Inside Television with Alan Sepinwall

Review: 'How I Met Your Mother' - 'Splitsville': Stupid is as stupid does

The gang pushes Robin to dump Nick, and Marshall and Ted play basketball

By Alan Sepinwall Tuesday, Nov 13, 2012 9:05 AM

Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) and Robin (Cobie Smulders) on "How I Met Your Mother."

Credit: CBS

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A quick review of last night's "How I Met Your Mother" coming up just as soon as I buy a ticket to see "Groins On Ice" at Madison Square Garden...

"Splitsville" was another episode where the comedy was too broad(*) for my liking (Nick being that dumb, Ted's team being that awful, the return of Patrice), so I instead want to focus on Barney's (fake, but only kinda) declaration of love for Robin.

(*) Over the last few seasons, I've seen people defend these gags as an example of Future Ted as an unreliable narrator, and that we're not supposed to take these things so literally. I have two problems with that argument: 1)The show tends to be very open about when Future Ted is stretching the truth (telling the kids that he can't remember Blah Blah's name, or that Robin's Thanksgiving date didn't really look like Orson Bean), and 2)Even if you assume that he's pretty much always exaggerating things, these jokes aren't funny enough to justify the idea.

As with so many things "HIMYM," the Barney/Robin romance is one of those things I was once invested in and now vacillate between not caring at all and being actively annoyed by. (Future Robin trying to back out of the wedding being a strong example of the latter.) So where once upon, I would have appreciated NPH's performance in that scene and the way it simultaneously worked as an obvious lie and as something Barney secretly felt, now it just prompted some mental calculations: Okay, if we assume the wedding comes near the end of the season, is this too early for them to get back together? Carry the 2, multiply it by the number of sweeps weeks remaining... And, sure enough, it was too soon, as their inevitable kiss was preempted by Patrice.

What did everybody else think?

Alan Sepinwall
Sr. Editor, What's Alan Watching

Alan Sepinwall has been reviewing television since the mid-'90s, first for Tony Soprano's hometown paper, The Star-Ledger, and now for HitFix. His new book, "The Revolution Was Televised," about the last 15 years of TV drama, is for sale at Amazon. He can be reached at sepinwall@hitfix.com

Related Searches: How I Met Your Mother, Cobie Smulders, Josh Radnor, Neil Patrick Harris, Jason Segel, Alyson Hannigan

Ben

With every review of this show, you sound like I did at the job I held in 2004: not happy, not enjoying much of what's going on, but still feeling compelled to keep doing my assignment while constantly checking the time until the work is over, and then getting out of there as quickly as possible.
November 13, 2012 at 10:14AM EST Reply to Comment
- sepinwall Just deleted a comment that broke Rule #1 around here: TALK ABOUT THE SHOW, NOT EACH OTHER.
  November 13, 2012 at 10:58AM EST
- Neeraj As long as we keep watching it, they'll keep teasing it out. It's gotten well beyond absurd. It's like the final seasons of the O.C.: stop watching, stop reviewing, and someday learn the resolution of the characters you care about via DVD.
  November 13, 2012 at 11:38AM EST
- sepinwall The last season of The O.C. was actually my second-favorite season of that show. It was the middle two years that were a mess.
  November 13, 2012 at 11:43AM EST
- Alan, I really enjoyed the second season of the OC. But HIMYM has turned into Dexter: a show that is shambling on because of it's own success. I used to feel smart when I saw a twist coming (like Marshall and Lily not having sex) but now they're just so obvious.
  November 13, 2012 at 12:06PM EST
- Neeraj :) Well, I think my point was that instead of hate-watching it, we should cease to watch/review it, and that could finally cause a few consequences for the showing being so unfaithful to its characters and disrespectful to its fan base, and finally impose some discipline on the creators.
  November 13, 2012 at 12:56PM EST
- Ted Schmoesby hahaha, nice use of the "rule" clause there alan. I didnt attack a single individual, only a phenomenon of attacking something that has gotten older and embracing newer things of a lesser quality (hence my standing in line for an Iphone analogy), which is exactly what happens in the comments on this show compared to comments on newer comedies. you can dismiss or delete as many discerning views as you like but consider this: if you're honest with yourselves, you know full well that if you came out of a coma next week and were given 4 eps of this show, the pilot, plus any random 4 of the last 2 seasons...and then matched them up with any 4 episodes of new girl, mindy, happy endings, the middle, ben & kate, etc. then HIMYM would be 1st or 2nd on most anyone's list, and that's just using the episodes that you all seem to hate so much. And, gripes about "meeting the mother already" DO sound just like the late arrivers to Lost that longtime Lost viewers found incredibly annoying and simplistic. I mean people talk about this show like its the office after Carell, I simply find that ridiculous
  November 13, 2012 at 1:30PM EST
- sepinwall Ted, you might find it ridiculous. Others disagree. I can find more positive things to say about the post-Carell Office than I can about HIMYM of late.
  
