An Advertiser's New Approach

With less and less people watching live television, advertisers are straining to reach an audience. As long as Netflix is around, we can expect commercials to have diminishing effects on viewers, simply because more and more people are binge watching this commercial-free medium. DVR is also last fault for letting viewers completely skip over commercial breaks. As an avid television viewer, I love the technological advancements that have let me cheat advertisements, but as a future employee of the television world, I know advertisements will keep my job afloat. Our careers run on the finances of advertisers so we have to acknowledge the problem that less people are watching them. So how to fix this issue....

Concepts like product placement and branded entertainment have not been getting the credit they deserve. While not necessarily the most glorious options, these two concepts have found a way to link entertainment with advertising, sometimes without the viewer even noticing. Product placement puts a company's logo or product seamlessly into a scene with an organic touch. Perhaps there is a Coke can sitting in front of Ted Mosby in an episode of How I Met Your Mother. This is great exposure for the brand, and viewers may subconsciously notice it but it doesn't take away from the scene. This could be done during the filming process or even thrown in during post production. Episodes of Friends have been edited to show a box of Oreos on the table while the characters are sitting around it carrying on conversations. This could be much more beneficial for Coke and Oreos rather than a commercial that may never been seen by the viewer. With the reruns of How I Met Your Mother and Friends on Netflix, those are the products you will still see today versus whatever advertisements were played during the commercial break when they aired.


Branded entertainment is a similar concept except that it has much more control than product placement. In branded entertainment, a company will pay a production studio to create the show they desire and will obviously include their brand in a beneficial way. IKEA created a web series, "Easy to Assemble", that generated a lot of buzz and many guest stars, flag shipping this new way of advertising. The main character was an employee for IKEA, so the brand was included but there was a storyline with the characters that was separate from the furniture store. Branded entertainment can be a subtle way to advertise your company while still allowing a lot of creative control with plots and characters, without being overbearing.

If company's can find a way to integrate advertising without distracting the viewers from the content, it could be a win-win for everyone.

How I Met Your Mother had the WORST Finale Episode EVER

*SPOILER ALERT*

How I Met Your Mother was a television sitcom that had a total of 9 seasons and ended in 2014. The show was amazing, following a group of friends, Ted, Barney, Marshall, Lily, and Robin. The main plot line, derived from the name of the show, was listening to Ted Mosby tell the very long, detailed story of how he met his wife, to his children. This series was critically acclaimed and loved by a lot of people...until those last five minutes in the season finale. The WHOLE SHOW was based on finding the mother, and in the last five minutes they kill her off and Ted ends up with Robin?! No no no no no no no no no.

This was so disappointing, because not only were Ted and Tracy the cutest couple ever, what was the point of Barney and Robin even getting married in the first place? Maybe their excuse was that they didn't want to be predictable, or just the opposite, they wanted to make the fans happy and give them the relationship they wanted from the beginning; Ted and Robin. There was an overwhelmingly negative reaction to the finale, and I don't think that's what the producers and writers wanted. One thing I must admit is, that the show was never about the mother in the first place, it was about Ted. In the title, the "I" is the subject and the "Mother" is just the object. So we did need all those years to realize the type of man that Ted was before he did meet the mother. However, when Ted reveals at the end of the finale that the person he was talking about the whole time was the children's "Aunt Robin," the show suddenly became about her, and not Ted.

Just because the writers always pictured a happy ending between Ted and Robin, doesn't mean that that's how the show had to end. I stand by my statement that Ted and Robin should NOT have ended up together because this was basically just a cop out. They made such a BIG deal about Ted finally letting go of Robin and spent a lot of time focusing on that so that his heart would be ready when he did meet the mother. So all in all, I think that the ending was terrible, and for me, it ruined what I used to consider one of my favorite shows, and that is a sad fact.

How I Met My Deep, Wallowing Sadness

SPOILER ALERT: 

This post is going to talk a lot about How I Met Your Mother and it's ending, so if you don't know how it ends, I would advise not reading it. That's especially if you're actively watching it on Netflix, like I did for two straight months.

If you don't care, please read on. I'm basically going to talk about how this show RUINED MY LIFE. I think you might understand if you just hear me out here. 

If you've never seen the show or never heard of it, it's a tale of Ted Mosby, portrayed by Josh Radnor, telling the story of how he met his children's mother through a series of flashbacks. The series pilot starts off with him sitting down his kids and asking them if they ever heard the story of how he met their mother. But, the flashbacks, however, start with him meeting a woman, Robin Scherbatsky portrayed by Cobie Smulders, who he finds amazing, that he goes on a date with, but is ultimately not the mother of his children. He deliberately tells them that that's how he met their Aunt Robin. But, she still plays one of the most important parts in the entire show. I would've never guessed why. You know, especially seeing how she just held Ted by a string for almost the ENTIRE SERIES.

