How I Met Your Mother: Barney and... (Spoilers ahead...)

[FPAlpha]

And remember.. Han Shot First!

[Guy Gardener]

That would only be something they needed to say if they were watching one of the remastered editions.

That's sacrilege.

Did you ever see the sitcom Man Up?

As frightful as that show man have been at times, at least they were purists and only deigned to watch Empire on a 1982 betamax print... "THE WAY GOD INTENDED!"

[tighr]

Guy Gardener wrote:

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That would only be something they needed to say if they were watching one of the remastered editions.

If you pay attention, the format they watch changes in each year (in addition to numerous other Easter eggs in each flashback).

In the 2000 scene, they're watching the original VHS. In the 2006 one, they're watching DVDs. in the 2012 one, they're watching the Blu-Rays.

I'd have to go back and re-watch, but presumably its a different version in each of the flashbacks (special edition VHS didn't come out until later in 2001, I believe, and the special edition DVDs didn't come out until late 2004).

[Professor Zoom]

the G-man wrote:

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That's why Jason Segal suggested the big reveal should be Ted was telling the kids the story right after their mom's funeral

It would be more awesome if he's telling the kids the story right before he tells them their mother is dead.

[Guy Gardener]

Except that would make the kids seem like assholes.

Some of the asides that have come up over the years hardly seem sombre.

[Professor Zoom]

Guy Gardener wrote:

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Except that would make the kids seem like assholes.

I would think it would make Ted look like an asshole. Hey kids, I'm telling you this LONG story, all to lead up to this: your mom got hit by a car. She's dead.

Some of the asides that have come up over the years hardly seem sombre.

the kids don't know she's dead yet.

[FPAlpha]

I think it would be the most terrible way to end a show.. much more so than the last season of Roseanne or how Enterprise ended.

Supposedly the entire show's focus is on Ted's journey to find the love of his life and he retells that entire journey to his kids and then we find out she's dead? Way to go for a bummer ending.. i have nothing against a controversial ending (loved the Chuck finale for instance) but this show is light fun and should remain so.

[Venardhi]

tighr wrote:

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If you pay attention, the format they watch changes in each year (in addition to numerous other Easter eggs in each flashback).

In the 2000 scene, they're watching the original VHS. In the 2006 one, they're watching DVDs. in the 2012 one, they're watching the Blu-Rays.

I'd have to go back and re-watch, but presumably its a different version in each of the flashbacks (special edition VHS didn't come out until later in 2001, I believe, and the special edition DVDs didn't come out until late 2004).

He was holding the widescreen SE VHS box set.

The special edition VHS came out pretty soon after RotJ SE left theaters. They stopped selling the old box set before the SE was released(I remember wanting to buy one that wasn't SE and not being able to find one) and there was only about a year there where you couldn't buy the trilogy in stores. Possibly holiday season 2007 or early 2008?

[Timelord_Victorious]

So, Barney has moved in with Quinn and all but proposed.

Ted is a father 3 years from now, so estimating he is together with the mother in less than 2 years, assuming they don't become parents right away and most likely married.

That means the show ends somewhere between next year and the year after.

[Scout101]

If it helps your math, believe next season is the last one. That's how all the contracts work, anyway...

[Guy Gardener]

Which is when we start watching the sequel 'How I met your Father" and see how Mom had a thousand near misses with meeting Ted.

[Professor Zoom]

FPAlpha wrote:

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I think it would be the most terrible way to end a show.. much more so than the last season of Roseanne or how Enterprise ended.

I would like to think you know I was joking....

... but it would be pretty funny...

[Mr Light]

How many episodes are left this season? It feels like they're leading to Barney's wedding with the stripper (which will fail) where he meets the Mother as this season finale. I'm really, really hoping we get a full season of the Mother in the show.

[Agent Richard07]

^ It looks like we have four episodes left. Last season, I thought Barney's wedding would be this year, but seeing how slowly things are progressing, it looks like it won't happen until the end of next year. And we still don't know who the bride is. Could be the stripper, or it could be someone else. Robin isn't completely off the table yet either, though if it does end up being her, you'd have to wonder how she'd find time to be the world-traveller that future Ted suggested she was.

[tighr]

Venardhi wrote:

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Absolutely on purpose. his left hand was constantly curled or tucked awkwardly.

I went back for a re-watch, and Barney was absolutely covering his left hand. At no point was the hand in the frame. There is no way that was unintentional, because no one would sit the way he was sitting, it looked uncomfortable and completely out of character for a laidback guy like Barney.

I also specifically looked for the different box sets in each flashback. The real 2006 flashback was missing the boxset prop, so no dice there. The fake 2009 was also missing a close-up of the fake newspaper headline. The fake 2012 flashback (forward?) inexplicably had a headline about George W. Bush getting a 3rd term as President, which I imagine was an accident. That one makes more sense in the fake 2012.