Alyson Hannigan

This sitcom is something of a throwback but still pleasant enough.

The new breed of sitcoms discussed above differ in their locales but share high-brow aesthetics: one camera, no laugh track, surreal ellipses. In this company, the more conventional How I Met Your Mother is something of a throwback but still pleasant enough.

Structurally, it is reminiscent of the Paul Kelly song of almost the same name. It takes the form of a father in the year 2030 (Ted, voiced by Bob Saget) retelling the story of his courting of his wife, to his children: the pilot starts with the rather wet Ted (Josh Radnor) in 2005 deciding he must marry after hearing that his housemate Marshall (Jason Segel) is getting engaged to Lily (Alyson Hannigan) but flailing in his attempts to find love.

Yes, it’s a bit heavy on the rom-com sweetness but Neil Patrick Harris ( Doogie Howser, M. D.) adds countervailing spark as Ted’s best friend, Barney, playing him with the same easy obnoxiousness with which he played himself in Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle.

"Suit up," he tells Ted before they play the field and I’m instantly reminded of every Gordon Gekko wannabe I’ve met.