  It's not about what's fresh versus what isn't. Many of us genuinely think this show has fallen off a cliff and are sticking around out of some combination of loyalty, stubbornness and masochism. You're still enjoying it? Great. But don't try to psychoanalyze the motives of those who disagree with you. If you can't defend the show without going after your opponents — even in a non-specific way — then don't make the comment. Period.
  November 13, 2012 at 1:39PM EST
- ChampSkins Ted I think you might be one of the only people I know or seen that has defended HIMYM. It really isn't funny or good at this point. They over-exaggerate everything now to the point that it is absurd. I agree with everyone else that talks about how they don't even know why they stil watch the show. The only show I find to be more unfunny currently is the weird reboot of Last Man Standing, which is shockingly bad and distracting since they replaced like 4 characters.
  November 13, 2012 at 1:51PM EST
- Andy "if you're honest with yourselves, you know full well that if you came out of a coma next week and were given 4 eps of this show, the pilot, plus any random 4 of the last 2 seasons...and then matched them up with any 4 episodes of new girl, mindy, happy endings, the middle, ben & kate, etc. then HIMYM would be 1st or 2nd on most anyone's list"
  
  Absolutely not. I mean, not even close. Are you trying to say that the premise is so amazing that even crappy episodes stand up against any episodes of these other, newer shows? Because they don't. Even the best HIMYM episodes lately don't hold a candle to most episodes of New Girl, Happy Endings, The Middle, etc.
  November 13, 2012 at 3:08PM EST
- Neeraj Ted you might be right because the coma hypothetical is a matter of opinion, but the coma hypothetical doesn't seem relevant if our criticism is the repetitiveness of the plotlines and the incoherenct inconsistency of the characters.
  November 13, 2012 at 3:38PM EST
- Guest I'm just wondering if perhaps- given the number of years this show has been on- Alan and the viewing audience have matured and the show just hasn't kept up with our tastes. Add to this the level of sophistication we demand from comedy now that we've "matoored" those sitcoms that deliver. If you consider how old we all were when this show debuted, perhaps the writers are still writing for that demographic. I know plenty of twenty-somethings who still find Barney the height of hilarity. Just like we did when we were twenty-something? I know this presupposes most of us who now find HIMYM groan-worthy are older than 20s-ish (and i may be wrong, sure) but I have been contemplating this point for quite some time and thought I'd put it out there.
  November 15, 2012 at 4:08PM EST
- Pod An easy way to test this would be to go back and watch a few Season One or Two episodes. Do you find them funnier now than current episodes? Personally I think there's a world of difference. It's still recognizably the same show, but the jokes are funnier and the characters aren't cartoons.
  November 18, 2012 at 1:42AM EST
jon88

I think that I'm wondering why I'm still watching this show. Please let this be the last season, and meet the mother, so we can move on.
November 13, 2012 at 10:18AM EST Reply to Comment
- heatseeker My sentiments exactly. Every week I watch without laughing, and roll my eyes at the end. But I really just want to meet that dang mother, and I can't quit the show.
  November 13, 2012 at 10:37AM EST
brian_shea

When they were having their moment on the street, I looked at my wife and said, "Are we sure this isn't a rerun" while doing the same mental calculations about timing the wedding while also fitting in the mother by the end of the season.
November 13, 2012 at 10:26AM EST Reply to Comment
Jeff

The best that I can say about last night's episode is that, at least, it wasn't an episode where Ted was once again explaining to his kids why their mother will NEVER leave her husband alone with Aunt Robin.
November 13, 2012 at 10:29AM EST Reply to Comment
Shannon

I think I'm in the same place re: Barney and Robin. Back when I actually cared about their relationship, that speech would have been exciting. Last night, the best I could muster was "Oh, I guess that's nice."

