How I Met Your Mother - Season Nine?

An of interesting thing in today's /Film TV bits article.

How I Met Your Mother is pushing for a ninth season, but planning for the 8th to be the last. They're hoping to have a final decision before midseason, as that's when they'd either need to decide to write some filler episodes or go out with a bang.

It seems, then, that there really won't be any episodes after Ted meets the mother, which, while I understand the premise of the show, still annoys me. Maybe they'll convey an emotional connection with her through flash-forwards (which Craig Thomas hints at in this Vulture article), but I just can't imagine being satisfied with seeing the mother, meeting the mother, and then... nothing. At this point, why would I care? How would I know why this woman's special? Then again, maybe Craig and Carter Bays don't care, either! Maybe that's not the point, and I'm dwelling on it way too much (even though it is the name of the show, after all!).

The nice thing is that Craig seemed pretty jazzed about the season premiere, and SPOILER ALERT -- that he'll have Barney and Quinn break up in episode two of the season, so at least they're not going to drag that out! We can only hope they'll do the same for Ted and Victoria, but I'm not holding my breath.