Insect Inside

This was a really cute episode.  Little girls and bugs are natural enemies.  Of all the bugs in nature, possibly the most vile and disgusting is the common cockroach.  The PowerPuff Girls meet their match when an evil villain called "Roach Coach" uses all of Townsville's cockroaches to take over the city.  The girls must overcome these icky vermin and save the day.

The whole connection between the Professor's little speech about the "insect inside" and the villain's true identity was very clever.  We also find out why Bubbles doesn't get to answer the hotline anymore!

PowerPuff Bluff

This episode was just too stupid.  I'm really not surprised since the PPGs pilot, Meat Fuzzy Lumkins, was pretty "off-the-wall" and silly.  Considering that this was one of the first regular episodes ever broadcast, it stands to reason the writing is going to be similar early on in production.

Yeah, there were some funny scenes:

• The one with the green mohawk really wants to dress up like a little girl in the worst way: "Glittery hair bands...sparkly party shoes...feminine bows with brightly colored sashes."
• Handcuffs on the PPGs?  They don't have hands!
• The Mayor.  Period!

One thing that annoyed me was the whole "sweet cheeks" controversy.  "Oh my Goodness!  He dared to call you 'sweet cheeks!'  Why, he's worse than Hitler!"  Geez, get off the freakin' soapbox!

Monkey See, Doggie Do

When Cartoon Network held a poll to find out which of the episodes was the fans' favorite, this one came in second.  It's a good episode, but I guess I didn't like it as much as most people.

Some of the episode highlights:

• Girls trashing the museum.
• We get to see Ms. Bellum's face...as a dog.
• Two dogs by the record player like Nipper and Chipper (the RCA mascots).

Mommy Fearest

This tale is a twist on the classic evil stepmother theme.  The Professor is lonely as a single parent.  While he loves his girls dearly, he yearns for the companionship of a wife.  As fate would have it, the Professor bumps into "Miss Ima Goodlady" at the local supermarket.  The girls set the Professor up on a date with Miss Goodlady and it's a success!  Well, not exactly.  Ima turns psycho on the girls and becomes their worst nightmare.  It's eventually revealed that she is actually the evil villain Sedusa in disguise.

The girls are threatened by the new woman in the Professor's life.  They eventually find out their suspicions about her are true.  The girls work together to cast the intruder out of their lives and restore the status quo.  Sigmund Freud would have loved this episode.

The writers come up with clever ways in which the villain makes the girls' lives miserable.  For example:

• She forces the PPGs to clean the house without the aid of their superpowers.
• The girls are sent to bed early to prohibit them from fighting crime.
• The Professor is tricked into grounding the girls, which leaves Sedusa with an opportunity to rob the Mayor.

Of course, there were some great lines in this episode:

• Buttercup giving the Professor "some of these."  Hmmmm...I wonder what they were?
• One of my favorite Mayor lines of all time: "Ah!  My life is a lie!"

Octi Evil

We are introduced to a new villain: HIM!  He's so evil that no one will dare utter his real name, not even the announcer.  His master plan in this episode is to break up the PPGs.  He does this by possessing Bubbles' stuffed animal, Octi.

The character development in this episode is great.  Bubbles' concern for her sisters as well as her naive nature are established early on in the story.  The HIM character is a master of deceit.  He uses trickery rather than brute strength to put the girls in peril.

I particularly loved the way the animators animated HIM's mouth.  I can't describe why the smooth animation of his jaw adds to HIM's overall freakiness; it just does.  I also liked the deliciously evil voice characteristics given to HIM (and Octi).

I did have a couple of issues with this episode:

• Buttercup can shoot energy beams from her hands?!  She does in this episode, but never in any other.  It's probably a continuity error.
• Why the heck did Octi blow up?

Most fans put HIM right up there with Mojo Jojo as their favorite PPGs villain.  It's not hard to understand why.  HIM represents the embodiment of all evil.  A very formidable foe indeed!

Geshundfight

The Amoeba Boys try their hardest to become evil villains.  It seems their only goal in life is to get the PPGs to beat them up and throw them in jail.  However, they are so inept they can't even commit a crime worthy of the girls' wrath.  The plot thickens when the boys inadvertently create a mysterious new illness.  They unknowingly infect everyone in Townsville including the PPGs.

Some of the highlights:

• Leader of Amoeba Boys: "Don't you have any backbone you..."
• Buttercup dressing down the Amoeba Boys.
• The "fight" scene between the PPGs and Ameoba Boys.

These guys are so stupid, they're hilarious!

