Another Typical Week for a NiceGirl

Last week I had the chance to attend the Paley Center’s salute to the 100th episode of the CBS comedy How I Met Your Mother. As a non-watcher of TV comedies, this event might seem like an odd event for me to attend; but as a long-time fan of Alyson Hannigan (dating back, obviously, to her days on Buffy, the Vampire Slayer) and rediscovering the talent that is Neil Patrick Harris (thanks, in great part, to his role in the Joss Whedon internet sensation Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along-Blog) and the fact that in the current world of TV reaching the landmark of 100 episodes is rare indeed, I jumped at the chance to be part of this unique event.

The audience was treated first to an introduction of the 100th episode by the creators of the show – Carter Bays and Craig Thomas – and then the episode was shown, which was rip-roaringly fun to watch and very entertaining to see Neil Patrick Harris as Barney dance and sing in a suit.

Appearing at the event were the entire cast – Josh Radnor, Alyson Hannigan, Jason Segel, Cobie Smulders and, of course NPH himself – Neil Patrick Harris. Also on the stage were Pamela Fryman, long-time director of nearly all of the episodes of the series, and the creators.

A complete write up of the event can be found here at NiceGirlstTV by our very own Tiffany.

Also starting this past week was the Television Critics Association’s winter press tour, which has been getting a lot of coverage by bloggers and entertainment writers alike all over the net and on Twitter. NiceGirlsTV should be providing a round-up of the FOX presentation, which was to take place yesterday, via Louise, who has, once again, been invited to attend the “fete”.

It is always interesting to see what each network has to say about their upcoming new schedule; talk about what worked and what was not so successful and what new ideas we can expect down the line. Of course, the big talk has been the resounding lack of success with the prime-time airing of the Jay Leno show with NBC recognizing the failure of this “new” programming idea to work with the viewing audience. Leno’s last show will be on February 12 and the viewers can only hope that NBC can get their programming back on track and somehow dig themselves out of the fourth place ranking that has been commonplace at the network for too long.

And thankfully, with the end of the holidays, the start of the mid-season schedule will be upon all of us, starting this week with many of the network shows returning with new episodes and some summer programs coming back with new episodes to complete their new seasons. Among the shows returning this week, I was excited for the return of Castle on ABC and Chuck on NBC last night; and I look forward to the next-to-the-last episode of Dollhouse, the return of 24 and debut of Human Target all on FOX, the return of Leverage on TNT and the two-hour finale of Sanctuary on Syfy. It’s going to be a very fun television-viewing week that’s for sure.

With the return of new episodes, what shows are you most looking forward to seeing again?

“How I Met Your Mother” Celebrates Its 100th Episode at the Paley Center

Attending the special presentation and screening of “How I Met Your Mother’s” 100th episode at the Paley Center in Beverly Hills last week can be described in one word: HILARIOUS! The creators, cast, writers and producers in attendance were clearly a well-oiled comedy machine. They not only write, act and direct comedy, they live and breathe it. It is an integral part of who they are and it is nearly impossible to distinguish between their professional and personal personas. For the past six years, “How I Met Your Mother” has been home for this special group of gifted individuals. It was created out of a vacuum at a time when comedic television series were thought to be a thing of the past. So it was with an innocuous start that they landed on the television landscape with barely a splash, but it was not long before this little show that could, broke out and took the television world by storm.

As Neil Patrick Harris perfectly summed up, “It was always eggshells. For a good two and a half out of our first 5 years, we were considering cancellation. . .Television is such a weird medium. Shows that are lauded critically fail and shows that no one seems to like sometimes seem to stick around for a long time. . . We never had a lot of light shining on us. . . That first year, none of us felt secure enough although we were all proud of the show. . . I don’t think for the first year, we ever really celebrated.”

But even from their humble beginnings, anyone who tuned in knew instantly there was something special going on. This was not just a show content with 30 minutes of laughs. It was a show that had a heart. It was a story of a father sharing the story of the humorous journey he went through to find the mother of his children. Told with a distinctly comedic tone, the story unfolds as a series of fun-loving adventures against a poignant backdrop. It was not long before the five leading stars were major sensations as their one-liners melded with pitch-perfect physical comedy and their warm genuine friendship began to garner more and more attention.

