| The Odd Couple | Gallery | Transcript |
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| Season 3 Episode 14b | |
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| The Odd Couple | |
| Original Airdate | December 26, 1993 |
| VHS release | Diapered Duo On The Loose |
| DVD release | Season 3 Complete Series |
| Previous Episode | Princess Angelica |
| Next Episode | Naked Tommy |
"The Odd Couple" is a Season 3 episode of Rugrats.
Characters Present[]
Synopsis[]
Chuckie and Tommy team up in this parody of The Odd Couple. Can these two bestest friends really get along when they have to live with each other?
- Description from Klasky Csupo
Plot[]
At Chuckie's house, Phil and Lil are playing with Chuckie's Bogo Block Village. The twins soon begin arguing about whether they want one of the townspeople to be at the police station because her mom was stolen, or at the fire station because her puppy's up a tree. Chuckie hears them and tells them to stop. The twins assure Chuckie that they only wanted to play with his toys, not take them from him. Chuckie tells Phil and Lil that he worked hard to get his Bogo Block Village just right and would rather not have it messed up; he places the townsperson on a swing. Phil and Lil tell Chuckie that since it's his toy, he can do what he wants with it.
Downstairs, Chas is on the phone with the crossword puzzle help line. They give Chas the answers to the first three words aligned across (which are revealed to be "Door", "Under", and "Moo", respectively), when Chas suddenly gets another call. Stu is on the other line, telling him that he and Didi are going to spend a weekend alone and they need someone to look after Tommy until they get back. Chas assures Stu that Tommy is always welcome to stay at his house, and they should bring him over. He then tells him that he's paying $2.00 a minute for the crossword puzzle help line, and he needs to get back to it. Chas hangs up on Stu, then asks the crossword puzzle help line if they can give him the answer to the first word aligned down (which is revealed to be "Dumb").
Later that day, when Chas opens the front door, Didi is revealed to be behind it, with Tommy in her arms. After they greet each other, Didi thanks Chas for volunteering to look after Tommy until she and Stu get back, as they have been looking forward to the cheese-tasting tour for months. Chas tells her he's happy to help.
Didi sets Tommy down in Chuckie's bedroom and says goodbye to him, telling him she will be back at the end of the weekend. She then gives Chas a list of phone numbers in case he needs to contact her or Stu. As soon as they leave, Tommy tells Chuckie, Phil and Lil that he's staying over at Chuckie's house for the weekend. Chuckie is excited, but then asks Tommy how long the weekend is. Tommy tells him he isn't sure, but it is the longest he's been away from his house. Chuckie is excited to spend the weekend with Tommy, but Phil and Lil soon realize that both boys are in for a great deal of trouble. Tommy and Chuckie ask them why they sound concerned, and after persuasion from Lil, Phil begins telling Tommy and Chuckie that when they start living together, they'll fight all the time. Tommy assures Phil and Lil that he and Chuckie are best friends, but Phil tells them that they may be best friends now. Lil picks up where Phil left off, saying when they start living together, they'll soon start arguing with each other. Phil continues, telling them it starts with little things, like forgetting to share toys. Lil continues, saying things will only get worse, as everything each one does will bug the other. Phil and Lil soon start arguing with each other by pointing out each other's flaws. Tommy breaks them up, asking them where they get such crazy ideas, and Chuckie tells the twins that they live together, and don't seem to have any problems. Phil and Lil sigh unhappily, knowing that Tommy and Chuckie don't know them like they do.
That night, Tommy and Chuckie are in their pajamas, building a block tower. Tommy compliments Chas's cooking skills to Chuckie, telling him he never has carrot puree at home. Chuckie then tells Tommy to wait until he tries Chas's mashed peas. Tommy figures that Phil and Lil don't know what they're talking about when they say living with each other will drive each other crazy, as they're going to get along great. Chuckie agrees, until Tommy decides to play with Chuckie's Mr. Banana Head. Before he can do so, Chuckie tells Tommy he wants to talk to him. Tommy asks Chuckie if something is wrong, and Chuckie tells him that he forgot to clean up the blocks. Tommy asks why he has to do so, and Chuckie explains that when he's done playing with one toy, he has to put it away before he can play with another. Tommy tells Chuckie that they're babies, and they have parents to do that for them, but Chuckie says that they have to put away the blocks, as a clean room is a happy room. Tommy tries to do so by tossing one block into the box, but Chuckie informs him that the blocks have to be put away by size and color, starting with blue, then red, then finally, green. He also tells Tommy that the blocks always go from big to small. Tommy soon catches on but tells Chuckie that in his house, he never spends so much time putting blocks away.
