Never Get Out of the Truck is the sixth episode of Gremlins: The Wild Batch, and the sixteenth episode overall.
Synopsis[]
Our heroes journey west to free Elle's mother, but first must free themselves from a haunted old mansion.
Plot[]
Sam, Elle, Gizmo and Chang are on their way to Kung Kung’s prison, but according to the map they still have a long way to go. Sam however doesn’t mind as he realizes now Elle was right about him when she sais he was craving an adventure. Then a police car shows up and starts chasing the group. Chang admits that besides being guilty of speeding, he is also illegally transporting rum in the back of the pickup truck. Chang and Elle get into an argument about how to proceed, with Elle trying to take the wheel from Chang. Gizmo is eventually able to slow down the police by opening the hatch of truck and allowing the load to fall out onto the road, but by then Elle and Chang’s antics have caused the pickup truck to get two flat tires. They stop at a nearby mansion to ask for help. The police officers see the group enter the mansion, but are afraid to follow them there.
The house appears abandoned at first, but neither Chang nor Elle have a good feeling about the place. When Elle tries to leave, she finds the front door is suddenly locked, and when Chang tries a window, he finds it is bricked. When Sam tries another door, he finds a closet with a man hiding inside, who is scared by the group.
Meanwhile, in San Francisco, Hon, Fong and Grandpa Wing are discussing how to catch up with Sam and Elle, who have quite a head start. Grandpa advises to seek out an old associate of his. Grandpa claims this associate has been spying on them ever since they docked, and will soon come for him. Then a large flock of birds attacks the three.
In the mansion, the man introduces himself as Rodney. While interrogating him, Elle accidentally starts a projector showing a movie about the history of the house. The manor is called Clamp Castle, and belonged to the wealthy Clamp family, who build their fortune with various inventions such as the electric chair. Lady Lillian Clamp, the only heir of the previous owners, married a man her parents did not approve. Their distrust of him proved to be correct when this man poisoned his in-laws soon after to get the family fortune. Lady Clamp turned him in and saw he was executed with a Clam electric chair. After that, she turned bitter and distrustful of everyone and in the years after turned her whole house into a death trap, until she eventually passed away and became a ghost haunting the house. When the movie is over, the ghost of Lady Clamp attacks the group and seemingly kills Rodney. Sam, Elle, Chang and Gizmo flee, and are attacked by a bear and flying furniture. They dodge the hazards and Elle arms herself with a sword that she found hanging on the wall. But then a trap door in the floor opens and Chang and Gizmo fall in, separating them from Elle and Sam.
In San Francisco, the Wings have been trapped in cages on a rooftop. Grandpa admits the associate is in fact his ex-girlfriend, and she’s not human but an air spirit named Jingwei. He ditched her 60 years ago, leaving only a note, and she is understandably still angry about that. She is also not over the fact that he borrowed The train between worlds from her without asking.
In the manor, Gizmo and Chang have ended up in a room with an empty indoor pool that is filled with sharp spikes. There’s also a statue of Lady Clamp, and when they get too close it releases a green gas on them that causes them both to start hallucinating. Chang sees his father, Boss Chang, who criticizes for being a failure, and then Noggin, who mocks Chang. Gizmo sees a hallucination of his evil self, and this triggers another one of his violent moods. He attacks Chang, who fights back as he thinks he is fighting Noggin. In their fight, they accidentally set fire to the room. Elsewhere, Sam and Elle spot Rodney, alive and well, and when they follow him they discover a secret room where Rodney is talking with a woman dressed up as the bear from earlier. Elle and Sam confront Rodney when he leaves the room. Rodney confesses to being a Hollywood special effects expert. He helped build the haunted house for Lady Clamp, who is in fact still alive. He brings Sam and Elle to her.
In San Francisco, Hon recalls how her father always made false promises about coming home and stop traveling the world when she was young. She convinces him to apologize, not just to her but to Jingwei as well. Grandpa tries, but Jingwei is too angry to accept his apology and prepares to kill him. Grandpa quickly distracts her by lying there’s a cat in her house, then incapacitates Jingwei with one of her own magical feathers and steals the flute that can summon the train between worlds. He frees Hon and Fong and they flee from the building.
In the manor, Elle and Sam meet Lady Clamp. She admits the haunted house is just to scare away tricksters and intruders, but she never intends to actually harm anyone. The spikes in the pool for example are fake. She shows them Chang and Gizmo, who are still fighting, but this way also notices the fire the two have started. In her panick she opens the exit, allowing Sam and Elle to rescue their friends and escape the house. While Clamp Castle burns down, Chang finds replacement tires for the pickup truck. The protagonists continue their journey, leaving Lady Clamp and her accomplices behind.
In San Francisco, Grandpa Wing uses the stolen whistle to summon the train between worlds. But as he, Hon and Fong board, none of them notice that Noggin, who is somehow still alive, stows away.
Cast[]
- John Glover as Rodney
- Gabrielle Green as Elle
- James Hong as Grandpa
- Simu Liu as Chang
- A. J. LoCascio as Gizmo, Highway Patrol Officer #1
- Lariane Newman as Lady Clamp
- George Takei as Noggin
- Izaac Wang as Sam Wing
- Ming-Na Wen as Fong Wing
- BD Wong as Hon Wing, Special Conductor
- Keone Young as Boss Chang
- Eric Bauza as Film Narrator, Highway Patrol Officer #2
- Grey DeLisle as Grizzly Stunt Woman
- Jenn Wong as Jingwei
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- The main plot about a supposedly haunted place that turns out to be all an elaborate hoax mirrors that of many Scooby Doo episodes. There's even a reference to that franchise when Lady Clamp calls Elle and Sam "You meddlesome kids!", which closely resembles the quote "You Meddling Kids" said by many Scooby Doo villains upon their plan falling apart.
- Continuity error: This episode, Jingwei claims it was 60 years ago that grandpa Wing betrayed her and stole the whistle for the train between worlds. With season 1 being set in 1920 and season 2 set a year later, that would place the events mentioned by Jingwei in 1861. However, in "Never Take the Tour", the photograph of grandpa and his friends in America had the date 1876 written on it.
Revelations and significant events[]
- Sam, Elle and Gizmo arrived in North America one week prior to the events of this episode.
- Grandpa Wing has an ex-girlfriend who is an air spirit name Jingwei. 
- Chang has a terrible illusion about his father to make anything of his own which frustrates him.
- Noggin is revealed to survived the explosion in the cookie factory.
Continuity[]
- Noggin has survived from the fireworks explosion from There's Always a Fortune in the Cookie Factory.
References[]
| Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai episodes | |
|---|---|
| Season 1 | 1. Never Get Them Wet · 2. Never Feed Them After Midnight · 3. Always Buy a Ticket · 4. Don't Drink the Tea · 5. Always Stab or Run · 6. Always Buy a God a Drink First · 7. Never Squeeze a Fox · 8. Never Hug a Mogwai · 9. Never Give Up · 10. Never Ever Expose Them to Bright Light |
| Season 2 | 1. Always Be Ready for Adventure · 2. Never Take the Tour · 3. Never Use Double Negatives · 4. Always Bring a Toothpick · 5. There's Always a Fortune in the Cookie Factory · 6. Never Get Out of the Truck · 7. Always Ask for Backstory · 8. Never Try the Cider · 9. Always or Never Make Wishes · 10. Always Make the Hard Choice |