Over the Hill

When Gretel and Bailey follow reporter Veronica Hill for career day, they encounter an old foe, Van Dyke, out for revenge.

## Production Information

### Storyboards by:

Olivia Day
Brandon Kruse

## Broadcast Information

### Airdate:

July 8, 2023 (Disney Channel)
September 18, 2023 (Disney XD)

### Running time:

11 minutes

**"Over the Hill"** is the first segment of the twenty-second episode of the first season of *Hamster & Gretel*, and the forty-second episode overall. It is paired with "The Ice Queen Cometh" and premiered on Disney Channel on July 8, 2023.

Gretel and Bailey shadow Action News reporter Veronica Hill, whose hopes of becoming a lead serious correspondent are dashed when a new reporter is given that position instead.

## Plot

Gretel and Bailey are shadowing Veronica Hill as part of a career day assignment for school. Veronica hopes that she will be promoted to lead serious correspondent, making her eligible to interview Mayor Murray Meyer. However, her excitement turns into disappointment when the position is instead given to Harrison Philtrum, a handsome underwear model. Meanwhile, Hamster and Kevin decide to get haircuts at a fancy French salon.

Veronica decides that she will quit, but Gretel and Bailey convince her otherwise, giving her the confidence to congratulate Philtrum. However, Gretel has a superhero hunch and discovers that Philtrum has been possessed by Van Dyke. After a battle, Veronica has a sit-down interview with Van Dyke, during which she deduces that this is all part of a world-domination plot. As Van Dyke possesses numerous people, including Bailey, Hamster and Kevin intervene, with Hamster defeating Van Dyke by placing him in a hair salon machine and having Kevin set it to the highest setting. Veronica is then offered the position of lead serious correspondent, only to instead resume working her regular field reporter job.

## Cast and characters

* Meli Povenmire as Gretel Grant-Gomez
* Michael Cimino as Kevin Grant-Gomez
* Beck Bennett as Hamster
* Priah Ferguson as Bailey Carter
* Liza Koshy as Veronica Hill
* Keith Ferguson as Jacques Cassoulet
* Brett Dalton as Mayor Meyer
* Diedrich Bader as Stan
* Casey Hamilton as Harry Philtrum, Van Dyke

### Additional voices

* Brett Dalton as Shopper
* Brock Powell as Board Members
* Danielle Perez as Veronica Hill's Mother
* Dee Bradley Baker as Poodle, Tum Tum
* Diedrich Bader as Board Members
* Keith Ferguson as Backstage Guy
* Lauren Tom as Board Members
* Liza Koshy as Baby Veronica Hill
* Priah Ferguson as Little Girl
* Tiana Camacho as Board Members

## Songs

* Frank's Fish Guttery
* Van Dyke
* Fighting Facial Hair Again

## Transcript

*Click here to read the full transcript of **"Over the Hill"**.*

## Background information

### Trivia

* The episode was originally entitled, "Van Dyke's Revenge!".

### Allusions

* On top of referencing Veronica Hill, the title of this episode is an idiomatic term as well; "over the hill" means "old" and "past its prime".
* ***Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension*** - During the song "Fighting Faicial Hair Again," Gretel remarks "If I had a nickel for every time I fought facial hair, I'd have two nickels," followed by the lyrics continuing with "which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice;" referencing a similar line Doofenshmirtz said in the movie (which has since the late 2010s become an iconic quote and meme on the internet).

## References

1. ↑ https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0B729WHDG
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 https://www.dgepress.com/disneybrandedtelevision/shows/hamster-gretel/episodes/over-the-hill-the-ice-queen-cometh/
3. ↑ https://twitter.com/disneybeat101/status/1666843203960549377