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Dancing Wood Nymph Ritual - On episode No. 131 "The Buck Stops Here" on the sitcom
NEWHART/CBS/1982-90 writer Dick Loudon (Bob Newhart) was motoring along a
Vermont road near his home when he hit and killed the Great White Buck.
Unfortunately, for Dick, the deer was the symbol of good luck for the area. When
the townsfolk heard of the incident, many thought Armageddon was close at hand
and bad luck would reign supreme.
To avert such a catastrophe, Dick Loudon was
asked to perform a ritual ceremony known as "The Rite of the Dancing Wood
Nymph." Indignant, Dick refused shouting "I'm not going to go prancing through
the woods like a pixie." Evidence of the bad luck soon manifested itself when a
normal guy actually dumped Stephanie, the town's prettiest girl.
In an attempt
to put everyone's fears to rest, Dick finally commiserated and donned a burlap
costume and a set of deer antlers. Wielding a staff topped by a pine cone, Dick tippy-toed
in a circle, flapped his hooves and completed the solemn, if not humiliating
ritual. The entire ceremony was recorded for posterity.
Upon reviewing the videotape, the townsfolk saw another white buck in the
background and dubbed it "Son of White Buck." With the emergence of the new
deer, the town's good fortune returned and much to his chagrin, Dick realized
the whole ritual in the woods had been a waste of time.
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