In this parody of the panic caused by Orson Welles' adaptation of "The War of the Worlds," the whole city mistakes a Halloween prank set up by Arnold and Gerald as an actual alien invasion.
Tropes:
- Accidental Misnaming: As usual, Bob calls Helga “Olga.” This time, it’s when she interrupts the TV show he was watching.Helga: How many times is he gonna call me Olga?! Does he think it’s funny or something?
- Actor Allusion: Maurice LaMarche, who primarily voices Bob Pataki, lends his voice to Orson Welles Expy Douglas Cain using his Brain voice, which is itself a parody of Orson's speech pattern. Appropriate, considering the episode’s Whole-Plot Reference to “War of the Worlds.”
- Alien Invasion: Arnold and Gerald’s prank works so well that the entire city thinks the world’s being invaded by aliens.
- Anarchy Is Chaos: Thanks to Douglas Cain blowing Arnold and Gerald's prank out of proportion coupled with a black out caused by lighting up the city water tower like a mothership, the entire city is thrown into an uproar.
- Arson, Murder, and Admiration: Grandpa Phil’s response when Arnold says he’ll never pull another prank like that again.Grandpa Phil: You terrified the entire city, you nearly caused the end of the world...I’m proud of you, boy!
- Big Word Shout: Upon learning that the reason she and the others had been chased by angry mobs all night was because of Arnold's prank, Helga angrily yells his name at the top of her lungs. Arnold vaguely senses it.
- Clingy Costume: Helga tries to prove to the angry mob of adults chasing them that they’re just a bunch of kids in costumes by wiping off her grey makeup, but it won’t come off. It turns out Harold bought “permanent exterior latex” for them to use.
- Conspiracy Theorist: Bob claims to have been nearly abducted by aliens in North Dakota. As a result he's become an avid believer in aliens and their eventual invasion of the earth.
- Copycat Mockery: Helga’s dad has told his alien encounter story so many times that Helga has it memorized and she can be seen laying on the couch and boredly mouthing the words.
- "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot: Played With. While the kids are running for their lives, Curly blames Helga for the mess they're in, saying it wouldn't have happened if they had been pirates like he wanted. Helga tells him to put a sock in it.
- Dresses the Same: At the beginning of the episode, Ernie and Mr. Hyunh argue about who’s going to be Frankenstein's Monster for the Halloween party. It seems that they never settled on an agreement, because at the party they’re both seen in a Frankenstein costume and are still arguing with each other.
- Failed Attempt at Scaring: Helga tries to scare her dad with her alien costume, but because he cares so little about anything she says or does, it doesn't have any effect on him.
- Gone Horribly Right: Arnold and Gerald set out to scare adults at the boarding house Halloween party. Not only do they accomplish this, they incite city-wide chaos after their prank gets broadcasted by local celebrity and alien nut, Douglas Cain. Angry mobs are formed, the power goes out, and the city’ water tower gets hit by an explosion.
- The Greys: In this universe, everyone thinks aliens look like this; short, grey creatures with big heads.
- Halloween Episode: Arnold and Gerald decide to scare the grown-ups on Halloween.
- Hypocritical Humor: Oskar criticizes the boys for watching “The Z Files”, a scripted show about aliens, but then he and the other men jump up to watch “UFO Tonight” when it comes on.
- I Am a Monster: Bob says this when he realizes that he almost killed his daughter when he thought she was an alien. It actually ends with a very rare sweet moment between the two of them as he gives her a big hug.
- I Want My Mommy!: Harold can be heard crying “Mommy!” as Ernie chases the kids (mistaking them for real aliens) with a giant mallet.
- It's Personal: Bob doesn’t take up the fight against the aliens until it’s announced on the radio that the chaos is causing beepers to be jammed.Bob: Beepers are jammed? That tears it! Now it’s personal, Miriam!
- Locked Out of the Loop: Arnold and Gerald don't tell Helga and the other fourth graders dressed up as aliens about the prank. When they eventually find out about it from Stinky, Helga is furious and attacks him.
- My Significance Sense Is Tingling: When Helga yells Arnold’s name in anger at the top of the ridge, Arnold can sense it all the way from his grandpa’s car driving through the middle of town.Arnold: Did you hear something just now, Gerald?Gerald: No.Arnold: I’ve got a bad feeling about Helga and the other kids.
- Mean Boss: Douglas Cain to one of his reporters who wanted to end his shift early, disregarding his requests and ordering him to stick to his route in search of aliens, regardless of how fruitless it seemed.
- Power Outage Plot: The kids’ “mothership” (a.k.a the water tower covered in Christmas lights) uses so much electricity that it causes a city-wide power outage.
- The Quisling: Principal Wartz was planning to ingratiate himself to the aliens by bringing them chocolates and offering to lead them to the children.
- Shout-Out: One of the guests at the boarders’ Halloween party is dressed as Fred Flintstone, while his date appears to be Elvira.
- Show Within a Show: At the beginning of the episode, Arnold and Gerald are watching a show about aliens called “The Z Files” - a reference to The X-Files.
- Speak of the Devil: Upon learning of how the situation has gotten out of hand, Arnold asks Grandpa where Helga and the others went after he saw them. Cue said group running by, being chased by an angry mob.
- Surrounded by Idiots:
- Douglas Cain’s reaction when he loses the signal on the alien broadcast: “I’m surrounded by incompetence.”
- Helga makes a similar comment when Harold tells her he bought extra strong latex to use for their alien makeup, which is why it won’t come off: “Oh, criminy, I’m surrounded!”
- Whole-Plot Reference: This episode's entire plot is based on Orson Welles' 1938 radio broadcast “The War of the Worlds,” which also sent many people into a panic. Although the amount of panic is disputed to this very day.
- With Us or Against Us: Upon learning that Principal Wartz was planning to surrender to the aliens, Bob threatened him to grow a spine and fight for the human race or he'd send him back to his wife in chocolate box. Wartz immediately started rooting for humans.Wartz: Go, humans, go! Go, humans, go! Fight, fight, fight!
