The BEST episodes of Hey Arnold! season 1

Every episode of Hey Arnold! season 1, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Hey Arnold! season 1!

The adventures of a daydreaming, jazz-loving, football-headed 9-year-old, who lives in a boarding house with his grandparents and some eccentric boarders, encounters life in the city with his best friend Gerald, a loofah-haired kid, who is the keeper of the urban tales and coolest kid in class; and Helga, who torments him, but loves him secretly.

Last Updated: 8/10/2024Network: NickelodeonStatus: Ended
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Arnold's Christmas
star
8.13
23 votes

#1 - Arnold's Christmas

Season 1 - Episode 21 - Aired 12/14/1996

Arnold tries to find Mr. Hyunh's daughter (who was separated from him during the final days of the Vietnam War) as he carries out his duty as Mr. Hyunh's secret Santa. Meanwhile, Helga must choose between a Christmas present for herself (Nancy Spumoni boots) and the perfect gift for Arnold.

Directors: Jamie Mitchell
Watch Now:Amazon
Arnold's Valentine
star
7.85
13 votes

#2 - Arnold's Valentine

Season 1 - Episode 38 - Aired 2/10/1997

Arnold gets a date with both Ruth (The girl he likes) and Cecile (his pen pal, who's actually Helga in disguise), but later the real Cecile shows up.

Directors: Jamie Mitchell
Watch Now:Amazon
Cool Jerk
star
7.83
23 votes

#3 - Cool Jerk

Season 1 - Episode 23 - Aired 12/16/1996

An older cool guy befriends Arnold, but Arnold realizes that he is really a shoplifter.

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Heat
star
7.69
39 votes

#4 - Heat

Season 1 - Episode 11 - Aired 11/11/1996

The city is suffering from a heatwave, and whatever he does, Arnold just can't seem to get cool.

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Wheezin' Ed
star
7.63
19 votes

#5 - Wheezin' Ed

Season 1 - Episode 25 - Aired 12/23/1996

Arnold convinces the gang to go to Elk Island, where, unknown to them, two men are plotting a counterfeit coin scheme.

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Tutoring Torvald
star
7.61
18 votes

#6 - Tutoring Torvald

Season 1 - Episode 26 - Aired 12/30/1996

Arnold must tutor a 13-year-old, fourth-grade bully in math, much to his dismay.

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Benchwarmer
star
7.57
21 votes

#7 - Benchwarmer

Season 1 - Episode 22 - Aired 12/16/1996

Arnold and the gang play on a basketball team, but their coach tells them to throw the ball to one person, his son, Tucker.

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World Records
star
7.53
15 votes

#8 - World Records

Season 1 - Episode 35 - Aired 1/27/1997

The kids try to get in the book of world records so much that they would do anything, including most people on a one-person bike and the longest game of Crack-The-Whip.

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Gerald Comes Over
star
7.36
22 votes

#9 - Gerald Comes Over

Season 1 - Episode 27 - Aired 12/30/1996

Gerald goes to Arnold's place to meet the other residents.

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Pigeon Man
star
7.36
22 votes

#10 - Pigeon Man

Season 1 - Episode 29 - Aired 1/6/1997

When Arnold's pigeon gets sick, he takes it to "Pigeon Man", a person surrounded by pigeons who lives on a rooftop.

Writer: Joseph Purdy
Watch Now:Amazon
The Little Pink Book
star
7.34
79 votes

#11 - The Little Pink Book

Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/9/1996

When Helga loses her pink book, full of love poems about Arnold on the bus, it ends up in Arnold's hands. Now Helga must get it back before Arnold figures out who wrote the poems.

Directors: Bert Ring, Don Judge
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Door #16
star
7.33
33 votes

#12 - Door #16

Season 1 - Episode 19 - Aired 12/9/1996

All of the borders get very curious to what is inside the very personal Mr. Smith's package.

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Olga Comes Home
star
7.33
18 votes

#13 - Olga Comes Home

Season 1 - Episode 30 - Aired 1/13/1997

Jealous about her smart, talented, popular older sister Olga returning home from college, Helga fiendishly changes one of her grades from an A to B+, which sends Olga into a deep depression.

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The Baseball
star
7.33
40 votes

#14 - The Baseball

Season 1 - Episode 10 - Aired 11/4/1996

Arnold's favorite baseball player is playing his last game, so he decides to go and see his last game. The only problem is that he winds up with terrible seats.

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Stoop Kid
star
7.31
49 votes

#15 - Stoop Kid

Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 10/14/1996

Arnold's hat lands on the stoop of "Stoop Kid," - a bully who has lived his whole life on his stoop, and is highly protective of it. But, when it's Arnold's fault that Stoop Kid becomes the joke of the city, he must help Stoop Kid face his biggest fear - leaving his stoop for the first time.

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Snow
star
7.31
36 votes

#16 - Snow

Season 1 - Episode 12 - Aired 11/11/1996

Snow hits the city and Arnold can't wait to get out and have some fun... but wait, there's chores to be done... and when there done Arnold has the time of his life playing Hockey with the "crew".

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Sally's Comet
star
7.26
19 votes

#17 - Sally's Comet

Season 1 - Episode 31 - Aired 1/13/1997

Arnold and Gerald must turn off all the lights in the city if they want to see Sally's Comet.

Writer: Joseph Purdy
Watch Now:Amazon
Downtown as Fruits
star
7.25
131 votes

#18 - Downtown as Fruits

Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/7/1996

Not looking forward to performing in Helga's "The Four Food Groups" musical, Arnold and Gerald decide to take the bus a few stops too many, but end up stuck downtown.

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Field Trip
star
7.21
57 votes

#19 - Field Trip

Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/9/1996

Field Trip: The kids are really looking forward to their field trip to the aquarium - especially when they remember the scary Lock Jaw from their last trip. But, when they get there, they see that Lock Jaw isn't really that scary. Arnold notices how neglected the old turtle looks, and returns later with Grandma to set it free.

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False Alarm
star
7.19
16 votes

#20 - False Alarm

Season 1 - Episode 34 - Aired 1/27/1997

Eugene is accused of pulling the fire alarm. In the school court, the jury thinks Eugene is guilty except for Arnold, who believes there is a shadow of a doubt.

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Eugene's Bike
star
7.13
70 votes

#21 - Eugene's Bike

Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/7/1996

When Arnold accidentally ruins Eugene's new bike, he takes Eugene out on a day of fun, thinking that "Every geek deserves his day".

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The Vacant Lot
star
7.11
35 votes

#22 - The Vacant Lot

Season 1 - Episode 14 - Aired 11/18/1996

Arnold and friends decide to clear out a vacant lot to play baseball on, but the adults take over it, and use it for their own reasons.

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Helga's Makeover
star
7.11
56 votes

#23 - Helga's Makeover

Season 1 - Episode 7 - Aired 10/16/1996

Helga is annoyed when Rhonda doesn't invite her to her slumber party - everybody assumes that "girly" parties aren't Helga's style. So, Helga is determined to prove her wrong, and gets a makeover.

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
The Old Building
star
7.10
41 votes

#24 - The Old Building

Season 1 - Episode 8 - Aired 10/16/1996

Arnold is asked by his Grandma to help save an old building, and then asked by Ernie to help knock the building down! Who will Arnold decide to go along with? How can he get out of this tricky situation?

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Spelling Bee
star
7.10
21 votes

#25 - Spelling Bee

Season 1 - Episode 28 - Aired 1/6/1997

Arnold and Helga compete on a Spelling Bee contest.

Watch Now:Amazon