How I Met Your Father. Season 1 Review.

Here's my take on the How I Met Your Mother 2022 spin off.While not exactly memorable yet, the glimmer of potential makes me hopeful.

The main flaw in How I Met Your Father, in my opinion, will always be how it compares to the original How I Met Your Mother, which is a shame because it has its own charms. Sophie (Hilary Duff) is a hopeless romantic in search of love in New York - sound familiar? A similar idea is used in the show, in which an older Sophie (Kim Cattrall) regales her son with tales of her youth and how these events lead her to meet his father. As much as I admire Cattrall, these scenes aren't particularly amusing, and who knows why her son is still on the Zoom call with her instead of complaining about technical difficulties and logging off.

Sophie lives with Valentina (Francia Raisa), her roommate and best friend, who is just starting a relationship with the very British Charlie (Tom Ainsley). Sophie had gone on dozens of Tinder dates with little luck as the series begins, until she meets Ian (Daniel Augustin). The two hit it off right away and started texting each other on a daily basis. When Sophie boards an Uber to meet Ian, she can't help but brag and rave about him, as well as express her dreams with driver Jesse (Christopher Lowell) and his good friend Sid (Suraj Sharma).

With everyone networking through applications and technology, this is already a vastly different scenario than the original series. Sophie mistakenly grabs Sid's phone in the Uber in her excitement to meet Ian, and she subsequently reconnects with Jesse and Sid while she tries to get her own phone back. Jesse's sister Ellen (Tien Tran), like Charlie, is a newcomer to New York City, having recently divorced. She brings our group of six to a close.

Things don't work out with Ian, unfortunately. He's starting a new job that will take him far away, and as much as Sophie hates to let go, their relationship is too nascent to withstand the distance. Sophie, despite her disappointments, is a firm believer in love and passion. There's obviously a spark between Sophie and Jesse in the first episode, and we're excited to see how this develops. It may appear to be similar to Ted's relationship with Robin, but it isn't. Even after he was publically humiliated when his partner turned down his marriage proposal and the video went online, Jesse is significantly different from Robin, being less shut-off and more open.

Things do not work out with Ian, unfortunately. He's starting a new job that will take him far away, and as much as Sophie hates to say goodbye, their relationship is too new to sustain the distance. Sophie is still a firm believer in love and romance, despite her many failures. We can immediately sense a spark between Sophie and Jesse in the first episode, and we're looking forward to seeing how it develops. It may resemble Ted's relationship with Robin, but it isn't. Jesse is unlike Robin in that he is less closed off and more honest, even after being publically humiliated when his fiancée declined his marriage proposal and the video went viral.

At times, it's a rip-off of the original that doesn't add anything fresh to the table, in my opinion. That isn't entirely correct. I enjoy how different the friend group is, and how everyone of them is dealing with their own set of problems. It has a really millennial vibe to it. Sid is struggling to keep his bar viable, Jesse is working part-time as a music instructor so he can continue to pursue his passion for music, and Valentina has been slaving away at her job for years and still has little to show for it. Sophie aspires to be a successful photographer, surviving on odd jobs in the hopes that her talent would be recognized and she will land her big break.

However, it's difficult to keep shooting for the stars when you're surrounded by people who have given up on their ambitions. Then there's Ellen, who's still floundering, unsure of what she wants to do but under pressure to make a decision so she doesn't fall behind. Because he was a trust fund baby who had lost all of his money and wealth when he decided to pursue his love for Valentina, Charlie's narrative is less realistic. That's obviously unusual in terms of character arcs, but Ainsley is so hilarious that it doesn't matter. He's currently carrying the most of the show's hilarity, but the rest of the ensemble is gradually coming into their own.

Duff is an expert at this stage in her career, and she can pretty much make anything watchable. Sharma and Lowell have a lot of chemistry together, and their characters feel like they've known each other for a long time. All of Sid and Jesse's antics are reminiscent of Joey and Chandler's friendship in Friends. The show resembles Friends more than How I Met Your Mother in several ways. It is more reliant on humor, whereas How I Met Your Mother was known for its smart dialogues.

Perhaps this is why I enjoy this series more than I should. The way it's constructed, as well as having someone like Duff play the lead, evokes a strong sense of nostalgia. It reminds me of a period when watching TV could be simple and uncomplicated, when I could multitask with ease or skip an episode and not miss a thing. The comedy is progressively dying off, as television has become increasingly overloaded with superhero spin-offs and more focused on crime/thriller programming.

Season 1 is still in its early stages, and the cast and writers are still finding their feet, but I believe there is enough potential here for a much better Season 2. The show has already been renewed for a second season with 20 episodes, so I'm not the only one who recognizes the potential of the show. And, because this show's structure is a little looser, it's more willing to go in different directions than the original, which insisted on sticking to its original finale even after it no longer made sense. I'm very interested to see how things turn out.

-What I expected

The fact that the story was based in How I Met Your Mother universe, they are conected and i expected a funny show, it was not really the case though. Same thing goes with catchphrases and running gags and hopefully not draging the show for so long and get a shitty finale. Luckly they brough back the theme song with a female voice

- The references to the original

The nods to the original were just a few even though most viewers are true fans of the franchise which means that they tune in just to find out if the new show its any good, that what makes it legendary, those tiny details like old quotes from the original, Ted, Marshall & Lily's apartment, some camoes and pretty much how these new people have similar personalities to Barney, Robin, Ted, Marshall and Lily . A ripped off show with a boring a predicatable storyline would not make any sense if it[s not untangled with the first show to be totally honest.

-The Script

Quite poor, considering the fact that the original show had the very best scripts of every possible sitcom. It was way too raw and almost teen like but explicit. It's just like every other romcom, predictable and so not original. I like the fact that running gags are still a thing mainly because thats the formula to success in any show.

-The locations & wardrobe

Much like the original, it's just a set in LA pretending to be based in New York City. When it comes tro the wardrobe design, the expectations I had were slim to none, due to the fact that sitcoms do not necessarily get it right. Clothes are the reflection of the characthers but in this particular show, it[s not the most relevant element.

-Storylines

Just like the original, the plot was pretty much the same, the only difference was that the lead charac ther is female and so is the point of view of a new yorker dating in 2022 with dating apps, beliving in fate, etc. Basically, the predectibly was boring at times.

-Hits and Misses

The laughter cuted back and a more diverse cast was most definetly the highlights of the show. Another hit was having the stoy centered through a woman's perspective, which was refreshing and highly anticipated, so requested!