jason segel

Jason Segel, a recently ordained minister in the Universal Life Church, married a couple in the middle of 'The Tonight Show' (weeknights, 11:35PM ET on NBC). The lovebirds are big fans of the actor and asked him to officiate their nuptials. Since he'd be out of town on the day they'd planned to wed, he asked them -- and Jay Leno -- if the couple would be interested in tying the knot on national television.

Relatives and friends waved from the audience. After the couple said traditional vows and exchanged rings, Segel turned to the (standing) "congregation" and asked, "Does everyone here today promise to offer the joys of your friendship and unwavering support to this couple?" The studio audience (of mostly strangers) cheered.

It's legal: Leno served as the official witness, and both he and Segel signed the marriage license after the show.

In a recent interview with GQ, 'How I Met Your Mother' co-star Jason Segel said he plans to leave the show in three years to focus on other projects.

Segel's contract with the hit comedy expires in 2013, he said, and he doesn't plan to stick around to play bumbling married guy Marshall Eriksen one minute longer.

"I think after eight years, I'll feel like I honorably did my commitment. It's funny -- it's the greatest problem in the world to have. Jeez, I'm the luckiest guy in the world. But when your idol is Peter Sellers, playing one character for eight years isn't what you're trying to do," he told the magazine.

When you're in a relationship, it's important to have rules that are as absurd and as complicated as possible. Or maybe that's only necessary if you have a relationship that takes place on a sitcom. Either way, it's what's taking place on 'How I Met Your Mother' (Mon., 8PM ET on CBS).

[Spoiler alert.]

Would you rather go to a stuffy party, or would you rather see robots fighting wrestlers? The answer, of course, is obvious. Any sane human being would choose robots versus wrestlers. But the solution turns out to be not so clear-cut on 'How I Met Your Mother' (Mon., 8PM ET on CBS).

[Spoiler alert.]

(S05E21) By now, it's not much of a stretch to say that most 'How I Met Your Mother' fans have moved on from both the Ted-Robin and the Barney-Robin relationships. They're both over, kaput, donezo. Robin's moved on, and the guys have moved on, and we're all ready to explore how the gang conducts their lives as just friends.

Which is why, despite the fact that this episode had a number of good laughs, I just sat there for the entire 22 minutes thinking, "I don't buy this." I know that a sitcom like this needs romantic tension in order to survive, but what went on this week felt pretty contrived, as if Bays and Thomas couldn't think of another romantic direction for Ted, Robin, and Barney, so they decided to tread on old ground not once, but twice.

(S05E20) It figures that right after I do a long post about the prominence of silly standalone episodes on 'HIMYM' this year, Bays and Thomas come back with an episode that could both stand alone and be part of the "mythology" of the show. And it gave us a new drinking game, to boot.

(S05E19) Many of the episodes of 'HIMYM' this season have been slapsticky and silly, but mostly in a good way. It's part of the effort of Carter Bays, Craig Thomas and their crew to not get so bogged down in the "mythology" of the Mother story, allowing them to touch on it much less than they used to. It also sets up some nice standalone episodes for syndication.

Sometimes the silliness works, sometimes it doesn't. This time it worked. And because it worked, I won't get the phase "mugged by a monkey" out of my head for quite a while.

(S05E18) Ever come across an episode of one of your favorite shows that just felt half-baked to you? Sure, it had its funny moments, but there was something about the main story that begged to be explored a bit more. Or maybe one of the B-stories looked like it had more potential but it just ended up being either a one-note joke or dropped altogether.

This episode had both. I wanted the main story of Ted always bringing around his "skanks" to group celebrations to be tied in a little more to his search for the all-exalted mother. And I also wanted to see more about both Barney's and Marshall's relative abilities in front of a camera lens. Both left me dissatisfied.

When we here at TV Squad HQ (an outhouse-sized shack in the suburbs of Paducah, KY) heard that Jason Segel of 'How I Met Your Mother' was co-writing a new theatrical Muppet movie, there was much rejoicing.

