Charmed (1998–2006): Season 3, Episode 10 - We All Scream for Ice Cream - full transcript

- What's with the hide-and-go-peek?
- He's still staring at me.

- Who?
- That guy at the end of the bar.

Oh, no, honey, that's not staring.
That's flirting.

- You say tomato...
- No, I say relax-o.

He seems pretty harmless.
I mean, he's clean-cut, innocent.

The kind of guy that a girl
could teach a few things to.

Hello, kind of girl
who's in a serious relationship.

Besides, it's always
the innocent-Iooking ones

you have to watch out for.

Hi. Hey, all right,
I need some professional help.

- No arguments here.
- Cute. Where is your DJ?



He's on break. Why?
What's going on?

You know when you get a song
stuck in your head,

and you can't get it out?

Yeah, I couldn't get the Facts of Life
song out of my head for three years.

All right. I have absolutely
no idea what this one is,

and it's driving me crazy.
I thought maybe your DJ

- would recognise it or something.
- How's it go?

- I'm not gonna sing it for you.
- Why not? Maybe we'll recognize it.

Okay.

- Anything?
- Nada.

I'm thinking if you tried it again
with a little more oomph,

maybe some choreography,
and Piper could back you up

with some old-school beatbox.

Why did I know I would get absolutely
no help out of you crazy people?



Oh, come on, wait a minute.

Wait. We can't let you leave
completely empty-handed.

What is this?

You really reconnected
with our friend Justin.

He's inviting us to his big annual
family barbecue.

Sounds like fun.

For who? I mean, you know,
Justin and I

are still in the flirtatious banter
stage of the relationship.

I think hanging out with the folks
might put a damper on it.

- Is that all?
- Yeah, what do you mean?

I mean, are you sure it's not because
it's a big family gathering?

If you're gonna go with the
"Prue's got parental issues" card,

let me save you some time.

Prue, it's not like we blame you.
Seeing complete, connected families

is hard on all of us. We can't spend
our lives avoiding what bothers us.

The only thing bothering me
right now

is that I cannot get this stupid song
out of my head.

I really appreciate your concern.

You know what I would
appreciate more?

Five minutes with your DJ.

Would you like some ice cream,
little one?

Yeah.

You didn't say please.

Help me!

Come on, Cole, talk to me.

Morning, sunshine.

Okay, how about cloudy
with chance of showers?

I'm sorry, did you say something?

Nothing pressing.
You pull an all-nighter again?

Yeah. Subject matter's
been elusive.

Caught by the bell.
Who's the instant message from?

Oh, it's nothing.

All right, well, nothing
usually means something,

and something
usually means a boy, so...

All right, I don't know what you guys
are talking about,

but what I've got is better,
at least bizarrer.

Bizarrer? Is that even a word, Piper?

Whatever. Anyway,
Cara called last night.

She had a meeting
in the Bay Tech Building yesterday,

and she swore that she saw Victor
walking through the lobby.

As in Dad Victor?

As in we haven't spoken to him
in a year

and he's probably in town
and he hasn't bothered to call us.

That would be the one.
You see my need to share?

But Cara hasn't seen him
since what?

Like the first grade, I know.
But she sounded very sure.

Why do you think he's here?
Should we go and try and find him?

What if it has nothing to do with us?

Well, I for one am not gonna
go out of my way to find out.

Wait, you're not even curious?

Come on, Prue.
I mean, he is our father.

Like I said before, I've come to terms
with our lack of parental involvement.

Some people weren't meant to have
the Rockwellian porch

with the house, the two-car garage,
the golden retriever

and the doting mom and dad.

Okay, so we're not the typical family.
But he is all we have, Prue.

No, Piper, we have each other,

okay. And we have other people that
love us, and very full and busy lives.

Speaking of which, I gotta dash.

If you wanna have lunch,
I'll be up on Knob Hill in the park for...

- Doing a shoot, okay?
- Okay.

Okay.

- Hey, can I walk you out?
- That would be so nice.

Oh, excuse me.

Hi. I'm...

You don't really care
who I am, do you?

