'How I Met Your Mother': Executive producer Craig Thomas previews Barney's father

Who's your daddy? For Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) on “How I Met Your Mother,” it turns out to be John Lithgow! After years of thinking Bob Barker was his father and even refusing to believe Ben Vereen wasn't his father, Barney will finally meet his dad in Monday night's episode, appropriately titled “Legendaddy.” But papa Stinson might not be exactly what Barney imagines. Recently, the show's executive producer, Craig Thomas, chatted with Showtracker about one of the show's biggest mystery, casting the mysterious father figure and what meeting his father means for Barney's future and his romantic relationships.

Marshall’s father dying has set off all these chain-reaction stories, one of which is Barney looking for his father on Monday's episode. Is there like a particular reason why he seeks him out?

We sort of wanted to turn the tables a little bit and make it not that Barney was seeking him out in this episode but that Barney had a missile in the air in the form of a letter that he sent to his dad. He got his dad’s address. In the episode called “Oh Honey” this year, he says to Katy Perry in this scene that he sent a letter and never heard back from his dad. So we kind of planted that in Episode 15 of this season. There’s kind of this boomerang that Barney threw out there that’s going to come back to him in the form of John Lithgow in Monday night's episode. It sort of comes out of nowhere and takes Barney by surprise. He’d started to give up on it a little. So it’s really not so much the hunt as it is ... oh my God, my dad’s standing right in front of me. It’s kind of a great, shocking moment that kicks off the episode, and it takes off from there.

'How I Met Your Mother': Why 'Natural History' is the season's best episode

It's been something of a creative rebound for "How I Met Your Mother" this season. Like every show that's lasted as long as the CBS sitcom -– six years and counting! -– "How I Met Your Mother" has had some rough patches. It's only inevitable that a show should occasionally show some signs of strain. But while some shows, which shall remain nameless, never recover from a slump, "How I Met Your Mother" has rebounded nicely from last year's mixed bag of a season. It hasn't been perfect. I've written about the story lines and characters –- mainly new love interests Zoey (Jennifer Morrison) and Nora (Nazanin Boniadi) -– that haven't worked for me this season in my episode recaps. But for the most part, "HIMYM" has found its heart again and plenty of laughs in Season 6.

Although it would be easy to single out the exceptional Marshall (Jason Segel)-loses-his-dad arc as the highlight of the season, my favorite episode of this season so far is a much earlier one that perfectly mixes heart and laughter: "Natural History," which repeats Monday night on CBS.

Some of my favorite qualities about "HIMYM" are the way it wears its heart on its sleeve, its unabashed sentimentality and how it's able to take human experiences and put a creative, funny twist on them. "Natural History" has all of that and more. When the episode first aired, I wrote, " 'Natural History' was more than just one of the funniest episodes in a while. It was also rich with character development, emotion and reveals."

Tweeter's Digest: The week in TV tweets, Charlie Sheen edition

In Tweeter's Digest, we look at the events of the week as seen through the eyes -- or more specifically, the Twitter feeds -- of TV personalities. In between the self-promotion and the fan-love, celebs sometimes come together on an important subject. This week the name that brought everyone together? Charlie Sheen. 

Pushing aside other timely topics (disastrous Oscar hosts, conflict in Wisconsin and the Middle East), the Twitterati jumped into the Sheen fray. 

TV folks from Neil Patrick Harris (@actuallyNPH) to Christina Applegate (@1capplegate), legendary TV creator James L. Brooks (@canyonjim) to Vinny from "Jersey Shore" (@VINNYGUADAGNINO) all added something to the week's "winning" conversation. Even Sheen's own "Young Guns" co-star Lou Diamond Phillips (@LouDPhillips) joined in.

And then, of course, Sheen himself joined Twitter and showed all the other celebs that a little (or, uh, lot) of gnarly behavior will nab you a million followers. And counting. 

