Our story begins here with the kids walking to the P*lace; with Kid stopping long enough to show off some new dance moves, only for Gloria to notice the door of the garage the kids practice in (which was owned by Mickey's dad) had been vandalized to read "Intense Dynamite: High Voltage", and as it turns out this vandal had been actively spray painting businesses throughout the neighborhood, leading to a brief debate over the spray painting (Kid and - somewhat surprisingly - Gloria seem to like what this mysterious person did; Renee and Mickey strongly disagreed; with Mickey pointing out what this vandal did was illegal. Stacy seemingly plays the "swing vote" before Renee shuts her up. Riley notices the vandalism and suggests working on a way to stop the perpetrator; while Mario rides in after learning the neighborhood shop owners are offering a $100 rewardnote ; providing extra motivation for the kids considering that would (combined with money already saved) would be enough to buy a new synthesizer; setting up opening song "Dynamite"note .
Meanwhile, the kids prepare to meet that night to plan how to catch the vandal (i.e.: bait the vandal by painting the wall of the garage; then hide to catch "him"). However, Stacy begins fretting over what happens if the plan fails, with her imagination rapidly running wild before Mickey delivers a Big "SHUT UP!" to her. The clean-up begins (set to "The Warrior") before the kids hide (with Stacy emerging for unknown reasons in a monster mask and twice nearly blowing everyone's cover).
Sure enough, the vandal appears and is surrounded by the others (after Stacy is reminded to remove said mask) before the discovery that the vandal is a girlnote . Unsurprisingly, Mickey is smitten; leading to him being reduced to stammering for a few minutes; resulting in Gloria ribbing him about being lovesick. When pressed further, the vandal claims she did it because she likes to paint and wanted to share it with the world (attempts to get Mickey to say something end with a frustrated Renee exclaiming, "Oh, forget it, will ya? He's forgotten how to talk!") before Kid leaves to explain that the vandal has been found (though not before briefly waving in Mickey's direction). Mickey does snap out of it long enough for "I Can Dream About You".
Meanwhile, Back at the… P*lace; Riley has joined in the interrogation, accidentally scaring her. Kid arrives on the scene with the reward money and word that the cops are on their way. However, the fact that the perpetrator isn't much older than the band members apparently caused Renee to get cold feet on turning her in as well. Upon Mickey's arrival, Gloria yet again teases his crush; but he has another idea: have her paint everything over by helping her clean up, while also painting signs for the shop windows to advertise things such as sales. Cost of supplies: $100 (thus no new synth - at least for a while - as Kid reluctantly hands the money over); leading to closing song "Jump (For My Love)" as the now-reformed vandal is seen painting on an easel.
Songs performed in this episode:
- "Dynamite" (Jermaine Jackson cover; lead vocals by Stacy, Kid, Mickey, Renee & Gloria)
- "The Warrior" (Scandal cover; lead vocals by Gloria & Mickey)
- "I Can Dream About You" (Dan Hartman cover; lead vocals by Mickey)
- "Jump (For My Love)" (The Pointer Sisters cover; lead vocals by Stacy, Renee, Gloria, Mickey & Kid)
Tropes associated with this episode:
- Big "SHUT UP!": Stacy's fretting over what might happen if Mickey's plan to catch the vandal didn't work end with Mickey saying "STACY! Stifle it!"
- Gibberish of Love: A variant, as upon discovering the vandal is a girl Mickey is reduced to stammering for a couple of minutes.
- Samus Is a Girl: The discovery that the vandal the kids tried to catch is a girl.
- Shout-Out: Renee references The People's Court while trying to get Stacy to shut up. In real life, both series shared a lighting designer in Carl Gibson.
