IMeet Fred

"iMeet Fred" is the 13th episode of the second season of iCarly, the episode originally aired on February 16, 2009. It guest stars Lucas Cruikshank as himself and Fred.

Plot
When Freddie offends an international internet sensation, Fred, by stating on an iCarly webisode that he does not think that the Fred videos are funny, Fred is crushed and tells all of his fans that he will not make any more Fred videos. Carly, Sam, and Freddie soon start losing friends and acquaintances that are fans of Fred, and everybody in Ridgeway Jr. High turns on the iCarly group and Freddie is banned from all of his clubs.

They meet up with Lucas, Fred's creator and portrayer, in his home in Idaho for Freddie to forgive him about his comment about the Fred videos. Lucas later apologizes because he wasn't really mad, in fact the so-called "feud" between Fred and iCarly was intended to get both the Fred and iCarly web series bigger ratings. At the end of their next webcast, they apologize on camera, and present a new Fred video with Carly, Sam, Freddie and Spencer guest starring as themselves with high-pitched voices (except Carly) like Fred.

Subplot
Meanwhile, Spencer puts a Magic Eight Ball-like toy (called a "Magic Meatball") in control of his life, with disastrous results. It predicts his phone won't ring in the next five seconds. He is told to drink ketchup, and go surfing. He has to give up an art offer and buys an ostrich.

Trivia

 * Lucas Cruikshank is a real-life Internet star, and his character, Fred, can be considered an inspiration for iCarly.
 * Jennette McCurdy (Sam Puckett) and guest star Lucas Cruikshank later co-starred in the 2010 cable film Fred: The Movie, a film based on the web series that aired on Nickelodeon.
 * This episode was considered by fans to be the worst episode of the series (until "iSell Penny-Tees") because of its broken moral on conformity. It doesn't help that Freddie was beaten until his opinion changed.
 * Freddie and Sam watch a video titled "Fred is Dead". This may be a reference to a viral YouTube video of the same name put out in 2008, in response to the immense popularity of the Fred videos, by rival YouTuber Shane Dawson.
 * Spencer finds his "Magic Meatball", which is a spoof of a "Magic Eightball." The differences are:
 * The magic meatball is brown and lumpy, while a magic eightball is black and white and smooth.
 * The magic meatball talks in a Mexican accent, but a magic eightball doesn't talk but shows a message.
 * The similarities are:
 * They both give advice about yes or no questions.
 * They both answer after being shaken.
 * The cabbage video that ends the episode includes Sam uttering the phrase, "I buried Paul". One of the more obscure references in iCarly (for its target audience, anyway), this is a reference to the infamous "Paul is dead" conspiracy/urban legend which began in 1969. According to the legend, Paul McCartney of the Beatles supposedly died in a car crash in 1966 and was replaced by a Canadian musician who looked and sounded just like McCartney. Proponents of the theory point to apparent clues on record album covers and within various Beatles recordings themselves. The actual phrase "I buried Paul" is said to be uttered by John Lennon if you listen closely to the end of the Beatles recording of "Strawberry Fields Forever", though Lennon claimed what he said was "cranberry sauce". McCartney has often commented "For the record, Paul is not dead."
 * Also during the cabbage video, Fred asks "What's wrong with David Schwimmer?" Schwimmer is an actor best known for his role in the long-running sitcom Friends. Exactly what Fred/Lucas means by the question (if anything) is unclear.
 * The website mentioned in this episode, neverwatchicarly.com, redirects to iCarly.com.
 * For some odd reason, Carly's voice isn't turned squeaky like the other characters.
 * In a blooper seen in iBloop, Jerry Trainor attempts to say the line "This ostrich thinks I'm a lady!", but the ostrich makes a strange noise, ruining the take.
 * Lucas asked Carly if she wanted to kiss. Then she turned him down.
 * In the Fred video Fred Goes Swimming, most of the video was cut out in the episode. Either for cencorship or time limit before the openig sequence.

Quotes
Carly: Until next time, stay in school,

Sam: Recycle,

Carly: Pour milk on your parents,

Sam: Hug a duck,

Carly: Eat a stick of butter,

Sam: And shampoo a squirrel, goodbye!

Freddie: Why are you drinking ketchup?

Spencer: My magic meatball told me to.

Freddie: Who threw this low-fat Fat Cake at my head!?

Freddie: But I'm the team's best long divider!

Freddie: I've been kicked out of every club but the Junior Bow & Arrow Club!

[a flaming arrow with a note suddenly appears sticking into the locker where he is standing]

Freddie: I'm out!

Freddie: He's a jerk.

Sam: You're the queen of the jerks!

Fred: Why can't it speak Spanish? MUCHACHO!

Spencer: There's something huge down there trying to kill me! It's either a large dog or a small bear!

Fred: That's my dog Tibbals.

Spencer: Tibbals has my foot! *falls down trap door*