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How I Met Your Father (2022)
Mediocre premise, Mediocre execution
How I Met Your Mother (HIMYM) was a brilliant show. It had a cast of characters, all developed and well rounded, with humour that was effortlessly entertaining for anyone who watched it. It did not matter if HIMYM was your favourite show, its appeal was undeniable.
Still, the ending made many people mad. I agree with these people - it was an ending suited more to the slightly more surface-level first season than it was to the fully developed, brilliant show it was in the middle seasons.
When a spinoff for HIMYM was announced, I expected it to be some kind of epilogue to the original series, an attempt to undo all the harm the finale caused. Instead, they decided to take the premise of HIMYM, gender flip it, and assume that the audience doesn't understand basic concepts.
The premise of HIMYM was not groundbreaking or anything, but it was different from some other shows from its time. It basically has a man as the romance obsessed archetype, a role normally reserved for the starry-eyed quirky girl next-door character so popular at the time. HIMYM was good because it took this premise, and from it birthed characters with depth, and meaning, and purpose, who grew and changed from one episode to the next, unlike the incredibly episodic style of shows like Friends where the characters really do not change all that much throughout the show. How I Met Your Father (HIMYF) has completely missed the point of the show, instead focusing on aspects that did not need extra depth, (the mechanics of dating in a digital age) while neglecting to create a compelling cast.
Given that HIMYF has flipped the gender of the romance-obsessed lead, we are right back in stereotypical gender roles, even in this show that is trying so hard to be progressive in our current environment. Now, I understand that some of the concepts brought in could have been turned into a truly great comedy, but the jokes in this show do not land. They simply are not funny. The only reason I even know that some of the lines that could easily have just been plain speech were jokes was the laugh track in the background. This technique is incredibly dated, and was phased out long ago. In this show, it simply serves to date the format and point out to the viewer exactly how many jokes you do not like.
Really, this show is good for nothing. The premise was not immediately going to force the show into low quality content, but HIMYF has failed to rise to the challenge. The jokes are not bad, they just do not work. The show is not as wildly horrible as some fans predicted, in fact; it is not even bad enough to be laughed out. It is simply a depressing exercise in mediocre television. I will say though, this show is likely going to be underrated due to its connection to How I Met Your Mother, a show where the jokes landed, the characters were compelling, and nothing could ever have been described as mediocre.
One of Us Is Lying (2021)
Does not meet any of the book's standards
I, personally, adored the book One Of Us Is Lying. It was suspenseful, kept you on the edge of your seat, and had that 'must read' feel, where you absolutely had to know what was going to happen next. While this book was a mystery, it was quite focused on the characters, with plot points sometimes being out of their control. This allowed the book to focus on what they thought, what they felt, who they were, and how they could get themselves out of the mess they were in. The show, however, is unable to meet any of the standards set by the book.
Like I said earlier, the book was mainly focused on the characters. Reading the book, you get to know everyone, from our main four to the side characters. The show is consistently fails on this front. From minor issues (the wardrobe of characters going completely against the majority of their character and characterisation, mainly noticeable in Nate and Bronwyn) to major personality changes, the characters don't quite seem like 3 dimensional people, and more like the archetypes that the book set out to subvert. I could talk for hours about this, but I'll try to be concise with a few examples.
Bronwyn - In the books, Bronwyn is smart, yes, but that is only a single facet of her personality. She's a bit snarky, knows who she is, and can be determined, even in the face of lots of stress. In the show, her character seems to be boiled down to simply a smart girl who had trouble in class and cheated a bit. She doesn't have much personality, and is far less compelling than the books.
Ashton - She was one of the biggest influencers in Addy's redemption arc. As Addy's older sister, she served as an example of what could go wrong by simply following their mother's plans, and had opinions about Addy and her life while still caring for her unconditionally. She was instrumental in Addy's breakup with Jake, encouraging her to tell him the truth, and then helping her reinvent herself after their ensuing breakup. She put the pressure on Addy to do better, to be herself, to reflect on what Jake was putting her through and whether or not that was healthy in any way. In the show, she does not exist, and I can't get over it.
Now, aside from the characters, the other main appeal of the book was the plot. It was enticing, confusing, and drew you in to the point where you had to know what happened next. The book revealed information in a very drawn out way, tugging on your imagination until finally flipping all your preconceptions on their heads. For example, Simon hasn't posted the week before his death. At all. No spoilers, none of that. Detention happens, he dies, and later, the police find the posts. In addition to that, the seeming confessions that plague our main four are not posted on About That, as that gives away far too much of the plot. No, they're posted on a non-descript tumblr blog, and emailed from a secure network anonymously to students. When the death happens, we don't think that it was necessarily a murder (well, aside from the entire book existing), simply just a mixup, a sordid accident that's no one's fault. When the secrets begin to come out, you're shocked, because it was unexpected - a twist that couldn't have reasonably been predicted. In the show, all of this suspense that builds with the revelations, and how they find their way into the world, is immediately cut off with Simon's earlier posts. It completely misses the point of the books, and prevents you from getting into them. If we can guess everyone's secrets from the offset, why bother watching? After all, we can guess what happens.
In other words, the show is a pale imitation of a brilliant book. Missing the point of the plot, missing the point of the characters, it seems to have been created as a cash grab with little-to-no appropriate knowledge of what happened in the book, or what made it great. While its not a bad series, I would say that reading the book is a far better idea if you're interested in a good story, compelling characters, or actual suspense. Still, I won't fault anyone for watching this - the premise is pretty classic, and echoes other stories that we know and love.