Hey Arnold!: episode notes

[ungvichian]

Hey Arnold! premiered over here (Thailand) this past Monday, and I got
to see it. Anyhow, the first ep to air was the same ep as in the US,
"Downtown as Fruits" and "Eugene's Bike", and I comment on them
presently.

























"Downtown as Fruits"
- Basically, we meet most of the major kids for the first time in the
series (and some of the minor ones as well... only a handful of them
speak and/or are identified by name, however). Much of the emphasis
here tho is put on Arnold, Gerald and Helga, for reasons that are
obvious upon viewing.
- First look at what we later know as the Sunset Arms, and some guy
yelling "Monkeyman" running past (we'll have to wait until season 5 to
get a good look at him, so to speak).
- Arnold and a bag of money... this theme is revisited again of course
in season 5's "Bag of Money". Of course, they smooth over the true
source of the money... can't have kids thinking about crime, y'know.
- The very first last name to be known of any character is of course
that of Helga's, as it appears on a sign in front of their school,
advertising that little play of theirs. And that of course gives us
our first good look at the school exterior.
- Too many firsts to shake a stick at, but how about Helga taking out
her locket for the first time, having her first soliloquy on him, and
then quickly followed by Brainy getting punched for the first time?
- As well as the first musical numbers of the series.
- First traces of Arnold's goody-two-shoes attitude: Arnold throws a
bunch of money at some homeless guys.
- Wonder if Blink 182 used the "throwing money around" bit as
inspiration to their video for The Rock Show?
- Quotable: "How I hate him... and yet I love him... (repeated a
couple times)" (Helga's first soliloquy on our weird headed fellow,
but we get deep into her obsession in "The Little Pink Book"), "People
downtown sure are friendly..." (Arnold takes a bag of cash, later on,
Arnold throws some of the cash to some homeless guys)

"Eugene's Bike"
- The first focus ep about a semi-minor character in the series.
- Also, the characters are in their regular clothes for the first time
in the series (Rugrats also deferred showing the babies in their
regular clothes until the 2nd story, in that show's case, the first
story of the 2nd ep).
- The bike proves to be not much more than a MacGuffin. Hitchcock
invented the term to refer to something that is in itself unimportant,
but gets the plot running. Here, the whole reason the bike exists in
the first place is to give us our first examples of how everything
seems to go against Eugene (tho some of you, like Don Del Grande,
could argue that all that trouble with his bike derives entirely from
Arnold), and all that happens to it gives Arnold reason to try and
make it up to him.
- Though I really doubt that, even unchained, Eugene's bike could have
flown off the way it did while Arnold was tying his shoes... and
exactly how bad to you have to chain a bike for the chain to come off
like that?
- Second traces of Arnold's goody-two-shoes attitude: Arnold's repair
job to the bike. Needless to say, however, he could, nay, should have
done better than that.
- We first meet the dorks: Billy, Sheena, and Brainy (who speaks for
the first time here). None of them have last names or get much
exposure (or even a focus ep) in the series (Billy doesn't even get a
speaking role in the other eps).
- We also first meet Abner, as, well, we see why Arnold should have
done a better repair job.
- Y'know, Sheena's scab does look just like Texas, even without
squeezing. But doesn't she hate blood, from what I hear?
- Eugene gets his tonsils (and spleen) removed, due to the doctors at
the local hospital confusing Eugene's room with another... but
shouldn't Eugene have said something? Anyhow, Gerald will do the same
later on (on purpose, and written in to hide the maturing of his voice
actor Jamil Smith) in "Gerald's Tonsils".
- I'm not sure if I know good art when I see it, but having a 90
second sequence that consists mostly of static images, and has nothing
but musical backing (with a few sound effects yes, but no dialogue)
sure sounds like good art.
- During said sequence, the fairly famous "Eugene chokes on a hotdog"
sequence: don't you think it's a bit too convenient that the hotdog
vendor had a book on the Heimlich maneuver? At least it was shown in
clear animation how it's done, as it would go on to help at least 3
other juveniles use it one someone else who really needed it (one
actually used it on his mom).
- Eugene beaned by "a home run ball hit by Studs McGee"... Helga
beaned by ball hit by Arnold in season 5's "Beaned".
- Quotables: "Every dork has his day" (little does Arnold know that
Eugene will have to wait until season 5's "Eugene, Eugene!" for that
to happen), "I'm a bird, I'm a plane, I'm... about to be hurt really
hard." (Eugene runs into a car door, repaired bike's fate not known or
cared for), "I got to see the sunset by the river, I even got to swim
in the river. OK, by accident." (Eugene recounts his day with Arnold)

Overall:
- Someone's probably going to say "it's just like 'Peanuts' for the
new generation", and I'd actually agree with that.
- The titles go by pretty fast, don't they? You might have to watch
them a couple times to get everything. Of course, Nick has to add
their logo to the show's title when it appears (even if it's
practically "blink and you'd miss it").
- Someone clearly got lazy on animating Helga saying "Arnold" (at the
bit with the word "Arnold" in sidewalk chalk).
- The animation style looks like animated kids' drawings, and some of
the backgrounds look like they were made with sidewalk chalk. Note
that this was before cel animation was replaced by its computer
equivalent.
- We haven't met any of the regular grown-ups of the series yet, but
they'll be appearing soon enough.
- Both stories open with weird fantasy sequences (surfing, running in
the jungle), but they don't appear to have anything to do at all with
the story at hand... were they padded there just so the ep credits
wouldn't obscure the action? (Not an issue in other eps tho...)
- Games Animation endcap: why would Arnold be holding a piece of chalk
in his left hand?

Overall, might not have been the best way to start the series, but
there've been worse.

I hope to make this episode notes thing a regular feature on this
newsgroup, so do expect more soon.

[Steve Mindykowski]

Post by ungvichian
Hey Arnold! premiered over here (Thailand) this past Monday, and I got
to see it. Anyhow, the first ep to air was the same ep as in the US,
"Downtown as Fruits" and "Eugene's Bike", and I comment on them
presently.

Very likely what you see in Thailand will be in production order, which
is different than the order in the US.

Also, I don't think a spoiler space is needed for many of these
episodes, as they were already seen many times over throughout most of
the world, especially the US.

[ungvichian]

Next up, "The Little Pink Book" and "Field Trip".

"The Little Pink Book"
- Written by Craig Bartlett, and so far the only ep with only one
writer credited (the rest have 3 credited writers crammed on-screen
under the ep title).
- We meet two of the adults for the first time, Grandpa and Mr. Green.
Grandpa has some significant screen time for his first outing, not so
for Mr. Green.
- This is also the first outing for Stinky's regular voice actor
(Christopher Walberg), as in the previous ep, Toran Caudell did his
voice (he also does Arnold's voice in the currently airing eps).
- We see a sign identifying the building from the first ep as the
Sunset Arms, and we also get our first trip inside Arnold's room. And
look at that sound system.
- Anyways, the ep opens in the classroom, and it's our first glimpse
into the kids' school life. And after a couple spitballs, Helga
launches into the first of several of her poems on the kid, and don't
forget our first glimpse of that little pink book.
- First mention of Ruth McDougal. Who would have thought that she
would end up only speaking in 2 eps (one of them airing after she had
been effectively written out of the show)?
- First outing of a recurring plotline: the "I can't let anyone
(especially Arnold) see this" plot. And she explicitly justifies the
hiding of her, ahem, obsession, for the first time.
- A good look at the school's sign: PS 118, Founded 1932 AD. (To
Thais, that year was the year that Thailand changed from absolute
monarchy to constitutional monarchy.)
- Quite a few problems with the plot. Helga rips off Arnold's hair and
puts it in the book. When he sees it in the book, he doesn't recognize
it. OK, if some guy ripped off my hair and put it in his book, I think
I could recognize it (then again, maybe not). Even then, at least he
should know that the hair in the book isn't the same color as Ruth's
(even without getting a hair sample).
- First gag for pure comedy's sake: the "hot chocolate" gag, and there
are quite a few in this pairing.
- Of the first three suspects the two come up with, two do not even
get a mention again in the series (Jennifer and Dodie... tho when I
first saw a screencap of the two and the suspects' board, I thought
I'd somehow wandered into an ep of Ginger). Same with the names we
hear Arnold and Gerald read off the year book.
- Arnold seriously considers that the book could be Ruth's (even tho
she's a 6th grader)... but doesn't consider the remote possibility
that it could be Helga's (even tho she spitballs him)? No wonder why
it took so long for the secret to be out.
- First mention of "Slaucen's" (pronounced Slao-sen's), their ice
cream hangout. Also, first time outside of the titles that Helga
directly calls him football-head (or did she do that in "Downtown as
Fruits"?).
- Helga's cellphone call from Arnold's closet: Phoebe gets a mention
(and she's been on screen), however, she hasn't been identified as
such just yet.
- Quotable: "You look like you've slept in a closet" (Stinky's closer
to the truth about Helga that he thinks) "First spitball of the day,
football-head" (Helga quickly disposes of the one page she needs to
dispose: her signature page), "The next person is Helga Pataki *laughs
with Arnold*" (Gerald has a looooong read of the PS 118 year book with
Arnold), "How I want to punch you in the face" (end of Helga's first
poem), "He sure doesn't make a good detective" (Gerald on Abner, as
Arnold drops a bunch of mushrooms)

"Field Trip"
- Sid has his first lines of the series. What took him so long? He
still hasn't been identified by name yet tho.
- Eugene wipes his nose, and supposedly makes it into Mona Lisa (we
only see the back of the sleeve of course). First blatant example of
grossness.
- Grandma gets her first outing, and boy does she have good screen
time here.
- First meeting with the Campfire Lass (she and the chocolate turtles
she sells will have a significant role later on in "Chocolate
Turtles").
- We visit the city aquarium, and we get to meet Lockjaw (a old
tortoise with graffiti on it). Needless to say, reason for Arnold to
continue his goody-two-shoes act.
- Ever noticed that around the part of Lockjaw's home that is
underwater, there are "turtle facts"? It's as if they *want* people to
go down there.
- Here comes that sound system again (playing generic jazz). And some
brief fantasy sequences to boot.
- Grandpa's Packard gets its first outing (the ep where it has a
significant role, "Grandpa's Packard", hasn't aired in the states
yet).
- A room full of confiscated skateboards. How convenient. Same comment
for the speaker that tells how much Galapagos tortoises weigh.
- Why does Grandma use a grappling hook to climb over a small wall
(and one that has a nearby entrance, to boot)? I guess, to paraphrase
an old Nick slogan, because she can.
- You can get away with saying "Bite me" and "Toss your cookies" on
Nick, eh?
- According to some chats, this ep was inspired by one of Craig's real
life incidents.
- Quotables: "I'm hankering for some turtle soup!" (last line of the
ep) "It's public property" "Well, we *are* the public" (Grandma and
Arnold on breaking into the aquarium) "No sushi chefs (conveniently, a
sushi chef leaves)" (another gag for gags' sake)

Overall:
- Neither story opens with a fantasy sequence, and the credits to the
eps aren't put in the center of the screen (obviously, to avoid
obscuring the action).
- Are Games and Snee Oosh trying to imitate primetime sitcoms by
putting the Executive Producer's credit over the end of the final
scene? If they are, they're not doing a good job at it.
- The closing credits (and "developed by") background looks good (if
there ever was a reason to get rid of splitscreens, this is one of
them).
- Are the cats and Abner running out when Arnold opens the SA's door a
recurring thing? Grandma even throws one out of the closet (along with
a couple trophies) in the second story.

As one can see from these early eps, there were quite a few kinks to
work out, but even here, one can see the show's brilliance.

[ungvichian]

The firsts just keep on coming, and we have a bumper crop of notes for
"Helga's Makeover", "The Old Building", "6th Grade Girls" and "The
Baseball" (whew!).

"Helga's Makeover"
- Sigh, one of those "be yourself" stories.
- First ep written by Rachel Lipman (she also co-wrote "The Old
Building" with Viksten).
- We get a better look at Helga's mom, and we also meet Mrs. Johansen
(the clerk at the corner shop... later identified as Gerald's mom).
- Rhonda and Phoebe identified onscreen for the first time. Sid as
well. ("Please don't hurt me...") Also, we have a name for the chick
with the spider braids: Nadine (nuh-DEEN). Okay, she doesn't speak,
and loses her distinct braids in this story, but they'll be back...
- ...and so will Helga's bow, which she takes off for the first time
here (and throws away), and here it looks like the knot in it is
permanent.
- Helga calls Harold "pink boy" for the first time, and she also says
"Doi" for the first time (or was that "Dork" she said?), and another
Helga-ism that appears for the first time: "Criminy!" (CRY-muh-nee).
And for the first mention of her middle initial, see below.
- So she's into wrestling, eh? No wonder why she's not so feminine...
- Helga's madeover hair reminds me a bit of Shaffika (Rocket Power,
"Reggie's Big Beach Break").
- So you can say "bloody murder" on Nick? Meanwhile, look at Helga's
enhnaced rack.
- Under the nitpickers' section: Part of Helga's distinct 'do pokes
over Rhonda's windowsill in one "shot", and it's apparent in the next
"shot" that it doesn't, and while the girls were chasing down Harold,
isn't Helga's shadow over Harold wearing her bow (keep in mind she
threw it away earlier)?
- First football (at the start of "Stoop Kid"), now baseball. Aren't
they afraid they'll be run over during their games in the middle of
the street?
- Quotables: a bumper crop of them. "I almost feel sorry for her" "The
keyword being 'almost'" (Arnold and Gerald, about Helga being chased
by the others in their little baseball game) "We don't have wrinkles!
We don't have signs of aging! We're 9 years old!" (Helga points that
out to a guacamole-wearing Rhonda as she straightens her hair back
into her distinct 'do) "My, how did that get there?" (a blushing Helga
to Mrs. Johansen, on an issue of "Preteen Miss" she happens to be
buying) "The horror, the horror" (Harold, on girls wearing guacamole),
"Et tu Phoebe?... They'll be sorry they ever messed with Helga G
Pataki" (Helga, seeing Phoebe and the others at Rhonda's little
makeover party), "I think you're a coral red" (Helga to Nadine on
fashion tips), "Now that's what I call a good party" (Helga to Phoebe
on Harold's "makeover"), "Of course I'm feminine (drinks soda and
burps)" (Helga to Phoebe in Rhonda's bathroom... did I get that quote
correct?), "I liked the old Helga better, at least she was honest"
(Phoebe to Helga... see what I mean about this being a "be yourself"
story?).

"The Old Building"
- A brief fantasy sequence with Arnold on a wrecking ball leads into
out first meeting with demolition man Ernie, and we also get to learn
about (and later on, meet) Dino Spumoni (and his song "Smashed"...
apparently, this is how Ernie got into smashing)... we get a better
look at Dino in season 4's "Dino Checks Out".
- I guess the writers of this ep (Lipman and Viksten) really liked the
Terminator flicks: two of the balls are called "The Terminator" and
"Judgement Day".
- We also meet Mayor Dixie, as she declares The Circle Theater a city
landmark.
- Grandpa calls Grandma "Pookie" for the first time here.
- The theme of the ep (historical preservation vs. progress) pops up
again in the movie, mind you.
- Also, having Arnold pose off as another character's son also pops up
again in season 5's "Family Man", this time with Hyunh (which we
haven't met just yet).
- My, Grandpa isn't terribly enthusiastic about solving Arnold's
problems.
- Ernie jumps on a potato. Cue laughs from viewer.
- Arnold has his first big (as in ear-to-ear) grin of the series
(we'll see another one in "Snow").
- The closing credits music is replaced for the first time, here, with
"Smashed".
- Quotables: "You'd preserve a pile of dog droppings if George
Washington stepped in them" (Ernie, on Grandma's preservation
efforts), "He came through for me" "No, for me" (Grandma and Ernie
argue), "Won't you sign my head?" (Ernie to Dino), "Too bad they're
not mashed, but I think you can do that yourself" (Grandma to Ernie on
potatoes)

"6th Grade Girls"
- Today, we meet the 6th grade girls Maria (the tanned Hispanic girl)
and Connie (the blonde girl). I'm told that one of the girls from
Blossom does Maria's voice. We'll see them again in "Phoebe Skips"
(and BTW, she hasn't been characterized as the school genius just
yet). Oh, don't forget Maria's dad...
- Hot disco dancing action, folks.
- Since when did the girls find out they're just 4th graders?
- First kisses of the series, ooh! On the cheek tho.
- Quotables: "Older women. What have we got to lose?" (Gerald to
Arnold on the 6th grande girls), "We might even get a kiss" (Gerald,
later on) "We didn't eat our vegetables" "Stunted our growth" "No
cauliflower for me" (Gerald and Arnold to the girls, later Maria's
dad, on why they're so short), "I know when I've had enough, so hit me
again" (one of the bad boys, drinking punch).

"The Baseball"
- Nice introduction fantasy sequence there.
- Is it really OK to say "Major League Baseball" in the sense of the
pro leagues (as Harold seems to be using it)?
- "Geniune Imitation": how oxymoronic.
- So Arnold carries a minisafe in his backpack. Uh-huh. Right.
- And speaking of what's in the minisafe, here we meet Mickey Kaline
(we also get to see some more of the boarders, including Hyunh).
- 2nd visit to Quigley, after in "Eugene's Bike". Speaking of that ep,
you'd think they'd mention Studs McGee again, huh?
- Ted Williams and Mickey Mantle hits homers with their very last ML
at bats, so hey, why not?
- Once again, end credits music replaced, first letting the background
music from the last scene end, before some organ music kicks in.
- Quotables: "All it takes to fulfill a kid's dream is an extra 5
bucks" (Grandpa gives a little extra cash so that Arnold could buy
baseball tickets), "'Who's Mickey Kaline?' You gotta be kidding"
"Uh... no?" (Arnold and Eugene on Kaline)

[ungvichian]

Well, the other two eps' notes were knocked up in the space of half an
hour (!), and of course, I seem to have missed some other points.
- "Helga's Makeover": Of course, you really shouldn't talk about this
ep without talking about all the spitting that Helga does in it... you
can do that on Nick?
- "The Baseball":
* I already mentioned there was a fantasy sequence. Let me add that it
takes place in space, and the writer of this ep, Joe Ansolabehere,
must have been inspired to create (with one time Rugrats writer Paul
Germain) Lloyd in Space (featuring Connie's voice actress Pamela
Hayden as the school brain, and Harold's voice Justin Shenkarow as one
of his classmates... and MacNeille as the teacher).
* It's the first time anyone says "This really bites"... but see
below.
* They can get away with showing scalping? Man, this show really
pushes the envelope...
* Quotables: "Just one hotdog? Man, this really bites" (not Stinky,
but Gerald, on their financial situation), "One dot is running past
another dot" (Gerald on how bad their seating is)
- "6th Grade Girls":
* "The word 'Saturday' over the opening of the Saturday scene looks
like it was animated with the scene (rather than superimposed like the
'Two Weeks Later' caption during 'Eugene, Eugene!')"... by this, I
meant that the "Two Weeks Later" caption looks (from a pic of it I've
seen) as if it was put onscreen in the same manner as the credits.
However, the "Saturday" caption looks as if someone drew it on a cell
(in the "Hey Arnold!" font of course) and filmed it over the still of
the sky (before fading to just the still of the sky). As for the fact
there's a caption... does it remind anyone here of "The Weekenders"?
* I guess Arnold really does wear that hat everywhere... but even to
the pool?! (His helmet in "The Old Building" is also mini to match...)
* Other quotables: "What goes on?" (they make it sound so hip, but I
kind of have my doubts...)

Bonus note: OK, where's the enthusiasm?
For some reason, I only received a total of 6 votes in my little
Nicktoon Rewards thing (http://rover_wow.tripod.com/nire.htm ) in the
first round of voting. This raises the question: Where's the
enthusiasm, people?
BTW, due to the lack of votes, the second round of voting (which runs
until the 30th) is going to be just an extension of the first round
(read: no one has been eliminated... in fact, there have been so few
votes, "Smashed" and "Beaver Fever", added a few days ago to the
nominees list, could actually catch up in the Best Song category).

[ungvichian]

A few more leftovers from "The Baseball":
- "Things couldn't get any worse (gets hit on the head by piece of
roofing)" (Arnold shows that cliches do happen in Hillwood City)
- The fact that Grandpa's car is a Packard is explicitly mentioned.
- Kaline will later pop up to help Arnold on how to deal with
"Dangerous Lumber" in season 2.

And now, the forecast calls for a weather themed ep. "Heat" and
"Snow".

"Heat"
- First outing for Johnathan Greenberg
- Yet another introduction fantasy sequence, this time, showing Arnold
eating ice-cream... a mountain of it. :-D Cue potato clock.
- 106 F = 41 C, for those who use Celsius.
- Some lady who speaks with a Russian accent (as in the type of accent
Boris & Natasha would speak with) lives with them, apparently.
- Craig has his first outing as a radio DJ on M-Jazz. Apparently,
Arnold seems to be into cool jazz. (He's also in the 2nd story...)
- Sid takes off his hat for the first time, and apparently, his hair
is black.
- It appears as if Arnold doesn't have an answer for everything... but
here comes the rain. Does rain really occur like this during heat
waves?
- Grandma's too hot to kook it up... she's only in it for like 20
seconds tho, and some of them have her walking around in scuba gear...
- The Jolly Olly man goes nuts again after the incident in "Arnold's
Hat", but instead of giving away ice cream, he's selling it at $20 per
scoop ($15 for rum raisin and $30 for cookie dough).
- Quotables: "There's a high-tech solution for everything... Arnold,
go down to the store and buy some ice" (Grandpa, on broken air-con),
"Don't you know about supply and demand?" "Well, I 'demand' you
'supply' me with ice cream at a fair price" (the Jolly Olly man and
Helga go crazy over overpriced ice cream) "It's so hot, it's made
Grandma normal" (Arnold's thought on the weather) "No ice cream, no
peace" (OK, now the kids have gone mad).

"Snow"
- Talk about your weather swings. The rain from the end of "Heat"
turns into snow real fast.
- Cue digital clock. Make up your mind already on what clock to use.
- Oscar and Hyunh's first lines of the series.
- Who's that I see skating by? Why, Ruth appears "in the flesh" for
the first time, and this is reason for Arnold to have that wide grin
he got when he found a sheet of music on "The Old Building".
- And apparently, Ruth's a braceface.
- Grandma mushing around with the cats and Abner. That's more like it.
- Speaking of that, we have this old lady telling Harold not to throw
snowballs at buses. Apparently, that's his aunt, and that's her only
showing of the series.
- The first "we're all gonna die" of the series... and it's from a bus
driver.
- I knew that some guy made an Arnold snowman like Helga does in this
story, but I doubt that you could make a Helga snowgirl...
- Eugene's first "I'm okay" (buried by snow that fell off an electric
pole).
- Quotables: "Life isn't all fun and games... This isn't some sort of
turkey shoot... That's the problem with today's society, no work
ethic" (Grandpa to Arnold, later Arnold to Gerald, on why Arnold isn't
joining in with the others) "That's the problem with today's society"
"No work ethic?" "No play ethic" (Grandpa forced to revise his little
saying) "Stupid football-headed snowman" (Helga tries to kiss it,
seeing Phoebe tho, she lops its head off), "You should have been here
in '49, it was really cold" "I was in Vietnam in '49, and I wasn't
even born yet" (Grandpa to the other boarders on how cold it is, Hyunh
replies in), "I hate snow, I hate sleet..." (the mailman comments on
the weather)

Overall
- Just about the only other two-story ep of a Nicktoon I know of in
which the two stories share some sort of theme is "Big Air Dare" and
"Otto's Big Break", involving Otto Rocket's broken leg.
- Also, all three eps that aired this week had their regular end music
replaced by something else (in the case of Snow, we have some sort of
piano exit to play us out).

Other notes
- Now that we speak of Arnold, "Save Hey Arnold! Day" is this Sunday,
so what are you doing (or are you doing anything) to allow the show to
end the way Craig Barltett intended? If you're starved for ideas on
what to do, either go to the Save HA! Day site (
http://communities.msn.ca/SaveHeyArnold ) or go to my "save HA!" page:
http://rover_wow.tripod.com/hawi.htm
- BTW, voting in the Nicktoon Rewards has been extended to December
30th, so go down to my page and vote:
http://rover_wow.tripod.com/nire.htm
- As for whether I'll be doing every ep... nope. Only those I'll be
able to watch. That said, I'll have to give a pass on Operation
Ruthless and The Vacant Lot during the next week (and yes, I know
these are fairly important eps in the Arnold "bible", but I have class
that day).

[ungvichian]

Leftovers from other eps:
"Stoop Kid": Rhonda's very first line of the series has the word
"killed" in it (referring to what he supposedly did to someone who
looked at his stoop), and later on, Harvey says to Mr. Green
(referring to the Stoop Kid getting off the stoop): "The legend dies."
"Heat": During the opening scenes of the ep, we see Arnold's pigeon
(Chester) for the first time, and we'll get to know it better, well
sort of, in "Pigeon Man". Also, look at the lineup at the cinema: "The
Day The Sun Exploded", "Invasion of the People Melters", "Hotter Than
The Sun"... talk about not missing a marketing opportunity ;-)

Class got out early yesterday (12/29), so I got to see yesterday's
HA!. I was expecting this to be "Operation Ruthless" / "The Vacant
Lot", but instead, we got "The List" / "Haunted Train". Here we go
then:

"The List"
- We open at the end of a Friday class (when is the series EVER going
to be about their school life?).
- Sid has his first "Bow howdy" of the series, and he says something
closer to his "kid generation to kid generation" spiel ("'The List'
has been handed down from kid to kid, for generations").
- For some odd reason, I'm tempted to think of a couple eps of The
Weekenders. Especially, one of the first eps of the series, which has
the show's main character brandishing a list (OK, not one that was
handed from kid to kid, but still...), and promoting it as "The
Perfect Weekend" (in fact, that was the ep title, but you wouldn't
have known, since unlike most other shows, this show doesn't show its
title at the start of a story)... until crap happens, that is, all
starting with the rest of his gang having other commitments on this
particular weekend.
- Park has a line or two at the start. Enough said.
- The greatest Saturday a kid could ever have consists of: Eating 3
bowls of Sugar Chunks (they get a couple more mentions), watching
every Sat AM cartoon from 6 AM, play catch, biking down the steepest
hill, watching a movie 3 times in a row. It's never been all done on
one Saturday...
- ...and it still hasn't. A gust of wind knocked over his alarm clock
at 3 AM (ironically, "The List" had a role in it) resulting in a wake
up of around 7:40 AM, Phil ate all the Sugar Chunks leaving just Prune
Bran (besides, the milk was spoiled), the TV was busted (besides,
troubles with the fuse box left no power in the house), some guy stole
his ball he was playing catch with, the steepest hill had road
construction on it, and the money he had a couple seconds ago to watch
a movie fell through a hole in his pocket (and just after sneaking in
through the ventilation, the film ripped anyhow). See any parallel
between this and the Weekenders ep?
- Well, here's a little piano ditty from Pookie, but what was the
point? And what were the balloons for anyhow? For that matter, what
was the point in showing the paper airplane Arnold made out of "The
List" just before heading to the next story?
- Speaking of the balloons, that's the 2nd time someone has run into
the same fire hydrant ("Arnold's Hat", Jolly Olly Man).
- Three words, folks: Big Arnold grin!
- Quotables: "Either the milk's gone bad, or you've just found a new
way to sell cottage cheese" (Phil, on spoiled milk) "What a crock
(makes paper airplane and throws it)" (Arnold, on going 0/5 on "The
List") "You're tempting the fates" (Gerald, on Arnold's bid to do it
all... boy, he couldn't have been more right)

"Haunted Train"
- Written by Josie Nericcio, who he?
- Our first touch of the supernatural in this series, folks.
- How to avoid using the word "Hell" in a kids show, lesson 1: Use
words like "fiery underworld" and "downtown" instead.
- Gerald on vocals, Arnold on harmonica (carried over from the end of
"The List", I guess), singing about a haunted train. I have it on
MP3... yawn...
- They keep fire-hoses on trains??? Impractical if you ask me...
- Helga's first (and second) "We're all gonna die".
- Brainy gets only his 2nd line of the series (see below), and his
voice is a bit deep for someone his age...
- Brimstone = sulphur... nobody pointed that out?
- 4 eps in a row have been played out with a different song from the
regular closing credits music now. Today, another nice little ditty on
the train.
- Quotables: "We're victims of forces we can't possibly comprehend"
(Helga and the gang sucked in by bright light) "Brainy, what are you
doing here?" "I dunno (thrown off train)" (Helga and Brainy on the
train) "I didn't say there wasn't a haunted train" (last line of the
ep before heading into the song) "Socks?" "No, fire and brimstone"
(Sid and Phil on the smell of rotten eggs) "Some people don't
appreciate the magic of polka" (some steel mill guy on "unhumanly
music").

[ungvichian]

Two important eps in the early history of HA! went down today:
"Operation Ruthless" and "The Vacant Lot".

"Operation Ruthless"
- Well, we have the first meeting with the Cheese Fair (it comes up
again in "Love and Cheese").
- The famous Love Tunnel sequence. Well, at least Ruth ended up with a
loser like Sid (Mr. "Just because I'm short doesn't mean I can't get
some action"). But look who Helga ended up with! Meanwhile, Harold and
Rhonda in the Love Tunnel...
- Never mind that after all their hard work, Ruth still doesn't know
that Arnold exists: In spite of having a siginificant role in this ep,
Ruth has all of one utterance in the ep: an "ew" in front of a mirror
(and it's not even credited). She doesn't actually speak until
"Arnold's Valentine" (and would only speak once more in "What's Opera,
Arnold?", an ep that aired after she had been written out of the
show).
- Significant roled character who never gets to speak: We'll see that
again in "Eating Contest" with Seymour "The Disposal".
- BIG ARNOLD GRIN AGAIN! Oh yeah, Brainy gets punched up again too :-D
- First somewhat melancholy finis of the series, as Helga sees Gerald
leaving with Phoebe (yes, this is the ep where the two have been
paired up) as the lights go out at the Cheese Fair.
- Quotables: "You know what? The challenge makes me like her even
more" (Arnold, as Ruth leaves, leaving a sour taste in Helga's mouth)
"Anyhow, that's when we hit the weiner stand" "Are you OK?" "Yeah"
(the first lines between Gerald and Phoebe) "This conversation never
happened" "Right" (Helga and Phoebe) "Hi Ruth (repeated until it slogs
down)" (Arnold), "Say good night Phoebe" (and that's when Helga and
Phoebe hit the weiner stand).

"The Vacant Lot"
- Helga watches Court TV? And you can say that on Nick (being an
actual network and all)?
- The otherwise nameless Robert has his first line of the series.
- Road games end here, with the christening of Gerald Field.
- Boccia = a form of lawn bowls.
- Who's that blond lady doing the croquet?
- Arnold: "Look at our hands!" Uh, why? Nothing unusual except that
they only have 4 fingers...
- First time Helga says "bucko", see below.
- And it's the welcome return of the regular closing credits music.
- Quotables: "Call me when pigs fly so we can finish our game" (Helga,
on the trouble with games on the road), "Welcome to reality, bucko...
that's what happens when grownups rule the world" (Helga to Arnold on
the grownups taking the lot), "Pull on your rubber boots folks, it's
gonna be a long night..." (Grandma after junk has been dumped onto the
lot), "Nothing like a game of horseshoes" (Mr. Green), "Play ball
(repeatedly)" "Will you shut up?!" (Hyunh and Grandpa)

Extra note: Some of the stories I saw have some guy named Larry
Leichliter (IIRC) directing them... is this where they got the name
for the Leichliter character ("School Play", "Eugene, Eugene!") from?

[ungvichian]

As the year 2003 was winding down, New Year's Eve saw the airing of
"Mugged" and "Roughin' It", which I comment on presently.

"Mugged"
- Billy gets karate'd (letting out an uncredited scream), and that my
friends, is practically his last involvement in the series.
- Eugene shoved in locker: "I'm okay!"
- That's a very cruddy bus pass Arnold has... no surname, no DOB.
- The actual mugging feels little more than a MacGuffin (kind of
"Eugene's Bike"), because the plot's pretty much more about Arnold's
karate lessons...
- Kick in the nuts!
- Kids, it takes quite some training to be able to kick a cement block
like that.
- Looking at the ep credits, all I could think was "Don't they even
know how to center them on the screen?"
- Interesting sequence after the guy who wanted to go the bus stop was
kicked... but who's gonna get the reference to De Niro's Taxi Driver
(see below)?
- Quotables: "Be like the frog in the pond: don't look for the fly,
let the fly come to you" (Grandma's little koan), "Of course, when
your personal space is violated, it's okay to use your training"
(Grandma, aren't you bit slow to react?), "All I wanted was the way to
the bus stop" (suddenly, all that karate-ing wasn't such a good idea),
"You talking to me?" "I didn't say anything" (Arnold to a mirror,
Grandpa putting in the laundry).

"Roughin' It"
- Helga entertains herself ever so briefly with the idea of giving a
confession at Ophelia's Overlook... she's not alone with Arnold long
enough for it to happen however... "Criminy! (slap)" (Heck, *they're*
not even at the Overlook long enough.)
- The 2nd time she explicitly mentions that this crush is necessarily
kept secret, of course. But she's sort of right about one thing: The
confession in the movie actually does occur when they're alone.
- The first ep that doesn't take place in the city or suburbs at any
point.
- First time we see Helga's dad Big Bob, driving in in an RV with
Helga and Phoebe, and first mention of Olga (at the time, one could be
forgiven for thinking that he just mispronounces his name), but ever
noticed while Helga was watching TV in her first scene, there was a
portrait of someone who looked like Olga (although with the unibrow we
see in "Spelling Bee")?
- Phoebe's first traces of her wit show as she uses slightly less
common words like "adjacent". Also, her first "-ing" for the series,
but a very plain one: "Coming!"
- Quotables: "Piece of junk, I sell thousands of these" (Big Bob, on
his broken mist-er), "On the trail there's one way to get rid of
useless junk" (Big Bob throws fridge over a ledge at Ophelia's
Outlook), "Scat: droppings, like what you're standing in right now"
(Grandpa to Arnold, on basic survival skills), "Nature bites"
(Gerald), "I thought you hated hiking" "What made you think that I
hate hiking?" "By the way you keep saying 'I hate hiking, I hate
hiking'... (gets kicked in the knee)" (Big Bob, Helga and Phoebe on
hiking), "Sunburn, poison ivy..." (just a few of the things that's
making Big Bob suffer).

Well, that's it for 2003.

[ungvichian]

A lot of bonus notes:

"Roughin' It":
- Wasn't this plot later used in an ep of Jimmy Neutron? "Aaugh!
Wilderness!" For that matter, doesn't the "guys trying to camp" plot
see frequent use?
- Gerald gets skunked!
- What's Helga tapping Arnold's marshmallow for, anyway?
- Ever noticed that during yet another one of her soliloquys on
Arnold, Helga's standing in a clearing shaped as a heart?
- More quotables: "I really admire Gerald's survival skills" (Phoebe
to Helga) "You can't just eat food that's growing out here" (Big Bob,
on eating berries) "Red and sweet is good to eat" (on berries)
"Bugs... poison ivy... sunburn..." (yes, I mentioned it last time, but
this is the correct order of Big Bob's sufferings, before "Home on the
Range" fades to the credits music) "We've been lost ever since we saw
those signs in Spanish" (Big Bob)
Third "We're all gonna die" from Helga (4th overall).
"Snow": Of course, you really shouldn't talk about "Snow" without
talking about Phil's little flashback to when he had a grandpa talking
to him about "no work ethic" himself (everyone from Grandpa upwards is
voiced by Dan Castanaletta, not sure of the spelling).
"Operation Ruthless": Let's see who cuts who at the Love Tunnel: Helga
cuts Nadine, Sheena, then Ruth... seeing that happen, Arnold
reverse-cuts Iggy. After that, general mayhem.
"Vacant Lot": Gerald says "You're a bold kid" to Arnold again (upon
Arnold finding the lot).
OK, I saw Phil thumbing his suspenders for the first time, but I'm not
sure of which ep it was, I think it was "Mugged" (or "The List")?
Here's what I believe is a pic of this:
Loading Image...

Anyhow, due to the fact that I have class on Monday, there will be eps
I won't be seeing. That said, I won't be seeing "Door 16" and "Arnold
as Cupid".

[ungvichian]

OK, after skipping "Door 16" / "Arnold As Cupid" the other day due to
class, here's "Benchwarmer" and "Cool Jerk".

"Benchwarmer" (spelled as one word, mind you, one word):
- Our first good listen at Stinky saying "This really bites".
- Also, out first look at Coach Wittenberg, and our only look at his
son Tucker (why's he not in the other eps like "Best Man"?).
- Robert gets called out by name.
- Hoops player who does well in open play, but stinks at the free
throw line... hmm, Shaquille O'Neal, anyone?
- Wonder if Arnold's brilliant play would work in the NBA? Eh,
probably not, but deliberately missing FTs for better points isn't
that uncommon, tho underhanded FTs probably is... We'll see another
"deliberate miss" in "Spelling Bee", although this is for a different
purpose.
- The "let's tie them right now and win it in OT... eh, maybe not"
cliche. Rears its head in the first Mighty Ducks flick, Happy Gilmore,
an ep of Rocket Power (although it's a twist on it), and here.
- Quotables: "Almost makes you feel sorry for him" "Yeah, almost"
(Arnold and Gerald on Wittenberg giving him a serious berating for
missing game-crucial FTs) "There are 9360 dots on a basketball" (er...
I'll take Arnold's word for it) "Tho I did get an audition as a
bearded lady (cymbal sting)" (Grandpa, on his time working at the
circus as elephant cleaner) "There's no I in team. Now pass the ball
to Tucker" (Coach Wittenberg, quite the hypocrite) "Everyone touches
the ball, before passing it to Tucker... who will pass it to the rest
of the team" (Gee, look who's had a change of strategy? ;-) )

"Cool Jerk":
- Forget what I said about Nick smoothing over crime, because look at
Marty G's attempt to steal a tweeter.
- Park speaks a couple lines again, that makes it 3 eps in the first
season that he's had at least line.
- Wasn't it a bit convenient that Marty G had a wide-headed helmet?
- Look at that: Sherm's Wholesome books and magazine stand.
- Say, didn't All Grown Up!'s "Bad Kimi" do this storyline... only in
reverse?
- There's a water tower saying Lowtwait in the foreground of the final
shot, and there's some guy named Lowtwait in the credits. Definitely
not coincidence.
- Gerald mentions Fuzzy Slippers for the first time, and Arnold makes
a reference to Gerald's older brother.
- Quite a few characters with unibrows here besides Helga. Meanwhile,
the guys at Marty G's place are drinking Yahoo Soda (we'll get to know
them better when "Stinky Goes Hollywood").
- Gerald also mentions his grandpa, but you don't see him around.
- Quotables: "You're fine Rudolph" (Helga, on Harold being hit by a
dodgeball). "Who'd you say was the coolest again?" "You're a bold kid,
Gerald" (last lines of the ep)

[ungvichian]

Note to self: spend more than 20 minutes writing up ep notes.

"Benchwarmer":
- The endgame: didn't a similar situation ensue in an ep of Doug (when
it was on Nick)? I remember Doug being told to play the closer for
Patty's baseball team... but instead of getting the self-confidence to
close out the game, he decides to hand the ball back to Patty, who
then closes out the game for the win.
- Not really related, but on Wittenberg's insistance that his kid
Tucker score all the team's points, according to Guinness, some
Swedish kid scored all 200+ of his team's points in a game (and the
other team didn't score at all).
- I already mentioned this in the quotables section of the previous
notes, but Phil also talks about his colorful past in this one: he
used to work for the circus.
- Not a single female in this story (a first perhaps?). "Cool Jerk"
has 2 females in it (Helga and someone Marty G has to pay the rent
to).
- Another Arnold big grin! Also, note YMMA banner in the BG.
- With all that meditating on the ball, you'd expect "Be the ball" to
pop up somewhere, huh?
- Extra quotable: "He's not a team player" "But he *is* a team player"
(Wittenberg and Tucker on Arnold... gee, who didn't see that coming?)

"Cool Jerk":
- Now that's new: Marty G calls him "triangle head" (of course, he
also referred to him as "football head" earlier in the story).
- A handcrank siren is really that loud? Whoa.
- Extra quotable: "Fuzzy Slippers never tells lies" (er... I'll take
Gerald's word for that)

[ungvichian]

Two big ensemble stories today: "Das Subway" and "Wheezin' Ed", by
which I mean that the story involves many of the regular kids in the
main plot.

"Das Subway"
- I don't get it: why the German-ish title? And another thing: Chris
Simmons?
- At the theater: "Killer Vegetables from Outer Space". Two hours
long, or two hours too long, by what Arnold says.
- First "I can't believe I'm doing this", see below.
- Now that the sun's gone down and the street lights have come on,
let's take the subway. Man, their system is complex.
- Meanwhile, one ad in the station says Tucker Buses. The animators
seem to like hiding references to the crew in it. (Well, this was when
the cartoon was still hand drawn.)
- In this story, Phoebe's academic head starts to shine through as she
talks about water on tunnels.
- There's a blind guy whose dog looks like a bit like Spike, if you
ask me. Probably the first handicapped character ever in a Nicktoon,
even if he is just a one-shot...
- Meanwhile, blindie says something about his other senses being
amplified after his sight went. Helga will say the same thing in
"April Fools' Day".
- Yet another "we gotta do something, Gerald".
- Eat your heart out Sasha (of As Told By Ginger "fame"), because
Arnold's just done some dog birthing.
- Subway song that sounds a lot like "We Are the World". Glad they
just went straight to the second story before it overstayed its
welcome.
- Quotables: "No subway for me, I'm not taking the subway... I can't
believe I'm taking the subway" (Helga) "The train stopped" "No
kidding, Einstein" (Gerald and Helga) "I'm the only excop in this town
brave enough to take on this job" (Grandma, on the stuck subway car)
"When the sun goes down, stay above ground" (Gerald, on why not to go
on the subway)

"Wheezin' Ed"
- Today's urban legend: The haunted caves of Wheezin' Ed. No lead in
from Sid though.
- Lots of knowledge on caves from (who else?) Phoebe here. And for the
first time since "Operation Ruthless", here's a good sign of Gerald
and Phoebe hooking up.
- 1st mention of Elk Island, and the first appearances from Sheena's
uncle Earl (man, her family really gets the short shrift) and Vic and
Morrie.
- Yet again, Helga briefly entertains herself with the idea of a
confession (gee, why else would she pair herself up with someone she
is imaged as hating?). What took her so long for it to actually
happen, I wonder?
- Sid's hair is stringy this time when he takes off his cap.
- Weird that Arnold manages to get out without the jellybean path to
guide him... meanwhile, here comes a second-rate Indiana Jones parody!
- Uh, Phoebe, that's a flashlight, not a sword. We'll later learn
where she got her sword-fighting abilities from in "Phoebe Cheats".
- Brainy pops up in an unlikely place again (and has very little to
say, as usual). How the heck does he get around?
- Quotables: "Great idea, Einstein" (Helga on Arnold and jellybeans)
"You throw like a girl" "You throw like a short shrimp with arms and
stringy hair" (Rhonda and Sid throwing balls) "It's the geek patrol"
(Helga, on Arnold, Gerald and Sid) "(Sid jumps into Rhonda's arms)
Hey, wait a minute (cymbal sting)" (Rhonda sees a bucket of fried
chicken) "It's Wheezin' Ed! AHHHH" (Wait... it's just Brainy, again)
"What are you doing here?" "Uh... something" (Helga and Brainy) "It's
Wheezin' Ed! And, it's some other guy" (Sid and the gang run into Vic
and Morrie... probably one of the greatest lines of season one) "So,
there's no Wheezin' Ed?" "I don't know, I just don't know" (Cue
coughing noises over a shot of the cave as the story ends)

An extra note for "Benchwarmer": In this story, Gerald swaps his red
"33" shirt for... a basketball uniform with "33" on it. Which reminds
me: in the very first ep's second story "Eugene's Bike", Arnold has a
flashback in which Gerald is wearing a "3" shirt.

[Steve Mindykowski]

Post by ungvichian
"Das Subway"
- I don't get it: why the German-ish title?

The title was a spoof of the 1981 German film "Das Boot" ("The Boat"),
abut a German U-Boat (submarine) crew in World War II. See:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082096/plotsummary

[ungvichian]

Today on Hey Arnold!, "Tutoring Torvald" and "Gerald Comes Over".

"Tutoring Torvald":
- Of course, we meet the titular Torvald for the first time. He's a 13
year old whose best grade is a C in arts ("See how he stayed in the
lines?"), but like Harold, he's quite the school bully. Speaking of
bullies, where were Harold and Helga? Not just this story, but the
next to boot.
- Arnold attempts to fill E/I requirements, even if at the time the ep
was made, they didn't even exist yet, by telling a shortcut on how to
multiply in the 9's table.
- 2 big Arnold grins in this one (even if one of them is a "heh-heh"
sort of grin).
- This is the first story that takes place in the context of Arnold's
education, and thus, here we have Mrs. Slovak. He learns in room 206
at PS 118 (and we see the Est. 1932 AD sign again in this ep), and in
this ep it's 3 rows of 4 chairs (this will change from ep to ep).
- Uh, Arnold, if you don't know math, you can't even go to the next
grade (much less get a job at NASA, on Wall Street, etc.).
- Peering in the window during Torvald's tutoring session: Iggy,
Gerald and Sid.
- Torvald's place: One word: Torvie? Also, a note has been left next
to the fridge saying 550-0327.
- The kid with one missing tooth is referred to as Joey.
- Quotables: "What is 3 x 3? ... Torvald?" "Uh, 33" (Slovak and
Torvald) "You're 13, don't you want to be with your friends?" "You
mean in juvenile hall?" (Slovak and Torvald again) "If he beats you,
just lay down and stay down" (Gerald's advice on Torvald) "OK snazz
boy, tutor me" (Torvald wants to get things started) "Math is bogus"
"It's not bogus: if you don't know math you can't do anything in the
real world" (Arnold then launches into some "fantasies" for Torvald)
"All this time I just thought it was business (cymbal sting)" (Torvald
on his calculation of money extorted being "math") "(to Slovak) About
Torvald" "(walking in) What about Torvald?" "(seeing him) He's gonna
be a little late" (Torvald enters 206)

"Gerald Comes Over":
- The first ep title that is in sentence form.
- Nice house there... Anyhow, we first get to meet the Johansen
family, practically making Gerald the 2nd character to have had his
last name revealed (even if he hasn't been identified as Gerald
Johansen yet). Mrs. Johansen is seen as the mother of the household
for the first time (last time she was the clerk in "Helga's Makeover",
this time, she's blowing whistles). Meanwhile, we have our first
meeting with his sibs Timberly (ID'd, and aged as 4 years old), Jamie
O (not ID'd) and dad Martin (not ID'd).
- Gerald blows milk out of his nose! :-D
- Some guy complains about 13 boarders and 1 bathroom.
- One of the boarders is named Mr. Purdy. Clearly named for Joseph
Purdy, who does his voice here. Wait till you actually see an ep he
wrote (he'll later be credited as writing some eps... he in fact
sticks around all the way to the end). All we ever see during their
little converstaion, tho, is Gerald listening to the two through the
keyhole at the door: BTW, nice jewelled doorknob.
- Other boarders we meet in some capacity: Mr. Hyunh (room 21), Mr.
Smith ("He's very private"... looking at all those cameras and the
underfloor safe, no kidding!), and the Koskoshas, Suzie and Oskar
(room 9... and she says that she should have listened to her mom and
married an orthodontist).
- Nice attempt to simulate the "fish-eye" effect of a peerhole
(remember, the show was still drawn on cels at this point).
- Grandpa is reading "The Book of Lisps" (a take on "The Book of
Lists", apparently). Meanwhile, Grandma is chasing a fly and calling
Arnold "Kimba" and Gerald "Col. Bingham".
- Didn't we have a conversation like this in "Eugene's Bike"? The type
that goes: "Sorry you had such a bad day" "Are you kidding?".
- Quotables: "Just remember. Everyone is essentially harmless"
(Arnold, on the boarders) "Every brick tells a story" (Ernie, on
demolition) "Why fight when you know you're gonna make up?" (dinner
time) "Your house kicks" (Gerald, on the Arms)
- The casting credits don't explicitly separate between the eps.

[ungvichian]

"Spelling Bee" / "Pigeon Man" thoughts follow.

"Spelling Bee":
- After a looooong pause (what, daydreaming again?), Arnold hits
"nuclear" in the classroom to get to represent PS 118 in the City
Spelling Bee with Helga this Saturday. $500 up for grabs.
- Slovak abruptly stops making announcements to her class at the
bell... eh? And it was educationally important as well...
- Helga has a brief soliloquy, but no thoughts of confession cross her
mind. Well, this probably wouldn't have been the best time to do it
anyway...
- OK, another big grin with Arnold as he comes across the Tonemaster
5000, for $499.95. "Even with change left over."
- "I before E except after C." A well-known spelling rule, which reeks
of Charlie Brown (who himself was another fellow weird-headed one time
bee contestant).
- Big Bob's Beepers "will beat any advertised price unless it's
lower"... that doesn't really make for much point. Customers will get
first beeper free this Saturday if Helga doesn't win the bee.
- The next word in Helga's practice is "clavichord". But first, let's
launch into some elaboration on her big sister Olga. Big on trophies.
First one was the City Spelling Bee trophy. Won it with "qualm"
(pronounced as "kwawm"): "q u a *L* m. The 'l' was practically silent
but she nailed it." They've been through this several times, but it's
here for foreshadowing.
- OK, the spot Bob has left for Helga is indistinct... and would
probably prove to be insufficient if she won it...
- The photo of Olga looks nothing like the Olga we all know and, well,
don't really like (she even has a one line brow above her head... not
as thick as Helga's, and not in the actual Olga eps, like the next
ep). BTW, Helga gets the word right as we head over to Arnold's.
- "Phlegm": "when you get old, it's a word you use a lot," says
Gramps. Gramps also says: "The only think that can beat you is your
attitude."
- "Welcome Speelers!" We have some pep talks. Helga's includes her
being given her big sis's winner's huge medal for good luck. :-D
- We kick off the proceedings... with a misspelling of "glacial"
("glaciel"). And we go through the proceedings so darn fast ("They're
dropping like flies"), we only hear a handful of the words being
spelled...
- ...three of which are "sanctimonious" (Helga), "philately" (Arnold)
and "velocipede" (Helga).
- Down to three. And then there were two after Seymour Stump (who
looks a bit like Iggy) gets "pasquinade"... and gets DQ'd for having a
"hearing aid". "I'm just a pawn in the system, I'm innocent", yada
yada yada, where have I heard this before?
- OK, time for some insurance policy. Bob has check for $500. Arnold
has fantasies of Ruth and an electronic "clavichord" (to use a word
that's been spelled). ... No deal. Arnold crumples up Bob's check and
hits "onomatopoeia" (which Arnold had tough times spelling in
practice). No matter, Helga's next word is "qualm" (here it's
pronounced "kwallm") and given the story above, it should be a gimme,
especially since Helga remembers to put in an "l". ... Nope. It's a
repeat of Charlie Brown where Brown himself missed a gimme: Beagle
("beagel").
- "What?!?" Yeah, I'm wondering that too! Wondering how, if Helga
could plainly see (well, maybe not) that Arnold wasn't falling for
Bob's check (which gives no surname for the football head) and was
willing to fight to the end, and her word was a gimme, AND that she'd
reached a point where it would be impossible to miss without anyone
noticing ("x"?... not that anyone actually did, tho) why did she then
decide to so blatanly obviously miss that very word instead of "taking
her chances" with the next one?
- The judges noticed the "hearing aid", but weren't wondering why
Arnold suddenly disappeared for a while before crumpling a piece of
paper on stage, or what said piece of paper was? For that matter, they
oughta investigate into curtains being ripped...
- Dad tries to use "insurance" with cheating, the kid somewhat
disappointed that dad doesn't believe s/he can do it on his/her own
and decides to lose to make a point... didn't this happen in RP's
"Race Across New Zealand", with Theodore and his dad Chester (the
diff: Theodore plays along with dad by taking a snowboarding shortcut
and finishes first BUT DQ's himself by telling all about his cheat as
he comes up for his prize)? And BTW, Theodore was voiced by Michael
Welch, who does the voice of Curly in the recently aired in full for
the first time "Curly's Girl" (oh yeah, congrats that "The Racing
Mule" also aired in full this week).
- Enough discussion, back to the story. No more words, folks, because
Arnold is the winner (even tho in other bees, he would still have to
spell another word), and whoa, what a trophy! But, uh, I guess he
never got around to buying that keyboard.
- Helga will get another chance to fill that empty spot in "Phoebe
Takes The Fall". However, her bid to win a trophy for that spot will
fall MUCH shorter than this attempt.
- Quotables: "If I win, I lose. If I lose, I lose..." (so what's
Helga's problem?) "...there's nobody in the world with worse luck than
me..." (cue Eugene who bikes into a can Helga kicked and then into
some pit bulls) "That's why, we'll love you no matter how you do"
(Gramps, seeing Arnold has problems with "onomatopoeia") "They're saps
and suckers. That medal is ours" (Big Bob to Helga on other
contestants) "If you lose, you win. If you try to win, you'll probably
lose" (Big Bob to Arnold about $500 check) "We went through his story
a million times" "Gee, we did?" (Big Bob incredulous over Helga
missing what should be a gimme word, above) "I guess you'll need this
for good luck" (Helga gives medal to Big Bob) "I'm free..." (free from
what, Helga???)

"Pigeon Man" (written as two words):
- From Arms boarder to Arnold writer: Mr. Purdy, Joseph Purdy that is,
writes his first ep. And Mr. Purdy has chickens in his room, so it's a
bit of a coincidence that his first ep is also about winged folk:
Pigeons. It takes about 10-20 seconds before the title decides to pop
up.
- Let's meet Lester, Fester, and Chester. Arnold's pigeons. Why would
he use them to carry messages tho (like he does here, using Chester to
send one to Gerald)? "There's this little invention called 'the
telephone'," says Helga.
- Phoebe's E/I for today: Carrier pigeons can go up to 40 mph.
- Chester's sick (what a catch, Arnold), so time for an urban legend:
"Pigeon Man". Lead him in Sid! (And he uses the more familiar "kid
generation to kid generation" spiel for the first time.)
- A deranged man in a chicken suit: brings up some weird images, no?
- Another "bold" comment, precedes the first visit. I wouldn't want to
go there myself. Creepy. Not sure if I could trust some guy with a 5
o'clock shadow in an aviator helmet either.
- Well, second visit. "Pigeon Man" refers to himself as Vincent (the
voice actor is also named Vincent, Vincent Schiavelli, but in the
credits, he's listed only as "Pigeon Man"). Has pizza with Arnold.
Likes mushroom pizza but thinks pineapple bits in pizza are strange.
- Joey, Harold and Stinky (who has a few "bites") have some fun with
the pigeons and Vincent's stuff while he's not around, and get chased
around by the birds (hey, are you trying to do a Hitchcock homage?)
- After one of those dreary "I'll be there" speeches (wonder who was
the first to do something like this?) Vincent leaves his rooftop
(another legend bites the dust), and I guess he must have read Roald
Dahl, since he's borrowing from "James and the Giant Peach". Just
don't try it yourself OK?
- "Wash your berries before you eat them and always fly towards the
sun..." And it's a different piece of music to play us out today.
- "You two would probably get along" (Helga to Arnold on "Pigeon Man"
being a freak) "What'd he say, coo coo cjoo?" (Helga quotes The
Beatles, on Arnold speaking with "Pigeon Man") "Time, patience, and
the right berries" (is how "Pigeon Man" cures sick pigeons like
Chester) "It's people I don't understand" (Vincent, on all the damage)

Leftovers:
"Operation Ruthless": When you consider that the bumper cars were
numbered, shouldn't Helga have at least checked who was being shoved
into what car, especially Ruth and herself with Phoebe (instead of
going by her own assumptions)?
"Tutoring Torvald":
- As Nftnat already said in his notes for this ep, Rhonda and Nadine
are playing hopscotch at the very start. "One step two step three step
four, up and down and (something) and more."
- "I hope they remembered to feed him this morning..." (Gerald on
Torvie)
"Gerald Comes Over": So Arnold stays over at the Johansens' all the
time? Eh?

[ungvichian]

Spelling Bee / Pigeon Man bonuses:
"Spelling Bee":
- I wasn't able to check (I saw that someone was also using the
digibox to record soccer highlights, read: I couldn't watch rerun of
this ep the following morning), but Don's site tells me that Phoebe
appears in the classroom for the first time here.
- Helga calls the teacher Ms. Slovak, and that's the 2nd time she's
been refered to as such after Arnold did so in "Tutoring Torvald".
- Correction, it's the Tonemaster 2000.
- The bike Eugene rides in this one: I'm not sure if that's meant to
be the same one from "Eugene's Bike" (as I said, I couldn't check).
- If Helga wanted to make her miss look like a miss... why not spell
with a double "l", so she could claim that she thought an extra "l"
was needed since it was pronounced with the "l"?

"Pigeon Man":
- Addition/correction to Phoebe's E/I: Carrier pigeons can navigate
through large urban areas at an average speed at 40 mph.
- If Vincent never leaves the rooftop, where the heck does he get all
those berries from? Which BTW, they look like the berries Arnold and
Gerald had in "Roughin' It" (then again, you've seen one berry, you've
seen 'em all).

[ungvichian]

I had to watch the rerun the following morning, but here are the notes
for "Olga Comes Home" and "Sally's Comet".

"Olga Comes Home":
- Slovak makes an announcement: Olga Pataki, her most succesful
student, is coming over to town for spring break. So it's out first
chance to really get to know Olga: Spelling Bee champ, big trophy
winner, and now, straight A's since 3rd (she's never even got an A-...
isn't that the same as B+?). Well, that's gonna change, sort of...
- Olga's arrived at the Patakis' place and she looks much different
from when she won the bee... For starters, no one-line brow like in
the Spelling Bee win photo. And she's also won "The Lunch Drama
Award".
- It's the "I'm moping because I'm a straight A student who just got a
B" cliche again, even if it's a B+ (in Elizabethean Poetry). Must be
hard to change a printed A to a printed B+, right? (But maybe the
Patakis have a typewriter stashed somewhere?) BTW, Phoebe would never
have the indignity of getting a B (or B+) in the series' 6 years.
- Personal note: I have a big sis who was a perfectionist in college,
and she too would be dismayed at getting a B or B+... because the
friends at the faculty she went to had such high standards.
- Helga heimlichs herself while she's eating chocolates! Also, look
for the second "bucko" of the series, below.
- Miriam, a blender, a lemon: "How about we make some smoothies?"
- Helga walks through what is a well known painting (the one with
melted clocks).
- Quotables: "Stuck in her shadow, sweet revenge... stuck, revenge....
no contest" (Helga decides to redo Olga's grades) "When you get old
the brain cells are the first to go" (Helga on Olga's B+ in Poetry)
"She can't be moping all day" "Yes she can... I do" (Big Bob and
Miriam, on Olga moping) "One for Helga... none for Olga" (Helga eats
chocolates) "What do you know? Olga's a witch" (Helga to Arnold on her
sister) "If only I could that kind, but I'm not so that's that"
(Helga, on Arnold's advice) "Even when she's out of the way, she still
ruins everything for me" (Helga on her parents' concern for Olga) "Ah,
much better" (Helga slams door on Olga) "What's it like to fly?" "It's
OK" (Arnold the angel in fantasy sequence) "Everything's back to
normal, bucko" (Helga tells the truth: Olga really did have straight
A's, and now it's back to the parents praising Olga and punishing
Helga) "I have to perform recitals as if I was some windup doll...
you're lucky that they don't even notice you" (Olga on herself then
Helga) "Tomorrow let's spend the day together, just you and me"
(Olga's plans for tomorrow... aw, ain't that cute?)

"Sally's Comet":
- Another delightful piece from the Arms boarder, Mr. Purdy. Spoofing
Halley's Comet of course.
- Speaking of which, Halley's has a 76-year cycle. Sally's isn't much
shorter: 70 years.
- Stinky manages to work in "bites" in a sense that doesn't mean
"suck".
- They're eating Sugar Chunks, previously mentioned in "The List".
- Cutting boxtops to get telescope, one person who wants to just dump
the cereal and cut the tops... isn't this an ep of Angry Beavers, "Box
Top Beavers"?
- Flashback to the days of when Phil's dad was still around and when
Hillwood wasn't as bustling, with dad pouring water over a gaslight.
But what the heck is it that he says as the comet passes? "23 hookum"
or something?
- To whoever it is who thought that the telescope package would have
mentioned Arnold by first and last name: it says simply Arnold, 4040
Vineland.
- "Hey Phil, ever been to Hawk Mountain?" Gerald mentions Grandpa's
real name for the first time in the series (first time it's been said
anywhere actually). And the accompanying audio flashback is hilarious.
- The clock on Phil's dashboard reads 7:34pm as they're at MJZZ, where
we have our first "in the flesh" meeting with MJZZ DJ Nocturnal Ned.
BTW, the comet is tonight at 8:16pm.
- Phil laughs at Ned's real voice. At least he didn't say a bad word
on air when he thought he wasn't... (there's this urban legend about a
DJ who was supposedly fired for doing just that) Meanwhile, speaking
of words you shouldn't say: "I won't be, because I'll be... you know"
(Phil, on the next time Sally's comet comes along, Arnold and Gerald
will be watching)
- Phil refers to the clock tower as Big Barney. And it's coming up
to... 8:16pm.
- Lights out everywhere.... whoa. Not a bad cel animated comet at all.
- Lou Rawls is in credits as one of the cast. BTW, it seems that
lumping the two stories' casts together has become a permanent thing.
- Quotables: "70 years? Where is it the rest of the time?" (Gerald on
the comet) "Eat cereal, get a telescope. What a country" (Oskar) "I'm
sick of all these football headed schemes" (Helga, sick of cereal and
milk) "There are children who are starving" "I'm starving right here"
(Arnold on why not just dump the cereal and Harold) "Turn off ya
lights!" (Gerald telling the populace) "Dad, if only those lights
weren't burning so bright" "I can take care of that" (Phil's dad pours
water on gaslight so Phil can see the comet) "I fell off the mountain
and broke every bone in my body" (Phil sure has interesting memories
of Hawk Mountain...) "Man, this is insane!" (Gerald on traffic to Hawk
Mountain) "Too bad you can't do that on the air, now excuse me, I have
to go back on live..." (Ned has a "whoops, looks like they did" look
on his face as he sees the "on the air" indicator is already on)
"Would you stop callin' me Phil?!" (Phil to Gerald, last line of the
ep)

OK, what a week. This week, we saw retarded bully Torvald smug over
getting a C+ (Tutoring Torvald), and perfectionist Olga mope over
getting a B+ (Olga Comes Home). We learned (in Smith's case, again)
the existence of some boarders who, well, we only get to know the
existence of (Purdy, Smith), and we saw (in all cases, again) the
boarders we know better (Hyunh, the Kokoshas, Ernie). We saw Arnold
spell correctly a 6 syllable word ("onomotopoeia"), and we saw Helga
miss a 5 letter word ("qualm", OK, she missed it on purpose, but a
miss is a miss). And after not making an appearance in the previous 12
eps, Slovak appeared in the first stories each of all 3 eps this week.
All I can say: What a week of extremes it's been, folks.

And some extras:
- Torvald looks a bit like he could pass off as a character on The
Simpsons with the proper skin tone...
- Math test. Torvie's alone, clearly having trouble. Arnold picks up
Joey and does a mock punch. Does anyone else caption this as: "If you
don't pass this test I'm gonna punch his teeth out"?
- Purdy: Pets are OK according to the Sunset Arms sign, but why is
Arnold questioning him about raising a chicken?

[ungvichian]

"False Alarm":
- Not much to write about here, but it's the first time we get into
how nutty Curly is. Here, he;s voiced by Adam Wylie for the first
time, as some Steve Hartman did his voice way back in "Downtown as
Fruits".
- Helga mentions WrestleMania a couple times.
- First mention of Eugene's last name Horowitz (HORE-uh-wits). And
that's Principal Wartz, right?
- Stinky as Eugene's "lawyer" :-D
- OK, who else saw the pencil, ahem, being major evidence, coming? And
who else figured that since Curly appeared in Harold's account of the
story, he might, ahem, have had something to do with it?
- BTW, real courts don't find the defendant "innocent", they find them
"not guilty".
- And speaking of the pencil: Wankyland? Wonder how that went with the
Brits?
- During the final scene or so, I believe I saw Ruth and Nadine (but
Nadine has brown-ish hair and not her regular blonde). Why would Ruth
be here?
- We learn of the existence of someone named Squeaky Peterson... we
will later find out that this is also Stinky's last name.
- We also learn that Eugene wears (dorky, with tape over the bridge)
glasses (well, on Tuesdays... why is it then that we tend to see him
without his specs?).
- Speaking of characters who normally don't wear glasses seen wearing
them, we'll see another in "Rhonda's Glasses". And speaking of Curly
going, well, a bit too far, he'll do it again in "Curly Snaps".
- During some of the scenes where Arnold is sitting behind a table, I
could swear that I saw a small gap between Arnold and the table.
- For an 11 minute story, this sure felt long... well, whattaya know,
I managed to write a lot. And yet another "You're a bold kid" ends the
thing.
- Quotable: "Fudgy Nut Bar?" "It's on the back" (Helga reads Harold's
verdict) "Out of my way, I'm a certified CPR" (Helga kicks Harold in
the butt) "We should sacrifice our own personal pleasures to make sure
that Eugene gets a fair trial" (Arnold has "reasonable doubt"... not
sure of quote tho)

"World Records":
- Helga spews stuff on Saskatchewan (sa-SCAT-chuh-won as opposed to
Arnold's SASS-cut-chew-one): Is it just me, or isn't this supposed to
be Phoebe's "domain"? And yes, there is a town called "Moose Jaw" in
that province.
- Arnold reads entry about Frannie Caudell (ka-DELL) walking
backwards: another attempt to hide the crew in the show, as Arnold was
(at the time) voiced by Toran Caudell (and to top it off, quite a few
people refer to Helga's actress as Frannie).
- Arnold and Gerald don't take a bath :-D
- OK, who else groaned at Arnold's inclusion for "the most attempts to
get listed"? Besides the fact that stories like these tend to end this
way, my personal gripe is that Sri Chimnoy actually *broke* more
records than I saw them attempt (he's broken about 70 something
records). Most determined, my butt...
- OK, walking backwards, bouncing ball on head (this record is proudly
owned by a Thai, thank you, as well as the "living with scorpions"
mentioned in the story), hula hooping, days without bathing, pyramid
of kids, most kids in some game (didn't catch what it was), most kids
on bike (another "I'm fine" moment from Eugene), and a pizza puff.
That's 8 attempts, and only 4 of them were with the other kids.
- And I think that the proper word for pizza puff is "calzone" (BTW,
nice cutting with car keys there, Gerald).
- Eugene, Eugene. He always seems to be the weakest link in anything.
And here comes another "This-a really bites" from Stinky...
- Harold has a big grin after tasting Phoebe's tomato sauce while
sitting on a horsey at a supermarket... that's how "bust" their puff
was.
- Re Phoebe's knowledge of Italian sauces: what, is she a cook too?
- Yet another brief Helga soliloquy.
- Nadine (who also appears, with the regular blonde, during the pizza
puff making scenes) could be seen with brown hair again, this time,
over the final shot (with the Executive Producer's credit).
- In both halves of this ep, Helga calls Gerald "Geraldo" (like the
talk show host). Also, Eugene says "I'm fine" in both halves.
- Quotable: "This isn't a book of world records: this is a book of
morons!" (Helga, on the book that Arnold is reading) "Ten square
pounds" (is what Sid thinks "tsp." stands for) "Maybe we're not
special, maybe we're not unique" (Gerald, after their pizza puff blew
up), "I knew it all along" (Helga, on Arnold's determination to get
in), "I'm gonna set my own record... Who's in?" "Uh... I'm in" (Harold
and Brainy) "You sure did it alright, we're still cleaning up" (Oskar
is still cleaning up tomato sauce from their pizza puff some time
later)

Due to personal business (like Chinese New Year: dinner with my
elders), I might not get to catch the next ep ("Magic Show" / "24
Hours to Live") on Wednesday.

[ungvichian]

This Wednesday, I had Chinese New Year dinner with my elders (my
Grandpa and Grandma, and no, my Grandma isn't as kooky as Pookie, in
case you're asking). So, no "Magic Show" / "24 Hours to Live", but we
do have bonus notes on "False Alarm" / "World Records" instead:
- Here's something you don't see everyday: Harold without his cap (the
jury are using it to hold the verdicts). For a head that big, he sure
has a small cap. Hmm, about whom have I heard that before? ;-)
- Eugene, wouldn't it have been more helpful if you said to the jury
et al right during the trial that you were tripped and pushed into the
broom closet (and you would have been aware of all this), instead of
just saying that you didn't do it?
- Arnold asks the kids "who wants to do another attempt to break a
record?"... Eugene in wheelchair: "I'm game" :-D
- Watch out for Phoebe giggling as Arnold mentions her "encyclopedic
knowledge of Italian sauces". Reason: One fan in the Philippines,
Ardee Blancas, liked the giggle so much, he recreated it in Flash for
his website. Here it is:
http://www.geocities.com/ardee_blancas/AHPMain.htm (it'll be at the
lower left of the page... and BTW check out his "recreation" of a
scene from "Girl Trouble").

[ungvichian]

Some more notes from "False Alarm" / "World Records":

"False Alarm": With all the attempts to pin the blame on Eugene, it
appears that the jury forgot one important thing: a motive, that is,
why the heck would Eugene want to pull the alarm (well, on purpose)?
"World Records":
- I can see how Stinky's ability to roll a sleeping bag tight could be
practical (besides in making big calzones, for example, camping), but
I don't see the practicality in Gerald's ability to cut vegetables
with a car key...
- And speaking of Gerald, his mom gets a mention, providing the flour
and vegetables for the calzone.
- Why would you put injury prone Eugene at the bottom of a pyramid?
- A few more quotables: "I don't wanna burn my belly" (Gerald, on
flaming bar limbo) "How many windmills have to knock you on your
butt?" (Helga, on Arnold's persistent attempts to get listed)
And a leftover from "Spelling Bee": Big Bob, on his $500 check: "It's
more like just making sure that the kid who's the best speller really
wins"... hmm, wonder if Helga used a similar excuse for withdrawing
from the Academic Bowl in "Phoebe Takes The Fall"?

[ungvichian]

We go the full 22 minutes today on Hey Arnold!, with Arnold's
Christmas.

- First, no regular titles sequence, instead, a sequence that seems to
have scenes lifted from "Snow" (I recognized the pan up to the bridge
from the end of the ep for example). The credits proceed in the same
way as the regular titles, and then the ep's credits, something like
this:
Hey Arnold! (followed by Nick logos in foreign syndication) / Created
/ Developed / Arnold's Christmas (in a larger font and with no speech
marks like in other eps) / Written / Story / Music / Directed
- Gerald's hair spends practically the entire ep in a cloth bag. What,
did his mom cut his hair? ;-)
- Quite a few of the Arms boarders aren't here even if Grandpa says
they're all here, I guess they went on Christmas vacation... but here
we have Ernie and the Koshkoshkas (mentioned by last name for the
first time I heard) and of course Hyunh.
- OK, Mr. Hyunh's name gets mentioned (and it's written on a slip of
paper) for the first time (and it's pronounced like "win"), and we
delve into his life story. Apparently, he lived in another country (in
"Snow" he said he was from Vietnam, but does not say so here, lest
Nick give the kids any idea about the Vietnam War), and there was war
going on in the north (thus fitting Vietnam to a T), and he gave up
his daughter "Mai" to some soldiers (there was only room for her on a
chopper). He would like to have the two together, but it took 20 years
for dad just to get out of Vietnam and come here. Arnold being his
secret Santa, he feels that he's responsible...
- For that to happen tho, he'll have to do some Christmas shopping for
some guy named Mr. Bailey, at the Bureau of Information (he'll appear
again in the film), and Bailey will do a search. And most of the whole
thing will be cruxed on a pair of "Nancy Spumoni" snowboots.
- Speaking of which, at one point when Arnold looks at Bailey's list
and sees that the boots are the only thing left, there are a few other
items that haven't been crossed out... but maybe he'll cross them out
later (which he apparently does, BTW)?
- Meanwhile, Helga is spending practically the entire show wondering
what to get Arnold. Cliche, eh? Quite a few soliloquys from Helga
here. While this is going on, Helga (after a run-in) gets hold of
Arnold and Gerald's little list, and that'll come in handy later.
- While Helga was eavesdropping over Arnold and Gerald's conversation
(nice speech on Gerald's part, BTW), I saw a poster saying "Saigon
Helicopter" in the BG. Hmmm...
- Sigh, it's just like the bad guy in Antitrust said, you're either a
1 or a 0, and at the moment, it looks like that Arnold (for once, or
twice if you count his attempt to repair "Eugene's Bike") is a 0 (if
you know what I mean). Cue flashbacks.
- We head over to the Patakis (they're all here, and Olga is IIRC in
the same outfit we saw her in in "Olga Comes Home"). We see that her
mom is named Miriam (as Helga refers to her as that, but she also
refers to her as Mom a couple seconds later).
- Surprise, thanks to Miriam standing in line for 18 hours, Helga's
got some Nancy Spumoni boots. As she's frolicking around in the snow,
the list that she pinched earlier ever so conveniently drops out,
giving her a little moral dilemma. Betcha'll never guess in a million
years what she does with the boots!... Oh wait, you probably did.
Let's just hope someone in the Bailey household can wear those
boots...
- Ernie gets a hammer, Oskar gets coal. No surprises...
- ...that is, until we cue the dramatic reunion scene to end all
dramatic reunion scenes (okay, I'm exaggerating a bit). While Arnold
and Gerald can't seem to make sense of it, we briefly hear Hyunh
speaking Vietnamese to Mai. Meanwhile, Miriam's not gonna like Helga's
little boot giveaway...
- Helga's whisper: am I the only person reminded of "I see dead
people"?
- Wonder if it ever occurs to Arnold and Gerald to ask Bailey about
how the heck this happened? I can easily imagine what he'd say...
- Clichebuster: Not a single carol in this show (tho we do have the
Patakis singing). Then again, this being the city...
- Grandma is really bad at celebrating holidays: in the first scene at
the Arms, she yells "Happy Thanksgiving", and plays the Yankee Doodle
Dandy song (on her piano from "The List"), which is more fit for July
4. In the end scene, she's wearing a banner saying "Happy New Year".
- Second time I've hear Gramps use an old-fashioned word. He used the
term "wireless" in "Sally's Comet", here he uses the term "yuletide".
- Stores seen in the high street: Tildale's, Hoske's, Dudnick. Crew
members, perhaps? Meanwhile, Arnold and Gerald take the subway again
(despite their experiences in "Das Subway").
- Snow over the closing credits, and some cool music based on Jingle
Bells to play us out.
- Quotable: "What better time for miracles than Christmas?" (Gerald)
"Hope ya Christmas doesn't bite" (Stinky, to Helga) "...maybe we can
get you a pair by 4th of July? (laughs)" (we get the idea: the
snowboots Arnold wants are sold out: "by a weird quirk of fate", those
same boots are what Helga's wanted for ever so long) "What you did:
that's what Christmas is all about" (part of Gerald's consolation
speech to Arnold) "It's not about snowboots, it's not about flashy
presents..." (Helga to Bailey on Christmas) "Don't try to make sense
out of it Arnold, a miracle is a miracle" (Gerald) "And I thought it
was another yuletide prankster" (Grandpa on Mai)

[ungvichian]

The first ep with a 1997 date for HA!, with "Helga's Boyfriend" and
"Crush on Teacher"... both of which deal with love. Eh?

"Helga's Boyfriend":
- Never take advice from movies, I say. But here, as we open at the
Avon theater, Helga's decided to get a boyfriend just to make Arnold
jealous, a tip she's picked up from a movie she just saw there. The
"lucky one": Stinky. He'll be doing it for a Mr. Nutty candy bar per
day.
- Man, what a huge pair of earphones. Sucks to have such a wide head,
doesn't it?
- Meanwhile, Helga and Stinky are skating at "Skate Time", a skating
rink... problem: Stinky doesn't know how to skate! :-D Look out for
Ruth, again. For that matter, look out for Sid and Phoebe (who will be
later seen jumping rope in the playground).
- And next thing you know, they're coming out of the hospital after
being chased by bees. "Hey, wasn't that Helga?" "I dunno..."
- "Bucko" count: 3. See below.
- The ep ends where it began, the Avon, soon after we run into Gloria
("Gloria???") for the first time in the series. We also get a good
look at Stinky's dad, and it appears that their home is one of those
rundown suburbia houses... Well, what do you expect from having a very
deep south accent?
- Quotables: "Am-scray, bucko: see you in the funny pages, Stinko"
(Stinky has been fired from being Helga's boyfriend) "I'm crazy in
love! This really bites" (aftermath) "Don't you ever sneak up on me
again, weird-haired boy" (not sure about the last bit, but this is
what Helga says after Arnold runs into her) "I'm counting down the
minutes until we meet again... and it better be real soon" (Helga,
while carving a picture of Arnold on a tree) "I'm Helga Pataki and,
well, you're Stinky" (Helga on why the two can't get along) "Remember,
I'm a simple boy" (Stinky doesn't understand "other fish in the sea")

"Crush on Teacher":
- Some subsitute teacher named Miss Felter will be filling in for
Slovak for a couple weeks, and, well, it seems that she has a crush on
the football head...
- Tonight's homework is long division... but guess what Arnold is
being pre-occupied by? Felter, Felter, Felter.
- Another baseball game in the street... I thought that with "The
Vacant Lot" being converted to Gerald Field, they shouldn't be doing
this anymore...
- Good look at Arnold's shirt as he he takes off his sweater and turns
it backwards (and it appears that he's using it for his little date).
- Three's Company style misunderstanding, as Gerald hears that Arnold
is supposed to be at Felter's apartment this Friday... except that it
ain't the student she was referring to.
- Arnold taking style tips from Gerald. You'd think that "Cool Moves
Fo' Happenin' Dudes" (his book from "6th Grade Girls") would have
popped up somewhere, huh? "Napkins, music, lights, candy"... funny
that candy never seems to pop up during the brief date...
- Big grin: blink and you'll miss it. Meanwhile, there's an ad for
Lowtwait Natural Waters on the apartment building Felter lives in.
(cf. final shot of "Cool Jerk")
- Quotables: "Everyone might be a poet / and might not even know it"
(Felter, on poetry) "Arnold, you got the disease" (Gerald)
"Know-it-all football head math boy" (Helga's reaction to Arnold doing
long division) "Wait, what is his last name?" (at the end of Helga's
soliloquy... at this point, she could say the same thing about Stinky
and Sid) "Sometimes, my pants, they talk" (Arnold hid a walkie talkie
in there) "What can you do? Just go with the flow" (Gerald's advice
for Arnold's date) "I like Arnolds... Don't stop being Arnold"
(Felter's last bit of advice to Arnold as he meets Arnold Skelter,
Felter's fiancee) "You set a fine table, senorita (purr!)" (both
Arnold and Skelter say that at one point to Felter)

Is it just me, or did the credits (in general) get a bit more
orange-y? For that matter, it seems that the ep credits just got a bit
larger.
Meanwhile, leftovers from Arnold's Christmas: it appears the snow in
"Snow" was rendered in the traditional method (we even had some
flakes, too), but in Arnold's Christmas, the snow in the background of
the final scene (and the credits) appears to be computer generated.
BTW, it appears to be the first time Gerald is refered to as Tall Hair
Boy.

[ungvichian]

Today on HA!, "Coach Wittenberg" and "Four-Eyed Jack" (not the most
well-known of episodes around these parts, I see...)

"Coach Wittenberg":
- Previously on HA!, Wittenberg was coach for Arnold's basketball team
in "Benchwarmer", and Arnold makes sure we remember that (tho he now
says "YMAA" and not "YMMA" as we saw in "Benchwarmer"). Today he's...
a janitor at a bowling alley.
- "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Only that it's Arnold saying
that and not Gerald.
- Well, we delve into his "rich" history with his wife Tish. After
that, he's just gotten himself a coaching job... juvenile bowling. On
our team are Arnold, Gerald, Rhonda, Eugene and Harold.
- Harold throws ball into a Yahoo! machine. We'll see another mention
of Yahoo! (the soda) in the other story.
- We get a first name for the coach now, Jack.
- If you're owned by Viacom, I guess you can get away with using names
of other Viacom properties: Wittenberg says "Music Television VJs",
while he's showing Rhonda a "Fifteen" magazine... and is anyone here
old enough to remember the Nick soap with that title? (has flashbacks
to promos for that show with the prominent voice-over "The story never
ends")
- Are bounces allowed in bowling?
- Surprise surprise. Helga's on the team the "Zephyrs" are playing,
"Helga's Angels", and who should be coaching them but Tish Wittenberg?
Meanwhile, I don't recognize any of the others...
- Didn't I see a similar end situation in The Angry Beavers ep "Alley
Oops"? Right down to "the weakest link" (then Norbert, now Eugene)
falling flat on his face on throwing the ball.
- Trivia for the times: final score 582-581 (guess which one's which!
;-)). Since it's 5 on 5, that would be an average of 116 per player:
isn't that a bit too much for 9 year olds?
- "And break a nail? Yeah right" (Rhonda) "Psycho-cology" (Wittenberg)
"I'm turning over a new limb" (don't you mean "leaf", Wittenberg?)
"Strained beets" (Eugene's favorite food) "There's nothing cool about
bowling" (Rhonda)

"Four-Eyed Jack"
- OK, we have a title card with separate writer and story credits,
that's the first I've seen. Anyhow, Arnold and Gerald (cloth bag on
his hair again) are reading books about "The Purdy Boys" (throwing a
bone both to The Hardy Boys and Mr. Joseph Purdy) and Phil gives them
some milk and cookies (just like he offered Arnold some in "Spelling
Bee")...
- ... as he launches into another tall tale, that of "Four-Eyed Jack"
and how he blew up making bean dishes. Yawn.
- Next thing you know, they're investigating weird noises and stuff.
Yawn some more. Things like Oskar and Suzie arguing (so what's new?)
and Hyunh gargling.
- Hyunh's fridge, while he was reaching for a halibut: I see a can of
Yahoo Cold in there...
- Wonder how Phil managed to build that bathroom without anyone
noticing...
- It's a cliche isn't it? After something supernatural is effectively
dismissed, the viewer (sometimes, one of the characters) discovers
that it is indeed genuine. Gerald wakes up to Four-Eyed Jack here, and
previously there was "Wheezin' Ed" and "Haunted Train", and I've also
seen that ep of CatDog with the aliens (cringe).
- And most of the backgrounds in this story look like they were
painted on rough art paper or something (I could see the bumps in the
paper quite clearly).
- Quotables: "It stunk up to high heaven" (on Jack and refried beans)
"I'll be in the commode: your grandma made raspberry cobbler tonight"
(Phil makes another mention of his problems with raspberries) "Don't
mock my family traditions" (Oskar) "I'm not going anywhere without The
Old Equalizer" (Ernie and his hammer)

Leftovers:
- Arnold's Christmas: Wonder how long it takes Helga to put on that
cap of hers?
- "Spelling Bee": Looking at the closing credits of the above ep, I
see that Joey Paul (who according to Don's cast list, had a speaking
role in this particular story) is credited as Cast Director. And Don
will probably say something like "Nothing new here: writer Steve
Viksten does the voice of Oskar". Problem is, is Joey a he or a she?

[ungvichian]

Today on HA!, "Tour De Pond" and "Teachers' Strike". Apologies if this
appears twice.

"Tour De Pond":
- Who the heck is Rick Gitelson?
- OK, so some guy named Rex Smythe (pronounced with an "eye" sound in
the middle) Higgins is competing in the Tour De Pond motorized boat
race. BTW, the Higgins family owns the park.
- Clichewatch: Phil flashes back to the sudden sinking of his boat,
the SS Gibraltar, in this race 70 years ago and how Rex's grandpa
drilled holes in his boat (never mind why Phil didn't make a protest).
Now Arnold and Rex are at it this time around. It's offspring vs.
offspring, folks.
- And am I the only person reminded of Rocket Power's "Race Across New
Zealand"? Right down to the fact that the older guy lost only because
the other cheated.
- Well, that old boat's still around, and they're fixing it up for
this year's race (and don't forget putting some bug spray in it). And
adding sails, and they won't just be for show, thank you...
- Actual raceday. Nadine, Curly, Robert and Rhonda among others are
all here today, and are competing. Your announcers for the day are
Phoebe and Sid. Event sponsored by Yahoo (the fictional soda, not the
real-life search engine) and The Hobby Hut.
- No wonder why Rex won 4 years straight... I don't think that
something like that should be allowed in this boat race... and
definitely not whirlpool making.
- And I don't think that the Gibraltar sailing out of that whirlpool
would be allowed by the laws of physics.
- OK, and it's a tie between Arnold and Rex in the heats (great, now
they're protesting)... but there are only those 2 in the final, so
what the heck happened to the other heats?
- Gee. Rex cheating for the sake of family honor... "Race Across New
Zealand", anyone? But busting the remote shouldn't affect the motor...
well, besides making it not spin.
- OK, Rex is racing with the afterburners off and eating shrimp.
Meanwhile, the wind is picking up, and there the Gibraltar goes...
- And with Rex's afterburners unavailable, guess what happens. C'mon,
guess ;-) OK, you probably didn't see the sinking boats coming... But
what's gonna stop them from recovering it?
- Cue iris out on the rivals shaking hands. So it's 2 competitions, 2
wins (after the "Spelling Bee"). Make that three when he enters the
neighborhood "Eating Contest".
- Quotables: "As a matter of fact, my family does own the park" (Rex,
to Gerald saying that he behaves as if he owned the park) "What are
you gonna compete with, that ship shaped head of yours?" (Rex to
Arnold) "Looks like a piece of junk to me..." (Gerald, on the SS
Gibraltar) "Take that, Smythe Higgins" (the new and improved SS
Gibraltar) "So... we know each other" (Phil runs into Rex's grandpa)
"That's what cheating gets ya, Smythe Higgins" (it's a tie in the
heats) "Like I said, always have a backup plan" (Gibraltar's motor is
busted, but it has sails, and we have a strong wind!) "So passes a
gallant vessel" (the Gibraltar has won... and crashed into the other
end of the lake and sunk) "They're behaving just like... children...
It's only a boat race" (Arnold to Rex as Phil and Rex's grandpa duke
it out in the water)

"Teachers' Strike":
- Wartz is on the show for the first time since "False Alarm", making
announcements on budget cutting (like less tables, chalk, and light
bulbs), and then teaching the kids himself in the auditorium (kinda
like my own university days).
- Helga and Arnold sharing the same table :-D
- Plywood from Mitchell and Sons... another case of stuffing cast
names into the animation? (Jamie Mitchell is a crew member on this
show.)
- OK, Slovak's giving out change at the arcade, so we head over to the
bowling alley from "Coach Wittenberg" where we run into some teacher
we haven't heard from: Mr. Packenham from 5th grade, serving drinks.
He'll be in "What's Opera, Arnold?" later on.
- So from the bowling alley, we head to the aquarium from "Field
Trip", where we run into Mrs. Uberman giving tours (yet another
teacher we haven't heard from before).
- "A fine cup of Java": Sounds like a kid-friendly version of Twin
Peaks' catchphrase there...
- Not a single "bite" from Stinky today.
- Closing credits: "Slippage" remix instead of regular music, and
casting director Joey Paul (who had a speaking role in "Spelling Bee"
as one contestant's mother) is credited for a speaking role again
(Mrs. Uberman).
- Quotables: "This chalk rationing policy is ridiculous" (you said it,
Slovak) "It's like some horror movie" "It's more than a horror movie,
bucko... it's real" (Gerald and Helga) "Like a dog in a mud puddle"
(Stinky, on being victims of the system) "Coffee? That's the problem?"
(Gerald) "If it's so simple, why don't I get it?" (Stinky, on simply
going back into school and studying) "Typical administration
gobbledygook" (Slovak on Wartz's budget cuts) "Slippage, slippage"
(Wartz) "Over coffee?" "Sure" (Slovak and Wartz are going to discuss
stuff in the lounge) "Look on the bright side, there are only 65 days
to go till summer vacation" (Arnold, as we fade to the credits and the
"Slippage" remix)

[ungvichian]

OK, today's ep seems to have a theme about cooperation and
partnership. "Biosquare" and "Partners".

"Biosquare":
- Jordana Arken?
- Phoebe and Stinky present the Pavlov experiment. Instead of dogs and
food, it's Stinky and a Mr. Nutty candy bar (we heard about his love
for Mr. Nutty in "Helga's Boyfriend").
- Anyhow, Arnold and Helga are coming in all wet to talk about their
experiment, the Biosquare. Quite like the Biosphere experiment,
actually. No outside stuff.
- Helga's hoping for an easy A in science. Meanwhile, Arnold is
experimenting with cucumber seeds in a potato, two species of plants
in the same pot, and two ants of different species in the same farm
(black and red: at least Helga brought her red ant).
- On the menu: Dry kelp, trail mix, and organic celery juice. Helga:
"I'm going for pizza."
- Helga has a "real" (OK, inflatable bed), but as she gets on it, it
collapses, making it not much more than what Arnold's sleeping on...
- I don't know what Arken was intending with the "dripping water and
Helga" sequence, but it came across as being hilarious instead of
creepy.
- An Arnold/Helga ep without a soliloquy. And whatever happened to the
whole "I'll tell him when we're alone" thing? (Then again, Oskar and
Phil were watching...)
- The bell rings and we see that Sid has a volcano and that his hair
ain't stringy.
- How did Arnold get all the sand and tunnels back into the antfarm by
the end??? And why is he going for the potato while Helga's trying to
drag him onto an inflatable bed (salvaging the experiment perhaps)?
- And at least they could have stuck with the facts about the ants
without metaphoring: they didn't use a leaf, they used the half-eaten
potato.
- Quotables: "Just think, 24 hours without cable" (Phil on the
Biosquare) "No electricity, no TV, no popcorn, no deal" (Helga, on the
lack of electricity) "Nice PJs, Junior" (Helga's scathing comment on
Arnold's PJs) "For a girl you're not exactly dainty" "You're no prince
charming yourself, bucko" (Arnold and Helga) "It's science" "No, it's
breakfast" (Helga is eating a potato) "They're going for a refreshing
swim" (Oskar on the water busting) "I heard the bell again, where's my
Mr. Nutty Bar?" "The experiment's over Stinky, no more candy bars"
"This really bites, anyone got a candy bar?" (last lines of the ep
from Stinky and Phoebe)

"Partners":
- Talent show this week at PS 118. Meanwhile, news: Dino Spumoni ("The
Old Building") and his lyricist Don Reynolds have split up. They're
responsible for songs like "Magic Fingers" and "You Better Not Touch
My Gal" ("Dino Checks Out"). Cue musical number, "You Better Not Touch
My Gal" from Phil and Pookie.
- Next thing you know, Dino has entered the building. Looking for his
roots, I see. He also mentions something about the Palace Theater and
the Regent and stuff like that. He's gonna write his new album, Simply
Dino, here...
- Wait a minute, here comes Don. Looking for his roots. Simply Don.
- OK, let's see what Arnold and Gerald try out: Magic sawing show
(whoops, ripped Gerald's "33" shirt), puppets (Arnold's hand hurts
from being beaten up :-D), juggling with accordion ("Let's sleep on
it"). Meanwhile, Don and Dino are bickering because they're across
from each other at the Arms.
- Don: decent lyrics ("without Oliver Hardy / Stan Laurel wouldn't
show / there would be no romance / in a solo Romeo"), not so decent
music, Gerald sees... Dino: decent melody, not so decent lyrics ("you
need a tattoo"), Arnold sees...
- Kinda ironic that the song Don is trying to write alone is about
partnership (it's like that ep of Powerpuff Girls that begins with the
town winning an award for teamwork, and has the girls bickering... and
*doesn't* end with them teaming up to fight a monster... except in
reverse)... And without *what* would Clark still be in the loo?
- Now Arnold and Gerald thinking poetry reading. Gerald's had enough
of listening to Arnold's ideas, and he's taking another route home.
- OK, Arnold runs into Dino again, who's now admitting to sucking as a
lyricist... and being too proud to apologize to Don. Same deal with
Gerald, who runs into Don again, who this time is admitting that he
sucks at music, but (gee, what a shock :-|) he's not willing to
apologize to Dino.
- Arnold and Gerald have a run-in. Surprise, they apologize (cue close
up of the two hand thing they do), and notice things about Don and
Dino. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
- You guessed it. Arnold singing Don's lyrics over Gerald playing
Dino's melody. Cue apologies, Executive Producer's credit, another
look at that two hand thing, and "You Better Not Touch My Gal" to play
us out over the main credits. Nick ain't too good at cliche busting,
are they? (Though we do have it in "Arnold Saves Sid".)
- One is tempted to wonder what exactly was the tiff that got Don and
Dino split... I guess Greenberg and Viksten thought "who cares?"
- Quotables: "Everyone plays the piano for the talent show" (then why
does Gerald do it at the end?) "Are they gonna wait until the show is
over or are they just gonna beat us up right in the middle of our
act?" (Gerald on poetry reading) "I'll be penniless, but at least I'll
still have my pride" (Dino, on his refusal to apologize) "Let's never
bust up the act again" (ain't that cute? :-))

[ungvichian]

For those of you in the US, "The Big Scoop" and "Harold's Kitty" is
just a regular season 2 ep. For those of you who get their eps in
batches of 26 though, this is actually the premiere of that season.
This might explain some changes I noticed.

"The Big Scoop":
- In both stories, the title is already on the opening scene as it
fades up (as opposed to fading in about a second later, or in the case
of "Pigeon Man" about 20-30). Today's first story, written by Mr.
Purdy.
- OK, so apparently, PS 118 has its weekly paper "The Weekly Word".
Gerald and Iggy are typing and Sid is photographer. Sheena, Harold,
Phoebe, andRhonda are also staff here.
- Helga comes in with... photos of Wartz that prominently show his
butt (it's well-clothed mind you) :-D Oh yes, and a hot story: Lunch
lady serves same food over and over (hey, didn't Angelica report on
how bad the lunch man was in an ep of All Grown Up!?).
- Well, Arnold didn't like it, so Helga's splitting (and dragging
Phoebe along) to form "The Pataki Press", only 5c. First story: Arnold
in love with elm tree. While Arnold and Gerald are checking it out,
Ruth (why is she still here?) and Nadine walk past and giggle. Peapod
was also in this ep as well.
- OK, Gerald's got Sid on the phone so that he can help get a big
scoop. While they're getting theirs, Helga decides to publish a story
on the new jungle gym: it's rusty and unsafe. Taken straight from the
WW office. Also included this week: Arnold doesn't take a bath.
- Meanwhile, Sid has some blackmailing photos: Helga with a doll and
Helga sucking her thumb. Arnold's not so sure about this.
- Helga's taking some snaps of Wartz and Ernie. Apparently, walls are
going down here, and Helga's stretching it to be about tearing down
the school and putting up an amusement park.
- Our intrepid (in more ways than one ;-)) reporters are following
this lead as much as they can, even resorting to going to Wartz's
house to get the facts (and that's the emphasis of the ep, folks:
facts). Walls are going down here indeed... to build more classrooms.
Cue an embarrased Helga Pataki.
- Well, Phoebe and Helga are back at WW, and Helga seems to have not
abandoned her truth-stretching ways, as you can see in the weather
report.
- Quotables: "Here you go, odd headed editor, and don't change a word"
(Helga submits her hot story) "You can't just stretch the truth when
it's convenient" (Arnold to Helga on ethics, but since when did she
ever care?) "See you in the funny papers, bucko" (Helga splits from WW
to form own paper, and didn't she already say it in "Helga's
Boyfriend"?) "Staff?" "Listening" (she's dragging Phoebe along too)
"Start writing the obituary for a certain football head and his so
called newspaper" (ouch, Helga really does mean it) "Ah, Feebs, this
is what is journalism is all about" (Helga looks at rival paper) "It
stinks that I had to pay a nickel to read about it" (Stinky, on Arnold
not bathing) "But that's blackmail" "Exactly" (Arnold and Gerald on
Sid's photos) "I already bought cookies from those other girl scouts"
"We're not selling cookies" (Wartz and Arnold, and Gerald) "Here's
your weather report, football head" (Helga's first story upon
returning) "I was just trying to juice it up" "Facts, Helga, facts"
(the reaction to Helga's weather report)

"Harold's Kitty":
- That Arkin lady who wrote "Biosquare" gets co-credited with Viksten
on this one. Okay, Harold gets splashed by this "mean old lady".
- Nadine and some other kids are playing kickball. Oh yeah, Arnold and
Gerald too. They're not going to ask Harold to play.
- Harold is startled by a creature in a bin :-D, and Arnold finds that
it's just a kitty in the bin. Harold's gonna call it Cupcake.
- Arnold is making posters to people looking for the missing cat.
555-123?
- Harold's taking it to the zoo, and buying him pet stuff, playing
with him, stuff like that...
- And now I notice that the "H" on Harold's outer shirt (you can see
it in the titles, and in the first season eps he's in) seems to have
disappeared...
- OK, we see Harold's mom (she's telling him to scrub the rug), and
later on, Harold's dad (during their little hostage crisis).
- OK, that old lady who splashed Harold owns that kitten, and Harold
ain't giving him up easy, nope. During this little hostage crisis,
besides Harold's parents popping up, Rhonda and Sid are among the
lookers-on.
- Is it just me, or does Harold wear his regular hat in one shot, and
then wear a green bowl in the next? This is while Arnold and Harold
are talking to each other about the kitty and the old lady.
- Bald Harold alert.
- And the ep ends in the same place it started, at the old lady's
house, only that Harold's playing with the kitty. Rhonda, Sid and Park
are looking on.
- And what do you know, it's a full roll of the credits music (I
haven't heard it since "Stoop Kid"). The credits look slightly
different (more shading around the edges). Games Animation is no
longer credited, the endcaps now go: Snee Oosh (without the
association credit in the previous eps) / Nicktoons.
- Quotables: "What are you playing, your wussy kickball game?"
(Harold) "Ow, I hurt my head" (Harold again) "It's just a kitty" "I
knew that" (Harold finds the kitty) "I feel like a cupcake" (where
Harold got the idea for calling him that) "Oh no that traitor!"
(Harold sees posters for the kitty) "You're confusing me!!" (the cops
are trying to get Harold to come out, but the cops can't seem to agree
on how he's supposed to show his hands) "I still think you're a mean
old lady" "And I still think you're a rotten kid" (Harold gives back
the kitty, but he'll be allowed to come and play with him) "Um, maybe
next week, or next month" (Rhonda on asking Harold to play kickball)

[ungvichian]

Today, the first story to focus on Gerald's younger sister Timberly to
some extent, "Ransom", and the only story ever where Arnold doesn't
speak, "Ms. Perfect", featuring Lila's debut, and then some.

"Ransom":
- So it opens at the Johansens' with Tim watching a show called
"Wally", apparently, a Barney wannabe. It's just ending (judging from
the fact we see a credit roll on the TV), and this alligator guy is
singing some song which, IMO, is a jab from Greenberg on the
commercialization of kids' TV. Just before the next scene, one can
clearly hear Wally asking "Is there life on other planets?"
- OK, next scene. Gerald and Arnold are playing Clue or something like
it, with Sid and Iggy. Tim wants to play, cue typical "you wouldn't
understand" spiel.
- Anyhow, it appears that Tim's Wally doll has gone missing. Later on,
ransom note found. It puts the date of this story as June 17.
- OK, first evidence leads to the first of at least 3 character debuts
in the half hour: A chocolate wrapper leads to Chocolate Boy, some kid
who eats lots of chocolate to the point where his mouth and hands seem
permanently stained. Some bribery (and another mention of The Jolly
Olly Man) later, we have a lead to Harold at the diner.
- Diner. So it appears that Harold has his own Wally doll too, and he
bit the eye off it: "I was hungry!" He leads them to Curly.
- Well, some dark and dinky room in a rundown building with a sign
saying 1 800 GROVEL. Curly might be nuts, but he ain't their man. And
he was at (are you ready?) a ballet lesson at Madame Boutre's School
For Boys at the time the 'napping took place.
- OK, they're gonna have to pay up, and they mention Big Gino, but
they're not loaning from him, no way. We head to the park, and Gerald
putting a bag saying "Candy" in a tree. A stakeout at a nearby bush...
and some young girl with a wand and a fairy outfit takes the bag.
D'oh! It's just Tim. Don't believe me? Watch it yourself, why don't
ya? ;)
- Anyhow, apparently, all Tim wanted was to play detective. Yawn.
"Hey, this bag is empty, you were gonna trick me..."
- We'll get good focus on Tim again in "Timberly Loves Arnold", a
season 5 story.
- Quotables: "No! No one is winning" "So it's a tie?" "Yes it's a tie"
(Gerald's had it up to here with Tim asking who's winning) "Little
sisters are a real pain" (Gerald) "One, he means business. Two, he
flunked spelling (cymbal sting)" (Gerald and the ransom note) "Keep
your face clean Chocolate Boy" (Arnold gives malts to CB) "Being a
detective sure is lot of fun" (Tim as the two pursue their next lead)
"Can't I have a sensitive side?" (Harold has a Wally doll) "If you
ever call me slim again I'll knock the daylights out of you" (Harold)
"I'm gonna have to pay interest in jellybeans for the rest of my life"
(Gerald, on Big Gino) "Is this a stakeout or a meeting of the
(something) society?" (Gerald at the stakeout while Arnold is looking
at a bird) "Big brothers are a big pain" (Tim)

"Ms. Perfect":
- OK, Mr. Simmons, who won't be actually introduced as the new teacher
for a couple more eps in production order (9 to be exact), is already
teaching the class. Phoebe ID's Eli Whitney as the inventor of the
cotton gin, as well as the process of interchangeable parts (whatever
that is, something to do with mass production).
- And the 2nd of the character debuts: Lila. Country girl from
Fuzzyville. First trip to the city. "Oh man, talk about green.
("ratchet" sound effect from "Operation Ruthless")" Anyhow, Helga and
the gang (Rhonda, Phoebe, Nadine, etc.) are trying to get Lila to fit
in.
- OK, it's only been two days, and Lila seems to suddenly be
dominating: She's stealing answers from Phoebe (uh, Lila, you're not
supposed to butt in when someone else raises their hand, but yes,
Samuel Morse is the inventor of the telegraph), attention from Rhonda
("It emphasizes the girl, not the dress"... 6th graders on Lila's
dress), extra desserts from the lunch lady, and conversation in the
playground.
- While Lila's cracking the "Whatever you do, don't sell that cow..."
joke (apparently, a gag about brandy mixed with milk from what I'm
told), the girls have decided it's time for them to get serious.
- Kiwi jello + Lila's locker = Lila splat, right? Not here, since
Simmons is notifying Lila that he got her a new locker assignment. And
the third of the character debuts has future friend of Harold, Patty
Smith, get off to a not-really promising start, getting 16 lbs. of
jello splat on her. Cue Patty beating up Helga in the broom closet.
- OK, Helga (plus neck brace) takes another pot shot at Lila with
rubber lunch meat, pickle juice, and the "piece du resistance", a wax
apple. Much to the gang's jawdropping surprise, Lila's trading it with
Patty. A warning to Patty wasn't really the best idea as it leads to
another closet pummeling.
- Helga (plus neck brace, black eye and bandage) takes pot shot number
three, and this time, it actually works: "Reserved" seat (resulting in
her first "ever so much") + unhinged table + pickle juice on top of
soda machine = Really dirty Lila + Note of absence the following day
"for personal reasons" + Helga taking Lila's homework to her.
- OK, we head on over to a rundown residence (what, another one?) and
it appears that Lila's living off canned beans, and with her
unemployed dad. It also appears that all she ever wanted was to fit
in. So suddenly, the laughs at Lila's expense suddenly turn to bitter
tears, and it even gets to the point where Helga gets hysterical
("What are we, animals?"... also see below).
- Cue apologies, a group hug, and Lila's dad getting a job. And now
everything's back to normal as Lila cracks the "Don't sell that goat"
version. And the credits roll, and those of you who were listening
carefully realize that Arnold (BTW, the Phillip Van Dyke era began
with "The Big Scoop", his first line being along the lines of "We're
working on a deadline") never spoke in the entire story.
- Quotables: "When's something new gonna happen around here?" (Helga
is sick of Phoebe's academic domination) "It's all about who why what
when and wherefore" (Helga to Lila on fitting in) "You'll get
organized. Don't worry, just be patient" (Phoebe to Lila) "I think I'm
in love" (Stinky on Lila) "I assumed that Ms. Perfect would live in a
more luxurious 'domicile'" (Phoebe on Lila's home) "Helga... (slaps
Helga) Sorry but you were getting hysterical" (Phoebe, as Helga whines
on and on about the torment they gave Lila) "You know what the worst
part is? I like her" "(sigh) Me too" (Helga and the rest, end lines)

[ungvichian]

Today, it appears to be yet another ep where the two stories have a
common theme. This time, it's animals, with "Monkey Business" and "Big
Caesar".

