Angelica Breaks a Leg

Angelica Breaks a Leg is a third season episode of Rugrats.

Plot
Angelica is dropped off at Didi and Stu's while Charlotte and Drew go off on a rafting trip for CEOs for one week. Angelica quickly realizes that Didi, Stu, and Grandpa Lou all have things to do and thus don't give her nearly the attention she feels she deserves. So, after seeing part of a soap opera of a woman making her boyfriend wait on her hand and foot because of her broken leg, Angelica pretends to fall down the stairs and break her leg so the family will give her more attention.

Despite Angelica's horrible acting abilities, Didi and Stu rush her to the emergency room. Although she should have been found fine, Angelica's extremely young doctor, Hoagie Dooser, can't keep track of her surname and mixes up her X-ray with that of Antonio Peaches. Because the other person does have a broken leg, Dr. Dooser believes Angelica's leg is truly broken and recommends a leg cast, despite Didi's insistence that she and Stu get a second opinion from a different doctor (preferably one that's older and has more experience).

That evening at the Pickles' residence, Angelica is made comfortable in bed with her new cast. Stu has kindly set up a buzzer for Angelica to press whenever she wants something, and then is left alone with Tommy. When Tommy asks her about the buzzer, she demonstrates by pressing the button and telling Aunt Didi she's tired of Tommy's company.

As the days pass Angelica eagerly abuses the buzzer and her supposed condition (as well as the potential guilt of the grownups) to have Didi and Stu wait on her hand and foot (Grandpa Lou is strangely absent), and have them do minor tasks for her whenever she wants, such as getting a tissue, having her windows adjusted, and bringing the only TV in the house to her room.

Day 2: Stu is stressed and considers disconnecting the call buzzer, but Didi stops him, saying that Angelica needs their care. The buzzer rings again, and it's Didi's turn. Angelica has Didi tell her a story about an angel named Angelica.

Late one night, Angelica wakes Stu up to demand chocolate pudding. Despite it being 3:00 in the morning, and that there's none in the house, Stu is forced to walk over to the nearest open convenience store for pudding. The clerk tells Stu they don't have any more of the pre-made pudding, but they do have pudding mix. Didi walks in to see Stu making the pudding at 4:00 AM. Stu takes a bowl of freshly made chocolate pudding up to Angelica, who instantly states she's not hungry anymore. Stu finally snaps and screams in frustration.

Day 4: Didi and Stu are shaking wondering when the buzzer would ring. Dr. Dooser calls Didi, explaining to her that he mixed up Angelica's X-ray with somebody else's, and that her leg is fine and the cast can be removed immediately. He hangs up the phone and apologizes to Mr. Peaches, a football player who injured his broken leg even more when playing in a game.

Didi gives Stu the happy news, who breaks down in tears of joy. Moments later, Drew greets Didi at the doorstep. Didi's surprised to see her brother-in-law back from the trip so early, so Drew explains that Charlotte had a rafting collision with a kayak and broke her leg, forcing them to come home early.

Back home at the other Pickles' residence, Charlotte now has a buzzer of her own as she's bedridden, and doesn't hesitate to abuse it, just like her daughter. Angelica gets her comeuppance for abusing Stu and Didi's kindness as she and Drew now have to wait on her mother hand and foot in the same way. Angelica is miserable as Drew hands her food for Charlotte's lunch. However, Drew tells her that's tough because until Charlotte gets better, they're going to make her as comfortable as possible. Drew turns his attention back to the fridge and asks Angelica about chocolate pudding. Angelica stands there frozen and nervous as the camera zooms into her eye while the buzzer continues to buzz urgently and ends the episode.

Trivia

 * This episode kickstarted the chocolate pudding meme on YouTube.