How I Met Your Mother: Aldrin Justice
(S02E06) Sometimes having guest stars on your sitcom is a boon; seeing well-known actors or other celebrities mix with the established cast is great to watch and makes the episode memorable. But a lot of other times, bringing in a guest star dampens the chemistry of that established cast and slows down the comedic flow of the show, almost bringing it to screeching halt.
This week’s HIMYM episode has two guest stars: Bryan Cranston as Ted’s touchy boss, and Jane Seymour as Marshall’s testy law professor. And, in this case, one guest star gave us a good result and the other gave us a bad one. I’ll tell you who’s who after the jump. You might be surprised at who I thought was the chemistry killer.
OK, I’m not going to keep you in suspense. I really like Bryan Cranston — he was great on Malcolm in the Middle, and who can forget his Seinfeld appearances as Tim Whatley — but he was kind of wasted here as Mr. Druthers, Ted’s mean boss.
Yes, he’s supposed to be playing a tense, half-looney architectural genius who just can’t see that the building he designed for a Spokane bank looks like a big ol’ willie. And Lilly using her kindergarten teaching skills to show him a lesson — she steals his “Pete Rose Pete Rose Pete Rose” ball because he was mean — was pretty funny. And I like seeing a little more of Ted’s job, which we saw none of last year. But the beauty of the show is the interaction of its five main characters, and for some reason, throwing a standard mean boss character in the mix disrupted that delicate balance.
However, it did give us a chance to a) find out how Ted got to design that building in Spokane, b) gave us a chance to see Charles Robinson (Mac from Night Court), even if he just came on to say, “This is a penis!”, and c) helped coin the phrase “justice khakis.”
Craig and Carter keep finding ways to keep Lilly in the mix. And now we see that she and Marshall can hang out and not get all emotional. Heck, he even took a Polaroid of her when they saw her as a waitress at that luau restaurant.
Seymour worked a lot better, mainly because she was there to finally challenge Barney emotionally. Heh, did I say emotionally? I meant sexually… he tries to seduce her so she can ease up on Marshall’s class and just can’t keep up with her. She grades him, giving him a C-minus the first time, professorily chiding him how unprepared he was. But he keeps trying, bless his heart — I liked seeing him chug a six-pack of Red Bull as he goes to her apartment for the third time. When she finally gives him (and Marshall) a B-plus, it’s at the cost of a dislocated hip. On Barney.
But the Best Barneyism this week is not his definition of “a cougar,” which is a term I’ve heard before for an older sexy woman who’s on the prowl. No, it’s how he stalks the professor at the beginning of the episode, peering through the fern in the hall like it’s a jungle thicket, giving Marshall the characteristics of the cougar as if he was on a nature show: The hair, the blouse, the claws…
Finally, we have the final collection of “building related” jokes this week:
- Ted’s boss is just being testy.
- He’s just being a bit crotchety.
- Don’t be so hard on him.
- Don’t blow it.
- The building rising out of the brunette trees.
- The building is so bold it’ll slap you in the face.
Not bad for an 8:00 show, huh?
Anyway, not the best HIMYM episode of the year, but it had its moments. Let’s hope the next set of guest stars do a little better.
House producer heading to Court K
Paul Attanasio, House executive producer, has conjured up a legal drama for Fox. The network greenlighted a one-hour pilot, Court K, which is set in Milwaukee and involves a judge, a prosecutor and a public defender. Just because it’s set in Milwaukee, don’t expect to see Laverne and Shirley.
Like House is not your typical medical drama, Court K will not be a typical lawyer show, not that Boston Legal is typical, but you know what I mean. Court K is reportedly a lot grittier, with sardonic, dark comic elements. We’ll have to see if any of the principals are hooked on Vicodan. I wonder if it’ll remind me of the movie …And Justice For All, which was also a dark comic look at a Baltimore courthouse. But then, wasn’t that Night Court, too?
Attanasio is an interesting and prolific writer. He was once the film critic for the Washington Post before breaking into movies by writing the screenplay for Robert Redford’s Quiz Show in 1985. He won an Oscar nomination for that script, and another for Donnie Brasco in 1998. On TV, though, he really made his mark writing for Homicide: Life on the Streets and Gideon’s Crossing — so you could say he and Andre Braugher had a good thing going.
In 2006, he split his time producing House by writing the screenplay for The Good German, but even George Clooney couldn’t make that picture watchable.
TV Obits: Buckley, Tilley, Smith, Levin
A roundup of TV people from in front of the camera and behind the scenes who have passed away.
- William F. Buckley, Jr.: He was conservative commentator and host of the long-running political show Firing Line, which started on WOR-TV and then went to public television, lasting 33 years. He was also the editor of National Review, the author of several books, and even ran for mayor of New York City once. Buckley was found dead in his home in Stamford, CT. He was 82.
- Paul Tilley: He was a veteran advertising exec and creative director at DDB Chicago. He was responsible for many memorable advertising campaigns, including McDonald’s “I’m Lovin’ It,” and Dell’s “Dude, You’re Getting A Dell.” He was also in charge of campaigns for Anheuser-Busch, Johnson & Johnson, Midas, OfficeMax, Capital One, and LensCrafters. He died in an apparent suicide at age 40.
