Alyson Hannigan

The Museum of Television & Radio’s annual William S. Paley Television Festival hosted the cast and creators of CBS’s sitcom How I Met Your Mother at the Directors Guild last night in Hollywood. LAist has grown to really enjoy this show, the likeable characters and the crisp writing. Besides, what other network sitcoms are we going to watch? Rodney? Nope. The King of Queens? Not a chance.

Though it was compared to Friends at its launch (attractive, White, twentysomething friends living in New York), How I Met Your Mother is different: There are only five friends, and no Ross and Rachel. (Thank goodness.) So the cast and crew met with fans (who looked much like themselves), and here are a few tidbits LAist heard at last night’s event:

• Mad skillz: Creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas honed their writing on Letterman. No wonder they like to use catchphrases like “Suit up, Ted!” over and over again.

• But better looking: The character of Ted (Josh Radnor) is based on Bays and Marshall (Jason Segal) is based on Craig Thomas. (They do kind of look similar.)

• Willow lives: Alyson Hannigan’s character Lily is based on Thomas’s wife.

• BFF: Because of Hannigan’s and Segal’s past shows, look out for Buffy and Freaks and Geeks actors to do guest shots on Mother. Alexis Denisof (Wesley on Buffy and Hannigan’s husband) has already shot his episode.

• Doctor who?: The two words “Doogie Howser” were not once uttered at last night’s event. Looks like scene stealer Neil Patrick Harris will now be known as the dude from Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle.

• Speaking of NPH: Harris was the only guy wearing jeans. Unlike his character Barney, he did not “suit up.”

• Non-alcoholics anonymous: The stuff the cast drinks in bar scenes is good, old-fashioned O’Douls. Yummy.

• Best line of the night: Belonged to Cobie Smulders, who plays Radnor’s love interest, Robin. When she and Radnor went in for a fake kiss to tease fans, Radnor pulled away just before the lip lock, prompting Smulders to proclaim: “He always pulls out before I do.”

And that kids, is How I Met Your Mother.