Of Lice and Friends is the fifth episode of the first season which was broadcast on November 22, 2000.
Synopsis[]
There is a lice outbreak at Lucky Jr. High as Dodie becomes the new school announcer. Ginger feels that Dodie goes overboard with her job when Dodie turns it into a gossip column. Dodie finds the list of kids who were found to have lice during the inspection and feels that the other students have the right to know so they can avoid getting lice, one of which is Courtney. Ginger is able to stop her from reading most of the list over the announcements. Meanwhile, Carl and Hoodsey sabotage Blake's experiment to give flies multi-colored wings.
Plot[]
During an assembly at Lucky Jr. High, Chet Zipper steps down as the morning announcement person, and his replacement will be Dodie. Dodie is thrilled for the new job, and the other students applaud for her. Courtney even approaches her with words of approval but calls her "Podie." The following day, Dodie feels that the mornings announcements are somewhat dull, so she spices them up by adding tidbits of gossip about other students. Ginger feels that Dodie should not be turning the morning announcements into a gossip rag, but Dodie is loving the attention she gets from her new position.
Meanwhile, Hoodsey meets up with Carl at the doghouse to tell him that he has lice. Carl takes a few and keeps them in a jar. He then gets the idea to breed the lice and make a circus out of them. They then go to Blake for start-up money. Blake tells them that his time and money are currently being used on a maggot farm. He will feed the maggots food with various colors of dye in them. When the maggots mature into house flies, their wings will be a rainbow of colors, and he will profit off of viewings of them.
The next day, the lice outbreak has reached the middle school. Dodie announces the news to the school and informs them that mandatory lice checks are underway. This causes the students to panic, especially Courtney. She vows to shower more, even using the never used locker room shower. Later on, the school nurse catches the flu, and is unable to conduct the lice check. But Dodie announces to the school that Lois Foutley will be volunteering to do the lice check. This causes Miranda and the other students to laugh at Ginger. Ginger confronts Dodie about her "announcements" getting out of hand. Dodie refuses to back down, saying that everyone else loves the way she does the announcements.
At the doghouse, Blake arrives to give Carl and Hoodsey invitations to his "Cirque du Fly." Carl tosses the envelope and offers to show Blake what his lice can do. But the lice have all died in their jar. Blake sarcastically offers condolences and leaves to put the dye in his maggots' food. Carl tells Hoodsey that there won't be any "Cirque du Fly." They go to Blake's house, and discreetly put a battery powered lamp into the garbage can where the maggots are.
At the middle school, Lois drops Ginger off. Ginger runs out of the car before telling Lois where the nurse's office is. She meets up with Macie, and they both see Dodie. Dodie greets Macie, and leaves Ginger to stew. In homeroom, Ginger laments that she can't tell Dodie anything out of fear that it will end up over the PA. During the announcements, Dodie tells of her experience undergoing the lice check, and tells the students to start lining up at the nurse's office. Miranda takes the opportunity to tease Ginger. Courtney mentions that whoever has lice would be ruined for life.
After Miranda gets a clean check, it's Courtney's turn. She enters the office with Lois and tells her that she has been showering obsessively since the outbreak started. Unfortunately, Lois finds lice in Courtney's blond locks. She tells Courtney that lice thrive in clean hair, as it is easier to move around. Courtney begs her not to tell anyone, and Lois gives her word that she won't before offering her medicated shampoo. Up next is Ginger. Lois checks Ginger's hair and congratulates her for being nit-less. Ginger is relieved, but Lois comments that she is surprised since Ginger has been hanging out with Courtney. Lois asks Ginger to not tell anyone, which Ginger agrees to do.
The next day, Dodie is running out of ideas for her gossip announcements. She checks her desk for any ideas and comes across the lice reports. There is a list of students that have lice, and of course, Courtney has made the list. Dodie is overjoyed to find such a scoop. She announces her findings to the students and proceeds to read the names in alphabetical order. Courtney gets Ginger's attention and begs her to stop Dodie before she reaches her name. Ginger bolts from the classroom and to the main office. She jumps onto Dodie's desk and disconnects the PA before Dodie can say "Courtney." Dodie is angry that Ginger ruined her "big moment." Ginger retorts that Dodie is only embarrassing people, and that she refuses to be her friend if she acts this way.
At Blake's house, he goes to put the dye into the maggots' food, but when he opens the garbage can, the now mature flies escape and fly around. Carl and Hoodsey, watching from a nearby tree, laugh at Blake as the flies chase him.
Back at Ginger's house, the doorbell rings. Ginger answers, and Courtney is there. She gives Ginger a big hug as thanks for saving her from abject embarrassment. After she leaves, Ginger is happy, but then remembers that Courtney has lice. One lice check and a thorough hair scrubbing later, Lois advises Ginger to talk things over with Dodie. Ginger calls up Macie, but Dodie calls Macie's other line. Macie turns the two calls into a conference call so Dodie can talk to Ginger. Dodie apologizes for her behavior and swears that she will stop spreading gossip while doing the announcements. Ginger concedes that Dodie occasionally was entertaining, and that the three of them can still gossip with each other. They do so as the episode ends.
Appearances[]
- Ginger Foutley
- Carl Foutley
- Courtney Gripling
- Macie Lightfoot
- Hoodsey Bishop
- Dodie Bishop
- Miranda Killgallen
- Darren Patterson
- Lois Foutley
- Blake Gripling
- Mipsy Mipson
- Ms. Zorski
- Principal Milty
- Chet Zipper
- Hall Monitor
- Mr. Pringle
- Traci
- Mrs. Fleming
- Stuart Higsby (cameo)
- Chef Bob (mentioned only)
- Hope Rogers (cameo)
- Vince (cameo)
Quotes[]
Courtney: Well, we are in the middle of an epidemic, and La Courtney isn't taking any chances, Dodie.
Courtney: From now on, I wash my hair four times a day instead of the usual two.
Courtney: Perhaps you're just not clear on the fact that I'm famous for being pretty, popular, and spotlessly clean.
Ginger: Archery? When will that ever come up in real life?
Carl: You can watch flies for free at the city dump.
Hoodsey: And we've done it, too.
Courtney: Let me see if I understand you. The fact that I've been showering obsessively to keep the lice at bay has actually led me down the cootie path of no return?
Trivia[]
- The title of the episode is a reference to the novel (and film adaptations) Of Mice and Men by author John Steinbeck.
- Courtney and Miranda's outfits at the beginning of the episode is similar to the same clothing style from the 1995 film Clueless.
- Darren appears in this episode, but he does not speak.
- The sentence that Ms. Zorski writes on the chalkboard reads "Homeroom is a room you should treat like home".
- The list of students who were named in the lice report:
- Steven Applebaum
- Joannie Asper
- Patricia Bucci
- Reggie Cameron
- David Entwhite
- Leon Griffin
- Courtney Gripling
- Dodie says she discovered there were ten students who had lice. However, there were only seven students listed in the report. It's possible the other three students were listed on the next page.
- The last time this episode aired on the main Nickelodeon channel is December 6, 2008.
Gallery[]
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