Saving HIMYM By Saving Britney

First Britney Spears was the subject of a surprisingly (if grotesquely) sympathetic South Park episode last week. Now tonight she takes a much-hyped role on How I Met Your Mother. Ideally, the appearance gives Britney some flattering screen time, on a show that’s not speculating as to what substances she’s ingesting or how she’s raising her kids. And for HIMYM, the stunt sends an unambiguous message: please, please watch our show so they won’t cancel us. I missed her 2006 Will & Grace appearance, so I can’t judge by that, but are any longtime Crossroads fans anxiously awaiting her return?