Why isn't How I Met Your Mother a smash hit? - TV Squad 

Yikes! I didn't realize the show might be canceled at the end of the season, that's terrible! I guess the only reason I can think of why it's not such a huge hit is that it has a bit of the "been there, done that" feel to it (I mean, I'm a fan, but I can see where some might knock it).

Look, the jokes just aren't up to par. Not compared to some of the other comedies on TV these days. Plus they're kind of phasing out the good old sitcom and going for shows without a live audience, so yeah, definitely a been there done that kind of thing. I'm actually suprised the show has lasted this long!

Live audience? What gives you the idea that this show - or any other currently on air - is filmed before a live audience? I think what you might mean is "going for shows without a laugh track". There haven't been comedies filmed before a live audience for more than twenty years (aside from the sketch and game shows)...though I don't think that has anything to do with a show's demise.

It's a sad state of affairs that better programs are continually being cancelled in favor of reality TV, game shows and crime/hospital procedurals. Comedies are particularly vulnerable these days, and have been for years. Take, for example, "Freaks and Geeks" (link) or "Arrested Development" (link), both award-winning shows that were universally loved by critics and their audiences alike...but compared to shows like "American Idol" or "Let's Make a Deal", those were fairly expensive shows to make, with multiple sets, large crews and location shooting. If a studio executive is presented with the choice between continuing a show with moderate ratings or starting a game show (with one set, three cameras and one host) or a recycled rehash of a dull show with high ratings (link), they're going to go for the cheap game show or the same old crime show. It doesn't matter that neither of those make for good entertainment with a high re-view value - networks (like schools) are concerned with producing good numbers.

Thinking about it a bit more, it seems to me that NBC in the nineties did something of a disservice to television with "Friends" (link) - it was great TV, yes, but it set the expectation for writers and producers that comedies with ongoing plot lines were viable...and I think that could be the difference between shows that get high enough ratings to be spared and shows that are either continually at risk or flat-out cancelled: audiences want a show - particularly a comedy - without an ongoing plot line, so that you can start watching anywhere and not feel lost. Thus you have the ongoing schedules for "The King of Queens" (link), "Two and a Half Men" (link) and "According to Jim" (no fans here yet), while shows with even a modicum of a continuing plot, such as "How I met your mother", which are inherently more interesting to a committed viewer, are at risk. The casual TV viewer may make the difference in ratings, week to week.

Freaks and Geeks, what a fantastic show. Now that cancellation was particularly galling. That was one of the first tv shows I watched where I thought, "wow, they're using real people, people who aren't perfect physical specimens but who look like they're actually from the world I inhabit". What a concept.

God I miss Arrested Development. Anyhoo...having recovered from losing that show and Friends, I was starting to love How I Met Your Mother. The jokes are funny, the characters are great (except for boring Robin). Of course it's not the Office or 30 Rock...but still a lot better than the other tripe out there. It's a shame it might be canceled.

I LOVE this programme and I SERIOUSLY hope it doesn't get cancelled. All of the programmes on tv nowadays are just horrible, I mean deplorable, the worst ideas EVER... (e.g. Lost season 3), yet because it's all the rage, they keep at it.. *sigh*

Please keep it on America as us Brits can't take another episode of American Idol, we really can't!

well.. if the show does get canceled.. we all will find out who Ted ends up with.. if it ends they should at least give us a good explanation to who Ted marries right? and it obviously isnt robin... so who the hell is it?!

Because it is about 90% ripped off of scrubs. Don't get me wron, I love HIMYM but tzhey are similar:
The best friend: Marshall=Turk
The main guy: Ted=JD
The Best friend's girl: Lily=Carla
The Girl Main guy can't forget about: Robin=Elliot
The funny sex obsessed friend: Barney=The Todd