- For Robin Sparkles's best friend, see Jessica Glitter.
| “Glitter” | ||
| ← | HIMYM episode 6x09 (121) | → |
| ||
| First aired: November 15, 2010 | ||
| Director: Pamela Fryman | ||
| Writer: Kourtney Kang | ||
| Barney's Blog | ||
The gang learns more about Robin Sparkles. Lily worries about her and Robin's relationship with the upcoming pregnancy. Ted's high school friend, Punchy, comes to town.
Recap[]
As Lily becomes increasingly obsessed with babies and getting pregnant, Robin begins to grow distant from her.
Barney obtains a copy of Space Teens, a children's television show she starred in as Canadian teen star Robin Sparkles with her old friend Jessica Glitter, in which the two teenagers use math to solve galactic problems with Alan Thicke. Unfortunately for Robin, the show is filled with sexual double-entendres of a sexual nature, which make the group mock the show.
When Lily asks what happened between her and Jessica, Robin explains that they were BFFs but eventually had a fallout about five years earlier but refuses to tell the group why. She says that she still receives a Christmas card from Jessica every year, and asks Lily to drop this topic. Ted "solves the problem with math" to answer why Robin and Jessica had a falling-out by looking at Jessica's most recent Christmas card, which contains a photo of Jessica's child, who is about four years old. He deducts that the fallout occurred when Jessica became pregnant, and that Robin's hatred of kids was the reason for the fallout. Because of this, Lily bursts into tears as she fears that Robin will dump her when she becomes pregnant.
Meanwhile, the discovery of Robin's previous friendship with Jessica Glitter sparks Ted into recalling his friendship with Punchy, which Marshall comments as another fallout. Ted proves him wrong by calling Punchy and having a brief shouting row with him, dropping by a line for him to visit when he's in New York.
The guys, Ted and Barney in particular, continue to find the show incredibly hilarious due to the regular sexual innuendos the girls provide on-screen. Just when Robin and Jessica are going to sing a song called "The Beaver Song", Robin reaches her boiling point. She stops the video, and takes it.
Ted receives a surprise visit from Punchy, who crashes on Ted's couch and punches Ted at every opportunity. Robin goes for a Korean massage without her best friend, prompting Lily to decide to try and dial down the baby talk when around Robin. But her obnoxious baby talk and Robin's annoyance finally clash when the two meet at Robin's, and the two end their friendship.
Marshall is sad to hear about Lily's fight with Robin, and finds Jessica, thanks to Barney (who contacted her to buy her 'Space Teens' costume). They find out that Jessica is the New York Rangers organist. Lily explains the fight with Robin and how she knew of Robin's breakup with her. However, Jessica corrects her by revealing that it was her who broke friends with Robin, and that consequentially Robin even contemplated suicide. Lily's repentance is immediate and she goes to find Robin to apologize, but Jessica warns her to be careful about her promises - after five years apart, she finds it hard to try and call her once-best friend.
After a visit to Times Square, a "wounded bird" trick and much more punching, Punchy seems too much to handle even for Ted, who seems ready to break the friendship with him. But when Ted finds Punchy and is about to kick him out of his apartment, Punchy tells Ted that he's worried about him. It turns out that after the "shouting row" call, Punchy is talked into spending some time with his best friend by his girlfriend. Describing her to Ted turns off their "high-school" mode momentarily, and Punchy announces to Ted that they're getting married and asks him to be his best man. A touched Ted agrees.
Lily manages to find Robin at the Hoser Hut, where she apologizes. Robin apologizes as well for pulling away from her. Lily starts off by saying how she knows that Robin hates babies, but Robin corrects her by saying that she will love her best friend's baby - and that she'll even pick it up. But the night's surprises aren't over, and as music pops out on the speakers, Jessica Glitter appears on stage, singing "The Beaver Song" and holding a mic for Robin to join her. Robin, touched by the reaching-out, hops on stage and sings along. The episode ends with the Beaver Song and several Canadian guest stars, such as Alan Thicke with the beaver puppets behind the counter and the robot on stage.