"Monkey Business":
- Another day in Simmons' class, with him explaning about
old-fashioned medicine, e.g. using leeches on cuts (prompting a squirm
from Eugene) and diseases which have been debunked by science. One of
them being "monkey nucleosis", which causes "expiration"...
- ...which brings up an issue here: Nick must have been going a bit
too far where political correctness was concerned, as this ep looks
like Viksten simply ran a search and replace over the script,
replacing "death" (and similar) with "expiration" (and similar). It's
as if the guy wanted to thumb his nose at Nick or something... but how
on earth did the earlier eps get away with "We're all gonna die"?
- Anyhow, another run-in with Arnold on skateboard leads into a
soliloquy in the park, complete with locket brandishing... and Brainy
getting punched in the face (he was hiding in a tree) :-D
- Anyhow, after said soliloquy, there's a beggar monkey there, and it
kisses Helga on the arm (eww). Back home, she's starting to get a
rash, so...
- ...let's head over to another city monument, The City Library, where
she's found this book on diseases debunked by science.
- The symptoms of monkey nucleosis are (in this order) itching and
puffiness, sweaty palms, loss of appetite, irritatibility and lastly
"expiration".
- OK, cue dream sequence with Helga as a beggar monkey.
- OK, now that she's become easily irritatible, she's having lots of
kids in mourning outfits visit her and she's giving away stuff: Rhonda
(dresses), Phoebe (her books, including the book she borrowed from the
library), Nadine (a tuba), Stinky (a paddleball), Gerald (false
teeth), Harold...
- And now we get to Arnold, and it appears that she's ready for a
confession (a change of attitude from the previous day, see below),
but here comes Phoebe again, debunking the idea she had that disease:
"The worst you could get from a monkey scratch is a rash... The rest
is all in your mind."
- So Helga's called him a "putz" (or was it "yutz"?) and "paste for
brains"? That's new... OK, now Helga's suddenly changing her tack to
her "typical" attitude (and claiming that her sweet attitude just
earlier was from being delirious), but then she's telling him that she
thinks of him as OK? Eh?
- Quotables: "What a bunch of twattle" (Helga, on old-fashioned
medicine) "You gotta get out more" (Helga to Phoebe, after she speaks
about diseases) "Hopefully not today or tomorrow, because it would be
embarassing" (part of Helga's soliloquy) "I dunno, I'm a beeper
salesman, not a scientist" (Big Bob on Helga's "disease") "He thinks
I'm OK! He touched me! And I'm not a monkey!" (Helga's end lines...
she sounds delirious here)

"Big Caesar":
- First thing I noticed was that the credits font shrunk quite a bit.
Probably to avoid obscuring the action. And who's this Rosenthal guy?
- Anyhow, the action opens at Wang's Bait Shop, and apparently there's
a fishing competition this weekend at the city lake. And within a
couple of minutes, Sid leads us into an urban legend about "Big
Caesar": apparently, this huge prehistoric fish (though Helga does
have a point about humans and dinosaurs never co-existing).
- OK, now we head over to the Arms, and the Arms has a "fishing room",
full of fishing gear. Cue Phil's own story about his encounter with
Big Caesar. Note that the boat Phil was chasing him in was called
"Pookie" (same as Grandma), and what's that thing Phil broke on Caesar
(and how did it stay on it for 60 odd years)?
- Now they're practicing. Watch out for big "heh-heh" grins from
Arnold and Gerald, and Arnold fishing out Gerald's undies :-D
- Now, it's the day of the fishing competition. Among the teams
competing: Helga/Phoebe (in the "Olga I"), Stinky/Harold (using
psychic powers to catch a fish Stinky supposedly saw in a dream) and
of course Arnold/Gerald (in a swan boat... hey, the rentals were sold
out).
- Meanwhile, Phil and Pookie (dressed as a pirate) are talking about
Big Caesar to some guy who's taking notes, and for some reason, Phil
shows the guy a photo of Hedy LaMarr (a 1930s-40s would-be superstar).
- Back to the lake. The swan boat's headed into a foggy area, and here
comes Caesar. Suddenly, it's a good thing they took that swan boat,
since they use its pedals (and a lot of rope) to reel it in.
- Now, they're using their clothes (the "33" is a dead giveaway) as
sails to get the boat home (the pedals are now caught in the rope)...
but wait a minute here. They're letting it go? Didn't this situation
play out in an ep of The Simpsons (the only diff being that Homer
didn't even know that the fish he was letting go was a legendary one)?
- Anyhow, Stinky/Harold have won the contest, much to Helga/Phoebe's
consternation (Big Bob won't like that small trophy of theirs), and
the ep ends with the grandparents continuing to squabble as the
credits roll. No regular credits music, then.
- Quotables: "I can not believe we're fishing in a swan boat" (Gerald,
with yet another "I can't believe we're doing this") "We're going for
fish that actually exist" (Helga to Arnold) "He's a psycho" "Don't you
mean psychic?" (Harold, on Stinky, and Gerald... doesn't Angelica also
confuse the 2 words in an ep of Rugrats?) "Stinky is a moron... it was
just dumb luck" (Helga on Stinky's win) "Making it up! Making it up!"
(Pookie sounds like a parrot saying this) "It's gonna be a long night"
(Phil, as the credits begin)

[ungvichian]

Due to testing, here's a bumper load of ep notes for (takes deep
breath) "The High Life", "Best Friends", "Longest Monday", "Eugene's
Pet", "Mudbowl", and "Gerald Moves Out" (whew!). 6 stories from 3 eps.
Corrections welcome.

"The High Life"
- Lesa Kite? OK, our favorite friends are skating, and Gerald kinda
looks weird with that helmet on that tall hair of his.
- Anyhow Gerald sees some blades, and he wants to buy some. Hey, this
isn't RP... Anyhow, how does he plan on getting the dough? Selling
"Wackos", watches.
- His dad Martin Johanssen (who gives him one of those "value of a
dollar" speeches) gets mentioned by name for the first time in the
series as he signs a contract to sell Wackos (and the fact that Martin
is also Gerald's middle name gets a mention too). Makes you wonder why
in "Freeze Frame" he doesn't suspect that the "Marty" of that story
could be him (maybe the writers didn't realize it?).
- And after a demonstration with Stinky (dipping it in water) and
Ernie (smashing it on an anvil, and it ain't broken), they're selling
fast. Meanwhile, from the way Mr. Wacko's talking to himself,
something's not right with those watches...
- Meanwhile, Gerald's selling watches to barbershop customers,
cross-town bus passengers (Curly is there), and even a Mom and a baby
in a carriage.
- And now he's even got himself an internet-ready computer, business
cards (written with his first and last name) and a separate phone
line.
- Timberly gets paid, and we head over to the arcade where he's
playing 3 video games at once :-). (I think I see one of the 6th grade
girls there...) And he's buying ice cream from the Jolly Olly Man.
Harold, Gerald, Eugene, Park and Sid are among the gang buying ice
cream.
- Ok, even if he's selling them fast, the market's also saturating
fast (as he can see at the diner and other places), and so is his pile
of unsold Wackos, and he still ain't got any money to buy those
blades, so what's he gonna do about those watches? Sell them all to
just one person, says Arnold... (and at this point, I was half
expecting it to be Big Bob)
- ...and that one person is Mr. Wacko (and at the start of that scene,
he's supposedly talking but I couldn't see his mouth move...), as
Gerald recommends him to increase the price and come up with a new ad
campaign... and oh yeah, buy back his "stockpile" of Wackos. Given
that "there's a sucker born every minute", one wonders why this
particular sucker was the first to come up with the bright idea...
- However, the dough he earned from that windfall goes into paying for
the fax line, phone line, beeper, and business cards (and don't forget
Tim), and that leaves Gerald *still* without any money to buy those
blades... and that's it! What the? IMO, the ending of this one (bar
the cymbal sting at the end) looked more like the first half of a 30
minute story...
- Quotables: "What does all that mean?" "Arnold I have no idea"
(Arnold and Gerald on blades) "Gee willickers, it's still ticking"
(Stinky shoves watch underwater... and himself) "Maybe you should sell
Wacko jigsaw puzzles from now on" (Helga on smashed watch) "There are
no challenges... just opportunities" (Mr. Wacko) "Anything really less
expensive?" (Arnold) "Only a whacko doesn't own a Wacko" (the new ad
campaign) "Do you like my face?" (Tim takes Gerald's last dollar) "How
are you going to get those blades again?" (Arnold leaves us here)

"Best Friends"
- Nadine fanatics (like myself) have to be content with this story,
since it's the only story in which Nadine has a significant role. Why
didn't the writers ever give her a real focus ep (and the same can be
asked for Sheena and Brainy)?
- Stinky, Sid and Harold do project on Harold eating fudge, okay,
next!
- This Friday, Rhonda, Nadine (it's pronounced "nay deen" now) and
Arnold. Problem is, not only do Rhonda and Nadine have different ideas
for the "Uniquely You" project (fashion and a Malaysian beetle),
they're also no longer best friends (they used to be? that's new).
- Gerald had his UU project with Helga? And who else?
- Rhonda cutting out clips from magazines: So Nadine's worn that
hairstyle since she was 4? How did she braid her hair like that back
then? (For that matter, what about now, and would she still be
braiding it in The Patakis?) She also says something about Nadine
refusing to let her change her hairstyle... what about in "Helga's
Makeover"?
- Meanwhile, Nadine at the city swamp (eh?), complete with butterfly
net, blabbing about insects. They've been around before humans and
will be around after humans... so what else is new?
- Rhonda's fashion drawings used to cover Nadine's tarantula cage :-)
- Interesting sleep costume Rhonda's got... much more "exciting" than
Nadine's...
- Christmas Eve, Nadine got caught up in her hair? Wha?
- Interrogating Harold and Stinky on Rhonda and Nadine: Stinky claims
that Rhonda called him a cheeseball... eh? Chocolate Boy pops up for
about 15 seconds, looking in the trash to see if there's any leftover
chocolate from Rhonda and Nadine's argument :-) Meanwhile, Phoebe pops
up to explain (in high words) the whole mess between the two (pretty
much saying what this viewer was thinking).
- There's that kid from "The List" again as Rhonda and Nadine run into
each other at the park (Arnold's responsible in no small part). It's
time they stop behaving like babies, says Arnold, and that's exactly
what happens.
- Street baseball. Rhonda and Nadine are doing this project
themselves, and all Arnold has to do is show up. He shows up and...
it's Arnold in a lame bug constume and Gerald in a lame caterpillar
costume. Won't be the only time Arnold is forced to wear a humilating
costume ("Arnold Betrays Iggy"). Credits!
- Quotables: "It's nature" "That's not nature: nature is beatiful, and
that's just a stinky bug" (Rhonda on Malaysian beetle) "You couldn't
even tell the difference between an insect and a Malaysian beetle"
(Nadine to Rhonda) "They're practically our landlord" (Nadine on, what
else?, insects) "She thought I sneezed in my hand" (Nadine on Rhonda
on showing her a spider egg sac she found) "Arnold the ambassador,
Arnold Papa Theresa" (Gerald calls Arnold names, referring to his
goody-two-shoes nature) "It missed me? it missed me?" (Eugene as
Arnold hit by dodgeball) "Ow, I'm okay" (Eugene hit by dodgeball)
"This psychology stuff sure is tricky" (Arnold to Phoebe) "One, two,
three: I'm sorry" (Rhonda and Nadine: cheesy no?) "You always get in
the middle of everything" (Gerald to Arnold, first on Nadine and
Rhonda's little tiff, and now on having to wear lame bug outfits)

"Longest Monday" (why no "The" in the title?)
- Trash Can Day: First Monday of June, a PS 118 legend for over 3
years. As usual, Gerald has the sitch on it, and as usual Sid leads us
in. It's the most dreaded day for 4th graders where 5th graders throw
them in trash cans. One Monday before Trash Pickup Day.
- Anyhow, the idea to avoid 5th graders is that they're supposed to
get to Vitello's flowershop, 8 blocks away from PS 118. Meanwhile, we
hear Park's got a "fortress". More on that later. Meanwhile, 5th
graders Wolfgang (not ID'd here) and Edmund are teaching the others on
how to trash 4th graders.
- Nadine's in brown hair again, and it's coming up to three (timecheck
from Big Barney). The idea is for the gang to stick together... and
it's good for 15 seconds at best, as everyone runs scatteredly. Phoebe
into a locker, Stinky into a trashcan: "Talk about ironic!" Joey and
Curly (if not him, Chocolate Boy) get creamed early in. Soon Sid, and
Eugene follow.
- Apparently, even riding the bus isn't safe as Harold gets creamed.
So after giving some more fifth graders a little chase, Arnold and
Gerald head under the sewers to... Park's safehouse, with a truck door
as its door. Eugene's being washed and scrubbed, Harold's getting
therapy from Helga, and Sheena's having a drink with Curly.
- Well, it ain't a safehouse if the 5th graders found the place (no
word on how they did that), so they're running around again. But here
comes some guy in a hood with a long nose, which we will later know as
"Micky", offering them to get Arnold and Gerald safe. Arnold has a
yo-yo and a dog head thing (it looks suspiciously like a Pez
conatiner). Micky takes the yo-yo.
- And after a little hiding, Micky carts them under cloth to... some
5th graders?!? Yes indeed, as Wolfgang has been using him. Arnold's
offering Wolfgang to end this "cult of violence"... no deal. Arnold
and Gerald get rolled in a trash can, after which they run into with
some 3rd graders, and they have this talk on keeping up the tradition.
- Stinky's still hiding in a trash can. Cue "This really bites". The
end. Yes, not much to write about.
- Given that Torvald (who is in one of the stories reviewed) has been
a 4th grader for three years, you'd think he'd be sick of getting
trashed...
- Quotables: "The rancid refuse of society" (is what Gerald's little
legend calls trash) "He smelled like a moldy burrito until he was 14"
(Gerald on some guy trashed on Trash Can Day) "Every person for
himself!" (Harold) "They say i might be smelling normal by the end of
the week" (Eugene getting washed) "Get over it" (Helga's therapy with
Harold)
"I've weighed both sides of the argument.... and I say: Let's throw
them into the trash can!" (Wolfgang) "That wasn't so bad" (Arnold and
Gerald got rolled!) "Wait till next year" (Arnold, after being
trashed, to 3rd graders)

"Eugene's Pet"
- Written by Antoinette Stella, who herself will later voice Arnold's
mommy Stella in the 2 eps she's in.
- Eugene's showing off his goldfish Henry, replete with castle and
statue of knight with mace (a spiked ball on a stick thing). Arnold's
showing off his yo-yo tricks like cats' cradle and shoot the moon
(using a different yo-yo from that in "Longest Monday" of course)...
the latter trick resulting in Henry getting maced to death :-O (and
Nick, in its usual PC-ness, makes sure Eugene gets cut off in his
shock) "Bizarre twist of fate" indeed, bucko. Yet another time in the
series where Arnold proves to be no Mr. Perfect, but just the 2nd time
he's actually caused a problem to someone (look what happened to
"Eugene's Bike").
- Arnold wants Eugene to flush Henry, however, Eugene's decided to
bury him, however however, a cat runs off with the wrapped corpse
while Gerald's delivering a eulogy.
- Nothing can ever replace Henry, blah blah blah. So how about we head
over to Pet Amore to pick another pet? Well, Eugene's pecked by a
parrot, bitten by a hammie, and strangeled by a garter (a snake), so
no pets for him. And isn't that a box of Wackos in there (or it could
be a box of Yahoos)?
- OK, Eugene usually bounces back from crises, but this time, Arnold
thinks Eugene's snapped: he supposedly has a hippo named Egbert now.
And by the afternoon he's putting up flyers for a lost hippo.
- Arnold and Phil discuss the events from earlier in the ep (and
Arnold says, and I quote, "I accidentally killed Eugene's goldfish"...
not too PC, eh?)
- Phil talks about Eguene's constant bad streak: and there's nothing
he can do about it except be his best friend. Followed by a freaky
dream sequence with Arnold, Eugene, a fishbowl, and a knight with a
mace.
- Our 3rd visit to the city aquarium ("Field Trip", "Teachers'
Strike") sees Eugene get a plaque for adopting an angelfish. But don't
you ever dare think that Eugene's mean streak is over... less than a
minute after he's christened it "Angel", it goes the way of WB's own
Angel, courtesy of it sharing the tank with among other things some
sharks (Eugene's unaware of all this happening). Credits!
- And what a cruddy plaque. I mean, no last name? And it's not like we
don't know what it is (his name Horowitz was mentioned in "False
Alarm").
- Quotables: "My dog ran away, I'm allergic to cats, and rabbits give
me asthma" (Eugene's troubles with pets: did I get the quote right?)
"It's called swimming, Doc Cousteau" (on Henry waving its tail) "A
goldfish is so you" (Simmons) "He's croaked Eugene!" (Helga, on Henry)
"There better be a potluck where I'm going" (Harold, at the "funeral")
"I'm a great public speaker" (however, it ain't Helga who's delivering
the eulogy) "I can't look at another fish, it's too soon" (and
Eugene's saying this in front of a fish shop) "Welcome to my world"
(the Pet Amore lady) "She's not a hippo person" (Eugene on his mom,
who oddly never figures in the series anywhere) "Sounds like Arnold's
got one of those labyrthinan condundrums of a boyhood problem" (Phil,
on Arnold's problems) "And if you don't wanna wear that fork you
better get it away from my plate, you weasel" (Oskar has been hovering
over Phil's plate for quite some time) "Don't say a word" (Arnold to
Gerald on Angel getting gobbled)

"Mudbowl"
- OK, the gang are playing (American) football at the park. Arnold to
Nadine to Eugene to Rhonda back to Arnold for a pass to Gerald...
Intercepted by Wolfgang (that guy who trashed Arnold and Gerald just
one ep ago). Next Saturday at 2, the 4th graders and 5th graders shall
be playing on this patch of grass for the right to play here.
- OK, the gang have met at Gerald Field (the vacant lot)... and here
comes Helga, doing the "monster coach" routine, giving them protein
drinks and executing standard plays and stuff. Arnold is not amused,
not just because he's been taken over, but also especially since his
ideas for plays (like seen at the start) have been called "loopy".
- Running through tires, running down mannequins, drinking protein
drinks, pushups, stuff like that... and Harold throws up from all that
stress.
- "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?": they're getting Torvald to do
their work (Mr. Simmons is in the class picture of them).
- OK, game day. Plan, give the ball to Torvie on all plays, just like
in "Benchwarmer"... and Torvie's headed for the bench really quickly.
Let's have Harold bring the ball up center then... and cue random
football mayhem.
- Halftime score as written in Phoebe's notebook page: 42-0 (the 5th
graders in the lead). Reachable either through 7 6 pt touchdowns or 6
7 pt touchdowns. I don't see any goalposts...
- OK, time for Arnold to bring in some of his "football-headed" (no
pun intended) plays, and they're working wonders immediately. Arnold
back to Gerald, and Gerald to Nadine for a TD, and that's quickly
followed by Arnold to Sid back to Arnold throwing to Stinky for a TD.
- Cue Rhonda and Gerald getting catches, and Rhonda actually scores
quite a few TDs. Whoa...
- And the score is now 42-42 as it begins to rain. Next touchdown
wins, since 5th graders "don't tie 4th graders" (even if Edmund is
willing).
- Statue of Liberty, Fleaflicker, Double Reverse... I do know that
Fleaflicker is footballers' for throwing the ball backwards to another
player who then throws it, which is pretty much most of Arnold's
"loopy" plays.
- Helga has another one of those brilliant soliloquys... followed by
another Betsy in Brainy's face. OK, next play: Arnold to Nadine, to
Eugene, to Rhonda, back to Arnold, forward to Gerald... running it in
for a TD, meaning that Arnold and Gerald (and the gang) have finally
put one past the 5th graders... and that's it? No victory dance, no
speech, no nothing? Huh? It just pans straight up from the GW TD to
the clouds before fading out to the break (or, as I'm watching it over
here, the next story).
- Quotables: "I've got a great idea, let's have a game of chess" (Sid)
"We're all gonna get carried away... on stretchers" (Helga, on the
challenge) "Being smarter doesn't have anything to do with football"
(Helga, on Arnold's comment that the 4th graders are smarter) "Who
died and made you quarterback?..." (Arnold on Helga suddenly taking
over the team) "Think like winners, you bunch of losers... any
questions?" "I just threw up my protein drink" (Helga and Harold) "See
you guys on the gridiron" "What's a gridiron?" "Shut up" (Wolfgang and
Edmund... BTW, the term comes from the way football fields used to be
marked) "This is touch football" "I guess we forgot" (Arnold and
Wolfgang, after the 5th graders pile up on Eugene) "Arnold should be
the quarterback for a while" "Feebs have you lost your mind?!" (Phoebe
and Helga) "The odds of outpowering them are long, but the odds of
outsmarting them are very good" (Phoebe)

"Gerald Moves Out"
- OK, Jamie O gets mentioned by name for the first time in the series,
as he hogs the bathroom and gives Gerald a beating. Meanwhile
Timberly's tying up Gerald's books with tape (the cassette type) so
they won't get lost.
- Next, it's Gerald's mom talking about Laundry Day and other things,
and Martin shoving in Gerald's face a $192 electric bill (his concerns
on energy having been mentioned in "Gerald Comes Over").
- Right, now let's head over to the Sunset Arms where Arnold's putting
up a For Rent sign, while Gerald is imagining living on his own, in a
huge building with a "33" above its entrance, his initials on the lift
(oh yeah, the doorman refers to him by last name), eating pizza and
watching large-screen TV on his Purdy-vision 2000.
- After a little pondering, he's decided to rent a room at the Arms,
rent: 25c a day, but if I remember "Gerald Comes Over" right, isn't
the rent a monthly thing?
- First problem, a slightly faulty bed. Second problem comes up as
Ernie and Hyunh argue over lint in the washing machine filter: doing
the laundry. And third, we all know about the Arms' shared bathroom,
so what's new? Needing a ticket to enter it in the morning, that's
what. And Hyunh's reading the "Saigon Gai Phong" as he waits.
- Next thing you know, Gerald yelling at the chickens and cats.
Apparently, Mr. Purdy still lives here... and while Gerald (still
wearing his "33" shirt, and it's pretty dirty) is willing to go back
to his old place, Gerald (having hoped so much for an improvement in
his life by moving out) is hoping for them to ask him to come back ...
excatly what Gerald's mom is planning against doing. It goes well,
much to Gerald's distaste...
- Following morning, Hyunh's complaining about lint in the filter. OK,
Gerald (in the same stained "33" shirt) has had enough. He's going
home. Cue really lame talk and lame family hug. Cue credits.
- Is it just me, or do the story credits for this particular story
look like they were superimposed by airbrushing a little shade and
placing the text on top?
- And as for episode credits, in this particular ep, I see Jamie Farr
as Wacko, but he's not in this ep (but rather "The High Life" above),
and nor is Chocolate Boy?
- Quotables: "What are you gonna do squirt, you wanna piece of this?"
(Jamie O gives Gerald a beating) "You do have a good life, you just
have to share it with four other people" (Arnold on Gerald's life) "I
don't understand it" "Neither do I, but there are lots of things in
the world I don't understand, like liquid soap" (Gerald's mom and Phil
on the phone) "He'll come around, because I'll go down there and drag
him around" (Martin on Gerald moving out) "All the tenants must do
their own laundry, and all the tenants must follow the rules"
(Hyunh... cue shot of rules board) "I look like I'm an extra in a
hippy movie" (Gerald on doing his own laundry) "Jamie, no half
nelsons" (Mom to Jamie) "I promised mom that I wouldn't touch
anything... hey, what's this? (breaking noise)" (Timberly at the Arms)
"I'm not his mother" (Hyunh on lint) "I'm such a wily old coot" (Phil
as Gerald leaves the Arms... and he already said it when Gerald got
his room) "I just want to come home" "Gerald... you are home" (Gerald
and his mom... cue hug)

[ungvichian]

4 stories today. "Freeze Frame", "Phoebe Cheats", "Helga's Love
Potion", and "Gerald's Secret".

"Freeze Frame":
- OK, credits over computer generated TV static, fading into a video
Arnold and Gerald made of the gang. Phoebe and Helga, Phil and Pookie,
and there's the piece of resistance, Harold jumping on a seesaw
sending Stinky into a pile of fallen leaves. But there's also
something suspicious in the BG...
- This prompts some analysis on his Purdy computer (and BTW, that
Purdy guy wrote this story). Well, it's a guy in a porkpie hat
stuffing an envelope in a tree.
- BTW, his graphics analysis program has graphics of Arnold and Ruth
in it. Hmm...
- Porpoises at 2:00pm. First instinct would be another visit to the
aquarium, right? Nope. It's "Underwater World", some amusement park on
a pier near a slaughterhouse: the porpoises are part of the merry go
round.
- OK., Arnold and Gerald are really suspicious, and they're convinced
that Porkpie and that other guy he's just met are gonna get a "gun"
(though it could be "gum"...)
- Now that the guys are takling a cab, the kids are going down to the
Martinez taxi company to see if they can get info. Well, the
proprietor Sabrina Martinez (her name's under the window), voiced by
Ivanevic, ain't cooperating even with Gerald's sweet talk, so Arnold's
"stealing" the info from cab no. 16. Leading them to 27 Grand.
- This reveals that the two are using gas canisters and rope for the
supposed hit, and there's also some more new info. It's on some guy
named Marty and it's at 7 tonight. They have no idea who the Marty
is... but if Lesa Kite ("The High Life") was writing this story,
Gerald would be suspecting that it could be his dad ("The High Life"
mentioned that dad's name is Martin... close enough to Marty if you
ask me).
- Gerald gets rolled in a trash can for the 2nd time in 5 eps, and cue
chase scene which has Porkpie and that other guy bonking each other on
the head! :-D
- Straight to police at the Vine St. Substation, where Arnold and
Gerald are convinced that they're not buying it. They passes Mr.
Green's place on their way to the Arms, where further analysis, and a
trick phone call, turn up some more info. The hit will be at Front St.
and Market, so they have 20 minutes to get there (but why does the
clock in Arnold's loft read 5:40pm?).
- Well, we're at the hit site, and all is resolved: Mr. Green is the
Marty they talked of, and it's not a hit, it's a birthday party, and
it was indeed "gum" and not "gun". Well, what a twist... But there
might need to be a little extra investigation into the matter, since
Porkpie and the other guy are planning to "get him" again in 3 weeks'
time at a convention. OK, next story!
- Quotables: "I have the perfect title: The Mystery of Porkpie and the
Envelope in the Tree" (Gerald) "Whose idea was it to put a merry go
round next to a slaughterhouse?" (Gerald on Underwater World) "OK, now
we can jump to conclusions" (Gerald again!) "These butchers wouldn't
hurt a fly" "Maybe a cow but not a fly!" (Green and Porkpie on
butchers)

"Phoebe Cheats":
- Arnold's mom Stella is responsible for this one, and that chick who
voiced the taxi lady Ivanevic also lends a hand to this story. First
mention of Phoebe's last name. At this point, the only last names
besides Sid and Arnold that haven't been mentioned (main characters
only): Harold and Rhonda (though Helga did refer to her as Rhondaloid
in Arnold's Christmas, and that will be later explained by the fact
that Lloyd is her last name). Also, Stinky's last name Peterson has
been mentioned in "False Alarm" but it wasn't attached to Stinky.
- Helga, in "Ms. Perfect": "When are things gonna change around here?"
Well, hope you're happy Helga, since things are changing around here:
First, the bulletin board gets plastered with a report on Lincoln, not
from the expected Phoebe, but from Sheena (why has she never had an ep
all on her own?), and this month's Citizens of the Month: again not
the expected Phoebe, but Gerald, Nadine (still pronounced nay-deen,
and same question from Sheena applies here) and Harold (Harold?!?).
- OK, Don asked this before, and I'll ask it again. If Phoebe has such
negative feelings towards not being the best here, why is it that
Phoebe had no reaction to not being among the best spellers at PS 118
in "Spelling Bee"? My theories: the writers hadn't realised the full
potential of Phoebe's intellect, 2, maybe Phoebe felt that her
intellect could be put to better use, and 3, that story just wouldn't
work with Phoebe (which is why the only thing of note she does in the
story is appear in the classroom for the first time). No matter,
there's "Phoebe Takes The Fall" (and that ep raises the question: why
does Helga beat Arnold and Gerald?).
- Next it's a poetry contest, and the prize is a trophy of Emily
Dickinson (renowned American poet). Phoebe and Helga have problems
coming up with poems. Helga's problem is solved when he sees a photo
of that "boy with cornflower hair". Of course, she'll have to submit
her poem anonymously... and of course she does. :-)
- Meanwhile, Phoebe is desparate, so she looks at this book, and uses
her Rushmore lamp as light to write her poem... which happens to be a
poem in that book. Coincidence? I don't think so.
- Well, Phoebe finally wins something, and second place is a poem from
soneone who wishes to remain anonymous, but you can guess who it's
from... :-)
- Phoebe takes the trophy back to her home with a Japanese dad and an
American mom. But she has constant feelings of guilt (no duh).
Meanwhile, Phoebe without the specs when she's sleeping looks quite a
bit like Number 4 from KND...
- The next day, Phoebe's planned confession is cut off by Wartz, who's
planning to use Phoebe's poem as part of his "open house" (what's
that?). This scene also reveals an interesting tidbit about Phoebe:
she's from Kentucky.
- OK, Phoebe and dad fencing for no good reason, except just to show
her wide range of talents. True fans probably suspected her skill in
swordplay since "Wheezin' Ed" (I mean, did you see what she did with a
flashlight???). Cue some weird sequences with Emily's statue talking.
- OK, Phoebe's had enough and decides to bury Emily in the school
sandbox, and buys a two-stick popsicle from the Jolly Olly Man. Soon
after, the statue's been kicked out of the sandbox, and this provides
Arnold's only dialog and action of the story as she returns it to
Phoebe. OK, Phoebe freaks out again, and decides to take her out
again.
- Cue backstage confession while Wartz is having his "open house"
thing. We can see Gerald with his mom and Arnold with his Phil.
- Well, after the confession, Simmons has Phoebe read the anonymous
poem from earlier with Phoebe pitching it as "the best poem in our
class".
- After the poem gets read, we see more students in the stands:
Nadine, Rhonda, and Park among those spotted, and Stinky too,
especially since he gets the last line of the ep. Credits!
- Unresolved issues: Now that Phoebe has decided to disqualify
herself, who to award the trophy then (remember that "the best poem in
our class" is an anon work)? Also, wonder what her "I don't like it
when I don't win" poem would be like...
- Quotables: "Let me guess, it's another momument of perfection by
Phoebe Hyerdahl" (Helga, on Lincoln report) "Phoebe, Phoebe and....
Phoebe?" (Helga, on who she thinks will win Citizens of the Month)
"Don't give me that, you always have to be the best at everything..."
(Helga to Phoebe, on her supposed reaction to Sheena's success)
"You're sliding down in your chair as if it was your poem or
something" "Be quiet you idiot" "Well, you are..." (Helga and Stinky
on the anonymous poem) "Let's make Kentucky proud on Thursday with a
prize winning poem" (Wartz) "You're an inanimate object, you can't
talk" "And you can't write poetry" (Phoebe and Emily) "Where are you
taking me?" "Be quiet" "But will I need a sweater?" (Phoebe and Emily
again) "Poor Helga, she's been shot through the heart by a perdy poem"
(Stinky on Helga, after Phoebe reads anon)

"Helga's Love Potion"
- Craig Bartlett's turn to write a story, as we open at the Patakis'
house, and we have a new Arnold shrine for her to mope at!
- Helga's doing another prank on Arnold, involving the water fountain.
Cue, yes, another cheap soliloquy on how every single chance to be
nice to Arnold turns bad by her own accord, and yes, another punch in
Brainy's face. I can start to see why some people don't like Helga...
- A love poem, signed anonymous (but whose name is that at the upper
right corner of the page? :-D) It's clear who the author is talking
about and what the event being refered to is...
- Tapioca time (Arnold + Helga with tapioca = Arnold's sweater stained
with tapioca), soliloquy time (involving Sid getting tied to the
dodgeball post), and conversation with Phoebe time. It appears that
Craig decided to just copy lines from "Operation Ruthless", as we have
"Whoops, how clumsy of you" and "This conversation never happened"
"Right" (but Bartlett does add "Forgetting" to the end of this
particular conversation).
- It appears that Arnold is everywhere. In a flower shop, there's this
weird bush with a cap. There's a billboard saying "Love football?
1340AM (that's medium wave to some of you) Sports Radio". There are
even clouds and waves shaped like you know who.
- So we head to Madame Blanche's Love Potions (isn't that the madame
responsible for Curly's ballet classes?). We've got a crystal ball
with possibly live action steam, and she's charging $10 for an "out of
love" potion. She's pouring it from a grape soda bottle, hmm...
- Now that Helga's thrown away her shrine, little pink books, and
locket, and drunk the potion, here comes yet another interesting
sequence, involving her locket cracking and ice cream melting.
- Following morning, Helga says "crap" upon reading one of her old
LPBs. Cue really un-creative writing, and Brainy punching himself! :-D
- OK, she's walking to the same places she just saw yesterday. No
weird bush in the flower shop, an empty space for rent where the radio
station ad was, and no waves and clouds. But she feels that
something's missing from her life. Here comes Phoebe.
- You guessed it, "ice cream". She heads to Madame Blanche's, and she
feels rather desparate to get this curse lifted. Well, remember how
that potion was poured from a grape soda bottle? It was grape juice,
camomile, and ginseng. Cue Helga asking for refund :-D
- Three words folks: Helga kisses Brainy! :-D
- Quotables: "Flaxen haired angel? That's good" (Helga at the shrine)
"At least I still have my dignity" (Arnold gets squirted) "Am I bound
by this tragic rule?" (a line from the "anon" poem, that's what,
Helga's 2nd consecutive one?) "What is this, the Spanish Inqusition?"
(Helga to Phoebe)
"Let's call it ice cream" (Helga on her obsession) "I should totally
forget about Arn... I mean ice cream" (Helga on her obsession) "I have
to forget about ice cream... uh I mean Arnold" (OK, she's really
mixing up the 2) "I feel like I got hit by a truck" (Helga) "What is
this crap?" (Helga) "Getting to know you through your writing
assignments has been one of the joys of my teaching career" (Simmons)
"Maybe I need ice cream" (you know what Helga's talking about don't
you? ;-)) "Watch where you're going you yellow haired creep... Ah,
that's more like it" (Helga runs into Arnold... the end)

"Gerald's Secret"
- Looking at the title of this Greenberg story alone, you'd never
guess what this story was about...
- Two years before Rocket Power made it passe, we open with Arnold
doing a bike stunt. Cue Harold (flats never seem to stop him from
riding) falling through a ramp :-D Anyhow, this Saturday, it's the
10-K Bike-A-Thon for world peace. Meanwhile, Gerald has to paint his
living room.
- Arnold follows him to his place, and there ain't any painting, eh?
Well, here comes the titular bombshell: he doesn't know how to ride a
bike (but didn't he use a bike in "Ransom"?). He's never practiced
since a freak bike crash.
- Said bike crash occured at where he used to live, his family's
apartment on Hillcrest Street. Which was near a steep hill which had
some construction on it at the time. This hill will figure some more
in the story. (Wonder if this is the same hill from "The List"?)
- Well known cliche: zooming in on a spinning bike wheel to show that
its rider has just suffered an accident.
- Arnold is giving Gerald some practice at Notani Tire (Kenji Notani
has credits on this show). Harold is sneaking by, and looking at
Gerald on a girls' bike with training wheels, whining about him being
such a baby. Cue really hard laughs at his expense the following day,
and now Arnold's getting Gerald involved in the Bike-A-Thon, much to
Gerald's consternation.
- Gerald keeps crashing into trash cans, I guess that's why they call
his training for the Bike-A-Thon, a "crash course" :-D One of them has
really bad grammar: "Keep our park cleans".
- OK, now Gerald's blaming Arnold for everything and quitting. Later
at his house, cue nightmare sequence with Martin, Gerald, Harold, the
steep hill from earlier, and a lot broken bikes. OK, after the
sequence, now he's taking his bike, and racing down the hill.
- Race day now, at the 3rd Annual Cycle World Peace 10-K. Harold's
here, Arnold's here, Gerald's here, doi! The announcer says "at the
gun"... but they're letting the riders go with an airhorn, hmm....
- Lots of unknown riders, but besides the obvious Harold, Gerald and
Arnold, here are those I managed to spot: Helga, Curly, Stinky, Sid,
Brainy, Park (I think that was Park), Eugene, and Rhonda.
- And riding up the hill... holy crap, he's taken the lead! Now he's
stopped at the top of the hill (yes, it's the same one he rode
earlier) and he's waiting for Arnold, letting others take the lead...
- And now there they go! The two have passed Helga and are now mixing
it up with Harold... and Harold's flat blows and causes him to fly
straight into (irony of ironies) "Baby Town" and at the line... holy
crap again! It's Gerald in first followed by Arnold... and we close
out over a sepia tone photo of the finish (that was a really fast
10-K, eh? ;-)). Credits folks!
- And speaking of the credits, the credits are now a series of
captions that cut to each other (previously, one caption faded out and
another faded up).
- Quotables: "I used to believe in all that stuff" (Helga on peace)
"There's no rollers, there's no brushes, there's no paint" (Gerald on
painting the living room) "You gotta learn sometime..." (Arnold)
"Let's try it without the cinder box" (Arnold to training Gerald)
"Ready to ride, (SFX) bubba?" (Gerald to Harold) "Gerald, what are you
waiting for?" "I'm waiting for you man!" (Arnold and Gerald) "Mommy!"
(Harold flies into "Baby Town")

[ungvichian]

Extras, upon watching reruns.
"Helga's Love Potion":
- I think Phoebe's reflection in the water faces the wrong way during
the "Maybe I need ice cream" bit... we see that huge bit of her hair
facing left in the water... and when it cuts to her and Helga on the
bridge, said bit is facing left as well.
- Another quotable: "Blessed placebo that restored my faith in you"
(Helga on the Love Potion)

"Gerald's Secret":
- Is it just me, or does the title have the same size as the writer's
name?
- Here's something interesting: Arnold wears his helmet over his
hat...
- Other bikers spotted in the race: Phoebe, Joey, Iggy.
- First "Mudbowl", now this. In both stories, right after it shows
Gerald winning, the story just ends. I call it "abrupt".

Also, the very first ep "Downtown as Fruits" / "Eugene's Bike"
re-aired on Wednesday:
- I noticed that Billy (the kid with the worms) sounded exactly the
same as Sid (who BTW, is visible in the playground during the opening
"Dork Parade" sequence). Might be explained by the fact that it's the
same voice actor responsible (Sam Gifaldi). And in that same "Dork
Parade" sequence, we see Park, but his shirt is slightly different
(it's all white, except for some black lines and the "U").
- If you ask me, having Arnold cause serious trouble to someone in the
VERY FIRST EP is not the best way to establish the character as being
(to paraphrase Gerald in "Best Friends") Papa Teresa.
- You know the bit where Eugene is whining over his broken bike?
Reminds me a lot of Charlie Brown films. (Then again, the whole series
had that vibe, well at least early on anyway.)

And a mea culpa for describing Phoebe without the specs when she's
sleeping as looking quite a bit like Number 4 from KND... I guess I
got my numbers confused, I was thinking Number 3, actually.

No notes for "Steely Phil" and "Quantity Time" though... I had
unexpected university business that day (and the next), and even when
I set the tape to record the repeat the following morning at 6:30am
(my big sis also wanted to record an overnight CSI repeat, as in
midnight to 1am, so I set the tape for that too), when I played back
the tape, CSI wasn't followed by Phil playing checkers, but rather
Fear Factor (apparently, even when I set it to stop at 1am, it
continued recording until it ran out of tape). :-p And I'm pretty sure
that I set everything correctly. To paraphrase Stinky, this really
bites (though I've calculated that I will get a chance to see it in
late May, just before I start my senior year).

[ungvichian]

Today is the official low point of Hey Arnold!'s history. It's a
one-two punch of "Arnold Betrays Iggy" and "Helga and the Nanny", both
of which have uncharacteristic (for this show at least) downer
endings. Thoughts folow shortly, after some extra notes for "Rich
Kid":
Looking over the tape one last time before recording over it (to
record some Lorenzo sounds, mainly), here are some little things I
noticed:
* Let's see who's playing baseball: Helga, Joey (who hasn't said a
single word since season 1, and in fact never says anything since
then), Stinky, Arnold, Gerald, Robert, and of course Lorenzo.
* Let's see who's watching the clouds from left to right: Helga, Sid,
Stinky, Gerald, Harold, Arnold, Lorenzo. Nice touch with showing what
the other kids see in the clouds in the first shot, and then showing
just plain "rising cumulonimbus formations" just before Lorenzo makes
his comment... BTW, Gerald sees "a man in a chef's hat".
* And walking across the mud puddle in order: Harold, Helga, Gerald,
Stinky, Sid (the last four all walking at the same time, and the last
three falling at the same time), and of course Arnold and Lorenzo.
OK, now that we've gotten that out of the way...

"Arnold Betrays Iggy"
- Arnold's dropping off Iggy's homework. So Sid, Stinky and Arnold are
talking about how cool Iggy is. Something about drawing a chalk
picture of Wartz as a clown and getting suspended. (Well, it does
raise the question of "if he's so cool, why hasn't he had a
significant role in the series before?" Then again, we were only let
in on Rhonda's friendship with Nadine in season 2 as well...)
- Arnold's visiting Iggy and he's in room 709 of his apartment
building. Finds him on sofa watching TV in bunny PJs. This sets up the
whole downward spiral of the story, folks, as Arnold's supposed to
keep it secret, a la "Gerald's Secret".
- OK, the following day. Among the bus passengers: Park, Eugene
(making a characteristic pratfall getting off), Joey, Helga, Phoebe,
Rhonda (sans specs AGAIN), Nadine, and of course Arnold, Sid and
Stinky (talking about lemon pudding). Timeout: Freeze framing this
shot, Phoebe is only as tall as the bus tyre.
- Next thing you know, suddenly, Sid and Stinky have found out about
the PJs and are telling everyone. Among the crowd: Harold, Eugene,
Lorenzo, Rhonda, Nadine, Phoebe, Sheena, Curly, Helga, and of course,
Stinky is there too. Next thing you know, Iggy is being called "bunny
pajama boy" and the like, and he's mad at Arnold. Iggy's not even
talking with Arnold since he's so convinced that he told them about
his PJs, even as Arnold denies everything.
- Grandpa's advice: apologize to Iggy and explain in a calm and
rational manner, and if all else fails, buy him forgiveness with
present and favors. Well an apology doesn't work, and neither do the
chocolate creams he's given him (big grin watch!), and the following
day at the playground, Helga pulls up her pigtails to look like bunny
ears and a kid with glasses and bucked teeth makes fun of him.
- Weather, winter into spring. He decides to do Iggy's chores for a
full week. Vacuuming, dishwashing, trash dumping, laundry, ironing...
A week later, he still won't forgive him. Iggy schemes on how to get
him humiliated as the only way to get forgiveness.
- There's a TV crew, and lots of kids in front of the Arms. Someone
has placed a sign conveniently saying "Grovel Here".
- Stinky has finally confirmed that Arnold never did spill the
beans... but to borrow from Bon Jovi, "No one can save me, the damage
is done", because here he comes... in bunny PJs. People like Suzie,
Robert, Nadine, Joey and Harold (if this is after school, shouldn't he
be at the butcher's?) laughing at him, some kid squirting him with
water, and did I mention that he's being televised?
- After all is said and done, Arnold's mad at Iggy, of course, despite
Iggy's claim that he was trying to call the whole thing off (no
"to-may-to to-mah-to" jokes here PLEASE). The last time the ending of
any story left us asking questions, it was "The High Life" which left
us wondering how Gerald was going to afford to buy some rollerblades.
Here, we're meant to wonder how Iggy's ever going to get Arnold to
forgive him, much less regain his reputation.
- Timeout 1: If Viksten wanted to make the ending even more of a
downer, why not have Iggy attempt to apologize to Arnold right on the
air (of course, Arnold was being televised)?
- Timeout 2: The saddest part about the ending is, as Stinky said,
Arnold never spilled the beans, and yet he's taking the fall for his
secret getting out. (Speaking of taking the fall, "Phoebe Takes The
Fall" airs next Wednesday over here, and it's an ep I've been
hankering to see, if only because of its similarity to "Spelling
Bee"...) Not only that, Sid and Stinky aren't made to pay for what
they did... And exactly what moral does Viksten intend we take from
this? Life isn't fair? Bad things happen to good people? Sometimes,
the truth doesn't matter? What, exactly?
- Quotables: "Why would I be wearing bunny pajamas?" (Iggy) "It's not
funny Arnold" (Iggy) "Was it liederhosen?" (Sid) "Where's your little
diapers?" (Harold) "That's a riot..." "It's not funny" (Grandpa and
Arnold) "Then buy him forgiveness with presents and favors (cymbal
sting)" (Grandpa) "True, but how long can a feller stay mad?" (Stinky)
"It's gonna be all I can bear to watch" (Grandpa) "It sure is a
terrible state of affairs" (Stinky) "Eventually you're going to have
to forgive me..." (Well, if you gave Arnold the cold shoulder, Iggy,
no reason he shouldn't give it to you... *rolls eyes*)

"Helga and the Nanny"
- While Miriam's eating some donuts, Bob announces that he's hired a
nanny. Inge Brumhilde. She's brought some gooseberry jam, and
pumpernickel bread for breakfast, and also changes Helga from her from
her usual pink dress and big pigtails to Alpine dress, and braided
hair. Getting quite some derision from her school buddies. Brainy
punch alert!
- Sheena's up at bat at Gerald Field, with Helga as catcher, and
Stinky, Arnold and Gerald playing as well. Inge's interrupted the
proceedings, however, to tell Helga that she should be having
needlepointing lessons.
- Helga's on the cell with Phoebe talking about Inge's dinner. She's
pretty confident that dad won't like it... Well, he's enjoyed Inge's
potato dumplings, and that prompts another hole in his lucky belt, and
that will have a major role later on. Inge's forcing Helga to be
polite to her parents. Asking her mom to be excused and curtseying to
dad.
- The following day at the park, all the kids are having some cake
from Inge. Phoebe and Arnold appreciate her... but Helga doesn't care,
she wants her out ASAP.
- Scheme 1: Pouring glue onto chair. No matter, Inge's good at
removing stains. Scheme 2: Overcooking their dinner. No matter, Inge's
prepared for such emergencies. Scheme 3: Putting Miriam's tablecloth
on heavy duty. No matter, Inge's good at sewing.
- OK, time to get drastic. She's taking dad's lucky belt and putting
it in Inge's room. Bob needs it to open a beeper clearance sale. Helga
gives Bob a suggestion, and before you know it, Bob's accusing Inge of
being a common thief and kicking her out. Hmm... suddenly, it seems
that everyone's abandoning her over this...
- Cruddy dinner, followed by nightmare sequence with a still-unhired
Inge in the park, fighting for food with pigeons. Following day, she
heads down to the park, and as she'd half-expected, she's found an
unhired Inge. She gives her a stern talk on the consequences of
kicking her out, as well as a needlepoint picture of a house with a
heart inside. Leaves in cab.
- Bob's complaining about a broken TV (he wants to watch his new
beeper ad) as Helga heads to her room, where she gets a postcard from
Inge about being back in the Alps where "everyone trusts me", and
continues to do needlepointing as we head into the credits.. With
these two downer eps, one is tempted to wonder if Bartlett and the
gang were trying to get the show an Emmy nomination... if they were,
tho, it certainly didn't work.
- Quotables: "Baloney, you're only 7" "I'm 9 dad" (Bob and Helga, on
needing a nanny) "What, are you trying to ruin my life?" (Helga to
Inge) "She's Helga and I'm Toulouse Lautrec" (Helga to Inge) "You look
like a girl on the box of heart chocolates" (Stinky) "Nobody runs
Helga Pataki" (Helga) "She's pretty enough to be the queen of the
cheese festival" (Stinky) "I haven't had potato dumplings this good
since my baba made it when i was a little boy" (Bob on Inge's food)
"All hail the beeper king" (Helga to dad) "I seem to have a little
raincloud following me everywhere..." (Inge on ripped up tablecloth)
"Feels like I'm in some sort of painting or something" (Helga in
nightmare sequence)

[ungvichian]

Arnold's bat has been affected by "Dangerous Lumber", "Mr. Hyunh Goes
Country" with Randy Travis, Sid borrows "Arnold's Room", and Patty's
back in "Helga vs. Big Patty". Thoughts follow shortly, all
corrections welcome.

"Dangerous Lumber"
- John D Beck? Ron Hart? Sounds like the show's regular writers called
in sick or something... Harold's pitching, Eugene, Stinky and Sheena
are in the outfield. Here comes Arnold to the plate... and it's
straight back into Harold.
- OK, shot of scoreboard, and it appears that Gerald Field is now the
lot's "official" name... and that would also mean that the kids also
prevented Big Bob from building a beeper shop on the lot (cf. the end
of "Save The Tree"). It's the home side with 1 run in the 3rd. Gerald
pops the ball... and next it's Arnold zinging the ball past Harold and
straight into Eugene ("I'm okay").
- Score now reads: Home 0 0 1 2 1 3 1 2, Visitors 0 across the board.
Helga's now introducing Arnold as "the assassin", and Harold's
prepared himself with a pillow on his huge belly. Here comes a bunt,
and as the ball floats up one can see a sign saying Holywood Cow Farm
(possibly the farm from the start of "Crabby Author"?), good for a
cheap sight gag later on. Stinky, Curly, Sheena and Gerald run into
Harold ... and the ball bounces off, in the exact order, Curly,
Sheena, Stinky, Harold and Gerald.
- Gerald is confident that with Arnold's form, the 4th graders can't
possibly lose this Friday's match with Wolfgang (the guy from "Longest
Monday" and "Mudbowl") and the 5th graders. However, Arnold does not
share Gerald's feelings as he's injured half of the team. Eugene down
a hole! :-D
- Grandpa's surprised that Arnold's not practicing the great American
pastime, and thinks that it's "mathematically impossible" that he can
injure someone with every single hit. Well, the proof is in the
pudding: Grandpa nailed in the butt by ball bouncing off fence, Ernie
hit by ball bouncing off barracade Grandpa set up :-D, and ball
hitting fence, fence slapping Abner in the butt and Abner running into
Grandpa doing the laundry. Last one makes for bizarre image.
- Surely he can't hurt anyone if he tries with a hitting machine.
Well, the hitting machine goes nuts after Arnold hits a ball straight
back into the machine's pipe. That's it, Arnold's quitting baseball.
And that makes Gerald surprised, since the whole team's relying on
him.
- Instead of joining his pals at Gerald Field, he heads to the arcade,
where he's playing a baseball arcade game, and lots of little baseball
player figures are falling like flies.
- After school, Gerald is saying something about putting Sid, Stinky,
Nadine and Harold (shouldn't he be at the butcher's?) out. Meanwhile,
Wolfgang reminds them of the game at 7pm tonight (and he calls it "The
Vacant Lot"). And Gerald calls him Bubba, BTW.
- Well, remember that guy from "The Baseball", Mickey Kaline? He liked
ballpark hotdogs so much (uh, I think Nick was veering a bit too close
to blatant product placement here... there's a brand of hotdogs called
"Ballpark"), he opened his "All Natural Casings Dog Pound" after he
retired. He's pitching it on TV, and Arnold is conveniently across the
street from it.
- So Arnold's telling his story, and it seems that Kaline knows
exactly what he's talking about (he mentions Gerald Field and Wolfgang
by name) and Kaline's telling about how some guy named Johnny Banks
did the same thing (and he suffered broken bones like "something
called the tibula, whatever that means")... and when he told Johnny to
stop doing it, he hit a homer at his next atbat. Point is, if he ever
wants to live up to his potential, he has to face his fears and get to
the plate. Meanwhile, the toilet's backed up :-D
- The Jolly Olly Man is the umpire, as Eugene strikes out. The score's
10-7 with the 5th graders as the home side in the lead. Final out,
bases loaded. I see Brainy at 1st there... and here comes Arnold.
- OK, Gramps hands Arnold a bat. Freeze framing, in the stands, we
have (bottom to top, left to right) Ernie, Grandpa, Abner, Timberly,
Martin, some guy in the 2nd row, Vitello with a foam finger, Chocolate
Boy, Harvey with a 4th graders flag and possibly Lila's dad.
- Now he's on 2 strikes... and he sees that the bat is one signed by
Kaline. Wolfgang shakes a couple of suggestions, before literally
winding up for his pitch...
- And it's off the bat, straight through the right of the cow farm
sign, leaving the words "Holy" and "Cow"... and into Kaline's head :-D
("Easy Squeezy Lemon Peasy"). Nadine's at the plate to receive Arnold,
but in the shot where the others are picking him up she's not there...
- Aftermath. Kaline drops by, gives Arnold the homerun ball, and they
toss it between each other as Arnold shares his anecdote about the
homer. Gee, where'd I see that before?... Kaline's other ep "The
Baseball", that's where.
- Quotables: "Look at you Arnold, swinging your butt like you're some
kind of Mickey Kaline or something" "Just throw the ball you big oaf"
(Harold and Helga, as Arnold swings his butt around) "Easy Squeezy
Lemon Peasy" "Medic..." (beaned Harold and Helga) "At this rate you're
gonna bean everyone in the field" (Helga on Arnold) "I just can't hit
anymore, maybe not ever" (Arnold) "It's like you're rearranging deck
chairs on the Titanic" (Helga on Gerald's Arnold-less game plan)
"We're ready for you Bubba" (Gerald to Wolfgang) "It's not the hot
dog, guys" (Kaline) "You gotta stand up to that plate, and swing, no
matter what... because if you don't you could end up being a loser and
never live up to your potential. But if you stick to it and face your
fears, you could become a big success, just like me" (moral of the
day, bucko)


"Mr. Hyunh Goes Country" by Ciks, Prud.
- Who's that in the shower, wonder Arnold and Gerald? It's... Mr.
Hyunh?! Hearing his voice, Arnold thinks he should be on the radio.
Gerald thinks that Arnold could be his manager. He's even dreaming of
getting Hyunh to perform at Great Ole Opry (referring to the respected
Nashville performance house "Grande Ole Opry"). Ever notice that the
imagining footage of CD recording and the billboard are used later on?
- The animation seems to have briefly frozen when it returns from the
imaginary sequence back to Arnold and Gerald talking...
- It's kind of hard to imagine someone with a heavy Asian accent like
Mr. Hyunh singing without a trace of the accent... in fact, neither
can the show's producers: while Baoan Coleman does his regular
speaking voice, the singing is done by Randy Travis.
- OK, so Arnold convinces Hyunh (who BTW works at a restaurant) to
record a CD so his friends can listen to his singing all the time.
After the recording, Hyunh's got a huge box of CDs, and they're
passing El Patio (responsible for the tacos in "Eating Contest") when
the two come up with the bold idea of taking it to the radio station.
- K-Dude. Well, that Ned guy is still DJ, even if they changed from
their all-jazz format the previous week (he's now "Nashville Ned"),
but his hands also still are tied by a system, just like in "Sally's
Comet"... and he drops his donut just like in "Sally's Comet" as he's
introducing a song titled "I Went And Lost My Dog Again", by some
Billy Bob guy. Cue the two stuffing Hyunh CD into the player, and
bingo, instant country hit.
- Montage of Phil and Oskar playing checkers, Harold in the bathub
with ducks, Vitello and Harvey dancing, and customers at Dudnick's
(Arnold's Christmas) grooving along to Hyunh. Note the "Fleber" record
player, shown in (yes) "Sally's Comet".
- Next thing you know, billboards and autograph signings (Hyunh with
dirty hands :-D), and Oskar even wants to write songs together with
him. Back to his room 3... and it's become the HQ for "G&A
Management". Next stop, the county fair this Friday. Get Carlos to
fill in.
- So cue montage of him buying stuff at Howell Phil's Country Western
Wear, club gigs, autograph signings, and of course performing at the
county fair.
- And here comes a honkin' long limo, and out comes Travis Randall,
host of The Great Ole Opry Show, who wants Hyunh to play on the show
this Sunday. If he's good enough he could go on a tour: 30 cities in 2
months, or to put it simply, a different city every 2 days.
- Great Ole Opry. Dressing room animation flub: reflection of hat and
head it's on suddenly disappears. Meanwhile, a stagehand guy
pronounces his name as written: "Hoone".
- Honk Williams, Polly Barton, Lefty Schwizzle? I know who the first
two are takeoffs of, but what about the other one?
- Anyhow, he goes out on stage, and Randall announces "This is Mr.
Hyunh's first time singing here, but I can bet you a bundle that it
won't be his last." However, Hyunh goes out and announces it is,
because he wants to be a chef someday, resulting in Gerald (with paper
calculator in hand) being surprised and disappointed at someone
quitting something he loves... for the 2nd time in the 1/2 hr. Song
plays out in full as it goes from Hyunh performing on Opry stage to
him playing guitar on Arms roof... and it continues straight across
the credits. Which starts with a credit page telling who was
responsible for the song: Craig Bartlett, Steve Viksten, and of course
Randy Travis (who BTW also voices Randall above).
- You'd think that Hyunh's first name would have popped up somewhere,
huh? Comparisons between this pair of eps and the All Grown Up! ep
"Susie Sings The Blues", folks:
* Of course, both the 2nd story and the AGU! ep are all about singing.
Only that Susie actually *wants* to make it big, while desire to be
famous never crosses Hyunh's mind.
* Character decides to quit what s/he loves, says "maybe not ever",
after hard times: SSTB, Susie after being conned.... Dangerous Lumber,
Arnold after batting problems.
- Quotables: "Well, burn my house and steal my car" (recording guy
hears Hyunh singing) "Well, he didn't say 'Don't try to get it on the
radio'" (Gerald) "Hey Elvis can I speak to you for a minute?" (Oskar
to Hyunh) "All of sudden, I am a rhinestone cowboy" (Hyunh on being a
new country star) "It's your life Mr Hyunh" "Yes, my life (long pause)
I guess I have a decision to make" (Arnold and Hyunh) "I'm just
pullin' your leg" (Randall, during Hyunh's introduction)


"Arnold's Room"
- The 2nd of the Lorenzo eps opens with Simmons telling the class
about partnering for a history project. Some pairings you'd expect
(Arnold/Gerald Helga/Phoebe Rhonda/Nadine) and some you wouldn't
(Iggy/Eugene, Sid/Lorenzo). This story is all about Sid/Lorenzo. Note
Sid's full hair as he's asking to be Lorenzo's partner for his project
on Apollo 11. Meanwhile, the other guys are planning on playing
baseball (isn't the catcher Harold supposed to be at the butcher's?).
Willickers watch.
- Lorenzo's going to study about the bit where the astronauts were in
their rockets, and Sid's going to reserach about when they walked on
the moon. Remote-controlled helicopter + model train = hilarious
crash. Anyhow, the story gets going as Lorenzo's suggesting that Sid
use his room next time. Meanwhile, Sid's room looks like a shambles.
But he's pitching his room as "a space age bachelor pad"... eh?
- Hmm... Sid's asking to borrow Arnold's room for an hour, and come
borrowing time, he's vacating him from his room and replacing the
pictures of Arnold with pictures of him. Baby Sid included :-) (At
this point, the picture disappeared for about 10 seconds, so I only
saw Baby Sid's picture) Plus a sign saying "Sid's Room". Ah...
- Here comes Lorenzo, saying something about living in a
post-industrial whatever. Sid tries to operate Arnold's Purdy stereo
with the remote control, and ends up controlling Arnold's lights and
potato clock, and gets swallowed by that chair from "Field Trip" :-D
Turning on "his" computer to play Lorenzo's CD-ROM, he sees it's
password protected. OK, time's up, and he puts the pictures he
replaced back. Sid and his dad, Sid now, and Baby Sid, and returns the
room to Arnold. Don't forget that "Sid's Room" sign, Sid ;-)
- Possible animation mistake: Right after he "rides" the chair, his
cap's hood is straight in front, in the next, it's to his side as he's
pulling it back.
- Following day. In the gym, he's talking about it with Harold, Stinky
and Joey, and there seems to be a problem with his hair... in one shot
it's stringy, after a cut to Stinky it's full, and in the shot after
that it's stringy again. Eh?
- Well, Lorenzo's called to come over to Sid's room, so he'll have to
borrow Arnold's room again, and he's asking Arnold to leave his
computer on. And he's asking Arnold to take an hour off to clear his
mind (giving him cash to take in a movie). Grandpa's reading the
Tribune as he's leaving...
- OK, after an hour or so of looking at Lorenzo's CD-ROM, Sid makes a
reference to Lorenzo's viola lessons and junior investment meetings
("Rich Kid"), which as it turns out, Lorenzo had cleared so he could
do this report. Now Sid's complaining about Arnold leaving his notepad
in "his" room.
- Arnold's returned, and Sid accidentally breaks his potato clock (if
it was accurate, it's now 10pm), and now he's complaining that he has
a headache and shoving Lorenzo up the roof (nice touch with throwing
the suitcase off as well ;-) ).
- Now that Lorenzo's been taken care of, Arnold and Sid need to talk
about Sid using his room and passing it off as his own. Sid will
"handle it in my own way". Following day, he's sitting behind Park and
between Lorenzo and Arnold, considering his actions.
- Well, they're at Lorenzo's, and Lorenzo's painting a rocket. Hmm...
it appears that Lorenzo has forgotten his CD-ROM in "Sid's" room, so
they're heading on down to get it. Arnold's in the room with Stinky,
Gerald and Harold playing cards. Cue really awkward confrontation
scene.
- Sid's reason for borrowing Arnold's room: because he was afraid
Lorenzo would think he was plain. Turns out Lorenzo didn't like him
for "his" room, but rather for him, so I guess it's time to cue a
cliched lesson about being yourself, and time for Lorenzo, Sid, Arnold
to make up and join the others for cards.
- Quotables: "I meant to do that... wanna ride the couch?" (Sid gets
swallowed by that chair from "Field Trip") "You've been working too
hard" (Sid gets Arnold to leave) "Guess i'm going to the movies,
grandpa" "Guess I'll save you some supper" (Arnold goes to the movies)
"How'd you get rid of Arnold, bribe him?" (Phil, on Arnold) "Grandpa?!
Uh, wait a minute, what's your name again?" "He likes to joke" (Phil
and Sid) "Who is 'the short man'?" "He's refering to an imaginary
leprechaun (Lorenzo and Sid on Grandpa's reference to "the short man"
:-D) "It's the 'I swear, never again' kid" (Phil on Sid, on his third
visit to the Arms) "He thinks I'm his grandpa" (Phil) "I could have
sworn on a stack of phonebooks this is Arnold's room" (Stinky) "I
promise" "Yeah, right, Sid" (Sid, Harold) "The name of the game is
rummy" "I thought we were gonna play old maid! C'mon" (Stinky, Harold)

"Helga vs. Big Patty"
- OK, Rhonda (minus specs AGAIN?) and Nadine join Helga and Phoebe at
their table. They're watching Big Patty and Arnold in line (Sid and
Lila are overtaking them for taking so long over tapioca). Cue really
long sequence about Helga making cheap jokes at Patty's expense in the
cafeteria, locker room and playground.
- And it's at the playground where Patty challenges Helga to a fight
tomorrow at 3:15. Helga's reaction to the "let's dance" bit :-D . And
Patty's already pummelled a girl named Mary into using a walker, so
what's a girl like Helga to do? ASk her parents for advice, that's
what.
- The advice seems to be a bit cliched (and contradictory) tho: Dad
(watching some boxing) suggests that fighting never solves problems,
and she should be a good listener and things like that. Meanwhile, Mom
(making some smoothies) suggests that "her friend" should stand up for
herself.
- OK, time for yet another one of those nightmare sequences. This one
here features Helga and a (really big) Patty duking it out in the
boxing ring. Listen out for the music sting from the end of "The
Little Pink Book" after that sequence.
- Following morn, Helga's talking with Arnold about Big Patty, and it
appears that those cheap jokes have (predictably) hurt her feelings.
Arnold's recommendation: Apologize to her, and try to be her friend
("You're forgetting something: she hates me"). OK, she's taking the
first recommendation. His advice is on her hand as she decides to
apologize to Patty in the library. Well, the fight is still on anyhow.
- The clock reads 1:50, and Helga's having lunch at the same table as
Arnold. Huh? After Helga's done whining about Patty still fighting her
anyway, Arnold decides to go to Patty who's conveniently at another
table eating a sandwich, and gives her some advice, basically, Helga
doesn't deserve to be beaten up after her apology, and that she should
do the right thing.
- The time's coming up to 3:15, as Joey and Stinky are sitting on top
of the jungle gym while Harold, Park, Iggy, Robert and Sid are
standing in front, with Sid passing along some popcorn, as they're
ready to watch Helga take on Big Patty. After some brief concerns that
Patty may have forgotten, the "dumb as a post" Patty comes and drags
Helga into the gym... and she's stomping on, and throwing, a trashcan
and repeatedly punching a mattress? Huh? On top of that, she ruffles
up Helga a bit by ripping her collar and taking off her bow (rendering
her bow-less for the 2nd time in 3 eps), and putting a little dirt on
her. Huh? (Listen for the ratchet noise...)
- Well, Patty is cutting Helga a break, and she's citing Arnold's
advice on it. She's only making all that noise because she has a
reputation to maintain (wasn't that the whole plot of "Arnold Betrays
Iggy"?). Helga decides to add to the credibilty of their "fight" by
ripping down her right sleeve. Cue bizarre moment with Patty asking
Helga about Helga and Arnold. OK, Helga's being dragged out in clear
pain, while Patty winks at Arnold. The Executive Producer credit's on
screen for only a somewhat short time before heading into the credits.
And Patty will be back for "Harold vs. Patty" sometime in season 5,
with some surprises in store, but first, "Hey Harold!", coming in a
few days' time (the next ep actually).
- Quotables: "She's not exactly a rocket scientist" (Helga, on Patty)
"Patty is so ugly, when she was born, the doctor took one look and
slapped her mother" (just one of Helga's Patty jokes) "Where's that
book your mom keeps trying to get me to read?" (Bob tries to give
Helga some advice) "There goes another $50 down the freakin' toilet"
(Bob watches boxing) "I am woman, hear me roar" (Miriam's advice)
"Felines? Oh, feelings" (Helga reading off her palm) "It's been nice
knowing you, bucko" (as Helga leaves her table with Arnold) "Dead girl
walkin'" (Stinky, on Helga) "I'm eating" (the only thing Patty says
while Arnold's dispensing some advice) "Who's got the popcorn?"
(Stinky) "Arnold? What's he got to do with this?" (Helga surprised at
Patty cutting her a break) "I've still got a reputation" (why Patty is
grunging Helga up) "...but you and Arnold... you got some kind of
thing for each other?" "No, are you kidding? Gimme a break" (Patty and
Helga) "Sell it" (Patty reveals the beaten up Helga) "I reckon Big
Patty figured it was too dang violent for us kids to watch" (Stinky,
on Patty doing her stuff inside the gym)

[ungvichian]

Apologies if the following has already appeared. When I posted it the
first time, I saw an error saying "Connection has been reset by peer".

Arnold's bat has been affected by "Dangerous Lumber", "Mr. Hyunh Goes
Country" with Randy Travis, Sid borrows "Arnold's Room", and Patty's
back in "Helga vs. Big Patty". Thoughts follow shortly, all
corrections welcome.

"Dangerous Lumber"
- John D Beck? Ron Hart? Sounds like the show's regular writers called
in sick or something... Harold's pitching, Eugene, Stinky and Sheena
are in the outfield. Here comes Arnold to the plate... and it's
straight back into Harold.
- OK, shot of scoreboard, and it appears that Gerald Field is now the
lot's "official" name... and that would also mean that the kids also
prevented Big Bob from building a beeper shop on the lot (cf. the end
of "Save The Tree"). It's the home side with 1 run in the 3rd. Gerald
pops the ball... and next it's Arnold zinging the ball past Harold and
straight into Eugene ("I'm okay").
- Score now reads: Home 0 0 1 2 1 3 1 2, Visitors 0 across the board.
Helga's now introducing Arnold as "the assassin", and Harold's
prepared himself with a pillow on his huge belly. Here comes a bunt,
and as the ball floats up one can see a sign saying Holywood Cow Farm
(possibly the farm from the start of "Crabby Author"?), good for a
cheap sight gag later on. Stinky, Curly, Sheena and Gerald run into
Harold ... and the ball bounces off, in the exact order, Curly,
Sheena, Stinky, Harold and Gerald.
- Gerald is confident that with Arnold's form, the 4th graders can't
possibly lose this Friday's match with Wolfgang (the guy from "Longest
Monday" and "Mudbowl") and the 5th graders. However, Arnold does not
share Gerald's feelings as he's injured half of the team. Eugene down
a hole! :-D
- Grandpa's surprised that Arnold's not practicing the great American
pastime, and thinks that it's "mathematically impossible" that he can
injure someone with every single hit. Well, the proof is in the
pudding: Grandpa nailed in the butt by ball bouncing off fence, Ernie
hit by ball bouncing off barracade Grandpa set up :-D, and ball
hitting fence, fence slapping Abner in the butt and Abner running into
Grandpa doing the laundry. Last one makes for bizarre image.
- Surely he can't hurt anyone if he tries with a hitting machine.
Well, the hitting machine goes nuts after Arnold hits a ball straight
back into the machine's pipe. That's it, Arnold's quitting baseball.
And that makes Gerald surprised, since the whole team's relying on
him.
- Instead of joining his pals at Gerald Field, he heads to the arcade,
where he's playing a baseball arcade game, and lots of little baseball
player figures are falling like flies.
- After school, Gerald is saying something about putting Sid, Stinky,
Nadine and Harold (shouldn't he be at the butcher's?) out. Meanwhile,
Wolfgang reminds them of the game at 7pm tonight (and he calls it "The
Vacant Lot"). And Gerald calls him Bubba, BTW.
- Well, remember that guy from "The Baseball", Mickey Kaline? He liked
ballpark hotdogs so much (uh, I think Nick was veering a bit too close
to blatant product placement here... there's a brand of hotdogs called
"Ballpark"), he opened his "All Natural Casings Dog Pound" after he
retired. He's pitching it on TV, and Arnold is conveniently across the
street from it.
- So Arnold's telling his story, and it seems that Kaline knows
exactly what he's talking about (he mentions Gerald Field and Wolfgang
by name) and Kaline's telling about how some guy named Johnny Banks
did the same thing (and he suffered broken bones like "something
called the tibula, whatever that means")... and when he told Johnny to
stop doing it, he hit a homer at his next atbat. Point is, if he ever
wants to live up to his potential, he has to face his fears and get to
the plate. Meanwhile, the toilet's backed up :-D
- The Jolly Olly Man is the umpire, as Eugene strikes out. The score's
10-7 with the 5th graders as the home side in the lead. Final out,
bases loaded. I see Brainy at 1st there... and here comes Arnold.
- OK, Gramps hands Arnold a bat. Freeze framing, in the stands, we
have (bottom to top, left to right) Ernie, Grandpa, Abner, Timberly,
Martin, some guy in the 2nd row, Vitello with a foam finger, Chocolate
Boy, Harvey with a 4th graders flag and possibly Lila's dad.
- Now he's on 2 strikes... and he sees that the bat is one signed by
Kaline. Wolfgang shakes a couple of suggestions, before literally
winding up for his pitch...
- And it's off the bat, straight through the right of the cow farm
sign, leaving the words "Holy" and "Cow"... and into Kaline's head :-D
("Easy Squeezy Lemon Peasy"). Nadine's at the plate to receive Arnold,
but in the shot where the others are picking him up she's not there...
- Aftermath. Kaline drops by, gives Arnold the homerun ball, and they
toss it between each other as Arnold shares his anecdote about the
homer. Gee, where'd I see that before?... Kaline's other ep "The
Baseball", that's where.
- Quotables: "Look at you Arnold, swinging your butt like you're some
kind of Mickey Kaline or something" "Just throw the ball you big oaf"
(Harold and Helga, as Arnold swings his butt around) "Easy Squeezy
Lemon Peasy" "Medic..." (beaned Harold and Helga) "At this rate you're
gonna bean everyone in the field" (Helga on Arnold) "I just can't hit
anymore, maybe not ever" (Arnold) "It's like you're rearranging deck
chairs on the Titanic" (Helga on Gerald's Arnold-less game plan)
"We're ready for you Bubba" (Gerald to Wolfgang) "It's not the hot
dog, guys" (Kaline) "You gotta stand up to that plate, and swing, no
matter what... because if you don't you could end up being a loser and
never live up to your potential. But if you stick to it and face your
fears, you could become a big success, just like me" (moral of the
day, bucko)


"Mr. Hyunh Goes Country" by Ciks, Prud.
- Who's that in the shower, wonder Arnold and Gerald? It's... Mr.
Hyunh?! Hearing his voice, Arnold thinks he should be on the radio.
Gerald thinks that Arnold could be his manager. He's even dreaming of
getting Hyunh to perform at Great Ole Opry (referring to the respected
Nashville performance house "Grande Ole Opry"). Ever notice that the
imagining footage of CD recording and the billboard are used later on?
- The animation seems to have briefly frozen when it returns from the
imaginary sequence back to Arnold and Gerald talking...
- It's kind of hard to imagine someone with a heavy Asian accent like
Mr. Hyunh singing without a trace of the accent... in fact, neither
can the show's producers: while Baoan Coleman does his regular
speaking voice, the singing is done by Randy Travis.
- OK, so Arnold convinces Hyunh (who BTW works at a restaurant) to
record a CD so his friends can listen to his singing all the time.
After the recording, Hyunh's got a huge box of CDs, and they're
passing El Patio (responsible for the tacos in "Eating Contest") when
the two come up with the bold idea of taking it to the radio station.
- K-Dude. Well, that Ned guy is still DJ, even if they changed from
their all-jazz format the previous week (he's now "Nashville Ned"),
but his hands also still are tied by a system, just like in "Sally's
Comet"... and he drops his donut just like in "Sally's Comet" as he's
introducing a song titled "I Went And Lost My Dog Again", by some
Billy Bob guy. Cue the two stuffing Hyunh CD into the player, and
bingo, instant country hit.
- Montage of Phil and Oskar playing checkers, Harold in the bathub
with ducks, Vitello and Harvey dancing, and customers at Dudnick's
(Arnold's Christmas) grooving along to Hyunh. Note the "Fleber" record
player, shown in (yes) "Sally's Comet".
- Next thing you know, billboards and autograph signings (Hyunh with
dirty hands :-D), and Oskar even wants to write songs together with
him. Back to his room 3... and it's become the HQ for "G&A
Management". Next stop, the county fair this Friday. Get Carlos to
fill in.
- So cue montage of him buying stuff at Howell Phil's Country Western
Wear, club gigs, autograph signings, and of course performing at the
county fair.
- And here comes a honkin' long limo, and out comes Travis Randall,
host of The Great Ole Opry Show, who wants Hyunh to play on the show
this Sunday. If he's good enough he could go on a tour: 30 cities in 2
months, or to put it simply, a different city every 2 days.
- Great Ole Opry. Dressing room animation flub: reflection of hat and
head it's on suddenly disappears. Meanwhile, a stagehand guy
pronounces his name as written: "Hoone".
- Honk Williams, Polly Barton, Lefty Schwizzle? I know who the first
two are takeoffs of, but what about the other one?
- Anyhow, he goes out on stage, and Randall announces "This is Mr.
Hyunh's first time singing here, but I can bet you a bundle that it
won't be his last." However, Hyunh goes out and announces it is,
because he wants to be a chef someday, resulting in Gerald (with paper
calculator in hand) being surprised and disappointed at someone
quitting something he loves... for the 2nd time in the 1/2 hr. Song
plays out in full as it goes from Hyunh performing on Opry stage to
him playing guitar on Arms roof... and it continues straight across
the credits. Which starts with a credit page telling who was
responsible for the song: Craig Bartlett, Steve Viksten, and of course
Randy Travis (who BTW also voices Randall above).
- You'd think that Hyunh's first name would have popped up somewhere,
huh? Comparisons between this pair of eps and the All Grown Up! ep
"Susie Sings The Blues", folks:
* Of course, both the 2nd story and the AGU! ep are all about singing.
Only that Susie actually *wants* to make it big, while desire to be
famous never crosses Hyunh's mind.
* Character decides to quit what s/he loves, says "maybe not ever",
after hard times: SSTB, Susie after being conned.... Dangerous Lumber,
Arnold after batting problems.
- Quotables: "Well, burn my house and steal my car" (recording guy
hears Hyunh singing) "Well, he didn't say 'Don't try to get it on the
radio'" (Gerald) "Hey Elvis can I speak to you for a minute?" (Oskar
to Hyunh) "All of sudden, I am a rhinestone cowboy" (Hyunh on being a
new country star) "It's your life Mr Hyunh" "Yes, my life (long pause)
I guess I have a decision to make" (Arnold and Hyunh) "I'm just
pullin' your leg" (Randall, during Hyunh's introduction)


"Arnold's Room"
- The 2nd of the Lorenzo eps opens with Simmons telling the class
about partnering for a history project. Some pairings you'd expect
(Arnold/Gerald Helga/Phoebe Rhonda/Nadine) and some you wouldn't
(Iggy/Eugene, Sid/Lorenzo). This story is all about Sid/Lorenzo. Note
Sid's full hair as he's asking to be Lorenzo's partner for his project
on Apollo 11. Meanwhile, the other guys are planning on playing
baseball (isn't the catcher Harold supposed to be at the butcher's?).
Willickers watch.
- Lorenzo's going to study about the bit where the astronauts were in
their rockets, and Sid's going to reserach about when they walked on
the moon. Remote-controlled helicopter + model train = hilarious
crash. Anyhow, the story gets going as Lorenzo's suggesting that Sid
use his room next time. Meanwhile, Sid's room looks like a shambles.
But he's pitching his room as "a space age bachelor pad"... eh?
- Hmm... Sid's asking to borrow Arnold's room for an hour, and come
borrowing time, he's vacating him from his room and replacing the
pictures of Arnold with pictures of him. Baby Sid included :-) (At
this point, the picture disappeared for about 10 seconds, so I only
saw Baby Sid's picture) Plus a sign saying "Sid's Room". Ah...
- Here comes Lorenzo, saying something about living in a
post-industrial whatever. Sid tries to operate Arnold's Purdy stereo
with the remote control, and ends up controlling Arnold's lights and
potato clock, and gets swallowed by that chair from "Field Trip" :-D
Turning on "his" computer to play Lorenzo's CD-ROM, he sees it's
password protected. OK, time's up, and he puts the pictures he
replaced back. Sid and his dad, Sid now, and Baby Sid, and returns the
room to Arnold. Don't forget that "Sid's Room" sign, Sid ;-)
- Possible animation mistake: Right after he "rides" the chair, his
cap's hood is straight in front, in the next, it's to his side as he's
pulling it back.
- Following day. In the gym, he's talking about it with Harold, Stinky
and Joey, and there seems to be a problem with his hair... in one shot
it's stringy, after a cut to Stinky it's full, and in the shot after
that it's stringy again. Eh?
- Well, Lorenzo's called to come over to Sid's room, so he'll have to
borrow Arnold's room again, and he's asking Arnold to leave his
computer on. And he's asking Arnold to take an hour off to clear his
mind (giving him cash to take in a movie). Grandpa's reading the
Tribune as he's leaving...
- OK, after an hour or so of looking at Lorenzo's CD-ROM, Sid makes a
reference to Lorenzo's viola lessons and junior investment meetings
("Rich Kid"), which as it turns out, Lorenzo had cleared so he could
do this report. Now Sid's complaining about Arnold leaving his notepad
in "his" room.
- Arnold's returned, and Sid accidentally breaks his potato clock (if
it was accurate, it's now 10pm), and now he's complaining that he has
a headache and shoving Lorenzo up the roof (nice touch with throwing
the suitcase off as well ;-) ).
- Now that Lorenzo's been taken care of, Arnold and Sid need to talk
about Sid using his room and passing it off as his own. Sid will
"handle it in my own way". Following day, he's sitting behind Park and
between Lorenzo and Arnold, considering his actions.
- Well, they're at Lorenzo's, and Lorenzo's painting a rocket. Hmm...
it appears that Lorenzo has forgotten his CD-ROM in "Sid's" room, so
they're heading on down to get it. Arnold's in the room with Stinky,
Gerald and Harold playing cards. Cue really awkward confrontation
scene.
- Sid's reason for borrowing Arnold's room: because he was afraid
Lorenzo would think he was plain. Turns out Lorenzo didn't like him
for "his" room, but rather for him, so I guess it's time to cue a
cliched lesson about being yourself, and time for Lorenzo, Sid, Arnold
to make up and join the others for cards.
- Quotables: "I meant to do that... wanna ride the couch?" (Sid gets
swallowed by that chair from "Field Trip") "You've been working too
hard" (Sid gets Arnold to leave) "Guess i'm going to the movies,
grandpa" "Guess I'll save you some supper" (Arnold goes to the movies)
"How'd you get rid of Arnold, bribe him?" (Phil, on Arnold) "Grandpa?!
Uh, wait a minute, what's your name again?" "He likes to joke" (Phil
and Sid) "Who is 'the short man'?" "He's refering to an imaginary
leprechaun (Lorenzo and Sid on Grandpa's reference to "the short man"
:-D) "It's the 'I swear, never again' kid" (Phil on Sid, on his third
visit to the Arms) "He thinks I'm his grandpa" (Phil) "I could have
sworn on a stack of phonebooks this is Arnold's room" (Stinky) "I
promise" "Yeah, right, Sid" (Sid, Harold) "The name of the game is
rummy" "I thought we were gonna play old maid! C'mon" (Stinky, Harold)

"Helga vs. Big Patty"
- OK, Rhonda (minus specs AGAIN?) and Nadine join Helga and Phoebe at
their table. They're watching Big Patty and Arnold in line (Sid and
Lila are overtaking them for taking so long over tapioca). Cue really
long sequence about Helga making cheap jokes at Patty's expense in the
cafeteria, locker room and playground.
- And it's at the playground where Patty challenges Helga to a fight
tomorrow at 3:15. Helga's reaction to the "let's dance" bit :-D . And
Patty's already pummelled a girl named Mary into using a walker, so
what's a girl like Helga to do? ASk her parents for advice, that's
what.
- The advice seems to be a bit cliched (and contradictory) tho: Dad
(watching some boxing) suggests that fighting never solves problems,
and she should be a good listener and things like that. Meanwhile, Mom
(making some smoothies) suggests that "her friend" should stand up for
herself.
- OK, time for yet another one of those nightmare sequences. This one
here features Helga and a (really big) Patty duking it out in the
boxing ring. Listen out for the music sting from the end of "The
Little Pink Book" after that sequence.
- Following morn, Helga's talking with Arnold about Big Patty, and it
appears that those cheap jokes have (predictably) hurt her feelings.
Arnold's recommendation: Apologize to her, and try to be her friend
("You're forgetting something: she hates me"). OK, she's taking the
first recommendation. His advice is on her hand as she decides to
apologize to Patty in the library. Well, the fight is still on anyhow.
- The clock reads 1:50, and Helga's having lunch at the same table as
Arnold. Huh? After Helga's done whining about Patty still fighting her
anyway, Arnold decides to go to Patty who's conveniently at another
table eating a sandwich, and gives her some advice, basically, Helga
doesn't deserve to be beaten up after her apology, and that she should
do the right thing.
- The time's coming up to 3:15, as Joey and Stinky are sitting on top
of the jungle gym while Harold, Park, Iggy, Robert and Sid are
standing in front, with Sid passing along some popcorn, as they're
ready to watch Helga take on Big Patty. After some brief concerns that
Patty may have forgotten, the "dumb as a post" Patty comes and drags
Helga into the gym... and she's stomping on, and throwing, a trashcan
and repeatedly punching a mattress? Huh? On top of that, she ruffles
up Helga a bit by ripping her collar and taking off her bow (rendering
her bow-less for the 2nd time in 3 eps), and putting a little dirt on
her. Huh? (Listen for the ratchet noise...)
- Well, Patty is cutting Helga a break, and she's citing Arnold's
advice on it. She's only making all that noise because she has a
reputation to maintain (wasn't that the whole plot of "Arnold Betrays
Iggy"?). Helga decides to add to the credibilty of their "fight" by
ripping down her right sleeve. Cue bizarre moment with Patty asking
Helga about Helga and Arnold. OK, Helga's being dragged out in clear
pain, while Patty winks at Arnold. The Executive Producer credit's on
screen for only a somewhat short time before heading into the credits.
And Patty will be back for "Harold vs. Patty" sometime in season 5,
with some surprises in store, but first, "Hey Harold!", coming in a
few days' time (the next ep actually).
- Quotables: "She's not exactly a rocket scientist" (Helga, on Patty)
"Patty is so ugly, when she was born, the doctor took one look and
slapped her mother" (just one of Helga's Patty jokes) "Where's that
book your mom keeps trying to get me to read?" (Bob tries to give
Helga some advice) "There goes another $50 down the freakin' toilet"
(Bob watches boxing) "I am woman, hear me roar" (Miriam's advice)
"Felines? Oh, feelings" (Helga reading off her palm) "It's been nice
knowing you, bucko" (as Helga leaves her table with Arnold) "Dead girl
walkin'" (Stinky, on Helga) "I'm eating" (the only thing Patty says
while Arnold's dispensing some advice) "Who's got the popcorn?"
(Stinky) "Arnold? What's he got to do with this?" (Helga surprised at
Patty cutting her a break) "I've still got a reputation" (why Patty is
grunging Helga up) "...but you and Arnold... you got some kind of
thing for each other?" "No, are you kidding? Gimme a break" (Patty and
Helga) "Sell it" (Patty reveals the beaten up Helga) "I reckon Big
Patty figured it was too dang violent for us kids to watch" (Stinky,
on Patty doing her stuff inside the gym)

[ungvichian]

"Career Day"
- Or should that be "Inflate The Cast Count So That It Takes Up Four
Screens Day"? ;-) Anyhow, Simmons introduces career day, with a twist:
instead of the jobs coming to them, they're going to the jobs. In
class today are Arnold, Iggy, Phoebe, Gerald, Sid, Helga, Sheena,
Rhonda, Nadine, Harold, Joey, and Brainy. Coming in, besides a bunch
of guys we don't know, we also have Uncle Earl (the boat guy),
Vitello, Ernie and Harvey.
- Simmons has the students pick from a hat, and here are some of the
results: Gerald gets to be a fireman, Helga gets to be a cop, Phoebe
gets to be a construction worker (she's like "huh?"), Harold gets to
be a pilot, while Arnold has been saddled with the Jolly Olly Man.
What used to be just an indifferent ice cream salesman has been
fleshed out into a very cranky one.
- Jolly Olly's cranky because his boss made him do this, and makes
Arnold sit in the back of the truck, by which I mean the freezer. He's
also not letting him talk with the customers or handle the money
(that's his job, he reckons). So what's football-head to do? Scrape
the ice from the freezers, that's what, and keep them clean.
- In the other parts of town, the others are enjoying their jobs:
* the fire department is being called into duty and Gerald gets to
ride along
* at the donut shop, the cops have been informed that there's a bank
robbery taking place at Jefferson, and Helga gets to tag along
* at a demolition site, Phoebe pulls Ernie's lever and wrecks a
historical building... it's exhilarating
- OTOH, Jolly Olly's getting cranky with his customers (especially
when one of them hands him a $10 for Italian Ices) and won't stop his
truck even when there are kids following it. Back to the others then:
* Gerald's busy putting out a fire
* Helga's just lent a hand (and a foot ;-) ) in nabbing some robbers
(apparently, she took some jiu-jitsu classes... I guess she usually
uses it against Brainy? ;-) )
* Phoebe's having lunch with Ernie.
* All of the above are guaranteed at least an A
- However, Jolly Olly wants to give Arnold (who's just finished
scraping) an F, and he recounts his spooty life as an ice cream
salesman. His boss (who calls him "Willy") passes along and threatens
to fire him unless he can sell his remaining ice cream before sundown
(and there's a lot of it left). As it happens, the boss is also his
dad, and he's been fired from his last 57 (!) jobs. His frustration
has just put a dent into his truck, and that's going out of his
paycheck.
- What Jolly Olly needs is a change in attitude to be, well, more
Jolly. So he's trying to teach him how to say "please and thanks"
("Please take your change, and thanks for nothing"), how to make a
friendly smile (the only type he knows is the menacing type :-D), and
how to clean his truck. Next thing you know, he's selling like nuts
with his new attitude.
- Problem though, after having sold their brains out, there's still
half a freezer left. Time, 4:15, and Arnold has an idea that involves
parking the truck outside of PS 118. At PS 118, the boss/dad passes
by. In one shot his watch reads 4:40, in another it reads 4:50 (and
the scenes are pretty much continuous).
- Here come the students (Phoebe in Ernie's crane ;-) ), and
everyone's having a good time (Sid was apparently paired with Harvey
BTW), and next thing you know, he's sold out, and Arnold's got his A.
And to top the whole thing off, Jolly Olly's yelling maniacally at his
boss/dad.
- Quotables: "So, we're gonna have a bunch of boring old bald guys
coming in tand lecture us on how we have to study hard if we want to
become president some day" (Helga, on Career Day) "He's cosntant
teetering on the brink of insanity" "Everything's always gotta be
perfect with you, doesn't it?" (Arnold and Gerald on Jolly Olly) "Oh,
that was exhilarating" (Phoebe demolishes a building) "Just tryin' to
help ma'am" (Gerald is putting out a fire) "Hope you guys like prison
food, because you'll be getting lots of it" (Helga puts bank robbers
in jail) "The city's a spritiual desert, devoid of beauty and love"
(Jolly Olly on the city) "What's wrong with my attitude? (ratchet)"
(Jolly Olly) "You get an F, a big fat F" "Huh???" "An F for friendly!
Just kidding" (Jolly Olly to Arnold after the day is done) "Kids like
me because I'm the Jolly Olly Man, and I'm staying right here!
(maniacal laughter)" (Jolly Olly to his boss/dad)

"Hey Harold!"
- And you thought "Arnold as Cupid" was a lame story title... So,
Rhonda (sans glasses *rolls eyes*) is handing out invitations to her
soiree' (night-time party) at 5pm. Sid, Stinky and Harold are
discussing things like dancing and Big Patty. Yes, she's back again.
- Harold's parents are discussing the soiree' with him over dinner. He
doesn't want to go, but he's eventually bugged into going anyhow.
- So the 6th grade girls, Eugene, and Joey are outside the house as we
join Rhonda's soiree', and on the inside, we have Ruth, Lila, Robert,
Stinky, Sid and Arnold (the three are together), Gerald talking with
Phoebe, Curly, Sheena, Helga and of course Harold. All of them in
party dresses.
- Nadine's also here too, as we see her with Rhonda as Big Patty
arrives. But first, Helga would rather stick her head into dip than
dance with Arnold (but she's not pointing straight at the dip...). Cue
soliloquy, and yep, you guessed it, Brainy gets punched in the face
AGAIN. Ratchet noise.
- Stinky has Gloria (I think that's Gloria) dance with him, Sid does
so with some woman I don't know, and Robert approaches Patty... and
asks for a chair. Harold's got better things to do, and stands at the
Lloyds' balcony and throws cherries. Patty's throwing cherries too.
Cue conversation between the two... and dancing, I might add. Oh yes,
more conversation about being dumb. Harold was apparently held back a
couple years: "They said I didn't apply myself."
- Back inside, Sid's trying to strike a conversation with Ruth without
success and Sheena's dancing with Curly. OK, the party's over but
Harold and Patty are still on the balcony talking. So they're going to
hang out with each other this Sunday.
- Sunday. Park walking, frisbee throwing, cotton candy, throwing balls
at bottles, eating ice cream. Which is when Sid and Stinky see him
hanging out with Patty. Later on, Harold drops her off at a house with
a nameplate saying "Smith" (thus revealing her last name), and Harold
promises to meet her at the water fountain to have lunch together.
- Sid and Stinky have quite a lot to discuss with Harold about him and
Patty. Or should that be "ridiculing him for being with Patty"? ;) The
Bermans are also discussing Patty over dinner as well...
- Following day in the classroom (Phoebe and Nadine among those in
class), Sid, Stinky are inviting Harold to eat with them. Of course
Harold has "someone" to meet. Now Stinky's calling Patty his
"girlfriend".
- We see the 6th grade girls walk past Patty as she's alone at the
water fountain. Now we're at the cafeteria where sign saying "Eat The
Four Food Groups", "Toppy Carrot Recycles" and "Please Recycle" are
visible. Sid, Stinky and Harold are having lunch together talking
about the party (Wolfgang spilled punch on his pants ;-) ). The
discussion segues into one on Patty, and a bunch of cheap gags at her
expense later, Harold's had enough, speaks his mind on Patty, and goes
over and sits at Patty's table. We see Sheena, Iggy, Nadine, Phoebe,
Lila, Curly, Rhonda, Park, Eugene, Robert and Joey as he's walking
over. And I see that Harold and Patty have both got bagged lunches.
- Quotables: "I reckon this year's our first boy-girl party" (Stinky)
"I think dancing's stupid too" (Harold) "You're a charming handsome
young boy" "Am not" (Harold's mom and Harold) "Because I'd rather
stick my head in that bowl of dip than dance with a football head like
you" (Helga) "You smell like something" "What's that supposed to
mean?" "Nothing" (Harold and Patty dance) "If I had a dime from every
kid I beat up from calling me a dumb kid, I'd sure have a whole bunch
of dimes" (Harold dancing with Patty) "You're kidding, that's my
favorite period! How can you not like lunch period?" (Harold to
Patty... answer: Patty is alone when she eats) "You reckon he's
snapped his cap?" (Stinky) "I must be crazy to listen to you guys"
(Harold to Sid and Stinky) "And if anyone's gotta problem with that
I'm gonna beat you up so bad it won't even be funny" (Harold)

Extra notes from reruns:
"Spelling Bee":
* Freezing frame fun, folks: I see who's in class today to see Arnold
and Helga take PS 118's spots at the bee. Standing in the front of the
class, from left to right and front to back: Gerald, Rhonda, (empty);
Sid, Eugene, Phoebe; (empty), Brainy, (empty); (not shown), Harold,
Curly.
* Note the cross on the ground at the end of the Big Bob ad. And that
the spotlights on Helga form a heart shape.
* The pic of Olga they show in this ep looks nothing like the picture
of her now. Plus the trophy is smaller than now as well.
* Also, I see that Arnold arrives at the City Auditorium, decorated
with pictures of presidents, at just past 10am. And there are a total
of 10 contestants competing in the bee. Hmm... the stage at the
auditorium can hold the 10 contestants (and the moderator's podium)
easily... compare to "Phoebe Takes The Fall", where there's only
enough room for 3 contestant podia (and again the moderator's podium).
I bring this up because I review "Phoebe Takes The Fall" later on.
* Arnold's reaction to winning. Priceless.

"Pigeon Man":
* Wonder where Sheena, Helga and Phoebe's gloves went: they're wearing
them in their opening shot, but not when they're talking with Arnold
on his use of pigeons. Meanwhile, watch Arnold catch Chester over
Gerald and Stinky.

"Sally's Comet":
* Eating cereal to get telescope: Stinky, Sheena, Robert, Park,
Phoebe, Sid, Harold, Oskar, and of course Arnold and Gerald.
* Among the crowd being told to turn off their lights for Sally's
Comet: Monkeyman, and that cook guy from "Helga Blabs It All".
* And I notice that Nocturnal Ned is playing out his records with a
Fleber record player... IIRC, it's also being used to play Hyunh's
record in "Mr. Hyunh Goes Country".

Speaking of "Mr. Hyunh Goes Country", judging from the way he's
holding the guitar, he must be left-handed...

[ungvichian]

Extra from "Career Day": According to the credits from this ep, Moira
Quirk (former host of Guts, future star of My Life As A Teenage Robot)
has a couple bit roles in this story. Now, Grandpa wants to move to
"Casa Paradiso", and "Gerald's Tonsils" get removed. Thoughts follow
shortly, all corrections welcome.

"Casa Paradiso"
- Purdy opens the story with a pathetic film loop of traffic (green
truck, blue car, yellow truck, blue car, green truck and so on) on the
elevated highway over the Arms during rain (it even jumps once),
before cutting to Phil fixing a chandelier. It seems everyone wants
something fixed in their rooms: Hyunh wants his toilet fixed, a
baseball has gone through Ernie's window, and Oskar has a bug problem.
Meanwhile, the roof leaks durring dinner, where Ernie's complaining
about the food.
- Phil, sitting near a certificate saying "Habitatus Bonus", watches a
commercial for the condos the ep title refers to. He's especially
interested in shuffleboard and peach mango drink. Meanwhile, the door
comes crashing down as Oskar Ernie, and Hyunh are all over it.
- Next thing you know, some guy representing an eccentric billionaire
who buys old houses to fix them up comes along, and convinces Phil to
sell the Arms. That move meets with stiff resistance from everyone as
Pookie dances Hawaii style singing "We're going to Hukilau" (whatever
that is).
- Arnold discusses with Phil (packing a duck, a Rubik's cube, and a
bobble-head doll), then the other boarders, about this controversial
move. His first idea: behaving themselves and not arguing for a
change.
- The following morning, they're passing food around at the table, and
Oskar and Ernie are trying to fix Ernie's window. Phil doesn't buy
their act tho, so it's time for plan B, well, as soon as Arnold thinks
about it.
- Well, here's plan B. Ernie reads a poem on what people who lived in
the houses he's demolished feel on being forced to move out. Suzie has
a slide show of the Kokoshas' life at the Arms (we see pics of their
first day and the first boarders' picnic). Oskar gives a straight
apology for his behavior, and Hyunh makes the claim that it's easy to
walk to his shop from there. After all is said and done, Phil has just
one thing to say, but it ain't what they were hoping for: "Casa
Paradiso!"
- Following morning. Phil's attached a "Haul-Off!" van to his Packard
to, well, haul everything off. The guy from earlier has also arrived
with the contracts, and Phil's asking Arnold for a pen. Arnold still
refuses to move with the grandparents, and insists that the only home
and family he's known is right here at the Arms. Even Pookie is siding
with Arnold now, and even the lawyer guy is crying like a baby over
the whole thing. Now, Phil's refusing the contract, and he's
ever-so-cheesed-off over his forced refusal. Meanwhile, Pookie sings
"Aloha" as we end this.
- Quotables: "Can't we get a decent grub in this house?" (Ernie) "Like
he knows me" (Phil watches ad) "The only decision you'll have to make
is what kind of soothing tropical drink you want in your coconut" (guy
who sells condo) "Don't you deserve a taste of paradise?" (guy who
sells condo) "I'm giving you plenty of notice... you have to be out by
tues" (Phil) "You're all a buinch of mismatched misfits, breaking you
up is a blessing in disguise" (Phil) "He doesn't believe we're family"
"Techincally he's right" (Arnold and Ernie) "Well, I don't buy your
act, you fakers" (Phil) "What's plan B?" "I'll let you know as soon as
I think about it" (Suzie and Arnold) "See how happy we were?" "That
didn't last, did it?" (Suzie and Ernie) "Family? What family?" "This
family" (Phil and Ernie on Arnold's refusal to go to Casa Paradiso)
"Well, we agree on one thing" "We're sticking together" "Yes!
Together" (Suzie, Oskar, and Hyunh) "Home is where the family is,
Phil" "What the? Where'd you come from all of a sudden?" (Pookie and
Phil) "We never argue" (then they start arguing)

"Gerald's Tonsils"
- The ep that Jamil Smith's puberty made opens with (from top to
bottom, left to right) Sheena, Stinky, Harold, Rhonda (you guessed it,
without her glasses); Iggy, Lorenzo, Helga, Lila; Curly, Phoebe,
Gerald, Arnold and Sid at choir practice. Gerald has just hit the high
notes in the song "On Moonlight Bay". We're reminded of the fact that
they'll be having their spring concert in 2 wks, and that Gerald has a
solo in the aforementioned song.
- Metro Tonsils. 3825 Finn St. Dr. Murray Steiglitz (as it says on the
sign, and there are 2 other doctors as well, but I'm not going to try
to read them) decides that Gerald's tonsils have to be removed. Gerald
points out his performance, and doctor decides that they have to do it
the following day. Of course, he'll have all the ice cream he can
eat...
- Following day. Drymon Medical Clinic (tho the sign is hard to see).
Post operation. Harold pigs out over Gerald's ice cream :-D OK, here
come the first signs of trouble: At school, Stinky offers himself to
do Gerald's solo instead. Meanwhile on the phone, Arnold confuses
Gerald for Harvey. Arnold has 23 Purdy Boys mysteries at his home,
while Gerald's got #7 and #11.
- Now the choir-mates are ridiculing Gerald's new voice in the school
hall, and choir practice. Stinky, of course, reiterates his desire to
get that role, but Gerald insists that he'll be fine. After school,
it's a 4th grade sound off with Phoebe, Stinky, Harold, Arnold,
Sheena, and Gerald.
- We fade from the school wall to Gerald's home, as Arnold and Gerald
discuss his voice change. A couple recommendations later, Gerald's
gargling in the bathroom, and practicing his scales (his dad and a
grubby don't like it). He's also reading (and doing) "Home Cures"
(bottles and herbs galore) in front of a pic of Timberly, while his
dad is reading "Diem". (That's Latin for "day", and why a newspaper
would give itself a Latin title is beyond me.) At the 1907 bridge, a
teen on a bike (voiced by the same actor as Harold) ridicules his
attempt to sing "Figaro". OK, Arnold's met him again, and after
mentioning that his problems aren't insurmountable, recommends that he
talk to his doctor about his vocal problems.
- And that he does. But isn't Dr. Steiglitz violating the Hippocratic
oath by telling him about Harvey's similar problems? I guess it's just
for story telling purposes... anyhow, Harvey flashes back to the time
when he went through the same things as Gerald is going through now
(back then, Harvey was being confused over the phone for Gerald's
dad). He often listened to records from his favorite blues singer
"Raspy Wolf" in his room and, well, decided that if Wolf could sing
raspy, why couldn't he? With that, Harvey recommends that Gerald sing
what he feels tonight because "that's what the blues is all about".
- OK, time for the spring concert. Chocolate Boy on the tuba and Patty
Smith are on the accordion just before the 4th graders. The line up
for the choir tonight hasn't changed from the opening scene... except
that they're all in different clothes.
- Simmons does a little praying as here comes the solo, and man, those
are very low notes there. But it's good enough, as Gerald's family,
Steiglitz, Harvey and Vitello are among those on hand to applaud his
performance.
- Meanwhile, backstage, Gerald shoves Stinky into the trash can,
Phoebe appreciates Gerald's performance, and Harold and Phoebe try to
imitate it. Before of course Harvey comes along and does his best
impression. Credits, folks, with a remix of the best lines of the ep,
and a "Special Thanks: Mark Taylor" credit at the end.
- Quotables: "I can't believe it, you sound completely different" "I
do not" (Arnold and Gerald) "I still got my tonsils, in fact I got 4
of 'em! I'm a freak of nature" (Stinky) "It's big, but it's not
insurmountable" "Insurmountable? Man, you read too much" (Arnold and
Gerald on tonsils problems) "That's what the blues is all about: be
true to yourself, you understand? Ain't nothing to it but to do it"
(Harvey on the blues) "Your big solo's coming up, or should I say
(squeezes her neck) 'your big solo's coming up'?" (Helga) "I always
had faith in you, Gerald, I stood by you and believe me..." (Stinky
shoved into the trash can)

[ungvichian]

Arnold wishes that "Abner Come Home" since he went missing, Sam "The
Sewer King" has Grandpa's watch since Arnold dropped it in the sewer,
"Phoebe Takes The Fall" to give Helga a chance to win the only
competition her older sister Olga ever lost, and the gang get ready to
re-enact "The Pig War", with a mission to save Abner from being
roasted. Thoughts follow shortly, all corrections welcome.

