Episode 02: The Lost Rock

The Lost Rock
Season 1, Episode 2
Air date	April 4, 2000
Written by	Richard Chevat and Christopher Cerf Diana DeCubellis Sarah Durkee Ellis Weiner Joe Fallon Michael K. Fifth Judy Freudberg Tony Geiss Louise Gikow Peter Hirsch Sean Kelly Sharon Lerner Kathryn Mullen Fred Newman Norman Stiles Belinda Ward Kathy Waugh Tom Whedon
Directed by	Ted May
Episode guide
Previous Episode 01: Pecos Bill Cleans Up the West	Next Episode 03: Little Big Mouse

The Lost Rock is the second episode of Season 1 of Between the Lions.

Picture	Category	Description
	COLD OPEN	Announcer Bunny Program Preview: "Announcer Bunny here to show you what's coming up next on Between the Lions!" A clip from Rocket-Doodle-Doo is shown.
	SCENE 1	It's just another ordinary day in the library. Leona and Lionel are playing, Cleo and Theo are working, and Mr. Webster is reading a dictionary. (which, strangely, is not very heavy.) Suddenly, something wrapped in paper flies into the center room! As Cleo unwraps it, it is revealed to be a talking rock (which Leona nicknames "Larry"). Larry explains that he came from a book and has been lost for over 2 years. He then sings and shows the lion family the song he wrote. After the song, Cleo asks what book he did come from, but by now Larry has forgotten, though he remembers that he was on the same page as a rooster, a robot, a rocket, and a roof. Cleo heads off to track it down.
	Insert	The Gray Hand takes the "ock" out of the word "rock".
	Puppets	The Vowelles sing the short "o" sound from their hit word "sock".
	Insert	"And now, sock music!" The sock from the song annoys Busterfield, who claims it to be shocking. The sock corrects him by saying that it's "socking".
	Cartoon	The Un-People vs. The Re-People: locked Monica Maxwell locks a group of rhinos frolicking in her room in her closet. The Un-People change the word "locked" to "unlocked", letting the rhinos loose again, until the Re-People re-lock it.
	Celebrity	Fred Says: clock
	Insert	Sky: clock, lock, mock, mom
	Puppets	Dunderhead Lab with Dr. Nitwhite and Watson: Words with the Short O and the Letters O-W Dr. Nitwhite has discovered the only two palindromes in the English language- "mom" and "pop". Watson responds with "wow". Having been incorrect again, Nitwhite tells Watson to go away, but not before Watson calls him "Dr. Nitwit" again.
	Song	What's Your Name?: short O (With kids lines)
	SCENE 2	Cleo has found a tape with all the items Larry described were in the book he came from, the tape being Rocket-Doodle-Doo, and they watch it to see. Unfortunately, that is not where Larry came from, although they say "rock" several times, it's the other definition.
	Insert	Meanwhile, the Information Hen talks to a patron on the phone about coming to the library.
	Insert	"Dr. Bertice Berry, double O in "tooth".
	Celebrity	Dr. Bertice Berry sings the double O sound in "tooth".
	Cartoon	Tiger Words: A Tube of Toothpaste Tiger Words is assigned to write the word "tooth", with the award for doing so being a tube of toothpaste. At first, Tiger writes "toof", before correcting his mistake and winning the toothpaste.
	Puppets	Sam Spud: Par-Boiled Potato Detective: Cool as a Cucumber A cucumber enters Sam Spud's office and offers him a pistachio ice cream cone, only to knock him out and literally tap dance on his noodle.
	Insert	Girl: "Mom, there's that talking potato with no mouth again. This incessant word play's making me queasy." Kid's mother: "It's educational television, dear! Remember, sometimes things that are good for us are hard to swallow!"
	Song	Fonix sings Double O, OO.
	Insert	Space: hoot, root, rot, rock, rocket
	Celebrity	Fred Says: rock, rocket
	Insert	Sky: rocket, rock, sock, stock, stop
	Celebrity/ Puppets	The Word Doctor with Dr. Ruth Wordheimer: Dr. Ruth helps the word "stop" change to "hop".
	Puppets	The Great Smartini: Arty Smartypants as the Great Smartini blends the words "popping" and "popcorn", which makes "popping popcorn" as popcorn pops out of his pants.
	Insert	The Gray Hand puts the "ock" back in the word "rock".
	SCENE 3	Larry has lost all hope and thinks he'll never find his book again (and starts crying pebbles), but then Mr. Webster comes up and complains that the rock picture in the dictionary is missing. Everyone realizes at last where he is from and Larry sings "My Rock and Rollin' Days Are Over" and goes back into his dictionary. Now that he's back in the book, Mr. Webster claims that now the book is very heavy, as it was not before. Just then, a Bowling Ball rolls down the stair banister and can't find his book, either! Lionel faints, and Leona asks Cleo if she can keep him and name him Steve.
	Insert	"And now, clock music!" Busterfield enjoys the sound of the clock, saying that it's much better than the sock music from earlier.
	Designated Reader	Cleo and Lionel read "The Adventures of Mississippi Skip and his Pirate Ship". (EKA: Episode 01: Pecos Bill Cleans Up the West)

