UPDATE: Since this was post on Monday, word comes from CBS that U.S. household viewership for “How I Met Your Mother” was up 9 percent for Britney’s appearance from one week before.  Monday’s show lured 10.6 million viewers overall, which was its highest total this year. Among adults 18- to 49-years-old and adults 25- to 54-years old, the show had its highest ratings in its three-hear history, CBS said.

MONDAY’S POST: Britney Spears’ latest attempt to bring some normalcy back into her life goes on full public display Monday night when she appears on U.S. television sitcom “How I Met Your Mother.” She plays a receptionist in a doctor’s office who has eyes for one of the show’s characters, Ted, portrayed by Josh Radnor.

A few video clips can be seen on the Web site of broadcast network CBS which airs the TV show. In one of them, Britney is holding a book titled, “The Power of Me,” and for awhile she certainly did have a lot of power in show business.

In fact Spears, 26, was named the most powerful celebrity in Hollywood by Forbes magazine in 2002 after earning $39.2 million in one, 12-month time frame. But ahh, how the mighty Britney has fallen.

Since her 2006 breakup with ex-husband Kevin Federline, Spears has spent time in rehab, lost custody of her two children and most recently was hospitalized twice for psychiatric evaluation.

Her father has now taken control of her personal and business affairs, and her life would seem to be back on track. Late last year she was frequently photographed in Los Angeles wearing pink wings and talking in a fake British accent. Now she is back to blonde and smiling brightly in the video clips on CBS.com.

Whether Britney’s fans will continue to support her remains a key question in her career. In late October, she released her most recent album, “Blackout,” and it quickly hit No. 2 on record charts. The first single, “Gimme More,” also was well-received. So, her fans do not appear to have abandoned her — yet.

Monday night’s “How I Met Your Mother” is the next test on her road to a Hollywood career recovery.

When a California court granted Britney Spears’ father control of her business and personal affairs on Feb. 1, the troubled 26 year-old pop star had just been released from a Los Angeles hospital after being held for psychiatric evaluation.

It was the second time in one month that her mental state had been questioned by doctors, so there was little question at the time as to whether the court was acting in her best interests. That control — legally known as a conservatorship — has been extended until July 31, and a host of attorneys have been brought in to make decisions for her and audit her business deals.

Yet, this week news has surfaced that Britney is back at work. She released a new video, and is rehearsing and taping an episode of U.S. television comedy “How I Met Your Mother.” Less than 45 days since she was first considered legally unable to make her own decisions, she’s evidently okay to take a job and function on a TV set. One has to wonder just how sick she really is. Put another way, is she back “In the Zone,” which was the name of her 2003 record.

New details may emerge about her mental state at a hearing set for this coming Monday, March 17. It deals with a temporary restraining order against her former self-styled manager Sam Lutfi , who was the man controlling her life until her January hospitalizations. Some people think he is to blame for her problems, but others source her problems to her current handlers including her father. 

What will be said at those hearings is anybody’s guess. But for now, Britney says in a statement she is “having a blast” on the set of “How I Met Your Mother.” And to be sure, it has been weeks since the Louisiana native has been photographed outside her home in Los Angeles wearing those pink wigs and talking in a British accent.