Last night I went to a screening of "How I Met Your Mother" and got a chance to ask the cast all kinds of questions. First let me say that it's clear how much these guys love each other and love the show. It was downright...heartwarming. Yes, my heart was warmed, and that was even before I hit up the open bar.

Now, I asked about who the mother is. I might have even been persistent. No one's telling. (I don't think they know either.) I told Josh Radnor I'm still hoping she's The Slutty Pumpkin, the mystery girl Ted met at a rooftop Halloween party his first year in New York.

Josh says he's less obsessive about the future than his character Ted Mosby. He also drinks less! This was a common theme: Alyson Hannigan won't try to keep up with her beer-loving kindergarten teacher alter ego either. You'll be glad to hear that Neil Patrick Harris and Cobie Smulders are both Scotch fans in real life.

Alyson absolutely loved Lily's dog paintings storyline from the end of the season. A dog lover, she gushed about how much fun it was having the animals on the set. She also commented on how Lily is such a "wonderful, terrible teacher:" she loves her students and loves teaching but boy does she say the wrong things to those kids sometimes.

Cobie told me that the first Robin Sparkles episode was her favorite. (Here's a clip if you've never seen it.) She did all of her own singing in both Robin Sparkles videos. Such a talent! When I asked her whether she'd like to see Robin and Barney get together permanently she said yes - but that if it happens again, it should last. (That doesn't seem like a huge stretch to me.)

Neil was also a fan of Robin and Barney as a couple, and called Cobie "Canadian, hot, talented, funny and dead sexy." He loved Ted and Barney's "break up" earlier this season because he got to do some emotional scenes with Josh, who he called "a remarkable dramatic actor." (It's hard not to love someone who talks up his castmates so much.) When I asked him about Barney's best line - and no fair counting "Awesome" or "Legen...wait for it...dary" - he said "That's so not Raven!"

The entire cast seems to love guest star (future mother of Ted's children?) Sarah Chalke. Neil Patrick Harris called her "so money," and Josh suggested The Second Becky as the perfect band name. Let's all hope she'll be back next season.

- Posted by Kate