So it was with earned confidence that the creators and cast sat before a select audience at the Paley Center for a screening of their 100th episode. It was a landmark night as they were clearly proud of their long-running and creatively original series. Never one to back down from a challenge, they chose to celebrate their 100th episode as a musical. On any television show it is risky enough to dare to step outside the box, but they embraced their wild-side and threw caution to the wind. Relying on the strong showmanship talents of Broadway-star Neil Patrick Harris, they wrote an episode set to showcase his immeasurable musical talents combined with the awesome comedy the entire cast is known for. The song, the dance, the irrepressible quick quips of comedic confection had the entire audience rolling with laughter and joy.

As the lights went up after the screening, creators Craig Thomas and Carter Bays got up on stage along side their fellow comrades through this amazing journey:  Josh Radnor (Ted), Alyson Hannigan (Lily), Jason Segel (Marshall), Cobie Smulders (Robin), Neil Patrick Harris (Barney), and Pam Fryman, who directed 93 of their 100 episodes. Their beaming faces spoke volumes about how happy they were to be celebrating this momentous occasion. It is rare for any television show, let alone a comedy, to make it to the milestone mark of 100 episodes. With television audiences proving more fickle and finicky (cat joke! – trust me, it makes more sense later), it is a remarkable feat to make it so far in this day and age.

Creators Craig Thomas and Carter Bays are the first to admit that they were certain that “HIMYM” was not going to be a huge success and they continue to be surprised and delighted it did. Coming off a prior failed television sitcom, they decided to follow the best advice any writer can receive: write what you know. And what they knew was:  what it was like to be a single guy searching for the right woman. The concept was simple enough, but what really made the series shine from the get-go was superior casting. Being self-admitted huge “Buffy, the Vampire Slayer” fans, they only had one person in mind for the role of Lily and they were delighted when Alyson Hannigan leapt at the chance to portray her. It was also a pure sign of the stars aligning that Alyson ran into Neil Patrick Harris at one of the auditions and, with her rooting for him, he too landed the part of Barney which would skyrocket him to international stardom. With those two wickedly funny performers locked-in, the show was then lucky enough to land in quick succession, Josh Radnor, Jason Segel and Cobie Smulders to round out the stellar cast. It was lightening in a bottle. They all clicked from the get-go and became fast friends – something which reflected brightly through the television lens. Watching them all in the pilot alone, it simply felt like they were all life-long friends and the audience wanted to join them. So as the audience grew and ratings steadily rose, the sensation of “HIMYM” swept across the world.

During the moderated portion of the panel, the cast and creators were quick to point out their mutual affection and respect. They also took every opportunity to demonstrate their snappy wit by making cat references whenever possible. Alyson Hannigan started the shenanigans by letting it slip that one of their favorite past times during filming is coming up with puns. She explained, “We’ll just spend hours doing cat puns: like how can you work cat into a sentence?” With that invitation for mischief hovering in the air, none of them could resist and, without a second thought, the puns came fast and furious. A few of the notable puns were: Neil Patrick Harris, “Jason that was a purrrfect answer.” Alyson Hannigan, “Were their any cat-amarans?” along with Jason Segel’s, “I just hope you didn’t litter” referring to a day they spent filming at a Malibu beach. Josh Radnor, “Thinking about that season, wasn’t that episode nine — nine lives?” Jason Segel, “Makes you take a second and paws.” Jason, “Sometimes it feels like the entire kitten-kaboodle.” Neil Patrick Harris, “We’re now able to play in a bigger sand-box.” With pun-sters like these to work with, it is obvious why Craig Thomas and Carter Bays feel so inspired to write for them and relish doing so.

Despite all the antics, they were all quick to admit that it is the whimsy behind the show that initially drew them in and keeps their hearts tied to the show. As Josh shared regarding his character Ted: “I find that I’m a little bit charmed by him. He’s almost like an aggressively nostalgic guy. He’s a good friend. He wants his friends together – to create memories and there’s something very sweet about it.” Carter Bays also explained that, “[Ted] is the Dad of the show. We like the idea that he doesn’t have kids, but he’s already a dad.” Josh further elaborated with an observation that, “One of the great things about the show is that there is a sweet optimism — that the world will be alive in 2035.” And perhaps most tellingly, Pamela Fryman shared, “When I met Carter and Craig at a Starbucks, having read the script and loved it, it was like a great first date.” For the show had set the bar high and made everyone fall in
love with it upon first sight.

As for this season, Carter Bays happily shared, “This season has been like a box of candy . . . from a writing standpoint just getting inspired by how amazing this cast is . .  It’s just so fun to discover the new superpowers, to have the time to discover the superpowers of this cast and like we started writing this show . . . So it’s great to sort of dig deeper and discover who they are comedically and emotionally.”