I mean, everybody else
is on lunch break

and you're stuck here
fielding random questions

from people who shouldn't even
be asking them in the first place...

Can I actually help you?

Yeah. Right.

I'd like to know which company
Victor Bennett is with.

- He's not.
- Excuse me?

Bennett comma Victor?

He's not listed
in any office in the building.

I have a picture.
It's about from a decade ago,

but have you seen him around?

Are you sure?
Because I know that...

Dad?

Dad.

- What?
- It's...

It's not you. I'm sorry,
I thought you were...

I'm sorry.

So they say stick to what you know,

so I pitched a piece
about growing up in the city.

- Hopefully it'll make the cover.
- You're dodging.

Artfully, but it's still a dodge.

All right, did you ever consider
that maybe I just don't wanna go?

No, it has nothing to do
with the barbecue

or the guy that asked you
to go with him.

It has to do with Dad.

Why do you insist on pinning
everything that I do on my feelings

or lack thereof for our father?

Prue, you say you're over it,
but you say it so much

that I have this feeling that the person
you're trying to convince is yourself.

And believe me,
after what I went through with Cole,

if anyone understands that, it's me.

- It's sort of not the same thing.
- Well, maybe it is.

My feelings for our father
are in the past,

which means they really
have no place in the present.

So Justin gets penalized.

- There it is.
- What?

That song. Don't you hear it?
Somebody's humming it.

Hi.

Hey.

I was wondering if you could tell me
what that song is that you're humming.

Okay, riddle solved. Now you can stop
humming that stupid song.

We were in the middle of you
trying to make an argument

of why you're not gonna go
to Justin's barbecue.

Prue, if you keep ignoring me,
my feelings might actually implode.

- It's cold out.
- There's a thing we call winter here.

Why would a child want ice cream
when it's this cold out?

And the truck pulled up
and no one budged.

And did you notice
there are no parents?

So connect the dots for me, please?

Preferably standing still.

What? Do you have
a hankering for a snow cone?

Prue, we're in the middle
of a conversation,

and considering your lunch hour
ended, oh, five minutes ago

- we should probably make this fast.
- Yeah, well, something's wrong.

I know that. Why don't you
talk to me about it?

Not with me, Phoebe.
With this, all right?

I have a total déja vu
coming on.

Okay, so first you're humming
weird songs,

and now you're having flashbacks?

- Hello?
- Would you like some ice cream?

All right. I mean, it's just that usually
that my instincts...

No! Hold on!

All right, where's the little girl?

I don't know. I was holding on to her
and... We have to find her.

First, we have to figure out
where the hell we are.

I'm gonna take a wild guess and say
we're not still in the ice-cream truck.

Or even worse, we are
still in the ice-cream truck.

Prue...

I know, I hear it too.

All right, if there's a way in,
there's definitely a way out.

Who are you?

No powers, no powers.

I'm not surprised,
I'm not surprised.

Okay, something tells me
he was not running from us.

Okay, let's go.

Help!

Please help me!

Help you from what?

- The Nothing.
- Was that the man we just saw here?

It's up there.

It comes for you, for everybody.

And when it gets you, the only thing
left where you stood is nothing.

You never know when it's coming.
And you never know who it wants.

We try to hide,
but it keeps finding us.

Hurry! It's coming!

In here! Come on!

Here, in here!

Wait for me!

- Run!
- Help!

She's not gonna make it.

Prue!

Come on.

She was right there.

Prue, it's not your fault. Our powers
don't work here, we know that now.

We'll be better prepared next time.

Does that mean
you're gonna save us?

- Us?
- There are others just like me.

Hiding. Captured by
the ice-cream man.

If he doesn't want you here,

that must mean that you
have the power to save us.

We should go.

The Nothing will be coming back.

It always does. Come on.

Prue, it's me leaving you
another message

after leaving Phoebe
another message.

I tried you at work, but they said you
never checked in after your shoot.

So where are you guys?

Look, so call me. Or better yet,
just show up and save me

from having to perform an impending
awkward rejection all by myself.

Hi, I'm Caleb.

Piper.

I'm sort of new in town
and I'm looking to meet someone.

