"How I Met Your Mother" spoilers coming up just as soon as I buy a gross of Hefty bags...Stunt-casting: the deal with the devil.
On the one hand, if I'm right that CBS is going to include "HIMYM" on the fall schedule it announces on Wednesday, Ms. Britney Spears will be a big reason why. The show was already up in the ratings the week before "Ten Sessions," but Brit-Brit's cameo as Abby gave the show its best numbers ever and likely went a long way towards convincing any skeptical CBS executives that they might just want to renew it even if they don't "get" it.
Britney's presence was so minimal in "Ten Sessions," and the appearance such an obvious win-win for both parties ("HIMYM" got a ratings boost, Britney got to look physically and mentally healthy), that I had no problem with it at the time. But in Hollywood, there's no such thing as leaving well enough alone. Britney's first appearance gave the show its best ratings ever, so why not bring her back a second time? Or, as rumor has it, a third time next year?
Why not? Simple: because the more screen time you give her, the more Britney's limited comic chops are exposed, and the more "HIMYM" begins to resemble the tired old sitcoms it's usually so much better than. There wasn't a second of the Barney/Abby storyline this time that felt like something natural to the show, as opposed to something the writers had to cook up to include (and protect) Britney again. Neil Patrick Harris is a wondrous comic talent, but he can't carry that much dead weight(*) for an entire episode.
(*) Note: that wasn't a fat joke. Britney looked great, actually. She's just not very funny, and not up to NPH's level. She's not even up to Larry Wilmore's level, as the "Bernie Mac" creator/"Daily Show" correspondent made me laugh more in his 90 seconds or so on-camera (as Dr. Greer) than Britney did all episode.
Fortunately, though Britney's screen time was increased over "Ten Sessions," the writers were still smart enough to put her in the B-story, while Jason Segel and Alyson Hannigan got to take the A-story, about Marshall losing faith in Lily's art and then finding a way -- with the help of some very attentive dogs -- to restore Lily's faith in him. It still wasn't an outrageously funny plot (and the runner within it about Ted's flaming red cowboy boots veered dangerously close to seeming like latter-era Ross from "Friends"), but it at least felt true to the characters, and in addition to Larry Wilmore, I liked the guys playing the G-CWOK's (Gay Couple Without Kids). Plus, Lily occasionally losing her patience with her kindergarten class works.
A few other notes:
- As Segel and Hannigan said at episode's end, LilyandMarshallSellTheirStuff.com is a real website designed to raise money for an LA children's hospital, but the CharityFolks.com servers clearly weren't expecting an influx of web-savvy "HIMYM" fans, because I haven't been able to get the page to load since it was first mentioned. Also a real website: GuyForcesHisWifeToDressInAGarbageBagForTheNextThreeyears.com (complete with more ridiculous/creepy theme music!)
- Someone on the staff is a big "Cheers" fan. (And why wouldn't they be?) Not only did Barney and Abby's cab ride include an homage to the most famous Sam/Diane scene of all time ("Are you as turned on right now as I am?" "More!"), but the frame on Lily's painting that the G-CWOKs bought was made by Anton Kreitzer, which was Norm's pseudonym in the episode where he hired a lazy crew for his painting business.
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