After the blocks are put away, Chas tucks Tommy and Chuckie in and kisses them goodnight. After Chas turns out the light, Chuckie is so tired, that all he wants to do is go to sleep. However, Tommy keeps Chuckie awake by telling him that he's glad they're friends and is really glad he's staying over at his house, even if they do waste a lot of time putting blocks away. Tommy then says to an irritated Chuckie that he was just thinking about green Jell-O, and asks him how they make it green. Chuckie tells Tommy he isn't sure, and that he should just go to sleep. Tommy does so, and Chuckie awakens, wondering how green Jell-O really is made green.
The next morning, as Chuckie eats from a bowl of Dummi Bear Sugar Lumps cereal, Tommy asks him what the cereal is. Chuckie tells him that they're Dummi Bear Sugar Lumps and asks him if he likes them. Tommy tells Chuckie that at his house, he has Reptar Cereal for breakfast. Chuckie apologizes and tells Tommy that Dummi Bear Sugar Lumps is the brand of cereal Chas buys. He then pulls out the cereal's prize, which is a Dummi Bear whistle. Tommy then tells Chuckie that the prize in Reptar Cereal is a toy dinosaur. Chuckie blows his whistle at Tommy, and Tommy tells him it's not such a big deal, as he still enjoys staying at his house despite not liking the Dummi Bear Sugar Lumps.
Later that day, Chuckie watches his favorite show, Space Trek Babies, which Tommy absolutely cannot stand. Tommy then changes the channel to a Reptar movie. Chuckie asks Tommy why he changed the channel, as he was watching Space Trek Babies. Tommy says he wanted to watch Reptar, as it's what he always does at his house. He then asks Chuckie if something's wrong. Chuckie denies this and angrily decides to let Tommy watch Reptar.
That night, as Chuckie tries to go to sleep, he is cold, as Tommy has hogged most of the blanket for himself. Every time Chuckie tries to put some of the blanket over his body, Tommy pulls it back. Chuckie then decides to wake Tommy up by clashing two cymbals together, and while Tommy is distracted, Chuckie takes most of the blanket for himself (not that this stops Tommy from taking it back anyway).
The next morning, when Phil and Lil come to visit, Tommy and Lil cover Phil in stamps as a tired Chuckie tries to go to sleep. Tommy tells Phil that when he and Lil are done covering him in stamps, they'll put him in the mailbox so the mailman will take him to China. Phil likes this idea, and Lil asks Tommy how things are going with him and Chuckie. Phil asks Tommy if he and Chuckie are driving each other crazy yet, but Tommy says that he and Chuckie are getting along just fine, as they've been playing with blocks, watching Reptar, and having lots of fun. He then wakes up Chuckie to ask him if he agrees, and Chuckie sarcastically tells Tommy they were having lots of fun. Phil and Lil look at each other, knowing Chuckie is unhappy. Tommy then tells the twins that he's going to find some more stamps, and will be back soon. As soon as Tommy leaves, Chuckie runs up to Phil and Lil and tells them he can't take Tommy staying over at his house anymore, as Tommy complains about everything they do, comparing them to the way he does them at his own house. He asks Phil and Lil what he should do, and they tell Chuckie that they told him this would happen.
Later that day, Chuckie's Bogo Block Village is in complete disarray. As Tommy plays with it, Chuckie objects. Tommy asks Chuckie what's wrong, and Chuckie complains that his Bogo Block Village is ruined, as nothing is where it should be. Tommy tells Chuckie that in his house, he always plays with his toys this way. Chuckie, sick of hearing Tommy complain about everything he does at his house, tells Tommy that he isn't at his own house, he's a guest in his (Chuckie's) house, and as a guest, he has to do things Chuckie's way. Tommy apologizes, and Chuckie tells him that he simply didn't know. He then decides to help Tommy clean up by showing him where everything in his Bogo Block Village goes. Tommy soon catches on, and an impressed Chuckie decides to show Tommy where his teddy bears go.
