I made it rain! That's what I did today!

And that's enough. I've done my part now get down here!

Ted, from How I Met Your Mother does a raindance to impress Robin.

Ok, so new season of television has arrived. Now I'm not going to waste your time and start trying to convince you I have a decent grasp on the what-to-watch of autumn. However, I WILL waste your time by talking about two shows I'll be tuning in for, and why you should too.

NUMBER ONE - NBC's The Office. It's into it's sixth season now, and over the past week I have caught up. This show thrives on awkwardness, and the day it loses that flavour is the day it dies.

I suppose it was only a matter of time before I talked about How I Met Your Mother (NUMBER TWO) on this website. Friends of mine know it falls just below Frasier on Ye Olde List of Heavenly Sitcoms.

What do I love so much about it? Well, it's hard to say exactly. It's humour is dark at times, ironic at times, and it's method of storytelling is compellingly original ("Deep Frying", named after the show's producer is the way they tell the story non-linearly) But I think what I really appreciate most about the show is it's inherent romance.

It's a deeply romantic show. The time Ted makes it rain. The blue french horn. The 2 minute date - hell, I could go on and on. It's like HIMYM's a romance factory, and every season it pumps out two or three instantly memorable moments that leaves people talking for months.

Sweet, so we've established the two shows I love, and the inexorable quality that makes them worth my time. Now I can finally start with my actual point.

Both these shows have been going for about half a decade, and that's about the time in a sitcom's life cycle where things can start to get stale. And frankly, as I've been catching up with the two programs, I started to get worried. Let's review.

In season 5 of the Office, Michael quits Dunder Mifflin for a pretty implausible, and ridiculous reason (He wanted an anniversary party) he leaves the office quite dramatically, and in a spur-of-the-moment decision, Pam follows him. The two head out into the parking-lot poised to start their very own paper company.

The story arc is good for a few laughs, but becomes increasingly silly (in the bad way) as the episodes trudge on. At one point, Michael Scott Paper Company hires Ryan (B.J. Novak - the office temp who rose to corporate before being arrested for fraud) who is easily one of the most confusing, and poorly written characters of the show. He only really seems to continue appearing because B.J. Novak is one of the show's writers, and he's scared of never getting any more screen time.

It continues down implausibility lane when Michael's new company starts taking so much business away from Dunder Mifflin that DM decides to buy him out. By the end of the episode, the entire cast is sitting in their old seats, and everything is back to normal.

Words of wisdom from the bossman of Dunder Mifflin.

Meanwhile, on How I Met Your Mother, the waves were getting choppy too. Excited by the sudden star power of Neil Patrick Harris, the writers of the show seemed to be gearing more and more episodes towards him. The two most infuriating story arcs came in seasons 3 and 4.

In one arc, Barney had slept with a woman at some point that was now out to ruin his life. A few separate episodes hinged on this issue, until Barney and Lily discovered the perpetrator was none other than Abbey (Britney Spears) a dull, slightly retarded receptionist from a few episodes prior.

The second lame arc came when Barney and Robin (Ted's ex girlfriend) slept together. Things started out okay with Barney feeling extremely guilty, and the whole situation being examined very realistically, even having Ted actually renounce Barney as a friend for a while - but then things started to go sour.

Slowly throughout the season, we realize that Barney has accidentally fallen in love with Robin. Some people will have no problem with this, they argue that it gives depth to an otherwise two-dimensional character, and with that point I agree. However, there's such a thing as poorly planned out depth. The way the romance is plotted, a hookup seems inevitable, yet I was left surprised and slightly perturbed when it actually happened.

It's like the writers are caught in a struggle. They want to tell a season long story about Barney, but are afraid that they'll be accused of giving the Barnacle a bad case of the Fonzie Effect. What ends up on-screen is a half-baked plot, subdued in order to keep the focus on Ted, but in the process, removing any intrigue, or , really, value of any kind.

One more thing, if there's one episode of HIMYM that you should AVOID AT ALL COSTS, it's The Stinsons. Don't ask me why, in fact... don't even click on that link.

It's these kinds of stilted, badly-thought-out stories that can alienate audiences, or critics, or even crew members. And more importantly, they can cause a show to jump the shark.

For writers, the trick is to hold on to something within your show - find that quality, and make sure it truly is inexorable. And in these cases, they seem to be.

Ted realizes what could have been with a girl from a date seven years ago.

I started my fall-line-up watching with The Office. The beginning continues an arc left by the last season, where we get confirmation that Pam and Jim will be having a child. That's wonderful, and there were some solid laughs in episode 1, but it wasn't until episode 2 last week when things hit their stride. Within the first sixty seconds of "The Meeting", Michael Scott has asked his only homosexual employee into his office to talk Michael through the sensations he might feel during a colonoscopy. That was too much for me. My jaw had dropped, and I was cringing and laughing so hard I knew I'd be hooked for at least another season.

As for HIMYM, well, I was a little more nervous. Nearer and dearer to my heart, the writers would have to really make sure they were on the right track after a few real stinkers from the season before. Again, I wouldn't feel comfortable until episode 2 - "Double Date".

In this episode (photo above) Ted goes on a blind date with a girl he met in 2002, only neither of them remembers. When they finally figure it out, the pair team up to finish the date and explain how each other went wrong. Some examples include Ted making cheesy jokes ("would you like to share the oysters If not, that would be awfully 'shellfish' of you), and noticing that 'Maine Lobster' was spelled incorrectly on the menu. The night finally leads up to the top of Ted's building, where they realize the  first date wasn't so bad, it was just that Ted never called her again.

The episode had some admittedly weak jokes. While the Robin and Barney relationship was beginning to grow on me, some aspects of the B story felt forced, but it was what Ted told the girl at the end of the episode that clinched it.

"I just remembered why I didn't call you. <sigh> I can't believe I'm going to screw this up again, but um, I like finding typos in menus. And I know my shellfish pun is stupid but the truth is, I'm not going to suddenly stop making stupid jokes. (...) shouldn't we hold out for the person who doesn't just tolerate our little quirks but actually kinda likes them? Even if it means finding ourselves on another blind date with each other, seven years from now?"

Ted is committed to finding his soul mate. That's something pretty damn human, and in the end, pretty damn romantic.

Maybe sometimes these shows are badly written. Maybe sometimes the plots are forced and characters aren't thought out properly. And maybe they just plain aren't funny. But that's okay. It's being written and acted by human beings - none of us are perfect. After all, not even all the Star Wars movies are good.

All I can say for sure is that as long as Michael Scott keeps making racially and sexually inappropriate comments, he's doing his part. And as long as Ted keeps making it rain, he's doing his part. So I'm going to do mine, and tune in.

Because like books, and film, and music, or any other form of entertainment - it's the moments of genius amidst a sea of mediocrity that makes television worth watching.

That's all.

-K

How I Met Your Mother is on tonight (Mondays) at 8:00 PM.

The Office is on NBC Thursdays at 9/8c.