The Unusual Suspects (Pepper Ann)

"The Unusual Suspects" is the second segment of the twelfth episode of Pepper Ann. It aired on January 17, 1998.
==Plot==
In this parody of hardboiled detective stories and The Usual Suspects, the Hazelnut Middle School Otter Statue is stolen, and Principal Hickey calls up Pepper Ann and four suspects to find out the truth.
==Synopsis==
The episode is presented with a back and forth between the actual events and the characters imagining a black and white noir scenario. Pepper Ann addresses the audience with the story of The Case of the Missing Otter. The Hazelnut Middle School statue of their otter mascot has been stolen and Principal Hickey suspects Pepper Ann, Milo, Nicky, Trinket and Dieter as the suspects and has them all come in one by one to give their testimonies.
Dieter explains that Pepper Ann gave him a tip for his food column for the school paper. He heads to a pancake house where he encountered Gwen and danced with her. With a strong alibi, Trinket gives her testimony next. She had left cheer leading practice early when she encountered Pepper Ann who gave her a coupon for her mom's clothing store. When she got there, she got into an argument with the cashier over the prices. Nicky explains her story next; she was in the lab when Pepper Ann left and discovered a formula for a special kind of Mildew. She got into a fight with Mr. Carter who planned on getting famous from it, but Nicky managed to eat the formula to hide it. Milo, Pepper Ann's last hope, reveals that he and Pepper Ann were supposed to meet at the Brain Dead Arcade, but she was arriving late. Milo ends up going on a hopeless search for a quarter which leads to him losing his money.
Pepper Ann finally goes in to give her testimony, but Hickey immediately assumes that Pepper Ann stole the otter; giving a lengthy and ludicrous explanation that involved her selling the otter to a big-time crime lord, Mr. Big. Just when he is about to throw the book at her, Vera comes in and reveals that Hickey had actually asked her to remove the otter so that she could clean it. Humiliated and embarrassed, Hickey lets Pepper Ann go free. Pepper Ann summarizes that not jumping to conclusions is the best way to find the truth and reveals that she is actually in detention for releasing frogs in the chemistry lab. As she tries to tell the story, the episode irises out with her trying to tell the viewer not to leave.
==Cast==
===Main cast===
*Kathleen Wilhoite as Pepper Ann Pearson
*Jeff Bennett as Dieter Liederhosen, Mitch
*Danny Cooksey as Milo Kamalani
*Clea Lewis as Nicky Little
===Additional voices===
*Don Adams as Principal Hickey
*Jim Cummings as Roland Carter, Newsstand Owner, Mr. Big (no lines)
*Paddi Edwards as Vera Groober-Schwartz
*Kimmy Robertson as Gwen Mezzrow, Crying Girl* (no lines)
*Jenna von Oÿ as Trinket St. Blair
* Marks an uncredited voice role
===Non-speaking appearances===
*Mr. Big (no lines)
*Crying Girl (no lines)
*Pinkeye Pete (does not speak)
*Lamar Abu-Dabe (cameo)
*Marie (mentioned)
==Trivia==
===General===
*This is the only episode from the show's first season to have no stock footage featured in the clip show episode, "To Germany with Love".
===Continuity===
*Trinket's friend Marie is mentioned for the first time.
*This episode marks the only time Dieter is shown reciprocating Gwen's crush, although they will be often seen hanging out together (presumably dating) in the second season.
*Trinket is revealed to be part of the HMS Cheerleading Squad, along with Cissy Rooney and Brenda.
*Mitch makes his first appearance since the first episode.
*The note Vera hands Principal Hickey is dated 4/18/87 and signed Vice Principal Hickey, meaning Principal Hickey was originally the vice principal of Hazelnut Middle School.
**Ironically, a later episode reveals that Principal Hickey served as a substitute teacher at HMS during the early 1990's, indirectly implying that Hickey was at one point demoted.
===Allusions===
*This episode's title is a twist on the title of the 1995 film The Usual Suspects.
==External links==
*The Unusual Suspects on Pepper Ann Wiki
Category:Pepper Ann episodes