The writers have basically destroyed what made their relationship unique and interesting in the first place. And the endless teases about the Mother and retreads of Ted's fixation on Robin have ruined that story for me as well. I'll watch to the end out of obligation, but I won't get any of the joy out of it that I would have if they'd done right by these characters.
November 13, 2012 at 10:56AM EST Reply to Comment
Brian

I was a defender of this show during last season (claiming it wasn't as bad as people were saying and that it was still a Top 10 comedy on TV), but there is no longer anything to defend. This is a completely different show than it used to be, going for, as Alan said, extremely broad comedy. Can we please just meet the mother already and put an end to this?
November 13, 2012 at 11:09AM EST Reply to Comment
And We're Walking

Does this show hold the world record for teasing its audience? I was rolling my eyes instead of buying into the premise that Barney was going to declare his love.
November 13, 2012 at 11:11AM EST Reply to Comment
- Neeraj I'm trying to remember another show that has done this so successfully? Maybe X-Files which had nine seasons drawing out whether Mulder/Scully get together and what happened to Mulder's sister.
  November 13, 2012 at 1:09PM EST
Trish

I really do wish they would hurry up and get Barney and Robin back together. But the flash-forward wedding scenes with Robin being so unsure are annoying. "Will they or won't they" is starting to drag into "Just do it already."
November 13, 2012 at 11:19AM EST Reply to Comment
snowlarbear

it doesn't really matter when in the season they get back together, they've established with ted/victoria that the relationship "resumes" where it left off.
November 13, 2012 at 11:40AM EST Reply to Comment
Jeff

It's difficult watching this show on the night after watching Homeland. Where Homeland's writers consistently have their characters receive/convey information and take climatic action long before viewers expect it, HIMYM consistently does the opposite. For me, the former shows respect and the latter contempt.

I guess HIMYM is my Brody/Carrie; can't quit it.
November 13, 2012 at 11:44AM EST Reply to Comment
- Tedv Schmoesby let's see how you feel about Homeland after its been on for 5 or 6 years...if they can even make the story of drunken psychopathic lady agent and a possible turncoat POW last that long
  November 13, 2012 at 1:33PM EST
jenfullmoon

I keep watching so-so shows until (a) I stop paying attention to the show halfway through, or (b) the show makes me angry enough to stomp off in a huff. HIMYM hasn't hit either point yet, so I keep going. But seriously, folks, people need to get to start moving on already. Most TV shows these days have learned the lesson that you can't keep holding back on the good stuff for years because you might get canceled. HIMYM hasn't had to learn that lesson, but maybe it needs to. The wheel-spinning is what's making it dull and people stop caring.
November 13, 2012 at 12:10PM EST Reply to Comment
toonsterwu

I was fine with the Barney and Robin stuff. It fit in line with the last episode, where Robin came to his rescue.

Where I had a problem with the show was in the portrayal of Nick's stupidity. I get it - a means to an end, and Michael Trucco did a whale of a job with some of those moments. The problem was, they gave no indication of this earlier, so this came out of no where. Nick was the environmentally conscious motoercyclist who had his own TV show and was a good chef. That sure as heck does not sound like a moron eating a candlestick.

It's little things like that that I find off-putting. I also didn't really care for the Marshall/Lily storyline - it's as if they don't know how to write storylines for them (although, I'll give Alyson Hannigan her props ... she always does a great job with perverted Lily, which is a funny contrast to the character's main traits).
November 13, 2012 at 12:17PM EST Reply to Comment
- qrter The writers have been doing this with most secondary characters the last few seasons - not actually giving them much personality, if any.
  
  Except when the plot needs it ofcourse, and then it'll still just be one personality tried magnified by a million.
  November 13, 2012 at 11:52PM EST
- qrter One personality trait, that should read..
  November 13, 2012 at 11:53PM EST
bryan-a

man - did they ruin this or what? Aunt Robin and Uncle Barney, married or not, are now for me nothing but a couple of skankie skeazors. If this show was set in the 70's I'd be expecting Bob Sagget to have to come up with some sort of euphemism for key party.
November 13, 2012 at 1:24PM EST Reply to Comment
- Ted Schmoesby not that you were a Friends fan or anything, but I find the relationship between Robin/Barney to be twice as believable and enjoyable as any coupling on that show, which was basically the story of 5 lesbians and their formerly spoiled rich friend Rachel
  November 13, 2012 at 1:42PM EST
- bryan-a Well, Ted, that's certainly an opinion. I'm not saying I don't believe the relationship, I'm saying they're scuzzbuckets. I used to find Barney somewhat endearing and Robin hot. Now FOR ME, Barney's one step away from trolling the high school parking lot and I would touch Robin with Ted's schmoesby.
  November 13, 2012 at 1:58PM EST
- bryan-a WOULDN'T touch Robin
  November 13, 2012 at 1:58PM EST
- Gorgon I agree with Ted that the idea of Robin and Barney being together is good.
  
