The How I Met Your Mother Blog

I can’t believe this is true:

Suit up, Britney Spears! The pop star is heading back to TV, scoring a guest role on CBS’s How I Met Your Mother, a rep for the show confirms to PEOPLE.

According to TMZ, which first reported the news, Spears’s father and conservator, Jamie, has given his daughter permission to appear on the sitcom since it will not be a long-term or continuous role.

The pop star is no stranger to television comedies: In April 2006, Britney appeared on an episode of NBC’s Will & Grace playing a conservative talk show host alongside Sean Hayes’s flamboyant character, Jack.

source

I was OK with Mandy Moore. I was OK with Enrique Iglesias. I was borderline OK with Vanessa Manilla or whatever her name is. I don’t know if I’m OK with Britney Spears. The show should be better than this. I only hope they can clean her up enough to flap around in front of the camera for a few lines and then never be heard from again. Maybe Barney will bang her then leave her naked in the torch of the statue of liberty or something. I would’ve rather seen Ashlee Simpson than Britney’s dizzy ass.

Let me play devil’s advocate. If it’s ratings we’re worried about for the show (which should never be met by sacrificing quality, but I digress) than Spear’s appearance will surely create waves. Paris Hilton did a “guest spot” on The O.C. way back when and it didn’t offend me deeply. I will trust Bays and Thomas not to do anything crazy. If this gets more people talking about (and watching) the show, so be it.

I can’ t help but think, who’s next? Courtney Love? Kim Kardashian? Lindsay Lohan? Have some decency!

Scary update:

Britney showed up at the FOX Studios lot this morning with only her agent in tow to sit down with the cast of the show for the episode read-thru. I’m told she was “really funny”, “very professional” and that the character might become a recurring character on the show. Additionally, most of her scenes are with the Ted Mosby character played by Josh Radnor. This episode of How I Met Your Mother is the third of the new eps that have been written since the show came back from the Writer’s Strike hiatus and since the first new ep airs next week it may air three weeks after that (the week of April 7th).

Regarding the news that Alicia Siverstone was scheduled to also guest star on HIMYM, I’m hearing that her people have decided to have her pull out of doing so in order to not be overshadowed by Britney’s appearance.

source

As I said in the comments, if this redneck skank makes me miss my sexual renaissance with the Aerosmith girl I’m going to be PISSED OFF.

PS. I never want to do a Google Image Search for “Britney Spears” again. I need to go wash my hands.

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Pull out your jelly bracelets, your cool graffiti coats, brush your hair like Gretzky and practice jumps on your skateboard, there’s a contest that will help the show get renewed! We first heard about www.savehimym.com last week when I implored all of you to contact CBS to save the show. In addition to donating and signing petitions, now there’s a new, more creative way to show your support.

A parody of the song “Let’s Go to the Mall” has been written and it needs a music video. That’s where you come in. Make a music video to go with the song, upload it to YouTube, then send it in. Additionally, I’d love it if you come back here and left a link to your video in the comments.

Here’s the original song, just to refresh your memory:

Here are the lyrics, set to “Let’s Go to the Mall”:

Let’s Watch CBS
(spoken) Is there anything I can do to get you to renew How I Met Your Mother? How about I…sing you a song!

(music starts)

Let’s watch CBS, everybody!

Come on Nina, Come on Les,
Let’s watch CBS, its sitcoms are the best.
If my favorite show gets canceled, I’m going to scream and shout.
How I Met Your Mother is what this song’s about.

It hasn’t been renewed yet, (Oh no!)
And you know how antsy fans can get. (Oh yeah!)
I really like it. All my friends think it’s so funny.

Chorus:
H-I-M-Y-M is best.
No other sitcom has such zest.
Let’s watch CBS today.

