Ruth is voiced by Lacey Chabert, who starred in Party of Five as Claudia Salinger and Mean Girls as Gretchen Wieners. She also voiced Eliza Thornberry in The Wild Thornberrys and Meg Griffin in the first season of Family Guy.
There's no such place as "Baghdakistan". It's a blend between Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, and Pakistan, a country between Afghanistan and India.
"Chez" means "House" in French.
Chez Paris Menu:
Escargot Chez Paris
Cervelles Braisees avec les Ouefs Brouilles
Turkis En Creme
Couque du Vin
Steak Tartare
Duck L'Orange
Oxen En Brouchette
Bouilliboise
Helga orders the cervelles braisées avec les oeufs brouillés, which in English means "fresh brains withs scrambled eggs". So, it's no wonder she ended up vomiting.
Despite being a Valentine's Day special, the episode aired 2 days before the day itself.
This is one of the first times Arnold kisses Helga (albeit on her hand).
This is the first episode where we see Helga with her hair down.
Helga's hair ends up going from poofy to being worn down while she is vomiting in the bathroom for unknown reasons.
For many fans, this is the first episode of the series that hinted that Helga and Arnold are meant for each other.
The plane that Cecile and her parents travelled in looks similar to a real-life Boeing 747.
This is the first half hour episode to not play special music in the credits.
As of this episode, Arnold is no longer in love with Ruth (he later fantasizes about Ruth in What's Opera, Arnold?).
This is Ruth's first speaking role.
P.S. 118's ZIP code is 96374-0171, which in reality is listed as an Army Post Office code. Also, a number beginning with 96 usually means it's somewhere in the Pacific or Asia.
Helga nearly screws up in that she quotes their teacher, Miss Slovak, in saying 'the most beautiful gift can come in the plainest box.'
Arnold seemingly admits to liking Helga: When Helga (as Cecile) asks, 'Is there anyone you especially like in your class? Perhaps a smart, funny, beautiful girl?', Arnold replies with 'Helga'. At the very least, Arnold admits to finding Helga to be smart, funny and beautiful (but doesn’t necessary like her).
Cultural References[]
Before they leave, Arnold tells Helga, "We'll always have Chez Paris." This is a reference of the famous line in the 1942 film Casablanca, when Rick says to Ilsa before she leaves him: "We'll always have Paris."
Arnold keeps one of Helga's shoes. A reference to the popular fairytale Cinderella.
Continuity[]
This episode more or less has a sequel in "Dinner for Four": Both Chez Paris and Chez Pierre appear, and the table Arnold and "Cecile" shared is the same table that later Arnold, Helga, Gerald and Phoebe are at.