"Abner Come Home"
- One of the last Ansolabehere stories, I reckon? We open with Abner
licking Arnold at the Arms, and then we have Arnold getting Abner his
breakfast at 9am, consisting of dog food, egg shells, banana peels,
and a sock. Really cheeky animation here: after he shoves in the sock,
he rolls his hand in the bowl for a while and the bowl suddenly fills
up.
- After breakfast, Arnold's taking Abner out to the park and plays
frisbee, followed by washing, mud wallowing and more washing ;-) And
next it's night time and they go to sleep.
- Night time. Abner sees a cat outside the arms. Runs down to kitchen
door. Flashes back to when a pet door on it was installed, and
eventually nailed over because he kept dragging in mud and/or trash.
Jumps out through the nail-over to pursue the cat. 8:04am, Arnold
doesn't see Abner, presumes he's taking a drink out of the toilet.
- Later on, he looks everywhere for Abner. Laundry room, kitchen
(where he sees the broken pet door), the pig house (with a badly
written sign, and what's that pattern in the fence near Abner's
house?), under the Arms, dumpsters, trash cans... not found, so he has
to break the news to Grandma (cooking bacon) and Grandpa and Oskar
(reading "Obituary Monthly").
- Grandma's going on and on about how Abner knows how to get home...
meanwhile, Abner's walking by a pair of billboards by a stream. One is
an ad for the Arms, which reads thusly: "The Sunset Arms Boarding
House, For Good Old-Fashioned Hospitality, 4040 Vine St.", with the
text accompanied by a pic of Grandma on the left and Grandpa on the
right. The other one says "Wrong Way Danger", with a picture of a pig
and an arrow... pointing in the direction that Abner's walking right
now.
- The dog catcher isn't being of any help, but seeing the bulletin
board, Arnold decides to head to the "Copy Stop", with a sign in the
window saying "Color Copier". He's out with a punch of posters saying
"Have you seen this pig?" with a pic of Arnold and Abner. A poster
flying around wipes to the next scene: him posting one on an electric
pole (though the poster as we see it on the pole is slightly different
from what was used to wipe into the scene). There's also a billboard
advertising the same thing, with a contact number of 555-PORK.
- Arnold's waiting at the phone, and no calls are coming in, so now
he's sitting outside. Gerald pops up and they talk about the missing
pig. Meanwhile, Abner wanders into "Pig Skins R Us" through the "crew
only" door, and he's soon running out quickly.
- 12:04 by the alarm clock, 4:43 by his wall clock. Arnold's looking
at clouds, and a photo of him with Abner. Grandpa comes in, sits on a
slightly wobbly chair and talks about Abner, briefly seguing into an
aside on him being able to get his Great Uncle Phil to do things. The
idea is that Arnold can't expect Abner to do everything he wants all
the time. The discussion segues into another aside, this one on how he
liked to dispose of egg shells and coffee grinds, and that gives
Arnold an idea. Meanwhile, Grandpa falls off the chair :-D
- Arnold and Gerald are putting fans in the Arms windows, and pulling
hoses around (and letting them rip in the backyard). Gerald grinning
seemingly at the viewer: priceless. Now they're having a dumpster (one
of the drivers has a tattoo saying "Mommie" ;-) ) dump some trash onto
the backyard. This whole thing has attracted quite a few people...
(Hmm... one of the boarders does seem to have some of Ruth's facial
features...) and now the finishing touches: Arnold's adding some
socks, and Gerald's grinning and flipping the switches.
- Abner is eating a bunch of milkbones that are leading straight back
into Pigskins R Us when he notices the smell generated from the
above... and one of the posters Arnold posted earlier. And he's
running right across town (I would presume) back to the Arms, where we
have one of them dramatic reunion scenes. And oh yes, Abner wallowing
in mud and getting Arnold dirty and the crowd going wild. It's an
emotional moment for everyone, Ernie, Grandpa, but most importantly
Arnold.
- Quotables: "You have more fun than 100 dogs put together" (Arnold to
Abner at night) "Must be getting a drink out of the toilet again"
(Arnold, on Abner) "Anyone for bacon?" (Grandma, the morning after
Abner goes missing) "And his tail is so curly when you pull it out it
goes 'spoing!'" (Arnold describes Abner to the dog catcher) "Well, did
you try going down to the dump and yelling 'sooey'?" (Gerald, on the
missing pig) "Come back here you football" (Pig Skins R Us crew yell
at Abner) "Brilliant does pretty much describe me" (Grandpa then falls
off chair) "Well, it's not working, and it's making me sick" (Gerald,
on Arnold's brilliant idea) "It does kinda bring a tear to your eye"
"That's just the onions" (Ernie and Grandpa are overwhelmed at the
end)

"The Sewer King"
- Hey, ain't Keith Kaczorek one of the writers for TAB? And for that
matter, isn't the opening shot of this story the same as in the last
one? Anyhow, Arnold has to run an errand for Grandpa, getting his
(ahem) Snitzenbauer Timemaster 909, with Swiss Polar Alignment, Triple
Synchronized Movement and Escapement. Grandpa's never trusted anyone
with this watch before... Basically he has to take Grandpa's receipt
down to the jewelry shop and get it.
- The time is 12:20 as he's picking up the watch from the shop (which
apparently also sells "Squatch-o's"). More great animation from Games
as Arnold runs down the sidewalk and Gerald invites him to throw rocks
at the river. (Which BTW, Helga and Phoebe decide to do in "World
Records".) Arnold's responsible for the watch, as you would imagine,
however, here comes an aside...
- Harold, Helga, and Sid are looking at a hole made by some workers.
Gerald and Arnold join. As the workers' shift ends, (left to right)
Arnold, Gerald, Helga, Sid and Harold are looking at the hole
close-up. Gerald throws a rock into it to see how deep it is (it's
verrry deep), but that ain't the only thing that goes into the hole:
Arnold's watch somehow slips out of his pocket, through his fingers
and into the hole, so they're going to have to climb down and get
it...
- Gerald briefly imagines what might go wrong: falling down to the
bottom, chased by some moles with weapons, stuck on a web with a giant
spider... anyhow, they're going down and Arnold sees a rat running
with it, and they're giving chase through a small pipe, and down a
steeply inclined water pathway. Next thing you know, the watch gets to
this guy who lives here. Short time later he introduces himself as
"Sam, the Sewer King" to Arnold and Gerald as they arrive.
- Arnold asks Gerald to play along with Sam. Okay, Sam won't return
Arnold the watch, but seeing a chess set, Arnold decides to challenge
him. If Arnold wins he can have the watch back, otherwise, not only
can Sam keep the watch, Arnold and Gerald will be grooming rats. Look
at Gerald's face dropping :-)
- Well, Arnold's repeatedly beating Sam, 7 times in a row (as
indicating by him saying "8 out of 15"). Arnold's had enough, so he
forces the watch away from him, leading into a frantic chase,
involving trying to keep away from Sam, who seems to be able to pop
around every corner, or pop out of a random manhole (the latter
prompts Gerald to chuck the watch over to Arnold). Well, they're at
this hatch, and Arnold opens it: the light is blinding to Sam, and
they're out.
- Straight back to the Arms then, and Grandpa's congratulating him on
a fine job, but after all that hard work getting it out of the sewer,
the watch has just gone down the kitchen sink drain and straight back
to Sam.
- That scene with Sam fades to black before abruptly cutting back to
Arnold and Grandpa in the kitchen... I guess the scene in the kitchen
right after was a tack-on? Anyhow, turns out Grandpa has several of
these watches, prompting Arnold to take a long hard look at his life
as he leaves the Arms and the full credits music plays.
- Quotables: "It's as good as home" (Arnold, on the 909) "Wonder if it
goes all the way to China" (Harold on the hole... Helga is then keen
to point to Harold that it's like 7000 miles away) "I guess you had
the last pick of the royal domain, huh?" (Gerald on Sam's abode) "It's
royal, and it's an icon, it's a royal icon" (Sam, on the watch) "Not
the light!!" (Arnold opens hatch) "Always got to have a back-up
Arnold" (Grandpa shows off lots of 909's) "Where are you going?" "To
take a long hard look at my life" "While you're there would you pick
up a quart of milk?" (Grandpa and Arnold)

"Phoebe Takes The Fall"
- Purdy probably thought that it was high time that Phoebe's superior
intellegience got the spotlight, so we open with a team academic
competition, and Phoebe/Helga (er, just Phoebe) are running
Arnold/Gerald and Rhonda (sans glasses, still)/Nadine into the ground,
figuratively. The final score: it's not clear, but it's likely P/H 20
A/G 18 R/N 15. US president with the shortest time in office: William
Henry Harrison (31 days in 1841). The capital of Iceland: Reykjavik.
The 2nd fastest animal in the world: The pronghorn antelope. Brainy's
in the seats as are Sheena, Eugene, Stinky, and Harold, Joey.
Rhonda/Nadine feel clearly in the dumps.
- Tomorrow is the individual competition to determine who will
represent the school in the All City Finals. Back home it's time for
some back history. We know that Olga's first trophy was the City
Spelling Bee ("Spelling Bee"), now let's get to know about the only
time she ever lost. The final question that year in the Bowl: "What is
the state bird of Maine?" The answer: "The chickadee" (and a look at
the World Almanac confirms this... Purdy must have found himself
looking in a good encyclopedia quite often to come up with all those
questions ;-) ). Of course, he has that empty spot on the shelf he was
going to put "the jewel in the Pataki crown" (tho it's in all
likelyhood not the same spot that Bob reserved for her in "Spelling
Bee"). Hey, is it just me, or is this ep headed the exact same way as
"Spelling Bee"? ;-)
- Anyhow, Helga's pondering on what to do: she could study hard for
the individual competition, or she could... ask Phoebe to take the
fall. And the latter she does, citing that she'd have one up on her
sister forever if she won this contest. Besides, Phoebe's got other
opportunities to win.
- OK, it's Arnold, Gerald, Phoebe and Helga, up for representation. We
see the scores at random points: The score reads
(Helga/Phoebe/Arnold/Gerald) 4/6/6/5, before fading to
14/21/15/eliminated, and as Arnold has been eliminated (Lila
apparently is doing the erasing) the score reads Helga 46, Phoebe 49.
Some of the questions (and who answered correctly):
* Closest planet to the sun: Mercury (Arnold)
* Most famous violin maker: Antonio Stratovari (Phoebe)
* Boxer who said he could float like a butterfly and sting like a bee:
Muhammad Ali (Helga)
* 19th century painter who cut off his own ear: Vincent Van Gogh
(Helga)
- And now, for 5 points, it's the decider: priveleged warrior class in
ancient Japan (I heard it as "voyeur" the first time around :-) ):
"The sumo wrestlers?" No, it's the samurai, and Helga is through to
the city finals (Phoebe as alternate). Flashback to "Spelling Bee":
Helga deliberately misses word she should know ("qualm" with an "x")
so that Arnold could win.
- Among the crowd this evening: Park, Brainy, Sid, Eugene, Nadine,
Rhonda, Robert, Joey, and the 6th grade girls.
- So she's back home, getting ready to study for the contest from "The
Book of Contest Questions and Answers". Hmm... just the math section
seems too much for her to handle, so it's time for another favor from
Phoebe (who was going to visit her mom): Tutoring. They're tutoring in
the playground, they're tutoring at Mixta's Hot Dogs, they're tutoring
at a baseball game, they're tutoring while they're walking through the
park, they're tutoring just before Helga goes to bed. And it looks
like Helga is absolutely hopeless. Let's see what she thinks (my
attempt to answer in parenthesis):
* River that cuts through Grand Canyon: Mississippi, then Rio Grande
(Colorado, but see below)
* Tallest mountain in the world: the Andes (Everest)
* First person to climb Mount Everest: Jacques Cousteau (Edmund
Hillary and Tenzing Norgay)
* Cheese Holland is famous for: Glockenspiel (a type of musical
instrument) (Edam and Gouda)
* First president to visit the Pacific: Jefferson (I dunno, but it has
to be after Lewis and Clark)
- Following day at lunch. While the likes of Joey, Curly, Peapod,
Ruth, Nadine, Harold, Gerald, Sid, Robert and Iggy are having their
lunch, Helga's shoving Stinky in line with Sheena, and Phoebe is
sleeping over her lunch. Arnold (after talking to Phoebe about not
winning the individual competition) suggests that Helga cut Phoebe a
break, prompting a response of "Who asked you anyway?". Meanwhile,
Phoebe is sleeping at the yogurt machine :-D
- Well, it's the night before the contest, and it seems that Helga's
gotten better. She's correctly identified the river that cuts through
the Grand Canyon (the Colorado) and the capital of Malaysia (Kuala
Lumpur). Phoebe's also asking if she's having some second thoughts...
nope. Anyhow, the Pataki parents will pick her up tomorrow (why them,
and why is she being picked up in the first place?).
- Yet another crazy dream sequence, with Helga being quizzed on the
capital of Montana (Helena) and how many pints in a gallon (8), and
she's pondering on who invented dental floss, when the moderator
suddenly turns into Arnold asking why she's even the finalist in the
first place and not Phoebe. Sheena, Park, Sid, Harold, Eugene, Curly,
Rhonda, Brainy and Nadine are among the spectators. After the
sequence, Helga does a little "lampshade hanging" about her weird
dreams.
- Following day. Phoebe's been picked up by the Pataki parents. Phoebe
offers to do a little more tutoring before the contest (she hasn't
covered geography that well), while Helga's pondering her weird dream.
OK, Helga's spieling all about who really should have been in the
final and would have won hands down (hint: it's not Helga) and stuff
like that, and at the venue (it's the City Auditorium like in
"Spelling Bee", but the stage has "shrunk" by a lot...), Helga is
complaining backstage about sickness to Simmons next to a vat of
coffee. Yep, Simmons is putting in the alternate in.
- Timeout: Given that Big Bob had pinned high hopes on Helga
one-upping Olga, one would imagine that Big Bob would go bleepin'
ballistic on Helga's 11th hour withdrawal. I mean, look at "Spelling
Bee". She competed (for one), and missed on the very same word Olga
spelled to win (and quite blatantly), and look at Big Bob's reaction
then. Imagine what Big Bob would have felt when she saw Phoebe take
Helga's spot.
- OK, there are just three podia on stage (don't get me started on
that), with Phoebe standing on the middle podium, flanked by a boy
with slightly messy black hair on the left (our left) and a girl with
reddish hair on the right. We fast forward straight to the
bowl-deciding question, with the scores at 60/61/59. Coincidences
being what they are, the final question is: The state bird of Maine
(see above for the answer). And guess who answers to win it? Yes, it's
Phoebe, 60/63/59. Flashback to "Spelling Bee" again: "qualm" (from
above) was the word that won it for Olga.
- And now Arnold's backstage with Helga talking to her about doing the
right thing, and Helga's busy fobbing him off before she continues to
clap for Phoebe as she takes her trophy (which is different from the
one in Helga's nightmare). Sidenote: when I watched this ep, the music
and effects sounded slightly wonky (even Helga's "yay!" at the end
sounded a bit wonky as well), station troubles I presume? Here's an
audio clip: http://rover_wow.tripod.com/pttf_bigwin.wav
- Timeout 2: You'd slightly expect the moderator to point the fact
this is (most likely) the first time that an alternate has ever won
this contest (or even that Phoebe was an alternate in the first
place). And don't get me started on the fact that Phoebe's parents
aren't witnessing her night to shine. (For that matter, where are the
Pataki parents?)
- Going off on a tangent: two incidents in soccer similar to
circumstances in the story:
* Art imitates life, with an alternate going all the way to win a
tournament: In 1992, the UEFA (the European Soccer Association) barred
Yugoslavia from competing in the Euro (a tournament involving the
national teams of various countries in Europe) despite the fact that
they'd qualified for it, due to war problems in the country. As a
result, the UEFA put Denmark in the tournament instead. In the end,
the Danes went all the way to the final... and they won.
* Life imitates art: Phoebe's parents presumably didn't catch her
night to shine because they thought she wasn't even competing.
Likewise, James Hayter's parents didn't catch him scoring the fastest
UK league hattrick (in 2:20) at the field, because in the 80th minute
they assumed he wasn't going to come on, and they had a ferry to
catch. Meanwhile in the 84th minute, James came on for Bournemouth and
scored his quick hat trick in a Division 2 match against Wrexham.
- Quotables: "May the best girl win" (Helga to Phoebe)
"Chick-a-bleepin'-dee" (is the bleepin' state bird of Maine, and was
the bleepin' answer that beat Olga) "Just think of it this way: it's
not your night" (Helga to Phoebe) "We can wake your mother up" (Big
Bob, on tutoring) "C'mon, we're burning daylight" (Helga to Phoebe)
"So? It's a free country, she can sleep wherever she wants" (Helga on
Phoebe sleeping over her lunch) "Go peddle your do-goody sensitive
advice somewhere else" (Helga to Arnold) "Shouldn't Phoebe be the
finalist?" (Arnold, in dream sequence) "Good thing it was just a crazy
dream" (Helga, lampshade hanging) "...and you would have been a
contender, instead of being an alternate, which is what you are,
Phoebe, an alternate" (I guess Purdy was watching "On The Waterfont"
too) "You're gonna win, and no one, especially me, is going to stop
you" (Helga's decision)

"The Pig War"
- A static shot of Arnold and Gerald by the Arms cuts to the two
squirting each other with water guns (watch Gerald's attempt to avoid
his hair getting wet ;) ), and Phil's in a soldier uniform (and hit in
the face! ;)), telling a tale about "the pig war" that happened in
this city. To make a long story short: the city was split into two
sides, Americans and British, by the river. Elk Island (there's that
island again, and Sid remembers the haunted caves from "Wheezin' Ed")
was the bone of contention, with a fort on either side by either
nation. The Brits had Fort Porcero, while the Americans had some tents
(cue comical sting). A British pig being shot by an American resulted
in warfare which the Americans won, thus laying their claim on the
entire city. Bartlett's really digging into his Northwest roots for
this one, as he's simply stretching an actual incident that occured in
the San Juan islands in Washington state into actual warfare.
- Anyhow, Phil's getting the gang to re-enact it, and to make another
long story short, Grandpa got Abner volunteered to be the pig war pig
(he's supposed to get a good greasing). So crossing the river (with
Uncle Earl providing the service): Arnold, Phil, Helga, Harold,
Stinky, Sid, Phoebe, Rhonda, Brainy and Gerald. We run into two
characters from a season 1 ep: the Smythe-Higgins (Rex the 3rd and
Grandpa Rex) from "Tour De Pond". Cue some exchange of insults.
- Arnold's plan is that Abner stick with him, but here comes the
greasing and the chase. Watch for Grandpa Rex stuck at a branch :-D
And after some running through the Elk Island bush, Abner crosses a
bridge into British territory and has been captured by the British.
Grandpa Rex informs Phil and the gang that the Pig War charter states
that whoever captures the pig will be allowed to "roast and/or
barbecue" it at sundown, and clearly that's the last thing Arnold
wants. Listen at Grandpa Rex swinging into trees ;-)
- Well, they've decided to strategize to get Abner back (cue three-way
thumbing between Arnold, Gerald and Phil). First idea, walks straight
up to Rex the 3rd and ask for it. One volley of rotten pomegranates
and old cabbage later, Arnold calls for a little Yankee ingenuity, and
we (and the "British" soldiers) hear some sawing noises (chainsawing I
might add).
- Here comes a Trojan horse, er, pig, and inside the pig the gang are
discussing why it worked for the Trojans. Umm, I'm nowhere near the
first to point this out, but didn't it work for the *Greek* *against*
the Trojans? Well, anyway, it's working for them too, as the pig is
being dragged into the fort, despite the objections from the guy who
opens the door (look at his "I told you so" reaction ;-) ). And here
come the Americans fighting all out over the British.
- Meanwhile, Arnold attempts to reason with Rex the 3rd and save Abner
from being dropped into a pot via complex mechanisms. (Wait a minute,
a pot? What about the "roast and/or barbecue" rule? And I thought they
were hanging on to him until sundown?) Oddly, Arnold referring to him
as his pet actually works, as next thing you know, we see the two
climbing up ladders, running across platforms, and grabbing onto the
pig flag on the conveniently felled flagpole to catch Abner over the
pot. Meanwhile, the Americans win ;-)
- So while Grandpa Rex is not amused at Rex the 3rd's actions, the
gang are heading back home as we head into the credits and Grandpa
Phil offers to be the war pig next time. "Just don't roast me!" ;-) Of
note in the credits:
* Oddly, despite the fact that Phoebe is the titular character of one
story, and that story is her night to shine (so to speak), Anndi
McAfee's not credited for her role.
* Mary Harrington's credit (which is usually the last credit before
the endcaps) is followed by a "Special Thanks" credit to Cricket
Benevento, Aly Peduto, Kirsten Williams and Geoff Todebush. Any idea
what they did?
- Quotables: "Who's the British?" (Sid) "We won, you ninnies" (Phil)
"It's great to be an American, ain't it?" (Stinky) "A little grease is
good for a young pig" (Phil, on Abner getting greased) "You walk like
you've got an umbrella in your pants" (Gerald on the Brits) "Cut down
the bloody tree you idiot" (Rex stuck on a branch) "We gotta
strategize" (Phil) "Poor brave foolish boy. If ever lived-- oh well,
maybe it'll work" (Phil, on Arnold headed to the fort) "What I'll give
you is a volley of rotten pomegranates and old cabbages" (Rex the 3rd)
"This calls for a little Yankee ingenuity" (Arnold) "It worked for the
Trojans because they knew when to keep quiet" (Phil drags a pig
around) "There's historical precedent for this, maybe we should
consider" ("British" guy doesn't want to open the fort) "This is
delicious, but not as delicious as your pig will be when we roast him"
(Rex the 3rd encounters Arnold, "the boy they call football-head"
again) "Oh dear, your pet, like my Scottish Terrier Peppy?" (Rex the
3rd, on finding out that the pig is Arnold's pet) "You eat pork chops,
don't you?" "Yeah, but not those I know personally" (the
Smythe-Higgins, on the aftermath of the war) "Pig wars are bad"
(Arnold, during the credits)

[ungvichian]

Today's theme must be "glaring absence", as both stories don't have
something that to Hey Arnold! fans is glaringly absent. Details follow
shortly, as Arnold is Coach Wittenberg's "Best Man" for his re-wedding
to his wife Tish, and Arnold has been invited to Rhonda's "Cool Party"
(and yet Gerald wasn't, but that's not the glaring absence I'm talking
about). Thoughts follow shortly, all corrections welcome.

"Best Man"
- As we open, Helga complains that Arnold went for a sacrifice bunt
instead of knocking it out of the park. Stinky insists that it was the
right play because Iggy was the go-ahead run on 3rd, with Arnold
adding that "you have to make a sacrifice if you think you can win".
Well, they lost, says Helga, and she adds "See you in the funny
papers", and that's the 3rd time she said it. Coach Jack Wittenberg
pops up and Arnold recounts his story. After Jack's done saying that
sacrifice plays are for losers (on account'a that winning is
everything, and that motif is a recurring one in this story), he
mentions his plan to re-marry Tish, and since he has no other friends,
Arnold has to be his best man. His job: invite his friends (get
ringbearers and ushers) and pick suits.
- Timeout for the story's glaring absence: Some Hey Arnold! fanatics
will wonder why his kid Tucker, as shown in "Benchwarmer", isn't in
this story (much less as his best man).
- Meanwhile, Tish would like Helga to be maid of honor, because it
would be nice to see her and Arnold going down the aisle. Cue Helga
imagining a wedding scene, and did you know that Viksten (who wrote
this ep) also wrote "Married", which also has Helga imagining herself
wedding, as well?
- In their respective first scenes, Jack and Tish recall events from
"Coach Wittenberg": Jack recalls Arnold captaining his bowling team
and teaching him "Psycho-cology", Tish mentions that Helga was the
captain of her bowling team.
- Sid, Stinky, Gerald and Arnold are trying on tuxedos at Tux-R-Us.
Helga is trying on a dress at a Bridal Shop. It'll need a couple
"altercations". Anyhow, Tish recalls a story similar to what Helga's
going through right now, before heading into a bit on Jack letting him
win a game of "Whack-A-Mole" down at the boardwalk. Here comes another
daydream...
- OK, Jack's looking at a bunch of rings at Crown Jewels jewelry shop.
That one with the big diamond is $6000, a bit high, so how about the
one with the cubic zirocnium? $450, still a bit high. Cut to outside
where he's getting a ring out of a gumball machine for 25c. While
they're passing the bridal shop, Tish is eavesdropping over Jack
putting winning ahead of everything, Tish included, and that's not a
good sign. Tonight's rehearsal, and then dinner.
- We head over straight to dinner, where Jack's blabbing about how
well the rehearsal went. Tish is challenging Jack to eating his potato
and chicken. Helga, Stinky, Sid and I guess the priest are watching as
Tish beats him at that, as she does with eating chicken wings, right
arm wrestling, left thumb wrestling, paper throwing, cherry spooning
and rope jumping. She's beaten him in 5 out of 9 events (I guess she
doesn't count the eating bits), but Jack still refuses that Tish is
no. 1. Air hockey tomorrow morning at the arcade then, while the
wedding is now off.
- Jack is practicing air hockey, the only game he's comprehensively
sure he can beat Tish at. Arnold has an idea about how to win her back
and get re-married: deliberately lose the air hockey game. Football
Head asks, "What do you love more, winning, or your wife?"
- Morning. Lots of bikes outside the arcade. Nadine, Sid, Stinky,
Phoebe, Arnold, Gerald and Rhonda all on hand for this game. Let's
look at the intermediate scores (Tish/Jack): 1-0, 1-1, 3-5, 6-5, 6-8,
10-10. At this point the next score wins, and Jack ponders what Arnold
said... and he lets the puck in for a Tish win, and it has the exact
effect Arnold was hoping for.
- 3pm. They're getting re-wed, of course. Listen to their exchange of
vows: "I do, imperative." "I do, also, repetitively." Phoebe, Rhonda,
Eugene, Curly, Sid and Gerald are among those in attendance. Anyhow,
guess who catches the bouquet thrown by Tish? Why, it's Helga, who's
daydreaming *again*... until Arnold comes to her side ;-) Meanwhile,
Tish is rechallenging Jack because she has suspicions that he didn't
give her his best game. Hmm... Meanwhile, Gerald and Sid throw some
rice at them (it's an American custom, for some reason).
- Quotables: "Sacrifice plays are for losers" (Jack to Arnold on
bunting) "When I made a list of all my friends, I came to one
conclusion" "What's that? "I don't have any, except you Arnold" (Jack
then goes on and on about his acheivements in "Coach Wittenberg") "Why
are you screaming, 'I do, I do'?" "Umm... because I do agree to be
your maid of honor" (Tish to daydreaming Helga) "We look like
undertakers" "Shucks, I like it" (Sid and Stinky on tuxedos) "I look
like a moron" (Helga with another pink dress... juxtaposed with
Stinky's comment on his tuxedo, it's quite funny actually) "What, are
you kidding? Not me sister" (Helga to Tish on "feeling goofy inside")
"We're getting married again repetitively for the 2nd time" (I guess
Tish has a bit of a problem with the language too) "Because I really
do like this dress" (another Helga daydream) "Winning is most
important, c'mon you know that! But Tish is a close 2nd, then air hug"
(Tish won't like that, Jack...) "Our man to man usher coverage was in
the zone" (Jack, on the rehearsal) "As of this present time and
moment, the wedding is off temporarily... and forever" (Jack, on the
wedding) "Tish and winning, winning and Tish, they're 1 and 2, it's
close, it's real close" (Jack at the air hockey table) "You're right,
Tish, you're no. 1" (Tish is surprised to hear that) "I do (changing
tone abruptly) not want you to touch me ever again, football head"
"Okay" (Helga daydreams yet again)

"Cool Party"
- OK, I presume that the gap between the title and Bartlett's writer's
credit is so that we can see the door to the playground. OK, Rhonda
and Nadine are handing out a "Restricted Invitation" to Arnold for a
High Tea party this evening. Rhonda mentions her previous party where
she invited everyone (that was of course "Hey Harold!"), but now she's
limiting invitations to cool kids. Arnold has been put on Rhonda's
Cool list, on account of that skirt thing he wears (in fact, his
shirt). And here's an interesting tidbit, Rhonda calling him a bold
kid.
- Arnold and Gerald are looking at the playground full of geeks:
Robert, Brainy, Curly, Sheena and Eugene, and Torvald shoving Joey
into a wall at the swings. Gerald must be on the Cool list because,
well, he's the definition of cool, right?
- Well, "the definition of cool" is on Rhonda's geek list, much to
Nadine's surprise, just because he won class president against her.
Let's see who's where: The Cool list has Arnold, Nadine, Katrinka,
Lorenzo, Iggy, Rex, Peapod, Connie and Maria, while the Geek list has
Gerald, Harold, Stinky, Sid, Eugene, Sheena and Joey.
- Reading off the list, Phoebe breaks the news, and Gerald's
bewildered too, leading straight into a discussion of why Rhonda calls
them geeks. Phoebe gives the (rather out-dated) dictionary definition:
guy who bites head off chicken for amusement at circus. Turns out
Curly's done that. Everyone has a reason that they think they've been
classified as geeks: Curly claims that his dad cuts her hair with a
bowl, Harold is big fat and obnoxious and Sid makes the claim that he
has his big nose (first time anyone's ever brought that up). Stinky's
nose ain't too shabby either.
- After the above discussion, Gerald's got plans anyway (so he says),
and the geeks are headed to throw rocks at a dumpster, while Arnold's
headed to the Lloyds' for the 2nd time in 4 eps. Arnold already knows
Katrinka (girl with two braids that stick out a bit like Nadine's...
she's been on the show several times, actually, for example in the gym
in "Arnold's Toom") and Nadine, and he's being introduced to Rex
Smythe Higgins ("The Pig War", "Tour De Pond"). Arnold seems
indifferent to him...
- OK, while Rhonda's talking about having gone to England. Arnold's
going to the food table, Park and Peapod are here too. Apparently,
Rhonda is blabbing about her summer vacation in Europe, while the two
are pretending to eat. Next thing you know, Arnold's leaving, while
Rhonda's moving his name to the Geek list.
- Arnold's headed to the dumpster with Gerald (turns out he didn't
have plans, he just said so to make him not feel bad), and talks about
how lame the party was. They talk some more about being put on the
geek list, and hatch ideas for revenge. One of which is the infamous
"tiger stripes" bit from Curly. The idea that they're going with tho:
Holding a geeks-only party.
- At the Arms, Arnold is decorating the party to indicate that it's a
Geeks Only party. We've got Brainy as DJ, Stinky on accordion, Grandma
on the piano (of course), and we've got all sorts of people coming
over, for example Ruth, Edmund, Wolfgang...
- While Rhonda's going on and on about her mom eating bad pate de foie
gras (chopped goose liver), Connie and Maria leave, and Park and
Peapod (thanking Rhonda for the toast points) soon follow, much to
Rhonda's dismay...
- ...while Arnold's party just keeps on growing. Timberly, Gloria,
Helga and Harold are all there, and so are all those that left
Rhonda's. Also here are Sheena (on maracas) and Eugene (yet another
I'm okay moment as he's knocked into the punch bowl by Gerald, and is
then spinning it on his head). Even Stoop Kid ("Stoop Kid") is here,
go figure.
- Katrinka's just left, leaving Rhonda and Nadine alone. Nadine
decides to go over to Arnold's. Rhonda's best friend is keen to point
out that if she crossed her out, Rhonda would be the only one left on
the cool list. And BTW, she's taking her bowl too.
- Not to be outdone, Rhonda heads over to Arnold's with sandwiches. Of
course, that would mean admitting to being a geek. Which she does...
but just for tonight. Meanwhile, Curly runs by with the animals he's
freed from the zoo, as we head into the credits. Three screens of
crediting info ("Career Day"/"Hey Harold!" had *four* screens,
probably due to a high amount of bit roles like here), plus a special
thanks to John Zimmerman.
- Timeout: OK, Rhonda's lack of glasses is most glaring here (no pun
intended), since she wants to be a geek, right? The whole point of
"Rhonda's Glasses" was that her square specs made her a geek, so why
isn't she wearing them here? For that matter, why hasn't she been
wearing the oval ones she had at the end of that ep since, well, the
end of that ep? OK, that's it, I've officially given up hope on seeing
her in specs again.
- Quotables: "...like that skirt thing you wear" "That's my shirt
Rhonda" (Arnold shows Rhonda his shirt) "He ran against me, and that
was definitely not cool" (why Gerald isn't on Rhonda's Cool list)
"None of us bites off chicken heads, except Curly" "Yeah, and that was
just the one time" (Eugene and Curly) "It's not that huge, Sid"
"You're just saying that because you got the biggest honker in the
city... no offense" "None taken" (Stinky and Sid on the Sid's nose)
"Doi, who died and made her the president of the universe?" (Rhonda)
"You were born with a silver fork in your mouth" (Stinky to Arnold,
and shouldn't that be "spoon"?) "What's the point of having a party if
you invite geeks? They're just an embarassment really" (Rhonda to Rex
and Katrinka) "I say we all go over and crash Rhonda's party and eat
all her food!"I see we all get a carload of horse manure and leave it
on her porch" "I say we paint ourselves with tiger stripes and free
all the animals at the zoo" "..." "Fine, Curly, we'll meet you there
in an hour" (Harold, Helga, and Curly hatch their plans) "Because we
are so cool, that even if we go to an uncool party, we'll still be
cool" (Woflgang to Edmund on going to Arnold's) "This is so uncool"
(Rhonda, on Nadine leaving) "Now it's perfect" (Gerald, as Rhonda
comnes to their party) "I wanna be a geek!..." (Rhonda, at Arnold's
party with sandwiches)

[ungvichian]

Helga has been invited to Arnold's "Magic Show" and Harold gives
Arnold "24 Hours To Live" before beating him up. Thoughts follow
shortly, all corrections welcome.

"Magic Show"
- Glen David Gold: Here, the magic is only a framework for his take on
"It's A Wonderful Life", but it's of note that he also wrote a novel
about a magician: "Carter Beats The Devil".
- Today's there's going to be a magic show at Sunset Arms by the
"Great Arnoldini" (just Arnold in a magician's outfit), and today's
also Bob's birthday, but Helga doesn't really care much for that...
- Over at the arms, a bunch of kids are ready to watch the show. We
have Curly, Harold (complaining that he paid to see this, even tho
it's a free show), Nadine, Iggy, Phoebe (Helga complains that she
didn't save her a seat, so she forces Harold off his), Sheena, Stinky,
Rhonda, Eugene, Park and Joey, with Robert and Brainy standing. Gerald
and Sid are your stagehands (Sid's repsonsible for creating smoke by
using chalkboard brushes).
- OK, here comes Arnold, but he's stumbling out of the gate, so to
speak: his bunny in his hat has run off, and so have his pigeons and
cards in his shirt. So our first trick is turning water into steam
using a coffee machine (I kid you not). Then a "rubber" pencil (see
reaction below). They're all cruddy, so...
- ...Arnold skips to the grand finale with a big disappearing box, and
Helga volunteers. The trick involves dropping a curtain of the same
pattern in front of her. "What a cheap trick" indeed.
- So she decides to leave the back of the box, which belongs to a
Bamford Electric refigerator (Maria Bamford has done voices on the
show), and eavesdrop on Arnold's reaction. OK, that done, she decides
to make a run for it. OK, she's just run straight into a sign saying
"No Running"... which becomes, in Helga's nightmare, "No Helga".
- OK, so Helga's wondering where everyone's gone... and she's wandered
into a parade. It seems that no one's noticing her... in fact, that's
the case, and she picks up on it really fast. So she's a ghost, right?
Well, she jumps straight onto the road so that's not the case.
Meanwhile, a guy in a Helga head costume is saying "Doi" and "Move it
bucko" repeatedly, and a balloon of Helga is passing with something
that looks like a no smoking sign, except with the word "Helga",
hanging from it.
- Helga's pondering on who's missing her. OK, we head over to the
Patakis' house. Bob's birthday party has gone smoothly without her,
and they're saying negative things about her. Meanwhile, Miriam's
doing flower arrangements and Bob's playing the harp. Seriously.
- Let's head to Phoebe's then. She's playing and eating cookies with
Gloria (and this is our first meeting with her, before she becomes
Stinky's girlfriend in "Helga's Boyfriend"), and Phoebe is saying
negative things about her old friend "Henrietta". Note the poster
saying "Kenji Notani" (he's a HA! crew member).
- So she heads to school, where she sees Gerald and Sid (the
stagehands) talk about a game to Curly piggybacking on Park and Iggy
piggybacking on Robert. Apparently involving players being refered to
as Helga (to mean being out of the game) and Gloria (to mean being
back in the game, and speaking of her, she pops up with cookies). Cue
a loud Helga scream!
- Helga's walking through the street. There are posters saying
"Missing, But Not Missed". As if the connection to "It's A Wonderful
Life" hadn't been obvious enough, here comes this newspaper
proclaiming "It's A Wonderful Life -- Without Helga". Now she's
watching the Great Arnoldini on a talk show. As one would expect, he
also says negative things about Helga, but the stinger is that he's
announcing that he's marrying Ruth.
- OK, now that the nightmare is over, she's thinking about all that
happened, about why no one's missing her. As most viewers would
expect, her behavior's the problem. She heads over to a gift shop,
drops by the Patakis' to give her parents a gift (and a kiss) at Bob's
birthday, and lastly heads back to the magic show, where after 48
attempts, Helga's reappeared in the box.
- Note Nadine's hair has gone brown, while Helga's giving Phoebe
flowers, and starts a lengthy apology on her behavior... which gets
cut off before long with an intermission for Yahoo Soda. So now she's
alone with Arnold, and a wand that turns into a bouquet. By all means,
it should be a confession moment... instead, it's an "ARRGGGHH"
moment.
- Timeout, to explain what I mean by an "ARRGGGHH" moment: If anyone
here has heard of the mid 90's series "Lois and Clark", you might be
familiar with that show's wedding storyline in the third season. It
was the start of the show's rating troubles, and it was even nicknamed
the "ARRGGGHH" by the fans, especially since the famous couple didn't
end up together at the end. I guess we can use that to refer to
moments like this, where for a moment, it seems that Helga might
actually confess her love to Arnold like she does in the movie, but
(most of the time) ends up calling Arnold something else, in this
case, a football headed dweeb (and all other times, she gets
interrupted out of the opportunity... "Monkey Business" and "Roughin'
It", anyone?).
- Well, now Helga is leaving the Arms, and she takes away a poster for
the magic show (note that it mentions "Sunset Arms Boarding House,
4040 Vine Street"), hugs it, and leaves... and for some reason, it
appears that the background fades out first.
- Quotables: "Paid for it? It's free you bonehead!" (Sid to Harold)
"It's the oldest trick in the book!" (Helga, on the "rubber" pencil)
"What a cheap trick!" (Helga on disappearing box) "Hey, If I'm a
ghost, I can fly" (Helga jumps straight on to the road) "Doi! Doi!
Move it bucko, move it bucko" (Helga head in parade) "Oh wait, I
forgot, I'm invisible" (Helga on the road) "Somebody miss me!" (Helga)

"24 Hours To Live"
- Well, by this point, an 11-minute story with three credited writers
would seem out of place. But here we have one, with Craig, Steve, and
Joe. Most likely because the story came from the original pilot short
for the series. Anyhow, like "The Baseball", it starts out with a
daydream in space, with Arnold falling down onto a road game (with
Gerald Field, this shouldn't really be a problem anymore). Sheena and
Gerald are off the field, Brainy's at 1st, Joey's at 2nd, Stinky's the
shortshop, Iggy's at 3rd, Helga's the catcher, Harold the pitcher, and
Park and Robert are outfield.
- OK, Arnold's at bat, calculating the wind coming from the east, and
decides to aim for the gap between 2nd and 3rd. OK, he's taken 2
strikes, and here comes the third pitch... and he beans Harold, just
as he does in "Dangerous Lumber" later on.
- Helga with bucked tooth. Priceless. Now Harold's coming to beat up
Arnold (a bunch of people pop up from nearby windows, but they're
unknowns), but Helga suggests that he let him hang a little.
- OK, Arnold's walking back to the Arms with Gerald. Gerald insists
that no one will remember this by tomorrow... but here comes Helga on
a bus reminding Arnold that he has 23 hours left. With that, Gerald
gives him a list of what he has his eyes on (um, I seem to have
forgotten what was on that list... I think rollerblades was on it?).
- Meanwhile on the bus, a soliloquy leads to a Brainy punching. Back
at the Arms (with Abner and the cats running out of course), a phone
call tells Arnold that he's down to 22:46. Meanwhile, he tries to get
some advice from the grandparents. However, Phil (out of the toilet,
and then soon in again) has only learned one thing in his 80 years
(it'll be 81 in "Grandpa's Birthday"): never eat raspberries... while
Pookie, or rather Bwana, is chasing a fly and telling "Kimba" to "stay
downwind from your prey". Meanwhile, we can plainly see one Arms rule:
"No loud noise after 9PM weekdays". Pookie takes a message form Helga:
he's got 22:03 left.
- Arnold's in his attic, his stereo and lights are being turned on,
and there's that chair from "Field Trip" again. The phone's ringing,
Arnold's shoving it away. Helga's announcing through a megaphone next
to a public phone (she's apparently just used it for that call) that
he has 21:51:14 left. Later on in the night, he's down to
approximately 16:21 (16:21:12, then 16:20:59) as he heads to bed.
- OK, we have a dream sequence set to dance music, with oversized
Arnold being chased around town by a similarly oversized Helga,
Harold, and for some reason Stinky. He climbs up what looks like
Empire State Building (possibly a King Kong reference?) and he grabs
on to the top, which snaps off, and turns out to be a (slightly
broken) bat. Suddenly, Arnold gets an idea and decides to swing it at
the three. Harold: "He's crazy!"
- Timeout: At this point in the series, Stinky was still being prepped
up as a bully, rather than the "simple boy" image he had as early as
"Helga's Boyfriend". You can tell by the way he dresses: The first
link is to a pic from "Field Trip"... note the dog collars on his
wrists. The second is from "Teachers' Strike"... note no dog collars:
Loading Image...
Loading Image...
See what I mean?
- OK, Arnold's up. It's 7am, and (according to KILL) he has 2:06:47
left. A little math tells me that Arnold went to bed for about
14:15... isn't that a bit long? Anyhow, he takes a boombox from under
his bed, and lets the cats and Abner back in. Abner has the Daily
News, and its top story is "Arnold To Die Today".
- Iggy and Eugene are buying tickets from Helga (yes, she's doing
that). Also in attendance are Robert, Curly, Rhonda and Park, and
later on, we'll see Sheena, Phoebe, and Brainy. Time for the fight,
then. But first, a warning from Arnold: he's crazy. (Okay, Harold's
crazy too, but this is Arnold we're talking about here.) With that, he
pushes play on the boom box and launches into a crazed dance sequence
set to James Brown-style music. He slaps himself, skids down gutter
water, bounces off a car hood into a fence, smashes his head with
trash can lids, and bumps trash cans around! A must-see if you ask
me...
- Anyhow, now that he's done with the sequence, instead of fighting
Arnold, Harold's asking him to join his "club", whatever that is.
Meanwhile, a Helga soliloquy is followed by her giving Brainy a 2nd
beating, and then complaining that "There's gotta be a fight" since
she sold tickets. Harold's suggestion: Have Iggy and Joey fight, which
they then promptly do. Harold, Eugene, Stinky and Sheena are carrying
Arnold away with Gerald following them as Helga makes a quip over the
Executive Producer's credit (see below), as we have the full credits
music today (well sort of).
- Quotables: "Try to remember me as I am now, not as I will be
tomorrow... dead" (Arnold to Gerald) "In 80 years I think I've only
learned one thing for sure" "What's that?" "Never eat raspberries...
gotta go" (Phil and Arnold) "Was that fry or dry?" (Pookie takes a
message) "Whattaya gonna do, swing it at us?" (Harold in the dream)
"From Helga who hates you" (the whole fight thing has even spread to
the radio) "You really *are* crazy... wanna join our club?" (Harold)
"Boys are so stupid" (Helga's quip)

OK, I've put out these notes for quite a while, I've seen some
feedback, but it's VERY meagre compared to Nftnat's ep notes (which
only go up to "Coach Wittenberg" and "Four-Eyed Jack") at
http://pub5.ezboard.com/fheyarnoldnewepisodes.showMessageRange?topicID=490.topic
. So what I'd like to see is some feedback on what you think of my
notes so far. Okay?

[ungvichian]

"World Records":
My attempt to list who was involved in the group's attempts to get
listed:
* Pyramid of kids: Joey, Nadine, Rhonda, Robert, Harold, Eugene.
* Game of Crack the Whip: Sid, Eugene, Harold, Stinky (still in
bracelets at the time), Gerald, Phoebe, Brainy.
* Pizza puff making, besides Phoebe, Stinky and Gerald: Sid, Joey,
Rhonda, Iggy, Joey, Vitello, Pookie, Sheena, Oskar, Nadine.

"False Alarm":
-Let's see who's among those running out of the school after the
false alarm: Iggy, Sheena, Robery, Brainy, Phoebe, Rhonda, Park, and
Sid.
- Listen to Harold call Helga "madam fortress mommy" :-) And look at
the pile of pencils Curly is building...
- 3 months, 2 weeks, 4 days. That's how long has passed between Eugene
borrowing Curly's pencil, and this trial. Curly's flashback makes you
wonder who's really nuttier: him or Eugene.
- Another quotable: "You know it, I know it, and the American people
know it" (Helga, on all the evidence pointing to Eugene)

Extra quotables from "24 Hours To Live": "Arnold beaned you" (Helga
says it with bucked tooth to Harold) "Don't hit me / I'll hit me"
(from the dance sequence)

"Sid's Revenge" on Wartz has gone too far, or so he thinks, and Eugene
the jinx and Arnold are stuck on a "Roller Coaster". Thoughts follow
shortly, all corrections welcome.

"Sid's Revenge"
- The first Michelle Lamoreaux story opens with Wartz at the
cafeteria, right after Phoebe in line, and he's picking up some
pistachio ice cream. He's just slipped on some rubber vomit, and among
those witnessing this incident are Arnold, Gerald, Helga, Curly,
Brainy, Harold, Joey, Park, Thonda, Stinky, Iggy, Eugene, Nadine,
Sheena... and Sid, who's been laughing over the incident for a while,
and thus Wartz accuses Sid for it. Sid vehemently denies it, but he'll
have to meet him in Wartz's room after class to discuss detention.
- Arnold suggests that Sid reason with Wartz, which he does, but Wartz
insists that he scrub the floor as detention, which he does. Back
home, all he sees on TV are things about revenge. Chocolate, a soap,
and soap carving. And that last one gives him an idea, so he carves
Wartz out of a bar of soap he conveniently has.
- Following day. Sid overhears nurse Shelley and some other woman
(lunch lady I guess?) talk about Wartz having gone to the hospital. He
expects the worst, so he takes a bus there. He goes straight to the
3rd floor (meanwhile, Wartz has just left), and he's asking the
receptionist where Wartz is. So he sees this guy wrapped in full body
bandages, and decides to apologize (watch him drink the guy's water
:-) ). Steiglitz comes in, and turns out this is some Mr. Ricardi, and
Wartz has "checked out permanently".
- Back at school, Sid insists to Arnold that he accidentally killed
Wartz (yes, he uses that exact term: considering "Grandpa's Birthday",
it's quite strong language). Arnold insists that there's a rational
explanation for everything, and they decide to head over to Wartz's
office where Arnold expects that he'll be there... instead, we have
his name being scratched off (one shot, there's just an M, and in
another there's none). Similarly, his parking space is being washed
off as well. So, they head over to Wartz's house. Lila's dad (or
someone who looks like him) says he's under a tree in a dirt plot.
- So they head to the back, and "sure enough" there's an empty dirt
plot. (Meanwhile, Wartz has just headed inside for lunch... I guess
Lila's dad works at the hospital now...) So they're heading down to
Vine St. substation (2nd visit, but first time we actually get to see
inside of it), where Sid's attempt to turn himself in is laughed at.
- Now they're in front of an ice cream shop. Sid notices a poster
saying "Try our pistachio", prompting to mourn about how it was
Wartz's favorite. Arnold insists again that it's just a bunch of weird
coincidences and steps on the soap. Cue Wartz coming out with a
bandage on his nose (not unlike Brainy at the end of "24 Hours To
Live").
- Time to explain everything, and then some. First, the whole vomit
thing Sid was framed for: it appears that the drama teacher
accidentally left it on the floor that day. Next, him going to the
hospital: he was getting out-patient surgery. Then, scraping his name
off the principal's door and washing his parking space: he's moving to
a bigger office at the other side of the building (whatever he means
by that). However, despite Sid's innocence where the vomit is
concerned, Wartz is now giving him detention for carving the idol,
prompting Sid to talk to Arnold about ideas for revenge... Meanwhile,
Wartz slips on the soap.
- Quotables: "Give them a taste of revenge" (chocolate ad) "Boy was I
thirsty" (Sid drinks "Wartz's" water) ... okay, so there weren't many
good quotes from this one!

"Roller Coaster"
- Another day, another Purdy story. The credits are going out over a
still of an amusement park... note that the smoke billowing from the
park's volcano is static. Today, Eugene, Gerald, Sid, Harold, Curly,
Arnold, Stinky, Helga and Phoebe are at Dino-Park, and we've a "Boy
howdy" moment to start it all.
- Harold wants to go to the Food Cave and pig out on pies. Meanwhile,
the gang wants to ride the Pterodactyl Egg Cups... problem, Eugene's
already riding them, and the cup he's in crashes into a food store. I
smell a speech about Eugene the jinx coming up... Followed by the
music sting from the end of "The Little Pink Book".
- Now, Sid, Harold, Stinky, Helga and Arnold are planning to ride the
park's rollercoaster, the "Tyranno-Scare-Us". Here's the problem:
Eugene wants to ride as well. Arnold makes a big "speech about virtue
and ability", basically that they shouldn't avoid going on the ride
just because Eugene's riding, and Sid agrees that Eugene is a "petty
reason" to not ride... that said, they're not riding anyhow, so
Arnold's the only one getting on the ride with him. Stinky doesn't
want him to do that, and Harold's asking for his tokens.
- Well, here we go. A couple hills and tunnels later, the two cars
they're in have separated from the other three and have come to an
abrupt halt at the mouth of a cave with mist being sprayed on them.
While the park technicians are trying to fix the problem (and it's a
bigger problem than they're letting Arnold and Eugene know), they're
talking about how the mist is keeping them cool, how great the view is
from up here (dizzying if you ask me...), Eugene's way of relaxing:
singing "Itsy Bitsy Spider", and other things about Eugene being such
a jinx. Meanwhile, the rest are like "I told you so", and some people
are putting an air cushion at the bottom.
- Later in the evening, the gang ask for the park people's megaphone
to reassure their friends... and then yell through it "I told you so"
comments. Well, the park people are going to use a cherry picker to
get the two. Prompting Eugene to make a comment on how he was picked
off the nose of the Statue Of Justice at the harbor. The first time,
he was picked with a cherry picker. The 2nd time, he was picked off by
a fire ladder. OK, so it's coming up with this guy named Lucky (that's
more of a dog's name isn't it?)... Next thing you know tho, the
controls have malfunctioned, leaving him stranded up there, prompting
yet another comment on his jinx.
- Eugene's idea of getting him relaxed: yep, singing "Itsy Bitsy
Spider". OK, suddenly, the hydraulics (I guess) of the cherry picker
seem to be failing. Arnold notices a rope on the cave wall (which we
never saw before), but guess who's going to be responsible for
dragging Lucky? Well, he doesn't want to do it, being a jinx and all,
but Eugene gets gutsy... and manages to drag him into their roller
coaster, and not a moment too soon, as the cherry picker ends up
crashing into (and puncturing) the air cushion from earlier.
- And resolved almost immediately after, the problems which had
stranded Eugene and Arnold up there all afternoon, so a couple hills
and a loop later, they're back home safe and sound. Stinky would like
Eugene to go on the Mr. Gator ride with him and Harold, but as they're
raising him high, he falls straight back into the roller coaster,
which goes off on its rounds as it heads into the credits ("I'm
okay")... which aren't played over the usual background and music, but
rather a continuation of the final shot and the hokey music. Special
Thanks: Herb Scannell.
- Quotables: "Eugene's a walking, talking, pirouetting loser (?) of a
big old hanging jinx" (Stinky, on Eugene after the Egg Cups incident)
"Criminy, I smell a speech about virtue and ability coming on" (Helga,
just before Arnold's speech) "Arnold's got a point there" (Sid) "I've
always tried to look on the bright side, but it's time to face the
truth: I'm a jinx" (Eugene) "Please for once let me do something
right..." (just before Eugene's attempt to rope Lucky) "Willickers,
you really surprised us Eugene" (Stinky to Eugene)

[ungvichian]

Yet another extra from "24 Hours To Live": Arnold's hat jumping off
his head during the nightmare sequence: Priceless.

It's art vs commerce, as we have Arnold's artistic vision at odds with
Gerald the boss in "Part-Time Friends" and then Big Bob's plan to
advertise his beeper shop in "Runaway Float", then we have "Grandpa's
Birthday" and Helga and Miriam on a "Road Trip". Thoughts follow
shortly, all corrections welcome.

"Part-Time Friends"
- So Arnold and Gerald have been kicking a can for a while, and now
that the can's dropped into a pipe, and Gerald doesn't have his mitt,
they're talking about getting skates (similar in fact to the start of
the later ep "The High Life"). Where to get the money, they wonder?
Well, Vitello has put up a sign asking for help, and they're taking
the job.
- Vitello is giving them lots and lots of detailed instructions on how
to take care of the flowers: petunias (three fingers of water), roses,
daisies, violets, ferns, ladyfingers... she's going real fast ;-)
- Arnold sure does a cracker of a job at cutting flowers and arranging
them... meanwhile, Gerald is helping with the customers.
- First paycheck. Quickly followed however by Vitello needing to be
taken to Doctor Macropolis. The following day, she announces that
she'll need a week's rest, so meanwhile, Gerald will run the store,
and Arnold will take care of the flowers. Arnold seems slightly
cheesed about this decision.
- Next thing you know, Gerald is complaining about Arnold's slow work
on his arrangements, and Gerald's helping the customers himself. At
the end of the day, Gerald (punching numbers on a calculator) decides
to have a head start on tomorrow, while Arnold's leaving. We head
straight to the next morning where Gerald (on the calculator again)
bought a Big Business magazine the previous night and thinks he can
double their productivity. He's drawn up business plans: Gerald will
interface with the customers, do advertising planning, and think of a
new color for the aprom. Arnold will be responsible for all else:
sweeping, watering, and delivery.
- Timeout: A sign in the shop says: "With ferns like these, who needs
anemones?" If you're familiar with the film Finding Nemo, there's a
joke with this exact punchline in it.
- I think $30 a rose is a bit steep, Gerald... meanwhile, Arnold's
delivering two deliveries (a sympathy wreath and a bouquet) to Lloyd's
Rest Home and a hospital, accompanied by music that would later be
used in "Arnold's Room". OK, both have been delivered to the wrong
places, and a new mom complains to the dad that he doesn't care for
her (even as dad insists that the wreath was a misdelivery, which,
well, it was). Arnold's complaining about his heavy workload, while
Gerald's criticising his attempts to do art (if Arnold had his way,
he'd be only doing one arrangement a day). Okay, Arnold's now had
enough, and is leaving for good.
- Sid, Harold, Brainy, and Eugene at the cafeteria table are surprised
that Arnold and Gerald are sitting apart. Later in the day, street
baseball, with Eugene, Park, Helga (pitching), Stinky, Sid (batting)
and Harold (catching). Arnold and Gerald actually have feelings of
hate for each other, the "I'm never speaking to you ever again" kind.
- Friday has been checker night since Arnold and Gerald were seven.
This Friday, tho, Arnold's alone. Grandpa comes in and yep, he's
consulting him about his problems. Grandpa flashes back to 1926
(Vitello's is in the flashback, BTW), when Jimmy Kafka was Phil's best
friend. Jim and Phil were working in a pay toilet business (is that
Quigley Field there?), when Jim's boss The Finger was involved in "The
Great Portadoody Scandal". Phil couldn't cotton up to Jim being his
boss, and sooner or later, Phil lost the best friend he ever had (but
he still thinks of him everytime he goes to the bathroom), though he
never elaborates on what "stupid misunderstanding" did just that.
Maybe something like the April Fool's Day prank he mentions in April
Fool's Day?
- After hearing that story, he slumps down on the checker table,
resulting in a dream sequence taking place in the future (Helga
apparently runs a beeper shop) with geezers Arnold and Gerald on a bus
having a hard time remembering what tiff started the whole thing in
the first place. Here's a decomposing Grandpa talking to them! :-o
- After the above, Arnold runs down to Vitello's, where Gerald is
seriously having trouble with customers complaining about their flower
arrangements. Gerald heas to the back where he complains that he would
some help. Here comes Arnold, and a discussion that proceeds in a
fashion one would expect. (Gerald does point tho how stupid the two
not talking to each other for years would have been...) After which
the two friends head back out to the counter where some displeased
customers wait. End on a static shot of the flower shop.
- Quotables: "...am I going too fast?" (Vitello, delivering flower
care instructions at a rapid-fire pace) "You can't quit, you're fired"
"Too late! I quit" (Arnold quits over Gerald's bossiness, and it's not
every day you see a retort to the stock line) "He's probably just
jealous that I'm the boss" (Gerald on Arnold) "Gerald who?..." "I knew
something was up with Arnold and Gerald, I knew it" (Arnold, then
Eugene) "But I still think of him every time I go to the bathroom"
(Phil on Jimmy Kafka) "That's not a very happy ending" "Whattaya know,
it isn't... well, they hardly ever are" (Arnold and Phil, after the
story about Phil and Jimmy) "Yeah, that would have been really stupid"
(Gerald, told that he and Arnold could have ended up not speaking to
each other for years)

"Runaway Float"
- Slovak's class is designing a float for the upcoming City Day
parade. The class includes Phoebe, Joey, Sid (twirling a ruler),
Stinky, and Harold (designing a float to look like a giant brownie).
- Well, Arnold's got a great design, and (from his left to right)
Slovak, Rhonda, Iggy, Robert, Park, and Phoebe are looking at it. He's
got Gino's Souvlaki (responsible for food in the neighborhood "Eating
Contest" later on) to represent places to eat, a water slide to
represent the waterfront, a rollercoaster, and a Tilt-a-whirl to
represent City Hall. It's all good... except that with a design that
would consume three times the annual school budget, it's only going to
be put on the bulletin board.
- Helga's imagining being on a float with Arnold: Note that a large
part of the float in her fantasy appears all at once into shot. OK,
imaginary sequence over, so time for Helga to get the money from Big
Bob. As one would expecting, a little-deal making is involved here.
The kids will be building it, and they'll be using left-over flowers.
And oh yeah, Big Bob's Beepers will be sponsoring it. While Helga's
talking about her deal with Arnold, isn't Eugene's voice a bit deep?
the city hall's a tilt a whirl since it's sorta crooked.
- OK, we have an old car to use for the float. Working on it are
Rhonda, Nadine, Harold, Gerald, Sid (running around, being chased by a
bee in flowers obtained from, of all places, "Sid's Mortuary"),
Stinky, Robert, Park, Eugene (let's hope Arnold has copies of the
blueprints, since he splats paint over them by accident: box of tacks,
plank of wood placed like a seesaw, paint can... you do the math)
among those working. Well, they've run out of resources (flowers,
chickenwire, and paint), so Helga's asking for more money from Big
Bob, while he's polishing a trophy.
- Now that they've gotten the money, they're putting finishing
touches, and Sid and Gerald are putting up the sign selling beepers
(it says "Big Bob's Beeper's", and there's one apostrophe too many).
So Joey, Gerald, Robert, Arnold, Helga, Rhonda, Sid, Park, and Stinky
(and we'll see Phoebe, Nadine, Curly, and Iggy later) are taking a
good look at the final result... when Big Bob's announcing that hates
it, and he's brought that Vermicelli guy (we'll see him in "Save The
Tree", as well as the movie) to make modifications. Since the parade's
tomorrow, he suggests covering the whole deal with a paper maiche
beeper and dressing the kids up in cellphones and beepers. Arnold
makes a stand for his cause... but the kids are giddy over the
prospect of getting to be part of the float. Meanwhile, Helga's
briefly lamenting in a hidden corner.
- Parade time. The grandparents are here, and Oskar's here to pick up
some loose change, if you know what I mean. While Mayor Dixie ("The
Old Building" and later on the movie) is passing in the lead car,
Arnold's with Gerald, still downbeat over the forced design change,
and Gerald says that it's all about commerce. There's a float looking
like a boat ("Our float was much better than that"), and then, here
comes the beeper float. It says "Let's Go Downtown" in front of the
base, Iggy, Nadine, Harold and Eugene (a bit surprising that no one's
blaming it on him) in cell phone and beeper outfits standing next to a
huge beeper with Helga on top, while Big Bob and Vermicelli are
controlling it with a remote.
- The new look of the float prompts Arnold to complain that it's not
aerodynamic enogh to steer. Proving his point, a large winds is
starting to blow around, and it's causing the float to go out of
control, everyone's screaming, and the remote's gotten squished (by
someone's in Stinky's clothes, but he's a bit too fat to be him).
We've Rhonda, Curly, Robert hanging on to each other (making for an
interesting image)... in fact quite a few are hanging on for their
lives (Helga included). OK, Arnold's just spotted a bike and he's
borrowing it.
- The float's overtaking the boat float (saying "Clean the Harbors"),
shoving it off the road and sending the float lady into a pile of
trash on the float. It comically plows right through the marching
band, and forces Dixie's car off the road, and it's now nearing the
judges' review stand. By this time, Arnold has pedalled all the way to
the float (prompting a smile from Nadine and note that she is in brown
hair here), and gotten on it.
- Now Arnold's tearing an entry into the beeper (insert brief shot of
Helga praying here)... and he's taken the hand brake in the old car to
stop it right in front of the judges' stand (the judges have jumped
out to the side... bizarre image there). And now, the beeper falls
apart to reveal Arnold's original design (Helga must have taken quite
a nasty fall there). The judges convene... and give them the prize for
best float, prompting celebration from Harold, Stinky, Iggy, and
Sheena.
- Nick takes the stand to accept the prize... but he's soon forced off
by Big Bob. Bob himself, however, is soon interrupted by Helga
pointing out Arnold's role in the float (note the "Let's Go Downtown"
caption disappearing in close-up). Bob's levelling with her and gives
him the proper credit (OK, he calls him "Alfred" just as he does in
"Save The Tree"), and lets the kids take the stage. Helga, Arnold and
Gerald on top, and Harold, Stinky, Iggy, Rhonda, and Nadine standing
just below. Helga makes a brief quip (see below), before freezing on
her smile (and look at that smile!), with the Bartlett credit on
screen (this wouldn't have been there in the US, since this is the
first half of another story there).
- Quotables: "Oh well, at least I'm queen of the beepers" (Helga)
"It's a good place to pick up loose change that people drop" "And a
few loose screws I wager" (Oskar and Phil) "It's art vs commerce, and
commerce always wins" (Gerald) "Hmph, it's just a float" (Helga's
quip)

"Grandpa's Birthday"
- Now here's a name we haven't seen for a while: Joe Ansolabehere (not
seen around these parts since season 1) is credited as writing the
story (a "Story" credit pops up between the title caption and the
music credit). Today, Phil is slightly grumpier than usual, especially
as the topic of his birthday coming up is raised. Later on, Arnold and
Phil are in the bathroom (I guess the one from "Four-Eyed Jack") as we
learn why. There's a family curse which every male in his line has
"bought the farm" at the age of 81, and yep, it's his 81st coming up.
- Arnold has decided to drag Phil along to the doctor's, even though
he hasn't been to one in 45 years. Dr. Steiglitz (that's 3 appearances
in 4 eps, and ever notice he sounds like Dan Castellaneta's other
Grandpa role, Abe Simpson?) is giving him a check up (having him run
on a treadmill, for instance), and it looks like he's fine. Phil is
vehemently denying his good health, however, and heads back to the
Arms...
- ...where he's reminiscing about the twilight of his life and talking
about "joining the choir invisible"... and oh yeah, giving Arnold the
keys to the Packard, because he doesn't want Pookie behind the wheel
(never mind that in "Field Trip", written by the same three writers as
this one, she did just fine). Speaking of Pookie, she's in a cowboy
outfit and wearing an inflatable swimming thingy with a horse's head,
singing "Bury me not on the lone prarie". Next up is a set of croquet
clubs... and Oskar ain't getting them.
- OK, now he's with Gerald in the pigeon coop. They're discussing
about the whole curse thing (Arnold mentions along the way that Phil
benchpressed 210 lbs. at the checkup), and Gerald reckons that deep
down he really doesn't believe in the curse. Arnold's idea: make his
last day as pleasant as possible. Meanwhile, Phil has called all the
boarders (and Vitello and Green) to listen to what he's leaving them:
how does "absolutely nothing" sound? Especially with the cranky way
Phil's saying it, too. Okay, Arnold's coming in to suggest that they
enjoy a pleasant day.
- Here's Phil's pleasant day, done in a sequence not unlike that in
"Eugene's Bike" by (in the exact order): Arnold taking him to see "You
Only Live Once" (which has a scene similar to the Harold Lloyd classic
"Safety Last", with a guy hanging from a clock), then to Skate Time
("Helga's Boyfriend"), then to Old Timer's Day at Quigley (where he
catches a ball in his bucket of popcorn), and then to the pier for a
corndog. Arnold wants to do this every week from now on, actually, but
Phil points out the obvious problem, that he's "croaking" at midnight
tonight.
- Back to the Arms. Everyone's gotta face the music sometime... Phil
unfortunately's stuck with Pookie's organ playing. Oskar's betting
that if he "kicks the bucket" in the next two minutes, he wins a pool
(um, did I hear that right?).
- And the time comes up to midnight... and Phil's still convinced that
it's his time to go. And in fact he thinks he's literally died and
gone to heaven... watch out for his quip as he encounters Oskar. OK,
now that Phil's been told that he's still in the boarding house, he's
recounting how his grandpa was born 1830 and died 1921, while his
grandpa's dad was born 1800 and died 1891.
- Well, he's miscalculated. The curse is at *9*1. Prompting a moan
from Oskar, and the grandparents singing "Three cheers for the red,
white, and blue" to the tune of "Stars and Stripes Forever", which is
what Phil did at the start of "The Pig War" as well. OK, he's going
out with Arnold for ice cream... maybe he can get a corndog too.
- Timeout: It's well known that the subject of death is frowned upon
over at Nick. And that fact rears its ugly head here. The word "die"
and its variants pop up 3 times in the entire story: Phil saying "over
my dead body" to Oskar, Pookie singing "he died on the saddle", and
Phil's quip at the end (see below). Possibly 2 more as Phil recounts
his predecessors' lifespans.
- Quotables: "So you're buying a farm?" (Arnold in the bathroom, to
Phil) "Time for the final round up, Slim" (Pookie) "Kinda puts a
damper on your little plan doesn't it short man?" (Phil on his
imminent demise and Arnold's plans to do what they just did every
week) "Unfortunately I have to face *this* music" (Phil, on Pookie)
"Oh no Oskar's here, this must be the other place!" (Phil thinks he's
died and gone to heaven, er, the other place) "I'm not going to die...
at least not now" (Phil) "I've got 10 more years until I'm wormfood"
(Phil)

"Road Trip"
- Nadine, Brainy, Park, Harold, Arnold, Gerald, Phoebe, Iggy, and
Sheena are doing their Mother's Day cards. Meanwhile, there's a borad
saying "L. Aldu" and "Allen"... sounds like other students, maybe?
Anyhow, Helga's card: to call it an afterthought is an understatement.
Helga goes on and on to the class (esp. Phoebe and Arnold) about how
lame Miriam is as a mom. Anyhow, this weekend it's her, Miriam, and
Big Bob going to South Dakota to visit Helga's grandma.
- Um, make that just Helga and Miriam, since Big Bob's off to Dallas
to sell beepers. So Helga's playing loud music on the car radio for a
while, and then Miriam decides to switch to oldies (I would guess).
OK, they're coming up on Wheeler's Inn and Herb's Big Guy Restaurant,
and they've got karaoke, so we have Miriam singing the song they heard
on the radio earlier, "We Got Tomorrow".
- Following morn. Mom's left the purse on top of the car (and it's
been mangled by another truck that passed) and lost an envelope she
wrote the directions on, the map she has is one of Wankyland (cf.
"False Alarm"), and now they've just driven into mud. Cue huge Helga
scream.
- Hmm... must be a pretty light car if Helga is pushing it at that
speed... anyhow, they're at a repair shop, with a diner by the side.
They've only $5.37, and the repairs will be $497.98. OK, Helga's going
inside the diner to have a cheeseburger with large fries and a
strawberry milkshake.
- Miriam sees a poster for a bull-riding contest for $500. Entry fee
is $5 which she's taking from Helga.
- OK, time for the contest. This "Slim" guy has won this contest 5
years running. Anyhow, they drag out the thing, and we see Bill, Fitzy
and Slim take their turns. There are about 6-7 names on the board, but
we see that Bill has 3", Lefty has 6.4", and Fitzy has 4". Here comes
Slim... and he puts up 2:15.
- Miriam's about to take to the bull, and she stumbles off it. Helga's
so sure her effort will be a shambles, she leaves the building to the
bench in front...
- Anyhow, here goes: she's doing fine, and she's still going, and
going (no Energizer bunny gags, please!) and the whole crowd's amazed
at Miriam's run, and even Helga, hearing all that ruckus, is coming
back in, and after all is said and done, Cowgirl Miriam takes the
cash.
- Now that they're on their way home, Helga's amazed by her run. Turns
out Miriam was a state bullriding champ, and it all stems from when
her dad wouldn't let her ride horses. Anyhow, they pass a "Welcome to
Washington" sign (and a truck ;)) as we head into the credits over "We
Got Tomorrow" (there's a credit screen crediting Bartlett and Viksten
and Kate Miner for that song).
- Quotables: "Miriam isn't exactly World's Greatest Mom material"
(Helga on her mom) "Well, no one's perfect" "Yeah, especially Miriam"
(Phoebe and Helga) "I'd rather have a root canal" (Helga on visiting
her grandma) "Have a little faith in people" (Arnold... the motif is
repeated later on when Miriam asks Helga for her $5) "We're totally
lost on the road to nowhere, with a map of Wankyland" (their situation
in a nutshell) "AHHH!" "Oh look Helga, a cow" (Helga and Miriam have
just driven into mud) "You're the parent, you're supposed to take care
of me" (Helga at the repair shop) "That's invigorating" (Miriam rides
bull) "There's so much stuff I don't know about you" (Helga suprised
by Miriam's performance)

[ungvichian]

Extra notes:
"Mr. Hyunh Goes Country":
* So while he's walking out on stage, there's an empty spot after
Lefty Schwizzle, but then he's walking past more pics in the next
shot. I guess there could a gap between them tho...
"Runaway Float":
* So Helga's asking for money from Big Bob. The float cost three times
the school budget... and the float costs only $300? OK, add some for
the additional money, as well as some of their money-saving
measures... but that still suggests a really meagre annual school
budget.
* Extra quotable: "The city hall's a Tilt-a-Whirl since it's sorta
crooked" (um... nice symbolism there Arnold)
"24 Hours to Live" and "Grandpa's Birthday":
* In the "ever noticed that?" file: Both stories are full of
references to death, and yet the former story uses the straightforward
term liberally, while it's only used sparingly in the other.

Now, we've the first story that suggested the "Arnold & Lila" pairing,
paired (no pun intended) with Arnold and Eugene's participation in the
Kids' All-City "Grand Prix" (and there's a couple of surprises in
store!).

"Arnold & Lila"
- What a pathetic ampersand there (looks like a badly drawn cent
sign). Anyways, while Lila (seen for the first time in "Ms. Perfect")
has been seen in some capacity in previous stories, for example,
keeping score in "Phoebe Takes The Fall" and singing in a choir in
"Gerald's Tonsils", she hasn't had a story about her since her debut
ep. Well, it's her turn now.
- Oh, you want to get into the ep? Fine: while Connie, Maria and Curly
are leaving school, Stinky, Nadine, Rhonda, Sid and Arnold are
listening to Lila cracking jokes about baby goats. Helga is
eavesdropping over Stinky talking about asking her to be his gal.
Well, not if Sid does so first. As for Arnold: he doesn't like her
like her (the reptition is a theme here, folks).
- This prompts a marathon soliloquy from Helga about her feelings
about Arnold, ending with her taking a piece of chalk and, with no
witnesses in sight, scribbling on an empty wall "Arnold Loves Helga",
in cursive writing, replete with heart and arrow.
- Here comes Rhonda, Lila, and Nadine, tho. So Helga scrawls Lila in
place of her name (well, what else were you expecting?), and this will
be the source of quite some grief on Helga's part, and some confusion
on Arnold's part, later on, as Lila starts spewing stuff like "I
didn't think he liked me liked me". It's expected since Lila's smart,
funny, and next to Rhonda, the best dresser in class.
- Lunchtime: "Be courteous. Bus your trays. Pick up your trash", says
Toppy Carrot. Meanwhile, here comes the confusion: Arnold's confused
over what Lila is saying, that he doesn't have to hide his secret and
things like that. So they're having lunch, and now they're sitting on
the bus together. Arnold's attempts to tell his side of the story are
constantly suffering interruptions, it's like a mutated version of the
"no buts" cliche (read about it at
http://rover_wow.tripod.com/cliches.htm ).
- Meanwhile, here comes the grief: it's time for an angsty Helga
soliloquy, featuring several "if only's" as if it were the opening to
"Babe: Pig in the City" (with James Cromwell falling down a well)...
and Brainy getting punched in the face.
- OK, now we have the two playing ping pong, having ice cream soda,
watching Dalmatians in Love at the cinema, and taking Insta-photos in
a booth.
- Breakfast. Time for Arnold to consult with Grandpa on this mess.
However, although he says that telling the truth would crush her
spirit, he has no idea what else to do. Maybe telling her the truth
would suffice, then...
- ... so that's what happens on the bus. We head over to lunch time:
as Joey and Robert are looking at a slightly depressed Lila eating her
lunch, Rhonda's calling Arnold fickle, even as he insists that he
wasn't responsible for the writing on the wall.
- Back at the Arms, he's working at his computer... before briefly
having flashbacks to playing ping pong with Lila (and his hat flying
off!), drinking ice cream soda with Lila, and taking the photos... and
that prompts him to look at the photos in his drawer (Lila is making
faces for the camera, while Arnold's just sitting there). Maybe he
does like her like her (and there's that repetition again).
- Following morning. Arnold tells Lila (across from Rhonda and Nadine)
to meet her at the park by the fountain in the afternoon. Meanwhile,
it seems that the writing is on the wall (no pun intended) for Helga,
as she just knows that the meeting could be the ultimate nightmare of
her existence. Brainy pops up again, but instead of just punching him,
she brawls with him in the back (out of our view, of course).
- Well, we're at the park, on a bench. Arnold's telling Lila things
like "I like you like you" and the like. Well, turns out that ever
since Arnold said he didn't like him like him, Lila doesn't like him
like him either. In a nutshell, she's dumping him. Now that Lila's
left, who should happen to drop in (literally!)? Why, it's Helga,
who's been eavesdropping over the whole thing from a tree branch, and
the branch has just fallen off.
- Cue a discussion on Arnold's feelings for Lila, and in fact love in
general. One would expect Helga to be asked about love... and yep, you
have her denying things. We end with them walking home together, cute
no?
- Quotables: "with this piece of chalk and no witnesses in sight, I
will write the words upon this wall which bear my soul" (Helga draws
on the wall) "I like her, but I don't like her like her" (Arnold on
Lila) "You don't have to pretend anymore" (Lila to Arnold, on the
writing on the wall) "And the worst thing is: I did this myself"
(Helga, on Lila smitten for Arnold, and referring to scrawling Lila in
place of her name) "Of course I understand... I don't know what you're
talking about" (Grandpa to Arnold on Lila problems) "Let me tell
you... I have no idea" (Grandpa to Arnold) "Oh sure, deny it now"
(Rhonda to Arnold after his claim that he didn't leave the writing on
the wall) "The ultimate nightmare of my 9 year old existence" (Helga,
on Arnold meeting Lila at the park) "You're dumping me aren't you?"
"Well... yes" (Arnold to Lila) "Boy, do I love climbing trees" (Helga
excuse for being on the tree) "You'll bounce back, there's plenty of
other fish in the sea" (Helga to Arnold... Arnold said something
similar to Stinky in "Helga's Boyfriend", IIRC) "Sure, I mean,
whatever floats your boat, football head" (Helga, on her and Arnold
walking home together)

"Grand Prix"
- Another day, another Purdy story. After the credits over a static
shot of a dirt course, Arnold's talking about the qualifying round for
the Junior Division Go-Kart Finals, and let's meet our contestants:
* #11, "The Dark Avenger", driven by Arnold, with Sid and Stinky as
teammates
* #14, "The Mauve Storm", driven by Eugene, who built it himself
* #8, "Helga's Angel", driven by Helga (doi!, and look at her helmet),
dragged in by Harold (teammate Phoebe will be seen later on)
* #1, "The Destroyer", driven by Wolfgang, with Edmund as teammate.
- Anyhow, time for the qualifying round. From outside to inside:
Arnold, Eugene, Wolfgang, Helga. I'm not going to do a play by play
because it would be waste of time (except that Eugene does briefly
move into 2nd)... let's just concentrate on the significant plot
action that is Eugene briefly going off the course before running back
onto the course in reverse direction and running into Arnold, and the
result: Wolfgang comes in first with Helga in 2nd. However, the other
two can still compete in the finals provided that they can fix their
go-karts.
- And with that, Arnold has an idea: combine parts from the two cars
together and make one to beat Wolfgang. "That plan really bites,
Arnold..." Back at the Arms, Phil listens to the idea, and look at his
quip below. Anyhow, cue montage of hard work (lots of screwing, and I
don't mean the kinky type of screwing), Eugene on Arnold's computer,
and Eugene spilling oil all over Stinky ;)
- Well, the assembly's done... Eugene's trying it, but he's stuck
upside down ;) Next, Eugene gives it a purple, er "mauve" paint job,
and as for a name, after a brief argument between Arnold and Eugene
that their name should be used, Sid comes up with the "I can't believe
we named our go-kart this" type of name "The Mauve Avenger".
- OK, it's the day of the race. Wolfgang has to coax Edmund into
ridiculing Arnold's go-kart, while Phoebe and Harold are giving Helga
some advice (Phoebe's advice: stick near the inside rail, Harold:
don't hit other go-karts coming near). Helga's ignoring the advice
tho...
- We have two other competitors, Jacques (a French girl is giving him
her scarve) and Giuseppe... they're in #5 and #7. Don't know why Purdy
included these guys, because the story could have been made to work
fine without them (except for maybe having Anndi McAfee showing off
her vocal talents: she's credited not just for Phoebe, but also for
voicing the girls who talk to them). So we have a total of five
competitors (Arnold's car has taken Eugene's #14). Time to start the
engines, and here we go!
- Split screens: you just had to go for style, didn't you Mr. Purdy?
Anyhow, lap 4: Wolfgang heads into the pits and Edmund gives him a
Yahoo... Wolfgang won't let him ride, however, in contrast to Phoebe
jumping in to replace Helga on their pits on the same lap (and look at
the glasses on Phoebe's helmet), and later on lap 8, Arnold's
switching for Sid to drive... However, Eugene's insisting on driving
since he owns exactly half of it, and to him that means he gets to
drive at least half the race. That would imply the race being at least
17 laps.
- Back to the race. Eugene's repatedly thinking "Today's my lucky
day", as we head into the final lap, and Arnold/Eugene's car is losing
a tire. Wolfgang, Jacques amd Giuseppe all swerve to avoid the
seemingly inevitable crash, and Jacques flies into tires and is out of
the race, and so are Giuseppe and Wolfgang (!).
- And as we head to the line, Helga's Angel has taken the lead, and
the Mauve Avenger, still losing parts, is actually closing the gap. At
the line it's be a photo finish... and (here's one of the surprises!)
it ain't Eugene's lucky day after all: Helga's Angel has taken it
(Eugene's lost his last wheels by this point: "I'm okay"). Among the
crowd: Joey, Iggy, Park (these three are right next to the flag),
Nadine, Curly, Brainy, Sheena, Rhonda, Lorenzo, and Robert. Stinky
won't be too pleased about the result (and I'm sure some viewers will
feel the same way), but they've beaten Wolfgang and didn't crash.
- Timeout: As the go-karts cross the line (flag waved by that cook guy
from "Helga Blabs It All", AKA "Caesar"), we can see the sign reading
"Lap 1", but in the photo finish, and the later shot of Wolfgang
dragging his car, it says "Lap 8".
- So while the team's still a bit confused over the go-kart's name, we
have Helga and Harold dragging home a huge trophy (in all likelyhood,
Helga's first winner's trophy: wonder how Big Bob will react) and
Phoebe walking with Giuseppe, and we head into the credits over a mix
of the best lines. Special Thanks: Susan Grode.
- Timeout again: Do all first place trophies in this town have to be
much huger than their 2nd place counterparts? I mean, look at the
fishing contest in "Big Caesar" and the city "Spelling Bee". Anyhow,
with this result, Arnold's dropped below .500 in officially sanctioned
contests (actually, you could say he dropped below .500 in "Phoebe
Takes The Fall"):
3 Wins: The City-Wide Spelling Bee ("Spelling Bee"), The Tour De Pond
("Tour De Pond"), the neighborhood eating contest ("Eating Contest").
4 Losses: a fishing contest ("Big Caesar", no placing), the 10-K for
World Peace ("Gerald's Secret", 2nd to Gerald), the school academic
competition (2nd with Gerald in team to Helga/Phoebe and 3rd in team
to Phoebe and Helga, "Phoebe Takes The Fall"), go-karting Junior
Division Finals ("Grand Prix", 2nd to Phoebe).
And Eugene still hasn't had his lucky day due him ever since "Eugene's
Bike" (the 2nd half of the first ep). As I said back then, he'll have
to wait until "Eugene, Eugene!" (which incidentally, is the 2nd half
of the last two-story ep).
- Quotables: "Wilickers, it's Wolfgang, driving some type of 5th grade
juggernaut" (Stinky) "Try and try and try again until you can't try no
longer, and if that doesn't work, well, you've just wasted a lot of
time doing something you couldn't do" (Stinky on what his uncle said)
"Oh look, a pig just flew by, and it's raining molted milk balls"
(Phil's comical quip) "It's not purple, it's mauve" (Eugene, on the
paint job) "I can't believe we named our go-kart 'The Mauve Avenger'"
(Arnold on their choice of name) "Laugh and agree" (Wolfgang tells
Edmund to ridicule "The Mauve Avenger") "When the other go-karts come
near, don't hit 'em" (Harold to Helga) "Steady: Today's your lucky
day, Eugene" "Ride the whale and the race is yours" "When I get home,
I'm gonna have a big pizza" (thought bubbles: Eugene, Phoebe,
Giuseppe) "We got second place, that's not too bad" "But we didn't
win" "But I didn't crash" "But we didn't win" (Eugene and Stinky, and
Stinky does have a point there...) "I'm confused fellers, I thought it
was The Mauve Avenger" (Stinky, after the race) "Arrividerci" (Phoebe,
at the tail end of the credits)

[ungvichian]

"Arnold's Thanksgiving" hasn't been going good, and neither has
Helga's. Thoughts follow shortly, all corrections welcome.

- Once again forgoing the usual title sequence, we open with Arnold
watching a "Mayflower Reenactment" from a bridge. Mayor Dixie is
declaring the "Mayflower II" a city monument, and giving it a sendoff.
Meanwhile, the credits run, and we've Purdy, Viksten, and Bartlett
credited for writing it, and those three plus Stella credited for the
story.
- Timeout: I don't think that boat that's passing by could fit under
that bridge...
- At school, we've a Thanksgiving play that is going comically wrong.
Gerald, Nadine and Rhonda's own reenactment of their voyage is going
fine... until the cardboard set suddenly falls down ;) (you can see
Indian Brainy doing the weather, Indian Sid behind a rock, Indian
Stinky under the boat, and Joey and Park, and possibly Curly, doing
the waves, and there's also a skateboard in there somewhere ;) ).
Meanwhile, Simmons is doing the narration in a turkey outfit ;) In the
audience today, Katrinka and Chocolate Boy (plus a bunch of others I
don't know... BTW, I often notice a girl with red hair and small
ponytails wearing glasses)
- Next, while Gerald's skateboarding out backstage, we have the next
scene, with Harold as a pilgirm, and Eugene and Phoebe as Indians,
with Brainy pouring corn flakes for snow. Harold comically knocks over
a rock and the Indians' fire, and Harold ate the corn maize!
Meanwhile, in the back, Gerald's talking about how great his
Thanksgivings are, which besides the expected things, also include
"belching contests with my brother" ;) Arnold's Thanksgivings, in
contrast, are disasters, because Grandma (who has a chronic problem
celebrating holidays) thinks it's the 4th of July (for you
non-Americans, that's their Independence Day): his Thanksgivings
involve burger and hot dog grilling, and fireworks.
- Back on stage, we have (left to right) Brainy, Sid, Stinky, possibly
Sheena, Harold, Nadine, Rhonda, Eugene, and Phoebe as participants at
the first Thanksgiving. Eugene with mased potatoes trips over the fire
and flies under the table ;) Backstage, Helga is talking to Phoebe
about how lame her Thankgivings are: Miriam overcooks the stuffing,
Big Bob watches 18 hours of football while belching and complaining
about burritos, and Olga likes to slave her baby sister around. OK,
Phoebe tells her that she's on (note Olga Pataki's drama award on the
wall in the background), and so she's on.
- The final act of the play is the modern Thanksgiving, with (left to
right) Rhonda as Mrs. Simon, Arnold as Robert, Helga as
recently-promoted Joy, Harold as Uncle Chuck, and Stinky as Peter,
talking about what they're thankful for. Meanwhile, Harold makes
comical comments like "Can we eat now?" ;) OK, play's over, and taking
their stand on stage: Gerald, Phoebe, Brainy, Sheena, Sid, Simmons,
Rhonda, Arnold, Helga (overwhelmed to be holding hands with him,
before suddenly retracting her hand off his ;) ), Harold and Stinky.
- OK, now that they're leaving school, Arnold passes Holday's Home
Furnishings, and takes a brief look inside at the ideal Thanksgiving
dinner. Over at the Patakis' in the meantime, everything seems to be
unfolding just like Helga says it always has, and what's so good about
Thanksgiving in Bob's eyes? 14 straight football games. Look at the
limited animation on the TV screen there...
- Over at Arnold's, here comes Pookie celebrating July 4th. Pookie and
Hyunh will be responsible for grilling, the Kokoshkas and Ernie will
be decorating and setting the table (Oskar complains about getting two
jobs), and Phil and Arnold will be responsible for dressing in red,
white, and blue. Meanwhile, Arnold complains about not having turkey
for Thanksgiving... Ernie's reply: he'll have to wait for July 4th
when Pookie thinks it's Christmas.
- OK, the next couple minutes consist of frequent cutting between
Helga's and Arnold's:
* Helga's: So, Helga's made a centerpiece for the table (looks like a
pine cone)... pales in comparison to Olga's (a turkey made from ice).
OK, sight gag with Big Bob tearing... over onion-chopping. Meanwhile,
Olga wants Helga to peel potatoes, while Bob would like her to fill a
cornucopia with beepers for a 3-day sale. The actual dinner: the
others (even Miriam, who wasn't wearing her glasses up to this point)
say what they're thankful for (Miriam's thankful for Olga's
centerpiece). Big Bob won't like what Helga has to say about what
she's thankful for... "Absolutely nothing." After an attempt from Bob
to force her to be thankful for something, he decides to send her up
to her room. Time for Helga to be better off alone, then.
* Arnold's: While the barbecuing has gotten underway, Arnold asks Phil
why can't they just have a traditional Thanksgiving. Phil's reply
they'd be just like everyone else. Later on at I would guess 5:15,
Harold opens the Arms door while he's in his Benjamin Franklin
costume, and Harold (the only kid role after the play at the start)
doesn't recognize him, and he's making fun of him. Arnold's asking
Harold not to tell anyone he saw him in this outfit... if you remember
"Arnold Betrays Iggy", you'd probably expect it to be pretty
ineffective, and it's ineffective here as he keeps blabbing about
seeing Arnold in the cosutme as he's walking away ;) Anyhow, time for
him to be better off alone while Pookie's asking him to bring up his
quill pen.
- OK, Helga's looking inside the furnishings shop from earlier
(noticing also figures of a family standing near a fireplace), and she
launches into yet another soliloquy. This time around, she's
interrupted not by Brainy, but by Arnold (forcing a quick tucking of
her locket). Anyhow, they're talking about how lame their
Thanksgivings were. Now they're at the dock where Arnold's trying to
buy some chips from a machine, while Helga's going on and on about the
events at her place. Stupid machine doesn't give him the chips...
anyways, they're standing on the pier (note a couple boxes saying
"Fire Tools") looking at the great view (er, keep trying football
head), and watching the "Mayflower II" from the start crash straight
into a bridge, prompting some rescue work.
- Timeout: OK, at the very tail end of the segment, it seems as if the
guys just got lazy and shoved in a video freeze of the previous shot
(on my TV Arnold's head is outlined with a rather dotted line). Also,
when I saw this particular scene at Nick.com a few years back (it
seems that the site has abandoned putting clips online, bar the sneak
peeks, and, for some reason, SpongeBob getting a video vault), the
scene ended with the shot of the boat rescue.
- In light of that crash, they're now talking about Simmons' little
play. Arnold's citing Simmons' moral about being thankful for what
you've got. Helga's point: That was just a play, this is real life
(just to make her point, she's also pointing to the boat rescue going
on). Arnold's point: maybe he's having a decent Thanksgiving.
- OK, now that they've gone to Simmons', Simmons has just taken a
photo of the people he's invited to his party. Arnold and Helga are
being introduced to them: his mom Pearl, his friends Peter and Joy,
and his Uncle Chuck (like Harold, he likes to eat). It doesn't take a
rocket scientist to know that those last 3 names also appeared in the
play at the beginning (in case you weren't paying attention, Helga and
Arnold point that out).
- But these people ain't remotely nearly as peaceful as those in the
play. Joy has gotten fired from the library and her car has been
stolen again, and they're reprimanding her for it. Simmons is asking
the gang to join hands, and Arnold and Helga oblige, but Peter (and
probably the others) think that the tradition is embarassing... also,
Simmons has to Heilmich Joy, and whatever it was she was choking on,
it's splat straight into Peter. Cue a big fight.
- OK, Arnold and Helga are watching the proceedings from in the
kitchen. It hits a bit close to home, huh? Makes their respective
Thanksgivings tolerable in comparison. Even Simmons is complaining
about the "spirited family" he has (more like they're on spirits, if
you ask me ;) ), but the point is that, although Arnold and Helga
might not understand, he's thankful for what he's got. Time for them
to leave, then.
- First, Helga's being dropped off at the Patakis'. Inside, utter
chaos. Miriam's on the phone with the police about Helga going
missing, Bob's planning to go out in his Hummer (that's a type of
Jeep) to look for her, and Olga even pops out with some flyers. It's
really more about you isn't it, Olga? First, the caption under the pic
says "Award Winning Olga Pataki's Sister", and the picture looks like
Olga posing for some sort of commercial. Anyhow, they're all thankful
:) that she's back, and she's thankful for her family :) . Time for
dinner. Bob's dragged in the tube so he can watch his football, and
that pine cone thingy is the centerpiece for the dinner (I guess
Olga's ice turkey melted).
- Arnold's passing "The Green Thumb" (probably Mrs. Johansen's corner
shop), before heading back to the Arms, where he finds that the
ceiling has been deserted. He finds Phil in a robe, and asks him where
everyone's gone. Well, since Arnold was looking for a real
Thanksgiving... the boarders have went all out and put together one :)
But it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without fireworks, so Pookie lights
some, as we're treated not just to a shot of fireworks sparking from
the Arms (with the Bartlett credit on it), but also a shot of the
fireworks exploding over the shipwreck from earlier (I was half
expecting the credits to run over that shot). Playing us out is "Star
and Stripes Forever", followed by an instrumental exit.
- Quotables: "Where's the corn maize? "I was hungry (coat pops)"
(Eugene and Harold) "I'm thankful that I had an early lunch do i could
more of this turkey" (Harold as Uncle Chuck) "Now can we eat?" "Yes,
Uncle Chuck, now we can eat" (Harold and Rhonda) "But then we'd be
like everyone else, where would be the fun in that?" (Phil, on
Arnold's desire to have a normal Thanksgiving) "Honey, you got to be
thankful for something" (Miriam to Helga) "Bring your quill pen Mr.
Franklin" (Pookie to Arnold) "It's a sign alright, it's a sign that
this is possibly the worst Thanksgiving ever" (Helga, on the Mayflower
II ramming into a bridge) "Yeah, what a crock" (Helga's thoughts on
Simmons play) "Our Thanksgivings were kinda blue so we were wondering
if we could crash yours (comical sting)" (Helga to Simmons) "Oh good,
dinner and a show" (Peter's reaction to Joy needing to be Heimliched)
"Hits a little close to home, huh?" (Helga, on Simmons' Thanksgiving)
"It wouldn't be Thanksgiving without fireworks" (they're having a real
Thanksgiving but Pookie's lighting fireworks anyhow)

[ungvichian]

Leftovers:
"Arnold's Thanksgiving": Note that Helga refers to Olga as "Mary
Sunshine"... she mentioned that particular term in "Olga Comes Home"
in her little "everything's back to normal" soliloquy.
"Grandpa's Birthday": Grandpa and the leftover corndog :D
"The Big Scoop": Wartz's best friend is a squirrel, and look at the
photograph of Wartz feeding one to prove it! :D
"Harold's Kitty": OK, let's see who's watching this situation: Nadine,
Iggy, Sheena, Rhonda, Peapod, Sid, Stinky, and Phil. "I'm just a kid
with a cat..." (Harold)

Phoebe's the new "Hall Monitor", and there's just one problem with
"Harold's Bar Mitzvah": he's planning on rowing to Elk Island, unless
someone (guess who?) can convince him otherwise. Thoughts follow
shortly, all corrections welcome.

