How I Met Your Mother (CBS, Syndicated)

HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER begins every episode many years from now as future Ted (voiced by Bob Saget) tells his teenage kids a story about his life as a single New Yorker trying to find the woman who will one day be a parent to these children. Back in the present, Ted (Josh Radnor) is aided in this quest by his friends Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) and Marshall (Jason Segel), Marshall’s wife, Lily (Alyson Hannigan), and her best friend (and Ted’s ex-girlfriend), Robin (Cobie Smulders). The quintet endures all the bumps of dating in the big city -– except for Barney, an incorrigible womanizer who brags constantly about his one-night stands and always has a suggestive line at the ready.

The strength of this very witty comedy is the chemistry between the five main characters. They play off each other just like real-life best friends, and their conflicts and triumphs seem like the kinds of issues that might happen to anyone -- except served up with better one-liners. Yes, there are some parts that seem a bit far-fetched -- how could Barney even find enough time for all those women, let alone appeal to them despite his obvious on-the-prowl status? -- but the group still comes across like people you could hang out with and want to get to know at the local bar where they convene regularly. Credit the writers for creating full-fledged, if exaggerated, characters, and for set-ups that are tantalizingly amusing.

One point that starts to feel thin after a while, however, is the gimmick behind the title. Perhaps clever in early episodes, as the seasons progress, it sometimes seems like we no longer care anymore who the mother is, what with all the storyline manipulations surrounding the topic. Robin, a strong candidate at first, has long since been ruled out, which means that Ted must eventually find a steady girlfriend. That isn’t necessarily a flaw -- much of the best comedy stems from romantic misadventures -- but someday Ted will need a romantic encounter that doesn’t end badly, which is unlikely to be as funny.