"Career Daze" is the second segment of the thirtieth episode of Pepper Ann. It aired on February 6, 2000.
Synopsis[]
Thanks to a schoolwide aptitude test, Pepper Ann, Milo, and Nicky are assigned unlikely careers.
Plot[]
It is Career Day at school and all the students have been issued their suggested careers based on a computer algorithm. While Pepper Ann and Milo think the whole thing is pointless, Nicky tells them that they should do what the computer tells them. Pepper Ann gets a job as a middle school principal, Milo gets a job as a stockbroker and Nicky gets a job as a butcher. Pepper Ann is surprised by the career, but approaches Principal Hickey on it. During an argument between Mr. Clapper and Ms. Stark, Pepper Ann shows her ability to compromise and finds middle school principal appealing.
Meanwhile, Nicky is horrified at being a butcher (she is a vegetarian), but is surprised to discover that Milo has taken to being a stockbroker very well to the point that he even gave positive financial advice to Nicky's dad. Pepper Ann continues to work at being a better middle school principal to the point that Hickey runs away to play golf, Milo begins to become an expert that he starts to make decisions based on a spin board and Nicky cannot handle the pressures of working in a butcher shop.
C.J., the butcher shop owner, tells Nicky that she knows she is not cut out for being a butcher. Regardless of what a computer told her, she should follow her passion. Nicky agrees and leaves. It turns out that Milo's career as a stockbroker was doomed as his random decision making made some people poor while Pepper Ann, despite being great as a principal, realized that it would mean centering her career around middle school for the rest of her life and quits. Vera drags Hickey back to work, despite him whining and complaining.
Cast[]
- Kathleen Wilhoite as Pepper Ann Pearson
- Jeff Bennett as Mitch, Dieter Liederhosen, Shelf McClain
- Danny Cooksey as Milo Kamalani
- Clea Lewis as Nicky Little
- April Winchell as Abriola Stark, Sherrie Spleen
- Don Adams as Principal Hickey
- Charlie Adler as C.J.
- James Avery as Owen Clapper
- Jim Cummings as Mr. Little
- Paddi Edwards as Vera Groober-Schwartz
- Don Lake as Sherman Finky
Trivia[]
- For UPN and Family Channel broadcasts, this episode was paired with "Burn Hazelnut Burn" in favor of its sister segment.
- This episode marks the first appearance of Moira the Lunch Lady, who will become an often-recurring character throughout the following episodes.
- Mr. Finky wears an obvious toupee in this episode.
- This is the first episode to explicitly state that Nicky does not eat meat; compounded with her bringing Ahi Tuna for lunch every day, this would mean that she practices a pescetarian diet.
- This episode reveals that Ms. Stark and Mr. Clapper are (or were) likely in a relationship.
- Mr. Clapper's name is revealed to be "Owen" in this episode.
- When Nicky is trying to package the meats on a conveyor belt that increases in speed, she briefly recreates the famous conveyor belt scene from the I Love Lucy episode "Job Switching".
- Hickey is shown to not want to return to being a principal and preferring nothing happening. This is ironic as in "Uniform, Uniformity", he was all for there being trouble so that it could give him something to do.