"Hall Monitor"
- Joey, Robert, Arnold and Gerald are entering school (note the nice
touch of wiping the Jim Lang credit as the door opens). An unknown,
Rhonda, Sheena, Robert, Iggy, Stinky, and Eugene are walking in the
hallways. Note the floor when Hall Monitor Helga's walking, it looks
like a disco floor (note that the background was hand drawn back
then). Anyhow Helga suddenly splits those walking in the hall to the
sides thusly: (left) Ruth, Gerald, Eugene, Park, an unknown (right)
Robert, Brainy, Sid, Stinky, Arnold. Phoebe's taking notes.
- Continuing her last day as Hall Monitor, Helga's reprimanding Iggy
drinking at the fountain, and Arnold for tying shoe on the locker. At
the auditorium, Wartz is honoring her as the first hall monitor to
make sure no one steps on the cracks on the tiles. However, although
she'd like to volunteer for a second term (prompting moans from Joey,
Sheena, Eugene, Gerald, Sid and Brainy), it's time to pick a new Hall
Monitor... and she picks Phoebe. Note Nadine and Rhonda in the seats
as she's walking out.
- OK, the following day, Phoebe's not sure that she's ready for the
responsibility (nitpick: playing in slomo, the PS 118 front doors open
to an empty hall, Helga pops up in one frame, and Phoebe in the next).
Note her Hall Monitor ribbon slipping down her shoulder ;), and what
exactly is "Fat Acheivement" on one of the shelves? Anyways, Helga
explains the perks of being Hall Monitor (see below), and she picked
Phoebe because (groan) she's her best friend (besides, she wants her
to save her a spot in line). Now, the bus is emptying: Joey, Iggy, an
unknown, Park, Robert, and Rhonda all plow her down (in the shot of
the bus emptying, I could also see Curly, Nadine and perhaps Brainy as
well, but they're not plowing her down). Sid passes her, followed by
Harold ramming her into a locker off screen. "Phoebe, say something"
"I quit"
- After Phoebe's done getting some treatment from Shelley (the school
nurse), while Helga concedes that she's the soft-spoken type and a bit
too intellectual to be Hall Monitor, that's exactly why (in Helga's
opinion) she can't quit. Besides, it ain't just personal anymore:
While Helga's going on and on about Phoebe having to stand up for
herself and things, Phoebe's bumped by Joey from one room, and after
passing a "Four Food Groups" poster (note that the concept was on its
way out back then) she's bumped some more near room 206 , by Iggy, two
unknowns, Rhonda, Nadine, Park, Curly, Gloria, and another unknown.
- Timeout for animation nitpick: Note the book Iggy's holding. Playing
in slomo, it's blue in one frame and then it's white in another. And
that's just the continuous shot: when it cuts to a close up of the
bumping action, Iggy's book is red.
- Anyhow, she's soon in the middle of a busy intersection, and gets
floored and her glasses get stepped on by a 1st grader. OK, Helga's
finishing up her little speech, and Phoebe looks worse for the wear.
Anyhow, Phoebe's got some resolve: Out with the old Phoebe, in with
the new. Later at night, while the janitors are busy cleaning away,
Helga's giving Phoebe a little lesson on how to stop people running in
the halls, and people drinking at the water fountain. Most important:
her whistle, and some yelling.
- Following day, Phoebe (walking on a "disco floor") gets plowed by
Sid, Park, Rhonda, Robert, Harold, Nadine and Stinky running in the
halls. Phoebe is trying to enforce no shoving in the hall on Sid.
Helga pops up (out of Phoebe's view) and Sid immediately complies.
She's also enforcing drink limits on Iggy, like Helga did on her last
day.
- Later on, Eugene, Iggy, Nadine, Brainy, Rhonda, and Stinky are in a
now rather cluttered hall, filled with lane markings, as well as signs
and banners saying "New Rules", "Stop", "No Turn On Red", "Limit 3
Seconds Per Drink" "Speed Limit: 20 Steps Per Minute", "Keep it
Moving", "Yield", etc. Arnold and Gerald are calling her "Field
Marshal Phoebe", while she's giving Peapod Kid a ticket for speeding.
In slo-mo, one can see that the relative position of Gerald's hair to
the poster he's in front of moves up and down as the shot pans down.
Even when it's still, one can notice Arnold bobbing up and down
slightly...
- Today at lunch, everyone's in a line: Iggy, Robert, Park, Sheena,
Nadine, Sid, Curly, Brainy, and Stinky. Arnold and Gerald are talking
about a monster truck show... and getting detention. This morning
alone, Gerald got tickets for walking too fast, walking too slow,
taking a turn too sharply, taking a turn too wide, having squeaky
shoes, and having suspiciously quiet shoes, and he's so frustrated he
throws the tickets on the floor, whereupon Phoebe hands him another
one for littering.
- Lots of things on this week's lunch menu: Vegetarian Fish & Chips,
Chicken Tuna, Macaroni and Cheese with Mushrooms, Tofu Fish, Pizza
Bar, Timebomb (whatever the heck that is)... that's all I can see with
Gerald being the focus of the shot.
- Meanwhile, Brainy's suddenly ahead of Gerald and Arnold (???),
however, Helga soon takes the first spot in line, eyeing the last
tapioca (why is it an element in several stories? Look at "Helga's
Love Potion" and "Helga vs. Big Patty").
- Phoebe is enforcing the no cutting rule on her (Gerald is smiling),
and Helga after complaining that she wanted to invite Phoebe to go to
a monster truck show with her, is also complaining about the sudden
turn in Phoebe's behavior, more specifically, that she's enforcing the
rules on everyone, Helga included. Signs in the cafeteria: "Toppy
Carrot and Spirit Spinach Eat Healthy", "Milk, Chamber of Commerce".
Detention will be at 3:00 today. Brainy is getting the tapioca while
Helga's complaining, as Phoebe is walking to Joey, Harold and Nadine's
table.
- Today in detention: (first row, left to right) Sheena, Sid, Gerald,
Curly, (second row, left to right) Harold, Nadine, Arnold, Park,
(others) Brainy and Harold, with Helga washing the chalkboard. Helga
is wondering where the old kinder Phoebe has gone, for that matter, so
is everyone else. The old Phoebe lent pencils, ate the crust off
sandwiches, and so on. "It's time to bring the old Phoebe back!" After
seeing herself morphing into Helga peering into a window pane :) she
decides so too. She doesn't need the badge, hat or tickets, to get
respect, she can get it simply by being herself... Meanwhile Sid,
Nadine, Gerald, Arnold, Sheena, Harold, Curly, Park sneaked out of the
room during her little speech :) OK, Helga's asking Phoebe to go have
a soda, and after Helga's left, Phoebe decides to dust off her Hall
Monitor hat and play tough Hall Monitor again ;) Note the fact that
she's not wearing her "scrunchie" (that yellow ring on top of her
head) when she's wearing her hat.
- Timeout 1: Oddly, they never seem to mention her Hall Monitor
occupation again in the remainder of the series (in fact, wasn't Helga
"back" to being Hall Monitor in "Gerald's Tonsils", with the roll call
bit?)
- Timeout 2: All I can say about the morphing sequence: you *really*
should watch it in slow motion to appreciate the fine details. ;-)
- Timeout 3: Note that it cuts right from Helga walking to the window
to Helga wiping the glass pane.
- Quotables: "Another day with Helga the horrible" (Gerald on Helga as
Hall Monitor) "Save some for the fishes" (Helga, later Phoebe, to Iggy
at the water fountain) "The perks are incredible: Free hall passes,
extra trips to the water fountain, and you get to boss other kids
around" (Helga, on the perks of being Hall Monitor) "Sooner or later,
you have to learn to stand up for yourself" (meanwhile, Phoebe is
being pushed around in the hall) "Out with the old Phoebe and in with
the new" (Phoebe) "No cuts, no buts, no coconuts" (all Phoebe knows
about enforcing the rules) "Yo, halt!" (Phoebe... repeated several
times) "I said no shoving" "Well I said... (notices Helga) ...you're
the boss" (Sid and Phoebe) "Hey, no cutting!" "Executive priveleges"
(Gerald sees Helga cut in line) "That rule is for little people...
Remember, I'm above the law" "No one's above the law, Helga" (Helga
and Phoebe, on Helga cutting to get tapioca) "Get real, Helga Pataki
doesn't do detention" (Helga, on being given detention) "And one more
thing: I despise monster truck shows" "...When I told you not to let
anyone push you around, I didn't mean *me*" (Phoebe has just given
Helga detention) "You're a power hungry hall monitoring bully" *gasp*
"You say that like it was a bad thing" (Helga on Phoebe in a nutshell)
"You've given out more tickets than a lottery" (Helga, on Phoebe
giving tickets) "Hey, it's not that scary" (Helga on Phoebe's
reflection)

"Harold's Bar Mitzvah"
- Interestingly, the first fifteen-minute story whose title is split
into two lines... Purdy not only wrote this one, but also possible the
only other one ("A Day In The Life Of A Classroom"). Anyways, we're in
front of the Beth O'r temple. So Stinky (still in dog collars) is
asking Harold (holding a book) if he wants to play stickball. "Well,
okay!" Harold throws down his book, Stinky throws the ball and it
bounces off the door (note the doormat saying "Shalom") and off
Harold's butt ("Hey, I wasn't ready!"). Rabbi Goldberg comes out and
tells Harold, or Chaim (KHYE-um), to come in and prepare for his Bar
Mitzvah this Saturday. As for the book, Gerald thinks it's Chinese,
but Sheena and Arnold have the answers: it's Hebrew. This is Harold's
Torah.
- Inside the temple, Harold Berman (his last name is mentioned here
for the first time) is reading the Torah in preparation for his Bar
Mitzvah. Goldberg's telling him that it's not just about the presents,
it's about being a fully-responsible man. Harold's duites:
Righteousness, charity, and praying. Hey, since Harold's having his
B&M, that would mean he's 13... isn't he a bit old for 4th grade?
- After our first sighting of Harold's parents, a freaky dream
sequence with Harold trying to feed water to camels. Sheena, Arnold,
Gerald and Helga are all reminding him of the importance of Bar
Mitzvah (Helga's in her usual pink dress, but the others are wearing
desert-appropriate clothes). Meanwhile, the pot of water he's holding
grows, and so does the line of camels. The pot eventually slams him
flat into the ground.
- Following morning. Arnold's with Harold, and they're both wearing
suits, while Harold's in a "yarmulke" (YAH-ma-ka, a Jewish hat) and
holding a suitcase he's just packed. Everyone else is headed to Beth
O'r with presents for the B&M. However, Harold's talking about going
to Elk Island (as seen in "Wheezin' Ed", and other eps), and is
waiting for the bus to the docks. He just isn't ready for the
responsibility of being a full-grown man. Well, he might be 13, but
he's only in the 4th grade, so he does have a bit of a point.
- Anyhow at the bus stop, a mother comes along asking if they've seen
her missing kid Danny, they haven't. Short time later, a kid comes up
crying for his mother. Harold, complaining about their crying, decides
that the two should be paired together... turns out that that lady who
just came along was his mother. OK, that little incident there has
just missed him a bus to the docks. Might as well get a Mr. Fudgy
waiting for the next one then.
- While he's buying the ice cream (from Jolly Olly, who else?), he
sees a pair of kids fighting over a popsicle. He also sees the next
bus coming. As it leaves, we've the two kids licking on one popsicle
each: Harold's never given away an ice cream before...
- On the bus, some teen is threatening the two. Harold takes the
expression "say your prayers" quite literally, and it freaks out the
kid. I guess Jewish is a minority religion over in Hillwood City...
- Meanwhile, everyone's still waiting at the Beth O'r. Anyhow, they're
now at the docks. Arnold is going over what Harold did today. It fits
the three principles mentioned earlier: righteousness, charity, and
praying. That said... he's still planning to go to Elk Island.
- After yet another "I trust that you'll do the right thing" speech
(we sure have a lot of them on this show), Arnold walks pasts Paddle
Paul's Canoes, where there's a sign saying "Kid Size Canoes and
Paddles Here", which creates some confusion (see below)... other signs
include something on wearing life vests, and (I presume) prices for
per hour, half day and full day. A shot of Harold in a canoe fades to
black before cutting to Beth O'r. Goldberg is blabbing on and on about
how he trained Harold... and suddenly here comes Harold in yarmulke,
and now he's reading the Torah.
- Post B&M party. Arnold wonders "What happened to Elk Island?" They
wouldn't let Harold rent a canoe (then why are there kid-size canoes
and paddles available? Adult supervision or something?). Anyhow, it's
a bald Harold moment as Stinky takes Harold's yarmulke and runs with
it, and Harold eventually ends up in the middle of a Jewish circle
dance (Arnold, Gerald, Phoebe and Helga are in it) before Stinky
throws it back right on his head. The Jewish music from the dance
continues across the credits.
- Quotables: "What in the name of crrrrriminy is this?" (Helga opens
Harold's book) "Glad I don't live in ancient times" (Harold, on B&M)
"Might as well get a Mr. Fudgy in the meantime" (Harold waits for
another bus to the docks) "Have faith in me" (Harold arrives at Beth
O'r) "It's weird: I'm old enough to have all kinds of
responsibilities, but I can't rent a canoe" (Harold on his B&M) "Give
me back my yarmulke!" (Stinky takes Harold's hat)

[ungvichian]

Arnold has some "Girl Trouble", and turns out that Grandpa had some
too in his day, and Dino Spumoni's singing at the "School Dance"...
the fact it's also his farewell is imposing some problems, however.
Thoughts follow shortly, all corrections welcome.

"Girl Trouble"
- Text page credits: the ep title and writer credits (and story
credits, which include Sherm Cohen) are all in the same size.
Classroom layout today: Front row, Phoebe, Sheena, Gerald, Arnold.
Second row, Brainy, Iggy, Harold, Stinky. Back row, Nadine, Rhonda,
Helga, Curly.
- Chapter 12 math is Parallelograms. Now at 2pm, it's time to do Lewis
and Clark diaramas for history class. Helga is having a soliloquy with
a mini-shirne in her math book on being paired with Arnold... however,
with Arnold, she's saying "I'd rather have a root canal", which is the
same as her reaction to traveling to South Dakota to meet her Gran
(and that was before she found out that she'd have to go it alone with
Miriam).
- Helga will be painting, Phoebe will be making Native Americans like
Sacagawea (mentioned in "Partners", thus the slught confusion whether
her name's pronounced with a hard "g" like Phoebe does or soft "g" as
in the song from that ep), while Arnold and Gerald will be doing
buffaloes and fauna, even if Arnold's reluctant. Okay, Arnold's made a
buffalo, and Helga's ridiculing it. Also, while he's not at his chair,
she puts some glue on it and after Arnold returns to sit, adds some
feathers. Arnold's a bird ;)
- Later in the afternoon. Arnold and Gerald are leaving school.
Visible outside are Phoebe, Iggy, Sid, Harold, Stinky, Joey and Helga.
Helga tells Arnold to look up. Then tells Arnold to look down: Some
bubblegum has become attached to his sole. Nitpick: the bubblegum
wasn't there in the previous shot (even thought there's a squish when
he steps on that spot). OK, after that, another Helga soliloquy on how
all her pranks are "a lonely and lost soul's cry for attention"... cue
Brainy popping up from a trash can and Helga slamming down the lid.
- At the Arms, Pookie is in a karate outfit and chopping up watermelon
with her hands. Arnold's asking her for advice and asking whether she
had someone like Helga in her time, the response: she can't remember
anything before last week, actually. Time to speak with Phil, then:
Well, he's suggesting that it might be that Helga, the person who's
playing pranks on him, yes, actually likes him. He's looking in his
photo album, and let's cue a flashback to when he was a kid and had a
blonde classmate named Gertie. She kept walking through his marble
pit, called him "chin boy" when he was playing stickball with her as
catcher, put thumbtacks on his chair, and dipped her hair into ink so
that she could blame it on Phil and have Ms. Crenshaw give him quite a
whacking. His lesson: follow your instincts. And look at all that
watermelon Pookie's made.
- Following day. OK, what's going on here? Stinky, Helga, Arnold and
Harold are at their tables.... problem is Helga's sharpening her
pencil at the same time. Another day, another clean slate, another
soliloquy.
- So, during the diarama class, Arnold is making a buffalo. Helga
looks like she's giving it a positive comment... but she slaps herself
and it suddenly turns into a negative one. Later on, they're fighting
over a can of paint. Both of them get splashed some on their clothes.
Helga seems to have gotten the worse part of it, since Arnold's gone
bad...
- Back at the Arms. Phil, after seeing the paint and hearing about the
incident, is recommending that Arnold call Helga and apologize. At the
Patakis', Helga is lamenting the passing of the good Arnold at her
closet shrine, when Bob tells her about a call from "Alfred". He's
apologizing about the paint (doi!). After the apology, Helga has a
little soliloquy... and tangles and trips over phone wires ;) before
telling him: "Don't you ever call me at my house ever again! Ever!"
Meanwhile, an awkward moment as Bob sees her tangled in the wire ;)
- OK, now that that's done, time for him to change clothes. Meanwhile,
Phil and Pookie are looking at a picture of Gertie in the photo album:
Pookie's commenting on how cute she looked back then... apparently,
Pookie is in fact the Gertie in that pic. OK, next story...
- "Oh, what an expedition that will be" (Helga's first soliloquy) "Hey
look, Arnold's a bird" (Helga's first prank) "What would that prove? I
think it's just better to ignore her" "Doesn't seem to work, Arnold"
(Arnold to Gerald, on retaliating at Helga) "Look up" "Huh?" "Now look
down" (Arnold + bubblegum = Helga's second prank) "I can't remember
anything before last week actually. Remember, violence is not the
answer" (Pookie asked for advice on Helga) "I got quite a whacking for
this one" (Phil, on Gertie dipping her hair in ink) "Another day,
another clean slate" (Helga's soliloquy on the following day) "Yeah
yeah, an agreement, that sounds great, have my people call your people
and we'll draw up the papers" (Helga on the phone) "I'm not even gonna
ask" (Bob on Helga tangled in wire)

"School Dance"
- Next week is the PS 118 dance. Rhonda (reading Interior Design) is
responsible for the decorations. Eugene had a collision with a bunny
float in their Easter parade, so Arnold's inheriting his duties:
Entertainment Procurement. Basically, getting talent to perform at the
dance. So first, Arnold pops down to the Talent Agency. His offer of
$75 is seriously laughable. Note that when it cuts to the outside, you
see a woman standing with her dog... except that in the previous shot
of the outside, she was walking the dog off the screen. Yep, they've
gone cheap and used a still.
- So Arnold is putting up posters saying "Musical Entertainer Wanted
For School Dance". OK, here comes the talent. Eugene is playing a
regular horn, Iggy is playing drums, Stinky is playing an Alps horn.
Joey's there too but not playing anything. Inside the Arms, Sheena is
playing the cello, and the bow suddenly flies off like an arrow and
skewers Arnold's hat.
- Next up, Mr. Green mangling "Danny Boy" (did you know that in the
1950's the BBC opened its TV broadcasts with a medley of British
tunes, which included "Danny Boy"?). Now, time for Oskar to play the
saxophone ("Arnold As Cupid"). Is it just me, or does Oskar get
slightly pinker as he blows the horn?
- Given the low quality of the talent, Arnold has no idea who to get
for the dance. Phil says he can play his nose (and does so ;) ).
Meanwhile, Pookie overhears the discussion and puts on Dino Spumoni
("The Old Building", "Partners"). This gives Phil an idea (probably
the whole point): why not get Dino to perform? Arnold's not that keen
on accepting it since he used to be big... but that's the whole point.
Nowadays, he's so washed up, he could get him on the cheap.
- He heads down to the Spumoni estate, where he's playing out an old
film of him singing "Smashed" ("The Old Building"), and firing a
butler for confusing his age (he's 69, butler thought he was 67).
Anyhow, Dino's issues are that no one likes to listen to his songs or
buy his albums anymore, and just to keep with today's trends, he even
tried coming out with a rap album: "Yo! Dino Raps", which sunk like a
lead balloon. He's planning on doing his farewell concert at The
Palace (whatever that is) and has even written a depressing song for
the occasion, but since his agent Marty has just phoned and told that
The Palace won't book him, he's agreed on doing the concert at PS 118.
- Breaking the news at school, Rhonda's warning that he better be
good. Grandpa is basically reiterating Rhonda's warning back at the
Arms. OK, time for the dance. Park and Curly are there (I presume most
of the other students would be there too, but those are the only two
besides Helga, Arnold, Gerald, Stinky and Rhonda that I see). A little
pep talk in the dressing room, and now on stage here comes Dino.
Everyone's listening to the new song he wrote for the occasion: "My
Last Bow". Well, it's depressing alright. And it happens to go against
the mood of the gig.
- Back in the dressing room, Arnold's complaining why Dino isn't
bringing out his older material. Response: No one likes that stuff
anymore. Except for Arnold... and more importantly, Dino himself.
Dino's confident that he could knock everyone on their ear if he sang
his old songs. Arnold's response: "So why don't you?"
- Back outside. Rhonda and Stinky are already calling him (both Dino
and Arnold) a flop. But to paraphrase Lenny Kravitz, and Arnold, "It
ain't over till it's over". And here's Dino coming out with an
apology, beacuse after all, tonight's not about Dino having a bad
time, but rather the others having a good time. And with that, let's
head into a great song "Back in the Swing". "Hey, he's not half bad"
(Helga) Now that Dino's just slammed the cord, everyone's dancing.
Arnold with Rhonda and Gerald with Phoebe as the song continues
straight over the credits.
- We've a credit for Viksten and Lang writing the songs, and Rick
Corso (voice of Dino here) and Michael B Levin performing them.
Special Thanks: Ol' Blue Eyes (but how many kids in the target
audience will recognize that as Frank Sinatra's nickname?).
- Quotables: "No loser polka bands" (Helga) "I've got it, I can play
my nose!" (Phil plays his nose) "Whoopie, i'm outta here, bye bye
baby" (fired butler) "You have to be stylin' on the house and all that
other crazy jive you come up with these days" (Dino on today's trends)
"Don't sweat it, I've done thousands of concerts and this one's no
different, except it's my last one" (Dino) "He better be good Arnold"
(Rhonda, before Dino comes out) "I should've stayed home and pondered
my workbooks" (Stinky listens to Dino) "...If I sang those old songs
right now they'd knock you on your ear" "So why don't you do it?"
(Dino and Arnold on old songs) "The old fat guy sang and he was just
plain rotten" (Stinky on Dino singing "My Last Bow") "Ain't nothing
worse than feelin' you're no good" (Dino can sure relate to that
lyric) "It's like you knew he was so out, he's actually in" (Rhonda on
Dino)

[ungvichian]

Extra from "Girl Trouble": Check out this "re-creation" of the
"tangled in phone wires" scene here:
http://www.geocities.com/ardee_blancas/HAMistake1.htm

The students are not amused by "Helga's Show" of impressions, and "The
Flood" that suddenly occured in the afternoon is keeping them from
leaving PS 118. Thoughts follow shortly, all corrections welcome.

"Helga's Show"
- Turns out to be the final outing for the old title music... the next
two eps don't use the regular titles, and the one after that uses the
new title music. Enjoy it when you can, fellas. OK, we open with
Gerald talking on a mike, with Sid drumming bongos. Didn't Gerald do
this in "New Teacher"? Anyways, Simmons is officially opening an
afterschool student lounge called "The Cocoa Hut", and the next act is
Helga Pataki doing impressions. She's skewering Wartz (makes a
lunchtime announcement), so far, so good. Now, she's impersonating
Stinky (lampooning his love for lemon pudding, mentioned in "Arnold
Betrays Iggy"), Rhonda (lampooning her fashion sense, and talking
about someone getting dressed in the dark), Harold ("Mommy!"), Eugene
(trips off stage, says "I'm okay"), and some guy who talk of kids as
being "special" (hint: the person she's impressioning has no idea that
it's him she's doing).
- Who's sitting where: Stinky, Eugene and Arnold are on a couch,
Rhonda and Phoebe are at one table, and Joey and Park are at another.
However, in one shot of Rhonda, Joey is visible behind her, but in
another, Eugene (who's on the couch) is visible.
- Anyhow, everyone is not amused. She's got something coming to her.
In this case, lots of shunning. Stinky's ignoring her as she walks the
hall, and in the classroom, Rhonda, Lorenzo, Gerald, Sid, Stinky and
Harold are distancing themselves away from her.
- Cafeteria. Stinky continues blithering about lemon pudding (which is
being served today). Bulletin board says "Lost Dog", "Lost Shoes" and
"Bake Sale". Now Rhonda's making a Helga impression, while the
"victims" of Helga's lampooning, sitting at the same table, continue
shunning as she's having lunch with Phoebe.
- Phoebe's suggestion on how to apologize to the crowd: write a long
form poem emphasizing on their positive aspects and read it out at the
lounge. So that's what she's doing. One allnighter at Helga's house
with Phoebe, and a last read-over later, she's ready. At the lounge,
Chocolate Boy is trying to get another cappucino from Sheena, but she
ain't giving it to him.
- On stage, Simmons (still wondering who "that 'special' guy" was) is
introducing Helga, and Helga is reading her poem... however, here's
something you don't see every day: Phoebe's advice to Helga backfiring
on her, as it is getting just as negative as a reaction as her
impressions (likely, even worse). Probably because her poem is just
dang plain boring, and she obviously can't think of good things for
some of the characters. She even has to use "Nate" to rhyme with
"great", and there's (apparently) no one named Nate in the school
(though either Eugene or Sid's dad is named Nate, apparently).
- Arnold's suggesting that she simply revert back to her usual
impressions act. At first, she's not so keen on doing that (remember
the reactions from the first set of impressions), but since it's
"herself", what's she got to lose? OK, she's lampooning Stinky,
Phoebe, Arnold, especially Arnold, and everyone's clapping at her
performance. Imagine that... Watching it are Park and Joey at one
table, Sid, Curly and Rhonda at another, and Stinky and Harold at
another.
- Quotables: "All lunchtime activity will be conducted during the
lunchtime period" (Helga as Wartz) "Is that Mr. Packenham?" (Simmons,
referring to the teacher from "Teachers' Strike" and "What's Opera,
Arnold?"... Sheena is not amused) "Fellers, what does she have coming
to her?" (Stinky) "Hey look, lemon pudding" (Stinky at the cafeteria)
"It's comedy, Phoebe. Don't you have a sense of humor?" (Helga to
Phoebe) "Who's Nate?" (Sid, on Helga's long from poem) "Curly, now
there's an original kid" (part of the poem) "What are you, an audience
or an oil painting?" (Helga resumes impressions) "I'd love to play
baseball with you, however, I find I must study, study, study"
(Helga's version of Phoebe) "Hey Arnold, this just in, it's a million
sizes too small" (Helga, on Arnold's hat)

"The Flood"
- While clouds are moving in over PS 118, Harold and Sid fighting over
a snake are among the chaos that is going on right now as the time is
ticking up to 3pm. The lineup: Left row: Eugene, Gerald, Arnold,
Brainy, Middle row: Stinky, Helga, empty chair, Rhonda, Rightmost row:
Sid, Harold, Curly, Nadine. One of the boards in the background says
"If I were president". Well, the bell rings, and it's time to leave
for spring break, right? Actually, Simmons would like an extra 10
minutes to remind how special the 4th grade tribe is, meanwhile, other
classes are leaving.
- Well, it's started to rain, and Wartz announces that there are flash
flood warnings, so they're stuck in the building tonight. At the Arms,
Phil is getting a call from the school about the flood. He's yammering
about how his uncle survived the great flood of 1916 by building an
ark... "Oh wait, that was Noah."
- The school's starting to flood as we head into the cafeteria. More
chaos as Harold sees that the snack machine have been chained, and
Helga flicks a bunch of dessert in Stinky's face. Over at the Arms,
Grandpa's sitting in the "Biosquare" (you can even see the telescope
from "Salley's Comet" on the roof of the Arms), and inflating a raft
saying "S.S. Titanic" with Oskar making some attempt to help... IIRC,
the Titanic's life boats weren't the inflatable type...
- Classroom. Sheena and Eugene are singing about rats, and Curly is
making a pass at Rhonda. It's 9:17. Hey, didn't Rhonda say "It's
official: My life is over" in "Rhonda's Glasses" as well? Anyhow,
Helga's had enough and so she decides to leave. Meanwhile, Wartz is
walking into his room, singing the cucaracha, and coming out in a
Mexican outfit ;) OK, Helga's in the halls trying to get out, but the
doors have been chained. Wartz and Helga run into each other. Wartz:
"This never happened" ;)
- In some parts of town, the flood has reached the traffic lights. Cue
re-used shot of school flooding, meanwhile, more chaos in the class as
Nadine has to pull a snake off Simmons' nose. The classmates are
wondering where its fireball eyes and its second head are. Curly went
nuts again ;)
- OK, back at the Arms, Oskar's taking the boat, with a sign saying
"Professional Rescue, No Waiting, $50 Good Price"... but Phil ain't
giving up his inflatable that easily, and sooner or later, they're
both on the boat. Over at PS 118, Eugene's got wet shoes, and guess
what that means? The flood has reached the level of room 206, so time
to head over to higher ground. Simmons will attempt to get some
help... meanwhile, the students seem to have stopped listening to him,
and some even go as far as to blame him for this mess.
- Room 318. The whole class has painted themselves to look like a
tribe, and Curly has made himself the tribe chief. Everyone's gone
wacko... time for Arnold to come in and remind them about all that
Simmons has taught them... and that he's gone missing for quite a
while.
- They hear Simmons singing something about the glory of the lord, and
the gang are following the voice and have found him hanging from a
broken ladder. Arnold's plan: throw him a rolled up flag and use the
flagpole in the classroom to fish him in. OK, a couple throws from
Helga aren't getting anywhere, so how about Stinky do the throwing?
Stinky's throw is good, and now Simmons has jumped off the ladder as
Harold, Sheena, Rhonda, Sid, Stinky, etc. attempt to haul him in.
Helga's going to grab Simmons' hand, but wait... she's just dropped
into the drink!
- No matter, Simmons's got her. The rest are continuing to pull and
they're soon in. A little appreciation of teamwork from Simmons later,
here comes Phil and Oskar, with Phil bonking Oskar for charging 50c
for rescuing. While Wartz is blabbing something about going down with
his school (uh, this ain't a shipwreck), the boat's sailing away over
the Executive Producer's credit as we head into the credits with (yet
again) a remix of the best lines. Special Thanks: Michael Neidorf.
- Quotables: "Horse play leads to tears" (Simmons says it here, Stinky
says it in April Fool's Day) "We're a tribe" (the ep's oft-repeated
motif) "Hey Stinky would you like some dessert?" (Helga flicks some on
to Stinky) "Look at me, I'm huffing and puffing" (Oskar helping with
the lifeboat) "Are you attempting to dance the flamingo?" (Helga to
Wartz)

[ungvichian]

Extras from "Phoebe Cheats", which re-aired today:
- The sign in Phoebe's room saying "Carpe Unum": wouldn't that mean
"Seize one"?
- In the classroom listening to the results of the poetry contest,
besides Helga, Stinky and Phoebe, I see Rhonda, Arnold and Harold.
- Father Kyo says "Kampai": that is a traditional Japanese toasting.
- Quotable: "You move like an angry wind" (Father Kyo on fencing)
- Look at the Hyerdahls' bathroom... so they have a big wooden bucket
for a bathtub, eh?
- And note that Phoebe is throwing a bonzai to knock her trophy. Yes,
we get it. Her dad is Japanese.
- Sign in Jolly Olly's truck: "1. Smile 2. Serve 3. Collect"
- Listening at the open house: Phil, Bob, Helga, Iggy, Arnold, Miriam,
Nadine, Rhonda, Park, and of course Helga and Stinky.

And now, "School Play":
- No title sequence, just the credits (both for the show and the
story) running over a shot of an audience sitting in front of a stage
with red curtains, and a shot of the stage with some cobblestones
peeping out. By the way, it's also the first 30-minute story not tied
to a holiday (we have another one right after, with "Parents Day"). We
begin with Nadine and Eugene walking out of the cafeteria line.
Meanwhile, Arnold's looking at some green jello thing.
- On the menu this week, Vegetarian Fish and Chips (huh?), Catfish
Casserole, and Macaroni and Cheese With Mushrooms (that last one was
also featured on the menu in "Hall Monitor"). Helga is slamming
Arnold's tray straight into Brainy's face ;) while Arnold's going on
and on about her somehow being nice on the inside. Sure, she's saying
that she's bad to the bone, but wait until she's hid behind a lunch
cart. Yet another soliloquy, interrupted not by Brainy, but by Phoebe
who happened to be walking by. Sheena's eating at this time as well.
- In the classroom today, (front) Harold, Sheena, Sid, Gerald,
(middle) Stinky, Helga, Phoebe, Arnold, (back) Iggy, Eugene, Brainy
and Rhonda are listening to Simmons' special announcement: he's been
assigned the duty of directing the PS 118 school play, and he's chosen
"Romeo and Juliet"... the class is not thrilled. Time for a bunch of
slides about the play then.
- Listening to the romantic aspect of the story, Stinky wonders why
there isn't any fighting in the play... however, Simmons is explaining
that there is indeed some violence in it, and that gets Stinky and
Harold interested. Auditions will be this afternoon. Class dismissed,
and another quick soliloquy from Helga.
- Auditions. They got their Friar Lawrence (Stinky) and Tibald and
Mercucio (Curly and Harold). However, Eugene is not interested in the
role of Romeo being offered to him, because the role calls for him to
kiss a girl.
- After the initial auditions, here comes this guy who was sitting in
one of the chairs. His name is Leichliter (pronounced LIKE-lighter),
and he remembers Simmons' stumble through "Long Day's Journey into
Night" with the 3rd grade class last year. He's hoping to get another
scathing review for his Biweekly Bureau.
- We have callbacks: Lila, Sheena, Phoebe and Rhonda to audition for
Juliet, and Simmons has asked Arnold to play Romeo. Given the
circumstances, he's accepted the role. Helga is in the toilet while
she's overhearing the four girls mentioning how Arnold will be playing
Romeo. Sigh, another Helga soliloquy...
- Callbacks. Helga's excuse for not auditioning the first time around:
she had a dentist appointment. Anyhow, Rhonda has won the role of
Juliet, with understudies in this order: Sheena, Phoebe, Lila, Helga.
Time for some scheming then...
- ...as we go over to the Arms where Hyunh offers to help Arnold on
his role. Following day, while Nadine's busy sawing, Helga's applying
to be head costumer. Next scene, she's pitching a patchwork dress to
Rhonda as what she has to wear, and Rhonda won't wear it ;) Meanwhile,
at 8:10pm that night, Arnold is rehearsing to be Romeo with Hyunh
reading Juliet's lines.
- Following morning, Rhonda has turned down the Juliet role over
"religious grounds", thereby passing the role over to Sheena. In the
bathroom, Helga's describing the violent aspects of R&J. Turns out
Sheena doesn't like violence, and she decides to be the head costumer
instead. Her first job: improve on Juliet's dress ;)
- Phoebe and Helga are rehearsing in Phoebe's room, where the Marine
Park and Kenji Notani in Shosheido posters are visible. Helga is
talking to her about the pressures of being in front of a crowd,
missing your lines, well, anything about stage fright really. Result:
Phoebe is now interested in being just the stage manager. Three down,
one to go.
- Cue really awkward scene in the Arms laundry with Hyunh dressed as
Juliet :D and Oskar with a bunch of pieces of paper in case Arnold
forgets any of his lines :D Now time for Helga to deal with Lila.
She's got no problems with the dress (given Sheena's job on it), the
violence, or being in front of a crowd, however... Helga is more than
reluctant to do this, but she's forced to (it gets interesting here)
admit to liking Arnold, in order to justify why she needs that role.
She's then threatening to strangle her if she were ever to spill the
beans (to the "ratchet" noise).
- Helga has the role, and she's only got all night to rehearse her
lines. Where have we seen those heart-shaped spotlights before? Why,
when she was training for the city "Spelling Bee", that's where. Later
on she's writing in her diary, and Miriam asks if she's taken her
constipation medicine ;)
- PS 118 School Play Tonight. It's nearing curtain time, and
everyone's getting ready. In the cast are Sheena, Iggy, Harold, Curly,
Phoebe, Joey, Stinky, Robert, and Brainy. And we've another run-in
between Simmons and Leichliter, still confident that it'll be a
shambles. But first, an introduction from Marcy Cornbloom. According
to good sources, that girl's voice won a contest to get that role. In
the audience today: Jack and Tish, Bob and Miriam, Pookie and Phil.
- We head straight on over to the swordfight between Curly and Harold,
with Arnold attempting to stop the two. Watch Arnold accidentally get
"stabbed" before Curly takes the sword to "stab" himself ;) OK, moving
along to the balcony scene, Helga trips over her dress walking out
onto the balcony, and Arnold briefly stammers on his lines. All's
still well tho.
- Final scene. Stinky's drawl doesn't really go well with his friar
role. And check out that kiss... with Arnold's eyes briefly opening,
as if to wonder "Why is she kissing me?". Anyways, she "stabs" herself
with a plastic prop knife (cue stock Helga scream), and that's it.
Standing ovation (Leichliter included), and Arnold and Helga briefly
talk about that kiss during the curtain call. Three words, folks: "I
was acting." Credits over what I'd think to be "Romeo and Juliet"-ish
music, but I only got a few seconds' worth of it on my recording.
- Quotables: "Why don't you take a picture, Arnoldo? That way it'll
last longer" (Helga to Arnold on green gel) "I'm bad to the bone,
bucko, and don't you forget it" (Helga to Arnold) "I just dropped a
quarter, that's all" (Helga to Phoebe on hiding behind the lunch cart)
"That sounds like a mushy old love story, why can't we do a play with
some fightin' in it?" (Stinky) "Kiss a girl? That really bites"
(Stinky on the role of Romeo) "Yes, tears from the hysterical
laguhter" (Leichliter hears Simmons saying that everyone will be in
tears by the end of his play) "Methinks I shall prove you wrong"
(Simmons to Leichliter) "What could be more perfect than this?" (Helga
in the toilet, on hearing that Arnold has been given the role of
Romeo) "I am dramatic" "That's a very polite word for what you are"
(Hyunh and Phil) "It's a humdinger" (Helga, on violence in R&J) "The
sight of blood makes me queasy" (Sheena) "You're a sad man wearing a
dress" (Oskar on Hyunh) "...talk about a crazy idea..." (Helga to Lila
on the possibility that she likes Arnold) "Yep, it's a mystery"
(Helga, on the others pulling out of the Juliet role) "No sweat, I've
got all night" (Helga, on rehearsing for Juliet) "Curly, no
improvising, this is Shakespeare" (Simmons to Curly) "Please don't be
bad..." (Simmons on Helga) "Yuck, I practically threw up" (Helga on
the kiss)

By the way, this Saturday (5/22) is my birthday. Anyone care to wish
me a bappy birthday? ;)

[ungvichian]

More 30 minute antics, as Helga is not pleased that Ruth is "Arnold's
Valentine", and Phil and Pookie are competing against the other
students' parents in the "Parents Day" Tournament, or should that be
weekend? Anyhow, thoughts follow shortly, all corrections welcome.

But first another extra: ain't that the "Caesar" guy selling gum at
Green's party in "Freeze Frame"? He sure gets around often...

"Arnold's Valentine":
- We open the first of only 2 eps in which Ruth actually speaks, with
regular titles, and regular story credits. Now, we see a poster in the
hall for a Valentine's Day dance at 7pm on 2/14. Anyhow, Ruth passes
in front of Arnold's classroom... Ruth's lost her braces, apparently,
and her conversation with Arnold later in the ep confirms this.
Anyways, Slovak is assigning them to make Valentines for their
admirers. In class today: Peapod, Arnold, Gerald, Stinky, Phoebe,
Helga, Rhonda and Nadine (her skin's a bit light today ;)).
- Watch Helga as her eraser wastes away writing her Valentine to (who
else?) Arnold. Meanwhile, Arnold's finished his anonymous Valentine to
Ruth, and he's also made reservations at the Chez Pierre.
- Everyone's got their latest mail from their penpals: Paulo from
Italy has sent Rhonda some chocolates, Helga has received a postcard
from Bagdaksitan with a picture of a barren desert, saying "Please
send money", and Arnold has one from Cecile in France. The rest will
be given out after recess. While Arnold's busy slipping his Valentine
into Ruth's pile, Helga's got an idea. It involves putting down an
extra PS that Cecile will be meeting Arnold at Chez Paris on
Valentine's. Hmm... apropos her little idea: sounds a lot like that in
"School Play", in the sense that "he won't even know it's me", doesn't
it? Note how Helga mangles "tres bien" (Helga: tress been, French
people: tray byong).
- Hmm. Seeing the PS, Arnold's got a problem. As it happens, though,
Chez Pierre and Chez Paris are across the street from each other.
Gerald's scheme involves running between the two cafes as need be.
Meanwhile, Gerald doesn't seem to be having luck with this girl named
Carla...
- Helga stops by the "Jolie Chien" (she pronounces it "Jolly Sheen",
it should be "zho-LEE shee-ONG") salon, and asks for what they're
wearing in Paris. Turns out that this is a poodle salon (the salon
name means "happy dog"), and just look at the final result! :D
- 4:37, the Arms. Arnold and Gerald are making some last preparations
for this little double date, like what to say. Meanwhile, after Helga
leaves the salon, she's learning French from a cassette (so the
Patakis have tapes like that lying around, eh?), mangling her little
lesson with American pronounciation, and looking for something to
wear. While Helga is thinking that nothing can possibly go wrong...
Cecile and her dad are on a plane, getting ready to land.
- OK, it's the big night. Gerald is reading a racing form, checking on
things as they happen. OK, here comes "Cecile" as she does a pratfall.
Arnold is quite surprised at Cecile, since she looks nothing like in
her photo (he's also questioning her American accent). "Cecile's"
excuse: "Comme ci comme ca!" ("Come see come saw") as she tears up the
photo. Enough about her, let's talk about Arnold. Okay, here's "le
garcon" Jacques taking their order. Arnold's ordering a hamburger :D
- Let's see what's on the menu under "Entres":
Escargot Chez Paris, $11; Steak Tartare, $13; Turkis en Creme, $10;
Duck L'Orange; Oxen En Brouchette, $16; Cervelle Braisees Avec Oeufs
Brouilles, $15; Coaque Au Vin, $10. She's picking, well, everything.
- OK, Ruth's arrived at the Chez Pierre, and time for Arnold to hoof
it over there, dressed as a busboy I might add, and give Ruth a seat
(after several appearances, she finally speaks) and take an order for
apple soda. Back at the Chez Paris, "Cecile" is trying to figure out
what to say to Arnold. OK, Arnold's back and they've gotten their
"Cervelle Braisees Avec Oeufs Brouilles", and now they're talking
about Helga bugging Arnold all the time. A slightly piqued "Cecile"
raises the theory that she might like him, and Arnold, as one would
expect, dismisses it as unlikely.
- "Cecile" is enjoying the food, calling it what she had back in
Paris... but Arnold notices an inconsistency: Cecile wrote in her
letters that she came from a farm. Anyways, turns out the food they're
having right now is calf brains and eggs, prompting "Cecile" to run
over to the ladies' room :D While "Cecile's" barfing, Arnold goes over
to Chez Pierre and asks Ruth, "So you're wondering who 'Anonymous'
is..." Ruth is blabbing about how so many poems come from this
"Anonymous" guy... anyhow, time for Arnold and Ruth to talk, until
this "Anonymous" guy arrives.
wondering who anon is: aon, famous poet
- A quick cutaway shot of Helga barfing, before we head back to Arnold
listening to Ruth talking about how she changed her hairstyle from one
braid to two in 3rd grade, and how some girl named Jenny Stiletto
copied it. Arnold drops the bomb that he's not a busboy... but Helga's
staggering back to her chair, so time for Arnold to hoof it. Gerald's
throwing him flowers, and what a catch that was!
- OK, more talking. Arnold and "Cecile" talk about Ruth, and the fact
that Ruth and Arnold have nothing in common, now that they've gotten
to know each other. "Cecile": maybe the girl for him might be someone
she least expects... with that, she says "I like you". Meanwhile,
Arnold notices Ruth getting it on with another busboy. Time for one
last excusing then...
- The busboy is getting some gum out of Ruth's hair (correct me if I'm
wrong on this), and they happen to be reaching for the same
breadstick. "Cecile" storms out and is quite angered at Arnold
watching Ruth and the busboy... and here comes the real Cecile,
prompting for a brief moment of wackiness. Gerald's covering as Arnold
for the football head, and taking the real deal out for some
hamburger.
- Just as Arnold never got around to revealing himself to Ruth,
"Cecile" doesn't reveal himself to Arnold. Meanwhile, "Cecile" loses a
shoe, and they're both picking it up. Arnold bids farewell, and while
"Cecile", er, Helga is slightly confused over who Arnold really likes,
Arnold is back at the Arms, holding the shoe, looking at the sky. And
I supposed it's a case of end as you began, as we close this story
with the regular credits music. Interesting credits to note among the
cast:
* Lacey Chabert is credited as Ruth P MacDougal... that would explain
why she sounded a bit like Eliza Thornberry (she would go on to voice
that character the following year).
* Lloyd Sherr credited as Berlitz teacher: one, isn't Berlitz some
sort of trademark? And two, we'll hear Sherr on tape again in "Dinner
for Four", which also uses the same restaurant as the venue for the
story.
* Neither of the Pataki parents appear in it, but their voice actors
are in it anyway: Maurice LaMarche (Big Bob) as Cecile's dad and
waiter Jacques (like Sherr, we meet him again in "Dinner for Four"),
and Kath Soucie (Miriam) as the real Cecile.
- Quotables: "What if we've never experienced love?" "Then you'd be
me" (Peapod and Slovak) "Arnold, be my Valentine or I'll pound you"
(Helga attempts to write a Valentine) "Sooner or later they all gotta
leave the nest" (Gerald on the date) "But enough about me, let's talk
about you" ("Cecile" to Arnold) "Oh, I'm never gonna say it" ("Cecile"
is wondering what to say to Arnold) "I know what 'bug' means"
("Cecile" on Arnold talking about Helga) "The most beautiful gift can
come in the plainest box" ("Cecile") "Hamburger. The American steak
tartare" (Cecile with "Arnold") "We'll always have Chez Paris"
("Cecile" to Arnold) "Oh criminy, I'm a basketcase" (Helga)

"Parents Day"
- Another no opening sequence ep, starting with the parents outrunning
some spear-throwing natives, jumping into a waterfall, swinging over
crocodiles (didn't Arnold do this in the opening sequence of "Eugene's
Bike"?) and hopping into a seaplane to bring some serum to save a
village from sleeping sickness. OK, now that Grandpa's told Arnold
that as a bedtime story, time for bed.
- Bartlett and Stella wrote this... they're also both doing voices in
it as the parents. We'll later know them as Miles and Stella, but that
won't be until "The Journal".
- Following day. Phoebe, Arnold, Stinky, Nadine, Sid, Helga and Rhonda
in class. Simmons gives everyone some flyers on the "Parents
Tournament Weekend" (um, wouldn't that make the ep's title misleading?
"Day" = one day, "Weekend" = two days... besides, the flyers say
"Parents Day"). It celebrates family and things like that, but let's
get to the prizes: Winner gets a trophy (look at the light speck:
looks a bit computer generated), 2nd and 3rd get ribbons. Arnold's not
too keen on it since he's only got his grandparents. Anyhow, Arnold
and Gerald are walking home, and Gerald recaps some of the things we
know about the gramps: Phil can benchpress 210 lbs. ("Grandpa's
Birthday") and Pookie is a karate master ("Mugged" and "Girl
Trouble"). So what if they're the coolest grandparents Gerald's ever
known? Arnold's hoping that they've forgotten about this contest.
- Hmm... Pookie is sitting on top of Phil. Phil doing 100 push-ups
that is. They're buffing up for the race. Later that night, Arnold's
lookling at a photo of daddy in a sling and mommy. Phil comes in and
Arnold puts it in drawer, and he's in no mood for a story. Pep talk.
- Listen to the grandparents cheer on (a rather indifferent) Arnold,
as Helga arrives in her dad's hummer. To open ceremonies, we've Eugene
with a torch... and he trips over the stairs ;)
- Sack race. Results: Helga, Gerald, Phoebe, Brainy, Gerald, Sheena
and (trailing way last Arnold) Scoreboard: Helga, Phoebe, Gerald,
Rhonda, Stinky (he's clearly a spectator at the race), Arnold . Next
it's the pie toss, which seems to consist entirely of tossing pies at
your parents who stand behind a wood cutout (Rhonda: Caveman, Gerald:
Rockstar, Phoebe: Ballerina). Ring toss next: Bob lands his on the
peg. Phil's standing with his back facing... and his shot is right on
the center (where'd the other rings go?). Big Bob and Helga are not
amused.
- Gerald's in third, Phoebe and Arnold are in 2nd, and Helga's in
first. Meanwhile, Helga and Big Bob are discussing about disappointing
race results ("News flash: We're in the lead" -- Helga). Now, the egg
toss. Splatting out in the exact order: Harold (dad), Stinky (dad),
Gerald (mom), Sid (kid), Rhonda (kid), and Curly (dad), leaving
Arnold, Helga and Phoebe. How do Gerald's parents have egg on them
both?
- A long throw from Phil lands in Arnold's cap (needless to say, a
no-hat moment). Besides the fact that you're supposed to use your
hands, nothing else, to catch the egg in an egg toss, in slo-mo, the
cap clearly puffs up one frame before it actually catches the egg.
Timberly's in the crowd as the proceedings continue. Anyhow, Helga is
so occupied appreciating Arnold's catch (and then taunting him), she
gets egg on her face ;) Bob's making a comment calling his team
"orphan boy and his ancestors", and that comment surprises Arnold so
much, Phil's latest toss has landed straight in the grass near
Arnold's feet, giving Phoebe the win.
- After a Helga soliloquy, Helga's idea of solving her problem about
beating Arnold involves apologizing to him about being called an
orphan, so that she won't have any problems about beating him. That
she does.
- Night time. Arnold won't eat Grandma's kidney beans, and he's headed
to his attic. Tonight's dessert: raspberry cobbler. Phil thinks that
he won't be in the mood for another bedtime story on his parents, but
Pookie decides that Phil needs to talk to him anyway. Good luck,
Phil...
- Arnold's looking at that photo of his parents again at 7:45. Phil
comes up and decides that Arnold's in no mood to listen to stories
about saving a Sri Lanka village from fire-ants or working in a Peking
midget circus. He's plum out of good stories, so how about the real
story then?
- OK, daddy was a scientist and doctor, who was busy looking a cloud
shaped like a schooner. He ran across mommy (more like, stumbled off a
rock path above her ;)), who looks kind of a bit like Ruth, doing some
excavations. They looked at various sites for a while, before daddy
then continued on his way.
- He then suffered some injuries shoving Eduardo (his guide) out of a
rockslide... Mommy gave him some treatment, and got them to safety
before dark. They loved each other so much, they married and had
Arnold (that particular bit, and others will be gone into detail in
"The Journal").
- Anyway, a couple years after they had Arnold, Eduardo wanted to drag
them out to save a village from sickness. Arnold was looking at the
map Eduardo had. The parents really didn't want to, but they really
didn't have any choice. A couple farewell greetings later (note
Pookie's hair going from dark purple to a lighter shade), they took
off in a biplane, and they've never been back since.
- OK, now that Phil's left, time for a long dream sequence. Let's see
what's in it:
* Arnold watching the biplane leave, fading to...
* Arnold crawling thru empty halls, when Phil comes out of the toilet
and holds him up, and talks about when they were in a midget circus in
Peking, as we fade to...
* Arnold on a high wire while Phil is blabbing about how they got
their skill from walking on Mozambique rope bridges. Arnold suddenly
falls off...
* ...and Grandma catches him as he falls down the Arms stairs. "What's
a cowpoke like you doing without his horse?" Arnold's riding Pookie...
* ...and we cut to Arnold riding a real horse in a ranch...
* ...before showing Arnold and the grandparents flying a plane (hey,
isn't that the music from "The List"?).
- Following morning. Pookie is making "miso" soup ("miso" is a type of
Japanese soybean paste), and pouring a little seaweed in it. Anyhow,
Arnold comes and Phil asks what Arnold wants to do. Go fishing, go to
the aquarium, perhaps? Actually, he wants to return to the contest, so
time for a battle cry from Pookie then (note the veins in her legs),
and she falls off the breakfast table ;)
- Now, time for day 2 action then. The banner says "tournment", hmm...
Phoebe and her parents are doing a little stretching, meanwhile, Bob
is still hoping to win that trophy. Now, time for the Wheel Barrow
Race: Gerald's team encounters a skid in their lane and knocks over
Arnold, Helga, Rhonda and Harold, leaving just Phoebe. Next, the relay
race with parents carrying the kid to next partner and handing it to
the other: Miriam carrying Helga is so far behind the rest, and the
team's disqualified for Miriam dropping her (hmmm... look at Bob
carrying Helga over his back). Also competing: Brainy and Phoebe.
- Now, time for the triathlon. First, racing first members will ride
tricycles with their batons to a big wall, then the next members will
climb a wall, before handing them to their last members for the
balance beam gelatin joust. "First up" in the triathlon are Arnold and
Helga's families. First, Arnold and Helga riding tricycles: Note
Helga's chin strap flashing colors (red-white-red/white-red-white).
Now, Miriam and Pookie climbing the wall, with the batons attached to
their helmets. Pookie's having a little trouble getting over the wall
(Gerald, Nadine, Sheena, Lila, Brainy, and for some reason Patty Smith
are watching), but she gets over alright, and now they're sliding down
a sling wire, with Miriam dropping Bob his baton slightly ahead of
Pookie dropping Phil his.
- OK, now that Phil and Bob have gotten their batons, time for some
whacking to ensue. Phil's knocked down, but not out (as long as he
doesn't touch the gelatin... his shins are flat on the plank above).
Helga's going to "check"... hmm, she's telling Phil to aim for Bob's
ankles: "They're already loaded to the max." OK, Phil's all clear, and
he gets back up and takes a couple swings at Bob's ankles, and next
thing you know, Bob's splashed into the jelly. Seeing this are
Lorenzo, Gerald, Phoebe, Curly, Nadine, Rhonda, Sheena, Brainy and Sid
(and their respective families).
- Now, Brainy has the trophy and ribbons on a tray and the results
have been tabulated, and your winners: Phoebe, father Kyo, and mother
Reba (uh, last time I checked, they weren't in the triathlon... huh?).
That would be the third straight competition Phoebe competed in and
won (after the City Academic Bowl, "Phoebe Takes The Fall" and the
Go-Kart Junior Division Finals, "Grand Prix"... and they're both Purdy
epsiodes). And that would be the 2nd time she won a competition
without recieving a credit: she wasn't credited in "Phoebe Takes The
Fall", and here, she and her family don't say a single thing in the
whole story. Also, note that this is the first (only?) time the
parents' names are mentioned.
- Timeout: Besides the problem with Phoebe's family winning when they
weren't even in all the events, why did Simmons single out Arnold and
Helga to compete? For that matter, they must have been the only ones
competing since they were the first up, and the results were announced
right after their run.
- And after the competition, we're treated to a sequence of Arnold
hearing a biplane (like that in the flashback) land on the top of the
Arms and jumping into it and taking off, all this over a piece of
brilliant piano music as we cut into the credits. Special Thanks: Our
Parents. And I know some of you want to hear it, so here it is:
http://rover_wow.tripod.com/pd_hopepiano.wav
- Quotables: "Always keep them asking for more" (Phil reads bedtime
stories) "Cut to the chase Simmons" (Helga on the Parents Day) "No
harm in that, festival food is good" (Gerald on festival food) "Yeesh,
what a tea cozy" (Big Bob listens to Simmons waffle on and on) "See
this? You're gonna be looking at it crossing the finish line" (Phil
points to his butt) "You can't even catch a cold!" (Helga during the
egg toss) "We are not going to let some.. orphan boy and his ancestors
win this parents weekend thng" (Big Bob on Arnold) "Good, because
tomorrow we're gonna kick your butt" (Helga) "Especially that pink
fluffy stuff on a stick" (Phil on cotton candy) "It's not very likely,
but it's possible" (Phil, on Arnold's parents still being around)
"This oatmeal's kind of runny" "That's because it's miso soup" (Phil
and Pookie) "We'll fight them on the beaches, we'll fight them in the
trenches, we'll give 'em..." (I don't think Pookie was gonna say
"heaven" ;) ) "This is Best Parent Day, not Screw Everything Up day"
(Bob on slow Miriam) "Hah, like you know! I'm the 2nd oldest...
(pointing to Pookie) she's the oldest" (Phil, in response to Big Bob's
comment calling him the oldest living American) "Did I just hear a
beeper go off?" (Phil shoves Bob off)

[ungvichian]

"Eugene's Birthday" really bites, and just look at "Stinky's Pumpkin".
Thoughts follow shortly, all corrections welcome.

"Eugene's Birthday"
- The first outing with new title music. Snee-Oosh (or Toon-In-Us or
whoever's responsible for the title sequence) have even tried to clean
up the problem with the close-up of Helga saying "Arnold" not quite
matching the audio by time-compressing the shot. Looks a bit weird
tho...
- And the episode credits have changed as well: the Director's credit
has been split into Storyboard Director (here Sherm Cohen) and
Animation Director (here Christine Kolosov). Anyways, Eugene is
talking about his upcoming birthday this Saturday and suffering
pratfalls like tripping on the street, rolling over oranges (seedless
grapes, 25c each), and falling into a sewer. With Eugene's
accident-prone nature, it sounds better to give the invites to Arnold
to send by mail. Meanwhile, Eugene gets hit with a light on his head
;)
- OK, Arnold runs into Harvey with the invitations. While he's
dropping his pile of envelopes in the mailbox and telling him his
idea, Harvey suggests: "Next time get me to do it, it's safer that
way." Now it's Saturday morning, 7am. Arnold's phoning Gerald, Sid,
Stinky, Helga and Phoebe to check... None of them got an invitation,
Gerald has a Bris to go to, Sid has a cooking class, and Stinky was
bathing at 7:55.
- Meanwhile, Harvey finds the invites to the party stuffed in his
sandwich. This poses at least 2 problems: If Harvey already had the
invites since Arnold ran into him, why didn't he simply send them to
their addresses? And 2, I was half expecting Harvey to show up at the
party (would have made for some bizarre image)...
- Arnold shows up at the party with a present. More than can be said
of everyone else. We've got Pin the Tail and Fluffy Darts as games...
not that anyone will be playing them. Note the melting ice cream:
reminds me a bit of the dream sequence in "Helga's Love Potion".
Anyhow, the 9 candles on the cake have burned out, and the balloons
are coming down too. Some blonde lady (Eugene's mom?) is vacuuming the
floor. Arnold feels obliged to make it up to him.
- Treehouse. Gerald does not like the idea of throwing him another
birthday party. Anyhow, Stinky floats the suggestion of having it at
the arcade, Sid considers the rink, and Gerald is thinking of the
aquarium. So the aquarium is where the party will be held, and Sid and
Stinky will be responsible for getting everyone there.
- Skate Time. Harold, Rhonda, Phoebe, Iggy and Brainy are skating in
chain (first forwards, then backwards, which is seriously discouraged
I might add), Curly's skating alone, and Helga's informing Sid and
Stinky about their error on where the party's supposed to be at.
Timeout to comment on idiotic plotting, then: Sid and Stinky had been
told, quite clearly I might add, to invite all their friends to show
up at the aquarium. No possibility of miscommunication here. Why then,
are they all at Skate Time, and don't realize their error until Helga
tells them about it?
- Over at the aquarium, Eugene's "Angel" (the angelfish from "Eugene's
Pet", well, not really, remember that it got eaten) gets eaten by a
squid. Gerald's in no partying mood, and Arnold comes out with another
apology as Eugene blows out the candle on the cake (a later static
shot shows it still lit though). As they're leaving (it's closing
time), Arnold runs straight through all the bad things that he's ever
somehow done to him: the goldfish ("Eugene's Pet"), the bike
("Eugene's Bike"), the paint, the glue, the crabs, (flashbacks in that
ep), the car door (when was that?) and now both parties. Timeout then:
so the show's writers can remember waaaay back to the events in
"Eugene's Bike", but couldn't be bothered to (say) give Rhonda a
(temporary, as it were) "makeover" by giving her specs from "Rhonda's
Glasses" onwards? (Yeah, I know I said I'd stop ranting about it after
"Cool Party", but hey! The opportunity presented itself. Besides, I
haven't seen any of the eps between "Rhonda's Glasses" and "Stinky
Goes Hollywood" yet.)
- Anyways, Eugene, adding the roller coaster ("Roller Coaster") ,
realizes something: they all happened when Arnold was around him. His
logic dictates that Arnold's the jinx... never mind that there have
been several instances of stuff happening to Eugene with Arnold
nowhere near him (e.g., the bit with the bike in "Spelling Bee"). Just
before Eugene takes the bus home, Arnold announces his plan to give
him a surprise party in his backyard tomorrow. Eugene is not planning
to attend, but Arnold insists that he attend.
- Pier. Arnold and Gerald are talking about the above. Arnold spills
chocolate ice cream on his shirt ;) Music: the sting from after
Arnold's attempt to get the rent from Mr. Purdy in "Gerald Comes Over"
(IIRC, it was also used in "Girl Trouble").
- The following day. Park, Gerald and Curly are entering the Arms
backyard. Arnold is adding the finishing touches on a cake saying
"Happy Birthday Eugene III", and he's jinx proofed the party, by
bubble wrapping any sharp corners, and having Phil and Pookie on duty
as lifeguard and first aid respectively. However, here comes some rain
and thunder from a VERY localized rain cloud (it's only over the
backyard)... others at the party: Stinky, Helga, Sid, Sheena, and
Robert.
- Eugene is sitting across the street from the Arms with Chocolate
Boy. The only comments CB is making is that "I think it's a chocolate
cake" ;) While Arnold is putting back Sid's slice of the cake (no one
will eat until Eugene comes), after much indecision, Eugene decides to
drag CB along with him.
- Hey, the rain stopped. Anyways, Eugene comes in, and clouds part to
show a rainbow. Arnold gives Eugene the cake, the others give him a
scooter (probably from the Skate Time party?)... and a deluge of
rainwater from the earlier rain sends him into the fence as CB
literally takes the cake ;) Hold it. Wasn't Eugene standing *in front*
of the roofed area? Then why does the water pour straight down on him?
- In the "it could have been worse" department: the first party had a
"pin the tail" picture... wonder what the odds of Eugene getting
pinned would be? The third party had Abner running around with a
tray... you'd half expect Abner to run into Eugene...
- OK, now everyone's leaving and Arnold sees an apology coming up,
because yet again, Eugene doesn't get a satisfactory (to Arnold,
anyway) ending to his story (even if, as usual, Eugene will accept it,
but considering how he reacted at the previous parties, that's not
saying much). I said it before, and I'll say it again: he doesn't get
one until the very last (15 minute) story "Eugene, Eugene!".
- Eugene doesn't think, however, that he really needs an apology, and
compliments him on the party: "not bad, considering you're a jinx."
Meanwhile, Eugene falls in a sewer with his scooter ;)
- Quotables: "You have got to stop trying to fix Eugene" (Gerald on
throwing Eugene another party) "I never stopped and counted" (Eugene)
"Look! You're going to show up and you're going to be surprised"
(Arnold to Eugene on the third party) "I am *not* a jinx" (Arnold) "It
must be hard to be such a jinx" (Eugene, not on himself, but on
Arnold) "I think it's a chocolate cake, yeah, a big chocolate cake"
(all that Chocolate Boy is saying) "Even if he a jinx, he's still my
friend" (Eugene decides to attend the party) "I want to salvage what's
left of my weekend instead of spending it with these two losers"
(Helga leaves the third attempt at a birthday party) "I never expected
all that water to pour on me" (neither was Arnold) "Sure Eugene, I'm a
jinx, whatever you say" (a resigned Arnold to Eugene)

"Stinky's Pumpkin"
- We open with Stinky Peterson reading his F- book report: "This dang
book was a real long one and it had lott'a (blah blah blah)". He's no
good at anything, and he's not the overreacting type, nor is he
listening to Arnold's cheering up speech (probably going to talk about
either rolling up sleeping bags as seen in "World Records" or his
Yahoo salesman days as seen in "Stinky Goes Hollywood"... speaking of
Yahoo, a picture of a bottle of it is on the side of a building).
They're passing a bike store and belt store, and now they've reached
his cottage.
- His dad is making a billy goat taxidermy with Uncle Stinky, and
they're going inside and having his aunt's lemon fish juice...
so-named because you have to fish the bits of lemon out. Arnold is
looking at photos of his relatives farming. According to Stinky, his
dad had a farm in Arkansas, 40 acres with animals, making money from
snap peas, rhubard, tomatoes, and lettuce, until the crops "commenced"
to fail, which is when he moved his family to this northern city.
"That's the story of how come we live here." Meanwhile, Ernie is
passing by with a new wrecking ball, knocking down a roof by mistake.
- In class today, (front, window to wall) Gerald, Harold, Eugene,
Robert, (middle) Sid, Arnold, Stinky, Helga, (back) Rhonda, Phoebe,
Brainy, Sheena. It's spring and, it's time for the City Farming Faire,
with prizes for the three largest vegetables. Although Stinky's family
used to do farming, Stinky doesn't want to enter since ("remember...")
he's no good at anything. Later that night, Stinky blows out a candle
and here's a dream sequence with his grandparents talking about how
nothing ever grows at their home, and Stinky sitting on a swing under
a barren tree, taking notes from a mystical disembodied voice on how
to grow vegetables.
- Following day. He's pulling out weeds from the backyard. Daddy
thinks he's a fool for trying to grow something in this urban concrete
jungle. OK, later on he's reading about how to grow vegetables from
"So You Don't Know Squat About Squash: How To Grow Vegetables". He's
taken out the weeds, plowed the field (with a soup ladle, as we'll
later find out), and now it's time to put in steer manure.... eew ;)
(note that a pair of nostrils briefly pop up when he opens the bag)
- Daddy still thinks that Stinky is rather foolhardy for trying to
grow things, but he's giving him the family pumpkin seeds from their
farm in Arkansas (note the music from Oskar's audition in the other
Stinky ep, "Stinky Goes Hollywood"). He's put them in, and gives them
some water right now and at night. Morning. "It's just a tiny little
leaf..." However true that might be, he's still managed to defy the
odds and grow something here.
- OK, later on, now that the vine's grown somewhat, daddy is giving
his Grandpa's magic hoe. This is where Stinky explains that he plowed
the field with a soup ladle... and BTW, the hoe was being used to crop
up the kitchen table (note the table falling down while Uncle's eating
at it). Coming up, a cheap joke about the weather.
- Stinky is freeing the water from flooding his pumpkin plant in the
rain, putting a roof over it during the hot sun, and putting a heater
near it during snowfall. Usually, showing changes in weather like this
has "traditionally" been used to signify the significant passage of
time (even Hey Arnold! has used it, in "Crabby Author" and "Arnold
Betrays Iggy")... here, however, it turns out the rain, sun, and snow
are all in the same dang week :D I've read at Don's site that this
same gag was used in an ep of Rugrats as well.
- His pumpkin has fully grown... now, the problem: how to get it to
the faire since it's so dang huge. Arnold and Stinky's attempts to
shove it or even use leverage are going nowhere fast, just as Stinky's
efforts to do anything always have. Note that while a resigned Stinky
is sitting on a smaller pumpkin, in one shot he's right next to the
fence, in the next shot from above, he's midway between the fence and
the big pumpkin, and after that, he's sitting right next to it looking
at his sundial.
- Speaking of the sundial, Stinky reads the sundial at 20 min to 5.
The picture suggests that he's just about right... And would also
suggest that his house faces north. Anyways, Arnold has an idea.
- Over at the fair, we've got a fortune teller, "Dunk a Duck", and
Mayor Dixie about to announce the winner of the vegetable growing
contest... but here comes Arnold, and here comes Ernie's crane with
the pumpkin. In the crowd, as far as I can see: Peapod Kid, Harold and
his parents, Nadine and her parents (they were behind her in the crowd
in "Parents Day" as well), Helga with a zucchini, Eugene with
something in his hand, Iggy, Sid, Gerald, Big Bob, Brainy, Sheena and
Curly.
- And Dixie has just awarded the ribbon to Stinky, who's finally found
something he's good at. Later on, Arnold, Stinky, and Harold (the only
kid role in the ep besides the two) are playing cards, and Stinky's
won again. Turns out they're playing in the huge pumpkin (wonder how
many pumpkin pies that one made ;) ). Note the chop at the top and the
ladder. Anyhow, the episode ends with a film loop showing Stinky
shuffling cards through a window in "my lucky card-playin' pumpkin
clubhouse"... note that no other movement is visible after Stinky says
"My pumpkin, my rules". Regular credits music, special thanks Lisa
Groening (Craig's wife, and the Simpsons creator's younger sister).
- What's even more remarkable than Stinky not saying his well-known
catchphrase "This really bites" in an ep devoted to him, like "Stinky
Goes Hollywood"? Stinky not saying it in the *two* eps devoted to him.
- Quotables: "I'm not the over-reacting type" (Stinky) "Don't try your
cheering up speech on me Arnold" (Stinky is no good at anything)
"Every which way you turn, there's a Stinky coming at you" (on the
frequency of Stinky as a name in his family) "Love is in the air"
(Harold) "If you plant them they will grow" (Mr. Purdy borrows from
"Field of Dreams") "Because I'm a mystical disembodied voice" (the
booming voice on why he knows how to plant) "It's called 'cultivating'
son" "Cultivating: it's a $2 word" (Daddy and Stinky) "Strange weather
we're having... rain, drought, and snow" "And all in the same dang
week too" (Daddy and Stinky) "I've got your largest vegetable, baby,
right here" (Ernie with the pumpkin) "The name of the game is
seven-card stud" "I wanted to play old maid" "My pumpkin, my rules"
(Stinky and Harold playing cards... and didn't Harold want to play old
maid in "Arnold's Room" as well?)

[ungvichian]

Helga has won a free "Dinner For Four", and she decides to make
herself "sophisticated" for Arnold, and "Phoebe Skips" all the way to
6th grade, leaving Helga scrambling for a new sidekick.

"Dinner For Four"
- It's the Fight for Peace Charity Raffle, and 4th place is Marcy
Cornbloom (that girl from "School Play" who did the intro to the
play). Her prize is free dry-cleaning for a month at "Dirty No More"
dry cleaners (by any chance, is that the dry cleaners in "Curly's
Girl"?). While Joey, Rhonda, Harold, Brainy, Iggy, Sheena, Curly, Sid
and Park are watching, Helga is eavesdropping over Arnold and Lila...
apparently, Lila has been learning ballet for the past 2 years, and
she's quite fond of the opera (you'd think the coupling would be over
after "Arnold & Lila", but in fact it continues all the way to
"Timberly Loves Arnold"). Cue some monologue of being sophisticated...
Meanwhile, Nadine (Helga pronounces it nuh-DEEN at this point) shows
Helga her cockroach collection ;)
- Third prize is Helga Pataki, and her prize is a coupon for a free
dinner for 4 at Chez Pierre (where Arnold invited Ruth in "Arnold's
Valentine"). Just what she needs... wait a minute, this *is* what she
needs: she's going to invite a couple stooges (read "Phoebe and
Gerald") to come along, and Phoebe will have Gerald invite his best
friend (AKA Arnold) along.
- Gerald and Arnold are talking about getting invites, while Helga is
eavesdropping, before falling into a trash can ;) OK, time for Helga
to learn a little on sophistication from an audio tape (here's Lloyd
Sherr again). She's got dolls at the other guests, but went through
the trouble of making one doll into Arnold. Forks on left, knives on
right, remember to laugh engagingly, blah blah blah. Note the doll
falling down while she's conversing with it ;) Now, time for an A+H
fantasy at a French restaurant where she snaps her fingers and Le
Coupon comes out of nowhere.
- OK, they're at Chez Paris (where "Cecile" had her date with Arnold).
The menu look has changed. What's on (in parenthesis is what she's
ordering): Escargot, Pattie le Foie Gras, (Fromage), Vichysoisse, Les
Coq Au Vin, (Ovres Frietes Boeuf Bourgignon), Duck A L'orange,
(Escallopes). Gerald also orders some runny cheese, and Helga asks for
Pyrenees Spring Water. Meanwhile, note Helga slapping Arnold with her
glove for no apparent reason ;)
- OK, let's look at what they're eating: some flaming dessert, beef
with gravy, lobsters, carrots with sauce, souffle, fish, turkey (note
Helga instructing Phoebe on how to hold the knife). Everything is
going just fine... time for Helga to ask Arnold about what he thinks
about the dinner. Helga's fantasy earleir has him saying that he likes
her... the reality, however, has Arnold saying "I'm impressed". Not
really what she wanted, wasn't it?
- Now, it's time for the bill, which is when she notices that she's
having the dinner at the wrong place... prompting Helga to drag Phoebe
into the bathroom. Phoebe's idea: Just tell the truth (Helga: "That's
the stupidest idea I've ever heard in my whole life"). Helga's idea:
Just keep ordering more food (Phoebe: "Wouldn't that be exacerbating
the problem?"). Exacerbating = to make a problem even worse.
- Helga's ordering Cerveille Braises et Brouille (the same thing she
had in "Arnold's Valentine"), 4 chocolate mousses, and some more
pattie de Foie Gras. Arnold and Gerald are practically full, but Helga
is insisting that they eat it. Meanwhile, she notices an "A" for
cleanliness (didn't see that before) between Gerald and Phoebe. Time
for a call to Nadine (it's nay-DEEN now) to bring the biggest hairiest
cockroach she can find to the restaurant.
- While they're having fish with lemon, waiter Jacques has his
suspicions about trying to get out of paying. Helga makes the
incredulous claim that she's the granddaughter of Helmit Van Buren.
With that, they're offering her table a chocolate mousse cake. Just a
name she uses to get the very best table. Meanwhile, Helga's wondering
what's taking Nadine so long...
- Later on, the guys at the restaurant have checked with Helmit (he's
reserving a table here tomorrow), turns out that his only
granddaughter in in Switzerland. Looks like they'll need to call in
the cops... here's Nadine tho, flipping a whole box of roaches all
over the restaurant, frightening lots of patrons (I'm told that Lana
Vail, the Russian lady who complained about the "Heat", is one of
them), and prompting the cops to shut down Chez Paris.
- OK, so while they're headed home, they pass a sign saying "Don't
Smoke!" over a vegetable shop, and Nadine comes by and tells her about
why the delay: she didn't know what classification of cockroach she
wanted. Arnold hears this and suggests that they all go back, tell the
truth, and wind up doing the dishes. Gilligan cut (I'll explain) to
Arnold and Helga doing the dishes at the sinks, while Gerald is
carrying dishes in the background. Arnold thinks that was "pretty
sophisticated", and squirts a smiling Helga in the face ;).
- Timeout to explain the Gilligan cut: basically, it's a term I found
at Television Tropes and Idioms
(http://tvwiki.sytes.net/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/ ) referring to some person
protesting against doing something... before cutting to the person
doing that thing. Often used by Gilligan's Island (of course), and Hey
Arnold! (of course!).
- Quotables: "Anybody can be sophisticated. I can be sophisticated. If
Arnold wants sophisticated, then I'll show him sophisticated" (Helga)
"Wait a minute, this *is* just what I need" (Helga, on the free
dinner) "I just can't see Helga in a fancy restaurant" (Arnold)
"You're ever so 'drole'" (Helga to Arnold) "French people actually eat
the stuff" (Gerald, on cheese) "I don't care what classification of
cockroach" (Helga to Nadine on phone) "Just a name I use so I could
get the very best table" (Helga "Van Buren")

"Phoebe Skips"
- (front row) Arnold, Curly, Lila, (second) Stinky, Helga, Joey, Sid,
(thrid) Iggy, Eugene, Phoebe, Brainy, (back) Nadine, Rhonda, Harold
and Sheena are in class today, listening to Simmons waffle about
Phoebe getting an A+ for her report on genetic engineering: "Cloning:
Why Two Heads Are Better Than One". Now that class has been dismissed,
Helga wants Phoebe over at the video arcade in 5 minutes with a bunch
of quarters, but first, time for Simmons to show Phoebe Hyerdahl's
impressive academic record: English, Marh, Social Studies, History,
Biology, and Foreign Languages are all straight A+'s. With that, he's
giving her a promotion to the 6th grade, but only on a trial basis.
- Phoebe is jumping in her room, note the Kenji Notani and Tacoma
Marine Park posters, feeling uncharacterstically giddy today...
however, the following day, Helga is quite surprised (and a bit
piqued) about hearing this proposition. Phoebe's referring to the 6th
graders as the brightest minds of PS 118, and thinks that Helga's
little anger is because she won't be able to replace her when she's
gone. That said, Helga is out to find a new partner to distract Lila
while she's snipping the tags off Rhonda's sweater (one of the rare
times where she's actually wearing something different from her usual
outfit).
- Helga has decided to team up with Lila, and Arnold is making a
comment on how well she's taking it. Note the music sting from the end
of "Olga Gets Engaged" as we head over to Mr. Frank's room. Phoebe
enters, gives Frank her hall pass, and meets some of the 6th grade
girls, two of which we already met in "6th Grade Girls", Connie and
Maria, and two we're new with, Simone and Cookie. They're talking of
Phoebe as "another fish", whatever that means... Meanwhile, Helga is
giving Lila a pair of scissors to snip the tags off Rhonda's blue
sweater... "She's got a great sense of humor."
- Frank is calling on Maria to do an algebra equation on the
chalkboard: "Solve for x, 2x-3/4=7". Maria is getting Phoebe to do it,
and she's writing math equations that seem to have nada to do with the
problem at hand like she were a mad scientist. The time is 3pm. In the
hall, Rhonda takes offense at Lila asking Rhonda to snip the tags off
her blue caprini cardigans (she will later take offense at Big Patty
for tripping over her caprini platforms in "Polishing Rhonda"). Lila
on snipping the tags off without asking her first: "It would be ever
so wrong"... Helga ever so fires her.
- Also in the halls, Connie is asking Phoebe to sign her mother's note
excusing her from gym class due to flu, and Phoebe's the 4th grade
penmanship award winner, so she's obliging. Joey, Stinky and Sid are
in the playground (I think I see Eugene playing ping pong as well),
while Helga is with Nadine... however, Rhonda is claiming Nadine as
her own sidekick (pushing Harold along the way), as we head over to
the cafeteria.
- Curly, Sid, and Eugene are at one table, Park and Robert are at
another. In the line, Simone's supposed to be paying for the cafeteria
food. However, it seems that Simone has forgotten her money, so she'll
have to borrow Phoebe's cash (Phoebe also mentions that she had to
lend $5 to Cookie for late book fees at the library). In return,
they're offering her a study date, and a purple friendship bracelet.
The other 6th graders' bracelets: Cookie has green, Maria and Connie
light violet, and Simone has red. In the actual eating area, Sheena is
giving Helga a "Health Food Plate", and Helga is not amused. Harold,
Stinky and Sid listen to Sheena blab about her gastroinstestinal
disorder. OK, time for Helga to dismiss "Granola Girl".
- Study date. They have posters with a bullfihgter on it, and posters
that say "Dancing", "Clue" and "Wow". Now here comes Phoebe, and
Phoebe is being coerced into doing all their homework, while the
others are watching and a discussing a Dawson's wannabe with some guy
saying "I know who you did last summer" (um... could we not associate
a really crappy film with this fine show?). Maria is telling Phoebe to
use the pink pen for Cookie's homework and not put down too many
adjectives since she hates them.
- She's slumped down at her table, and following a match fade to her
sleeping in class the following day, she's turning down another study
date, because she has a hair appointment. However, here comes a "new
fish" in the form of Siobhan Latreuse. She's been promoted from 3th to
6th grade. She reminds me of Noelle Sussman from the Ginger eps "And
She Was Gone" and "Foutleys on Ice"...
- Cafeteria. Gerald and Sid at one table, the 6th graders at another,
Arnold and Nadine at another, Peapod and Ruth at another, Rhonda and
Iggy at another, and Brainy and Katrinka at another. Phoebe approaches
the 6th graders: however, her spot at their table has been given to
Siobhan (now with a purple bracelet like Phoebe's), as Phoebe's
services are no longer needed (the 6th graders are inviting Siobhan
for a study date as well). While a teary-eyed Phoebe is running over
to the toilet, Helga is busy crossing names off her list at 12:15:
Harold, Sheena, Nadine, Big Patty, Curly, and Sid. Wait a minute, Big
Patty? Big Patty's in 6th grade right? So what's stopping Helga from
retaining Phoebe as her sidekick if she's in 6th?
- Anyways, Arnold comes by and Helga is informing him about how great
the search is going and that she has a couple of candidates waiting in
her office (she talks of this office she has... we'll get to see
inside in "Deconstructing Arnold"). While Helga's in the bathroom
though, Helga's whining "I'll never be able to replace Phoebe" and
also going on and on and on about things that, well, might well have
not made much difference (so what if she'd supported her move to 6th
grade?)
- Phoebe's been wallowing in her sorrow for some time as well, and has
taken off her bracelet. Upon hearing the above, Phoebe comes out and
tells how stupid of an idea it was to go to the 6th grade without
having considered Helga's feelings. Another stupid idea is Helga
thinking that she could get a sidekick, and having forgotten that
Phoebe's her best friend and all that. OK, they've walked out of the
bathroom, and Phoebe is talking with Helga about all the bad stuff the
6th graders did to her, and Helga's considering things she'll ned to
get, presumably to pull some pranks on them. Like thumb tacks, a ball
of string, a watermelon... and Phoebe suggests a pack of trick gum.
Over to the credits with the regular music, and we see Charisma
Carpenter being cast as Simone, Mayim Balik as Maria, and Pamela
Hayden as Connie (note that A: no role for Cookie since she doesn't
speak, all she does is blow bubbles, B: Balik and Hayden also played
the same roles in "6th Grade Girls"). No credit for Siobhan tho...
Special thanks Matt & Lisa, and isn't that a credit for picture editor
from "Stinky's Pumpkin" that I see late in the credits?
- Timeout on Cookie not speaking: One wonders if the role was supposed
to be a speaking role to begin with, before Lamoreaux realized that
she couldn't get any decent black girl voice actresses to do the
role....
- Quotables: "It sounds like a very interesting proposition Mr.
Simmons" (Phoebe) "These halls are crawling with pathetic saps who'd
jump at the chance to be new sidekick" (Helga) "Looks like we got
ourselves a new fish" (Maria was it?) "Monochromatic... that is way
cool" (one of the girls on Phoebe's glasses) "Guess what? You're ever
so fired" (Helga to Lila) "I talk, you write" (Helga to Nadine, on how
to be her sidekick) "That's it granola girl, you're dismissed! And
take this health crap with you" (Helga to Sheena) "All for one and one
for all, right?" (Phoebe, on doing the other girls' homework) "Who do
you think is cuter, Bailey or Charlie?" (one of the girls watching the
Dawson's wannabe) "I was practicing for this... play..." (Helga, on
Phoebe overhearing her monologue) "Write that down" "Writing" (Helga,
on Phoebe's 'trick gum' suggestion)

[ungvichian]

"Arnold Saves Sid", and Sid feels obliged to do stuff for him, and
Arnold and Gerald play "Hookey" to escape the grind of PS 118.
Thoughts follow shortly, all corrections welcome.

"Arnold Saves Sid"
- So we open at "Mr. Chicken", a pancakes and halibut store, with Sid
and Arnold blabbing about the unusual combination of pancakes and
halibut and how they put boisenberry syrup all over it. While Sid's
blabbing about bringing a plate of it to show and tell someday, a
bunch of pigeons have piled onto the sign's worn-thin plywood support,
sending it coming down towards Sid, and Arnold shoves him out of the
way. Arnold says it would only have given him a bump on the head, but
Sid has decided to repay him anyway.
- Following morning, after having his fill with pancakes at the Arms
(Oskar's had 3 helpings already), Sid is serving him eggs and milk.
Arnold doesn't understand why Sid is patronizing him, as they get on
the bus. Curly, Park and Nadine are on it, and possibly Gloria. Arnold
insists that it doesn't really matter what kind of seat he'd like (in
Arnold's case, a window seat), but Sid forces a big guy off his seat
to allow for this. Now that they've arrived at PS 118 (Peapod Kid's
entering), Sid's opening the door for him. How cute.
- Slovak's final outing before being replaced by Simmons the very next
ep ("Ms. Perfect"). Iggy, Rhonda, Phoebe, Nadine, Eugene, Park,
Robert, Sid, Arnold, Curly, Stinky and Harold are among the students
today. Slovak asks what year Columbus discovered America, and calls on
Sid, who not only gives the year, 1492, but also the date, July 29th,
"though there is some debate on the exact date". Then emotes in class
about how Arnold saved his life and all... Arnold is thinking: "Oh,
brother!"
- Lunch. Sid is giving him a peanut butter, jelly and banana sandwich
(he's even cut off the crusts), and he'll be getting some milk for
him. Time to tell Gerald to meet him at the bathroom to discuss the
whole patronizing business in detail. Wide grin alert as Sid brings in
the milk.
- At the bathroom, Sid is offering to go in with him in case he needs
anything, but this is something Arnold has to do alone, okay? In this
case, talking to Gerald about the whole patronizing deal. Gerald's big
idea: Tell him clearly that he doesn't want his services. "It's
something I have to do alone"... cut the "alone" out, and we've got a
line used in "Full Moon" and "Eugene's Birthday". Anyhow, Gerald
throws his wad off paper down the trash, Arnold's wad doesn't go in.
- Frozen Yogurt at The Frozen Yogurt Shop. We'll see Seymour in it in
"Eating Contest". On the menu, we've Wheat, Grass (ew), and Tapioca
Anyhow, while Sid's talking about switching seats and having
unbalanced chocolate sprinkles on his yogurt, Arnold's telling Sid
that he does NOT want his services, and he supposedly understands, but
the following day, he's ironing Arnold's clothes with The Buster Steam
Press, has given him a pancake breakfast, and has polished his shoes.
- Arnold's discussing this whole business with Phil, and he mentions
Jimmy Kafka, and how the exact same thing happened to him and Jimmy,
and they ended up never speaking to each other until high school.
Doesn't that conflict with his Jimmy story from "Part-Time Friends"?
Anyhow, Arnold mops the floor ;)
- While Sid is busy fetching him some mustard at lunchtime, Arnold is
talking with Gerald about deciding to give in. Another wide grin!
Anyhow, Sid continues to oblige Arnold by vacuuming his room (note
those wide headphones), opening the PS 118 door, changing the page in
the book he's reading, talking with thugs to get Arnold a good bus
seat, wiping his mouth after lunch, even offering Arnold a ride once
around the park in his "Arnoldmobile" ;)
- Yogurt shop again. This time, Arnold doesn't understand why Sid is
suddenly spewing stuff about being taking advantage of (especially
since this is the exact thing he mentioned to him the day before) and
leaving the yogurt store in disgust. Signs in the store: "No gum
section", "No shoes, no yogurt". Anyhow, now he's walking past the
scene of the crime, so to speak (besides the Mr. Chicken sign now
being leaned against the building, there's a sign saying "Park in
rear"... so Park's here? ;) ), and Arnold has an idea.
- That being giving Sid a certificate for pancakes and halibut, and
apologizing for taking advantage. Upon receiving the certificate
however, Sid apologizes for getting carried away on serving Arnold.
There's no need to make it up to him however, just say we're even.
That he does, and a little gag involving mustard ends this. Ever
notice that trying to get Sid to save Arnold to call it even never
pops up anywhere in this?
- Quotables: "Nothing's too good for the guy who saved my life" (Sid)
"Move your can pronto, my friend doesn't like to wait" (Sid to thug)
"Of course I do, you saved my life" (Sid opens PS 118 door) "For the
last time, we really shouldn't be doing this" (Arnold) "Here's what
you do: Take this mop, mop the floor ;)" (Grandpa) "Sid, could you
pass me the mustard?" "Get your own mustard (hands him mustard
anyway)" (Arnold and Sid get even)

"Hookey"
- Bear with me people: I'm doing my notes from a timer recording. This
particular day, for some reason HA! began 6 minutes after the
scheduled time, which means that the final couple minutes of this
story were cut off. By my approximation, about 4 1/2 minutes' worth.
Anyhow, who's Jim Ryan?
- Sid, Stinky, Nadine, Joey, Rhonda, Curly, Arnold and Gerald are
leaving the room after a hard day of education. Gerald is going on and
on about how much of a grind their education is, and has a big idea:
leave school for one day without letting the principal know. Arnold
calls it "hookey" and points out that some kid named "Smedley" got
expelled for doing that. Meanwhile, they encounter Wartz, and they say
they were talking about hockey, and Wartz says something about losing
a toe (and a career in hockey) in a thresher accident.
- Arnold as Grandpa saying that Arnold has a touch of malaria because
he had Mexican for breakfast :D Meanwhile, Gerald's used his dad's
absence notes to get his instant freedom. Anyhow, they're going to
Dino Land first where "there's an ambulance waiting for you at each
ride" ;) We'll see that place again in "Roller Coaster".
- They're riding the roller coaster and enjoying themselves, until
they notice that Farkis, the school janitor, is waiting in line at the
roller coaster... since he's the guy who caught Smedley playing
hookey, they're sneaking out and heading to Quigley.
- Quigley. Baseball game. Billboard: KBTN-26, Most Watched Television
News Across The Continent. While they're enjoying the game, Arnold
suddenly realizes something. Basically, news cameras at baseball games
simply like children. And since they're the only ones there, the odds
of them being on TV are pretty good. Gerald's dismissing it, since
there are like 20,000 fans here, and indeed a TV announcer is saying
that... but next thing you know, it's them on the big screen with the
voice over saying "they're so dedicated, they came out here on a
school day" (he follows it up with a plug for KBTN's news). Time to
hoof it then.
- So they've decided to enter the movie "Buddy Love Goes Coconuts".
Preceded by a trailer of some guy saying "An education is a terrible
thing to waste" ;) Anyhow, we'll hear that opening music as the
credits music in at least two eps, and Oskar and Phil are watching the
movie, eating popcorn, and blabbing about betting or something like
that, much to Gerald's disgust... And that's as far as my recording
got. I hear that it turns out that PS 118 had a carnival that day,
and... let's just say I'm not the only one who missed it.
- Quotables: "Man Arnold, what a grind" (Gerald) "We said hockey,
we're just crazy about hockey" (Arnold) "Presto, instant fredom"
(Gerald on using his dad's absence notes) "At Dino Land, there's an
ambulance waiting for you at each ride" (Gerald, on Dino Land) "Let's
get in line" "What line? :D" (Gerald and Arnold) "I bet we're the only
kids here" (Gerald at Quigley) "I never realized that playing hookey
was so complicated" (Gerald leaving Quigley) "An education is a
terrible thing to waste" (some guy in a cinema commercial) "Oh man,
don't they have jobs?" "No, Grandpa's retired and Oskar's..... living
off his wife" (Gerald and Arnold, and this was the last line I got in
before the tape cut out)

[ungvichian]

Nick gets outrageous by showing Wartz getting a "Full Moon"
(meanwhile, Arnold, the witness, gets four weeks' detention for
"failure to cooperate" on who did it, and that's not all Wartz plans
on giving him), and why rehash one old story when you can rehash two?
Olga is room 206's "Student Teacher" this semester, in what seems to
be a mix of "Olga Comes Home" and "Helga and the Nanny".

"Full Moon"
- OK, so Harold, Sid, and Stinky are asking Arnold to moon Wartz with
them, and he doesn't think it's such a good idea. Anyway, Wartz is
leaving his room, and Harold's putting on a pig snout, Sid puts on a
mask, and Stinky's wearing a duck bill on his nose. Here comes Wartz,
and he whips out his glasses, and Wartz (and the viewer) gets to see
about half a second of their bare butts :D
- Wartz is chasing the mooners, failing that, he puts Arnold in his
room and asks him to tell who did. Not only does he refuse flat out,
he also doesn't understand why he's being given four weeks' detention.
Meanwhile, Wartz's getting Mrs. Flem, the art teacher, to draw the
mooning, and Arnold is talking with the others about going to the
office. Sid and Stinky think that they'd better tell Wartz, Harold
doesn't think so.
- Arnold (at the Arms) and Gerald are on the phone talking about this
whole thing, and note that the calendar page is on April. The
following day, Brainy and Gerald are playing at the foursquare, Eugene
and Sheena are playing at the pole with a ball, Helga, Phoebe, and
possibly Katrinka are at the bench table, and Gloria's just walking
around, as Wartz is making an announcement over the speakers at
lunchtime. Aren't those the halls from "Phoebe Skips"?
- After being offered some chocolate creams "Albert" (that's what
Wartz is calling him) is still flat out refusing... in a nutshell:
"I'm not a rat" (or snitch, or whatever)... Time for Wartz to get
serious and tell him about how this will be going on his permanent
record, while the mooners are watching the whole business unfold from
a distance via binoculars. Later on in front of the Arms, Harold is
threatening to beat up Arnold in case he ever does tell Wartz.
- Arnold is writing on a paper "Mooning's not funny" (or "Mooning is
not funny"), and then does the same on the chalkboard, and is also
being shown slides saying: "Mooning is not funny" (blue on pink), "You
could put your eye out" (pink on dark blue with picture of Wartz in
eye patch :D). Arnold is later talking with Gerald about taking the
fall for those guys. Funny thing is, in "Arnold Betrays Iggy", he
already took the fall for them revealing Iggy's dirty little secret...
- Later still, Wartz goes on and on about how, when he was a kid, he
ratted on some kids who put a frog in their teacher's desk, how he was
given a gold star (he shows it to Arnold)... and how his reputation as
a weasel followed him through high school and college, how he got
shoved into lockers, got "kick me" signs taped on his back, suffered
lots of abuse, and didn't have a date until he was 23... and how he
overcame it all and became a principal here. Arnold's not buying it.
- Harold is talking with Arnold about how he would be willing to rat
the others out if it were him in the principal's office, but Arnold
insists that he's not going to rat them out. Next, Wartz is showing
Harold a pencil drawn picture of the mooning (eww)... Harold says he
doesn't know. Later that night, let's listen to Harold having a
nightmare.
- Arnold has always been keen on doing the right thing... except that
this time, I'm not so sure that his resistance *is* the right thing
(how the heck did Viksten think this was a good idea for a story,
anyway?). Anyhow, it's the last day of detention, and last day to
avoid getting this on his permanent record. He insists that taking the
fall is "something I gotta do"... didn't he say this about holding
another birthday party in "Eugene's Birthday"?
- Anyways, Wartz has permanent marker in hand, and he reminds him that
it will be following him to junior high. Six Million Dollar Man sound
effects as he gets ready to mark him under "Failure to Cooperate"
("Direct Insubordination" is right under it)... and here comes the
mooners busting in to bust him out (so to speak).
- Apparently, the gang couldn't live with the guilt, and Harold
doesn't think he'll get to junior high anyway. After a brief
discussion basically saying that Arnold had guts not to rat them out,
Harold is thinking of taping a "kick me" sign to Simmons' back ;)
- Personal timeouts:
* The San Francisco Chronicle's CW Nevius cited this particular
episode in his review of the movie thusly: (referring to the
confession) "...in the neighborhood, that's the biggest news since
Stinky and Sid mooned Principal Wartz."
* On a more personal note, when I did a little mock awards show (The
Nicktoon Rewards: http://rover_wow.tripod.com/nire.htm ) I nominated
this ep under "Worst Decision". The sad part to me is, there are
people who actually think that this was a noble thing to do.
* IRL, there's also an instance of some California high school
football team cancelling their homecoming game because the teammates
wouldn't rat out who insulted the coach.
- Quotables: "It's all the rage" (Stinky on mooning) "I'm not a rat"
(Arnold won't rat) "We got away with what we did and that's all that
counts" (Harold to Sid and Stinky on the mooning) "Don't think of it
as being a snitch, think of it as being a good person" (Wartz)
"Wouldn't you want to become an elementary school principal?" "Not
really" (Wartz to Arnold) "I never figured I'd get to junior high
anyway" (Harold) "Yeah Arnold... you got guts" (Sid) "I don't know if
that's such a good idea" (Arnold, from start and end)

"Student Teacher"
- So the Pataki clan are at the airport as Olga arrives on her Air
Dumas flight here (she's supposed to be staying here for a week).
Meanwhile, Helga, sitting in front of a commercial for Hawaii, is
soliloquying over her bad relationship with Olga. Anyways, Olga's just
come out and gives Helga a big kiss.
- Helga's been wearing that bow since she was 4, if her words are to
be believed... anyways, Olga has a surprise for her, and the following
day at PS 118, she comes in as their student teacher this semester,
surprising Helga. I notice Harold, Phoebe, Sid and Nadine in class
today, and I presume more. Anyways, she was going to teach Inuit kids
in Alaska, but she decided, how about here?
- Back home, Olga is combing her hair, and Helga is setting up a few
boundaries, like, stay clear of embarassing family stories, since she
does have a reputation (one of the main reasons she has that dirty
little secret to keep). No problem, since bonding with her sister is
her sole "raison d'etre" (reason of existence) for coming here. And
Helga's not the only person in the family with a heart shaped picture
of someone: Olga also has this heart shaped baby picture of Helga
(with her bow, but without her hair) with the words "My Widdle Sister"
on the border.
- Following day, Stinky got an F on his spelling (or "spellinx", as he
writes it) test, misspelling words like Yeller, Dawg, Froot, Kow,
Kooky, and Peepil. Olga encourages Stinky by bringing up a story about
a girl who was a bedwetter until she was 7. Others listening to this
story: (front row) Sheena, Robert, Stinky, (middle row) Gerald,
Arnold, Phoebe, (back row) Iffy, Rhonda, Sid, Nadine (among the few
times that Rhonda and Nadine aren't sitting next to each other, and
BTW, Helga's in the middle row). Helga is cowering, and for good
reason: in the playground, Harold calls her "Helga the Bedwetter", and
Helga's attempt to retaliate gets her a pre-written detention slip.
- Big Bob is enjoying Olga's dumplings, and Arnold has come to the
Patakis' to have a tutoring session with Olga. Time for Helga to get
serious about keeping Olga from coming to teach, then... First up,
letting the air out of her tires. Brainy is behind Helga on the bus,
and she's blabbing about spending a day without Olga... however, Olga
is on the bus as well, and she's going on and on about spending more
time close together.
- Second up is leaving an apple with a worm in it on the table.
Simmons grabs it, eats it, and faints upon seeing the worm. So far
then, both of her attempts to solve her little problem with Olga have
instead exacerbated it.
- The third plan involves stealing Olga's lesson plans so she won't
know what to teach. Next thing you know tho, Olga is suggesting a
nature study trip at the park. We find Helga bashing her head into a
tree repeatedly while she's talking to Arnold about how to get Olga to
listen to her. Arnold's idea: straight honest talk... "If she cares
for you like she says she does, she'll listen to you."
- Bedroom. Olga is talking about how great everything is since they're
spending so much time together... Helga however cuts straight to the
chase: basically, the fact they're spending so much together is
exactly what's so bad about it. Smeared mascara! But there is one
thing Olga could do to please Helga...
- Helga and Olga are at the airport. It's foggy (hey, are you aping
Casablanca?). In the background is an "Air Nanook" propeller plane.
The idea is that Olga will be going to Alaska to teach Inuit children
as she had wanted in the first place. Olga doesn't understand how this
will make them closer together, but Helga insists on her leaving
(watch the luggage disappear), and so after that, Olga's left off to
Alaska, and look at Helga smiling.
- Olga's now teaching at the Polar Cap Elementary School in Umiat
(yes, there is a town called that), with 4 students in her class. Note
the CG snow (probably recycled from the credits to Arnold's
Christmas?). We close out with a voiceover of Olga's letter to Helga,
and vica versa: apparently, everyone at PS 118's forgotten about the
bedewtter incident (wonder why they never forgot about Iggy in bunny
PJs?). Note the nice touch of Helga adding "Love, Helga" at the end as
well. The "Buddy Love Goes Coconuts" intro music from "Hookey" closes
out today's ep with special thanks to Karl E. Tinglestad.
- Quotables: "The eagle has landed" (Big Bob on Olga's plane) "I've
only worn it since I was 4" (Helga on her bow) "Might as well just
give up on booklearning altogether" (Stinky on his F in a spelling
test) "Look, it's Helga the Bedwetter" (Harold) "You mean, like with a
club or baseball bat or something?" (Helga, on getting Olga to listen)
"The further you're away from me, the closer we'll be" (Helga to Olga)

[ungvichian]

Sid gets involved with "Big Gino", and Gerald is amazed to see "Jamie
O In Love". Thoughts follow shortly, all corrections welcome.

"Big Gino"
- Iggy and Park are in the playground, while some guy is asking Arnold
about Sid, as the titular Big Gino wants to talk to him imediately.
Anyways, he hasn't seen him. Now that the big guy's left, Sid in a
disguise is dragging Arnold behind the bushes to talk about his
problems with Gino.
- So basically, the kid loaned some chocolate from Gino to sell to
kids like Chocolate Boy, so that he could get the money to buy a
rocking pony. Later on, the "mafia" asked him for $50 , and he was
soon afraid to leave his home. Just this morning he found the rocking
horse head in his bed... didn't KC do this in Rugrats in Paris as
well?
- Sid getting jumpy upon hearing a door slam :D Anyways, Arnold
recommends that he sort this out with the guy himself. Anyways, they
head out to this warehouse-like place, and ever noticed that their
eyes are still being filled with white, even though it's dark inside?
It's like their eyes are glowing or something...
- Anyhow, this so-called "Big Gino" guy comes out... and he looks
pretty short if you ask me ;) Anyways, I notice that there's a
stockpile of Yahoo! Soda and Wacko ("The High Life") there...
- Note the allegory to smoking by the way Gino and his gang are
licking their lollies... Anyhow, to pay off the debt, Sid will have to
work for him for 2 weeks, "odd jobs" included. And no mafia pastiche
like this one would be complete without someone saying "Forget about
it", and look at them drinking Yahoo to celebrate.
- Sid rides in Gino's side car, shines his shoes, even gives him a
sandwich, and recommends Gino on how to make a hit on Torvald:
basically, tell his mum ;) Later on, Sid and Gino have a little talk.
- Next thing you know, Sid's in a suit, sucking a lolly, and now the
gang are trying to sell hall passes to younger kids and shoving those
who don't buy in dumpsters. Now Sid's forgoing his usual seat with
Arnold, Gerald, Stinky and Harold to sit with the gang. On the menu
today: Kielbasa, bean salad, and peaches flan. Also note the "no
pushing" sign...
- Sid tries combing his full hair :D With his hat back on, he's
threatening Chocolate Boy. Now that that's done, Arnold is pointing
out to Sid that he's beginning to sound a bit like Gino, and that Gino
is not his friend. "Think about it."
- Following day, Gino tells Sid to give Arnold a "swirlie" and
photograph it. Sid asks Arnold politely, but Arnold just won't let
him.
- Note Salome's Pizzeria in the BG while Sid tries to ask Arnold
again... In front of Sid's house is some Latin: "Cogit ergo sum".
Anyways, Gino's gang is telling him to come up with the photos ASAP.
Following day at school, while Katrinka's walking the halls, the gang
grab Arnold and Sid and shove them into the bathroom.
- Okay, now Sid's being coerced to do the swirlie, and he's being
asked (words to the effect) "Who's your best friend?" Sid stands up
for Arnold, however, his head's soon being pushed into the toilet as
Gino takes a photo. And that's a swirlie. Sid is given the photo to
remind him of this incident. Okay, now Sid makes a wry quip about this
whole thing as Arnold looks at the photo: "This photo shows your
better side." Next!
- Quotables: "Gino has eyes and ears everywhere" (Sid) "Let's me and
you have a little talk" (Gino to Sid) "You're boring me Arnold" (Sid
to Arnold after threatening Chocolate Boy) "Business? You're starting
to sound like gino" (Arnold to Sid) "He's not your friend Sid: think
about it" (Arnold to Sid on Gino) "Funny isn't it, one day you're
sucking on a Yahoo, and sitting on a rocking horse, and the next day,
some kid's shoving your head in the toilet" (Sid gets swirlied) "My
head was in the toilet!" (Sid, on why his head smells)

"Jamie O In Love"
- Holy cracker, look at all those credits! So, Jamie's been pestering
Arnold and Gerald lately: first, he shoved already washed dishes back
into the sink, presumably forcing them to do them over, then
deliberately knocked over a cardhouse they had just built, and changed
the channel from the season finale of something called "The Z Files"
to a soccer match.
- Later on, Arnold and Gerald talking about Jamie, and Gerald is
complaining about how Jamie isn't the type of brother who would take
him out for ice cream for no reason... when he sees Jamie baking a
cake, serving them pie and even offering them tickets to Gladiators on
Ice this weekend. Wondering why he's suddenly become nice, Arnold's
theory: he's made the wrestling team... Gerald's theory: he's been
replaced by a clone ;)
- So the two are following Jamie everywhere: he's buying flowers at
Vitello's (even though Jamie is allergic to them), chocolates at
Holly's Chocolates (he normally eats protein bars and whole wheat),
and he's skipping to the Avon to see "Endless Kiss"... with this girl.
He's even giving her his varsity jacket, to boot.
- Arnold and Gerald decide to milk Jamie's nice behavior for all its
worth. He's mowing their lawn, he's making cakes and souffles, he's
buying them ice cream from the Jolly Olly Man, and now he's jst
dropped them off at Joe's Eats Good Food while he's returning a video.
- Looks like they're not the only ones milking Jamie: the girlfriend
Cherice (voice of Candi Milo) is going it as well. Arnold's bright
idea: tell the truth about him. But Gerald maintains that since Jamie
put Arnold's head in a toilet, took his clothes while he was in
shower, and put his hand in warm water, he deserves what he's getting.
- Budnick's. Gerald can't afford Mutant Space Freaks 9000 ($59.95)...
and Jamie doesn't have enough cash, since he lent Cherice money for
manicure and a footwax, so Jamie offers a check.
- Later on, Jamie is baking a souffle for Cherice, has a message on
his beeper on detailing Cherice's car, and crying over burning
Cherice's cashmere socks under the iron. Outside, Arnold has been
waiting and he comes in asking about Jamie taking them to the batting
cages. Wearing rose tinted glasses :D Anyways, seeing how the crap his
hit the fan for Jamie, Gerald decides to tell him about how Cherice
has been milking him, even thought Arnold would rather have it wait
until after this weekend (Gladiators on Ice, remember?)
- Somewat to Gerald's disappointment ,Jamie doesn't believe it at
first, and leaves running with the souffle (someone tell him that
you're supposed to serve a souffle fresh from the oven) over to
Cherice's... which is where he overhears everything.
- Gerald: "It was good while it lasted", but now Jamie is back to his
usual pestering self. He'll be scalping those Gladiators tickets, but
first he'll be taking them to ice cream for no reason. Hey, doesn't
Jamie have different plates on either side of his car? IIRC, it says
KILLR on the front, but KILLER on the back. We've some hip-hop credits
music, and special thanks to Garland Wilson.
- Quotables: "There is no way he'll ever change, not in a million
years (Gerald then sees Jamie backing cake) "Maybe the real Jamie O
was abducted by aliens and replaced with a clone... What? It could
happen" (Gerald) "As far as I'm concerned, we don't owe Jamie O a
thing" (Gerald overhears Cherice) "Just get in before I change my
mind" (Jamie takes Arnold and Gerald to ice cream)

[ungvichian]

Two eps for the price of one. Basically, when I posted the first ep's
notes on a webboard I frequent, I basically forgot to post it here as
well. And since I'd just finished writing the notes for another ep, I
decided to post them both in the same post.

Miriam "The Beeper Queen" swaps being an alcoholic with being a
workaholic, and first Gerald can't ride a bike, now "Oskar Can't
Read?" Guess who's going to fix that?