Someone special?

Sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt
your phone call to your...

Fiancé. Very large,
very jealous fiancé.

Really? Does...?
Does he ever come here?

- Yeah, all the time.
- So he lives nearby?

Look, I'm flattered. And you know,
if this was another time or place...

Maybe you'd like to meet
one of my single sisters?

You've got sisters? Really?

Well, maybe we could all
get together some time.

Does...? Does your fiancé like
to hang out with your sisters too?

Okay. You know what? I don't know
what kind of kinky stuff you're into,

but there's a club down the street
you might be more comfortable in.

They've got cages and rubber floors,
and a three-for-two special on Fridays.

- I'm not looking for a club, Piper.
- And I'm not interested, Caleb.

At least not in what I think
you're interested in.

So if you don't mind, I have lots
of stacking and stuff to do.

I think you got the wrong...
Oh, okay. L...

You know what, I'm gonna come
back later, when you're not...

stacking.

Prue, where are you guys?

Are we going in circles? This looks
like the exact same playground.

In this place, everywhere you go
looks the same.

That's how the Nothing gets you.
Only a few of us can find our way.

Why couldn't you get a boy-band song
in your head like everybody else?

All right, just tell us everything
you know about the ice-cream man.

Just that he's the one
who put us here.

All right, so is he
in charge of the Nothing?

I don't know, I guess.

The others are gonna be
so happy to see you.

We've been wishing
and hoping that someday,

someone would come
and save us. And now you're here.

Well, we're gonna do whatever
we can to get you out of here.

So why don't you take us
to your friends?

Through here.

Daddy!

It's okay. It's all right. It's okay.

What is it?

I saw you, when you were little,

in this playground with Dad.

Leo?

Leo?

- It's about time.
- Piper, I was busy.

Well, don't you have orb waiting?

Look, it's not fair to my other clients
if I keep getting calls from you

while I'm at work.

Look, I just have one teensy favour.

Prue and Phoebe
never came back from lunch

and they haven't been returning
my phone calls.

And I know I'm probably
just being paranoid,

but can't you do that check-the-
supernatural-radar thing that you do?

I'm sure it's fine, they're just...

Leo?

- Not good?
- I can't sense them anywhere.

It's like they just...

Disappeared.

- All right, is that all of you?
- All that's left.

Are you gonna save us?

We're gonna try.

All right, I think the only way out
is to go through the person that...

Put us here in the first place.

The ice-cream man? But how
are we supposed to find him?

Something tells me
that's not gonna be hard.

- Why not?
- Oh, because he's right over there.

Okay, you kids stay here.

We'll take care
of the Good Humor Man. Let's go.

There he is, by the slide.

Hey wait, look at that.
What does that look like to you?

The street,
from the back of the truck.

That's right, the way out.

Okay, all that we need now
are the...

Hey, we were just coming to get you.
Come on, we're going home.

Come on, come on. One down.

Here comes another one.

- No!
- Hurry, get!

Okay, I'm going next.

- Okay, go.
- Keep away from the door!

Ari, come on. Hurry up.

- Oh, my God.
- Actually, quite the opposite.

Okay, we need to keep him away
from the other kids.

I don't think they'll listen to you.
You're not the boss of them.

Did you do it?

Say thank you to the witches.

- Thank you.
- Thank you.

Why don't we try focusing
on the positive?

- They're together.
- That's it? That's your positive?

Because I've got a list
a mile long in the negative column.

They've been gone all night, Leo.
And not even you can find them.

- I'm sure they're fine.
- You don't know that.

Any minute they're gonna walk through
that door with a good explanation.

Piper?

See?

Prue, Phoebe, hi.

Hey.

- Okay.
- Where were we?

Oh, I would like to know
the same thing.

All that we know
is we have to go back.

Wait a minute, is this demon
or sibling-related?

A little bit of both. We thought
the good guys were bad guys,

and in trying to vanquish them,
we helped the real bad guys,

which were dead ringers
for good guys.

Was that English?

How about we fill in the blanks
as we climb the stairs

- to that big book in the attic?
- Good idea.

