Charlene is unhappy that she's the last female dinosaur in her class to have grown her tail. In fact, she orders a fake long tail to wear over hers. But soon, her tail grows for real, she gets her first date, and Earl must deal with the changes with Charlene.
Includes examples of
- A-Cup Angst: Charlene's short tail is the dinosaur equivalent of small breasts.
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: After being tricked into letting Charlene and her date go away, Earl makes a rant against those he blames for it. The list end with the guy he bought ribs from because he makes the worst ribs on the market.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: Female tails are to dinosaurs what breasts are to women. Males are attracted to girls for their tails, girls who are ashamed of their short tails buy fake long tails to wear over them, Robbie is disgusted upon learning he grabbed his sister's real tail instead of another fake, a special swimsuit issue of a magazine focuses on the tail, Ethyl shows how a tail will eventually sag, and Charlene's date leaves her for a woman with a bigger tail.
- Follow the Leader: In-Universe. After seeing a promo for Way Too Complicated, a show that has a lot of explaining regarding its format, Ethyl complains that it's just like all the other shows. Though Fran says that Ethyl is just mad that they canceled one of her favorite shows, so Ethyl might be biased in her opinion on other shows.
- Interrupted Suicide: When Charlene asks how Fran dealt with being the last girl in her class to grow her tail, Ethyl says Fran tried to jump from the roof but was so fat the roof gave way and she fell on her father, who limped since then.
- Shout-Out: The format of the show Way Too Complicated has elements of The Brady Bunch, including a blended family where both parents had a share of children and the typical multi-picture look of the show's opening. The father is also said to have lept through time.
- Status Quo Is God: A rare aversion for this series, as Charlene's tail never goes back to its original size (though there's not many ways around that).
