Slap Bet

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"Slap Bet"
How I Met Your Mother episode
Episode no.	Season 2 Episode 9
Directed by	Pamela Fryman
Written by	Kourtney Kang
Production code	2ALH09
Original air date	November 20, 2006
Guest actors
Candace Kroslak (Girl #1) Rachel Specter (Girl #2) Timothy Prindle (Mr. Johnson)
Season 2 episodes
Where Were We? The Scorpion and the Toad Brunch Ted Mosby: Architect World's Greatest Couple Aldrin Justice Swarley Atlantic City Slap Bet Single Stamina How Lily Stole Christmas First Time in New York Columns Monday Night Football Lucky Penny Stuff Arrivederci, Fiero Moving Day Bachelor Party Showdown Something Borrowed Something Blue

"Slap Bet" is the ninth episode in season 2 of the popular sitcom How I Met Your Mother.

The episode originally aired on November 20, 2006. This episode was originally titled "Robin Sparkles".

Considered one of the best episodes of How I Met Your Mother, "Slap Bet" has been rated 62nd on the TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All-Time list.

It also gave rise to the "Robin Sparkles" gag,one of the sitcom's longest running gags.

Plot

Ted, Marshall, Lily, and Barney find out that Robin does not want to go to a mall and Robin doesn't want anyone to know why she's averse to malls. Ted tries to guess and in doing so reveals that he was trapped under a fake boulder at a mall in Ohio when he was nine. Marshall believes that Robin was married in a mall in Canada, while Barney believes that Robin did pornography in Canada. They agree to a slap bet (where the winner of the bet slaps the loser as hard as he possibly can) and appoint Lily as the slap bet commissioner.^[1] Ted thinks both ideas are ridiculous, but tries to find out if she's married. Robin tells Ted that she is married, having married a guy in a mall. Ted promises to keep it a secret, but then tells Marshall and Lily. Seeing as he's won, Marshall slaps Barney, but Barney still investigates the subject.

Shortly after that, Marshall uses his law-school access to search a legal records database. He tells Ted that there is no record of a marriage license for Robin in Canada, but she has had several parking tickets. Ted, after asking Robin a bunch of questions, gets her to tell him that she's not really married, but not why she's afraid of malls. Marshall also tells Lily of his findings, and Lily, as the slap bet commissioner, informs Barney and allows him to slap Marshall three times (one slap because Marshall lied, and two for being prematurely slapped).

Barney then reveals that a man in Malaysia has found a video with Robin in it, and it will be posted on MySpace shortly. He refers to her as "Robin Sparkles", to which she is surprised and questions him as to where he heard that name. Ted is no longer interested in finding out Robin's secret, but Robin later insists that it is time for the secret to be revealed. Barney plays the opening part of the video, in which Robin (dressed as a schoolgirl) seductively pleads a teacher not to give her detention. Barney, for the sake of Robin's dignity, pauses the video and says that he has proved his point, and then slaps Marshall. Robin asks Barney why he slapped Marshall, and Barney tells her about the bet and that he thought that Robin had done porn earlier in her life. Robin plays the video, saying it was not porn. It turns out to be a stereotypically '80s bubblegum pop music video where a young Robin (referred to as Robin Sparkles) sings "Let's Go To the Mall", Robin's minor hit in Canada as a teenage pop star.

Lily points out to Barney that he did not win the slap bet. Lily then gives Marshall the right to slap Barney either ten times immediately in succession or five times available to Marshall for all of eternity, pending Barney's preference. Barney chooses the five slaps, which Ted refers to as a "horrible call", because Barney must now live in constant fear of being slapped. Robin tells Ted that she is actually glad Ted knows her secret now. They kiss and Marshall slaps Barney, proclaiming, "That's one". They all continue to enjoy the video, and Marshall menaces Barney.

