The Remote Island : How I Met Your Mother

Is Sarah Chalke The "HIMYM" Mother?

Lindy Parker — Wed, 06 May 2009 14:00:00 GMT

For the love of God, are we finally going to find out who the HIMYM mother is? Now that Alyson Hannigan and Colbie Smulders are themselves mothers, is the show coming to an end? Lucky for us and our sanity, show creator Carter Bays has some insight on the matter...

Is Stella the mother?
CARTER BAYS: I won't say whether she's the mother or not, [but] we were definitely very careful in the wording of the narration. Obviously, we're not going to say, 'Okay, here she is! Show's over."
Can you give me a preview of next week's episode?
BAYS: We'll reveal why Ted running into her again is such huge moment. He already ran into her once before and didn’t do anything, but this one has more meaning and we'll find out why next week.
Is it your plan to hold off on confirming the identity of the mother is until the final episode of the series?
BAYS: That's always been the plan, but obviously we have a lot of options at our fingertips. (EW.com)

So essentially his answer is "maybe." Okay, when we said "insight" we actually meant "absolutely no new information." Nice. We're officially letting go of this obsession and just letting things unfold before us. Maybe.

Previously:

Are We Finally Going To Meet The HIMYM Mother?

HIMYM Actors Striving To Be The Most Knocked Up Cast on TV

Three Cheers For Doogie! Neil Patrick Harris Did a Pretty Good Job on SNL

Congratulations, Alyson Hannigan

Jake Kalish — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 14:33:00 GMT

The star of How I Met Your Mother, who we also know and love as Willow from Buffy The Vampire Slayer and the girl from band camp, is now a mama. A foxy mama. Pops is Alexis Denisof, who Alyson met on the set of Buffy and who went on to appear in Angel.

And her baby daughter's name? It could be normal, but not in America...

Welcome to the world, Satyana Denisof. Here's what Satyana means in Sanskrit. Literally, "truth vehicle." And that's certainly not a bad thing to be.

PREVIOUSLY:

Remote Island Fashion Roundup: Pregnancy Edition

Friday Flashback: "Buffy The Vampire Slayer"

"HIMYM" Actors Striving To Be The Most Knocked-Up Cast On TV

Are We Finally Going to Meet the "HIMYM" Mother?

Lindy Parker — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 15:32:00 GMT

Big news: by the end of this fans of How I Met Your Mother may actually be meeting "the mother." Or so we've been told...

How I Met Your Mother co-creator Carter Bays tells me that the sitcom's central mystery is about to be solved. Or rather, resolved. At least kinda-sorta.
"At the end of the season, we will address the title of our show," reveals Bays, adding that the last four episodes will feature "big events in the lives of our characters -- specifically Ted (Josh Radnor). We're going to wrap up some things that have been left dangling."
Translation: I think the M-bomb's about to be dropped! (Ausiello Files)

The thing is, we're not a hundred percent sure we believe it -- if Ted meets "the mother" isn't the show effectively over? Then again, stranger things have happened. After all, there were four seasons of Prison Break. The question is, how will it happen? How will Ted meet the future mother of his children? Luckily, the SNL cast has some ideas...

[Ed.: Um, anyone else think this might have anything to do with this or this?]

Previously:

HIMYM Actors Striving To Be The Most Knocked Up Cast on TV

Three Cheers For Doogie! Neil Patrick Harris Did a Pretty Good Job on SNL

"HIMYM" Actors Striving To Be The Most Knocked-Up Cast on TV

Lindy Parker — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 20:20:00 GMT

Apparently, there's something in the water over at CBS because according to the following video, the entire cast of How I Met Your Mother is either pregnant or trying to get pregnant. Ideally, their kids will all grow up together and become actors just in time to star in the inevitable 2030 re-boot of their parents' new millenium sitcom. After all, in the immortal words of Remote Island boyfriend, Neil Patrick Harris, "once you've had a taste of that honey, you gotta go back to the hive..."

More with NPH, as well as a sneak peak of Laura Prepon on HIMYM below...

Video: E! Online

Previously:

Laura Prepon is Coming to How I Met Your Mother

Laura Prepon Is Coming To "How I Met Your Mother"

Jake Kalish — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 22:25:00 GMT

She'll be doing a 5-episode arc as Ted's girlfriend.Yay, Donna Pinciotti! Prepon's a good comic actress, and should be excellent on the show. Yeah, yeah, we didn't forget about the photos. Here you go, horndogs:

PREVIOUSLY:

Our "How I Met Your Mother" Archive

Is the SNL/Mark Wahlberg “Say Hello To Your Mother” Thing Actually Getting Funnier?

