| Season 1 Episode 7b | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Momma Trauma | |
| Original Airdate | September 22, 1991 |
| DVD release | Season 1 |
| Previous Episode | Grandpa's Teeth |
| Next Episode | Real or Robots? |
Momma Trauma is the second segment of the seventh episode of season 1, and the seventh episode overall of Rugrats.
Characters Present
- Tommy
- Didi
- Stu
- Dr. Lepetomaine
Synopsis
After Tommy is found drawing on walls at the Pickle[s'] house, Stu and Didi take him to a psychiatrist name Dr. Lepetomaine. When Tommy breaks free and has an adventure around the medical office building, Stu ends up being the one psychoanalyzed.
- - Description from Klasky Csupo.
Plot
Didi catches Tommy drawing on the walls! She becomes concerned about his behavior, and makes an appointment to meet with a psychiatrist downtown in order to discuss Tommy's potential problems with him.
At the psychiatrist's office, Didi begins to talk about Tommy to the doctor (while the doctor secretly ignores her). When Stu makes it clear that he believes this is a waste of time, the doctor encourages Stu to talk about his own childhood problems. Stu begins to talk, and since no one is looking, Tommy leaves the office to explore the rest of the building.
Tommy first enrages a woman who has had her portrait painted (though not completely accurately) by stepping on a tube of black paint that spatters on the canvas in a way that looks like she's been painted with a mustache! Then he secretly joins a group of kids that gather with their parents in a different office.
These children, it turns out, are used to gauge the potential success of would-be new toys. This time they're going to play with "Super Blasto Man", a toy robot the children find thoroughly uninteresting, especially after the company reps tell them they're not allowed to go "crazy" with the toy. Tommy pulls the rubber ball out of the center of the toy's chest and begins to play with it instead. The other children catch on and start to play with the rubber balls of their toys, too. This horrifies the reps, more so when Tommy's bounces out of the office, and he chases after it.
Tommy chases the rubber ball all over the place before finally returning back to the psychiatrist's office. Stu has cried after all the times Drew bullied him, and is now beginning to talk about how he was an ugly duckling who was also a late bloomer when the doctor's timer goes off. He wakes up says that's all the time they have for today...but they can schedule another appointment next week for Stu.
Stu feels much better now, while Didi is unsure about the meeting being worth the money. She notices Tommy's new ball and asks where it came from. Stu says he gave that to him ages ago. Unknown to them, the toy company reps are freaking out about the missing rubber ball.
Trivia
- Interestingly enough, there is no mention of Dr. Lipschitz, whom Didi is typically obsessed with consulting.
- Only one of the main characters (in this case, Tommy) appears in this episode.
- This is the first time Stu cries.
- When the minor character parents and their children are on their way to the Snow, Steele and Trickim Agency for the Super Blasto Man lecture, you can hear one of the children sing the famous Nickelodeon jingle (first heard in 1984).
- The names "Dr Hyde" and "Sigmund Freud" can be seen on the doors to some of the other doctors' offices.
Quotes
- Dr. Lepetomaine: I see.
Gallery