Her not being the mother was very predictable. Why give away the whole point of the show in the first episode? But, it plagued me, there was a reason why she started the story. There was a reason for almost everything in this show. The continuity was practically spotless and if our narrator told us we'd get back to something, we most definitely would. It was just a matter of time. So, of course there had to be a specific reason for Ted to meet Robin in the first episode, why he started off a story about his wife with her. Are you piecing things together yet? I certainly didn't. 

 

So I could give you a run down of the entire series, how I grew so attached to all of the characters, no matter their little quirks, and how I was so attached to Ted finding "the one" he was going to spend the rest of his life and have a family with. But I won't. I'll just let you know that when I say attached, I mean I feel like this show was MY CHILD, and it just grew up and tore me apart. By season nine, I was on the edge of my seat to find out who the mother was. And, you do, she's this tiny, pretty woman who is basically the female version of Ted, named Tracy (referred to commonly among fans as "The Mother") The idea of her and Ted together to me was the cutest thing in the world, they worked so well. However, we did not see much of her, just a few flashbacks, most of which she was meeting other members of Ted's gang and not actually Ted. I wanted so desperately to see the two of them together more. But I didn't.

Instead, the final episode revealed that the Mother has actually passed away a few years prior to Ted telling this story to his kids. And, that the reason for the entire story was to warm them up to the idea of him and Robin (what no way!!!) finally becoming a perma-couple. The kids are okay with it, and so he and Robin ultimately end up together. This ties everything together, and I should feel closure over it, but I CAN'T. I'm pretty late to the party, but this show flawlessly and deeply hurt me. 

Neil Patrick Harris Defends HIMYM Finale

WARNING: spoilers ahead

If somehow you still haven't heard about how the HIMYM series ends, do not read any further!


When the beloved show How I Met Your Mother aired it's season finale a few weeks back, many viewers were outraged.  How could they drag the show on for 9 seasons and the mother is dead the entire time? Everyone who was rooting for Barney and Robin were left disappointed, and many fans felt that the ending was "an easy way out."

The show's star, Neil Patrick Harris, made an appearance on "Late Show."  He told Letterman he was a big proponent of the season finale.  Harris defended the ending, saying that Barney isn't the type of character that is going to settle down and change out of the blue.  "You want Barney to be the guy you bring your mom home to, but Barney is the guy that wants to bang your mom," Harris told Letterman.
He continued to defend HIMYM, saying that "sometimes people's growth doesn't mean they grow up."

Do you agree with Neil Patrick Harris? Watch the video below, and decide for yourself what you think.

The Difficulty of a Pilot Episode

As of late I have started writing the pilot episode for a web series that I created. The show is nothing special. Just two friends from high school who go to college together. But as this is my first time writing a legit show where there is development and characters and a full on story, there were some really interesting things I learned about writing a pilot episode that usually makes it the weakest of any of the episodes in a series. If I think back to some of my favorite shows, Psych, How I met your Mother, Family Guy, I find that the pilot episode is usually one of the least memorable episodes. Now that I am writing my own show I think I have figured out why it is so difficult, especially when writing a comedy.

1. Developing the Characters
In the pilot episode the author has a very limited time to portray a character and who he/she might be. You need to develop them in a way that lets the audience know who they are right out of the gate. There can't be any dillydally, you have to get right to the point. It needs to be established early on the type of person each character is.

2. The Plot
The plot is the key in any pilot episode, it has to run really smoothly, mostly because without a good plot people lose interest in your story really fast. (Apparently bad stories don't make good television).

3. It has to be funny
The biggest difficulty in writing a comedy pilot is the fact that along with having to introduce the characters, you have to make the story funny at the same time. Now that I have finished the pilot episode I cannot tell you how much easier it was to write the second episode. In the pilot the audience needs to have the characters mapped out for them. In the second episode, people already know who is who and know what each character is going to be like. This allows for a lot less build up and you can go right into the story.

4. Not everyone is going to think it is funny.
It is a very humbling experience to read your script to a room full of your friends and have some laugh their heads off, and others sit there without once smiling. This was something I had to deal with early on as I realized that in the world we live in you can never write or shoot something that is for everyone. By trying to appeal to everyone, you end up appealing to no one. The best chance you have is to hope you are really as funny as you think you are.

Well... there you go, here is a little bit of a reflection on my experience in writing a pilot episode. It was a really difficult but great learning experience because it differed so much from writing a sketch, where you can just take one funny idea and run with it.