Buttercrush

Buttercup falls in love with Ace, leader of the Gangrene Gang.  She is attracted to his "bad boy" image and easily forgives his transgressions when he lays on the sweet talk.  Ace successfully manipulates Buttercup into joining his gang.  She gleefully takes part in the Gangrene Gang's nightly anti-social antics.  However, Ace's motives are soon revealed as a ploy to control Townsville and destroy the other PPGs.

A great Buttercup episode with lots of character development.

Fuzzy Logic

I was disappointed by this episode.  Fuzzy Lumkins is normally a pretty entertaining character.  However, the writers reduce him to a mindless psychopath bent on attacking anyone who encroaches on his property.  Overall, a flat episode with little plot.

We find out a couple of things of interest:

• Fuzzy's banjo is named Joe.
• Bubbles can talk to squirrels.

Whee.

Boogie Frights

The Boogie Man terrorizes Townsville and it's up to Bubbles to stop him.  Bubbles faces her fears and saves the day.

Some memorable moments:

• Blossom being a "Miss Goodie Two Shoes."
• Buttercup torturing Bubbles.
• The Professor barging in on the girls when the lights are out.
• Professor: Buttercup likes to be an instigator.
• The Mayor's wife!  Ahhhhhhh!

The extremely obvious references to Star Wars were too heavy-handed for my taste.  Otherwise, a good episode.  Also, this was the first time the writers deviated from the standard ending; the girls are shown in bed instead of posing triumphantly.

Abracadaver

This macabre tale of a magician named Al Lusion accidentally killed by a young girl was extremely well done.  Abracadaver is one of the few villains on the show that actually comes close to defeating the PPGs.  Too bad he's "killed off" in the same episode.

Also, we get treated to more of the Mayor's off-the-wall antics:

• Mayor: Have I ever told you the story of this old theater?  Ms. Bellum: Just say yes.  PPGs: No.
• Mayor: Oh well, let the festivities begin!

A few other highlights include:

• The girls getting creeped out by the old-time zombie movie.
• Abracadaver mistaking Blossom for the girl in the theater.
• The ways in which Abracadaver traps the girls.

The suspense leading up to the ending was great!  You truly believe the girls are in danger.

Telephonies

The Gangrene Gang are making prank phone calls all over Townsville.  They decide to turn it up a notch by sneaking into the Mayor's office and make prank calls to the PPGs.  The gang tricks the girls into attacking Mojo, Fuzzy Lumpkins, and HIM.  Instead of the PPGs, it is the other villains that dish out "justice" on the Gangrene Gang.  The ending with Mojo, Him, and Fuzzy as the "heroes" was great!  A superb story all around.

Some of my favorite scenes:

• Maître: Cafe de Paris.  Ace: Do you have frog's legs?  Maître: But of course.  Ace: What, do you hop to work then?  Jerk!
• Ace: Er, uh, Prince Albert in the fridge!
• Gruber's impeccable impersonations.
• Mojo: No!  I had no intentions of committing any crimes.  Today.
• HIM!!!!!!  Exercising?  Ooooh.  Nasty!
• Billy: He's not here right now, can I take a massage?

Tough Love

HIM is back with a plan to make everyone in town hate the PPGs.  It's never really explained how he was able to accomplish this feat, nor are we entirely sure how the PPGs were able to rescue everyone in the city by beating them to a bloody pulp.  Now that I think about it, it would have made more sense to make the PPGs hate each other.  They are the only ones strong enough to actually hurt one another.

The episode does establish a particular "rule" for all stories involving HIM: HIM doesn't use the same trick twice.  However, we are given no clue why he won't give a "repeat performance."  The only possible reason for this is to answer the obvious question, "why didn't HIM just recast his 'hate' spell forever?"

The highlight of the episode?  HIM licking the Professor's face!  Ewwww!  Oh yeah, HIM's rubber ducky is called Mr. Quackers.

Major Competition

This is one really "stinko" episode.  A mysterious hero named Major Man bursts on the scene.  He performs a few heroic deeds in public and the entire city rebukes the PPGs in favor of him.  He's eventually revealed to be a fraud since he staged all of the disasters himself.

Considering that Townsville is chock full of villains and is attacked by monsters on a daily basis, what was the point of him staging all those crimes and disasters?  It would have only been a matter of time before something beyond his control would have happened.  Then what?  Also, it appears that he really does have super powers!  Okay, even if they weren't real, he was still able to fly in the air and bend steel with his hands.

The one bright spot of the episode was the Mayor's "kiss off" speech to the girls.  Hahahahaha!

Mr. Mojo's Rising

The PPGs show opens each time with an explanation of how the girls were born.  In this episode, we find out the origins of Mojo Jojo.  Surprisingly, the writers chose to create a story that conflicts with opening sequence!

