| Invasion of the Cockroaches | |
|---|---|
| Season 1, Episode 37 | |
| |
| Air date | February 17, 2000 |
| Written by | Jymn Magon |
| Directed by | N/A |
| Episode guide | |
| Previous "Teen Out of Time" |
Next "The Incredible Shrinking Teens" |
Invasion of the Cockroaches is the thirty-seventh episode (thirty-eighth in production order) of the first season of Archie's Weird Mysteries.
It aired on February 17, 2000.
Plot[]
Opening Narration[]
"Invasion of the Cockroaches! They're coming into your restaurant. They're multiplying under your home. They're even stealing your identity! Now they want to take over the world. Beware of the... Invasion of the Cockroaches!"
Full Summary[]
Beneath Riverdale, an inspector is addressing a power outage by analyzing the broken cables. She soon finds a tunnel that someone dug nearby, but upon further inspection, she is abruptly snatched by a giant cockroach.
Pop Tate fancies up his restaurant to impress Oddsocks.
Sometime later, Archie and his friends are having a little chat over animals at Pop Tate's Chock'lit Shoppe while they wait for their lunch. Veronica seems disgusted by the subject matter, while Jughead is mostly concerned by the unusual wait for the gang's food. Pop Tate arrives soon after, speaking formally, using cloth napkins, serving his burgers and fries under chrome domes, and serving his milkshakes in champagne glasses. At Betty's insistence, he admits that he's trying to impress a food critic named Horton J. Oddsocks and thus double his revenue, but is extremely nervous about how it'll go down. She asks him if he's selling out, but he insists that he's only doing it for the good press. The gang agrees (Jughead reluctantly so) to help him clean up the restaurant, rid it of any cockroaches, and prepare for the critic's arrival, but he ends up being too uptight and they leave. On the way home, they spot the same electrician from before, although she is acting a little strange.
The cockroach people start to make an appearance.
Pop Tate remains behind, vowing to re-clean the entire restaurant even if it takes all night, but then he notices a pair of giant cockroaches occupying one of the booths. He runs off to seek Archie's input, but the roaches are gone when they get back; Archie assumes he's seeing things and goes back to bed. The following day, Oddsocks gives Pop Tate a good review, but while he finds the food excellent, he tells him to use more upscale decorations and start catering to adults instead of teenagers, to which he reluctantly agrees. After the review is published, Archie and Jughead arrive at Pop's to see the changes he's made, such as more high-end décor, double-priced burgers, and Pop Tate wearing a tuxedo. Although he seems to be loving the increased attention, his friends are concerned nonetheless. Unbeknownst to everyone, each customer that sits in the back booth gets dragged underground, popping back up with antennae, and walking out in a robotic manner, before telling others to come to Pop's and sit in the back booth.
The mutated roaches enact their scheme.
Archie soon picks up on what's happening and seeks out his pals, who are despondent at no longer having a hangout spot. As the others notice the odd behavior exhibited by all the adults, he explains how Pop Tate's was originally built in a lot where an atomic energy research facility used to be, which was shut down after some cockroaches were mutated by its radiation. The gang puts together that there must be a secret passageway underground from the back booth, and sure enough they find it. Exploring the tunnels, they discover all the adults have been trapped behind bars, with the giant cockroaches putting on disguises resembling them in order to fool everyone else. The Roach Queen addresses her subjects, explaining her plan to multiply her armies and conquer the globe, all the while exterminating the human race.
The Riverdale High student body bands together.
Archie takes out the army by causing a rockslide, while Jughead, Betty, and Veronica free the prisoners. Everyone escapes above ground and revels in their victory, before a tremor is heard. The Roach Queen soon breaks the surface, turning out to be much larger than initially assumed, and starts rampaging around town. Veronica suggests using a ton of bug spray to stop her, but Archie remembers the homemade variety that Pop Tate mentioned earlier. Pop is surprised that anyone is willing to help him out, but the gang asks the whole student body to pitch in so they can make a huge batch of the solution, spraying the Roach Queen with it as they chase her out of town with a fire truck. One last spritz sends her reeling into the ocean where she drowns. Pop Tate apologizes for how he's treated the gang, knowing that the town's adults no longer have an interest in eating at his diner, but he does learn his lesson about not compromising his values. The gang encourages him to stay open, with Jughead suggesting that he prepare a celebratory feast.
Archie's Closing Monologue[]
"And so the teens came back to Pop's diner, and everything went pretty much back to normal. The fake cockroach people were rounded up, and the queen was never seen again. Pop discovered that you can't trade in friendship for a good magazine review. You always have to be true to yourself, even... in a little town called Riverdale."
Goofs[]
- While Pop Tate is stressing over the impending review of his restaurant, his eyebrows briefly disappear.
- During the scene when Archie explains the source behind the tremors, Betty's lips are absent.
Trivia[]
- This is one of only two episodes in which Reggie has no dialogue. The other being "It Lives in the Sewers".
- The title card shows Pop Tate turning into a cockroach hybrid, even though he didn't become one in the actual episode.
- It also shows the gang discovering the cockroach infestation after the remodeling, even though they never actually ate inside Pop's after it became fancier.
- The plot about cockroach people disguising themselves as humans resemble the Mimic novel and film adaptation.