"The Beeper Queen"
- So Helga is making tomorrow's lunch (a peanut butter sandwich),
while Miriam knocks over a shelf trying to get a bottle of tabasco.
Next thing you know, Big Bob just sprained himself trying to get that
bottle ;)
- Patakis are fast healers, but since he's got a meeting with Bumniak
and Prapowski from Buffalo to close a deal, and Helga's at school,
Miriam offers to go. Later that night, Miriam reports on how
everything went: She took them out for pizza, wings, went to the
Pastry Palace, had coffee and donut holes, and oh yeah, they tripled
their order after she explained the benefits of buying in bulk.
- Next day. Miriam's in a suit so she could look more professional,
while Big Bob is busy scanning the TV... all he sees are soaps and
talk shows. Gratituous Arnold time here, and according to Helga,
Miriam doesn't have a driver's license.
- Helga's lunch represents all the major food groups, not bad there
Miriam. Back home, Bob is watching a soap featuring a character with a
twin sister (don't all soap have twin sisses at one point? ;)), while
Miriam is letting Helga do her homework on bed. After this point, it
gets interesting...
- Helga's lunch seems to be dwindling... one day she has a donut,
beans, a sandwich, a banana, and a muffin, next she has just milk and
an apple, later still she has just one "Energy Bar" (yes, it sounds
ludicrous), while Miriam seems to be getting less and less interested
in her as she drops her off at school. In short, she's turning into
Charlotte Pickles ;)
- One day, Helga's taking her lunch and notices Bob slobbering on his
chair, and later at school that day, it turns out that her box was
empty. That afternoon, Helga is slumping on a park bridge with
icecream in hand, and here comes Arnold. One discussion later,
Arnold's covered in ice cream. Anyways, Arnold's recommendation: talk
with Miriam that she needs to stop working and come home.
- Well, she's making an ad set to the song "Diamonds are a Girl's Best
Friend", except with "beepers" instead of "diamonds". During a break
in filming, Helga is trying to talk with Miriam, who's busy fobbing
her off...
- However, after seeing a video playback of the aborted discussion,
and dropping her drink over it, she rushes out in her car and drives
up to Helga (note when she's doing so, it obviously looks computer-y).
Miriam's sappy speech about how she can work any time, but only has
now to be a good mother, ensues. Cue even sappier hug.
- Following day. Bob's back hasn't fully healed, but a day off the
couch and at work will do him some good, and she's programmed the VCR.
Be careful, Bob... Next!
- Quotables: "Motherscratcher!" (Big Bob on his bad back) "I just
wanted to look a little more professional" (Miriam in a suit) "Talk
shows and soap operas on every stinkin' channel... it'll be a cold day
in Havana before I watch this junk" (Big Bob watches TV) "She's gone
off the deep end, for cripes sake" (Helga to Arnold on Miriam) "You
won't be 8 forever" "I'm 9 ma" (Miriam and Helga) "Be careful, those
guys are sharks" (Miriam, as Bob leaves for work)

"Oskar Can't Read?"
- Okay, so it's dinner at the Arms, and Ernie asks for salt, and Oskar
passes the pepper. Excuse: he's so tired he could barely see straight.
He makes a mess of signing a paper to get his X-Ray Glasses, and while
Phil is slicing an onion and reading a recipe, Oskar has a headache
and heads to the WC.
- The bottle of "aspirin" Oskar has in his hand is actually tablets
for scum-free fishpool water :D His excuse: it works for his kind of
headache he gets from eating too much fish :D All joking aside, it
turns out that Oskar can't read. Arnold reminds him that he's a paper
boy (he got that job in "Oskar Gets A Job", but how'd he manage to do
it for so long, if he couldn't read?)
- Anyways, Arnold's promising to keep this whole thing a secret, but
as it were, Ernie and Hyunh have been overhearing this, and they're
betting money on getting Oskar to read by the end of the week. Ernie's
put down $20, Hyunh's put down $50. Now, Oskar has to ask Arnold to
teach him.
- My, he ain't going too well with those ABC's :D, or a flashcard with
a cat on it. Arnold's also giving him a basic reading workbook as
well. Here comes the first signs of laziness from Oskar, as he asks
Suzie to do it for him. His excuse: his workbook flew out the window
and he sprained his hand ;)
- OK, here's how Oskar, er, Suzie did (filled in letters in
parenthesis): do(g) (c)at (b)unny o(w)l c(o)w. Oskar's even planning
on reading the first page of the book "A Tale of Two Cities" to Oskar
and Ernie.
- Time for more snarkiness: Oskar drops by Holly's Chocolates and
(using a box of "Giganto Box Malted Milk Balls") gets Chocolate Boy to
read him the first page of said book. Fade straight to him reading.
- Everyone's impressed, but Ernie's obviously not convinced. He has
him read the thing again, and he's just caught him out as he switched
the book with "War and Peace". Arnold is not amused, since Oskar was
clearly only trying to get the money.
- Later on, he walks past a newsstand, he's of no help to some kid
who's reading a map, and he sees nightclub signs as gibberish (IMO,
tho, it does look at lot like Maldivian to me). Now he's asking Arnold
to teach him again (citing things he's experienced in the ep)... and
Arnold's willing to give it another go.
- And you thought Oskar was lazy: we have the same shots of Arnold
pointing at a chalkboard, Arnold with the cat flashcard (there's also
a new scene of him with letter flashcards), and Arnold giving Oskar
the workbook.
- OK, now time for another test. Hey, look at the ad on the bus. It
says "Work or play, a lldr orn ynne rus, will make your day"... I
guess the animators can't read either :D Anyways, while Arnold's
taking a blindfolded Oskar on the bus, on the subway, and on a
Chinatown rickshaw, he's explaining that basically, he's written down
directions to get home for him to read.
- Now that Arnold's left on a bus, Oskar's taking Maple East and then
takes his time trying to read that he's supposed to go left on Madison
Ave. (look at the traffic buildup :D) Back at the Arms, Arnold's
probably the only person confident in him.
- Oskar's making his way to the subway station. He's supposed to head
to Sheffingtown (<-), but since all he can see is Sheffingston (along
with Philipston, both ->), he thinks that's okay (the sign for
Sheffingstown was covered by a luggage trolley). Rasing the question:
what kind of town has similarly named stations at the opposites ends
of town?!
- Getting off, he sees a sign saying condemned property, no exit. Time
for a depressed guy's soliloquy (hey, it's a change from Helga's
soliloquys ;)) as he drops his directions in some frustration. He
notices a cat, picks it up and pets it... and guess what? He becomes
inspired and decides to continue the trip (umm... shouldn't you be
picking your directions back up?) with cat in tow.
- Arms, 2am. Suzie wants to call the police, but here comes Oskar home
with the cat. Cue everyone being amazed at all this, and they all head
back inside the Arms as we go into the credits...
- ...which for the 2nd time since the start of the series (the other
is "Roller Coaster"), aren't playing out over that blue background
they normally use, but rather a shot of the Arms lights lighting up
gradually as the other boarders are getting annoyed by Oskar rading
"Pet the Kitty" ;) Also of note: Anndi McAfee is credited as "Pheobe".
- Quotables: "Sorry, I am so tired I can barely see straight" (Oskar
passes the pepper instead of the salt) "You're a paper boy"
(exposition in case you forgot about "Oskar Gets A Job") "What's in it
for me?" (fade to shot of Chocolate Boy putting his hand in a box of
"Giganto Box Malted Milk Balls") "Well, now i've seen everything"
(Phil watches Oskar read "Tale of Two Cities") "The man is a loser"
(Ernie on Oskar after having him read "War and Peace") "Look
everybody, I'm petting the kitty" (Oskar to kids at library) "Well,
now I've seen everything, except for a really good low calorie soft
drink" (Phil sees Oskar come home to the Arms)

Today's theme must be "really creepy stuff", as Arnold gets to tell
his own legend about a "Headless Cabbie", and it's "Friday The 13th"
at PS 118.

"Headless Cabbie"
- So we open on a full moon night, at around 6:30, with Harold, Sid,
Stinky, and Arnold listening to Gerald wrap up a scary story, and now
it's time for Stinky to tell one. His choice of story: "Monkey Cat".
Basically, it involves a mad scientist named Dr. Micah putting a
monkey's head on to a cat's body ;)
- Okay, that doesn't exactly cut it, so time for Arnold to tell his
story "The Headless Cabbie". In a nutshell: some mysterious lady lost
her dog in a park, and she had a cabbie wear her scarf while he was
chasing it. After a brief encounter with a guy with a hook for an arm
under a bridge, the cabbie lost his head when the scarf got tied onto
a tree. And the ghosts of the two come out on nights like this. Scary
stuff huh? Well, Harold's cowering behind the water cooler, saying
"Easy squeasy lemon peasy" like in "Dangerous Lumber".
- Timeout: HA! isn't the only place I've heard that phrase... in a
Christmas ep of Tweenies, one of the characters says this to a puppet.
- OK, now they're going to get some ice cream, and the fastest way
happens to be through the park. Harold's not so sure about this, but
he's going, but only because he's hungry.
- At the park, Harold is holding a dinosaur toy, and Sid is constantly
making "headless cabbie" impressions just to freak him out. Aynhow,
now they've just spotted a dog. They're suspecting things, as they're
chasing the dog.
- Later on, we hear some galloping noises. Not what they're thinking
tho, it's Eugene dancing in clogs (wooden shoes) on the cobblestoned
path. And we'll hear Gerald say "Now I've seen everything" again in
April Fools Day.
- They're walking under a bridge, and they encounter, yep, some guy
with a hook for a hand, and they're running again (no one bothers to
look back and see it's just a guy selling lots of watches ;))
- Here comes that galloping noise again, and it's a carriage! With a
laughing lady, and headless cabbie to boot!... Oh wait. It's just
Hyunh (he makes quite a menacing laugh) and Ernie (well, he's short
;)). Anyways, they're giving them a ride to the ice cream parlor, and
then back. OK, now that they're done, some lady's lost her dog in the
park, and she's getting on Ernie's carriage, giving him her scarf.
Creepy.
- Quotables: "It's a banana eating and milk drinking monster" (Stinky
on Monkey Cat) "Only because I'm really hungry" (Harold) "Clog dancing
on cobblestones in the early evening... Now I've seen everything"
(Gerald on Eugene)

"Friday the 13th"
- So, it's Friday the 13th, and Grandpa tosses some spilt salt over
his shoulder. Meanwhile, Grandma's off to collect black cats and walk
them under ladders. I guess she's very superstituous... Anyhow,
Arnold's soon off to school, where everyone is taking superstitions.
Robert, Gloria and Seymour Stump are there, while Arnold and Gerald
insist that they don't believe in superstitions.
- The 5th grade bullies Wolfgang and Edmund are challenging them to
break every major superstition. Stepping in sidewalk cracks, having a
black cat walk in front of them, opening umbrellas in the school
(Brainy and Sheena are watching), and stepping on a mirror in a bag.
After all that, Nadine, Helga, Iggy, Stinky, Harold, and Lorenzo are
all staying clear of these guys, and Gerald stepping on gum is only
the beginning of the troubles...
- Arnold, Gerald, Sid, Phoebe, Helga, Stinky and Harold are leaving
class. Stinky is approaching Arnold and Gerald with his fingers in a
cross sign. Gerald says they're not blighted (whatever that means),
but next thing you know, they're buried under a bunch of books from
their locker.
- Next up, their chairs breaking down upon returning to class, with
Stinky, Nadine, Curly, Eugene, Helga and Park watching. And as they're
leaving school, a bucket of water falls off a ladder on to them, and
their bikes have flats. Meanwhile, Wolfgang and Edmund are laughing at
all this.
- OK, the bullies meet that bald guy with the unibrow at Caesar's fish
store (that's why we call him "Caesar" :) ), and buy a bucket of fish
heads. Arnold and Gerald are looking for a sign of turn around, and
getting dumped with fish heads isn't exactly what they were looking
for, and nor is Eugene, crashing his bike down a sewer, explaining
that he was born on Friday the 13th as well.
- Timeout: It's mathematically impossible for Eugene to be born on
Friday the 13th, and have his 9th birthday on a Saturday ("Eugene's
Birthday"). His 9th birthday, depending on leap years, can only fall
on a Tuesday or Wednesday.
- Madame Blanche. They're paying $10 for an anti bad luck kit.
Requiring them to put on garlic chains, chant, and put on some curse &
reverse cream. Meanwhile, the bullies replace it with honey and next
thing you know, Arnold and Gerald are being chased by bees down 13th
Ave. and 12th St., forcing them to jump into a fountain. While
Gerald's bemoaning everything they did this morning, especially
stepping on the mirror, Arnold notices something: gum on the garlic
chains.
- Time to give the bullies a taste of revenge, then. Remember the
whole deal about Pookie getting black cats every Friday the 13th?
Well, Arnold's taking 13 of those cats, and releasing them on
Wolfgang. Adding a bucket of fish heads to the mix too. Anyways, soon,
he's running into his home and locking the door. That's that. Time to
go look up the word "blighted". And time for the credits with Phil
blabbing about salt and the devil. Special thanks: Johnathon Goley.
- Quotables: "You're supposed to laugh and say smarty stuff" (Wolfgang
to Edmund) "Stinky, we are not cursed, we are not conedemned, and we
are not blighted" (Gerald) "That's not exactly the sign I was looking
for" (Gerald gets fish heads) "Someday, it just might catch up with
you" (Arnold on bad luck, before releasing some black cats on
Wolfgang) "Let's go look up the word 'blighted'" (Gerald)

[ungvichian]

"Helga's Parrot" is causing her some serious trouble, and Arnold and
Gerald are selling "Chocolate Turtles". Thoughts follow shortly, all
corrections welcome.

"Helga's Parrot"
- First Helga had to go track down her little pink book in "The Little
Pink Book", then steal a tape from the Arms' answering machine in
"Helga Blabs It All", and today, it's a parrot on the loose.
- Helga's been having a bad hair day today. Lila has partnered with
Arnold on a project about national parks, and Big Bob has a parrot.
Big Bob is annoyed with the parrot blabbing while he's trying to watch
the Wheel, so he's putting it in Helga's room.
- Later that night, she's moaning in her sleep, and she decides to
write down stuff she moaned. Note the new shrine made out a melon and
some bananas (how many times has she had to rebuild her shrine
anyway?), and a heart with the letters A+H in it. Waking up the
following day, she hears what she moaned blabbing from the parrot, and
Helga is not amused, because she knows the potential consequences of
that (heck we all do).
- OK, while Helga's getting a chainsaw, Big Bob is annoyed with that
parrot so much he knocks his cage, letting the parrot loose. Helga's
attempt to chase down that parrot is going to be tougher than she
first thought...
- Her attempt to get it from the tree in front of the Patakis' house
is no good, and nor is the attempt to grab it from a bunch of pigeons
(like in "Arnold's Hat" she gets pooped on in the process :D ). She's
running around with a net, and guess where it's just flown into: the
Arms :o
- Helga decides to ask about the parrot, but when she's directly at
the door with Arnold and the parrot, she says she's not the type of
person who would own a stupid parrot... huh? On top of that, she's
eavesdropping over Phil telling Arnold not to return the parrot to its
rightful owner... double huh?
- Anyways, they're headed to "Pet Love" to get birdseed or biscuits.
Helga decides to sneak up on the parrot. This is where Arnold suddenly
notices her, and she's quickly switching to talking about getting a
monitor lizard. Next thing you know, that lady from "Eugene's Pet" is
giving it to her right away.
- Now that she's saddled herself with the monitor lizard, what to do?
Give it to Phoebe, that's what. Back to the Arms, where Helga has
found a hiding place: behind the "Field Trip" couch. Lila has brought
Arnold some magazines to help with their little project, and they're
studying about Yellowstone.
- Anyways, it's 3:33pm, and they're sitting on the "Field Trip" couch
talking about the parrot, and Arnold is planning on taking it to show
and tell tomorrow (hey, isn't that a picture of Ruth in the
background?). Meanwhile, it's reciting the poem she moaned last
night...
- And that prompts Helga to do something about it. She's tugging on
Lila's hair, tapping Arnold, and then in complete desparation, shoves
Lila right off the couch :D OK, Lila's left, and Arnold's taking the
parrot with him.
- Later that night, she's talking with Phoebe over the phone about how
to feed a monitor lizard (Helga: "How am I supposed to know?"), while
she's eating some of the parrot's birdseed :D OK, Helga's now watching
Arnold change his shirt and go to bed, and I guess she faints from
watching that.
- Next morning, it's raining. Helga gets out of the couch, but soon
jumps back in again (leaving the remote control outside) upon hearing
Arnold's potato clock ring 7am. Arnold leaves with the parrot, and
Helga's left wondering how to get out without the remote...
- ...and her solution is to simply rip through the kitchen roof,
producing a bizarre moment similar to "Helga Blabs It All" (look at
Phil and Pookie's priceless reaction :D), and take an umbrella to PS
118. Over at PS 118, it's show and tell in Simmons' class with the
tables arranged in a circle. Harold, Gerald, Eugene, Nadine, Stinky,
Brainy, Robert, Joey (even though he hasn't had a line in 2 seasons by
this point), Iggy, Park, Sid, Sheena, and of course Phoebe are
watching Arnold and Lila show and tell the parrot.
- Helga arrives, and she's too grumpy to even respond to Phoebe. While
Arnold is talking about how it knows a poem by heart and it's reciting
said poem, she's creeping in behind the chalkboard, ready to whack the
parrot with the umbrella... but she certainly couldn't have seen this
coming: Phoebe's lizard, who had just ripped out of its collar, eating
the parrot.
- This prompts a gross reaction from the classmates, and even Simmons
doesn't get far into a speech about the evolution of our planet before
he faints. A worse-for-shape Helga is smiling tho, and she's telling
the lizard: "You and me are gonna get along just fine"... makes you
wonder why the lizard only put in one more appearance ("Principal
Simmons").
- Quotables: "Just what I need, Bob in stereo" (Helga on Bob and the
parrot) "That's good, I gotta write that down" (Helga) "Trust me, you
won't live long enough" (Helga to the parrot) "We'll get birdseed, or
some of those bad tasting biscuits" (Phil on going to the pet shop)
"Monitor lizard. That's the breed for me" (Helga) "Nobody goes to bed
here, they've been playing parcheesi all night" (Helga) "You and me
are gonna get along just fine" (Helga to the lizard)

"Chocolate Turtles"
- And you'd think that Craig only wrote "significant" eps, huh?
Anyhow, Green has signs saying "Hot Hot Hot" and "Free Sausage
Casings". Anyways, Arnold and Gerald have sold him 2 boxes of
chocolate turtles (first mentioned waaaaay back in "Field Trip"), and
they're selling Harvey 5. They're blabbing about how everyone loves
chocolate turtles, as they're walking past Shaffer's Rod & Reel and a
Grocery Store saying "Soda - Pop - Candy - Magazines", with a
bilingual sign ("Open/Abierto") selling Yahoo ("Yahoo! Sold Here")...
- OK, I'll stop being overly pedantic. Turns out that Gerald's getting
the candy for member price so they can use the profits from selling
them to buy a go kart (umm... didn't a similar scheme, selling watches
and use the profits to buy rollerblades, go belly up in "The High
Life"?). How does he get them at member price, Arnold wonders? Well,
Gerald has told Campfire Lass that they're interested in becoming
members: cue brief imaginary sequence of the two dancing in kilts at a
meeting :D
- Anyways, Gerald is planning on getting out of joining the lasses
after they're done. OK, here comes Campfire Lass, and Gerald's putting
himself down for 40 boxes (meanwhile, Arnold is wondering if her
accent is fake). The idea is that they'll be meeting Lass with their
money in front of Green's at 7pm, ahead of a group meeting at 7:30pm.
Now that they've loaded the boxes into their home, time to sit down
for some show called "Pop Daddy".
- Idiot plot on the radar as Timberly comes in and Gerald unwittingly
gives her permission have some chocolate turtles, "but whatever you do
don't touch the chocolate turtles". And for a plot that involves
eating massive quantities of chocolate, you'd expect Chocolate Boy to
pop up and finish off all those turtles... then again, an ep about
Gerald having a crush ("Gerald vs. Jamie O") didn't feature Phoebe (or
even a mention of her) in it.
- Well, Chocolate Boy or no, the chocolate turtles have all gone, and
just about the only thing they can come up with is to bake some more
turtles... They've started working at 5:30... but when they're done at
6:28pm, turns out that Timberly added salt to their mix. Now the only
thing for is it to force Timberly to apologize to everyone who was
supposed to be getting at least a box.
- In the process, the customers paying the two not just the money they
were supposed to pay for the turtles, but also some extra cash, $10
from Green, $10 from Harvey, $20 and a flower from Vitello. We even
get to see Stoop Kid again ;) Well, Arnold and Gerald are taking htis
act further and dressing her up as a beggar, and Jolly Olly and Oskar
(of all people!) are chipping in.
- Well, time to fork over the cash to Campfire Lass... who's come with
uniforms. She's not amused however, with Arnold coming clean about
Gerald's whole thing, takes all their cash, and forces Gerald to pay
retail. "Big brothers are a real pain"... didn't Timberly say this at
the end of "Ransom" as well? Credits, and we have a "Pop Daddy" rap to
play us out, with special thanks going to Lou Rawls (not just Harvey,
but Pop Daddy).
- Quotables: "Or should I say, future Campfire lads?" (Campfire Lass)
"That accent's totally fake" (Arnold on Campfire Lass) "Someday you
gonna learn crime don't pay" (Pop Daddy... I dunno, I think it fits
this ep well) "Can't believe I'm saying this, but let's get to work"
(Gerald on baking chocolate turtles) "It seems a little manipulative"
(Arnold, on getting cash from customers without giving them their
turtles) "Ye pay full retail" (Campfire Lass swipes their cash) "I
never wanna hear the word 'chocolate turtle' ever again" "Or 'Campfire
Lass'" (Gerald and Arnold on the whole thing)

[ungvichian]

Addenda:
- "Oskar Can't Read?": So after those re-used shot as Oskar gives
reading another go, we have Arnold and Oskar heading to the library.
Oskar has trouble reading about hypochondria, but has no trouble
reading "Pet the Kitty" to a bunch of kids. Watch him fight with Jamie
(voiced by the same kid as Chocolate Boy, Jordana Warkol) over a book
titled "Big Trains and Their Tracks" :D , before we head into Arnold's
next test.
- "Phoebe Skips": Helga throws health crap at Sheena :D
- "The Beeper Queen": Is it just me, or does the title pop up a split
second before the story begins?

A ravenous appetite has been "Weighing Harold" down for quite some
time, to the point where he can't even lose weight on a weight-loss
cruise. Thoughts follow shortly, all corrections welcome.

"Weighing Harold"
- After I set the tape for "Love and Cheese" / "Weighing Harold" the
morning it re-aired (at 6:30am!), I took a brief bike outside, but
when I came back in at 6:40, I saw that the VCR wasn't recording, so I
turned on the telly and saw Harold chomping on a bunch of ice cream
(Mr. Fudgy's). So that's where I'll start from here.
- Anyhow, Harold has won a challenge from his friends to eat 50 Mr.
Fudgy's. And it looks like Jolly Olly has reverted to being the creepy
guy he used to be before "Career Day" (in fact, in the film, he has
that creepy persona).
- Jolly Olly's comment prompts him to snoop around. He overhears how
much it cost Harold to buy all those Fudgy's, and there's a mommy who
corrects her kid and calls him a fat boy. Now he's talking with his
parents about it: Mommy won't let Jerry confront Harold with the fact
:D
- He's eating donuts and watching a commercial for a fat cruise. It's
a 5 week cruise was lots of exercise machines and an all you can eat
salad. So he's calling 1-800-IAM-HUGE about this, and soon he's
leaving on the cruise.
- But we're not following Harold's little cruise, because next thing
you know, he's returned, and Sid and Stinky are ridiculing him for
actually coming out fatter. And since they banned mirrors on the
cruise (a really lame idea if you ask me), Arnold has to show him the
new and unimproved Harold on a reflection from the pier water.
- After some screentime with Harold wallowing in his depression, he's
getting Arnold to get him how to exercise. PS 118... his attempts to
do sit-ups aren't getting anywhere, however...
- OK, now they're discussing why he gained weight on a cruise he was
supposed to lose weight on... in a nutshell: he got so worried about
his appearances, he ate so much. Arnold's setting the bar for him:
just exercise enough to return to the norm.
- So we have lots of push-ups, sit-ups, and other forms of exercise,
at PS 118 and in Arnold's room, and the music in the background? Why,
it's the same music from "Tutoring Torvald" (and "Steely Phil", later
on).
- Harold is ready to be revealed... and it reminds me of Extreme
Makeover for some reason. Anyhow, he's back to the way he always has
been, and what does he do? Challenge himself to 50 Fudgy's (sighs).
And we play out (the last time for a while at least) with the
"regular" credits music.
- After the ep ended, I noticed that the tape wasn't in the VCR, that
might explain it didn't record. Anyways, there's good news and bad
news if you were looking forward to my notes for that ep. The good
news: I'll get another chance to record that one. The bad news: It's
not until early August (August 7) :\
- Quotables: "He must weigh 200 pounds" (Sid on Harold) "If I had a
hundred customers like you, I could retire and move to Florida" (Jolly
Olly to Harold) "You're big boned" (Harold's mommy) "We know how to be
discrete" (Sid, on fat Harold) "He's not a fat man... he's a fat
*boy*" (some mother) "Can we eat first? I'm starving" (Harold to
Arnold on exercise)

[ungvichian]

Today must be Oscar nominees day on Hey Arnold!... Michael McKean,
nominated for writing a song from "A Mighty Wind", plays a fashion
designer looking for the "It Girl", while Haley Joel Osment, AKA the
"I see dead people" kid from "The Sixth Sense", is the first person to
fill in for Adam Wylie as Curly since Steve Hartman did so in
"Downtown As Fruits", as Helga goes about "Deconstructing Arnold" and
his advice giving.

"It Girl"
- For some reason, there's a sign saying "John G" on the wall.
Anyways, from front to back and window to wall, (front row, window to
wall) Harold, Sheena, Gerald, Arnold, (middle row) Brainy, Iggy,
Phoebe, Helga, (back row) Nadine, Rhonda, Stinky and Curly are
listening to a special announcement from Simmons: Fashion designer
Johnny Stitches will be holding auditions for his new Junior fashion
line tomorrow after school. Simmons is inviting everyone to sign up,
but Helga seems to be the only holdout. She's got a mouthful to say to
Gerald denouncing modeling, and she's asking Phoebe to throw rocks at
the river with her... even Phoebe is signing up for this, however.
- Auditions at the Woodrow Wilson Auditorium. Lila is up first,
followed by Rhonda (she is so not pleased that she's been rejected...
well, if you're the most fashionable girl in school, you'd be upset
too). In line waiting after those two, Phoebe, Stinky, Gerald, Harold,
possibly Eugene, Nadine and Iggy. Let's see what Johnny thinks:
Phoebe: mousy, Stinky: spacey, Gerald: 70s, Eugene.... nope.
- After Eugene falls off stage (what else were you expecting?) We see
Harold eating a Mr. Fudgy, while everyone is discussing on what
exactly Johnny is looking for. Helga's suggestion: "one of those dopey
clone models", as she makes a cheap looking pose... "I haven't eaten
in three weeks" :D Meanwhile, Johnny is complaining about the lack of
individuality and personality... and he notices Helga in the crowd. So
just like in "Stinky Goes Hollywood", the lone holdout gets the job.
Yawn...
- Helga is not interested in modeling (see previous scenes), but
Johnny manages to lure her into signing a contract... with free stuff.
Over at the agency, Johnny's teaching her how to walk, by telling her
to imitate Camille (the lady Johnny was with at the auditions) and
laugh and smile. OK, now she's having a photo shoot, wearing boxing
gloves. And now Johnny's telling her to scowl. OK, watch as she
punches the photographer. If you've got a good freeze frame, you can
see the background right through Helga's glove just before it makes
contact :D
- She's made the cover of Saucy: "It Girl / Perfect Your Scowl", and
she's even made headlines at the Gazette: "It Girl Takes The Fashion
World By Storm: Brat is in da house, it's attitude and being rude".
It's partly cloudy, stock are down, it's a 25c daily, and it's dated
Friday October 9, 1996 (just 2 days after the premiere of HA!, if
you're gonna get pedantic). At the bus stop, look who's asking for
autographs: Connie and Maria ("6th Grade Girls", "Phoebe Skips"),
complete with bracelets. And now, here's another photo shoot... and
she's even made the E3 News, with Downtown Julie Brown providing the
voice of the newscaster.
- Over at PS 118, tho, it seems that her fame is taking its toll on
her. She's seeing just about everyone in her signature dress and bow,
Eugene included. So she's ducked into Wartz's room... He's reading
Max, there's an ad for Yahoo on the back cover, and on the front cover
is (doi!) Helga, with a caption saying "You Can Look Like It Girl"
(it's a bit hard to see, but it's there). OK, enough with the
magazine, time to look at Wartz's hideous attempt to look like It
Girl... cue loud Helga scream.
- Now we head over to Revis and Kathie Lee again (if you'll remember,
they were the talk show hosts in "Stinky Goes Hollywood"), as Helga is
a guest on the show. She is none too pleased of course, but no one
seems to care about her attitude... and it seems that Revis actually
likes being scowled at. Go figure...
- PS 118 Cafeteria. Rhonda, Nadine, Eugene, Phoebe, Nadine, Joey and
Iggy are reading about Helga (Rhonda: "I still can't get over it").
Meanwhile, Helga is diatribing about her new-fiund fame, and showing
off her free stuff to Arnold. A bottle of Yahoo, a walkman-type thing,
a yo-yo, and a free lifetime pass to Dinoland ("Hookey", "Roller
Coaster")... apparently, she's been sneaking into the park since she
was 7. OK, now she's shoving Eugene... "I'll never wash this arm
again!"
- Now, Big Bob is watching a tape of Helga's talk show appearance
(replete with CG snow), and Helga is sick of him watching it over and
over. While she's mangling the tape, she's keen to point out she's
been doing the very things she's doing now for years, but the main
point is, she's sick of everyone looking like her... and as if to make
Helga's point, here comes Miriam, and another Helga scream :D
- OK, Helga wants out of her contract... however, according to Johnny,
her contract is for 3 years, and she's supposed to be wearing his
spring collection for Junior Fashion Week, beginning this coming
Monday. OK, now that she hates her job (and Johnny's pants ;) ) she
decides to give him as bad as she can.
- First, she's shoving a model at another one of Johnny's shows.
However, not only is the crowd going wild, Johnny's giving her
flowers. Next, Lila, Park. Robert, Lorenzo, Joey, Iggy and possibly
Sid are watching Helga get of her limo in front of PS 118... and right
out the blue, Helga spits.
- Flash cut to that incident making the cover of Vague (headline:
"Spit Girl?"... again, it's hard to see, but it's there). She's
ripping pages out of the magazine and tossing them over the shoulder,
and ranting to Arnold about it (even citing Eugene, and that girl with
the specs and red hair in her look). She's even going on and on about
how "the worse I act, the more they love it!" Arnold's suggestion: "So
why don't you try acting nicely?"
- Junior Fashion Week, 8pm, Civic Auditorium. Arnold, Gerald and
Harold are on camera with the E3 lady from earlier, while Helga is
getting ready to strut her stuff with Johnny (so her pink dress is
part of his spring collection now?). Here she comes, and she's...
curtseying? Not to mention walking a bit weirdly and even saying "I
want to hug each and everyone of you!" The camera people are none too
pleased, and the crowd (Rhonda, Phoebe, Park, Harold, Arnold, Gerald,
Lorenzo and Iggy are in it) are just plain bewildered by this turn of
events. Even Johnny's fainting over her sudden change in behavior.
- OK, now that everyone's stopped paying attention to her and are
focusing on (quick sloppy whip pan!) some Hat Girl instead, Johnny
decides to tear up Helga's contract... "Bollocks!" (Hey, isn't that a
swear word to most Brits?)
- Backstage, Helga and Arnold are talking about the whole
circumstances, especially the whole deal about acting nice and stuff
(basically, being nice is not what she is). After that discussion, she
shoves some girl asking for the Hat Girl (Katrinka, the girl with the
wide braids, so I'm told), and we end with a brief shot of Helga being
the only girl at school not wearing a hat (I think Connie and Maria
are in the crowd).
- Quotables: "Modeling is about starving yourself all day, wearing
goofy clothes, and walking up and down a runway like you're in some
kind of freak show" (Helga on modeling) "Oh man Phoebe, how low can
you go?" (Helga sees Phoebe sign up) "You're not gonna see Helga G
Pataki on a runway, no stinkin' way" (Helga) "Perfect... If you had a
stuck up posh little debutante brawl" (Johnny on Rhonda) "There's no
individuality, there's no personality, show me something new!" (Johnny
rejects everyone) "Well there's a first time for everything bucko.
Helga G Pataki ain't nobody's chump" (Helga won't sign Johnny's
contract) "What 'bad girl scowl'?" (Helga at the photo shoot) "Hey
cool it teabag!" (Helga punches photographer) "You're amazing, you're
astonishing, you're on a rocket to the moon!" (Revis to Helga) "I
sneer and I scowl and I shake my fist, and all those fashion idiots go
wild. It's ridiculous" (Helga on her so-called career) "Shove off
tuts" (Helga to Eugene) "I've been scowling, and saying mean things,
and wearing this pink dress for years" "...Well it's finally paying
off" (Helga and Big Bob) "...and i hate those creepy leather pants"
(Helga to Johnny) "He wants bad, I'll give him bad" (cue shoving and
spitting) "And you're doing this because...?" "Because being the 'It
Girl' really blows" (Arnold and Helga, on Helga ripping a magazine)
"Let me tell you, it's a funny world" (on Helga ceasing to be popular
after behaving nicely)

"Deconstructing Arnold"
- Okay, Arnold is standing eerily still in front of the Arms this
morning waiting for the bus, as if the character was replaced with a
statue of him... anyhow, now he's on the bus, along with Eugene,
Shena, Nadine, Phoebe, Helga, Curly, Sid and Stinky, with ads for Dino
Spumoni, Wuzzy Cola, some drink with the slogan Quenches Your Thirst,
and Burblonk Realty. Anyhow Sid's making some prank call about a
refrigerator. So Arnold's perfectly fine with Sid playing with
Lorenzo's cell phone, but he's not okay with him having stolen (as
opposed to borrowing) the phone... huh? Helga makes a comment about
him being a wet blanket, and takes the cellphone to make her prank
call.
- Now they're at school, and Sheena, Phoebe, Eugene, Nadine and Helga
are watching Rhonda write a secret admirer letter for Curly, so that
Curly can stop snooping aorund Rhonda. Arnold is once again not okay
with this, and Helga is making a comment about him being a spoilsport.
- Next, it's Iggy, Nadine, Sid and Rhonda watching Harold and Stinky
fixing Eugene's bike up real good. Arnold is not okay with this (see a
pattern here?). Helga is calling him a party pooper, while Harold is
calling him a kibbutzer... Yiddish for big fat Bodinsky. OK, Arnold's
had enough with helping people...
- OK, Arnold and Gerald are at the park. They're hanging from monkey
bars while they're talking about this whole deal. Tall Hair Boy: "I'll
believe it when I see it."
- Robert etc. are watching Harold and Stinky hanging around at their
new favorite hangout, the school bike ground, and Eugene getting on
his bike... and losing control of it and driving straight past Caesar,
some cars, and into some dog grounds :D
- In other news, in the classroom: (back, wall to window) Rhonda,
Harold, Curly, Joey, (middle) Helga, Phoebe, Rhonda and Sheena are
writing their history essays, while Curly is reading the letter... and
noticing that the pen used to write is the same as Rhonda's.
Meanwhile, Sid is placing an order 2 dozen large cheese pineapple
anchovy pizzas from Danica's Pizzas (we'll see them mentioned again in
"Suspended"), for delivery to the PS 118 cafeteria, under Wartz's
name, in 20 minutes... and gets hit by a paper airplane and drops the
cell phone :D
- As usual, everyone is asking Arnold for his advice. This time around
tho, they're met with refusal, as Arnold is citing about how Helga
complained about him instead. So they're heading over to Helga and
blaming her. Helga is giving Arnold another putdown and says: "Anyone
can give advice", and gives Phoebe a clipboard to write everyone's
problems.
- Now, let's head over to Helga's "office", marked by not much more
than a sign saying "Helga's Advice" hung on the doorknob. Helga's
giving advice on how to deal with their problems:
* Sid: Put back the phone before Lorenzo's back from his vacation
* Rhonda: Keep making Curly think that she's his secret admirer
* Harold and Stinky: Blame the whole thing on some other stooge
- Let's watch Helga's big ideas in action, shall we? In the cafeteria,
let's see who's eating: Helga, Phoebe, Robert and Iggy at one table,
Brainy and Joey at another, Rhonda at another table, Nadine at
another, and Curly alone at a table, and Peapod's somewhere in there
too. OK, Rhonda's making her move on Curly, reading stuff from her
hand (a la "Helga vs. Big Patty")... and I don't think that a kiss is
what Rhonda had in mind, as Iggy, Robert, Brainy, Joey and Sheena
watch it.
- 5pm (or maybe 12.25pm?), Sid's near the PS 118 Artists Board. He's
forcing Lorenzo's locker open... and now that it's open, he's looking
around ... and Lorenzo's right behind him, and he's certainly not
amused. Cue yet another dropped cell phone...
- Robert is walking down the stairs, while Stinky and Harold confront
a wheelchair bound Eugene on the incident earlier... and now they're
blaming it on each other, and next thing you know, Eugene gets shoved
down a flight of stairs :D Park, Peapod, Gloria, Robert (why is he
still here?) and Arnold and Gerald are watching this unfold. Things
are getting kind of crazy around here since Arnold stopped giving
advice, but Arnold is sticking to it anyhow.
- Cue Helga soliloquy as she walks past the posters in the stairways:
"Bee Courteous", "Safety First", "Don't Run in the Halls", and there
are scratch marks down those posters (but wasn't Eugene closer to the
bannister when he was shoved?). Anyhow, Helga's not going to waste
another moment in getting Arnold back to normal, especially with
Eugene's head in a trophy near a poster saying "Have Your Fruits and
Vegetables", Curly trying to sniff Rhonda's hair, and everyone blaming
Helga for this whole mess.
- So we head over to the janitor's office, where Helga is trying to
convince Arnold to get back to giving advice. Arnold is citing what
Helga had been calling him for the past day (to recap: a wet blanket,
a spoilsport, and a party pooper). According to Helga tho, that's
exactly why he's perfect for giving advice... "I don't have a
conscience."
- Anyways, here he comes, getting the clipboard from Phoebe and
helping Rhonda, Sid, Harold, and Stinky:
* Rhonda: Apologize to Curly about the whole secret admirer thing
* Sid: Apologize to Lorenzo about the stolen phone, and
* Harold and Stinky: "Ask Eugene to forgive you... that is, if he can
even hear you"
With that out of the way, Helga is hugging her locket near the janitor
mopping the floor as we head into the credits over the "Buddy Loves
Goes Coconuts" music, special thanks Kathie Lee Gifford.
- Quotables: "Is your refrigerator running?... Then you better go
catch it" (Sid's prank call) "Could you possibly be more of a wet
blanket?" (Helga on Arnold) "Harold and I are planning a little
monkeyshine for Eugene" (Stinky on their little prank, in his own
words) "Harold and I is in a manure load of trouble" (Stinky is
desparate for advice from Arnold, but this time he ain't giving) "Give
daddy some sugar" (Curly's kiss) "The doctor said that I should have
the feeling back in my legs in just a couple of weeks" (Eugene in
wheelchair after the bike incident) "Things are kinda crazy aroud
here" (Gerald, on what has been going on ever since Arnold stopped
giving advice) "Let me smell it! Let me smell your hair" "Get away
from me you four-eyed freak!" (Curly tries to sniff Rhonda's hair)
"So? You are all those things football head, and that's what makes you
the perfect person to give advice" (Helga on Arnold the wet blanket
etc.)

[ungvichian]

Two "It Girl" addenda:
* The starfield from when Helga punches the cameraman: didn't we see
this in "Stinky Goes Hollywood" with the Stinky the boxer Yahoo ad?
* Helga spitting: of course, we saw a lot of it in "Helga's Makeover".

Phil has a "Grudge Match" with Big Bob, and who would imagine 6th
grade bully Patty Smith "Polishing Rhonda"? Thoughts follow shortly,
all corrections welcome.

"Grudge Match"
- OK, so we open at the Root Beer Palace, with Phil and Arnold
drinking root beer floats in their Packard... and next thing you know,
Big Bob and Phil have rammed their cars into each other, and of course
Bob is cranky. Anyways, he's late for golfing, and he's got idea:
challenge him to a game of golf this Sunday (loser pays repairs).
Meanwhile, Helga's "who should I side with, my love or my dad?"
soliloquy is quickly interrupted with Bob paying her $20 to be his
caddy.
- OK, time for a history lesson. He and Jimmy Kafka (there's that
Jimmy again, and we finally meet him in "Old Iron Man") liked to hit
lobs all day long, and he even still keeps his racket. Um, that's
tennis. To Phil, golf is "that sport on TV with guys driving around in
little cars", and he and Jimmy used to call that tennis. Anyways,
Phil's getting Arnold to coach him.
- Quickie exposition scene where after dang-near acing a par 3 hole,
Big Bob is talking about how he's been playing golf since he was 5,
and now, Phil and Arnold are at Scott's Pro Shop (or Golf Shop if you
look inside). After accidentally swinging a club into some balls :D,
they're making their purchase. With their purchase is an "I'll
Guarantee You'll Learn How to Play Golf If You Watch This Video" video
:) Phil + golf video = instant sleep :)
- Practice in the backyard with Ernie (well, he's no Els ;)), and look
at their attempt at a practice course. Phil looks hopeless as first
his swing misses the ball, then his club slips on his second swing
into a car window, and he finally hits the ball... off a transformer,
a post on the elevated highway, a No Parking sigh, and a beehive :D
- Night before the match. Phil has a suitcase in one hand and says
he's cleaning it, but a little inquisition from Arnold gets him the
truth: he can't possibly beat Big Bob so he's running away. Arnold is
telling him that it wouldn't be such a good idea to chicken out on
this, and one pep talk later, he's watching the golf video again, and
sleeping again :)
- OK, it's the big day, and after calling tails, Big Bob will go first
on the first hole (par 3). Good shot, and now it's Phil's turn, and
he's mumbling some rhyme, and... whoa, now that was a great shot!
Phil's up 2-3. Apparently, he's mumbling rhymes from the video and it
seems to be working, because we've got a few more great shots: Holing
out from the sand at hole 4, and whooping a fish that swallowed his
ball in the drink and somehow landing the ball in the hole. Vitello,
Green, and Harvey are watching and going wild.
- Meanwhile, Big Bob seems to be self-destructing, and he has an
"ARRGGGHH" moment as Helga gets beaned by his ball while she and
Arnold were talking about how good Phil is doing... and we're having
an "ARRGGGHH" moment too, but for a different reason as Helga briefly
switches to soliloquy mode... see my "Magic Show" review for
explanation: http://groups.google.com/groups?q=g:thl2729051007d&selm=4837c056.0404192356.73c6cca9%40posting.google.com
. Anyways, not only does Helga quit caddying, Bob also misses the putt
he thinks he shouldn't even be taking, so Phil's up 75-77 (he has a
little confusion on why he's ahead if he has a lower score... what
first-time golfer wouldn't? ;))
- OK, one hole to go, and it's a dogleg with bunkers. He doesn't have
a rhyme for this one, and making one up doesn't help matters either as
his first shot is a slice into the trees. Meanwhile, Big Bob puts his
tee-shot on the green, while Phil's attempt to get out of the rough...
ends up into a quiche in the course cafe. :D
- The only way for Phil to win is to hole out from there. Arnold's
attempt to motivate him with a rhyme... is the stupidest poem he's
ever heard, but here we go anyway. Phil's shot has obliterated the
quiche, and it's rolling up to the hole... but it looks like it'll
fall short. Hang on... the wind's picking up, and it rolls into the
hole. So that was a match winning birdie... hang on, and Big Bob and
Phil's car have rammed into each other again outside the course, so
Phil's offering to play tennis to settle this one. Shall we say, "Here
we go again"? OK, next!
- Quotables: "Just kidding, you're my favorite grandson" (Phil drinks
root beer with Arnold) "I don't want a history lesson prune face" (Big
Bob to Phil) "Me and Jimmy called that tennis" (Phil on golf)
"Perfect! You'll make a fine coach" (Phil gets Arnold to coach him)
"I've been playing golf since I was 5" (Big Bob) "One more time before
the cops come" (Phil throws club into car window) "I'm taking my
suitcase out to be cleaned" (actually, Phil's running away) "Your shot
Methuselah" (Big Bob's had his shot, now time for Phil) "You know any
rhymes for quiche?" (Phil hits into quiche... did I get the quote
right?) "That is the stupidest poem I have ever heard" (Phil on
Arnold's attempt to motivate him) "How's the bird?" (Phil, on hitting
a birdie)

"Polishing Rhonda"
- In front of boards saying "Learn about nature" and "Lickety split"
Rhonda is showing Phoebe, Nadine, Gerald, Arnold, Stinky and Iggy her
brand new candy red, patent cotton caprini platforms. While she's
blabbing about how they only fit her (because they're custom made)
tho, Big Patty leaves a mark on them after tripping over them. Patty's
apologising for the accident, but Rhonda's not accepting Patty's
apology, and for that, Patty slams her against the locker. Everyone's
hoping for a fight, but Wartz pops up to tell them that fighting is
against school policy.
- After school, Rhonda is ranting about the above incident, and
somehow it leads to the parents deciding to send her to the "Young
Sophisticated Afterschool Polishing Academy for Boys and Girls"... the
Lloyds usually attend this academy in the 6th grade, but they've
decided that Rhonda should be going now. Meanwhile, Patty's parents
are deciding the same (how the heck can they afford it?!). OK,
Rhonda's a bit surprised to see Patty there... anyways, their teacher
is Miss Parvenu (voice of Jaqueline Bisset).
- Rex Smythe Higgins ("Tour De Pond", "The Pig War") is here walking
his dog Peppy (mentioned in "The Pig War"... BTW, what is it with HA!
and Scottish Terriers? IIRC, the dog in "Headless Cabbie" was a
Scottish Terrier, Arnold sees a Scottish Terrier in the clouds in
"Rich Kid", and Higgins said that Peppy was a Scottish Terrier in "The
Pig War"). OK, now that's done, time to see how the kids pour punch.
Rhonda Wellington Lloyd shoves the others in front of the punch bowl,
while Patty Smith asks politely: "Pardon me, excuse me please..."
- Now, it's a mock tea party. Rhonda's complaining about sandwiches,
while Patty is offering Parvenu some tea. Next up, is a personal item
of value. Rhonda has the boot that wasn't tripped over... she might as
well have just ratted Patty out for tripping over them. Speaking of
whom, her item is just a pair of socks made with her mother over the
winter.
- Preliminary Performance Evaluations. Patty: "Courteous, Good
Listener, Practical". Rhonda: "Pushy, Self Obsessed, Materialistic".
Rhonda is complaining about this to Parvenu, and Parvenu is suggesting
that she get her act together if she doesn't want to fail this course.
Cue a brief scene with Rhonda and her parents talking about her
polishing over dinner, but Rhonda isn't telling how bad things are
going.
- Following day. Patty is talking in class about how she carries heavy
groceries with her mom, while Rhonda is not amused by the possibility
that Patty might actually end up being the valedictorian of her class.
After class, Rhonda is talking with Patty about having her tutor her,
so to speak. Patty isn't too keen on doing it, but she gives it the
okay.
- While the music from Helga's poem in "Helga's Show" is playing, we
have a montage of Patty teaching her how to get punch, how to behave
at a tea party (basically: don't go on and on talking about yourself),
and how to knit (I am not making this up). OK, now that tutoring is
done, time for Rhonda to speak with Arnold (his only action of this
story) on Patty, and she's vehemently denying that she's befriended
her.
- Final exams: Rhonda comes on after Rex, and she looks much improved
from the previous days. Anyhow, she's passed with flying colors, and
she's saying goodbye to fellow students Archer and Britney as Patty
proposes that they have a sleepover... however, Rhonda will have none
of it. Graduation: Rhonda has leapfrogged Patty into valedictorian,
and she's giving out her speech, but Patty doesn't get mentioned, much
to her disappointment, as Rhonda's parents take her out for a Mocho
Latte, while Patty's telling her parents that she hasn't asked her
about the sleepover yet.
- PS 118. Rhonda is showing her the necklace she got as a gift from
the academy to Nadine, Phoebe, Eugene, Gerald, Arnold and Stinky. She
briefly spots a somewhat disappointed Patty walking, before she
mentions getting the valedictorian. Cafeteria. We come full circle
with Patty tripping over another pair of boots, and these belong to
someone who looks a bit like Ruth. Boot lady's mad and Patty gets
ready for a punch up... when Rhonda comes in to defend Patty. That's
right, she's defending Patty, and threatening to give boot lady her
fist for lunch. OK, now that they've gone, they're discussing their
sleepover on Saturday, while Joey, Gloria and Park are having their
lunch. Credits over "Jamie O In Love" credits music, and I didn't
stick around for the special thanks credit.
- Timeout: Hey, what's the lady with the boots doing in an ep of All
Grown Up!?: Loading Image...
- Quotables: "Just stay as far from me as humanly possible" (Rhonda
spots Patty at the academy) "I mean if its not cut into a perfect
triangle it simply just will not do" (Rhonda on tea party sandwiches)
"Even withoout the other one it's still worth something" (Rhonda on
her boot) "Today Young Sophisticated Afterschool Polishing Academy for
Boys and Girls..... Tomorrow Princeton" "Princeton. Yeah" (Buckley and
Rhonda) "Try saying the magic word" "Move?" (Patty and Rhonda on how
to get punch) "Get you and your tacky boots out of here, unless you
want this fist for lunch" (Rhonda threatens boot lady)

[ungvichian]

Grandpa Phil goes "Back To School", and Helga/Arnold's "Egg Story"
features something very unlikely: an Arnold screw-up in the
Arnold/Helga department. Thoughts follow shortly, all corrections
welcome, but first addenda:

"Eating Contest"
- Let's see who's sitting in the cafeteria while we're watching Arnold
etc. talk about the whole eating contest: Brainy and Phoebe at one
table; Rhonda and Nadine at another; Helga and Sheena at another;
Arnold, Gerald, Stinky and Harold (of course) at another; Curly and
Park at another; Joey, Curly, and Eugene at another, and Sid and Ruth
at another.
- So we meet Seymour at The Frozen Yogurt Shop... didn't we go there
in "Arnold Saves Sid" as well?
- Let's see what Arnold is eating from everyone during training: Ernie
has this green glop, Oskar has some sandwiches and juice, Hyunh has
sandwiches and Phil has some green stuff.
- Festival day. Apparently, the "Try My Sausage <--" sign is pointing
to a stand run by Vitello, since there's a small sign saying "Try My
Sausage" at her stand as well.
- I see Harold's parents watching the contest, and they certainly
won't be plased that their eating-loving kid didn't even make it to
round 2. Meanwhile, aren't those Jamie O and Wittenberg carying the
food? (Oskar and Helga are also watching BTW...)
- OK, and at the end, Phil and Arnold are right in front of a wall,
but in the next shot, they're outside the contest area...
- Extra quotable: "I have limits, I'm only 9" (why Arnold's not eating
the ice cream)

"Rhonda's Glasses"
- OK, on the bus as Rhonda forces a geek to the back: Helga, Phoebe,
Sid, Iggy, Sheena, Curly and Nadine.
- On Aunt Shelly's little eye chart, it reads thusly: M / KOE / HDAQ /
ZPUSD / XRTFNW / YCHGLVJI
In the third row, Rhonda reads thusly: "E, no F, then P or R..."
- Jump to end: Rhonda, Stinky, Iggy, Helga, and Phoebe are on the bus.
Cutting to the outside from the shot of geek and Rhonda, we see Curly,
Sheena, the geek, Rhonda, Eugene and Brainy in the back row over an ad
saying "Tummy Trouble? Try Slo Exe"... but I though the geek and
Rhonda were well inside?

"Veteran's Day"
- "Miller being the guy that Martin earlier said he bandaged in '72.
He's telling his side of the story and how he was sent to a hospital
in Saigon (or was it Hanoi?) after Martin papered him up. It took more
than 20 years for Martin to get his dues, and now, Miller's
introducing his family: His wife Sharon, and his kids Ellen and
Bobby." OK, I forgot to write the whole point of this scene:
basically, that it makes Gerald proud of his dad's achievements, even
if they're meagre than he expected...

OK, I didn't really write my notes really well on this pair, but I
hope these notes are good (and accurate) enough... but as I say, "all
corrections welcome".

"Back To School"
- Joe Ansolabehere is responsible for the story of this ep... at this
point, he had not been involved in any HA! stories in 2 seasons (since
"Grandpa's Birthday"). Anyhoo, at the Arms, Arnold is asking Phil on
long division with decimals... and Phil is going to the bathroom. A
brief talk in the bathroom reveals this tidbit: long division with
decimals is as far as he got in school before the Great Depression of
the '20s set in and he had to take jobs for his family like forging.
And look at his so-called baseball bat made of dirt :D Anyways,
Arnold's listening, and he'd like him to complete his grade school
education, and next thing you know, Phil is going on and on about how
he could run for president if he does :D
- OK, Arnold's enrolling Phil into PS 118, and entering class today:
Sid, Phoebe, Helga, Stinky, Arnold, Gerald, Lila, Rhonda, Iggy and
Curly. And guess who's coming in? "Philip", er, Grandpa. It's a bit
embarrasing... Anyways, here's the layout as are as we see, (front to
back, wall to window): Brainy, Sid (two chairs unseen), Stinky,
Phoebe, Helga (one chair unseen), Phil, Arnold, Gerald (one chair
unseen), Eugene, Harold (two chairs unseen).
- It takes quite some effort for Phil to crack his first problem:
103.5 / 98. The extraneous digits he adds to his solution somehow
disappear, but he eventually gets the correct answer: 1.056. Later
that day, Stinky, Eugene, Sid, Arnold, and Gerald are hanging out with
Phil in front of PS 118, and they're talking about how cool he is.
- Next thing you know, he's gotten 97 on a multiple choice test, a
gold star, and immediate promotion to the 5th grade. In class today
are: Iggy, Park, Lila, Sid, Arnold, Helga, Joey, Phoebe and Eugene.
Phil is saying goodbye to his classmates, but Arnold's reminding him
that he's only in the next room.
- Phil's 5th grade sojourn is accompanied solely by "old guys" music
and no dialog... Bartlett did the voice of the 5th grade teacher
Packenham before in "What's Opera, Arnold?", so why not here? Anyways,
we even have Phil playing kickball somewhere in there, and man, look
at him kick :D
- Anyhow, Phil scores himself a spelling ribbon and a promotion to Mr.
Frank's 6th grade class ("Phoebe Skips"). Time for another visit to
Connie, Cookie and the others. However, it's no walk in the park for
Phil this time, and he's soon shifting his focus from education... to
grunging himself up, flirting, spray painting the words "Steely Phil"
on a dumpster (there's that nickname of his again), and taking Connie
and Maria to the cinema. Time for a word with the principal, then...
- Cue medium-length scene with Arnold and Phil (still in his "wild"
clothes) blabbing about over this whole thing. As predicted, he's
whining on and on about how hard his education has become and things
like that. OK, cue speech from Arnold... and right after a nap, we
have a montage of Phil studying hard, in which he correctly ID's
Helena as the capital of Montana, for example.
- Cut straight from the hard studying montage to Grandpa blabbing
about triangles to Wartz, and I don't think that's what Pythagoras'
law is about... but Wartz gives him a diploma anyway :) and Phil hugs
him :D As he's walking out triumphantly with Pookie and Arnold, isn't
that the music from the end of "Phoebe Takes The Fall"? Anyhow, he's
not considering high school, he's decided to run for president, and
he's having Pookie as his campaign manager :D
- Quotables: "A grade school diploma. The one thing I've always wanted
but never got" (Phil) "Not since Woodstock" (I'm not sure what context
this was from, but from Phil, it sure as heck sounds funny) "Let's
just focus on your education" (Arnold, after hearing Phil's plan to
run for president) "In your face, long division with decimals" (Phil)
"And all those words and big numbers" (Phil on hard work in 6th grade)
"Right after my nap" (Arnold tells Phil to study) "In your face Wartz"
(Phil) "Oh what the heck, come here you" (Phil hugs Wartz) "High
school? That's for losers" (Phil) "Ah the heck with it, I'm running
for president" (Phil)

"Egg Story"
- Who's Celia Bonaduce? And what kind of guts does she have to write a
story featuring an Arnold screw-up in the Arnold/Helga department?
Anyways, Simmons is pitching the classic "raising egg as a baby"
experiment on responsibility and teamwork. to his class (we see
Rhonda, Harold, Iggy, Arnold, Phoebe, Nadine, Gerald, Helga, Eugene).
Phoebe delivers some hyperbole on how the egg is a "symbolic
representation of a surrogate baby" and stuff like that. Anyhow,
Simmons also adds that the egg should be a mutual decision, and no
cracks, no hardboiled, blah blah blah.
- I assume that the whole class is doing this over the weekend, but we
hear only two of the pairings: Rhonda-Harold (the latter of which
still remembers the incident in "Operation Ruthless", even if the
former doesn't want him to bring it up) and (yep) Arnold-Helga. Cue
Helga going to the little girls' room relishing her chance to be nice
to Arnold for once. Little do we know...
- Arnold is talking with Harold about not taking any of this, and
after he's on the bus (Robert is there), he's telling Helga not to
insult him or call him names. You'd think that would actually increase
her chances of being nice... however, Arnold also brings up how he'd
rather have been paired with Lila, and that's what makes Helga mad.
That, my friends, not only is Arnold's big screw-up, but also results
in the egg being left on the bus. You'd think Helga would be a bit
more careful with the egg, wouldn't you?
- Timeout: This ep is a personal favorite of the owner of this page:
http://www.freewebs.com/football-head/ , and s/he's actually quite
harsh on Arnold in this one because of this. Usually if Arnold is the
source of conflict in the story, it usually involves Eugene. One
wonders if Helga sticking to her vow regardless would have made the
story more interesting (they surely could have had Arnold surprised
that Helga's actually being nice to him, and they did play this card
at the end of "It Girl")... but we're stuck with the story the way it
is. So, let's get back to it.
- Helga decides that she'll be taking care of the egg on Saturday and
he can have it on Sunday, so much for having a nice weekend
together... but that's when they realize they've left the egg on the
bus. So anyways, they're headed to the bus station to see if they can
get their egg back. I see that Arnold has ethics that he just won't,
ahem, "replace" the egg.
- Meanwhile, Rhonda and Harold are raising their egg "Courtney", and
Rhonda is leaving Courtney in Harold's care. Harold has his usual
hunger, and his mom has gone to the market and won't be back for
another hour. You can see the direction this is headed... and Harold
has this "uh-oh" look on his face as over the phone Rhonda tells him
she'll be picking Courtney up in an hour.
- OK, the bus company clean the buses every Friday night, so Arnold is
putting up flyers for the egg (much to Helga's consternation), and
waiting for a call to come (even more consternation). Four hours
later, there's a call. Bad news: the egg the caller claimed wasn't
their egg (how does he know?). Good news: Oskar (always trying to find
money, here posed as a blindie) has their egg.
- Back to Harold and Rhonda and Courtney. Rhonda is horrifed to see
the smashed up egg (this is after Harold's pathetic attempt to put
back together the shell), but she eventually thinks that what Harold
did (not the eating part, that is) was cute.
- Back to Arnold and Helga. They're at the park. Helga wants the egg.
Arnold doesn't want to give it to her, but decides to anyway. Somehow,
turns out Arnold has lost the egg, and Helga is blaming Arnold for
that. She's right for once.
- So they're looking for the egg everywhere they've been, and it's
nowhere to be found. Arnold and Helga are now talking about the rough
weekend they've had, at the bench (yes, I'm adding the location since
it's important for the next surprising development). In a nutshell...
Arnold: Helga is mean most of the time. Helga: It's all Arnold's
fault, at least this weekend.
- Now for the surprising development. One, the egg was under the bench
they're at now. Two, it hatched (the lover of this ep nitpicks that
since it was store bought, it shouldn't have hatched). Cut straight to
the classroom where Arnold is talking about how miracles like this can
happen when you work together (um, I don't think they really worked
together at all). Helga rants on about her own little miracle as we
head into the credits over "Jamie O In Love" music. I see that they're
putting the old regular closing music out to pasture...
- Quotables: "No hard-boiled" (Simmons) "This is your big chance
Helga, don't blow it" (Helga to reflection in the bathroom... at least
she didn't blow it per se) "It's not just an egg Harold" (Rhonda on
Courtney) "A flyer for a lost egg?" (Helga questions Arnold) "It isn't
the same, but it is kinda cute" (Rhonda on what's left of Courtney)
"Most of the time you're just mean" (Arnold on Helga) "The only
miracle around here is that I survived an entire weekend with
football-head" (Helga, on what ended up amounting to little more than
"Biosquare", part 2)

[ungvichian]

Today's theme is visiting cousins, as we meet Arnold's "Weird Cousin"
Arnie, and Suzie's cousin Nancy and Nancy's "Baby Oskar". Thoughts
follow shortly, all corrections welcome, but first some addenda:

"New Teacher"
- In class on both days: Arnold, Gerald, Sheena, Phoebe, Helga,
Harold, Iggy, Brainy, Curly, Stinky, Rhonda and Nadine.
- What's on the slides that end this story? Well:
* Rhonda, Harold, Gerald, Arnold, Helga and Phoebe walking through a
park, with Simmons pointing at something.
* Gerald, Harold, Sheena and Curly watching Sid pointing at leaves on
easel.
* Sheena, Curly and Stinky watching Simmons holding a frog and Phoebe
and Arnold looking up close.
* Rhonda, Stinky, Helga, Brainy, Harold, Simmons, Sheena, Arnold,
Gerald, Phoebe, Curly, Iggy and Nadine standing in front of the park.

"Eating Contest": So, at the opening of block party, we have Katrinka,
Gloria, and Chocolate Boy with a vanilla ice cream. Some of the
characters are standing still...

"Egg Story": Let's look at that last scene again. It's actually
Simmons who's blabbing about how miracles like Arnold's chick can
happen when people work together, while Arnold's merely presenting the
chick. Meanwhile, Rhonda and Harold are carrying the cracked-up
Courtney in some sort of cot :D

I haven't been writing up good notes lately, so let's see what I can
come up with. If there are any inaccuracies (or scenes in the wrong
order), please correct me.

"Weird Cousin"
- We open at the theater, and Lila and Arnold are looking at a poster
for "Evil Twin II" (we later have "Evil Twin 3" in the other Arnie ep
"Arnold Visits Arnie"). Lila won't go watch it with Arnold. It's not
just because of the scary story, it's also that she just doesn't like
him like him (the repetition motif has been repeated several times
since "Arnold & Lila", of course). There's also a poster for
"Enchanted Bunnies of Happy Forest".
- Sigh, another Helga soliloquy about looking for that "oh-so-special
someone", and this one comes with a cloud shaped like Arnold's head.
Helga's excuse when Arnold runs into her: she was singing a song.
Meanwhile, his country cousin Arnie is visiting for 4 weeks, and our
first impression of him is him reading ingredients on a shampoo bottle
;) OK, now we're at the Arms table, where Arnie's eating food, and
snorting. His interests: Counting things, reading ingredients, and
gum.
- OK, now Arnie's at school. Lorenzo, Helga, Phoebe and Stinky are
watching him. Meanwhile, he's collecting lint ;) According to Stinky,
Arnie is dull as dirt. No one in their right mind would hook up with
Arnie with so many other alternatives available, right? Well, while
Rhonda's with Nadine (as one would expect), Lila is walking with
Katrinka, and notices Arnie and strikes up some conversation with him.
Note the spinning propeller. Hmm...
- Theater. Sheena, Brainy, Jolly Olly, and Vitello are there. Arnold
is surprised to run into Lila watching "Evil Twin II"... and even more
surprised to run into her dating Arnie reading ingredients for
"Rainbow Chews" to see if there's MSG in it. While Helga is watching
this unfold, Arnold has some talking to do with Lila. Apparently, Lila
is somehow more interested in his dull cousin than him.
- Later on, Rhonda, Gerald, Brainy, Eugene, Curly, Phoebe, Joey and
Arnie are having lunch. I believe we're on the bus when Helga comes up
with an idea of getting Arnie and Lila to break up: have Arnold get
his own girlfriend to make Lila jealous. Some girls' names are
dropped, like Phoebe, but guess who he ends up with?... Helga.
- Let's put the plan in action. We've got Arnold tickling Helga's
toes. We've got something involving bubble gum. We've got Helga and
Arnold drinking milk at the cafeteria. Lila is giving Arnie some
French stuff for Arnie to read its ingredients. However, Arnie has
suddenly lost interest in Lila... and is going for Helga, and note
that spinning propeller :D Meanwhile, it's left for Arnold to console
Lila, while Arnie is talking to an incredulous Helga about his
interests. Next!
- Quotables: "As I've told you so many times, I just don't like you
like you" (lest we forget about the official status on Arnold/Lila)
"What is this feeling called love?" (Helga soliloquy) "I was
singing... singing a song" (Helga's excuse) "I like to count things"
(Arnie's interests) "What a loser" (on Arnie, I think Stinky said
this) "To tell you the truth, your cousin's dull as dirt" (Stinky)
"How can you possibly prefer him to me?" (Arnold to Lila, accompanied
with the screaming from the horror flick in the background) "Stinky,
shut up" "What did I say?" (forgot the context this was from, I think
it was something to do with the whole Arnie/Lila thing, it sounded
funny tho) "No one's ever going to be jealous of Phoebe" (Helga)
"Sounds like a crazy idea, but what the ham?" (Helga) "I thought you'd
like reading ingredients in a foreign language" (Lila gives Arnie
French stuff) "Most of all I like gum" (Arnie to Helga)

"Baby Oskar"
- Cousin Nancy is visiting Suzie. She has a baby named Oskar (to
prevent confusion, I'll refer to him as "the baby"). She's visiting
for two days, and she has diapers. Meanwhile, Oskar's asking Suzie to
make him a sandwich. And I guess ever since he learned how to read
("Oskar Can't Read?"), Oskar has found a new way to gamble... go down
to the racetrack.
- All Oskar cares for is himself (you'd think that an ep like "Arnold
As Cupid" would have helped him change his ways, no?), as we watch the
baby being given a bath while Oskar is busy blowing his sax outside
the window. Later at night, Oskar takes the blanket from Suzie leaving
her literally in the cold, and puts the baby outside of room 7.
- Following morn, Oskar continues looking out only for himself, and
Suzie is chiding him not just for that, but also his persistent
procrastination. In other words, putting things off until tomorrow.
Meanwhile, the baby is ripping up the racing form Oskar was reading.
- Suzie will be working extra shifts at the department store, so that
literally leaves Oskar holding the baby. What to do, what to do? How
about getting Arnold to help on the basics of bringing up baby?
Arnold's working on his science fair project (which makes you wonder,
why didn't they have an ep about that like most other school shows
do?), but Oskar talks him into doing this. We've got a really funny
scene with the baby spitting baby food at Arnold and Oskar :D
- Vic and Morrie come in for their daily card game. We cut to Oskar
offering to bet the baby for the latest hand, saying that they could
sell him to an orphanage. However, Vic and Morrie turn it down and
they leave. You'd be mad at that too if you had a royal flush. (That's
K-Q-J-10-9 of the same suit, for you non poker lovers out there...)
And you know what? I was expecting that actually.
- Arnold and Oskar faint while they're trying to change the baby's
diapers :D It's just before 7, and now, time for Arnold to leave and
work on his science project, leaving Oskar watching the baby blowing a
bubble with his nose, and Oskar is not amused. Or is he?
- Okay, Oskar is showing baby the racing form. There are 6 horses on
today's bill, but because of the skewed angle of the "shot", we only
see 5 names in full, and 3 of the odds rates. Phar Lapper 7/12, Alpha
Chow 3, Little Sloth 5/2, Wholy Cow, Diaper Dude, and something
beginning with Fast. Apropos the first name, Phar Lap is the name of a
legendary Australian race horse.
- Next, we have Oskar in a panic over the sick baby. He's shoving some
old lady out of the way to get a cab... and it ends up getting stuck
in traffic, as a result from "Say Hi To The Pope". The subway's closed
for repairs and he's missed a bus, so the only way to get to the
hospital fast is to hoof it 4 blocks (good way to use that reading
skill, Oskar :)) across the park to the Drymon center ("Gerald's
Tonsils").
- There's that old lady again, as Oskar shoves her again to check the
baby in (speaking of checking in, one, so Oskar's a Czech? And two,
she could tell he was Czech?), and, around 9, while he's showing
remorse over the baby's sickness (nonsense, Oskar, you did just fine)
and promising himself to only go to the race track 2 days a week from
now on, old lady whacks him with a crutch.
- The baby's in better shape than Oskar the following morn, with the
baby only suffering from a minor case of the hiccups. And now, it's
time for Nancy to take back the baby. The baby is giving a cute look
at Oskar, and Nancy and Suzie notice that. Okay, Oskar's asking Suzie
to make a sandwich :D Hmm, the way Arnold is sitting on the stairs
seems to remind me of the end of "Arnold As Cupid"... anyhow, the
closing credits go out over "Buddy Love Goes Coconuts". Special
thanks: Tuck Tucker.
- Quotables: "C'mon Suzie, make me a sandwich" (Oskar) "We named our
baby Oskar before we knew your Oskar" (Nancy) "All you ever think
about is yourself" "What's wrong with that?" (Suzie and Oskar) "He's
not an it... he's a he" (Suzie on the baby) "Right, it's always a day
away" (Oskar justifies his procrastination) "Are you talking to me or
that rugrat?" (Oskar) "A royal flush... you happy now?!" (Oskar, after
Vic and Morrie quit the poker game over Oskar betting the baby) "You
blow a bubble, you think that's funny?" (Oskar, alone with the baby)
"You love me? Then make me a sandwich" (Oskar)

[ungvichian]

"Eugene Goes Bad" over an actor who doesn't do his own stunts, and
"What's Opera, Arnold?" Well, it's this show's own version of "Once
More With Feeling" (for those of you not in the know, the musical ep
of Buffy). Thoughts follow shortly, all corrections welcome.

"Eugene Goes Bad"
- "It's time to take you out to lunch" is the catchphrase of the show
Arnold, Gerald, and Eugene are watching right now, "The Abdicator"
(they're watching at Eugene's by the way). He's the defender of the
poor, weak and clumsy (I guess that's why Eugene likes him?). Anyway,
he's throttling a plane pilot and jumping straight into a car.
- Eugene's excited that tomorrow "The Abdicator" will be filming right
here in Hillwood (IIRC, it also films at Snee-Oosh, as seen in "Stinky
Goes Hollywood"). Go over to the next day, where Arnold, Gerald,
Eugene and for some reason Katrinka are watching the proceedings.
Eugene's photographing and watching a fight scene. Now here comes the
plot setup: the crew are getting a stunt double to play The Abdicator
getting a punch in the stomach, while the regular actor is asking for
apricot juice.
- OK, Eugene won't accept that this the way Hollywood is supposed to
work, and while he's whining and booing, he trips over a wire (nothing
serious tho). Arnold is wondering if Eugene is going too far with his
disrespect of the actor, and watching him tear down his posters and
other Abdicator swag into a nearby dumpster, you'd wonder too.
- Now, he's reading "How to Go Bad", by Rowe D Porter, putting some
Dippity Goop on his hair, putting on a biker jacket, and kicking his
TV. Gee, and all because his favorite actor doesn't do his own
stunts... Next, he walks out... and falls into a sewer, with a sign
saying "Sewer Work: 7-8pm" :D
- At PS 118, we have Helga, Stinky, Harold, Sheena, Nadine, Brainy,
Joey, Curly, Sid, Connie, Maria, and Arnold walking the halls (they're
all in this scene at one time or another). Eugene pulls the fire alarm
like he was alleged in "False Alarm", and Wartz promptly calls him
into the office. Later, outside, Curly, Phoebe, Park and Robert are
watching Eugene kick a bunch of bikes over, and I'm reminded of
"Eugene's Bike". There's also a sign sating "Please Keep Our School
Clean".
- OK, now we have a fountain at the park. Park, Iggy, Curly and Arnold
are lining up to get a drink. Eugene is cutting Arnold. Arnold doesn't
like it. OK, now he's talking with this other younger kid who looks up
to him, and Eugene's idea of advice is "Look out for yourself, and the
heck with everyone else".
- In a parallel scene, the actor is talking with his agent over the
whole deal with the disgruntled fan. He's also mentioning that, well,
let's just say that "The Abdicator" isn't exactly the best name for a
superhero, as "abdicate" means to quit.
- Back to the kids. The younger kid Eugene was talking to earlier is
sneaking out of his apartment, and Eugene is busy throwing tomatoes at
an Abdicator poster. OK, now there's a cry of help, and Eugene's
looking for the source. It's coming from the kid who's sneaking out,
and is now hanging for dear life from a fire ladder (it's not every
day you get to hear someone else saying "I'm okay"). And Eugene,
trying to save the kid, soon finds himself hanging from the same
ladder too.
- Actor and agent are passing a church and are talking about how kids
need a hero to look up to. Actor notices the commotion from the above
incident, and saves the kids. According to the younger kid, he's
supposed to be in bed at 8:30 after "Yo, Ernest". Cue comical sting so
as to say, "Hey, we're self-referring, it's funny!" OK, time for
Arnold to deliver a speech about Eugene, and Gerald admits it's really
corny. Next!
- Quotables: "It's time to take you out to lunch" (The Abdicator's
catchphrase) "He may be on TV, but he's real alright" (yeah, right,
Eugene) "You and what army?" "Me, and the the army of justice" (fight
exchange) "It's Hollywood, Eugene" (Arnold) "He's whining like a
baby... that's not the way The Abdicator would act" (Eugene) "Look out
for yourself, and the heck with everyone else" (Eugene) "Every big
star has one or two disgruntled fans" (agent on Eugene) "Kids need a
hero to look up to" (actor... moral of the story, bucko) "I still say,
a jinx and a geek" (Gerald)

"What's Opera, Arnold?"
- We're at the Civic Opera (this city has one?), and the credits run
as usual, only that the music credit reads: "Music by Lang, Bizet,
Wagner, Leoncavallo and Mozart". Curly, Gerald, Rhonda, Arnold, Ruth
(eh?), Stinky, Sid, Nadine and Sheena are standing with Mr. Packenham
(we saw him in "Teachers' Strike", we'll see him again in "Back To
School") playing the song from the "Ring of the Niebelungs" (the play
Leichliter watches in "Grandpa's Packard") on a boombox and standing
next to a poster for said opera. Everyone is complaining that opera is
for wimps.
- Okay, now Phoebe and Helga are following, as Packenham switches to
Pagliucci, and Harold makes a mock of himself as a clown. And next,
Packenham is playing Carmen, once again standing next to a poster for
said opera, although he's slightly bowlderizing the story. There's
also a toreador (bullfighter) in the story, and we have Curly as a
toreador and Harold as the bull :D
- Time to go inside now, as Caesar is selling opera glasses to Arnold
and Gerald, Helga is having yet another soliloquy moment... and Ruth
is hanging out with the "6th Grade Girls" (read: Connie and Maria).
Helga is wondering what she's doing wrong with Arnold, while she's
shoving a doorman "one side, moron!" Gotta love that juxtapositioning.
- We only see a handful of the kids, from left to right: Rhonda, Sid,
Phoebe, Helga (she's just coming in), Gerald, Arnold (giving Gerald a
caramel), Stinky and Harold. Now that the opera is starting... Arnold
drops off to sleep.
- Gerald is singing the figaro, and Harold is a big fat clown (the
music you hear in the background at this point will be heard later in
"Full Moon" and "Suspended", and Harold will feature prominently in
those scenes). Arnold is chasing Harold into... the town set. Among
the students I notice as the villager extras: Rhonda, Phoebe, Sid
(sitting on a cow), Stinky, Katrinka, Nadine, Park, and possibly
Robert.
- OK, Ruth's walking down some stairs, and Arnold notices that his
outfit has changed from his distinct clothes to something more suited
for this story. And did I mention that their exchange is being sung?
And there are those caramels again...
- Nice touch with the coat hanger popping out of nowhere... hey,
Ruth's in braces again! (This is after Ruth was braces-free in
"Arnold's Valentine", BTW...) Gerald's asking Arnold to ask her out to
dance... cue Arnold being hit by wad of paper :D
- Turns out this was Helga slingshotting Arnold with said wad,
complaining about his snoring :D Back to the play, and Phoebe is
giving Helga a lookahead to the next bit... and now Helga's nodding
off.
- OK, now suddenly the back of the set rips open to reveal Pegasus and
Helga wearing a Viking costume, and suddenly, it's turned from Carmen
into Ring of the Niebelungs. Robert, Iggy, and Joey are extras in her
dream. OK, now she's ripping a photo of Ruth, and she's dragging
out... a slingshot like the one she just used to slingshot the wad of
paper earlier. As opposed to a spear and a helmet, according to
Gerald.
- So anyway, she's using the slingshot to strike the trapdoor switch
and get rid of Ruth. And that's the end of Lacey "Eliza Thornberry"
Chabert's involvement on the show, but the guy who plays Eliza's dad,
Tim Curry, is quite a few seasons away from his first appearance
("School Play").
- Helga is getting changed, with Katrinka setting up a panel, and two
other unknowns helping her dress. Iggy and Park drop in a new set, and
Sid and Nadine are standing in the BG. OK, Phoebe is dragging in a
chart for Helga to show Arnold: It says "Anatomy of Ruth", "No
Brains", "Big Feet". Eugene now finds himself in gallows, and
Katrinka, Joey, Rhonda, Park, Robert and Phoebe are among the extras.
- Helga wants Arnold to join the Gypsy World Tour, with Sheena, Nadine
and an unknown sitting in a cart with a sign saying "Gypsy Tour"
dragged by Stinky. But here comes Curly, and everyone drops down
seeing how cute he is. And now's he's offering Helga a rose, a bouquet
of roses, chocolates, a teddy, a present box... and a car ;D
- Adding insult to injury, Curly kicks a pot on to Arnold's head :D,
dances on a pedastal (wasn't this shot used just earlier?) and gives
her a diamond ring. OK, that's it, time to swordfight! And while
they're doing so, it wouldn't be Helga if she didn't punch Brainy
(though season 5 begs to differ), so we have a scene with her punching
crewman Brainy.
- Back to the fight. They're riding up rope with sandbags, dropping
them dangerously close to gallowed Eugene, but there's hardly any time
for him to breathe a sigh of relief as the sand bursts out of the
bags. OK, they're fighting on top of the clock tower, and it looks
like a long fall for Arnold, but he snatches a rope taking him into a
cart of hay, and soon they're both in the hay, whereupon Arnold
eventually stabs Curly. Ouch. And Curly goes Elvis before biting the
dust.
- Most of them are mourning Curly, while Arnold and Helga get ready to
kiss... and what should happen, but the set falling apart and everyone
(Stinky, Iggy, Nadine, Arnold) running for their lives... as Helga
wakes up.
- OK, the curtain comes down on the actual performance, the one Helga
has just slept through half of (and in Gerald's arms to boot :D), and
Phoebe and Helga talk about how good it was: "It just ended to
soon..." And we head into the credits... hang on, shouldn't it be some
sort of rap? Hey, who's John Garry? Yep, they're showing the credits
for "Save The Tree" / "New Teacher" with the regular music. Sheesh, so
much for me recording the closing music...
- Quotables: "You said a mouthful pal, opera's for wimps!" (Harold)
"How should I put this?... 'Causing harm to another girl'" (Packenham
bowlderizes Carmen) "Power and faithless love huh? You got my
attention" (Helga, on Carmen) "Hey Arnold! You better ask her out to
dance" (Gerald to Arnold on Ruth) "I had to shut you up. You were
snoring louder than the orchestra" (Helga to Arnold) "Hey Ruth!
Scene's over bonehead" (Helga to Ruth) "Cafe Ole" (Curly spars against
Arnold) "I said, hush my distempered breath" (Helga punches crewman
Brainy) "Thank you very much" (Curly goes Elvis after being stabbed)
"Wasn't that great Helga?" "It was OK... it just ended too soon"
(Phoebe and Helga)

[Don Del Grande]

Post by ungvichian
"Eugene Goes Bad" over an actor who doesn't do his own stunts, and
"What's Opera, Arnold?" Well, it's this show's own version of "Once
More With Feeling" (for those of you not in the know, the musical ep
of Buffy).

All together now: it's the show's version of "What's Opera, Doc?". (I
believe "Once More with Feeling" was more a "musical" than an "opera",
and yes, there's a difference.)

Post by ungvichian
"What's Opera, Arnold?"
- We're at the Civic Opera (this city has one?), and the credits run
as usual, only that the music credit reads: "Music by Lang, Bizet,
Wagner, Leoncavallo and Mozart".

Lang - the show's musical director
Bizet - Carmen
Wagner - The Ring cycle, although I think all of the music comes from
the second opera in the series, "Die Walküre" ("The Valkyries").
Leoncavallo - "I Pagliacci" ("The Clowns")
Mozart - Mozart wrote "The Marriage of Figaro", although the "Figaro"
bit that Gerald sings is from Rossini's "The Barber of Seville" (he is
dressed, however, as if he was about to sing the opening song from
Marriage).

Post by ungvichian
Curly, Gerald, Rhonda, Arnold, Ruth
(eh?), Stinky, Sid, Nadine and Sheena are standing with Mr. Packenham
(we saw him in "Teachers' Strike", we'll see him again in "Back To
School") playing the song from the "Ring of the Niebelungs" (the play
Leichliter watches in "Grandpa's Packard") on a boombox and standing
next to a poster for said opera. Everyone is complaining that opera is
for wimps.
- Okay, now Phoebe and Helga are following, as Packenham switches to
Pagliucci

"Ring" is four operas, not one, and it's "pagliacci", not "pagliucci",
despite how Harold pronounces it.

Post by ungvichian
- OK, now suddenly the back of the set rips open to reveal Pegasus and
Helga

Technically, "Pegasus" was Greek, and all of the Valkyries have flying
horses - they need them to take the dead soldiers to Valhalla (that's
their purpose).

Post by ungvichian
Robert, Iggy, and Joey are extras in her
dream. OK, now she's ripping a photo of Ruth, and she's dragging
out... a slingshot like the one she just used to slingshot the wad of
paper earlier. As opposed to a spear and a helmet, according to
Gerald.

I was right about somebody not remembering "What's Opera, Doc?".
Anybody remember off-hand if that's on either of the Looney Tunes DVD
sets? (Thailand is, what, DVD region 3?)

Post by ungvichian
- Adding insult to injury, Curly kicks a pot on to Arnold's head :D,
dances on a pedastal (wasn't this shot used just earlier?) and gives
her a diamond ring. OK, that's it, time to swordfight!

But this being Nickelodeon, they don't use real swords.

Post by ungvichian
- OK, the curtain comes down on the actual performance, the one Helga
has just slept through half of (and in Gerald's arms to boot :D), and
Phoebe and Helga talk about how good it was: "It just ended to
soon..." And we head into the credits... hang on, shouldn't it be some
sort of rap? Hey, who's John Garry?

He's the voice of Barry the Bear from "The Angry Beavers". Oh, wait,
that's not what you meant...

-- Don

[ungvichian]

Post by Don Del Grande
All together now: it's the show's version of "What's Opera, Doc?". (I
believe "Once More with Feeling" was more a "musical" than an "opera",
and yes, there's a difference.)

I felt this ep was more of a musical than an opera, actually.

Post by Don Del Grande

Post by ungvichian
"What's Opera, Arnold?"
- We're at the Civic Opera (this city has one?), and the credits run
as usual, only that the music credit reads: "Music by Lang, Bizet,
Wagner, Leoncavallo and Mozart".

Lang - the show's musical director
Bizet - Carmen
Wagner - The Ring cycle, although I think all of the music comes from
the second opera in the series, "Die Walküre" ("The Valkyries").
Leoncavallo - "I Pagliacci" ("The Clowns")
Mozart - Mozart wrote "The Marriage of Figaro", although the "Figaro"
bit that Gerald sings is from Rossini's "The Barber of Seville" (he is
dressed, however, as if he was about to sing the opening song from
Marriage).

I'll let this show of knowledge slide...

Post by Don Del Grande

Post by ungvichian
Ruth (eh?)

The reason I ask this is b/c Ruth is in 6th grade (as are Connie and
Maria), and yet they're on the 4th graders' field trip.

Post by Don Del Grande
I was right about somebody not remembering "What's Opera, Doc?".

When I wrote this review, I was aware of the Bugs Bunny short, but
just didn't think of any connection.

Post by Don Del Grande

Post by ungvichian
- Adding insult to injury, Curly kicks a pot on to Arnold's head :D,
dances on a pedastal (wasn't this shot used just earlier?) and gives
her a diamond ring. OK, that's it, time to swordfight!

But this being Nickelodeon, they don't use real swords.

Maybe I should have written, "time to stickfight" instead :)

Post by Don Del Grande

Post by ungvichian
Hey, who's John Garry?

He's the voice of Barry the Bear from "The Angry Beavers". Oh, wait,
that's not what you meant...

For those of you who don't get it, when I saw this ep, the credits for
"Save The Tree" and "New Teacher" (featuring Garry as a mean teacher)
were actually attached to the end of this episode, with the
then-regular music... it was supposed to be the Carmen rap at the end.

[King Cheetah]

Post by ungvichian

Post by ungvichian
Ruth (eh?)

The reason I ask this is b/c Ruth is in 6th grade (as are Connie and
Maria), and yet they're on the 4th graders' field trip.

Lila wasn't in the cast yet. ^__^

[ungvichian]

"Helga Sleepwalks", and suddenly her secret crush on Arnold doesn't
seem safe (then again, it's not like absolutely no one else knows, if
this story is anything to go by), and Arnold has just landed a spot on
a game show called "Fighting Families"... but selecting his teammates
is the least of his problems. Thoughts follow shortly, all corrections
welcome.

"Helga Sleepwalks"
- All we can see of today's class: Park, Arnold, Eugene, Helga,
Stinky, Harold and Rhonda. Today, Simmons is teaching Health
Nutrition, and he's teaching about the effects of food on health. This
will be key to the end of the story mind you. Meanwhile, Helga goes
into a soliloquy or two.
- Later on, she's looking at what appears to be Arnold's shadow in the
Arms window. She's also looking at a guitar someone left in the lane
below. She has fantasies of giving Arnold some roses and playing
guitar, and she's also imagining Arnold in a rose... when she's
suddenly interrupted by (sigh) Brainy. Cue sound of guitar being
slammed on top of Brainy's head. :D
- OK, now she's with Miriam. Miriam has just been doing some
shopping... and she accidentally ran over the groceries she bought.
The only thing they have to eat is daddy's pork rinds. Gillgan Cut!
The pork rinds taste great, and she even sees one shaped like Arnold's
head! :D
- Night time. She sleepwalks. Bob is eating pizza. She's sleepwalking
in and out of Vitello's. Someone wonders if she's one of those
door-to-door religious groups. She wakes up and wonder what the heck
she's doing. Following night, she's put her wardrobe closet in front
of her door to safeguard this.
- Doesn't matter though, later on, the wardrobe has been pushed out of
the door, she's sitting on a bus with Caesar... and next thing you
know: She wakes up inside the Arms, and Pookie thinks that Eleanor
Roosevelt (former First Lady) dropped by for a visit ;)
- Helga's idea of trying to stop this madness: not sleeping ;) (Left)
Harold, Sheena, Gerald, Arnold, (Middle) Brainy, Iggy, Phoebe, Helga,
(Right) Nadine, Rhonda, Stinky and Park are in class today as Simmons
continues to investigate snack food. Helga is unusually perky today,
because she drank an entire thermos of coffee ;) Take that, Ginger
Foutley!
- And she's still walking out at night, and waking up in Arnold's
shower the following morning. After sneaking out of the shower dressed
in a Mr Smith outfit, time for Helga to get some professional help:
Phoebe ;) They're talking at the library about this whole mess, and
that scene seems to imply Phoebe's knowledge of Helga's dirty laundry,
judging from the way she says "You mean...?" as Helga is looking at
Arnold. BTW, Phoebe uses the proper term for sleepwalking,
"somnambulation".
- Phoebe's idea involves observing her while she's sleeping. Just
before bed, Four Eyed Dweeb offers her some carrots and celery...
Helga insists on eating her pork rinds, however.
- At 8:30, she's still observing... however, at 9pm, Phoebe's asleep,
and Helga has exited by the window. Phoebe is chasing a sleepwalking
Helga is across town. Seriously. Helga is mumbling stuff in her
somnambulation, and Phoebe knows a short cut... which requires her to
climb over a wall.
- Anyways, Phoebe reaches the Arms and sees Helga climbing up the fire
ladder (which leads straight to Arnold's room, BTW). Phoebe climbs
up... and falls down after tripping on a bad rung. She climbs up
again, and this time, drags Helga down.
- They're convinced that Arnold heard all the stuff she mumbled... as
it turns out however, the only thing Arnold heard was the clunk as
Helga got dragged down. As for the supposed shadow of Arnold's head in
the window... it's a potted plant (maybe he bought it around the time
of "Helga's Love Potion"?). D'oh! Helga makes up an excuse for walking
on his fire ladder and leaves.
- And as it turns out, that wasn't her subconsciousness doing the
somnambulation... it was the pork rinds, as the warning label on the
pork rinds seems to indicate. Hmm... where have i heard Helga/Phoebe's
"This whole thing never happened / Forgetting" schtick? Actually,
never, but their conversation in "Helga's Love Potion" ends along the
same lines. Next!
- Quotables: "Yes Arnold, you heard me correctly" (part of Helga's
soliloquy) "Earth to Miriam: there's no food around here" (Helga)
"What in the world am I doing?!" (Helga realizing she's sleepwalking)
"Just Eleanor Roosevelt dear" (Pookie) "Not sleeping. That is the
plan" (Helga) "Oh sure, now you're in a hurry" (Ernie sees someone
rushing out of the shower) "Waking up in Arnold's shower? Talk about
crazy... I better get some professional help" (and Helga heads over to
Phoebe) "Let's not talk about it OK?" (Helga, on her dirty laundry)
"How about a nutritious bed time health snack?" (Phoebe offers carrots
and celery) "What does it look like we're doing? We're taking a walk"
... "That's right Footballhead, on the fire escape. It's a free
country" (Helga and Phoebe on the fire escape) "So the whole time I
was sleepwalking, it was because of the pork rinds, talk about that"
(Helga reads the pork rinds wrapper) "Speaking of strange, this whole
thing? It never happened. Got it?" "Forgetting" (end of ep)

"Fighting Families"
- Does Purdy always like to write episodes about contests? Off the top
of my head, I know that "Grudge Match", "Phoebe Takes the Fall", "Day
in the Life..." and "Grand Prix" all have some sort of contest in
them, and they're all written by Purdy. Anyways, the credits run over
a shot of the front of the Woodrow Wilson Auditorium, and we head
inside to see Park, Sid, Helga, Robert, Harold, Stinky, Nadine,
Brainy, Sheena, Iggy, Gerald, Arnold, Curly, Lila, Phoebe, and Gloria
all listening to some lady pitch this game show called "Fighting
Families" to them.
- And who ends up being drawn at random to participate against PS 119?
The entry has a smudge on it (just for convenience to keep a certain
unknown fact that way), but it's the only Arnold at PS 118, aka our
Footballhead. He's taking this news to the Arms, and we learn that the
prizes on the show are inline skates, bikes, and bags. He knows he'll
be taking Phil and Pookie, but he needs to pick two more teammates. A
double shift this Saturday rules out Suzie, but he still has Oskar,
Hyunh, and Ernie to pick from.
- Grandma is busy singing "Camptown Races", and that fact will come in
handy later on, but anyways, Pookie's convinced she's in a beauty
paegant ;) We head over to the kitchen for a slight animation nitpick:
while Hyunh is standing one full floor tile behind Oskar, his hand is
in front of his arm... weird, and you need a good freeze frame to see
that. Anyway, they're here to show Arnold their physical abilities.
Ernie can walk on his hands, and Hyunh can quack like a duck.
- Hey, isn't that the *exact same shot* from "Full Moon" from the day
after Arnold begins his detention? We head into the cafeteria, and
Eugene, Robert and Sheena are at one table, Curly's with Brainy, and
Arnold and Gerald are joined by Stinky (note that many of those
mentioned are also in the playground shot). Stinky's cousin Stinky
(whatever happened to Squeaky, from "False Alarm"?) at PS 119 has some
inside scoop on the PS 119 team: they wear matching white jumpsuits.
- Ernie puts himself in a suitcase at around 4:35 in Arnold's room.
Later on, Hyunh, Ernie and Oskar and playing at the dining table. OK,
now it's time for Arnold to pick his 2 remaining teammates... and he
picks Hyunh and Ernie, with Oskar as alternate. Unlike when Phoebe was
alternate in "Phoebe Takes The Fall", however, Oskar's position as
alternate is totally pointless. Hyunh and Ernie and squabbling a bit
over who Arnold really likes more.
- At the YMAA auditorium for Fighting Families, we have (as far as I
can see): Park, Robert, Lorenzo, Curly, Nadine, Gerald, Oskar, Lila,
Sheena, Iggy, Harold and Stinky holding a sign saying "Go Arnuld"
(with a backwards R), Phoebe, Sid, Rhonda, and Simmons.
- After Ryan Seacrest (future host of American Idol, and Ryan Seacrest
Live) introduces the two teams, the first event is the limbo. Good
news: Phil won a limbo contest in 1936, and Ernie and Arnold (who will
lead his team) are short (no offense, guys). Bad news: Nobody on PS
118's team, Arnold included, even gets a chance to walk under the bar,
since the other guys have just squabbled over who's going next and
have knocked over the bar (I'd nitpick that since the bar wasn't
knocked by a missed attempt to walk under they should get a do-over...
but nah). Worst news: The other team has a perfect 10 score from all 5
walking under. Things are not looking good, and Oskar thinks Arnold
should have picked him.
- Now the teams have 15" to make a Human pyramid. The teammates are
too busy threatening to give each other knuckle sandwiches over who to
put at the bottom to score any points here, and the other team gets 10
again. Arnold's team does get 5 though, from a consolation question
(coldest planet in the solar system: both Ernie and Hyunh are arguing
over Pluto) before we take a break. The score is 20-5, for a 15 point
gap, and it's time for Arnold to have a little coaching session with
the other teammates. He's pointing out how perfect those other guys
look, as well. So perfect, they're creepy.
- OK, they hug up, and now we're back with an obstacle course. While
missy on the other family is busy trying to get a grip on the rope,
Arnold's team finishes the course first and with that, scores 10
points. Amazingly, it doesn't seem to close the gap on the other
family, as the score is 30-15. *Still* a 15 point gap. Huh?!
- Now it's the trivia round.
* Name the 7 colors in a rainbow: Hyunh takes this one with red,
orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. 30-20.
* Name the biggest man made structure: while others might disagree
with this show, Ernie appropraitely takes this one with The Great Wall
of China. 30-25.
* Name one great written by Stephen Foster: Phil is getting annoyed at
Pookie singing "Camptown Races"... but with that, Pookie takes this
one. Note that they don't buzz in this time. 30-all.
- The decider is a game of tug of war. PS 119's family suddenly falls
apart and falls into a bunch of slime, and PS 118 takes it. Everyone
has a group hug, and we head into the closing credits, over a remix of
lines. Final credit reads: "In Loving Memory of Mike Bond."
- Quotables: "There seems to be a smudge over the last name" (lady
drawing the entries) "Are you kidding? I love game shows" (Phil) "A
really close family, heh heh" (Oskar) "I can't wait for the beauty
paegant" (Pookie) "I can quack like a duck" (Hyunh) "Perhaps you
better decide sooner than later" (one of the grandparents) "*This* is
stepping on your toe" (Phil steps on Hyunh's toe after the non-limbo)
"Things are not looking good for Team Arnold" (Gerald) "That's odd, I
don't remember packing any sandwiches" (Pookie) "This show is called
Fighting Families, but you're supposed to be fighting *the other
family*. Get it?" (Ryan Seacrest) "Pookie, I forbid you to sing that
song ever again!" (Phil is annoyed and Pookie singing "Camptown
Races") "You always fall apart you little wuss" ... "You're making me
look terrible" (PS 119 father during the tug of war decider) "Remember
families, keep on fighting" (Ryan Seacrest closes the show)

[ungvichian]

Before we head into the next set of ep notes, one minor extra on
"Fighting Families": Nice touch with Ryan Seacrest wearing a pharaoh
head just before the pyramid challenge.

Let's get to know "Monkeyman!" better, and watch Helga and Harold take
some "Buses, Bikes, and Subways" during a field trip to a chocolate
factory gone seriously wrong (Chocolate Boy popping up was just the
beginning).

"Monkeyman!"
- OK, this Craig-penned ep opens with Arnold getting off the bus, and
getting grabbed by some thugs, just like at the start of "Mugged".
This time, however, Monkeyman (that freak who ran in front of the Arms
waaaay back in "Downtown as Fruits") is chasing them away. The day
after, he's talking about this with Harold, Gerald, Helga, Phoebe,
Stinky (all on jungle gym), Sheena and Nadine. Time to drag in another
one of them urban legends (the excuse: it's the first Monkeyman
sighting of the year), and the accompanying clip even features a
pastiche of King Kong. Helga's telling Arnold that "You two would
probably get along"... similar to what she said in "Pigeon Man".
- Arnold and Gerald run into Mr. Green, and they're talking about
Monkeyman. Green describes him as a mystery wrapped in an enigma, and
apparently, the best time to catch him is at the docks on Tuesday
nights, where he waits for the banana boats. So they're staking out at
the docks. Gerald leaves after 3 hours, and some time later, Arnold
suddenly wakes up upon hearing the yell "Monkeyman!"
- Arnold chases the guy, and winds up in this post industrial bachelor
pad. Okay, it doesn't look like much, and anyways, he's having his
dinner. Arnold invites the recluse over to the Arms... and now he's
eating spaghetti and meatballs as he recounts how he became this way:
Basically, he grew up at the Hillwood City Zoological Gardens, and
enjoyed watching monkeys at Monkey Island. One day his cash was
stolen, and after going out his of his way to get it back, he decided
to become, well, Monkeyman.
- Next, Arnold is eating a banana split at Slaucen's South with
Monkeyman. Helga, Sid, Rhonda, Stinky, Eugene, Gerald, and Harold are
watching. Sort of like the scene where Harold etc. were watching
Arnold eat pizza with Pigeon Man.
- Later on, he's taking Monkeyman out to Roscoe's Funky Rags, with
signs saying "Sale Every Day, Huge Discounts, 60-90% Off, Sale! Sale!
Sale!", followed by giving him a shampooing.
- And now, Monkeyman is ready for the high time. He's going to the
museum of fine art, and looking at some small pictures. Someone uses
the word "jejune" somewhere... does Craig even know that the word
simply means "dry" (as in "not wet")?
- Later on, he's at the opera with Mayor Lavalan (no I don't get it
either, I thought Dixie was the city mayor, bad note taking I presume)
and apparently Rhonda's dad. Sid gets beaten up and cries for help,
and Monkeyman notices, but he's immediately dragged away... as so Sid
is. Later on, they're in front of a pizzeria (IIRC), and Sid whines on
and on to Monkeyman about being beaten up and ignored and being robbed
of his beatle boots, as he didn't have any dosh on him.
- Next, Arnold finds Monkeyman at the pad. He's throwing in the towel
and packing it, in light of the fact that even though he saw Sid being
beaten up, he didn't lift a finger to do anything about it. He's
holding his superhero credo and it says: "1. Protect the weak and
downtrodden, 2. Serve for the good of all, 3. Be kind to all
creatures." Arnold's telling him not to quit, going into a speech that
basically boils down to "Sid needed you, and so does everyone else".
- Back at the Arms, Arnold finds a box. That box has Sid's boots in
it, and a note from Monkeyman telling Arnold to give them to Sid, and
that he's back to fighting crime. We pan up and hear the cry
"Monkeyman!" Next!
- Quotables... not that many: "Actually, you two would probably get
along" (Helga) "He's a mystery wrapped in an enigma" (Green, on
Monkeyman) "I'll tell you one thing, he smells liks a monkey"
(boarder) "That boy lives a charmed life" (Stinky, on Arnold) "Give
these to Sid" (Monkeyman's note on Sid's boots)

"Buses, Bikes, And Subways" (I guess the titles are getting
weirder...)
- We open with a longer cut of the Mexican-esque music that opened
"Field Trip", and we see Rhonda, Sid, Joey (he's still here?), Eugene,
Phoebe, Helga, Arnold (here, putting in his token time), Robert,
Curly, Iggy, Stinky, Harold, and Sheena in a bus. It's a field trip to
the Yahoo Chocolate Factory. Helga is not too keen about going on this
trip, because she has tickets to a wrestling match (cf. "False
Alarm"), and she wants to get home in time to see it. Anyways, they
arrive at the chocolate factory. Anyone care for any Willy Wonka jokes
while we're here? ;) Chocolate Boy pops out from under the bus, and
althought minor in this ep, he's important to the plot of the story,
because he sets it into motion.
- Harold's off to the Yahoo Chocolate Hospitality Room to eat his fill
in Numnums. In the actual factory part, Sid's with Stinky, and Sid
takes off his hat to catch some chocolate. His hair is full on the
top, but stringy at the ends. Nadine and Lorenzo are visible during
the field trip. Anyways, Chocolate Boy decides to take a dip in a vat
of chocolate a la Augustus Gloop. Phoebe and Simmons see this, and
Simmons drags him off for a little disciplining.
- Helga comes across Simmons saying that he'll have to end the field
trip early over the Chocolate Boy incident, and that makes a happy
Helga. OK, now everyone's been called back on the bus. While Helga has
left to get Harold, who's still eating in the Hospitality Room, some
unknown kid is saying "Hello, Chocolate Boy", and Lila is on the bus.
Simmons is making sure that everyone's on the bus by counting heads...
that said, it didn't prevent a certain kid named Culkin from being
left in "Home Alone"... and it doesn't prevent Helga and Harold from
being left here either! Time out: with all those kids in the bus,
wouldn't any one of them (esp. the ones who were sitting closest to
them, read: Phoebe) have noticed before they left? Especially since
Helga went off the bus (shouldn't she have said something too?)...
- Factory's closed down too, so first stop for Helga and Harold, a
nearby pay-phone. They have enough money for one call each. Helga
leaves a message for Miriam... and Harold puts in a wrong number and
gets that Caesar guy (as shown in "Helga Blabs It All").
- Without any money, Harold suggests that they jump the game at the
Waterloo Subway station. Funny enough, it looks like an average train
station. Anyway, Harold says that no one ever gets caught jumping the
gate. Guess what? They are being chased for doing that :D There's an
ad on the train saying "Yahoo Yummy". Interlude with Phoebe just
noticing now that Helga and Harold are missing. Simmons decides to
check back at the factory.
- Anyhow, they're getting off at Lexington Lincoln, and they're still
being chased. Next up, they come across McGrunty's Circus. They've
just found a tandem bike, and are getting on and biking away... with
clowns in pursuit. Talk about your surrealist scenes... Back with the
rest of the class at the factory, Simmons is getting Chocolate Boy to
sniff around (yet another surrealist scene)... nothing to be found,
however. Time to head back to Hillwood for them, then.
- Back to Helga and Harold, chased by clowns. They're 5 miles away
from Hillwood... and now they just fell into a creek. There's a really
annyoing light shining in Helga's face... and it's Sheena's Uncle Earl
and his lantern.
- Okay, Harold and Helga are now sitting on Earl's boat. Funny that
he's always referred to as Sheena's uncle, yet Sheena never has any
scenes with him. Ditto with the school nurse who's her aunt. Anyways,
Harold notices a plug on the boat with a clear warning telling not to
pull it. We see why: the boat sinks after Pink Boy pulls, and they're
forced to swim to some shore, while Earl is sitting on the shipwreck
- Harold is trying to sniff Helga, while she's blaming him for all the
crap that's happened to her (and Harold) today, from staying behind to
eat chocloates, to pulling the plug on Earl's boat (their "getaway
ride" as Helga calls it). She's calling him a big whale. Harold
notices something in a water reflection. I can't really tell what it
is, actually, but anyways, Harold is suddenly dragging Helga to some
factory-ish place, and they're running through halls.
- Where exactly is she being taken, she wonders? Harold opens a
door... and it's WrestleMania! Apparently, a friend of Harold's works
there and knows the inside scop on how to get around. Anyways, Simmons
is pulling up to the Patakis to give Miriam some bad news... however,
he overhears Miriam talking to Helga on the phone and faints ;)
- Back to WrestleMania. Harold is giving Helga a Numnum. There are
billboards for Radio Rock and Yahoo as some guy throws some other guy
out of the ring, and we head into credits over some new music. Special
thanks: Al, Kenji, Doug, Roger and Youngja.
- Quotables: "Criminy, a field trip to the chocolate factory and
everyone's carrying on like they've died and gone to heaven. What
buffoons" (Helga) "Harold's obnoxious enough, don't encourage him"
(Helga) "Get real, you just ate 1/2 of your weight in chocolate"
(Helga to Harold) "Then we'll just jump the gate... no one ever gets
caught" (Harold at the subway) "We're almost there" "Try 5 miles
bonehead" (Harold and Helga on the bike) "...and there's a really
annoying light shining in my face" (Helga sees Earl's lantern) "Stop
sniffing me" (Helga) "Get away from me you big whale!" (Helga to
Harold) "Yes, Harold, that's what I really think" (Helga's putting
down Harold, and she means it) "Stop pulling me and tell me where
you're taking me right now" (Helga gets dragged... to WrestleMania)

[ungvichian]

Another extra from "Fighting Families": Ryan Seacrest announces Mr.
Hyunh's name as written (pronounced as "Hoon"), just like Randy
Travis' stagehand did in "Mr. Hyunh Goes Country" ;)

It's your typical story of "The Aptitude Test" gone awry, and "Oskar
Gets a Job"... getting him to actually do said job, now that's the
problem. Thoughts follow shortly, all corrections welcome.