There’s this gal I know of,
She runs CBS.
She hasn’t renewed the show,
And its fate I’d really like to know.
I hope the gang returns, for another season.
Ted, Marshall, Robin, Lily,
Don’t forget Swarley.
The show’s ratings are kind of low,
And DVRs don’t count, I know.
That’s OK, I’m going to watch your network anyway.
I’m going to nag your network ‘til your Upfronts Day.

H-I-M-Y-M is best.
No other sitcom has such zest.
Let’s watch CBS today.

I introduced the show to a couple of friends,
We had a good few hours to spend.
I love Marshall, Barney, and Lily too,
My friends think Robin & Ted are cute.
The other day at the mall, who do I see?
Mr. CBS himself, the network’s Big Cheese.
He said, “Do you really want your new season approved?”
In reply, I got down, to bust a crazy move.

Let’s watch CBS, everybody!

H-I-M-Y-M is best.
No other sitcom has such zest.
Let’s watch CBS today.

Fans and critics love this show!

H-I-M-Y-M is best.
No other sitcom has such zest.
Let’s watch CBS today.

Renew this show, renew this show please
Renew this show, renew this show please
Renew this show, renew this show please
Renew this show, renew this show please
Renew this show, renew this show please
Renew this show, renew this show please
Please, Nina

I think this is a really great idea and a chance to have some fun while supporting the show. The winner of the contest receives seasons 1 and 2 on DVD. Additionally, the winning video, and other entires, will be sent to the top brass at CBS to demonstrate just how many fans the show has.

View the contest page at www.savehimym.com for rules and more details. Feel free to contact me with any questions as well.

Let’s see your submissions!

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I know this is old but I’ve been ignoring it for some reason:

Jason Segel reportedly is to star in the big-screen comedy “Five-Year Engagement,” which he co-wrote with writer-director Nick Stoller.

Segel… previously worked with Stoller on the soon-to-be-released “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” Variety.com said.

Filmmaker Judd Apatow is a producer on both “Sarah” and “Engagement.”

“(’Engagement’ is) definitely an extension of our desire to explore the depth of human misery,” Stoller told the trade newspaper. “If Sarah Marshall (played by Kristen Bell) and Jason’s character had stayed together, this might be the sequel.”

source

That might not have been worth posting, save for this juicy Forgetting Sarah Marshall update.

Segel’s character in FSM, Peter Bretter, has a blog and it’s not just a little creepy. Check it out, it’s got some hilarious Segelisms. I see a lot of himself in all the characters he plays—his love of Les Miserables, singing into a camera ala Lily’s “goodnight tape”, his love for the occult—it’s all there. Plus, we get these two videos:

Worth noting: www.ihatesarahmarshall.com redirects to the same blog. Could this be a viral marketing stunt where “Peter Bretter” changes focus on his blog just before the film’s premiere?

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Today is a big day for HIMYM. I almost hate to post this and detract from the wake of awesomeness that is Alicia Silverstone’s being cast for the show. I have to assume that not everyone is as excited about that as I am so here’s some more tidbits for you to chew on, much of which relates directly to comments made on this blog:

• Reader john d’arc was wondering if the St. Patty’s day episode “No Tomorrow” was written as a one-off, just to get the show back on track. Turns out that the episode was partially written before the strike and planned as a New Year’s Eve story. When the strike was over, the story was re-purposed for a different holiday. I think this is great since the show already has a New Year’s episode. There aren’t many holidays left to cover.
• Reader Jess pointed out that Ted has been wearing the same shirt a lot lately. The show creators have described the character this season as “outlaw Ted”, maybe that explains the persistent plaid.
• Like the Super Bowl episode last year, we’ll see another sports tie-in this season:
  

  Another March episode has an NCAA tie-in – Barney constructs a bracket of all the women who have reasons to hate him, in an effort to find out who’s sabotaging his efforts to pick up women. The episode is called, not surprisingly, “The Final Four.”