So he's a demonic dogcatcher
and he uses ice cream as bait?

Great news for the
lactose-intolerant demons.

Nothing in here on the demon kids
who escaped.

That we helped escape.

But there's a whole page
dedicated to the Ice Cream Man.

What?

- He is mortal.
- What?

Do you remember when demons
looked like demons

and innocents looked like innocents?
Who changed the rules on us?

Wait. If he's mortal,
how does he do it?

- It's not him.
- Bingo, it's a song.

It says, "The Ice Cream Man
plays the devil's chord,

which is a series of notes
that when sounded together

specifically attract demon kids
like moths to a flame."

More like moths to nothing.
That's what's inside the truck.

Nothing. That why
he pulls them in there.

The Nothing is the only thing
that can vanquish them.

So they might be pint-sized,
but they're badasses.

But if they couldn't get out
on their own, how did you guys?

Because he led us out.

- He tried to save us.
- And that is all she wrote, literally.

The Nothing doesn't discriminate.
Good or evil, tastes the same.

Now the only person who knows
anything about the escaped meanies

is stuck on the playground
and is in serious danger

- of becoming lunch himself.
- Right.

And our powers don't play,
not in this situation.

Pheebs and I tried everything to get
back in, but the door wouldn't budge.

Well, not everything.

Mind sharing with the room?

Phoebe had a premonition of me...

And Dad in the playground.

You were there?

- How? When?
- Only one way to find out.

Right, but we don't even know
where he is.

Never have, not even now, when
he might actually come in handy.

He's here. Dad's in San Francisco.

He's been here
for the last three months.

So it was him
that your friend Cara saw.

And it was an email from him
that I got yesterday

that I didn't tell you guys about.

He's here.

An instant message away.

- Phoebe, this is...
- Huge.

I know.

And I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys

that I've been keeping in touch
with him, but...

I wanted to. It just never
seemed like the right time.

So I guess now it's the right time.

What do you think?

Do we have a choice?

- What you doing?
- Killing.

- No kidding. Did anybody see you?
- Thought I was supposed to kill.

- Was it fun?
- He screamed a lot.

- Cool.
- So, what do we do now?

Well, I guess we waste even more
time while we pick up after you.

But you said all we had to do
was find the truck...

Not any truck. The truck.

I already got rid
of the ice-cream man, remember?

The only people we might have to kill
to get to the truck are those witches.

- But...
- And if you would've paid attention,

you would've known that.
And you also would've known...

that this isn't the right truck.

Now, I like killing just as much
as the next demon.

But right now, we gotta be smart.
And trashing every ice-cream truck

that we see is not smart.

- But it's fun.
- We'll have fun when this is all over.

- Promise?
- Yeah.

But first, do you think
you can clean up this mess?

I was waiting for you to say that.

Done.

Welcome to Club Switzerland.

All right, could we sort of
cut the sarcasm there?

I just didn't feel like inviting him
to our home for tea and cookies.

- He's our father, Prue. This is family.
- This is business.

And don't even think
about giving me that look.

If he gives us any useful information
about the playground,

I will be the very first one
to thank him.

And then send him packing.

These must be the sisters
I've heard so much about.

- Caleb.
- To think I almost didn't swing by.

Okay, you know what, I've tried.
I really have.

And you're not a bad guy.
But obviously the part of your brain

meant to take a hint
wasn't wired together properly,

because you're not taking any.

This is a really bad time.

Oh, okay.

When would be a good time?

Help me.

You got a phone call.
It's in the office.

- Why don't I show you where that is?
- Okay.

- Do you mind if I ask you something?
- Thank you.

Hey, you're just lucky
nobody got killed, okay?

You hear what I'm saying?

Well.

Would it be too much
to ask for a hug?

- It's good to see you, Daddy.
- Oh, baby, you have no idea.

What a place. This is yours, Piper?
It's terrific.

The three of you together.
I hardly know where to begin.

Well, I have a suggestion.
How about we just cut to the chase?

Prue, he just got here.
Can't that wait, like, five minutes?

He's a businessman, Piper. I'd think
he would appreciate that.

