Seth Rogen overload?

I don't think I've reached that point yet, but it certainly does seem like the "Freaks and Geeks" and "Undeclared" veteran unleashed by Judd Apatow is just about everywhere nowadays.

A look at the IMDB sheet after "Kung Fu Panda," the surprisingly satisfying summer flick that's currently kicking all kinds of box office tail (we're talking about a kids' movie after all, so let's keep it clean) reveals a very busy slate. First comes the comedy I'm most looking forward to this summer, the stoner buddy flick, "Pineapple Express"; then, if this ever really does see the light of day, a role in the geek flick "Fanboys"; the lead opposite Elizabeth Banks in Kevin Smith's "Zack and Miri Make a Porno"; voice work in Dreamworks' "Monsters Vs. Aliens"; playing a delusional mall cop for "Foot Fist Way" (why in the world isn't that playing everywhere?) director Jody Hill in "Observe and Report"; a reunion with Judd Apatow for Apatow's next directorial effort, to be about the world of standup comedians; and finally, if they can pull it off, a remake of "The Green Hornet" with writing partner Evan Goldberg.

Whew! As the last entry on that list shows, and luckily, Mr. Rogen isn't one to forget about his friends. Probably somewhere in the middle of all this, now comes news that he and Goldberg, the duo that brought us the nearly flawless "Superbad," will team up to create something called "Jay and Seth vs. the Apocalypse" (apparently the shtick of actors using their actual names trotted out for "Knocked Up" hasn't gotten old to them yet.)

The horror-comedy, set to co-star fellow "Undeclared" vet and very funny guy in his own right Jay Baruchel, apparently springs from a Web short they all concocted during the brief time Fox bothered to put that fairly great show on the air. I don't know much about it beside that, but there's actually a trailer for it that was put up on Youtube about a year ago, and I've included it here for you to enjoy (as you can probably figure, the language is more than a little NSFW, so please use headphones when you watch it!)

"Superbad," for all its very juvenile humor about things like the "Ghostbusters lunchbox dick treasure chest" (still the thing that made me laugh hardest in all of 2007) has just stuck me longer than a lot of other comedies of its ilk, and I just can't wait for "Pineapple Express." Here's hoping these guys can keep the funny coming for a long time to come.



What's next for "Pushing Daisies" and "How I Met Your Mother"?

OK, OK, I don't know the answers to the most pressing questions about easily two of my favorite shows, namely, for the latter, will adorable Sarah Chalke say yes to our hero Ted's wedding proposal and, for the former, why in the world isn't ABC reairing it's best freshman series in years this summer as a reintroduction to viewers who might have somehow missed it's nine-episode first season? I do, however, have a couple of intriguing bits about each show from Variety.

First, for "Pushing Daisies," creator Bryan Fuller promises that his habit of reintroducing the show's premise with each episode will be a thing of the past, so that in season two he can delight us with one epic story arc.

Fuller, in fact, described the writers strike that killed the first season as a kind of blessing in disguise: "We were just going to continue telling a lot of these episodic tales, and we weren't able to weave in as much of the serialized storyline as I wanted to in the first season."

And he promises he's learned a thing or two from his days working on "Heroes" (remember that show?): "Learning from my days on 'Heroes,' I'm planning to add some cliffhangers, which we'll get into starting with episode five. That's when a new character comes into the world and really shakes things up, somebody who has a link to the shared histories of both Chuck and Ned."

Sounds cool to me, and Fuller and friends have already created a world that I love returning to each week, so I can't wait to see where they go next.

The big news about "How I Met Your Mother" is that co-creator Craig Thomas promises that the showrunners have their penchant for random celebrity drop-ins under control. If bringing in Britney Spears was really necessary to lock down a fourth season than I'm certainly grateful, but enough is enough. Lucky, Thomas apparently thinks so too: "Our core audience turns in to see those five characters," he says. "We're not 'The Love Boat.' "

Amen, brother. And on that note, I unfortunately still have to go to work. Peace out.