Office. I am wary of making this claim, but How I Met Your Mother keeps exceeding my expectations every time I tune in. I had no interest in this show over its first season; it looked like any number of cookie-cutter "Friends" rip-offs. But, when I began to watch How I Met You Mother this season it became clear that, while Friends should be viewed as the obvious inspiration, the show is clearly its very own beast. On the surface this may seem like a bizarre comparison, but How I Met Your Mother is very similar in form to FOX's Family Guy. Yeah, one is animated, one isn't, but the way each show uses flashbacks is similar. How I Met Your Mother, even though the flashbacks are Family Guy's signature move, use those flashbacks better than the FOX comedy. Not only are they funny, but they are plot-revealing; when Family Guy flashes back it is totally random and holds no important plot information. How I Met Your Mother (and this was on full display last night) is the most experimental and unique comedy on television.
The episode last night was entitled "Slap Bet" and involved a bet between Barney and Marshall over why Robin is afraid of malls. The winner of said bet gets to open-handed slap the loser. And that's the episode. Yet, it contains a number of flashbacks that allow for a more complex intertwining of moments that make up the story. It's almost Tarantino-esque. There is a multitude of slapping between Barney and Marshall, which is all you should really need to know. And why is Robin afraid of malls? Let's just say that back home in Canada, Robin was once known as "Robin Sparkles". I laughed hard and often during the episode. How I Met Your Mother usually inspires this reaction. It is edgy, funny, has great characters, and is unique. What else can you ask for? How I Met Your Mother airs Mondays at 8PM ET/PT. -Oscar Dahl, BuddyTV Senior Writer