• The rest of season 3 won’t be all fun and games. First, we’ll revisit Robin Sparkles and her second hit “Sandcastles in the Sand”—a bitter break-up ballad that tackles “the saddest chapter in her 16-year-old life” according to co-creator Craig Thomas. While we’ll only get a peek in the episode, the entire video will be available online afterward.
• It is also hinted that The Barnacle will get a more dramatic storyline this season. Neil Patrick Harris says:
  

  He hasn’t really ever had [scenes with] pathos, that stuff usually goes to Josh and Cobie. I’m not sure what it is, but Barney’s involved in some friction, and I get to be part of that. It’s cool to be flexing my funny bone so much but there are a lot more levels one can do…. I think for these last nine episodes of the season we need to represent well, and I think we’re coming out swinging. We’re working hard and hope people will get into it.

Are you as excited as I am to see these episodes air? I really can’t wait.

News via The Chicago Tribune

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via TVGuide and the very legendary and handsome reader Rainier:

Sources are confirming to me exclusively that the lovely and talented Alicia Silverstone has been cast in a multi-episode arc.

Her character, a doctor, will be a love interest for Ted and she’ll be sticking around for several episodes.

Holy crap. This is awesome. First, she’s perfect. A classic actress in need of a great mainstream comeback role ala Danica McKellar. It sounds like Rainier was right to point out the careful wording when, in The Platinum Rule, Ted says “that was the end of Stella, for now”. How did I miss her in my poll way back when? I, like any other male who went through puberty in the 90s, have an undying love for Ms. Silverstone. Let’s take a stroll down memory lane…

Aerosmith - Crazy

It says the video is unavailable, click on it before you hit play (refresh the page) and it’ll go to Youtube where the video actually plays

Aerosmith - Crying

Aerosmith - Amazing

It says the video is unavailable, click on it before you hit play (refresh the page) and it’ll go to Youtube where the video actually plays

Forget about Liv Tyler, these videos were all about Alicia.

I really can’t wait to see her on the show. She’ll be much better than the string of dubious conquests and skanktrons Ted’s been running with this season so far. Is she hotter than Robin? I might be biased but I say yes.

Now only one question remains, and I’ll leave it to you: Will “Stella” be another Victoria, a relationship that we’ll see start and end, or will she end up as the mother? How will it all play out?

Before people start saying “she can’t be the mom, the kid’s would know, he said her name” let me point you to the very HIMYM-esque Definitely Maybe where the main character tells his young daughter the story of how he met her mother. He changed the names and some of the facts in the story to keep her in the dark. I’m sure old-Ted could do something similar.

And now, some pictures of Alicia, since I know that’s what all of you want. Click through for bigger size.

I suppose that Ted will have to learn to make meatless lasagna if he’s to wed Silverstone.

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Yesterday was a little serious so let’s lighten up today with a little irreverence, How I Met Your Mother style.

Watch this clip from The Onion where an FCC representative details the differences between lewd and artistic displays of nudity on television. Where’s the line drawn? Right across Alyson Hannigan’s bosom.

My favorite moment:

“That would be acceptable?”
“That would be beautiful.”

Enjoy.

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via  SpoilerTV

The first new, post-strike episode of How I Met Your Mother is called “No Tomorrow” and will air at 8:30pm on Monday March 17th on CBS. The episode features Ted and Barney partying for St. Patrick’s Day and may see Ted on the business end of a fist. Vanessa Minnillo guest stars (which kind of aggravates me, but we’ll see how she does.)

Promotional photos from the episode. Vanessa looks hot, Ted looks drunk, Barney looks like a leprechaun:

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Last night we saw a repeat of Slapsgiving, one of the best episodes of the show to date. Now, in the wake of the awesomeness, I implore all of you readers and fans to show some support for the show seeing as it’s on the bubble for renewal next year. Readers Ike and Katie have helped me find the appropriate petitions and other platforms for fans to show support. I’m not positive the show is in any actual jeopardy, but until it’s picked up for a forth season showing some support can’t hurt.