Continuity[]
- When Lily becomes worried that Robin may dump her as her best friend, Marshall advises her not to freak out and "Lily all over the place." In Matchmaker, Ted learns that the gang use the phrases "Ted out" and "Ted up" to mean "to overthink" and "to overthink with disastrous results", respectively.
- Barney claims that there is an 83% correlation between the times men wear boutonnières and the times they get laid. Ted points out in Brunch that Barney always uses this number when making up statistics.
- Believing that "Space Teens" is porn, Barney goes to slap Marshall, having Slap Bet him that Robin used to do porn in Slap Bet, where the gang first found out about Robin's career as Robin Sparkles.
- Marshall reveals that Lily destroyed his Joey Buttafuoco pants. The gang discuss siding with Lily over her insistence that Marshall stop wearing them in Stuff.
- Robin disliking children came up previously in Little Boys and Not a Father's Day.
- Ted shows off his "detective skills", previously seen in Dowisetrepla and Cleaning House.
- Ted's associative regression (or "revertigo") being triggered when he is around Punchy is demonstrated, and was first noted in Sandcastles in the Sand.
- Ted breaks into poetry after figuring out what happened between Robin and Glitter. His love for poetry has been referenced previously, as seen in The Naked Man, The Sexless Innkeeper, and Robots Versus Wrestlers.
- Lily finds Robin at the Hoser Hut, the Canadian bar Marshall introduces Robin to in Little Minnesota.
- Alan Thicke mentioned the show that he and Robin did together in The Rough Patch.
- The recently engaged Punchy is seen asleep while the rest of the gang are wide awake, implying that he suffers from Couples' Coma, half of Future Ted's theory from Single Stamina.
- As Robin and Jessica sing at the Hoser Hut, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and The Robot reappear from the music video of Let's Go to the Mall. Canadian symbols that join them at the bar include Queen of Canada Elizabeth II, a Mountie, a moose, a bear, a lumberjack, and the Canada men's national ice hockey team.
Future References (Contains Spoilers)[]
- Ted is seen helping Punchy plan his wedding in False Positive, and the gang eventually go to the wedding in The Best Man.
- Robin promises Lily that she will pick up her child, which she avoids doing until Bad Crazy.
Gallery[]
- For a listing of all images on the wiki tagged as being from this episode, see Category:Glitter images..
Memorable Quotes[]
| Barney: | It's Robin Sparkles 3, y'all! |
| Lily: | Hey, Robin, do you want to go get a Korean massage on Saturday? |
| Robin: | Oh, I'd love to. I've got this knot in my neck that's so annoying. |
| Lily: | Yeah, I figured I should get one now because once I get pregnant, no more massages. |
| Robin: | Just so annoying. |
| Barney: | Ah, BFFs. Did you guys have sleepovers? Get mad at each other and wrestle, but then end up kissing in a tender embrace? Here, show us on Lily. |
| Robin: | Barney, you know what? If you're going to be disgusting, we're not watching this, okay? |
| Lily: | Yeah. Come on, Barney. It's just a cute little story about... What exactly is this about? |
| Robin: | Oh, two average Canadian teenagers who solve crimes in space using math. |
| Ted: | That sounds ridiculous. |
| Robin: | So sue me. Like the producers of Milky Way Mathletes tried to. |
| Marshall: | You can't do that on television. |
| Robin: | Exactly. |
| Marshall: | No. You can't do that on television! |
| Ted: | Robin, this show is so dirty, I don't know whether to hug you or run a shower for you so you can sit there alone, crying and clenching your knees. |
| Robin: | It's just bad camera work, okay? Wayne, our camera guy-- he wasn't that great. |
| Marshall: | I don't know. I think he did a pretty good job, considering he was probably only using one hand. |
| Robin: | You know what? I feel bad for you Americans, that you can look at this wondrous and educational adventure through space, and see something obscene. Can you just please try to look at this with the innocence of a child? |
| All: | Innocence of a child. Innocence of a child. |
