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General[]
- At breakfast, Arnold is eating something from a box marked "Bacon And Eggs", which has "recommended daily allowance" of "Sludge Factor 7".
- Grandpa's watch is described as the Schnitzenbauer Time Master 909 with a "Swiss polar align triple synchronous movement escapement".
- According to the clocks at the jewelry store, Arnold picks up the watch around 5:00 P.M.
- This is the first episode in which someone outside of the Pataki family says the word "criminy", in this case, Grandpa utters it near the end of the episode when he drops the watch down the drain.
- Despite being shown with the kids, Sid doesn't talk in this episode outside of him screaming when Harold holds him.
- While playing chess with the Sewer King in order to win Grandpa's watch back, Arnold reveals himself to be a first-rate chess player, swiftly beating the Sewer King multiple times.
- When heading out the door, Arnold shows Grandpa his pointer finger, most likely a child friendly version of flipping the bird.
Production Notes[]
- David Lander is the voice of the Sewer King.
- The Sewer King isn't just a one-time villain, as he also appears in the sequel "Return of the Sewer King", which is one of the chapter books.
Airing[]
- Leading up to the premiere of this episode, a two-hour marathon of Hey Arnold! was shown during the Non-Stop Nicktoons Weekend '96, hosted by Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell.
| 6:00pm | Hey Arnold! | Sixth Grade Girls / The Basketball | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6:30pm | Arnold’s Hat / The Stoop Kid | ||
| 7:00pm | The List / The Haunted Train | ||
| 7:30pm | Bench Warmer / Cool Jerk | ||
| 8:00pm |
Cultural References[]
- In the jeweler's glass case is a display of "Squatch" watches, most likely a parody of premium-brand Swatch watches.
- Chess champion Boris Spassky is referenced by the Sewer King.
- Sewer King was also the self described name of a sewer dwelling adversary who appeared on Batman: The Animated Series in October 1992. Like the Sewer King of Hey Arnold!, this sewer king was also an antagonist who welcomed children into his sewer dwelling, but sought more extreme objectives. The show aired on Fox, which also airs Craig Bartlett brother-in-law Matt Groening's show The Simpsons.
- When Gerald and Arnold run out of the sewer tunnel into the street, there is graffiti on a wall across the road that reads MR. BIG. The name "MR. BIG" is likely a reference to the nickname of Bert I. Gordon who is well known for his low budget B-Movies that he made during the 50's with making normal animals and people look larger earning him the nickname "Mr. B.I.G.".
- Both Grandpa and Harold believe a deep hole goes all the way down to China, most likely a reference to an urban myth that if one digs a deep enough hole, they'll find themselves in China.
Continuity[]
- Grandpa is seen skinning potatoes in this episode. In "Veterans Day", he is seen skinning potatoes again during the WWII flashback.
Story Analysis[]
- The Sewer King appears to be a less psychotic version of The Penguin from the 1992 film Batman Returns. This version of Batman's Penguin adversary also resided in the sewer and had a not-so-pleasing physical appearance, but kept penguins for pets instead of rats and had more regular human contact with through his Red Triangle Gang. Arnold and Gerald's arrival into the Sewer King's "palace" also bore a little resemblance to fellow Batman Return antagonist Max Shreck's arrival into The Penguin's sewer lair, though he sought to use Shreck for far greater ambitions such as finding out his identity and the names of the first-born sons of Gotham. Whereas The Penguin was willing to kill anybody who he desired, the Sewer King did not appear so homicidal and even welcomed Arnold and Gerald as his "royal guests" after rescuing them from a potential near death experience after they almost fell over a sewer waterfall. However, the Sewer King did show signs of narcissism and delusion.
Misc[]
- Coincidentally enough David Lander, Francesca Marie Smith, and Sam Gifaldi (along with Jordan Warkol and two other cast members from Recess, which a couple of the kid voice actors from Hey Arnold! also appeared in) had minor roles in the 1998 animated film A Bug's Life.
- The sewer hole opening exterior in this episode resembles the same one which was later seen in the 2023 Super Mario Bros. Movie.
Morals[]
- If you are doing a favor for someone, focus on the task instead of getting sidetracked.
