| Baby Commercial | Gallery | Transcript |
|---|
| Season 1 Episode 4a | |
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 | |
| Baby Commercial | |
| Original Airdate | September 8, 1991 |
| VHS release | Phil and Lil Double Trouble Volume 3 |
| DVD release | Season 1 Diaper Days Adventures Complete Series |
| Previous Episode | Slumber Party |
| Next Episode | Little Dude |
"Baby Commercial" is the first segment of the fourth episode of Season 1, and the fourth Rugrats segment overall.
Characters Present []
Characters Introduced[]
Summary[]
Betty tells the story of how Phil and Lil got placed in a diaper commercial where the twins preferred exploring and destroying the set rather than sticking to the script.
- - Description from Klasky Csupo
Plot[]
Tommy, Phil, and Lil, along with Didi and Betty, are watching a diaper commercial the twins were in. Didi points out the commercial and comments that the twins look adorable. Betty agrees, but admits the whole ordeal was a headache. As the two adults leave, Tommy asks the twins how they could be in the TV and in the living room at the same time, to which the twins respond that it's a commercial (or "Mercial" as Phil pronounces). Tommy asks what that is, and Lil corrects them both by saying "COM-Mercial", and tells him it's when they take you to a big room, shine bright lights, and shoot you. Tommy gulps at the "shooting" part, so the twins explain more, and they have a flashback of it.
In the flashback, Phil and Lil are seen riding in a stroller that an excited Betty pushes into the director room. The studio is busy. As the diaper pyramid is being built, an assistant comes by and simply sneezes, causing the pyramid to fall over. Betty meets Bob, the assistant director, who introduces them to the clients Mr. Snow, Mr. Steele, and Mr. Trickim. Betty tries to say hello, but Bob tells her they're advertising executives- they can't hear her. Soon, Jonathan Witt, the director, arrives with a group of people as he finishes a joke; they all laugh at it. Phil and Lil wonder who he is, assuming he's some kind of clown. He calls Bob by the wrong name- "Bud", forgetting who he is, and Bob reminds him of his name and that he's the husband of Jonathan's sister, making them brothers-in-law. As Bob tries to introduce the DeVilles, Jonathan completely ignores him and admires the diaper pyramid, astounded and mesmerized, saying it looks exactly how he dreamed it. As he gushes over the pyramid, Phil and Lil assume he's not potty trained by his love for the diapers. Bob tries again to introduce the family, with Jonathan seemingly forgetting the twins were supposed to be in the commercial. Jonathan scolds the twins for being "late", saying it's "very unprofessional", (possibly forgetting they are just one year olds), and when he takes a look at the twins, he has them go into the trailer and the other employees put make-up on their faces. The twins look at each other in horror as they wipe off the makeup. As soon as they do, it's just re-applied.
When the twins are put on camera, Mr. Witt tells Phil to crawl to the box, look left, and smile at the camera. But as the camera rolls, Phil just stares blankly at it and remains static. So, Bob gets Betty (who gives Lil to a fat guy she was having a discussion with) to get Phil to do his act. The camera is rolled once again, and Betty tries to encourage Phil to do his part. But Phil continues to sit without reacting. So, Bob decides to get Lil in front of the camera instead, only to find out that she has meandered off (due to chasing after a toy car after the fat guy set her down on the floor). Betty angrily demands to know why the fat guy wasn't looking after Lil, and he responds that she is crawling up an overhead catwalk, much to Betty's shock. As she helps the other workers get the toddler off the catwalk, Phil uses the camera and turns it on. As one of the workers almost reaches Lil, Phil ends up taking a ride on the camera cart. The other worker finds out and runs to it, tipping the ladder down in the process as Lil ends up hanging from a crane. As the camera heads to the diaper pyramid, Mr. Witt jumps on the camera and narrowly stops it before it hits the pyramid as Lil lands on top of a cloud cushion, unscathed.
Betty gets her twins back, and Mr. Witt demands the DeVilles to get off of his set, stating that they almost destroyed a brilliant masterpiece: his beloved pyramid, and he further chastises the family, explaining that he's been in his business six years, and in that time, nobody ever... But before Mr. Witt can finish his sentence, Lil's toy car lightly taps one of the diaper boxes, causing Mr. Witt's praised pyramid of diaper boxes to collapse. Mr. Witt emerges from the pile of boxes and furiously yells at the twins that they'll never work in show biz again. The executives, who haven't been paying attention, call for a playback. The camera had in fact been rolling the entire time and caught the twins' acts (Phil looking into the camera and winking, Lil flying around on the crane and landing on the clouds, and the twins smiling and waving at the camera, watching the pyramid fall, and clapping). The execs, unaware that this wasn't scripted, love it and decide to take use footage, causing Mr. Witt to break down crying.
As Phil and Lil conclude their story, Tommy then knows how they ended up on TV. Mr. Witt shows up at the DeVilles' house, begging for another commercial. But Betty refuses and slams the door, leaving Mr. Witt pleading incessantly as he asks the toddlers to remind Betty how much fun they had, and offering candy to them, not realizing they're babies and can't talk yet. The toddlers crawl away, leaving Mr. Witt outside, begging.
Trivia[]
- This is the first episode focusing on Phil and Lil.
- This is the first and only appearance of Jonathan Witt.
- This is the third time Chuckie and Angelica are absent.
- This is the first episode where Tommy doesn't have a major role.
- This is the first episode where Stu and Grandpa Lou are absent.
- This is the first episode where Tommy, Phil and Lil are the only main characters to appear; the other two are Dil's Binkie and Hurricane Alice.
- Phil & Lil's house was re-done in Season 2, notably the front entrance and TV set. The blue walls remained.
Goofs[]
- Phil and Lil are dressed in pajamas at the TV studio but when the scene cuts to them sitting in the stroller as Jonathan walks in, they're wearing the clothes they normally wear almost in any other episode.
- When Phil is crawling towards the camera, his shoes and parts of his pajamas are colored pink like Lil's.
