How I Met Your Mother

(S05E21) By now, it's not much of a stretch to say that most 'How I Met Your Mother' fans have moved on from both the Ted-Robin and the Barney-Robin relationships. They're both over, kaput, donezo. Robin's moved on, and the guys have moved on, and we're all ready to explore how the gang conducts their lives as just friends.

Which is why, despite the fact that this episode had a number of good laughs, I just sat there for the entire 22 minutes thinking, "I don't buy this." I know that a sitcom like this needs romantic tension in order to survive, but what went on this week felt pretty contrived, as if Bays and Thomas couldn't think of another romantic direction for Ted, Robin, and Barney, so they decided to tread on old ground not once, but twice.

(S05E20) It figures that right after I do a long post about the prominence of silly standalone episodes on 'HIMYM' this year, Bays and Thomas come back with an episode that could both stand alone and be part of the "mythology" of the show. And it gave us a new drinking game, to boot.

For a show that's been on the air for a number of years and has received a modest amount of attention from those who are obsessed with the minutiae of pop culture, 'How I Met Your Mother' hasn't suffered from a lot of backlash.

But budding signs of one are starting to appear. All season, John Swansburg of Slate has been recapping the show under a column called "The 'How I Met Your Mother' Shame Index," chronicling what was good about an episode and what has made him ashamed to admit he was a fan. Lately, he's been giving more examples under the heading of "Shameful" than "Awesome."

And now there's an article by Tom Jicha, critic from the South Florida Sun Senitnel, bemoaning how the episodes this season have been moving away from Ted's search for the Mother and focusing more and more on Barney's tomcatting antics.

But are they right? Is the show sliding towards a creative abyss? In some respects, yes. But there seems to be a method behind this shift.

(S05E19) Many of the episodes of 'HIMYM' this season have been slapsticky and silly, but mostly in a good way. It's part of the effort of Carter Bays, Craig Thomas and their crew to not get so bogged down in the "mythology" of the Mother story, allowing them to touch on it much less than they used to. It also sets up some nice standalone episodes for syndication.

Sometimes the silliness works, sometimes it doesn't. This time it worked. And because it worked, I won't get the phase "mugged by a monkey" out of my head for quite a while.

Here's tonight's TV lineup (all times Eastern). All shows mentioned are new, unless otherwise noted.

8:00 to 9:00
ABC: 'Dancing With the Stars' -- Two hours
CBS: 'How I Met Your Mother' and 'Rules of Engagement'
The CW: 'Life Unexpected'
FOX: 'House' -- Finally!
BBC America: 'Top Gear'
Cartoon Network: 'Adventure Time With Finn & Jake'
Nick: 'Glen Martin, DDS'
TLC: 'Little People, Big World' -- Two 30-minute episodes

9:00 to 10:00
CBS: 'Two and a Half Men' and 'The Big Bang Theory'
The CW: 'Gossip Girl'
FOX: '24'
NBC: 'Trauma'
A&E: 'Intervention'
Cartoon Network: '6TEEN'
TLC: 'Ultimate Cake Off'
TruTV: 'Operation Repo' (starts at 9:30)

10:00 to 11:00
ABC: 'Castle'
CBS: 'CSI: Miami'
A&E: 'Runaway Squad' -- Two 30-minute episodes
FX: 'Damages'
MTV: 'True Life'
Oxygen: 'Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood'
Showtime: 'Nurse Jackie' and 'United States of Tara'
TNT: 'Saving Grace'
Travel: 'Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations'

Check your local TV listings for more information. After the jump, the late night talk shows.

(S05E18) Ever come across an episode of one of your favorite shows that just felt half-baked to you? Sure, it had its funny moments, but there was something about the main story that begged to be explored a bit more. Or maybe one of the B-stories looked like it had more potential but it just ended up being either a one-note joke or dropped altogether.

This episode had both. I wanted the main story of Ted always bringing around his "skanks" to group celebrations to be tied in a little more to his search for the all-exalted mother. And I also wanted to see more about both Barney's and Marshall's relative abilities in front of a camera lens. Both left me dissatisfied.

When we here at TV Squad HQ (an outhouse-sized shack in the suburbs of Paducah, KY) heard that Jason Segel of 'How I Met Your Mother' was co-writing a new theatrical Muppet movie, there was much rejoicing.

Why? Because, while Neil Patrick Harris gets all the attention, Segel has quietly become the comedic glue of the show, able to do subtle humor and physical shtick with the best of them. Also, despite his relative youth, he has expressed his love of the Muppets in the past. So we had a feeling that he was going to produce a script that recalled the best of the Muppet flicks, 'The Muppet Movie' and 'The Great Muppet Caper,' while keeping a modern edge.

Now The Hollywood Reporter's Heat Vision blog has the news that Segel will also be starring in the movie, tentatively titled 'The Greatest Muppet Movie of All Time,' as the Muppets' live action buddy, who along with Kermit seeks to reunite the gang to save their old theater. Huzzahs all around.