The surprise ending reveals that it was Mojo's antics that accidentally caused the creation of the PPGs.  Whoops!  So much for continuity.

This was the episode that inspired a lot of my character development information for Mojo (and the Professor) in my FanFic Writing Guide.  I would have given this episode four stars, but the way in which Mojo is defeated was a little far-fetched.  Still, an extremely entertaining episode!

Paste Makes Waste

Pokey Oaks kindergarten is full of weirdoes.  However, one weirdo stands out above the rest: Elmer Sglue.  Elmer likes to eat paste.  In fact, it seems to be an obsession of his.  All the other kids make fun of Elmer.  Buttercup watches on in glee as the children's taunts at poor Elmer get more and more intense.  Buttercup finally snaps in the excitement and hurls a wad of paste and popsicle sticks right into Elmer's face.  Ms. Keene orders Buttercup to apologize, but Buttercup can't bring herself to admit she's sorry.  As fate would have it, Elmer eats a fly that came into contact with some toxic chemicals.  He mutates into a giant glue monster and gets revenge on his schoolmates.  The PowerPuff girls are unable to defeat Elmer by force.  It's only until Buttercup finally apologizes does Elmer halt his rampage on Townsville.

This is a great Buttercup episode.  She tries so hard to win without apologizing.  Excellent character development and writing.  Oh yeah; we learn that Pokey Oaks is a suburb of Townsville.

Ice Sore

We see the girls' jealous side in this episode.  Blossom's new super power (ice breath) is met with disdain by her sisters.  I guess this episode came before Bubbles' "sonic scream" power was discovered.

The plot of this episode is one that's been used before on many other television shows:

• Make a kid promise to never do something.
• Something extraordinary occurs that can only be solved by that kid doing the very thing he/she promised never to do again.
• Have the ones who were so adamant in changing this behavior now beg for the kid to do it just one more time.
• The kid does it and everyone learns a lesson in "moderation."

Remember the Brady Bunch episode with little Cindy tattling on everyone?  Same concept.

Bubblevicious

This was one of the most definitive Bubbles episodes ever.  One of the problems with casting Bubbles as the sweet and innocent PPG is the assumption by the viewer that she is the weakest link.  The writers masterfully extinguish any ideas of Bubbles being any less of a superhero than her sisters in this episode.

One complaint that I have is that the writers didn't adequately bridge the gap between "independence" and "teamwork" by the end of the story.  There really isn't a good explanation given why Bubbles eventually believes she is stronger working with her sisters than being on her own.  Also, I found the part with Bubbles beating up the dog more than just a little disturbing.  Oh well, it's still one of the best PPGs episodes ever.

The Bare Facts

The writers need to be applauded for such unorthodox episodes like this one.  For almost the entire story, we see everything through the Mayor's eyes.  Also, we get a recount of the events from each PPG from their own unique perspective.  The character development in this episode is awesome.

Even though I was able to predict the "big secret," it was a thoroughly entertaining episode.

Cat Man Do

Bubbles rescues a cat from an evil villain ready to blast Townsville with a mysterious laser device.  However, things are not what they seem.  Eventually it's revealed that it is the cat who is the evil mastermind and he's taken control of the Professor.

This was a great episode with many funny scenes:

• The obvious reference to James Bond movies involving a "faceless" villain stroking a cat.
• Professor: I remember when I brought a puppy home to my parents.  And do you know what they said?  PPGs: They said yes?  Professor: They said...NO!!!
• The girls' reactions after they assume the Professor said "no" to keeping the kitty.
• Professor: No!  None of you can ever hold kitty!
• Paw print left as a calling card.
• The Mayor "cleaning" his cat.

The musical score beautifully complimented the "Bond-esque" feel to the whole episode.

Impeach Fuzz

The Mayor has always run uncontested for his position as mayor of Townsville.  However, that doesn't stop him from mounting a huge campaign.  The Mayor ends up annoying the heck out of Fuzzy Lumpkins and the rest of the citizens with his loud and obnoxious demonstration.  Fuzzy demands that the Mayor "shut up."  The citizens mistake Fuzzy for an opposing candidate and elect him into office.  Now the PowerPuff Girls and Ms. Bellum must work for Fuzzy!

A few of my favorite scenes:

• The many famous quotes used by the Mayor in his speech.  "Ich ben ein Townsviller!"
• Fuzzy kicking the Mayor out of the Mayor's office.
• Fuzzy: "Bell-um!  Scoot your pretty little self in here and let's take a gander at ya!"
• Fuzzy talking though the tin can instead of a phone.
• The PPGs helping Fuzzy with his "emergencies."
• The Mayor's reaction when he finds out Fuzzy is wearing his "mayorin' hat."
• Fuzzy's kinfolk: Furry, Fluffy, and Hairy?!
• The Mayor kicking Fuzzy's butt!