To cap-off the celebratory love-fest, Jason Segel sagely noted: “This is the longest I’ve ever been a part of anything, besides my immediate family. It is longest relationship I’ve ever had. . . We know each other really well and have kind of grown up together which is really cool . . . Watching us all grow up together and sort of achieve our dreams has been my favorite part. Like, ‘Wow, we really did it!’”

For a show that only wanted to share the beautiful story of a father telling his kids how he met their mother, the show has become something much, much more. It has become an integral part of television history and set a new bar on what it means to be a comedic television show. It has also invited us on an extraordinary journey and we are savoring every minute of it.

“How I Met Your Mother” airs Mondays at 8:00 p.m. on CBS and its 100th episode will air on January 11th.

What I Did Over New Years Weekend

Happy New Year Everyone!

Did all of you have nice holidays with your family and/or friends? I sure hope each was just what you hoped they would be and that 2010 brings all of our readers nothing but the best.

I can happily report that I brought the new year in with, well, not flair, but at least with some fun. I had the chance to see four movies in two days and while I cannot rave about all four of them, I can say that two of them lived up to my expectations and actually surpassed my anticipations.

On New Years Day, I saw the much-hyped James Cameron film Avatar, starring Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana and Sigourney Weaver (among others). This movie is everything for which the critics have raved and more. It’s not only colorful and vibrant; it’s action-packed and moving. It’s also a movie ahead of its time with the technology used to make that future world come to live. If you have not done so already, go see Avatar. It’s totally worth the ticket price and you can see it in 3-D if you so choose.

That same day, directly after seeing Avatar, I saw the musical movie Nine, which is based on the Broadway play of the same name. The film version stars Daniel Day-Lewis as a highly successful (but lecherous) Italian movie-maker and the women in his life: his wife (Marion Cotillard), his mistress (Penelope Cruz), his film star muse (Nicole Kidman), his confidant and costume maker (Dame Judi Dench), his mother (Sophia Loren), an American fashion journalist (Kate Hudson) and the whore from his childhood (the Black Eye Peas’ Fergie).

While the play has been a big hit on the Great White Way, the film version, sadly was…lacking. The pacing was slow and the male lead should have been played by someone else (anyone else, honestly); but the costuming and the musical numbers were terrific. If the movie had focused more on the women and the music, I would have enjoyed it more. Ah, to be a film critic right now…

The very next day, I set out to see The Blind Side, starring Sandra Bullock in what many critics are saying is her best performance to date and a role for which she is getting Oscar buzz. I can say this much…the critics are exactly right and if she doesn’t get nominated for her role as Leigh Anne Tuohy, the Mississippi well-to-do woman who took in a poor, young black man, helping him become an All-American football player and first round NFL draft pick, then there is definitely something wrong in the world of the Academy. This is an extremely entertaining and moving film that everyone should see – even if you don’t like sports (like me). It is definitely going to be one of my favorite films from 2009.

To cap off the two day movie-fest (so to speak), I saw the romantic-comedy (and I use that term VERY lightly) Did You Hear About the Morgans?, starring Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker. This movie should have been lightweight and fun; but it sadly wasn’t. There were too many groan-worthy moments, very little chemistry between the leads and even for this born and bred hick (yes, I grew up in the hicks), I couldn’t even enjoy the small town where most of the film was set – except for some of the picturesque value it had. The film could have been better with a different leading lady and a better written script. Better luck next time, Hugh.

There are many more movies that I hope to see throughout this month; and I can only hope they end up being as entertaining as Avatar and The Blind Side; both movies which I highly recommend our readers see as soon as possible.

Also, this week I have an event that I am really looking forward to attending:  the Paley Center for Media’s salute to the 100th episode of the CBS comedy How I Met Your Mother. Even though I’m not a comedy-TV show watcher, for any show to reach its 100th episode is a milestone to say the least and to have Neil Patrick Harris and Alyson Hannigan as just two of the talented cast members, well… its NPH and Alyson!! What more needs to be said? And, the episode is going to be a musical 100th episode so it’s assuredly going to be over-the-top and very funny. And, what’s even better is the cast is expected to be there and the audience will get to watch the milestone episode in advance of the general viewing public. Fun times for sure.

PS: You can expect a terrific write-up of the HIMYM event by our very own Tiffany shortly after the event is held on January 7.