(S05E17) Let's see ... this week, we got Ted in the future telling his kids the story that Barney told a police officer after he'd been pulled out of the Hudson River. So did we get Barney's version of events, or the version Ted might remember from his own role?

I'm going with this being Barney's version of events, because it's the only way I can justify the way in which Ted described to Barney the "super-date." All in all, there were several moments that made me smile, but I wasn't laughing as hard as I usually do during an episode of 'How I Met Your Mother.'

However, I'll forgive the episode that because it did entertain me and more importantly-- it gave us all some much needed closure!

"The morning after ... we ask the right questions. The morning after ... we make the suggestions."

Those are the lyrics to a song Barbra Streisand once sang and it occurred to me this morning after recovering from the long, long and rather uneventful 2010 Oscar ceremony last night on ABC.

Looking back through the bleary-eyes of my memories, there were quite a few things that could have been better, a few that were just plain lousy, and a few moments that lived up to the hype. Danny shared his view. Check out my ten Oscar observations list:

So, this has all come together. CBS said okay. Joss Whedon came on board. And they named the character Bryan Adam, inspired by the Canadian pop star which must be some kind of tribute to Cobie Smulders' character Robin Scherbatsky on 'How I Met Your Mother.' All that's missing is Harold and Kumar dropping by for a blow.

In plain speak, 'Glee' will welcome Neil Patrick Harris for a guest role in an upcoming sweeps episode. The 'How I Met Your Mother' star has been rumored to be doing 'Glee,' but only if CBS let him appear on the competition during the heart of the TV season. It wouldn't be as bad if it was a summer series, but this is sweeps. That means some CBS show will be going up against Neil's 'Glee' episode. Michael Ausiello broke the details of Neil's character on the show. If you don't want to know, don't follow us on the jump. Just wander off and read the next story.

As the folks at Moviefone.com point out, blue is the hot color for movies these days, especially if your name is James Cameron. Well, it's not going to be a sequel to 'Avatar' or another Cameron pic or even an updating of 'The Blue Lagoon,' but Neil Patrick Harris has agreed to be in 'Smurfs: The Movie.' (Not to be confused with 'Smurfs: The Opera.')

Actually, Neil will be all voice for the role. Sony's concept for the big screen version of 'Smurfs,' the popular '80s Saturday morning cartoon series, is live action mixed with animation, under the direction of 'Beverly Hills Chihuahua' auteur Raja Gosnell.

Exactly which of the smurfs Neil will play remains shrouded in mystery. I suspect he's getting his pick, as long as it's not Papa Smurf. That role's already been claimed by Jonathan Winters.

(S05E16) When I was out in LA for the press tour in January, I had the pleasure of watching the table read for this episode. This was the actual Monday-morning table read, not a show for the gathered critics; the writers were sitting by taking notes that would be used to make changes before shooting.

What struck me about the table read was that, despite the fact that it was the first draft and the cast hadn't fully gotten into how exactly they were going to play the script, the episode was funny. People were genuinely laughing, including the writers, who have lived with the script for some time; they weren't cackling in an effort to sell their funny lines. In fact, it was one of the funniest episodes of the season.

Watching the final version, I noticed that not a whole lot changed from that table read. And, even though I knew most of what was coming, I laughed as hard as I did when I was on the set a month and a half ago. If that's not the sign of a top-notch episode, I don't know what is.

Carrie Underwood is rather beautiful, isn't she? She's looks really great in this clip from the March 1 'How I Met Your Mother.' She plays a woman who figures in several fantasies that Barney (naturally) has.

Who knows if the 'American Idol' winner is a good actress or not, but we do know from this clip that 'How I Met Your Mother' can fit in several erection jokes in about 30 seconds.

Created by Paul Feig and produced by Judd Apatow, 'Freaks and Geeks' is one of those rare television treasures that no one saw or appreciated until it was too late. Okay, that's unfair. Critics, the press and the loyal fans who did find the show on NBC immediately knew that it was something special. Unfortunately, it didn't find wide enough appeal to last beyond its first season.

Ironically, the show's cast of virtual unknowns now reads like an all-star comedy troupe, which is a testament to the brilliant casting that went on behind the scenes of the show. Finding such talented kids, and then coupling them with brilliant writing crafted on of the most revered television shows of all time.

(S05E15) I've noticed that the last few episodes of 'HIMYM' have largely taken place in the "home booth" at MacLaren's. I know it's the 21st century version of the couch at Central Perk, but the world of 'Mother' is a lot bigger than that these days. And, besides, Cobie Smulders and Alyson Hannigan aren't pregnant anymore; there's no need to hide their baby bumps under the table anymore.

That being said, it's a great place for two of this show's signature "bits" to start: 1) Absurd arguments, and 2) Incessant ball-busting. We saw both of these this week, with Ranjit thrown into the mix to make things more interesting. What really made this episode wasn't just the Rabbit/Duck argument, though; it was the subtle direction shifts that made loyal viewers think Ted was going in one not so good direction, when he was really going in a worse -- but more fun! -- direction.