iStakeout

"Do you really think Sam's gonna make me get a tattoo of her face?" — Freddie to Carly.

iStakeout
Season 1, Episode 20
First Aired	April 5, 2008
Production Code	121
Writer(s)	Andrew Hill Newman
Director(s)	Steve Hoefer
Viewership	4.093 million
Episode Guide
previous	"iGot Detention"
next	"iMight Switch Schools"

iStakeout is the 20th episode of the first season of iCarly.

Plot

An iCarly webcast draws attention from the Seattle Police Department when a Convenience Store Clerk suspected of making pirated DVDs is caught walking behind "Crazy Fruit Dude" on the segment "Who's That Weirdo in My Neighborhood?" One of the undercover police officers in charge of the case is a Stuart Stimbler, nicknamed "Spanky", an old bully of Spencer's who would spank people randomly with a broom. Unfortunately for Spencer, Spanky hasn't changed this since he was a kid.

In the meantime, the two police officers who are trying to bust the alleged bootleg video ring use the Shay apartment as a post to gather evidence, and bring no results, but end up exploiting the Shay family as much as they can. They eat all the food in their refrigerator, order a pizza using Spencer's credit card, and cancel a webcast after it begins. Spanky also spends much of his time seeking opportunities to spank Spencer (hence his nickname, Spanky), and later takes his obnoxious son on the stakeout, who eats Spencer's special "sock cake", which he made for Socko's birthday, and messes with Carly's PearPod. This causes Spencer to lock the son in a large glass container (with a curtain that can be pulled over it) to stop him causing any more trouble, with Stuart's permission.

Frustrated with the police's inability to do anything else but make their lives miserable, Carly, Sam, and Freddie decide to go undercover themselves and enter the convenience store where the videos are being sold. After Carly and Freddie get nowhere attempting to be subtle with the store clerk (played by Curtis Armstrong),

Sam comes right out and tells him that she and her friends know about the DVD-ring. The clerk finally reveals that the videos exist, but that they're all homemade pirate movies, not pirated movies, and are incredibly amateurish, to say the least. One copy of the movie convinced the cops that they have nothing on the clerk, so they pack up their equipment and leave.

However, before Spanky gets the chance to leave, Spencer talks him into letting him handcuff him to the couch by telling him that there is an easy way to get out of them. Spencer tells Spanky, "Payback Spanky!", and retaliates for all the torment he had to go through at summer camp, and during the investigation by spanking him back with a broomstick repeatedly. Spanky's son watches happily through the glass container, cheers and giggles as Spencer spanks his father in front of him. Carly, confused about what is happening goes upstairs.

Subplot

During the police visit, Freddie offers an MPEG of the show that may have had their suspect, which triggers an argument with Sam over the meaning of MPEG. Sam says that MPEG stands for "Moving Picture Experts Group," and Freddie says it stands for "Mega Pixel Electronic Gallery."

He and Sam bet about who is right and Freddie loses, so Sam gets her cousin Annie, a tattoo artist, to give Freddie a tattoo of her face on his arm.

Freddie spends a great deal of time trying to keep the tattoo concealed from his mother, but eventually, she finds out and drags Freddie to the doctor to have it removed. Sam then reveals to Carly that the tattoo was "non-permanent ink with all the pain of a real tattoo" and says "the doctor will figure it out".

Guest Stars

• Mary Scheer as Marissa Benson
• Asante Jones as Detective Tragg
• Ryan Bollman as Spanky Stimbler
• Molly Bearor as Annie
• Curtis Armstrong as Convenience Store Clerk
• Wyatt Carper as Spanky's son

Trivia

• At one point, a commercial was shown on Nickelodeon where Nathan Kress and Jennette McCurdy were in a car together, and a fan dared Jennette to call her mom and tell her that she got a tattoo. That could be a reference to this episode.

  

• This marks the second time an iCarly webcast has been interrupted by someone of authority. The first time being in iWant a World Record when they are interrupted by men after Freddie's lightbulb broke, causing a gas leak.
• This episode contains two quotes which would eventually be seen on Penny Tees and later on Carly's pillows in her new room: "Church Pants" and "Parole Baby".
• When Carly, Freddie, and Sam are in the convenience store and Freddie is about to go up to the guy at the counter, there is a Blix machine behind them. Blix is a drink usually featured in Zoey 101.
• A poster advertising Frazz, a sports drink Quinn Pensky invented on Zoey 101 that was extremely powerful, is on the wall by the clerk's desk in the convenient store.
• This is the first appearance of the white ketchup and mustard containers on the microwave in the kitchen.
• The convenience store was called "Schneider's Convenience Store". Schneider is also the last name of the show's creator Dan Schneider.
• Spencer could have sued the police department for the distress caused to him by the undercover officers.

