| Season 3 Episode 8b | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Sour Pickles | |
| Original Airdate | November 14, 1993 |
| DVD release | Season 3 |
| Previous Episode | The Last Babysitter |
| Next Episode | Reptar 2010 |
Sour Pickles is an episode of Rugrats from Season 3.
Characters Present
- Tommy
- Angelica
- Didi
- Stu
- Drew
- Lou
- Spike
- Blocky & Oxwinkle
- Mr. Namby
Summary
After Angelica and Tommy quarrel over a kaleidoscope, Grandpa Lou recalls a turning point in the childhoods of Drew and Stu while Stu and Drew are on a feud.
Recap
Angelica is looking through a kaleidoscope Drew had recently bought her. Tommy wants to look through it, too, but Angelica taunts him, claiming that they're not for babies.
Their fathers, meanwhile, are arguing about the kaleidoscope. Stu feels insulted because he makes kaleidoscopes, while Drew insists the one he purchased is better than one Stu could make. Didi tries to get them to stop, but Grandpa Lou manages to do so, at least temporarily. When Grandpa Lou reveals they've been fighting since they were babies, Angelica wants to hear more. Grandpa Lou starts to tell everyone the story, and the episode goes into a black and white flashback to 1959.
In 1959, Lou owns a repair shop called Lou Pickles' Magic Wrench that the family lives above. His wife Trixie is out of town, so Lou is cooking breakfast (though not very well). Elsewhere in the house one year old Stu and two or three year old Drew are playing in a playpen. When Drew can't open his toy cash register, Stu opens it and says his rocket ship is a better toy. They start to argue, but stop because their favorite TV show is on: Blocky & Oxwinkle.
The brothers watch peacefully. The segment ends and the next one is advertised to begin in a half hour. Stu exclaims "that's almost forever!" but Drew says they can play Haggle. Drew tries to bully Stu into playing, but Stu refuses and they begin to fight again. After Stu kicks Drew's cash register, Drew throws Stu's rocket and breaks a vase.
Back in the present, Stu and Drew are arguing over who's fault it was the vase broke. Angelica, however, is more interested in their lack of a color TV. Grandpa Lou says they didn't have remote controls back then either. Didi asks what happened next. Grandpa Lou explains that he was furious, of course, and punished them. Angelica comes up with several outrageous punishments, but Grandpa Lou says what he did was much worse than any of the things she guessed.
Back in 1959 Lou's punishment is to not let the brothers watch the next segment of Blocky and Oxwinkle, causing Stu and Drew to cry, but Lou doesn't care how much they cry; he still refuses to change his mind. Lou says if they're good for the rest of the day, he'll let them stay up to watch The Lawrence Welk Show, but of course it doesn't help. Lou carries the boys downstairs to the playpen in the shop, and then opens up for the day.
Stu and Drew blame each other for the punishment, but Stu says they'll be able to watch Blocky and Oxwinkle and not their mom, dad, or even the President will be able to stop them. Drew says he isn't with Stu, but will go along anyways. The brothers break out of the playpen and head back upstairs while Lou deals with the first customer of the day, and his electronic cash register.
Upstairs, Stu and Drew head over to the TV, which not only doubles as a radio, but as a record player too. They have trouble with the device and first activate the record player, and then the radio. Finally they get the TV portion on, but just as their show starts, the device breaks! Stu says they have to use on the TV's in Lou's shop and rush back downstairs.
Lou is still dealing with his customer. Just as he's taken the cash register to the back, the customer returns, explaining that his car won't start. Lou says he's not a mechanic, but agrees to take a look at it anyways.
Meanwhile, Drew is trying to stand on a vacuum in order to reach one of the TV's. He accidentally turns it on and goes zooming all over the place, knocking broken appliances everywhere. Drew crashes into a jukebox, which briefly activates before short-circuiting. Stu however, has an idea, and the two push a small trampoline over to the shelves where the TV's are. Stu is under the impression Drew will do this, too, but Drew forces Stu to do it.
Stu starts to jump and turn on the TV's. The first TV is airing an episode of The Dimstones. Stu turns on a second TV, this one airing an episode of The Stetsons. Stu tries the third and final TV within reach, which is airing Blocky and Oxwinkle, but the screen is distorted because Lou hasn't fixed it yet. Stu whacks the TV, and the picture clears!
Outside, Lou watches the car be towed away after failing to fix it. He heads back inside and finds the store a wreck, and Stu and Drew jumping on the trampoline to watch their show. Lou starts to yell at them, but then is surprised when he notices they fixed the TV. At the show's dramatic cliffhanger, Lou touches the antenna and sends the TV screen into static.
Back in the present, Angelica is surprised that Grandpa Lou didn't punish them. Grandpa Lou explains he didn't have the heart to, especially since they were getting along like he wished. Angelica asks Drew if she can have a trampoline. Drew says yes, they'll go to the toy store later to buy one. Stu offers to make one for them, but Drew insists he wants to buy one. The two begin to argue again, but stop when they hear something: the end of the Blocky and Oxwinkle they never got to watch, and it is in color! The two brothers start to laugh together, and Angelica decides to share her kaleidoscope with Tommy, who is delighted at the colorful changing patterns.
Transcript
The transcript for this episode can be found here
Trivia
- Blocky and Oxwinkle is a parody of Rocky and Bullwinkle, where as The Dimstones is a parody of The Flintstones and The Stetsons is a parody of The Jetsons.
- On a side note, The Flintstones and The Jetsons didn't air in 1959; they started airing in 1960 and 1962 respectively.
- Even though Blocky and Oxwinkle parodies Rocky and Bullwinkle (called Rocky & His Friends in 1959), it only parodies the Rocky and Bullwinkle segments and not any of the other shorts that were part of the show.
- Cynthia toys are in 1959.
- During the second part of the flashback, Young Lou mentions The Lawrence Welk Show (presented by big band leader Lawrence Welk) and Peyton Place (starring Ryan O'Neal and Mia Farrow). The Welk Show aired on July 2,1955 while Peyton Place didn't air until September 15, 1964.
- In this episode, Blocky and Sveltana the Spy are voiced by June Foray, who voiced Rocky and Natasha Fatale in Rocky and Bullwinkle
- The flashback took place between 1958-1961 since Dwight D. Eisenhower is mentioned as President of the United States.
- In the flashback, Stu looked and acted (and sounded) like Tommy (but with more hair) and Drew acted like Angelica, but with Chuckie's front teeth. Also, Stu was Tommy's age and Drew was Chuckie's age.
- As a baby, Stu had the voice of Tommy and Drew is similar to Chuckie.
- The end music is the magic wrench jingle.
Magic Wrench jingle lyrics
Lou can fix most anything
If your toasters broke and your phone won't ring
Stu and Drew are breakin' toys
Smashin' walls and makin' noise
Someone call the cops!
Yes, they're fightin'
They're always fightin', it's so sad
A couple of crazy babies
Torturin' their dad
Oh, they're fightin'
It'll drive you mad!
Oh yeah....