(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.
Using an ad campaign that can be ironically described as cerebral and abstract, the ad had Barney in the crowd of the Super Bowl showing a sign with an 877 number and telling the ladies to call him. Supposedly there will be a follow-up to this situation on the next episode.
If anyone was getting nervous that Neil Patrick Harris's new gig hosting the game show 'The Cube' might mean his interest in 'How I Met Your Mother' was waning, worry no more. On Tuesday, Harris Tweeted the answer to a question no one has asked yet, that he is staying put on 'HIMYM.'
Harris's (subtly scatological) message, referring to 'HIYMYM' and 'The Cube,' both of which are CBS projects: "I'm never leaving HIMYM. That job rocks. This would just have me doing double duty on the Tiffany Network. (Huh, huh. I said double duty...)"
(S05E14) Wouldn't everyone want to analyze their love lives with Jim Nantz?
Even if you haven't been as lucky in the sack as Barney Stinson, having an accomplished play-by-play guy talk about the ups and downs of your romantic escapades lends things a bit of gravitas and class.
However the 'HIMYM' writing team came up with the idea of how a nervous Barney recounts his perfect week in his own head, it was an inspired move, as it gave the episode the right narrative pull and really did put you in the position of a fan, pulling for him and making sure he didn't get jinxed. Did I just say that word?
Is there anything Neil Patrick Harris can't do? The other night he was positively stellar on American Idol as a guest judge, stealing the spotlight from Simon by being a fair but stern discerner of the talented and the talentless. You could really see him as a permanent replacement for Simon Cowell and doing a damn, good job. Then there was Dr. Horrible, Emmy host, Tony host and, naturally, Barney on How I Met Your Mother. Neil is a jack of all trade and a master of most!
That's right, JLo will be hanging with the crew, and in a move that I heartily support, she will not play herself. Jennifer has been cast as Anita Appleby, a self-help author who knows all about male-female relationships.
When Robin meets Anita and tell her all about Barney Stinson, master of the universe and womanizer extraordinaire, Anita decides that she will break him of his nasty ways with women.
In all seriousness, this is great news. Two years ago, a renewal for HIMYM wasn't a sure thing. The decision wasn't made until well into the spring. So, clearly, CBS has a new attitude about the Carter Bays-Craig Thomas creation, not to mention liking their work enough to give Bays-Thomas a rich new contract and the opportunity to make another sitcom.
Carter Bays and Craig Thomas, the creators of How I Met Your Mother, have signed a contract with 20th Century Fox TV to create a new show. The new comedy is untitled as of yet but is about a young couple and their friends in Pittsburgh, which could actually qualify as a clone of the HIMYM cast if that show was set in Pittsburgh.
The fact that this duo are creating a new show is a good thing for two reasons. First, they are pretty talented at what they do and whatever show they create will undoubtedly be worth a look (at least to determine if HIMYM was their only good idea). Second, perhaps this will motivate the pair to wrap up HIMYM and allow the fans to finally meet the friggin' mother! That particular mystery feels as if it's been going on for too long. The mother should be introduced so they can end the show and move on to Pittsburgh.
I don't watch either Big Brother or How I Met Your Mother, so I really have no opinion on this. As Joel told you in his review of How I Met Your Mother, one of the plots had to do with Robin saying "But, um..." all the time. Now some people think that this was a little dig at Julie Chen, who has become famous for saying "But first..." on Big Brother. As this video montage below shows.
On a side note, I hate it when the hosts of Today say "But first, this is Today on NBC..." when they go to a commercial.
(S05E13) This was one of those episodes that seemed like it would be more fun than it actually was. The stories seemed to be potentially amusing, and there were some funny moments. But this was definitely on the lower side of the ledger as far as this season's episodes are concerned.
Which one of the stories did I like better? Hm... the Jenkins one, but only by a little bit. It was fun seeing Amanda Peet playing someone who was even more alpha male than Robin, and envisioning Peet doing some of the things Marshall described Jenkins doing wasn't exactly unpleasant. Oh, and it introduced us to Big Fudge, who I hope plays more Skee-Ball as the seasons go on.
(S05E12) After I wrote my gushing preview of this episode, I went back and re-watched it, hoping my first impression was correct. It turned out that it was, but for a very different reason than I thought. The 100th episode of HIMYM didn't have everything that makes the show such fun for its fans: there was no time-shifting, and not a lot of misdirection. It just told two straight-ahead stories that were really funny and gave us confidence in how things are going to play out going forward.
Oh, and it had a song-and-dance number that was fun as hell.
If you're a fan of How I Met Your Mother -- and if you're reading this, you likely are -- the video preview of Monday's episode probably got you pretty excited. After all, it's Neil Patrick Harris and the cast, singing and dancing about Barney Stinson's love of suits. What's not to like, right? If you were wondering, though, how the rest of the episode was, I'm here to tell you that it's the best episode of the season, and maybe the best episode we've seen in a couple of years.
Come with me after the jump and I'll explain. No worries; there won't be any spoilers in this post.
Good news for Patrick Warburton fans; disappointing news for Jenna Elfman fans. And if you have a deep affection for Jeremy Northam, this should make you happy, too. Confused? Don't be. I'm just laying out the essence of the CBS midseason juggle.
On Mondays, beginning February 1, Accidentally on Purpose will be shelved... but only for a few weeks. Taking the 8:30 Monday slot will be the return of Patrick Warburton, the best thing in Rules of Engagement.
That's not all. On March 31, the 8:30 slot in which Gary Unmarried airs, will be assumed by Accidentally. That's not because Gary's being canceled; it will have completed its season order by then.
More and more shows are doing musical episodes now. We've had The Simpsons doing several over the years, and then Buffy The Vampire Slayer had one too. Eli Stone had a lot of music and of courseGleetakes it to a whole new level. Now How I Met Your Motheris getting into the act this Monday for its 100th episode. Here's a sneak peek. The episode is called "Girls vs. Suits" and you can see why.
More of our best of the decade coverage, which started on Tuesday. You can read the other posts at the link above. Here, we talk about the funniest actors of the last ten years.
If you want to be a great comedic actor, you can never let on that you know you're being funny. Your character never knows what the joke is. That's why Rodney Dangerfield was a great, legendary stand-up comedian, and a fairly poor comic actor.
Everyone on this list excels at the comedic poker face. Steve Carell and Ricky Gervais, in their Office boss characters, don't know that most of the rest of the office is laughing at them. Or at least they don't understand why. Stephen Colbert, despite all of the attention The Colbert Report have received, may be the most underrated comic actor, because the character is so seamless, sometimes it's hard to tell it's a character. Shatner is a legend for playing campy with a poker face. And Neil Patrick Harris as a cad? A straight cad? Perfect.
Here are a few of our favorite comedic actors from the past decade, and may their characters never realize the joke's on them.
(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.
The Super Bowl had no shortage of clever ads. Some of the most surprising were 
If anyone was getting nervous that Neil Patrick Harris's new gig hosting the 
Is there anything Neil Patrick Harris can't do? The other night he was positively stellar on 
I could get used to this daily dose of good news from How I Met Your Mother. First, 
If you have ever worried that 
Carter Bays and Craig Thomas, the creators of 
Good news for Patrick Warburton fans; disappointing news for Jenna Elfman fans. And if you have a deep affection for Jeremy Northam, this should make you happy, too. Confused? Don't be. I'm just laying out the essence of the 
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