Original Air Date: May 12, 2008

This episode is all about Lily and Marshall selling some of their stuff to raise the funds they need to get the slanted floor in their new apartment fixed, as well as Barney and Abby (Guest Star Britney Spears) getting revenge on Ted for dumping them both.

When still-jobless Marshall learns it’s going to cost $1500, much more than the estimate, to repair the floor in his and Lily’s new apartment, he decides she needs to sell some of her expensive clothes online since his dowdy clothes aren’t the kind of things people would actually pay money for.

After setting up lilyandmarshallselltheirstuff.com (a real website that I’ve been unable to access — must be a lot of server traffic), Lily — reluctant to get rid of her nice clothes, no matter how eager Robin is to buy them — comes up with the alternative plan of selling three of her colorful, abstract paintings for $500 each within a week.

She has no success at first because, as Marshall is scared to admit to her, they’re not like “real” paintings by “real” artists. Thus, Lily is almost ready to give up when a G-CWOK (gay couple without kids) saves the day. They happen by and buy one of her paintings for the entire asking price.

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Tonight, in fact.

So, check out a sneak peek (and some hideous matching sweaters) from the May 12th episode “Everything Must Go” after the jump. Then cross your fingers, along with me, that this doesn’t become a regular thing.

I know BS helped the ratings when she appeared the first time, but there really is such a thing as too much. One more episode with her on and I’ll have my fill.

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I’ve gotta give it up for How I Met Your Mother’s showrunners — it doesn’t look like they’re ever going to run out of ways to make Barney even more of a lech. A lovable lech, yes; but, a lech nonetheless.

And, that’s pretty much the theme of “The Final Four.” Barney comes up with yet another way, this time sports-related, to deal with his complicated love life when someone starts making it more complicated than usual.

How I Met Your Mother airs Mondays on CBS at 8:30pm EST.

Original Air Date: March 24, 2008

TED goes to a dermatologist for a consultation about getting his “butterfly tramp stamp” tattoo removed and meets pretty doctor STELLA ZINMAN (Guest Star Sarah Chalke of Scrubs).

Instantly smitten, he takes her up on her offer to go see what she feels is the worst movie ever, Plan 9 from Outer Space (he believes Manos: The Hands of Fate is worse), thinking the occasion is a date. When he offers to pay at the movie theater and Stella’s three girlfriends quickly jump onboard, Ted realizes that he’s actually hanging out with Stella on a girls’ night out, not seeing her on a date.

The tattoo removal requires ten one-hour laser sessions that are painful. Stella can’t date Ted now because doctor-patient relationships are against American Medical Association rules.

At the first session, Ted vows he’s going to wait until after the sessions are over to ask Stella out on a proper date, despite her assertion that the answer will be no. BARNEY and ROBIN both agree that Ted won’t be able to change her mind, but Ted insists he’s a persistent, complex guy who can overcome a rough start with a woman.

By the sixth removal session, Stella still hasn’t budged, although she and Ted have a great time, every time. Ted is now forced to rely on gimmicks, first bringing Stella’s receptionist ABBY (Guest Star Britney Spears) coffee one day in order to get the doctor’s attention focused on how nice he is.

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Well, the March 24th episode of How I Met Your Mother is the one celeb-crazed viewers have been waiting for. That’s right — it’s Britney Spears time!!! And, more importantly for true comedy lovers, super Scrubs star Sarah Chalke is set to appear, too.

“Ten Sessions” feature Spears as a receptionist who gets the hots for Ted while Ted is busy getting the hots for her boss, played by Chalke.

Watch and be amazed. I just hope the Spears frenzy proves worth all the effort the media and Mother showrunners have put into it.

How I Met Your Mother airs Mondays on CBS at 8:30pm EST.

Monday | March 24

• Greek: The popular college series returns to complete its full-length first season with A New Normal. [8pm EST/ABC Family]
• How I Met Your Mother: Oops! Britney Spears is doing it again, namely guest starring on a sitcom. This time it’s the Ten Sessions episode of HIMYM. [8:30pm EST/CBS]

Tuesday | March 25

• ‘Til Death: This special Really Big Brother episode of the Fox sitcom introduces a new face we’ll be seeing more of on future episodes. [9:30pm EST/Fox]

Thursday | March 27

• Eli Stone: 1980s pop star George Michael returns for another appearance on the appropriately titled episode I Want Your Sex (remember — he had a hit song with the same name). [10:02pm EST/ABC]

Saturday | March 29

• Kids’ Choice Awards: Jack Black hosts the annual fun and shenanigans again, and will probably get slimed, too. [8pm EST/Nickelodeon]

Sunday | March 30

• Unhitched: Wow! That was fast! Already the first-season finale, Pole-Dancing Toddler, has arrived. Now all fans have to do is wait to see if there’ll be a second season. [9:30pm EST/Fox]

Entertainment gossip rag Us Magazine recently published an exclusive interview with How I Met Your Mother creator Craig Thomas. He was present at a cast table reading on Monday that featured celebrity mess and soon-to-be HIMYM guest star Britney Spears.

