In which Hayley helps Wheels and the Legman on a case
I was thinking about this episode (and Wheels and the Legman as a whole) in terms of other shows. A show like Family Guy or The Simpsons would probably have characters like Wheels and The Legman as existing outside the general continuity of the show proper. Any one of the Wheels episodes would have been a Treehouse of Horror-esque segment in an episode or a Family Guy parody episode. Other than the two Tearjerker episodes in the early-ish days of the show, almost everything else in the show has taken place within the world we know with the characters we know. And it works because of Roger and the general tone of the show. People are just able to go with the premise of fake detectives solving real cases out of the Smith’s garage.
Hayley is with Danuta’s mom who is recounting how her daughter has gone missing after not coming home from Bazooka Sharks Babe practice. We pull back to reveal that of course they’re consulting with Wheels and The Legman, mostly because the police won’t investigate until someone is missing for six months; three months if you buy tickets to their pancake breakfast. The duo enlist Hayley to help investigate, because with Danuta missing the Sharks are holding tryouts for a new girl. The trio infiltrate the team (with Hayley as one of the girls, Wheels as the new team accountant and Legman in two disguises as a tryout participant and then a cheer coach)
By sabotaging the rest of the contestants, Hayley wins a spot on the team and begins her investigation. She slowly rises up the pyramid (literally) and uses her position to find out things. She’s left a mysterious note and tries to find out who has poor grammar, she tries to steal a key of the ankle of one of the babes but it doesn’t go well. She’s able to sneak in regardless and finds out they have been giving out fake pompoms because the real ones are too pricey.
Hayley ends up captured, finding Danuta and it’s revealed to be the one you most suspect (after the creepy stalker). The mom of the top Shark Babe wants to actually make it to the top of the pyramid to kill Cyrus of the sharks. Because of the trio she ends up killing a rival fan but is arrested. Another job well done for Wheels and the Legman (sort of)
Stray Observations
- The Wheels and The Legman intro has been redone to include Hayley.
- Stan and Francine make a cameo at the end while neither Jeff nor Klaus appear at all. I like to think he’s trying to solve the case in his own way to impress Danuta.
- Somberly: “Zooka Sharks”
Final Thoughts: A really fun episode bringing back Wheels and the Legman and including Hayley. The mystery aspect was a little weak but it delivered some good laughs for me.