  I thought Barney and Robin were perfect together since the early season 1 episode when Robin showed up at the cigar bar in a suit. Barney "You suited up!"
  
  The problem is how they handled the storylines poorly of them getting together, and how they are needlessly stretching this out. We know they wind up married. Just date already.
  November 13, 2012 at 2:33PM EST
Logan

The writers just seem to get lazier and lazier with the comedy at this point. What used to be original, now seems forced.

Re: Nick's stupidity: I'd be fine with this story line if the writers could put some effort into it. I had a problem with two of the flashbacks:

1.) The first flashback with the crossword may have worked (and actually been pretty funny), if he hadn't already stated he was looking for a 4 letter word for cut, but then joyously wrote down Shave as his answer. No one is that stupid (I hope) to try to fit a 5 letter word in a 4 box clue. Why not use the word slit instead of shave?

2.) The second flashback was just reusing the "Gaps of Knowledge" story line where Robin didn't believe that the North Pole existed. If you're going to reuse something like that, I think it would help go over well if someone actually brought that up and threw Robin under the table as well.
November 13, 2012 at 2:44PM EST Reply to Comment
- tvnerdasaurus The more I think about the episode, the more angry I get. Like, if they knew they wanted Nick to be stupid, why couldn't they have put some effort into past episodes? Like, if he was so stupid and literal he wouldn't have realized how insulting his attempts at a catchphrase for his cooking show were, right? I mean, I just....I feel like the writers are insulting OUR intelligence with this easy way out. Also, Anders deserved better.
  
  http://tvwhorasaurus.wordpress.com/2012/11/14/splitsville-omg-are-you-serious/
  November 14, 2012 at 8:26PM EST
Just give it up !

Why do you keep watching this show .. much less reviewing it? It has been crap for last few years (even you admit that).I think your time is better spent elsewhere.
November 13, 2012 at 2:59PM EST Reply to Comment
- Andy By the same token, you're under no obligation to read them.
  November 13, 2012 at 3:10PM EST
srpad

The show just seems tired. The writing is tried; the acting is tired. No one seems to be enjoying it anymore. At its peak, this was one of the best sitcoms of the current era, now it just seems to be limping toward a finish line. It reminds me what happened to Scrubs.
November 13, 2012 at 3:22PM EST Reply to Comment
- sepinwall The last season of Scrubs proper (as opposed to the med school season) was great, among the best they ever did. The seasons leading up to that were the choppy ones, but they pulled out of the tailspin before the end.
  November 13, 2012 at 7:20PM EST
- Brif The final season of Scrubs is pretty much the reason I'm still sticking around. I LOVED this show at its peak, now I am absolutely limping to the finish line. Stubborn fandom, really.
  November 14, 2012 at 1:06AM EST
neverthehero

Maybe Jerry Seinfield knew what he was doing, when he pulled the plug on his show...
November 13, 2012 at 3:56PM EST Reply to Comment
- Jim You got it. I'm out! Leave them wanting more.
  November 13, 2012 at 7:01PM EST
Ashley

I felt like this episode was baby steps toward a return to form, and was surprised to see such a negative review. I've been frustrated with the show lately too, but between Ted doing something sweet for Marshall and Lily and Barney and Robin getting a little closer to the happily ever after, it was a relief. And on a personal note, I totally got the whole Nick thing - they weren't exaggerating. I was with that guy for a while. Physically, everything was amazing, but he was SO. DUMB. So that whole storyline was hilarious to me, but maybe I'm biased.
November 13, 2012 at 8:18PM EST Reply to Comment
emma

I kept on with Lost until the end although it annoyed me 90% of the time after episode 114/121. I quit Heroes after the S = N plotline of late Season 3. I quit Being Erica 4 episodes from the end of the last season. I watch Bones only periodically and two years ago stopped watching regular South Park. I soldier on with Dexter, HIMYM and Family Guy. Has HIMYM declined in quality? Yes. However, for me the characters are still compelling and cheering enough for me to keep going. Anyone who disagrees: please invite me to the big angry pile-on against the writers after the show ends, and I'll let you know if I'll show up.
November 13, 2012 at 10:23PM EST Reply to Comment
- Tom You quite being Erica because they brought back Erica's Irish BF that most fans hated, right?
  November 14, 2012 at 8:22PM EST
qrter

I have faint memories of HIMYM's characters having lives outside of all the convoluted romantic tribulations.

