Netflix gets me addicted to HIMYM

As of this last year, I have become oddly addicted to the hit television show How I Met Your Mother. This is no secret as I often reference the show in my day-to-day conversations. I’d only vaguely been aware of it over the years, even though it initially aired in 2005, the year I graduated from high school. Needless to say, it’s been around for a while.

In comes Netflix, the most amazing technology thus far of the 21^st century. With Netflix I was able to watch basically the entire show, and I fell in love!

First of all it had me with Alyson Hannigan. I have been a devoted fan of Buffy since I can remember, and Hannigan’s character was a central figure. I mean, who didn’t love the shy sweet eventually turned lesbian Willow?

Then she blew us all out of the water in American Pie with her infamous flute confession. Even my parents know the line that shocked band camps across the country. Now, Hannigan (who is almost 40) has helped sustain the show that I proudly call my favorite, HIMYM.

And then of course we have her love interest Jason Segel, who we all know from Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Who could forget the towel and wiggle scene. Segel’s humor works perfectly for the show and the relationship between Marshall (Segel) and Lily (Hannigan) is, wait for it, awesome! They truly love each other and are each other’s best friend.

I’ve always imagined that when I do settle down, I’d like to do it with my best friend. The person I can be weird with and not have to worry about it. Lily and Marshall even have telepathic conversations because they’re so in tune.

Now enter Neil Patrick Harris as the indomitable “lady’s” man Barney. Oh there’s so much to say about this actor and the roll he play on the show.

Barney is one of the most perverted, yet hilarious characters to grace my television screen. The mere mention of a drunken easy woman in his vicinity, and Barney is on it! I’ll say this for him, he has no fear of rejection. And this is all infinitely more amusing when you consider the fact that Harris is gay, in a long term relationship and has children with said partner.

To complement the wealthy scotch drinking New Yorker Barney, the show created Robyn played by Cobie Smulders. Now Robyn is easily one of my all-time favorite characters on television. She was raised as a boy by her father in Canada, during which time she learned how to hunt with large guns and drink scotch as well.

After her mother took over raising her as a girl in her teens, Robyn became beautiful, classy and a teen pop star in Canada. And the song is even more lame than whatever you’re imagining right now.

Once in New York Robyn meets the gang and becomes an instant best friend. Her love for getting drunk and shooting guns is hilarious! That’s when her roughneck Canadian side comes out. However the actress is easily one of the most beautiful women on television at the moment.

Finally there’s Ted, played by Josh Radnor. Oh Ted. Sweet, adorable, dorky Ted.

Keep in mind that the entire story is told in flashback form. His two poor teenage kids are forced to listen to his quintessential “dad” stories, all of which boil down to the show’s title. And many of the stories are surprisingly adult-themed when you consider that he’s telling them to his children.

But there’s something charming about this hopeless romantic. He’s intelligent, witty, attractive and he even enjoys socializing at the bar conveniently located on the first floor of his apartment building.

Ted’s never-ending search for “the one” is his most endearing quality though. And boy does he go through a lot of women! It seems like there’s a new one each episode. However, he is nothing compared to Barney — regardless,

Ted just wants to fall in love, get married and have kids. I’’s a simple dream, but I find it admirable.

So the other day I was wasting time on Facebook, as usual, and I found a test to see which character from HIMYM that I’m similar to. The results weren’t that shocking even though I found myself mildly surprised.

I always pictured myself as more a Robyn-type, surprise surprise, but I got Ted and I’m flattered and proud to be “a Ted.” I know. He’s kind of lame and certainly not the most exciting character, but I like him.

He is going to make someone the happiest person in the world because he is the perfect boyfriend. He is simply the type that will bend over backwards to make his one true love feel wanted and needed. I only hope that I can be half as good at loving someone as him.

The show is now in it’s ninth season and Ted is literally hours away from meeting “the mother.” However, he did have a couple of close calls throughout the years. One in particular was Stella, a beautiful and kind dermatologist with a young daughter. Even though Stella and Ted didn’t work out, she did give him one incredibly sweet piece of advice. She started with a joke:

“So I got pulled over for speeding the other day, and when the cop got to my window he said, ‘Well hello there pretty lady. I’ve been waiting for you all day.’ And I responded, I’m sorry officer. I got here as fast as I could!”

Ok, so the joke is dorky. But she goes on to say that Ted’s true love is out there and she’s getting here as fast as she can. It’s just going to take a little while longer. However, when he finds her, the perfect one, then it will have all been worth it, because that’s the person who was made for you and you for them.