| Ted: | Thus, if I may. When Glitter's womb a fruit did bear, Robin said, "To hell with this, I'm outta hare." Glitter got pregnant, so Robin dumped her. |
| Barney: | Oh. Got it. Wow! |
| Marshall: | That's got to be it, right, Lil? Lil? |
| Lily: | Robin's gonna dump me! |
| Marshall: | Oh, sweetheart. |
| Ted: | Aha. When a second uterus plumped becomes- |
| Marshall: | Dude. Feel the room. |
| Ted: | We've been waiting all day! |
| Robin: | Just watch it without me. |
| Barney: | Two dudes on the couch together watching porn? That's kind of weird. |
| Robin: | Okay, it's not porn, it's a kids' show. |
| Ted: | Two dudes watching a kids' show might be worse. |
| Robin: | Okay, fine, I'll watch it with you. |
| Barney: | Yeah! |
| Robin: | But if either of you makes even one peep about the show being dirty, I'm turning it off. |
| Barney: | We.. |
| Robin: | I'm serious. |
| Robin Sparkles: | Hey Jessica, how's your beaver? (Ted and Barney spit their drinks) |
| Jessica Glitter: | Great. How's your beaver? |
| Robin Sparkles: | Busy as ever! |
| Robin: | (Disgusted by Ted and Barney's behavior) Our characters had pet beavers. |
| Ted: | Sure. |
| Robin: | The beaver is the official animal of Canada. It's our national mascot. |
| Barney: | (Holding it in) It's a noble creature. |
| Alan: | Okay, girls. Everyone knows a beaver's favorite food is wood. I just hope we brought along enough of it for our three-day galactic space journey. So let's do the math. If Robin's beaver devours six inches of wood every half hour, and Jessica's beaver devours eight inches of wood every 45 minutes, how much wood will I need to keep both of these beavers well-fed all weekend long? (Ted and Barney burst into laughter much to the chagrin of Robin) |
| Robin Sparkles: | While you figure it out at home, how about we sing you a song about our beavers? (Robin turns off the video because the guys were laughing so hard) |
| Barney: | Hey! No! |
| Robin: | You don't get to hear the beaver song! It is a sweet song about friendship, and you guys are being disgusting, and beavers are adorable! |
| Barney: | No arguments here. |
| Lily: | Hey. Where are you going? We just got here. |
| Robin: | Oh, a Korean massage. |
| Lily: | By yourself? |
| Robin: | Well, I figured you'd be busy, reading What to Expect When You're Expecting to Expect. |
| Lily: | Guys, did you see that? She's going to a Korean massage without me. That's our thing. I'm telling you, she's gonna dump me, just like she dumped Glitter. |
| Marshall: | Lily, come on. We don't even know that's what happened. |
| Ted: | Um, hello, somebody already solved that crime using math, remember? |
| Marshall: | Look, Lily. Robin is clearly getting tired of you constantly talking about babies. |
| Lily: | I don't. |
| Ted: | Lily, how old am I? |
| Lily: | 384 months. |
| Robin: | Hey, Lily, what brings you to the crib? |
| Lily: | Crib. |
| Robin: | What's the matter? You look rattled. |
| Lily: | Rattled? I want to talk about babies. |
| Robin: | What? |
| Lily: | Look, I know you don't care about this stuff, but I'm about to become a mother.
And as a future mother, I'm gonna need the support... |
| Robin: | Oh, my God! You're not even pregnant yet. |
| Lily: | What's that supposed to mean? |
| Robin: | It means that a fertilized egg has not yet attached itself to the lining of your uterine wall. You see? I read your Facebook updates. God, it's like it's all you ever talk about, Lily, and I'm sick of it! |
| Lily: | Well, guess what? I've got some good news. When that baby comes, you don't have to see it. In fact, you don't have to see me. This whole friendship thing? Done. |
| Robin: | Great. |
| Lily: | Great. |
Notes and Trivia[]
Goofs and Errors[]
- When Alan Thicke gives the word problem to Robin and Jessica he uses inches, which are from the American measurement system. Considering the show, Space Teens, airs in Canada he should be using the metric system.
- In Monday Night Football, Barney mentions how he does not wear a suit to a funeral because suits are "full of joy", however it would seem that Barney wore a suit to his grandmother's funeral, thereby breaking his rule, because a boutonnière is usually worn on a suit, not a hooded jacket. Barney is seen wearing suits at funerals in several other episodes such as Say Cheese.
