Valley Girls is the eleventh episode of The Wild Thornberrys's first season which was first broadcast on October 13, 1998.
Summary[]
Eliza and Debbie's combined bungling sends the commvee careening down a mountain, where it lies mired in the mud.
They come face to face with a menacing-looking, but quirky tribe of silverback gorillas, and they must work together to "unstick" the van.
Synopsis[]
The Thornberrys are in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Southern Uganda to film the elusive Great Crested Grebe. The Family is rather restless from the long drive from the Capital of Kampala, until Nigel declares that they have arrived in Grebe territory. Marianne does not see sufficient wildlife where they have stopped at the top of a large ravine, but Nigel clarifies that Grebe territory lies beneath at the floor of the valley. Marianne is nervous to try rappelling down, but it is the only way to reach the river below. The parents leave the ComVee in the care of Debbie and Eliza as they set off quite haphazardly.
Debbie clarifies she intends to spend the day in the ComVee and demands that Eliza, Donnie and Darwin not bother her. This is fine with Eliza as she plans to tape the local bird calls. Debbie becomes quite annoyed that Eliza is using a portable tape player which she has tentatively claimed as her own to listen to music. Eliza merely scoffs at her Sister and sets off to a large tree full of birds. Inside the ComVee, Debbie intends to listen to music regardless, and to spite Eliza, sets the the volume on the ComVee's stereo system to full.
Eliza reaches the top of the tree and is about to start communicating with a flock of birds when Debbie starts an obnoxiously loud grunge rock song which promptly scatters the flock. Eliza is of course quite cross and storms back to the ComVee, demanding to be let in to shut the music off. Debbie has locked the doors and is inside dancing to the music, activating the bass amplifier to drown out her Sister's protests. Eliza climbs on the rear ladder to the ComVee as Debbie's dancing reaches the front cab. She mistakenly kicks out and hits the parking break, sending the ComVee rolling down the road and knocking Eliza from the ladder.
In a panic, Eliza, Donnie and Darwin chase after the ComVee which is rapidly gaining speed down the mountain road (of course Donnie is more interested in surfing the out of control vehicle). Inside Debbie has been thrown to the floor and desperately tries to reach the driver's seat as every loose item in the ComVee goes airborne. Eliza instructs Darwin (both of whom are holding onto the ComVee for dear life) to climb forward and take control. Darwin manages to reach the driver's seat, though driving an out of control vehicle is not his forte. He does manage to slam on the breaks, sending the ComVee into a spin. By now it has reached the base of the mountain road, and careens backwards into the stream.
Meanwhile, Nigel and Marianne continue their trek down into the ravine. Nigel miscalculates his dissent and plummets into the valley. Fortunately he isn't SERIOUSLY injured, though is quite bruised.
Incredibly, none of our heroes at the ComVee are injured, though Darwin is quite shaken. Eliza and Debbie resolve to drive the ComVee back to the camp, hoping to prevent Nigel and Marianne from finding out. However, the ComVee is stuck fast in the mud of the stream's bank. Both Sisters blame each other, but Eliza hears a strange distant noise, suggesting they are not alone. Indeed, the portion of the forest at the bottom of the ravine is much denser than the one on the mountain. Eliza proposes going into the jungle to find a way to free the ComVee from its muddy confinement, though Debbie insists that the ComVee itself is well equipped to get itself out of any emergency. The Sisters resolve to separately find their own resolutions, with Debbie haughtily telling Eliza to take Darwin and Donnie with her. That is until an angry warthog emerges from the brush and rushes at Debbie. Donnie jumps between the two and masterfully scares the oversized pig away. Debbie offers to let Donnie stay at the ComVee, figuring he would make good security.
Meanwhile, Nigel and Marianne stop to watch some tadpoles in a pond, before Nigel points out a Great Crested Grebe right behind Marianne. They only manage an initial shot before the flightless bird flees into the brush, with the conservationists in close pursuit.
Back at the ComVee, Debbie starts looking for emergency gear, but instead finds a dogsled that is certainly impractical for Africa, though it occupies Donnie's attention. In the forest, Eliza and Darwin come across a spectacular find, a troop of mountain gorillas. Darwin is terrified that the gorillas will pummel him to death should they be discovered, though Eliza thinks a rather large, circular rock they are sitting around will be useful in dislodging the ComVee. She instructs Darwin to go up in the tree and make animal noises. He reluctantly imitates the calls of common livestock which are unlikely to be heard in the Impenetrable Forest. The gorillas are rather confused, and leave the area to avoid a potentially unknown entity lurking in the woods. Eliza and Darwin, with difficulty, begin to push the rock home, Darwin now impressed in his own vocal capabilities.