What I look for in TV shows

I'm very specific with what shows I give my time to since recently I don't seem to have lot of it. Unfortunately I just finished the episodes of Doctor Who on Netflix and am in this television limbo where I don't have a show anymore. Of course the obvious question now is What should I watch next? I could just passively follow Netflix's intense suggestions and advertisement and watch Orange is the New Black but I don't think Netflix entirely understands my taste. That made me start thinking, what do I look for in TV shows? The past shows I intensely followed were Scrubs, 30 Rock, It's South Park, How I Met Your Mother, Doctor Who, and Arrested Development. The first thing I noticed is that I love shows that can make me laugh. So obviously it'll have to be some kind of sitcom or comedy. All of these shows had very strong characters that I easily Sympathized for. JD from scrubs, The Doctor from Doctor Who, and Ted from How I Met Your Mother are all strong, quirky, but powerful characters. They all have such a passion for people whether they're looking for a wife in Ted's case or they're saving the universe in the Doctor's case. All of these characters demonstrate a passion for people and that's what I think I love so much. It reminds of how we talked about creating a backbone for a character that influences every decision they make. For Ted he's always looking for a wife. For JD it's trying to help the patient. For the Doctor it's protecting all forms of life. That aspect of deeper meaning in shows is what I really love.

The next quality I think the writing. All of the shows I've listed here are so beautifully written. In Arrested Development almost every line is joke that also pushes the story line forward. In Doctor Who there are so many different story arch's beautifully intwined in each other that I can't even comprehend how they do it. For 30 Rock the characters are all so exaggerated but the situations and dialogue they're given makes it all seem like a normal thing.  Southpark still blows me away because they make it all seem so stupid and crude but are still able to make informative statements on current events. That's something I really respect because I have no idea how they do it.

The third quality I think I look for is a show that makes statements about current issues. I feel like it's hard to get a lot of people to informatively look into a current issue and have a stance on it but I think TV can help show people an exaggerated version of both sides. 30 Rock very obviously did it especially during the 2012 election. As I stated about South Park earlier, it does a really nice job on that but it also makes both sides look equally ridiculous so no one group of people feel put off by it. Doctor Who has been involving many characters who represent their stance on same sex marriages. It shows to me that they are paying attention and are really trying to make a difference with their medium.

Going from here and with suggestions from friends I think I will be starting Parks And Recreation this weekend. All I've been hearing about it from friends is how great all the characters are and how good it is.

More on How I Met Your Mother

This week I am going to blog about the ever-popular (and already blogged about...) show "How I Met Your Mother". I've been a big fan of the show ever since I binge-watched it last Thanksgiving break. I think the characters are all interesting and they have a great chemistry with each other that is very believable. I also love the concept of the show and the character development throughout the show. The characters reflect the imperfect human striving for their dreams (and failing often). That being said, I was surprised at how this season (season 9) is turning out.

I am a firm believer of sticking with shows till the end. I especially wanted to stick with this show because I thought it would be pretty nice to meet the mother. Ted has been talking about meeting her for quite a while now! I sat down and watched the two newest episodes. I enjoyed them a lot, but there was one thing that was very different from the previous seasons. This whole season (24 episodes) will be of one weekend. This was something that I was not expecting. I get that it is a very important weekend since it's [spoilers] Barney and Robin's wedding, but a whole season in one weekend!? This should be interesting. 

This whole premise reminds me of the suspense show, "24". I'm hoping that "How I Met Your Mother" (HIMYM) will keep the same amount of interest (without all of the terrorist threats and gun shoot-outs) as "24". I do have fears that HIMYM will end up dragging along and over-analyzing the characters. There are definitely going to be new problems that pop up that need fixing, and old problems that get way too dramatic. However the show does go, I will be watching it faithfully, anticipating the moment when Ted meets the mother. 

The Mysterious Girl With The Yellow Umbrella

When How I Met Your Mother first aired on September 2005, everyone expected a light-hearted comedy about how a man met his wife. I don’t think anyone thought that now, eight years later, we would just begin our introduction to “the mother”. The show is based around a middle-aged man, Ted Mosby, telling his two teenage children the story of how, exactly, he me their mother. The last eight years have consisted of hilarious stories that stress Ted’s need for a successful relationship. We have watched as Ted whined about being single, dated countless women, applied for an online dating website, was left at the alter and many other failed attempts to meet the impossible vision he had for the love of his life. As we watched Ted fail over and over again, we began to loose hope that, despite the show’s name, we would ever find out how he met his children’s mother, and more importantly, who the mother actually is.  Finally, during the season eight finale, over nine million viewers received the answer they’ve desperately waited for.

Within the many stories Ted has told his children, we have discovered that his future wife owns an iconic yellow umbrella. In the last few minutes of the finale when all of the other characters were preparing to meet their friends in Farhampton, the woman with a yellow umbrella, Broadway actress Cristin Miloti, steps up to the ticket booth and says, “Hi. One ticket to Farhampton, please.” And in that instant, the question that nine million viewers were asking shifted from “Who the heck is the mother” to “Who the heck is that lady?”

