TV.com

How I Met Your Mother Season 4 Episode 11

Little Minnesota

Favorite

Watched It I've Watched This 6

Next
Episode Previous
Episode

8.5

User Rating

365 votes

Your Rating: 10
Your Rating: 9.5
Your Rating: 9
Your Rating: 8.5
Your Rating: 8
Your Rating: 7.5
Your Rating: 7
Your Rating: 6.5
Your Rating: 6
Your Rating: 5.5
Your Rating: 5
Your Rating: 4.5
Your Rating: 4
Your Rating: 3.5
Your Rating: 3
Your Rating: 2.5
Your Rating: 2
Your Rating: 1.5
Your Rating: 1

Rate Now

EPISODE REVIEWS
By TV.com Users

Write A Review

Episode Summary

EDIT

AIRED: 12/15/08

Marshall takes Robin to a bar with a Minnesota theme. Ted attempts to keep his visiting sister away from Barney.

FAN RECAP

Fan Episode Reviews (12)

A little ironic

8.0

By TheDeadPuppet, Mar 03, 2013

Decent episode. Barney is hilarious as usual. Sister-banging jingles abound! Marshall and Robin have fun at the Minnesota-themed bar. The irony is that the one time Ted is actually right about something (he has no reason to blindly trust his sister, trust has to be earned) he is forced to learn a different and incorrect moral. It's a small comeback for all the times he's forced the gang to see his way even though he was horribly horribly wrong.moreless
DO YOU AGREE?
2 0

Flag
Share Hide
Marshall and Robin

8.5

By Lostindharma, Dec 23, 2012

This was a sort of Christmas episode. This episode might not have been important to the series as others but I enjoyed it. This was the first episode that I can think of that Marshall and Robin have hung together alone. It makes sense they have a connection with Marshall being from Minnesota and Robin from Canada. I liked the bar that Marshall was in. I am kind of Minnesota Vikings fan. Robin tries to take advantage of this by making Marshall's friends her own by lying by saying she is from Minnesota. With what Robin is going through I can understand this. This episode was also a first in that someone in this case Robin beat Marshall at a game. I also like seeing Robin's Canadian side come a bit. It was sweet of Marshall to cheer Robin up after he outed her. The song he sung was a great choice.

Meanwhile Ted's sister is town for a job. You have not seen much of her other then that she was married. Although it was short. You also find out that before she visited she was not the most mature person. One of the best parts of this episode was the songs that Barney sang about banging Ted's sister. It was nice he threw a Hanukkah song in there. To be fair she is attractive. Barney was really great in this episode. He was funny when Ted told his sister that he would later think about co-signing her loan with the whisper. He was also funny when after Lilly caught Heather in a comprising situation with Barney at the bar what Heather should do to get a job. I am not sure about it but I am sure that there is something in the bro code about sleeping with a sister. However it was amusing that Barney and Ted's mom had a kiss. Remember that.

It was another nice ending with Ted helping out Heather. I only wish that you could see Heather again. However a lot more good then bad came from this episode.

moreless
DO YOU AGREE?
0 0

Flag
Share Hide
It's near the holidays and Robin feels homesick.

10

By Jon_MW_14, Aug 24, 2011

"Little Minnesota" is one of my favourite season 4 episodes of How I Met Your Mother. In this episode, it's near the holidays and Robin is missing Canada. I love the beginning of the episode she shows up in a t-shirt saying the weather doesn't affect her because she's from Canada. I know it's exaggerated, but it's somewhat true. I love how Marshall can relate to Robin's homesickness and takes her to the Minnesota bar. I love how Robin pretends she's from Minnesota. I love the end of the episode when Marshall takes her to a Canadian bar and Marshall sings "Let's Go to the Mall". I give this episode a 10/10.moreless
DO YOU AGREE?
1 0

Flag
Share Hide
Ted sister moves to New York

6.0

By sequoa84, Feb 12, 2011

Not a very exemplary episode, but it had its moments. Barney's renditions of Christmas carols was one, the final scene at the Canada-themed bar was another.

We had Ted's sister visiting him in this installment. Contrary to most guest stars in the show, she totally fails to do anything remotely funny. I don't even understand why we needed a storyline around her. We also had a completely disjoint storyline with Marshall and Robin hanging out at a couple of bars. Though, I am not a huge fan of Robin and Marshall rarely makes me laugh, I found this one to be mildly entertaining. Putting aside the initial scene, Barney had pretty much nothing to offer.

The show has had its ups and downs this season with mostly downs. This would have been a little higher than rock bottom.moreless
DO YOU AGREE?
2 5

Flag
Share Hide
Although the storyline involving Ted's little sister and the overly blabbermouth Lily didn't appeal to me, Marshall and Robin's unexpected bar bonding made it worthwhile.

8.0

By AvarieDream, Nov 04, 2010

I'm sure there's been some mention of Ted's sister once or twice in a past episode but it still seems like she was brought in from no where as a convenient plot device/filler in the "A plot". I'll have to side with Ted on calling out her immaturity. Pulling a prank on him with Barney's help to "teach him a lesson" doesn't prove she's grown-up. At all. And if Barney hadn't made me laugh earlier with his earlier holiday song parodies, I'd be annoyed at him for going along with the stupid idea. The fact that the two female leads are pregnant and there are rumors that the actress who plays Ted's little sister was brought in as a possible addition/replacement also didn't bring up her likability factor.

