Between the Lions Wiki
Register
Advertisement

The Hopping Hen is the sixth episode of Season 1 of Between the Lions.

The Hopping Hen
Season 1, Episode 6
The Hopping Hen Title Card
Air date April 10, 2000
Written by Sarah Durkee
and
Christopher Cerf
Richard Chevat
Diana DeCubellis
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 Lisa Simon
Episode guide
Previous
Shooting Stars
Next
Touching the Moon
Picture Category Description
Announcer Bunny Program Preview
Cliff Hanger and the Bed 4
COLD OPEN Announcer Bunny Program Preview: "Announcer Bunny here to show you what's coming up next on Between the Lions!"

A clip from The Adventures of Cliff Hanger: Cliff Hanger and the Bed is shown.

The Hopping Hen 1
SCENE 1 Leona and Lionel approach a patron (Jennifer Barnhart) who is being disturbed by a hopping hen. Lionel tells the hen to get out.
The Hopping Hen 2
The Hopping Hen 3
SCENE 1 (Cont'd) Theo Lion enters with a box of signs that have just arrived from the printer. Theo explains that the signs are intended to be hung up all over the library to let everyone know the rules. Click interrupts to notify the lions that there is a plumbing emergency in the basement that requires Theo and Cleo's immediate attention. Theo leaves Lionel in charge of posting the signs. Lionel begins reading the signs, which seem somewhat confusing.
The Hopping Hen 4
Insert Walter and Clay Pigeon are having fun with Barnaby B. Busterfield III, who has a party hat on his head. Barnaby protests, but Walter insists they're just obeying a posted sign which reads "fun here."
Fred Says Hen 2
Fred Says Hen 3
Celebrity Fred Says: hen
Martha Reader and the Vowelles Men
Puppets Martha Reader and The Vowelles singing the short "e" sound from their sensational hit word "men". (without curtain)
Seesaw Word Morph men, en, hen, when 2
Insert Seesaw: men, en, hen, when
Who's Here
Cartoon Who's Here?
Seesaw Word Morph when, hen, en, pen, pet, wet
Insert Seesaw: when, hen, en, pen, pet, wet
Gawain's Word Title
Gawain's Word Wet 2
Gawain's Word Ending Title
Film Gawain's Word: wet (EKA: Episode 01: Pecos Bill Cleans Up the West)
Robot Word Morph wet, pet, pen, hen
Insert Robots: wet, pet, pen, hen
The Great Smartini Ten Red-Vested Hens 2
Puppets The Great Smartini: Ten Red-Vested Hens
The Un-People Green BG
The Un-People vs
Cartoon The Un-People vs. The Re-People: dressed (EKA: Pecos Bill Cleans Up the West)
The Hopping Hen 5
The Hopping Hen 6
The Hopping Hen 7
SCENE 2 Lionel tells Leona that this is the last sign: "hopping hen here." Click warns the cubs that some strange things are happening in the library, and they observe that patrons are following the rules on signs reading "bare feet allowed in the computer room", "eating and whistling at the same time", "saxophone playing", "breaking bricks permitted", "monkeys on the stair railing", and a few "hopping hen here" signs, too. Realizing that the new rules allow all manner of crazy behavior, Lionel sings "Brand New Rules" to the patrons.
The Hopping Hen 8
The Hopping Hen 9
SCENE 2

(Cont'd)

Alarmed by all the ruckus, Theo and Cleo arrive and ask what is going on. Cleo realizes that the printer forgot to include the word "No" on all the signs; they should have read "No saxophone playing", "No breaking bricks permitted", etc. Just then, a delivery man arrives with a box, and Cleo is relieved to find that inside the box are all the "No"s.
Fred Says Yell 3
Celebrity Fred Says: yell
Stage Word Morph yell, yes 3
Insert Stage: yell, yes
Dr
Puppets Dunderhead Lab with Dr. Nitwhite and Watson: Words with the Short E
Martha Reader and the Vowelles Dreamy Vowel E
Puppets Martha Reader and The Vowelles sing "Dreamy Vowel E" (without curtain)
The Adventures of Cliff Hanger
Adventure 2345
Cliff Hanger and the Bed 5
Cartoon The Adventures of Cliff Hanger: Cliff Hanger and the Bed (without music) (EKA: Pecos Bill Cleans Up the West)
Read the Signs
Read the Signs 2
Film Sloppy Pop sings Read the Signs
The Hopping Hen 10
The Hopping Hen 11
SCENE 3 Soon, the family puts "No"s all over the signs, and everything is put back to normal. Leona finds one remaining "hopping hen here" sign without a "No" but Cleo reveals that it's not a mistake. They put it outside so the hen can happily hop, and everyone else can read in peace.
The Hopping Hen 12
Insert The "fun here" sign near Barnaby has also been corrected to read "No fun here." The pigeons leave and Barnaby sings "Party Pooper".
Theo reading a book called "The Popcorn Popper" with Leona
Designated Reader Theo and Leona read "The Popcorn Popper". (Version 3)