Wow!  Ms. Bellum is a hottie in those Daisy Dukes!  (Wait a second...did I just think that to myself or did I actually type that?  Oops!  Undo!  Undo!  Undo!!!  Why isn't it working?!  Oh the heck with it.)

Just Another Manic Mojo

This is the definitive Mojo Jojo episode.  We get to see a day in the life of Mojo.  It starts out as a rather mundane day for him.  Getting dressed, going shopping, making breakfast, eating breakfast, cleaning the dishes, reading the newspaper, plotting the destruction of the PowerPuff Girls, yada, yada, yada...  As fate would have it, Buttercup overthrows a baseball that smashes through Mojo's window.  Mojo attempts to uses this opportunity to destroy the girls with his "Giganto Destructo PowerPuffo Ray" laser gun.  However, keeping the girls in one place seems to be impossible.

This was one of the funniest episodes to date.  Personally, I don't blame Mojo for wanting to wipe out the citizens of Townsville.  They are a bunch of annoying idiots.

Some of my favorite lines by Mojo in this episode:

• "Curses!"
• "One egg left!"
• "I have forgotten my wallet!"
• "Curses!"
• "Hey you kids, get out of my moat!"
• "I must remember to destroy those kids after my breakfast is eaten."
• "Please change...change...change!"
• "Curses!"
• Oh yeah; I liked it when he said, "Curses!"

The ending was great!  Narrator: "Mojo Jojo saves the day!"  Mojo: "I did not!"

Mime for a Change

This was a really strange episode.  We meet "Rainbow the Colorful Clown".   He acts a heck of a lot like Jerry Lewis at an MDA telethon.  When he gets bleach poured on him, he becomes an evil mime bent on ridding Townsville of color.  A strange episode indeed!

The highlight of this episode is Bubbles.  We get to see her freak out much like she did in Bubblevicious.  However, the plot is too far-fetched and the musical number the girls use to bring all the color back is just plain awful!

Perhaps even more disturbing than the musical number is the ending of the story.  After the clown gets his colors back, he returns to his old happy and fun-loving self.  The girls respond by beating him to a pulp and tossing him in jail.  Geez!  That's a bit cruel don't ya think?

BTW, an ardent reader mentioned to me that the birthday boy, Jim, was modeled after a show staffer.

The RowdyRuff Boys

Five stars?  Absolutely.  No other episode has sparked the imagination of its fans more than "The RowdyRuff Boys."  It seems as if almost every fanfic involves the RRBs in some shape or form.  The boys have taken on a cult following within the realm of PPG fandom.

But let's not dwell on its side effects; let's focus on what makes this episode so memorable.  For one, it has the best fighting/action scenes of any of the PPGs episodes.  The battle between the PPGs and RRBs is incredibly animated and choreographed.  Only "Uh Oh Dynamo" and "Three Girls and a Monster" come close.

The characterizations of the boys are dead on.  Sure, their personalities aren't developed very well, but their "male tendencies" are revealed in clever ways.  The high fiving, dumping Gatorade on Mojo, the, uh...end result of burritos.  These are all things little boys would do in real life.

No other villain has come as close to defeating the PPGs.  You could even argue that the girls were defeated by the RRBs.  I know, perish the thought.  We wouldn't want to do irreparable damage to the self-esteem of an entire generation of young girls, now would we?

What I found the most refreshing about this episode is that it didn't end in a draw, nor did the girls physically overpower the boys.  The girls won in the end by being "nice" to the RRBs.  I have a four year old niece and I have personally seen her playfully flirt with little boys.  I can tell you with absolute honesty that the reaction of those little boys were the same as the RRBs.  Well...they didn't explode, but you should have seen the look of fear in their eyes!

Complaints?  One major one: "crap" instead of chemical x?  Are you kidding?  What the heck is up with that?  Oh well, at least it gave me a way to explain in my fanfic why the boys were so evil in this episode.

I don't know if Craig is ever going to bring the boys back in another episode officially.  If he does, I hope it's done well.

Uh Oh Dynamo

Hats off to the animators on this one.  This tribute to Japanese live action monster flics is awesome.  We get a chance to see the Professor's overprotective nature as well as Blossom's inability to say no to the big lug.

There were a lot of references to the Japanese show "Ultraman."  One such example was the three-time zoom-in of the Dynamo on the red background.

A great story with great animation.  What more can you ask for?