Meet the Carmichaels

"Meet The Carmichaels" is a Season 2 episode of the Rugrats TV series.

Characters Present

 * Tommy
 * Stu
 * Susie (debut)
 * Didi
 * Lucy (debut)
 * Randy (debut)
 * Betty
 * Alyssa (cameo; debut)
 * Buster (cameo; debut)
 * Edwin (cameo; debut)
 * Phil
 * Lil
 * Mover
 * Movers

Synopsis
''The Pickles get new neighbors: The Carmichaels! As Didi meets Lucy (a doctor) and Stu chats with Randy (who works on The Dummi Bears cartoons), Tommy gets to know their youngest daughter Susie. Will Tommy and Susie be able to find where her room is located in the Carmichaels' new house?'' - Description from Klasky Csupo

Plot
The episode begins in Tommy's front yard, where Tommy, Phil, and Lil are all pulling grass and throwing it at each other while Didi is trimming the hedges around Tommy's house. They all stop when they hear the sound of a man hammering a SOLD board over a FOR SALE sign in the house across the street from the Pickles house. Didi tells Betty, who is lifting weights, that somebody just bought the house the Peytons used to live in. Betty tells Didi that whoever bought the house must not have known about it being built on an ancient Indian burial ground. Didi assures Betty that what she said is just a myth. Betty doesn't believe her, and believes it to be the reason why the Peytons moved out.

Tommy tells Phil and Lil that someone just bought the Peytons' house. Phil and Lil tell Tommy that it's terrible, and they have to stop whoever bought it, then ask Tommy who the Peytons are, as they don't know them too well. Tommy admits to the twins that he doesn't know who the Peytons are, either.

Inside Tommy's house, Tommy watches as a moving van stops in front of the Peytons' house. Didi is on the phone with Betty, who tells them who bought the house. After she hangs up the phone, she tells Stu, who is working on a new invention, that the new neighbors have just moved in, and that they should introduce themselves to them. Stu asks Didi if they really have to, as he doesn't really know what to say to people when he first meets them. Didi asks Stu what the husband does, and Stu nervously asks her, "What?". Didi then tells him that the husband is the head writer for The Dummi Bears. Upon hearing this, Stu tells Didi that The Dummi Bears is his favorite cartoon, and tells Didi they have to meet the new neighbors right away. So Didi make Jell-O-mold for the new family.

A few minutes later, Stu and Didi, the latter of whom is carrying a Jell-O mold, walks towards the Peytons' house. Stu tells Didi he isn't sure that a Jell-O mold is a good housewarming gift, but Didi tells him that it is a tradition to give Jell-O molds to the new neighbors. When they arrive at the Peytons' house, Didi calls out to the new neighbors. Didi compliments the new house, and Stu, believing the same myth Betty believes in, tells Didi it's too bad the house is cursed, which Didi is quick to take offense to. Two workers who are carring a box into the house, rudely tell Stu, who is still standing in the doorway to get out of the way. Stu does so, and Lucy, the mother of the new family, mistakes him for the plumber. Didi walks up to her and tells her that they're The Pickles, their neighbors from across the street. Lucy laughs nervously as she turns to face her and Stu. Stu tries to tell Lucy about her new house being built on an ancient Indian burial ground, but Didi interrupts, saying the house was actually built on a very strong foundation. She then looks over at a lamp sitting on a box and compliments it, until one of the workers knocks it over and breaks it. Stu tells Didi that the house is indeed cursed, and Didi glares at him. Lucy tells Didi that she can always make a new lamp to replace the broken one. Didi asks her if she really made the lamp, and as Lucy vaccuums up the pieces, she tells Didi that she got into making old Tiffany lamps several years ago as a hobby. Didi tells Lucy that her lamp is perfect, and Stu adds on, "or at least it was." Lucy thanks them and tells them the Tiffany company said the same thing. She tells them her name, and decides to introduce them to her family.

As Lucy introduces Randy, who is putting up curtains, Stu is very excited to meet him in person, and tells him that he loves his show and it's an honor to meet him. Randy thanks him, and as Stu sets down Tommy, he tells Randy his favorite episode was the one where Zippo, the pink Dummi Bear with the bow, gave a valentine to Mongo the Bat. Lucy then tells Stu that Randy prefers not to talk about the show. Stu prompty ignores her and asks Randy who came up with the idea to give the Dummi Bears heart-shaped faces. Randy tells Stu that right now he needs to bring in some stuff from the moving van. Stu follows him, asking him if he remembers the episode where Gummo and Binky saved all the Mopey Boys from Depression Valley, saying that episode was pure genius. Didi and Lucy look at each other and chuckle upon hearing this.

