Guest-Starring Roles: Cheaper Than Therapy

Have you seen the CBS show "How I Met Your Mother" yet? I mean, it's been on for, like, two years, people! Come on!

I rarely watch it, but this show is freakin' hilarious. It's about a group of New York 20-somethings, told from the point of view of Ted, one of the friends, who is recalling to his future children how he met their mother. The former Doogie Howser, M.D. plays one of the 20-somethings, and I find him perfectly adorable and smarmy in all the best ways. Alison Hannigan, who I loved on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" is another, and she's cute and charming and funny. I rarely laugh out loud at something on TV, but this show is reliably funny enough to make me choke on something every time I watch it.

In general, the show is truly one of the best things around, which is why I was stunned when they announced they had cast Britney Spears in a guest-starring role on the show. Seriously? Didn't she do, like, one bad road trip movie about eight years ago?

I just watched the episode. I am just stunned, but she's actually not awful, as long as your expectations are low. Okay, she's still the worst thing about the show, but since it's a great show overall, it all kind of averages out. Her weave looks terrible, her acting is a little community-theater, and she still looks like she's fighting a case of the crazy, but I give her credit for making an effort to derail her own trainwreck.

You can watch the show online for free, here.