John Franklin from Children of the Corn (1984) makes his second consecutive appearance on Kids Incorporated; this time playing a Leprechaun.
During the performance of opening song "I Want You Back"; Riley hauls a container marked "Fragile" and "Special Delivery" (as the song progresses, we see the contents: a leprechaun). Following the song, Kid and Stacy head backstage to finish a checkers game they were playing. The two then spot the locker and Kid erroneously thinks Stacy was tapping him on the shoulder, only to learn it was a leprechaun. Introducing himself as Lyle Moriarty, he mentions that he's a big fan, having heard their records and all. Stacy then tries to get the others to see what they found, only for Lyle to make himself invisible, causing Riley to think it was a practical joke. Upon Riley's departure, Lyle reveals he wants to be a rock and roll star (being considered aimless by his father) and wants Kid and Stacy (the two youngest members) to teach him how; though he also has stage fright. The two kids had to go back on stage, though they let Lyle watch via peephole ("Say It Isn't So").
We then see Riley putting a sign up while Mickey, Gloria and Renee are studying. Kid and Stacy are preparing to do likewise when Lyle disappears at their table; with Lyle then proceeding to interrupt their attempts to study (with the subsequent attempts to get Lyle to knock it off drawing the ire of the others to the extent that the older members leave). With the older kids having left, Lyle brags that Kid and Stacy are stuck with him (much to their annoyance); setting up "Stuck on You". Fortunately for Lyle, the two kids are apparently quick to forgive; as we then see Kid and Stacy attempting to disguise Lyle as a rocker by putting a hat, guitar and breakdancing shoes (Lyle doesn't know what breakdancing is) before Lyle shows he can make others disappear, causing Kid and Stacy to turn invisible when Renee comes looking for them; leading to the theme from "Fame".
There's still the issue of stage fright, as Lyle says he's now ready to go home...provided he gets to sing on stage with Kids Incorporated (Kid and Stacy: "Saints preserve us"). We then see Mickey, Gloria and Renee waiting for Kid and Stacy to show up. When the two youngest members arrive late, they explain they were helping get a friend ready to perform with them (leaving Mickey naturally incredulous). Introducing "Michael O'Jackson" (Lyle dressed as the King of Pop; complete with moonwalk to "Billie Jean"), whose green appearance Stacy waves off as part of his "rock image"; leading to closing song "Last Dance".
Songs performed in this episode:
- "I Want You Back" (The Jackson 5 cover; performed by Kid and Mickey)
- "Say It Isn't So" (Daryl Hall & John Oates cover; performed by Mickey and Gloria)
- "Stuck on You" (Lionel Richie cover; performed by Lyle)
- "Fame" (Irene Cara cover; performed by Stacy, Lyle and Kid)
- "Last Dance" (Donna Summer cover; performed by Lyle and Stacy)
Tropes associated with this episode:
- Disco Dan: Lyle's rock lingo seems to be stuck in The '50s and The '60s.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: The break room backstage is bare compared to Season 2 forward, where shelves and steps are seen backstage.
- Also, the mention of the kids having recorded albums. Outside of a brief shot in Season 2's "New Kid in Town"; no mention of recording albums is made for the rest of the series' runnote
- Jerkass: Lyle comes across as this with many of his antics
- Oireland: Lyle hailing from Ireland and being disguised as "Michael O'Jackson" near the end of the episode.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: Lyle being disguised as a regular kid and later as "Michael O'Jackson". In an explanation about his face being green in the latter get-up, Stacy hand waves it as part of his "rock image".
- Shout-Out: Lyle (as "Michael O'Jackson") shows up dancing the moonwalk as the intro to "Billie Jean" plays in the background.
- Performance Anxiety: The one thing standing in the way
- Visible Invisibility: Used to show to the viewer that Lyle has made himself (and for one scene Kid and Stacy) invisible