- It is clearly visible that Jessica's finger and arm movements do not fit to the music played when she plays the organ.
- In the Hoser Hut, the bar has a selection of Walkers potato chips. These are called Lays in Canada and the US and Walkers in the UK, so it is unlikely that they would be found in a Canada-themed bar in New York.
Allusions and Outside References[]
- Barney quotes the sign-off phrases of multiple reality TV show, when telling Ted that he needs to tell Punchy to leave.
| Line | Name of show |
|---|---|
| You are the weakest link, goodbye. | The Weakest Link |
| (Punchy,) the tribe has spoken. | Survivor |
| Please pack up your knives and go. | Top Chef |
| Your work of art didn’t work for us. | Work of Art: The Next Great Artist |
| Your time's up! | Flavor of Love |
| I have to ask you to leave the mansion. | Beauty and the Geek |
| You must leave the chateau. | Joe Millionaire |
| Your tour ends here. | Rock of Love |
| You've been chopped. | Chopped |
| You've been evicted from the Big Brother house. | Big Brother |
| Your dessert just didn't measure up. | Top Chef: Just Desserts |
| Sashay, away. | RuPaul's Drag Race |
| Give me your jacket and leave Hell's Kitchen. | Hell's Kitchen |
| I'm sorry, you did not get a rose. | The Bachelor |
| You have been eliminated from the race. | The Amazing Race |
| You are no longer in the running to be America's Next Top Model. | America's Next Top Model |
| You're fired! | The Apprentice |
| Auf Wiedersehen. | Project Runway |
- Robin mentions two well-known children's programs, Sesame Street and The Electric Company. Robin mistakes Marshall saying "You Can't Do That on Television" as the Canadian children's programme.
- When Ted tries to convince Robin that Punchy should be allowed to stay at their place for a few days by mentioning he has been stuck in Cleveland and says "LeBron...", referencing the infamous July 2010 departure of LeBron James from his hometown team, the Cleveland Cavaliers.
- Punchy's line "Feels like you're dreaming? Well check your totem brah" is a reference to the dream totems in the 2010 film Inception.
Music[]
Other Notes[]
- When Barney turns off Space Teens the last multiplication sum given was 23x3, which is 69, following on with the theme of the show being sexual and this episode is this theme possibly because this episodes was in the sixth season and it was the 9th episode (69).
- There is a framed picture of Robin Sparkles in her Let's Go to the Mall costume that can be seen on the wall of the Hoser Hut to the right of Jessica Glitter during the beaver song.
Guests[]
- Alan Thicke - Himself
- Nicole Scherzinger - Jessica Glitter
- Chris Romanski - Punchy
- Stefanie Black - Kelly
Podcast[]
Featuring an interview with Kourtney Kang, Cobie Smulders and guest star, Nicole Scherzinger.
Reception[]
- This episode premiered to 8.868 million viewers. [1]
- Donna Bowman at the A.V. Club gave the episode an A-. [2]
- Zach Oat at Television Without Pity gave the episode a B+. [3]
- Robert Canning at IGN gave the episode an 8.5 out of 10. [4]
- Chris O'Hara of TV Fanatic gave the episode a rating of 4 out of 5. [5]
- Brian Ford Sullivan of The Futon Critic rated this episode as 29th on their list of the 50 Best Television Episodes of 2010. [6]
- The St. Petersburg Comic Review gave this episode 9 out of 10. "...booty is near..."
References[]
- ↑ http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2010/11/16/monday-finals-mike-how-i-met-your-mother-up/72354
- ↑ http://www.avclub.com/articles/glitter,47656/
- ↑ http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/show/how_i_met_your_mother/glitter_1.php
- ↑ http://au.tv.ign.com/articles/113/1134826p1.html
- ↑ http://www.tvfanatic.com/2010/11/how-i-met-your-mother-review-glitter/
- ↑ http://www.thefutoncritic.com/reviews/2011/01/05/the-50-best-episodes-of-2010-number-30-21-291410/20110105_bestof2010/
External Links[]
- Glitter at the English Wikipedia
- Glitter at TV.com
- Glitter at the Internet Movie Database
- Glitter at CBS Press Express
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