Back at the ComVee, Debbie attempts to use a ship's mast to dislodge the vehicle with disastrous results. How that ship mast could fit in such an efficient domicile is left to the audience's imagination. Donnie tries to communicate something he sees to his big Sister, though Debbie ignores him.
Meanwhile, Eliza and Darwin are pushing the rock back to the ComVee. However Darwin stops in sheer terror. Standing before them is the alpha mountain gorilla, and he is NOT happy that they took his rock. Eliza tries to play dumb that they didn't really take the rock from him, but the intelligent beast sarcastically refutes her claim. Eliza states she needs the rock to rescue the ComVee, though the gorilla responds by taking away the tape player she had affixed to her belt. When Darwin remarks that the whole disaster began when Eliza took the tape player from Debbie, the gorilla snidely remarks that Eliza has a habit of thievery.
At the ComVee, Debbie is still trying to figure out how to start the recovery operation. When she feels a tug on her pantleg, she assumes it to be Donnie. But it's NOT Donnie, it's a very big and hungry python! It quickly coils Debbie causing her to scream in fear.
At the rock, the gorilla is not parting with the tape player and holds it outside of Eliza's reach. Exasperated, Eliza apologizes for her theft. The gorilla is actually quite reasonable, and states that the true offense was not having asked his permission to use the rock. Eliza begrudgingly asks for the gorilla to return the player, which he kindly does. Eliza reckons its only fair to return the rock and find another solution to rescue the ComVee. She then hears Debbie's scream and quickly runs off with Darwin back to the ComVee.
Before the foul python can bite Debbie, Eliza jumps on it, causing it to release Debbie. Donnie tries to help too by grabbing the snake's tale, but it flings him away and turns its anger on Eliza. Eliza calls for help from Debbie.
Meanwhile, Nigel and Marianne are filming an inspiring piece of the Grebe caring for her young hatchlings. Annoyed by their presence, the Grebe starts pecking Nigel on the scalp. Both Marianne and Nigel are excited to show Eliza and Debbie the footage, assuming they don't get enough experience with nature.
Back at the ComVee, the python has coiled Eliza and prepares to bite her. Luckily Debbie throws Eliza a stick, which Eliza uses to pry the beast's mouth open. In a panic, the snake releases her and rushes away into the forest defeated. Debbie and Eliza are relieved by the outcome, but the ComVee is still stuck, until they see that the rock from before has been left by the gorillas near a tree above the ComVee, along with thick vines to use as a winch. Nigel and Marianne begin their ascent from the ravine, leaving the girls limited time to get back.
The girls use the rock to begin lifting the ComVee, though it is not quite heavy enough. Eliza jumps on the rock, which begins to work, but she admits that she needs Debbie's help. Debbie jumps on the rock too, and the ComVee is lifted away from the river! However, the mud still prevents it from moving properly. Eliza gets an idea and heads back into the forest. She approaches and thanks the gorilla troop for their help. She also asks for one more favor, which they happily oblige. The gorillas lift the back of the ComVee and help move it back to the main road. Eliza thanks them again for their help, and they tell her she will always be welcomed in their forest.
Eliza, Debbie, Donnie and Darwin frantically race the ComVee back up the mountain as Nigel and Marianne make their way up. The girls make it back to camp, but the ComVee is absolutely TRASHED from the adventure. The girls work together quite effectively to clean it up, and by the time their parents return, not a thing is out of place. They're able to effectively cover for each other, until Nigel observes that the ComVee is now facing the OPPOSITE direction it was when they left. Marianne demands an explanation from the girls, right as Donnie goes running off with the dog sled. Eliza and Debbie chase after him, reasoning that teamwork will always get them out of trouble.
Trivia[]
The term "Valley Girl" references a young suburban woman, generally from the San Fernando Valley in the Los Angeles Area of California. It is stated in a later episode that the Thornberry Family lived in California when Debbie and Eliza were children. Debbie and Eliza both exhibit traits commonly associated with Valley Girls.
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Snake Traps Eliza In His Coils
Errors[]
- When Donnie is tugging Debbie's pantleg to convince her to go on the sled that fell out of the closet, the closeups on nail polish on her finger nails disappeared for one second until it came back when she goes back inside the Comvee.