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Wheezin' Ed is an episode in the Hey Arnold! TV Series.

Synopsis

The kids spend the afternoon at the pier. Arnold is sitting on Pier 7 and watching Elk Island. He is wondering why nobody ever visits it. In order to answer that question, Gerald tells him the Legend of Wheezin' Ed. Apparently, a Prohibition-era gangster hid his dirty money in the island caves, and his ghost haunts those who try to take it. Helga doesn't believe the story. Then suddenly Sheena's uncle Earl appears and ensures the kids that there is at least a treasure on the island. He offers to take them over for one dollar each (two dollars for Harold) and additionally he will lend his shovel for 50 cent (plus 5 cent security deposit). Naturally the kids are curious whether there really is a hidden treasure and accept his offer.

At the very same time the two crooks Morrie and Vic arrive on the other side of Elk Island. They are proud of having had the idea to move the head quarter of their "counterfeit penny operation" to Elk Island where nobody disturbs them thanks to the Legend of Wheezin' Ed. Meanwhile the kids say goodbye to Earl who is going to pick them up at sunset. Right at the entrance of the cave the kids find out that there are several passages leading inside. So Helga divides them into groups of two. Harold is afraid and therefore volunteers to guard the entrance. Helga and Arnold make the last group. Expectedly Arnold is not happy about that at all while Helga hopes to get the opportunity to confess her love to him. In order to be able to find the way back Arnold is making a trail of jelly beans. But soon Harold notices the beans and starts to eat them.

Meanwhile Morrie and Vic are sitting elsewhere inside the cave, forging pennies. Morrie considers that they already spent 900 dollars on copper, not to mention the time they need to make the pennies. He suggests to forge dimes instead, but Vic tells Morrie that he's talking crazy.

Helga and Arnold start arguing. When the corridor divides into to passages Arnold suggests to split up so that both of them can explore one passage. Helga is exasperated at herself and decides to follow Arnold to confess her love to him once and for all. Just when she is about to tell him, Arnold says that he has heard something. Then they hear a quiet wheezing, Helga starts to scream and clings to Arnold. Alarmed by her loud screaming their classmates rush to them. But fortunately it was only Brainy who was breathing. The kids are eased but also a bit disappointed and decide to leave the cave — when they suddenly fall into a deep shaft, and land straight on the forged counterfeit pennies. The kids think that they have found the treasure of Wheezin' Ed, but then Gerald notices that the coins are all pennies — badly forged pennies actually, with smiling faces on them. Just when they ask themselves who could be stupid enough to forge pennies Morrie and Vic return and try to catch them. The kids manage to reach the exit where Morrie and Vic are immediately arrested by the police — which had discovered that uncle Earl wanted to pay with a fake penny in a café.

So the kids are taken back to the city and conclude that there is no Wheezin' Ed — probably.

Gallery

Trivia

  • The drawings Arnold discovers looked a little like Brainy.
  • Helga likes saltwater taffy.
  • The scene where the kids are running from Harold as he "rolls" out of the tunnel is in reference to Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark.
  • Mark Hamill once again stars in Hey Arnold!, but this time as a policeman. He previously voiced Grubby in the episode "Das Subway".
  • "Marumba Rights" refers to "Miranda Rights" (the name comes from the Miranda vs. Arizona Supreme Court decision which made the reading of rights mandatory).
  • The Legend of Wheezin' Ed is remembered by all fans to be the most disturbing, and the episode containing the creepiest scene in the entire show (presumably the scene during Gerald's storytelling, when a man exploring the caves comes across human skulls, on top of which candles are placed, stuck on pikes).
  • The Legend of Wheezin' Ed was "guest-animated" by illustrator Chris Robertson.
  • Nickolodeon shows at that time period weren't allowed to take God's name in vain in their shows. Instead of saying God when Harold found a jelly bean, He says "Praise Thor, the thunder god!"
  • This episode is a parody of the 1985 film The Goonies.
  • This is one of first episodes, being early on in the Hey Arnold! series that has a possible relationship between Phoebe and Gerald.
  • This is a rare occurrence in which Sid does not lead Gerald in before he tells an urban legend.
  • First appearance of Sheena's uncle Earl.

Goofs

  • The two crooks are Oskar Kokoshka's two poker-playing buddies from "Arnold as Cupid".
  • When Sid takes off his hat, his hair is stringy, but unlike his full head of hair in the episode "Heat".
  • How did Brainy get onto the island?
    • Probably the same way he got onto the haunted train.
  • Pennies haven't been made with that much copper since 1982; now they are mostly zinc. However, copper pennies are now worth 2 cents more than their face value.
  • When the police row Arnold and the gang back to the city, Brainy isn't on the rowboat.

See also

References

HATT-logo This page uses content from HeyArnold.TwoToasts.de maintained by BlaueKatze.
The original page was "Wheezin' Ed (episode)".

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