"The Aptitude Test"
- Simmons is administering the Parkey (sp?) Aptitude Test to his
class: (front row) Sid, Arnold, Gerald, Eugene, (middle row) Rhonda,
Phoebe, Helga, Stinky, (back row) Nadine, Harold, Brainy, Curly.
Apparently, this is how he discovered the passion of teaching.
- Harold is being told to put away his liver sandwich, and here we go.
Here are some of the questions:
* Make a ship with matchsticks, or watch an ant farm?
* Visit the art museum, or make a map of the Northwest Territories?
(BTW, when this ep was first transmitted, the NWT also covered what is
now Nunavut territory.)
- Harold is circling just E's. Helga drags out her purple pen and does
the quiz.
- Well, time to collect the papers. Eugene falls under the weight of
the papers, and he's shoving any misplaced papers back in randomly,
which will lead to some wacky results later on.
- And the results are in. Eugene got choreographer, Arnold got
ambassador, Phoebe got neurosurgeon (smart persons' job... figures),
Gerald got talk show sidekick ... and here's where things get kooky:
Harold got the best scores since Olga Pataki, and got internation
businessman, political science, and ecological science, while Helga
got woodsperson, and as Stinky explains, that's just the PC way to say
woodsman.
- Later on, the guys are at the corner shop reading magazines. Arnold
is getting tired of Gerald's attempts to spout a catchphrase for his
future sidekick career (note that his mouth is shut when he's saying
"Touche, sir"). While Harold is reading Ornamental Horticulture (the
others are a bit amazed he can actually read the thing), we fade
straight to Helga kicking a pine cone into a dancing Eugene's head ;)
- Harold's at home spewing things about waiting for chocolate cake,
while Helga (in a new outfit, replete with striped bow, and accent) is
asking dad to put away her little pink books. Dad is busy watching an
ad for his beeper shop (the same as in "Spelling Bee", as you can see
the dancers and a pair of scissors cutting a dollar sign).
- While Helga the bumpkin's busy building a birdhouse with sticks,
Harold is planning on putting a gazebo and a Japanese bonzai garden in
his house. Phoebe is watching Helga trying to catch a rabbit with a
box and stick, with no success, while Harold is doing online stocks,
and listening to classical music.
- At school, Simmons is asking Helga about some math problem involving
trains. After Helga blabs about not taking the train, Simmons is later
talking with Helga about her whole country-girl schtick, and she's
talking a lot like Jed Clampett.
- After the talk, Simmons is suspecting Harold's results as well...
so, he checks out the test papers. As it turns out, "Harold's" test
was filled in with purple pen... and that would make it Helga's
results, and vice versa. Simmons is now heading over to the Patakis'
and Bermans' for clarification, because innocent children's lives are
at stake here.
- First Simmons talks with Helga on the whole flap, and includes the
correct results. Now that's she's relieved, she's blabbing something
about her little pink books being of value later on... when she
suddenly sees Miriam throwing the books into a fireplace. "AAAAAH!!!"
- Helga's screaming fades into Harold crying over his actual results.
Simmons clarifies that he didn't actually "do" the test: he filled in
all E's, and those choices correspond to "take a walk in the woods"
(talk about your standardized tests ;) ). He also brings up the point
that many ep about aptitude tests with weird results make: While the
test gives you a suggestion, you don't necessarily have to *be* what
it says. That said, Harold's dad decides to let him have his gazebo.
- Fade out to Helga (now back to her regular voice) writing some poem
in her closet, still wearing her country-girl outfit. Okay, that's
enough time padding. Next!
- Quotables: "Criminy, what a throwpillow" (Helga) "What the heck is a
woodsperson?" (Helga got the results of her test) "5 6 7 8... OW!"
(Eugene gets beaned ;)) "Kind of like me waiting for that chocolate
cake" (Harold, on anticipation) "How can I watch my beeper commercial
with you yakking away?" (Big Bob, while Helga is asking him to put
away her pink books) "We simple countryfolk don't take the train"
(Helga in math class) "Whoa Nelly, I'm overheating my tiny mind"
(Helga abruptly ends her talk with Simmons, and note the direction it
was taking ;) )

"Oskar Gets A Job"
- So, we open at the Arms with Arnold and Gerald carrying a kite like
in the ep "Arnold's Hat". So they ran out of originality already?
Anyways, they happen to overhear some guy trying to hit up Oskar for
some dosh, and Oskar's excuse: he paid for his mother's hip operation.
Gerald makes a comment that he's always getting himself into trouble.
- Next, Suzie complains about their phone service getting cut over a
$100 bill. Knowing Oskar, I bet that his claim that he paid the bill
is off the mark. Suzie mentions her hard work (at the department
store), and then turns down Oskar's request for $50. So Suzie won't
lend him any dosh, and nor will Ernie (in room #5), Hyunh (in room
#3), or Phil (in room #1), for that matter.
- Later that night, Arnold runs across Oskar supposedly fixing Peru
Electric's El Rapido washing machine in the Arms laundry. Arnold knows
pretty well what he's up to (trying to take its money box), and the
two are now discussing how to get a good source of cash inflow.
Basically, Oskar needs to get a job. Oskar makes a little show of the
washing machine money box falling out of his pocket ;)
- Following day, Arnold and Oskar are walking around town trying to
find jobs. He's getting rejected from pretty much everywhere,
especially some place asking for an X-ray technician.
- OK, now they've finally found the Daily News, who need a newspaper
carrier. They're not too sure about giving this guy the job, but do so
anyway. The routine: pick up a bundle of papers at 4am, and send them
along a given route by 6am. Because of the early start time, Arnold
will have to wake up Oskar for this.
- First morning of work, Oskar is complaining about Chinese stomach
flu, so Arnold's doing his route. It's tough. Back at the Arms, Arnold
is not amused to see Oskar eating pancakes and claiming that he felt
better as soon as he left.
- Second morning. Now Oskar's complaining about back problems. Arnold
does his route again, with the addition of being chased by dogs. And
back at the Arms, Oskar is dancing with Pookie (as Valentino and
Fatima respectively). Arnold won't buy his claim that his back felt
better as soon as he left.
- Arnold has a stern talk with Oskar about getting responsible for
delivering the papers... and after that, Oskar makes the claim that
tomorrow's a national holiday. How about that! Later at the laundry,
Oskar overhears the other boarders saying that he can't possibly do
his job. The following morning, he heads out to prove them wrong...
and get bits by a dog in the process ;)
- Oskar makes it back to the Arms somewhat the worse for wear, and
Arnold, Hyunh and Ernie come out and notice. After receiving some
congratulations from Arnold, he and the other boarders are betting on
how long he can hold this job, as Arnold flies his kite. Regular
credits, folks!
- Quotables: "That's OK, he's always getting into trouble" (Gerald on
Oskar) "How many more hours do you expect me to work?" "About 25" (the
Kokoshkas on Suzie's job) "You gotta have faith, things change"
(Arnold) "Get a job? You're talking crazy" (Oskar to Arnold) "Funny,
it got in my pocket somehow" (Oskar, on washing machine money box)
"With a big beautiful secretary, okay?" (Oskar is looking for a job...
he ain't getting this one ;) ) "I bet you can't do it again tomorrow"
(Ernie sees Oskar actually went to work) "What do you mean 21, why
don't you make it 100?" (among the boarders' betting chit-chat)

[ungvichian]

Bonuses from "Part-Time Friends" / "Runaway Float":
- Sign at Vitello's store (been there since Jimmy Kafka bossed Phil
around): "A flower a day keeps the flies away."
- In the "where have I heard that music before?" department: the music
which will later be attached to the credits of "Jamie O in Love" (et
al.) is heard while Arnold, Gerald, and Vitello are cutting flowers,
while the music from the marching band in the City Day parade is used
at the end of "The Racing Mule".
- Meanwhile, I note another ep where the wrong credits have been
attached: at least for the Oct. 30 airing, this ep went out with the
credits to "Helga's Boyfriend" and "Crush on Teacher". Previously,
"What's Opera, Arnold?" ended with the credits to "Save the Tree" and
"New Teacher" over the regular music, instead of the Carmen rap.
- Extra quotable: "I did it" "You put super glue on Eugene's
lunchbox?" (Helga and Gerald :D)

"Grandpa's Sister" Mitzi comes to visit, and she and Phil haven't had
the best of relationships for the past 70 or so years, and Arnold
wonders why, and after basketball and bowling, Jack Wittenberg decides
to do "Synchronized Swimming" to appease his wife. Thoughts follow
shortly, all corrections welcome, especially since I'm only writing my
full notes about 4 months (plus) after watching the eps in question
(basing them mostly on whatever I'd scribbled down in Notepad while I
watched and what I do remember of the eps). Hey, gotta get good grades
first ;)

"Grandpa's Sister"
- It seems that anything involving Arnold's family is written by Craig
Bartlett. It's the last good week of Indian Summer, and Phil and
Arnold are preparing for fishing... and here comes some old lady
entering the Arms, who introduces herself as Phil's sister Mitzi
(voice of Phyllis Diller, everyone!).
- At the table, we learn some facts about Mitzi: She's older than him
by 6 minutes (twins), and she grew up in Mording (sp?), but now lives
in the town. She's not spoken with Phil in 70 years (from what she
says). Or should that be 71 (from what Phil says)? Cue running gag
alarm...
- Anyways, she's here to consider living here, because the Arms is
just as much hers as it is Phil's. Hope she just meant that
figuratively, since Phil would have a harder time trying to sell it
and move to "Casa Paradiso". For now, she's sleeping over in Pookie's
bedroom... IIRC. Anyways, Grandpa gives an exact date they stopped
talking: November 13, 1927.
- Following morning, Phil pulls a prank on Mitzi involving gutter
water and a sheet of aluminum (I'm not sure of the details, but I
think it involves making her think it's raining, with the aluminum
used to make thunder sounds... correct me if I'm wrong tho). After
that's done with, he's busy singing "Beautiful Doll" (from "Crabby
Author") in the shower... when he suddenly gets a blast of hot water
from Mitzi flushing. :D
- Next up, Phil has put a bunch of mousetraps in Mitzi's bedroom, and
tells her that they've got a real rat problem in here. Mitzi tells him
that there's a mouse in the room and next thing you know, Phil's a
victim of his own prank :D
- Later during dinner, Monkeyman runs in front of the Arms (a la
"Downtown as Fruits"). The boarders and Mitzi are having dinner. Phil
elaborates to Arnold on putting laxatives in her yams... next thing,
tho, Phil's getting some rumbles in his tummy. Apparently, Mitzi has
switched the yams, and Phil's rushing to the bathroom ;)
- While Phil's in the bathroom (or was this after dinner?), Arnold's
asking Pookie about the problems between Phil and Mitzi. She's
blithering on and on pointlessly, before mentioning, almost in
passing, an book on a shelf in the kitchen.
- Arnold finds that it's a photo album, and finds a couple photos of
the siblings... and their dog named Pooter. Following morning, Phil
has set up a prank in Mitzi's room where a bucket of water falls on a
certain someone's head, before springing off an ironing, then a
springboard into a nest of hornets. He's just tried it on Oskar ;)
- Arnold is showing the Pooter photo to Phil. Phil goes on and on
about how his family used to gas up the car and take Pooter out on car
rides, or something like that. Anyways, one day, Pooter climbed under
their home fence and was later struck by a milk truck, leading to his
burial on November 13, 1927 (the date Phil gave earlier).
- They're blaming each other for letting the dog out of sight, or
leaving the fence unfixed. Arnold sez that this incident was just an
accident, and neither of them should be held responsible. Either way,
after that incident, Phil sez they haven't spoken to each other for 70
years. Mitzi corrects her with 71 (note the "reversal" of reported
numbers).
- Anyways, after they owe each other an apology for this embarassing
story, he's even willing to take Mitzi into the Arms... but guess
what? She was only looking that see if he was willing. Okay... and
Phil walks into Mitzi's room and becomes another victim of his own
pranks ;)
- After that, we see photos of Phil, Mitzi, and Arnold having a
fishing trip. As Arnold closes the photo album and smiles, we see the
cover now reads "Phil and Mitzi + Arnold" (the added part is paper
stuck to the cover).
- Quotables: not many... "I'm your only grandson" (Arnold, on Phil's
"my favorite grandson" comment, cf. "Grudge Match") "71, but who's
counting?" (Phil) "I'll work her out my front door" (Phil on Mitzi)
"We've got a real rat problem you know?" (Phil to Mitzi on setting up
mouse traps) "No mice, just a big fat rat" (Mitzi)

"Synchronized Swimming"
- Joseph Purdy likes sports and contests too much, if you ask me...
The episode seems to be opening in the exact same fashion as "6th
Grade Girls", right down to the (static) shot of Connie and Maria.
Only this time, instead of being about Connie and Maria, it's all
about Jack Wittenberg, as he's looking for kids to participate in his
"synchronastic swimming" team ;) for a citywide tournament.
- Most of the kids (Harold, Gerald, Sid, Stinky, Arnold, and Eugene)
are balking at the idea, and Jack threatens to jump off a diving
board. Arnold is talking to the others about how great of a hoops
coach he was (cf. "Benchwarmer"), and convinces them to participate.
- Now that the threat's off they're going to start training on Monday
after school. Still, the only other person who seems to be wild about
the idea is future choreographer Eugene. (First he gets this job on
"The Aptitude Test" he took, then he dances with Sheena in "Cool
Party", and now this.)
- Meanwhile, Tish drops by and asks Jack if he's really coaching a
"sympathetic swimming" team. ;) After Jack and Tish are done talking,
Jack drops some advice for Arnold: don't get married :D
- So, Jack shows the kids a film called "Mermaids Enchanting
Tinseltown", before they begrudgingly head into practice. They try
floating on their backs, then try putting one leg in the air and doing
a backstroke... and end up running on top of each other :D
- Jack is coaching the team as if he was coaching a football team,
replete with chalk marks on chalk board. He's also teaching them some
ballet jumps as well... Next, he calls the sport "circumcised
swimming", and I'm sure some older people watching Nick had a spit
take when they heard that ;)
- At the YMAA, the "Fighting Families" banner is still up, suggesting
laziness on the editors' part. Inside, there are also banners saying
"Leaders in Physical Culture" and "Boy's Ping Pong 1987". While
they're practicing, they see Wolfgang is filming them (as if doing
this wsn't humilating enough), and that's pretty much the last straw
for everyone who isn't Arnold or Eugene.
- Arnold and Jack are alone. Jack is complaining that he should ask
for his old job back, cleaning toilets at the bowling alley (cf.
"Coach Wittenberg"). He's also saying that coaching a sport like this
requires sensitivity, and he doesn't have any. Footballhead asks if
there's anything that's ever made him cry, and Jack goes into a
flashback about watching a cowboy movie named "Come Back, Wayne" and
crying over it. For those not in the know, this is a take on the
classic cowboy flick "Shane".
- Anyways, the flashback ends... behind the Sunset Arms with the rest
of the team, and obviously they've been listening to his story, and
the music accompanying it playing on a boombox. After some juicy
nuggets like "emotionalism", "pre-consider", and "re-enjoin", practice
is back on, with swimming, roping (for reasons that will be obvious
later on), and (for Eugene anyway ;) ) a little dancing.
- Citywide Synchronized Swimming Contest. Stinky has drawn their
routine on his arm. Not that it'll be of any use once they're in the
water, however... Wolfgang runs into Harold, and calls him a wuss, and
Harold is crying about it.
- First up is Lorenzo's alma mater Peavine with Swan Lake, followed by
Woodentop Head Country Club with selections from Pacabelle's Canon. We
see the judges giving scores to Woodentop: Rex Smythe Higgins ("Tour
De Pond", "The Pig War", "Grandpa's Packard") gives 9, Mayor Dixie
("The Old Building", "Arnold's Thanksgiving") gives 9, and some guy
who looks like that guy from Simmons' dinner in "Arnold's
Thanksgiving" gives 8.
- Next up is City Pool... and their routine is titled, what else,
"Come Back, Wayne". We have the kids walking out in cowboy outfits to
cowboy-ish music. Okay, they're wearing scarves on their necks, and
their trunks are topped with a sheriff's star. Gerald's wearing a tall
hat to cover his distinct 'do (not unlike that in "Mr. Hyunh Goes
Country").
- Next, they're jumping in the pool, and forming a star around Eugene.
Looking good there...After that, they're in a bunch of horse floats,
with part of the pool fenced off to look like a rodeo. Harold is
"dressed" as a wild horse, and the others (except Eugene, you'll see
him next) are chasing him before Stinky and Arnold tie him up.
- Okay, big finale time, as Eugene is at the top of the diving
board... and this being Eugene, he trips. He lands straight on Harold
the horse... and there's a brief moment of tension before Eugene and
Harold pop up on the surface, still looking good. The two ride off,
replete with the others yelling "Come back, Wayne!"
- The routine ends and everyone's clapping. Tish likes it, Wolfgang
and Edmund like it, and the judges certainly do like it: they just
gave them 3 10's, and the big win. Kodak moment!
- The Wittenbergs are swimming around in the pool the evening after
the contest, and Jack has bragging rights. They decide to "implore the
mysteries of the deep" as they dive under their floats as we head into
the credits over the cowboy-ish music used in the routine. Special
thanks: Debbie, Connie, Wendy.
- Quotables: "No ballet dancing in the water for me" (Stinky, IIRC)
"You're gonna coach a sympathetic swimming team?" (Tish to Jack)
"Never get married" (Jack to Arnold) "I saw it's sissy and that's all
there is to it" (Stinky, right?, on synchronized swimming)
"Circumsized swimming" (Jack, who else?) "I reckon that this is
embarrassing as it gets" (Stinky, and that's before the team catches
Wolfgang filming them in practice) "Whattaya say we implore the
mysteries of the deep?" (Jack to Tish)

[ungvichian]

Extra notes:
- "Runaway Float": You know the part where Sid's being chased by a bee
he found in a flower and screaming? I *think* that the audio of his
scream comes from the part in "Wheezin' Ed" where he sees Vic and
Morrie and screams his classic line. "It's Wheezin' Ed! And... It's
some other guy!"
- Arnold's Christmas:
* Hey, isn't the hat Helga's wearing this entire ep the same as the
one she later wears in "The Aptitude Test" (after she gets her
results)? Also, I wonder how much time she spends to put on that hat.
I mean, her bow is on the outside of the hat, and her pigtails are
threaded through the holes in the side of her hat.
* On Arnold and Gerald's "Christmas Angel" convo at the end: after
Arnold says "Maybe" (in response to Gerald's "You have a Christmas
angel"), the picture freezes for a second or so (note the snow outside
the window on the way left of the pic) before cutting to Helga's
classic whisper. Obviously, a cost cutting measure in the cel-drawn
days of HA!.
* And when was the last time you saw a Christmas show where a major
character's left without any presents of any kind at the end? I mean,
there's the time Dexter chased Santa...
* Funnily enough, thanks to the ways of foreign syndi, this ep was
rerun... this past Halloween. :D
* And through eerie coincidence, right after this ep aired, over on
CN, they ran an ep of Kids Next Door... featuring LaMarche (Big Bob)
as the evil kids' dad.

"Curly Snaps" over a playground job that this week should be his
instead of Sid's, and Phoebe's a big fan of "Pre-Teen Scream" Ronnie
Matthews. Yes, the school genius is a pop star fanatic. Doesn't really
make sense does it? Thoughts follow shortly, all corrections welcome.
Since I'm only writing these full notes about 4-5 months after
watching the eps in question, these notes aren't really as complete as
they should be (I'm figuratively writing these from sometimes cryptic
notes I wrote when I watched this ep, and also what I remember of the
ep). Anything hazy is marked by IIRC.

"Curly Snaps"
- We open at PS 118's tiny looking playground, with Arnold, Harold,
Gerald, Helga, Phoebe, Sheena, Sid, Eugene, Curly, Stinky and Nadine
playing as the bell rings. It's the ball monitor's job to clean up all
the balls after recess, and all week long, Arnold has been doing this
job. This is Arnold's last day, and Curly is talking with him about
how much respect this job demands. After all, Curly sez he's going to
be next week's ball monitor...
- Monday is here, and Curly marks off Sunday on his calendar. Through
voice over, he explains what he'll be doing as the ball monitor. He's
letting others answer questions in the classroom and take their turn
at the water fountain. At the time, I thought he was merely imagining
this.
- At recess, Simmons is calling Harold, Gerald, Arnold, Rhonda, Park,
Phoebe, Helga, Eugene, Sid, and Curly over to announce the handover of
the ballboy job... As Curly, who has been expecting this job all week
(see the previous scene) is bowing, he's totally not ready for what he
just heard from Simmons: Sid is the ball monitor this week.
- Curly is mad at this latest development, and he's trying to make his
case to Simmons. Simmons only sez that he'll get his turn later. Later
on at the cafeteria, where Harold, Stinky, Arnold and Nadine are
having lunch, Curly's face is rather blank (it's been that way since
the Simmons incident), while Gerald's saying he's strange everyday.
- Next, Curly drags balls to Wartz's room, and as Wartz briefly steps
out of his room, Curly has an idea: he shoves them into the room and
locks himself inside. Wartz is trying to get back in, and he gets
beaned :D.
- Later on, it's raining. In the library, Campfire Lass is telling
Peapod, Robert, and Ruth to come over, and I believe there was another
scene in similar fashion involving Iggy at the cafeteria (can anyone
confirm this?). Now Iggy, Sheena, Park, Helga, Phoebe, Stinky, Ruth,
Nadine, Rhonda, and Sid are among those outside the office.
- Curly refers to his full name: Thaddeus "Curly" Gamelthorpe, and
complains about the bad things that have happened to him today.
Someone answering a question that Curly knew ahead of him (a la "Ms.
Pefect"), and cutting in the water fountain line. Those involved in
said incidents are saying that Curly *let* them... so the sequence
shown with the Curly's voice over actually happened, I suppose?
- Anyways, Simmons has been eating cup noodles in room 206, as he
hears about the crisis, and heads over to Wartz's room. Simmons tries
reasoning with him, but Curly calls him a "granola boy" (see below).
- Somewhere along the line, Curly asks for Sid and then Simmons to
come into the room, and later, he's making a couple demands: Have
Footballhead bring in two yard-long meatball subs. Apologies for the
lack of any other details here...
- Now, with Sid and Simmons in the room, with Arnold as hostage
negotiator, as it were, time to iron out the whole ball monitor deal.
As it turns out, this indeed should be Curly's week, since Simmons
forgot to carry over the holidays week. Sid's done the job already
today, so there's a little extra negotiation on when Curly can start.
Simmons offers this: After Sid finishes this week, it's Curly's turn.
They'll have to "hammer out the details" (Curly's words), but it's a
deal.
- OK, now that the situation is over, everyone's leaving, and Simmons
gets back to showing the class slides of his trip to Tierra del Fuego
(southernmost Argentina), while Wartz is dragging Curly around for a
week's worth of sensitivity. Next!
- Quotables: "Today? He's strange everyday" (Gerald on Curly) "I'm mad
as heck and I'm not taking it anymore!" (no, not "Network", but Curly,
dragging balls into Wartz's office) "Save your new age-isms for the
saps, granola boy!" (Curly to Simmons) "I've got 300 more kickballs
here and I'm not afraid to use them" (Curly) "Willikers! We got
ourselves a hostage situation" (Stinky) "Yep, don't ever trust the
quiet ones. They'll go bonkers and lock themselves up in the
principal's office" (Helga, summing up the situation) "One week's
worth of sensitivity" (Wartz)

"Pre-Teen Scream"
- We open this ep with a song playing on the radio, Ronnie Matthews'
"I Saw Your Face and Wow!". It's such a big hit, even Sheena the dork
can sing along to it. Besides Sheena, Eugene, Rhonda, Phoebe, Arnold,
Gerald and Helga are listening to the same radio. There's a contest on
the radio: send in a page on why you want to meet Ronnie Matthews. The
prize: Two tickets to a Matthews concert, plus you get to spend the
night with him.
- Helga is trying to get Phoebe to spit in the river with her.
However, Phoebe's going to her room, where we find out something
unusual about her: She has lots of posters of Matthews stashed away
(e.g., on her dressing-up cover panel thingy), and she's playing
Matthews' big hit on her cassette player, as she composes her essay.
- Eugene, Rhonda, and Sheena drop their entries in the mailbox, and
even Wartz gets into the act as he prays before dropping in his
entry... I suppose the corner of Wartz's envelope is supposed to say
"Mr. Wartz"? Instead it reads more like "rur wartz".
- Next, the announcement of the results... and Phoebe wins, and she
jumps in her room a lot like she will later do in "Phoebe Skips". Her
first big problem: getting Helga (her best friend) to tag along. Helga
balks at the idea of watching "some lame no talent guitar player",
especially seeing how Phoebe just suddenly came out of the closet
about being a Matthews fan like everyone else... however, Phoebe
eventually gets her way. We'll see Helga think differently from
everyone else again in "It Girl", with Helga being the only kid in her
class who refuses to audition for a modeling job.
- Her other big problem: Figuring out what clothes to wear. After
trying on a few outfits (a tie-dye shirt, grunged up hair, and
sandals? Pass), she ends up with a red dress with a red scrunchie.
Basically, her normal clothes, only red instead of the regular colors.
- The concert is at the Civic Auditorium. And of course, we see him
play his big hit. Cue shot of the word "Wow" reflected in Phoebe's
specs. All I can say is, "Wow."
- It's now 8pm, and it's time for the two of them to meet Ronnie
Matthews backstage. PR lady Cynthia provides the 411 on what Matthews
is doing: He has to take off his make-up, have a sauna, a massage,
some meditation, and dress himself again. She also has some rules:
only ask questions that can be answered with yes or no, laugh at his
jokes, love his white suit (IIRC), and complement his singing.
- Now that they head in, they walk past a gallery of people. Cynthia
introduces them in quick succession: Ronnie's psychic, Ronnie's video
game consultant, Ronnie's make-up, Ronnie's personal one-on-one hoops
opponent, Ronnie's trainer, Ronnie's brother in law, etc. And now,
Ronnie...
- ...who, for some reason, speaks with an accent not heard in the
songs and pronounces Phoebe as FOH-bee, as Helga and Phoebe have their
conversations. Okay, Phoebe is clearly more enthusiastic about
Matthews' music ("It speaks to me") than Helga. Four-Eyed Dweeb is the
popstar fanatic here, after all, and not the Unibrow.
- Anyways, Matthews has decided to take the two out to dinner at Joe's
Eats (we'll see it again in "Jamie O In Love"). Matthews is starting
to win over Helga, as he orders the most expensive thing on the menu.
On the other hand, he drops the fact that he doesn't know how to play
guitar (even though he carries one in his shows) nor does he write, or
even sing, "his" songs. Those two facts are a letdown for Phoebe,
while Helga, now dancing with him, only seems to like him more that he
can actually make money doing that.
- After dinner, Matthews drops the two in front of Phoebe's house, and
Phoebe expresses her utter disappointment in him and his handsome
face. After Matthews leaves, Phoebe rants on about how disappointed
she was about, well, everything she loved about Matthews (read: his
songs) being just a heap of lies. While Helga is busy pointing out to
Phoebe that she'd begged her into tagging along, Phoebe drones about
how she feels stupid that she was actually a fan of this fraud's
supposedly beautiful songs. Leading into the moral of the day as
spouted by Helga: Anyone can be fooled by a handsome face (read:
Matthews), even smart kids (read: Phoebe) included.
- That said, they're making some wisecracks about Matthews, and walk
into Phoebe's house together, and as if to make a statement, the ep
ends with a Matthews concert poster being blown off an electric pole
in front of the house, before playing an extended mix of Matthews' hit
over the credits.
- Trivia: Matthews' talking accent is courtesy of Bronson Pinchot
(Christian Mena is responsible for the singing bits), star of Perfect
Strangers. In one ep, Pinchot's character was involved in a little
music video conotroversy about lip synching. And in Friends, was it
not that show's Phoebe who got involved in making the "Smelly Cat"
video, which also had blatant lip synching? Hmm... eerie.
- Quotables: "A bunch of guys screaming your lungs over some lame no
talent guitar player" (Helga clearly doesn't like the idea of going to
Matthews' concert) "We're kids, we do have curfews you know?" (Helga,
just before meeting Matthews) "It speaks to me, it's just wonder and
great. Right, Helga?" "Eh, it's okay!" (pause for comical SFX) (Phoebe
and Helga, on Matthews' music) "You can pretty much buy anything..."
(Helga on Ronnie) "Keep this under your hat: I don't even sing those
songs" ... "Man I'm impressed" (Ronnie has just PO'd his biggest
fan... and yet Helga now loves Ronnie) "I thought you were more than
just a handsome face" "Thank you, I take good care of my face" (Phoebe
now hates Ronnie's guts, and he's totally unaware) "Anybody could be
fooled by a handsome face" (Helga does have a point... yes, even
someone like Phoebe)

[ungvichian]

Extra notes... kinda pointless, but what the heck?

"World Records":
* Joey, Rhonda, Sid, Stinky, Nadine, Vitello... I'm pretty sure Tnadct
or whoever posted a more detailed list of who was involved in what
somewhere.
* Stinky is still wearing his bracelets. Harold and Brainy are riding
the pony at J-Mart. And Helga is standing in front of The Donut Cafe
at the end.
* And sorry if I already pointed this out, but since only Arnold and
Gerald have tried so many records, shouldn't it be just those two
getting recorded?

"Helga's Boyfriend":
* While Helga is getting Stinky to be the titular boyfriend, his
bracelets seem to briefly disappear (they later *permanently*
disappear ;) ). And his lunch tray definitely disappeared... And after
that, we see Iggy and Sheena walk in front of the library.
* At the Skate Time rink: Let's see who I managed to ID without the
benefit of a recording: besides Helga and Stinky, Gerald, Robert,
Iggy, Phoebe, Sheena, Eugene, Park, Sid, Nadine, Ruth, Arnold...
Eugene is with Sid at one point, Iggy is with Ruth at another point,
and Arnold and Gerald are together (of course). ...How'd I do? :D
(Again, I'm sure Tnadct has a better list of who was there...)
* First appearance of the Drymon Medical Center (later seen in
"Gerald's Tonsils" and "Baby Oskar"). And right after that scene,
Phoebe is jumping rope, and Nadine is chasing Sid in the playground.
Hmm...
* In the halls: I see A&S walking past Park, Robert, Joey, and Harold.
* The bit in the cinema at the end: doesn't it remind you a bit of
"Curly's Girl"? Here, Helga is willing to sit with Stinky just because
he's sad, and there, Rhonda is willing to put up with Curly just
because he's sad.
* After this ep, Gloria's appearances are limited to non-speaking
roles. What, couldn't they have figured out how to make another good
story out of Gloria/Stinky?
* Extra quotables: "Wasn't that Helga?" "Uh huh" (Helga and Stinky
have just run past Gerald and Arnold) "(lovely) I'm counting down the
minutes until I meet you again... (angry) and it better be soon"
(Helga's expecting Arnold... and not Stinky) "I don't follow you boy.
Remember, I'm just a simple boy, you're talking weird" (Stinky, on
"other fish in the sea") "I can't believe it, Gloria?!" (Helga on
Stinky's new girl)

"Arnold's Valentine":
* Just before the break, the music playing the BG as Helga's dressing?
Re-used at the end of "Dinner For Four" with the plate washing.
So let's run down the last couple minutes again to see if I caught
anything new...
* So, Ruth is talking with Arnold about "who this Anonymous guy is" as
"Cecile's" barfing on and on, and after we see Ruth talk about Jenny
Stiletto and wearing her hair in two braids, she's staggering back to
her table. Gerald sees Cecile, and tells Arnold to hoof it over to the
Chez Paris.
* At the other cafe, Cecile throws her napkin and is leaving, as she
runs into Arnold with flowers. Back at the table, while Arnold goes
into his spiel on Ruth (details in the proper notes on the ep),
there's violin music in the BG, and there's a violinist in the BG as
well. Cecile says what she has to say, "I like you very much", but
instead of grabbing the hand Cecile has extended...
* ...Arnold hoofs back over to the Chez Pierre, and sees Ruth and some
busboy grab the same breadstick. As they're leaving Ruth is telling
Arnold the busboy (he never reveals himself to be the Anonymous guy)
to clean up. Cecile has seen the thing, and speaks angrily about the
thing. While Arnold's revealing what he's been trying to do for the
past 10 minutes, out comes the French Cecile, and Gerald (as Arnold)
decides to take her out for "steak tartare" (i.e. hamburger ;) ).
Gideon (alt.tv.nickelodeon) calls it a betrayal of friendship, but I
don't see it as that.
* If the French Cecile sounds somewhat like Fifi La Fume (Tiny Toons),
that's because they're the same voice actress (Kath Soucie). Anyways,
blonde Cecile takes her shoes, doesn't the truth about herself (like
Arnold), but gives a hint that he might be seeing her later on, and
leaves. Arnold has one of the shoes, and he returns to the Arms.
Having watched several other eps, this ep is the only 30-minute ep
that ends with the regular closing credits music. Wonder why's that?

Now that we got the extras out of the way... "Helga's Masquerade",
behaving more like Lila, is her latest scheme to take Arnold, while
"Mr. Green Runs" for city councilman, just to oust some corrupt
politician.

"Helga's Masquerade"
- Apologies if the notes for this story aren't that good or accurate,
because my memory is a bit rusty on the ep, and the quick notes I
wrote are a bit cryptic, but as I say, "all corrections welcome".
- So, Lila's cracking a gag about butter and udder in class. Today's
line up: Front: Gerald, Arnold, Lila, Curly, Middle: Helga, Stinky,
Rhonda, Sheena, Back: Iggy, Harold, Brainy, Nadine. Anyways, Rhonda's
giving out invitations to a costume party. I guess that she realized
how lame inviting only the cool people was ("Cool Party").
- At the cafeteria, Arnold and Lila are at the dessert table. Behind
them in the queue: Curly, Park, an unknown, Iggy, and Helga. Helga has
an idea: if Arnold has been gravitating towards Lila, maybe behaving
more like her is the way to get closer to him.
- Helga convinces Lila to teach her how to be nicer, and soon, Lila
and Helga are at Slaucen's, across the street from (or next to?)
Chopin Auto Repair, as Lila is recommending her that any stories she
tells should be based on personal experience. Sounds simple, but it's
pretty complicated.
- Another Lila tip on how to be more girly: Be less argumentative, and
more non-confrontational. Stinky, Sid, Sheena, Phoebe, Arnold, and
Gerald are somewhere in the BG while Lila's dispensing the advice.
(Told you my notes for this ep were REALLY vague.)
- Lila does a little walking in the park, and Helga is scrawling notes
on a notepad. It's worth "pausing" to note that I've always wanted to
use a screencap of Helga taking notes for a theoretical site to
feature my notes, and this is the very ep it comes from.
- Helga tells a tale about a primadonna at a ballet with fat legs, and
in the cafeteria (IIRC) are Stinky, Sid, and Harold, Arnold and
Gerald, Brainy and Park, and Phoebe, Nadine and Sheena. I said, my
notes are vague.
- Some character pops up somewhere with a foam #1 finger after going
to an opera. I'm not kidding here, but I don't remember much about
this non sequitur, or why I was reminded of Helga's mom. As I said,
the notes I scrawled for this ep were pretty vague. Also, somewhere
along the way, Lila is cracking a joke about beepers and zookeepers.
- Rhonda has decided to go with both triangle and square finger
sandwiches for her party. If this was before "Polishing Rhonda", she'd
probably go for triangles alone. Let's see who's dressed as what at
the party: Helga as Lila. Really. Lila as a monkey, Nadine as a
ladybug (how appropriate), Stinky as a woodsperson (a la "The Aptitude
Test"), Sheena as a tree, and Gerald wearing an afro like in "6th
Grade Girls".
- Anyways, much of the party scenes is Helga pretending to be Lila
alone with Arnold. After Arnold discovers the masquerade, he decides
to head back in. Well, I think that's what happens. If any corrections
are needed, feel free to correct me, either in the newsgroup or on the
boards.
- So at the end, Helga is overhearing Arnold and Lila talking about
Helga from Rhonda's closet. Arnold actually has some nice words to say
about her little masquerade. Helga has a mini-soliloquy about the
whole thing in the closet.
- When/If I get to see it again (won't be for a few months tho :\)
I'll try to provide less vague notes (I've already made a new set of
notes for the previously reviewed "Weighing Harold"). Okay, next!
- Quotables: "It's high time I turned over a new leaf" (Helga tells
Lila to teach her how to be nice) "True life. Got it" (Helga) "That's
gotta be the unseemly schoolyard tale I've ever heard" (one of the
students) "New beeper? I thought you said zookeeper" (Lila, right?)
"But he does like me, that means I'm halfway there" (Helga overhears
Arnold and Lila's conversation)

"Mr Green Runs"
- Mr. Green is complaining about politicians' lunch breaks. Oh, did we
mention that there's a hole in the front of his store? He decides to
visit Councilman Gladhand about it. Gladhand is carrying a bag saying
Daddios Tennis, and he's headed for a late lunch at Vine St... and
fobs off Mr. Green. Later on, Zeke's Junk Store lays down a plywood
board over the hole, and Green complains about it, especially that
soon later, Phil runs into the hole and causes a blackout.
- So, what does Green do about this whole mess? Enlist the services of
Arnold... and run for councilman. Seriously. The headline on the
Hilltop Rag (35c) the next day asks: "Local Butcher Runs Against
Councilman Gladhand: Does Green have the chops?" Meeting the press
with the banner "Meat Mr. Green", we learn that Arnold got Gerald
elected 4th grade president (cf. "Cool Party"), Next Monday night,
Green will be having a debate with Gladhand.
- After a decent speech, time for the debate. Here's something you
don't see every day: Green not wearing his hat! Anyways, Gladhand
seems to have the debate under control, and says "Vote Gladhand,
you'll be glad you did."... Backstage during a break in the debate,
Green is complaining about Gladhand using lots of fancy words, and
Green himself is having a hard time trying to do the same. He even
wrote words like "incumbent", "orchestrate", and "scapegoat" on an
index card. Arnold has a tip: Don't use fancy words, and just be
yourself (and I've lost count of how many times they've done a variant
on this).
- He puts back on his hat (and I presume other butcher clothes) as we
seamlessly cut back to the debate. Green opens his routine with the
words: "Imagine if the neighborhood was a big butcher shop." He even
has Gerald lower a chart not unlike the type used to ID cuts of meat,
only this one has the neighborhood on it. Well, he's bowling everyone
over, even as Gladhand protests that he's just a butcher.
- Green makes another speech about hamburger and filet mignon in the
city park. Later on, in front of the Arms, Gladhand drives up and
makes an offer to Arnold: Have Mr. Green quit the race, and he'll fix
his pothole. Arnold won't have any of that, because there are other
potholes to be fixed.
- It's the big day. PS 118 features as one of the voting precincts.
Voters pull down their desired candidates' arms a la one-armed bandit
(I'm not kidding here). Later on at Green Meats, Green is receiving
the phone. His supporters are expecting the worst...
- ...but Green has indeed won. Let's hope that Green doesn't become a
hypocrite and make himself unavailable at any time like Gladhand.
While Phil is cracking a joke about Green giving him a food sample,
Gladhand peers into the celebrations at Green Meats... and dejectedly
walks straight into the pothole :D as the Bartlett credit appears. The
credits then go out over the "Buddy Love" theme with special thanks to
Gwen Renner.
- Credits note: Phoebe and Helga now have another thing in common:
They've both been uncredited for the titular role of a story (Phoebe
was uncredited for "Phoebe Takes The Fall", Helga is uncredited here).
Also, Sid has a credit for some reason...
- Quotables: "Those politicians are always at lunch" (Mr. Green) "A
lousy plywood board? That's the solution?" (Mr. Green) "There he goes
again with all those fancy words" (Mr. Green on Gladhand) "I hate
wearing this three-piece suit" (Mr. Green tries running the debate...
as a butcher) "Our neighborhood is just like a prime cut of meat" (Mr.
Green, during the debate) "I care about my neighborhood, it's a prime
cut of a plate" (Mr. Green, at the end of the debate) "Let's not
overcook the important issues. I don't sell a hamburger and call it
filet mignon, and as your councilman, I won't throw a board over a
pothole and call it fixed" (Mr. Green at the park) "I would, but I
don't trust politicians" (Phil cracks a joke about Green's win as
Green offers a food sample)

[ungvichian]

Extras, read all about them!

"Coach Wittenberg":
- Isn't that Maria ("6th Grade Girls") on Helga's bowling team?
- So right after Harold throws his ball into the Yahoo! machine, let's
watch Rhonda throw a weird gutter ball. Yeah, like anyone can throw
that bad...
- Wittenberg mentions sensitivity, long before he resorts to it in
"Synchronized Swimming".

"The Big Scoop":
- Photos on the line (l-r): Helga, Stinky, Sheena, Phoebe.
- That nameless red head with specs seems to be everywhere: she's
walking on the ground floor at PS 118 before they show Helga (and
Phoebe) at the Pataki Press in the basement.
- Headlines in the first editions of the new paper: "Arnold In Love
With Elm Tree!" "Gerald Plays With Little Sister's Dolls!"
- And note Sid's shadow (the huge nose is a huge giveaway) as Arnold
and Gerald are getting blackmail pics (in order: Helga sucking on her
thumb in bed, Helga playing a teddy with a bow on its head, Helga at
ballet class).
- Plus, note that the same footage of kids running to pick up their
papers is used twice.
- In the BG as The Weekly Word goes up against The Pataki Press:
Peapod, Sheena, Park, and there's that Maria again.

"Harold's Kitty":
- Playing kickball near the start: Nadine, Sid, Rhonda, Phoebe, Arnold,
Gerald.
- Watching the standoff: Nadine, Peapod, Stinky, Arnold, Rhonda, Iggy,
Stinky, Phil, and I think I see Suzie as well.
- Just before the climactic open, in one shot, Harold's parents are
standing next to their door, but in other shots, no one's shown
standing next to the door (and it says "The Bermans" on it, right above
the "Cupcake is not here -- Go away" note).

"The Teachers' Strike":
- In the auditorium: Helga, Sid, Phoebe, Rhonda, and Harold are sitting
in that order, Park is there, and sitting in the back rows: Nadine,
Sheena, Stinky, Robert.
- Kids walking around the various places (arcade, bowling, aquarium)
during the strike: Arnold, Gerald, Phoebe, Brainy, Sheena, Stinky,
Helga, and Harold.
- Sign in BG while Arnold etc. are talking about coffee: "Public School
Teacher Expo". Sign held by picket: "Wartz is Cheap". Hmm...
- Some of the students in the classroom at the end (I did not record
the ep, so this is all I noticed): Front row has Harold, Sheena, Sid
and Gerald, and the 2nd row has at least Stinky, Phoebe and Arnold.

"Arnold's Valentine":
- At the start, Katrinka and possibly Connie are in the halls with
Ruth.
- Helga calls Ruth "bracey facey" but she's not wearing her braces in
this story.
- Helga, Rhonda, and Curly in one column, Gerald, Stinky and Phoebe
(and a whitish Nadine) in another. Hmm...
- What's with those three Arab-looking guys sitting behind Cecile and
her dad in the plane?
- And I can confirm that the same music from the end of the first
segment of this story is used at the end of "Dinner for Four".

"Monkey Business":
- As Stinky would say, "I don't get it": Simmons' class mentions some
fake diseases, including her so called "monkey nucleosis", so why
doesn't she realise she's not suffering from it until the very end
(when Phoebe tells her)?
- Confirmation of who gets what (from left to right): Stinky,
paddleball. Harold, yo-yo. Arnold is about to go in. Gerald, false
teeth. Nadine, a horn. Rhonda, just coming down with dresses.

"Phoebe Cheats":
- Who sits where in the classroom (of those visible): Front row:
Arnold, Helga, Phoebe, Sheena. Middle row: Nadine, unseen, Stinky,
Gerald. Back Row: 2 unseen, Iggy, Harold.
- Who I see in the auditorium at the end: Iggy and Stinky sitting
behind Miriam, Helga and Bob, and Arnold is sitting near them. Phil and
Pookie are there, as are Nadine, Rhonda and Park.
- Given how HA! loves to replace its closing theme where appropriate, I
think Anndi McAfee (Phoebe) reading a new poem on how she needs to be
the best and things (as per Simmons' request in the last scene) would
have been more appropriate to do over the closing creds. I mean, I
think it would have brought things full circle better, and besides,
didn't ATBG do this with "And She Was Gone"?

A psychologist decides to put "Helga On The Couch" to talk about her
various psychological problems... especially those involving Arnold.
Thoughts follow shortly, all corrections welcome.

- After the regular titles, we're treated to a static shot of PS 118 as
the 30-minute episode credits roll ("Title" / Written By and Story By /
Music By / Director credits). Looks weird since Arnold and Gerald are
standing still in front of PS 118, and a bus crossing an intersection
in the BG is also still.
- After the credits: Arnold, Gerald, Helga, Phoebe, Curly, Harold,
Rhonda and Nadine are entering PS 118, while Wartz is greeting Dr.
Bliss, child psychologist. She's watching Sheena playing with Iggy,
Nadine playing with Brainy, and Stinky and Harold running around in the
school playground. Wartz is telling Bliss that the school is the
picture of mental health, but as soon as Bliss leaves Wartz's office,
she sees Helga shove some kid who looks like Seymour Stump ("Spelling
Bee").
- In class as Helga is entering: Sheena, Gerald, Arnold, Iggy, Phoebe,
Helga, Curly. Phoebe greets Helga in Japanese, and Simmons is
introducing Bliss to the class. The lineup today goes as follows:
Front: Arnold, Gerald, Sheena, Harold, Middle: Helga, Phoebe, Iggy,
Brainy, Back: Curly, Stinky, Rhonda, Nadine.
- Bliss notices Helga spitballing on Arnold, meanwhile, we see Helga
peer into a math book with her shrine in it (usually it's where she
keeps her LPB, right?). More spitballs. "What? What are you looking at,
football head?" Class ends, and lots of spitballs are falling out of
Arnold's hair.
- Helga tells Phoebe to save the foursquare court for her, and
threatens to pull Harold's appendix out. Meanwhile, she peers on
Arnold, and has her little soliloquy on him in the locker, and it ends
with (what else?) Brainy getting punched. Bliss sees this, and next
thing you know, she's in Wartz's office with Bliss. Wartz is getting
her to visit Bliss' office after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Bliss talks about her behavior and other issues, and Helga briefly
looks at her math book (with her shrine inside) with some concern.
- On the way back to the Patakis', she's soliloquying on how calm she
is (she's apparently high-strung as she's saying this), when she runs
into a lemon stand (10c per lemon), and she freaks out upon seeing the
knocked over lemons turn into a bunch of Arnold heads chasing her. Very
funny, actually...
- Bob and Helga have a brief discussion on the whole therapy business.
Next thing you know, right before bed, she's wearing a model of
Arnold's head in her closet worshipping her shrine. She falls out of
the closet and Bob sees her wearing the Arnold head. Bob calls her a
nutjob :D
- Next day, a trenchcoat-wearing Helga gets off the 773 bus at the
Hillwood Medical Center, where she runs into Phoebe... with a double
cello case??? Anyways, they have a brief discussion about how it's not
embarassing to have therapy. In the office, Helga is occupying Bliss'
time as much as possible to avoid having to discuss a certain
football-head. For example she jumps rope with Bliss and even takes
over the psychiatrist role and questions Bliss herself ;)
- The day of Helga's next session. After having gone to the Brandenberg
concert this past weekend, Olga's here with a lemon souffle, in a
pastiche of 1950s sitcom style, and she mentions her job in Alaska
("Student Teacher"). Helga takes a can of beans and a spoon to school.
- But enough about school, because Helga's at Bliss' again. After some
more psychological discussion, Bartlett makes things interesting as we
head into the break: the next thing Bliss decides to talk about is
Football Head. Yes, Arnold. Cue dramatic sting.
- After a shocker of a break, we return as Bliss asks her about the 50+
spitballs she gave Arnold earlier in the ep. Helga's answer: it was
"Arnold day" on her calendar, whatever that means. Next, ink blots.
Somehow, they all morph into silhouettes of Arnold. She blurts out
random answers like "Architectural structure", "Inverterbrate" and so
on, until she reaches an inkblot that already looks like Arnold...
which turns into a full color profile of the kid. She decides to throw
the blots out.
- Next is word association, and Helga continues her attempt to dance
around the issue. For example, when Bliss says Monday, Helga blurts
"Night Football!" and falls off the chair. After word association,
Helga tells about her day. Cue flashback...
- Miriam is sleeping on the couch. Helga has just found a can of
shaving cream in her lunchbox, and decides to ask Miriam. Apparently,
she has just confused it with cheese spray (yes, it's a common food in
the US). Bob is hilariously trying to shave with the cheese ;) Anyways,
she says to Bliss that she gave it to Harold, who thought it was some
sort of whipped topping.
- And then Helga goes off into another flashback, which is, so to
speak, the money shot of this ep. Little Olga plays the Minuet by
Chopin, getting appreciation from the parents, and little Helga goes
off to the nursery alone. She's stuck in the rain... until little
Arnold comes by and gives her his umbrella. Arnold makes a comment on
her bow.
- Anyways, here we are at the Urban Tots nursery. We recognize Eugene,
Harold, Helga, Gerald (although with a 3 on his shirt) tapping fingers
with Arnold, Rhonda, Stinky, Sid, Phoebe, and Sheena. Helga threatens
Harold with "Ol' Betsy and the Five Avengers"... when she explains that
those are her fists, it confuses Harold.
- Later, she hides behind a wastebasket, and drags out a Valentine's
heart with a picture of Arnold pasted on it. Yep, it's one of them
soliloquys, and guess what happens?... Brainy sneaks up and gets
punched.
- Back to the present day. Bliss asks why she wanted that minute alone.
Helga, obviously trying to stay off the subject of Arnold, mentions her
family and Bliss asks why Helga's taking her anger out on Arnold, and
she keeps insisting that she's not angry... that is, until Bliss
mentions that it's professional code not to tell what's going on here.
After a build up... we finally get to hear Helga blither on and on
about her love for Arnold. It's more emotional here than when she did
it to Lila in "School Play", you can have my word on that...
- Helga also mentions her gum statue of Arnold (from "Arnold's Hat").
Bliss makes some comments: gum statue aside, it's okay to be obsessed
(Toonzoners: "Hey!") as long she's not hurting anyone, she doesn't have
to tell him just yet... and she should stop punching Brainy (well,
that's one advice she took to heart ;) ). Well, their hour's up, and
watch Helga hugging Bliss. Ah...
- Okay, she gets off another bus, and she tells a complete stranger
that she's changed (Toonzoners: "Changed? I don't think so"). She
passes a sign saying "Space To Let, 555-RENT", and next thing you know,
she runs into Arnold, and it plays out... like when they ran into each
other at the end of "Helga's Love Potion".
- After that scene, Helga hides in an alley and goes on and on about
how Arnold just doesn't get it (fans would agree, given the "clues"
Arnold has seen). And sure as death and taxes, Brainy pops out, with a
ring in a pencil sharpener, as if to say, "If you love him so much, why
the heck don't you just go ahead and marry him?". Helga asks him why he
sneaks up on her all the time, and although she doesn't get any
answers, she lets him off this time, but with a warning. We won't be
seeing any punching again until "Married".
- The bit with Brainy ends with the music from the end "Helga's Love
Potion", and Helga walks past the lemon stand. The lemons turn into a
bunch of Arnold heads asking: "Hey Helga, how you doin'? Lookin' good!"
She points to the lemons with a knowing glance, and the ep irises out
to the credits, which run over a continuation of the incidental from
the last scene. Of note: Craig's daughter Katie Bartlett voices the
little Helga, and Special Thanks goes to "Franny" (no doubt referring
to Helga's usual voice).
- BTW, to Toonzoners, this ep was a waste of time. It should be a
character-building story, but not only does Helga not change her
attitude towards Arnold, they don't even mention her visits to Bliss in
subsequent stories. It's a classic case of simply discarding any
character development. Not the first time they did this...
- Quotables: Tons! "Unlike PS 177 and 199, PS 118 is the picture of
mental health" (Wartz apparently hasn't gotten to know about Helga at
her worst) "No Japanese this morning Phoebe, I have a headache" "Okay,
English" (Helga and Phoebe) "Whup-de-doo, school shrink. Bring it on,
I've got nothing to hide" (Helga is busy drawing Arnold as she's saying
this) "If Harold tries to take it (the four square court), tell him
I'll pull his appendix the old fashioned way" "Saving!" (Helga and
Phoebe) "Breathing?" "Yes, breathing" (Wartz and Helga, on Brainy) "I
never expected she would find a candidate for treatment before
lunchtime" (Wartz on Bliss) "I think your behavior is covering up some
of these issues" (Bliss) "We didn't have therapy when I was a kid"
"Yeah, that's obvious Bob" (Bob and Helga on therapy) "Some things are
best swept under the rug" (I think Big Bob said this?) "Just getting
ready for bed" ... "Yeesh, what a nutjob" (Big Bob comments on Helga
with Arnold head) "I am not angry" (Helga) "How many books do you have
to read to be a shrink?" (Helga) "Are no air conditioners are working
in this entire bulding?" (Helga) "They're just inkblots" (Helga throws
inkblots out) "Whaddaya know? One minute flat" (Bob, on Olga playing
Chopin) "I like your bow, because its pink like your pants" (little
Arnold to little Helga) "Your fists have names, you're confusing me!"
(Harold when he was three) "Now we're getting somewhere" (Bliss, after
Helga's emotional outburst) "It's okay to be obsessive?" (Helga...
although I do believe that many Toonzoners were thinking this as well)
"So animal sacrifices are out" (Helga, on Bliss' "as long as you don't
hurt anyone" comment) "Watch where you're walking football head, quit
walking into me!" (Helga to Arnold) "This one's for free, but next time
you better watch out" (Helga to Brainy) "Hey Helga, how you doin'?
Lookin' good!" (Arnold lemons)

[ungvichian]

Well, it's my first post in this thread in 2005, and it's been a year
(and a month!) since I started my HA! posts, and since I think the
extras I've accumulated over the time between the last post and now are
threatening to take over my new ep notes posts, here's extras from
other eps, and I'll post my next new ep notes later.

"Helga's Makeover":
- Apparently, there's a law office in town run by Carnas and
associates... note the scene where Helga runs into some guy and yells
"I'm a girl!"
- Baseball: Arnold's pitching to Harold, with Sid as the catcher, and
Helga's shoving Eugene to get to the ball. Iggy and Stinky are at the
sidelines, and Brainy's at first base.
- Magazines Helga buys: Bowling Bonanza, Farmer Woes, Wrestling, Tatoos
Tatoos and most importantly Preteen Miss. There's an ad for
Hair-B-Still Plus inside, and she's using it for her personal makeover.
- At Omar's Falafel Hut when Sid comes in to tell about Helga: Harold,
Iggy, Stinky, Park, Gerald, Arnold, Brainy.

"Arnold's Thanksgiving":
- The school play's in front of a blue curtain, but when Eugene's
trying to show off his corn maize, the background curtain is red for
one shot.
- Also, if the maize pot's supposed to be behind the "fire", why don't
we see it when Harold knocks down the "fire" the first time?

"The High Life":
- Am I the only one who thinks that this story seemed more like the
first half of a half hour ep? I mean, it's like Lipman and Kite just
ran out of ideas when they got to 11 minutes, and decided to cut the
story off here, without giving any resolution to the rollerskates bit
of the story.
- And as for the last line of the ep... why not make it "Guess you'll
have to save up your allowance like everyone else" or something like
that? Kinda gives more closure than "How are you going to get those
skates now?" or whatever Arnold said.
- Now to the ep: Notice how Gerald's skateboard has tape all over it.
- Mr. Wacko makes watches. Repeated footage anyone?
- Isn't that Seymour Stump ("Spelling Bee") at the barber shop? And
note Curly on the bus.
- Gerald gets a phone line at 555 0011.
- Maria's at the arcade, and so are Harold, Stinky, Sid, Eugene and
Brainy at least. I think Park was there?

"Best Friends":
- Joey, Curly, Eugene are at one table while Rhonda and Nadine are
discussing their project. Didn't get a good look at who was other
tables, sorry.
- Rhonda on Nadine: "I'd be happy to style her hair, but she won't let
me." And yet why's Nadine wearing a different style in "Helga's
Makeover"?
- And why does a poster on Nadine's wall read "Shell's" (there probably
shouldn't be an aprostrophe)?
- Dodgeball today: Gerald, Sid, Eugene, Stinky, Arnold.
- 3:05. Cafeteria. Iggy's at one table. Brainy's at another. Robert and
Park are at another. Helga and Sheena are sitting together. Joey and
Iggy are at the same table, as are Curly and Eugene. Meanwhile, Arnold,
Gerald, Harold, and Stinky are talking about the whole Rhonda/Nadine
affair.
- Baseball after the Rhonda/Nadine affair has been resolved. Harold
hits the ball, Gerald catches. I think Brainy was playing as well...
- In my opinion, this plot was kinda ridiculous. And not just because
we had no idea Rhonda and Nadine had been best friends either. This is
an early example of Arnold being too helpful for our own good (even
Gerald sez so), and Michelle Lamoreaux hasn't come yet. Even Arnold
says they're behaving like babies.
- Fashion show. Rhonda and Nadine are announcing (of course), while
watching are: one row, Sid, Phoebe, Eugene, Sheena, Stinky, the other:
Helga, Iggy, Brainy, Harold.

"Helga's Love Potion":
- Walking out of the school after Helga and Phoebe's convo: Sid,
Phoebe, Arnold, Rhonda, Iggy, Harold, Sheena and Stinky.
- I count 14 books of Arnold-inspired poetry in Helga's hands. Dream
sequence: I see Helga falling past football, books, and hearts, over a
background of blue Arnold-head shapes.
- Listening to Helga's "pink dress" poem: Sid, Gerald, Arnold, Brainy
in the front row, Stinky, Curly, Harold in the left 3 seats in the
middle row, Phoebe, Helga, and possibly Rhonda in the left 3 seats in
the back row.
- School hall scene after the "pink dress" poem, and right before
Brainy punches himself ;): Hey, aren't those Connie and the red-head
with specs in the hall?
- Right at the end, there's another law office: Garcia, James & Co.
Personal Injury, Corporate stuff, Speed Reading. There also appears to
be a bike tire store.

"Gerald's Secret":
The whole biking sequence is worth taking a look, especially if you
recorded it. I did when it re-aired again, and here are things worth
freeze framing for:
- Biking in front of the bleachers at the start of the bike race
sequence: Park, Sid.
- Left to right at the starting gate: Brainy, Rhonda, Eugene, Helga,
Stinky, Arnold, Hartold, Iggy, Joey, Curly.
- Who's there, what they're wearing, and what they're riding, attempt
no. 2. The format is "Name: Shirt / Pants / Bike / Helmet".
Arnold: Red/Blue/Red/White with red stripe
Iggy: Light purple/black/red/Light orange with dark orange stripe
Curly: Yellow/dark red/Red/White with orange stripe
Harold: Light blue with red rim/Dark blue with red rim/ yellow/ Blue
with white strip
Robert: Light Green/Black/Yellow/Light green with white stripe
Rhiond: Red/Black/Blue-purple/white with red stripe
Helgs: Pink/Dark pink/ Blue/light blue with blue stripe and bow
Eugene: white/Blue/Yellow/ Green with yellow stripe
Joey: light green/bluish-green/yellow-orange/blue with orange stripe
Brainy: Yellow/blue/red/bluish-green witrh lightgreen
Park: light blue/blue/yellow/white with yellow stripes
Sid: white with red rims/blue with red rim/orange/red with white stripe
Phoebe: blue/dark blue/red/green with light green dots
Gerald: Red with 33 on it/Blue with long legs/blue/ light blue with
orange stripe
Stinky: Green/Blue/Red/Green with orange stripe

Again... whew!
- Notable sudden changes:
* Rhonda can be seen on the right hand side as Arnold is biking into
position, but in the wide shots, she's on the left side.
* At the start of the race, as Sid points to Gerald and yells "There he
is!" his bike is more of a yellow than an orange shade.
* Curly's pants turn green as he's passing the 8km marker, and Brainy's
bike is suddenly light blue.
* Somehow, they don't show anyone passing Arnold and Gerald during the
shot of them putting their feet on their pedals, even though Stinky is
supposedly passing them at that time (from the previous shot).
- Placement:
* Around the first bend: Harold, Iggy, Helga, Eugene, Gerald, Joey,
Arnold, Stinky, Brainy, Rhonda, Curly.
* Passing the 8km marker: Helga, Eugene, Arnold, Gerald, Harold,
Stinky, Rhonfa, Iggy, Curly, Brainy, Park.
* Heading up the hill: Helga, Eugene, Park, Brainy, Gerald, Arnold.
* Peloton passing A&G: Helga, Iggy, Harold, Rhonda, PArk, Phoebe,
Curly, Stinky.
* Order of bikes passed by A&G: Joey, Phoebe, Brainy, Rhonda, Sid, then
Helga and Iggy, then Harold.

"Longest Monday":
- At the start of the story, eating at the playground bench are: Helga,
Phoebe, Gerald, Arnold and Eugene on one side, Stinky, Sid and Harold
on the other. And ever noticed that Gerald's foot goes into Eugene's
food while he's talking about Trash Can Day?
- In class with Arnold and his little strategy: most of the regulars
are there (Rhonda seems to be the only one who isn't), as well as Iggy,
Joey, and Curly.

"Eating Contest":
- In the cafeteria while Harold and Stinky are showing off to Arnold
and Gerald: There seems to be a problem with who Joey is sitting
with... in one shot he's sitting with Curly and Eugene, in another he's
sitting with Iggy and Robert. Meanwhile, Ruth sits with Sid (eh?),
Rhonda sits with Nadine (of course), and Phoebe sits with Brainy.
- Sign in Yogurt Shop: "The Original Blue Plate Special". Watching
Seymour inside Yogurt Shop: Arnold, Gerald, Harold, Stinky.
- Juice, Apple Pie, Hot Dogs... these are stalls just outside the
eating contest.
- And someone is probably thinking of rewriting the rules to prevent
something like Arnold's completely lucky win from happening next year
;)

"Rhonda's Glasses":
- Layout during the part where Eugene and Curly are fixing Rhonda's
specs (as far as I can see): Leftmost column: Helga, Phoebe, Stinky.
Rhonda sits in front of the second column, and Brainy is that column.
Third column: Eugene, Curly, Park. Rightmost column: Joey and Sid are
in the 2nd and 3rd chairs.
- During Rhonda's standoff, you'd think she would at least have
mentioned (perhaps in response to Fifth Grader's "I didn't make the
rules") how she used to do what Fifth Grader's doing now. Meanwhile,
seen getting on the bus: Arnold, Gerald, Brainy, Katrinka, Nadine.
- Lamoreaux should have taken some pointers from Stella on how to write
a "token Arnold role" ep: in short, make it so that if you take
Arnold's few lines out, the story isn't affected significantly.

"Eugene Goes Bad":
- Note that the kid Eugene talks to about "to heck with everyone else"
was in the PS 118 halls while Eugene was pulling the fire alarm. Also
in the halls: Nadine, Sheena, Katrinka, Harold, Sid, Rhonda, Connie,
Maria and Arnold.
- Watching Eugene kick over some bikes: Park, Phoebe, Curly, Sheena,
Harold, Robert, Stinky, Brainy.
- Drinking at the water fountain: Park, Iggy, Curly, Eugene cutting
ahead of Arnold.
- I usually don't re-recap scenes in extra notes, but this one had to
be done: So, the Abdicator actor is named Maurice. He's in his limo
talking to his agent (?) about how he found out what the word
"abdicator" meant (abandoning your duties) and how he felt bad about
it. Agent: "Every big actor has 1 or 2 disgruntled fans." Maurice
leaves the limo and runs, and the next time you see him, he is walking
past a church when he hears a cry for help from Eugene.
- Trivia: Maurice (as in LaMarche) isn't the first character to take
their name from their voice actor (BTW, I had to research online due to
the wrong credits being attached): Vincent Schiavelli did the voice of
"Pigeon Man", aka Vincent.
- Sign Eugene is throwing tomatoes at: "Take Yourself Out To Lunch"...
an ad for some diner, plugged with the Abdicator.
- Ain't that Seymour Stump ("Spelling Bee") in one of the windows in
the endscene? "Caesar" appears to be there too.
- Other kid says he won't be back until 9:00, and his usual bed time is
8:30? Must have really strict parents...

"What's Opera, Arnold?":
Not much new to note, since Don Del Grande already made several
corrections when I wrote my notes.
- Eugene is apparently in the gallows for the entirety of Helga's
sequence. Note that he is already in the gallows when he's with the
others in some sort of crowd scene.
- Curly and Arnold fight with... well, they're shaped like orange
umbrellas, and Curly takes his in the armpit ;)

"Mugged":
- Arnold gets mugged near some shoe store called "Shoe Haven".
- Kids watching Arnold show off his new found skills: Gerald, Harold,
Sid, Robert.
- Arnold and Gerald walk past a truck for "Shark's Sea Foods" just
before Arnold helps Eugene and Brainy.
- Seen at PS 118 during the only part of the whole ep that takes place
there: Eugene, Robert, Rhonda, Stinky, Sheena, Joey, Billy.

"Steely Phil":
Am I the only person thinking that Arnold should have said something
like: "Why didn't you just try again the next year, if you knew you
could have won?" That way, Phil could then have answered with the "my
dream was shattered" monologue from the flashback.

"Quantity Time":
- Am I the only person thinking that Helga should have just told Bob
about Slam Jam the second she saw herself in front of the other thing?
I know I would pointed it out, especially if I still had the flyer with
me... Then again, this is coming from the same person who wonders why
they don't show Bob going ballistic upon seeing Phoebe compete in
Helga's spot in "Phoebe Takes The Fall".
- Note the first example of Bob's anti-refund strategy, long before his
"Crisis" in season 5.
- "Submarine? I thought you meant the whole sandwich" (Phil)
My notes for "Beaned" and "Old Iron Man" follow in a couple minutes.

[ungvichian]

Apologies for the delay... Google Groups problems.

Arnold has just "Beaned" Helga, and Helga decides to take advantage of
his hospitality, and Phil and oft-mentioned, now-visiting Jimmy Kafka
enter the "Old Iron Man" competition. Thoughts follow shortly, all
corrections welcome.

"Beaned":
- We open with a rain loop, as the bus arrives at PS 118. Arnold is
giving Rhonda his umbrella, leaving Helga to cover herself with a book.
Later, he opens the door for Stinky and Sid to the cafeteria, while
Helga gets knocked in the face ;)
- Gerald mentions the upcoming Quigley Field Old Timers game this
weekend. Arnold is helping Harold the ball monitor, while Helga drops a
ball on her foot. She has a soliloquy about how Arnold seems to help
everyone (then again, this *is* a Lamoreaux ep),
and she's busy holding a flower that she just picked (somehow, a bunch
of flowers grow in the concrete)... when she's hit by a baseball in the
head ;)
- Arnold hit that ball. Harold, Rhonda, Sid, and Stinky are looking at
Helga as Arnold comes to her side. Apparently, she's even forgotten her
own name. So there's nothing to it but for Arnold to drag Helga back to
her home. Helga asks "Where's home?"
- Back home, Arnold gives Helga a bowl of soup and a spoon. Watch her
put the spoon in her ear! :D :D :D When I recorded this, I played that
scene over and over.
- Nighttime. Helga is holding her geography book upside down. She is on
chapter 4, about New England states. She has Arnold read it to her, but
it's not long before Helga's fast asleep.
- The following morn, Miriam comes in and tells her about Arnold
dragging her in. Helga realizes that she could take advantage of his
hospitality, and thus, that's what she'll be doing.
- Helga and Arnold are walking down the street, and it's raining again.
They're walking under one umbrella. Gee, how romantic :p The sun later
comes out, and since they're near a flower patch when that happens,
Arnold takes some flowers and gives them to Helga. Meanwhile, a tiny
Helga is sitting on big Helga's hair, talking to her. This, my friend,
is her conscience.
- The Jolly Olly man is somewhere in there, and someone pulling off
Helga's bow is also somewhere in there. Helga and Arnold pass Harold,
Rhonda, Sheena, and Stinky on their way to the classroom.
- Classroom. Helga was supposed to partner with Sheena for a class
project, and Rhonda was supposed to partner Arnold. Helga and Rhonda
swap partners, and Rhonda is not amused at the idea of pairing with
Sheena. Now, Helga is holding her geography book right side up. A mini
Helga pops in and sits on her hair and kicks her nose before
disappearing. (Phoebe is in the classroom, BTW, as is Gerald.) Helga
then reads the chapter title (still on Chapter 4) backwards ;)
- Helga, Sid and Stinky are lunching, and Stinky reckon's that she's
gone from bad to worse. Later on in the playground, Arnold offers Helga
a cup of pudding. Helga is holding the cup of pudding and the spoon
when her little Helga pops up again briefly. After she disappears,
Helga suddenly puts the spoon on her nose :D :D :D and Arnold decides
to feed her the pudding.
- In the hall, Gerald talks about the Old Timers game from earlier, but
Arnold is declining, since, well, he's supposed to be responsible for
Helga. Helga realizes that she has a problem. So, when Arnold is
offering to take her home, Helga pretends to slip, and then conks her
head on the water fountain ;)
- Now that she's "fine", she gets to yell at Arnold when he offers to
carry her books. But a voice-over shows how mushy she feels about that
offer... ;) Next!
- Quotables: "Helga: that's such a nice name, wish it was mine" (beaned
Helga) "The sky, it is making water" (fake beaned Helga on rain) "This
is not gonna be fun" (Rhonda, on being partnered with Sheena) "I reckon
Helga's gone from bad to worse" (Stinky at lunch) "He's a regular
nitwit if you ask me" (don't know the speaker, don't know who s/he's
talking about, all I know is it's from this ep) "I didn't say you could
feel all weird and mushy" (regular Helga)

"Old Iron Man":
- Johnathan Greenberg. Haven't heard fom him in a while... We open with
the music you tend to get whenever Phil is the focus of the story. You
know, the "old guy" music from the montage in "Grandpa's Birthday".
Anyways, Jimmy Kafka (first mentioned in "Part Time Friends") visits,
and Phil talks about how the only thing he seems to be good at is
cheating.
- Indeed, they argue over a tricycle race, and over where its finish
line was at a lamp post or mail box, and then over a Fourth of July
race at the Grand Cooly Dam ("it was a swimming contest"). They flick
peas, they arm wrestle, they play battleship, they regular wrestle etc.
- Anyways, there's a TV ad for the upcoming Old Iron Man competition.
Apparently, it's one of them triathlon thingies (thinks of the one
Reggie Rocket quit in an ep of RP once) for geezers. Run 10 miles, bike
20 miles and swim 8 miles. They're both signing up, betcha saw that
coming huh?
- They're training. Jimmy carries a fridge. Phil lifts some weights.
Phil crashes his bike not just once, but when he's biking on a
stationary bike in the Arms laundry, it falls off and he runs into a
wall ;) The night before the race, Phil tells Arnold (reading a UFO
book) that he want to kick Jim's butt. (Phil drinks from Arnold's fish
tank! :D) Arnold visits Jimmy and he does the same (minus drinking from
the fish tank ;)).
- It's the big day, and the starting line for the event is near the
pier in front of "Sharks R Us". Ernie, Hyunh, Oskar, and Arnold are in
the benches. So, Ernie's betting $25 on this muscular guy named John
McLaine (who's being photographed) winning the thing. Well, it ain't
happening: McLaine is lying and convulsing on the ground at the sound
of the airhorn, so Ernie's paying Oskar.
- During the run, Jim beans Phil with a bottle, and during the biking,
Phil retalitates by deflating Jim's bike, while Jim ropes Phil off his
bike later on. (Well, I think that's what happened...) Well, now,
they're in the water, and it's getting dark, and they're getting tired,
and they're arguing. And they're turning this into some drowning
contest :D
- Oh, did we mention that there are sharks in the water? Phil and Jim
decide on punching one of them, and having Phil carry Jim (whose legs
have gone numb) to the line. So, Jim punches a shark, and he's then
carried to the line. They finish last place, as Arnold comes with a
flashlight to pick them up, and Phil and Jim are still arguing over who
got them there, as we head to the credits over the Buddy Love theme.
Special Thanks: Joey and Brent.
- Quotables: "That doesn't mean I can't hate him" (Phil on Jimmy) "It
was a swimming contest Jimmy, a swimming contest" (Phil) "See, Arnold?
This is why I always tell you to wear a helmet" (Phil crashes his bike)
"I gotta kick Jimmy's butt even if it kills me" (Phil) "I got dibs on
muscle boy" (Ernie on John McLaine) "Just because they're broke and
lifeless doesn't mean I can't use 'em" (Phil on his legs) "That's the
stupidest thing I've ever heard... let's do it!" (Phil on Jimmy's plan,
or was it the other way around? Harold later says something like this
in "On The Lam")

[ungvichian]

Before we get to the next ep's notes, an extras marathon:

"Phoebe Cheats"
I notice that Arnold has just one speaking scene in this one (picking
up Phoebe's trophy). Why not stretch his role to actually show him
giving back the trophy to Phoebe? That way, Phoebe and Arnold could
have the talk Phoebe and Simmons did, and there would be enough room
for her to write a new poem and read it at the assembly.

"Eating Contest":
- Other stalls near the contest: Corn Dogs, and Lemonade.
- Why I think Helga was only in two shots during the whole contest
sequence: Ever notice that they don't show the left benches for long in
the sequence?

"Rhonda's Glasses":
- Playing baseball near the foursquare: Arnold, Gerald, Harold, Stinky.
- Classroom: In one shot, Sheena is sitting behind Eugene and Curly...
in another shot, Park is sitting behind the two.
- Rhonda calls Eugene a "pencil-neck", hmm...
- Others on the bus, Katrinka, Brainy, Arnold, Eugene, and the nameless
redhead.

"The Aptitude Test":
- Correction of classroom layout on the day of the test, and the
results: (all rows from wall to window) Front: Eugene, Gerald, Arnold,
Sid. Middle: Stinky, Helga, Phoebe, Rhonda. Back: Curly, Brainy,
Harold, Nadine.
- Helga and Brainy both got Woodsperson on their results.
- On the back cover of "Ornamental Horticulture": "Buy seeds by mail
order!"
- The music Harold is listening to will feature later on in "What's
Opera, Arnold?"
- Later on, in math class: Rhonda, Phoebe and Helga are all in the same
row, Sid, Nadine, and Curly are one of the columns (front to back) and
Harold is sitting behind Rhonda. And yet the wide shot at the start of
that sequence is the same as from the day of the tests and the
results...
- Turkeys from pinecones! :D
- Extra quotables: "Hope I get the kind of job which comes with a
uniform and a big paper hat" "Stinky... you're an idiot" (Stinky and
Helga, and turning down the contract later in "Stinky Goes Hollywood"
won't help his "reputation" either) "Then it's obvious I'm gonna be the
first Nobel Prize winning female president with the power to see
through walls" (Helga) "What a throwpillow" (Big Bob, after talking
with Simmons)

"Oskar Gets a Job":
- Slide whistle + cowbell = funny sound FX!
- Peru Electric El Rapido line: Wash Ole, Super Day
- So, the coin box didn't fall from Oskar's pocket as I originally
wrote in the notes, it's just the tell-tale jingle of coins that gave
it away, so sue me :p Like I said, I wrote these notes several months
after scrawling some scribble notes in Notepad.
- Oskar's age: 38 years.
- First place Oskar looks for work: Tedesco Industries.
- Arnold uses the potato clock in this one, and the Daily News route
passes through the park (note the bridge).
- First day: 4:15am. Second day: 4:30am.
- Original notes: "Arnold has a stern talk with Oskar about getting
responsible for delivering the papers... and after that, Oskar makes
the claim that tomorrow's a national holiday. How about that!" In
addition to that, Arnold is calling him a big loser before going up the
stairs (see below and no, he's not talking about a certain reality show
that didn't even exist back then ;) ). Not every day you see Arnold
getting harsh on someone...
- It's not just the laundry where Oskar overhears negative comments:
Ernie and Hyunh are in the kitchen calling him a "class A bum" and
watching Pookie vacuum, and Arnold and Suzie are doing the same in the
laundry. Followed by Oskar promising to himself to do the job... Cue
frantic music as Oskar's going on his route... it's later used in the
bathroom scene in "A Day In The Life of a Classroom".
- Original notes: "After receiving some congratulations from Arnold, he
and the other boarders are betting on how long he can hold this job."
They're betting that Oskar won't be doing the job tomorrow, and the day
after.
- I note that the first credit that comes up after the story ends is
"Writing Producer"... usually, a different credit is at the start of
the closing credits, I believe.
- Quotable context correction: "With a big beautiful secretary, okay?"
(Oskar is looking for a job that pays a lot for minimal effort...
Arnold's reading the want ads as he says this)
- New quotables: "How many sick days do I get?" (Oskar at the Daily
News) "I thought you said you wanted to change, but I guess I was
wrong. I'm sorry Mr Kokoshka, but you are a huge loser" (Arnold... and
the worst part is, every time Oskar gets a focus ep, he's back to being
a major bum, so this comment is eerily correct) "I'd just wish for once
he'd do what he says he's gonna do... but I guess that won't ever
happen" "I know. I thought he really wanted to change, but he was just
fooling us all, just like he always does" (Suzie and Arnold in the
laundry)

"Curly Snaps":
- There's apparently a food drive at 118. And Stinky is the first to be
beaned by Curly.
- Correction time...
* Original notes: "In the library, Campfire Lass is telling Peapod,
Robert, and Ruth to come over, and I believe there was another scene in
similar fashion involving Iggy at the cafeteria."

From watching: In the library, Campfire Lass is telling her fellow lass

friends to come over, Sid is telling Eugene and Brainy in the bathroom
to come over, and there's a shot of Peapod, Robert and Ruth in the
stairwell (but isn't Ruth already at Wartz's office?).
* Original notes: "...Simmons has been eating cup noodles in room
206..." From watching: The noodles weren't in a cup, they were in a
tray.
- Liked this quote the first time around, still like it today, but now
with better context: "Save your new-age-isms for the saps, granola
boy!" (Curly beans Simmons after listening to his "everyone's special"
speech)

"Pre-Teen Scream":
- Before she wrote "Sid's Revenge", Michelle Lamoreaux co-wrote this
story with Dawn Hershey. This is a rare ep from her where Arnold's role
is minimal... and actually meaningless to the plot.
- Listening to the radio at the start: Rhonda, Eugene, Sheena, Arnold,
Gerald, Phoebe, Helga.
- Radio announces Phoebe as the winner: "I'm pleased." Jump cut to
Phoebe jumping on her bed! :D
- Phoebe gets Helga to tag along to the Ronnie Matthews concert only
because there's lots of free stuff. Cf. "It Girl" where Michael McKean
gets Helga to be a model only because there's lots of free stuff.
Remember: this girl who won't embrace Matthews or audition for modeling
is the same girl who buys wrestling magazines.
- Outfits Phoebe's trying on: What can be best described as an orange
Elvis outfit, then a white suit, then the grunge outfit, then a pink
ballet dress. Then she shows up at Helga's with the red dress and
scrunchie.
- During the concert, there are a few shots of Phoebe with a yellow
scrunchie instead of the red one she's wearing for the concert.
Meanwhile, Helga has popcorn.
- Rules for being with Matthews: Don't ask hard questions like anything
he can't answer with "yes" or "no", don't touch his white suit, do
compliment his singing.
- Okay, let me go over the scene at Joe's Eats (it has the number 182,
BTW) again:
* So they're here because one of Matthews' interests is eating. After
Matthews has ordered the most expensive thing on the menu, he mentions,
in response to Helga's comment that he can buy anything, that that's
his biggest satisfaction. Phoebe's a bit surprised to hear this...
isn't his biggest satisfaction writing and singing great lyrics and
strumming his guitar?
* Well, he doesn't write his songs, play the guitar, and it's not his
voice coming out of the speakers. That, my friends, is what leaves
Phoebe so shocked at him, while Helga is appreciating the fact that he
actually has all those people working for him, his own sandwich, etc.
He then puts on his "Face" song on an old-fashioned table jukebox, and
dances with Helga, while Phoebe is still at the table, moping. Thus
setteth up the final scene (see my original notes for that).
- Quotables, part 2. New ones, and corrected ones: "I can't believe you
even *entered*" (Helga is shocked at Phoebe's win) "I've been to a
concert, and it's just a bunch of guys screaming their lungs over some
lame no talent guitar player" (Helga) "You've really snapped your cap
over this guy" (Helga to Phoebe on Ronnie) "Keep this under your hat:
That's not me singing those songs" (Ronnie) "You're a sham" "You're
amazing!" (Phoebe and Helga on Ronnie)

"Eugene Goes Bad"
- Did anyone ever think of "pairing" this ep with "Pre-Teen Scream"
seeing how this ep is also about a sham entertainer?
- Eugene has had a poster saying "The Abdicator is Neat".
- Sid is plaing ball in the park while Arnold and Eugene argue over the
whole bad business.
- There's a billboard saying "new jacket" in the shot before showing
Maurice's limo.
- Stairs incident: There's a store called O'Conners, and Eugene and the
other kid walk past it at the end. Also, watch Eugene jump through the
ladder! ;) "...it's not every day you get to hear someone else saying
'I'm okay'..." And it's not today either, as Eugene says this as he
jumps through the ladder ;)
- "Actor and agent are passing a church and are talking about how kids
need a hero to look up to." It's only the actor who's passing the
church (while agent is still sitting in his limo), and the kids need a
hero bit is a thought bubble.
- Quotables, again: "Where's my apricot juice?" (Maurice) "It's
Hollywood, Eugene" (Arnold on stuntmen) "As far as I'm concerned, The
Abidcator's a fake, and if the Abdicator's a fake, then there's no
reason to try to be good and honest anymore" "I think you're taking
this thing a bit too hard Eugene" (so *this* is what makes him go bad?
I would have thought that any of his personal injustices, like the
death of a certain goldfish, would have made him go bad...) "So?? Sue
me" (Eugene to Wartz) "Eugene???" "That's my name, don't wear it out"
(Arnold and Eugene) "...I guess the only thing you got to say to me is
'Look out for yourself and the heck with everyone else'" (little kid to
Eugene)

"What's Opera, Arnold?"
- I see Robert, Sid, Stinky, Gerald, Nadine, Park, and Phoebe during
Arnold's bit of the story. Then again, my original notes already have a
more detailed list of who's seen when and where, so I'll just quote any
corrections I need.
- Note Gerald putting a tape in his portable player while he's watching
Carmen ;)
- During Helga's Ride of Valkyries take-off, Sid is shown in one of the
windows as lots of kids are singing "Football Head", but is back on his
cow less than 20 seconds later.
- "Helga is getting changed, with Katrinka setting up a panel, and two
other unknowns helping her dress." One of those unknowns is a Campfire
Lass (not THE Campfire Lass in "Chocolate Turtles"), as seen in "Curly
Snaps".
- "Adding insult to injury, Curly kicks a pot on to Arnold's head :D,
dances on a pedastal (wasn't this shot used just earlier?)" By which I
refer to the shot of random women going "Ah..." The last time that shot
was there, they fainted.
- The red head is visible at some point during Helga's sequence.

"Stinky Goes Hollywood"
- And again with the shams. Speaking of which, the guy who played the
sham in the previous ep "Pre-Teen Scream", Bronson Pinchot, is back as
the director and the chauffeur. "Ciao, Mr. Arnold..."
- Isn't that Seymour Stump lining up to audition for the job?
- Stinky and Arnold are walking past a piano repair shop after Stinky
gets the job (his looking around the stage in reaction to that:
priceless).
- The Buddy Love music is used to intro Stinky as a guest on Revis.
- Watching Stinky's boxer ad on a TV: Helga, Sid, Harold, Rhonda, and
Arnold. And the star shot from that ad is not the same as that used in
"It Girl", as it had white stars in it (the "It Girl" one has just red
stars).
- He even made The Ball Street Journal's Fortunate 5... note the scene
where the gang are looking at a billboard.
- MST3K-ish riff: as some guy is pouring Yahoo in a champagne glass:
"So Stinky's the new Joe Millionaire?"
- As Stinky's leaving school to film an ad, he's being mobbed by Sid,
Sheena, Helga, Rhonda and Harold.
- Katrinka and Eugene are among those on a bus with Yahoo ads on it.
- All those kids outside of the Petersen cottage... and not one of them
thinks of yelling at Stinky to sign?
- Some critique:
* I am still of the thought that Stinky should have explained why he
refused to sign. Failing that, at least have him explain his lack of
justification...
* Another possibly wasted opportunity: Why didn't they play up Stinky's
dilemma? He does have one: Sign and let Snee Oosh take advantage of his
unproud medicrioty, or refuse and let down his dad and his friends?
* I probably would have shown the producer guy saying something like
"Besides, he's poor, and this is a $1m contract. He's not turning it
down..." and then cut straight to Stinky turning it down. Now that
would have been snarky.
* I'd also have expected Stinky to mention that he didn't just turn
down the contract, he turned it down in front of his own dad and
friends, who was begging him to sign. Then again, would it have taken a
little tarnish off his claim of being special?
* Heck, why not just make it a 30 minute ep, and accomodate some more
of those ideas?
- Extra quotables: "It ain't no city soda: It's Yahoo" (Stinky) "A
little more pancake under the eye" (Stinky)

"Olga Gets Engaged"
- And even more shams! Douglas Sham, in this case (although I'd think
he'd write his last name more French-y like "Chambre" or something).
- Given that Bob and Miriam saw Helga congratulate Olga on getting
engaged when they thought it was a bad idea, shouldn't they at least
chide Helga?
- I guess this was Lamoreaux's "prototype" of the eps she wrote: Arnold
is in it for only about a minute and a half, and yet his role is
crucial to the resolution (even if it doesn't seem so at face value).
- The music we hear in Olga's room is the same as that played in "Olga
Comes Home".
- "Miriam's a world-class swimmer, and Doug's supposedly an
Olympic-class swimmer." Correction: Miriam's an Olympic-class swimmer,
and Doug's supposedly an Olympic-class diver. "Olympic-class liar is
more like it..."
- Joey, Stinky, Eugene, Rhonda, Curly, Gerald, Sid and Sheena are
looking at Douglas as Arnold and Helga are talking at the bench. And
please: how many times do we have to put up with Helga turning down
Arnold's advice, only to end up using it at the end of the ep (in this
case, without Arnold knowing)?
- Let's see what Doug says he's been: Tackle for Green Bay, appliance
salesman of the year, Olympic-class diver (to go with Miriam as an
Olympic-class swimmer), an actor who wants to run an appliance chain, a
pro race car driver.
- So, Doug leaves on Helga's weaksauce threat to redial Linda? I would
have *paid* to see a Doug-Helga verbal catfight at the church...
- Helga writes Doug's letter on one line over and over. Really, just
look at it.
- And apropos Doug's letter, something must have happened to Helga
between "Olga Comes Home" (where Helga truthfully discloses the whole
deal about Olga's grades) and here (where instead of ratting on Doug as
the sham he is, Helga writes the letter). That was pretty dirty,
teabag!
- Personal note: When this scene played out, I wrote on a sheet of
scrap paper "What a teabag", followed by as many exclamation points I
could before the credits began. I counted 39 exclamation points.
- Quotable: "He's all hat and no cull" (Bob on Doug) "I've never told
you, but I always thought you were really wise when it comes to judging
people" (Olga to Helga... and whither Helga changing her mind after
this sequence?)

"Rich Kid"
- In class today: Front (wall to window): Helga, Lorenzo, Arnold,
Gerald. Middle: Stinky, Sid, Phoebe, Robert. Back: two rightmost seats
occupied by Harold and Nadine.
- At the baseball game: Helga runs the bases, Iggy, Joey, and Arnold
are baseman, and Robert and Lorenzo are in the outfield.
- I still don't see why they spent a whole story to introduce Lorenzo
to PS 118, but only used him in a speaking role once subseuqently
("Arnold's Room"). Of course, HA!'s not the only show that commited
this sin: RP used "Reggie/Regina" to introduce Trent to Ocean Shores,
but he also had just one subsequent speaking role ("Major Scrummage").
- Extra quotable: "I tried to schedule some fun last month, but I had
to cancel it" (Lorenzo)

"Helga Blabs It All"
- The phone answering machine is next to room 5.
- Was Anndi McAfee sick or something? While her Phoebe appears in the
story, she doesn't speak at all.
- At the Arms to discuss go-karts: Arnold, Gerald, Park. Harold,
Robert. Curly, Sid, Stinky, Eugene.

"Harold the Butcher"
- Since this most likely takes place after "The Aptitude Test", why are
Harold etc. discussing future careers at the start of this story?
- Poster at Green's: "Beef is Your Buddy".
- Lunch at PS 118 one day: Chuck roast with oatmeal filler.
- In the "Harold's Meat to Eat" dream, there's a special on chicken
wings.
- Harold is holding a bucket of pickled feet on his final day at
Green's.
- Among things sold at Green's at the Annual Meat Sale: Briskets, Lamb
Chops, Veal.

"Helga and the Nanny"
- During Helga's soliloquy on getting rid of Inge, the pattern on her
ear disappears briefly.
- After Inge's firing, Nadine, Rhonda, Stinky, Phoebe, Arnold and
Gerald are in the playground talking about her firing.
- I would have added Helga saying, "Everything sure is, Inge..." in
reply to her note.
- Extra quotables: "What consequences? I got away with it, didn't I?"
(Helga's line belongs in the other story paired with this one too,
"Arnold Betrays Iggy") "I trust everything in your house is the same as
always.... Inge" (Inge's note at the end of the episode)

"Ghost Bride" and "Gerald vs. Jamie O" follow shortly.

[ungvichian]

The gang hears about the legend of the "Ghost Bride", and we have
"Gerald vs. Jamie O" fighting over a 13-year-old girl... but where's
Phoebe? Anyways, thoughts follow shortly, all corrections welcome.

"Ghost Bride"
- We open at the Hillwood Gardens Cemetery, with Curly, Sid, Stinky,
Eugene, Harold, Arnold and Gerald, with Helga lagging way behind. As
usual, Eugene is the person who is way behind on knowledge of the city
and giving a character an excuse to tell him (and us) about something.
In this case, it's the legend of the Ghost Bride. Curly is trying to
butt in on Gerald telling about the tale, since it's his (Curly's)
favorite. However, Gerald insists on being the one to tell it.
- In a nutshell, some woman named Cynthia Snell was stood up at the
altar by her fiance, and the following day, after Snell found out he
married her sis, walked down 13 blocks to their house at 1am, whacked
them with ax, waited for the cops to come, then jumped out the window.
- Conveniently, it's the anniversary of the occasion tonight, and
they're planning on going to the cemetery. Helga, however, is being
barred from participating since it's a boys only thing. Kinda like the
time when Harold wouldn't let Helga play baseball ("Helga's Makeover").
- Later that day in the tool cabinet (as seen in "Helga's Parrot"),
Helga is hatching her plan for revenge on the boys. It involves a
croquet mallet. How *does* she make it look like an ax, I wonder? (And
Del Grande is thinking the same thing as I am.)
- So, tonight, the boys are at the cemetery. Helga secretly locks the
door behind them. Arnold looks at Snell's grave, which has conveniently
had so much grass grow over it. You'll understand the convienience of
all that grass when you watch the ep.
- Okay, they see that the door has been locked, and there's someone
humming "Here Comes The Bride" (Del Grande says that's not the "Wedding
March" as they say it is). Okay, now they're being scared by the Ghost
Bride. Helga ropes the door, and then trips them with the rope! :D
- Helga hears another ghost, and she's then running to catch up with
the others. Since she's in the bride's dress, it doesn't take a rocket
scientist to figure out that she was pulling a prank on them. However,
she tells them about the other ghost that was chasing her, and yep,
they're all being chased.
- They pass a tombstone saying RIP Tony, and get into some sort of
building inside. They see a dead body in there. Anyways, Arnold and
Gerald decide to investigate the whole ghost thing.
- The ghost approaches the building and opens the door... and Arnold
and Gerald rip off her dress. Make that *his* dress, since it's Curly!
:o :o :o Apparently, Arnold and Gerald saw Curly's red socks under the
dress. Curly explains that he was getting his revenge for Gerald not
letting him tell the story.
- Anyways, everyone decides to gang up on Curly. As they're walking
home, Arnold says that it'll take half an hour for Curly to figure out
that the doors only lock from the inside. Problem is, the doors aren't
locked... and Curly's all bound and gagged. Okay, next!
- Quotables: "This place gives me the creeps... it's full of dead
people" (Harold) "Not for girls, huh? I'll show them who gets scared
too easily" (Helga with the mallet) "I wonder if I'm gonna wet my
pants" (Harold) "Here lies Cynthia Snell. She lived her life and went
straight to... (BONG) I can't read the rest" (Arnold reads the
grass-filled tombstone of Cynthia Snell) "That doesn't sound very
reasonable to me" (random kid on the whole thing) "It's just such a
catchy tune" (Eugene on "Here Comes the Bride") "Sure we can, this guy
did" (some kid is pointing to a dead body) "I can't believe how nice
you look in that dress" (ratchet sound) (Eugene to Curly)

"Gerald vs. Jamie O"
- We open the tale in similar fashion to "Jamie O In Love"...
basically, Jamie harassing little brother Gerald (but not Arnold)
around. Here, Jamie's stealing his bike, then stealing his room, and
ripping up a Pop Daddy ("Chocolate Turtles") shirt Gerald ordered
through the mail and wearing it for the rest of the story.
- Next scene, Gerald is talking with Arnold about how he's always
stealing things from him. Next thing you know, he runs into this girl
named Chloe, who wants to borrow a cup of sugar from the Johannsens'.
Chloe is 13, and is in Junior High. Okay, time for Jamie to pop up,
abuse Gerald and trip Gerald over :D Anyways, Gerald invites Chloe to
come over for dinner to meet the whole family.
- Evening. Gerald is freshening himself up in the bathroom. He's having
a spritz of Breath-O-Fresh (it's in the same cabinet at Stingo for
Sting Relief and Non-Drowsy Tylom). Gerald's parents aren't here
tonight, since they're at some underwater ball (correct me if needed?),
so that leaves just Gerald and the sibs.
- Jamie does a little personal grooming at the table... ear picking ;)
Dinner today is eggs, cheese, wheat toast, and French fries. Mom's
specialty. Jamie is eating the fries, while Timberly spills the OJ.
Next, Gerald and Chloe are watching clowns on TV, but Chloe is busy
looking at Jamie reading comics.
- The next day, Chloe skates and runs into Jamie's car... and oh yeah,
hits on Jamie. Gerald doesn't notice, and makes a cool hand gesture
(see it here: Loading Image...
)
- Okay, now Chloe is really turning her charm on, but Jamie is still
not interested. She's even talking about how mature she is while she's
chewing gum. Gerald sees this, and he and Jamie are having a stern talk
about the whole Chloe thing. Let me paraphrase the points they're
trying to make... Jamie: "She's only using you." Gerald: "Stay away
from Chloe!" Gerald's so obviously convinced that Jamie is trying to
steal Chloe, so why doesn't Jamie clear things up by mentioning his
lack of interest in her?
- Timeout. Gerald is in love with a new girl, but hasn't Steve Viksten
already established that Gerald has a crush on Phoebe ("Operation
Ruthless", "Wheezin' Ed")? Where's the "Phoebe gets jealous" subplot,
then? When you think about it, "6th Grade Girls" also features Gerald
charming older women, also without Phoebe being involved in the plot.
- Okay, now Arnold and Gerald are at the batting cages. Iggy is just
entering, and Caesar is manning the booth. In the cages, there are
signs saying "No pepper, no spitting". Arnold and Gerald are talking
about the whole thing. Basically, Gerald claims that Jamie doesn't like
it when Gerald has something that he doesn't have.
- Back to the main plot. Gerald and Chloe are playing video games, and
this game has ended with a final score of 30 to 27. There is a poster
of dinosaurs in Gerald's room. Chloe leaves the room.
- Next we see of Chloe, she is wearing Jamie's jacket. The last person
Jamie fell in love with received this jacket from him ("Jamie O In
Love"), but here he doesn't approve of it, and Gerald takes some
offense at that.
- Gerald and Chloe are playing ping pong (like "Arnold & Lila"). Soon
as she's done with that, she heads over to Jamie who's lifting
barbells, and has a go at lifting them herself.
- Edmund and Gerald are buying ice cream from Jolly Olly, while Chloe
is jumping on a pogo stick. She falls off and sprains her ankle, and
Jamie is carrying her. Now Gerald (back fom buying ice cream) is pretty
mad at that.
- This is where Jamie pummels Gerald, in public to boot, but more
importantly in front of Chloe. This prompts her to tell the truth about
using Gerald to get to Jamie. Gerald's disappointment at the truth is
followed by Gerald and Jamie talking to each other about the whole deal
in one of the bedrooms, after which Jamie gives Gerald his shirt.
- Johanssen kitchen, summation scene. Gerald's eating pie, and going
over what we've just heard. At the end, he says that he's talking
things out with his bro. Next thing you know, he's yelling over Jamie
taking his slice of pie! :D Don't you just hate it when a character
reverts to the way he's always been? ;) We head into the credits over
the Buddy Love Goes Coconuts music, with Special Thanks to Anne
McCracken.
- Quotables: "Have a nice trip... (TRIP!) Nice trip, I kill me" (Jamie
trips Gerald) "French fries, for breakfast?" "It's dinner Timberly"
(Gerald and Timberly) "Theres no way I'd ever be interested in you"
(Jamie to Chloe... now if he mentioned that fact to Gerald, there'd be
less of a story now, wouldn't there?) "I'm very mature for my age"
(Chloe is blowing bubble gum as she says this) "We both know he can't
stand it when I have something that he doesn't" (Gerald to Arnold at
the batting cages) "I finally talked things out with my brother"
"(taking the pie) Gotcha again sucker!" (Gerald and Jamie)

[ungvichian]

Extras, as usual:

"Arnold's Room":
- Arnold's pictures: Arnold and Gerald and Arnold and Phil. Sid's
pictures: Sid, Sid as a baby, Sid and his dad.
- Playing basketball in the gym: Katrinka and one of the Campfire
Lasses ("Pre-Teen Scream"). Meanwhile, Sid is speaking with Stinky,
Joey, and Harold (who's eating a Mr. Fudgy).

"Gerald Vs. Jamie O": In the credits, Avriel Epps is credited as
"Timberley".

"Olga Gets Engaged": Corrected quotable: "Olympic-class *liar*, you
mean..." (Helga sees Doug saying "I'm an Olympic-class diver")

"Mr. Hyunh Goes Country":
- Hyunh's recording his CD at Son Records, home of the likes to Bocheck
Bo and Slim Whickins.
- Hyunh's CD gets played instead of "I Gone And Went And Lost My Dog
Again" by Billy Bob Cypress, on K-DUDE during Nashville Ned's show.
- Isn't that static shot of a radio during the "Hyunh becomes famous"
montage bit straight out of the start of "Pre-Teen Scream"?

"The Pig War":
- Listening to Phil's story of the war: Arnold, Gerald, Sid, Stinky,
Helga, Phoebe.
- If Rhonda was sitting in the back of the boat with Brainy and Harold
when it crashed into Elk Island, why is she on the ground in front of
the boat in the next shot?
- "You walk like you got an umbrella in your pants!" (Gerald)

"Best Man":
- At the very beginning: I can understand not showing the bunt itself,
but if Stinky and Arnold can go into detail on why Arnold bunted, why
does Helga say just "Brilliant idea, except for just one small problem:
We _lost_", instead of going into detail on how (say, something like,
"Well, the pitcher raced to the ball and tagged Iggy out")?
- And even without telling the details, why not at least make a quip
about the so-called sacrifice, something among the lines of "You
'sacrificed' our win as well"? Yeah, much ado about nothing, but still,
where the bunt is concerned, it's like only hearing half the story.

