Airdate: July 30, 1997
Episode code: 203
D & DD: Dexter's friends make Dee Dee the game master for their Monsters and Mazes session.
Hamhocks and Armlocks: Dexter's dad is forced into an arm-wrestling match.
D & DD has examples of
- Day Hurts Dark-Adjusted Eyes: Mom enters the room where Dexter and his friends are playing Monsters and Mazes, says "Gracious! It's as dark as a dungeon in here!", and opens the blinds. Dex recoils, shielding his eyes and hissing like a vampire.
- Deep-Immersion Gaming: The episode begins with three characters — a paladin, a woodsman and a mage — exploring a dungeon. They are eventually revealed to be Dexter's buddies playing Monsters and Mazes.
- Fake Action Prologue: The opening of the episode features a paladin, a woodsman and a mage fighting evil minions, escaping a death trap, and defeating a Semitaur in a labyrinth, leading up to them all being zapped by the magician Soraz. The paladin fights through the pain, calling Soraz a cheater, which makes him angrily take off his hood, revealing Dexter underneath and that all the events seen were just a game he and his friends were playing.
- Hobbits: Dee Dee gives Dexter a character named "Hodo the Furry-Footed Burrower", who actually digs tunnels à la Bugs Bunny. And his only "weapon" is his deadly... mandolin?
- Killer Gamemaster: Dexter, who throws badly unbalanced encounters at the party and changing dice rolls behind the screen all in an attempt to satisfy his ego, which his friends aren't happy with.
- Laser-Guided Karma: After being a cheating Killer Gamemaster, their Mom forces him to let Dee Dee play and become the new Gamemaster, and Dexter ends up being the only one to not enjoy it and has Hodo forced upon him after Dee Dee vetoes his very overpowered dark knight.
- Monty Haul: As Dungeon Master, Dee Dee make the players fight a dragon, who turns out to be a pinata full of candy. Then, as the Fairy Princess, he gives the paladin a Cool Bike as a "steed", the woodsman a tree fort, the magician a lovely assistant and a Vegas show, and Dexter the magic grail, which is spill-proof.
- RPG Episode: Dexter and his friends are playing Monsters and Mazes, with Dee Dee joining in as the new gamemaster after the others tire of Dexter in the role.
Hamhocks and Arlocks has examples of
- Berserk Button: Dad takes all of Earl's abuse in stride, but when Earl won't hold the door open for Mom, he flips out.
- David vs. Goliath: Dad, a relatively normal-sized adult, in an arm-wrestling match against the absolutely massive Earl. Knowing he doesn't stand a chance, Dee Dee convinces Dexter to help out with his technology.
- The Faceless: Earl's face is never shown.
- Failed a Spot Check: Dad does not notice that Dexter turned his arm robotic to give him a chance against Eart.
- Greasy Spoon: The truck stop the family visits. Their waitress is a chain smoking woman named Midge. She even has a bad perm to complete the stereotypical Greasy Spoon look. The restaurant is devoid of menus and only has three options when it comes to food: Hamburgers, Hamhocks, and Ham Sandwiches. Despite the family asking for hamburgers, Midge refuses to bring them any. Dexter's father then asks for ham sandwiches and she responds by saying "Trust me, you don't want em'". She then orders ham hocks for the entire family.Dexter: What are ham hocks?
Dee Dee: They're gross!