 

RELATED:

Tweeter's Digest archive

Full Show Tracker coverage of Charlie Sheen

-- Joy Press

twitter.com/joypress

'How I Met Your Mother' recap: On matters of the heart

 
How do you add depth to a ladies' man like Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris) on “How I Met Your Mother”? In this week's episode, “A Change of Heart,” we saw a different, confused side of Barney, who's struggling with his feelings for Nora (Nazanin Boniadi). In a lovely show of friendship, the gang all had their hearts checked out by a doctor, who made Barney wear a heart monitor for 24 hours. She noticed some spikes in his results, so he took her over the events of the previous day, which featured his second date with Nora. The heart monitor went crazy when Nora started talking about how she wants to get married and have children. It was straightforward, yes, but kind of skipping a few steps. This was only the second date. Barney lied and said he wanted the same things, including three kids --  “One of each,” he said -- in order to get in her good graces and her pants. On the walk home, he admitted to lie and said he only told her those things to get to sleep with her. She slapped him, and the next day at the doctor's, Lily (Alyson Hannigan) punched him in the gut for lying. But the lie was the lie. He wants those things, Lily insisted. At 8:30 p.m., the time of his date, his heart literally skipped a beat, the doctor said, when Nora walked into the restaurant. Barney went to meet Nora and her parents at a cafe and told her, “I want to be confused with you.” Except he was imagining himself telling her that. In reality, Barney stared through the glass door at Nora before walking away.

I've long wanted to see Barney grow and deepen as a character. I wanted to see him and Robin (Cobie Smulders) in a relationship, not the abbreviated, out-of-character hookup they had. But I'm having a few issues with this story line. First, Nora's very ill-defined as a character while at the same time being a lighter version of Robin. What do we know about Nora except the characteristics she shares with Robin? Not much. It's hard to get invested in Barney's feelings for her and believe in them when we barely know Nora. It also doesn't help that Nora taking care of a sick Barney immediately made me recall Robin taking care of a sick Barney in season 2's “How Lily Stole Christmas.”And if Nora works with Robin, shouldn't she know more about Barney and how the gang met him? Or are Robin and Nora not very social at work? She just seems like any other random girl Barney has met rather than someone Robin knows. My other major concern is how quickly this story is moving along. Two dates and Barney's falling for this girl already? It probably takes him longer to decide what suit to wear. In the end, while I like the idea of this story line, the execution and pacing just aren't working.

'How I Met Your Mother' recap: 'That did not end well'

“Garbage Island” was quite a funny episode that moved along the character and relationship arcs in a very interesting way. I found myself laughing a lot while also being intrigued at some of the stories the episode was obviously setting up for the remainder of this season.

Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) catches feelings. Barney can't say Nora's (Nazanin Boniadi) name without smiling, but he refuses to admit he's smitten. “She had a nice face. Her booty was in place. But Barney don't chase,” he says. The man doth protest too much, and Robin (Cobie Smulders) is on to him. She encourages him to call Nora and then challenges him by accepting his offer to “throw her one.” When Barney shows up at her place, she gives up. “You're never going to change,” she says. “I'm done trying to help you.” But Barney's just there to get Nora's number, not sleep with Robin, who tells him, “Go get her.” Now, it's not like Barney's never had feelings before. He clearly had them for Robin, but that relationship didn't end so well. Maybe they weren't ready for it. Maybe now is the right time for commitment for Barney. It's also interesting that Robin is pushing him so hard toward Nora, and her line about him never changing is very telling. Obviously, Robin wants her friend to be happy, but I also think it's about Barney becoming the kind of man she wishes he was when he with her. She wants him to grow up. And for all the Barney and Robin lovers like me, hopefully, grow up into someone she could one day get back together with. Because I think a lot of character growth would have to happen first before Robin and Barney could go down that road again.

Tweeter's Digest: A roundup of the week in TV tweets

In Tweeter's Digest, we look at the events of the week as seen through the eyes -- or rather, the Twitter feeds -- of TV personalities.

This week, "Glee" stars Lea Michele and Matthew Morrison tweeted from the Grammys, Tyra Banks and Joel McHale offered V-Day advice, "Lost" creator Damon Lindelof and "How I Met Your Mother" creator Carter Bays worried about the Watson computer on "Jeopardy," Stephen Colbert kept an eye on the Spider-Man musical, and reality TV villain Spencer Pratt kept an eye on James Franco. Meanwhile, TV legend Cloris Leachman just tweets ... because she can. 