Why? Because, while Neil Patrick Harris gets all the attention, Segel has quietly become the comedic glue of the show, able to do subtle humor and physical shtick with the best of them. Also, despite his relative youth, he has expressed his love of the Muppets in the past. So we had a feeling that he was going to produce a script that recalled the best of the Muppet flicks, 'The Muppet Movie' and 'The Great Muppet Caper,' while keeping a modern edge.

Now The Hollywood Reporter's Heat Vision blog has the news that Segel will also be starring in the movie, tentatively titled 'The Greatest Muppet Movie of All Time,' as the Muppets' live action buddy, who along with Kermit seeks to reunite the gang to save their old theater. Huzzahs all around.

(S05E17) Let's see ... this week, we got Ted in the future telling his kids the story that Barney told a police officer after he'd been pulled out of the Hudson River. So did we get Barney's version of events, or the version Ted might remember from his own role?

I'm going with this being Barney's version of events, because it's the only way I can justify the way in which Ted described to Barney the "super-date." All in all, there were several moments that made me smile, but I wasn't laughing as hard as I usually do during an episode of 'How I Met Your Mother.'

However, I'll forgive the episode that because it did entertain me and more importantly-- it gave us all some much needed closure!

(S05E16) When I was out in LA for the press tour in January, I had the pleasure of watching the table read for this episode. This was the actual Monday-morning table read, not a show for the gathered critics; the writers were sitting by taking notes that would be used to make changes before shooting.

What struck me about the table read was that, despite the fact that it was the first draft and the cast hadn't fully gotten into how exactly they were going to play the script, the episode was funny. People were genuinely laughing, including the writers, who have lived with the script for some time; they weren't cackling in an effort to sell their funny lines. In fact, it was one of the funniest episodes of the season.

Watching the final version, I noticed that not a whole lot changed from that table read. And, even though I knew most of what was coming, I laughed as hard as I did when I was on the set a month and a half ago. If that's not the sign of a top-notch episode, I don't know what is.

Created by Paul Feig and produced by Judd Apatow, 'Freaks and Geeks' is one of those rare television treasures that no one saw or appreciated until it was too late. Okay, that's unfair. Critics, the press and the loyal fans who did find the show on NBC immediately knew that it was something special. Unfortunately, it didn't find wide enough appeal to last beyond its first season.

Ironically, the show's cast of virtual unknowns now reads like an all-star comedy troupe, which is a testament to the brilliant casting that went on behind the scenes of the show. Finding such talented kids, and then coupling them with brilliant writing crafted on of the most revered television shows of all time.

(S05E15) I've noticed that the last few episodes of 'HIMYM' have largely taken place in the "home booth" at MacLaren's. I know it's the 21st century version of the couch at Central Perk, but the world of 'Mother' is a lot bigger than that these days. And, besides, Cobie Smulders and Alyson Hannigan aren't pregnant anymore; there's no need to hide their baby bumps under the table anymore.

That being said, it's a great place for two of this show's signature "bits" to start: 1) Absurd arguments, and 2) Incessant ball-busting. We saw both of these this week, with Ranjit thrown into the mix to make things more interesting. What really made this episode wasn't just the Rabbit/Duck argument, though; it was the subtle direction shifts that made loyal viewers think Ted was going in one not so good direction, when he was really going in a worse -- but more fun! -- direction.

(S05E14) Wouldn't everyone want to analyze their love lives with Jim Nantz?

Even if you haven't been as lucky in the sack as Barney Stinson, having an accomplished play-by-play guy talk about the ups and downs of your romantic escapades lends things a bit of gravitas and class.

However the 'HIMYM' writing team came up with the idea of how a nervous Barney recounts his perfect week in his own head, it was an inspired move, as it gave the episode the right narrative pull and really did put you in the position of a fan, pulling for him and making sure he didn't get jinxed. Did I just say that word?