"Cool Party":
Sign of the times: at the end, note that Iggy is peering over the edge
of the roof watching Curly run some animals past the Arms at the geek
party. It's official: Iggy is no longer cool... and there's a reason
he's keeping his distance from Arnold, Sid and Stinky (see "Arnold
Betrays Iggy").

"Hall Monitor":
The music the school band is playing as Phoebe is walking up to stage?
Used in "The Old Building", "Runaway Float" and "The Racing Mule".
What, is this Jim Lang's standard "marching band" cue?

"Career Day":
- As the students are picking their careers, the background music is
from "6th Grade Girls" (the bit with Arnold and Gerald dancing).
- Katrinka and the nameless redhead are among the first customers Jolly
Olly Willy is serving.

Harold is about to learn why being "Suspended" from school is supposed
to be punishment, and we have "Ernie In Love" with some modeling chick
in a story with just 3 speaking characters: Ernie, said chick... and
Arnold.

"Suspended"
- Class layout, left to right: (front row) Phoebe, Helga, Gerald,
Arnold, (middle row) Stinky, Sid, Lorenzo, Harold, (back row) Rhonda,
Nadine, Curly, Brainy. But in the close up shot of Harold, it appears
that he and Lorenzo are not in the same row... Anyways, he got a D+ in
a recent test, and he diatribes to Arnold about how much he hates going
to school.
- After class, Harold walks past Katrinka, and sees Wolfgang chasing a
bunch of kids with a fire extinguisher. This gets him suspended. So
basically, Harold has an idea... but Wolfgang didn't leave any foam for
him to spray Wartz with! ;)
- Wartz takes the extinguisher for refilling, and Harold says "Stupid
dork..." And even thought Wartz's door is closed, he hears that and
pops out. Harold sees the opportunity, immediately admits to the crime,
and gets himself a week's suspension by the rules of Chapter 34,
Section C, Part 2.
- Harold's walking past Ben's Bottling Company while he's talking to
Arnold about his suspension, and how it's supposed to be a good thing
for him. The following day, Harold has his bags, prepped to go to
school. The parents wonder if he's had any instant coffee... They
leave, and Harold heads to the front door. It's locked, so he has to
climb in through the window.
- It gets worse. After he has a little prayer (the writers taking into
account his Jewish roots), he discovers he has no cereal. There's also
no Choco Cheese Munchies or Tucker Wafers (named after Tuck Tucker?),
or any kind of food in the kitchen. Anyways, he jumps on his bed, and
there's a Kaline poster in his room. He bumps his hed on the ceiling
and the bed crashes.
- So Harold decides to turn on the TV to see if there are any good
shows on. A cartoon abruptly cuts to MS-NDC's coverage of a world
economic summit in Kyoto, Japan (the logo is a turkey), and it's on all
channels to boot.
- So, he switches to playing hoops. There's grafitti saying "PS 119
Rules" at the court. Harold has no one to play with because of school.
After a few dunks, and eventually, after his basketball bounces off a
car, he decides he's had enough.
- Playground. Helga, Phoebe, Rhonda and Nadine are at the bench table,
Eugene and Curly are at the post with the ball, and Brainy, Joey, Iggy
and Robert are at the foursquare. Arnold spots Harold in the dumpster,
and after their brief conversation, some guy from Royal King dumps
cheese all over him! :D There's a brief shot where Harold appears to
have white eyes... anyways, Arnold, Sid, Stinky and Gerald walk past
the dumpster.
- Harold pulleys himself up to room 206, where Arnold etc. are learning
about the Boston Tea Party. Harold falls off the pulley, and gets
another week of suspension from Wartz.
- Next, he's wearing a Danica's Pizzas ("Deconstructing Arnold")
outfit. Apparently, he's planning on sneaking in under the guide of
delivering pizza... however, Wartz overhears his little exposition (his
flimsy disguise doesn't help either) and gives him another suspension
extension.
- Harold is digging a hole across from PS 118. Someone asks him about
the hole, and Harold explains that he plans to dig under the street and
into the school. Except that someone is Wartz, and he gives him another
suspension. Next, Arnold sees Harold trying to slingshot himself into
PS 118. Not only does the stunt backfire, Wartz sees both of them, and
not only hands Harold another extension, but also Arnold a two-day
suspension.
- The TV is still showing the economic summit. Arnold hates his
suspension, Harold even more. So, they head to the public library.
Arnold is studying up on school regulations, while Harold is reading
comics, playing games, and copying his butt. Yes, that behavior existed
in Nicktoons before Chuckie tried it in AGU!.
- Well, they run to school. Wartz comes out and tells them they're not
allowed. According to Chapter 14, Section 2, Part 5, it's fully within
their rights. And according to Chapter 39, Section 4, the suspended can
appeal if there are outside circumstances, and (according to section
39) can do so through an outside authority.
- Wartz however claims that this is an outdated constitution from 1956,
and cites another section or something. Cue "Big Fat Clown" music from
"What's Opera, Arnold?" as Harold is crying to Wartz in serious
desparation... and that actually works. His suspension will be lifted
as of tomorrow.
- Harold kisses Wartz, and runs into school. Wartz cites some rule
about running in the halls, but then adds, "Just kidding, run along."
After Wartz has a brief soliloquy on how everyone loves him, Wolfgang
runs and sprays Wartz, and Wartz unsuspends him, because he's already
been suspended (I still can't figure out the logic behind that one).
Next thing you know, Wartz's chasing Wolfgang, and he runs down
Harold's hole from earlier :D OK, next!
- Quotables: "Look at me, I'm a fireman" (Wolfgang) "Yes! I mean, oh
gee" (Harold) "Has he been eating the instant coffee again?" (Harold's
parents) "I hate being suspended, and it's only Monday" (Harold at the
basketball court) "Slowly after me" "No, not yet" (Harold and Wartz)
"You wanna try the sling shot again?" (Harold) "What is this place, a
prison or something?" (Harold sees the public library) "...outside
circumcisions" "-stances" (Harold and Arnold appeal to Wartz) "Just
kidding, run along" (Wartz to Harold) "'The true prince must temper
justice with mercy.' It's no wonder the children love and respect me"
(cue Wartz being sprayed by Wolfgang!)

"Ernie in Love"
- Mr. Potts is hiding in a trash can. He's watching some chick leave
some building. This takes up about half a minute or so. Later at the
Arms, Arnold and Ernie are in Ernie's room, and there are pin-ups of
that chick, whose name is Lola. Apparently, he's had a serious crush on
her ever since he saw her while he was doing some demolishing.
- He's even made a statue and written some poems about her. However,
he's never actually *spoken* to her. Something about fear of rejection
for being a short guy. The writers resist the urge to include Helga in
this story like when they had a gratituous shot of Helga in "Arnold as
Cupid" a couple seasons back.
- Arnold sez, that has to change, and gets him to set up a date with
Lola. In person. At a bench in the park. Done. So, Lola and Ernie are
going to spend the whole afternoon at the boardwalk. But Ernie will
need some help from Arnold to prepare for the date... so, they head to
some shops like the Big & Tall Shoppe and Vitello's Flowers for that.
- Arms, before the date. Ernie is trying some really high shoes, and
saying something about being short. Cue preachy Arnold speech on being
a big man, and I don't mean physically big.
- Boardwalk, and here's Lola. We have Ernie giving Lola some flowers.
We have the two of them eating cotton candy. We have Ernie getting
beaned with a skeeball. Robert is here, BTW.
- Okay, now Lola's in the toilet. Time for Ernie to ask Arnold about
what to talk about next. How about food? Now, they're at Frank's Fries
and Furters. Tidbit about Lola: she eats every two hours.
- Okay, now they're sitting on a bench at the pier talking about words.
Two more tidbits: She tries to learn a new word every week, and "noble"
is one of her words. And... that's where the tape cut off. Really.
Yikes, these notes are really short.
- Quotables: "I ran out of wallpaper? I dunno" (Ernie, on Lola pinups)
"Let's not kid around here, the fact is I'm short" (Ernie in tall
shoes) "Being a big man doesn't have anything to do wth how tall you
are" (Arnold's little preachy speech) "Initriguing, that's sort of my
word" (Lola, and words) "Noble that's one of my words" (Lola, and
words, again)

[ungvichian]

Extras:

"Best Man":
- Jack appears to have won a few of their little events: arm wrestling
and cherry flicking.
- Jack's top three: Winning, Air Hockey, and Tish. Yeesh.
- "What do you care more for, winning, or your wife?" Change "wife" to
"life", and I'd think Arnold would make the perfect match-fixer ;)
Heck, just change the context of this statement and it sounds good
enough.
- "Our offense was offensive" (Wittenberg)

"Cool Party":
- If Iggy actually made the cool list, why wasn't he seen at Rhonda's?
- Isn't the insert shot of Harold and Eugene after the whole "animals
at the zoo" comment from the school sequence earlier?
- First shot of Arnold's party: Hey, that's Ruth on the street, isn't
it?
- "Let's go throw rocks at a dumpster" (Helga) "Where did he learn
English, 'Green Acres'?" (Rhonda on Stinky, and are you allowed to
mention that show?)

"Arnold & Lila":
- Arnold changes his mind and decides that he does like Lila x2, and
then he finds out that Lila doesn't really like him. Irony much?
- And apropos the Helga/Lila scene in "School Play" later on, if Helga
can tell about her love for Arnold, why not the plain simple fact that
it was because of Helga that Lila was interested in Arnold to begin
with, and then vica versa?

"Grand Prix":
- Confirming the nitpick, the finish line is seen with a sign saying
Lap 1, but the photo of it says Lap 8.
- Not so move of the race: Letting Eugene drive, which lets Phoebe pass
them. And is it just me, or does the Wolfgang/Edmund post-race dialog
sound like it should be Eugene and Sid's (as well)?
- Arnold, beating Wolfgang is not that much of an acheivement since he
crashed. Flashback to when Rodger Klotz beat Doug Funnie in a car
race... because Doug quit.

Time to see that Arnie kid again as "Arnold Visits Arnie", and Arnold
deals with "Chocolate Boy" and (what else?) his chocolate addiction.
Thoughts follow shortly, all corrections welcome.

"Arnold visits Arnie"
- A Lamoreaux ep with Arnold as main, but not as Papa Teresa? This I
gotta see... So, Helga is busy assigning baseball positions at the
field. Left to right: Lila is center field, Gerald is first base, Sid
is right field, Phoebe is left field, Stinky is the "hot corner"
(Phoebe explains that this means third base), Rhonda is second, and
Harold is catcher.
- Arnold arrives at the field and is assigned shortstop, but he has
some news to inform: he's visiting Arnie this week. Lila helpfully
mentions the events in his other ep "Weird Cousin" in case you haven't
seen it. Helga also recaps his interests: Lint, counting food, gum, and
snorting (she makes her own snort).
- Anyways, Arnold leaves, packs his PJs, and turns off the lights at
the Arms. The next morning, he's on a bus. Arnie comes out of the wheat
and tells Arnold that he's 23 minutes late. I guess he counted. Arnold
brings him a pack of peanuts from the bus station. Peanuts, cottonseed
oil, salt. Yes, Arnie is reading it, as usual.
- They head to Arnie's house. They pass his pig Abigail, who looks more
like a hog. Waiting at their home is Lulu, Arnie's girlfriend. She
looks like Lila, except with boots. After some introductions, we head
to the local swimming hole.
- Swimming hole. Looks more like a lake. And not a really good one at
that. Arnie is counting grapes. Arnold and Lulu look at Stumpy and
Fifi. Fifi asks Stumpy what a "maillot" is, and Stumpy tells us it's
another word for bathing suit. Stumpy looks a bit like Drew Carey mixed
with Stinky, and Fifi sounds like Phoebe with a southern accent. This
is getting a bit weird... Anyways, Lulu falls into the swimming hole
and drags Arnold in as well. As they're swimming, Arnold asks Lulu
about Arnie, to the tone of, "Aren't you Arnie's girlfriend?" Arnie
snort!
- Country store at 142 on the main street. Established 1892. Arnie is
counting gumballs in the gumball machine, while Gerard and Kidd are
trying to buy something worth 11c. Gerard (who yells "Boy howdy!") has
a 44 on his shirt, and Kidd looks like a bit Eugene's head wearing
Sid's hat. Another Arnie snort!
- They're at the Odeon theater. Evil Twin 3: Country Cousin is showing
(you do remember Evil Twin 2 from "Weird Cousin", right?). They pass
Rhona and Harry. Harry looks like Harold without the extra weight, and
is reprimanding Rhona for making a slob of herself dribbling all over
her shirt, something you would never see Rhonda do. See a pattern
emerging, anyone?
- Arnie's having some plain flavored gum, and Lulu tries to kiss
Arnold. Arnold decides to leave to get some air. Some girl who looks
like Helga is talking to the moon, not much unlike Helga. Arnold trips
into her, and isn't the sidewalk a bit "springy"? She introduces
herself as Hilda. After a brief talking, Arnie emerges with Lulu, and
Hilda decides to take Arnold inside to watch Evil Twin 3.
- Lulu is sitting next to Arnie, tugging on his shirt. Arnold is
feeding Hilda an ice-cream nugget. It's getting a little too cold for
ice-cream... After the movie is a hayride along a tree-lined road. Lulu
is making an advance on Arnold by sleeping on his lap. Arnold minds,
but Hilda doesn't, and she sits next to Arnie for the ride.
- Corn field. Arnold and Hilda are talking. So Arnold is starting to
like Hilda. Turns out that Hilda's goofy for Arnie. Hilda leaves. As he
follows her into the corn... out comes Arnie, mad at Arnold's attempts
to take away his Hilda. Arnold doesn't understand since Lulu is his
girlfriend, right? And for no reason at all, everyone they ran across
today arrive at the corn field ready to smite Arnold or something.
- And then he wakes up. Seriously. This whole visit was just a dream,
seriously. He runs over to the field to clear things up between himself
and everyone. He even hugs Helga :D in his PJs :D :D Now he says he's
leaving, and everyone's left to play their game. The ending music is
recycled from "The Little Pink Book", and Harold yelling "Alright!" is
right out of "Harold the Butcher". Next!
- Quotables: "It's better to look good than to feel good" "That's right
so quit complaing" (Rhonda and... some other guy) "That's one twisted
version of the story" (Helga on "Weird Cousin") "Maillot? What's the
heck that mean, Stumpy?" (Fifi) "11 cents?! Boy howdy, that's
completely outrageous! It's unacceptable!" "Quit overreacting, Gerard,
and cool it out" (Gerard and Kidd) "How many times do I have to tell
you Harry? I don't care what I look like" (Rhona) "It's a little too
cold for ice-cream" (Hilda) "What's eccentric mean?" "It means weird,
and that's a major understatement" (Stinky and Rhonda)

"Chocolate Boy"
- Rhonda, Nadine, Robert, and Katrinka are in the playground. Chocolate
Boy is licking a chocolate wrapper. Edmund and Wolfgang approach him,
and tell him to hop up and down on one foot and bark like a dog. Guess
what he gets for that... Chocolate.
- They then offer him a 10 lb. bag of chocolate. Condition? Go two
weeks without eating chocolate. CB takes them on, and Wolfgang asks
Mickey (the kid from "Longest Monday" who got Arnold and Gerald binned)
to make sure he doesn't eat any, and he's paying the "usual fee".
- Mickey's serious about his role. He's standing at the chocolate
store, he's taking CB's Jolly Olly Ice Cream, and he even sneaks up on
CB tearing up a chocolate bar in some alley. CB knocks on the Arms
door, and Arnold answers. CB's asking him to get him to stop eating
chocolate.
- Playground. Nadine, Rhonda and Sheena are on the foursquare, and
Robert is walking in the background. Okay, Gerald runs over Arnold's
impressive "resume" of things he's done: Pigeon Man, Stoop Kid, finding
Hyunh's daughter (Arnold's Christmas), saving Mighty Pete ("Save The
Tree"), freeing Lockjaw the turtle ("Field Trip"), saving the boarding
house, ending the teacher's strike... then again, Gerald wasn't in
"Casa Paradiso", so how would he know about that?
- However, Gerald and the others are pointing out that you just can't
make CB quit chocolate. And they come up with things that would be
easier, like making a cake on a raft in a river during a hailstorm.
- Anyways, we're at CB's apartment. The outside shot reveals a
chocolate bar on a rope outside the window, so that's the first to go.
In the room we see a poster for Yahoo Chocolate ("Buses, Bikes, and
Subways"), and another poster with a picture of cacao seeds on it.
There's a bar under his pillow, there are 10 in his pillow case, at
least 7 under his lamb doll, and there's even one in his cuckoo clock.
- I don't know any of the students in his class. It's been two days
since he last had chocolate, and when he heads out to the chocolate
vending machine, he's freaked out by the sudden appearance of Mickey.
Joey and Robert are walking in the hall.
- Cafeteria. Lorenzo; Eugene and Iggy; Park; Phoebe and Rhonda; Sid,
Stinky and Harold; and Arnold and Gerald are sitting at their tables.
CB is under Arnold and Gerald's table talking about his dad's dog
Spotty. It's been six days now.
- CB's watching ants in front of PS 118, and he's even licking them.
Yikes! 10 days now. And it's now the 14th day, as CB marks it off on
his Yahoo 100% Pure Chocolate Calendar. Arnold sees CB is waiting for
someone. Wolfgang is here to hand CB the chocolate when Arnold tells
him about how he's changed. Wolfgang then tells him about the whole
deal they made. Arnold and Gerald are flabbergasted at CB, as he makes
away with the chocolate.
- Later on, after he's exhausted the 10 pounds of chocolate, Wolfgang
tells him to dance for chocolate balls. Everyone laughs at him. Later
still, at a dumpster, while looking for chocolate and finding a bike
tyre, he discovers a broken mirror. He sees his usual reflection, and
then ten 5th graders laughing at him (Wolfgang, Edmund and Mickey are
among them), ten chocolate ice-creams laughing at him, one large drowsy
chocolate ice-cream, and then back to his reflection...
- ...as we fade out to CB knocking on Arnold's door again. CB pleads
again. Just so Arnold knows that he's not getting deceived again, he
asks "You didn't bet Wolfgang, did you?"
- CB has been bound to a chair. Arnold is showing a slideshow to him
and telling him that this might be hard to watch. Here are the
contents:
* Text: "Chocolate can be very bad!"
* Some kid eating chocolate
* The kid at a dentist
* Close up of the kid's mouth: rotten teeth
* Cross section of rotten teeth
(insert shot of CB's horror reaction while Arnold's holding the remote)
* Another kid eating chocolate
* The kid barfing in a toilet
* Pimples all over the kid (how many times do we have to say this?
chocolate does not cause pimples)
(insert another shot of CB's horror reaction)
* Three kids getting sick over eating chocolate
* Two slides of a kid in jail
* Text: "This could happen to you!"
And after that slideshow, CB still feels like a chocolate. Go figure!
- So the Arms has a sauna. Right. Anyways, Arnold is sweating out the
chocolate from CB's system there. After the sauna-ing, CB still feels
like a chocolate. Hmm...
- In the Arms kitchen, Arnold is giving CB a chocolate substitute.
Didn't really catch the name, sounded like "Carol". Anyways, CB has
pimples all over him after eating. So they're trying more orthodox
foods like carrots (bleh), chili peppers (fire in mouth! :D), celery
(bleh again), and radishes. That last alternative seems to be working
out best.
- After chomping some radishes, Arnold decides to take him up to his
room. He takes out a watch. He's hypnotizing CB into telling him why he
loves chocolate so much. In a nutshell, it wasn't his mommy or daddy.
His nanny (who never shows her face in the flashback) kept giving him
chocolate until she left for a far away place called Delaware. Even
after his nanny left, he kept eating chocolate because he misses her
dearly.
- However, Arnold asks CB if she would be proud of him if she saw him
eating chocolate. Of course not. Arnold's advice to get him to stop
eating chocolate: "Do it for your nanny. You can be good. You can be
happy." We jump cut from CB prancing around in the attic yelling "I'm
free" repeatedly (a la "Spelling Bee"), to him standing in front of the
Arms saying "No more chocolate!"
- Fade out to PS 118 playground where Joey and Park are playing ball,
Brainy's playing hoops, and Arnold's showing the results to Stinky and
Harold. Here he is, with a bag of radishes. Wolfgang and Edmund pop in,
and offer CB a chocolate. When he turns it down, an angered Wolfgang
says "You're supposed to love chocolate", and pushes a mocking Edmund.
- After Gerald congratulates him on his success, Arnold talks with CB
about his radish diet. He's eaten 2-300 of them today. Arnold asks for
the bag. CB says, "I need these," and runs past Park and Joey at the
foursquare and Iggy and Curly. The music here is the same as from
"Arnold's Hat", and we have (for the only time this final season) the
season 1-3 closing theme over the credits. Special thanks: Heather
Adams.
- Quotables: "Arnold, Arnold, Arnold. I know you've done some
near-miraculous things in the past..." (Gerald) "That's quite a resume"
(Gerald) "It'd be easier to push a 2000 lb. boulder up an ice mountain"
(Harold) "How about trying to make a cake on a raft in a river during a
hailstorm?" (Sid) "Come to me chocolate..." (CB sees Mickey pop out of
the chocolate vending machine) "You didn't bet Wolfgang, did you?"
(Arnold to CB) "Some of this may be hard to watch" (Arnold to CB) "I
dunno what that means, but it's really hot in here" (CB in the sauna)
"I'm telling you this as a friend. Do it for your nanny" (Arnold to CB,
on quitting chocolate) "Chocolate Boy doesn't wanna eat chocolate,
pinch me I'm dreaming" (Edmund pushed by Wolfgang) "I need these" (CB,
and radishes)

[ungvichian]

Extras:

"Arnold & Lila": Leaving PS 118 at the start: Connie, Maria, Curly.

"Grand Prix":
- The redhead is running around one of the foreigners' cars just before
the start of the big race.
- Helmet colors, seeing that I never made note of them in my initial
recap:
* Arnold: Black with red stripe
* Eugene: Orange with purple stripe (he would probably say "It's not
purple, it's mauve")
* Wolfgang: Plain red
* Phoebe: Blue with red stripe
* Helga: I'm not too sure, since I wasn't really paying attention to
the helmets until Arnold entered the pits (at which point Helga's
helmet was no longer seen), but either it was pink with a red stripe,
or something blue-ish (I'm leaning towards the pink)... if I get to see
a rerun, I will note this.
- Was I hoping too much to hear Stinky (or Sid) say "Ah, put a sock in
it" to Arnold after the race?

"Eugene's Birthday":
- I've said it before, but I'll say it again. There's realistically no
way that Sid & Stinky should have made that foul up involving the
skating rink. Skating rink mentioned: Once, by Sid. Arcade mentioned:
Once, by Stinky. Aquarium mentioned: Thrice, by Arnold. And Sid and
Stinky's friends still end up showing up at the rink. Makes no sense to
me.
- Really didn't like the ending, what with Eugene still thinking that
Arnold is a jinx, but what's new anyway?

"Stinky's Pumpkin":
So Stinky's sitting on his pumpkin once again lamenting how not-special
he is. I thought Arnold would have pointed out something like "Not true
Stinky, it takes tons of skill to grow a pumpkin this big."

It's "Harold vs. Patty" at arm wrestling, with some surprising results,
and who'd have thought that stopping a puck would get Arnold involved
in the business of a "Rich Guy" and his estranged son? Thoughts follow
shortly, all corrections welcome

"Harold vs. Patty"
- Lots of people in the cafeteria today. Joey, Eugene, Chocolate Boy
(someone forgot the memo that CB is supposed to be a radish addict
now), Rhonda, Iggy, Park, Lila, Brainy, Sheena, Nadine. Curly, Arnold,
Gerald and Robert are watching Harold beat the snot out of Stinky and
Sid... in arm wrestling. Does that sign say "Do not leave trays were"?
- Okay, Harold exposits that he's competing in a City Wide Arm
Wrestling Tournament. Patty Smith ("Hey Harold!") comes along and says
that it's next Saturday. She's even planning on entering. Harold says
that he could use some practice for the upcoming event... and
immediately gets creamed. By Patty. Who is a _girl_.
- Next thing you know, Harold is under a water fountain, completely
humiliated. Logic dictates that Sid and Stinky should be even more
humiliated for losing to Harold, but those two are the ones who are
humiliating *him*. Arnold pops in and gets the info about why he's
hiding here. Arnold's recommending practice. And thus we get a montage
of Harold passing a theater saying "Shy Stallion in Armed and
Dangerous", doing push-ups with Abner on his back at the Arms, punching
a leg of beef at Green Meats, Harold drinking raw eggs from a glass
(remember wheb "Steely Phil" poured the glass into a frying pan? ;)),
doing push-ups with Phil and Abner on his back, and beating Green,
Ernir and Oskar, and Pookie. The music that plays underneath is from
"Tutoring Torvald", but it's shortened somewhat.
- The next day, Harold is wearing a jacket. He is confident about
himself, but Arnold questions this, seeing that they've only been
training for a day. Cafeteria. Katrinka and the redhead are in there.
There is a poster saying "Toppy Carrot and Patty Potato drink Natural
Spring Water" and another for Milk for a cow on it. Anyways, Patty says
she was calling Harold to apologize, but Harold has an excuse, he was
busy training for arm wrestling. Tables: Brainy/Curly/Iggy,
Sid/Stinky/Joey, Gerald/Phoebe/Nadine. Gloria and the boot lady are in
there as well.
- Harold proposes a rematch... and promptly gets creamed again. Sid and
Stinky continue to humiliate him and call him a girl, even though (and
I'm pointing it out again) *they* should be the ones humiliated for
losing to Harold.
- Class. Front to back, window to wall: Nadine, Harold, Curly, unknown;
Phoebe, 2 unknown, Rhonda; Joey, Robert, Helga, Eugene. Sid comes
across a lipstick. Stinky immediately says it should be Harold's :D
- A humiliated Harold is at Patty's. He's asking, nay, begging, her to
deliberately lose to him at the tournament this weekend, on accounta
all that humiliation. Patty is not interested, but she's going to teach
him techniques. Right then. The three most important things about arm
wrestling: Posture, balance, and concentration. And Patty's going to
teach Harold about them. First, balancing a book on your head. Harold's
book drops on his foot :D Meditation on Patty's roof. Harold rips his
pants! :D Next, he's walking on a log across a river. Harold falls into
the river, IIRC...
- Okay, now it appears that Harold has good control of a book on his
head... and then turns out there's a wad of gum on the book ;) Harold
is crawling on the log across the river, more meditation, until
eventually, Harold can balance three books on his head, and walk across
the log.
- The pier. Harold is having his usual Fudgy, Patty has an ice cream.
In the background are Scales and Tails, and House o' Crabs. Harold is
talking about the important things he's learnt: balancing books on his
head and walking on a log. Harold also mentions that boys should easily
beat girls at this sort of thing. Patty points out that's not the
important things he was supposed to learn: he should be learning that
it's not humiliating just because you lost to a girl. Patty leaves
Harold at the pier.
- Well, we're at the Civic Auditorium for the tournament, and the music
from "Fighting Families" plays as the contestants enter the arena.
Stinky, Arnold, Sid, Gerald, Robert, Lila, Brainy and Joey are here to
see it. Also here are Connie and Maria, Patty and Harold's parents,
Eugene, Big Bob, Ruth, Rhonda and Nadine, and possibly the boot lady
and Phoebe. Stinky wonders out loud if Harold's even bothering to show
up!
- Well, he shows up. It's going to be a three round single-elimination
tournament. Okay, after the first round, the semis line up is Patty vs.
Clyde, and Virgil vs. Harold. And we have a Patty-Harold final. Just
before the final begins, Harold says to Patty that he understands now
what she said at the pier, and he doesn't care about the result. With
that out the way, he's out to beat Patty.
- Okay, the final. This one could go either way... and it goes Patty's
way. While Harold's congratulating her on winning the trophy, a golden
big fist on a pedastal, Sid and Stinky continue to made fun of him.
This time, Harold takes the pee out of their insults, and knocks the
two senseless, and goes out with Patty to see a Shy Stallion movie.
Okay, next!
- Quotables: "What a wuss" (Sid sees Patty beat Harold) "Practice???
What are you talking about???" (Harold to Arnold) "We've only been
training one day" (Arnold) "Reckon its a lipstick. I bet it's Harold's
right on account of he's a girl and all" (Stinky sees Sid has found a
lipstick) "(RIP) I'll be right back Patty" (Harold rips his pants
meditating :D) "Haven't you learned anything important?" "Those are
important" (Patty and Harold, on balancing books on your head) "So what
if I lost to a girl?!" (Harold) "And if anyone has a problem with that
I'll pound you! (BONK)" "OW!!" (Harold bonks Sid and Stinky)

"Rich Guy"
- We ended the last story at the Civic Auditorium, and we begin this
one in the same place, during an ice hockey game between the Icepigs
and the Wombats. One of the billboards says Angone. A puck flies into
the seats, and as you'd know if you've seen "Happy Gilmore", flying
pucks are known to kill people. Not this one, since Arnold blocks it
with a big foam hand and it drops into his drink. He's here with Phil,
BTW. The guy behind him (whom the puck was headed straight for)
introduces himself. Sammy Redmond.
- Phil exposits about him: he's an eccentric billionaire (wonder if he
was the one who was going to buy the Arms in "Casa Paradiso"?) who own
newspapers, TV, theatres, and sports franchises. Anyways, he offers the
two an expensive extravagant dinner as a thank you.
- Dinner. They talk about sports, talk about maps, eat potatoes, and
burp. Later on, they go to Dinoland ("Hookey" and "Roller Coaster"),
where they try the cup thingies, the Dinowhirl, and the roller coaster
(with the end credits music from "Roller Coaster" accompanying it).
They're eating at the Food Cave, where Phil realizes he just whizzed
into the sinks.
- Next, they're invited to go to the Redmonds' home. It's 20,000 square
feet, and has two bowling lanes (access is through a firepole). There's
a banner about winning something in basketball from 1972. Anyways,
Arnold runs into Alan Redmond, his estranged son.
- While Phil plays bowling and gets hit by a bowling ball :D, Arnold
checks out Alan. He's made tons of collages, and he has his own
darkroom downstairs. His biggest problem? Having nothing in common with
his own dad. Speaking of whom, he enters his son's room and asks Arnold
to come and play racketball with him. Arnold shows him Alan's photo of
the Statue of Liberty with two familiar-looking towers near it. WTC
much? So basically Arnold comes up with an idea: have the two go out
with them tomorrow. It's a "million dollar idea", Sammy sez. Meanwhile,
Phil whizzed in the sink again :D
- Next day, Phil is taking out food from his fridge. He has roast ham,
butter, and pickles in his fridge. He's taken out some milk, a hotdog,
some cheese, grapes, some roast beef, etc. He says something about
trying to get them to give Arnold a sack of money.
- They're at the gymnasium, where Alan quickly gets tired. Over at
Theater X, they're watching a held over show called "Stamp!" It
involves guys in costumes with stamp heads putting trash cans on their
feet and stomping. A play on the Broadway hit "Stomp", maybe? Anyways,
Alan loves the play, but Sammy is too busy watching a football game on
a portable TV, and the stamp guys take offense at him yelling during
the game.
- And speaking of sport, they head over to Quigley for a baseball game.
Tish Wittenberg is sitting right behind Arnold and Sammy. It's around
2pm, and the score reads: 0 1 3 0 0 0 on the top, and 0 0 0 1 2 0 1 on
the bottom. There's a huge screen saying Quigley-O-Vision which is
showing a picture of a safe with the caption "Safe!"
- After Alan decides to go to the bathroom or something, Sammy tells
Arnold that while he loves baseball, he doesn't understand why his son
doesn't appreciate the sport. Meanwhile, Mickey Kaline Jr. (see "The
Baseball" and "Dangerous Lumber" to see his dad) hits a home run and
although Arnold notices that Alan is photographing, he doesn't make
much of it.
- Back at the Arms, he concludes his findings: the Redmonds have
absolutely nothing in common. At all. He also adds that Sammy wants to
show off his virtual laser hockey game tomorrow. Phil continues to go
on and on about getting a sack of money from the Redmonds, and flips a
pancake straight from the pan... on to Arnold's head :D
- The next day, Sammy and Arnold are playing virtual laser hockey.
Arnold wins this game 6 to 4, and apparently, there is a market in
Hillwood for helmets that fit football shaped heads like Arnold's,
since Arnold's wearing one right now ;) Sammy invites him to head over
to the kitchen.
- While Arnold's headed to the kitchen, he comes across Alan's
darkroom. Inside, he discovers hanging on the line... the photos of
Kaline Jr. Alan took yesterday at Quigley. Okay, now we're at the
kitchen, where Sammy's showing off his Mr. Eggcreme robot. Basically,
it serves him eggcremes.
- Now Arnold shows off the photos. Sammy thinks they were done
professionally, and is a bit surprised to hear that they're by Alan.
Alan just happens to pop in, and reacts to his dad's comment. Alan says
that he looked at baseball like ballet, and suddenly? He wasn't so
uninterested. Sammy calls Alan's photos "million dollar photos", and
Alan thinks that Sammy's plan to watch a couple baseball games
together? Is a "million dollar idea". Arnold's smiling of course.
- Meanwhile, Mr. Eggcreme has left the Redmonds' building and walked
over to the Arms. Eggcreme rings the doorbell, and Phil opens the door.
Upon being offered an eggcreme, Phil says he wants a sack of money ;)
Credits over the "Buses, Bikes, and Subways" close, and special thanks
to Joey Paul.
- Quotables: "I eat drink and sleep all sports" (Sammy) "You got my
number, I love a potato" (Phil) "Who doesn't like a good map?" "Or a
good nap ;)" (Sammy and Phil) "Those aren't the toilets, those are the
sinks" (Sammy at the Food Cave) "That's great, sunny" (Sammy to Arnold)
"Two balls, two lanes, no waiting" (Phil) "Million dollar idea!"
(Sammy) "That's not a toilet, that's a sink" (Sammy tells Phil again at
their house) "What a wonderful altruistic plan" (Phil on going out with
Alan and Sammy) "They both wanna give you a sack of money" (Phil, on
the Redmonds) "Ballet? I don't understand it but it's fascinating"
(Sammy on Alan's photos) "I don't want an eggcreme, I want a big sack
of money" (Phil to Eggcreme)

[ungvichian]

Extras:
"Big Gino":
- So let's get this straight. Sid takes candy from Big Gino and co.,
sells it half price to Chocolate Boy, takes the money and buys a
rocking horse, gets haggled for payback, and gets a horsehead in the
bed. Right.
- Closing the door behind Sid (making him cower): that redhead.

"Arnold Visits Arnie": While they're at the general store, Lulu is
tickling Arnold's tummy :D

"Rich Guy": Context filling: "They both wanna give you a sack of money"
(Phil, on the Redmonds... and in response to Arnold saying that they
have nothing in common)

"Helga's Love Potion":
- Notice the four-fingered hand drawn on Madam Blanche's door?
- BTW, her shop has a 402 sign above the door, and has a sign on the
side saying "OBSESSED?" with an arrow pointing down and right, and a
sign in the window saying "YOUR FORTUNE".

"Gerald's Secret":
- Sid yelling about Gerald "There he is!"... one, the red head with the
big teeth there must be a regular extra, and two, the background shows
the bikes are not parallel to the sidewalk, even though in the wide
shot it apparently is.

"Dinner for Four"
- Nice hat, Phoebe.
- If Helmet Van Buren's the richest man in town, where does that leave
Sammy Redmond ("Rich Guy")?

"Phoebe Skips"
- Context filling: "Monochromatic: that's way cool" (Simone on Phoebe's
specs)
- I have a feeling that the "Gum? Only 2 1/2 calories" line was
supposed to be Cookie's...
- Notice the photos of Charlie and Bailey on the wall near the bed.
- Also, Siobhan appears in at least two later eps (although without
lines): "Gerald's Game" (she's among those playing in the King Rules
tournament) and "Phoebe Breaks A Leg" (she's watching Helga offer
Phoebe shampoo.)

"Full Moon"
- If Wartz wanted to convince Arnold that ratting was the right thing
to do, you'd think that he'd refrain from mentioning the "side effects"
in his own story. Arnold would probably have asked about the "side
effects", anyway...
- And I'd probably push the "Arnold likes doing the right thing" button
some more, and have Wartz ask him "If you don't condone mooning, then
why won't you tell who did it???" and/or "Why do you care for these
friends of yours more than doing the right thing?"

"Helga's Parrot"
- "(At the Arms) I'm looking for... my pair of rollerskates" "Haven't
seen them. Do you know someone who's lost a parrot?" "Who'd keep a
parrot? (leaves)" Come _on_, Helga. This is your chance to get back the
parrot, and you're turning it down? At least say that Phoebe lost the
parrot or something. Then again, file this in the "but it wouldn't be
fun now, would it?" category.

The boarders get Arnold to ride "The Racing Mule" they mistakenly
bought, and Curly gets Rhonda to be "Curly's Girl" for a week. Thoughts
follow shortly, all corrections welcome.

"The Racing Mule"
- Over here at least, the titles played without the title graphic
zooming out. Basically, we have the street shot with the Nickelodeon
logo dropping into its normal position, but without the "HEY ARNOLD!"
text logo under it.
- The much-delayed episode (in the US) boasts four writers... and it's
just 11 minutes. We open with country music, and Ernie, Hyunh, and
Oskar return to the Arms after having bought a horse. Ernie has just
picked "Glue Boy" up and is showing him to the others. It turns out to
be a mule.
- Ernie says that they won't give him refunds, but in the racing form,
there's an ad saying there's a mule race in a few weeks for a $3000
prize. It says: "Only at Santa Choncita!" "Enter Today!" "Mule Race!"
"Grand Prize $3000!"
- Since they spent $200 on the mule, they decide to train him. Ernie
believes that a mule is trained in the same way as a horse. It's tough
going as Glue Boy throws everyone. Ernie notices that the mule appears
to be loving Arnold, so he approaches him to ride. Accorduing to Arnold
the last time he rode a horse was at Rhonda's 5th birthday party, and
he was thrown.
- Training. Not too promising, since he's walking so leisurely, a
geezer on her walker passes him. So it's time to get serious: Oskar
wears a hat with carrots, and the mule chases him down :D In later
training, he's beginning to catch up to those that have previously
passed him, like the walker lady, and a jogger... and Hyunh running
with a stick horse :D
- Arms. Suzie won't let a pickle-eating Oskar bet on Glue Boy at the
mule race. Sunday. Racetrack. The boarders run into Russell Baines, the
best mule rider around, wearing bib #7. He is denouncing the boarders
as being amateurs. Trash talk ensues. It ends with Ernie telling them
that their mule is in fine shape...
- ...but back at the Arms, Glue Boy is flat on the ground. Oskar says
that he fed him protein shakes. It turns out that he fed him 16 cans of
laxative. There's not much the other boarders can do except maybe put
on a little puppet show :D Phil suggests that they sell him to the glue
factory. Arnold decides to stay up with him.
- He puts on some fire with a kettle on it, and decides to nurse him
(replete with ice bag on head). He starts singing "Old Gray Mare", but
decides to switch to "You Are My Sunshine". Fade out to the next
morning, where Arnold is licked awake... by Glue Boy. He's fit to race,
and so we head to the racetrack.
- Racetrack. Arnold gets to ride #13. Aaaand they're off... except for
#13 whose bib is stuck to the start-track door, dismaying the boarders
and forcing Arnold to spend considering time to pull off the stuck bib.
- Boarders in the bleachers. Left to right: Phil, Pookie in a hat,
Suzie, Oskar and Hyunh. Oskar says it's a good thing he didn't bet on
Arnold, but turns out that Suzie bet on him just because he looks cute
on the mile :D Now that Arnold's off, he has 40 lengths (!) to make up.
So, Arnold and Glue Boy are hauling you-know-what (pun intended!), and
next thing you know, they find themselves right across from Russell
Baines. Baines starts cracking his whip on Glue Boy to spook him. He
calls it handicapping, and it sets Glue Boy back a bit.
- Arnold sings a reprise of "Sunshine"... and finds himself in a
frantic close race with Baines in the home stretch. It's a photo finish
at the wire... and Glue Boy finishes 1st, by a nose to boot! Baines is
livid and gets kicked by his mule :D while Arnold, the boarders and the
mule are being photographed under a banner saying "#1 Mule", and in the
photo Oskar is shown being bitten in the butt :D, as Hey Arnold!'s
standard marching band song plays in the background. Next!
- Quotables: "Look at his rabbit ears, that's not a horse, it's a mule"
(one of the boarders) "It wouldn't help if we trained him for the big
race" (Ernie) "I guess it's the same with the mule" (Ernie, on horse
training) "The mule's loving him" (Ernie makes an observation on Glue
Boy and Arnold) "He's running more like a low breeze" (Oskar on Glue
Boy's slow run, and Ernie telling him to "run like the wind") "I'm not
crazy about this idea" (Oskar, on wearing a carrot hat) "Oh, yes sir,
Mr. Amateur, sir" (Baines) "I know, we can sell him to the glue
factory!" (Phil on a sick Glue Boy) "We got us a race to win" (Ernie on
Glue Boy's miraculous recovery) "After I saw Arnold on that cute mule,
I just couldn't help myself" (Suzie, on betting on Glue Boy!) "Get
moving you big crazy @$$" (Oskar's last word is partially hidden by a
horn, you can still hear it tho... but why try to censor it, since it's
being used porperly?) "It's called handicapping, son" (Baines whips
Glue Boy, which should be technically illegal)

"Curly's Girl"
- Another 4-writer story (sighs), as Buckley (dad) pops in with
Brooke's (mom) birthday present: a Moscow mink. It's time for Rhonda to
go to school, and Rhonda gets an idea: take it to the school art show.
- School art show. Katrinka, the red head and Connie are among those
viewing. Arnold, Harold, Gerald, and Stinky are looking at a turtle
with scrambled eggs on top (well, that's how Stinky describes it).
Sheena, Phoebe and Helga are in a group as well, and Phoebe tells her
that there is a sensible belief that it is wrong to kill minks etc for
material satisfaction. Rhonda takes a cherry from Brainy the waiter
(note the Arnold and Gerald pic in the BG... nice). Rhonda is
repeatedly fending off Curly's advances.
- Later on, everyone's putting away their paintings. Park bumps into
Rhonda eating a candy apple, and there's a stain. While Rhonda tries to
clean it off in the water fountain, Curly walks in and tells her that
his family runs a dry cleaning shop on Lexington, and he has the keys.
The condition: Be his girlfriend for a week. More specifically, until
Friday at noon.
- After taking a few blackmail photos, we're at Gamelthorpe's Dry
Cleaners, where the lights turn on, and there are signs saying "No
Bills Over $500" and "Not Responsible for Creases". Curly's in the
"Cleaning Room", where he puts on a surgeon's outfit (that's my
impression of it), repeatedly sprays stuff on the mink, and steams the
thing with a press from the Steen Press Co. Presto, it's clean like
new.
- So, they're walking home, and Curly is telling Rhonda what to say and
how to react and stuff like that. Rhonda sez "My life is over" again
(after "The Flood"). The following day, as Rhonda and Nadine get on the
bus, Curly calls Rhonda over. Also on the bus that day: Iggy, Lila,
Joey, Harold, Arnold, Gerald, Sid, Stinky, Helga, Phoebe and Eugene.
So, Rhonda's sitting with Curly, who's telling Rhonda to say "I love
you" out loud so everyone can hear. Rhonda obliges, as if she had any
choice.
- In the classroom are Stinky, Sid, Gerald, Rhonda, Helga, Eugene, and
Sheena, as Curly is walking Rhonda to her table, and continuing his
advances on her.
- At the lockers, Rhonda refuses to wear the shirt Curly's giving her,
until he shows her the blackmail photos. Cut to playground, where
Rhonda is wearing the shirt, which says "Curly's Girl" inside a heart
with an arrow. Sheena and Nadine are at the swings as Rhonda gives
Curly a push, while Helga, Phoebe, Arnold, Gerald and Stinky are
watching from the bench. Gloria is there as well.
- Later, the boot lady passes 206, Iggy enters as Rhonda and Lila are
visible. Harold and Sheena are in the room as well, as Curly gives
Rhonda a picture frame in the shape of a heart.
- Friday. PS 118 Cafeteria. It's coming up to noon. Everyone's having
their lunch. Rhonda walks with Curly over to the cafeteria clock, and
as soon as it hits noon, Rhonda publicly dumps Curly. How public?
Arnold, Gerald, Stinky ; Robert, Harold, Park ; Iggy, Joey and Nadine
all see it happen. Phoebe and Sheena are in line. Anyways, Rhonda gives
back the stuff he gave her.
- On the bus, Arnold and Stinky notice that Curly is wiping his tears
with the shirt. Rhonda wonders why everyone feels sorry for him. Later
at PS 118, it's art class where the students are painting paper plates.
Rhonda asks for some black paint from Helga (sitting in the same row as
Phoebe and Eugene). Helga (holding up a plate with a picture of a black
heart) says it matches the color of her heart. Ouch.
- Cafeteria. Phoebe, Arnold, Stinky, Robert, Iggy and Sid are listening
to depressed Curly talk about his relationship with Rhonda, while
Sheena and Nadine won't sit with her. Rhonda decides to do something
about it: she tells Curly that she's going to continue to pretend to be
Curly's girlfriend until everyone else is on Rhonda's side. Curly hugs
her leg :D
- Gerald, Iggy, Sid, Arnold, Stinky, and Phoebe are sitting in front of
the PS 118 door, and Nadine, Eugene and Park are passing in front of PS
118 as Rhonda arrives at school with Curly. Stinky and Arnold make
comments. As soon as the door closes behind Rhonda and Curly, Rhonda
tells him to take his hands off her :D
- Classroom. The arrangement appears to be (front-back, wall-window):
Arnold Gerald, Sid, Harold; Helga, Phoebe, Iggy, Brainy; Curly, Stinky,
Rhonda, Nadine. Lila and Robert are also shown in the room during this
scene, however, which is a bit problematic. Anyways, Rhonda gives Curly
a framed photo of herself, signed "With Love, Rhonda". Oddly, the
papers that were on Curly's table in the previous shot seem to
disappear when they show the picture frame.
- Lockers. Sheena, Nadine, Arnold, Sid and Gerald see Rhonda give Curly
a shirt saying "Rhonda's Hunk", and getting a kiss in return :D (a la
"Deconstructing Arnold") prompting Rhonda to head over to the girls'
room, where Rhonda is telling herself to buck up (and that is not an
"f" sound there). Curly overhears her talking about putting up with
him, and has a disappointed expression on his face.
- At the cafeteria, Curly suddenly comes in, tells Rhonda that she's a
lousy girlfriend, and throws his shirt on to her. Seeing this: Nadine;
Rhonda, Phoebe, Arnold, Stinky; Brainy, Helga, Iggy; Sid and Harold
(all at tables); Park and Robert standing, Eugene coming in with a
tray. Rhonda is surprised.
- After school, Rhonda goes over to a teary-eyed Curly (not wearing his
glasses!), and tells him that this is not typical of Curly to just
suddenly dump her like that, since he's just crazy for her. Curly
(after putting his glasses back on) explains that he was dumping her
publically because he didn't want her to suffer from him any longer.
Rhonda says that deep down he's a pretty nice guy. ...After they're
done talking, Curly asks for a lock of hair to put under his pillow and
Rhonda calls it gross :D Curly chases Rhonda into the sunset as we iris
out to credits (a la "Helga on the Couch") over cheese-fest music
("Operation Ruthless", "Love and Cheese").
- The credits are over "Jamie O In Love" end music, and end with a
slide saying "Contributing Guest Artists": Katie Bartlett, Madison
Buteyn, Morgan Buteyn, Danny Friemark, Grany Higa, Justin Hifa, Erik
Keefer, Dax Lyman, Rachelle Lyman, Melissa Mark, Michael Mark, Helena
Shaffer, Paris Shaffer.
- Quotables: "It looks like a scrambled egg on a turtle's back" (Stinky
on art he's looking at) "Rhonda, are you at all aware that your wearing
that genuine fur flies right in the face of the predominant and I think
sensible belief that it is cruel to massacre poor innocent minks,
ermines and other weasels, just for material satisfaction?" "Yeah,
what'd a weasel ever do to you?" (Phoebe and Helga to Rhonda) "Then
Curly's your only hope" (Curly, on cleaning Rhonda's mink) "Sing it out
loud so all can hear!" (Curly to Rhonda) "Willikers!" "You can say that
again" "Willikers!" (Stinky and Gerald on Rhonda sitting with Curly) "I
can't believe I'm wearing this shirt" (Rhonda, on "Curly's Girl" shirt)
"It's worth a thousand 'I love yous', don't you think?" (Curly, on
picture frame, and later Rhonda says the same thing) "Oh please, now
I'm supposed to feel sorry for Curly?" (Rhonda) "Perfect. It'll match
the color of your heart" (Helga, on black paint) "I simply can not have
that" (Rhonda, on everyone hating her) "Just until everyone joins team
Rhonda" (Rhonda on being Curly's girlfriend) "Now get off my leg"
(Rhonda to Curly, after becoming her boyfriend again) "Willikers, what
a rollercoaster ride of a romance" (Stinky sees Rhonda with Curly
again) "I have to run to the ladies' room" (Rhonda, after getting
kissed) "Time to buck up, Rhonda" (Rhonda to self in ladies' room)
"You're a lousy girlfriend" (Rhonda never expected this to come from
Curly) "The kick to the proverbial curb" (more from Curly dumping
Rhonda) "That is unbelievably gross!" "Is it, or does it _thrill_ you?"
(Rhonda and Curly, on putting a lock of her hair under his pillow)

[ungvichian]

Extras:

"It Girl":
- Helga is wearing blue boxing gloves and giving a cameraman a haymaker
at a photo shoot: "Hey cool it teabag!" (DING!!!) :D
- Katrinka. Goes along with Helga's look (standing next to Eugene, the
redhead, and I think Marcy), gets all of one line in the whole show,
gets shoved by Helga, gets no credit.

"Arnold Visits Arnie":
Last extras, I said "Lulu is tickling Arnold's tummy :D"... let me add
"while she's telling Arnold to pick up apple butter."

"Veterans Day":
- Wonders if Phil's description of Spam midway through his story on
capturing a Panzer divison and creating a 6-mile hole in the German
defense was a simple excuse for product placement...
- Re-recap: So, according to Gerald's dad, he was 19 when he was
drafted. He didn't really like the idea of the war since many like him
didn't know what they were doing in Vietnam, and many fled to Canada on
principle. Martin actually considered that, but eventually decided to
go to Vietnam. Cue Colonel being shot in the butt.
- New quotable: "Christopher Columbus on a whole wheat cracker!"
(Colonel gets shot in the butt)

"Egg Story":
- That bit of music from "What's Opera, Arnold?" accompanying Harold
singing about being a big fat clown must be the official "Harold is
sad" cue, since Lang uses it when he's apologizing to Rhonda for eating
the egg.
- Re-recap, the bit with Arnold and Helga at the park. I just want to
get this right... So, Helga wants Arnold to give back the egg and says
he can have it back tomorrow. Since the egg is missing, they'll have to
retrace their steps. Back at the bench, Helga claims that their fracas
started on the bus on Friday, and she says all she was trying to do was
be nice to him, but all they've been doing is arguing, and he didn't
even give her a chance, especially on the bus when he kept jumping on
her and saying that he'd rather work with anyone else. In summation,
she says that Arnold started it, and not her. Arnold's response: "Well,
can you blame me?" (or words to the effect) He goes on saying that most
of the time she's mean to him (see quotable in the original recap), and
he was, in a nutshell, simply sick and tired of it. He asks Helga for a
truce. Helga, realizing that she has some of the blame I guess, decides
to agree. Cue egg hatching.

"It Girl":
Things I noticed the second time around: the sign saying "It" over
Johnny's table, Big Bob watching Helga's talk show appearance on a
Purdyvision TV, and Patty Smith walking around the front of the school
right before Helga takes a spit.

"Deconstructing Arnold":
Why do I have this feeling that the pan from a few buildings to a lake
is right out of the opening shot of "Tour De Pond"? This is the shot
right before showing Arnold and Gerald at the monkey bars.

"Grudge Match":
- There's a "Furniture Warehaus" and a carwash near where the accident
at the start of the ep takes place.
- I see a mattress and a wading pool on Phil's mock course.

"Polishing Rhonda":
- Hmm... even tho Rhonda doesn't rat Patty out for stepping on her
boot, she does give her some sort of evil glance as she's talking about
her boot...
- Isn't that Connie standing next to the lady with the "tacky" boots?
Maria's in the cafeteria as well.
- Special thanks: Dan Castellanetta.
- New quotable: "Hey, princess, my friend said she was sorry" "Excuse
me?" "You heard me, and while you're at it, you could apologize for
being so rude and so totally self-absorbed unless you want this fist
for lunch" "...Sorry" "Now, how about you and those tacky farm boots
of yours take a walk?" (Rhonda and boot lady... and this is coming from
a woman who just four weeks ago got her also-new boots ruined by the
same person tripping over them)


The mooners from "Full Moon" are "On The Lam", mostly due to a series
of coincidences (I'm discrediting this story already), and Mr. Hyunh's
new boss wants a "Family Man" to be the head chef at El Patio. Thoughts
follow shortly, all corrections welcome, but this isn't as detailed as
my usual notes.

"On The Lam"
- Playground, PS 118. Gerald, Harold, Sid, Eugene, Robert, Stinky,
Helga, Brainy, Curly, Nadine, Sheena, Arnold, Joey, Phoebe and Rhonda
are listening to Simmons' lecture on how to launch rockets using
vinegar and baking soda. Harold wants to try some, but since the bell
has rung, Simmons takes the rockets back to the storage room. Harold,
Sid and Stinky decide to break into the storage room, and take out some
rockets later on, to do some experimenting of their own.
- So, they're in front of the old (note the OLD) police building, 14th
Precinct.
Sid has his baking soda and vinegar. Stinky has brought along "Jack
A-ss Kickin' Louisiana Hot Sauce!" "It's hot" (there's no dash in the
name, it's just there so it won't get filtered), with a picture of a
mule on the label (that's what, two eps in a row where the a-word is
used to mean "mule"?).
- Unknown to them, Ernie is in the process of setting up explosives
under the building.
As it happens, not only does the threesome's rocket fly straight to the
building (coincidence 1), it lands in the property right when Ernie
orders the blow-up (coincidence 2). So, now, the three decide to hide
out at the Arms, for blowing up the authorities. They see Arnold, and
after briefly talking about the incident and mentioning the witness
protection program, decide to gag him up so that he doesn't tattle
about them. Stinky considers going to the south to live with his
grandma in a double wide trailer. They decide to head to the trainyard.
- On the bus to the trainyard, they see cops approaching them, and
decide to make a run for it. Apparently it turns out they dropped
something. Meanwhile, cops (accompanied by Harold, Sid and Stinky's
parents) are putting up posters of them everywhere, and as the
threesome get off a bus, they find one of the posters.
- Phil sees Arnold gagged and bound in the chair and thinks he's
playing secret agent, as Ernie grabs some Yahoos from the fridge.
Arnold has to go downstairs to the kitchen, bound chair and all,
himself. Meanwhile, the threesome reach the trainyard and see a few
hobos watching wrestling in a Nanatchel Northern railcar.
- Eventually reaching the kitchen and the other boarders, Arnold tells
the guys that he wasn't playing secret agent, and tells him about the
threesome. Ernie mentions blowing up the old police station, and
realizing what really happened, they head out. Er, something like that.
- The cops arrive at the train station with Harold's parents (isn't one
of them the cop from "Harold's Kitty"?), and so do many news vans and
choppers. This scares the threesome. After a good deal of chase, they
end up on top of a boxcar, where Stinky decides "when in doubt, chicken
out" and hands the threesome over. Ernie tells them about the
demolishing, and the threesome realize they're not in trouble after
all.
- Well, not as much as they thought, at least. Although Arnold is just
kidding about telling Simmons about stealing the rockets, Simmons
conveniently comes in and tells the threesome they need to talk about
punishment for doing so. Next!
- Quotables: "Science in fact is very cool" (Simmons) "Willickers, look
at all them rockets" (Stinky in the storage room) "Hot sauce? That's
stupid... Let's do it" (Harold) "We just blew up the authorities!"
(Sid) "Now I got hotpants" (Stinky on spilling hot sauce on his pants)
"We don't know nothing about the police station" "He's old, he's
talking crazy" (Harold and Stinky... I think) "Oh, I can just look at
the highlights on the news" (someone says this... one of the "hobos", I
think?) "We don't have to be in a chain gang" (Harold... cue laughs
from spectators) "So does this mean we're not in trouble?" (Harold
again... cue more laughs from spectators) "I'm tired and hungry and I
just wanna eat" (Harold, as the news choppers leave)

"Family Man"
- Summary's a bit low on detail, as for some reason (my parents never
liked me usng the com and watching TV at the same time), I was forced
to jot stuff on an actual sheet of
paper, as opposed to typing in stuff in Notepad. Anyways, isn't this
title a Nicholas Cage flick? Okay, Arms dinner table with Phil, Arnold,
Hyunh, Ernie, Oskar and Suzie. Hyunh's so tense, he shoots a dinner
roll across the room :D We learn that a new boss, Mr. Camacho has
bought the place and wants to make it a "family" restaurant.
- According to what I hear, this ep was supposed to be the return of
that character after her "debut" in Arnold's Christmas. Apparently,
Hiap Thi Le was unavaiable, so they just cut her role out.
- At El Patio, Oskar is asking Hyunh for a free taco. Hyunh tells him
that only the head chef can give out free food. Later on at the Arms,
Hyunh expresses his concern that even though his biggest competition,
Rockwell, doesn't even know how to make a taco (he puts the
cheese in first and meat in last), he might take the job anyway just
because of his larger family.
- Oskar makes a fake-up photo from a picture of Phil, Pookie and
Arnold: Hyunh has been pasted in, and Suzie has been pasted over
Pookie. Hyunh doesn't want to resort to trickery, so he isn't taking
the photo. Oskar puts it in his bag anyway.
- Anyways, over at El Patio, there's a sign saying "New, Fish Taco" and
another sign advertising the best burritos. Rockwell mentions his
family: Buddy, Sissy, Jane, Mary, and Edwina (IIRC, that's his wife),
showing Camacho a photo of them. Camacho then discovers Hyunh's
picture. Hyunh decides to tell Camacho that it's his family photo.
Camacho notices that his "father" (Phil) doesn't look much like him,
and tells him that he's a front runner. (Camacho has already eaten with
Rockwell, BTW.)
- Back at the Arms, Hyunh tells them about this. Ernie (I think)
decides to cook it up even further by pretending to be Hyunh's family.
So they're putting a painting over the house rules, and putting a
Hyunh's Family sign over the Sunset Arms sign. Camacho arrives, and
everyone's greeting him. Oskar's role in this zany scheme is as Hyunh's
half brother Armando, while Pookie is wearing a crown and holding a
staff, as if she's the queen of Scots or something.
- So they're having dinner. Camacho asks about how Suzie and Hyunh met.
Suzie says that Arnold got them to know each other. Of course, since
Arnold's "their" "son", they have to cover it up by saying that Arnold
_Schwarzenneger_ got them to know each other ;)
- Okay, more mayhem ensues, and Camacho is not amused at all the mayhem
that's going on, especially with Pookie, queen of Scots suddenly
walking in, and Hyunh has no choice but to come clean about everything
(and mentions his daughter again, BTW). After finding out, Camacho says
that even though Rockwell doesn't know how to make a taco (that's the
2nd mention), he's firing Hyunh anyway for lying to him.
- Arnold decides to make a stand for Hyunh. He somewhat chides Camacho
for
judging the two on their family instead of, say, ability to cook. He
also adds, although they're not related, they're still a family, and
they take care of each other, and that's why they went through all this
effort to help Hyunh.
- After Arnold's statement, Hyunh apologises to Camacho that he should
have told the truth in the first place, and starts to leave the dining
room to get his coat. Camacho tells him to hold on, and makes a
statement that he's been looking at the family business wrong way.
According to him, the fact they care about each other matters more than
just having the conventional family (and Hyunh certainly doesn't), and
although he doesn't approve of tonight's charade, he does decide to
make him manager. Saw that coming, didn't you?
- At El Patio, Hyunh's giving Arnold a free combo platter, but Oskar is
getting a bitter Rockwell's misarranged tacos. As Oskar is complaining
about Rockwell's tacos (3rd mention... I smell weak running gag here)
to Hyunh and Arnold, we zoom in quickly on to a photo of the boarders
in the background as we head to credits over Buddy Love. Special
Thanks: Donna Smith.
- Quotables: "Hyunh, you just shot a dinner roll across the room"
(Ernie) "He doesn't even know how to make a taco" (Hyunh on Rockwell)
"Funny though, he doesn't look much like you" (Camacho on Hyunh's
"dad") "Who says he has to know? ;)" (one of the boarders, Ernie?,
referring to Camacho) "I'll be Mary, Queen of Scots" (Pookie) "If
there's one thing I can't stand, it's a liar" (wonders if Camacho is
related to Nicole Boscarelli, AGU!) "That's not fair. Maybe Mr. Hyunh
_did_ lie about a few things, but he only did it because you were more
worried about having a head chef with a big family than you were about
having a best chef _who's the best cook_. And the truth is, even if
we're not all actually related, we're still a family. We all live in
this house together. Mr. Hyunh looks out for me like an uncle. He looks
out for all of us, and we look out for him. We spend holidays together,
and whenever one of us has a problem, we help each other out. That's
why we all did this, to help Mr. Hyunh. We may not be a normal, but
we're still a family" (Arnold to Camacho) "Maybe being a family isn't
about having a conventional family... and you certainly don't" (Camacho
to Hyunh) "Here you go Arnold, a big combo platter on the house" "What
do I get?" "You get a taco made by Rockwell" "(Rockwell grumbles)" "But
he doesn't even know how to make a taco! He puts the cheese in first,
then the tomatoes, then the meat. It's crazy" (Hyunh and Oskar, and
note the use of the running gag)

[ungvichian]

And now, a redone version of my summary for "Helga's Masquerade", just
having rewatched it this morning.

- PS 118. So, Lila's cracking a gag about butter and udder in class.
Today's line up: Front: Gerald, Arnold, Lila, Curly, Middle: Helga,
Stinky, Rhonda, Sheena, Back: Iggy, Harold, Brainy, Nadine. Anyways,
Rhonda's giving out invitations to a costume party. I guess that she
realized how lame inviting only the cool people was ("Cool Party").
- At the cafeteria, Arnold and Lila are at the dessert table. Lila lets
Arnold take the last tapioca, even though Arnold is willing to give it
to her. Behind them in the queue: Curly, Park, an unknown, Iggy, and
Helga.
- Lockers. Arnold comps Lila on braids, and Lila says she's wearing
them eveyday. After a soliloquy, Helga suddenly has an idea: since
Arnold has been gravitating towards Lila, behaving more like her must
be the best way to get closer to him.
- Lila doesn't really want to teach Helga how to be more like her, but
Helga talks her into it anyway. Lila and Helga are at Slaucen's, across
the street from Chopin Auto Repair, as Lila is recommending her that
any stories she tells should be based on personal experience. Sounds
simple, but it's pretty complicated. Another Lila tip on how to be more
girly: Be less argumentative, and more "non-confrontational". Lila
leaves, and she's thinking of her as a pawn on her plan.
- PS 118. Helga tells Stinky, Sid, Sheena, Phoebe, Arnold, and Gerald a
really lame joke involving her mom saying "Chinese takeout? I thought
you said we were gonna make out". You know it's lame since no one's
laughing.
- Lockers. Rhonda can't decide whether to go to her party as a
primadonna ballerina or a go-go dancer. Helga suggests the former,
since the tutu will cover up her fat legs. Yes, she actually says that,
and Rhonda says she's uninvited.
- Cafeteria. Arnold and Gerald, Brainy and Park, and Phoebe, Nadine
and Sheena. Harold is with Sid and Stinky, and Harold calls her unibrow
a caterpillar unibrow. Harold gets a tray in his face from that (cue
ratchet sound). Arnold comes along, and Helga tells him that she's
trying to turn over a new leaf, and decides to continue spending every
minute with her.
- And so she does, through a montage. Lila shows Helga opening the
grocery door for a customer, goes out to an opera with Helga (while
Helga is wearing a foam finger :D), and curtseys to Helga at the park,
while Helga's jotting down notes. Helga then opens a door at the
grocery for a customer, dresses out properly at the opera, and curtseys
at Lila.
- At PS 118, she cracks a joke about beepers and zookeepers and
everyone's laughing. At the cafeteria, she even gives Harold a
compliment after one of his trademark insults :D At the lockers, Rhonda
can't make up her mind between triangle and square finger sandwiches
for her party (if this was before "Polishing Rhonda", she'd already
have decided on just triangles). Helga recommends her to do both for
variety.
- Helga is sewing up her costume in front of her Arnold shrine, made
from brooms, knowing that her scheme is coming to fruition. Cue needle
prick :D Helga arrives at the Lloyds'. Let's see who's dressed as what
at the party: Helga as Lila. Really. Lila as a monkey, Nadine as a
ladybug (how appropriate), Stinky as a woodsperson (a la "The Aptitude
Test"), Sheena as a tree, Joey as a bee, and Gerald wearing an afro
like in "6th Grade Girls".
- Party. Helga heads over to Arnold, who's dressed as a pirate. Helga
tells him a joke about a cow with no legs ("Ground beef"), and takes
him out to the balcony, where Helga is practically impersonating Lila,
as she lets Arnold have a heart-shaped finger sandwich. Gerald is with
Phoebe as he notices this. Later on, Helga has been blindfolded, as
she's ready to be spun for a game of pin the tail on the monkey (that
is not a typo, there is a painting of a monkey on an easel near Helga).
Gerald calls Arnold over, and Gerald claims that he's only hanging out
with her because she reminds her of Lila.
- Gerald's theory is helped by the fact that when he returns to Helga,
he accidentally calls her Lila. Helga takes offense at that, and so she
leaves for the bathroom, where she throws off her costume and wig in
disgust (note her messy hair). When she returns for "pin the tail", he
decides it's getting late, and he heads back in. Helga sits on a chair,
dejected that Arnold always likes Lila more than her.
- So at the end, Rhonda is saying good-bye to Sheena the tree. Helga
(still in messy hair) hears Arnold, and runs onto Rhonda's closet.
Arnold says to Lila that although she's mean most of the time, she can
sometimes be nice (to think this could actually have happened in "Egg
Story"...). Arnold says "I actually kind of like her." Of course Helga
overhears this from the closet, and she fondles her locket. Cut to
clouds. Okay, on to "Mr. Green Runs".
- New quotables: "Oh man, I can't believe I didn't think of this
sooner" (Helga) "Non-confrontational. I like it" (Helga) "Chinese take
out? I thought you said we were gonna make out" (Helga quotes Miriam in
a joke) "I'm sick of being phony Ms. Perfect anyway" (Helga takes off
her Lila costume) "Sometimes, she can be really OK ... I actually kind
of like her" (Arnold to Lila on Helga)

Since I already did "Mr. Green Runs" well, I'm just going to do extras
and corrections.
- It's 4:30 as the story opens, and somehow, Gladhand is still at
lunch.
- Zeke's Junk Store isn't responsible for the plywood board that leads
to an exploding transformer... that's Public Services' job. Zeke's is
across the street from Green's.
- Green opens the 2nd half of his debate by apologizing for his use of
big words "that didn't really mean anything" before heading into his
whole "big butcher shop" speech.
- Arnold is eating a mint ice cream near the Arms as Gladhand tells him
to get Green to quit.
- Curly and Lila's dads are voting at PS 118, apparently.
- Green offers Phil a shishkabob after winning the election, prompting
the previously quoted response: "I would, councilman, but I don't trust
politicians."
- New quotables: "That puts the gravy on the lousy breadstick" (Mr.
Green, on Gladhand at lunch) "I gotta out-Gladhand Gladhand" (Mr. Green
watches Gladhand on TV) "Don't go Green, go red, white, and blue"
(Gladhand at the debate) "No one out there wants to be fooled" (Arnold
to Green during the debate intermission)

And with that, that's the 100th message in this thread.

[ungvichian]

Extra-thon!

"Weird Cousin":
- Extras in the playground: Boot lady (watching Arnie), Nadine (with
Rhonda), Katrinka (walking with Lila).
- Watch Helga sharing gum with Arnold in the library. Watch Arnie's
propeller spin. Watch Arnie talking with Helga in the cafeteria :D
- "Stinky, shut up" (said by Arnold) "Could you please take your hand
off my shoulder?" (Lila to Arnold)

"Baby Oskar":
- Note Oskar eating a pickle... we'll see him doing it in "The Racing
Mule" as well.
- "That's another thing, it took my name" (Oskar on the baby)

"Helga on the Couch":
- In the classroom, Stinky throws a paper airplane.
- Just before the first session: Helga says to Phoebe that she's going
to make up stories for an hour so that Bliss won't get a word in
edgewise.
- In Bliss' office is a painting by Edward Topper and a dartboard.
During her first session, Helga is reading Celts magazine.
- Bliss loves jumping rope and knows several jumprope rhymes like
"Lincoln, Lincoln" and "Harbor St."
- This weekend, Olga is back to do a Brandenberg Concerto, and she's
even baking a lemon souffle for her parents.
- Three words: Helga hugs Bliss.
- "Let the healing begin" (Helga) "I'm the boss around here, got it?"
(young Helga) "It's the new honest me!" (Helga to stranger)

"Helga's Makeover":
- The "H" on Harold's shirt appears/disappears during the baseball
game.

"6th Grade Girls":
- Connie lives at 39 4th Street #22, according to the address she gives
to Arnold.
- PS 118 DANCE TONITE!
- Tommy and Burke are waiting at the bus stop after the dance.

"The Baseball":
- Harold's 2nd pitch looks quite surreal...
- GLASS INC., across from Green Meats.
- Get your fortune for 50c, at Quigley, section E entrance.
- Billboards at the park: "Your ad here", "Karen's Hawaii Tours".
- "Hey! Watch the hair" (Gerald to guard)

"Heat":
- During one shot of the pushing action, the word "Cream" in "Ice
Cream" (on the side of JOM's truck) is clearly moving in respect to the
popsicle (from the C being on the "edge" of the popsicle to the "edge"
going through the E). Plus, at the end, in two different shots, the M
is flush at the "edge", and in another, the "edge" goes through the E.
- JOM's truck's plate reads: "ICE TRUCK".

"Snow":
- Seven words: Harold and Sid on a dog cart.
- There's a store saying "Donna's Off Road".
- The bus with Pookie on it heads past the same produce shop twice.
- The Donut Cafe seen, Ruth shown skating past same shop twice.

"Big Gino":
There is an Abdicator poster in Gino's office.

"Mr. Hyunh Goes Country":
- The DJ introduces Billy Bob Blanchett, "I Gone And Went And Lost My
Dog Again".
- After returning from El Patio, I swear that Hyunh walks past the Arms
turning a corner (but the Arms isn't on a corner), replete with Suzie
popping out form a window, before arriving at the Arms for real.

"Helga Sleepwalks":
- Helga's lips don't seem to be moving when she's saying "These are
pretty good" (referring to the pork rinds she's eating).
- First night, Helga finds herself with flowers at the Arms stoop. Next
night, she's standing near Caesar on the bus, and finds herself in the
Arms kitchen, taking Grandma's eggs and bacon, arranged in a football
head shape. Later, she's in the Arms shower, nude, and taking the
bathrobe inside.
- At the school library, Helga and Phoebe are standing between the I-Q
and R-Z shelves.
- Ew, Helga stole a sandwich :D

"Fighting Families":
- Gerald talks about Arnold having a non-traditional family, long
before it comes to play in "Family Man".
- I'm still not sure if PS 118 deserves to be disqualified from the
limbo, since Arnold doesn't knock the bar over... Then again, Charlie
Brown never deserved to be ganged on in "It's Your First Kiss" for one
particular field goal attempt.
- Phil's reaction to Ryan Seacrest calling Pookie's "Camptown Ladies"
song :D
- "You can carry me around the block if you want to" (Ernie in a
suitcase) "Pookie, you can stop auditioning, you've already made the
squad" (Phil) "He (Phil) stepped on my toe" "No I didn't, _this_ is
stepping on your toe" (Phil steps on Ernie's toe while everyone bar
Arnold and Pookie's blaming each other for losing a few surefire points
at limbo)

"The List":
That ain't Slovak taking care of the class, and what's with all the
extras (red headed girl included) in the playground scene?

"Helga Vs. Big Patty";
"She's so dumb, she failed a blood test. She took an intelligience
test, and it came back negative" (Helga, on Big Patty... now why wasn't
this material for "Helga's Show"?)

"Monkeyman!":
At the Museum of Fine Arts, that's Buckley Lloyd (aka Rhonda's dad)
talking to Monkeyman about the small painting. And at the Civic Opera,
that's Mayor Dixie.

"Buses, Bikes, and Subways":
- Does Yahoo really need to have the chocolate kisses come out of a
mouth shaped thingy???
- In the "Why Helga and Harold got left behind department": Simmons
skips 8 when he's counting heads (he counts 2, 4, 6, and then resumes
from 10 after he tells CB to stop licking himself). Hey, why not put up
a roll call, Simmons? (And yes, I've seen the Simpsons ep with a field
trip where Krabapple is so sure that the buddy system is so infallible,
she doesn't even count heads, but just asks if anyone lost their buddy
[duh, the ones left behind, AKA Bart and Lisa, happen to be paired
up].)
- Signs Harold and Helga run past as they head to WrestleMania:
"Factory Co.", "No Admission", "Dangerous", "Keep Out".
- And come on, how far is Simmons from Miriam while she's answering the
phone from Helga? I doubt he'd be able to hear much of Miriam's end of
the convo... and how'd Helga make that call anyway? I don't recall
seeing any phones around her...

"Operation Ruthless":
- Cheese brownies? Cotton cheese? Cheese dip?
- Cutouts for photos: burger, fruits (banana, orange and grapes),
crackers.
- Eugene was in 2, Curly was in 3, Sid was in 4. Helga replaces Joey
with Ruth for what's supposed to be car 4, which turns out to be 3
(Robert's car turns out to be 7). You'd think that she would have
noticed the huge honkin' numbers on the cars...
- Gerald is at the hot dog stand when Helga runs into it.
- Harvey is moonlighting at the Love Tunnel.
- Park is slated to be with an unknown. Also at the love tunnel: Iggy,
Nadine, Katrinka, some unknown twins (etc.), Phoebe, Eugene, Iggy.
- "He's a sick boy" (Gerald on Arnold)

"The Vacant Lot":
- One of the trucks that passes by at the start: Landscapers, 555-DIRT.
- Grafitti: WILOT?
- Gerald writes the field with Wacky Chalk.
- The kids are forced to hang out in the alley next to "The Mystic Hut"
after the takeover.
- Vitello's putting up benches, and Green's offering 8 lbs. of grade A
oxtail stout.
- Hyunh's running between 2nd and 3rd at the end, after running from
the outfield to the pitchers mound to 2nd.
- "Hey! There's chickens in the outfield!" "Forget the chickens...
there's checkers on the pitcher's mound" (Gerald and Helga) "I like
fried chicken" (Eugene) "I won't fence them, I'll _fry_ them!" (Ernie
on Harvey's chickens) "Run for the hills boy, I'll try to slow them
down" (Phil) "Pull on your rubber boots boys and girls, it's gonna be a
long night" (Pookie)

"Mugged":
- Arnold mugged outside Shoe Haven.
- Grafitti: TINA, D-BONDS.
- Pookie's hand is like 5-6 times huger than Arnold's :o
- Who's at PS 118: Sheena, Phoebe, Rhonda, Joey, Robert, Billy, Stinky,
Helga, and a few unknowns.
- Note that (in the bus sequence), Pookie's hand with the fly in it is
drawn as a painted BG.
- That guy who stole Arnold's bus pass kept it with him all this time.
Riiiiight.
- "EWWW......" (Arnold and Pookie on a squished fly)

"Roughin' It":
- Am I supposed to believe that Big Bob's RV doesn't have its own
toilet???
- And can you imagine that Helga's big confession could have happened
sooner than later? And I mean much sooner, to boot: this was just the
_ninth_ ep. From 100. And the confession might as well have happened in
100 (this was the original plan).
- Speaking of that particular scene... I didn't see Phoebe, Gerald and
Bob walking off the watchout area. I mean, one moment they're on the
cliff, the next moment, Helga is relishing being alone on the cliff
(with Arnold, doi!).
- "Nature's a whole lot more fun when you watch it on TV" (Gerald looks
at Helga's wristwatch TV)

"Door #16"
- Okay, where'd the newspaper and milk come from? I don't recall seeing
them on the stoop at the start. Then Smith's Dry Cleaners drops off his
suit and hat, and behold, paper and milk.
- In the fridge: Mama's XXXX Tomato Prune Delight?
- Ernie Potts has a monogrammed bathrobe (in other words, his bathrobe
has his initials on it). Painting next to the WC: a dog balancing a
dish on his nose and a block in his hand. Wonder why it's only there in
a few other eps ("Arnold as Cupid", "Grandpa's Sister")?
- I agree with the hat guy... Arnold does look great in a bowler hat.
And you'd think hat guy's Rolodex would include more than just one Mr.
Smith... and first and last names.
- Mr. Smith works at Satellite Industries at 234 Smith Avenue. For a
guy who doesn't say a single thing, that's a lot of character info...
- "That guy is unbelievable!" (Gerald on Mr. Smith)

"Arnold as Cupid"
- Oskar has a teddy? Arnold dresses in the closet?
- There's a store called Teds downtown. (However, we don't get a good
look at the sign since Arnold and Gerald are in front of the store.)
- Seriously, what's with the flying toenail as a scene transition?
- Oskar got Arnold's CD player back by beating a pair of three's.
- Yeah Suzie, too bad Oskar's not that much changed in, oh, only about
every story he's the focus of. I mean, he's always back to being the
selfish git he has always been. Git.
- Speaking of which, it takes him until the second season ("Oskar Gets
A Job") for Oskar to finally start making his own money like he says
he's going to here, and then it takes him until season 4 to learn to
read ("Oskar Can't Read?"). What the?
- "You are not a good person! Not a good person at all!" (Hyunh to
Oskar) "I have to practice" "I have to study" (Oskar and Arnold) "Oh
Oskar" "You keep the money" "Oh Oskar" "Oh Suzie" (the Kokoshkas talk
things out, and Arnold's enjoying every second of it ;) )

"Benchwarmer":
- Named characters get these shirts: Robert: 1 (or 7), Gerald: 33,
Arnold: 7, Tucker: 9, Stinky: 2. This is the YMMA tournament (why the
change to YMAA some time later?).
- Apparently to the coach, "there's no I in team" doesn't mean you
should do teamwork, it means that you are less important than Tucker.
And why the heck does he make such an inane team policy anyway?
- If Wittenberg's benching Arnold for passing to Gerald who scores, why
ain't he benching Gerald too? And why ain't Arnold trying to reason
with Wittenberg that a score is a score, or something like that?
- First seen result, 42-41 against Wittenberg, from two FT misses.
- The Arms is apparently across from The Donut Cafe.
- Outdoor court outside DeMato's groceries, near Georgia's Cahiers (?).
Grafitti: Alamo. Also seen in "Suspended".
- Halftime score in the crucial playoff game is 14-32. It's 20-32 with
7:39 remaining, and with 9 ticks remaining the score is 39-37. Which
raises the question: Why's Tucker so afraid to begin with to tell
Wittenberg that Arnold taught him how to shoot FT's? And suddenly so
sucky at it after that particular moment?
- Tucker has a sudden shoulder cramp after a foul, and no. 4 on the
opposition calls him for faking it. So after Tucker explains to Coach
Dad about Arnold teaching him, Arnold gets in and hits the first one.
- The play the "team" practiced in the park calls for a deliberate miss
from Arnold, a rebound by Gerald, a chain of passes to Robert, Stinky
and back to Arnold, who shoots. And scores! Final is 37-40.
- "Some 'team', huh?" "You're telling me" (Arnold and Gerald complain
about the coach's policy) "You don't miss free throws with the game on
the line" (Wittenberg to Tucker) "Arnold!... Bring me a towel"
(Wittenberg) "We're down, but we're not up" (Wittenberg) "Get in there
Arnold, and don't screw up!" (Wittenberg)

"Cool Jerk":
- In front of the Arms when Arnold returns from his first errand with
Frankie G: Park, Sid, Sheena, Curly, Gerald, Joey.
- At PS 118 the following day: Stinky, Sid, Rhonda, Park, Brainy,
Sheena.
- So, Arnold has coffee (and pancakes) at Joe's Eats, plays some games
(and takes his photo) at the arcade, checks out Auto Parts (Used
Carburetors), reads Weird Space at Sherm's Wholesome Newstand (the
misspelling is as seen here, and persists for the whole series), and
watches "The Wild One" at a cinema.
- A few nights later, Frankie G is stealing from "Gene's Hi-Fi"
(Financing Available). The window glass is clearly drawn above the
backdoor, even though Arnold's face was just shoved into the window.
- Sign behind the shop: Erive? There's of course a water tower saying
"Lowtwate", as previously reported.
- "You guys are the worst nucular ballplayers I've ever seen" (Harold)
"I need a new tweeter for my system" (Frankie G... and why's the rest
of his gang laughing?)

"Grandpa's Sister"
- It's convenient that Phil gives Arnold Nov 13 1927 as the specific
date she stopped talking to Mitzi, isn't it? ;)
- His first plan: a fake leaking roof :D Her first counterplan:
Flushing the toilet :D
- Second plan: Setting up mousetraps. Second counterplan: Screaming to
make him think she got caught :D
- Third plan: Yams with laxative. Third counterplan: Spooning them to
Phil :D And there's that dog pic next to the WC.
- Mitzi's doomsday device comprises of a bucket on cold water, and an
ironing board on a spring, rocketing its victim out of the window into
a hornet's net... done with Oskar :D
- "And try looking on the top shelf of the parlor next to the cactus"
(Pookie tells Arnold where the family album is) "Jumpin' Jehoosephats,
who let one?!" (flashback) "Are you kidding?! I'd never live in this
fleabag" (Mitzi on the Arms)

"Synchronized Swimming":
- Connie and Maria are next to the pool just like in "6th Grade Girls",
and Wolfgang's in the pool.
- Why would Arnold want to bring up the basketball team, when half of
the time was all about the coach refusing to allow actual teamwork?
- Team's watching "Mermaids Enchant Tinseltown", and Wittenberg reads
"Swimming Made Simple" to train the team.
- Arms backyard: watch Wittenberg spraying the boys with a hose. YMAA:
watch Harold stepping on Gerald. Arms backyard again: watch Stinky
roping Wittenberg.
- So Wittenberg still had his toilet cleaning job before coaching for
the swimming?
- Wolfgang yells at Harold about losing to girls, and he actually does
in "Harold vs. Patty".
- In the bleachers: Lorenzo, Helga, Phoebe, Nadine, Simmons, boot lady
from "Polishing Rhonda", Lila, Wolfgang, Edmund, Tish.
- "Water ballet's not a real sport, Jack. It's an artsy-fartsy beauty
contest" (Tish) "2, 4, 6, 8, let's jump in the pool!" (Wittenberg)
"They'll think of it and call me it, you just wait" (Harold on being
called a sissy)

"Das Subway"
- The subway they're taking is the Green Line.
- Pookie's watching a Yoga programme on channel 32 when it's
interrupted by the news of the broken subway.
- "Look, I'm an upside down fireman" (Harold) "Don't wait up"
(Pookie... later re-used in "Arnold's Halloween")

"Wheezin' Ed"
- Really, can you imagine what the series would have been like if Helga
hadn't had to carry her dirty secret for almost the entire run of the
series?
- And you'd think that the missing jellybeans would have figured into
the chase somewhere, I guess Craig and co. got lazy...
- Earl tipped a waitress at IR's Fish and Chips with a counterfeit
penny.
- "Two dollars for him" (Earl on Harold) "It's now or never! Go,
confess your love" (Helga to self... little did she, or we, know that
it wouldn't happen until the movie, which was still 5 1/2 years away)

"Tutoring Torvald":
- In front of the school when Torvie comes in: Robert, Stinky, Brainy
are hiding, Joey and Curly are running around.
- In class: besides most of the regulars (minus Phoebe, who doesn't
appear in the room until "Spelling Bee"), Park, Iggy, Brainy, and
Curly.
- Park, Sid, Curly, Iggy and Eugene are among those lined up for
Torvald to count fingers :D
- The test is on the 13th.
- Sign in Torvie's room: "Bully Parking Only", Car poster in Torvie's
room: A Firerra, whatever that is.
- Sid and Gerald get out before 2:35, and Arnold drags Joey out in
front of 206 at 2:56.

"Spelling Bee":
- There's a poster on Solar Energy below the chalkboard.
- In his commercial, Big Bob is riding a bull, holding up a pig with a
sign saying "SALE" on it.
- Phil's stool is a drum.
- It's just past 10 at the City Auditorium at the start of the bee
sequence. At the start of the bee, Marcy (who's out about 3rd-4th)
stands to the right of Seymour and the red-head extra (who tries
spelling "bugar-bugar" after Marcy leaves, and goes out right before
Seymour) stands to the left of Arnold.
- The check reads ARNDLD.

"Pigeon Man":
- In front of the Arms the day after Arnold meets Pigeon Man: Helga,
Harold, Sid, Stinky, Gerald.
- Pigeon Man and Arnold eat mushroom pizza with pineapple bits at
Tonio's (okay, I got that from Tnadct's thread). Meanwhile, when Joey
talks, it looks as if his missing tooth is simply painted black. Maybe
that's why he never had another speaking role???

"Olga Comes Home":
- Park, Iggy, Curly and Stinky are the back row at PS 118, and Arnold
is to Helga's left.
- Price LeBlanc, Nice Shoes, Mocha Latte: Just a few of the things
Helga writes on the phone scratchpad.
- There are 36 chocolates in that box, and she has them all in one
sitting.
- First mention of caprini clothes, something more associated with
Rhonda.
- Free Combs, Picture Day is coming. Another stock school plot that Hey
Arnold! never did (besides science fairs).
- In Helga's dream: a few melted clocks and a few pianos.
- "Gee dad, I'm not in a sad or sorry condition" (Helga to dad) "That
was a terrible thing to do" "So what's new?" (Olga and Helga) "What are
sisters for?" "I dunno" (Olha and Helga

"Sally's Comet":
- Arnold and Gerald are getting the "Deluxe Point-O-View Scope" to view
Sally's Comet. Eating it with 2% Milk From Cows.
- There's a grand opening of something occuring a few yards from the
Arms.
- There's that old-timey music again, used in the flashback.
- Monkeyman and Caesar are listening to Arnold and Gerald on "Comet
Night: Turn Off Your Lights".
- MJZZ: There's that Fleber player, and a sticker in the MJZZ booth
says "I'm a MJZZ Ned Head". And am I the only person reminded of the
"Election" skit from Monty Python here?
- The big switch off occurs at 8:16-7pm, according to Big Barney.
- "I mean, hair growing out of our ears!" (Gerald)

"Abner Come Home":
- There's a package saying "Oliver" in the cupboard.
- Wrong Way Danger!, put up by Palome Co. (it appears to say that)
- Arnold can afford a billboard that big?
- Danger to Abner, brought to you by Pigskins R Us. One truck says
OINK1 on its plate as we see later on in the ep.
- Lana, Ernie and Hyunh are visible while Arnold and Gerald are setting
up their Abner trap thing.
- Could that be Monkeyman watching over the fence?

"The Sewer King"
- Jewelry. Jewels, Watches, Clocks. News. Did Arnold suddenly walk into
no-brand town?
- Gerald tells Arnold to throw rocks in the river. Isn't this usually
Helga and Phoebe's domain?
- Sewer King mentions Boris Spassky, but isn't he a Chinese checkers
player ("Steely Phil")?
- Phil looks like he has about 16 watches in a kitchen drawer.
- "Man, that's a deep hole. Bet it goes all the way to China" (Harold)

"False Alarm":
- Who's at school: Iggy, Sheena, Robert, Phoebe, Sid, Harold, Nadine,
Brainy.
- The paper Harold submits says "Fudgy Nut Bar", but for some reason,
Helga says "Nut" twice thusly: "Fudgy Nut Nut Bar?"
- Harold finished his 3rd pudding pack at the cafeteria before the
false alarm occured. And note that Squeaky walked pass Curly in his
flashback.
- If Curly wanted to frame Eugene, why would he leave the one piece of
evidence that could be traced to him?
- In the peanut gallery: Ruth, Brainy, Nadine, Park.
- "Helga, votes are supposed to be secret" "Yeah right!" (Phoebe and
Helga)

"World Records":
- Why does it show a picture of Phil blowing his bubble next to a
moose, just because he did it in Moose Jaw?
- I still think knowing about Sasketchewan is Phoebe's domain. And
speaking of Phoebe's domain: Another mention of throwing rocks at the
river by Gerald.
- Grafitti next to bench (during their back walk attempt) says
Blizzard, I think. Harold still has his H jacket here.
- The Kokoshkas, Phil and Pookie and Ernie are at the Arms, ready to
give Arnold and Gerald a bath.
- Cracking the whip: Gerald, Phoebe, Rhonda, Stinky, Brainy, Sid, and
Eugene. Well, I think so anyway, all I know is that Eugene grabbed
Sid's hand, Gerald, Phoebe and Rhonda were the first three, and there
were 7 in the chain after Eugene joined.
- Making the puff go bust: Phoebe, Sid, Joey, Nadine, Iggy (whose hair
seems to change during the shot of him cutting veggies), Gerald,
Rhonda, Vitello, Pookue, Curly, Stinky, Green and Oskar. Curly, Sid and
Phoebe are among those stretching out the dough. Joey, Sid and Vitello
step on the tomatoes.
- Hey Helga, if you wanted to see the glory of breaking a record
happen, at least you could have actually helped them _try_ to set a
record instead of scoffing at them for like 10 minutes...
- "Alright! Chocolate!" (Harold, upon seeing Phoebe read about
chocolate chip cookies)

"Magic Show":
- Magic show audience: Curly, Harold, Helga, Phoebe (all in the front),
Nadine, Iggy, Brainy (in the middle) and Stinky, Sheena, Rhonda and
Eugene (in the back).
- The parade passes Deb's Famous Crab.
- Helga/Gloria game: Robert ridden by Iggy, Park ridden by Curly.
- TV talk show: Arnold and Ruth are sitting in front of a patterned
wall. Cut to Helga watching in horror. Cut back to Arnold and Ruth
sitting in front of a patterned wall with a heart on it.
- The music at the end with Helga and the poster (the last two notes
particularly) is later used in "Deconstructing Arnold".

"24 Hours To Live":
- At the baseball game: Arnold, Sheena, Gerald, Park, Joey, Brainy,
Stinky, Rhonda, Sid, Iggy. Why would Sheena be among the crowd asking
for a fight if she's later revealed in "School Play" as squeamish at
the sight of blood?
- The bus Helga is on passes the same "DAY" store twice. That's the
limitations of old drawing-based animation for ya ;)
- Note the dog-collared Stinky in Arnold's "crazy" dream. And that
Arnold sleeps for 14 hours apparently.
- Harold and co pass Coffee Beat on their way to the fight. And at the
fight, there's the red-head extra (see the fence thing), Sheena, Park,
Curly, Iggy Eugene, Brainy (who gets punched twice in this story!),
Robert, and Joey.
- "Don't call me blimpo" (Harold) "The gak can't remember what he had
for breakfast" (Gerald on Harold)

My "Timberly Loves Arnold" and "Eugene, Eugene!" notes follow in a
couple hours. (Meanwhile, EZBoard was hacked several days ago, meaning
that all my posts have disappeared from the Sunset Arms board.)

[ungvichian]

"Timberly Loves Arnold", and if that makes him any closer to Lila, then
so be it, and who could possibly be more appropriate for the lead role
in "Eugene, Eugene!"... than Eugene? It's the final two-story ep, and
as usual, thoughts follow shortly, all corrections welcome.

"Timberly Loves Arnold"
- We open at Gerald's house, where Gerald's taking Arnold out to Tina
Park with their bikes (note Gerald's awkwardly placed helmet). They're
planning on playing frisbee. Here comes Timberly, asking Gerald where
he's going. Gerald will only say they're going somewhere to do
something. It's clear that Gerald doesn't want Timberly to tag along,
but that's what she does anyway.
- At the park, Timberly is good at catching the frisbee, but not so at
throwing it. They all return to their homes. The next day at PS 118,
Timberly gives Arnold a picture of Arnold as a flower. Arnold looks at
it, and Gerald tells Timberly to return to 1st grade. There'll be a car
wash this Saturday, but that's not the main point of this scene. As
they leave school, Timberly gets Arnold to walk her home, and Rhonda
thinks that they make such a cute couple.
- Arms. Okay, Timberly has opened a lemonade stand in front of the
Arms. Its sign says, "Arnold Leminade, Free Poem" (typo included), with
a logo of a lemon slice with Arnold's hair and hat. Phil buys a glass.
Actually, it's free, and of course he gets his poem. Timberly asks him
where Arnold is, and he says that he's at his kickboxing lessons.
(Wonder if he really takes kickboxing lessons? Given "Mugged", that's
not really far off ;))
- In the alley aside the Arms, Gerald asks Arnold about Timberly, and
he recommends breaking up with her ASAP. That's the idea, so Arnold
heads to the stand and Timberly. But while Arnold's doing a lead-in to
the thing, here comes Lila. Lila calls them a cute couple. Timberly
mentions that Arnold has a game at the "vacant lot" coming up, and they
decide to head out to the field. As they're headed out to the field,
Timberly mentions to Arnold that he had something to say. Arnold says
otherwise.
- Baseball game at Gerald Field (or should that be Wolfgang and
Ludwig's field, in light of what happens in "New Bully On The Block"?).
Outfielder Arnold is busy watching the crowd. Top row has Phoebe and
Iggy, bottom row has Park, Timberly and Lila, when he's suddenly beaned
by Wolfgang. So, as a result of Wolfgang beaning Arnold, the 5th
graders have taken the last baseball game ever played on this show.
Rhonda tells Sid that Arnold was responsible for the loss for his lack
of concentration. Flashback to "Best Man", which opened with Helga
blaming the team's loss on Arnold's bunt, followed by Arnold telling
about it to Coach Wittenberg and getting a reply that so-called
"sacrifice" plays are for losers. (Still wondering: I can understand
why they don't show the bunt, but if Stinky and Arnold can go into
detail on why Arnold bunted, why doesn't Helga go into detail on how it
backfired? For that matter, Helga could have at least made a quip about
sacrifice, something like "You weren't the only one 'sacrificed', how
about *the game*?")
- But I'm not recapping "Best Man", I'm recapping "Timberly Loves
Arnold". In the wide shot, Stinky and Eugene are shown just walking out
of the lot, but the two are shown clearly still in the lot in the
close-up shot. Apparently, their team consists of Rhonda, Sid, Harold,
Stinky, Eugene and Arnold.
- So, Arnold and Gerald are talking at the mound. Football Head
mentions everything right up to Lila popping up. Arnold adds that
tagging along with Timberly might finally make Lila like her like her
(yes, still going with the plurality of the statement). In fact, the
three of them are headed to the museum next.
- So, the threesome are having another day on the town. They go to The
Museum of Fine Art (as seen in "Monkeyman!"), where Timberly is running
around (as one would expect with someone who's in first grade), the
arcade, and then the Dinoland roller coaster. (Lila looks just as sick
here as she does in "Love and Cheese" :D)
- They're at the Hillwood City Zoological Gardens. Timberly is talking
about how she broke up with one of her friends Keisha over some dumb
boy named Wally and how it made her feel bad, while Arnold is busy
looking at a pair of giraffes wrapping their necks around each other,
and imagining himself and Lila in place of the giraffes' heads. Just
then, Tim asks if he's ever hurt anyone's feelings, and he looks over
to Lila at the water fountain.
- So, as the threesome reach Gerald's, Lila leaves (leaving her toucan
hat behind, and that's important). Arnold tells Timberly that he's not
his girlfriend, that he's more interested in girls his own age like
Lila (explain your date in "6th Grade Girls", then?), and he'd meant to
tell her since the lemonade stand (as shown earlier), but decided to
take advantage of Lila's comment to continue hanging out with her just
in case he had a chance with Lila. After apologzing for that...
Timberly talks about frozen waffles and wonders why they fit toaster
slots. Yes, really.
- Lila comes back and has overheard the convo. She appreciates having
the guts to admit it....but is disappointed at the break-up anyway.
She's taking the toucan hat and leaving. Sid and Gerald arrive with
baseball bats (at first listen I thought Sid was talking about paying
Torvald for lap dancers, but I realised later it was "math answers"),
and Arnold makes the statement that ends an era in HA!'s history: "It's
over Gerald, with Timberly _and_ Lila." That means no more pursuing
Lila, although the relative lack of Helga in this story (is this the
only Lila story without a major role from Helga?), and Arnold and Lila
being paired up for a play in the other story, make this statement
somewhat lack the intended zing.
- Even out of context, there's not much zing in this landmark event, as
Sid and Gerald make no comments whatsoever, before going off with
Arnold to the park. Timberly wants to tag along, again. Gerald won't
let her, again. Timberly cries, again. This time, Sid lets her tag
along... and gets a compliment from Timberly. Next!
- Quotables: "You're the nicest boy ever... see you tomorrow Romeo"
(Gerald imitates Timberly) "Look, it's a flower named Arnold" (Sid on
Timberly's picture of Arnold) "Well, I for one think they make an
adorable couple" (Rhonda on Arnold and Timberly) "Arnold lemonade?"
(Arnold sees Timberly's stand) "Arnold is so wonderful, he's a basbeall
player / Every night at bed I say my I Love Arnold prayer" (Phil reads
Timberly's poem) "Who does he think he is? Rudy Valentino?" (Helga
after the ball game... and this is pretty much her whole role in this
landmark ep) "What game were you watching man?" (Gerald, on the ball
game) "Arnold? Did that ever happen to you, Arnold?" "Did _what_
happen?" "Did anyone ever really hurt your feelings?" (Timberly and
Arnold at the zoo) "It's over Gerald, with Timberly _and_ Lila"
(Arnold, after the two break up with him) "You like regular or
blueberry waffles?" (the first thing Timberly says after the
break-up... is about waffles? Huh?)

