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"Name Shame" is the twenty-sixth segment of the first season of The Mighty B! that aired on October 25, 2008.
Summary[]
Portia finds out that Bessie's middle name is cursed and whenever somebody says it, something bad happens. It soon becomes a problem when she spreads it around all of San Francisco.
Plot[]
Ben is watching TV and singing along to the Blue Lake River Toilet Cake song. Meanwhile, Bessie receives a letter from mailman Donald, and notices her middle initial is within it. Horrified at this, she tries to hide her middle name by tearing the letter up, only for the piece with her name still intact, and gliding throughout San Francisco, falling into Portia's hands.
Curious about Bessie's middle name, Portia tries to figure out what Bessie's full middle name is, much to Bessie's dismay. Portia and Gwen ask Ben what Bessie's middle name is, but Ben refuses to tell them. So they decide to tickle Mr. Pants, Ben's stuffed toy by means of getting the answer, but to no avail.
Meanwhile, the toilet cake song seems to be going about, much to the towns persons' annoyance. At the shop, Portia tries to get Bessie's middle name by offering Happy some cheese if he tells her, but he refuses. Portia then offers Happy a deluxe cheese wheel, which gets Happy to whisper in her ear, only for it to be a trick just to get the cheese wheel.
Portia, Gwen, and Penny go through a bunch of name files and find Bessie's file in there, but her middle name is cut out completely. Bessie is on the lookout for Portia and Gwen, all while being annoyed by Ben singing the toilet cake song.
Portia, Gwen, and Penny enter the Higgenbottom residence, eager to find out what Bessie's middle name is. After attempting and failing to distract her, Hilary reveals that Bessie's middle name is "Kajolica". All three find the name hilarious.
After mentioning this name numerous times, bad luck rains upon Portia (who loses her hair) and Gwen (with the wallpaper trapping her). It's revealed that Bessie's middle name is cursed, so whenever it's mentioned, bad things happen. Portia already spread the word via text all across town, causing chaos to ensue.
The citizens of San Francisco all mention Bessie's cursed middle name, followed by horrible things happening to them: Lola Millerson and her daughter Millie are attacked by multiple birds, Mrs. Gibbons' own tongue punches her in the face, Anton St. Germain's previously bear skin rug becomes animate and mauls him, The Hippie's house is flooded, Chai Gallagher's newscast is cut short and finally Ronnie is pursued by a seemingly cute rabbit who wants to eat him.
Bessie and Ben attempt to shut everyone up to stop the madness, and find an alternative to this dilemma. Ben is still singing the toilet cake song, giving Bessie the idea to get the song stuck in everyone's head and saving San Francisco from disaster. After everyone has an earworm, Ben accidentally says Kajolica one last time, causing the hive to instantaneously combust.
Cast[]
| Voice actor | Roles |
|---|---|
| Amy Poehler | Bessie |
| Andy Richter | Ben |
| Grey DeLisle | Portia, Millie, Chai Gallagher, Lola & Ronnie |
| Jessica DiCicco | Gwen, Beaver Two & Crying Child |
| Dannah Feinglass | Penny |
| Dee Bradley Baker | Happy |
| Megan Cavanagh | Hilary |
| Sarah Thyre | Mary Frances Gibbons |
| Keone Young | Mr. Wu |
| Matt Besser | Anton St. Germain, The Hippie & Fancy Rich Lady |
| Kevin Michael Richardson | Donald & Announcer |
Trivia[]
General[]
- First appearances of Mr. Pants and Ronnie, the latter credited as "Beaver One."
- This is Mr. Wu's last speaking appearance but he will continue to make non-speaking appearances for the rest of the show.
- Bessie donated to a foundation to cure "general rudeness."
- Bessie's address is 231 West Olive Avenue.
- Portia likes mini-cupcakes.
- According to Ben, Mr. Pants is "very ticklish."
- Portia tries to bribe Happy with a brie of cheese, triple crumb.
- Hilary was making a dream catcher prior to Gwen, Penny and Portia entering the Higgenbottom home.
- Per Hilary, the medicine man from Santa Fe made turquoise sun jewelry.
- Being Bessie's mother, Hilary seems to be the only one unaffected when saying "Kajolica." This immunity would explain her being oblivious to its bad luck.
- Portia states Millie has a fear of clowns.
- Even though the Hippie said Kajolica wrong, something bad still happened, showing the curse is still in effect even if Kajolica is mispronounced.
- The headline on the news is titled "Kajolica Virus."
- The Hippie views the Blue Lake River Toilet Cake song as a tactic for the government to control people's minds.
- Ronnie likes rabbits.
- This episode has the most characters with a speaking role in it, with 20.
Cultural references[]
- Portia sings Bessie's middle name to the tune of "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow."
- A swarm of birds invading the Millerson residence references locusts plaguing Egyptians in the Book of Exodus.
Production information[]
- Airing right after "Something's Wrong With This Taffy" when it premiered,[2] it is the first segment shown when this episode is rerun.
- Nickelodeon promoted this episode as part of the channel's "Shocktober" theme during the Halloween season.[3]
- Eddie Trigueros received an Annie Award nomination, in the category of "Storyboarding in an Animated Television Production or Short Form" for his work on this episode as storyboard artist.[4]
- Alongside "Something's Wrong With This Taffy," "Name Shame" was watched by 5.8 million people when it premiered.[5]
- Bessie's birth certificate reveals she was born on March 26, "006." This was chosen as her birthday as March 26, 2006 was the date the pilot episode ("So Happy Together") was picked up.[6]
- Erik Wiese has claimed this to be one of his favorite episodes.[7]
- While the show was still in production, the scene with Portia trying to get Bessie to tell her the latter's middle name was used as a storyboard test for prospective storyboard artists.[8]
- An audio commentary for "Name Shame" is available for listening on the BEEing Bessie Higgenbottom DVD.
References[]
- ↑ Happy Halloween with Nickelodeon!. October 17, 2008. People. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
- ↑ Liu, Ed (October 9, 2008). PR: Nickelodeon’s "Shocktober" Treats Kids to Spooky New Thrills On-Air and Online. Anime Super Hero. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
- ↑ Ball, Ryan (October 9, 2008). Nick Channels Celebrate ‘Shocktober’. Animation Magazine. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
- ↑ ‘Kung Fu Panda’ leads Annie noms, December 1, 2008, Variety magazine, Retrieved January 3, 2020.
- ↑ Turner, Cynthia (October 31, 2008). Friday, October 31st, 2008. Cynopsis. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
- ↑ Wiese, Erik (September 15, 2022). Erik on Twitter: "@NoConTheMightyB Ok, what I thought it was was wrong. That date was the date the pilot was picked up. So, basically it’s Bessie’s BDay. 🤓". Twitter. Retrieved September 15, 2022. Archive link at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ Wiese, Erik (July 26, 2023). Wiese commenting on this clip from Name Shame. Instagram. Retrieved July 28, 2023. Comment on No Context The Mighty B! account.
- ↑ Whitlock, Matt. STORYBOARDS. Matt Whitlock's website. Retrieved October 30, 2020.