"Psychic Moose" is the first segment of the fourth episode of Pepper Ann. It aired on October 4, 1997.
Plot[]
Pepper Ann starts spending time with her little sister Moose when she thinks Moose is clairvoyant.
Synopsis[]
Lydia begins to realize that her daughters do not hang out often and seem to only mildly acknowledge that they exist. Out of frustration, she demands that they hang out at the mall while she is at work, though they quickly decide to split up. Pepper Ann goes to see Milo at the arcade but suddenly witnesses Moose hanging out with Ezzy, a mall psychic. Pepper Ann and Milo begin to suspect that Moose is psychic, and their suspicions seem confirmed when Moose correctly guesses at certain things happening such as Aunt Janie returning to the house to get her keys and her knowing many of Pepper Ann's tastes and wishes (she reasons that Moose does not know much about her because she once mistook her things for the cat's). The next day at school, Pepper Ann talks to Milo and Nicky about the recent events, but the latter friend tells her that if Moose truly was psychic, the government would be after her. Principal Hickey soon calls Pepper Ann into her office to get Moose to stop skateboarding in the school. Fearing that someone plans to take her sister away, she takes her and flees.
Pepper Ann and Moose soon begin hanging out with one another much to Lydia's delight and the two begin to realize that they share many things in common. Eventually, Milo and Nicky come over to ask Moose some questions. Pepper Ann at first does not want them anywhere near her, but they bribe their way in to ask. Moose suddenly answers the door to snowboarders who Moose wants to hang out with. Not wanting her to be out in the open, Pepper Ann comes along. Much later, Moose and Pepper Ann return with the latter beaten and bruised from the ordeal and they sit down to watch a marathon of The Dusk Dimension, much to Lydia's delight. Pepper Ann then asks Moose if she will do okay on the history exam tomorrow, seeing as how she did not adequately prepare. Moose tells her that she will do okay regardless.
At school during the exam, Pepper Ann ends up failing it and she returns home to angrily confront Moose about it. Ezzy suddenly arrives at the house where it is revealed that she skateboards with Moose and that she is not a real psychic. Moose is confused and asks if Pepper Ann only hung out with her because she thought she was psychic, Pepper Ann admits this, but also reveals that she genuinely liked hanging out with her. Pepper Ann asks Moose why she never hangs out with her, and she states that it is because they are sisters. Moose asks if Pepper Ann wants to join her in skateboarding, but she politely declines. As she goes off to hang out with Milo, Pepper Ann and Moose high five each other as Lydia happily watches on.
Cast[]
Main cast[]
- Kathleen Wilhoite as Pepper Ann Pearson
- Jeff Bennett as Snowboarders*
- Danny Cooksey as Milo Kamalani
- Clea Lewis as Nicky Little
- Pamela Segall as Moose Pearson
- April Winchell as Lydia Pearson, Sherie Spleen, Ezzy
Additional voices[]
- Don Adams as Principal Hickey, Dusk Dimension Man*
- Paddi Edwards as Vera Groober-Schwartz
- Don Lake as Future President*
- Susan Tolsky as Janie Diggity
* Marks an uncredited voice role
Non-speaking appearances[]
- Steve the Cat (debut)
- Dieter Liederhosen (cameo)
Desk Gag[]
"Ooh, five bucks!"
Trivia[]
General[]
- This episode marks the first of a few things:
- The first appearance of Steve the Cat, the Pearson family cat.
- The first appearance of Aunt Janie since the first episode.
- The first time Moose's full name, Margaret Rose Pearson, is stated.
Continuity[]
- When Pepper Ann and Moose go get a Choco-popsicle, all the choices are of birds: Choco-Cockatoo, Choco-Puffin, Choco-Seagulls and a Choco-Ostrich. The only one that is "not available" is one resembling a Dodo, a play on how real Dodos are extinct.
- Serena the Dolphin Princess is shown for the first time, as Nicky gives Moose her poster of the titular dolphin. She will become a running gag in later episodes.
Allusions[]
- After Pepper Ann takes Moose from school, she has her wrapped in a blanket and sitting in the front basket on her bike. They suddenly, leap off a manhole cover and go flying past a building with a picture of a full moon on it. This is a very obvious reference to E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
- The Dusk Dimension is a parody of The Twilight Zone.
- Moose mentions the episode "with the eye transplant" followed by Pepper Ann quoting in stilted dialogue "Darling, I can see, but why didn't you tell me you were so ugly!?" The episode is a reference to "The Eye of the Beholder" while the cheesy dialogue could be a reference to William Shatner, who had appeared in a couple of episodes.
- Another episode they are watching features a man climbing out of a bomb shelter where he declares that he can finally write his book, only to realize that he is the only man on earth left and therefore there will be no one to read it. This episode is a reference to "Time Enough at Last".
- When Pepper Ann imagines her sister acting as a member of the White House, the president is made to sound and resemble then-current president Bill Clinton.
- Lee Harvey Oswald, the man responsible for the assassination of former President Abraham Lincoln, is directly mentioned by Pepper Ann; Moose mistakes him for an actor.
Gallery[]
External links[]