Cultural references

Robin mentions that her friend's wedding cake was a Mrs. Fields cookie.
Robin said when she performed in malls all over Canada in the early to mid-1990s, she was forced to live off Orange Juliuses and Wetzel's Pretzels.
Robin's song includes a reference to Canada Day, the national day of Canada, Wayne Gretzky's hair, and a (fake) cameo by then-Prime Minister Brian Mulroney.
Lily, upset that Robin won't go to the mall, tempts her with the promise of splitting a Cinnabon.

Barney's blog

Barney finds "sunken treasure" video proof.^[2]

Production

The episode was originally titled "Robin Sparkles," but the title was changed to "Slap Bet" in order to avoid giving away the ending. In reruns, CBS used the originally intended "Robin Sparkles" title.^[3] In syndication, this episode is titled "Slap Bet."

The menu that Robin makes up when Ted questions her about her wedding was the actual menu at the wedding of writer Kourtney Kang, which took place two weeks prior to the writing of this episode.

This is the first appearance of Robin's young bubblegum pop persona, Robin Sparkles. Sparkles appears onscreen again in the season 3 episode Sandcastles in the Sand (also the name of Sparkles' music video) and the season 6 episode Glitter. Robin's later grunge persona, Robin Daggers, appears in the season 8 episode P.S. I Love You (also the name of Daggers' music video).

Critical response

Miss Alli of Television Without Pity rated the episode with a grade A.^[4]

Staci Krause of IGN gave the episode 8.9 out of 10.^[5]

Joyce Eng of TV Guide later called the episode "possibly the show's finest half-hour" and said, "nothing will ever be or beat 'Slap Bet'."^[6]

Eric Eisenberg of Cinema Blend said Slap Bet is the best episode How I Met Your Mother has produced.^[7]

References

↑ Joel Keller (2006-12-28). "Here are the Official Slap Bet Rules".
↑ Barney Stinson. "Barney's Blog:". Archived from the original on 2007-01-05.
↑ Joel Keller (2007-05-11). "Carter Bays of How I Met Your Mother: The TV Squad Interview". Archived from the original on 2007-05-13. Retrieved 2009-11-11.
↑ Miss Alli (2006-11-20). "How I Met Your Mother: Slap Bet Season 2, Episode 9". Television Without Pity. NBC Universal. p. 7. Archived from the original on 2008-04-20. Retrieved 2010-05-20. A+
↑ Staci Krause (2007-04-24). "How I Met Your Mother: "Slap Bet" Review. Robin 'sparkles' in this episode.". IGN. News Corporation. Retrieved 2010-04-12.
↑ Joyce Eng (2010-11-16). "How I Met Your Mother: Did Robin Sparkles Continue to Shine?". TV Guide. Retrieved 2010-11-16.
↑ Eric Eisenberg (2012-03-19). "How I Met Your Mother: Did Robin Sparkles Continue to Shine?". Cinema Blend. Retrieved 2012-03-19.

External links

"Slap Bet" at the Internet Movie Database
"Slap Bet" at TV.com
Robin Sparkles on Myspace
http://theslapbetcountdown.com/
Lyrics to Let's Go to the Mall at Metro Lyrics

v t e How I Met Your Mother

Creators	Carter Bays Craig Thomas

Seasons	Season 1 Season 2 Season 3 Season 4 Season 5 Season 6 Season 7 Season 8 Season 9

Characters	Ted Mosby Marshall Eriksen Lily Aldrin Barney Stinson Robin Scherbatsky

Related articles	Episodes Awards and nominations The Bro Code "Nothing Suits Me Like a Suit"

Quotes Category

v t e How I Met Your Mother episodes

Season 1	"Pilot" "Purple Giraffe" "Sweet Taste of Liberty" "Return of the Shirt" "Okay Awesome" "Slutty Pumpkin" "Matchmaker" "The Duel" "Belly Full of Turkey" "The Pineapple Incident" "The Limo" "The Wedding" "Drumroll, Please" "Zip, Zip, Zip" "Game Night" "Cupcake" "Life Among the Gorillas" "Nothing Good Happens After 2 A.M." "Mary the Paralegal" "Best Prom Ever" "Milk" "Come On"

