Naked Tommy

"Naked Tommy" is a Season 3 episode of Rugrats.

Characters Present

 * Tommy
 * Chuckie
 * Phil
 * Lil
 * Spike
 * Stu
 * Didi
 * Lou
 * Chas
 * Betty
 * Wombat President
 * Reptar (mentioned)
 * Susie (mentioned)
 * Chowder (mentioned)
 * Lois Pickles (mentioned)

Synopsis
''Trying to be like Spike, Tommy takes off his clothes, and entices the other Rugrats to do the same. Will Stu get these "nakie babies" under control?''

- Description from Klasky Csupo

Summary
Tommy takes his clothes off, wanting to be like his dog, Spike and Reptar. He gets Lil and Phil to do it as well, but Chuckie hates the idea.

Recap
The episode begins with Didi putting a sweater on Spike. While Didi thinks Spike looks cute in it, Spike whimpers miserably. Stu walks in and asks what Didi did to Spike, and Didi asks Stu if Spike looks cute in the sweater. Stu is appalled, saying that Spike is a dog, not a poodle. Spike angrily pushes the sweater off, and Stu praises him for it. Didi angrily tells Spike that if he wants to be naked all day, he can. Stu even encourages Spike to run and be free as Spike jumps into the playpen. Lou then tells Stu and Didi to come into the kitchen to listen to his acceptance speech, which they do.

Tommy walks up to Spike, and after seeing how much fun he has not wearing clothes, decides to join him in being naked. He takes off his diaper and shirt and rides on Spike's back. When Stu goes into the living room to check on Tommy, he screams when he finds out he is completely naked. Didi asks Stu what's the matter, and Stu tells Didi that Tommy took off his diaper. Didi tells Stu to put it back on Tommy, which Stu tries to do, but Tommy keeps removing it numerous times, the last of which involves him tossing it onto Stu's head. When Didi sees this, she tells Stu to get it off, so as not to give Tommy any ideas. Stu tells Didi that Tommy won't keep his diaper on, and as he puts Tommy's diaper back on one last time, Didi tells him not to worry, as nudity is perfectly natural. Stu disagrees with her, saying that everyone in his family (save for Great Aunt Lois) wore clothes. Didi tells Stu that according to Lipschitz, "The spontaneous shedding of clothing by infants is a natural outgrowth of their desire to control their physical environment and explore their personal space". Stu asks Didi what it means, and Didi tells him that Tommy is just going through a phase, which he'll outgrow, probably before kindergarten. As they walk back into the kitchen, Tommy removes his diaper one last time and tosses it out of the playpen.

Betty arrives with Phil and Lil and drops them off in the playpen as she is curious about Lou's speech for his Wombat award. The twins try to guess what's different about Tommy, including asking if he got a new haircut (when he has virtually no hair), until eventually, Phil correctly guesses that Tommy is completely naked. They ask why Tommy isn't wearing clothes, and Tommy tells them he didn't want to wear them. They ask why he doesn't want to wear them, and Tommy responds by asking them why they wear their clothes. Before they can answer, Tommy tells them that clothes are only good for getting dirty or wet, and make them hot and itchy. He tells them they don't have to wear them, and convinces them to take them off. Phil and Lil, agreeing with Tommy's new custom, undress by taking off their shoes, socks, and everything else. Phil and Lil are shocked when they see each other nude, and Tommy, noticing that Lil is a girl and there is something different about her, asks her if he can ask her a personal question.

Chas arrives with Chuckie, and as he and Stu walk towards the playpen, Stu is aghast to find out that Phil and Lil have undressed themselves. Chas seems to have no problem with their behavior, and as he drops Chuckie off in the playpen, he assures Stu that naturism is a phase that many children go through. As Stu and Chas leave the room, Phil and Lil ask Chuckie what's wrong. Chuckie is uncomfortable and hated the idea of naturism, regardless of Tommy, Phil, and Lil's participation. He tries to come up with a good reason for why adults put children in clothes, but he can't think of one. Tommy tells Chuckie to take his clothes off, but Chuckie doesn't want to. Tommy then convinces Chuckie that all the best people are naked, including Spike, Susie's Cat, and even Reptar. After some convincing, Chuckie reluctantly decides to join in, and as he unsuccessfully tries to take his shirt off, Betty runs into the living room, shocked to find Phil and Lil nude. She grabs them and their clothes in her arms as Didi tries to assure her that Phil and Lil are just babies who don't know any better. Betty then accuses Didi of enabling this behavior, and begins to think that her and Stu are nudists and hippie freaks. After she leaves the house angrily, Didi helps Chuckie keep his shirt on. Chuckie worries that due to Betty's actions, he and Tommy will never get to see Phil and Lil again. Tommy tells him not to worry, and that they will see Phil and Lil again someday, but Chuckie tells him that Betty will never let Phil and Lil come back because of his idea for them to get naked. Tommy tells Chuckie he doesn't care what anybody says and decides to keep his clothes off.

