Monday... How I Met Your Mother... Ep. 3-13... "Ten Sessions"

So, unfortunately, I wasn't thrilled with Britney Spears or Sarah Chalke in their roles. So the whole episode for me kind of... not bombed, but wasn't up to HIMYM standards.

Stella (Chalke) mentioned a St. Patrick's Day party, so the writers seem to be dropping a lot more clues and/or red herrings about the mother's identity. I really don't think she is the mother because the character already has a daughter and I think the writers would have cast an actress not committed to another network series to play a larger role.

Britney was hyped up, and decent, but really didn't add anything or make much of an impact. I'm not really sure why Alicia Silverstone's reps didn't want her doing the episode. It's not like Alicia gets publicity these days, so she wouldn't have really been overshadowed by comparison.

So, the show is called How I Met Your Mother, not While I Dated Your Mother. So, once Ted meets her, and it has to be a big deal because "Future Ted" is telling such a long story, that's kinda it. Obviously they could go on and discover the relationship, but I don't know. I'm thinking we may meet the mother in the season finale in case it doesn't get renewed. It looks like there are seven episodes left in the season, Wikipedia has 5 "TBA"s from April 21 though May 19.

Monday... How I Met Your Mother... Ep. 3-12... "No Tomorrow"

I was worried after three months, I would find How I Met Your Mother less funny. I did not. Tonight's episode, unplanned or not, was a St. Patrick's Day episode.

I honestly think with lesser actors, the show would not be as funny. I think some of the jokes are kind of bad, but not that bad. It's like, they're bad enough to be original. When Barney comes into the apartment with a green suit, he gets called Gumby, Riddler and Robin Hood. But Ted walks in and, without hesitation:

"Hey, NBA player sidelined by a knee injury."

To me, Josh Radnor is one the best at delivery on network television right now. Had it been another actor, or had the line been "You look like an NBA player sidelined with a knee injury," I don't think it would have worked as well. One of the most used words on the show is "awesome," and his delivery works every time.

But the big news - we may be very close to meeting Mother. We've seen the yellow umbrella before, and we see it again in this episode, especially at the end, when Ted himself picks it up. This obviously leads to a story where his future wife looks for it.

I have a small feeling we might have seen her. At the bar, Ted bumps into a girl and says sorry, she replies that it's ok, then they both away. I feel like this would normally be something that would be cut out of the episode, but it might come back in future episodes. That would be too easy, right?

Speaking of the bar, this episode uses a format previously seen in "Ted Mosby, Architect," where we see Ted acting one way, then later we find out it wasn't exactly how it went down. In that episode, Robin thinks Ted is going around town using his job to get women, when in fact Barney is using Ted's name. In this episode, we see a very drunk Ted who has unknowingly been leaving Marshal voicemail. We're left at the end worrying a little about his well-being, as he is extremely bothered by how he acted.

Coincidentally, "Ted Mosby, Architect" and this episode both feature another running joke. In tonight's ep, Ted asks Barney if they have to build a baseball field. The gang often makes references to Field of Dreams, a movie Robin fell asleep halfway through. There is another joke about ghosts in "Architect" as well... maybe the writers saw that episode before writing this one.

Lily and Marshall's new apartment is crooked, and this leads to more could-be-bad jokes about finding the "right angle" and it being an "uphill battle," but again, Cobie Smulders has the charm that prevents me from rolling my eyes. It also works when she goes along with Marshal's ghost story, saying very dryly "It passed through me and suddenly I felt cold, very cold."

And of course there is Barney, whose elaborate jokes would never come from anyone else. "End of the world - Nostradamus - Notre Dame - Fighting Irish - Irish - St. Patrick's Day!" And the extremely long-winded joke about girls living in different area codes, ending wit him calling himself Wyoming.

Monday... How I Met Your Mother... Ep. 2-16... "Stuff"

From TV.com: Lily gets asked to be in a play. Robin discovers the source of a lot of Ted's stuff and Ted discovers the source of Robin's dogs. They have a fight and ask the rest of the gang to rule on the matter.

Ted: Oh my god, Van Helsing is on. Remember when we went to see it? We sat in the back row...
Robin: I've never seen Van Helsing.
Ted: Oh that's right, I saw it with my sister.

Robin: My boss just got back from Maui, he said it was really romantic.
Ted: Oh, it's so romantic.
Robin: When were you in Maui?
Ted: I went... with... Robin (joining in): my sister!
Robin: Why do you always say that?

Lily: Hot off the presses!
Barney: I don't take flyers.
Marshall: You took one two seconds before you walked in here!
Barney: That's different, it was for a strip club. Two bucks off wings! How much is your flyer gonna save me on wings?

Ted: Really? You can't look at a pillow without seeing my ex girlfriend? A pillow!?
Robin: Yes, Ted, the fact that you still have that pillow is creepy and gross!
Ted: You're creepy and gross!
Robin: Your mom is creepy and gross!
Lily: Order! Order!

Barney: I side with Robin. Ted, your place is too cluttered. It's like you're living in a Bennigan's.

Ted, 2023 (Narration): New York is famous for its theatre. But there's many different levels. There's Broadway, off-Broadway, off-off Broadway, homeless people screaming in the park, and below that, the play Aunt Lily was in.

Actor 1: I am rage!
Actor 2: I am greed!
Lily: I am rage - ENVY!

Lily: If you were in a play, I'd sit through the whole thing and I'd compliment you on it afterward.
Barney: Oh really, you would?
Lily: Yes!
Barney: Bad move, Aldrin. Bad move.

Robin: Oh my God, you've been robbed!
Ted: Nope.
Robin (pauses): All that stuff was from old girlfriends? Don't you buy anything for yourself?
Ted: What can I say? Papa gets swag.

Lily: He's really having trouble dealing with this, huh?
Robin: Yeah, he really is. It's got me thinking maybe I should get rid of my dogs. Might be time to send them to the farm.
Lily: You're going to kill your dogs?!
Robin: No! there really is a farm! My aunt has a farm upstate.

Robin: My aunt is awfully lonely up there, it's just her and her lover Betty.
Lily: Oh that's perfect, they love dogs!
Robin: "They," what do you mean by "they?"
Lily: Uh... people upstate - Oh look it's starting! Shh!

Barney: Moist. Moist. Moist. Moist.
Ted 2023 (Narration): That was the first 40 minutes of Barney's show. Then we endured about 20 minutes of this.
[Barney shoots Lily with a water gun]
Barney: I have to go refill. I'll be back in a moment - play's not over!
Marshall: I never get picked for audience participation.