Regular characters: Bill, Ted, Vice Principal Ryan
Guest characters: the Mayor of San Dimas
Historical figures (& those they're based on): Shakespeare, Captain John
Sutter, Samuel Clemmons (Mark Twain)
Time periods:
Globe Theatre, London - 1596
Sacramento, California - Sutter's Mill - 1849
The Mississippi River - Circa 1860
Notable events:
Helped inspire Shakespeare's "To Be or Not to Be"
Used John Sutter's flume to invent the first water slide
Helped inspire Mark Twain's "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras
County"
Of note:
This is the only episode in which Rufus does not appear!
Plot:
Bill & Ted face the most heinous event of their lives when
Mr. Ryan announces they are expelled. Terrified of what Ted's dad
will do to him, the dudes ask for a second chance. Mr. Ryan says
that if they can line up someone incredible for tomorrow's Career
Day they may have a chance to stay in school. At the Kozy Korner
they try to decide who to get to speak. Remembering the statuettes
on Mr. Ryan's desk, they go in search of Shakespeare and Mark
Twain. They arrive in England to find Shakespeare's newest play,
Romeo and Juliet, about to open. When they buy tickets with U.S.
money they are considered crooks and chased by ushers. They
accidentally end up on the stage where the confuse the theater
goers, who begin throwing vegetables. Overhearing Shakespeare
lamenting over what he chose to be, they urge him to "Be what you
want to be . . . or not. Whatever." Bill & Ted reach their booth
and travel to Sacramento, California, where their booth lands in
one of the flumes at Sutter's Mill. John Sutter insists that the
boys are going to work in his mine until they've paid for the
damage to his flume. Finding they aren't making much progress with
mining, Bill & Ted instead revert the flume into the first
waterslide and charge other miners admission to ride. Getting back
into their booth, they find it to be full of frogs from the river
they had been working in. Bill & Ted try again to find Mark Twain,
but only see a listing for Samuel Clemmons and travel to the
Mississippi River where they land on a riverboat, releasing the
frogs to run amok on the boat. They find the captain, Samuel
Clemmons, yelling out "mark twain" (two fathoms) and try to ask him
where Mr. Mark Twain is. Unfortunately the frogs cause such a
commotion and Samuel Clemmons gets fired from what he says is yet
another job (he'd been through many careers already). Bill & Ted
play leapfrog to lure the frogs into one room and in deciding what
to do with the creatures they get the idea to hold races on the
boat's deck and have the passengers bet on the races. Unfortunately the races get out of control and it proves to be no
solution. However, Samuel Clemmons is not upset . . . the incident
has inspired him to write a short story and become a writer (Bill &
Ted never make the connection that he is in fact Mark Twain). Returning to San Dimas without a speaker, they decide to ask the
mayor to attend as a last resort and are surprised when the man
agrees, arriving with a police escort to the San Dimas auditorium
and impressing Vice Principal Ryan enough to keep him from
expelling the dudes.
Blooper:
At the end of the show Bill is seen saying "The Mayor of
San Dimas" but the voice only says "The Mayor" and he only mouths the
rest
Fans in the U.S.
can now watch this complete episode thanks to Hulu.com:
First aired: 12/8/90