HIMYM Monday: Robin Sparkles

In one of the classic early episodes of the great series How I Met Your Mother (Slap Bet, Season 2 Episode 9) Barney asks the gang to go with him to the grand opening of a new Sharper Image store. Everyone is in- until Robin learns it is at the local mall. She balks, refuses to go, and refuses to tell them why. After a wild series of events in which Barney thinks she was a mall porn star and Marshall thinks she got married in a mall, Ted tries to pin her down- but to no avail. Marshall and Barney make a Slap Bet as to which of them is correct (more on that in a later post). Finally, after much research, Barney discovers a video (which he thinks is porn) and they all sit down to watch together. They discover that to Robin's great embarrassment that in the early 90's she was a teenage pop star in Canada, performing under the name Robin Sparkles. And this was her big hit... 

As the seasons pass, they gang discovers that there are more videos of Ms. Sparkles floating around. Sandcastles in the Sand plays an important role the first time Robin and Barney hook up. P.S. I Love You introduced the world to Robin Daggers, a darker version of Sparkles who "invented grunge music" at the Grey Cup halftime show, years after Kurt Cobain thought he invented grunge. Robin Sparkles was that important to music history. We also learn of her obsession with Paul Shaffer and the wonders of Tim Horton's doughnuts. 

There was one other Sparkles story. Robin and her best friend Jessica Glitter had been on a children's TV show in Canada called Space Teens- a show about math. The big song from the show was called Two Beavers are Better Than One. Seriously. Needless to say, Barney goes back to assuming it is porn. We also learn that Robin and Jessica have lost touch over the years. The gang reunites them a New York's premier Canadian themed bar, The Hoser Hut. And a musical reunion ensues as well...

As I have mentioned many times, one of the things that set this show apart for me was the great continuity. The Robin Sparkles stories, spread out over many seasons, are a huge part of that. And on a personal note, my old friend Steve and I still text random Sparkles lyrics to each other just for fun. Have a "Sparkling" Monday. And remember...you should go to the mall. Today.