The Americans: Mr. and Mrs. Smith?

Keri Russell

        Keep up with the Joneses, especially if they happen to be KGB spies during the Cold War.  The Americans, a new series slated for an early 2013 release on FX, plays with the spy world and marriage like Mr. and Mrs. Smith before it.  Starring Keri Russell, the series will explore the relationship of the married spies, who have two oblivious children but are initially only married for their cover.  With a very intriguing premise and the always lovely Russell as the lead, the show sounds promising.  I just hope she'll be free to play the actual mother on HIMYM. ( I am still holding out for that.  Think about it.  She'd be perfect).

How Ted Mosby Met His Enemy

Thomas Lennon-Ted's New Enemy

           So, that awkward moment when you meet the fiance of the girl you ran off with the day of her wedding, that is totally cool to share with your children right?  Ted Mosby of How I Met Your Mother certainly thinks so.  In the season finale, he and former flame Victoria ran off together, much to the annoyance of most viewers, who already know Victoria is not actually the mother of Ted's children.  Ah, well, they have to make it last.
         The fiance of Victoria has just been cast for the new season, and the man playing Ted's new enemy is.......Thomas Lennon.  You may think you don't know the comedic actor, but you do.  He was perhaps the most memorable character in 2009's 17 Again, playing a LOTR's loving, uber-geek friend to Zac Efron's character.  He's also been in numerous shows and movies, including Reno 911, New Girl, and What to Expect When You're Expecting, though not always in a main character role.  I look forward to drama going down between him and Ted when the new season premieres this September on CBS, and if it's anything like his fight with Efron, it will include lightsabors and battle axes.

HIMYM without Marshall?

Jason Segel as Marshall in HIMYM

           Jason Segel, the growing movie star best known by How I met Your Mother fans as the beloved Marshall Eriksen, said in a recent interview that he was ready for the show to reach its natural conclusion in the coming season.  This of course stirred up drama, particularly because of recent expressed interest in a ninth season after this year's eighth.  Fans of the show would certainly cry foul if Marshall, who recently had a baby with his wife Lily, were to leave the show before its end.  I wouldn't get to worried.  Segel's comments seem as though they were taken out of context to cause drama.  Surely if there is a ninth season, Segel will be back, out of respect to his lovable character and loyal fans.  For now, let's just look out for Jason Segel in the eighth, and possibly final season of HIMYM this September on CBS.

How I Met Your Mother and Got Her to Sign a Pre-Nup

          For those of you who have followed How I Met Your Mother through its many seasons, you know that the star of the show is often the legend....wait for it......dary Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris).  In the upcoming season, Barney the notorious bachelor will design an elaborate fantasy pre-nup that makes a character in Homeland's paranoia look normal.  The fact that Barney is even getting married is a great lesson in character development for a show.  It should also be a big shocker for Ted, who desperately wants to get married while all his friends around him settle down.
        It is still up in the air whether or not there will be a ninth season, and of course, Ted has not met his mother yet.  Enjoy the Barney crazy when HIMYM returns this fall for its eighth season.  Those poor kids hearing the story should be college graduates by now!

How I wish you'd meet your mother already.

          How I Met Your Mother is a great show in terms of post-Friends friend comedies.  Its characters are the right balance of over-the-top and endearingly familiar and it's premise is unique.  Ted Mosby (Josh Radnor,and Bob Saget as the older narrator Ted) tells his children the story of how he met their mother.  Surrounded by friends like the almost too perfectly married Marshall (Jason Segel) and Lily (Alyson Hannigan), the Canadian and loving it Robin (Colbie Smulders) and Barney wait for it....legendary Stinson, Ted proves to be rather unlucky in love for a total of 7 seasons.  He has yet to meet his wife and the future mother of his child, though he still desperately wants to find his soul mate in some fateful moment.  The show could be renamed, All the Stuff That Went Down Before I Met Your Mother (Some of which is Inappropriate to Tell You, but Oh Well).  HIMYM is renewed for its 8th season, and there are talks for a 9th.  As much as I initially enjoyed the show, it seems long overdue for the premise to finally be met and for the show to reach a satisfying end.  I'm ready for Ted to meet his children's mom (preferably Keri Russell).  After all, Lily and Marshall have already had a baby, and from the looks of it Robin and the notorious bachelor Barney may be settling together as well.  As great as the show is, it needs to end before it wears out its welcome.  Those poor children have listened to an 7 year story.  They need to be saved!