On the flipside, the "B plot" gave us the unlikely pairing of Robin and Marshall who give us equal parts hilarity and sweetness. Seeing Robin bond with the Minnesota sportsmen was wonderful after a streak of lonely/silly Robin episodes. The sports stereotypes and the Canadian jokes were hilarious! The clincher, of course, is when Marshall serenades Robin, karaoke-style with the song 'Let's Go to the Mall' -- one of the best "end tags" I've ever seen on this show. My only complaint is why haven't they ever interacted like this before? Hopefully there'll be more awesome moments between these cold-loving pals.

Overall the good overpowers the not-so-good. I liked the episode.moreless
DO YOU AGREE?
3 0

Flag
Share Hide

See All Fan Reviews

Cast & Crew: STARS

EDIT

Josh Radnor	Ted Mosby
Neil Patrick Harris	Barney Stinson
Alyson Hannigan	Lily Aldrin
Jason Segel	Marshall Eriksen
Cobie Smulders	Robin Scherbatsky

See All Cast & Crew

Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

EDIT

Erin Cahill	Heather	Guest Star
Tug Coker	Bud	Guest Star
Scott Michael Morgan	Glen	Guest Star

See All Cast & Crew

Watch Online

Featured Episode Clip

Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

FILTER BY TYPE

TRIVIA (1)
ADD TRIVIA
- Vikings jerseys worn in the Minnesota-themed bar bear the last names of series star Cobie Smulders, episode writer Chuck Tatham, episode director Pamela Fryman, and series co-creator Carter Bays.
  EDIT SHARE
QUOTES (11)
ADD QUOTES
- Heather: I moved into your old room. Did you know you can see straight into Mrs. Gatwall's bedroom across the street?
  Ted: Oh, yes. I am aware of that. How's she looking?
  Heather: Ted, she's sixty-two.
  Ted: Answer the question.
  Heather: Surprisingly perky.
  EDIT SHARE
- Ted: Here's the back of Heather's baseball card. It took her six years to graduate from three different colleges, during which time she wrecked two cars, got married for five days, and lived in a tree for nine weeks only to realize no one had any intention of cutting it down.
  EDIT SHARE
- Ted: (on phone) Heather, where's my couch and my TV?
  Heather: I sold them for Nine Inch Nails tickets!
  Ted: The couch alone cost two grand.
  Heather: Well, last minute plane tickets are expensive.
  Ted: Where are you?
  Heather: I don't know, somewhere in Spain. Oh, slow song, gotta go.
  EDIT SHARE
- Barney: I can't believe you've been hiding your sister from me all these years.
  Ted: Can you blame me? You're like Weird Al Yankovic, if he only wrote songs about banging my sister.
  EDIT SHARE
- Robin: (reading plaque on bar shelf) "I'm drinking till I forget the 1999 NFC Championship"?
  Marshall: That game. The Vikings were two minutes away from going to the Super Bowl, when our kicker, who hadn't missed all year, shanked a field goal, and we lost in overtime. (slams fist on table) Damn!
  EDIT SHARE
- Robin: I'm proud to be Canadian. We may not have a fancy NFL team, or Prince, but we invented Trivial Pursuit—you're welcome, Earth. Plus, in Canada, you can go to an all-nude strip club and order alcohol. That's right. From Moose Jaw to the Bay of Fundy, you can suck down a 20-ounce pilsner while watching some coal miner's daughter strip down to her pelt. Jealous?
  EDIT SHARE
- Barney: (to the tune of "The Dreidel Song")
  Ted has a little sister, gets hotter every day,
  And if I ever meet her, with her boobies I will play.
  EDIT SHARE
- Barney: (to the tune of "We Wish You A Merry Christmas")
  I wish I could see her naked,
  I wish I could see her naked,
  I wish I could see her naked,
  and down on all fours.
  EDIT SHARE
- Barney: (to the tune of "Jingle Bells") Pulling down her pants, yanking off my own
  Underneath the mistletoe, I'll make your sister moan!
  Oh, Heather's hot, Heather's hot, we'll go all the way…
  EDIT SHARE
- Barney: Why, hello, I've been waiting for you.
  Ted: Wait a second, that's not our chair. Did you bring that chair yourself?
  Barney: I needed one that swivels.
  EDIT SHARE
- Ted: There aren't any black people in Minnesota?
  Marshall: Not if Prince is on tour.
  EDIT SHARE
NOTES (3)
ADD NOTES
- The German episode title is "Im Exil", meaning "In Exile". The French title is "Little Minesota". The Italian title is "Nostalgia di casa", meaning "Homesick".
  EDIT SHARE
- International Airdates: Australia: March 16, 2009 on Channel 7; Germany: January 9, 2010 on ProSieben; United Kingdom: February 18, 2010 on E4; Czech Republic: November 9, 2010 on Prima COOL
  EDIT SHARE
- Music: "Let's Go to the Mall" sung by Marshall
  EDIT SHARE
ALLUSIONS (0)
ADD ALLUSIONS
- ADD ALLUSIONS from this episode.