In the kitchen, Didi is shocked that Betty reacted angrily, but Stu tells her that her actions were justified due to Tommy's naturism (and the fact her children were nude in somebody else’s home). Chas tells them not to worry, but now, Didi can't help but worry due to Betty's reaction. Stu then worries what might happen if Tommy got naked at Lou's award ceremony that night. Didi decides to call the Dr. Lipschitz hotline, while Stu has an idea of his own. He picks up Tommy and carries him away. Chuckie looks sadly at Tommy, then Tommy waves sadly at him.

Didi begins calling the Dr. Lipschitz hotline, only to find out a recorded message has answered her call, and that she has to wait for the chance to press the right buttons. In the basement, Stu measures Tommy and gathers supplies for a new invention. After waiting for instructions to press "9", Dr. Lipschitz's recorded message gives Didi the exact same advice on how to deal with baby nudity that had already been written on the books. The message then charges Didi for every minute she waited on the hotline. As Didi hangs up, Stu brings in Tommy, who in addition to wearing his diaper and shirt, is also wearing Stu's new invention, the Pickles Baby Suspenders, a restraining device specifically designed to keep Tommy from taking his clothes off. While Didi doesn't find the invention fashionable, she is glad that she'll be able to take Tommy to Lou's award ceremony without worry.

That evening, the Wombat President presents Lou with the Golden Marsupial Award. As Lou begins his speech, Tommy tries to pull off the baby suspenders, but to no avail. He and Chuckie duck under the table, and Tommy tells Chuckie he has to get the baby suspenders off. Chuckie asks Tommy how he can. While he knew that he's able to take off his clothes, he doesn't believe he can get the baby suspenders off. After trying to pull them off again, Chuckie tells Tommy he'll be stuck in his clothes forever. Determined not to give up, Tommy grabs a fork from atop the table, and uses it to reach the mechanism on the back. The mechanism falls apart, loosening the baby suspenders, and allowing Tommy to get them off. Above the table, everyone at the lodge is bored hearing Lou's speech, and Stu and Didi have even fallen asleep. Having taken his clothes off again, Tommy tells Chuckie he's going out. As Lou finishes his speech, Tommy walks up to him, getting the attention of everyone at the lodge. Stu and Didi have awakened, and Didi starts to worry. Stu tells her not to panic, and to just pretend Tommy isn't their son. Lou picks up Tommy and tells everyone he'd like them all to meet his grandson. Everyone applauds, and Tommy puts Lou's wombat hat on his head.

The next morning, Lou tells Stu and Didi, who are reading a newspaper, that he got so many phone calls. Didi asks Lou if everyone liked his speech, and Lou tells her they hated his speech, but found his grandson the cutest thing they ever saw, with or without his clothes.

Now wearing his diaper and shirt again, Tommy talks to Chuckie about the importance of clothes. Chuckie tries to talk to Tommy, but Tommy interrupts, telling him that he knows Spike and Reptar are naked, but they're not animals, and they have to wear clothes. He jumps and splashes water, revealing that he and Chuckie are in the bathtub. Chuckie, realizing it's no use arguing with Tommy, decides not to object to him wearing clothes in the bathtub, and to let him do whatever makes him happy. As Didi takes Chuckie away to dry him off, Tommy continues playing in the bathtub with his clothes on.