Lucy's children then run through the room, and she introduces them to Didi; her 10-year-old son, Buster, her 15-year-old daughter, Alisa, her 6-year old son, Edwin, and her 3-year old daughter, Susie. Susie is crying because she wants a soccer ball. As she runs through the room, crying, Lucy tells her that she knows that isn't the way to get what she wants. Lucy then compliments Didi's gelatin mold and tells her they can put it in her fridge.

Susie stops crying when she sees Tommy, and introduces herself to him. She then asks him if he'd like her to give him a tour of her new house, and Tommy asks about her lollipop. Susie realizes that it's what she was crying over, and decides it isn't important right now. She then decides to show Tommy around her new house.

In the kitchen, Lucy throws away her broken lamp and tells Didi that all their new neighbors have been really nice to them, and she opens the fridge, revealing that it is filled with Jell-O molds given to her by them. She reveals a weight-shaped one that Betty gave her, a clover-shaped one given by Mrs. O'Reilly, and one made by Mr. Fillibuster, which gives a new meaning to the word, "Jell-O mold". Lucy tells Didi that that one they may not eat right away. Didi sees one shaped like the Eiffel tower, and is very impressed with it. She asks Lucy who made it, and Lucy tells her she did. She then tells her that she learned how to make it at the Cordon Bleu. Didi asks Lucy if she really did study at the Cordon Bleu, and Lucy tells her that she didn't actually study there, rather, she was the guest lecturer, but it's never too late to learn anything from there.

Meanwhile, Susie shows Tommy her family's living room, where she explained to Tommy that movers came to their old house and moved everything from it into their new house. Tommy is impressed, and Buster, Alisa, and Edwin all run past him and Susie. Susie tells Tommy that Alisa is her older sister, and Buster and Edwin are her older brothers, and they moved into her new house with her. As they follow them, a mover carries a box marked, FRAGILE, and sets it down on the floor carelessly, breaking its contents. The mover then asks another mover what "Fragile-eh" means.

Susie then shows Tommy the den, telling him the movers moved it from her old house as well. Tommy asks her if they even moved the floor, and she tells him, "even the floor". Tommy, who is impressed, tells Susie that she has a fun new house. Susie then tells him that he still has yet to see the best room in it; her room. As she leads Tommy to her bedroom, she tells him all the great stuff in it, including her bed, toy box, rocking horse, circus lamp, balloon wallpaper, and window where she can see the backyard. When she gets there, she is shocked to find it is completely empty. Susie, believing the movers forgot to move her room, begins to cry. Tommy tries to comfort her, telling her that the movers must have put her room elsewhere, and Susie stops crying upon hearing this. She then decides to help him look for it. They look in the closet, and Tommy tells Susie it looks kind of small. They then look in the attic, and Tommy tells Susie that that room leads to a staircase. They then look in the bathroom, with Susie believing it to be her room for sure. Tommy asks Susie if her room really is the bathroom, and Susie slams the door and walks away angrily upon hearing this.

Back downstairs, as Lucy tries hang up a new lamp, she tells Didi about the time she got her commercial pilot's license. Didi is impressed with how many adventures Lucy went on before she moved into her neighborhood, and asks her how she found the time. Lucy tells her that after graduating from college, the peace corps, medical school, getting married, and raising a family, earning her wings was easy for her. Susie then runs in and tries to tell her that she can't find her room, but Lucy, still believing she wants a lollipop, tells her that she and Didi are busy. Susie tries to tell Lucy again, but Lucy reminds her that she already told her that yelling isn't the way to get what you want. She then tells her to take Tommy and go find somewhere else to play. Susie, realizing it's no use trying to argue with her mother, decides to do as she tells her.

Susie walks to the doorway, and sees Randy and Stu carrying a box. As they do this, the latter asks the former if he remembers the the scene where Daffy Bear dances the dance of the Lemon People. Susie tries to tell Randy she can't find her room, but Randy tells her he is busy. One of the workers, who is on his lunch break, tells Stu and Randy they have to lift with their knees. Susie tries to tell Randy again, but Randy tells her that now isn't a good time to talk to him.

Susie walks into the living room and tells Tommy that she just has to find her room. Tommy tells her he has an idea, and she asks him what it is. Tommy asks her if she could just go to sleep. Susie stares at him in confusion, and he tells her that lots of times, when he sleeps elsewhere, he wakes up, and he's back in his own bedroom. Susie tells Tommy that, as crazy as his idea is, it just might work.