Season 2	"Where Were We?" "The Scorpion and the Toad" "Brunch" "Ted Mosby: Architect" "World's Greatest Couple" "Aldrin Justice" "Swarley" "Atlantic City" "Slap Bet" "Single Stamina" "How Lily Stole Christmas" "First Time in New York" "Columns" "Monday Night Football" "Lucky Penny" "Stuff" "Arrivederci, Fiero" "Moving Day" "Bachelor Party" "Showdown" "Something Borrowed" "Something Blue"

Season 3	"Wait for It" "We're Not from Here" "Third Wheel" "Little Boys" "How I Met Everyone Else" "I'm Not That Guy" "Dowisetrepla" "Spoiler Alert" "Slapsgiving" "The Yips" "The Platinum Rule" "No Tomorrow" "Ten Sessions" "The Bracket" "The Chain of Screaming" "Sandcastles in the Sand" "The Goat" "Rebound Bro" "Everything Must Go" "Miracles"

Season 4	"Do I Know You?" "The Best Burger in New York" "I Heart NJ" "Intervention" "Shelter Island" "Happily Ever After" "Not a Father's Day" "Woooo!" "The Naked Man" "The Fight" "Little Minnesota" "Benefits" "Three Days of Snow" "The Possimpible" "The Stinsons" "Sorry, Bro" "The Front Porch" "Old King Clancy" "Murtaugh" "Mosbius Designs" "The Three Days Rule" "Right Place, Right Time" "As Fast as She Can" "The Leap"

Season 5	"Definitions" "Double Date" "Robin 101" "The Sexless Innkeeper" "Duel Citizenship" "Bagpipes" "The Rough Patch" "The Playbook" "Slapsgiving 2: Revenge of the Slap" "The Window" "Last Cigarette Ever" "Girls Versus Suits" "Jenkins" "Perfect Week" "Rabbit or Duck" "Hooked" "Of Course" "Say Cheese" "Zoo or False" "Home Wreckers" "Twin Beds" "Robots Versus Wrestlers" "The Wedding Bride" "Doppelgangers"

Season 6	"Big Days" "Cleaning House" "Unfinished" "Subway Wars" "Architect of Destruction" "Baby Talk" "Canning Randy" "Natural History" "Glitter" "Blitzgiving" "The Mermaid Theory" "False Positive" "Bad News" "Last Words" "Oh Honey" "Desperation Day" "Garbage Island" "A Change of Heart" "Legendaddy" "The Exploding Meatball Sub" "Hopeless" "The Perfect Cocktail" "Landmarks" "Challenge Accepted"

Season 7	"The Best Man" "The Naked Truth" "Ducky Tie" "The Stinson Missile Crisis" "Field Trip" "Mystery vs. History" "Noretta" "The Slutty Pumpkin Returns" "Disaster Averted" "Tick, Tick, Tick..." "The Rebound Girl" "Symphony of Illumination" "Tailgate" "46 Minutes" "The Burning Beekeeper" "The Drunk Train" "No Pressure" "Karma" "The Broath" "Trilogy Time" "Now We're Even" "Good Crazy" "The Magician's Code"

Season 8	"Farhampton" "The Pre-Nup" "Nannies" "Who Wants to Be a Godparent?" "The Autumn of Break-Ups" "Splitsville" "The Stamp Tramp" "Twelve Horny Women" "Lobster Crawl" "The Over-Correction" "The Final Page" "Band or DJ?" "Ring Up!" "P.S. I Love You" "Bad Crazy" "The Ashtray" "Weekend at Barney's" "The Fortress" "The Time Travelers" "Romeward Bound" "The Bro Mitzvah" "Something Old" "Something New"

Season 9	"The Locket" "Coming Back" "Last Time in New York" "The Broken Code" "The Poker Game" "Knight Vision" "No Questions Asked" "The Lighthouse" "Platonish" "Mom and Dad" "Bedtime Stories" "The Rehearsal Dinner" "Bass Player Wanted" "Slapsgiving 3: Slappointment in Slapmarra" "Unpause" "How Your Mother Met Me" "Sunrise"

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