Olivia Purnell — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 22:00:00 GMT

Answer: Yes. Really way back when (in October of the year 2008) the “Mark Wahlberg Talks to Animals” sketch first aired on Saturday Night Live, we weren’t huge fans. We thought to ourselves: “why is he with all those damn animals” and “what in the sam F does that mean?” and “why does he keep talking about that donkey’s mother?” (Insert Tracy Morgan's Brian Fellows intonation here).

But after Mark Wahlberg, (producer, animal talker, nose cracker extraordinaire) began responding to the sketch, the whole thing began to snowball into an abominable force of inexplicable funny.

Now, even Mark’s posse (the original Entourage) wants to get in on the joke . . .

After SNL aired yet another ‘hello to your mother’ bit this weekend with Neil Patrick Harris of How I Met Your Mother, TMZ caught Mark outside of a Los Angeles Restaurant with one of his boys. Wahlberg’s anonymous dude-friend actually bid Marky Mark adieu with a glib “say hello to your mother for me.” Ha! Also, Mark makes some thinly veiled threats that include busting the paparazzi in the face. What’s funnier than that?

Get the video HERE.

Previously:

Marky Mark’s Snark
Mark Wahlberg to “SNL”: That’s Not Funny
Mark Wahlberg Will Crack Andy Samberg In His “Big F*ckin’ Nose”

Doogie, uh, Neil Patrick Harris to host Saturday Night Live!

Olivia Purnell — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 15:30:00 GMT

We know Neil has done/is doing other stuff. He’s turned into a lovely and talented non-Doogie adult man. He stars in How I Met Your Mother and occasionally shows up in Harold and Kumar movies. Additionally, the guy happens to be kind of hilarious. We respect all that. The Dr. Hauser references are just too easy. It’s like tee-ball. It’s like asking a kid not to torture ants but giving her a magnifying glass and a sunny stretch of sidewalk . . . or something.

Anyway, Neil will be hosting SNL this weekend, and the promos are actually pretty funny. Wanna see?

Giggle-worthy, right? Can't wait to see what the actual show's like. If Neil Patrick kills Saturday Night Live we will take a vow never to utter the word Doogie again . . . or at least in reference to Neil's greatest life accomplishments, or maybe just not on the weekends.

If Neil is amazing, he gets Doogie-less weekends. That seems fair.

Previously:

Neil Patrick Harris Has Soft Lips

Separated At Birth: "How I Met Your Mother" Cast As The Jonas Brothers And Jonah From "Summer Heights High"

Bryan Christian — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 21:17:00 GMT

The kids from How I Met Your Mother dressed up like the biggest moments of the year for Entertainment Weekly. Very cute stuff (but then, they are cute people, so what'd you expect?) but it did make us want to note two things. First off, kudos for not attempting to Armisen your way into an Obama pic, gang. Your Palin/Cheney impersonation (see above) is charming and, in a weird, losers-are-cooler-y way, much more satisfying.

Second off -- holy crap, when you guys dress up like the Jonas Brothers, you look like Jonah from Summer Heights High.

Click through to see what we mean...

You may think that this is some sort of weird coincidence and that's it -- Jonas, Jonah! -- but we're pretty sure there's more to it. Remote Island Army -- action item for today: check the Jonas Brothers' pants for cum stains.

PREVIOUSLY: Can’t Get Enough Kim Kardashian, "Hills" Stars to Guest on "How I Met Your Mother"

Can’t Get Enough Kim Kardashian

Olivia Purnell — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 17:20:00 GMT

We kind of enjoy Kim Kardashian. Among a line-up of stick-thin, sternum flaunting, waifish 'it-girls,' Kim’s curves are totally refreshing. She's stunning. And let’s be honest, homegirl is gifted in the badonka region, and who doesn’t enjoy a good badonk. Admittedly, in the tradition of reality television stars, Kim’s a kind of vapid. But she (along with the rest of the Kardashian clan) is funny vapid, not annoying vapid.

