"HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER" and the Not-So-Great Robin/Barney Love Fest

I first wrote the following article during mid-Season Seven of CBS's "HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER":



"HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER" AND THE NOT-SO-GREAT ROBIN/BARNEY LOVE FEST 

I am tired of the Robin Scherbatsky/Barney Stinson (Cobie Smulders/Neil Patrick Harris) saga. I really am. They have practically dominated Season Seven of CBS's "HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER" with a romance that seemed to be force-fed by the series' creators Craig Thomas and Carter Bays, in order to satisfy the certain shippers. 

What can I say? Everything about the Robin/Barney love story has seemed forced to me. As far back as Seasons Four and Five. When the pair first became a couple back in Season Five, Thomas and Bays managed to screw that relationship by breaking them up in (5.07) "The Rough Patch". And they used one of the most contrived reasons I have come across in television history. After dating each other for a while, the two decided to break up, because their relationship led them - "two awesomes" - to "cancel each other out", making them less than they want to be. Their relationship led Robin to become a sloppy dresser and Barney to gain weight. It was one of the most ridiculous episodes I had ever seen.

But what happened between Robin and Barney seemed nothing in compare to the love saga that awaited viewers in Seasons Six and Seven. Robin introduced Barney to a work colleague of hers named Nora (Nazanin Boniadi) in the Season Six episode, (6.16) "Desperation Day. After Barney struggled with his feelings for Nora throughout late Season Six, he finally realized that he was interested in her in the season finale, (6.24) "Challenge Accepted". In the following season, Barney told Nora about his sexual past in (7.02) "The Naked Truth". She nearly dumped him, until she realized how serious he was about her . . . and decided to give him a chance. During this initial courtship between Barney and Nora, Robin decided that she still have feelings for him. Gee . . . how convenient. Instead of telling Barney about her feelings, she eventually began dating her psychiatrist, Kevin (portrayed by Kai Penn). 

I was willing to give the possibility of a second Barney/Robin hook-up another chance. But Thomas and Bays managed to fuck it all up. At least for me. One, the producers had decided to portray poor Nora as a one-dimensional paragon of perfection. During the nine episodes Nora appeared in the series, the writers never developed her beyond her penchant for Valentine's Day, kids and ideal romance. She was a female Ted Mosby (Josh Radnor), but without any flaws or complexity whatsoever. Hell, Ted's past girlfriends were portrayed with more complexity than Nora. And I am not just talking about Robin. Even the latter's new boyfriend, Kevin, seemed more complex and interesting as Nora. The only time I ever came close to really liking Nora was in (7.07) "Noretta", in which she suffered a series of mishaps during a date that was supposed to culminate in sex for the first time with Barney. But Thomas and Bays never allowed Nora's character to develop beyond the mishaps she had suffered in that particular episode. They seemed determined to manipulate the viewers into disliking her and cheering for a Barney/Robin hookup.

In the end, Thomas and Bays got rid of Nora in (7.10) "Tick, Tick, Tick . . .". And how do they achieve this? They allowed Barney and Robin to cheat on both her and Kevin by having sex sometime between (7.09) "Disaster Averted" and "Tick, Tick, Tick . . .". In the latter episode, Barney eventually told Nora that he had "slept with another woman". He failed to inform her that the woman in question was her colleague and the woman who had introduced them . . . namely Robin. Then he dumped Nora. What the fuck? This unpleasant task was followed with a scene in which Robin silently conveyed to Barney that she decided to keep their night of illicit sex as a secret from Kevin. Barney ended up crying in his milk, because Robin decided to stay with Kevin. And how did I feel? I realized that I could not give a shit . . . about either Barney or Robin. 

Wait. It got worse. At the end of (7.11) "The Rebound Girl", Robin informed Barney that she might be pregnant. Even worse, he might be the father, since she has yet to have sex with Kevin. This bit of information had me rolling my eyes with disbelief. In (7.12) "Symphony of Illumination", Robin discovered that she was not pregnant. Her celebration was short-lived, when her doctor informed that she could never have children. This last plot twist disgusted me to no end. 

Why? Why in the hell did Thomas and Bays use to plot line for Robin in the first damn place? For what purpose? They revealed in a few interviews that Robin's discovery about her inability to conceive would drive her to become more career-oriented. Really? How lame! They could have simply continued to use Robin's dislike of motherhood to explain why she never had kids. Why in the hell did they bother to use this "inability to have kids" plot line, straight out of a Ross Hunter production from the late 1950s and early 60s? It is so Lana Turner. Did they honestly believe that the only way for Robin to remain sympathetic was for her to be physically denied the chance to get pregnant, instead of simply disliking the idea of being a mother? Or was this simply another addition to the Robin/Barney soap opera, leading to their eventual marriage? 

What makes Robin and Barney's romance even harder to swallow is the fact that I do not find their romantic chemistry all that exciting. In fact, I find it rather dull. Both Harris and Smulders had great chemistry when portraying their characters as close friends, or whenever Robin repelled one of Barney's cheap come-ons. But when it came to portraying serious romance between the two, I found the chemistry between Harris and Smulders as exciting as a piece of wood. Smulders had better chemistry with Radnor during Robin's romance with Ted. In the Season Two episode, (2.05) "The World's Greatest Couple", Lily had moved into Barney's apartment to help him stave off persistent one-night stands. Harris and Hannigan had more chemistry in that one episode than he ever did with Smulders. He even had better chemistry with Boniadi, when her Nora character was at its most one-dimensional.

The Barney/Robin soap opera seemed to have affected the characters of Ted, Marshall Eriksen (Jason Segel) and Lily Aldrin (Alyson Hannigan). I realize that "HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER" is not solely about Ted's search for his future wife. Six seasons of the series have proven this. But Ted, Marshall and Lily have been treated as supporting characters in compare to Barney and Robin. They have been given silly "B" plots in most of the season's episodes, despite the fact that Marshall and Lily are expecting their first child and Ted is supposed to be the series' leading character. while viewers (at least those who, like myself, are not Barney/Robin shippers) have been forced to swallow the barely digestible Barney/Robin love fest of Season Seven. The balance between all five characters have been off ever since the producers had decided to engage in Barney and Robin's "love story" this past year.

Will the great Robin/Barney love fest abate at least a little by the second half of Season Seven? I hope so, but I have doubts. Barney is scheduled for his own wedding sometime in the near future, thanks to a flash forward seen in the season premiere, (7.01) "The Best Man". Like many viewers, I suspect that the bride in question is likely to be Robin. When the series' first two seasons led toward Marshall and Lily's wedding in (2.21) "Something Borrowed", their characters did not overshadow the other three with dominant appearances throughout the first two seasons. Yet, Thomas and Bays have bombarded viewers with episodes centering around Robin and Barney during this past year. Why? I suspect to satisfy the growing number of Barney/Robin shippers that seemed to have materialize over the past few seasons. 

Now, is it really two much to ask for the producers to get over their Barney/Robin obsession and return the balance for all five characters? Is it? Many fans of the show had complained about the quality of Season Six. Mind you, the last season did not feature "HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER" at its best. But I managed to enjoy it a hell of a lot better than Season Seven. If this Robin/Barney love fest get any worse, Craig Thomas and Carter Bays is going to lose a fan . . . namely me.

Five Favorite Episodes of "ONCE UPON A TIME" - Season One (2011-2012)

Below is a list of my top five favorite episodes from Season One of "ONCE UPON A TIME". The series was created by Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz:


FIVE FAVORITE EPISODES OF "ONCE UPON A TIME" - Season One (2011-2012)



1. (1.18) "The Stable Boy" - This very interesting episode revealed the origins of the Evil Queen's antipathy toward Snow White. In the present, Mary Margaret Blanchard (aka Snow White) faces prosecution for Kathryn Nolan's alleged murder.





2. (1.07) "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter" - Sheriff Graham begins to remember his life as The Huntsman in the Enchanted Forest, while Emma Swan begins to wonder if she is falling for him. A fascinating, yet tragic episode.





3. (1.11) "Fruit of the Poisonous Tree" - This episode reveals the back story of newspaper editor Sidney Glass' life as a Genie in the Enchanted Forest, and how his relationship with the Evil Queen led him to become the Magic Mirror.





