ALYSON HANNIGAN: HIMYM review
Spotted in The Toledo Blade:
TV's balance will continue to tip in favor of dramas this fall (18 new dramas, 10 new comedies), but for the first time in several years, the comedies are a better bet.
Based on a viewing of its pilot episode, CBS's How I Met Your Mother is as close to a sure thing as TV can come. It's scheduled in CBS's successful Monday night comedy block, features talented, young, familiar stars, and this sitcom is actually - prepare to be shocked - pretty darn funny.
It's the story of a group of friends, nar-rated 25 years in the future by 27-year-old Ted (Josh Radnor) as he recounts his life to his children. The narration scenes are brief (Bob Saget does the voiceover narration), and the show is mostly set in the present as Ted's best friend, Marshall (Jason Segel, Freaks and Geeks), proposes to his longtime girlfriend, Lily (Alyson Hannigan, Buffy the Vampire Slayer). He gets advice from his pal, Barney (Neil Patrick Harris, Doogie Howser, M.D.).
For Hannigan, Harris, and Segel, the series marks a dramatic departure from the type of shows viewers are used to seeing them in. All three grew up starring in single-camera shows that were more dramas with comedy than out-and-out yukfests.
"On a one-camera show, you spend most of the day in your trailer until you're called to the set, " Harris said. "We get to do a little playlet and rehearse it and present it every day, which is great fun. … We were having so much fun, [Alyson] was worried there was no way this pilot will ever go. "
In addition to a more appealing schedule - making a three-camera sitcom takes much less time than a single-camera drama - Hannigan said she liked the opportunity to try something closer to stage acting.
"It's like doing a play with training wheels," she said. "If you mess up, it doesn't matter, you just do it again."
The pilot for How I Met Your Mother ends on a surprising note that fails to resolve clearly a portion of the show's premise, but the cast isn't worried about leaving viewers in the dark.
"You never found out who the boss really was on Who's the Boss?," Hannigan joked.
TV's balance will continue to tip in favor of dramas this fall (18 new dramas, 10 new comedies), but for the first time in several years, the comedies are a better bet.
Based on a viewing of its pilot episode, CBS's How I Met Your Mother is as close to a sure thing as TV can come. It's scheduled in CBS's successful Monday night comedy block, features talented, young, familiar stars, and this sitcom is actually - prepare to be shocked - pretty darn funny.
It's the story of a group of friends, nar-rated 25 years in the future by 27-year-old Ted (Josh Radnor) as he recounts his life to his children. The narration scenes are brief (Bob Saget does the voiceover narration), and the show is mostly set in the present as Ted's best friend, Marshall (Jason Segel, Freaks and Geeks), proposes to his longtime girlfriend, Lily (Alyson Hannigan, Buffy the Vampire Slayer). He gets advice from his pal, Barney (Neil Patrick Harris, Doogie Howser, M.D.).
For Hannigan, Harris, and Segel, the series marks a dramatic departure from the type of shows viewers are used to seeing them in. All three grew up starring in single-camera shows that were more dramas with comedy than out-and-out yukfests.
"On a one-camera show, you spend most of the day in your trailer until you're called to the set, " Harris said. "We get to do a little playlet and rehearse it and present it every day, which is great fun. … We were having so much fun, [Alyson] was worried there was no way this pilot will ever go. "
In addition to a more appealing schedule - making a three-camera sitcom takes much less time than a single-camera drama - Hannigan said she liked the opportunity to try something closer to stage acting.
"It's like doing a play with training wheels," she said. "If you mess up, it doesn't matter, you just do it again."
The pilot for How I Met Your Mother ends on a surprising note that fails to resolve clearly a portion of the show's premise, but the cast isn't worried about leaving viewers in the dark.
"You never found out who the boss really was on Who's the Boss?," Hannigan joked.
posted by Simon Hayes Budgen at 9:38 AM
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