I just watched part of How I Met Your Mother this evening. One of the characters, Robin Scherbatsky, is a Canadian (played by Cobie Smulders, also a Canadian) who is threatened with having to leave the United States. She doesn’t want to go so Doogie Howser helps her study for the citizenship test. She has a late night epiphany after getting drunk with a Canadian women’s curling team and waking up in Toronto, and realizes that she is Canadian at heart so she won’t take the test.
Back in the United States, she takes him to a Tim Hortons and they’re given change in Canadian bills. He says, “Why is this five [dollar bill] blue? And there are children playing hockey on the back! It’s like you want us to make fun of you.”
It’s such a silly throw-away line, but it’s also true. I present you with the back of the current Canadian $5 bill, courtesy of the Bank of Canada:
There certainly is hockey, but there’s skating and tobogganing too!
Jessica
“Back in the United States, she takes him to a Tim Hortons and they’re given change in Canadian bills. ”
Um, no. They’re still in Toronto! Why would they get Canadian change in the US? And why would the patrons that Barney just mocked (because they’re Canadian) beat him up? They’re in Canada, dude!
Rick
Why would they get Canadian change in the US?
Crazy stuff happens in sitcom-world! I know there are Tim Hortons in the US and I can certainly imagine that the writers would want to portray them as little islands of Canada. I don’t think it any more unlikely that a Tim Hortons in the US would give out Canadian change than there being a “Hoser Hut” bar in whatever city the show is set!
I’m not arguing though. I didn’t watch enough of the program to know for certain, either way. And I never saw Barney attacked. I’d stopped watching by then. My tolerance for the modern sitcom has dropped significantly. I realize that I don’t watch any these days. My exposure to that show reminds me why.
Jessica
I did like the Hoser Hut, where ex-pats sit around, drink beer, and tearfully belt out the Canadian anthem. Oh, and wear Canadian hockey jerseys and get into stool-tossing brawls!
I also liked the 3 criteria the Timmy’s cashier cited for why she assumed Robin was American: 1) she paid with US money; 2) she didn’t watch the hockey game last night; 3) she didn’t say please or thank you when she ordered her coffee. Very telling!
Jonathan
“and get into stool-tossing brawls!”
Sounds like a fight I got into with a monkey once.