Cuckoo's Nest is the fourth episode of Dude, That's My Ghost!. It aired for the first time on February 3rd, 2013, along with Billy Joe the Scholar.
Synopsis[]
When Ponzi discovers an obscure “no weirdos” rule in the school handbook, he thinks it’s just what he needs to get rid of Spencer once and for all. But when he can’t catch him doing anything weird (i.e., talking to Billy) at school, Ponzi invites himself over to spend the night at the Wright home, sure he’ll succeed there. Spencer tells Billy it’s crucial they don’t have any contact while Ponzi’s around. But is there any way Billy can keep a low profile for a whole night?
Plot[]
"Oooooh!"
The episode starts outside in Beverly Heights. Billy Joe Cobra asks Spencer Wright if they are still doing their plans for tonight, which Spencer affirms. Spencer takes out a DVD case and starts fantasizing along with Billy about how hard he's going to prank Principal Ponzi, in retaliation for his undeserved detention.
The next scene cuts to Spencer and Billy sneaking outside of Principal Ponzi's office. Spencer presses a button, which sends Ponzi an email containing a link to what appears to be a video of baby pandas. When he plays it, Ponzi starts cooing over the pandas. The video's narrator explains that the baby pandas are only a few weeks old, and if the viewer look closely, one might just wave. As Ponzi moves his head closer and closer, Spencer and Billy start giggling. Suddenly, when the principal is really close to the screen, a zombie pops up screaming. Ponzi freaks out while Spencer and Billy get away, laughing hysterically.
Ponzi, in his anger, finds The Legendary Beverly Beverly High Official Rulebook. As he flips through the pages, he discovers a page with a rule that might work against Spencer. The principal begins to cackle maniacally at his newfound fortune.
See, he's mega-normal!
The scene moves on to Principal Ponzi talking to Spencer in his office. Ponzi triumphantly reads out the rule he found, explaining there are no "weirdos" allowed at Beverly Beverly High and all weirdos are to be expelled immediately, and shoves the book into Spencer's hands. Spencer calls the rule "harsh", but relievedly states he is not a weirdo. Ponzi then shows evidence of Spencer acting incredibly strange at school, all of which is really caused by Billy's being an invisible jerk. Unable to explain his behavior, Spencer once again insists that he isn't a weirdo, and bluffs by inviting Ponzi to follow him around, even go to his house if he likes. When he sees how normal Spencer is, he'll have to let him stay. Ponzi considers it, subtly mentioning a bribe of Spencer's mother's delicious PTA lasagna, which Spencer anxiously agrees to have his mother make. Afterwards, Spencer runs out of Principal Ponzi's office with the book in his hand, nervously insisting that he isn't weird. Ponzi darkly remarks that Spencer Wright is "going down", but Spencer darts his head into the room again with yet more assurance that he is very, very normal.
Back at the Cobra Mansion, Spencer stressedly throws his backpack onto his bed. Oblivious to his homebod's frustration, Billy makes an enthusiastic remark about the horror movie they had plans to watch that night. Spencer rejects the plans, telling Billy about the situation with Principal Ponzi. Billy initially wants to solve the problem by presenting Ponzi with some sicknasty ghost karate, but Spencer demands "mega-normal", which Billy decides he can do.
Welcome home, Principal Ponzi...
However, all of a sudden, the doorbell rings! At the door is Principal Ponzi, wearing a trenchcoat, a mobster-style fedora, and carrying a suitcase. Hugh and Jane Wright greet the principal with false enthusiasm, having been fed the story that Spencer won a dinner with Principal Ponzi at a school charity auction. Ponzi acts really shady for a few minutes, almost spilling his cover as someone who isn't spying on a teenage boy to make up an excuse to expell him. Hugh makes a joke about the suitcase Ponzi is carrying, asking if he's going to try to sell the Wright family vaccuums.
