Recap / Kids Incorporated S 3 E 13 Stacy And The Clown

This episode marks the 2nd (of the last 3) episodes (along with "Peter Pam") featuring Stacy in center-stage; this time befriending a handicapped clown (guest star Henry Holden) as the kids hold a special clown contest.

Things start off with a performance of "Conga" - during which a man dressed as a clown enters the P*lace; and following the performance, the kids notice Riley posting signs advertising an upcoming clown contest, leading to their bringing a series of incidents where Stacy made others laugh ranging from accidentally knocking a gymnastics team down during a gymnastics contest to mixing up the rules for a school painting contest and painting the school to a casserole she baked winning first prize in a science contest - utterly embarrassing Stacy, who decides not to enter out of fear she'd lose and embarrass herself again. After finishing "Rock This Town"; the kids (again, sans Stacy) rush to get ready for the clown contest; while Stacy decides to try out Riley's special: "Strawberry Surprise" (which, as she notes it doesn't taste like strawberries, Riley jokes "That's the surprise"). Riley then tries cheering her up and convincing Stacy to enter, which she politely turns down.

At that point, the clown - named Henry - introduces himself and likewise attempts to convince Stacy to reconside; though Stacy, still worried about messing up, walks away ("Say You, Say Me"). He then tells her about a young boy who wanted to become a clown, only to be stricken with polio; thus costing him the use of his legs, with Stacy (wrongly) assuming the young boy accepted his fate and moved on before Henry mentions that the boy didn't give up on that dream, which succeeded in convincing Stacy to enter the contest ("Walking on Sunshine"); which she goes on to win. It's after that point that Stacy realizes (after seeing Henry grab his crutches) that the boy in the story was Henry himself. Riley then treats the crowd to free sodas (and gets sprtized by the other clowns with seltzer), setting up closing song "Celebrating You".

Behind the scenes; this marked the first of four special episodes during the first four Disney Channel seasons (1986-89) that would feature large crowds of kids in crowd scenes, including the children of producers Thomas W. Lynch and Gary P. Biller as well as Lynch and Biller making cameo appearances; with the later examples adding "and a cast of thousands" to the opening credits alongside the dancers and one main adult character.

Songs performed in this episode:

• “Conga" (Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine cover; lead vocals by Gloria)
• “Rock This Town” (Stray Cats cover; lead vocals by Ryan)^note previously used in Season 1's penultimate episode "Siedah Garrett"; with Ryan Lambert's predecessor as male lead, Jerry Sharell, on lead vocals. In addition to the "whiskey on the rocks" line in Verse 2 cleaned up to soda; this version also skips an additional verse used on the first usage
• “Say You, Say Me” (Lionel Richie cover; lead vocals by Stacy)
• “Walking on Sunshine” (Katrina and the Waves cover; lead vocals by Stacy)^note previously used to close out the previous season's "A Pain in the Neck"; only that version had Gloria on lead vocals and was performed on stage
• “Celebrating You” (Kids Incorporated original; lead vocals by Kid and Gloria)

Tropes associated with this episode:

• …And That Little Girl Was Me: Henry's story about the boy who overcome being stricken with polio to fulfill his dream of being a clown...was his own story.
• Call-Back: One of the other instances the kids reminisced over involving Stacy (unintentionally) making others laugh involved her knocking gymnasts down during a gymnastics competition - presumably a reference to "Go for the Gold"; where Stacy - entering the contest to win a $200 gift certificate for the Audio Hut, which would be enough to replace a blown amplifier - knocks over several other contestants among other mishaps.
• Creator Cameo: First of 4 episodes^note the others being Season 4's "When Movies Were Movies"; Season 5's "Kahuna Kids" and Season 6's "Magic Toy Shoppe" to feature brief cameos by producers Thomas W. Lynch and Gary P. Biller along with Lynch's son Thomas P. Lynch III and Biller's son Nick, both of whom were small children given a "Special Appearance" credit; coincidentally all taking place during the first four Disney Channel seasons.
• Lethal Chef: One scene involves the others reminiscing over incidents where Stacy (self-conscious over entering a clown contest) ended up (unintentionally) making the others laugh. The last of these involved a casserole that Stacy made which won first prize...in the science contest.
• Non-Ironic Clown: 2nd of 2 episodes, along with Season 1's "No Jockos" to feature a traditional clown.