See these and other celebs tweet after the jump.

'How I Met Your Mother' recap: Happy Desperation Day

This week's Valentine's Day episode found the show's couples in less than blissful states, but -- spoiler alert! -- it all worked out.

Ted (Jason Segel) and Zoey (Jennifer Morrison): So baking cookies = booty call, apparently. At least that's what the gang thought when Ted told them Zoey had invited him over for a quiet evening at her place to bake cookies. He packed an overnight bag, which freaked Zoey out. And then Ted took a page out of Robin's (Cobie Smulders) book and freaked out when she told him she was “ready for the long haul.” It was all getting a little too serious very quickly, so Ted ran off to Minnesota to “help” Marshall (Jason Segel).

Lily (Alyson Hannigan) and Marshall: With her other half still in Minnesota, Lily was anthropomorphizing a body pillow to fill the loneliness. Cute touch taking the nickname Marshmellow and twisting into Marshpillow. Lily decided to surprise Marshall for Valentine's Day and fly to Minnesota, but it was she who got the surprise. Marshall wasn't so much helping his mom as he was regressing to kid. It's kind of amazing how a guy as big as Jason Segel manages to embody the spirit of a young boy, yelling for chocolate milk and playing Super Mario Kart for 14 hours a day. It wasn't until he told Ted that he had to go back to New York and face reality with Zoey that he realized he was hiding out from his own life.

Without his dad, “I can't see where I'm going. I can't see anything,” he said. So he yelled for his mom to make some crustless PB&J sandwiches for the road before manning up and asking for crusts. He made it back to New York to surprise Lily and continue their Valentine's Day tradition of watching “Predator.” The question now is, will Marshall and Lily get back on the baby train so soon after his father's death? I think it could go either way. He could be too upset or he could want to continue the line of Eriksons. And will this be the event that makes Marshall reevaluate his life and change career paths?

'How I Met Your Mother' recap: Love and Honey

With Marshall (Jason Segel) still in Minnesota, the gang was forced to tell him about recent events over the phone. Robin (Cobie Smulders) called first – guess the writers heard my plea for more Marshall/Robin friendship scenes – and started recounting the latest development in Ted (Josh Radnor) and Zoey's (Jennifer Morrison) relationship. Zoey had offered to set Ted up with her cousin, who the gang refers to as Honey (Katy Perry) because every naïve thing that comes out of her mouth – “Long story story, I'm going to be on 'Lost'!” – makes them reply, “Oh, honey.” Ted decides not to take advantage of the girl and lets Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) do that instead. He couldn't go home with her because he's in love with Zoey, not gay, as Marshall's eavesdropping mother screams into the phone. I really enjoyed the running gag with Marshall's family eavesdropping on his calls. His brother Marcus calling Ted a wuss was perfectly in Minnesota, big brother style. A guy like Marcus, who tricks his brother with an offer of Hertz Donuts, would definitely call Ted a wuss after Ted recounted how he knew he was in love with Zoey. For me, however, it was a lovely reminder of the romantic Ted that's sometimes missing from the show. Just grazing Zoey's fingers was enough to make him drop the ketchup bottle and bring back the hopeless romantic.

Ted can't just ignore Zoey because she's friends with the group now, Robin argues, and they like her. I'm not sure I buy that Zoey is friends with everyone, even after the Thanksgiving episode. She seems more like a friend of a friend that you hang out with when you're all together. But I'll go with it. Ted tells her they can't be friends anymore because Lily (Alyson Hannigan) hates her. Lily passes the hate blame onto Robin, who tells Zoey that Marshall hates her. But then Honey spills the beans to Marshall that Zoey and the Captain are getting divorced. And Barney had told Marshall about how Zoey hugged him after she found out Ted didn't go home with Honey.