Tommy soon begins cleaning Chuckie's bedroom by straightening a picture frame, with Chuckie doing the final touches. Chuckie then watches Space Trek Babies, which of course, Tommy cannot stand. This time though, Tommy decides to suffer through it. He then suffers through Chas feeding him Dummi Bear Sugar Lumps.
Later that day, Phil and Lil are playing with a puzzle, and Phil asks Chuckie if things are still bad between him and Tommy. Lil asks if Tommy is still driving him nuts, and as Chuckie stacks his teddy bears in a row, he assures her and Phil that he talked to Tommy, and now everything is going fine. Phil and Lil don't believe this as Tommy walks in with Chas' keys and tells Chuckie it's his turn to hide them now. As Chuckie leaves to hide the keys, Tommy runs up to Phil and Lil, telling them they were right about Chuckie, as he can't stand living at his house anymore. Every time he plays with one of Chuckie's toys, he has to put it away just right when he's done, and he will absolutely snap if he has to watch Space Trek Babies one more time. The twins tell him that they told him this would happen.
That evening, as Tommy puts Chuckie's blocks away, Chuckie walks in and asks him if he remembered what he told him about putting the blocks away. Tommy unhappily assures Chuckie that he remembered that he has to put away blocks by size and color, and from big to small. Chuckie then informs Tommy that he didn't put the blocks away by shape, causing Tommy to snap, indicating that Chuckie didn't teach him that (especially since the viewers didn't get to see whether or not it really happened). As Chuckie tries to teach Tommy how to put the blocks away by shape, Tommy stares angrily at him, then kicks the tower, causing blocks to fly everywhere. Chuckie tells Tommy that, thanks to him, the blocks are all over his bedroom, and Tommy's just going to leave them that way, and he doesn't care about Chuckie or his rules. Chuckie cries, and Tommy, suddenly realizing that he wasn't a good house guest or a good friend to Chuckie, also cries out of guilt.
That night, Tommy apologizes to Chuckie for getting mad at him and messing up his blocks. Chuckie asks Tommy if he means it, and Tommy tells him he didn't mean to make him mad; he just misses his parents, living at his own house, and doing things his own way. Chuckie apologizes to Tommy for getting mad at him, and realizes that sometimes, people just need to be in their own house and do things their own way. Tommy then asks Chuckie if he's cold and gives him some more of his blanket. Chuckie thanks Tommy, and the two boys fall asleep. Not long afterwards, Stu, Didi, and Chas walk in. Chas tells Stu and Didi that Tommy was no trouble at all, and Didi picks up Tommy, telling him that she and Stu missed him. As they leave, Chas thanks Stu and Didi for the Limburger loaf they gave him. Tommy waves goodbye to Chuckie, and Chuckie waves back, indicating, despite the trouble they had, he enjoyed having Tommy stay over at his house.
When Stu and Didi take Tommy back to his house, Didi kisses Tommy goodnight and tucks him in his crib. After she leaves and turns out the light, Tommy looks around his messy bedroom and climbs out of his crib. He walks up to his blocks and stacks them the way Chuckie taught him. He then climbs back into his crib to go back to sleep, leaving the rest of his bedroom a mess as the episode ends.
Trivia[]
- Chuckie's favorite TV show is essentially a baby-version of the original Star Trek series, which is owned by the same company as Rugrats, Paramount. Characters seen include baby versions of Spock (voiced by E.G. Daily), Lt. Uhura, Bones McCoy, (voiced by Tress MacNeille, "We're babies, not computers!") and James T. Kirk.
- The episode title is a reference to the classic play, movie, and TV series The Odd Couple, which is also owned by Paramount, with Chuckie in the role of Felix and Tommy in the role of Oscar.
- Chuckie likes Dummi Bear cereal.
- Chuckie is a bit of a neat freak.
- This was the last episode to air in 1993.
- Tommy and Lil attempt to send Phil to China by sticking "Pelvis" stamps onto him, a parody of the real life stamps of Elvis Presley.
- Morals: Everyone has a different way of living; if you come to your friend's home to visit, respect and follow their rules. Also, during a sleepover, the parent(s) should always make sure they have the food and things that their guest likes stocked in their house. Just because one person buys one particular thing for their child, doesn't mean they can't buy the thing their guest likes. In this case, Tommy likes Reptar cereal. Didi should've requested to Chas to buy some and anything else for Tommy and make him feel at home during breakfast, lunch or dinner.
