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How I Met Your Mother: Season 1
  • Network: CBS
  • Series Premiere Date: Sep 19, 2005
  • Season #: 0 , 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 7
Metascore
69 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 25 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 25
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 25
  3. Negative: 3 out of 25
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  1. Orlando Sentinel
    Reviewed by: Hal Boedeker
    100
    Romantic comedies depend on appealing actors, and these five are irresistible.
  2. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Henry Goldblatt
    91
    We never thought we'd laugh out loud with a laugh track again. [23 Sep 2005, p.81]
    All this critic's reviews
  3. San Jose Mercury News/Contra Costa Times
    Reviewed by: Charlie McCollum
    90
    This is a cast that jells immediately, hitting on all cylinders from the very first scene.
  4. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Robert Bianco
    88
    The script is humorous, though not hilarious, and the show boasts a fine cast that could, with time, jell into a great one.
  5. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Maureen Ryan
    80
    Manages to get the balance of cuddliness and snark just right.
  6. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Robert Lloyd
    80
    A considerably above-average Generation Y sitcom that manages to be both sharp and sentimental, like "Seinfeld" with feeling.
  7. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: Jonathan Storm
    80
    How I Met Your Mother is that rare TV comedy that relies more on character than jokes.
  8. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Matthew Gilbert
    80
    Like ''Friends," this is not a big-themed series so much as a bunch of little character jokes and relationship confusions getting batted around by an able cast.
  9. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Barry Garron
    80
    "How I Met Your Mother" introduces a level of unpredictability not usually found in comedies.
  10. Cleveland Plain Dealer
    Reviewed by: Mark Dawidziak
    80
    What truly makes the Bays-Thomas collaboration smarter than your average sitcom is the storytelling chances taken by the script.
  11. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: David Hinckley
    75
    The format is unusual, and the ending of the premiere nicely surprising - but the element that pushes this show into the potential hit category is Neil Patrick Harris.
  12. Detroit Free Press
    Reviewed by: Mike Duffy
    75
    You know you're in the presence of a fresh, original sitcom when you don't even mind the laugh track.
  13. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Robert Abele
    70
    Time will tell if viewers take to this quintet as completely as they did [Friends'] Central Perk crew... but it seems as if How I Met Your Mother is the most legitimate knockoff yet of that youthful-urbanite juggernaut.
  14. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: Melanie McFarland
    70
    "How I Met Your Mother" may not break any comedic ground, but it's the sort of comfortable, reliable hitter CBS needs on Monday nights.
  15. Newsday
    Reviewed by: Verne Gay
    70
    Could... become a very pleasant surprise.
  16. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
    Reviewed by: Rob Owen
    70
    Cute but not overly cuddly, there's an authenticity to the relationships in "Mother" that makes it a comedy worth meeting.
  17. New York Magazine (Vulture)
    Reviewed by: John Leonard
    60
    Not so funny but genuinely touching.
  18. The A.V. Club
    60
    The premise is a winner, and the cast... couldn't be more appealing. But the overtly sitcom-y beats and one-liners seem overworked.
  19. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Alessandra Stanley
    60
    The writing does not yet live up to the show's premise, but the series has potential to improve.
  20. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Tom Shales
    60
    It is a little better than most other sitcoms, past and present -- especially those featuring wacky urban friends in their twenties experiencing the bittersweet mysteries of life.
  21. Kansas City Star
    Reviewed by: Aaron Barnhart
    60
    A viewer-friendly diversion.
  22. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Linda Stasi
    50
    The plot is clever and there's a nice twist at the end, but the actors haven't found a rhythm, nor have they developed any chemistry.
  23. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Doug Elfman
    38
    The script is just poor.
  24. PopMatters
    Reviewed by: Michael Abernethy
    30
    The comedy that does occur in How I Met Your Mother isn't enough to compensate for its inconsistencies.
  25. The New Republic
    Reviewed by: Lee Siegel
    20
    Cloying [and] lackluster.
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User Reviews

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User Score
8.5 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 369 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 129 out of 153
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 153
  3. Negative: 21 out of 153
  1. HR
    10
    I had avoided the show, it didn't sound sooo compelling, but after the first episode I was immediately hooked. This show easily tops "Friends", and makes my wife and me laugh out loudly. It's funny, it's versatile, and the acting is totally impressive - because it's convincing. A real gem!… Full Review »
  2. JohnR
    10
    Awesome!
  3. [Anonymous]
    0
    How is this show still on TV...it should never have made it past ep. 2. Even the canned laugh track is getting tired of this show.
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