Here are a few bits and pieces of what we learn about Spears and her specific episode, currently scheduled to premiere on March 24, in the Q&A.

• Spears sat with cast members for about 90 minutes during the script run-through.
• Spears sought out HIMYM because she was looking for a small, funny role, presumably to help resurrect her currently disastrous career. Inexplicably, HIMYM’s showrunners were “thrilled” that Spears even knew their series existed. This fact in turn makes me wonder why I regularly watch a show backed by people who care one way or another what Britney Spears watches or knows. Honestly — what difference does it make? Or, are they just pulling our collective leg to be polite to Spears and her representatives? But then…
• HIMYM’s showrunners actually bent over backwards to get a script to Spears’ people as quickly as possible when they were informed she might be interested in a part. Again, I ask, why? It’s not like she’s someone who’s done something truly significant. What am I missing here? I know HIMYM desperately needs the ratings, but is that worth all of this shameless fawning? Where is these people’s dignity? Moving on…
• The main plot of the episode revolves around Ted’s quest to have an ill-advised tattoo he had done earlier in the season removed from his backside.
• The episode is also a puppy-love triangle, with Ted falling for the dermatologist hired to remove the body art — now reportedly being played by Scrubs’ Sarah Chalke instead of Clueless’ Alicia Silverstone — and said doctor’s receptionist, Abby (Spears), falling for an oblivious Ted at the same time.
• Spears’ humorous material comes from her character repeatedly making a fool of herself while trying to get distracted Ted’s attention.
• Filming of the episode will take place today, tomorrow, or Friday.
• HIMYM’s showrunners aren’t saying Spears’ role is a one-time gig. Judging from the unbridled enthusiasm Thomas repeatedly spits out — “she was great,” “Britney’s really funny,” “we’re thrilled,” “she seemed to fit right in,” “she was laughing,” “I think she had a good time,” “we had a great time working with her” — he would gladly sell a body part or two, or possibly even his own mother, to have her return. That’s just sad.

Read more of the interview at Us Magazine.

This is just like a darn soap opera.

When I finished writing this post the first time last weekend, the title was “How I Met Your Mother Snags Alicia Silverstone.” I then moved on to something else and promptly forgot to publish it.

By the time I remembered the post, more stuff had happened. So, I renamed the article “How I Met Your Mother Snags Alicia Silverstone and Britney Spears.”

That was last night. Now even more stuff has happened, and I’ve renamed the post yet again, scrapping any direct references to guest stars all together should additional casting developments occur. This time I haven’t forgotten to publish, though, as you can clearly see.

First: The Old News

TV Guide reported last week that the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother will get a new recurring guest star soon, namely Clueless and Miss Match star Alicia Silverstone.

According to the magazine’s original story, Silverstone would appear in a multi-episode storyline, portraying a doctor and romantic interest for main character Ted. The piece even speculated the actress could be the title mother who has eluded curious fans from the show’s beginning.

Since nobody at CBS was saying then, of course, it looked like viewers would just have to wait and see what happens when the show returns with new episodes on March 17th.

Now: The New News

On Monday, People magazine confirmed a post on Pink Is the New Blog stating that HIMYM has acquired yet another high-profile guest star, none other than current media obsession Britney Spears. Despite the very public personal turmoil that consumes the celebrity’s life at the moment, fans of HIMYM, which is perpetually on the so-called renewal “bubble,” should welcome the increased audience her presence will no doubt bring.

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Whoa! Now I feel so good about not bothering to watch MTV anymore these days. Last night, the improbably named Music Television network broadcast the 2007 edition of its revamped Video Music Awards from Las Vegas, and the pop star formerly known as Britney Spears was the much-hyped opening act.

As you’ve most certainly heard by now, the troubled 25-year-old turned in a disastrous “comeback performance,” trudging around the stage like a modern-day zombie in an ill-fitting and ill-advised sparkly black bikini while badly pseudo lipsynching the fairly decent tune “Gimme More” from her forthcoming album. The whole thing was rumored to be so hypnotically atrocious, I was actually inspired to visit MTV’s Web site last night for the first time in years to view the number after reading the waves of negative commentary that began taking over the Internet during the calamity.

The act that followed Spears, comic Sarah Silverman (The Sarah Silverman Program), had a field day with the expanding pop tart’s latest public mess, of course, which probably made America’s other popular whipping girl—equally troubled hotel heiress Paris Hilton, who was in the dazed-and-very-much-confused audience—extremely happy that the infamously vulgar comedienne had someone else to tear apart for a bit.

Silverman delivered as expected, remarking:

Was that incredible? Britney Spears, everyone. Wow. She is amazing. She is 25-years-old and she’s already accomplished everything she’s going to accomplish in her life. It’s mind blowing.

It’s weird to think that just a few years ago on this very show, she was this, like, sweet innocent little girl in slutty clothes writhing around with a python. That’s not nice, calling Madonna a python.

Have you seen Britney’s kids? Oh my god, they are the most adorable mistakes you will ever see! They are as cute as the hairless vagina they came out of.

Missed it or want to revel in the snarkiness again? Check out the video of Silverman’s knife-sharp opening monologue at MTV’s 2007 Video Music Awards site.