Episode
Lizzie McGuire: Lizzie Strikes Out
Overview
Ethan invites Lizzie, Gordo and Miranda to go bowling with friends on the weekend. Of course the girls are thrilled but Gordo isn't so happy--bowling is something he's not good at. In fact, he got so nervous doing it before that his fingers swelled up and the ball had to be cut off his hand! Miranda says she will be Gordo's ""life coach"" for bowling and tries to teach him him a kind of mystical philosophy (""Be the ball!"") Meanwhile, Matt and Lanny are trying to think of what they can do to stop the bully Heywood Biggs from picking on them. When Sam McGuire hears Lizzie talking about her sort-of date on the phone, he worries that he's not involved enough in his daughter's life. He asks her if she'd like for just the two of them to go out to dinner on Friday so they can spend some time together. Lizzie agrees, but later realizes that the bowling date is the same night! She decides she'll have to ask her father to reschedule.
Details
- Series
- Lizzie McGuire
- Season
- Season 1
- Episode
- Episode 21
- Air date
- 2001-08-31
- Runtime
- 22 min
Episode context
Lizzie Strikes Out is Episode 21 in Season 1 of Lizzie McGuire. It aired on 2001-08-31. The runtime is 22 min.
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Episode 20: Educating Ethan
Gordo wants to raise money for a new stereo, so Miranda and Lizzie suggest he tutor students who need help in math. His first student is Ethan Craft, much to the girls' delight. When Gordo is working with Ethan at the Digital Bean, Lizzie and Miranda keep trying to horn in on the action and end up spilling drinks all over the guys' papers. Gordo gets mad at them and suggests that they aren't smart enough to help him tutor anyway. The girls get angry right back at him and leave. Meanwhile, Matt and his friend Oscar are looking for something exciting to do. They decide to become ""super heroes"" Matt Man and the Incredible Oscar. They go around the neighborhood in costume trying to do good deeds, but all they do is annoy the neighbors.
Episode 22: The Untitled Stan Jansen Project
Director Stan Jansen is filming a documentary at the junior high and everyone is trying to get on camera--except Gordo, who wants to be a director himself. But Stan singles out Gordo as his star and tells him his appearance in the film could lead to a career in directing. Gordo is eager to go along, so when the director tells him he wants conflict, Gordo trashes Kate on camera. Lizzie and Miranda think that's great, but it's not so great when Tudgeman gets upset after the same treatment. Then when Gordo manipulates Lizzie and Miranda into revealing long-held secrets about each other, the trio's friendship is on the rocks. The girls can't stay mad at each other, though, and they convince Gordo that their friendship should be the most important thing to all of them. The kids find a way to get back at Stan Jansen.
More episodes from this season
Episode 19: Gordo and the Girl
Lizzie and Miranda feel neglected, when Gordo spends more time with his new girlfriend, Brooke. They are unable to come to terms with the fact that Gordo has a girlfriend now and he is drifting away from their group. Meanwhile, Matt learns about "percentages" from his father and starts accepting bets from his friends, but he eventually lands in trouble when his mother finds out about this.
Episode 23: Last Year's Model
Lizzie auditions to be in a fashion show presented by "Teen Attitude" magazine at a local mall and she gets accepted. At the show Lizzie looks great on the stage. Afterward, popular girl Jessica asks Lizzie to come to a party at her country club. Lizzie gets Miranda and Gordo invited also. At the party, all three are enjoying the fun, including the hot tub. But already Lizzie's friends are acting different. When Jessica asks her about coming to another party, Miranda starts answering for Lizzie like a press agent and she and Gordo start negotiating future appearances for her like a supermodel!
At school things are very different, also. Kids stare at her in the hall like she's a celebrity. Kate is now fawning all over Lizzie, wanting to be her friend. Ethan is so starstruck that he can't even mumble a coherent sentence around her. Gordo and Miranda are as bad as anybody. Lizzie muses, "Gordo and Miranda aren't my friends anymore. They're my people!"
Episode 18: Rated Aargh
Lizzie's fantasy almost comes true when she is paired up with Ethan Craft in a CPR class at school, but he's so dense that the teacher chooses Tudgeman instead to give Lizzie mouth-to-mouth! Lizzie, Gordo and Miranda realize they are about the only three in school who haven't seen the latest blockbuster movie Vesuvius: The Eruption, which is rated R, and they're determined to get in to see it. When their parents all say ""no"" to their arguments, Gordo decides they should say they are going to play miniature golf, then go see the film. Lizzie is very nervous about lying to her parents, but she pulls it off with ease.
The trio can't get past the ticket-taker, though, and can't slip in the back, so they mingle with the crowd as it is departing a showing and sneak in that way. While at the concession stand, they notice a man choking.
