Kids, we're going to tell you the story of how we met How I Met Your Mother. Luckily, unlike Ted Mosby, we manage to do it in just 50 minutes. For this week's episode of TV. Watch. Repeat., The Dipp's TV origin stories podcast, we raise a toast to MacLaren's Bar and the impressively organized storytelling of the CBS sitcom, How I Met Your Mother.

Given the fact that How I Met Your Mother is a throwback to traditional sitcom-ry of yore, during an era when single-camera comedies had nearly killed the laugh track, the series still managed to make a profound impact on television. The series upended the sitcom arc, infusing an almost procedural-like cliffhanger that attracted new fans as seasons progressed. And no matter how you felt about the eventual conclusion of that arc — spoiler alert: I did not care for it, not one whit — it's undeniable that How I Met Your Mother's characters are as finely honed as one of Barney's suits, no matter how you feel about Ted Mosby. (Spoiler alert: We do not care for him, not one whit.)

So, along with my co-host Allison Piwowarski and I, discover how profoundly different How I Met Your Mother might have looked, if its earliest iterations had stuck, and more fun facts behind the making of the series.

Without further ado... Haaaaaave you met How I Met Your Mother?

Image: CBS