"Eugene, Eugene!"
- We open at the auditorium, where Leichliter has just put up a poster
for a Broadway hit titled "Eugene, Eugene!". Helga, Phoebe, Sid,
Stinky, Nadine and Joey are joined by Arnold and Gerald, and later on
Lila, as Eugene explains what the play is about. Basically, it's about
some good-natured guy named Eugene (hereby known as "the protagonist"
to avoid confusion with the Horowitz kid) vying for the affections of
some girl named Betty, against some other guy named Lawrence. He
mentions the closing song, "Keep Your Sunny Side Up", and sings a bit
of it.
- Similar to the other musical ep of this show, the "Music By Jim Lang"
is cluttered up, this time with a separate credit for Lyrics, by
Michelle Lamoreaux and Craig Bartlett. Anyways, Lila also likes this
play, and so everyone's auditioning. Well, except Helga who won't be
auditioning for the play, but Phoebe offers her a job to paint scenery
for $2/hr. The paper attached to the poster announcing this reads,
perhaps unsurprisingly, "Paint scenery, $2/hour".
- First to audition is Sid, who recites the infamous "Stella" line from
"Streetcar Named Desire" (and yes, he mentions the play) sans black
jacket. Next is Rhonda reciting a line from Gone With The Wind. Then,
Lila singing "It's Not Easy Being Perfect". Helga is painting a car,
Stinky and Arnold are watching in awe, and Leichliter is looking at a
photo of some woman. After she's done singing, Eugene barges in on
stage with a cane, singing "Life Gives You Lemons", and then falls off
the stage :D Leichliter claps at his performance.
- The kids are gathering around for the announcement of the parts in
this order: Iggy, Stinky, Arnold, Sid, Sheena, Harold, Curly, Joey,
Robert, Eugene, Lila, Nadine and Lorenzo. However, there are shots
which show alternate orderings: Stinky, Arnold, Sid, Joey, Curly,
Sheena, Harold ; Rhonda, Eugene, Lila, Nadine.
- Anyways, we get a last name reveal: Lila Sawyer. He can't read all of
his own handwriting, so that stops us from getting a reveal on Arnold.
The main roles go thusly: Lila plays Betty, Eugene plays the
protagonist, and, unexpectedly, Arnold as the villainous Lawrence.
- Eugene is back in his room. He's studying the script, and finds
something fishy: a musical number entitled "Nice Guys Finish Last". He
tells this to Arnold on the bus, and adds that on page 78, the
protagonist doesn't just lose the girl to the villain (!), he's run
over with a trolley (!!). No "Sunny Side Up" to be found in this
script, no sirree.
- They tell this to Leichliter, and tell him it's a really depressing
message. He says he wrote the ending this way because sometimes, the
Betty is, in a nutshell, a two-timer. After they leave, Leichliter
takes out, and sheds a tear onto, the photo he was holding earlier.
This is the Betty he is referring to here, apparently. Helga's in a
different dress than the norm, painting the trolley when she's
surprised to overhear Arnold and Eugene talking about the revised
ending. Cut to two weeks later.
- Helga is setting up a bucket of paint to fall on Arnold and Lila.
Took that long, huh? So in the rehearsals, Eugene is giving Lila a
flower, before Arnold shoves him into the ground and leaves with her.
Cue "Life Gives You Lemons", complete with lemon juggling, and Eugene
falls off the stage again right on to the piano man :D
- Next, we show Lila dumping Eugene for Arnold... and then Sid and
Stinky run with a huge trolley cutout to hit Eugene. Harold and Iggy
carry him off as Arnold launches into "Nice Guys Finish Last", quite
poorly actually. Leichliter abruptly interrupts him, and shows him how
it's supposed to be sung. Tomorrow's opening night, BTW.
- Later that night, Eugene is depressed, mumbling the lyrics to "Sunny
Side Up" at the piano. Arnold pops in to announce his withdrawal from
the play, since he can't stand the sight of Eugene being run over. In
response to Eugene saying that the first 77 pages are great, he's
claiming that it's the ending that matters for this play. But what can
they do about it? After all, tomorrow's opening night... Well, let's
just say Eugene and Arnold are just going to have to rehearse all
night.
- So, it's the opening night: Gloria's here, Stoop Kid's here (bottom
row, leftmost) and Gerald's mom's here (2nd row, rightmost). Er, that's
it, the rest are unknowns. Huh? Meanwhile, Helga rigs the bucket.
Leichliter announces to the seats that his play is painfully truthful,
and goes backstage to look at that Betty photo.
- The curtains open to show a town scene with Harold, Robert and
Lorenzo (?), as well as these: Rhonda holding an umbrella, Katrinka
pushing a baby carriage with the redhead extra in it (note that they
apparently walk from one side of the stage to the other in like 3
seconds!), Iggy and Stinky (plus two unknowns) as chimney sweeps,
Robert riding a penny farthing bicycle, Patty Smith walking on with a
bouquet of flowers, Gerald sweeping the roof, Curly in one of the
windows, Sheena standing next to a lemon stand with an unknown, two
unknowns driving a car (rather, Flinstoning it across the stage), an
unknown in a dog costume being walked by Park (?), and Nadine, Peapod
and an unknown having a picnic. They're singing the theme to the play,
apparently.
- The next scene we see is Eugene's big number, "Life Gives You
Lemons". He juggles lemons, and steps on them until he slips off stage
into a player piano. He immediately gets out and pirouettes back on to
the stage, to much applause from the crowd. Backstage, they're
preparing for the final scene. Arnold tells Lila to go with whatever
happens.
- Cars and trolleys being dragged by unknowns. Betty snubs the
protagonist at Lawrence's, and Leichliter is getting ready to watch him
get run over. Er, except that he's not. He's standing on the back of
the trolley before pirouetting past a lamppost back on to Lawrence's
stoop. Leichliter is outraged.
- He punches open the door, and shows Betty the Daily News, which is
used to tack on a new line, noted in the Quotables. Betty reads the
line straight off the paper, quite stiltedly I might add, and the
protagonist sweeps Betty off her feet and kisses her, and just like
that, Lawrence has been foiled. Leichliter is very outraged that Eugene
essentially ruined his play, as he's frantically turning the pages of
his script.
- Helga is surprised to see Eugene kissing Lila, and decides to run...
and she trips over the rope (the animation is a bit fishy here, it's as
if the rope gets up and hits Helga's foot), and gets paint all over
herself. Meanwhile, Eugene, and Iggy, Harold, Lila, Arnold, Stinky and
Rhonda put on "Sunny Side Up" as the finale (as Don Del Grande wonders
why the orchestra knew to play this song instead of Leichliter's
planned change), and Leichliter realizes everyone loves Eugene. The
song ends with Eugene pirouetting repeatedly with the lamppost and a
somersault.
- Okay, the song ends, everyone (a paint-drenched Helga and Phoebe
included, as is Leichliter) applauds. Backstage, the Betty lady in the
photo arrives and decides that Leichliter's the only person she loves.
As they hug, the cast is holding up Eugene when he suddenly falls and
hits the lamppost, which knocks over a building, which knocks over all
the remaining buildings, which knock over the cast. Eugene is
unscathed, even yelling "I'm okay!!"... until the moon prop suddenly
falls on him. He's rubbing his head as the curtains close, and we head
into credits over an extended choral version of "Lemons".
- Anndi McAfee is credited as Phoebe and Betty. I note this because Don
Del Grande says on his site that Betty is an uncredited role. Anyways,
the credits end with a long credit that reads (all abbreviated names as
shown here): The "Eugene, Eugene!" Chorus: Garret Lang, Blake Ewing,
Spencer Klein, Franny Smith, Olivia Hack, Ashley Buccille, Anndi
McAfee, Joey Paul, Joe Purdy, Cara Newman, Ken Mu, Cecile Michaels,
Christie Insley, Craig Bartlett, Michelle Lamoreaux.
- Quotables: "I'd rather pound nails in my forehead" (Helga, on
auditioning for the play) "Frankly my dear, I don't give a hoot"
(Leichliter on Rhonda's audition) "That was more than okay, that was
inspiring" (Leichliter on Eugene) "I can't read my own handwriting"
(Leichliter goes over who got what... this is where he gets to Arnold)
"Me, as Lawrence?" "The black-carded villain. It's a juicy role Arnold"
(Arnold and Stinky's reaction to the casting of Arnold as Lawrence)
"Wait a minute, this isn't what happens next (...) 'Nice Guys Finish
Last'?!" (Eugene goes over his script) "Starting on page 78, things
begin to go very, very wrong" (Eugene) "It's a really depressing
message" (Arnold) "Your job is not to think, your job is to do what I
tell you" (Leichliter to Arnold and Eugene) "But Arnold, what about the
first 77 pages? They're really great" "I know, but, it's the ending
that really counts" (Eugene and Arnold) "Are you thinking what I think
you're thinking?" (Arnold to Eugene, or vica versa, the night before
opening night) "Whatever happens out there, just go with it, okay?"
(Arnold to Lila) "What was that???" (Leichliter sees Eugene jump on
trolley) "Well gosh, whats going on?" "Didn't you read the headlines?"
"Oh Eugene, I finally realise that Lawrence is pushy and cruel, it's
you that I love, you and only you" [Eugene kisses Lila] "Curses, foiled
again" (Lila, Eugene and Arnold, third line's a last-minute script edit
on the Daily News) "Leichliter?" "Betty?" "Ooh, Leichliter, it's you
that I love, you and only you" (and paralleling the events in the
play... Betty and Leichliter get back together... how cute :D)

[ungvichian]

Extras:

"Part Time Friends":
- Gerald talks about getting rollerblades, which ends up being the plot
of "The High Life".
- Another sign under Vitello's table: "Custom Jobs: Inquire Here".
- The way the letter "S" in the "CLOSED" sign is written is similar to
the way "S" is written in the show's font.
- Under the "nitpicking a bit hard" category: In "Runaway Float"
(paired with this eppy in foreign airings), Gerald complains "Commerce
vs. art, commerce always wins". One, why not incorporate this into his
firing of Arnold (Arnold's fired for, among others, taking so much time
on making his arrangements look so good), and two, why doesn't he care
for Arnold's artistic talents here like he does in the other story?
- Baseball: Sid, Helga, Harold, Phoebe, Eugene, Stinky.
- Arnold hears a story about Phil having a fallout with his friend and
is surprised to hear that they really did never make up as he thought
they did... done again in "Gerald's Game" (incidentally, also written
by Joseph).
- Under the "probably nitpicking too hard" category: If Phil lost his
best ever friend because of a STUPID! misunderstanding as he sez he
did, I sez that would point more to one (1) isolated incident than
Phil's ongoing attitude to Kafka (which is already accounted for under
"stubbornness"). You'd think Phil would go into detail on that
particular incident (as in, what exactly did they have a fight
over?)... but dammed if I can think of one. I dunno, wages? Work time?
Maybe Phil fell into a pit of poo and thought Kafka shoved him, or vica
versa? ;p (Given how many times they've retconned the story of Phil and
Kafka tho, I doubt it ever mattered since the first retcon in "Arnold
Saves Sid" anyways...)
- And also under the same category: I can't quite cotton up to the
story ending abruptly as they face a ton of customers. It's like an
anime about a fighting tourney abruptly ending just as its finalists
square off. (Wait, don't tell me: Variable Geo.) Why not have Arnold
show up, Gerald say something like "Hey, you're not my friend anymore",
Arnold say something like "But I'm only here to help you", show them
facing their customers, and have them patch up things after the rush,
instead of before the rush? (Time constraints, maybe?)
- "Gerald Kafka" (Arnold mumbles in his sleep after hearing Phil's
story)

"Runaway Float":
Ain't "wicked awesome" (as Rhonda comments on the float!) a bit...
British?

"Timberly Loves Arnold":
Apropos Arnold's comment that he's more interested girls more his age,
here's another example of Arnold having a crush a character of a
different age: Miss Felter, "Crush on Teacher".

"Eugene, Eugene!":
Here's another observation I just realized: The first story of the
series concerns a musical play at the PS 118 Auditorium ("Downtown as
Fruits"). The last 11-minute story also deals with a musical play at
the PS 118 auditorium. Coincidence?

Arnold's Christmas:
- Opening visuals: A clock, Hoske's, the Arms roof, the highway, a
street shot or two (one of them is from "Snow"), street ice rink (also
from "Snow"), snowmen, skyline (yep, also from "Snow"), the Arms.
(Still wonder why no quotation marks around the ep title?)
- I asked this once, and I ask it again: How does Helga put her hat on
like that? Meanwhile, Ruth, Nadine and Rhonda are at the snowboots
display as well.
- How does Mr. Bailey, Department Supervisor know that they're looking
for Mai Hyunh? Arnold didn't tell them, did he?
- A&G buy a laptop thingy at Hoske's.
- Note that the snow is not visible out the window in a close-up shot
of Arnold in the final scene. (And when they do show the wide scene
with the snow in the window, it briefly freezes before cutting to Helga
outside, but that has already been reported.)

"Helga's Boyfriend":
- We open at the Avon, with August in Sensundo (?... the title credit
is over the marquee) showing.
- Sign in cafeteria: 5c Milk, 10c Chocolate.
- Sheena and Iggy are walking past the library.
- At the skating rink: Sid, Nadine, Robert, Eugene, Sheena, Ruth,
Gerald, Iggy, Curly, Brainy, Phoebe (Iggy, Phoebe, Eugene and Ruth line
up to see Helga and Stinky).
- Eugene's at the playground. Phoebe's jumping rope there. Why's Nadine
chasing Sid?
- Robert and Iggy are in the halls.
- If Helga overheard Arnold talking to Stinky, why doesn't she assume
that Arnold might have wanted Stinky to talk to her at the park?
- Why doesn't Helga ID her would-be lover by full name here?
Apparently, they didn't come up with a last name for Stinky back then.
- Stinky says "Sad and sorry state of affairs" at the end of "Arnold
Betrays Iggy" as well.
- "Your eyes are like two beans" (Stinky to Helga)

"Crush on Teacher":
- Known characters in the classroom: Curly, Gerald, Brainy, Stinky,
Helga, Harold, Nadine. Felter gives 875/7 to Arnold.
- Baseball game at Peyton St.: Iggy, Stinky, Harold, Gerald, Helga.
- Questions on the assignment Arnold gets: 33/3, 45/9, 126/18,
245/11. (They're also there in his dream the next day.) Arnold turns
the answer to the first question (11) into the words "Miss Felter",
using the two 1's as part of the letter M.
- Next day: Iggy and Joey are in class as well.
- Gerald notes: Napkins, music, lights and candy. It's 8:32pm at the
Arms.
- Big grin! Felter's dinner: Caesar salad, bread, chicken kiev and
lemon pie. Fancy napkins on table! StinkNot in Felter's bathroom. Music
on, candles on table. Felter's marrying Arnold Skelter in June. Felter
Skelter? Yuck. No candy tho...
- "I fell like my head's on backwards" (Arnold's shirt is on backwards)
"Sometimes my pants, they talk ;)" (Arnold) "I like Arnolds" (Felter)

"Hall Monitor"
- Phoebe is sitting in front of the red-headed extra when she's picked.
And note that this is the first of several storylines which stem from a
person being picked for a job that everyone _else_ was volunteering for
(also see "Stinky Goes Hollywood" and "It Girl").
- Running past (and/or into) Phoebe on her 2nd day in the halls: Sid,
Park, Rhonda, Nadine, Stinky, and probably Iggy and Sheena.
- Among things on the menu: Pizza Bar, Tofu Fish, Chicken Tuna.
- "That's what I thought before 'Field Marshall Phoebe'" (Arnold, on
Phoebe) "Man, she used to be such a nice quiet girl" (Gerald)

"Harold's Bar Mitzvah"
- In the first baseball scene with Arnold, Gerald, Helga, Stinky,
Phoebe, and Sheena, Stinky is shown holding a baseball without the
dog-collar bracelets, and after a cutaway to Harold, they show a close
up of his hand, he's wearing one.
- Dreaming with Sheena, Arnold, Gerald and Helga on camels.
- Bus stop bench sez "Start your day".
- Harold's prayer: I recognize the word "Adonai" (Hebrew for God,
correct?) in it.
- At the dance: Arnold, Gerald, Helga, Phoebe, Helga.
- "Can I eat now?" (Harold, after the B&M)

"Coach Wittenberg":
- Wittenberg's house has a sign saying Delta Omega Kappa.
- Cover of magazine Wittenberg has, has "FIFTEEN, Bowling! Wow" on the
cover. Inside, some weird guy who looks like a thuggie holds a bowling
ball (he's referred to as an MTV VJ).
- Harold gets a strike on 3 bounces. The team practices and competes in
lane 5 (Helga's Angels play in lane 4).
- Among Helga's Angels are Helga, Maria, Marcy, and one of the Campfire
Lasses.
- The scoreboard has the Angels' score on the left and the Zephyrs' on
the right. At various points, the board reads 61-62, 218-193, 435-421,
582-581 and finally 582-583.
- So, they were down by 14 at one point and Rhonda bolwed a gutterball.
Must have been one heck of a comeback.
- Harold bowls a 7-6-10 split, Gerald looks at a 7-5-6 split.
- Arnold says "Potentiality" to the coach??? Then again, this is the
season 1 Arnold. The more "normal" one, that is.
- Eugene is looking at a 6-7 split for the win.
- Tish and Wittenberg are at at Grease Pit Burgers in the final scene.

"Four-Eyed Jack"
- Two books A&G are reading: "The Purdy Boys Dig Up A Severed Hand in a
Cellar" and "The Purdy Boys Trapped in a Mansion With A Bunch of Undead
Mummies".
- Flashback with the haunting: Could that be Pookie???
- There are a few snow spots in one shot right before the boarders run
acorss Hyunh.
- 12:37am (wall clock: 11:15pm), Gerald gets haunted.
- "These books are SICK!... I love them" (Gerald, on Purdy Boys books)
"Whattaya mean you're not superstitious? You keep a horseshoes _in your
pants_!" "Don't mock my family's traditions!" (Oskar, on putting a
horseshoe in his pants) "You don't wanna mess with the unknown" (Ernie)
"Give him the halibut, it's going bad anyway" (Oskar) "Never eat
raspberries, boys" (Phil at the bathroom)

"Tour de Pond"
- Rhonda is seen with a boat, but in the only heat we see, the only
competitors (with names) are Nadine, (dog collar-less) Stinky, Robert,
Curly, Arnold and Rex 3. There's also one extra. ro nad sti si
- Spectators: First round Katrinka is visible, Final round shows Park
visible (Katrinka is still there).
- Is it just me, or is no else besides Arnold and Rex 3 in the finals?
- "I see you boys are busy playing with a block of wood" (Phil to
Arnold and Gerald)

"Teachers' Strike"
- A few of the pairings: Gerald and Phoebe, Helga and Arnold, Brainy
and Rhonda, Iggy and Sheena.
- Among those in the auditorium: Iggy, Joey, Park, Helga, Sid, Robert,
Eugene, Harold, Park, Stinky, Nadine, Sheena, Robert ig jo pk he si ru
eh ha pk st na sh ro.
- Park's at the arcade. as with Arnold, Gerald, Stinky, Harold.
- Bowling: Sheena, Brainy, Iggy, Phoebe plus the last four.
- Aquarium: Iggy, Helga, Sid, plus the last four.
- Complaining at the playground: Helga, Phoebe, Gerald, Harold, Sid,
Arnold, Stinky.
- Kids returning to school: Sheena, Arnold, Gerald, Sid, Helga, Phoebe,
Stinky. Brainy and Harold just appear in the room. (They're also in the
final scene.)


I only caught the last 20 minutes or so of "The Journal" (I missed the
entirety of part one, and the day I watched and originally made these
notes, I wasn't even recording to boot), so let's pick up from where I
joined in. So, Arnold has found "The Journal" that his dad Miles kept
during his travels in South America (where he met and married his wife
Stella), and the first few years of Arnold's life back home, and gets
Phil to read it. Thoughts follow shortly, all corrections welcome.

- So, pregnant Stella is being carried around the forest by Miles and
Eduardo (all three are from "Parents Day", but only Eduardo was ID'd
back then). They're walking around in the forest, when suddenly a
volcano is erupting. So, they're running frantically from the lava flow
with a bunch of animals. They come across this Mexican temple belonging
to the Greeneyes. Stella and Miles go inside, while we're watching
Eduardo looking at the dangerous lava flow flowing around. The volcano
stops very abruptly. Eh?
- Eduardo heads inside the temple, and sees that Stella has just given
birth to a cute baby boy. Stella names him after her (apparently
deceased) dad. After a couple moments of ogling, we go back to the
present where Phil complains that Arnold wasn't named Phil, and the
shrimps he just ate apparently are acting up so he heads to the
bathroom. Giving the viewers a bathroom break also (I hear they do this
at all 3 adbreak junctions).
- Now where were we? So, Arnold's parents are leaving South America. We
see some Indian's hands looking out from a bush. Those hands belong to
a Greeneye, I've been told. Back in town, he's welcomed by the Arms
boarders playing instruments. Phil and Pookie raise him well at the
Arms. Phil hyperboles on how good he was before Arnold interrupts him.
Somewhere, Phil reminds Arnold again that he should have been named
Phil.
- Montage of the parents taking Arnold in a wagon past Green's and
Vitello's. Later on, they're at the park. We see baby versions of the
kids: Gerald and dad at the sandbox, Helga sucking on Phoebe's bottle
at the swings, Eugene (accompanied by dad) falling off a playhorse,
Rhonda, Harold crying, Stinky bonked by Sid with a rattle. Sheena's
aunt is there as well (but as usual, she's not with Sheena). Miles runs
to catch Arnold as he's sliding down a slide into some mud.
- Next, we have Eduardo calling on the parents back to oblivion, which
is of course to be expected, but this time it's rather skimmed over,
because Phil says Arnold already knows about this (and he does, as we
went into detail on that portion in "Parents Day"). Phil reads the
final entry, which shows that Miles was hopeful he'd be back soon.
- Arnold has been listening to his dad's story for the past hour, and
although he's skeptic that Phil didn't make this up, and he has other
questions as well (and so do we), that's all they'll be getting from
the journal tonight. Arnold asks for the book, and he gets it. At the
Arms stoop, he's browsing through the book, and he discovers that the
last two pages are stuck together. Opening them, he finds a map of the
area his dad was at, which he believes might be another clue about his
parents.
- As Arnold runs back inside to tell of his discovery, we pan up from
the Arms for one last time, and supered over the night sky? "Executive
Producer: Craig Bartlett", for one last time. And we head into the
final closing credits, with the music from the end of "Parents Day".
The creds do not credit everyone who speaks in it (in fact, they only
credit about 6-7 names on a single screen, and don't credit any of the
baby versions of our familiar characters, except of course Arnold...
were they too lazy?). The last credit of the final closing credits?
"Special Thanks: Cecile Adams, Kelly Crews". Copyright date? 2001. Of
course, you know by now that this special ep was supposed to set up the
most likely cancelled 2nd movie planned to answer tons of yet
unanswered questions.
- Quotables: "It was beautiful and dangerous... just like your grandma"
(Miles on the volcano, Phil reads) "Hey, hi. Hey, Arnold" (Miles after
Stella has just given birth) "I can't believe you weren't named Phil"
(Phil, on Stella calling her son Arnold) "I got a roll of duct tape and
I'm not afraid to use it" (Phil to Pookie, who keeps talking and
talking) "Point is: I was the poo" (Phil, on how good he took care of
Arnold) "It's been known to happen" (Arnold, on Phil making stories)
"This journal has cracked all the answers we'll be getting for one
night" (Phil) "Grandpa, Grandma, I found a map" (the last line of the
ep, the season, and the whole series!)

[ungvichian]

Extras, read all about them.

"Tour De Pond":
Another fishy thing about the lack of other competitors, is when Phil
is giving Arnold the game plan for the finals, since he mentions "other
boats", and note the plural.

"Arnold's Valentine":
- In the first scene, Katrinka and Connie are walking past Ruth in the
halls, and note that her teeth are braces-free in that shot. And yet
Helga describes her using the words "wearing braces" in class.
- In the class today: Helga, Arnold, Brainy, Peapod, Stinky, Phoebe,
Nadine, Rhonda, Curly, Park. Rhonda jumps rope in the playground.
- Arnold and Gerald are walking past Stadtler's Art Supplies while
Arnold's reading the letter.
- The clothes Helga tries out: Green dress with flowers ("Hello, I'm
the lunchlady"), orange fur vest ("Yuck"), green shirt with black dots
and furry trim, a purple and pink striped dress, and finally the pink
shirt with red lines on it.
- Ironically, this ep re-aired in Thailand on the VERY SAME DAY The
Wild Thornberrys (starring Lacey "Ruth MacDougal" Chabert) premiered in
Thailand. (June 21, 2005)
- Ruth is not wearing her braces at the dinner date either. Wonder if
the fact that she apparently doesn't know what "Anonymous" means when
attached to a poem factored in his lack on interest in Ruth much?
- Cecile, possibly one of the most admired HA! one-shots (behind
perhaps only Dr Bliss). And she's only in it for 2 minutes or
something.
- "At Chez Paris we do not serve 'le hamburger'" (Jacques) "I know what
'bugs' means" (Helga as Cecile) "Not many of our younger customers
appreciate the calf brains and eggs" (Jacques) "Ah, 'hamburger', the
American steak tartare" (regular Cecile)

"Biosquare"
- Front row are Sheena, Sid, and Gerald. Middle row are Rhonda, Curly
and Stinky (Phoebe is behind him). Harold, Nadine (with brown hair),
Iggy and Eugene are also in class.
- If you're flailing two hands around with a distressed look, you do
NOT want any passers-by to think they're waving at you.
- The ep ends with an heart-iris out on the two ants.

"Partners"
- Alright, who out there thinks that this ep has too similar of a plot
to "Part-Time Friends"? I mean, both boil down to "Arnold and Gerald
break up over a petty argument, over a backdrop of a very similar
break-up that hits a bit close to home". In fact, the lack of detail to
how Don and Dino broke up (sure, Don sez they had an argument, but what
was it _about_? Royalties?) is a bit like that of Phil and Kafka (Phil
sez they had a "stupid misunderstanding", but what was it about?). One
character even says "If I never see (the other guy) again, it'll be too
soon."
- Shafter Rod & Reel, across from the Arms.
- Poster in Don's room: "It's a wrap!", in all capitals. Meanwhile, I
wrote this when I recapped the ep the first time, but it's worth saying
again. Doesn't anyone else find it ironic that the lyrics Don writes
are about relying on your partner, just after he's broken up with his?
That must rank among the biggest ironies in HA! history, right behind
the fact that Stinky doesn't say his favorite word ("bites") in either
"Stinky Goes Hollywood" or "Stinky's Pumpkin", and, well, what I'm
about to recap in "Phoebe's Little Problem".
- Re Dino's speech on becoming a penniless shell of a man, here's a
fast forward: Pride ends up making Stinky remain poor in "Stinky Goes
Hollywood", but this time, it's actually seen as a good thing (except
by, well, his dad and all the kids who call him an idiot for refusing
to sign).
- And another fast forward: Dino's pathetic song-writing skills come
back to haunt him in "School Dance", where his "Last Bow" is
ill-received.
- And one more: Even though Don and Dino appear to patch things up at
the end here, in Don's next appearance, he still leaves a few
not-so-choice words about Dino.
- Don't think I don't read the closing credits: What's with using Alan
Paul over the closing credits instead of that Rick Corso guy they
normally use for the character?
- "Partner's a special thing kid. Don't forget that" (Dino to Arnold,
and I think he already learned that lesson in "Part-Time Friends",
thank you very much)

"The Big Scoop":
- They type on Typo typewriters. On the chalkboard:
(left)
Editorials:
Water Fountains
Food Trays
Pudding

Sports: Harold
Photo: Sid

(middle down)
Paste-up

- Working at the paper: Rhonda, Sid, Iggy, Helga, Phoebe, Arnold,
Gerald. Main headline: PS 118 Shines. Helga's story: Leftover Lunches
Used Over and Over.
- Red-headed extra walks above the forming of the Pataki Press.
Katrinka, Park and Peapod are getting the Word from A&G when here comes
the Pataki Press (standing next to a garbage can saying Cans Only).
Curly is among the extras getting a copy. Nadine and Ruth are laughing
as they walk past A&G.
- Helga and Phoebe walk straight into the Word's office through a door
marked Storage. Now why would A&G leave their big story right on the
table for everyone to see? The next day Stinky and Ruth are getting
their news from Helga.
- Sid's blackmail photos of Helga show her (in order): sucking her
thumb in bed, playing with a teddy bear with a bow on it, and at ballet
practice. The red-headed extra is walking ahead of A&G as they snoop on
Helga's little report on demolishing the school.
- If the school is supposed to be expanding, then why does it remain
the same by the end of the series?
- It's the Word's special edition. Headline: "School Still Stands,
Prinicipal says Helga is wrong." Maria, Park, Seymour, Katrinka,
Brainy, and Marcy are getting their papers. (Although I question the
fact that there are two shots where Maria's hair is *purple*!)
- "But it must be, on account we had to pay a nickel to read about it"
(Stinky, on Helga's headline: "Arnold doesn't take a bath")

"Harold's Kitty":
- Playing kickball: Nadine, Rhonda, Arnold, Gerald, Phoebe, Helga,
Stinky.
- Harold and Cupcake montage:
* The two playing with string at the Bermans' stoop.
* Harold showing Cupcake a lion.
* Harold washing his rug in front of his mom.
* The two having ice-cream
* Cupcake sleeping on Harold's head
* The two at the playground.
- Pet Love, for the serious pet lover. We'll see it again in "Eugene's
Pet" and "Helga's Parrot".
- Students watching the standoff: Stinky, Sid, Iggy, Rhonda. Caesar
appears to be there also.
- Officer that asks for Harold's kitty: Officer Pudney, voiced by
Danica Ivanevic (sp?).
- "But not today. Maybe next week or something" (Rhonda, on asking
Harold to play kickball)


"Arnold Saves Sid"
- There are four of Arnold's shirts next to the Buster Steam Press. All
in his usual design.
- Phil on Kafka: I thought you never talked to him again, period
("Part-Time Friends")?
- Arnoldmobile. Made with a crate, some wheels, and a deckchair.
- Final scene, Sid's across from Stinky at his table with Arnold and
Gerald. And extra credit to Steve Viskten for not having Sid save
Arnold and make it even, or even having that idea cross any character's
mind.

"Hookey":
- Dinoland has adults crawling around the place. Someone's bound to
notice that they're the only kids around here sooner or later. Same
with Quigley of course.
- They're at the Avon for "Buddy Love Goes Coconuts" and a trailer on
education. And there's that familiar music we later hear during several
eps' closing credits.
- Now we pick up from where my proper recap left off, with Arnold and
Gerald at the cinema. So, they decide to sneak out from the cinema.
They decide that since that someone might recognize them, they're going
to get costumes.
- House of Costumes. Gerald's in a yellow dress with a cowboy hat.
Arnold has a red shirt with a smaller hat. They're drinking Yahoos just
outside Park's Lucky Groceries, Italian Polish Korean, when they're
suddenly arrested and taken downtown by cops who "recognize" them from
a photo as the Yahoo Soda bandits.
- Vine St Substation. It's 5pm, apparently. After deciding that they're
both to blame for this hookey, they're told that they're free to go,
because the cops have caught the real baddies, and they sure do look
quite a bit like them. After signing release forms, they decide that
they should just go back to PS 118 and confess to Wartz about the whole
thing.
- PS 118. As A&G are arriving Harold, Rhonda, Brainy, Iggy, and lotsa
other kids are running out of the school with balloons, party hats, and
party favors. Stinky is the last to come out and tell A&G that the
school had a surprise carnival day. Can you imagine that? The
playground is filled with recently emptied carnival booths (looks like
those from the cheese festival) and a janitor cleaning up, and Stinky
is showing off his electric tie he got.
- The two ponder what happened to them today because they decided to
play hookey, and what would have happened otherwise, like many before
them (Lulu and Tubby) and many after (Otto and Sam). They struggle to
find a moral for the whole thing, as they leave the area and we head
into regular closing credits.
- Personal notes: Don Del Grande implies that he thinks that Wartz
deliberately set this up. Though why he would blow several thousand
dollars from the school budget to hold a carnival just because he
thinks two kids are going to play hookey is beyond me.
- Another opinion: Also, the idea of a "surprise" carnival day doesn't
sound that good. If I knew there was a carnival coming up at school,
I'd definitely go.
- Personal note: I missed around the last 3-4 minutes of it, when I
originally recorded this. Reason: Somehow, Bill Nye (which had been
airing then) over-ran by several minutes (in fact, my recording opened
with the end of a Bill Nye music video!).
- "Dinoland! The scariest place on earth" (Gerald) "The only channel
we're watching in town, KBTN" (Quigley announcer) "Look it's Buddy
Love, and he's going coconuts!" (Oskar) "We'll be like three men and a
parrot, unfeathered and alive" (Gerald heard this from a hippy record)
"Yahoo Soda tastes even better when you're wearing a beard" (Arnold)
"Stay in school, and _pray_ that it's carnival day" "That's not much of
a moral, is it?" (Gerald and Arnold) "Stay away from Buddy Love
movies?" "No, that's not it either" (Gerald tries to find a moral)

"Beaned":
- Arnold gives Rhonda an umbrella, opens the cafeteria door for Stinky,
and helps Harold carry balls. Meanwhile, Helga has to cover up with a
book, gets splat by the cafeteria door swinging back, and has to carry
some of the balls on her own. Yikes.
- Helga shoves a spoon in her ear. Best comedic Helga moment ever (post
"Helga on the Couch", anyway). A close second: Mini Helga kicks Big
Helga in the nose.
- Watching Helga being fed: Gerald, Stinky, Sid, Harold, Rhonda and
Nadine (the last two are standing at the bench table, the others are
sitting).
- There's a sign for "Call Backs" at the water fountain. Left over from
"School Play", perhaps?
- "My outfit is dry clean only" (Rhonda) "States, England, New, The, 4,
Chapter" (Helga "reads" her geography book)

"Ransom"
- Chocolate Boy is first shown eating at Holly's Chocolates. Meanwhile,
he gets 3 Malto Melts during the questioning, and the whole bag once
he's done.
- Note that Gerald rides a bike across town to the diner. What's wrong
with that? Well, he doesn't learn biking until "Gerald's Secret".
- There's one shot which shows 2 eyes on Harold's Wally doll, but Tim
says that one of them was bitten off.
- Curly learns ballet at Madame Bovery's school for boys. The ability
comes in handy (sort of!) in "New Bully on the Block".
- First mention of Big Gino. Meanwhile, Timberly in her dress looks
like a FOP fairy.
- "Kidnappin's not my game. Too messy" (Curly)

"Ms. Perfect"
- In class today are Phoebe, Rhonda, Sid (in the front), Helga and
Arnold in the 2nd row, Gerald behind Arnold, plus Brainy, Nadine,
Stinky, and Eugene sitting next to Harold somewhere in there.
- Arnold, Gerald, Stinky and Sid are at the foursquare, while Helga,
Phoebe, Rhonda, Nadine and Sheena are introducing Lila to their world.
- Harold is sitting on the jungle gym as Gerald is chasing Eugene with
a ball, and Lila is being asked by two unknowns to play kickball.
- Phoebe, Nadine and Eugene are in the same column. And Lila (sitting
next to Phoebe), you should NOT have answered Simmons' question unless
he called on you, which he did clearly not, and besides Phoebe's hand
was already raised.
- Lila is telling jokes to Iggy, Park, Curly, Harold on her right,
Arnold and Gerald to her left, and Stinky and Joey on the jungle gym.
This arrangement is repeated in the last scene also.
- While Lila gets pranked, Arnold, Gerald, Park and Sid are at the same
table in the cafeteria, and Robert and Iggy share the same table.
- Ironically, Helga's initial like for Lila wasn't the worst yet.
"Arnold & Lila", anyone? Meanwhile, Danielle Judowitz's Patty Smith was
credited only as "Big Girl" at the time.
- "Class, who invented the cotton gin?" (Simmons' first line, although
his introduction ep wasn't made until later) "This meat substitute
tastes like the real thing" (Lila's one-shot father)

"Monkey Business":
- In class today: Sheena, Sid, Eugene (front); Iggy, Helga, Phoebe,
Nadine (middle); Joey, Harold, Rhonda (back).
- If Helga scoffed at the concept of Monkeynucleosis, why is she hard
convinced that she's dying of it later? I still don't get it.

"Big Caesar":
- All your fishing needs in one store. That's the fishing store's
slogan.
- Phil's boat in his flashback is called the "Yorkie". Apparently,
Bartlett's obsession with Yorkshire Terriers doesn't end here: One
appears in "Headless Cabbie", Rex 3's dog is a Yorkshire Terrier ("The
Pig War"), and Arnold sees one in the clouds in "Rich Kid".
- This one's for resident Arnold and Simpsons fan Don Del Grande: does
anyone else see any similarities between this ep and another Simpsons
ep where Homer and Marge go fishing? The twist being that Homer didn't
know that he just let a legendary fish go until after the fact. And he
threw it away for a different reason, I believe.
- Dixie is giving Stinky and Harold the trophy.

"The High Life":
- Games at the arcade: Zap, Spider Fighter, Racer. Among those Gerald
is buying ice cream for: Harold, Stinky, Eugene, Brainy, Park and
Curly.
- "Aren't those big bucks ads kind of a ripoff Gerald?" (Arnold, and
foreshadowing) "No challenges, just opportunities" (Wacko)

"Best Friends":
- Dodgeball: Sid, Gerald, Stinky, Eugene, Arnold
- Sign in cafeteria above garbage can: "Bite 25x"
- In the cafeteria today: Brainy, Robert, Phoebe, Chocolate Boy, Iggy
with Joey, Eugene with Iggy. For some reason, the backgrounders who
don't speak are also drawn statically.
- "This psychology stuff sure is tricky" (Arnold... and in an unusual
reverse of roles, Arnold is getting help from Phoebe!)

"Longest Monday":
- At the start, Helga, Phoebe, Gerald, Arnold and Eugene are at one
side of the table, Stinky, Sid and Harold are at the other.
- When Arnold's making the plan in his classroom, all the above
mentioned kids are there, plus Joey, Curly and Iggy.
- Classroom: Nadine has brown hair.
- The first kids to get binned are Curly, Joey and Iggy. Arnold,
Gerald, Sid, and Eugene continue running.
- Sid gets his binning in the basement. Eugene gets his near a wooden
fence. Harold gets his on the bus. Arnold and Gerald take the gutter to
Park's safehouse.
- Sheena and Curly are drinking, Stinky's with Rhonda, Eugene's being
cleaned, Harold is getting advice from Helga. Robert and Sid are
apparently there, judging from the fact they run out of the house after
Wolfgang somehow finds it (and I would have liked to know how they
managed to find it).
- Mickey takes Arnold's yo-yo, but not his Pez. But I'd peek out from
under the cloth at certain periods to make sure he was keeping his end
of the bargain.
- Arnold and Gerald get theirs at some roadside ditch. So, if even
Arnold and Gerald didn't make it to the flower shop, that's a sure sign
no one's safe next year.

"Eugene's Pet":
- The opening music here is later used as the closing credits music
from "Buses, Bikes and Subways" onwards.
- Layout (window to wall): Front: Gerald, Arnold, Eugene, Robert,
Middle: Stinky, Iggy, Phoebe, Helga, Back: only Harold is visible.
- Helga, Phoebe, Iggy, Brainy and Stinky walk back into the building as
it begins to rain on Eugene and Egbert.
- "Why did it have to be _Eugene's_ fish?" (but the real big question:
why did it have to be _Arnold_ who accidentally killed him? Arnold _is_
like the nicest guy in PS 118)
"I don't get it Grandpa, why does everything bad have to happen to
Eugene?" (also, see above question on Arnold)
"It's just not fair Grandpa, I can't stand seeing him all alone"
(Arnold, on who else? Eugene)

"Mudbowl"
- Curly, Brainy, Helga and Harold play against Arnold, Gerald, Rhonda,
Sid, Eugene and Nadine at the start.
- The team that takes to the field against the 5th graders: Harold,
Sid, Stinky, Arnold, Gerald, Rhonda, Nadine, Eugene and Torvald.
Helga's plan to give the ball to Torvie on every play is reminiscent of
Wittenberg forcing Arnold and co to give the ball to Tucker, except
that Tucker didn't get injured on the very first play like Torvie does.
- Caprini mention: Rhonda says she broke her caprini nails at halftime.
- Let's go over the 4th graders' touchdowns in the exact order:
* Arnold fleaflicks to Gerald who passes to Nadine
* Arnold throws to Sid who laterals back to Arnold to pass to Stinky
* Rhonda scores a TD
* Gerald scores a TD
* Rhonda scores 2 TDs!
- And on the Statue Of Liberty, Double Reverse, Flea Flicker, Razzle
Dazzle play, Arnold, Nadine, Eugene (lateralling back to Arnold),
Rhonda and Gerald all touch the ball. That's five out of 7 (Harold and
Stinky were the only ones on field who didn't get a touch).
- "The odds of overpowering them are long, but the odds of outsmarting
them are quite good" (Phoebe... but remember, these guys just binned
Arnold and Gerald last ep!) "It's only rain, and they're only fifth
graders" (Arnold... but see my binning comment above)

"Freeze Frame"
- Also on the video, Helga is chasing Phoebe with leaves. Phil and
Pookie are on a bench. Harold jumps on to a board and sends Stinky into
a pile of leaves.
- Porpoises at the City Aquarium are on loan to Underwater World.
- Besides the slaughterhouse, the Porpoise Merry Go Round is also next
to "Da Pet Ride" (?).
- Sign at Martinez Taxi Cab Co.: "My Name Is Sabrina Martinez, I'm Here
To Serve You!"
- Jennings Hardware, at 27 Grand. Clutch Co. nearby.
- Grafitti: "M Rast", "Low", "Hott". Eh?
- Vine St. Substation is Pct 2.
- Porkpie's number begins with an 82 (and not 55, as would be expected)
- One of the rides at the warehouse is "The Flush-Out". And how did
they get that last footage of Porkpie and friend at the party without
anyone noticing, anyway? It is now 7:46 by the wall clock.
- "Alright, now we can jump to conclusions" (Gerald) "Someone's life is
on the line. Don't worry about the camera" (Arnold) "Who knew there
were so many butchers in the city?" (Gerald watches the tape of the
party)

"Phoebe Cheats"
- Class at the start: front from window to wall: Sheena, Phoebe, Helga.
Mid from window to wall: Gerald, Harold, Stinky. Arnold is in front of
Nadine near the wall.
- Photo in Phoebe's room: "Meatball" (replete with meatball).
- This is one of the few examples of eps where Arnold has few lines,
and they're inconsequential to the storyline (esp. since they are not
with the titular Phoebe).
- However, I still maintain two positions: one, that Arnold would have
been better suited to deliver Simmons' lines (say, Arnold gives her the
Emily trophy, and Phoebe explains why she doesn't deserve it), and two,
having Phoebe read the "anonymous" poem seems less satisfying (to me!)
than having her then work her keister off to write a poem about (to
borrow Simmons' line) "needing to be the best in everything, and how it
makes you feel when you _don't_ win" and reading it at the open house.
(Kinda like how Susie singing a previously used song at the end of All
Grown Up!, "It's Karma, Dude!" was a letdown to some.) C'mon, this ep
had two writers, and neither of them could spare an extra poem?
- Harold, Arnold and Gerald are near the playground. At the auditorium:
Gerald and his mom, Arnold and his grandparents, Helga with her
parents, Iggy, Stinky, Nadine, Rhonda and Park.
- "Stop looking at me, it's rude to stare" (Phoebe to Emily Dickinson)
"Don't you think that there's a lot more to Phoebe Hyerdahl than always
being the best at winning awards?" (yeah, Simmons... one word: farting!
:D)

"Gerald's Secret":
Signs on garbage cans Gerald runs into: Please Pick Up Trash, Keep Our
Park Cleans.

"Rhonda's Glasses":
Marci, Katrinka and the red-headed extra are on the bus during Rhonda's
standoff. There's an ad saying "Musk New" (and another for some music
magazine) on the bus as well.

"Arnold Visits Arnie":
- The "V" on the right side of the Odeon marquee sign (Evil Twin 3) is
missing.
- Even as Lulu is on Arnie's shoulder, she's putting her boot under
Arnold's leg ;)
- Hilda gets Arnie to take straw off her hair.
- Everyone yelling "fight" over and over is straight out of "24 Hours
To Live".
- Arnold wears bear PJs. Not as embarassing as bunny PJs.

"Chocolate Boy"
- Lorenzo is playing ball in the playground (note when Gerald says:
"Show's over Sid").
- As CB is running away from the chocolate vending machine on the 2nd
day, the picture freezes with his shoe still in frame.
- CB is holding an inner tube in the dumpster. But how would Arnold
know about CB looking for chocolate in the dumpster or dancing for
chocoballs? He wasn't there, you know?
- Park and Joey are playing ball in the playground in the final scene.

My notes for "Phoebe's Little Problem" / "Grandpa's Packard" follow
shortly.

[ungvichian]

A few more extra notes I forgot the first time 'round:

"Helga's Love Potion": Not only does Helga hold up 14 pink books, she
even says "volumes 1-14" in referring to them ;)

"Chocolate Boy": the pocket watch Arnold uses on CB reads either 12:15
or 3:02. Wonder if it's the same watch as from "The Sewer King"?

Okay, my extras did enough leading in, time for the recaps. "Phoebe's
Little Problem" is that she's refusing to return to PS 118 again, ever,
after breaking wind, not just in front of a crowd watching her picking
up an award, but more importantly, the microphone she was holding, and
soon after as the result of the humiliation, her perfect attendance
record that she had won the award for (You followin' me here and
appreciating the irony?); and speaking of big old farts, "Grandpa's
Packard" has won an award at an antiques auto show... and has just been
stolen. Thoughts follow shortly, all corrections welcome.

"Phoebe's Little Problem"
- Just so you know, this summary is heavy on ranting. Not surprising,
since this is probably among the worst HA! stories ever. It's written
by Michelle (whose stories have never been the best), and doesn't take
into account Phoebe's official (read: Helga as her best friend) and
semi-official (read: Gerald's crush... and you do know what happened
[or rather, didn't happen] in "Gerald vs. Jamie O", right?
Incidentally, also a Michelle ep) relationships. What less could you
ask for from an ep?
- Okay, bus. Harold is spitballing Eugene. On the bus are Phoebe,
Rhonda, Arnold, Stinky, Harold, the bootlady and Park. Rhonda gives
Phoebe a box of prune cookies. Phoebe tells them that she's accepting
an award this afternoon.
- PS 118 halls. She's surprised to finish the prune cookies, but that's
nothing compared to the gas problems she begins to develop. Auditorium.
Sitting in the various rows in the exact order: Helga, Sid, Stinky ;
Arnold, Gerald, Harold, Lila ; Nadine, Rhonda, the bootlady.
- So Wartz calls up Phoebe Heyerdahl (as it says on the plaque he's
holding up) to accept her award, for excellence in attendance, for the
36th month in a row. But if you look carefully at the plaque he's
holding up, you see that she won for the summer months also. Why is she
being awarded for the summer months, when she had no reason to be in
summer school anyway (in case you didn't know already, Phoebe is
smart)?
- Anyways, she makes a speech about how her quest for knowledge has
brought her back to PS 118 every single day. Mind you, this girl is so
dedicated, she came to school even after she broke her leg! ("Phoebe
Breaks A Leg", yep, another Michelle ep)
- Well, after she's done with the speech, as she's bowing, comes the
moment that even most HA! fans would rather blot from memory. It's
embarassing enough if she, uh, passed gas while she's on stage (over
the prune cookies) ... but it's not just that. She was holding the open
mike upside down on her back when she did, so everyone hears the
incident, and, beginning with Harold, ridicule her for it.
- Soon after she runs out of the auditorium in heavy tears, Arnold
follows and they have a conversation. Arnold says that everyone has
their own embarassing fart stories, but Phoebe asks if he's ever farted
into an open mike. Arnold's sure, however, that everyone'll forget
about this tomorrow. Here, she refers to the incident as
"indiscretion". BTW, Arnold never farted into a mike, but I'm sure he
*would* know about the humiliation Phoebe's been through. Anyone
remember the bunny PJs incident in "Arnold Betrays Iggy"?
- The following day at PS 118, Phoebe walks past Edmund and Wolfgang,
and they're not making any comments. However, Rhonda, Sid, Harold,
Iggy, Stinky and Curly are ridiculing her (especially Harold) while
she's at the water fountain. Phoebe cries _again_.
- Cafeteria. Nadine, Rhonda, Park at one table, Helga, Curly, Brainy at
another, Joey and Harold at another, Lila and an unknown at another,
Sid, Eugene and an unknown at another and Gerald and Arnold at another.
Waiting in line are Brainy (?), Iggy, Phoebe, Sheena, Rhonda (?), Park
(?) and Robert. So basically, Phoebe wants some Brussel sprouts and the
lunchlady tells her about her titular little problem, and that Brussel
sprouts are quite gassy. Meanwhile, in a different shot of the line,
the line goes thusly: Stinky, Sid, Brainy, Phoebe, Sheena, Rhonda, Park
and Robert.
- Back in class, Rhonda is telling Phoebe to point out the digestive
system on the "Your Body and You" chart. Especially humiliating is the
way Simmons tells her to do it. To quote Phoebe as she's describing her
day to her parents: "Instead of chart, he used, well you know." Layout:
Front: Arnold, Gerald, Sid, Harold, middle: Helga, Phoebe, Iggy,
Brainy, back: Curly, Rhonda, Stinky, Nadine.
- After Phoebe describes her day to her parents she adds that she has
decided against returning to school, ever again. The parents urge her
to reconsider... but asides from that one comment, the parents show
almost no resistance whatsoever, which is a bit odd, especially since
this wouldn't just break her perfect attendance record. I thought they
would at the very least have mentioned that fact...
- While Phoebe is justifying herself with her parents, Arnold comes,
and upon learning about this decision, is rather shocked, surprised,
you name it. He thinks she's overreacting, but she's refusing to ever
return as long as she's being regarded as a "gas-passer", so...
- Over to Simmons' room, where Arnold is telling the class about the
whole thing Phoebe is doing. The fact that this is the first time
Phoebe's ever been absent goes unmentioned. Eh? Harold, Sid, Gerald are
in one row, Helga, Brainy and Iggy are in another, and Nadine, Stinky,
Rhonda and Curly are in the back. Simmons tells them that they should
go cheer her up and something. Everyone is quiet at first, but then
Simmons drops an extra incentive: Movie day! Everyone cheers, and next
thing you know, everyone and Phoebe's parents are in the halls in front
of her room. Eugene and Sheena (not seen in the classroom) are also
there. Simmons drops a few guidelines on how to talk.
- Rhonda is the first to go into Phoebe's room. BTW, the posters seen
in "Magic Show" are still in the room. and Phoebe is disappointed at
the comment that everyone will start making fun of her behind her back.
The fact that she started it with those prune cookies of hers goes
unmentioned. Again: Eh? Stinky is next. He reads a poem about how
everyone loves Phoebe and all, and everything seems to be going fine...
until he's reading the bit I quote below on one knee (IIRC). If you
weren't thinking of Stinky as such a big idiot, perhaps you do now,
because otherwise he'd know where it would be best to leave it at, or
to observe how Phoebe reacted any time someone even mentioned the word
"fart". So, instead of Phoebe reacting so as to say, "You really care
that much about me?" (I bet that was the intended response) she, yep,
puts her crying face into the pillow again. Stinky crumples the paper
and tosses it, and has a "Ah don't geh-ut it" look on his down face.
- Simmons is next, and you'd think that he would easily help her get
back on
her feet and that there'd be no need for Arnold to help (given the
writer of
this ep, that would actually be a refreshing change of pace), and in
fact the writing
seems to be agreeing, as you see Simmons saying something about Phoebe
having hte whole world at her feet, then Phoebe taking tissue from
Simmons to wipe her
tears and saying "Thank you" ... that is, until where he's supposed to
be saying "Let's make a brand
new start", you can guess what comes out instead (see quote below if
you can't figure it out), thereby erasing any progress he had made.
- No matter, there's still Helga, Gerald and Arnold. First is Helga.
She talks about how Phoebe farts when she sleeps over. I expected
better talk coming from her best friend (for crying out loud!) and as
she hands over to Arnold, that's all we're getting from her this ep.
- So, first Helga only has one low-key speaking scene, and then we go
straight from Helga to Arnold, without Gerald in between? Why isn't
Gerald getting a speaking role here, or in this whole ep (especially
that he appeared in several of the crowd scenes)?
There are only two things that I think could possibly have redeemed
this ep:
Helga standing up for Phoebe (given what happened in "Phoebe Takes The
Fall"
and "Phoebe Skips", she should know something about standing up for
her),
and Gerald, not Arnold, helping Phoebe stand up for herself (first
"Gerald
vs. Jamie O" doesn't even feature Phoebe, and now this :p). Ironically,
Viksten, who is credited for the ep, also wrote "Operation Ruthless"
(the one where Gerald has his first interests in Phoebe).
- Make that three, since it's not every day there's a chance for Phoebe
to stand up against Harold, since he was the one who started making fun
of her...
- Expected (but unheard) line: "Well, get used to it"... what Phoebe
might say if someone pointed out this was the first time she was ever
absent. I'm surprised that Michelle thought it needed to happen to
someone who'd had perfect attendance, since this aspect doesn't come
into play at all.
- Well, back to the ep. Phoebe is telling Arnold (and I quote, or
paraphrase) "I know now no one will
ever forget what happened... when they see me, all they'll see is the
girl who flatulated!" The fact that Simmons is included in that
statement goes unnoticed by Arnold. Once again: Eh? She then comments
on how her nine years of existence
has been reduced to just one fart.
- Anyways, after Arnold points out that she's more than that, Phoebe
goes into a long speech that mentions her (now no longer) perfect
attendance record, and her talent in checkers (I've never seen that in
the show's 5 seasons). Arnold tells her that she has to "do something
to make people remember those things," and asks, "If you can't face
your class, how are you going to face yourself?" and leaves. I could
quote the whole bleepin' scene, but I'm only quoting the most important
bits in the quotables section.
- And with that, we fade straight back to the auditorium where Wartz is
trying to finish up the monthly assembly which was so rudely
interrupted by the earlier events. Meanwhile, Harold wants to go the
bathroom (to put it lightly). Layout: Iggy, Harold, Stinky ; Joey, Sid,
Curly ; Connie and Maria ; Lorenzo, Arnold, Gerald, Peapod, red-headed
extra ; Brainy ; Nadine and Rhonda ; Helga, Sid (eh?), Robert, Park.
- This is when Phoebe comes in and asks for the mike from Wartz. Sid
think she'll fart again. Anyhow, Phoebe tells the whole crowd about how
she's a good friend to most of the people here, and how ever since she
farted (and yes, that is what Phoebe chooses to say), everyone just
calls her the girl who farted, and that she feels it's not fair. She's
not the one who should be ashamed, she says, everyone should be
ashamed.
- And after Wartz makes a comment on how she's standing up for herself,
Harold then continues ridiculing her like she did when she farted to
begin with, and making her feel miserable. Suddenly, Harold's pants are
getting wet, and he runs out of the auditorium as the crowd is
ridiculing him instead. Rhonda comments to Phoebe that he'll never live
it down. But I dare ask: One long stand from Phoebe... and it ends up
being Harold wetting his pants that makes everyone forget about the
incident?
- The funny thing is, despite this whole incident, Harold still
ridiculed Arnold for supposedly farting just 3 eps later (April Fool's
Day). Okay, next!
- Quotables: "Then how can you understand the utter humiliation of what
I just experienced?" (Phoebe to Arnold, after he says that he never
farted into an open mike) "Brussel sprouts are quite gassy" (lunchlady
to Phoebe) "I'm quite emphatic about my decision" (Phoebe to her
parents on refusing to return to school) "Phoebe don't you think you're
overreacting?" (Arnold asks the same thing most of us are thinking)
"There's no choice but to turn the other cheek. ...No pun intended"
(Phoebe to Arnold on refusing to return to school) "If we pull this off
then tomorrow's movie day" (Simmons) "It seems a shame that we be
parted / Just on account of / You farted" (but just on account of
Stinky reminds her about the incident, it suddenly sounds reasonable)
"Let's move on and make a brand new FART" (Simmons... emphasis mine)
"Get real Arnold, nine years of living have been reduced to one... to
one, solitary, _fart_!" "Come on Phoebe, you know there's more to you
than that" "Well, of course there is Arnold! I'm smart, and funny! I'm
neat and clean and organized! I have a perfect attendance record, and
I'm very good at checkers!" "Well, then you have to do something to
make people remember those things" (a pretty long quotable: part of the
exchange between Arnold and Phoebe, but why couldn't this have been
between _Gerald_ and Phoebe?) "If you ask me, I don't have anything to
be ashamed of... I think *you're* the ones who should be ashamed"
(Phoebe stands up for herself... but I find myself saying this to
Viksten and Lamoreaux as well :p) "Harold wet his pants!" (Sid)

"Grandpa's Packard"
- Both stories in this ep were written by more than one writer, the
last ep in which that happens.
- The very first shot is the same as "Buses, Bikes and Subways", with a
shot of the sky panning down to a bridge outside of Hillwood. This
time, it's Grandpa's Packard driving across it. Phil and Arnold are
listening to MJAZZ (so KDUDE switched formats back to the original,
right?). When asked why he likes listening to MJAZZ, his answer? The in
car radio is stuck there.
- Phil cites his car as his one true love, ahead of even his wife
Pookie. So he doesn't love Pookie? Arnold is showing Phil a rebus under
a bottlecap of Yahoo (he's drinking one) that says "I love you dear",
written as "Eye love U deer" (laugh at Phil asking, "so what's the
rebus say?" in reaction :D). Phil suddenly runs the Jolly Olly Man off
the road, and Willy swears vengeance. Meanwhile, Arnold's dropped the
bottlecap.
- Anyways, they're going to show their car at the motor show at the
Civic Auditorium, site of Arnold and Phoebe's big wins ("Spelling Bee",
"Phoebe Takes The Fall"). Vic and Morrie, Leichliter (critic of
Simmons' "School Play" and future director of "Eugene, Eugene!") and
Rex Smythe Higgins (cheater in "Tour De Pond" and British in "The Pig
War") are also at the show. Grandpa shows off his mother-of-pearl
piston grip brake handle, and comments that reigning champion Rex pays
off the judges every year. (Flashes back to "Tour De Pond" where Phil
repeatedly accuses Rex of cheating, 70 years after the fact.)
- Well, Steely Phil wins this year, so in your face, Rex! Some old lady
named Ivana Divancevic comes up and looks at the prize-winning car,
takes a photograph of Phil with the car, and asks for his address to
send the photos to.
- The next day, Phil is going out with Arnold on a fishing trip.
Problem: Their car is missing. Pookie and Arnold see Phil crying over
the oil stain left by the Packard, and decide to go down to the police.
Turns out there are 350 missing vehicles in the area. So, it's time for
Arnold and Pookie to bring on some justice of their own... as Marlowe
and Spade, respectively, as they look for potential suspects on their
motorbike with sidecar. (They have one?)
- They start at Vic and Morrie's, but they're clean. Next is
Leichliter's, where his alibi checks out. He was at the Civic Opera,
watching Ring of the Niederlungs from 4pm to 9am, and he has a ticket
and a mug. Lastly, Higgins'. Although he calls Phil a scoundrel, he
also says he was in London (and that checks out). Pookie and Arnold are
back at the Arms. She calls herself Spade to Phil, which shows how
kooky Pookie is.
- The next day they head to the Tristate Diner. Apparently, they know
about a lady with a red scarf seen there. They get a pointer to Marv's
Scarves at 32 Hammet Avenue. Marv doesn't know anything about the lady.
So, Pookie offers the guy a "picture of Lincoln". Literally. I mean,
like a photo of the late president. Of course, Arnold knows that
usually means slipping him a buck. Anyways, he gives the addy 1941
Chandler St.
- This is Ivana's home. There is a red Packard in the garage. It has a
mother of pearl handbrake and the radio is stuck at MJAZZ. Of course,
that could apply to someone else's Packard. But the rebus bottlecap
Arnold dropped in the car during their accident with JOM doesn't, and
they find that too.
- Here comes Ivana threatening them with a paintgun. Here comes grandpa
Phil, tussling with Ivana. Some shots later, Arnold and Pookie pour a
bunch of ball bearings on the ground, causing Ivana to slip.
- So Ivana is down, and Phil takes off her hat. It's Willy. Huh? So,
turns out he'd had a bad day before the accident. His cat hissed at
him, and his milk was bad, and then he was run off the road by Phil.
Instead of getting Willy arrested, Phil makes two demands: paint his
car back to green, and send him those pictures :D So, they're driving
home, and Arnold wonders what it's like to have regular grandparents as
we head over the credits.
- Credits play out over generic mystery music. Fact: Dan Castellanetta
did the voices of Phil, Willy, Ivana (a rare instance of a man playing
a woman), and Marv. Special Thanks: Kelly Crews, and Phil yells "Here's
Grandpa!" over the Nicktoons end caption.
- Quotables: "Are you crazy??? My Packard's my one true love, Pookie's
just my wife!" (so, Phil doesn't love his wife?) "Look at this gorgeous
specimen" "Grandpa, that's ours" (Phil and Arnold looking at old cars)
"Why not? You paid off the judges every year" (Phil to Rex on his
repeated wins at this contest... and once again showing off Rex's
cheating tendency, first seen in "Tour De Pond") "That's not the only
thing that's well preserved" (Phil to Ivana)

[ungvichian]

Post by ungvichian
"Grandpa's Packard"
- Quotables: "Are you crazy??? My Packard's my one true love, Pookie's
just my wife!" (so, Phil doesn't love his wife?) "Look at this gorgeous
specimen" "Grandpa, that's ours" (Phil and Arnold looking at old cars)
"Why not? You paid off the judges every year" (Phil to Rex on his
repeated wins at this contest... and once again showing off Rex's
cheating tendency, first seen in "Tour De Pond") "That's not the only
thing that's well preserved" (Phil to Ivana)

Looks like I misplaced a few quotables... here are some more: "The
reviews are in, and you're tiresome" (Leichliter to "Spade" and
"Marlowe") "He's a drucipitous connivning scoundrel" (Rex on Phil) "The
names Spade, slim. Spade" "Ah, I see, another character" (Pookie and
Phil) "Maybe a picture of Lincoln would change your mind" ("Spade" then
hands Marv a photo of the late president :D) "That's sweet of you
Marlowe" ("Spade", to "Marlowe's" "I love you dear", which is of course
the bottlecap rebus) "Here's Grandpa!" (Phil arrives at Ivana's house)
"Whaddaya expect, Hedy Lamarr?" (Willy after being exposed, and what is
it with the show and Hedy Lamarr? She's mentioned in "Big Caesar",
"Veteran's Day" and "Helga's Locket" too) "Send me those pictures!"
(Phil to Willy)

[ungvichian]

Before "Married", extras, and some important news.

"Save The Tree":
- We open with Rhonda climbing up the tree. Arnold, Gerald, Sheena, Sid
and Stinky have just finished treehouse renovations.
- Here comes Big Bob with his sign saying that they're tearing down
this tree on Friday the 16th. Helga was behind the tree. Riiiight.
- "Mighty Pete" is a Citrus Intellecus (sp?), whatever the heck that
is.
- Meanwhile, Helga is cursing herself for being born a Pataki. Flash
forward: Note how she immediately decides to caddy for her dad in
"Grudge Match". Okay, upon being offered money. But once again, this
question is raised: If blood is thicker than water (as Helga, and many
others, say), why doesn't Stinky even _consider_ how his dad might feel
over his rejection of Snee Oosh's contract ("Stinky Goes Hollywood")?
- Pookie and Arnold are being fobbed by some guy at counter 3 at City
Hall.
- I do believe Bob's name was on the original tear down sign, so why do
Arnold and Gerald only realize that they're up against Big Bob now? (As
in, when the sign announcing the beeper shop comes in.)
- Coming to Pete at night: Arnold, Gerald, Sheena, Sid and Stinky. Big
Bob is using a Mashmaster to do the honors, and note how Arnold changes
from PJs only to a better outfit real fast (IIRC).
- Arnold and the red mug subvert the "million to one chance" trope.
- "You're a kid, and the government loves kids" (Pookie) "My dad's been
bugging me lately, and I thought I'd get even with him" (uhhh, okay
Helga: the one way to avoid siding with her dad _and_ airing her dirty
laundry, especially to footballhead)

"New Teacher":
- Layout (wall to window): Front: Arnold, Gerald, Sheena, Phoebe.
Middle: Helga, Harold, Iggy, Brainy. Back: Curly, Stinky, Rhonda,
Nadine. (I swear there was at least one shot of Park in this ep tho.)
- Going clockwise in the circle look, from the door: Harold, Helga,
Phoebe, Stinky, Brainy, Sheena, Rhonda, Arnold, Gerald, Iggy, Curly. (I
think I'm missing some spots.)

"Curly Snaps":
- Curly wakes up in his house wearing his glasses, marks off his
calendar, and combs his hair. At school, he walks through halls, opens
the #206 door for Stinky and Rhonda, lets Harold (sitting to Curly's
right and Sid's front, in front of the row closest to the wall) answer
a question, and lets Sid drink at the fountain after Sheena and before
Phoebe.
- Rhonda, Sid and Stinky are entering #206 when Curly decides to steal
the balls.
- Sid tells Brainy and Eugene in the bathroom, Robert, Ruth and Peapod
are at the stairwell, Nadine, Sheena and Phoebe are with Helga.
- Visible at the office at one time or another: Park, Sheena, Stinky,
Phoebe, Nadine, Robert, Ruth, Rhonda, Helga, Arnold, Gerald, Sid and
Harold.
- Rhonda, Phoebe, Helga, Arnold, Gerald, Stinky, Sid and Harold are
standing in a row at one point.
- Ball monitors of recent weeks: Harold, Eugene and Sheena. Simmons
says he forgot to carry over the holiday week to the week of the 12th
(whatever he means by that). How about letting Sid finish his week off
and let Curly start a fresh week next week? Okay.

"Pre-Teen Scream":
- Ronnie's choice of food: Good Fo_d (the missing "o" is not lit up,
but is there on the window), 24 Hours, Joe's Eats. They sell Souvlaki,
Burgers, and Dogs (among other things).
- Helga is eating a banana split while talking with Ronnie. Ronnie
presses the "A" button at the table jukebox.
- I dunno why, but I feel the ending was a bit abrupt. One minute
Helga's crazy for Ronnie when she previously wasn't, then she think
he's dorky. Feh.

"Crabby Author":
- In class today (window to wall): Front: Gerald, Helga, Phoebe,
Middle: Eugene, Sid, Curly, Back: Stinky, Harold. Leaving school later
that day: Nadine, Rhonda, Sheena.
- Later: back row: Rhonda, Nadine, middle row: Brainy, front row, Sid.
- The long distance shot of PS 118 right after Arnold's report and just
before the snow falls was used at the start of "Helga on the Couch".
- I note that Arnold reads the book title the other way round from how
it appears on the cover.

"Rich Kid":
- Stinky, on deluxe sneakers: "Shoot, I'd have to be a dang millionaire
to buy those." Well, you should have signed the dang contract Snee Oosh
was giving you last ep ("Stinky Goes Hollywood").
- Getting into school ahead of Lorenzo: Iggy, Robert, Rhonda, Nadine,
Gerald, Arnold, Stinky.
- Lorenzo gets a front row seat: Helga, Lorenzo, Arnold, Gerald.
- Isn't that shot of the Big Barney clock panning to PS 118 right out
of "The List"?
- Iggy's on 1st base while Helga's running the bases. And there's that
rock throwing at the dumpster thing Arnold, Gerald, Helga and Phoebe
talk about.
- Pipe. Mud. Harold. Falls. Gerald. Sid and Stinky. Fall. Helga. Gets
to the other side. Lorenzo and Arnold. Arnold shoves Lorenzo into a
mudslide... hilarious, ain't it?

"Arnold Betrays Iggy":
- Sid, Stinky and Arnold pass Arnason Furniture on their way to Iggy's.
And I dunno why, but Iggy's apartment building reminds me of the one in
Gerald's dream ("Gerald Moves Out").
- The three sit opposite Park and behind Helga on the bus the next day.
- Lorenzo, Curly, Phoebe, Eugene, Helga, Harold, Nadine and Sheena are
in the crowd listening to Iggy's dirty laundry (literally).
- Sid, Stinky and Curly are sitting across from Arnold and Iggy at the
cafeteria. Hey, some unknown kid's imitating Iggy in the playground.
- Sid and Stinky obviously had several months to admit the truth to
Iggy, if the seasons montage is of any indication. They really must
have wanted to humiliate Arnold. So shouldn't Arnold be treating them
like he treats Iggy at the end? The fact that Arnold actually speaks to
them again is ridiculous.
- And Arnold also had the same amount to time to straighten things out
with the two. Why not also focus on that?
- Vacuum + Dishwashing + Taking out the trash + Putting in the laundry
+ Ironing + Dusting =/= Forgiveness from Iggy.
- Okay, let's count how many people are in the downer scene: Helga,
Red-headed extra, Oskar, Curly, Joey, Sid and Stinky taking
photographs, Green, Nadine, Sheena, Robert, Brainy, Nadine, Gloria,
Ernie, and Harvey.
- So, the only thing worse than the fact that Sid and Stinky get away
with it? Actually there are two things: Completely honest Arnold gets
PJd in public, and the fact that even if Iggy were to PJ Sid and
Stinky, Arnold still probably won't forgive him. Joseph Ashton doesn't
reprise his Iggy role for THREE YEARS after this ("Gerald's Game"). And
the end music is too upbeat for such a downbeat ending.
- Iggy yelling "Arnold!!!" over the final shot of the city reminds me
of Sid yelling "Hey Arnold!" over the final shot of the city in "Bag of
Money".
- "Yeah, come to think of it, it was you and me who kinds pulled the
truth outta him... It was a fluke" "Yeah, it wasn't Arnold's fault" "It
sure is a terrible state of affairs" ... "Total humiliation" "Yeah, and
it'll be even more humiliating on accounta we'll have pictures!"
(Stinky and Sid on the whole set-up, making the ending seem extra
unfair)

"Helga and the Nanny":
- Sheena's at bat, and Curly and Eugene are outfielders when Inge calls
Helga out of the game.
- Helga, Phoebe, Arnold (who has one of his few lines here) and Sid eat
cake.
- Once again, a downer ending is marred with upbeat end music. In this
case, the usual closing credits music. The "Pigeon Man" closing sounds
more suited for a downer like this if you ask me...
- "No, she's Helga and I'm Toulouse Lautrec" (Helga to Inge, pointing
to Miriam) "I am not going to school looking like a starched and
pressed wind up doll" (Helga to Inge) "That'll shred it like cheese
through a shredder" (Helga puts washing machine on high with tablecloth
inside) "Inge makes a real nice presentation" (Stinky on sandwich)
"Everything's going wrong at the worst possible time!" (Big Bob on the
broken TV, but it's also a perhaps unintentionally apt metaphor for how
both stories in this ep ended)

"Student Teacher":
- Helga's rules to Olga: Don't get into her personal affairs, and don't
tell any embarassing stories. Olga breaks the 2nd rule on the next day
with the bedwetting story.
- Here: Helga tells Olga not to talk about embarassing stories, Olga
promises, does so anyway. "Phoebe Breaks A Leg": Phoebe tells Helga to
hold the bus for her, Helga promises, doesn't anyway.
- Brainy, Rhonda and Iggy watch Helga threaten Harold.
- Olga's car in this ep is purple, and Helga is letting the air out of
her tires.

"Chocolate Boy":
- Rhonda, Nadine and Sheena play foursquare while Arnold and Gerald
discuss stuff. With Sid and Stinky.
- Joey and Robert are in the halls after CB runs away from the vending
machine.
- CB's licking ants, and marking off the 18th day of the month upon
reaching the two-week mark.
- Hey, wasn't that kid in the red shirt and hat among those watching
Arnold get PJ'd in "Arnold Betrays Iggy"?
- Final scene, Brainy plays with a hoop.

"Harold vs. Patty":
- Watching the first day: Phoebe, Robert, Brainy, Iggy, Lila, Stiny,
Rhonda, Sheena, Nadine, Curly, with Eugene, Joey and red-headed extra
sitting at nearby tables.
- During the scene of the next match, there's a sign with This Week's
Menu on the other side of the wall from the norm (Katrinka has just
entered the line, and that's where the sign usually is).
- Books falling on Harold's shoe: not exactly comic gold, but ripping
his pants is :D And Harold eating a sub while meditating, too :D
- All Harold's learned from Patty: Balancing books on his head, and
walking across a log.
- Watching the city finals: Joey, Brainy, Eugene, Lila, Nadine, while
Brainy, Robert, and the red-head are in front of Arnold, Sid and
Stinky. And here's a refreshing change of pace: Arnold's only lines
come between the first two Harold vs. Patty matches. He doesn't say
anything during the city finals.

"Rich Guy":
- The story opens with the same incidental music as the tourney scenes
in "Harold vs. Patty". Just call it Jim Lang's "big game" cues.
- One of the billboards at the rink reads "Langone Puck".
- Sammy Redmond loved science when he was a kid. Just like Arnold.
Wonder if Alan liked photography since he was a kid?
- "Boiled, baked, mashed, I'll take a potato anytime" (Sammy) "Stop
being such a killjoy" (Phil throws Arnold's homework)

"Racing Mule":
- Mule kicks bucket into Pookie's room :D

"Curly's Girl":
- Curly hugs Rhonda, falls to legs: "Good, now get off my leg"
- Three rows of four today at #206.
- Brainy, Arnold, Nadine, Sheena, Stinky, Sid, Iggy in halls as Rhonda
gets kissed

"Career Day":
- Iggy is in the front row in this ep.
- The fire department #5 will be seen in "Stuck in a Tree". There's a
sign telling firemen to "Keep Tanks Full".
- In "The Donut Cafe", there is a poster of a donut, with the word
"Donut" written both above and under it (upside down in the latter
case).
- Peapod is buying a snowcone from Willy.
- Sign next to police truck: "To Let Rooms". And why the heck are the
most potentially interesting events of the ep second-handed to the
viewer (Gerald saving a kid, Helga going jujitsu on bank robbers)? This
isn't Seventh Heaven, you know...
- Willy parks under the bridge over a dried up canal. I suspect that
this is the same place where Arnold and Gerald got binned ("Longest
Monday").
- Sign Arnold holds: "Please (up-down arrow) Thanks".
- Toonzoners bag on Helga for not changing her behavior, but where's
the hate for Willy?

"Hey Harold!"
- As Rhonda hands out her invites, Phoebe is sitting with Nadine. Park
is sitting alone, eating a sandwich in a looped animation. Iggy and
Joey are here too. Sid, Stinky, Harold and Arnold have speaking roles.
- Helga's party dress? Little more than her regular outfit minus the
white shirt.
- Party: Curly/Sheena? Ruth/Sid? Lila has her back to the viewer, and
Maria is there too.
- Harold and Patty eat sundaes at Sundae Salon, across from the Bicycle
Store. Apparently, these are also near the Smiths' house.
- Nadine, Rhonda, Iggy, Phoebe with Curly, Lila, Robert, Joey are among
those who see Harold walk over to Patty.
- At the end of this ep, the endcap read only "1998, Viacom
International Inc. All Rights Reserved"... Usually isn't there a
wordier caption saying that HA! is the property of Viacom or something
like that?

The choir in "Gerald's Tonsils":
Top: Sheena, Stinky, Harold, Rhonda
Middle: Iggy, Lorenzo, Helga, Lila
Bottom: Curly, Phoebe, Gerald, Arnold, Sid.

"Phoebe Takes The Fall":
- Harold, Stinky and the red-headed extra are in the front seats for
the team contest. Joey is right behind them. Iggy is also seen walking
out of the auditorium.
- Figures that Helga should know a question about boxing, seeing that
her dad watches it ("Helga vs. Big Patty") and she buys wrestling mags
("Helga's Makeover")...
- Day after training: Ruth, Sid, Iggy, Arnold, Phoebe, Helga, and the
red-headed extra are at lunch. And note that Arnold tells Helga to give
Phoebe a break, which I imply would mean rest, and only drops a mention
of what's best for her, which again I imply would mean rest.
- When the Patakis' car parks up at the Hyerdahls', the picture is
simply frozen, and the exhaust is shown in the still of this.
- Nadine (or at least someone with her braids) appears to be in the
bleachers at the auditorium. Why her and not Phoebe's parents?
- For one last time, I complain the lack of Big Bob telling Helga "I
can't believe you gave up your hard earned spot" or something like
that. Maybe put it during some sort of intermission during the contest?
- Final scene. The real Arnold (as in, not in Helga's dream) didn't
tell Helga that Phoebe should be competing and not her. So, you'd think
Arnold would have pointed out that Helga's withdrawal wasn't exactly
what he had in mind (although it was the right thing nonetheless).

"The Pig War":
- It's obvious the opening shot of the Arms with Arnold and Gerald is
actually a still.
- After Uncle Earl drops the kids off, the fog makes it look like he
fades out as if he was a ghost. Just my opinion...
- The pig chase appears so time-compressed.
- Phil saying "we can't _possibly_ win" to Rex reminds me of Phil
saying something like that to the German guy in "Veterans Day".
- Harold, Stinky, Arnold, Gerald, Helga and Sid are on the return trip.
Where's Phoebe, Brainy, and Rhonda (who were in the arrival)?

"Best Man":
- Sign in front of Cathedral: "Wittenberg Wedding Today 3 p.m." in all
caps.

"Cool Party":
- Torvey shoving Joey on tetherball post into wall... hmm...
- Part of the discussion group on geeks: Sheena, Phoebe, Harold, Helga,
Curly, Sid, Stinky, and later Eugene. Hey, what are you really going to
discuss, your feelings against Rhonda calling you a geek, or your
feelings against Rhonda calling Gerald a geek? Mind you, IMO, the
incredulity of Gerald being referred to as a geek sounds like a good
subplot.
- Meanwhile, wonder if Iggy is still so humiliated at the bunny PJs
incident that he's refusing to go to Rhonda's on principle?
- Marci and the red-headed extra are going to Arnold's also.
- Connie and Maria sure got changed fast. Hyunh and Oskar are holding
the limbo bar.

"Sid's Revenge":
- Someone forgot the memo that Arnold should be mad at Sid for the
bunny PJs incident...
- Posters at Sid's: car, heart with wings, tree, another car.
- Soap revenge dolls. Danny Fenton would definitely want to make a
couple of those.
- Meanwhile, this turns out to be the final weekday airing. See why
below.

"On The Lam":
- Cops chasing mooners on to bus: "You dropped your peace medallion!"
- Bus: cops, navals, firemen :D
- Later at the trainyard, Harold complans that Arnold ratted them out.
Well, Sid and Stinky did have it coming since the bunny PJs incident...
- "Oh, I can just look at the highlights on the news" (Phil watches
wrestling)

"Family Man":
- Hyunh accidentally shot a dinner roll to Abner :D
- Just after Hyunh fobs off Oskar asking for a taco, here comes
Camacho. Wonders if Camacho heard about Hyunh's brief country music go?
- Rockwell has Edwina as his wife, and his family photo on the wall.
- Family photo of: Hyunh, Suzie, Phil, and Arnold. Oskar gets sneaky
and puts it in his coat. Le Patio: Rockwell talks about his life with
his family, while Hyunh looks at the fake photo... and then Camacho
looks at it :D Hyunh says Phil adopted him.
- Among preparations: Hyunh lets the cats and chickens out (does Mr.
Purdy still live here, or is that some other chicken-lover?). Oskar as
Armando, his rich half-brother anyone?
- Hyunh explains that his "son" Arnold looks after Phil, even though
Phil supposedly adopted Hyunh, because he spends so much time with him.
Meanwhile, Abner eats some incoming mash. Then there's the Arnold
Schwarzenegger bit, and then here's Mary, Queen of Scots as his sister.
I thought Phil told you to stay out of the way?
- "Who's that, your father?" "...Okay" (Camacho and Hyunh pointing to
photo of Phil)

And now, the important news:
I expected my local HA! broadcaster over here to completely air the
entire run of HA! in the respective slots they had put it into. But
when I received my TV magazine, it turned out that all the remaining
HA! slots at this time (the end of July 2005) would be replaced with
other programming the next month. So, for those of you who are
wondering how many times each ep got to air over here:
* "Downtown as Fruits / Eugene's Bike" to "Sid's Revenge / Roller
Coaster", except "Benchwarmer / Cool Jerk": 7 times
* "Benchwarmer / Cool Jerk", "Grandpa's Birthday / Road Trip" to
"Headless Cabbie / Friday the 13th": 6 times
* "Helga's Parrot / Chocolate Turtles" to "On The Lam / Family Man",
except "Ghost Bride / Gerald vs. Jamie O": 5 times
* "Ghost Bride / Gerald vs. Jamie O": 4 times
* "Grandpa's Packard / Phoebe's Little Problem" to "The Journal": 3
times.
Still, despite being shortchanged in the reruns department later in the
run, Arnold still ran for 19 1/2 months (December 15, 2003 - July 30,
2005) over here, and that's a pretty good run if you ask me.

Notes for "Married" follow shortly.

[ungvichian]

Arnold has a nightmare about being "Married" to Helga, and Helga has a
nice dream about being married to Arnold. Gee, who didn't see that
coming? Thoughts follow shortly, all corrections welcome.

"Married"
- Unlike every other 30 minute story before this one (bar "Arnold's
Valentine"), the credits are played out like a usual 11 minute ep.
We're at the PS 118 playgorund, and Lila is with Sheena, Phoebe, Nadine
and Rhonda. Rhonda is using an origami thingy to pair up Sheena and
Eugene. Arnold and Sid are playing with the tetherball. Rhonda asks
Lila to play her origami thing. Lila tells her that they don't have the
time, and indeed, right after Rhonda says they got plenty of time, the
school bell rings.
- So, the students are returning to class. The order from left to right
on screen: Lila, Arnold, Phoebe, Rhonda, Nadine and Sheena. As we pan
over to Helga however, Phoebe literally disappears from line (as in,
she's there one frame, not there the next). Helga doesn't see what's
the big deal with Lila telling the time, and then rushes behind the
dumpster and takes out her locket. One of those fantastic (or not!)
monologues by Helga again, and it's a pretty long one. Arnold comes
across her, and she chases him off back to school. Brainy pops up from
a trash can. For the first time since "Helga on the Couch", he gets a
face full of Betsy :D
- We skip to the end of school. Eugene, Stinky, Nadine, Sid, and Iggy
are outside. As Sheena's coming out, Rhonda with her test is with
Peapod Kid, and he's not so sure about being paired up with Nadine.
Arnold and Gerald are walking out, and Rhonda asks Arnold to do her
test. Gerald cajoles him into doing so (he thinks he might get Lila).
Robert and Curly pass. Stats: His favorite number is 5 (curiously,
Rhonda flips 6 times), his favorite color is blue, and he was born on
the 7th of the month. Right then, he's got Helga. Helga is hiding
behind the mailbox and overhears that juicy prediction.
- He decides to do it again. He picks 3 as his second favorite number
(Rhonda can be heard doing 4 flips) as the bus passes (still with the
Kid Bar ad). Katrinka is passing by as Arnold tries again. And again.
And again. And getting Helga again and again (although her name is
written in block letters on the thing in one shot, and in cursive in
another). By the evening, he has gotten 110 straight predictions of
Helga. Rhonda leaves.
- Arnold and Gerald walk past Tux 'n Bridal, and Arnold sees himself
and Helga as the mannequins in the shop. Meanwhile, Helga is
celebrating the prediction in front of her shrine, now dressed up in a
suit and hat.
- We cut repeatedly between Arnold and Helga preparing for bed at their
respective homes, and dreading / cherishing the thought of marrying
Helga / Arnold. Helga kisses her locket, and goes to bed. Arnold also
goes to bed, and his dream is what we see from this point on.
- At the city cathedral, Eugene is playing a Zeppelin Organ. In the
seats are Ernie, Monkeyman, Suzie, Phil, Pookie, Phoebe, Vitello, JOM,
Green, Helga's dad, mom and sister, Oskar, and Gerald's mom. Your
bridesmaids are Gerald and Rhonda. Arnold wonders why he's getting
married. Gerald says he's 25. Really. So to make a long dealie short,
Helga marries Arnold, against his will I might add. Rhonda still has
her origami thing (in his dream, it says Helga across the board).
- Over at the Patakis, Arnold and Helga are getting married at a grand
cathedral. Er, that's it. Her parents are in attendance. Stinky has
just finished spray painting "Just Married" on their car. After the
wedding, they're on a gondola for their honeymoon.
- Honeymoon. Helga and Arnold mention Lila as a distant memory of his.
Next thing you know, she suddenly shows up in another gondola, wearing
her old clothes (replete with patches) telling Arnold about the distant
memory. After H&A row away from her, she suddenly sinks in the canal,
and Sheena's uncle Earl fishes her out of the canal. Helga snickers in
her bed.
- Some fancy schmancy balcony. Helga is reading the paper, and finds a
story about a kid being born with a winning lottery ticket, and crises
and other stuff. Then she decides to run for president. I'm not
kidding. Her Arnold supports her, and she falls off her bed. Okay, time
for a break.
- We break from Helga's dreams to continue bringing you Arnold's
nightmare. Arnold is at the Pataki house. Big Bob tells him to work at
the loading dock at his store from 7 to 5, while Helga (Bob still calls
her Olga!) plans to watch TV, read comics, and eat junk. Miriam's head
falls in her rice ;)
- Arnold is at the loading dock. Three fat guys are watching him
unload. They tell him that it's against union rules for them to help.
One of them is eating a banana, and he throws its peel on the dock. No
hilarious slipping scene though, as it is relegated to an
after-the-fact mention to Big Bob. Bob accuses him of eating bananas on
the job, and Arnold apparently sees no use in telling his side of the
story. Meanwhile, a stork flies away from their home. They got babies!
After just two days of marriage, to boot... Helga leaves the babies to
Arnold, and Arnold gets peed on.
- Meanwhile, Helga is dreaming about being elected president. The
Washington Monument is decorated with a HUUUUUGE pink bow. Arnold is
her first man, Phoebe is her personal secretary, and secret agent men
Harold and Stinky are carrying Lila (who's popped up somehow) out of
the crowd. Also in crowd are Big Bob and Miriam, Nadine, and Eugene in
a legcast.
- Phoebe is actually the secretary of state, and gives Helga her latest
meeting schedules. Helga tells her to either cancel them or put them on
hold, and get her a pastrami sandwich. And here's Arnold. Arnold and
Helga rub their noses. Helga is rubbing her nose with that of a teddy
bear in her bed :D
- Later that night, Phoebe informs Helga that Arnold has been held in
northern Italy by some captives. Forgoing the usual cavalry, Helga
decides to go out and rescue him herself. Taking Air Force One (piloted
by Sid and Brainy), she listens to the plan, takes some peanuts from
the stewardess (AF1 has a stewardess?), and jumps out of the plane.
After eating some of the peanuts mid air, she releases a paraglider
saying "Vote Pataki" to glide into a castle where Arnold is, according
to intellegience.
- So, Helga sneaks pasts guards and goes behind a wall, and uses a
"global tracking" device suspiciously shaped as a heart to find Arnold.
She negotiates the castle traps with ridiculous ease: arrows, an axe, a
deep pit, and some fire. And then she throws some peanuts at the guards
in front of the room Arnold's in :D
- Here's Arnold, and here's an unknown international terrorist. Helga
and the terrorist duke it out. And yes, the animators really did draw
her hand several times as she's swinging it around before poking the
terrorist in the eye. Anyways, the fight drags on like two girls
fighting each other. And it _is_ two girls fighting each other, as
Helga rips off the terrorist's mask to reveal Lila.
- Lila decided to kidnap Arnold in an attempt to _make_ him love her,
but all that's accomplished is getting Arnold to love Helga more.
Robert, Joey, Curly and Iggy are among the army guys taking Lila away,
and Gerald is now a Secret Service Agent. Later, on "Air Balloon One",
Arnold and Helga are sharing a pastrami sandwich. Ahhhh, it's over.
- By which I mean Helga's dream, since we still have some of Arnold's
nightmare to go. Back home, Helga is watching the Purdyvision, and
asking for Arnold's paycheck. The babies are acting up, and one of the
babies spits on Arnold's shoe. Arnold says he doesn't want to work at
the beeper shop, wants to move out, and wants Helga to respect her. And
he wants her to start showing feelings too. The rest of the scene plays
out over a green on blue background. Helga tells her that she was
afraid to show her true feelings, and even now she is, as she is very
hesitant to say that she "more than like(s him) so much", but just as
she's about to explain what exactly she means by that... Arnold
suddenly wakes up to the potato clock.
- Arnold gets on the bus. Arnold explains his dream to Gerald. Gerald
wonders if he caught the Chinese flu. Suddenly, Rhonda barges in on the
bus and announces that all of the results from yesterday have been
cancelled, as she discovered an error on the predictor thing (she
doesn't elaborate on it). While Rhonda's telling Eugene, Peapod and
Arnold (who she thinks was especially distraught by her prediction)
that they're not getting married to the previous predicted girls, Helga
laments this sudden twist alone with her locket. Curly, Iggy and Stinky
are also on the bus, BTW.
- Anyways, Rhonda sits next to Phoebe. Rhonda is talking to Phoebe
mostly about how she should have seen this coming because of how bad
the Arnold / Helga prediction was. Phoebe is looking out of the window,
as we fade to Arnold and Helga as grown-ups at a lighthouse at sunset,
and they're wearing rings too. This is obviously her fantasy. Can you
imagine that being longer? Don says he thought it would have been
better if we'd seen more of it... Anyways, the episode ends with the
"Helga on the Couch" ending music. Special Thanks: Brian, Charles,
Steve, Hugh, Tom, Claudia.
- Quotables: "Don't be ridiculous, we got plenty of time" (Rhonda to
Lila... and then the school bell rings :D) "All you need is a stinkin'
watch" (Helga on telling the time) "You _can't_ tell me you aren't the
least bit curious about who you're going to wind up marrying when you
grow up" (Rhonda to Arnold) "It's just a dumb made up game" (Arnold's
response) "That's final! Live with it" (Rhonda, after giving Arnold his
110th prediction: Helga) "I can't be getting married, I'm only 9" "What
are you talking about? You're 25" (Arnold and Gerald at the cathedral)
"You mean Lila?" (Arnold on a distant memory) "It's Helga dad"
(25-year-old Helga still has to correct her dad) "None of your beeswax
football head!" (Helga to Arnold) "You're never gonna get off the
loading dock with that attitude" (Big Bob to Arnold) "We've only been
married 2 days" "I guess that's all it takes football head" (Arnold and
Helga on having babies) "They smell like a bus station men's room"
(Helga on the babies) "His cheese plan is full of holes" (Helga on some
Swiss guy) "If the Second Man's in trouble, it's gonna take the First
Woman to rescue him" (Helga, on why she's doing Arnold's rescue
herself) "Oh... pastrami" (Helga shares a pastrami sandwich with
Arnold) "Paycheck" (Helga to Arnold) "I know you're smart and you have
feelings, and if we _have_ to be married to each other, then I want you
to start showing it" (Arnold to Helga) "Talk about a nightmare"
(Arnold) "Did you catch that Chinese flu?" (Gerald, after listening to
Arnold describe his dream) "They couldn't be more opposite" (Rhonda to
Phoebe on Arnold and Helga)

[ungvichian]

"Love and Cheese" don't seem to mix, at least not for Arnold, and
Helga's a good part of the reason (not that she's too pleased with the
result either). Plus, a detailed re-review of "Weighing Harold".

"Love and Cheese"
- Right-flushed credits! Wasn't this ep titled "Operation Ruthless"
when I last saw it? Same writer also, BTW (Steve Viksten).
- Anyways, Arnold and Gerald on the bus. This Saturday night is the
cheese festival (as seen in "Operation Ruthless" of course!). Arnold is
planning to invite Lila (sitting opposite Nadine) along for the ride.
He wants her to finally like him like him (unfortunately, the series
won't quit it with the doubling). Gerald is a bit skeptic about it, but
Arnold is already imagining what it'll be like:
* Sucking on a Wheel O Cheese string cheese with Lila like Lady and the
Tramp.
* Sitting in bumper car #6, bumping Iggy in #3, Curly in probably #7,
and Joey in #2 (Park, Harold, Robert, Rhonda, Stinky, Sheena, Sid and
Eugene are watching)
* Knocking over bottles at the cheeseball toss and winning a bunch of
stuffed bears
* Kissing Lila on the hand in the Love Tunnel (as seen in "Operation
Ruthless")
Back to reality. Arnold is kissing Gerald on the hand ;) Anyways, he's
asking her tomorrow at lunch.
- PS 118. Cafeteria's New Hours are 7 - 5, as Arnold rehearses what he
plans to say to Lila on his festival. Helga is walking past Lila as
Arnold peers in. Arnold opens the door and runs into Helga :D where he
tells her he has important business, and wipes Helga's face with a
cloth.
- This is followed by a soliloquy behind a trash cart, where she folds
the cloth into a likeness of Arnold. She takes out her locket. She sees
Arnold ask Lila out... and Arnold is stumbling over what he's planning
to say (despite his rehearsals... I guess bumping in Helga took out a
lot from him). But at least he's saying (well, part of) what he had
been planning to say, unlike when he prepared some speeches for Ruth
and never got to use them ("Operation Ruthless", "Arnold's Valentine").

- Anyways, Lila figures out what he was trying to say, and Helga
figures out what idea Arnold has, and decides to make Lila totally hate
him when she's done. The trash cart is wheeled out by the time she's
done speaking here, so that everyone sees her laughing on the floor. At
the cafeteria: Eugene, Harold, Stinky ; Brainy, Nadine ; Iggy, Stinky ;
Curly, Sid, Joey. Marcy Cornbloom's there ("School Play") as well.
- Cheese festival. The first we see of Helga, she's hiding in a bin,
and she gets beaned by an apple ;) Anyways, the first ride they're
headed to is the bumper cars, as seen in "Operation Ruthless" going
haywire. Ramming other cars is the whole point of this ride as Arnold
explains.
- Helga gets in car number 1, and repeatedly bumps Lila and Arnold in
car number 6. Harold is in car number 5, and Curly is also there.
There's also some old lady in car number 2 (...right?).
- Arnold is at the cheeseball toss. In the background are "Pickled
Cheese" and "Cheese Juice". Helga has covered the milk bottles with
instant glue so that they won't budge when Arnold hits them. Some balls
bounce off the bottles and hits Eugene's pickled cheese on a stick, and
later his drink. Arnold buys a Bucket O Balls. One Bucket O Balls
later, the bottles are still up, and Helga's cackling. The vendor feels
sorry for him and decides to give him a small turtle toy. As it turns
out, Lila likes turtles, she's allergic to stuffed animals, and the
toy's made in Mexico, her favorite country. Timeout: Don't you think
the vendor would have noticed that the bottles were covered with glue,
thus making the game unfair? Anyhow, Helga can't believe that Lila is
still cool over Arnold.
- Sheena and Chocolate Boy are at the food court thing. So are Arnold
and Lila, where Helga is hiding behind a cheese sculpture. Some guy in
a cheese costume is walking past, and it looks a bit freaky, since
there are holes in the costume which would be going straight through
the wearer's body! Anyways, Arnold and Lila have had lots of cheese,
cheese from every continent (but the only Asian cheeses I know of are
pretty obscure). Lila tells her that she gets queasy on big rides. The
ride Arnold is showing her, though, is a slow ride. It's called the
Built-To-Hurl. Near that ride are "Johnnie's Cheese Cakes" and "Lunar
Green Cheese". Chocolate Boy and Rhonda are near the ride as well.
- It starts out slow. Helga comes to the operator and tells him that
people are complaining it's too slow, so he cranks it from "Slow and
Easy" up to "Fast and Furious", and it goes really fast. Lila's face
turns blue, as we see Gloria and Timberly in a crowd, some of them
running away from the barfing they hear.
- After the ride we hear that Lila barfed a second time, and Arnold was
holding her hand. They walk past the Big Cheese Board to the Tunnel of
Love. It was mayhem in "Operation Ruthless", and Helga's out to make it
happen again! There are stores nearby with signs saying "Cheese Taffy"
and "The Big Cheese" above them. Gerald and Phoebe are eating ice
cream, and Chocolate Boy is sitting on the stairs leading to the ride.
- Harold and Rhonda are on the ride. Meanwhile, Helga sneakily drills a
few holes in Arnold and Lila's boat, and then hijacks Brainy's boat to
see the disaster unfold. So, water enters Arnold and Lila's boat.
Arnold notices that the boat is sinking. Helga cackles in the
background as the boat goes off its rope and heads straight to a
waterfall.
- Lila falls down the waterfall, and Arnold jumps after her to rescue
her. They stand up in the shallow water of the pool underneath. While
Helga doesn't understand why her 3rd plan has just backfired, she hits
Brainy (who's climbing back on to the boat) with an oar almost
non-chalantly.
- The cheese festival is closing up shop. Ruth and Nadine's mom are
leaving. Lila's opinion of Arnold has not changed whatsoever, and so
he feels disappointed. Meanwhile, Helga feels the same way, judging
from how she throws the towel she's holding down hard on the ground as
the last light goes out. In a parallel to "Operation Ruthless", the
episode cuts (not fades!) to black here.
- Quotables: "Nothing brings people close together like cheese"
(Gerald) "That seems ever so mean" "It's not mean, it's just fun" (Lila
and Arnold on bumper cars) "Say good night Lila" (Helga bumps Lila and
Arnold) "I suppose I've eaten cheese from every single continent"
(Lila) "I'll turn your tunnel of love into a tunnel of disaster" (Helga
sabotages Lila and Arnold's boat) "This is getting pretty good" (Helga
watches the mayhem) "Why do none of my evil plans ever work out? What
am I doing wrong? Maybe I'm just trying too hard" (meanwhile, Helga
slaps Brainy with an oar)

"Weighing Harold"
- Okay, so the ep opens on a shot of a bunch of wrappers. Joey, Sid,
Iggy and Stinky are watching Harold eating lots of ice cream. The
action is a series of completely static shots, until after the
directors' credits are done, when Stinky lifts his hand.
- Anyhow, Harold eats his 50th Mr. Nutty Bar to win a bet. Cackling
Willy says that if he had 100 customers like "Tubby" he could retire
and move to Florida (and that would be a welcome development since no
one likes you when you're nuts, Willy!).
- "Tubby" then overhears Sid calling him an idiot for spending 6 weeks
of allowance on all that ice cream. Sid's telling this to _Stinky_, the
guy who steadfastly refused Snee-Oosh's contract in "Stinky Goes
Hollywood" (prompting the same "What an idiot" reaction from Helga as
Sid's reaction to Harold eating ice-cream here). Stinky bets that he'll
weigh 300 lbs. by the 6th grade. Then he runs into a kid and his mom.
Kid calls him a fat man, and mom corrects him... but it's not a
reassuring correction as she calls him a fat boy.
- Harold asks his parents if he's fat. Marilyn the mom insists on
putting sugar on everything by calling him big-boned, but Jerry the dad
tells it as it is, prompting derision from Marilyn. Harold's room. So,
Harold's room has a Kaline poster, and he's eating from a box of
Shrunkin' Donuts. He switches from a performance by "Pre-Teen Scream"
Ronnie Matthews (note the "I Saw Your Face" song) to an ad for a
weight-loss cruise. It's the "Cruise to Lose", with swimming pool, all
you can eat salad bar, and a 1-800-I'M-HUGE number.
- So he leaves on the cruise. And then he comes back on the cruise.
Arnold, Sid and Stinky wonder if they'll recognize him with less
weight. They are shocked to see that he actually _gained_ weight. Sid
and Stinky promise to be discrete about this... and that promise
doesn't last a minute as they ask Harold why he's big as a house. (For
another broken promise by Sid and Stinky, see "Arnold Betrays Iggy".)
Harold doesn't understand that he actually gained weight, as he tells
them that mirrors were banned from the cruise. (I said it in my
less-detailed recap, and I'll say it again: Without mirrors or other
things, how can you monitor the participants' weight to prevent them
from gaining such a gross amount like Harold did? Even his physical
appearance should have given it away...) He's shocked to see his
reflection in the water when Arnold shows him.
- Harold's so fat, his bed breaks. Anyways, Sid, Stinky, Rhonda, Iggy
and Park are (IIRC) getting ice cream from JOM. Willy mocks Harold over
the cruise. Harold asks about low fat ice-cream, and Willy says that
they have half the calories, and half the flavor. Harold buys 12 bars
anyway. Arnold (I believe) points out that this is equal in calories to
his usual 6 regular bars, and Harold just wants to be left alone.
- Arnold is at a comics store. Among the selections are SpongeBob
(really!), Sherm, Catboy, Bobby, and his current read Cosmic Universe.
There's also cold muskagee fruit. He sees Harold walk past depressed (I
think, it could have been Sid and Stinky).
- Arnold is at the Bermans'. Harold wants to be alone in his room (with
a "Keep Out" sign on the door). Jerry tells him the pizza man is here
to get him to come out and meet Arnold. Arnold recommends him to
exercise, and to avoid any potential embarassment, Arnold is having
Harold do it at night.
- It's night time at PS 118 as Harold struggles to do sit-ups to an
army march. Harold whines and goes over his sad story so far,
especially Willy's harsh comment at the start. Arnold asks him how the
heck he actually gained weight on a weight-loss cruise. His explanation
is that he worried that everyone was going to mock him for being fat so
much he ate a lot. And so, he gained weight.
- Arnold asks him if he felt good the way he used to be before the
cruise (regardless of what everyone else thought). Yes he did. Arnold
lowers the bar for him slightly: just exercise off the extra pounds he
somehow gained on the cruise. Harold decides to do it, but asks to eat
first :D
- Back to business. Harold is doing push-ups at the Arms. Harold is
swinging on the bars at PS 118. Harold is doing sit-ups at the Arms.
All under Arnold's supervision, and all to the "Tutoring Torvald"
incidentals.
- In front of the Bermans' at #1365, Stinky, Iggy, Sid, Rhonda, Curly,
Joey, Gerald and Helga are about to see the "new" Harold. Meanwhile,
inside, Harold? Not so sure if everyone will mock him. Anyways, he and
Arnold come out, and Sid comments that it looks like he's wasting away.
Harold does not look any different from the way he was before the
cruise, BTW. So we hear the JOM, and how does Harold decide to
celebrate getting back to normal? Taking on Sid and Stinky's 50 Mr.
Fudgy bars bet (rolls eyes), as we fade out over what looks like a
first-season-styled "painted" picture of the city into the closing
credits, which perhaps surprisingly, use the regular music.
- Quotables: "I wish I had 100 customers like you, I could retire and
move to Florida" (JOM) "My name's not Tubby. It's Harold" (Harold) "I
bet by the time he's in the 6th grade, he'll weigh 300 pounds" (Stinky
on Harold) "Harold! What happened? You're as big as a house!" (Stinky)
"What 'couple of pounds'?" (Harold) "There he is, my favorite customer"
(JOM sees Harold after the cruise) "It's the pizza man" (Jerry Berman
to Harold) "Let's do it!... Can we eat first? I'm starving" (Harold,
exercising at PS 118) "I for one think that it's just gruesome to
parade Harold in front of the whole neighborhood, just so we can get
shocked at how fat he's gotten" (Rhonda) "It's like you're wasting
away" (Sid to Harold... and keep in mind that Harold looks _no
different whatsoever_ from before he went on the cruise) "Betcha a
quarter you can't eat 50 Mr. Fudgies" "You're ON!" (Stinky and
Harold... cue sigh from viewers)

[ungvichian]

(Apologies for possible double post)

Before my latest notes, a bunch of quotables from "Grandpa's Packard"
I'm not sure if I posted yet:

"The reviews are in, and you're tiresome" (Leichliter to "Spade" and
"Marlowe") "He's a drucipitous conniving scoundrel" (Rex on Phil) "The
names Spade, slim. Spade" "Ah, I see, another character" (Pookie and
Phil) "Maybe a picture of Lincoln would change your mind" ("Spade" then
hands Marv a photo of the late president :D) "That's sweet of you
Marlowe" ("Spade", to "Marlowe's" "I love you dear", which is of course
the bottlecap rebus) "Here's Grandpa!" (Phil arrives at Ivana's house)
"Whaddaya expect, Hedy Lamarr?" (Willy after being exposed, and what is
it with the show and Hedy Lamarr? She's mentioned in "Big Caesar",
"Veteran's Day" and "Helga's Locket" too) "Send me those pictures!"
(Phil to Willy)

Okay, on to the notes. "A Day in the Life of a Classroom" doesn't seem
as smooth as Simmons wanted (this is what he's getting since he's
planning out the day), and having a gas attack is just the start of
"Big Bob's Crisis". Thoughts follow shortly, all corrections welcome.

"A Day in the Life of a Classroom":
- Simmons has been selected as the City-Wide Teacher of the Year, and
they're giving out the award at the school auditorium. In attendance:
the red-head extra, Phoebe, Eugene, Sid, Harold. And there's more
exciting news, as there will be a film crew coming in three days to
film the students in action. We fade to the classroom and Simmons
revealing that it will be for a documentary called "A Day in the Life
of a Classroom". Front: Arnold, Gerald, Sid, Harold. Center: Helga,
Phoebe, Iggy, Brainy. Back: Curly, Stinky, Rhonda, Nadine.
- Everyone's asking questions on whether they have to prepare anything
special, and (to quote Simmons) "The answers to all those questions are
no." After class, Arnold tells Simmons that it's exciting to be on TV
with millions of people watching. That comment prompts a nervous
Simmons to prepare for it, by spending the night on a typewriter.
- And after that, we fade to the next day at school, where Simmons is
handing out the typed papers to each student. As it turns out, this is
an outline for, well, a day in the life of a classroom. (This story
used to be called just "Simmons' Documentary" until wiseguy Purdy
decided to give it such an unwieldy title, apparently...) There's a
drawing of a car with a caption saying "Twister F5". Helga's making fun
of the dialog she's been given about the capital of Nebraska. As
Simmons is telling everyone not to be nervous, he accidentally knocks
over the class globe :D
- Math class dry run. Harold and Stinky. They attempt to multiply, but
remember: these two are the worst possible kids Simmons could have
picked to do a math assignment at the chalkboard. Helga thinks it's
going to take 3 hours with these numbskulls, as Stinky asks if he has
to switch lines with Harold after switching places. Rhonda also asks
about book reports ("Do we need to choose the book?"). The bell rings,
and after giving some extra instructions to the class about tomorrow's
filming, Simmons defends his preparation idea with Arnold.
- Outside, Arnold (and the other classmates) thinks that this whole
script idea is not a good one, esp. since this documentary's all about
everyone being spontaneous, and you can't just practice being
spontaneous. But hey, Simmons's the boss, so we see Phoebe reading her
script and Helga playing a paddle-ball (a la "Phoebe Takes the Fall"),
Rhonda trying on a mink, Harold sleeping over his script, and Simmons
tidying up the room and painting it. Apparently it takes him all night,
and by the morning he's developed some whiskers. So, over the frantic
music of "Oskar Gets a Job", he shaves in the bathroom, and tries on a
wig. After a while, he gives up and drops the wig on the sink counter.
(Ratchet!) Wartz comes out of a toilet stall, and sees the wig, as we
cut to the classroom.
- Classroom. In her corner, Rhonda is dressed up in a black top and red
shorts, puffing powder with a pink puff, with Nadine holding the
powder. Simmons gives the class a few last reminders: for Helga to
unhand Harold (she complies and slaps Harold) and for Curly not to
improvise (he's wearing a Shakespearean outfit! :