Bye-Bye Baby

Bye-Bye Baby is a Riches segment that aired on the fourth episode in Season 2 of the Richie Rich cartoon series, as part of The Richie Rich/Scooby-Doo Show. The episode first aired 3 October 1981 on ABC.
== Summary ==
Richie tries out a basketball machine in the game room of the Rich mansion. Dollar imagines being like one of the Harlem Globetrotters, and decides to mimic one of them, but the machine's extendable arm reaches for Dollar, dribbles him, and throws him into the basket. Then an alarm, accompanied by an intruder alert on a nearby computer, alerts Richie and checks out what is going on. There is a baby in a basket at the front doorstep. Richie heads to the front door, and discovers an attached note signed by "Papa Poorly" who claims he is too poor to take care of the baby named Penny.
Mr. and Mrs. Rich were on their way to the opera, and admired the baby, and is said to love diamonds. Richie decided to babysit for Penny while his parents are at an opera performance. In the next scene, Irona is seen singing "Rock-a-bye baby" to Penny, to put her to sleep, but the cradle ended up pinching Dollar's tail, causing him brief pain, and losing his dollar signs from his fur. Regardless, Richie declared they finally got her to sleep, and as Richie and Dollar exit the room, Dollar's dollar signs flew back on his fur like a magnet.
After Richie left the room, Penny decided to escape from her basket, and head to a nearby vault in the mansion. When successfully cracking the safe, the alarm sounded, and Richie responded by having Dollar check on the baby. Unbeknownst to Richie, the baby is actually a male dwarf robber dressed as a baby, who was seen wearing a diaper and barefoot. When Dollar checked on Penny, she was missing. Then Dollar started searching for her, but Penny went back into the cradle, and then Dollar discovered she returned, and decided to entertain her by making funny faces, and even bouncing around on a pogo stick.
Then, afterwards, the doorbell rang and Richie checked the outside from the computer, and discovered somebody was delivering a giant teddy bear to Penny. Cadbury answered the door and told Richie there is a delivery for Penny, and again with a note from "Papa Poorly". Richie then sensed something off about the delivery, wondering how he got the money to buy such expensive gift if he is so poor. Richie took the giant teddy bear to the nursery, and he and Dollar went to the computer to find out what is going on. He discovered an adult male crook inside the teddy bear had zipped open the stomach of the teddy bear from the inside, and Penny actually spoke, and the two crooks had an opportunity to rob the mansion. Richie knew something suspicious was going on, and had a plan on how to foil the robbery.
In the nursery, Richie had Dollar dress up in a pink baby bonnet, and pink baby clothes, and then they discover the crooks at the vault, saying they hit the jackpot, and are about to rob jewels and gold. Richie used an extendable hand to grab Penny from behind, tied Penny up, and then had Dollar lead the adult male crook outside the house and will be waiting with the Estate paddy wagon. Dollar was now seen alongside the adult robber, who said he only had six seconds to rob, and then he zipped himself in, and Dollar pulled the crook inside the teddy bear outside the mansion, but before they got outside they approached the staircase, and Dollar went down the stairs, and the crook inside was bouncing and reacting to the bumpy staircase, and then fell over the stairs, and assuming Dollar was Penny, the crook accused him of trying to demolish him, and Dollar's diaper was loose, revealing his tail, and the crook discovered it is a dog, and upon being discovered, Dollar started to get aggressive and snap at the crook, and bit the cord that yanked the bear with the crook inside, and roller-skated through the hallway with Dollar chasing from behind. While Penny was already in police custody in the paddy wagon, the adult male zipped past it, and Richie and Dollar decided to catch up to the crook using Professor Keenbean's jet-powered skateboard, and when getting closer, Richie spewed flames towards the bear's feet, and melted them, and successfully captured the adult male crook. He and Penny are now seen getting locked up in action.
Back at the mansion, Mr. and Mrs. Rich have returned home from the opera, and Mrs. Rich was wondering how Penny was doing. Richie mentioned that Penny's father inherited a fortune and came back for her, even though it is not literally true. Richie also added that Penny has a good home, with solid walls, her own TV, and three meals a day, providing some hinting that she is in jail.
In the final scene, Dollar decided to try on the baby bonnet, looked in the mirror, and then assuming he is Penny, Irona grabbed Dollar, carried him over her shoulder, and told him it was time for Penny's baby bath. Irona inserts Dollar into a chute of a machine called the “Automatic Baby”. Dollar ends up in a chamber, being sprayed with water and dried with a towel. The machine then lifts Dollar by the tail and robotic hands douse his behind with baby powder. Lastly a diaper is laid down and the machine begins to fold it and secure it around Dollar lifting him up, but the camera pans out to just an embarrassed Dollar's face.
== Trivia ==
* This segment's title shares its name with the title of the 1965 song by The Four Seasons, though the song had a subtitle "Baby Goodbye".
* The comic book story of the same name was actually an Irona story.
* In the comic book series, Richie has an infant cousin named Penny, who is the infant sister of Reggie Van Dough, and has a lock of hair over her forehead shaped like a dollar sign. She does not appear in the animated series.
* After a giant teddy bear was delivered to the Rich estate, and Richie read the second note, the golden letter "R" on the front of his sweater appeared to be inverted.
== Voice Cast ==
* Joan Gerber as Regina Rich and Irona
* Stanley Jones as Richard Rich, Sr. and Cadbury
* Sparky Marcus as Richie Rich
* Frank Welker as Dollar the Dog
Category:Richie Rich
Category:Richie Rich Riches segments
Category:Richie Rich episodes
Category:TV Episodes
Category:The Funtastic Index