Season 12 (2002)

Previous Season	Next Season
Season 11 (2001-2002)	Season 13 (2002-2003)

AFV Season 12
$100,000 Winners	I Dream of Ice Cream Balloon Antics

America's Funniest Home Videos Season 12 aired from February 15, 2002 to May 17, 2002. This season features the "Battle of the Best," in which the submitter(s) of the winning video receive(s) $25,000 and a trip to Maui. Kathy Griffin, Coolio, Picabo Street, and Martin Mull make guest appearances in the special.

Episodes

Season 12 Episode 1 (Original, WGN, ABC Family, and Early Off-Network Syndication Airings)

Hey, Hey, We're the Monks, It's My Piñata and I'll Cry if I Want To, I Dream of Ice Cream

Season 12 Episode 1 (Later Off-Network Syndication Airings and Disney+ Release)

Hey, Hey, We're the Monks, I Dream of Ice Cream

Season 12 Episode 2

Vow Wow, The Toad Who Glowed & Whiny-the-Poo

Season 12 Episode 3

Pump Chump, Someone Needs a Timeout & Fountain of Youth

Season 12 Episode 4

Unamusement Park, Hockey Schtick & Referee Referendum

Season 12 Episode 5

Wedgie Woman, I Dream of Cleanie & Gray Lady Down

Season 12 Episode 6

VCRduous, Take Me Out of the Ball Game & Boy Gets Slugged

Season 12 Episode 8

Hook, Line and Splatter, For Whom the Doorbell Tolls & Don't Send in the Clowns

Season 12 Episode 9

Pop Go My Trousers, Berry Funny & Sings with the Fishes

Season 12 Episode 10

Balloon Antics, Noodle Nose & Honk If You Love Me

Season 12 Episode 11

No Nose Is Good Nose, Waxing Poetic & Lady in Red

Season 12 Episode 12

Bush Baby, These Boots Are Made for Skating & Scaredy Dog

Season 12 Episode 14: Battle of the Best

Finalists 1:
Hammock Dad (S8 E9), Fake Electrocution Scare (Guide to Parenting), Dog Cheats to Win (1st Place Winner on S6 E10 and $100,000 Winner on S6 E16), Kid Runs Over Dad (S10 E15), Parasailer Launched (S9 E3) Truck Trick (2nd Place Winner on S9 E15), The Slingshot Heard 'Round the World (1st Place Winner on S11 E7), In and Ouch (1st Place Winner on S9 E21 and $100,000 Winner on S9 E26)

Finalists 2:
Girl Running Down Sand Hill (S8 E16M?, could be earlier), The Presidential Baby (1st Place Winner on S2 E1), Fridge Snack Lady Scare (Unwrapped for the Holidays), Table Faller (S8 E11), Rent-a-Bike Senior (3rd Place Winner on S6 E21), Cat's Got a Tongue (1st Place Winner on S10 E20), Kid Sprays Mom (1st Place Winner on S2 E15), The Quad Squad (1st Place Winner on S11 E8 and $100,000 Winner on S11 E16)

Finalists 3:
Smiley Face Dog (2nd Place Winner on "A Tribute to Moms"), Dracula Scream (1st Place Winner on S5 E14), Messiah on a Wi-Yah (1st Place Winner on S10 E3), Father Drops Like a Bag of Hammers (2nd Place Winner on S10 E2), CUTOUT FROM BROADCAST CLIP, Bike Crashes into Truck (S6 E10M), Kid Farts in Tub (Guide to Parenting), Cocky Raccoon (1st Place Winner on S10 E4)

Finalists 4:
Piñata Hit (S4 E3), Boy Screams His ABCs (1st Place Winner on S2 E14 and $100,000 Winner on S2 E16), Skier Meets Truck (S9 E21), The Young Director (1st Place Winner on S6 E19), Kid by Basketball (Guide to Parenting), Swan Mocks Speaker (1st Place Winner on S6 E4), Alien in the Cake (1st Place Winner on S6 E2), Astigmatizzy (1st Place Winner on S9 E22)

Finalists 5:
The Ski Somersaulter (2nd Place Winner on S6 E11), The Camcorder Explanation (3rd Place Winner on S8 E2), $3 Present (3rd Place Winner on S3 E16), The Barking Butt (S12 E12), Chainsaw Brothers (S8 E5), I Dream of Cleanie (1st Place Winner on S12 E5), Buckethead Woman (S9 E13), Surprise Rat (1st Place Winner on S3 E23 and $100,000 Winner on S3 E25)

Finalists 6:
Whiny-the-Pooh (1st Place Winner on S10 E15), The Muddy Dog (2nd Place Winner on S8 E8), Whistler's Mother (1st Place Winner on S9 E24), Shipwrecked Sailor (3rd Place Winner on S11 E4), Lincoln's Bad Day (3rd Place Winner on S4 E3), CUTOUT CLIP FROM BROADCAST, Big Dog, Little Dog (1st Place Winner on S7 E7 and $100,000 Winner on S7 E8), Basketball Pole Hits Kid (S9 E9)

Finalists 7:
The Wedding Speaker (S9 E10) Baseball Face Hit (S8 E17), Baby Runs into Screen Door (A Tribute to Moms), Motorcycle Mom (S9 E9M), Nun Falls Out of Booth (S10 E1), Kid Doesn't Eat Dinner (A Tribute to Moms), Racquetball Break-Through (Guide to Parenting), Green Bean Blues (1st Place Winner on S9 E9)