Spencer comes in shortly after, with Billy by his side. With the arrival of his mark, Ponzi gleefully announces that the dinner is not a dinner, but in fact a sleepover. Billy and Spencer are horrified. Ponzi only grins and casually remarks that he would love to have some of Jane's coffee cake for breakfast. Hugh and Jane accept all of this without question and leave, telling the principal to meet them for dinner. Once alone with his target, Ponzi threatens Spencer, saying that his parents better not turn out to be weird.
You mess with the Cobra, you get the oars.
The scene changes. Spencer's parents are leading Principal Ponzi into the Freaky Tiki Room so he can stay there overnight. Spencer is watching from the doorway, biting his nails in anxiety, while Billy looks on with confusement. Jane and Hugh are telling Ponzi about how they got the house from their distant relation, famous pop star Billy Joe Cobra, to which Ponzi reacts with nothing short of disdain. Billy overhears this and, infuriated, grabs an oar from one of the walls and prepares to strike. However, Spencer nabs it from him before he can use it. Slightly disheartened, Billy remembers everything has to be "mega-normal" and floats away, leaving Spencer holding the oar in a threatening position. Ponzi, naturally, chooses this moment to turn around. Thinking on his feet, Spencer pretends to use the oar as part of a "traditional welcoming dance". He apparently gets away with it, leaving the room alongside his parents to give Ponzi some space.
However, Principal Ponzi immediately reveals himself to be absolutely sinister. He opens his suitcase, revealing some high-end spy computer and a video cam flower. The principal puts the flower in his suit pocket and chortles into the camera, remarking that if Spencer does anything weird at all, it'll be recorded for posterity. This time, he cackles maniacally, but a well-placed coughing fit ends his nefarious moment.
Intruder alert!
Some time later, Ponzi is snooping around. He looks through Spencer's photo album, which is completely ordinary, remarking that there is nothing weird so far. Ironically, Jessica Wright bursts through the front door, shouting about the best karating training ever that she has just went to. Ponzi is too engrossed in the album to notice her presence. Jessica sees the strange man hunched over reading her family album and, not knowing who Ponzi is, loudly proclaims an intruder, getting into attack position. As she is flying over to land a kick on the man, Spencer walks in and intentionally takes the hit for him, not wanting him to be displeased. Jessica gets a confused look. In pain from Jessica's kick, Spencer introduces his sister to Principal Ponzi, to which Jessica forgets her confusion and remarks that he doesn't really look like a monkey's butt (implying that when Spencer talks about Ponzi, he describes him as such). Ponzi storms away, clearly offended by Jessica's remark. Spencer laughs awkwardly just as Billy pops in. Spencer, weary from the whole episode that just occurred, tells him that next time, he's allowed to intervene. Billy fist pumps celebratorily and floats away.
In the next scene, the entire family and Principal Ponzi are having dinner. Jane introduces the promised lasagna (al forno), but a helicopter toy floats in front of Ponzi. Spencer, Jessica, Jane, and Ponzi look surprised as the helicopter lowers its claw and snatches a piece of lasagna from the center of the dish, dropping it onto Ponzi's plate. Jane sternly tells the owner of the helicopter, Hugh, that there are no toys allowed at the dinner table, to which Hugh replies that it's not a toy, it's a replica of an Apache 87 Attack Helicopter, and hence allowed at the dinner table. Spencer nervously explains the deal away to Ponzi by lying that his dad's an aircraft engineer. Hugh almost denies this, but Billy wisely shoves Hugh's spoonful of food into his mouth before he can finish talking. Spencer adds that his dad is a chief engineer.
Never has a more...err, tasteful topiary been constructed. Ever.
Jessica then asks Ponzi why he's here, stating that Spencer is a weirdo that talks to himself, but Billy once again saves the day and shoves her spoon in her mouth. Spencer explains her outburst away as a strange sense of humor, saying that nobody in the family talks to themselves and everybody is completely...normal...just as Jane decides she wants to show Ponzi her customized topiaries, one of which is a stereotypical Native American themed piece called "Mohawk Myrtle". Principal Ponzi shadily remarks that the family is very interesting, to which a helicopter-distracted Hugh replies that there is a lot of creativity in the family due to living in the Cobra Mansion. Ponzi wastes no time in bashing BJC because of this. Billy predictably gets upset, and shoves Ponzi's face into his lasagna, becoming extremely calm afterwards.
