Grandpa's Packard is an episode in the Hey Arnold! TV Series.
Summary
Grandpa's Packard is stolen after he wins an award for it at a car show; can Grandma Spade and Arnold Marlowe find the thief?
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Arnold and Grandpa drive to the car show. Arnold comments on Phil's love of jazz, saying that he has never heard anything else being played in the car. Phil says that this is because the dial has been stuck for years. Arnold opens a can of soda that has a word puzzle on the lid. When Grandpa looks at the puzzle, he accidentally drives into the wrong lane and forces the Jolly Olly truck off the road. They get to the car show and Arnold accidentally drops the cap under the seat of the car.
When they get to the showroom, many people are admiring Phil's car. Phil meets up with an old rival who says that he will win the car show. Just as it is ready to escalate into a fight, they award the "Best in Show" award to Steely Phil. Ivana Divancevic comes over to take a picture of the winning Packard. Phil is excited about winning and tells the Packard they are going fishing tomorrow, closing the garage door.
When he goes to get the Packard back out the next morning, he discovers it missing. They report it stolen to the police who cannot help as the have over 300 other missing cars. Phil becomes depressed, looking at old pictures of the Packard and at its oil stains.
When Arnold is sitting on the steps outside the house, Grandma drives up on a motorcycle and tells him that they have some detective work to do (insisting that Arnold call her "Spade"). They begin investigating everyone who admired Phil's Packard, but they all have alibis. They return home with no new leads. Phil comes in and asks if they found his Packard. When they say no, he asks if they talked to Ivana Divancevic. They realize that they forgot about her and try to track her down.
Arnold spots her the next day driving a car. When she spots them she drives off in a hurry, losing her scarf in the process. They go to the address on the scarf and the shopkeeper tells them the address of the person who bought the scarf after Arnold pays him five dollars.
When they arrive at the address they find a red Packard in the garage. They break in thinking that perhaps Ivana simply repainted it. Ivana returns home just as Arnold turns it on and discovers the radio dial stuck on the same station Grandpa's packard is. Ivana says that she just happens to love jazz and that sticky dials is a common problem among Packards. She says it doesn't matter anyway as they are on private property. Grandma and Arnold leave still believing something fishy is going on.
At the docks Grandma and Arnold share a Yahoo soda and Grandma flips the lid off the Arnold. Arnold reads off the word puzzle, saying it is the same one that was on the cap he dropped in the car. They rush off back to the garage and Arnold triumphantly pulls the lid from under the seat, proving that the car is Phil's.
Ivana shows up with a can of red spray paint and threatens Arnold and Grandma. Phil barges in and fights with Ivana, stopping Ivana from spraying them. In the ensuing aftermath, they discover that Ivana is actually the Jolly Olly Man all along. He admits he stole the Packard as payback because he had been having a terrible day, compounded by Phil (in his mind) maliciously driving him off the road. After the police arrive, the Jolly Olly Man is struck with remorse. Phil says he won't press charges... if he paints the Packard green again.
Trivia
- Given that the Jolly Olly Man is arrested in this episode, it was widely believed that the character was being written out of the series. However, this episode was made before the release of Hey Arnold!: The Movie, which the Jolly Olly Man makes an appearance.
- Grandma and Arnold originally teamed up back in Season 1 to rescue Lock Jaw in the episode "Field Trip".
- Packard was a real auto manufacturer until it folded in about 1960. Snee-Oosh, Inc. would normally be restricted against showing real-world car marques on its shows, but as Packard no longer exists, this was an exception.
- When Grandma misses hitting the fly she exclaims "Nertz!" which is also the name of a card game created in the 1890s.
- The word puzzle on the lid of the Yahoo! soda bottle is called a Rebus puzzle.
- On Netflix, this episode and it's second half are switched.
- When Granpa Phil open the door and said "Here's grandpa" was a reference to the movie The Shining, when Jack Torrance said "Here's Johnny".
- "Ivana Divancevic" is an allusion to writer Danica Ivancevic.
- Grandma is playing the role of a hardboiled detective.