Oh, one more thing: please don’t forget that the two-hour season premiere of the 3rd season of Chuck will air on NBC on Sunday, January 10 at 9 PM. It’s Chuck 2.0 now (with the new Intersect in his brain) and anything is possible. Don’t miss out!!

DVR: TV Network’s New Best Friend?

A recent Nielsen report on DVR viewing habits, discussed in this New York Times article, shows that 46 percent of the coveted 18-49 demographic still sits through ads when watching shows on DVR. Wait, what? Wasn’t DVR supposed to kill network television because viewers could skip the ads? That was the cry from the networks when DVR usage really took off a couple of years ago, but the numbers coming out now are painting a much better picture.

Nielsen now reports the Live +3 (live viewings plus DVR playback over the following 3 days when commercials are watched) in their final ratings reports, and it’s boosting the numbers of most shows. Grey’s Anatomy and House see the biggest increase in viewership, but shows that have middling (How I Met Your Mother) or struggling (Heroes) ratings are seeing significant increases that add value and keep them on the air. Whether it will be enough for Heroes looks iffy right now, but at least NBC has some good news from the Nielsen report, because “the Leno effect” is dragging them down five nights a week. According to the report, The Jay Leno Show is one of the few shows who’s +3 rating is actually lower than the Live rating. In other words, no one’s watching live and no one’s DVRing. Ouch.

And just why are shows getting such an increase from the +3 data? Why are 46% of viewers not taking advantage of the technology to skip the ads? Analysts say it’s force of habit/laziness. We’re used to sitting through commercials, and televison is a passive activity, so it takes an active choice to fast forward. Makes sense. I also posit that for some, just being able to watch a show on their schedule, rather than the network’s, is enough of a convenience that skipping the commercials is an afterthought.

On the other hand, I want both. I like being able to watch a show when I want to watch it, and I’m squarely in the 54% who do fast forward.  Most of the time. I have been known to go back and watch an ad that looks intriguing, like the new Apple commercial with PC touting Windows 7 and Mac taking us back in time to all the other Windows OS claims. I had to go back and find out why PC had a mullet and flip up sunglasses. It made me chuckle.

What about you? Are you a DVR addict? Do you fast forward through the ads, or is getting to watch a show when you want enough for you? Have you ever gone back to watch an ad that looked interesting?

This is What I Was Looking For

Yesterday marked the first day back for Fall television. Of course, the shows that I watched last night (90210 and Melrose Place) are not on my list of top favorites, it provided a nice way to ease back into the mania for a full DVR and hours spent trying to catch up.

Today marks the last day of one of my favorite series, Leverage, which BethAnne gladly talked about earlier, and as I type this, I’m happily watching the finale. (No, this isn’t illegal, I just happen to love my HD cable channels being on the East Coast feed.) In a few hours, the new episode of Glee is going to help brighten my slightly crappy day.

Tomorrow will mark the start of one of my favorite network shows, Supernatural, though I sadly won’t be watching it live (be sure to check out the coverage I bring back from the Los Angeles Paley Center’s Fall Preview Parties next week.)

Next week will bring the return of many more favorites, to be continued by more of those shows the week after. What am I watching in addition to those shows, I hear someone saying? Let me see if I can break down the list: Gossip Girl, How I Met Your Mother, Castle, The Beautiful Life: TBL, Bones, Fringe, Community, Dollhouse and Southland. I’m sure there’s a few more, but that’s the majority of it.

We’ll see in a few weeks how many of these will stick around.

Waterkeeper Alliance Charity Auction

Looking for a way to give back on Earth Day? Check out the Waterkeeper Alliance Charity Auction, running now through April 30th at CharityBuzz. The auction lots feature some very cool TV-related goodies, plus trips both luxurious and adventurous. Here are some highlights:

• Amy Acker’s script from the Dollhouse episode “Ghosts”, signed by Amy.
• A walk-on role on How I Met Your Mother, courtesy of Alyson Hannigan.
• An “enchanted evening” for four with Neil Patrick Harris at Magic Castle.
• Lunch with Richard Dean Anderson on the set of the new Stargate SG-1 movie.

That’s just a sampling of the awesome items on auction. To see the whole list and to bit, visit CharityBuzz now!

Waterkeeper Alliance is an international grassroots organization dedicated to preserving and protecting our water from polluters. Visit their website to find the organization nearest you for more information on how you can help with the mission.