Eugene Goes Bad

When Eugene sees that the actor who portrays his favorite TV character, "The Abdicator", doesn't do his own stunts and acts like a prima donna on the set, he decides that there's no use in being good, and turns into a bad kid Written by Steve Viksten Storyboard Direction by Tuck Tucker Animation Direction by Larry Leichliter Storyboard Artist: John Flagg Cast: Arnold - Phillip Van Dyke Gerald - Jamil Smith Eugene - Ben Diskin (credited as "Disken") Principal Wartz, The Abdicator's enemy - David Wohl The Abdicator, the director - Maurice LaMarche Little kid - Jeremy Lelliott The Abdicator's agent - Kath E. Soucie     * Yes, "abdicator" really does mean "someone who gives up"     * ...so why name a superhero that?     * The actor who plays "The Abdicator" is named Maurice; what a coincidence - so is the actor who does the voice (and for you British readers, "Maurice" is always pronounced with accent on the second syllable in the USA; when the accent is on the first syllable, it's spelled "Morris")     * Eugene already knows what happens when you pull a false fire alarm; he went through it (even though he was innocent) in "False Alarm"

What's Opera Arnold?

On a field trip to the opera, Arnold dreams he and Ruth are the main characters in Carmen, with Helga breaking things up as Brünnhilde from Die Walküre Written by Craig Bartlett Storyboard Direction by Dan Povenmire Animation Direction by Steve Socki (At the start of the story, Dan Povenmire has a "Directed By" credit, and Steve Socki has an "Animation Directed By" credit) Storyboard Artist: Sherm Cohen Cast: Arnold (speaking) - Phillip Van Dyke Arnold (singing) - Toran Caudell Gerald - Jamil Smith Helga - Francesca Marie Smith Phoebe - Anndi McAfee Brainy, Mr. Packenham - Craig Bartlett Curly - Adam Wylie Eugene - Ben Diskin (credited as "Disken") Harold - Justin Shenkarow Rhonda - Olivia Hack Sid - Sam Gifaldi Stinky - Christopher Walberg Ruth - Lacey Chabert     * This story is so good, it gets its own page: Click Here for the complete story, with all of the words to the songs (including the "Rap Carmen" at the end), plus the quick version of the real story of Carmen     * Both Toran Caudell and Phillip Van Dyke voice Arnold in this story; Toran does the singing while Phillip does the speaking     * Lacey Chabert (Party of Five) returns as Ruth...and after hearing her sing, you probably won't be surprised to hear that she was not only a "junior vocalist" contestant on Star Search but a finalist as well     * Credit Where Credit Is Due: this episode has a couple of credits that don't appear in other episodes - Music Editing & Programming (Steven R. Galloway) and (music) Transcription & Orchestration (John Perkins)     * The story's title, as well as Gerald's reference to "spear and magic helmet", refer to the Bugs Bunny cartoon "What's Opera, Doc?"     * Helga's "viking" character isn't in Carmen, but from Richard Wagner's Die Walküre (that's German for "The Valkyries")     * One of the posters the music teacher points to says "RING"; actually, "The Ring of the Nibelung" is a series of four operas by Richard Wagner - "The Rhinegold", "The Valkyries" (which is the one the music comes from, as well as Helga's "viking" appearance), "Siegfried", and "The Twilight of the Gods"     * The music teacher's version of "The Ride of the Valkyries" ended before the music is supposed to end     * Ruth is talking to Maria and Connie (from "6th Grade Girls") at the opera     * Apparently, this episode takes place before Valentine's Day, as Arnold still likes Ruth     * When the curtain rises for Carmen, the music being played is actually for the overture (which is done before the curtain rises); it's also played in Act 4     * Gerald never actually sings; all of his lines are spoken.  According to Dan Povenmire, he believes it's because the voice "loses all of its attitude" when Gerald is singing

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