On the Lam

Episode of Hey Arnold!
On the Lam
Season	5
No. in series	93a
Written by	Jonathan Greenberg
Air date	June 1, 2002

On the Lam is an episode in the Hey Arnold! TV Series.

Synopsis

Stinky, Harold and Sid are on the run after they think they blew up the police station.

Plot

Mr. Simmons shows his class a rocket-launching experiment with baking soda and vinegar. Harold, wants to launch the rockets, but the bell rings before Mr. Simmons can supervise the proportions. Harold puts into the bottle. Harold, Sid, and Stinky then sneak into the classroom and steal all the rockets, baking soda, and vinegar from the science closet with Stinky also bringing hot sauce. Using Stinky's Louisiana hot sauce with the other ingredients, they launch a bunch of rockets into an old police station building just as Ernie dynamites and blows up the building, causing Harold, Stinky, and Sid to think they blew up the police station and panic.

They run into Arnold's basement and try to hide there, but Stinky accidentally reveals what they did to Arnold, and they devise a plan to get to the trainyard, hop a boxcar, and go down south to live with Stinky's grandmother.  If they cant find her, they will disguise themselves and become hobos. Arnold believes they should go to the police and find out what actually happened so, Harold ties Arnold up and gags him to stop him from ratting them out. When the parents find out the kids are missing, Harold's parents, especially his mother, worry about Sid, Stinky and Harold.

On the way to the trainyard, Harold, Stinky, and Sid encounter multiple cops in the process while Phil leaves Arnold to his game of secret agent. Arnold frees himself by hopping up the stairs and tells his grandpa and Ernie of what has happened to Harold, Stinky, and Sid. Harold, Stinky, and Sid make it to the trainyard and encounter real hobos after ditching their costumes. Their parents, Arnold, and the police manage catch up with them scaring them out of the train car. They manage to get onto the roof of a train car, but several spot lights shine on them. They decide to give up as they are cowards.

Harold, Stinky, and Sid sob, saying that they didn't mean to blow up the police station and that they didn't mean to hurt anyone and it was a harmless prank. Ernie corrects by revealing the truth: they didn't blow up the police station, he did--Ernie also reveals that the station had been slated for demolition for months. Harold's mom is relived to have him back and everyone has a good laugh. Mr. Simmons then comes in and tells them that they will be punished for stealing from the science closet as he saw the whole thing on television, much to Harold, Stinky and Sid's dismay.

Gallery

Trivia

• When baking soda (sodium bicarbonate, NaHCO₃) and vinegar (acetic acid, CH₃CO₂H) come into contact with each other, a great deal of carbon dioxide gas (CO₂) is suddenly produced. If allowed to escape, this can be used to propel a rocket. If confined, it can explode with great force.
• The word "jackass" is shown in this episode, when Stinky was holding up the Jackass Kicking Louisiana Hot Sauce.
• The plot is similar to the SpongeBob SquarePants episode "Life of Crime" in that someone mistakenly thought they had committed a crime.
• This episode is the second appearance of Sid's mom and Stinky's mom, the first being "Parents Day".
• This is the only episode where someone foils Arnold's plan (Harold, Stinky & Sid).
• The Furnace in the Sunset Arms basement was an "Acme" brand furnace. Acme was a fictional producer of multiple products in the "Looney Tunes" shorts.

Goofs

• Harold, Stinky, and Sid should not have been able to go near a building that was going to be blown up.

See also

• Quotes from this episode