“How I Met Your Mother” — Moving Day
It’s nice to have the kids back after a lengthy hiatus. The laughs were good in this episode, especially Marshall questioning whether the past tense of “provide” is “provode,” and NPH’s great Letterman impression (complete with shattering glass) during the final scene [Update on 3.21.07, watch an extended version of this scene on MySpace; NSFW].
Though what I found most enjoyable was that a sitcom (where the golden rule is to never change) actually had me believing that Ted would move in with Robin and that Lily and Marshall would live alone (and give Ted’s room to Barney so that he’d be closer to the bar). Of course this was never going to happen. It can’t happen. Like any sitcom, there’s too much of an emotional investment in the apartment. Still, for most of the episode I thought that it certainly could. Thanks to some clever slight of hand, a story about Barney stealing Ted’s furniture eventually morphed into Ted and Robin realizing they’re happier living apart.
Interesting sidebar question: can you think of any sitcoms where the principle location changed during its run? The only one I can think of would be The Mary Tyler Moore Show — she moved apartments a few seasons into the series run.
March 20th, 2007 at 1:29 pm
Good question. The only thing I can think of right away is Saved by the Bell, when they spent those summers at the resort working, but that was only temporary.
March 20th, 2007 at 1:47 pm
Didn’t Jack move out of the apartment in 3’s Company near the end of its run? And most of the episode took place in the restaurant?
March 20th, 2007 at 2:02 pm
Laverne & Shirley moved from Milwaukee to Los Angeles. New sets, new actors as neighbors.
MASH (M means mobile!) moved locations for a short time in many episodes.
March 20th, 2007 at 2:04 pm
I Love Lucy changed apartments, and then moved to Connecticut from NYC.
March 20th, 2007 at 2:13 pm
I Love Lucy is a great example… there was also that season in LA.
March 20th, 2007 at 2:26 pm
Ooh — a blog with mp3s from shows! Is that already done?
March 20th, 2007 at 2:41 pm
i’m pretty sure the family in the cosby show lived in a different brownstone (smaller, more apartmenty-looking) during the first season– or the first episodes in the first season. however, there was never a storyline about moving, so i think it was supposed to be the same location… probably doesn’t count.
March 20th, 2007 at 3:01 pm
Growing Pains — Mike moved to the garage, then the city..
March 20th, 2007 at 3:20 pm
Don’t ask me why I remember this, but the first episode (the pilot) of Hanging With Mister Cooper was filmed on the Growing Pains set, then either the second episode or sometime in season 1 they built their own set.
Come on, everybody who was of a certain age used to watch all of TGIF, regardless of what was on it…
March 20th, 2007 at 7:14 pm
I actually just read today that the last episode of “NewsRadio” had the station move from New York to rural New Hampshire. Supposedly they would’ve stayed there if the show had been renewed for another season. Talk about jumping the shark.
perfect strangers had the main characters moving into a house with their girlfriends in the last season, but the show might’ve been temporarily canceled before that final season. The characters were always changing jobs and workplaces anyway.