chucktastic88 t1_jdwet3z wrote on March 27, 2023 at 6:09 PM

In the age of streaming the sitcoms that appear via streaming are not given the same length and room to stretch its legs that the sitcoms of even the just pre streaming days were given. Using That 90's Show and That 70's Show as examples One of the big issues I had with 90's was that we didn't really get a chance to "meet" the characters. We know their names and faces but there was no time to explore the relationships between the characters ad it felt rushed to get to the ending. While 70's gave their characters room to grow and to get to know each member of the gang before tossing a sudden love triangle plot in when the characters barely had a chance to interact. The same was the issue with HIMYF compared to HIMYM. I think it has managed to play with the characters and dynamics a bit in season 2 but if you had asked me with season 1 what I thought I would not have been as comfortable with Sophie Jesse and the other characters as I feel now with season 2. Comedy series need room to grow compared to a drama or procedural this era isn't giving a chance for them to grow.

Bears_On_Stilts t1_jdyjgqq wrote on March 28, 2023 at 3:00 AM

There’s also the fact that gradually we discovered the gang on HIMYM were all unreliable narrators and (mostly) endearingly scummy. The characters on HIMYF were a little too… okay in the first season. They weren’t unhinged or morally ambivalent.

Season 2 has washed the bloom off the characters in an appealing way. Sophie’s no antihero, she’s clearly a protagonist, but she’s gone from a hopeless romantic in S1, to a hopeless romantic who happens to be a bit of a loser with a drinking problem and zero self-awareness.

To use an obscure Disney analogy, kids were bored with Doug Funnie because he was just slightly better than you. But kids naturally latched onto Pepper Ann because she’s just slightly worse than you.