TV Themes: How I Met Your Mother
Take a pinch of Seinfeld, wrap him up with Friends, add a touch of Raymond and a little bitty bit of original ideas (apologies if this gave you an unwelcome earworm). The stew would give forth How I Met Your Mother, one of the finest current comedy series, admittedly at a time when there are not many great ones around.
Neil Patrick Harris, a teenage TV star as Doogie Howser MD, is the perhaps the funniest man on TV right now. As Barney Stinson, his comedic timing and delivery is impeccable. More than that, his physical comedy is exceptional as he deftly sidesteps the perils of exaggerating for effect. His character may be over-the-top, yet there is much subtlety in Harris” performance. It is perfectly judged (and, indeed, awesome). Few characters in recent times have given birth to so many catchphrases. True story.
How I Met Your Mother would be poorer without Harris, of course, but not entirely lacking in appeal. Some of the show”s best setpieces have not hinged on Barney”s character. For example, Robin”s “80s style music videos are brilliantly observed. The snag is that Robin had her solitary Tiffany-lite hit in the “90s. The scriptwriters get around that anomaly by having her explain that the “80s didn’t come to her native Canada until the mid-“90s. The absurdity of the notion illuminates the gag. The two-minute date sequence from season 3 shows the progamme”s big heart
The theme is very brief, just 11 seconds long. It”s an catchy chunk from a song by The Solids called Hey Beautiful, a garage band type of affair that really belongs in the “90s (perhaps the “90s didn”t get to The Solids until the “00s). The song was written by Solids members Carter Bays and Craig Thomas, who just happen to be the originators and writers of How I Met Your Mother, and on whom the series is loosely based. Minus the rock band antics.
The third track featured here (like the very brief theme, ripped from DVD)Â is sung by Jason Segel, who plays Marshall Erikson in the show. Having won a bet, he has earned the right to slap the obnoxious Barney five times over any period of time. The third slap he saves up for Thanksgiving (or, as he calls it, “Slapsgiving”). Having visited the stipulated act of violence upon Barney, he sings a song he especially composed for the occasion (video).
Theme of How I Met Your Mother.mp3
The Solids – Hey Beautiful.mp3
Jason Segel – You Just Got Slapped.mp3
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