‘How I Met Your Father’ Pilot Honors Original Series’ Narrator Bob Saget
How I Met Your Mother’s spinoff show How I Met Your Father premiered on Jan. 18, just over a week after Bob Saget’s death. Saget was the narrator of the original series. Here’s how How I Met Your Father honored the comedian in the pilot episode.
Bob Saget was the narrator of ‘How I Met Your Mother,’ the show that inspired the spinoff ‘How I Met Your Father’
Comedian Bob Saget never appeared on camera for How I Met Your Mother. But he narrated the series as the older version of the character Ted Mosby, explaining to his children how he came to know their mother. The two children were shown on camera from Mosby’s perspective as he spoke to them.
The Full House star once opened up to Culturated about working on the hit TV show. “How I Met Your Mother was a lovely, lovely gig that I got to do a couple of hours a week to narrate it,” Saget said. “But I have to keep reminding people that it was just a gig. You take me to any non-English speaking country, and I have nothing to do with the show.”
How I Met Your Father switches the roles in several ways. It is narrated by Kim Cattrall, who is shown on camera talking to her children off-screen. She plays the older version of Hilary Duff’s Sophie, the star of the show.
The first episode of ‘How I Met Your Father’ honors Bob Saget after his death
The first two episodes of How I Met Your Father came out on Jan. 18, just over a week after Bob Saget died. The comedian was discovered dead in his hotel room in Orlando, Florida, after performing a two-hour stand-up comedy set. He was 65 years old.
The show honored the original series’ narrator by showing a title card at the end of the pilot episode. It said, “In Loving Memory of Bob Saget” in white lettering against a black background.
How I Met Your Mother and How I Met Your Father executive producers Craig Thomas, Carter Bays, and Pam Fryman gave Variety a statement about the title card. “The wit, the wisdom, and, above all, the kindness fans heard in Bob Saget’s voice (as Ted Mosby in the year 2030) was no act,” they said.
“It’s who Bob really was. And it’s how all of us in the ‘How I Met Your Mother’ family will always remember him. R.I.P. to a truly legendary human. You’ll be so missed, Bob, because you were so loved.”
The cast of ‘How I Met Your Mother’ posted tributes to the comedian after his death
Many of Saget’s How I Met Your Mother castmates posted tributes and memories of the comedian on social media after his death.
“Absolutely stunned to hear about Bob Saget,” tweeted Neil Patrick Harris, who played Barney Stinson on the original show. “He was always so kind and generous and hilarious. Gone too soon. #RIP.”
Alyson Hannigan knew Saget before working with him on the show. She tweeted a touching story about what Saget was like as a father. “One of my fav memories of Bob was when I was babysitting his daughter,” Hannigan wrote. “I was 15 & couldn’t get her to sleep/stop crying. Bob came home, took her in his arms, played a Tracy Chapman song & danced with her until she fell asleep. He was a wonderful Dad and human #RipBobSaget Love u.”
Josh Radnor, who played the younger version of Saget on How I Met Your Mother, posted seven tweets honoring his friend.
He wrote that Saget was “the kindest, loveliest, funniest, most supportive man. The easiest person to be around. A mensch among mensches.” Radnor said he and Saget “had a very special bond,” and they “found a way to grab dinner once a year, even after HIMYM wrapped.”
After praising Saget for being an amazing father and friend, Radnor concluded his tribute by writing, “I’m endlessly grateful that HIMYM brought Bob Saget into my life. I’ll hear his voice in my head for the rest of my days.”
