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The line between Season Five and Six was extremely blurred. I've decided to
adhere to Cartoon Network's ordering. Please note that the order does not
necessarily reflect the actual air dates.
|
The girls hear the Professor use a naughty word and then go on to repeat that
word all over the place.
Other cartoon shows have made entertaining episodes that broach the
subject of children using foul language. Unfortunately, this episode
uses the same few gags over and over without much to say about the subject
other than four-letter words are "bad, mmmkay?" You'd figure after
years of sitcoms and
movies
addressing the same exact subject, the writers would have had a little more
inspiration in creating this episode. Feh.
A few bright spots in this dreary installment:
-
The game of "rock-scissors-paper."
-
Bubbles: So...this is what a time-out is like. Buttercup:
Ah, you get used to it. Blossom: What if this goes on my permanent
record?!
I really wish they would have done a better f*cking job. Two f*cking
stars. Two measly f*cking stars. What a f*cking disappointment.
Mojo is having a yard sale and some of his more deadlier weapons are up for
grabs. The Gangrene Gang want to purchase a deathray from Mojo, but need
$100 to do it. The girls and the GG race to earn enough money to buy it
from Mojo first.
A pretty good episode with a few funny scenes:
-
The old lady using her new "hair-dryer."
-
Ace: Gimme your fish, or your fish will be swimmin' with the...ah...fishes.
-
Blossom: Think girls, Think! Except you Bubbles.
The episode would have at least gotten another half star if the ending wasn't
so weak. There lately seems to be a pattern of laziness
when it comes to plot development and conclusion. |
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The girls get sucked into an old silent movie in order to save the Professor
from Max Von
Nitrate. The episode included cameos by
Charlie Chaplin,
the Keystone
Kops, and
Harold Lloyd
(hanging from the clock.)
The writers seems to be basing a lot of the episodes in seasons five and six on their
ability to emulate the look and feel of other shows and mediums.
Documentary, I See a Funny Cartoon In Your Future, Lying Around the
House, Prime Apes, and Shotgun Wedding are some examples of this phenomenon.
There's nothing wrong with that. In fact, the effort made to emulate the
silent movie experience was done spectacularly well by the animators in this
episode. The danger is that the writers rely too much on the special
effects or in-jokes and neglect the storyline.
While the ending was dumb, it was an enjoyable and creative episode.
Kudos on eliminating the PPGs' powers once they were in the movie. I
wish some other episodes of late ("Lying Around the
House," "Burglar Alarmed," and
"Coup d'etat," I'm looking in your direction) accounted for the girls' insanely
powerful abilities. This is one of those borderline
two-and-a-half/three-star reviews that could have truly gone either way.
A bunch of cute,
adorable, loveable, snuggly, sweet, little itty-bitty, fuzzy baby animals
are robbing Townsvile of everything in sight. Alas, Townsville's
citizens don't seem to mind. It's kinda like that episode of
Get Smart
with
Simon the Likeable.
The episode seemed to drag on at times. However, the premise is
extremely clever, the backlash from the newspaper articles were funny, and the
scene with Bubbles tearing off the head of her doll was priceless. This
could have easily been a four star episode if the scenes involving the PPGs
confronting the animals were punched up a bit. They all seemed to be the
same thing shown over and over in a slightly different way. |
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An ape from the PPG Movie called Mopey Popey returns
to partner up with Mojo Jojo. Well, not exactly. This character
never actually appeared in the movie. It's obvious the writers based
this character on the "Droopy"
dog character from those memorable
Tex Avery cartoons.
However, there's nothing memorable, or even remotely funny about Mopey Popey.
If you're going to rip off a classic, please, do it right.
The Professor modifies his automobile into K.A.R.R.: Kinetic Automatic Robotic
Roadster, which is not to be confused with K.A.R.R.: Knight Automated Roving
Robot from the 80s show
Knight Rider.
*Cough* Anyway, the PPGs immediately become jealous of K.A.R.R...for some
reason...and then discover...*gasp!*...that the Professor's
relationship with his new creation is unhealthy. Now get ready for this
unique twist! K.A.R.R. is evil, and it's manipulating the Professor to
do its bidding! I know, I know. You didn't see that coming.
Oh wait, that's the same kind of thing that happened in "Mommy Fearest" and
"Cat Man Do." And
the idea of a
possessive and
evil car has been done before, too. The difference is that those
other stories had a more logical explanation why the antagonist was
acting the way he/she/it was.
The PPGs are so powerful, they could level the city if they wanted to.
Why are they afraid of an automobile? What's it going to do? Leak
oil on them? If this was a show involving mortal characters, I'd
understand their apprehension. For cry-not-loud, why the
cloak-and-dagger routine? Just smash the darn thing to bits!
Ah, there were a few bright spots. First, a couple of quotes:
-
Buttercup: Fighting Robot?! For what?! Professor:
So all the nerds will think I'm c-o-o-l.
-
K.A.R.R: I'm sorry Blossom, I'm afraid I can't do that.
Second, the resolution to the problem was very interesting. The
Professor's treatment of Mojo in the PPG Movie could be described as
neglectful. In this episode, the Professor and PPGs discover K.A.R.R.
has the same kinds of feelings. The "villain" is pacified by giving it a
robotic surrogate father. It's nice to know that I'm not crazy when I
notice these things. So, here's an extra
half-star to this otherwise two-star episode. |
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Buttercup is too angry...snore...Kung
Fu parody...snore...Buttercup learns moderation...snore...no
point to episode...snore...would have been nice to learn about eastern
philosophy instead of stereotypical fortune-cookie banter...snore...could
have been a good episode...snore...too bored to continue...snore...
Comedy can be absurd,
it can be based on
observed human behavior, and it can also be
slapstick.
However, just because a situation is absurd, uses stereotypes, or even if it
involves slapstick pratfalls, does not necessarily mean it's funny. This
episode is an example of how
unfunny
such attempts at comedy can be.
Confusing a monster for a human could be a funny situation.
What it takes is for the viewer to believe that the characters in the
story could reasonably mistake the creature for a normal person.
Making a
gross joke involving earwax can be funny. However, just
inserting the word "earwax" in a sentence is not funny in of itself.
Using a
plot device that sends a character into a fit can be very funny.
But if the trigger mechanism can't be integrated into the story properly, (or
in an
absurd manner that's also funny), it's comedic effect will be
diminished.
Stereotypes
can be used effectively for comedic effect. But, can someone please
explain what the heck the significance of the turtle race in Minnesota had on
the story?
It's a little disheartening that so many episodes this season have relied on
gimmicks. I'll admit, even the return of the RRBs was a gimmick, but at
least THAT one worked. Why? Because I'm biased? No, because
there were genuinely funny scenes in those episodes. If the writers
would have propped up the RRBs as cardboard villains in dumb situations, the
episodes would have sucked. Period. |
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The Professor enters the Second Annual Chili Cook-off and uses a drop of
chemical x as his secret ingredient to boost the chili's flavor. Unfortunately, Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup
also have the same idea and add even more chemical x to the mix. The "end result" of the Professor's concoction
forms into a giant gaseous stink-monster.
All in all, a very cute episode with lots of funny scenes. A few
highlights:
-
The professor won the Nobel Prize for Science in 1993. (Science?
Do they mean
Physics or
Chemistry? Hmmm... I'll guess
Chemistry.)
-
The mayor's phone number is 555-mayor.
-
Buttercup: Wow! Where didcha get that giant match? