Blog Post #7

One of the characteristics of the TV sitcom is that patterns are repeated throughout the run of the sitcom.  This repetition of patterns may present itself in the fact that the main characters often finds themselves getting into the same situations, making the same mistakes, etc.  Often, the plot of an episode will follow a familiar shell outline, the structure of with is filled in with changes in whom the main character interacts with, or other details switched, but the overall progression of the episode follows a very familiar pattern.  This often leads to two other characteristics of the sitcom - many sitcoms end about where they begin, and there tends to be relatively little character arch.

This familiarity, though it gives to predictability, allows the viewer to know what to expect from the episode.  The interest in following the episodes is in seeing the particularities of each situation, not necessarily in following the progression of the protagonist's character.

The TV sitcom How I met your Mother presents these aspects.  Throughout Ted's lengthy recollections of the events that led up to his meeting of the mother of his children, he often gets into, or out of, or back into a relationship with one person or another.  The episodes present sequences of the stages in these relationships, and also presents a repeating side show of sorts in documenting Barney Stinson's, the self-assured womanizer, many different encounters and attempts with various women.  Throughout the progression of the sitcom, the status and/or position of the different characters may change, but overall they remain largely the same, operating in the same roles they began with.