4. (1.15) "Red-Handed" - While Emma makes former waitress Ruby her assistant in the sheriff's office, flashbacks reveal the latter's life as Red Riding Hood, culminating in a very surprising twist.





5. (1.12) "Skin Deep" - While Emma suspects that Mr. Gold (aka Rumplestiltskin) will seek vigilante justice against the person who broke into his house, flashbacks reveal Rumplestiltskin's complex relationship with Belle.

"ONCE UPON A TIME" Season One (2011-2012) Photo Gallery

Below are images from Season One of ABC's "ONCE UPON A TIME".  The series stars Jennifer Morrison, Ginnifer Goodwin, Josh Dallas, Lana Parrilla and Robert Carlyle: 

"ONCE UPON A TIME" Season One (2011-2012) Photo Gallery

The Meaning of Colors

THE MEANING OF COLORS

Several years ago, I came across an old website about Wiccan practices and meanings. I was surprised to discover that even before the advent of Wicca in the early 20th century, Pagan worshipers associated colors with certain meanings. And those meanings turned out to be quite different than many people would today assume. 

Unlike today’s societies - especially in the Western world - white or light did not automatically mean something good, pure or noble. In fact, even the white wedding dress has nothing to do with the lack of sexual experience or innocence of the bride. The white wedding dress started out as a fashion trend . . . and remains one to this day. This fashion trend was created by Britain's Queen Victoria when she married Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg in 1840. The young queen wanted to show that she was just a "simple" woman getting married, so she wore a white dress. She also wanted to incorporate some lace into her dress. Queen Mary of Scots wore a white wedding gown when she married Francis, Dauphin of France. Why? Because white was her favorite color. Before Victoria, women usually wore their best outfit for their wedding. 

So, what was the color white associated with . . . at least in Pagan circles? Simple. The color was associated with psychic pursuits, psychology, dreams, astral projection, imagination and reincarnation. Apparently moral goodness or purity has nothing to do with the color white. At least in old Pagan terms. Which leads me to this question . . . why do today’s Western societies insist that white has anything to do with moral goodness or purity?

Finally, we come to the color black. As many people should know, modern Western societies tend to associate black or anything dark as something evil or negative. There are probably other societies that do the same. Fictional characters associated with evil in many science-fiction/fantasy stories are usually associated with black. Sorcery that has a negative effect upon someone is either called "black magic" or "the Dark Arts" (at least with the "HARRY POTTER" and Buffyverse franchises. The "STAR WARS"franchise usually refer to evil as "the Dark Side of the Force". In the "ONCE UPON A TIME" television series, the Rumpelstiltskin character was also called "the Dark One". Why? As it turned out, some entity called "the Darkness" had entered his body after he had stabbed the former holder of "the Dark One" title. Apparently, show runners Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz could not find a name for the entity and called it "The Darkness" - automatically associating its black coloring with evil. Now it seems that the series’ main character, Emma Swan, has been given the name, due to the entity entering her body. As for magic, sorcery, or even psychic abilities in many of these movies and television shows, it is clear that their creators/show runners associate dark or black with evil and light or white with goodness. 

Ironically, long time Pagans associated the color black with the following - binding, protection, neutralization, karma, death manifestation and will power. Someone might say - "A ha! Death manifestation! That can be considered as something negative or evil." Can it? Why is death constantly regarded as something negative? Because people are incapable of truly facing the idea of death. It is a natural part of our life span and yet, many people cannot accept it. And because of this negative attitude toward death, society associates death with . . . you guess it . . . the color black. Apparently the Pagans believed differently and did not associate black with anything evil or negative.

I have one last statement to make. I have noticed a growing trend on Internet message boards and forums for television shows and movies that deal with science-fiction and fantasy. This trend features a tendency by many of these fans to automatically associatewhite/light with goodness and black/dark with evil. The fans on these message boards no longer use the words "good" and "evil" anymore. Honestly. I am deadly serious. These fans either use the words light (lightness) or white; or . . . dark (darkness) or black. Why? And why do the creators of these television shows and movie franchises resort to the same behavior? I have to wonder. By associating anything black or dark with evil, are they associating anything or anyone with dark or black skin with evil? I suspect that many would say "of course not". Considering the notorious reputation of science-fiction/fantasy fans (or geeks) of being racist, I have to wonder.