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Josh Radnor From How I Met Your Mother Wrote An Ayahuasca Memoir

Jamie Peck — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 20:41:55 +0000

The Internet is abuzz today with the realization that Josh Radnor from How I Met Your Mother has written, and is about to publish, a memoir called One Big Blissful Thing that’s about taking ayahuasca with a shaman in the rainforest of Brazil. The book’s description has actually been up online for a while now, but it’s flown remarkably under the radar until now.

Here is how the book’s publisher describes it on Amazon (not to be confused with the Amazon, harr harr):

The story of one man’s unlikely spiritual awakening—this is Eat, Pray, Love for those who would rather be reading McSweeney’s.

Josh Radnor grew up in Ohio. He was driven to school in a big yellow bus. He watched The Cosby Show and John Hughes movies. He also went on to become a successful actor in Hollywood. How then, in 2007, did he end up drinking an indigenous plant medicine called ayahuasca with a shaman in Brazil?

I’m pretty sure it’s not as huge a leap as the book description thinks to go from “successful actor in Hollywood” to “New Age spirituality drug tourist.” In fact, I’m pretty sure successful Hollywood actors are some of the only Americans with the time, money, and taste for appropriating the religions of other cultures to actually go and do a thing like this. And “Eat, Pray, Love for those who would rather be reading McSweeney’s” is makes about as much sense as “Kelly Clarkson for those who would rather be listening to Godspeed You! Black Emperor,” but the important thing is this: Josh Radnor is not a square, you guys. He consumed an ancient hallucinogenic vine with a shaman in the rainforest of Brazil, and it changed his whole goddamn life. Perhaps it was even the key that unlocked his gripping, tour de force performances on How I Met Your Mother. Read the book and let me know, okay?

(Via Gawker)

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Last Night’s How I Met Your Mother Clinched Why Cobie Smulders Deserves An Emmy Nod

Natalie Zutter — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 22:40:16 +0000

In its seventh season, How I Met Your Mother is wearing thin in places — like the fact that we still haven’t met Ted’s titular wife — and some of the characters’ nuance has broken down along the way. The biggest victim has been Cobie Smulders‘ scotch-loving, proud Canadian Robin Scherbatsky. In her worst moments, she was reduced to a romantic plaything stuck between Ted (Josh Radnor) and Barney (Neil Patrick Harris)—or now, Barney and Kevin (Kal Penn).

But last night’s episode, “Symphony of Illumination,” brought Robin back and made us love her fiercely again. How? By dangling her worst nightmare, becoming pregnant, in front of her and then taking it away.

I’ve always maintained that Robin is HIMYM‘s best character. Perhaps not the funniest — Jason Segel always gets me as goofy Marshall — but the best embodiment of the show’s irreverence. She’s driven, proud, hotheaded, sexy, adventurous. She could be a Canadian stereotype, but instead she’s made us Americans come to love our northern neighbors. Think of it this way: Without Robin, we wouldn’t have “Let’s Go to the Mall.” And that’s a world none of us want to live in.

	Josh Radnor From How I Met Your Mother Wrote An Ayahuasca Memoir
	Orphan Week Gallery: Our 5 Favorite Thanksgiving Episodes On TV
	Kal Penn’s Therapist Kevin Has Worn Out His Welcome On How I Met Your Mother
	Gallery: TV’s 12 Best Halloween Costumes

Despite her ambition, Robin has never come off as a shrill, career-obsessed woman. She wants to explore the world and is afraid of getting tied down with a family, simple as that; she has her priorities in order, and last night threw them out of whack. The episode opens with her and Barney at odds over her possible pregnancy: He’s psyched, while she’s panicked, not least because she and Kevin are still together and the kid would definitely be Barney’s.

Then, when she finds out she isn’t pregnant, she is relieved beyond belief. Did I mention that this whole episode Robin’s been narrating the story to her and Barney’s kids in the future? (Which was a clever way of subverting Ted’s endless storytelling with his kids.) So even as she and Barney are doing a choreographed happy-dance, she’s half-heartedly apologizing to their future offspring for being so callous.

But right as Robin is drunkenly watching a parody of 16 and Pregnant, she gets the news that she can’t have kids ever. Period. And she’s heartbroken. Suddenly this far-off, inconvenient career death sentence is a road she will never travel. And those kids? They’re revealed to be imaginary, as Robin says something to the effect of, “I’m OK with you guys not being real. I am” as they fade away and we see Robin sitting in the park alone in the snow.