Now, onto how you can help.

1. Donate - Fans of Kristin Dos Santos from E! Online’s Watch with Kristin have started a web site collecting donations to help save the show. Proceeds from this site will go toward buying sparklers to mail to CBS to show support for the show. At the time of this writing, they’re half-way to their goal. Go and give a couple dollars today.
2. Sign the petition - ipetitions.com has a “Save How I Met Your Mother” petition that you can sign today. Currently, there are 4,970 signatures. Let’s show that the show has more fans than that.
3. Voice your opinion - Be proactive—reader Katie supplied me with the letter she sent to CBS. Contact them at one of these addresses, which will then find it’s way up the ladder:
   
   • audsvcs@cbs.com,
   • Kelli Raftery kraftery@cbs.com
   • Beth Haiken beth.haiken@tvc.cbs.com

   or via their comment form. Alternatively, send all letters to me (jd@have-you-met-ted.com) and I will send them en-masse to CBS. To accompany the letters, statistics that support the show would be helpful, if any of you find anything that proves HIMYM is a success, send that on as well. I’ll organize it all and send it to CBS as one big call to action.

   Here is Katie’s letter:

To Whom It May Concern:

I recently saw the list of shows that CBS has renewed for the 2008-2009 season, and I was shocked to learn that How I Met Your Mother was not among them. I had to write to ask you to reconsider as you move toward final decisions about the upcoming season.

I am a 26-year-old, college-educated, middle-class viewer; I am, in other words, a member of a demographic cohort much coveted by advertisers. And the only show that my husband and I watch on CBS is How I Met Your Mother.

I find your procedural crime shows unappealing in the extreme. While I will watch the occasional episode of The New Adventures of Old Christine (another Monday comedy that has not been renewed), I find your other sitcoms insipid and unwatchable. I don’t watch your reality programming (e.g. Big Brother, Survivor) either. The only reason that my eyes will be on CBS, and its ads, is if you renew How I Met Your Mother.

The show isn’t a ratings monster, but its ratings are consistent and it repeats well. It does better with younger viewers than the rest of the Monday line-up with the exception of The Big Bang Theory which only does marginally better in overall viewers because of the higher HUT levels at 8:30 PM EST. How I Met Your Mother has a core group of rabid fans (I own the first and second seasons on DVD, have purchased episodes on iTunes, have read the show’s official website, etc.) and significant critical support (unlike many other CBS shows). Last year, Neil Patrick Harris received an Emmy nomination for his work on the show.

While, in light of these characteristics, I believe that the show is a shoe-in for renewal, it must be said that you’ve never treated How I Met Your Mother particularly well: leading off the night is a difficult task; I rarely see advertising for the show; it wasn’t available on iTunes until recently; you didn’t give the hilarious Super Bowl episode the coveted-post game spot; and so on. It has been reported, by TV Guide, that this stems from personal dislike of CBS executives for the show. I surely hope that isn’t the cause for the show’s non-renewal. It obviously isn’t good business practice to pass over the show, in spite of evidence that it should be renewed, simply because one executive doesn’t understand the show or its appeal.

I’m thrilled that How I Met Your Mother will be back in March 27th for 9 more episodes this season. I only hope that at the upfronts in May, you announce that the show will be back for a much deserved, and sure to be legendary, fourth season.

Thank you so much for your time and consideration.

Well put Katie! If you’d like to use her letter, change the personal bits to fit your own details and let CBS know that the show has fans! There’s no way to know if this will work or not but at least it’s effort in the right direction. Remember, be polite—you’ll be taken more seriously that way.

If you find other ways to support the show, post them in the comments or contact me at jd@have-you-met-ted.com. I’ll update this post as new tactics surface.

We’ve all enjoyed 3 seasons of the show, it’s time we stood up and demanded a fourth. If you ever want to meet the mother and see how it all ends, now is the time to support the show.

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