I'm putting the next part of "In the Absence of Television" on hold, since for the moment I am in the presence of television! Hurrah! I'm home, where my parents TV licence covers the beautiful HD masterpiece in my bedroom (one of my grandparents rejects, they say there's a shadow on the screen).
Instead, today I want to review a wonderful episode of How I Met Your Mother. There'll be spoilers about so if you haven't watched the episode, go see it now. No, I mean it; being spoiled will ruin this one for you. Go. Now.
This episode is called Bad News, and the main story line follows Lilly and Marshall as they visit a fertility clinic to try and find out why they are having difficulty conceiving. At first I was a little worried we were having a clear repeat of the Monica and Chandler storyline from FRIENDS. It wouldn't be the first time these two shows were compared. Remember the E4 ads? HIMYM has just about shed its "the new FRIENDS" moniker and I wasn't keen for it to throw away the individuality it had worked so hard to carve out. Fortunately the show went completely the other way. Both Lilly and Marshall are completely fertile. Now, you might have noticed through the episode numbers counting down. I started picking up on it at number 36. Some people picked up on it, some didn't. For those who didn't (or those who missed a few), there's a complete guide at the end of this entry. If you've seen the episode, and seen the numbers you'll know that the numbers count down to the moment Marshall finds out that his Dad, who we know he is very close to, has died suddenly of a heart attack. I knew something wasn't right when his Dad didn't answer the phone, though I had hoped I was wrong. I'm a bit emotional when it comes to TV (as my flatmates will certainly confirm), and I really felt Marshalls Dad's death. It was an outstanding piece of television and I feel the countdown really contributed.
Other reviewers have said that the fun of counting down changed the tone of the episode, and having a sad ending after such a fun episode ruins the poignancy of the tragedy. I completely disagree. I feel the suddenness of the death is highlighted by counting down. I thought the counting down was moving towards something good, probably Lilly announcing she was pregnant, and I think I wasn't alone in that. We were looking forward to the end of the numbers, much in the same way that Marshall was looking forward to telling his Dad the good news, and that's what made news of the death strike even harder. Recall that Marshalls father is not a main character. By all means we shouldn't really be all that affected by his death, but tactics like these make us feel the pain more. I'm reminded of deaths of other minor characters like Hilda's fiancé Santos in Ugly Betty and Doctor Cox's brother in law Ben in Scrubs. In both these episodes we are led to believe through the delusions of other characters that they are alive and healthy. This adds to the shock factor of the death and causes a deeper emotional reaction than if we had just been told they were dead or even if we had seen them die. It's this emotional reaction which, I believe, makes good television.
OK, here’s all the numbers. 50, 49: pamphlets in gyno’s office. 48: ketchup bottle. 47: laser-tag tourney flier. Stengel is a member of the 46 society. 45 cent hot wings. 44 beers on tap (and a 44 jersey on a MacLaren’s patron). 43-42 on Stengel’s pamphlet. 41 racecar poster. Ted’s 40 buildings book. Sandy River’s office is room 39. 38 degrees on newspaper weather forecast. 37 on Lily’s “Decadence” magazine. Marshall’s dad drinks Old Number 36 beer. Market up 35.34 points. 33 miners rescued. Lottery numbers are 32 31 30 29 28 27. Marshall’s dad reading “26 Home Shortcuts.” Ted’s 25 bridges book. Metro news 23 and Japanese channel 22 in Robin’s montage. 21 on calendar in Stengel’s office. Sperm collection room 20. 19 on “Nekkid” magazine. Marshall and Lily live in apartment 18. Sperm sample bottle marked 1716. 15 vitamins in Bran Stix. Sandy’s apartment 1413. 12 behind Marshall on couch. 11 on Ted’s book. 10 on Robin Sparkles' jean jacket. 9 on medical chart folder. Exam room 8. Oh, I must have missed 7. 6 on medical chart folder (Barney was holding it upside down). “Motility 5!” The 4 layers of the uterus. MacLaren’s is open till 3. Marshall’s dad’s watch hand is pointing to 2. Lily gets out of taxi 0001.
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