neil patrick Harris-related stories
Neil Patrick Harris is Frosty the Inappropriate Snowman
This looks like something a fan made up on the web but it was actually created by CBS. It's to promote the upcoming airings of Frosty the Snowman and Frosty Returns, as well as How I Met Your Mother. Is there anything Neil Patrick Harris isn't in these days?
What Joel is thankful for
You know, it's funny. When I started here I was a lowly IT guy with no girlfriend and lots of time on his hands to watch TV, even on Thanksgiving. Now I'm engaged, the editor of this site, and have to run around to so many family and friend-related events this weekend my head's already spinning just thinking about it. So I have a lot to be thankful for (and I just realized how friggin' long I've been here... wow).But TV has always been a part of that equation, and it had no less of a role for me this year. So, in the TV world, here is what will make me thankful as I dive into the turkey tomorrow:
ABC's Wednesday comedy line-up: Against all trends, ABC rolled the dice and started a whole new night of comedy on Wednesdays. And while Hank flamed out, The Middle, Modern Family, and Cougar Town look like they have staying power, both from a quality and a ratings standpoint.
Continue reading What Joel is thankful for
Review: How I Met Your Mother - Slapsgiving 2: Revenge of the Slap
(S05E09) Let me start off by stating that any HIMYM episode involving the famous slap bet between Marshall and Barney is going to be funny. Just the act of Jason Segel's exaggerated slapping and Neil Patrick Harris' equally exaggerated pratfall in reaction is enough to get me rolling. I just wish the slaps weren't telegraphed so much in advance.You have to remember that tonight is a sequel to the original Slapsgiving from two years ago. As sequels go, it's not bad; not as good as the original but satisfying nevertheless. But you knew at some point, Marshall was going to say "That's four!" and Barney was going to rub his face. So we have to examine the journey to get there. That journey started off well, but got a little predictable. Still didn't make the slap itself any less funny.
Continue reading Review: How I Met Your Mother - Slapsgiving 2: Revenge of the Slap
The Emmys are coming, the Emmys are coming ... in August
There's something a little unnerving about the fact that the Primetime Emmys float. Not the award statuette itself. No, that would be like an anchor in the water. I'm talking about the date for the Emmys. The 2010 Primetime Emmys will be on Sunday, August 29, on NBC. The 2009 Primetime Emmys, lest you forgot already, were September 20. The date of the Emmys floats around depending on which network is broadcasting the show. NBC has a steady date with the NFL on Sunday nights during football season. NBC Football Night in America in the network's top-rated show. The top. Number one. That means there's no way that the Peacock was going to give up a Sunday night game for the Primetime Emmy broadcast.
So, using their power, the network simply declared that the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards will be held in August. They pulled this same stunt in 2006, so the folks at NATAS (the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences) weren't stunned.
Continue reading The Emmys are coming, the Emmys are coming ... in August
Review: How I Met Your Mother - The Playbook
(S05E08) Could it be that, after the whole season five build-up to the Swarkles relationship, everyone would more or less go back to normal by episode eight of season six? It seems that way, and I don't know how I feel about it.Relationship Barney wasn't that pleasant to watch. Some of his patented awesomeness tried to come through but he was increasingly becoming a content guy, which is no good for comedy. But to see him immediately snap back to the way he was pre-Robin was equally jarring. Maybe that's the way it has to be for Barney ... I don't know. But, as funny as the exploration of Barn's playbook was, it felt like the last two dozen or so episodes never happened.
Oh, and it seems like Robin's quickly moving on too, so it's not all on Barney ...
Continue reading Review: How I Met Your Mother - The Playbook
Review: How I Met Your Mother - The Rough Patch
(S05E07) During most episodes of HIMYM, you tend to forget that this whole show is told from the perspective of Old Ted, who's telling his kids the longest, most boring meet-up story in history of the world. Bob Saget's narration often just goes in one ear and out the other, like the background music. But there are some episodes where the storytelling aspect of the series is firmly in place, with the exaggerations, changes, and bad memories often associated with this activity.
This was one of those episodes. Was Barney really that fat? Was Robin really that haggard? Did Archisexture really accidentally "fly" into Ted's VCR? Of course not. But those whoppers from Old Ted were what made this episode so entertaining. That and Alan Thicke. But Alan Thicke always makes things entertaining; he's Alan Thicke, for crissakes.
Continue reading Review: How I Met Your Mother - The Rough Patch
Who'll host the Oscars? The oddsmakers like Billy Crystal
Oscar roulette is usually played when it comes time to figure out the nominations. However, this year there seems to be a wheel of fortune spinning with the names of possible hosts for the show. Of course, the folks running the show have intimated that they might want to have a few stars sharing the duties. Historically, that hasn't worked out too well.The other day when Hugh Jackman removed his name from the running, I asked you for your ideas and told you that I like Kathy Griffin. Jimmy liked George Clooney and Justin Timberlake. Sancty suggested Neil Patrick Harris.
Continue reading Who'll host the Oscars? The oddsmakers like Billy Crystal
Review: How I Met Your Mother - Bagpipes
(S05E06) The thing that always amazes me about this show is that how Old Ted is perfectly content to tell his kids about all the tawdry things he or Barney did back in those heady days of the mid-to-late-'00s, but every so often he realizes who he's talking to and substitutes a clean term for a dirty term. I'd imagine this inconsistency is done on purpose by Bays/Thomas and their writers; why have Old Ted pull back on his stories unless there's a laugh to be had?This is how we got the references to "sandwiches," for instance. And this is how we got the running joke about bagpipes tonight. I liked how it was just a joke in the background and didn't really reference any major story. The major stories, though, were both pretty funny this week.
