I didn't know that Slate was keeping a weekly "Shame Index" for How I Met Your Mother, a regular column where they go over each episode in fine detail and list what the show does "awesome" and what the show should be ashamed of. You're probably wondering, what could the show possibly do to be ashamed of?

Basically it comes down to either 1. lame jokes or 2. being too much like Friends. I'm not a regular viewer of How I Met Your Mother (I did love Friends), so I have absolutely no opinion on the matter at all. They do point out the plot from last night's episode where they tried to quit smoking, saying that Friends did that several times with Chandler Bing's character over the years and that was funnier and HIMYM copied too much from Friends.

What do you think?

Kristin over at E! has several clips from the season premiere of How I Met Your Mother (this Monday). I chose this one because it gives a nice quick example of what the show is like for people who haven't seen it before (lots of Barney too).

I think we can call this clip "Why Girlfriends Are Like Gremlins."

The Slap Bet is coming! The Slap Bet is coming!

CBS is finally showing a little love for one of the best comedies on television, How I Met Your Mother, by launching this countdown clock to the next Slap Bet. What is a Slap Bet? Only the greatest subplot ever. In last season's "Robin Sparkles" episode, Marshall didn't have any money to bet Barney on why Robin refused to go to the mall, so they agreed that the loser of the bet got a slap. There was some "premature slapulation" and Marshall ended up with five slaps, to dole out against Barney at any time from here to eternity. By the way, if you haven't seen the episode, please take some time to go over to this HIMYM MySpace website. It will get you hooked on the series.

Fans will remember that Marshall still owes Barney three slaps. Apparently the next one is coming in just about four months.

How do you fans feel, knowing exactly when another slap is coming?

The producers and writers of the hit CBS show How I Met Your Mother have already written the last five minutes of the show.

IGN.com has an extensive report from the William S. Paley TV fest, where cast and crew from the show explain how the show came about, how the cast was chosen, and what they want to do with the show. Some cool tidbits: Neil Patrick Harris wasn't sure about his Barney role at first, because the script called for a heavy-set, dark-haired guy in his 30s, like Jack Black. Also: they don't film in front of a live audience, and Angel alum Amy Acker and Alexis Denisof are going to do guest appearances.

[via TV Tattle]