Episode 24: Night of The Day of the Dead
The middle school is putting on a big Fright Night celebration for Halloween. Lizzie wants to appear as Vampira, the dungeon mistress, but Kate is in charge and she keeps the job for herself, making Lizzie clean out the janitor's closet and then giving her the role of a clown handing out balloons. Miranda brings her parents, who are helping her celebrate a Mexican holiday, the Day of the Dead. They bring by several items including skulls and skeletons which are meant to represent ancestors who are being honored. Kate is all smiles when Miranda's parents are around (""Toon Lizzie"" calls Kate ""phonier than cafeteria cheese""), but once they leave she yells at Miranda to get rid of that junk they brought. Miranda warns Kate that by disrespecting the dead, she is risking their wrath.
Episode 17: Sibling Bonds
Matt is irritating Lizzie with his magic tricks while she's trying to do homework. Soon they are fighting like cats and dogs--or brother and sister--much to the annoyance of their parents. But as soon as Sam and Jo stop them, they go right back to fighting.
At school Ethan Craft speaks to Lizzie and Miranda, but Lizzie is so tongue-tied she can barely utter a word. Mr. Escobar announces a charity drive and asks for volunteers. Lizzie thinks she'll be too busy until she hears that Ethan will be there. At home Lizzie is making some cookies for the event when Matt tries out another trick. This time he handcuffs himself to his sister, but he can't get the cuffs loose. Mom spies the key and hides it, thinking that if the kids are forced to spend a few hours chained together, they might learn to get along better. Now Lizzie is facing the horror of going to the charity drive with her little brother stuck on her arm!
Episode 25: Facts of Life
Hoping to win a trip to Miami, Lizzie, Miranda and Gordo team up to enter the school's ""Fact-athlon."" Their rival team consists of Kate Sanders, Larry Tudgeman and Claire Miller. But things start to look a little bleak when the faculty advisor Lizzie and company chose is replaced by substitute teacher Mr. Dig. But to their surprise, Mr. Dig manages to turn studying into something fun and interesting with his unusual approaches. By the time the competition starts, Lizzie's team is confident while Kate, Larry and Claire are feeling the pressure. But Kate's team beats Lizzie's team badly when there are too many questions about dates and names rather than ""how and why"" problems. Kate and her teammates gloat over their win and Mr. Dig is ready to leave his job at the school because he thinks he let the team down, But Lizzie, Gordo and Miranda convince him they they actually did learn a lot and that they had a good time doing it.
Episode 16: Obsession
The various obsessions of Lizzie, Matt and Gordo are driving friends, family, teachers and themselves to distraction. Gordo is intent on winning the Science Olympics at all costs against defending champion Larry Tudgeman. Matt becomes hall monitor at his school and gets carried away with his own power, giving out citations to schoolmates by the dozen and even trying to do the same to teachers and family members. Meanwhile, after she and Miranda work on a successful volunteer project at school, Lizzie becomes an environmental warrior, a fanatic for collecting clothing and food for the homeless, and even a vegetarian! All three learn that they must put limits on their fanaticism or else their original causes will suffer as a result.
Episode 26: Scarlett Larry
Lizzie finds out in square-dancing class that a guy has a crush on her--but it's Larry Tudgeman! She asks her mom's advice about how to get rid of him, but Mom suggests she find out what he's all about first, intimating that her dad was kind of a geek when she first met him. This isn't what Lizzie wants to hear, but she doesn't want to be mean and consents to go out with Larry. To her surprise, he shows up for the date looking very nice, and--bigger surprise--she actually has fun on their trip to the science museum.
Episode 15: Lizzie's Nightmares
Lizzie is in a frenzy because Ethan Craft has asked her to sit with him at lunch the next day. But at home she still has to put up with bratty brother Matt, who put honey on the phone receiver and messed up her hair. Lizzie is furious with him and this time his parents are also very upset, too. They ground him and Mom says there will be more severe punishment to come. Matt races to catch the bus, but he gets on the wrong one, the junior high bus. Ethan Craft tells him to get out of his seat, but Matt stands up to him, which Ethan likes. He tells him his name is ""Bond...Matt Bond."" By the time they reach school, Matt has created a legend for himself as a child prodigy, actor, etc. and his reputation has already spread all over school.
Episode 27: Gordo and the Dwarves
Gammy McGuire sends Lizzie one of her frequent ""birthday"" gifts--a role-playing game called Dwarflord: The Conquest. Mom insists that Lizzie play it at least once, so she recruits reluctant Miranda and Gordo for a game. The girls can't understand the incredibly complex rules but Gordo likes it. In fact, Gordo joins a ""Dwarf Tribe"" at school (led by Tudgeman, of course) and begins to spend all his time playing and thinking about the game. Gordo gets so obsessed that he even quits studying and, unbelievably, gets an ""F"" on a test!
Lizzie and Miranda try to talk some sense back into Gordo but he refuses to see he is addicted to the game. Matt agrees to help the girls capture Gordo and help to deprogram him. They stealthily invade a Dwarflord game, abduct Gordo and hold an intervention in which they finally convince him to go back to his old lifestyle.