Since she was ousted on Dancing With the Stars for blatant gracelessness and an inability to move all that junk in her sizable trunk, we’ve felt a little sad. Keeping up with the Kardashians alone is simply not enough Kim for us. Not to worry, Kim’s taping a guest appearance on How I Met Your Mother. Move over Speidi, Kimmy is coming to town.

Let’s remind ourselves why we like Kim (and her considerable assets). Pic after the jump . . .

Maybe this photo is the inspiration for Kim's How I Met Your Mother episode . . . What? We can dream.

Previously:

"Hills" Stars to Guest on "How I Met Your Mother"

Lindy Parker — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 19:20:00 GMT

Seriously? Why can't the cast of The Hills just stay on their own show where they belong and where we can easily avoid them? Why must they pop up on shows we like, shows we dislike, and random cell phone commercials?

Up next, it seems TV's most annoying couples (how did they not make the TV Guide list?), Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt will guest star as themselves in an upcoming episode of How I Met Your Mother. Sigh. We're tired of you, Heidi and Spencer. Please go away.

OMG Dawson, Is That You?

Olivia Purnell — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 19:20:00 GMT

That’s our reaction every time we see a photo of James Van Der Beek. Then we wonder what he’s up to these days. Do you?

Well wonder no more. James is coming back to television. And we’re not talking about his guest roles on Ugly Betty and How I Met Your Mother, or his upcoming spot on One Tree Hill.

Dawson’s got himself a full time gig . . .

James Van Der Beek will be starring in Fox’s pilot Eva Adams. The Hollywood Reporte r says:

The hourlong project, from writer/executive producer Kevin Falls and Sony TV, is set at a sports agency and centers on Adam, an egotistic sexist agent who, under a witch's spell, turns into a beautiful woman so he can endure the harassment he's been dishing out.

Van Der Beek will play Connor, a former frat boy who is a good friend of Adam's and an agent at the firm. Denman will play another agent, Paul, a single dad reeling from a devastating divorce.

If you just can’t wait for Eva Adams, you can get your Van Der Beek fix when he appears on One Tree Hill this season. Or rent Varsity Blues, and watch Dawson do Texas while you surreptitiously stare at Paul Walker, wondering how you could get him to play your field. No? Just us?

Previously

Bizarre Come Back of the Week, James Van Der Beek On “One Tree Hill”

The Weekly Rewind: Seriously, Is This Election Over Yet?

Ben Kallen — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 21:30:00 GMT

Nope, not yet! TV's still all about politics -- and, on the other hand, distracting ourselves from politics -- as we'll find out when we recall the highlights of the week.

We watched hot Sarah Palin on SNL, and she was funnier than the average guest host. Coming soon: Ellen Show dancer Barack Obama. Too bad one of these two will be elected soon -- we smell comedy team! (Don't forget to add this guy.)

Opie Cunningham came back through time from 30-plus years ago! (To, um, tell us how to vote today.)

We watched the season premiere of 30 Rock -- before it aired on TV! The Internet is cool.

We heard that someone still doesn't like the looks of Dancing With the Stars' Cheryl Burke. Someone crazy.

...Or else maybe Dancing is cursed.

We set Lance Bass against Joey Fatone, and Dwight against Gareth. Remember, no talking about Fight Club!

We heard that Lindsay Lohan's having problems -- and this time, it's personal.

We saw the new CSI tech naked, which probably means she'll be murdered off soon.

We heard that William Shatner got into a spat with George Takei. Did you know they used to work together?

Just like Desmond, we predicted what's going to happen next on Lost.

We saw a preview of 50 Cent's new show, and it was kind of like business school. Heck, the guy's name is money.

We got mad at Fringe for being too much like other shows, but then realized that without other shows, it wouldn't be about anything.

What the hell, AMC? You say you're bringing back Mad Men, but neither the creator nor the actors have contracts yet? Is that any way to treat the best show on TV?

We wondered why anyone would want to dress like this lady anyway.

More Dexter, yay! More Knight Rider -- huh?

We saw Se cond Becky give a loud kiss-off to Ted on How I Met Your Mother. We love ya, sister, but please do not get back with J.D. on Scrubs.

And we noticed that House and Gray's Anatomy have figured out what we really want in a medical series: girl-on-girl action.

But not this kind.

Previously:
The Weekly Rewind: Everyone's a Comedian

"How I Met Your Mother": Another "Mother" Goes Down the Tubes

Ben Kallen — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 15:20:00 GMT

Sometimes How I Met Your Mother is creative, original and incredibly hilarious. Other times it's, well... a sitcom.