Gallery

This page has a limited amount of images in the template. For extended images, see The Lost Rock/Gallery.

Notes and Trivia

• This is the first episode to feature the short "O" sound.
• This is the first episode in which Martha Reader wasn't shown with The Vowelles of their solo segment.
• This is the first episode that does not involve a storybook being read.
• Larry the Rock's singing voice is provided by Joe Lynn Turner, a former member of several rock bands, including Deep Purple. Turner would also sing the "Clobbered" song in Giants and Cubs and Very Loud, Very Big, Very Metal! in the episode of the same name.
• This episode is the first episode without Gawain's Word.
• This is the first episode to feature the song, What's Your Name? with the short O.
• This is the first episode in which Barnaby B. Busterfield III was shown without Walter and Clay.
• This is the first episode where Click the Mouse doesn't appear in.
• This episode marks the first appearance of The Fonix, both in The Library and in the Song Double O, OO.
• The Un-People vs. The Re-People segment is later seen in The Popcorn Popper and Be Bop (both in Season 1).
• The Dunderhead Lab with Dr. Nitwhite and Watson segment is later seen in Pandora's Box and Be Bop (both in Season 1).
• The What's Your Name? song is later used in Pandora's Box, The Fox and the Crow and Be Bop (all in Season 1).
• The Rocket-Doodle-Doo Music Video is later seen in Touching the Moon and Be Bop (both in Season 1).
• The Tiger Words segment is later seen in Touching the Moon.
• The Sam Spud: Par-Boiled Potato Detective Segment first appeared as it's later seen in Touching the Moon.
• The Fonix Music Video is later seen in Touching the Moon and Pandora's Box (both in Season 1).
• The Word Doctor with Dr. Ruth Wordheimer segment is later seen in Be Bop.
• The Arty Smartypants (segment) is later seen in The Popcorn Popper and Be Bop (both in Season 1
• This is one of the many episodes from Season 1 where Fred Says is shown twice. The others being Shooting Stars, The Hopping Hen, Touching the Moon, The Chap with Caps, Pandora's Box, There's a Fly in My Soup, The Ram in the Pepper Patch, Piggyback, Piggyback, The Fox and the Crow and Be Bop.
• This episode was last broadcasted on PBS in Either March or April 2009.

Releases

• VHS (Singular episode; June 12, 2001, later reprinted on October 1, 2002)
• Complete First Season 5-Disc DVD Boxset (January 8, 2008)
• Vowel Power (April 15, 2014)

Cast

• Anthony Asbury - Lionel Lion, Dr. Ruth's patient
• Kathryn Mullen - Leona Lion, Information Hen
• Peter Linz - Theo Lion, Announcer Bunny
• Jennifer Barnhart - Cleo Lion
• Tim Lagasse - Barnaby B. Busterfield III, Arty Smartypants, Watson, Steve the Bowling Ball, Sock
• Heather Asch - Marmy Smartypants
• Tyler Bunch - Dr. Nitwhite, The Un-People announcer
• Jim Napolitiano - Larry the Lost Rock (speaking voice)
• Joe Lynn Turner - Larry the Lost Rock (singing voice)
• Michael K. Frith - Sam Spud
• Kate Berner - Monica Maxwell
• Fred Newman - himself, Golf Announcer
• Ruth Westheimer - Dr. Ruth Wordheimer
• Dr. Bertice Berry - herself
• Babi Floyd - Vowelles announcer
• Makeba Mooncycle - rapper (uncredited)
• Christopher Cerf - Rocket-Doodle-Doo singer
• Elisabeth Withers, Sharon Bryant-Gallwey, and Paulette McWilliams - Fonix members

Watch Episode

The Lost Rock