HIMYM: Britney Spears, Sarah Chalke : should they come back ? Who’s the mother ?
By fred | April 14, 2008
You’ve probably heard about it, recently Neil Patrick Harris has been talking about Britney Spears and whether or not he thinks she should come back to the show. Along with those talks, rumors from sources like TV Guide indicates that someone else might be coming back, the lovely Sarah Chalke. So let me ask the question I would imagine most fans of How I Met Your Mother are obsessed over : what is happening to my great little show that I love so much ?
We all know that the show is great, it’s hilarious, it’s imaginative and creative in ways that had never been done before, or not used in sitcoms. In more than one way, like its recurring mysteries, its use of flashbacks as well as flash-forwards, or it’s four-toed statue, it’s the Lost of sitcoms. Yet unlike ABC hit-drama, How I Met Your Mother does not receive the credits and recognition it deserves, not even close.
Before going any further, I feel the need to come back on something : I just realized I got things wrong, there’s actually no four-toed statue on How I Met Your Mother. Still, my point remains the same.
But trying desperately to improve the ratings using lame tactics like celebrity guest is a bad idea, because it can eventually hurt the show. As Barney himself said recently, “I worry that if they start Will and Grace-ing us too much, that the show will suffer. And we’re all really proud of the content of the show.”
This concern is completely legitimate, especially because let’s be honest : the show had never been great at using guest-stars. Some shows are pretty awesome at that, shows like 30 Rock comes to mind. But they know how to cast, going for people like David Schwimmer or Will Arnett, people who, you know, can act. Giving them great roles to play, and it’s a winner.
But How I Met Your Mother already has an history of bad guests, like Enrique Iglesias, Mandy Moore or more recently Britney Spears. All of those were bad, mainly because they can’t act. It doesn’t mean the show is any less anything that 30 Rock, it’s not bad, it’s not less funny or anything, they’re simply not the same shows, and that’s fine. When Harris says that he “[is] in the minority [thinking] that our show does not need stunt casting in order to succeed“, I think he’s wrong.
If we’re talking about CBS and other stupid execs, maybe. But when it comes to the fans, the millions of people who actually do tune in and watch the show every week, I’m pretty sure they too share the same feelings, that the show is better off doing awesome episodes relying on the full cast of the show, they don’t need no one else to make things work, especially when they have Barney Stinson on their side !
So don’t fuck it up, please, would be my message to everyone involved with the show, and that includes CBS who should stop trying to get one more million viewers and renew the show for another season already, if they don’t want to loose the millions they do tune in week after week as of now. I really get worried when I hear what Harris recently said trying to adjust previous reports, when he declared : “As I have said all along, Britney did a great job on the show. She really did. In fact, we are all hoping that she returns rather soon to reprise her role as Abby. Look, that episode garnered our highest ratings of the season — I would never ignore or disrespect that fact.”
No, she did not. She did not do a great job, she can’t act, and everyone will be better off if she never comes back. That episode might have had a rating boost, but that doesn’t mean it was the best episode of the season (it wasn’t), and bringing her week after week won’t get a million more people to tune in every week, but it might chase away a few millions who have loved and enjoyed the show for years now, and never needed any ex-pop star to tune in.
That doesn’t mean I don’t want Sarah Chalke to come back, because as with every rule there has to be exception, and she is the one. For starter Sarah Chalke can act, she’s great at it, had a really nice chemistry with Josh Radnor (Ted), and there is no reason not to bring her back, should writers feel that way. And apparently, they do, since Radnor confirmed to TV Guide that we’ll probably get to see Stella (Chalke’s character) back for a “few more episodes” this season.
To that news I say yay!
One last thing : Who’s the mother ? Of course, I don’t know, but here’s what I know : Britney cannot be the mother, despite appearing all in yellow, because she can’t act, and because her character was stupid, a complete mess, psychologically instable. Chalke cannot be the mother either, because Ted’s voice over did not say, by the end of the episode, “and that kids, is how I men your mother” as he should have, had it been the case.
But that probably won’t happen until the series finale. What is likely to be the case, though, is that Stella will know the mother, who’s a friend or maybe a relative who knows, she might even introduced Ted to his future wife someday, but she is not, she cannot be.
What do you think ? And, who do you want back on the show, if anyone ?
Posted in News
Shows: How I Met Your Mother
