One freezing winter morning, the Andersons prepare themselves for the annual Cedar Knoll winter carnival. At first, the kids don't want to go, citing how lousy they did in the years before, but Andy insist on going and giving it 110% anyway: cutthroat competition is what separates us from the animals. So, they all go to the carnival, where Grandma works the skate shack, and... well, Tommy believed Louie when he said the ice castle was made of candy, so he got his tongue stuck to it. Louie just scoffs and says, "dumb kid." You said it. Anyway, the first competition is the dog sled race. It's Andy versus his pals Jensen and Earl, and even Ben Glenn, who gives us our first insight into why Glen Glenn is such a bully: his dad encourages it. That's nothing, you should meet his mom in Season 2... you've been warned. Anyway, Andy gets dragged away by his dog sled and loses the race. Meanwhile, Louie goes to see Jeannie at the ice rink, and sees quite the beautiful young lady skating across the pond. It's the older sister Jeannie never talked about: Lana. Louie falls hard for her... right on the ice. As for the other guys, they all try to put the moves on Lana, but what they lack in charm, they make up for with very clumsy skating. Was there no one graceful enough to skate with her? That's when Louie decided he needed to become a champion Olympic ice skater pronto. In the meantime, Ora competes with the women in a skating race through town, even wearing an embarrassing red body suit. She looks like a giant tomato somebody painted a road stripe over.
Next is the ice sculpting challenge, and it looks like Andy may actually win this one. Unfortunately, the lunkhead insisted on putting hot lights over it, making it melt, and destroy everyone else's sculptures in the process. Here's an idea, Andy: stop being a braggart, get your head out of the clouds, and focus on competing IN the race, NOT on winning it. Might save you some heartache. As for Louie, at Grandma's suggestion, he asks Jeannie for some skating lessons, all the while checking out Lana on the ice. And here is where we discover that although Jeannie may be sweet, she gets very jealous, and Louie learns the hard way about discussing women around other women, especially if said women are older and more... developed. So after Louie picks himself up from the ice, he receives a big surprise: Lana actually talks to him. Somehow he interprets this as an invitation to the ice dance that night. Come on, Lou, she's out of your league. But he doesn't care, he's a young fool in love, and is about to get another pain lesson in it. Uh oh, what are Andy and the other guys up to now? There's cheese in them thar hills! Their mission is to find a piece of genuine Wisconsin cheddar cheese that the mayor sliced himself, which results in Ben Glenn trying to tell a joke. Like father, like son. Andy is certain he's got this one in the bag-oh no, here we go again-and he's got a trick up his sleeve, or rather in his jacket pocket. Who better to seek out a piece of cheese than a mouse? As he walks his pint-sized companion to sniff out the gold, they cross paths with the ladies' skating race, it's Ora Anderson and Kitty Grunewald in the lead, exchanging quips and childish insults as they went. See? Women can be puerile about competitions too. As for Andy, after an unscheduled trip down a hillside, he finds the golden chunk of cheese! Huzzah! Finally, the Andersons are tied for the first place... along with the Grunewalds. It's all on Ora now. Man, those two gals are getting very aggressive. They get so busy insulting each other, they skate right over a broken bridge and Kitty nearly falls to her death. Despite the finishing line in sight, Ora goes back and saves her friend, and it's a tie! Looks like this carnival won't be such a bust after all. That night was the big ice dance, and Louie jumps at his chance to dance with Lana, only for her to turn out to be a world-class Bee-yotch (with a capital B) as she and her actual date patronize and make fun of him, and Glen Glenn and his bully pals rub it in. Luckily, Jeannie comes to the rescue, having forgiven Louie after a heart-to-heart with his Grandma. They make amends, and Louie gets to dance with the right girl. So, in spite of everything, it was a very successful winter carnival. Can't wait 'til next year.
