How I Met Your Mother

Alyson Hannigan, Neil Patrick Harris, what could possibly go wrong?

This CBS sitcom is narrated by middle-aged Ted (voice of Bob Saget) force-feeding his kids the story of how he met their mother. (Sounds like fun already, right?)

At the core of the show are four friends: Marshall and Lily (Hannigan), who in the pilot get engaged after nine years of dating; younger Ted, Marshall's best friend who suddenly feels pressure to meet "The One"; and Barney (Harris), the group's confirmed bachelor.

If you're keeping score, that's three story arcs plus Saget's exposition, all of which allow no time to focus on any one character long enough to care.

And to top it off, Robin, "The One" Ted meets and declares his love to in the pilot, is by the end of the episode revealed not to be the "Mother" in question. Way to keep us in suspense.