Tuned In, TV Blog, Television Reviews, James Poniewozik, TIME

May 13, 2008 8:37

The Morning After: Brit Invasion

Posted by James Poniewozik | Comments (5) | Permalink | Trackbacks (0) | Email This

HIMYM and Spears continue their marriage of convenience. / Cliff Lipson/CBS

In a bit of good upfront-week news, How I Met Your Mother was picked up for another season on CBS. That's something to keep in mind when sitting through an episode like last night's, with Britney Spears, who probably had at least a little to do with the decision after she juiced the show's ratings in her first guest spot.

Britney's first appearance, in which she played Ted-besotted receptionist Abby, was actually perfectly good, partly because Abby had a small enough subplot role that the whole Britneyness of Britney wasn't distracting. "Everything Must Go" didn't work nearly as well, and I can only blame Britney in part. I don't think she quite syncs with HIMYM's cast and its pace, but she wouldn't make a bad sitcom actress. But the storyline and character the writers have contrived to shoehorn her into the show—kind of an extreme version of the borderline crazy-obsessives that characters on Friends were always hooking up with—just made her seem like she had wandered onto the wrong sitcom set.

The A-plot about Lily's painting was a fair enough standalone episode, though, even redeeming what seemed like an overly cliched gay couple with Lily's GCWOK patrons. At first I was disappointed that the writers went there, with GCWOK #1 drooling over Marshall as he came to recover the painting, until we saw that the cliches came from Marshall and Ted's retelling of the story—each of them being Queer-Eye-era metrosexuals who crave the validation of gay men (Marshall for his body, Ted for his fashion sense). And a welcome guest spot from Larry Wilmore as a veterinarian; can he be Barney's fake girlfriend next time?

Sphere Related Blogs & Articles

Reader Comments (5)

john

The show isn't as strong when Barney is on his own, as opposed to interacting with the gang. I'm hopeful that situation will be resolved in the next week or so. And is it just me, or doesn't every time a HIMYM character takes a stroll on a "New York Street" you half expect them to walk past Joey and Chandler?

Posted by john | May 13, 2008 9:32 AM

AarynLaperle:

oh thank god it got renewed. I thought it might have fallen to the curse of "the good show i get on board with in the 3rd season" and get cut.

Posted by AarynLaperle | May 13, 2008 12:03 PM

Chaddogg:

End the stunt casting, HIMYM. Britney was good in small doses, but that was too much.

That being said, I still love this show....it really grows on me every time I watch it.

Posted by Chaddogg | May 13, 2008 12:41 PM

SpotWeld:

I'm just waiting for the show that's entirely in Barney-vision (uncle Barney stops over to talk to the kids?)

Seriously, the view from inside that head must be quite a trip.

Posted by SpotWeld | May 13, 2008 1:33 PM

shara says:

That episode just wasn't very funny. I wasn't crazy about any of the subplots, I didn't find myself laughing at much of anything. I liked Robin wanting all Lily's clothes. The dogs at the end were cute. The whole Barney-Abby thing just didn't work for me.

Posted by shara says | May 13, 2008 3:49 PM

About Tuned In

James Poniewozik writes TIME magazine's Tuned In column, about pop culture and society. Tuned In, the blog version, is about the stuff we used to call "TV," whether it's in your living room, on your computer or--once the networks figure out the technology and line up the advertisers--in your dreams themselves.