It doesn't matter if you win or lose, so long as you play the game. What would've happened if the Andersons just stayed home and missed the carnival? They wouldn't have learned the true value of sportsmanship, friendship, and how little misunderstandings can quickly balloon into full-blown catastrophes. As stated above, we meet Glen Glenn's father, who is also a big jerk and kind of a bully himself, which does explain why his son is one. As for Jeannie's sister Lana, yeah, she was bad news. I think Louie was spared a great deal of heartache by not going with that one. Also, how did that girl not catch pneumonia from skating in a mini skirt. I get that she's being a tease, but still. While not one of my favorites, it's still very satisfying and provides a great message. It was also a treat for a live action Louie to recall and reenact the snowball incident from "A Christmas Surprise for Mrs. Stillman" at the beginning. So, this winter, or whatever time of year it happens to be, watch what happens "When Cedar Knoll Freezes Over."
Next is the ice sculpting challenge, and it looks like Andy may actually win this one. Unfortunately, the lunkhead insisted on putting hot lights over it, making it melt, and destroy everyone else's sculptures in the process. Here's an idea, Andy: stop being a braggart, get your head out of the clouds, and focus on competing IN the race, NOT on winning it. Might save you some heartache. As for Louie, at Grandma's suggestion, he asks Jeannie for some skating lessons, all the while checking out Lana on the ice. And here is where we discover that although Jeannie may be sweet, she gets very jealous, and Louie learns the hard way about discussing women around other women, especially if said women are older and more... developed. So after Louie picks himself up from the ice, he receives a big surprise: Lana actually talks to him. Somehow he interprets this as an invitation to the ice dance that night. Come on, Lou, she's out of your league. But he doesn't care, he's a young fool in love, and is about to get another pain lesson in it. Uh oh, what are Andy and the other guys up to now? There's cheese in them thar hills! Their mission is to find a piece of genuine Wisconsin cheddar cheese that the mayor sliced himself, which results in Ben Glenn trying to tell a joke. Like father, like son. Andy is certain he's got this one in the bag-oh no, here we go again-and he's got a trick up his sleeve, or rather in his jacket pocket. Who better to seek out a piece of cheese than a mouse? As he walks his pint-sized companion to sniff out the gold, they cross paths with the ladies' skating race, it's Ora Anderson and Kitty Grunewald in the lead, exchanging quips and childish insults as they went. See? Women can be puerile about competitions too. As for Andy, after an unscheduled trip down a hillside, he finds the golden chunk of cheese! Huzzah! Finally, the Andersons are tied for the first place... along with the Grunewalds. It's all on Ora now. Man, those two gals are getting very aggressive. They get so busy insulting each other, they skate right over a broken bridge and Kitty nearly falls to her death. Despite the finishing line in sight, Ora goes back and saves her friend, and it's a tie! Looks like this carnival won't be such a bust after all. That night was the big ice dance, and Louie jumps at his chance to dance with Lana, only for her to turn out to be a world-class Bee-yotch (with a capital B) as she and her actual date patronize and make fun of him, and Glen Glenn and his bully pals rub it in. Luckily, Jeannie comes to the rescue, having forgiven Louie after a heart-to-heart with his Grandma. They make amends, and Louie gets to dance with the right girl. So, in spite of everything, it was a very successful winter carnival. Can't wait 'til next year.
It doesn't matter if you win or lose, so long as you play the game. What would've happened if the Andersons just stayed home and missed the carnival? They wouldn't have learned the true value of sportsmanship, friendship, and how little misunderstandings can quickly balloon into full-blown catastrophes. As stated above, we meet Glen Glenn's father, who is also a big jerk and kind of a bully himself, which does explain why his son is one. As for Jeannie's sister Lana, yeah, she was bad news. I think Louie was spared a great deal of heartache by not going with that one. Also, how did that girl not catch pneumonia from skating in a mini skirt. I get that she's being a tease, but still. While not one of my favorites, it's still very satisfying and provides a great message. It was also a treat for a live action Louie to recall and reenact the snowball incident from "A Christmas Surprise for Mrs. Stillman" at the beginning. So, this winter, or whatever time of year it happens to be, watch what happens "When Cedar Knoll Freezes Over."