Unfortunately, last night's "wedding" episode was the latter. Here's what happened (Warning! Spoilers ahead!!!):

It was pretty much exactly what we predicted a month ago. Ted and his doctor girlfriend Stella took her sister's wedding preparations as their own when hers fell apart. But, as expected, in the end they didn't go through with it.

Was this really a surprise to anyone? In true sitcom fashion, they had just a few days between making the decision and having the wedding itself. We'd already seen Marshall and Lily decide not to rush their own wedding plans, and as far as the show's concerned, Ted's would be a bigger deal. Plus, Ted already agreed to move in with Stella and her daughter in the suburbs -- did we really want to see that happen? Much of the fun of this show comes from its youthful urban setting, while this would have turned it into Everybody Loves Raymond.

The show did offer a twist on the old "character's one true love comes back to foil wedding to wrong person" plotline: Ted asks Robin to rush home from Japan to be at the ceremony. Stella's very much against this, though, because she thinks exes can only stir up old feelings. Then Ted unthinkingly invites Stella's own ex-husband (The Daily Show's Jason Jones in a funny cameo) to attend. When Robin gets there, she actually tells Ted that she still has feelings for him -- though not that she wants to get back together -- and that he's making a mistake rushing into marriage and settling into someone else's life. She's right, of course, but he gets mad and disinvites her.

Then he discovers that Stella's gone, and has left him a note saying she's getting back together with her ex. When she said she was concerned about old lovers stirring up feelings, she actually was referring to herself.

Frankly, this seems like a mean way of treating Ted, who we've already seen take a long time getting over Robin. (And the fact that he's already bonded with Stella's daughter makes it particularly unpleasant.) But it's not as if we actually wanted Stella to end up being the "mother" -- while actress Sarah Chalke has been delightful on other comedies, pretty much all we've seen her do on this one is argue with Ted and take him away from his friends. And the name of the show isn't how I met your mother and moved into her house in New Jersey while everyone else I know kept having fun, beer-fueled escapades in the city.

So what was good about this episode? Lovesick Barney's plan to woo Robin again by getting her drunk at the wedding, only to discover it was being held at a vegan, alcohol-free spa. (And then winning a booby prize, a threesome with Stella's sister and a bridesmaid.) We're not sure how Barney's pursuit of Robin will go in the future -- and we hope that it won't turn into a triangle with Ted -- but more funny stuff with the secondary characters, and less time worrying about who the mother will be, can only do the show good.

Previously:
Who's Your "Mother"? Another Clue, Maybe

Wake Up And Smile: Katie Holmes Finally Discovers The Nadir Of Her Career

Bryan Christian — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 13:25:00 GMT

Yes, that's Joey Potter up there. What crummy hour-long drama got her to dress up like, um, what... Gwen Verdon playing Ava Gardner? Playing a drag queen? Click through for the answer -- plus news on How I Met Your Mother, Chuck, Meet The Press, Friday Night Lights' Gaius Charles, and that wicked "vampire Bush" picture that was behind the bar on True Blood Sunday.

-- Eli Stone, everyone! Eli Stone has dressed up Katie Holmes as some sort of ridiculous glamourjoke and undoubtedly given her something embarassing to say. Hooray for everyone! Would you like a stress test?

-- Tom Brokaw will still leave Meet The Press sometime following the election, which we knew, leaving Tim Russert's chair to be filled permanently by NBC's Political Director Chuck Todd and White House reporter David Gregory, which we basically also knew. What we couldn't have guessed is how silver-tongued Brokaw could be in talking around the many embarrassments that Keith Olbermann caused NBC/MSNBC this election year. Work that liquid L, Tommy.

-- Monday night was a ratings wash, with How I Met Your Mother, Terminator, Life, and Worst Week all suffering declines from last week or last year. Not even Josh Schwartz, whose creation Gossip Girl actually gained viewers, can claim a victory for the night; he also created Chuck, which is currently scheduled at the same time, and whichsaw its second season premiere fall 27% from its pilot.

-- Hey, a link to that excellent Village Voice cover that turned up in True Blood's Fangtasia last Sunday

-- Friday Night Lights star Gaius Charles (adorably) covers the Austin City Limits festival for Entertainment Weekly and fails to engineer a meeting between himself and Erykah Badu. We like how he just kinda "ran into" Minka Kelly, something we never seem able to do when we are back in the River City.

