'How I Met Your Mother' ends legendary run

After nine seasons of running gags, touching scenes, flashbacks and flash-forwards, the series finale of "How I Met Your Mother" airs on March 31. So we couldn't possibly name only 20 most memorable moments from the show, could we? Challenge accepted!

The second season of the show had a major twist when it turned out that Robin's fear of malls was actually due to her past as a Canadian pop star (whose hit song was "Let's Go to the Mall," naturally). Robin Sparkles' resulting music video remains one of the funnier sitcom moments in recent years, and Robin's "Sparkles" persona has returned several times over the seasons.

The same episode that introduced Robin Sparkles also gave us the "slap bet," the best running gag on the show, in which Barney losing a bet to Marshall meant he had to take five slaps to the face, distributed at unexpected times. We saw the final slap on last Monday's episode.

At long last, the Mother! Cristin Milioti's unexpected appearance in the role of the woman Ted has been destined to meet this whole time led to a final season of getting to know the still-unnamed Mother.

Ted's tattoo removal over 10 doctor visits led to a flirtation with his doctor, Stella, who claimed she didn't have time to date. Ted came up with the "two-minute date," a scene done in one shot, that captured what has made this show so special in a nutshell.

The Mother's yellow umbrella has shown up countless times over the years and we recently got a glimpse of it one more time just moments before she was going to meet Ted. We'll see you at that train station at the end of the finale.

The 100th episode brought us a song and dance number where Neil Patrick Harris' Barney got to sing a rollicking ode to his one true love: Suits.

Ted's first long-term girlfriend on the show, Victoria, was so memorable that many fans out there kind of wish she had turned out to be the Mother.

They sure loved their interventions. If there can be an intervention about it, this group of friends staged one.

Lily and Marshall's wedding -- complete with Marshall going crazy and partially shaving his head -- were the most memorable nuptials of the series so far.

Sure, we met her but we didn't think we'd flash forward to see Ted propose to the Mother. It was another pleasant surprise from the final season.

One of the big mysteries from the first season (aside from that "pineapple incident") was finally solved years later when Katie Holmes showed up playing the "Slutty Pumpkin." Unfortunately, she wasn't the dream girl Ted was hoping for.

For several seasons, Barney lived under the impression that Bob Barker was his father, even going on "The Price is Right" to finally meet him.

Eventually, Barney finally found his real father, played by John Lithgow.

Ted and Barney's dream bar, "Puzzles" was set up in Ted's apartment. It even had a theme song, which sounded a bit like that other bar-based sitcom.

Britney Spears popped up in two episodes, as the naïve Abby, who was the unfortunate victim of one of Barney's many schemes.

The gang added a baby to the mix: Meet Marshall and Lily's son, Marvin.

One day, Ted walked into his apartment and found a goat. The explanation of this was held for several episodes, until we learned that Lily rescued the goat from a farmer in her classroom.

We certainly didn't expect Barney to sport the hippie look when we had a look back into his past. Eventually, he put on a suit and never looked back.

Robin buried "something old," a locket years ago for her eventual wedding. When it went missing, Ted was determined to find it, and in the most recent episode, gave it to Barney to give to his fiancée. (Though she quickly figured out the truth.)

Barney and Robin's wedding was two seasons in the making (not to mention the longest weekend ever, which made up this final season), and for a while there we wondered if they'd really make it to the aisle. (As you can see, they finally did.)

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• 'How I Met Your Mother' ends Monday after nine seasons


• The show challenged sitcom conventions at every turn


• The cast and creators recall what they'll miss about the show

(CNN) -- After 208 episodes, countless "legendarys!" and any number of pineapple incidents, slaps and slutty pumpkins, "How I Met Your Mother" comes to an end on Monday night.

One thing we're absolutely certain will happen is that Ted Mosby will finally meet the future mother of his children and the nine-year-long story that future Ted has been telling the kids will be over.

Before we say goodbye to Ted and his friends, and the hit sitcom that often challenged the conventions (like, say, telling stories in chronological order), the cast and the creators look back.

Kids, here's how they'll remember "How I Met Your Mother."

How they knew the show would last

Carter Bays (co-creator): When we first started making the show, we had this weird, naïve idea that it would run a long time. It was our first show and we didn't really know about how often shows get canceled, but there was always this special feeling about the show, that it would really last a while.

Craig Thomas (co-creator): The cast were like, "This is too fun, this is doomed to fail, we can't be allowed to do this for nine years." And we were just stupidly optimistic. It could have failed a few times, but thank God it didn't.

Pamela Fryman (director): The pilot was so special, getting to discover who these characters were to become. Whether it's a two-minute date or a song-and-dance number, everything has made me better. If you asked me before if I could do any of those things, I'd probably say no.

Josh Radnor (Ted Mosby): I remember feeling that first episode with Ashley Williams, I remember Pam called us into watch that. I remember thinking, "This is a really special show." It does things differently than other shows. It uses so many different styles. We half-intentionally created something new and we hope it will stick around.

How much impact guest stars had

Bays: Having Britney Spears here was pretty memorable. We were such a garage band show, we were doing OK in the ratings but weren't really on anyone's radar, then suddenly this international superstar parachutes into the set and it was a very bizarre week.

Alyson Hannigan (Lily Aldrin): Jennifer Lopez was adorable. She called my little girl a coconut.

How they made their favorite episodes

Neil Patrick Harris (Barney Stinson): Barney had a big musical number about suits on the 20th Century Fox lot, like an old Gene Kelly musical, I even swung around a lamppost. I loved that episode, plus I got to sing and dance.

Cobie Smulders (Robin Scherbatsky): I loved our "Two Minute Date" with Josh and Sarah Chalke. I love anything that involves music. Carter and Craig are so musical. They were in a band together and I was really happy that they brought their musical talent to our show.

Hannigan: There was one scene where I was pregnant with my first baby. Marshall was meeting me at the airport and had this marching band play for me and greet me at the airport. It was really awesome.

Radnor: I love when you get to see what's in Ted's heart. When he's just really present with someone. I did some great stuff with Cobie this year. I've had a nice parade of co-stars, co-girlfriends for Ted. Everyone brings out something different from me.

How they feel about the show's catchphrases

Hannigan: I really like "you son of a bitch"... "youuuu son of a beetch."

Harris: I like the way Barney uses "legendary," because it's a very loaded word. No one should ever use the word "legendary," because if you're talking in the present tense, you sound kind of pompous. Unless you're Barney Stinson, because he thinks every single thing he does is massive. "This interview right now is legendary. This will be in the Smithsonian!"

How they spent nine years

Jason Segel (Marshall Eriksen): Watching my co-stars have their children was special. I didn't literally watch the act of giving birth, but it's been special watching them grow up.

Smulders: A lot of these people have been here for the whole nine years. We have a family dynamic on our set and I will miss that.

Hannigan: I went through both of my pregnancies on the show.

Harris: I'm gonna miss "It's Wednesday, we've gotta go to work." Now it's Wednesday, I've gotta get a job.

Thomas: We've worked so hard for nine years, we don't have any friends. These nine characters are our friends. Thank God we have each other.

How they said goodbye

Smulders: We had our last table read and I cried puddles of tears. It's such a good group of people, such a great show. I get to play such a wonderful character. I'm so blessed and I'm sad to say goodbye, but we've been blessed to be on the air for nine years which doesn't happen anymore.

Thomas: We're five seconds from crying at any given moment.

Segel: I don't want to go out on a limb, but I will. This is potentially the best finale of any show ever ... with the possible exception of the second "Newhart" series.