Recap / Codename: Kids Next Door S1E7A "Operation: L.I.C.E."

Now loading Recap for Operation: L.I.C.E.:

Lice
Interrupt
Cheese
Eating

Original air date: 1/10/2003 (produced in 2002)

The Delightful Children from Down the Lane attack Sector V's headquarters with an infestation of hair-eating lice. After the KND find out they do not like nacho cheese, they decide to shoot nacho cheese at them to get rid of them.

Now loading tropes:

• Achilles' Heel: The lice can't stand the molten nacho cheese.
• Affectionate Parody: This whole episode is one to the Alien franchise.
• Big Creepy-Crawlies: How do you make an episode about head-lice dramatic? Make them giant, spherical screeching monsters bigger than the kids' heads. They're probably lucky these lice only eat hair instead of blood.
• Book Ends: The episode starts with the Delightful Children stealing Numbuh 5's real hat and replacing it with one infested with lice, then ends with Sector V stealing Lenny's football helmet and replacing it with one infested with lice as payback.
• Complexity Addiction: As Numbuh Four points out, Five could've just bought chips at a store around the block instead of stealing them from the Delightful Children just for the thrill of the chase. Unfortunately, this allowed the Delightful Children to get some revenge on their own by swapping Numbuh Five's hat with a lice infested one.
• "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot: Had Numbuh Five just taken Numbuh Four's advice and bought nacho chips from the store, the entire plot wouldn't have happened.
• Disability Immunity: The lice have no interest in Numbuh 1 because he's bald.
• Dwindling Party: Over the course of the episode, Sector V loses its members to the lice. Numbuh Four, not paying attention to where he's going, ends up wandering down the wrong hallway and is cornered by the lice. Numbuh Three sacrifices herself to buy the others time and to avenge her chewed up toys, Numbuh Two exhausts himself trying to climb the stairs and is swarmed by the lice, and Numbuh One is incapacitated after the Queen Lice captures him, but tosses him aside in disgust due to his bald scalp. Briefly subverted when Numbuh Two charges into the room purely to insist on Numbuh Five performing a Pre-Mortem One-Liner.
• Indy Hat Roll: Deconstructed. Numbuh Five insisting on this is what lets the Delightfuls infect Sector V with lice.
• Laser-Guided Karma: Once Sector V exterminates the lice in their treehouse, they get back at the old Delightful Children From Down The Lane by switching Lenny’s football helmet with one infested with lice.
• Lice Episode: The premise of the episode has the Sector V Team facing off with a race of mutant hair-eating lice.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Upon having all her stuffed animals torn apart by the lice, Numbuh Three develops a Hair-Trigger Temper and calls Numbuh Four a "squirt" for claiming no one was hurt.
• Pre-Mortem One-Liner: Parodied by Numbuh Two. Just as Numbuh Five is about to push the button that will flood the treehouse with cheese, killing all the lice, a now-bald Numbuh Two charges into the room, with three smaller lice still chewing on him, insisting that Numbuh Five first perform this trope first, with phrases such as "SAY CHEESE, PUNK." or "Cheesed to meet you.". Numbuh Five simply gawks at him along with the Queen Lice that was chewing on her braid, before pushing the button anyway before Numbuh Two can make anymore cheesy puns.
• Raiders of the Lost Parody: The first of many episodes casting Numbuh 5 as a pint-sized Indiana Jones. As expected, Early-Installment Weirdness is in effect: Numbuh 5's adventure only takes up the first few minutes, and instead of going after some ancient sugary relic she's stealing plain chips from the Delightfuls for the lulz.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: With the exception of the Queen, most of the lice have red eyes, to show they are dangerous.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Numbuh 3 wants nothing but revenge for how the lice have chewed up her stuffed animals.
  Numbuh One It's okay Numbuh Three, we can buy you some new toys!
  Numbuh Three: Toys? I don't want toys...(turns around with burning eyes) I WANT REVENGE!
• Talking Is a Free Action: Numbuh Two saves Numbuh 5 thanks to him distracting the Lice Queen with his suggestions of a one-liner so she can press the button that detonates the cheese bomb.
• A Taste of Their Own Medicine: At the end of the episode, Sector V swaps out Lenny's football helmet with a lice-infested one to give the DCFDTL a taste of their own medicine.
• A Truce While We Gawk: Numbuh 5 and the Lice Queen share a look of confusion with each other at Numbuh 2's attempts at a Pre-Mortem One-Liner. It gives Numbuh 5 enough time to push the purge button for the cheese supply.
• Whole-Plot Reference: Apart from the opening sequence with Numbuh 5, the main plot is mostly one of Aliens.