Remember the episodes about Ted's career as an architect, or as a teacher? Or Robin being an anchor on local TV, and how that was actually kind of an exciting thing? Or Lily's credit card debt storyline? Remember how that made the characters a lot less 'sitcommy', a bit more like people that could exist?

Now it's all just traipsing through the romantic sludge, episode after episode. It's dull, and not very interesting.
November 13, 2012 at 11:58PM EST Reply to Comment
tvnerdasaurus

I'm so over HIMYM yet I can't stop watching. I'm just hoping that it will get better....but it may go the way The Office, 30 Rock and Glee have in the best for me. Read about it, watch the finale (even that's up in the air). I really wanted to see Michael Trucco do comedy, and for what he was given it was good. But the whole "he's so stupid!" nonsense and how Victoria was suddenly all "married! no robin!" it's just so out of character and I'm so annoyed with it. Argh.
tvwhorasaurus.wordpress.com
November 14, 2012 at 7:11PM EST Reply to Comment
Tom

Alan, what are the chances that the reason the writers are still dragging on this whole unresolved Ted/Robin thing is because they are trying to retcon then into ending up together in 2030?
November 14, 2012 at 8:20PM EST Reply to Comment
Jed

This was my last episode. Final straw...
November 14, 2012 at 9:09PM EST Reply to Comment

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Review: 'How I Met Your Mother' - 'Splitsville': Stupid is as stupid does

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Comments

Option 1

Option 2

Option 3

sepinwall Just deleted a comment that broke Rule #1 around here: TALK ABOUT THE SHOW, NOT EACH OTHER.

Neeraj As long as we keep watching it, they'll keep teasing it out. It's gotten well beyond absurd. It's like the final seasons of the O.C.: stop watching, stop reviewing, and someday learn the resolution of the characters you care about via DVD.

sepinwall The last season of The O.C. was actually my second-favorite season of that show. It was the middle two years that were a mess.

Alan, I really enjoyed the second season of the OC. But HIMYM has turned into Dexter: a show that is shambling on because of it's own success. I used to feel smart when I saw a twist coming (like Marshall and Lily not having sex) but now they're just so obvious.

Neeraj :) Well, I think my point was that instead of hate-watching it, we should cease to watch/review it, and that could finally cause a few consequences for the showing being so unfaithful to its characters and disrespectful to its fan base, and finally impose some discipline on the creators.

Neeraj Ted you might be right because the coma hypothetical is a matter of opinion, but the coma hypothetical doesn't seem relevant if our criticism is the repetitiveness of the plotlines and the incoherenct inconsistency of the characters.

Pod An easy way to test this would be to go back and watch a few Season One or Two episodes. Do you find them funnier now than current episodes? Personally I think there's a world of difference. It's still recognizably the same show, but the jokes are funnier and the characters aren't cartoons.

jon88 I think that I'm wondering why I'm still watching this show. Please let this be the last season, and meet the mother, so we can move on.

heatseeker My sentiments exactly. Every week I watch without laughing, and roll my eyes at the end. But I really just want to meet that dang mother, and I can't quit the show.

brian_shea When they were having their moment on the street, I looked at my wife and said, "Are we sure this isn't a rerun" while doing the same mental calculations about timing the wedding while also fitting in the mother by the end of the season.

Jeff The best that I can say about last night's episode is that, at least, it wasn't an episode where Ted was once again explaining to his kids why their mother will NEVER leave her husband alone with Aunt Robin.

And We're Walking Does this show hold the world record for teasing its audience? I was rolling my eyes instead of buying into the premise that Barney was going to declare his love.

Neeraj I'm trying to remember another show that has done this so successfully? Maybe X-Files which had nine seasons drawing out whether Mulder/Scully get together and what happened to Mulder's sister.

Trish I really do wish they would hurry up and get Barney and Robin back together. But the flash-forward wedding scenes with Robin being so unsure are annoying. "Will they or won't they" is starting to drag into "Just do it already."

snowlarbear it doesn't really matter when in the season they get back together, they've established with ted/victoria that the relationship "resumes" where it left off.