Who's Your "Mother"? Another Clue, Maybe

Ben Kallen — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 19:20:00 GMT

There's a new character coming to How I Met Your Mother... and, according to TV Guide, she may be the key to who the titular "mother" will turn out to be. If they're right, this is extremely spoilery, so you'll have to click through to read about it.

The article says that former tween starlet Sara Paxton is joining the show as Nora, the sister of Ted's doctor girlfriend, Stella (Sarah Chalke). Nora is about to get married, but when it doesn't work out, "Stella decides to seize the moment and elect to walk down the aisle herself, with Ted awaiting her at the other end of the runner."

So does that mean that Stella is the mother? Maybe. HIMYM is known for sharp plot turns, so it's just as likely that this wedding won't happen either, or Ted isn't actually the groom -- or, for that matter, that one of the bridesmaids will turn out to be Robin's previously unknown, commitment-ready twin sister.

Actually, we're still kind of hoping the mom ends up being Chalke's Roseanne predecessor, Lecy "First Becky" Goranson. Now, that would be surprising!

Photo: CBS

Previously:
How I Met Your Mother Secrets Revealed (No, Not That One)

Today In Whaaaaaa?: "How I Met Your Mother" Star Primed To Lead "The Muppet Show" Comeback

Bryan Christian — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 16:31:00 GMT

Word on the interweb street is that Forgetting Sarah Marshall and How I Met Your Mother star Jason Segel has the inside track on reviving what we're pretty sure is the most popular variety show of the 1970's to feature a frog as its presenter other than The Sonny and Cher Show -- The Muppet Show -- after penning a screenplay for a new Muppet movie that wowed the folks at Jim Henson Industries.

In the movie... the Muppets reunite to save their studio with one last variety show.
Should the film go well, it opens up the possibility of a television programme, also written by 28-year-old Segel.
A source said: "Jason is a massive Muppets fan and is seen as the man to finally bring The Muppet Show back to TV.

Good to see this is one reboot that doesn't appear to be going dark. There's already one Meet The Feebles out there, after all.

[Daily Telegraph via Videogum]

PREVIOUSLY:
18 "Memorable TV Moments" That The Emmy People Missed
TV Columnist Admits TV Stars Hate TV

TV Columnist Admits TV Stars Hate TV

Ben Kallen — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 18:25:00 GMT

We all know people who claim they don't ever watch TV, except maybe Mad Men and Masterpiece Theatre and the occasional roundtable debate about the effects of global warming on penguin habitats. But now we have confirmation from AP television writer Frazier Moore that this group of Hills-despising, How I Met Your Mother-ignoring snobs includes TV performers themselves.

"Among the scads of TV stars I've talked to, I never made a point of grilling them on their TV consumption," Moore writes. "I don't recall how often it came up. But over time I started to realize (and marvel) that, out of everyone who did address the issue with me, fewer than a dozen of them copped to being TV fans.

"The rest: Well, they don't shun just the programs they appear in. They don't watch TV, period. Or so they claim."

Well, sure -- it's one thing to play Horny Nerd at Sci-Fi Convention on The Big Bang Theory, and another to admit you watch the thing. What would you tell your friends when you run into them at Pinkberry? In fact, Moore points out, it's obvious what Hollywood's attitude toward the medium itself is, given that the TV-watchingest TV characters tend to be fat louts such as Homer Simpson, Peter Griffin and Tony Soprano.

Luckily, not all performers feel that way about their own audience. The actors who Moore says do admit to being fans of the tube also participate in some of the smartest, most pop-culture-relevant shows: The Office and Extras writer-actor Ricky Gervais, Robot Chicken cocreator Seth Green, and Mad Men star Jon Hamm.

So if you ever catch yourself saying all you watch is Mad Men and The Office, keep in mind that the people on the screen are home with a bowl of popcorn and Two and a Half Men or some Law & Order marathon, just like everybody else.

Image: Fox

Previously:
Mad Men Recap: Sunday Worst
Even More Great Office News
How I Met Your Mother Secrets Revealed (No, Not That One)

How Rude! Bob Saget Roast Full of Olsen-Twin Sex Jokes

Ben Kallen — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 19:25:00 GMT

Anyone who's seen The Aristocrats knows that former Full House star and America's Funniest Home Videos host Bob Saget is hiding a dirty, dirty mind under that wholesome-seeming exterior. So it's no big surprise that Comedy Central's recent roast of the guy, which airs on Aug. 17, was as loaded with dirty jokes as the previous ones for celebrities such as William Shatner and Pam Anderson.