Tommy and Susie both go to sleep, but Susie suddenly wakes up. She tells Tommy that his plan isn't working. Tommy wakes up and realizes that Susie is right. He then has another idea; they could leave one of her toys in the middle of the room. Susie asks Tommy why they'd want to do that, and Tommy tells her that many times, when he leaves one of his toys in the middle of the room, he comes back later to find it missing. As he talks to Susie, the two workers, still on their break, are playing with cup-and-ball toys. Tommy then tells Susie that when he comes into his bedroom, he finds his toys there. Susie asks Tommy that if they leave a toy in the middle of the floor, and watch it, they'll really find her room, and Tommy tells her, "Maybe".

Susie leaves one of her rabbit roller skates in the middle of the room, and she and Tommy watch from behind a box. Tommy tells Susie that her toy isn't going anywhere, and Susie agrees with him. She then begins to lose hope, and tells Tommy she'll never find her room as she walks away. Tommy follows her, telling her to wait. As soon as they leave, Randy, who is carrying a painting of a bowl of fruit, trips over Susie's roller skate and crashes, with his head now having gone through the painting.

Meanwhile, Susie tells Tommy that she had her room this morning, and now it is gone. Tommy tells her that her parents must have forgotten to bring it. Susie tells him that they had to bring it, as they packed it up and put it in the moving truck. She then suddenly has an idea. She thinks that her room must still be in the moving truck, and decides to lead Tommy to it. Tommy stops her, telling her that he isn't allowed to go into the front yard without an adult. Susie then points out that there are adults on the front yard, those two adults being the workers, still on their break. The workers are sitting on the couch, and as Susie and Tommy run past them, one of them asks the other how the tiny "M"s are put on the M&Ms. Susie and Tommy arrive outside the moving truck, and tells Tommy that her room must still be in it. They run into the truck, only to find one cabinet in it. Susie realizes her room isn't in it, and as she walks up to the cabinet, crying, she worries that she'll never see her room again, as now she has nowhere to sleep and play, and she worries that she'll have to live in the laundry room. As she and Tommy get into the cabinet, Tommy tries to calm her down, telling her that she could come over to his house and play in his room, and Susie tells him it won't be the same, as a kid has to have her own room. Just then, they gasp when the cabinet begins to move. The two workers, having finally decided to get back to work, carry the cabinet out of the truck. Tommy asks Susie what's going on, and Susie tells him she isn't sure. The two workers carry the cabinet into Susie's bedroom, and set it down on the floor. After they walk away, Susie and Tommy open the doors, and Susie is glad to see her room, and that her parents haven't forgotten it after all. She and Tommy then begin playing with her toys.

At the end of the day, Didi says goodbye to Lucy, and Stu says goodbye to Randy, telling him he'll see him tomorrow, as he wants to talk about the lost episode of The Dummi Bears. Randy then asks Lucy if she remembers what the realtor told them about their new house's ancient Indian curse. Lucy nods her head, "Yes", and Randy asks her if Stu is part of the curse. Lucy is shocked that Randy would say such a thing about Stu. Susie says goodbye to Tommy, and thanks him for helping her find her room. Tommy waves goodbye to his new friend, and the screen irises out on him, ending the episode.

Trivia

 * This is the first ever time on Nickelodeon history, (if you do not count You Can't Do That On Television; which was not directly produced by Nickelodeon, but Nickelodeon aired it and has full rights to it.) that African-American/Black main characters are introduced on a scripted television series.
 * Susie's first appearance was actually in the Rugrats 3D board game called "Rugrats Turn The House Upside Down" because it was made in 1992, and this episode was made in 1993.
 * This is the first appearance of Susie Carmichael in the TV show who later became a regular character. Susie is the only one out of the three main characters introduced after the beginning of the series who was not introduced in a movie.
 * Susie was the first regular African-American character.
 * Susie cries three times in this episode.
 * The Carmichael family were all designed by Antoine Guilbaud and John Holmquist.
 * Phil, Lil and Betty only appear in the beginning when they see the Peytons moving out of Funland, California.
 * Though Lucy Carmichael is revealed to be a successful pilot, chef, and surgeon when she's talking with Didi, her actual profession is not revealed until The Rugrats Movie.
 * Moral: If you are lost in a new home after moving into it, don’t panic.

Goofs

 * When Lucy is trying to hang a lamp while talking to Didi, the close up of her hand shows the wrong complexion.