A Whole New Stu

"A Whole New Stu" is a Season 6 episode of Rugrats.

Characters

 * Tommy
 * Chuckie
 * Phil
 * Lil
 * Angelica
 * Dil
 * Didi
 * Stu
 * Drew
 * Charlotte
 * Spike
 * Attendant
 * Mean Guy

Summary
''On Drew's advice, the family goes to a vacation resort and health spa, where Stu can work out, relax, and become "a whole new man". Tommy, however, is worried that the workout would make Stu mean. ''- Description from Klasky Csupo

Plot
Dil is being extra fussy, and Stu has lost sleep over it. He tries to make Dil smile with silly faces, but it doesn't work. Tommy tries to get Stu's attention, but Stu is too preoccupied with making Dil happy. Stu plays the "helicopter game" with Dil (lifting the baby over his head and spinning him around), and this makes Tommy sad. Tommy tells his friends that his dad doesn't play with him as much anymore. Lil suggests that Stu doesn't know how to play with two babies at once, like her and Phil's father. Hearing this, Tommy wishes that Stu was different.

The phone rings and Stu answers while Dil pulls on his hair and face. Drew is on the other line, calling from the Surfside Resort. He talks about the resort's features and invites Stu and Didi to join him and his family for the day. Stu declines at first since he and Didi are watching all the kids, but Drew says he can bring the whole group along. Stu can't pass up the ability to relax and get some sleep, so the group soon leaves for the resort.

Once there, everyone checks out the suite and its opulent features. Angelica shows the babies the "Princess Room." She says she and Drew played in the castle for hours the previous night. This makes Tommy upset all over again, especially when he sees Dil with Stu. Stu is taking a nap on the bed, and Dil sits next to him, tugging on his hair. Didi quickly scoops Dil up, so Stu can rest. Charlotte proposes that she and Didi go to the beauty salon, since Didi is looking a bit frazzled from Dil's hair-pulling. They bring Angelica and Dil with them to the salon, while Drew suggests that he and Stu visit the men's spa. Drew adds that the visit will make Stu "a whole new man." Tommy overhears and gets confused. The others think that after Stu visits the spa, he will be different, so Tommy's wish will come true.

Later, at the men's spa, the babies see men entering and leaving. But, they think that a man goes in, then comes out looking different. Lil compares this to when her mother took the dented, scratched family car to an auto shop, and it came back looking shiny and new. A bald man notices the babies before he enters the spa, and happily greets them. But, a different bald man exits the spa, and insults an employee for forgetting his towels. Tommy starts to worry, saying that he only wanted his dad to play with him and Dil at the same time, and not turn into a "big, scary bear." Drew and Stu bring the kids to the spa's childcare center, and Stu tells Tommy he is going to get "worked on." After Stu and Drew leave, the babies escape the daycare and enter the spa.

Meanwhile, Didi and Charlotte spend time at the salon. Didi tries to leave early to relieve Stu of babysitting duties. Charlotte suggests she stay for a nostril cleansing, and thanks to Dil shoving his milk bottle into Didi's nose, Didi agrees.

Tommy asks Phil and Lil what happened to their car to make it look different. The twins explain that first, the car got "banged on," then a machine sprayed paint all over it. Finally, the shop employees took some "green stuff," and rubbed it all over the car to make it shiny. The babies enter the massage parlor and see a man "banging on" Stu (massaging him). Tommy goes to help and climbs onto a nearby shelf, knocking over some bottles of lavender oil and spilling the contents on the floor. The masseuse goes to get some more lavender oil, but slips in the puddle and lands on top of Stu, causing his spine to crack. The masseuse gets off of Stu, but ends up slipping out the door altogether.

The babies are happy they "saved" Stu, but they worry again when Stu enters a sauna. Tommy thinks that the sauna is the room where Stu will get sprayed with paint. He plans to get his dad's attention by reaching the window of the sauna door, and banging on it, so Stu will see him. The babies climb on top of each other, but before Tommy can knock, the babies all fall over. Tommy accidentally turns up the heat dial in the room as he falls. The temperature quickly rises and after a few moments, Stu runs out, frazzled and with flushed, red skin.

Back in the salon, Didi gets a new hairstyle. She tries again to leave, but as she gets up with Dil, Dil waves his arms, causing a nearby tray of lemonade to spill all over her new hairdo. She decides to stay a bit longer.

A woozy Stu goes into the facial room, where a beautician puts cucumber slices over his eyes. She gives him a pair of headphones playing relaxing music, and goes to get more supplies for his facial. The babies enter and find a jar of green face mask. Tommy takes it from the table and gives it to Phil. Phil tastes it, and thinks it could use a worm for flavor, so he takes one from his diaper and puts it in the cream. The babies climb onto another table to get Stu's attention, but a passing employee notices them through a window. He enters and takes the babies back to the daycare. Stu, with his eyes shut and ears covered, does not notice any of this. The beautician comes back and sets the face cream back on her workstation, unaware of the worm in it.

Back at the daycare, Chuckie, Phil, and Lil try to comfort Tommy. They say Stu might not be so bad once he is different, but Tommy says that he will miss the old Stu, as will Dil. He regrets making the wish in the first place. Just then, Drew and Stu come back to the daycare to pick up the kids. Drew is happy and refreshed, and asks Stu how his time at the spa was. Stu angrily states that he was nearly crushed by the masseuse, fried in the sauna, and his facial mask had "something" crawling in it. He realizes, though, that he does feel more refreshed after his trip to the spa.

Didi hurries to the daycare with Dil, apologizing to Stu for being late. Stu assures her that everything is okay, and picks up Dil and Tommy in his arms. He plays the helicopter game with the two of them at the same time, and Tommy and Dil laugh with joy. Chuckie tells the twins that even though Stu looks the same, he really is different after his time at the spa.

Trivia

 * The storybook adaptation of this episode, Brand-New Daddy, notably adds Kimi to the story, despite the fact that she isn't in the actual episode (as it was produced and aired about two years before her debut in Rugrats in Paris: The Movie).
 * Phil keeps a worm in his diapers at all times.
 * Didi could have taken Dil to Childcare instead of bringing him with her to the beauty parlor.