Riley becomes the focus of an episode again, this time as the mark of a con artist played by the most famous guest star to appear this season; comedian Rip Taylor.
We start off with a performance of “Who’s Zoomin’ Who”; followed by the kids arriving at the counter for refreshments and to see Riley’s latest invention, a chocolate chip maker (which Renee hopes works better than when Riley invented an electronic straw). It didn’t; turning the chocolate into chocolate syrup instead. With Riley working on Ryan’s strawberry shake instead; a man named Samuel P. Nicholas walks into the P*lace, promising to make Riley the most famous inventory since Thomas Edison (Ryan: “Yeah, but Edison’s worked”). Then comes the catch: Sam wants Riley to pay a fee, instantly causing red flags to shoot up in Ryan’s mind; though the kids have to go back on stage before any warning could be expressed (“Singing Machine”), though following the song Ryan’s suspicions are confirmed upon overhearing Sam call some guy named Louie on the phone after Riley paid him in which Sam calls Riley a “live one”.
After hearing the phone call, Ryan tries to warn Riley that he’s being conned by Sam only to find out Riley is planning to quit his job as the P*lace’s soda jerk. Meanwhile, Sam returns to see Riley’s latest invention: a pizza flipper, which proceeds to flip the crust onto Sam’s “hair” (Sam briefly asks “Is it still on?”). Making matters worse, Riley plans to send Sam the rest of his money as soon as he could get it out of the bank; leading to Ryan finding Gloria and going to tell the others (“That’s What Friends Are For”). Meanwhile, Ryan gets a new idea.
After we see Kid walk in demanding a milkshake, Ryan (posing as a prospective buyer named “Reginald von Ryan”) enters; with Sam showing “Reginald” the pizza flipper while promising to have it ready by 2:00 that afternoon, then waking Riley up from his nap to finish the device, setting up “We Built This City”note . Riley finishes, rushes out and signs the check; upon which Sam drops the facade and reveals Riley just signed his rights away. At this point “Reginald” returns wanting to see if it works; then presents Sam with a briefcase which turns out…to be empty. Ryan (dropping the masquerade) then confronts Sam, leading to Riley feeling duped while Sam (following a brief Scooby-Doo style rant about being outsmarted by kids) seems to see the error of his ways rather abruptly (we don’t see what happens and whether Sam attempts to make things right; as the episode closes with “Restless”).
Songs performed in this episode:
- “Who’s Zoomin’ Who” (Aretha Franklin cover; lead vocals by Kid)
- “Singing Machine” (Kids Incorporated original; lead vocals by Kid and Gloria)
- “That’s What Friends Are For” (Rod Stewart covernote ; lead vocals by Gloria, Kid, Renee, Ryan and Stacy)note
- “We Built This City” (Starship cover; lead vocals by Ryan and Gloria)
- “Restless” (Starpoint cover; lead vocals by Stacy)
Tropes associated with this episode:
- Actor Allusion: Sam wondering if his “hair” is still on following the botched pizza flipper demonstration clearly references Sam’s actor, Rip Taylor, and his notoriously bad rug.
- The Con: Whereas in the previous year’s “The Abominable Show-Man”; the episode ended with Brendan Roberts abandoning the “natural causes” fundraiser scheme; for this version the kids pull a reverse con to keep the rights to Riley’s pizza flipper from being swindled away by Sam.
- Con Man: Samuel P. Nicholas.
- Imagine Spot: “We Built This City” shows the kids in the midst of a construction project.
- The Power of Friendship: Displayed here in the kids’ efforts to expose Sam’s con.
- Shout-Out: The name of the episode’s original song “Singing Machine” refers to The Singing Machine Company; which was a frequent early sponsor of the series.