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Orphan Week Gallery: Our 5 Favorite Thanksgiving Episodes On TV

Natalie Zutter — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 22:36:31 +0000

Holding a nontraditional Thanksgiving means that you get to watch whatever you want while the turkey is cooking, not to mention later when you’re in a tryptophan coma. And if the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade just doesn’t do it for you, then check out some of these classic Thanksgiving episodes from shows like How I Met Your Mother, Friends, and Gilmore Girls!

Friends, ”The One with All the Thanksgivings”

It being 2011, I’m tempted to make an “ALL the things” joke, but this 1995 episode came long before Internet memes. And long before How I Met Your Mother modeled most of its episodes after the gang telling stories, you had this, where Ross proclaiming he’s having the worst Thanksgiving ever prompts each character to share an awful story.

It’s a really nuanced flashback episode, as the overlapping stories track Chandler and Monica’s early friendship, back when he called her fat and then later as he grew more attracted to her. The episode ends with Monica wearing a turkey on her head — a classic Friends moment — and Chandler saying “I love you” for the first time. (Aww!)

Every clip related to this episode on YouTube is disabled for embedding, so you’ll have to search them out yourself.

Gilmore Girls, “A Deep Fried Korean Thanksgiving”

Lorelai and Rory often seem to corner themselves into impossible food situations; consider her multiple birthday parties in season 1. This season 3 episode is no exception, as they accept four separate invitations for Thanksgiving with Sookie and Jackson (who wants to deep-fry the turkey), Lane (the Korean element, with tofurkey), Luke, and Lorelai’s parents. As if that isn’t bad enough, then Rory reveals at her grandparents’ celebration that after years of wanting to go to Harvard, she’s applied to Yale.

The CW must have some embargo on YouTube embeds, because here’s Thanksgivings #1 and #3.

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Kal Penn’s Therapist Kevin Has Worn Out His Welcome On How I Met Your Mother

Natalie Zutter — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 22:11:58 +0000

We need to talk about Kevin.

Not the creepy shooter that Ezra Miller plays — though that movie looks scary as hell — but Kal Penn‘s character on How I Met Your Mother. While we were initially excited to see the Harold & Kumar star pop up on the usually witty sitcom, Kevin has become such a drag that he makes Ted look bearable!

This isn’t Kal’s fault! He’s giving it his all, but it’s just not working. It’s difficult to criticize, because in some ways Kal left his job at the White House to get back into roles like this. He left behind the celebrated part of Kutner on House to work for Barack Obama, and his character got unceremoniously killed off. Now we sort of want to see Kevin go in the same way. But considering how he feels about the show’s main characters, it wouldn’t be so far off for him to kill himself in an upcoming episode. (Maybe he’ll strangle himself with Barney’s duck tie?)

The problem is that Kevin just reacts to the gang. In his first few episodes it seemed as if we’d get to learn more about him, especially when Robin turns the tables and plays therapist so he’ll feel that they’re on the same emotional level to date. But since then he’s acted as a sixth wheel, a strange human barometer ready to point out the gang’s flaws. It’s easy to make these jokes since he is a psychologist, but it worked in “Mystery vs. History” (where he diagnosed the group as codependent, among other things) and was old in “Noretta” (where he said everyone ends up with their parents). As TWoP points out, this tired gag is about all that Kevin has going for him.

I do have to disagree with Vulture that Kal’s performance has been stiff. They specifically cite the scene in “Noretta” when he freaks out about Ted and Robin’s very-close-as-exes relationship, and that was one of my favorite moments from his five-episode stint!

It’s not just Kal; TV Guide pointed out that neither he nor Nazanin Boniandi are “popping” as Robin (Cobie Smulders) and Barney’s love interests. (I think Nazanin’s moment came when she had to sing “My Favorite Things” with any semblance of seriousness.)

And that’s where this gig is most insulting to Kal: The writers aren’t even pretending like Kevin is anything but a means to get Robin back on the tracks with either Ted (Josh Radnor) or Barney (Kal’s Harold & Kumar co-star Neil Patrick Harris). Past guest stars like Sarah Chalke had plenty of support for why they could become regular members; even though Sarah was starring in Scrubs at the time, we all believed that Ted and Stella were going to get married and live happily ever after.