Nobody else is calm. The entire family hurriedly rushes to the dinner table, having witnessed Ponzi slam his face down into his lasagna. Spencer sternly tells Billy to go to his room, which Billy complies with. Jane, being very concerned, asks Ponzi what happened. Irritated, Ponzi wipes the lasagna from his glasses and frowns. He rhetorically states that's just what he'd like to know.
Oh, Billy, you comedic genius, you.
Back at Spencer's room, Billy is idly watching movies. Spencer comes up in the elevator, appearing to be very angry. He confronts Billy about his little lasagna publicity stunt, to which Billy doesn't reply. Instead, Spencer seems to be distracted by the movie that they'd been planning to watch together (ambiguously titled Asphalt Baby). Somehow, Spencer ends up watching television with Billy, enjoying junk food and making idle banter.
However, during a particularly brodilicious high-five, it's quickly revealed that Ponzi was spying on Spencer the entire marathon, on account of he was hanging outside the window via a pair of overalls with very large cross-straps. Ponzi goes into Spencer's room and tries to act threatening, but he stretches his cross-straps too much and is propelled out the window, eventually slamming front-on into one of Spencer's bookshelves. He quickly recollects himself and balefully tells Spencer that he had the whole high-five recorded on his flower cam, knowing that Spencer would slip up at one point. Spencer pleads to not be expelled, but Ponzi has his mind set and he triumphantly goes downstairs via elevator.
Principal Ponzi, you can't just do something like that!
Billy throws some junk food at him, but it misses and hits the elevator gate instead. Regardless, he angrily insists that he and Spencer are not weirdos, they're mega-normal. He picks up Spencer's backpack, intending to throw it at Ponzi, but the zipper's open and a book falls out. Confused, Billy asks what the book is, to which Spencer woefully replies that it's just the school rulebook and it doesn't matter. Billy disregards the last bit and tells Spencer that, interestingly enough, there's a whole set of rules for teachers. Spencer suddenly perks up and decides to read the book alongside Billy. They are soon shown lowering the book, cackling manically with sinister facial expressions, implying that they found some very interesting rules to twist onto Ponzi.
Back at Beverly Beverly High, Ponzi is smugly strutting into his office. He notices one of Spencer's mom's cakes on his desk, and eagerly eats a bit of it. Just as he shoves the bread-like treat into his mouth, Spencer whirls around in his desk like a live-action movie villain, with Billy laying across the top of the back rest. Spencer innocently asks Ponzi if the cake is moist and not-so-innocently refers to him as Glenn while he does so. Ponzi insists that he's Mr. Ponzi to Spencer, and that he's expelled, so he should leave.
Your love for Ponzi Jr. is admirable, but really, it's rude to talk with your mouth full.
However, two can play at that game! Spencer informs Ponzi that by taking and eating his mother's cake, he is subject to immediate termination as a principal. Ponzi gets extremely upset and lets Spencer continue attending school, but he threatens to find other ways to expell Spencer. Spencer replies by stating that Billy Joe Cobra has more talent in his left nostril than Ponzi has in his entire family. Of course, Ponzi rebutts by shouting his disdain for the Cobra. Having found a reason to punish Principal Ponzi, Billy calmly throws some cake in his face and dunks Ponzi's toupee into his cup of coffee before putting it right back on his head. Spencer then leaves, condescendingly telling Principal Ponzi to have a nice day. Though Ponzi can't hear him, Billy also pops in, saying that the two of them are just mega-normal.
In the end, Ponzi, shaking with anger, vengefully cries out Spencer's name, as Spencer is walking away from Beverly Beverly High fistbumping with Billy.
Character Appearances[]
Minor Appearances[]
Gallery[]
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