Truman watches a black-and-white movie about sentient pickles, and then tells Martha about it, revealing that he got too scared to watch after seeing the pickles. Then, Martha hears T.D. mention that "space pickles" are coming, and imagines pickles that look like the Lorraines invading her house.
She bursts into Helen's room, to find her and T.D. and expresses fear about the space creatures, but Helen assures her that there are none and that T.D. was just trying to embellish her essay on space travel. She then sends the boys and the dogs out to go grocery shopping so that she can study in peace. On their way, they discuss the pickle movie, and T.D. reveals that he has seen it as well, but that, like Truman, he was too scared to watch to the end. Just then, Martha sees someone in a pickle suit, scaring her. The boys look, but by then, the person is gone, so she decides she was just imagining things.
Meanwhile, Granny Flo tells her employees that she is about to go into the pickle-making business, which is why they are dressed as pickles. One man wonders if they should explain what they're doing, but Granny Flo thinks it's more profitable to be confusing.
The boys and dogs find nothing of interest at the grocery store, but are hungry, so they go to the cafe to get snacks. Martha wonders what would happen if aliens did invade, but the boys aren't so concerned, stating that movie aliens always have a weakness. However, when Martha and the boys see three people in pickle suits, they become fearful, believing these to be the aliens.
The boys and dogs decide to stop the aliens, so Martha has the boys watch the rest of the movie to try to determine their weakness, while she and Skits warn the others and the people in pickle suits continue to romp around town. Martha, impatient, tells the boys to fast-forward to the end, which they do, and it turns out that the pickles' weakness is that they melt when water touches them.
T.D. grabs a bottle of water and meets up with Martha and Skits and explains that the way to defeat the pickle aliens is with water. Martha notes that T.D.'s bottle isn't enough, so she runs up the stairs to the water tower], pulls a chain, and drenches them all. Their costumes are destroyed, much to Granny Flo's chagrin, but Helen points out that this ordeal is good for publicity.
Later, at the Lorraine house, Helen explains that they weren't aliens and it was just a strange ad. Then, she and Martha watch the movie together and don't find it so scary after all.
This episode provides examples of
- Achilles' Heel: Conversed when Truman points out that in movies, aliens always have some fatal weakness, such as a virus.
- All Part of the Show: Helen assumes that the pickle mascots getting soaked in water was part of the publicity stunt.
- Anthropomorphic Food: Truman watches a movie about sentient pickles.
- Arbitrary Skepticism: Truman thinks the idea of giant pickles showing up is "farfetched", despite Martha's being able to talk.
- Comically Missing the Point: When T.D. says, "Martha, water!", she replies that she isn't thirsty. He clarifies, "No; the way to defeat the pickles is with water. It makes them melt."
- Continuity Nod: Martha briefly mentions her radio show, which she got on "Martha Gives Advice".
- Doomed New Clothes: The pickle costumes are destroyed by the water.
- Dramatic Irony:
- The boys don't find any evidence of Granny Flo's new product, so they assume it was just a rumour, when we already know that she's selling pickles.
- Martha and the boys mistake the people in pickle suits for aliens after it's been established that they're not.
- Dumb Blonde: Implied for the woman in the movie. It's in black and white, but her hair appears light-coloured, and she doesn't know what "unusual", "odd", or "normal" means.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: T.D. was too scared to watch 'til the end of the horror movie. Later episodes would establish him as relatively fearless.
- Facepalm: The guy on the horror movie is briefly seen with his palm on his face when the boys are fast-forwarding.
- Fantasy Sequence: When T.D. mentions space pickles, Martha imagines them.
- Faux Horrific:
- Truman claims the scariest parts of the movie he watched are the "tacky sets" and the "wooden dialogue" and he shudders while he's saying it.
- He later doesn't want the pickle aliens to go to the library... lest they get their brine on the books.
- Forgetful Jones: The woman on the horror movie keeps forgetting the meanings of words. Her boyfriend even notes how strange her terrible memory is.
- Gonna Need More X: When Martha, Skits, and T.D. plan on attacking the people in pickle suits, who they've mistaken for aliens, with a bottle of water, Martha looks at how many of them there are and notes, "We're gonna need a bigger bottle!".
- Heroic Dog: Discussed when Martha and Skits want to help stop an alien invasion. They don't ever end up actually doing it though, since there were no aliens.
- Hypocritical Humor: Truman thinks it's strange that the man on the horror movie keeps defining things, even though characters on Martha Speaks define things all the time.
- I Meant to Do That: When Martha runs away and yells, "Pickle people!" after T.D. jokes about space creatures, Helen says, "It's just T.D. again." Martha then sheepishly claims that she knew all along and was "just fooling around".
- I'm Melting!: The pickle aliens on the movie melt when their skin gets wet.
- Is It Something You Eat?: When Martha first hears the term "rumour", she wonders if it's a food.
- Kids Shouldn't Watch Horror Films: Downplayed. Truman and T.D., who are nine and ten respectively, both watch a horror movie about sentient pickles. They're too scared to watch to the end, but don't seem too shaken up by it (in fact, they openly mock it), and it isn't until the people in pickle costumes show up that they become convinced the movie's events may happen in reality. Also, Helen, who's the same age as T.D., watches the movie and isn't even scared.
- Left the Background Music On: When Granny Flo is talking to her workers, dramatic pipe organ music plays. It's then revealed to be being played by another old lady.
- Mistaken for Aliens: Truman and T.D. have seen a movie about sentient pickles from outer space, so when they (along with Martha) see some people wearing pickle costumes, they fear that these are the pickle aliens.
- Mondegreen Gag:
- When Truman says, "That's pretty farfetched", Martha and Skits both mishear it as a command to fetch.
- When Martha yells, "The pickle people! Run for your lives!", a man mishears it as "Pick the people who run your life".
- Ominous Pipe Organ: Parodied. Pipe organ music plays (which is revealed to be being played by another old lady) as Granny Flo is explaining her plan to... advertise pickles.
- Poor Communication Kills:
- Invoked. Granny Flo tells her workers not to explain what they're doing, since she feels it'd be more attention-grabbing if they didn't.
- When Martha runs off to the water tower, she doesn't explain to T.D., who thus thinks she's deserting him and Skits.
- Shout-Out: When Granny Flo is ranting about her business plan not working out and being "ruined", she exclaims, "What a world!", which is what the Wicked Witch of the West says when she melts in The Wizard of Oz.
- Weaksauce Weakness:
- Conversed when T.D. suggests being unable to breathe Earth's air as a possible weakness of aliens.
- On the movie, the pickles' weakness is getting drenched in water (it melts them).
