TVSquad

(S03E16) Bless the peapickin' little hearts of Carter Bays and Craig Thomas. All week, they've been setting us up, telling us about the return of Robin Sparkles, saying that we were going to get an episode full of eighties and nineties goodness, complete with James Van Der Beek, Tiffany, and Alan Thicke. We even got a video (full video is after the end of the review) as a taste.

But all of it was a ruse. A week-long ruse to distract us from realizing what was really going to happen in this episode. Since I don't want to spoil it for anyone, come with me to the after-jump portion of our review and then we can talk.

Have you been missing those references to Scherbatsky's Canadian life? If you know what I'm talking about then you'll be overjoyed to know that on April 21, How I Met Your Mother will be all about Robin Sparkles, Robin Scherbatsky's alter-ego teen singing star. The entire episode is planned as a flashback to the 1980s 1990's when Robin became a one-hit wonder with the song "Let's Go to the Mall." Well, it turns out that wasn't her only song. Carter Bays and Craig Thomas, How I Met Your Mother's co-creators, composed a ballad. "Sandcastles in the Sand" was the flip-side of "Let's Go to the Mall." It's supposedly in the style of a power break-up ballad, like "Foolish Beat" and "Toy Soldiers."

One thing I didn't enjoy much about NBC's comedy Will & Grace was the constant famous guest stars popping in almost on a weekly basis. At times, it felt like the episodes were written for those guest stars instead of writing the episodes first and then trying to find a famous person to fill in a role. Since the strike ended, I fear that How I Met Your Mother is heading towards that same path. Don't get me wrong, I love seeing guest stars here and there in a series but having them pop up week after week can get tiring. So I hope this is only a renewal stunt for the series and not something that will become the standard.

Unless you have been living under a rock, you know that Britney Spears guest starred in the March 24 episode of HIMYM. Alicia Silverstone was set to appear in a few episodes (some suspect her character would have turned out to be the mother) but bowed out when Spears was hired because Silverstone was worried that her performance would be over-shadowed by Britney's appearance.

The latest addition to the HIMYM guest star list: Dawson's Creek's James Van Der Beek! Slight spoilers about the role and episode ahead!

So, Christmas in July is only a few short days away, and you don't know what to buy your friends (who will probably be wondering why the hell you're celebrating Christmas in July anyway). Fret not, holiday shopper, because I have the solution for you: Robin Sparkles Mall Tour t-shirts!

Yes, now you can relive those memories of your favorite Canadian pop star, who is now known as Robin Scherbatsky in the CBS comedy How I Met Your Mother, courtesy of Glarkware. The front of the shirt features a splashy maple leaf design while the back displays a list of Canadian malls (not slouches by any means, according to the website) that Sparkles toured during 1993. The shirt costs $20 (US), and comes in either girlie or unisex style. Make those purchases quickly because pre-ordering ends on July 31st.

(S02E09) Holy living crap, was that a funny episode or what? I laughed hard during most of it, something that I only seem to do during The Office, Scrubs, and early Simpsons episodes. God, it was all so good: The slap bet, and the resulting payments on both sides; Marshall and Lilly enthusiastically telling each other about every mundane detail of their days; Barney's "Ohh..." moments; Robin's elaborate (and classy!) lies about her nonexistent Canadian marriage; the flashback to thirty seconds before the first slap...

... But the best part of the entire episode came at the end, when Robin revealed her dirty little secret, one that she didn't want anyone to know, including her beloved boyfriend Ted...