How Barney and Robin Have Ruined HIMYM

[shipperx]

I wish Moonlighting had never been made. How many shows have been ruined by 'not wanting to be like Moonlighting'. Oooh! Sexual Tension. Kill it! Kill it!... Or stave it off until it's on life support and everyone has ceased to care. Or, go the Barney/Robin route which has really begun to ruin the show for me.

This isn't an anti-shipping rant. It wasn't the Barney/Robin ship that ruined things. It was the show's utter terror of developing the characters and the chicken-hearted way they ran for the hills so as 'not to be like Moonlighting.' They spent roughly two years +/- developing the Barney/Robin thing, having Barney fall for Robin, and then we got a hand full of half-hearted episodes with them together. Then we got an insultingly lame episode breaking them up because they couldn't be 'awesome' together... and now they've regressed them and pretend like the whole thing never happened! It has irritated the hell out of me since October. Actions should have consequences. If they were going to develop the storyline for two years, DO SOMETHING WITH IT, DAMN IT! I don't consider the four or five lame ass episodes that made no effort with the relationship as a 'consequence'. Nor do I consider the way that they completely ignore that it ever happened a 'consequence'. If they were going to break them up, break them up... and have consequences. Instead they couldn't even take the time to have characters react to it! They insta-regressed the characters as if it's possible to rewind the clock without damaging them. (Seriously, Barney's sexaholic antics aren't as amusing any more!) They have the characters behave exactly as they would have three or four years ago as if there is no lingering... anything. No lingering issues or affection. Sheesh! At least allow a few things to stick. Allow some sort of reaction every now and then. Instead, it's like the show hit rewind and what happened never happened... and honestly, it's grossing me out a little.

It's like watching OLTL not deal with Todd Manning. The more backflips they turn to try to NOT deal with his actions, the more obnoxious the character becomes because the audience isn't stupid. We know what we saw and we know it hasn't been adequately addressed... or addressed at all... or has had any remotely believable consequences.

We saw Barney/Robin happen. We saw the story that developed them, and now it's bizarrely absent in the characters. I'm not talking about breaking them up. Break them up. Fine. But don't force the characters and the audience to have amnesia. That's just annoying. So annoying, in fact, that it's making HIMYM annoying to me this season. It really feels like the writers are stuck three seasons ago and have absolutely no idea what to do but keep replaying the same old stuff. It's wearing out, folks. It's wearing out.

ETA: Ugh! See!

Comments

[sourisvho.livejournal.com]

I don't watch HIMYM, but preach it, sister. I'm so screamingly sick of the whole Moonlighting argument that producers trot out as an excuse so they can be creatively void and cowardly. It's not even a valid argument, IMO, because there were so many extenuating circumstances that scuttled that show far beyond the consummation. It makes me want to spit nails whenever someone uses the Moonlighting excuse.

[molliemole.livejournal.com]

YES!!!
I wish I had a nickel for each time I've said this. It wasn't the consummation of the relationship that scuttled Moonlighting; it was, as you so correctly put it, the extenuating circumstances.
If your lead actress isn't going through a difficult pregnancy (with twins) that prevents her from filming episodes, then the situation isn't the same, and you can proceed with the story.

[sourisvho.livejournal.com]

Even on top of the extenuating circumstances, they just flat-out handled it badly, sending Maddie off on a train to marry some other guy, having her miscarry Dave's baby after we met him in utero, etc. When you have to resort to Claymation figures of your leads and build multiple episodes around Agnes DiPesto and Herbert Viola, you're not exactly firing on all cylinders so that you should be used as a creative point of reference for all future TV-couple consummations.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

It was that the consummation scenes and the story that followed it up were both awful. Seriously, it was squicky, violent, mean, and off-putting. But, of course, they simply blame it on the sex, nbever that the writing SUCKED!

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

I am so heartily sick of the Moonlighting excuse. There are many reasons why Moonlighting imploded. But I also always want to scream that the reason why the consummation in Moonlighting worked to the show's detriment was that they made consummating the relationship positively horrific. And the follow-up story? More horrific still. it SUCKED.

[deird1]

Eek. That makes me not want to buy the new season. :(


Trying to keep characters in one place is really stupid - and a good way to doom your show to failure and shark-jumping, IMO.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

Skip the first 8 episodes and you'll never know it happened or that they ever had any relationship at all. It'll be just like Season 3 again. Seriously, there aren't even any references to it (much). It's like it never happened. (Which is weird because it wasn't a bad relationship on screen or with the characters. The writers just couldn't be bothered to do anything with it in their anxiety to get Barney back to lady killer without there being any after effects from his time with Robin. They just had them have an insta-amicable break-up, saying they were "more awesome" when single, and never refer to it... or have consequences from it. Hence, my annoyance.

[eilowyn.livejournal.com]

I wonder if they're going to bypass Moonlighting and head into Ross and Rachel territory eventually, with an on again/off again thing. It sustains a long running show with an ongoing tension, and keeps from heading into the shiny, happy, bad Moonlighting territory.

Then again, Ross and Rachel got annoying as hell.

[deird1]

I think Niles and Daphne (from Frasier) did it much better. Seven seasons of Niles being in love with her, and people still weren't bored with it by the time they got together.

[(Anonymous)]

And before that, Sam & Diane in Cheers, managed some 5 seasons doing something similar without losing viewers' interest.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

It would have made more since to go the Monica and Chandler route. Hell, at this point I'd take Barney in any sort of relationship, even a rebound one. The dating by the HUNDREDS has just become disgusting and pathetic.

[enisy.livejournal.com]

This.

Barney/Robin used to be one of my favourite pairings, but I find theirs the most obnoxious storyline of the season, for exactly the reasons you listed. I only remember to grab each episode one or two weeks after it's aired, my interest in the show has sunk that low.

Although, if it helps, I do believe one of the executive producers said we would be seeing the effects of the relationship and the break-up on at least Barney by the end of the season.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

The whole thing was handled horribly. First the out of the blue break-up for utterly lame reasons. Then the exactly zero after effects. Then they made him even more of a man-whore, despite what had happened in previous seasons. The whole non-progression on any emotional evolutionary scale was depressing enough, but to actually regress him in such infantile sexist sex-addict behavior has become both depressing and gross.

[wildrider.livejournal.com]

I have to catch up; I haven't watched it since "Chuck" came back (since we lost the big TV, I can only do two channels at once).

It's all an excuse for sloppy writing, really. Too many television writers simply do not know how to handle happy couples/happy families when their characters started single and childless. It's possible, but they seem to fear it like the plague.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

After this episode, I'm seriously considering breaking up with the show. I've been aggravated with HIMYM, but this episode was just so weak and out and out BAD that it may be my jump the shark.

Unfortunately, I'm also growing tired of the lame obstacles they throw at Chuck/Sarah. It's become implausible at this point and they seriously need to fish or cut bait. UST cannot go on forever. SOMETHING has to happen one way or the other.

[wildrider.livejournal.com]

I'll have to watch the last two eps online.

Nah, not having any troubles with Chuck yet. Very sad their breakup, both parties APPEAR to be moving on... we shall see. I think they're handling it pretty well.

[rowanswhimsy.livejournal.com]

There should be a Moonlighting law similar to Godwin's law. I'm tired of it being trotted out as an excuse for poor execution on current TV shows.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

Seriously. They blame it on the sex without ever recognizing that THE WRITING SUCKED!