If anything, Kal would probably agree with us, or at least be willing to talk it through. It so happens that in a piece on him in Us Magazine today, he shared this anecdote: Once I was in line behind a woman who was telling her friend what a horrible actor Kal Penn is. I tapped her on the shoulder and told her I agreed.

Of course, now I feel like a jerk for bringing this up, since next week may be Kal’s last on the show; his IMDb page has him listed only up through the next episode, “Disaster Averted.” And even though they’re talking about Hurricane Irene, I wouldn’t be surprised if this were the episode to bring Barney and Robin (or again, Robin and Ted) back together.

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Gallery: TV’s 12 Best Halloween Costumes

Natalie Zutter — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 21:43:23 +0000

The Halloween episode—a mainstay in many TV shows, a way to settle into the fall season but still serve up some pretty wacky plotlines. And because you’ve got a professional wardrobe department, the costumes are always ten times better than what you could have picked out at Halloween Adventure. (Unless the joke is that they’re shitty, in which case it’s hilarious.) We’ve got the best costumes from Gossip Girl, The OC, How I Met Your Mother, and others.

A lot of these shows didn’t have a standard Halloween episode, but they still featured some pretty great costumes. Anyway, Halloween’s more of a state of the mind, wouldn’t you say?

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First Look: Katie Holmes As The Slutty Pumpkin On How I Met Your Mother‘s Halloween Episode

Natalie Zutter — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 16:39:47 +0000

Is anyone else slightly disappointed now that we know what How I Met Your Mother‘s Slutty Pumpkin (played by Katie Holmes) looks like? Since HIMYM‘s first season, all Ted (Josh Radnor) could tell us about SP was that her costume had “strategically carved holes”; this looks like what you’d find in any Halloween store.

But these are just the promo pics, so hopefully the actual episode — airing on October 31 — will play around some more with the risque costume. After all, one of their recent episodes revolved around Lily’s (Alyson Hannigan) pregnancy boobs.

Lest you think this is a flashback to 2001, when Ted (dressed as a Hanging Chad ’cause he’s a dork) first crossed paths with the Slutty Pumpkin, it’s set in the present. He discovers that her name is Naomi, and introduces her to Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) and Robin (Cobie Smulders).

The episode is called “Perfect on Paper,” so Ted will probably come to realize that he and Naomi were never meant to be. The show seems to do that a lot when it comes to the character of Ted: He rekindles old relationships — with Laura Prepon, Ashley Williams, and now Katie — to see if one of these ladies could be The Mother. (They’re not.) It’s basically What’s Your Number?, but with a male protagonist and no preachiness about sex…

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Kudos To Bones For Acknowledging Emily Deschanel’s Pregnancy In The Promo Poster

Natalie Zutter — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 21:48:29 +0000

Many TV shows are at a loss of what to do when their star gets pregnant. How I Met Your Mother is the most glaring example I can think of: In a season where both Alyson Hannigan and Cobie Smulders were expecting, their characters spent most of their scenes hidden behind huge handbags and other odd props.

But the Bones showrunners decided to wholeheartedly embrace Emily Deschanel‘s pregnancy… or maybe it was just good timing, since they claim that they had already written into the show that Temperance Brennan gets pregnant by her partner Seeley Booth.

Regardless, the evidence is on the poster for season 7: Instead of coyly hiding Bones behind a medical table or even crouching at a crime scene, they have Booth literally pointing a flashlight at her belly/their fetus. It’s unsubtle and slightly cheesy, and as a diehard Bones fan, I love it.

Also, Booth has his hand out to support his babymama lest she slip on some decomposed human. It’s just too cute.

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The Cougar Town Cast Is Making A Bunch Of Fun Cameos On TV Shows This Fall

Natalie Zutter — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 17:54:11 +0000

Cougar Town creator Bill Lawrence is a big fan of cross-promotion: Last season, the Community character Abed (Danny Pudi) popped up in the background of a Cougar episode; and when Scrubs was still on the air, Bill let star Sarah Chalke play a recurring role on How I Met Your Mother.

Now, the entire Cougar Town cast is doing a mass exodus of cross-promotion all over TV this fall. Since the show won’t return for its third season until January, they figured they had time to kill. Plus, it’s a great form of guerilla marketing that fans will actually enjoy watching.