Continue reading Review: How I Met Your Mother - Bagpipes
Neil Patrick Harris is on Batman tonight (and he sings!)
Neil Patrick Harris is the It Boy of television right now. He can really do no wrong, whether it's on How I Met Your Mother or hosting the Emmys, he's come a long way since Doogie Howser, M.D.
Tonight he plays a villain, the Music Meister, on Batman: The Brave and the Bold (Cartoon Network, 7:30). He even gets to sing, and the song is actually catchy.
Tonight he plays a villain, the Music Meister, on Batman: The Brave and the Bold (Cartoon Network, 7:30). He even gets to sing, and the song is actually catchy.
The Addams Family, Green Acres and Vic Mizzy
I never heard of Vic Mizzy, but he was a professional songwriter who specialized in TV themes. Vic Mizzy passed away on Saturday at the age of 93. I may not have recognized his name, but I know Vic Mizzy's music... and I've had his tunes in my head for decades. Mizzy was the man who wrote two classic TV themes, Green Acres and The Addams Family. And they really were classic. To this day, I remember every word and can sing them at the drop of a hat (if you were wearing one and decided to drop it).Mizzy had written songs that the likes of Dean Martin and Doris Day recorded, even the great Billie Holiday. But those TV themes are his legacy. That's not a bad thing. Mizzy made music that people remember because they were catchy themes attached to quirky series. And his songs were perfect because in 90 seconds or so, he captured the gist of the sitcom. Think about it:
Continue reading The Addams Family, Green Acres and Vic Mizzy
Review: How I Met Your Mother - Duel Citizenship
(S05E05) Sometimes an episode of HIMYM is full of "mythology" advancement. Sometimes it explores the romantic relationships between the characters. Sometimes there's a goofy website or video to accompany the episode. But sometimes, HIMYM just tells one or two semi-isolated stories. Last year, many of those episodes weren't all that great. But this season is different; everything's been funny, including the mostly silly episode we got tonight.
Which reminds me... I have to figure out where to get a hold of some Tantrum. That stuff is more powerful than 12-Hour Sudafed.
Continue reading Review: How I Met Your Mother - Duel Citizenship
How I Met Your Mother: The Sexless Innkeeper
(S05E04) Let's get this notion out of the way right here: Couples "dating" other couples isn't exactly a new idea in the sitcom world. Countless comedies have had the episode where the lead couple is blown off by another couple they really like, and they go through the same process that a someone goes through when he or she is jilted after a first or second date. This week we saw all of that.But, it was done with some funny touches, not the least of which is a photo montage, website, and music video (embedded after the jump) that gave the tired story a unique spin. And there was enough other fun stuff packed into this episode to make you forget that the main plot has been done since at least the days of Sam and Diane.
Continue reading How I Met Your Mother: The Sexless Innkeeper
How I Met Your Mother: Robin 101
(S05E03) Well, it seems like Bays and Thomas are batting about .750 to this point in the season. Of the first three episodes, they made solid contact on each one, only really missing with the "double date" A-story of last week's episode. This week stood out not just for the fact that it was a heavy Brobin (Rarney? I'm still trying to find a nickname I'm comfortable with) episode, but it showed that even Ted can see the dark sides of the cartoons and balloons perspective he brings to relationships.Oh, and I've seen the Robin nostrils-flaring look. It's different on every woman, but it means the same thing. It means: Run like the wind! No time to go back for your things! Run! Hopefully, Barney will get less of this look and more of "You're an idiot."
Continue reading How I Met Your Mother: Robin 101
Spoilers Anonymous
This is Spoilers Anonymous, a weekly column here at TV Squad where we supply you with the dirt on some of the more popular shows on the air. We'll never put spoilers up here on the main page in order to help the reformed stay unspoiled. If you have anything to add to the group, feel free to step up and let yourself be heard, either with our tips form or by emailing us at tvsquad at gmail dot com, or call and leave a message at (775) 640-8479. Your anonymity is guaranteed, if you wish to remain as such.
This week we have spoilers for: 90210, Bones, Desperate Housewives, Ghost Whisperer, Glee, Gossip Girl, Grey's Anatomy, How I Met Your Mother, Law & Order: CI, Lost, Supernatural, The Mentalist and Ugly Betty. (SPOILERS FOLLOW!)
Continue reading Spoilers Anonymous
How I Met Your Mother: Double Date
(S05E02) If there was ever an episode that demonstrated how creative Bays and Thomas and their writing staff can be, it's this one. Not only did we bend time and space -- Ted even had an alternate universe-ish goatee -- but we got a doppelganger and an elaborate fantasy about hiccup disease thrown in for good measure.What's interesting about it is, the bending-time-and-space A story, while fun to watch, turned out to be not much different than what we may have seen in the past. The B story was much more entertaining, and it gave us some insight to how the two currently active HIMYM relationships are going to run for the time being.
Have any questions for Rich Sommer of Mad Men? Ask them here!
Syfy's Alice -- An early look
The TV Squad Podcast: Surprising shows, decade-end lists, and the Commenter of the Week!