From hundreds of miles away, over the phone, Marshall plays matchmaker. While Ted is lying to Zoey that he hates her and listing all the things he hates, Marshall calls Zoey and then Ted. I loved the way this was played. We didn't hear what Marshall said. We only saw and heard Ted and Zoey's dawning, relieved reactions to what we assume was Marshall telling them the truth about their feelings for each other and the divorce. There was no big declaration or spectacle. It was refreshing. A neighbor peeked her head out and reported back to Marshall that they were kissing.

'How I Met Your Mother': John Lithgow to play Barney's father

Call it “How I Met My Father.” John Lithgow will guest star as Barney's (Neil Patrick Harris) father in an upcoming episode of “How I Met Your Mother,” CBS confirms.

Lithgow will appear in an episode airing around the end of February. Barney made the decision that he was ready to meet his father in an episode earlier this month. While it's not the fantasy casting of “Mad Men's” John Slattery that Showtracker discussed with executive producer Craig Thomas last October, the former “3rd Rock From the Sun” star's comedy chops should fit right in on “HIMYM.” He also had quite the killer streak on "Dexter," which caused “HIMYM” co-star Cobie Smulders to joke about being terrified of Lithgow on TV Guide Network's “Hollywood 411.”

“It's really exciting and different for our show,” she said. “He's such a pioneer."

It's been a big week for Barney. Earlier this week, he also got a new love interest.

Readers, are you pleased with the casting of Lithgow as Barney's father?

— Vlada Gelman (follow my TV musings on Twitter at @stayingin)

Photo: John Lithgow on “Dexter.” Credit: Randy Tepper / Showtime

RELATED:

'How I Met Your Mother': Nazanin Boniadi to guest as a love interest

'How I Met Your Mother' recap: Laughs at a funeral

Complete 'How I Met Your Mother' coverage on Showtracker

'How I Met Your Mother': Nazanin Boniadi to guest as a love interest

Nazanin Boniadi may not be a big name, but she will be playing opposite one of the biggest cads on television. The former “General Hospital” actress will guest-star on “How I Met Your Mother” as a love interest for Barney (Neil Patrick Harris), CBS confirms.

Not much else is known about Boniadi's character, Sarah, except that she'll appear in multiple episodes.

Last October, “HIMYM” executive producer Craig Thomas told Show Tracker that the second half of this season will see Barney growing and maturing as he comes to terms with his father issues. “It’s not just Barney having schemes to meet ladies,” Thomas said. “We’re getting a little bit deeper into Barney’s back story, and Barney growing up a little bit and deciding part of that journey is to go find his father.”

As a result, Barney may also be reconsidering his position on love and marriage. “I think we’re going to see [Barney] come out of the season a little bit changed, a little bit grown up,” continued Thomas. “And I wouldn’t rule out Barney starting, as he now gets in his mid-30s, to at least think about what his future would be and would that include growing up enough to get married, or settle down, or anything like that. I think we’re going to see him start to think about those things.”

Could Sarah be a part of Barney's new outlook on relationships? Or will she be the catalyst that brings Barney and Robin (Cobie Smulders) back together? Readers, sound off with your thoughts in the comments.

— Vlada Gelman (follow my TV musings on Twitter at @stayingin)

Related:
'How I Met Your Mother' recap: Laughs at a funeral
'How I Met Your Mother' recap: 'I'm not ready for this'
Complete 'How I Met Your Mother' coverage on Show Tracker

Photo credit: www.nazaninboniadi.com

'How I Met Your Mother' recap: Laughs at a funeral

As Marshall's (Jason Segel) friends attended his dad's funeral in Minnesota, it reminded me how much we turn to laughs during hard time. As guys, Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) and Ted (Josh Radnor) attempted to make Marshall laugh by showing him videos of guys being hit in the groin. It didn't work, but there were plenty of laughs to be found during the episode. I found that the comedy worked better for me than the drama, which was a bit heavy-handed at times, especially during the Marshall-yelling-at-God scene. But nothing bad can be said about Jason Segel and Alyson Hannigan's acting, which was in fine form during the heavier moments. Anyway, here are some of my favorite funny moments:

1. Lily (Hannigan) trying to be there for Marshall so much that she even offers to pee for him. “Halfway through the pee, I'm like, 'This doesn't even make sense,'” she says.