We can do the family-bonding thing
once the work is done, all right?

How about you just tell us everything
you know about the playground?

What playground?

Dad, I had a premonition.
I know you were there.

And somebody's hurt,
so we need to get back inside.

- Let it go.
- That may be your motto,

but we made a mistake
and we'd like to fix it.

So just tell us how you got in,
and we can handle it from there.

- We're big witches now.
- Yeah, but you're still my girls.

- Victor...
- Prue.

All right.

Yes, I was there.

I went in after you, and...

It was the last thing I ever did
as your father.

You were home with a cold...
Must've been about 6.

Your mom had some errands to run,
so she took your sisters with her

and left me home in charge.

You had asked me
to read you a story.

You used to love that.

But the cold was too much for you.
You only lasted a page or two,

and I left your room.
You were still sleeping.

Never heard you come downstairs.

You must have been looking
for a glass of water or me.

And that must've been
when you heard it.

- The song.
- I mean, I heard a truck drive by

and stop a few doors down,
but I didn't think anything of it.

It was an ice-cream truck.
How was I to know?

But somehow you did. You must've
gone into the living room

following that song.

And that's when you saw it happen.

A little boy, not much older
than yourself.

Yeah.

He was standing by the truck
and something pulled him in.

He was so scared.

And you ran out to help him.

Just like yesterday.

When I saw your bed was empty,
I lost my mind.

The door was wide open.
There was a truck parked outside.

I mean, I had no idea what I was
getting into, but I just had to go.

You saved Prue.

But I lost the three of you.

You said you left

because Grams wanted us
to use our powers, and you didn't.

That's the truth. And now you know
the whole story.

I mean, when your grandmother
found out...

I had just brought Prue back,

but being your father
wasn't good enough.

I mean, how could I ever protect you
from something like that again

when I didn't have the powers?

Okay, so the book said
the Ice Cream Man is mortal.

That's why he can go through
the door and we can't, right?

So, what do you say, Dad?
We need your help.

You know, if this doesn't work,
I can look back

and pinpoint the moment
where it went wrong.

And that moment's name
would be Dad?

You gotta admit, if he can open
the door, then we kind of need him.

It's all about word choice.
We don't need him,

we need his utter lack of power,
right? He opens the door,

we save the day,
we get on with our lives.

It's a one-time group effort.

Glad to see you have a healthy
handle on the situation, Prue.

I think I do.

So yeah, I was surprised
to hear from you.

But why did you think
I wouldn't let you back?

Because as far back
as you can remember,

I've done very little right by you.

I mean, if a guy,
let alone your own dad,

walks out on you once, maybe
you give him a second chance.

But if he appears
to make a habit of it...

I never thought you left
by choice, Dad.

Thank you, Pheeb.

Okay, well, this is it.

But there's nothing here.

Wait, we lost the truck?

Yeah, but we gained company.

Oh, those kids so need
to be grounded.

I don't get it. Why pick a fight
and then run?

Speaking of running, we should run.
They're getting away.

We can't, because we have
to get back in the truck.

Not all of us. Come on.

Nice work.

All right, lost modes of transport
are definitely not my forte, so...

Prue, sometimes in life,
things happen for a reason.

No magic involved.
The truck's been towed.

Right.

- Need a hand?
- No, and I don't need anything.

This is where he pulled us in.
But since he's still trapped inside,

I'm guessing the only way in
is through the exit.

All right, let's just do this.

You can do it, right?

Well, let's just say
that chasing demons

is not exactly my day job.

All right.

It helps if you specifically focus
on the task.

Don't think about what's behind
the door. That will only distract you.

Picture yourself opening the door.

See yourself opening the door.
Then just do it.

- Thanks for the advice.
- Just doing my job.

This would be a lot easier
if things stopped moving.

We left him right here.

Unless...

The Nothing. Even mortals
have memories, Prue.

I saw what it did. I know
what it could've done to him.

And us if we don't act quickly.

Yeah, well, at least we agree
upon one thing.

Make that two.
And get out while you still can.

Oh, my God.

- I am so sorry. I didn't know.
- No, the mistake was mine.

