The 83 Essential
The 83 Essential |
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Stories |
Here's what I think are the essential stories, and why they are important:
| Episode | Why it's important |
| Tommy Pickles And The Great White Thing | This pilot was never seen, but it got the Rugrats on Nick |
| Tommy's First Birthday | Introduces just about everyone, especially the original Rugrats -- Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, Lil & Angelica; also features Stu's first-known invention, the Hoverama |
| At The Movies | Introduces Reptar and the Dummi Bears |
| Moose Country | The Rugrats' first adventure -- looking for moose |
| Touchdown Tommy | Sportscaster Chick Hearn appears as himself, and gives play-by-play to the Rugrats' own "game" |
| The Trial | First episode where Angelica shows her evil side |
| Fluffy vs. Spike | Really introduces Fluffy |
| Graham Canyon | Introduces Cynthia; only episode to be written and directed by the same person -- Craig Bartlett (who also created Cynthia, and later, Hey Arnold) |
| Chuckie vs. The Potty | Chuckie gets potty-trained |
| Angelica's In Love | Angelica falls in love for the first time, with Dean |
| Regarding Stuie | Stu becomes a Rugrat |
| Family Reunion | We meet the Pickles' relatives |
| Grandpa's Date | Introduces Grandpa's first love, Morgana |
| Aunt Miriam | Introduces Aunt Miriam |
| A Visit From Lipschitz | Introduces Dr. Lipschitz |
| The Santa Experience | The Rugrats' first Christmas together; introduces Charlotte |
| Meet The Carmichaels | Introduces Susie and the Carmichael family |
| The Seven Voyages Of Cynthia | First episode where an inanimate object has its own adventure |
| The Slide | We learn of Chuckie's fear of slides |
| Game Show Didi | Didi learns how smart she really is; Alex Trebek voices the game show host |
| Toys In The Attic | Tommy & Angelica stay at Boris and Minka's house |
| Susie vs. Angelica | We learn that Susie and Angelica are rivals |
| Dummi Bear Dinner Disaster | Dummi Bear creator Paul Gatsby pays a visit |
| Chuckie's First Haircut | Chuckie's First Haircut |
| Grandpa Moves Out | Grandpa moves out for first time |
| Angelica Breaks A Leg | Angelica's fake broken leg, and an incompetent doctor, turn Stu & Didi into Angelica's slaves |
| Sour Pickles | We looked at Stu and Drew when they were Rugrats, and what Grandpa did in the 1950s |
| Stu Gets A Job | Stu temporarily switches from inventing toys to telemarketing lard |
| Home Movies | The Rugrats make their own movies |
| Angelica's Birthday | Angelica tries to act like a baby |
| Naked Tommy | Tommy gets naked |
| Chuckie Is Rich | Pat Sajak appears as himself; Chazz temporarily becomes a multimillionaire |
| Mommy's Little Assets | We look at Charlotte's line of work as corporate executive |
| Chuckie's Wonderful Life | We look at the world without Chuckie |
| Spike Runs Away | Spike escapes, forcing the Pickles to replace him as their pet |
| Pickles vs. Pickles | Angelica sues her parents |
| Kid TV | The Rugrats make their own TV shows |
| I Remember Melville | Life and death of Chuckie's pet bug |
| No More Cookies | We learn why Angelica loves cookies so much |
| Cradle Attraction | Chuckie falls in love for the first time, with Megan |
| Moving Away | Flashback to how the Rugrats first got together; Angelica's family almost moved out-of-town |
| Passover | We learn the history of Passover, and the fact that Didi's side of the family is Jewish |
| Chanukah | The Rugrats learn the meaning of Chanukah |
| Mother's Day | Introduces Chuckie's natural, and deceased, mother |
| Chicken Pops | The Rugrats get Chicken Pox |
| The 'Lympics | Introduces the McNulty boys |
| The Smell of Success | Chuckie's nose gets unstuffed in this version of "Flowers For Algernon", a.k.a. "Charly" |
| Dust Bunnies | First episode with a 3-D segment |
| Educating Angelica | Angelica starts pre-school |
| Potty Training Spike | The Rugrats try to teach Spike how to use the toilet; we also learn that the twins have an uncle (Bill) and an aunt (Harriet) |
| Angelica Orders Out | Stu's invention makes Angelica sound like Charlotte |
| Lady Luck | Grandpa's second love; David Doyle's last episode |
| The Word Of The Day | Angelica cusses for the first time |
| Fugitive Tommy | Joe Alaskey's first episode as Grandpa |
| Angelica For A Day | Chuckie and Angelica switch places |
| The Family Tree | First appearance of Chuckie's grandparents, Shirley and Marvin; Didi gets pregnant |
| Chuckie's Duckling | First TV appearance of Dil |
| Angelica's Twin | Angelica develops an alter ego |
| I Do | Chuckie and Lil "get married" |
| Ghost Story | First crossover with another Nicktoon -- Real Monsters |
| Music | First musical episode |
| Wrestling Grandpa | We learn that Grandpa was a pro wrestler in the past |
| No Place Like Home | Susie gets her tonsils out |
| Brothers Are Monsters | Betty's brother (and the twins' uncle), Freddy, is introduced |
| The Big Showdown | Goober the Gopher, Didi's replacement for Reptar, is introduced |
| Accidents Happen | Chuckie wets the bed |
| Miss Manners | Mr. Yamaguchi, Charlotte's important client, is introduced |
| Chuckie's New Shirt | We learn why the characters wear the same clothes every episode |
| Famous Babies | The Rugrats rock-and-roll |
| Acorn Nuts And Diapey Butts | Grandpa moves out again, and meets Lulu for the "first" time after being hospitalised; Stu makes a Reptar robot for Euro Reptarland; Chazz starts dating again |
| Finsterella | Kimi, Kira (Chuckie's new mother) and Fifi have their TV debuts; Chuckie talks to the grownups; newlyweds Kira & Chazz formally adopt each other's kids |
| Angelicon | Chuckie & Kimi get a new treehouse; King Kong spoof |
| Wash-Dry Story | West-Side Story spoof |
| Dayscare | Chuckie & Kimi go to daycare |
| Falling Stars | Star Wars spoof |
| Changes For Chuckie | Kira tries to bond with Chuckie |
| Attention Please | Kimi misses Paris |
| A Rugrats Kwanzaa | The Rugrats learn about Kwanzaa; busted spinoff pilot for The Carmichaels |
| All Growed Up | A look at the Rugrats as pre-teenagers; spinoff pilot for All Growed Up |
| Bow Wow Wedding Vows | The Rugrats' first Easter; Spike & Fifi get married and have puppies |
| Quiet, Please! | Chuckie & Kimi's first trip to the library |
| The Fun Way Day | Chazz & Kira open their coffee shop |
| Hello, Dilly | First look at Angelica & Susie's preschool class, to be featured in the new Angelica & Susie's School Daze spinoff |
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