Finalists 8:
Roman Candle Canine (S12 E2), Spaniel Couch Flip (S7 E11), Chimp Sniffs Butt (Unwrapped for the Holidays), Kid Bounces Off Trampoline (S7 E4), Brick Can Smasher (S9 E19), Conga Line Poodle (Pilot), Tree Branch Snapper (S6 E6), See Spot Leave (1st Place Winner on S10 E12)

• Dog Cheats to Win (Dachshund Race Cheater)
• The Quad Squad
• Bike Crashes into Truck
• Boy Screams His ABCs (Kid Shouts ABCs)
• Buckethead Woman
• Big Dog, Little Dog (Chihuahua Tinkles on Big Dog)
• Nun Falls Out of Booth
• Chimp Sniffs Butt

Finalists

Trivia

• To date:
  • This is the only season that begins and ends in the same year instead of beginning in one year and ending in the next.
    • As a result, this season is the shortest, having the lowest number of episodes, 15, and the lowest number of contestant shows, 11.
    • The finalists standing in circle was first shown on the Battle of the Best in 2002, and was upgraded to $100,000 shows in season 13 since 2003.
  • "It's My Piñata and I'll Cry If I Want To" from episode 1 is the only nominated video that has been removed since the original airing of an episode. The edited version of the episode makes it the only one in the series with less than 3 nominees, specifically 2. The segments in which Bergeron announces the nominees and first-place winner were also re-recorded for this occurrence.
    • "Hey, Hey, We're the Monks" from the same episode was submitted by editor Keef Bartkus.
    • "I Dream of Ice Cream" from the same episode is one of several videos to win first place in the first episode of its block, then win in the next $100,000 show.
• Currently, only two of the 2nd place-winning videos, "Bush Baby" and "Noodle Nose" can be found in the Home Video Licensing library compared to six and seven 3rd and 1st place-winning videos, respectively.
• In "Buckethead Woman" from the Battle of the Best, a modern variation of the battle flag used by the Confederate States Army can be seen on a pillow in the background. The pillow is blurred out when the clip is shown in Disney+ versions of episodes. This is very likely due to the controversial nature surrounding the flag.
• The titles of two first-place winners in this season begin with "I Dream of..."
• Many videos nominated throughout this season have references in their titles:
  • The titles of all three nominated videos in episode 1 reference lyrics from the choruses of songs:
    • "Hey, Hey, We're the Monks" is a reference to the lyric "Hey, hey, we're the Monkees" from the chorus of the 1966 song "(Theme From) The Monkees" by The Monkees. The song is featured in the music montage in Season 9, Episode 13.
    • "It's My Piñata and I'll Cry If I Want To" is a reference to the lyric "It's my party and I'll cry if I want to" from the chorus of the 1963 song "It's My Party" by Lesley Gore. The song is featured in the music montage in Season 4, Episode 1.
    • "I Dream of Ice Cream" is a pun on the lyric "I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream" from the chorus of the 1927 song "Ice Cream."
  • "Whiny-the-Poo" is a pun on the character and franchise Winnie-the-Pooh. Despite its title, characters from the franchise do not appear in the video in any form. This title was used for another first-place winner in Season 10.
  • "Fountain of Youth" shares its name with a mythical spring. This title is later reused for a first-place winner in Season 18.
  • "Wedgie Woman" is possibly a pun on the 1972 song "Witchy Woman" by the Eagles.
  • "I Dream of Cleanie" is a pun on the 1965-70 sitcom I Dream of Jeannie.
  • "Gray Lady Down" shares its name with a 1978 film.
  • "Take Me Out of the Ball Game" is a reference to the novelty song "Take Me Out to the Ball Game." The song is featured in a music montage in Episode 14 of the previous season.
  • "Hook, Line and Splatter" is a reference to the adverb "hook, line and sinker."
  • "For Whom the Doorbell Tolls" is a reference to the 1940 novel For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway.
  • "Don't Send in the Clowns" is a reference to the song "Send in the Clowns" from the 1973 musical A Little Night Music.
  • "Pop Go My Trousers" is a reference to the nursery rhyme "Pop Goes the Weasel." The song would later be featured in a music montage in Episode 14 of the next season.
  • "Sings with the Fishes" is possibly a reference to the idiom "sleep(s) with the fishes."
  • "No Nose is Good Nose" is a pun on the idiom "No News is Good News."
  • "Waxing Poetic" is a synonym for becoming verbose.
  • "Lady in Red" shares its name with a 1986 song by Chris de Burgh.
  • "These Boots Are Made for Skating" is a reference to the 1965 song "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" by Nancy Sinatra. The song is featured in a music montage in Episode 6 of this season.
    • Despite the title, the 1983 song "Sharp Dressed Man" by ZZ Top can be heard in the background.

Goofs

• In episode 2, Bergeron mispronounces Springboro, OH as "Springsboro" the first time he says "The Toad Who Glowed" is a nominee.
• In the Disney+ release of this season, a few names of the video submitters are misspelled in the subtitles:
  • Michael and Candace Hochmeister's ("Whiny-the-Poo") surname is misspelled as "Hockmeister." Candace's first name is also misspelled as "Candice."
  • Candice Mencini's ("Someone Needs a Timeout") name is misspelled as "Candace Mancini." The surname is spelled correctly in the subtitles of the first $100,000 show, in which only Giovanni is credited.
  • James Senne's ("Hockey Schtick") surname is misspelled as "Sunney."
  • Arlene and Doug Lipinski's ("Unamusement Park") surname is misspelled as "Lupinsky." It is spelled correctly in the subtitles of the first $100,000 show.
  • Haley Marotto's ("Gray Lady Down") surname is misspelled as "Murano."
  • Krystal Cade's ("Boy Gets Slugged") surname is misspelled as "Kade."