You're the Charmed Ones.
You were saving innocents.

How could you know they weren't?

How did you know?

Let's just say we both have friends
in high places.

The moment I mistakenly pulled you
and your sister in, I was alerted

and sent to save you.

And you get this in return.

It's getting closer.

You got us out of here once.
Now it's my turn.

The children... You must get them
back inside the playground.

We will, and you're gonna
help us do it.

I disabled the truck.
You need to fix it. Play the song.

Don't you dare. You stay with us.

Inside...

It's for the truck.

It's almost here. You go first, okay?

No. I can be replaced. You can't.

No!

Prue, it'll be back!
We gotta get out now!

You didn't fail.

The only way you fail is if you don't
go back and do what he asked.

Come on.

Why don't they ever run into a well-lit
room with nowhere to hide?

Well, we know they're somewhere.

And I know what's gonna
give them away.

How could you...?

How bad did you wanna
get off that playground?

And now we're free.

Don't you wanna stay free?

Why do I get the feeling
they weren't looking

to pick a fight?

They were just looking for the truck,
and we crashed their party.

But we're like a mile ahead.
I mean, we know where it is.

It's in the junkyard.

Did I say a mile?

Okay, so they know. It's three
of us versus three of them.

We're even, and bigger.

I think you need to count again.

- When in doubt...
- Bring reinforcements.

All that's left for us to do
is destroy the truck.

Yeah.

- Prue.
- And Dad. Let's go.

- Do you think they're here already?
- Probably.

Do you think they know
we're here already?

Probably.

Okay, do they do that because they
think it's funny, or just to freak us out?

All we have to do is hold off the
demons until Dad and Prue get out.

You haven't, by any chance,
had a premonition

that this is all gonna turn out okay
and just neglected to inform your kin?

Okay, I think they're surrounding us.

Don't say that. We're not surrounded
until they're all around us.

Okay, how bad could the odds be?

I mean, sure, there's a whole bunch
of them, but we're witches, right?

And you have the power of...

Piper.

All right, you little brats.

Bring it on!

Head for the slide up at the top.
That's our way out.

- Daddy!
- Hold on, Prue!

Daddy! I need you.

I've got you.
I'm not leaving without you.

Dad!

I got you!

All right, any ideas
what to do with this?

Eight years of fixing your
mother's car has given me one.

All right, we'll buy you some time.

- Hey, need a hand?
- I need about ten.

Oh, you need a little time-out, missy.

Dad, hurry!

Welcome to our world, Dad.

When I decide I wanna have kids,
you remind me of this day.

Leo, what are you doing here?
Why did you bring him here?

He's supposed to be here, Piper.

You fixed my wheels. Thanks.

Caleb's the new Ice Cream Man.
He filled me in back at the club.

Everything's happened
the way it was meant to.

He was sent here to take over.
It's his time.

So your interest in me...

Strictly professional. I was lost.

But until I was sure who you
were, I couldn't just come out

and say, "Hey, are you
a Charmed One?

Because I need you to take me
to my demon-catching truck."

Speaking of which,
I'm running kind of late as it is,

so thank you, all of you.

Good luck.

Something tells me I'm never gonna
look at a Creamsicle the same way.

Well, I guess this is goodbye again.

Thanks, Dad. Keep writing.

You don't have to keep
secrets anymore.

- I know.
- I mean anything.

Hey, what's the story
with this Leo character, anyway?

How much does he know
about you?

Just about everything.

- So he's...
- He's a wonderful man, yes.

Still, I think I'll have a little chat
with him sometime...

- Dad.
- It's a father's prerogative.

- I'm not saying goodbye.
- Prue.

I'm saying see you soon, Dad.

Thank you.

You know, that's sort of why
I came to town.

For this job interview. And...

Although it would entail some travel,
I'd be based here in San Francisco.

And...

If you guys think occasionally this
town is big enough for us,

I'd like to accept their offer.

- Could I accept that as a yes?
- Yes.

That's my cab.

All right.

We've got so much
catching up to do.

That's okay. It's different now.

It is, isn't it?

See you soon.