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Last night, How I Met Your Mother earned its Two And A Half Men lead-in timeslot (snap!) with what was indisputably the worst episode ever. Britney Spears made her second appearance as Crazy Abby, in an episode that, unlike her first, was clearly written around the guest star. Maybe because her character was less funny and more sad and delusional, or maybe because she had more lines, or maybe because the show’s other subplots fell in line with the kind of cheap gay-stereotype jokes you’d expect to see on a CBS sitcom, just not this one, but this episode had fans yelling “Stop being the worst!” at their TV sets all across my apartment. Bad. Here are a few clips illustrating Britney’s self-conscious, shrill performance. Poor Neil Patrick Harris.
Despite an homage to a classic Cheers reference (“Are you as turned on as I am?” “More!”), this scene where Barney and Abby join forces contains no original material or jokes, just awkwardness:
And after Barney proposes to Abby as a “bit” to show Ted how lame he is (how much of a hacky stretch is that premise?), Barney tells Abby that Ted is in love with her. There’s a difference between Britney making fun of herself and everyone else making fun of Britney. This is the latter:
Britney’s guest appearances may have saved this little sitcom from cancellation, but they have the whole summer to shake her off and come back with the original, witty show that made HIMYM a critical hit. Don’t make me compare you to Two And A Half Men again, HIMYM writers. That hurt.
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fortunately, this wasn’t the season finale for HIMYM so let’s just hope they don’t try to bring her back in some awful desperate way in the actual finale next week.
oops! You’re so right. I’m glad, though!
it was awful. just awful. or awful’s stronger, uglier big brother. it actually hurt a little.
Yeah, it goes without saying she can’t act, but it was the blank stare in her eyes the whole time that just kinda creeped me out. It was…weird.
And totally out of character for Barney. I’ve been watching this show since it started (I miss The Class), and he would never do something so retarded.
I totally disagree with you, and I’m surprised that your experience does not give you more of a “qualified” opinion. You should separate your criticisms- if it’s HIMYM’s writers, then blame only them. Don’t downgrade Spears’ acting performance based upon the character she is playing. I am an avid watcher of HIMYM and have been since the beginning, and I personally loved the hype surrounding Spears’ return and the lighthearted episode’s script. I think she did a stellar job, even without comparing her to other crossover performers whose industry is not TV. If for no other reason, commend Spears on her efforts and support her while she focuses on putting her life back together again.
P.S. I thank Spears and even HIMYM’s writers for incorporating her because, together, they saved my favorite TV show from cancellation.
And, you have to admit that Spears played a pivotal role in allowing next season to happen. I’m done.