Reviews by Matt

As much as I miss it, there are some advantages to not working at the school paper. One is that the pressure is off. I do not have to fill the entire section by myself, so I do not have to see bad movies or force myself to watch television shows. I can do what I want, about what I want without worrying about whether I could fill two pages.

The thing I want to start with is “How I Met Your Mother” or as fans of the show call it “HIMYM.”

The basic story of the show is Ted Mosby in 2030 (played only in voice by Bob Saget) telling his two children the story of how he met their mother.

Over the past three seasons we have seen Ted (Josh Radnor) search for “the one” and become the man he was when he met his wife. He has been helped/hindered by perpetual bachelor Barney (Neil Patrick Harris), his long time friends and Marshall (Jason Segal), his fiancée/wife Lilly (Alyson Hannigan) and Ted’s ex-girlfriend Robin (Cobie Smulders).

This past Monday’s season premiere we get the answer to season three’s cliffhanger. Ted had just asked Stella (Sarah Chalke) to marry him and she gave him her answer. Meanwhile, Lilly helps Barney with his new found feelings for Robin.

The star of the show is Barney and Neil Patrick Harris plays him brilliantly. He steals every scene he has. Barney is a cocky and womanizing, but Harris plays his with such charm that he is not a despicable guy. You cannot help but love him.

This is one of the funniest shows on television. The characters are all great. They each have their own staring moments, even if Barney does tend to out act most of them. The idea of a love story in reverse is a new and brilliant take on the sitcom genre. We all know how it is going to end, it is just a matter of who Ted ends up marrying.

In a time where serialized dramas are all over the place and sitcoms are few and far between (unless you happen to watch a lot of CBS, which has the most sitcoms of any major network) it is nice to see a new take on the genre.

HIMYM is worth watching. It is a smart, edgy, inventive, hilarious sitcom. It continues to get better and better with each and every episode. It could easily become a classic and could continue for years if the viewers are there.

"How I Met Your Mother" airs every Monday on CBS at 8:30