The sixth episode of the fifth season of Rugrats (1991).
Uneasy Rider
Chuckie, who is learning how to ride a bike, meets up with other kids who ride bikes.
Where's Grandpa?
Grandpa Lou is accidentally left behind at a gas station while everyone else ends up at a Canadian-themed tourist trap.
"Uneasy Rider" provides examples of:
- An Aesop: Always remember who your real friends are, and stick with them.
- Covered in Mud: Chuckie is unable to stop his bicycle before he reaches a mud puddle, and as a result, he ends up falling in it.
- Instantly Proven Wrong: When Didi suggests riding a bike would help Chuckie's coordination, Chas replies that Chuckie's already very coordinated. Cue Chuckie immediately faceplanting while trying to pull a wagon.
- Learning to Ride a Bike: Chuckie is riding a bike for the first time and is having trouble learning to use his brakes.
- Malicious Misnaming: Spokes calls Chuckie "Upchucker".
- Noodle Incident: Chas admits to Betty that his overprotective nature of Chuckie is due in part to his own childhood accidents, one of which involved him mistaking some finger paints at his nursery school for a fruit salad.
- Ordered Apology: Chuckie tells Spokes to apologize to him for squirting him at the water fountain, which Spokes refuses to do.
- Shout-Out: This episode's title is a reference to the 1969 film Easy Rider.
- That Man Is Dead: A variation; Angelica calls Chuckie "The Chucker", saying that "Chuckie" is a dumb baby name.
- The Unapologetic: Spokes refuses to apologize to Chuckie for squirting him at the water fountain, though he eventually does after Chuckie falls into a muddy pond.
"Where's Grandpa?" provides examples of:
- Adults Are Useless: Tommy and Chuckie are the only ones aware that Lou is still at the gas station. They try to tell Stu and Didi, but since they can't talk to adults, Stu and Didi think they're trying to sing "99 Bottles of Milk on the Wall".
- An Aesop: Always make sure everyone on a trip with you is present and accounted for.
- Bait-and-Switch: This episode begins with what looks like a bush being pushed about by the wind, but the bush is soon revealed to be Lou's mustache, moving around because Lou is asleep and snoring.
- Brick Joke: Tommy tosses Lou's belongings out of the van window in the hopes that Stu will see it in the rear-view mirror and go back for it so Lou can catch up to him. The van Lou is in later swerves to avoid running over these things, and when Lou encounters some Mounties, he realizes he doesn't have his ID, which is in his wallet, which Tommy tossed out the window.
- Exit, Pursued by a Bear: Stu runs out of the Canadian tourist attraction while being chased by the train ride as it somehow manages to chase him off the tracks.
- Just Train Wrong: Didi shows this among seeing Tommy and Chuckie riding on the "Yukon Ho" train ride and she starts pulling on a pair of levers located next to the tracks, claiming "One of these must be the brake!" Of course, levers next to railroad tracks are generally to operate the track switches, which is just what happens- sending the train onto an unfinished track leading to the edge of a cliff!
- Like Father, Like Son: When Stu and Didi stop at the Canadian tourist attraction, Tommy exclaims, "Wow, this place is neat!", then Stu says, "Wow, this place is neat!". Didi is not amused.
- Missed Him by That Much: When Lou is kicked out of the van he inadvertently stowed in by its family, he arrives at the Canadian tourist attraction and decides to find a phone to call Stu and Didi. He passes right by them, who are occupied with figuring out what was causing their van's troubles.
- Mistaken Identity: When Lou finally gets out of the gas station bathroom, he gets into a van outside the gas station identical to Stu's. When the van swerves to avoid running over Lou's belongings that Tommy tossed out Stu's van's window, Lou awakens, and he and the van's family are shocked to see each other.
- Tempting Fate: Chuckie worries that Stu and Didi are going to leave without Lou, but Tommy assures him that will never happen. Immediately afterwards, Stu drives away, leaving Lou at the gas station.
- Track Trouble: Tommy and Chuckie sneak onto a train ride that is closed for maintenance to find Lou. When the engineer sends the train onto a test run, the train heads toward an unfinished track leading to the edge of a cliff, which Tommy and Chuckie aren't aware of, but Stu and Didi certainly are. Didi tries to switch the train onto the safe track, but sends it onto the unsafe one instead. Fortunately, the train stops before it goes off the unsafe track, and Tommy and Chuckie get out just in time. Unfortunately for Stu, who was chasing after the train, the slope of the hill makes the train go backwards, and it chases after him.
