A CBS television show I’ve casually watched for the past few years, “How I Met Your Mother,” cemented itself as a great show, in my opinion, after a recent episode.
The show focuses on a man telling his children how he met their mother. Each episode moves the story forward just a little bit as the man, Ted Mosby (Josh Radnor), recounts an event in his life that allowed him to eventually meet the mother, a woman viewers have yet to meet in seven seasons.
These events he recounts take place with his four best friends – married couple Marshall (Jason Segel) and Lily (Alyson Hannigan), former girlfriend Robin (Cobie Smulders), and ladies’ man Barney Stinson, played by the great Neil Patrick Harris (formerly known as Doogie Howser).
Ted, an architect, meets and dates many women, many who are meant to make viewers think will be the mother. Sometimes he breaks their hearts, but more often than not they break his, as one woman even left him at the altar.
Throughout most of the series, Barney has often bragged about the fact he doesn’t allow relationships to mess with his life like Ted allows them to do. Instead, he allows the “Bro Code” to guide most decisions he makes.
The “Bro Code” is a book, written by Barney, that contains the rules men, or bros, should follow to make sure they don’t obstruct other men from living a life that isn’t messed up by women. It currently contains 32 Articles, ranging from “Bro’s (sic) before Ho’s (sic)” to a “Bro doesn’t allow another Bro to get married until he’s at least thirty.” All of these Articles are available online at www.brocode.com.
Many guys from my generation would probably agree with many of these Articles, as they give some an opportunity to be macho, even though we live in an era where being macho is a bit outdated. Let’s face it – Fonzie stopped being cool in the early 1980s, and Tom Cruise will never get his “Top Guns” swagger back no matter how hard he tries.
Geeks and freaks have been the new cool for a good part of the last decade. If you don’t believe me, there’s a reason “The Big Bang Theory” is one of television’s top-rated shows.
The “Bro Code” allows men to at least pretend they are a little bit cool, especially around other men. Women will naturally laugh at them, as they should, but in our minds we can at least give ourselves a little dignity by following these rules.
I haven’t always been sold on “How I Met Your Mother,” mainly because the entire frame of Ted telling his children how he met their mother is taking forever. A recent episode in which the guys on the show had “Trilogy Night” made me realize the greatness of it, though.
“Trilogy Night” is something people are either going to understand immediately, or it’s something that will require explanation. To explain for those who don’t know: it’s a night in which people, usually guys, gather to watch the original three “Star Wars” movies. It’s spent talking about the greatness of those three movies, quoting lines right before they happen, and throwing out “What if” scenarios to the others in the group. “What if Luke had taken his relationship with Leia a little further?” would be a typical question people would talk about.
In the episode, Ted takes his children through five “Trilogy Nights” the gang had over a 12-year period in which each of them talks about how their lives will be three years in the future when they have the next “Trilogy Night.” Ambitions for future goals are much bigger when they are younger, but it’s Barney’s vision in 2012 for his future in 2015 that is a stunner. I won’t spoil it, but by making something as awesome as “Trilogy Night” so poignant is simply great television.
Someday, I hope Ted actually tells his children about the exact moment he meets their mother, but until then I’ll enjoy the narrative as I think about how macho the “Bro Code” makes me believe I am.
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Originally published in The Portage County Gazette on Friday, April 20, 2012.
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