Allusions

• The fictional soft drink brands in the episode, "Peppy-Cola" and "Mocha Cola" are parodies of Pepsi and Coca-Cola.
• Carly asks if the store clerk has a cheaper copy of Scarlett's Web. This a parody of the classic children's book, Charlotte's Web.
• Stu Stimbler bears a reference to Wee-man on Jackass.
• One of the cashier's DVDs, Pirates of the Lima Bee-An, is a parody of the Disney film series Pirates of the Caribbean.

Character Revelations

• In this episode, it is first revealed that Freddie's first name is Fredward when his mom calls him that after finding he had a tattoo. Sam calling him "Fredward" in iPromise Not to Tell might just have been her giving him a random nickname without knowing it really is his full name.

Goofs

• Carly watches a "bouncy jogger man" through the iCarly studio window, but in iWant My Website Back, there was an alley right next to the building out the same window.
  • The building could've also been built at some point in-between iStakeout & iWant My Website Back.
• Spanky’s son picks up a plastic bottle off of the Shays’ coffee table, and when he throws it at the door, it shatters as if it were made of glass.
• At 2:47, stage/studio lights and camera equipment are visible in the reflection of the mixing bowl.
• After we hear the glass bottle break against the door, glass shards and the label from the bottle are clearly visible on the floor, but after Spanky asks Carly if she has bought more Peppy cola, the glass shards and label have disappeared.
• Spencer's cake had electronic lights on it. When Spanky's kid ate the cake, the lights are nowhere to be found.
• Since Spencer was whacking Spanky with a broom, he was technically assaulting a police officer and could have been arrested. Although Spanky might have been assaulting people with a broom as a prank, Spencer handcuffed him while doing such.
• It was illegal for the police officers to use Spencer's credit card unless they received his permission, which was likely the case.
• Ryan Bollman (Spanky) is credited as "Ryan Matthew" (his first and middle name) in the end credits.
• When Stu Stimbler reaches out to turn off Freddie's camera, the crew camera shows Freddie's camera at his side, but then it cuts to the view from Freddie's camera and the view is near the height of Stu Stimbler's shoulder.

Running Gags

• Spanky Stimbler spanking Spencer with random objects.
• Detective Tragg and Spanky Stimbler being disruptive, such as eating food without permission, interrupting an iCarly web show and leaving trash everywhere.

Series Continuity

• Freddie mentions Peppy Cola in iFence, two episodes later.
• Cloud Block returns in the revival episode iMake New Memories when Carly, Freddie, and Spencer are recreating memories, and Spencer smears the ointment all over Freddie's face, referencing this episode.

Quotes

Freddie: I lost. Sam: And now my face will forever become a part of your skin. Whaa!

Freddie: Do you really think Sam's gonna make me get a tattoo of her face? Carly: I don't know, but if she does, won't your mom freak? Freddie: She freaked when I spilled one tiny drop of mustard on my church pants! [Carly laughs at what Freddie said] Freddie: What? Carly: Church pants.

Carly: [After Sam asks Carly if Freddie lost a bet] I want no part of this. I'm just gonna watch the bouncy jogger man.

Carly: [during Freddie getting a tattoo] Oh my God, now he's doing jumping jacks.

Spencer: Please, don't spank me with my own cucumber!

Carly: [Grumbling to herself while cleaning up the apartment] Stupid cops ... Not cleaning up after themselves ... Interrupting our webshow ... Making me grumble to myself ... Sam: Some people just have no manners. [Tosses her soda can on the floor for Freddie to pick up]

Spencer: [To Freddie] Do you know what it's like to be harassed every day by some kid? Freddie: [Turns to look at Sam] Sam: [Grins widely, teeth stained by ice pop]

Spencer: I just combined my sculpting skills with my cakery skills, and boom, sock cake. Shall we applaud? [Spencer, Carly, Sam and Freddie applaud]

The store clerk: [Picks up a guitar and sings] Camptown ladies sing your song, doo dah, doo dah, Yank my toe till it's 5 miles long, oh the doo dah day! Everybody! Yank my toe all night... Freddie: Forget it!

Carly: "Arrrr"? The store clerk: That's a pirate word. It means: "Hello", "Goodbye", "Peace." It's like "shalom", only for pirates.

Related iCarly.com Blog Posts

• Carly's blog: WEIRDOS in Our Neighborhood!

Gallery

	See photos of iStakeout here.