So far 13 shows are onboard to feature the stars what sound like they’ll be non-speaking roles—a treat for loyal viewers who can spot Busy Phillips, Dan Byrd, Josh Hopkins, or Brian Van Holt. Here are the ones we know, by network:

ABC: Body of Proof, Dancing with the Stars, Castle, Man Up!, The Middle
CBS: How I Met Your Mother
Nick, Jr.: Yo Gabba Gabba

The two big guest roles so far both happen tonight, on Shonda Rhimes‘ two medical dramas. Ian Gomez will convince us he’s a doctor on Grey’s Anatomy; then Courteney Cox and Christa Miller play a lesbian couple at a fertility clinic on Private Practice.

Courteney and daughter Coco were spotted earlier this week on Dancing with the Stars to cheer on her estranged husband David Arquette, but we assume that that appearance was unofficial. Whichever actor appears on that show will probably do so in-character.

And here’s that Abed cameo, if you’re curious:

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Katie Holmes Will Play How I Met Your Mother‘s Slutty Pumpkin!

Natalie Zutter — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 21:05:51 +0000

Last season, How I Met Your Mother‘s guest stars were pretty hit-or-miss: John Lithgow was aces as Barney’s dad, but Katy Perry‘s part could’ve been done by anyone. But we’re so psyched about the latest person to join the cast: Katie Holmes, playing Ted’s elusive crush, the Slutty Pumpkin, who we heard about (but never saw) back in season 1.

A refresher: In a parody of It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!, Ted (Josh Radnor) waits at Halloween parties every year, dressed in his hanging chad costume, for the girl wearing a pumpkin with strategically-carved holes. All he knows about her is that she studies penguins and makes a drink out of root beer and Kahlua called The Tootsie Roll.

Until now, this is all we’ve seen:

But now we’ll get to actually meet the girl who captured Ted’s heart. But considering that he meets The Mother at Barney’s wedding, Katie probably isn’t his be-all end-all. Still, we’re really excited to see her in a comedic role; it’s been way too long!

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Did You Know That How I Met Your Mother Has Had Three “Contingency Mothers”?

Natalie Zutter — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 13:21:23 +0000

While perusing the IMDb boards recently, I came across a fascinating theory on How I Met Your Mother‘s FAQ page: For the three times that Carter Bays and Craig Thomas thought that HIMYM might get cancelled, they wrote in back-up plans to reveal The Mother as three different women.

1) The writers, knowing that they only had as good a chance in their first season as any other new sitcom, wanted to make sure if they got cancelled after their initial 13 episodes that they still gave the fans a satisfying ending. You’ll notice that episode 13 of season 1 is “Drumroll, Please”: Ted (Josh Radnor) meets a wonderful girl named Victoria (Ashley Williams) at his friend’s wedding, but they part ways without exchanging information.

Robin (Cobie Smulders), who’s just realized she has feelings for Ted, tracks down Victoria because she wants Ted to be happy. Had the show gotten cancelled, the writers could have easily ended the series there, with a quick voiceover from Future Ted (Bob Saget) saying, “And that, kids, is how I met your mother.”

2) HIMYM hit another snag at the end of season 2; the finale, “Something Blue,” aired before the writers knew if the show had actually been renewed. In this case, we wouldn’t have had a specific woman to pinpoint as The Mother, but you can’t deny that it would’ve made a great series finale: Marshall (Jason Segel) and Lily (Alyson Hannigan) finally got married; Ted and Robin took their relationship as far as they could and parted as friends; and Barney ends on “Legen…”

3) The show’s fourth-season renewal didn’t come until late in season 3, long before Stella (Sarah Chalke) could leave Ted at the altar. Before then, the first episode “Ten Sessions” could’ve been an ideal finale: We would’ve watched Ted’s ten-week attempt to win over his dermatologist Stella, their two-minute date — which is still ranked as one of the series’ best moments — and the ending, where she says she’ll call him if she has time. Again, all it would’ve taken was a last-minute addendum from Future Ted.

Whoever wrote it up takes great pains to say that this is more conjecture than fact, but the truth is, it lines up pretty damn well. But thankfully, HIMYM is in its seventh season, which premieres tonight, so chances are that we’ll meet the actual woman that Carter and Craig envisioned!

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