- Lionel Mark Smith: He was a actor who appeared in such shows as The Unit, Days of Our Lives, NYPD Blue, Seinfeld, L.A. Law, Benson, Remington Steele, Night Court, Lou Grant, Hill Street Blues, and St. Elsewhere. He was also in several movies, including State and Main, Magnolia, The Spanish Prisoner, Edmond, and Spartan. He died of cancer in Inglewood, CA at age 62.
- Steve Levin: He was Vice President of SI TV’s advertising sales department, and before that was Executive Vice President at Telemundo. He also worked at WNJU and KVEA. He died of cancer at age 59.
Teri Hatcher Biography
A lithe, attractive Hollywood leading woman, Hatcher gained attention and good notices for her portrayal of a very modern Lois Lane in ABC’s “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman” (1993-97). She began her professional career as a dancer in San Francisco, and was soon doing commercials and hoofing as a “Love Boat” mermaid on the last season (ABC, 1985-86) of that aqueous anthology series. That same year, she made her TV acting debut as Penny Parker in an episode of “MacGyver”, a role that later became a recurring character (ABC, 1986-90). She also has popped up as a guest-star on such TV series as “Quantum Leap”, “Tales from the Crypt”, “Murphy Brown”, “Night Court”, “L.A. Law” and “Seinfeld” (as Jerry’s well-endowed date whose much-debated breasts are revealed to be “real…and spectacular”).
Hatcher made her feature film debut in the comedy “The Big Picture”, then went into drama as Sylvester Stallone’s love interest in “Tango and Cash” (both 1989). She returned to comedy with a small but pivotal role in “Soapdish” (1991) and co-starred with Dolly Parton and James Woods in “Straight Talk” (1992). Hatcher had little luck with series TV at first, appearing in the failed Patty Duke sitcom “Karen’s Song” (Fox, 1987) and as Robert Loggia’s young bride in Norman Lear’s “Sunday Dinner” (CBS, 1991). She also appeared in pilots for “Baby on Board” (CBS, 1988) and “The Brotherhood” (ABC, 1991) and co-starred in the thriller “Dead in the Water” (USA, 1991).
In 1993, Hatcher won the star-making part in “Lois and Clark”. Since its premiere, she’s appeared in several features (some filmed before her show first aired), including “Brain Smasher. . .A Love Story” (1993), “All Tied Up” (1994), opposite Alec Baldwin in the thriller “Heaven’s Prisoners” and in John Herzfeld’s crime drama “2 Days in the Valley” (both 1996). Hatcher subsequently co-starred in David Schwimmer’s “Since You’ve Been Gone” (1997), about a high school reunion, and was cast in the James Bond film “Tomorrow Never Dies” (1997) as Paris Carver, a mysterious woman from 007’s past now married to his nemesis. Hatcher’s attentions were diverted to the theater when she appeared to good effect as Sally Bowles in the touring company of the 1996 revival production of the Kander & Ebb musical “Cabaret” while staying in the public consciousness in a ubiquitous string of long-running Radio Shack commercials opposite NFL great Howie Long beginning in 1999.
More features–”Fever” (1999), “Spy Kids” (2001), “The Chester Story” (2003)—and telepics—”Running Mates” (2000), “Jane Doe” (2002), “Say Uncle” (2001)—followed before Hatcher made her return to primetime network series TV in the compelling, unique suburban black comedy, “Desperate Housewives” (ABC, 2004 - ), playing Susan Mayer, the neighborhood’s romance-minded single mom. Four out of five desperate housewives were nominated for Golden Globe Awards in 2005—Eva Longoria was the only one snubbed—but it was Hatcher who came away with the award for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy.
- Also Credited As:
Teri L. Hatcher - Born:
on 12/08/1964 in Sunnyvale, California - Job Titles:
Actor, Dancer
Family
- Daughter: Emerson Rose Tenney. born November 10, 1997
Significant Others
- Companion: Bryan Burk. dated briefly in 2005
- Husband: Jon Tenney. born 1961; married May 1994; Hatcher filed for a divorce in on February 28, 2003 citing irreconcilable differences
- Husband: Markus Leithold. married in 1988; divorced after 10 months
Education
- Freemont High School, Sunnyvale, California
Milestones
- 1985 TV debut as a Love Boat mermaid on “The Love Boat” (ABC)
- 1986 Had recurring role on “MacGyver” (ABC)
- 1986 Played Anjelica Clegg on the CBS daytime soap “Capitol”
- 1989 Feature acting debut, “The Big Picture”
- 1991 Co-starred in Norman Lear’s failed sitcom, “Sunday Dinner”
- 1993 Starred as Lois Lane in the TV series, “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman”
- 1997 Cast in pivotal role in the James Bond film “Tomorrow Never Dies”
- 1999 Toured as Sally Bowles in the environmental revival of the stage musical “Cabaret”
- 2000 Cast as Ms. Gradenko in the summer hit “Spy Kids”
- 2003 Co-starred with Louis Gossett Jr. in the television movie “Momentum”
- 2004 Cast as Susan Mayer, the divorcee and single mom in the television drama “Desperate Housewives” (ABC); received Emmy and Golden Globe nominations (2005) for Best Actress in a Comedy series
- Worked as a dancer in San Francisco