Thanksgiving Dad

"Thanksgiving Dad" is the eleventh episode of Pepper Ann. It aired on November 22, 1997.
==Plot==
Lydia and Janie make every effort to make their Thanksgiving dinner a success, while Pepper Ann thinks her divorced father will come to visit instead of calling like he usually does, as he said he had a surprise for her on Thanksgiving.
==Synopsis==
On Halloween Day, Lydia and Janie prepare for this year's Thanksgiving as last year was considered a failure. Pepper Ann and Moose speak on the phone with their father, Chuck, whom they have not seen in years. Before hanging up, he tells Pepper Ann that he has a big surprise for her this Thanksgiving and begins trying to deduce what it is. On November 11, Lydia and Janie go shopping for Thanksgiving groceries using a variety of tactics to get the best ingredients and canned food. Pepper Ann finally figures that Chuck's big surprise is that he will actually come home and not just call as he has done in the past.
Thanksgiving rolls around, November 27, and Lydia and Janie are quickly finishing up the food. Janie deters her son Ned from eating anything and Lydia tries to qualm him with gum. When that runs out, he ends up eating all the canned yam, forcing Janie to rush to the store to buy more ingredients. Pepper Ann continues to believe that her father is coming and imagines several scenarios explaining his late arrival. She is all the more disappointed with the arrival of her other relatives and Milo (who apparently is spending Thanksgiving with everyone) also believes that Pepper Ann is in denial.
Janie rushes to find yams, but all she can get is butterscotch pudding because "you can't tell the difference". Pepper Ann's relatives proceed to cause a fuss at home with several of their clashing personalities leading to arguments and a couple of her cousins giving Moose a hard time. Milo, who also lives with divorced parents, explains to Pepper Ann that Chuck is most likely having another life and that she should not let that bother her (since he does not have a tight family, he just goes from house to house to experience other Thanksgivings). Moose comforts her by saying that he would never forget her. Lydia surprises Pepper Ann by revealing that she can now sit at the adult table which Pepper Ann is only mildly happy for.
Everyone rushes into the kitchen to discover that the turkey has been entirely burnt. As everyone complains and argues, Pepper Ann answers the phone and discovers that it is Chuck who tells her and Moose to watch the parade. They turn on the TV and discover that he is driving the parade blimp and is being interviewed by the news (though his face is still covered). He wishes Pepper Ann and Moose a happy Thanksgiving and that he will come by next visitation. Pepper Ann begins receiving phone calls from her friends, as well as her crush Craig Bean, congratulating her and her father and she asks Milo if he would rather stay for this Thanksgiving, and he agrees. Pepper Ann and her family all end up spending Thanksgiving by eating pizza.
==Cast==
===Main cast===
*Kathleen Wilhoite as Pepper Ann Pearson
*Jeff Bennett as Craig Bean (not seen), Ned Diggity, Grandpa Leo, Additional voices
*Danny Cooksey as Milo Kamalani
*Pamela Segall as Moose Pearson
*April Winchell as Lydia Pearson, Sherie Spleen*, Grandma Lillian
===Additional voices===
*Julia Duffy as Aunt Fanny
*Tino Insana as JoJo Diggity
*Maurice LaMarche as Chuck Pearson, Frankie, Uncle Harry, Uncle Remo J. Diggity*
*Ryan O'Donohue as Damian
*Francesca Smith as Damiana
*Susan Tolsky as Janie Diggity, Elderly Lady*
*Marks an uncredited voice role
===Non-speaking appearances===
*Dieter Liederhosen (does not speak)
*Miss Fresno Grape Queen (does not speak)
*Steve the Cat
*Nicky Little (not seen; no lines)
*Tessa and Vanessa James (not seen; no lines)
*Cissy Rooney (mentioned)
==Desk Gag==
"Wow, a dreidel!"
==Trivia==
*Going by broadcast order, this is the tenth episode of the series, and the 17th segment overall.
*This episode marks the first of the few things:
**The first appearances of Pepper Ann's grandparents, and the only major appearance of a lot of Pepper Ann's relatives, although they make cameos in various other episodes, usually in the distant background.
**The first time Halloween occurs in the series, the second being "A 'Tween Halloween".
**The first appearance of Moose's room.
**The first mention of the Miss Fresno Grape Queen, who will become a running gag in the series.
**The first episode to acknowledge Moose's androgynous appearance; Uncle Remo mistakes Milo for Moose and is surprised to learn that Moose is a girl.
**Going by production order, this would mark Nicky's first absence in the series, the first appearance of Steve the Cat, the first time Moose's full name (Margaret Rose) is stated, the first mention of Hazelnut being part of Nutoakseedwood County (later referred to as Oakwoodseednut County in "The Big Pencil"), and the first time Ned is shown as Pepper Ann's cousin.
*This episode marks the last appearances of Moose, Aunt Janie, Uncle JoJo, Cousin Ned, and Steve the Cat in the first season.
*This is the only full-length episode in the series in which Nicky is absent, although she is "heard" over the phone.
**Additionally, Tessa and Vanessa are also "heard" in this episode while Craig's voice is loudly present as well.
*Aunt Fanny is one of the few characters, alongside Pepper Ann, Nicky, and Lydia, to originate from the YM magazine comic strips.
*Chuck Pearson only appears with his back turned; later episodes will feature him normally.
*Milo mentions that he has Thanksgiving with twelve families in the neighborhood. Known families include:
**Pepper Ann's family
**Nicky Little's family
**Cissy Rooney's family
*Janie distracts a shopper by falsely pointing out Desmond Tutu, a famous South African priest.
*Lydia's codenames for Pepper Ann and Moose are Tundra Woman and Madame Curie. The former is a fictional character within the show that Moose is a fan of while the latter is a famous Polish French radiobiologist.
*Milo appears in Pepper Ann's fantasy sequence before he is properly introduced.
*According to Milo, Pepper Ann's parents have been divorced for four years.
*Damian and Damiana are parodies of the twins from The Shining.
==Goofs==
*At the beginning of this episode, Pepper Ann tells her father that she's too old to go Trick-or-Treating, but that Lydia is making her take Moose. In "A 'Tween Halloween", however, she wrestles with the idea that she may in fact be too old to go out. Being that Pepper Ann is twelve for both episodes and the entire series, this seems to be a major continuity error.
*Even though they set up a table for the kids, Moose, Damian and Damiana still sit at the adult table with Pepper Ann.
==External links==
*Thanksgiving Dad on Pepper Ann Wiki
Category:Pepper Ann episodes
Category:Thanksgiving episodes
Category:Thanksgiving productions