What he wasn't prepared for, apparently, were all the sex jokes about young Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, whom he's been protective of ever since they co-played his Full House daughter Michelle when they were infants. Even roastmaster John "Uncle Jesse" Stamos joined in on the molestation-gag action -- saying, "The whole time Bob and I were doing Full House, he was also hosting America's Funniest Home Videos. His entire job consisted of saying 'Take a look at this,' which is what he used to say to Mary-Kate in her dressing room." (Stamos later said that he thought some of the jokes had "crossed the line.")

Of course, the Olsens are all grown up now, and the gossip media probes their adult sex lives more often than Tommy Lee probed Pam. (Ba-dump-bump! Thank you very much.) Still, the constant stream of semi-incest/pedophilia jokes -- many of which will probably be cut from Comedy Central's broadcast of the roast -- just seemed kind of mean after a while, even when made about a pair of billionaires and a performer who spent years bringing us guy-getting-hit-in-the-groin videos.

Below, a sample of more molestation humor, this time from comedian Jeffrey Ross. At least Jodie "Stephanie" Sweetin seems to be enjoying herself.

Previously:
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen on the Outs???

How I Met Your Mother Secrets Revealed (No, Not That One)

Former Full House Star/Meth Addict Is Currently Blogging (And Kind of Cute)

Neil Patrick Harris Won't Stop Singing

Ben Kallen — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 19:25:00 GMT

Sad about the ending of Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog? Maybe you wish there were some way, somehow, you could hear Neil Patrick Harris sing again?

Well, be careful what you wish for. And when you're done doing that, click here for a brand-new clip of NPH belting his way through an upcoming episode of. . . Sesame Street.

If you're wondering about the wings, he plays the, er, shoe fairy. Go on, make all the jokes you want -- it's allowable under The Bro Code.

Previously:
Video Weekend: The Buffy Musical
Dr. Horrible, Act 2
How I Met Your Mother Secrets Revealed (No, Not That One)

"How I Met Your Mother" Secrets Revealed. . . (No, Not That One)

Ben Kallen — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 12:30:00 GMT

Alan Sepinwall, TV critic and blogger for the Newark Star-Ledger, moderated a discussion with the cast and producers of "How I Met Your Mother" earlier this week. The talk turned out to be loaded with information for the show's fans, including those who comb every episode for clues to the identity of the "mother." (After all, it's the only worthwhile mystery left on TV now that "Lost" showed us who was in that damn casket.)

The discussion took place at McGee's in New York City, which inspired the bar where the surprisingly well-employed "HIMYM" gang gets soused every night. The only one missing was Jason Segel (who was undoubtedly off filming some billion-dollar-grossing Judd Apatow sex romp). Here are a few of the highlights:

-- There's no "master plan" binding all the carefully interconnected "HIMYM" plot lines together. But the producers do know what will happen in the final episode -- a date for which has not been set.

-- "Future Ted" is telling this entire story to his son and daughter over the course of a single day. And while all these scenes with the kids have already been filmed (to catch the young actors before they aged), eventually we'll hear some dialogue from them that could reveal the show's major secrets.

-- Stella (Sarah Chalke) may or may not be back next year -- which means she still may or may not be Ted's future wife.

-- Barney and Robin were never intended to become a couple. . . but the writers started contemplating the idea when they saw the characters' obvious chemistry with each other. Now that the two have slept together and Barney appears smitten, the producers assured everyone that Barney will remain a womanizing lech at heart, and Robin will remain Canadian.

-- The writers have contemplated giving Marshall and Lily kids, despite the fact that babies are acknowledged show-killers.

-- Neil Patrick Harris didn't mind doing the gag where Barney turns into Doogie Howser at the end of one episode. Referring to his child stardom, he said, "People always think they have to walk on eggshells about it, like I'm going to punch them in the face."

-- Josh ("Ted") Radnor said that former "Full House" star Bob Saget, who voices his future self, has often suggested they go out for drinks. . . but he's afraid he'll end up hearing dirty jokes about the Olsen twins.

You can read the rest here.

And, because we just know you want to see it one more time, here's the original Robin Sparkles video:

Photo: CBS