We had endlessly paired Ted up with people in his friend group, have imagined him getting back together with his ex’s and even more. But very few of us figured that he would meet someone completely new to the show. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly Josh Radner, the actor who plays Ted Mosby, said, “I think it would be more interesting to have this fresh, exciting face that Ted has never seen before and neither have people who watch the show.”

Moreover, the actress herself is one I haven’t heard of. But maybe that’s for the best.  After eight years of trying to figure out the hopeless puzzle of who Ted’s wife would be, a quick snapshot of her face in the eighth finale was not enough for me. I instantly wanted to know all I could about her. But, Cristin Miloti is not a famous name. She is not Sarah Chalke, actress on Scrubs, or Rachel Bilson, star of The O.C. or even Jennifer Morrison, from television series House and Once Upon A Time or any of the other possible “mothers” the show has teased us with in the past. We have not spent months watching Cristin Miloti on other shows, we have not watched how she acted in the public eye and we have not questioned her morals playing other television characters. Basically, we have no idea who the heck she is, and this clean slate is rather refreshing.

This past Monday, September 23, How I Met Your Mother Season 9 premiered on CBS and  viewers tuned in with the hope that more of their questions would be answered. However, they were quickly disappointed. The season premiere started with a very basic title screen that read “56 hours before the wedding”. The two-part premiere covered only two of those hours. That leaves viewers to believe, as they have been complaining about on Facebook and Twitter, that the rest of the final season will consist of the hours leading up to the wedding. It is even possible that we may have to wait until the finale to finally watch Ted and “the mother” meet. The producers are dangling yet another mystery right there, in front of our faces.

So has this mystery been dragged out too long for the shows own good?  In the past, the show has lost a lot of viewers and has gained negative press for holding the answer to such an important question. I mean, I’m all for a good plot twist but eight years? Although it’s refreshing to know that executive producers Carter Bays and Craig Thomas are done playing games with who the Mother is, it’s still overwhelming to have to question how long it will be until “the mother” and Ted cross paths.

Overall the premiere’s nonstop comedy, quirky characteristics and the lighthearted drama met my exceedingly high expectations. Although the episode was not shot at the gang's iconic bar, I liked the use of locations and the way each new setting was designed. Also, I enjoyed the lighting and took notice that when Ted goes to the airport against Lilly's wishes he is lit in a dark manner while scenes in the the fancy hotel meant for wedding guests are lit very bright, in fact almost, at times, overexposed. The episode itself follows the five main characters as they travel to Barney and Robin’s wedding. Marshal’s trip includes an airplane ride where he worries about how he will tell his wife about his newest job offer. Barney and Robin contemplate their wedding guests and realize there is a slight possibility that they may or may not be related. Ted and Lilly’s road trip to the wedding is filled with bickering that causes Lilly to get out of the car and board a train. On the train, Lilly begins to have a nervous breakdown and one of the passengers turn around and takes notice. Ted narrates this scene, “And that’s how Lilly met your mother”. Maybe it's little hints like these that are enough for the show to capture our attention. And, hopefully the show will soon end without any unanswered questions so we can live the next eight years in peace.

How I Met Your Mother

The CBS hit sitcom How I Met Your Mother, is a series starring Ted Mosby, a young single man living in New York City, searching for the girl of his dreams. The show begins with a flash-forward to 2030, where Ted sits in front of his children telling them the story of how he met their mother. His stories include four other main characters along the way: Marshall and Lily, his best friends from college who have been in a relationship since freshman year, Robin, his on and off Canadian love interest, and Barney, his out-of-box friend. While together, they encounter an assortment of obstacles with their families, relationships, and daily life.

The show is now in it’s eighth season, where multiple pieces of the plot have greatly developed, except for who the mother is. Marshall and Lily are happily married, living in their original New York City apartment with their baby, Marvin. Barney and Robin are now engaged and looking to get married, which due to last season’s finale, the viewer can assume it will be by the end of this season. The only question left is who is Ted’s wife? We have seen glimpses of her under an umbrella and of her ankles, but we have never met her before.

The show was just renewed for their ninth and final season on CBS. So the question remains, will we find out who the wife will be this season or next season? In my opinion, I think that they should reveal it this season because they could lose a lot of viewers if they continue to put it off. If Barney and Robin do in fact get married at the end of this season, then it is implied that he will meet his wife following the wedding. I also think this would be the best option because then the viewer would see Ted and his wife’s relationship develop for a season rather than at the end of the show.

Overall, I love this show and I am an avid follower of it. I cannot stop watching it in hopes that we find out who the wife is sooner rather than later, but I still find it to be a great show.