"Todd Busters" is the thirty-third episode of the second season, and the seventy-third episode of The Replacements.
Synopsis[]
Todd has an embarrassing incident at a basketball game, so to get revenge, he borrows Agent K's invisibility hat and pretends to be a ghost; Dick always picks absurd new years' resolutions so he can never break them, so Agent K decides to test his willpower by getting a kangaroo.
Plot[]
Act I[]
Todd and his friends attend a Staplers basketball game. He had bet Jacobo that he could eat more corn dogs than the points the Staplers score in the first half. He eats thirty-seven corn dogs and wins the bet. During halftime, Riley notifies the crowd about the upcoming fall carnival. After Riley's announcement, the Spirit Squad invites an audience member to compete for a gift card. Todd gets picked.
To win the gift card, Todd must shoot a basket in twenty seconds; but first, he must spin around a pole ten times. He feels dizzy, queasy, and disoriented after spinning around the pole. Todd rips his pants, revealing bunny underwear. His free throw bounces off the rim and hits him in the head, causing the spectators to laugh and record him with their cell phones. Finally, Todd vomits into a band member's tuba. The video of Todd at the basketball game becomes number one on FleemTube. Todd is afraid to go back to school, so Agent K allows Todd to borrow something from her disguise closet.
Dick Daring catches Agent K breaking her new years' resolution. She had promised to give up caffeine for the new year, but Dick secretly replaced the coffee with decaf to see if she could keep up her resolution. Agent K points out that her husband's resolutions are very far-fetched; this year, he vowed not to tackle any kangaroos.
The next day, Todd finds Agent K's invisibility hat. Todd decides to use the invisibility hat to get vengeance on the people who laughed at him at the basketball game.
Act II[]
Todd's first act of vengeance is to put a "Kick Me if You Have Stapler Spirit" sign on Buzz's back. The lead cheerleader from the halftime show repeatedly kicks Buzz into the air. Meanwhile, Abbey and Tasumi try to hang a Fall Carnival banner. The Fall Carnival is Riley's first major project as vice treasurer. Principal Cutler threatens to relieve Riley of her duties if the carnival is not a success. Riley asks her friends to get streamers from the school's basement. Abbey and Tasumi are afraid to go into the basement because they believe the ghost of Ezekiel T. Pleasantworth resides there, as the school was built on his grave. When Riley learns that saying Pleasantworth's name three times summons his ghost, she does so to prove that ghosts are not real. Todd overhears their conversation and comes up with a plan to get revenge.
That afternoon, Dick plays chess against C.A.R. Dick always moves the "horsies" around at random. To C.A.R.'s surprise, Dick is one move away from winning the game. Suddenly, Agent K arrives with a kangaroo. As Dick is about to move his knight, the kangaroo kicks the chessboard, scattering the pieces on the floor. C.A.R. declares himself the undefeated chess champion and drives away. Dick struggles not to release his anger on the kangaroo.
Riley's friends believe that she summoned Pleasantworth's ghost. Riley insists that there are no such things as ghosts, but for the rest of the day, they see other students being tormented by invisible forces.
At home, Dick eats a large sandwich, and he goes to the fridge to get root beer. He discovers that the kangaroo drank all the root beer, and the kangaroo is eating the rest of Dick's sandwich. When Agent K checks on her husband, Dick struggles to keep his anger in check.
Principal Cutler holds an assembly about the upcoming Fall Carnival. The students and staff now believe that the ghost is real. When Todd asks if they were embarrassed by the ghost, he discovers that everyone still finds the basketball incident funny. Before storming out of the auditorium, Todd declares that the ghost might show up at the carnival. In response, the principal announces that the disturbances were caused by a tiger shark, and the entire school falls for it.
After the assembly, Riley attempts to confront the principal. She demands him to cancel the carnival. She believes that she released the ghost, and she would be held responsible if anything happens at the carnival. Not only does Principal Cutler refuse to cancel the carnival, but he also expects Riley to handle the ghost. He forces her to team up with Janitor Garth.
In the bathroom, Todd devises his plan for the carnival. He will hire a documentary film crew to film the carnival; meanwhile, he will get invisible in the locker room, then he will haunt the other students. He plans to upload the footage to FleemTube. Dick Daring tells Todd to hurry up because he needs to take a shower. The door opens by itself, and Dick sees Todd's stuffed elephant and a piece of paper floating in midair towards Todd's room. When Dick looks back, the kangaroo closes the bathroom door in Dick's face. Three hours later, Dick discovers that the kangaroo had used Dick's toothbrush and towel. The kangaroo takes Dick's teddy bear, upsetting Dick.
Riley brings some of Agent K's equipment to school to help catch the ghost. Janitor Garth refuses to work with Riley; by now, he expects to be taken away by people in jumpsuits. Riley immediately replaces him with a professional ghost hunter.
Act III[]
That night, as the Fall Carnival gets underway, Riley and the ghost hunter set a trap in the hallway. Meanwhile, Todd strips and puts the invisibility hat on. He triggers the ghost hunter's trap and drags barrels behind him. As the ghost hunter recites an incantation, he and Riley see barrels moving on their own. The ghost hunter is taken aback by what he believes is a real ghost. He reveals that his business is a scam, then he runs away.
Agent K and Dick attend the fair. Agent K spots a "ghost", and after a brief chase, Dick tackles the ghost. It turns out to be the kangaroo wearing a bed sheet, which means that Dick broke his new years' resolution. Dick figures that, now that his resolution is broken, he can finally get the kangaroo. In the hallway, Riley fires a net at the ghost. While she prepares to fire a laser, Dick chases the kangaroo through the hallway. Riley misses, and the laser rips the net open.
While invisible, Todd wreaks havoc on the carnival, destroying the stands and toppling over the games. The documentary crew captures everything on film. During the commotion, Shelton tries to win a fishing game. He accidentally captures Todd's invisibility hat with his hook. The guests see Todd walking around naked, and they start laughing.
Later, Todd is forced to clean up. Riley reminds Todd that the sight of him naked made people forget about the basketball incident. Todd is not amused, especially because he now has the top two videos on FleemTube. After Riley leaves, Todd discovers that Ezekiel T. Pleasantworth's ghost is real.
Epilogue[]
After the New Year's ball drops, the family makes resolutions. Dick resolves not to accept any unsolicited gifts from chimpanzees. He immediately breaks his resolution.
Trivia[]
- The episode's title is a reference to Ghostbusters. At one point, Riley says "I ain't afraid of no ghost," a line from the Ghostbusters theme song.
- The summoning method is a reference to Candyman.
- There are also two Jaws references: when Riley and the ghost hunter see the moving barrels, Riley says "You're going to need a bigger book"; later, when Riley points her laser gun at what she thinks is the ghost, she says "Smile, you son of a ghost."
- While Todd haunts the carnival, a man runs up to Principal Cutler and chastises him for knowing about the ghost, yet holding the carnival anyway. It references a scene from Poltergeist, where Craig T. Nelson's character yells at his boss for moving the headstones but not the bodies.
- The incompetent ghost hunter is a reference to the ghost hunting shows that were popular at the time.
- FleemTube is a parody of YouTube.