| Man of the House | Gallery | Transcript |
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"Man of the House" is a Season 6 episode of Rugrats.
Characters Present[]
Synopsis[]
When Stu goes off to attend an inventor's convention, he makes Tommy "The Man of the House". Now, Tommy has to do all the things Stu used to do, like read the paper, fix things, and invent new toys. But is he man enough to help Grandpa Lou with his cholesterol problem? - Description from Klasky-Csupo
Plot[]
It starts with Tommy and Stu looking at Stu's Memory Booster 2000 Shades. Stu demonstrates the glasses, and they give him a recorded reminder to pack clean underwear for the trip. He declares the glasses will be a hit at the inventor's convention he is attending that weekend. He hopes to leave before Grandpa Lou comes back from his doctor's appointment, since going to the doctor always makes Lou cranky. But, it's too late, and Lou storms in, yelling about what the doctor told him; Lou's blood pressure is high, and he needs to eat healthier food to keep it in check. He was even given a VHS tape on heart heath by the doctors. Didi says she would be happy to help out and she plans to put Lou on a healthy diet. Stu gets ready to head out, saying since Lou is acting like a baby, he is making Tommy the "man of the house." Tommy thinks this means acting like Stu.
Later, Chas and Chuckie visit. In the backyard, Chas talks to Lou, who is still grumpy about his new diet. Chuckie approaches Tommy holding a newspaper and asks what he's up to. Tommy explains what Stu said, and Chuckie offers to help try to read the paper, but it blows away in the wind. Chasing after the paper, Tommy accidentally steps on Dil's rattle and breaks it, making Dil cry. Didi stops serving Lou's tofu soup breakfast to tend to Dil, then brings him inside (not knowing his rattle broke). Lou spits out the soup in disgust. Tommy and Chuckie look over the damaged rattle, and Tommy declares he'll do what the man of the house normally does when a toy is broken.
Tommy "fixes" the rattle with plasters, and he gives it to Dil. Dil shakes the rattle, but because it doesn't make noise, he throws it away and cries again. Didi is confused, as Dil is perfectly healthy, doesn't have a dirty diaper, and is not hungry, and yet, is crying. Didi takes Dil off to comfort him again, and Tommy and Chuckie think about what to do next. Tommy says that if his daddy couldn't fix a toy, he would invent a better toy. Tommy and Chuckie gather supplies to make a toy, then act like Stu does when he tries inventing, such as pacing the room and praying that he'll make something good. The boys invent a toy made of a blanket (to be soft), a ball (to be bouncy), a rope (to hold it together), a rubber duck (to make noises) and a key (to be shiny). After they finish, Chuckie wants to take a nap, but Tommy says that they need to bring the toy to Dil first.
Meanwhile, Lou tries sneaking out of the house to get junk food, but can't find his car keys. He heads down to the living room to secretly order something from Zippy's Deli.
Tommy and Chuckie push the squeaky blanket ball down the hallway, but lose control of it. It bounces down the hall, down the stairs, and against the VCR, nudging the tape from the doctor's office inside. Lou watches the tape, which explains what happens when someone eats fatty foods, in a somewhat disturbing way. The grease and sugar cause plaque to build up in the heart, choking it and making it harder to pump blood. Lou freaks out just as Didi approaches with a lunch of soybean casserole. Lou scarfs it down quickly, making Didi happy. She sets Dil down to get some celery-beet juice. Dil sees the squeaky blanket ball and starts playing with it. Tommy and Chuckie finally make it downstairs, and see that Dil likes the toy. Tommy and Chuckie are happy, and relax in their little armchairs. Didi gives the babies sippy cups of celery-beet juice, and the babies fall asleep.
The episode ends with Stu in his hotel room. He has fallen asleep in an armchair while looking at a picture of his family. His Memory Booster glasses fall off of his lap, and repeat "clean underwear" over and over.
Trivia[]
- Stu's latest invention: The Memory Booster 2000 sunglasses.
- Lou likes greasy food until he watched his health video.
- Lou surreptitiously orders from Zippy's Snappy Home Delivery, which was first introduced in "Angelica Orders Out".
- The video narrator is played by John Stephenson, best known for his time at Hanna-Barbera, most notably voicing Mr. Slate on The Flintstones.
- Morals:
- Being "Man of the House" is a very big responsibility.
- Eat the right food to save your life.