2. Robin's (Cobie Smulders) bag of goodies, which has everything Marshall will need, including cigarettes, alcohol and firecrackers. Ted remarks that it's like she “crammed Tijuana into a purse.” Robin even starts to develop a reputation at the wake for someone who can get things. “I gotch ya,” she tells a man who needs vodka and dirty playing cards. “You're like Mary Poppins if her magic purse was also filled with drugs,” says Ted.

“If, Ted?” scoffs Robin. “The kids in that movie jumped into a painting and spent 15 minutes chasing a cartoon fox. Spoon full of sugar? Grow up.” I am never going to look at “Mary Poppins” the same way again.

3. Danny Strong as Trey, “the toughest bully in school,” as Marshall describes him. He's also possibly the tiniest bully ever. Trey sitting between Marshall's even larger brothers was a nice sight gag. So how did Tiny Trey – I've decided that's his nickname – administer his noogies? He made Marshall carry a step ladder! “Your lunch money finally ran out,” Trey replies when Marshall expresses surprise that he's a reverend now.

TCA Press Tour 2011: All about the funny men and women [Updated]

The 2011 Press Tour headquartered in Pasadena went off campus Tuesday, traveling to studios and sets to give reporters an up-close look at the shows they cover. The morning festivities were highlighted by a visit to 20th Century Fox Studios, where the scribes were treated to two distinct panels featuring "the funny men and women of 20th Century Fox," featuring cast members from several hit comedies, including "Modern Family," "How I Met Your Mother" and "Glee."

Jason Segel of "How I Met Your Mother" looked a bit concerned when he first gazed out on the sparse audience in Fox's Little Theatre gathered for his "Funny Men" panel.

"This looks like the opening night of 'Gulliver's Travels,' " said Segel, referring to the recent Jack Black flop. It wasn't a cheap shot — Segel was one of the stars.

The theater eventually filled up — the bus ferrying reporters from Pasadena was late — and Segel and his fellow panelists discussed the business of being funny.

Ty Burrell, who plays Phil Dunphy on "Modern Family," gave enormous credit to the show's writers, who channel some of their experiences to characters on the series:  "We constantly pray for catastrophes on our writers' lives."

Lucas Neff downplayed some of the difficulties he has working with a baby in "Raising Hope," the Fox comedy in which he plays a young single father of an infant: "Babies are really truthful. They never break character. And you can't blame them. So it helps with learning how to be patient."

The panelists kept referring to the current popularity of TV comedies, arriving only a few years after many in the industry speculated that comedy was dead. Said Segel: "The pendulum swung too far the other way on reality TV. Eventually people got tired of it. They wanted to watch something nice, that could make you laugh in a calm world at the end of the day."

Other panelists included Jesse Tyler Ferguson ("Modern Family"), Neil Patrick Harris ("How I Met Your Mother") and Mattew Morrison and Chris Colfer ("Glee").

Said Colfer: "I'm not funny. I'm not sure why I'm here."

When the stage was turned over to the female performers, much of the discussion centered on the changing role of women. Julie Bowen ("Modern Family") said she was often cast as girlfriends whose main attribute revolved around her sexuality. Now women in comedies have more complex and dimensional roles in which they are involved in the humor rather than just reacting to it.

Added Lea Michele of "Glee:" "There are fresh rules. You can be beautiful and funny too."

The panelists included Alyson Hannigan ("How I Met Your Mother") and Martha Plimpton ("Raising Hope").

A slight buzz erupted when Jane Lynch ("Glee") was asked about recent comments attributed to Ed O'Neill ("Modern Family") that his TV wife, Sofia Vergara, should have won last year's Emmy for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy instead of Lynch. O'Neill later said his comments were taken out of context and apologized to Lynch.

"I love Ed," said Lynch, who sat next to Vergara on the panel. She said the fracas was stirred up by the media. "That was you guys, not us."

[Updated, 8:30 p.m.: A previous version of this post misspelled Jason Segel's name as Segal.]

— Greg Braxton

Photo: Julie Bowen and Ty Burrell of "Modern Family." Credit: Adam Taylor / ABC