Tedv Schmoesby let's see how you feel about Homeland after its been on for 5 or 6 years...if they can even make the story of drunken psychopathic lady agent and a possible turncoat POW last that long

qrter The writers have been doing this with most secondary characters the last few seasons - not actually giving them much personality, if any. Except when the plot needs it ofcourse, and then it'll still just be one personality tried magnified by a million.

qrter One personality trait, that should read..

bryan-a man - did they ruin this or what? Aunt Robin and Uncle Barney, married or not, are now for me nothing but a couple of skankie skeazors. If this show was set in the 70's I'd be expecting Bob Sagget to have to come up with some sort of euphemism for key party.

Ted Schmoesby not that you were a Friends fan or anything, but I find the relationship between Robin/Barney to be twice as believable and enjoyable as any coupling on that show, which was basically the story of 5 lesbians and their formerly spoiled rich friend Rachel

bryan-a WOULDN'T touch Robin

Just give it up ! Why do you keep watching this show .. much less reviewing it? It has been crap for last few years (even you admit that).I think your time is better spent elsewhere.

Andy By the same token, you're under no obligation to read them.

srpad The show just seems tired. The writing is tried; the acting is tired. No one seems to be enjoying it anymore. At its peak, this was one of the best sitcoms of the current era, now it just seems to be limping toward a finish line. It reminds me what happened to Scrubs.

sepinwall The last season of Scrubs proper (as opposed to the med school season) was great, among the best they ever did. The seasons leading up to that were the choppy ones, but they pulled out of the tailspin before the end.

Brif The final season of Scrubs is pretty much the reason I'm still sticking around. I LOVED this show at its peak, now I am absolutely limping to the finish line. Stubborn fandom, really.

neverthehero Maybe Jerry Seinfield knew what he was doing, when he pulled the plug on his show...

Jim You got it. I'm out! Leave them wanting more.

Tom You quite being Erica because they brought back Erica's Irish BF that most fans hated, right?

Tom Alan, what are the chances that the reason the writers are still dragging on this whole unresolved Ted/Robin thing is because they are trying to retcon then into ending up together in 2030?

Jed This was my last episode. Final straw...

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How I Met Your Mother is updated

jon88

I think that I'm wondering why I'm still watching this show. Please let this be the last season, and meet the mother, so we can move on.

brian_shea

When they were having their moment on the street, I looked at my wife and said, "Are we sure this isn't a rerun" while doing the same mental calculations about timing the wedding while also fitting in the mother by the end of the season.

Jeff

The best that I can say about last night's episode is that, at least, it wasn't an episode where Ted was once again explaining to his kids why their mother will NEVER leave her husband alone with Aunt Robin.

And We're Walking

Does this show hold the world record for teasing its audience? I was rolling my eyes instead of buying into the premise that Barney was going to declare his love.

Trish

I really do wish they would hurry up and get Barney and Robin back together. But the flash-forward wedding scenes with Robin being so unsure are annoying. "Will they or won't they" is starting to drag into "Just do it already."

snowlarbear

it doesn't really matter when in the season they get back together, they've established with ted/victoria that the relationship "resumes" where it left off.

qrter The writers have been doing this with most secondary characters the last few seasons - not actually giving them much personality, if any.

Except when the plot needs it ofcourse, and then it'll still just be one personality tried magnified by a million.

bryan-a

man - did they ruin this or what? Aunt Robin and Uncle Barney, married or not, are now for me nothing but a couple of skankie skeazors. If this show was set in the 70's I'd be expecting Bob Sagget to have to come up with some sort of euphemism for key party.

Just give it up !

Why do you keep watching this show .. much less reviewing it? It has been crap for last few years (even you admit that).I think your time is better spent elsewhere.

srpad

The show just seems tired. The writing is tried; the acting is tired. No one seems to be enjoying it anymore. At its peak, this was one of the best sitcoms of the current era, now it just seems to be limping toward a finish line. It reminds me what happened to Scrubs.

neverthehero

Maybe Jerry Seinfield knew what he was doing, when he pulled the plug on his show...

Tom

Alan, what are the chances that the reason the writers are still dragging on this whole unresolved Ted/Robin thing is because they are trying to retcon then into ending up together in 2030?

Jed

This was my last episode. Final straw...

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