Trivia

 * This is E.G. Daily's favorite episode of the original series.
 * It’s illegal to put any type of restraint device on a child. Even if it’s harmless, it’s still a crime no matter what.
 * Didi and Chas explain often in this episode that naturism/infants not wanting to wear clothes is very common, and don't seem to mind that the babies wish to be naked. However Stu and Betty find this very perverse, and Lou is neutral about it.
 * Even in present day, this issue is still one that is equally sided and both sides have support. According to the law, children must wear clothes in any public place such as a park, at school, or in the public street. However, in any private place, such as a home or residence, as long as nothing sexual is related to it, children are legally allowed to be naked in their own home, and on one side, parents feel a child has the right to be comfortable in their own home. However, as time and values move on, and opinions and vices change, parents on the other side are not comfortable with their children being naked, as they feel it would give them wrong ideas and agendas. But either side is right and is able to have their opinion on it.
 * It is natural for infants and toddlers to undress themselves, especially at the age of two. It is a stage that a child goes through between the age of one and three. Tommy undressing himself is a sign that he is going through the undressing stage in real life.
 * Towards the end of this episode, Tommy roams around naked in the aisle at the Wombats' meeting. This is a reference to the 1974 Oscar awards ceremony, when a nude man "streaked" backstage while actor David Niven was accepting an award.
 * This is the second time Tommy takes off his diaper; the first is when he took it off in "Mirrorland".
 * When Tommy first takes off his diaper, he leaves it at the side of the playpen closest to the kitchen. After Stu walks in to check on him, the diaper is on the other side of the playpen.
 * This is the second episode where Tommy is seen wearing just a diaper. The first episode was in "Let There Be Light".
 * According to this episode, Stu has a great-aunt named Lois who went naked, but was the only one in his family to do so (besides Tommy). It is unknown whose side of the family Lois is on.
 * In this episode, we see that the curved line is above Phil and Lil's Navel, later, in "Lil's Phil of Trash", the curved line is below Phil's bellybutton.
 * It is mentioned in this episode that Susie has a cat. The cat's name is Chowder, as mentioned in "The Last Babysitter", which he is first seen in. Chowder is seen again in the beginning of "Junior Prom", when the babies are playing with him.
 * Dr. Lipschitz makes a vocal appearance in this episode on his help line, in which Didi calls for advice on how to deal with Tommy's naturism. After going through several options before reaching the desired topic, Lipschitz merely repeated the info given in his book (which Didi already knew about) before ending the call, and charging her for every minute she waited on his hotline. In real life, as per federal law, rates for calls like these must be disclosed at the start of the call, not the end. This isn't the first time Dr. Lipschitz ripped off the Pickles, though, as in "A Visit From Lipschitz", he was shown to be a freeloader while the Pickles were gone, although the latter wasn't really ripping them off, and his advice is usually not so bad.
 * In this episode, Lou's full name is revealed to be Louis Kalhern Pickles.
 * Towards the end of the episode, when Lou is talking to Stu and Didi about the many phone calls he received, a box of Corrugated Bran Puffs cereal from "Incident in Aisle Seven" can be seen on the table.
 * In the bathtub scene the end of this episode, Chuckie is seen bathing with his glasses on. Normally, when he takes a bath, he takes it without wearing his glasses.
 * Innuendo: When Tommy says to Lil "Um Lil, can I ask you a question?", the question could probably have something to do with private body parts.
 * Norton Virgien, who directed this episode, won a World Animation Celebration award for Best Director of Animation for a Daytime Series for this episode in 1997.
 * This was the first episode to air in 1994
 * Nudity is also seen in "Mr. Clean" and" Dil's Bathtime", because they were taking baths.
 * Stu says that Spike is a dog, not a poodle, when Didi puts the jumper on him. Actually, any dog can wear jumpers, and a poodle is a type of dog.
 * In "Superstuffed Nicktoons Weekend" which shows the "Top 100 Greatest Nicktoon Episodes", the episode was ranked #58.
 * Moral: Be appropriate; keep yourself dressed; public nudity is inappropriate and in cases even illegal for that reason. You could be fined.

Goofs

 * When the babies are naked, most of the time the front of their naked bodies aren't shown but they are in some shots, and when the front part of their naked bodies are shown, they don't have that private parts of your body, which is most likely due to censorship for younger viewers considering Nickelodeon is a television channel for children and because the Rugrats series itself is aimed at children.
 * When Tommy and Chuckie were under the table and Tommy said he was going out there, his clothes were no where to be seen.
 * He may've taken them off in the scene before that.
 * Tommy reaches higher than most babies could at Lou's speech.
 * Usually in Spike's point of view is usually black and white and the adults (and the kids; minus the babies) speak Gibberish, but in this episode it's in colour and Didi speaks English.
 * For unknown reasons, neither Betty or Chas ring the doorbell when they come over.