Characters[]

Notes and Trivia[]

  • This is the third episode that does not have a particular book involved.
  • This is the second episode that has the word hen as the main word, the first was Farmer Ken's Puzzle.
  • Jennifer Barnhart (Cleo's voice) plays the annoyed patron.
  • In the Fred Says segment, Fred gives the hen a slightly similar voice to Candle, a baby dragon from the show Dragon Time in the rejected Jim Henson Company sitcom pilot Puppetman, which Fred starred on, as the head puppeteer Gary, who puppeteered Candle, as well as Butane and Clyde.
  • This is the only episode that the grey hand pulls out the end of the word from Fred Says and takes it to the next segment.
  • This is the only episode where The Curtain is not shown in both Martha Reader and The Vowelles segments.
  • This episode was last broadcasted on PBS in April 2009.
  • This episode aired the same Day as Sesame Street Episode 3891 (With Elmo's World Episode: Hair).
  • Busterfield says "Bah! Humbug!" like Ebenezer Scrooge.

Goofs[]

  • In the close up of the "Bare feet allowed in the computer room" sign, the camera shakes.
  • The viewers don't say the episode title, though this could have been due to being one of the first episodes produced.

Gallery[]

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

Quotes[]

  • Busterfield: Heh heh heh. Now the sign says 'no fun here.'
  • Walter and Clay: Oh, no fun here? Phooey!
  • Busterfield: (singing) Every party has a pooper / That's why I invited me / Party pooper, party pooper. Heh heh heh heh.

  • Cleo: One 'hopping hen here' sign isn't supposed to have a 'no.' The library welcomes all bouncing poultry.

  • Cliff Hanger: This is as easy as falling out of bed.

  • Delivery Man: Yo, I got a package here, It must have fallen off the truck.
  • Cleo: It's from the printer.
  • Leona: I'm coming too.
  • Lionel: You know, I knew there was something wrong with those signs.
  • Delivery Man: This is a really interesting library.
  • Lionel: Oh, yeah.

  • Cleo: But wait a minute. "Saxophone playing"?
  • Theo: "Breaking bricks"?
  • Lionel and Leona: See?
  • Cleo: Oh, oh, the printer forgot the 'nos.'
  • Leona: (indicating her nose) I got mine.
  • Cleo: No, the printer forgot to put the word "No" on all the signs.
  • Theo: Yeah — it should be "No saxophone playing" and "No breaking bricks".
  • Duck: That's okay. I'm trying to quit anyway.

  • Lionel: (singing) Bye bye to peace and quiet / Old laws and regulations.

  • Leona: You know, it sort of seems like the rules are — there are no rules.

  • Lionel: This place is like, wild. Come on. Let's go check out the rest of the library.

  • Click: Lionel, Leona. I have been scanning very unusual visual data all over the library.
  • Leona: (reading a sign) 'Hopping hen here.'
  • Hen: (clucks hesitantly)
  • Lionel: Okay, I guess we're ready for you now.

  • Leona: Breaking bricks is permitted in the library? (gasps)
  • Lionel: I guess so. It — it says right here.

  • Lionel: 'Monkeys on the stair railing?' What a weird rule.

  • Theo: Cleo, my dear, the signs are here! Hey, that rhymed.

  • Female Patron: I am a patient woman. I am an animal lover. But I draw the lion... (covering the chicken's beak with her hands and correcting herself) the line at chickens jumping on my book.
  • Lionel: Shh.
  • Lionel: Okay, party's over.
  • Female Patron: (saying her last line before being gone forever.) Huh.

Releases[]

Video[]

The_Hopping_Hen

The Hopping Hen

Advertisement