The Legend of Satchmo

"The Legend of Satchmo" is a Season 3 episode of Rugrats.

Characters Present

 * Tommy
 * Chuckie
 * Phil
 * Lil
 * Angelica
 * Lou
 * Stu
 * Didi

Synopsis
When Grandpa Lou takes the babies on their first camping trip --- in the Pickles' backyard --- and tells them the story of the legendary "Satchmo" monster, will the Rugrats be brave enough to spend the night outside?

- Description from Klasky Csupo

Plot
The babies, Angelica, and Grandpa have a campout outside. Grandpa tells the legend of the Sasquatch (the tots mispronounce it as "Satchmo"), which leads to Chuckie using the restroom, and Tommy figuring out where Chuckie is. Angelica scares them, Stu is scared to let them sleep outside because of a campout the year before. He calms himself down and sleeps with the kids.

Summary
Grandpa Lou is preparing to take the Rugrats on their first camping trip (in the backyard). Tommy thinks that it will be great fun, but as usual, Chuckie is afraid that something bad will happen. Coincidentally, so is Stu, stemming from a bad experience he had in Manitoba the previous summer, wherein he was lost in the woods for three days.

Later on, Lou reads the children a book, but Stu comes out and checks that what he's reading them isn't too scary. Lou responds with 'It might be scary if you're 35 years old and you suddenly realize that you've never really lived!' That night, Lou roasts marshmallows with the Rugrats and teaches them about all the different constellations and phenomenons that appear in the night sky (including the Milky Way, the Big Dipper and finally the North Star) before taking them into their tent to settle down for the night.

Lou decides to tell the children the story of Sasquatch, which slightly frightens them. Later, after Lou has fallen asleep, Chuckie confesses to Tommy his worries that the 'Satchmo' (Sasquatch) will come after them. Angelica tells the babies that Satchmo doesn't exist and that Lou made him up. Just then, a dark shadow appears outside and scares all the children. It turns out to be Stu, who claims to be 'passing by' to check that everything is okay. Lou dismisses him and he promptly leaves. Back inside, Stu frets to Didi about the potential for things to go wrong outside. Didi reminds Stu that they're only in the backyard and insists that he go to sleep.

Later still, Chuckie wakes up, needing to go potty. He tries to wake Tommy up and let him know, but is unsuccessful so he ventures outside the tent alone. However, as the backyard looks different in the dark, Chuckie begins to worry about Satchmo, even being frightened by the silhouette of a tree. After a slight shock, he makes it into the house.

Back in the tent, Tommy, Phil, Lil and Angelica suddenly wake up and find that Chuckie has disappeared. Immediately, Tommy and the twins presume that he has gone to look for Satchmo and decide to go and find him. However, they too find that things look very different in the dark and begin to get worried. Suddenly, Angelica jumps out of a bush and frightens them, after which they are reunited with Chuckie who was returning to the tent.

All of a sudden, the children spot a shadowy figure lurking around the house which appears to be trying to get inside. After finding the back door to be stuck and slamming its hand under the kitchen window, the figure accidentally steps onto a roller skate and slides into a pile of rubbish amid some dustbins. Worried for his parents, Tommy decides to capture the figure. It turns out, yet again, to be Stu, who had apparently become stuck outside when he went to check on them once more. When Stu asks what's going on, Angelica explains they thought he was Satchmo the monster.

Lou comes out to see what all the commotion is about, and Stu angrily confronts Lou about telling the children monster stories and wants them all back indoors for the remainder of the night. Lou denies telling them any stories about monsters, however, and urges that Stu join them in the tent instead. Stu then has a change of heart, becoming enthusiastic about the outdoors, even keeping everyone up all night with his endless talking.

Trivia

 * Angelica and the babies mistakenly refer to Sasquatch as Satchmo, Louis Armstrong, the trumpet player.
 * Most people prefer camping out in the woods or in the wilderness; but Lou’s idea of camping with the rugrats in the backyard is safer for the kids than it is to camp out in the wild.
 * Stu and Lou's reaction of "The trumpet player?" is because Louis Armstrong, a famous trumpet player and singer, was also known as Satchmo.
 * According to Lou, Stu is 35.
 * Lou said some people call Sasquatch, the Abominable Snowman, but that's actually what some people call the Yeti.
 * On some cable boxes, this episode is referred as "Legend of the Satchmo."
 * Moral: Trust your instincts.

Goofs

 * Look at Chuckie's shirt while Grandpa is outside reading Thoreau; it's a red planet (normally yellow) with yellow rings (normally red).