"Quiz Bowl" is the first segment of the fourteenth episode of Pepper Ann. It aired on September 12, 1998 as the premiere of the show's second season.
Synopsis
Pepper Ann is chosen to be an alternate for the school's Quiz Bowl team and sees it as a chance to goof off and travel for free, but when Nicky falls ill due to stage fright, Pepper Ann must cram to lead the school to victory.
Plot
One day, Pepper Ann, Milo, Nicky and Dieter all receive a letter to join the Bump-A-Thon Quiz Bowl team. All are enthusiastic to attend for one reason or another, though Principal Hickey gives his: Milo has a head full of useless information, Dieter is an expert in food related trivia, Nicky is "amazing", and Pepper Ann will be gone for a week and thus out of Hickey's hair. They are joined by Ms. Bronte Bladdar, who is replacing Ms. Ford, to be their guardian while they are in Philbert, however the ever-unenthusiastic Bladdar lets the kids decide how they want to prep. Knowing Pepper Ann will simply see the sights, Milo spends his time putting Nicky and Dieter through training exercises.
The group are on their way to the quiz bowl as Pepper Ann continues to mooch off of the field trip. The group partakes in the first round where they do well, all the while Pepper Ann continues to relax. Nicky becomes slightly unnerved upon hearing that the last round will be televised for a massive audience. Upon going up against the Grimmet Quadruplets, Nicky suddenly gets sick and runs to the bathroom to throw up. Pepper Ann is forced to go up, but due to her lack of knowledge, ends up having the team lose the round. Pepper Ann resolves to do cram studying with her brain cells, personified as mini robot versions of herself, desperately trying to sort her information.
By the next morning, Pepper Ann's head is full of enough information to get the team through the final round. They get to the last question, "Who is the lead singer of the band Flaming Snot?", but Pepper Ann misplaced the information in her brain and forgets, only for her to remember too late and lose the quiz bowl. The team is given a runner up gift of the Quiz Bowl home board game. Back in Hazelnut at Pepper Ann's house, the group play the game, supposedly for a long time, as Pepper Ann insists that they be ready for next year's Quiz Bowl. Dieter asks if she remembered to study for the science test tomorrow, causing all of her brain cells to angrily give up.
Cast
Main cast
- Kathleen Wilhoite as Pepper Ann Pearson
- Jeff Bennett as Dieter Liederhosen, Bump the Gas Pump
- Danny Cooksey as Milo Kamalani
- Clea Lewis as Nicky Little
- April Winchell as Sherie Spleen
Additional voices
Other appearances
- Macadamia Quiz Bowl Team
- Bob (does not speak)
- Kathy (does not speak)
- Barb (does not speak)
- Walnut Quiz Bowl Team (Grimmet Quadruplets)
- Gary Grimmitt (does not speak)
- Glenda Grimmet (does not speak)
- Gilbert Grimmet (does not speak)
- Craig Bean (cameo)
- Cossie Van Tuttie (cameo)
- Lamar Abu-Dabe (cameo)
- Ms. Ford (mentioned)
- Gwen Mezzrow (indirectly mentioned)
Desk Gag
"All right, Mardi Gras beads!"
Trivia
- Starting with this episode, the series begins using digital ink and paint instead of traditional cel animation. This technique would be used for the rest of the series (with the exception of a few episodes).
- Clips from this episode, along with five other episodes, were used for a preview promo for Season 2 which aired a week before the season's premiere.
- This is one of five episodes where the insides of Pepper Ann's pineapple patterns are orange instead of their usual pink, the others include the aforementioned episodes (bar "Hazelnut's Finest"). This implies that those episodes were produced first.
- This is also one of five episodes in which the HMS hallways and lockers are a darker tone, the others also being most of the aforementioned episodes (bar "Cat Scan").
- Philbert, home of the world's smallest porcupine, is directly mentioned for the first time since "Soccer Season", as the location of the Quiz Bowl.
- The full list of teams for the Quiz Bowl includes:
- Macadamia (Bob, Kathy and Barb)
- Philbert
- Coconut
- Walnut (Gary, Glenda, and Gilbert Grimmet)
- Acorn
- Stafford
- Maple HTS.
- The JavaNutt is also mentioned for the first time.
- It is revealed that Dieter is a fan of David Hasselhoff and ABBA, as they are shown on a food cart in his brain.
- Milo reveals that he once forgot his name and decided to go by "Milo" instead. Pepper Ann implies that this may be false.
External links
