E4 showing 'How I Met Your Mother' from the beginning

Here's a clip of it, it must have only been broadcast on the first broadcast. (I know it's the first broadcast as it has the CBS logo and everything on it). From about 6 to 8 seconds in:

[media:f341e31060]http://up.metropol247.co.uk/072011/1311678675_1213102278.m4v[/media:f341e31060]

I know it's a very small detail but I just found it peculiar that they made a different version of episode 2 with the current titles. Why would they do that?

Oh yes so it does, interesting, I'll have to check my DVD later to see if they left it in or replaced it with the final version, attached is the normal one to show the differences in VirginMediaPhil's upload, note the HIMYM logo hadn't really been established on Phil's clip:

EDIT: Actually Phil I can confirm that the titles above have actually been replaced on the DVD set, bugger, seems as if these are early titles that were changed at the last minute but escaped the US broadcast of Episode 2, however the letterboxing is all over the place, the episode regarding Lily moving in with Ted & Marshall is not in widescreen on the DVD for example, the titles are letterboxed though, however several episodes don't have the letterboxed titles either.



In comparison another experimental change was with Tom Baker's titles that were used from Robot-Shada, this was the broadcast version used for all episodes...



However for some strange reason they decided to experiment on the titles to Episode 1 of The Ark In Space and as a result of a green filter we got this:



Quite as to why they chose to do this is beyond me, then again there's been numerous quirky oddities in the Doctor Who titles over the years anyway.

However back on topic, I wonder if E4 are looking at replacing Friends with HIMYM, once they lose the rights to the series?

Are you saying that the season 1 DVD doesn't have that original logo? As originally that logo was used on all season 1 episodes, and is still there on E4's season 1 broadcasts. More meddling by the distributors! Back to episode 2, I guess I'll have to conclude as well that it was just an earlier version that somehow got used instead.



Probably, because when you look at the two shows they are very similar; a bunch of friends getting up to wacky things in New York, it's just that HIMYM has a more emotional feel with some recent episodes, and it looks like they're doing what Friends didn't do so well with Joey (or the actual Joey spinoff that was supposed to rectify this), that is, emotionally developing the bachelor character (Barney in this case). It's also being shown at the same time as Friends was (Thursdays at 9.30).

I do think it would benefit in being shown on the main Channel 4 though, same timeslot, higher profile channel.

Oh and one more thing before I forget, check your series link for vintage HIMYM. Mine didn't have tomorrow's episode set to record.

I'm surprised E4 haven't already killed Friends (or at least relegated it heavily).

It's customary to leave a gap so as not to help the "winning" channel, right? Or is that just with first-run stuff?

They're on their final run now, burning through three episodes a day. The last two runs have only started from season 6 onwards, which is strange. If they had started from season 1 instead of starting from season 6 on the first run wouldn't that have been better?

Perhaps it's to put people off the series; seeing the same episode too frequently will put people off?

Is there an actual date set yet for Friends ending on four/e4? Wonder if they'll mark it in anyway - maybe a 24 hour marathon or something daft? Doubtful, but it would be cool as it has been a big part of the channel

I think Comedy Central has the rights from October, so not long to go.

Yeah it'll probably be in September/early October when E4 shows its last Friends episode. I wonder if HIMYM will replace it.

Someone asked the same question on the DigiGuide forums and I worked it out that if they regularly show 2 a day (give or take) they'll be done by the end of August, just in time for the new season in September.

E4 actually made a trailer feeding off the obvious comparisions between Friends and How I Met Your Mother a couple of years ago, before Peter Dickson (where has he disappeared off to?) left...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5c_-gzE5OAM

Personally I find them very different in style, but maybe that's just the different times they come from. And is HIMYM the first US sitcom since Cheers where the characters hang out in a pub? You'd think they didn't exist in the States if you watched Friends - I think the only time they actually visited one was in the "might have been" episode.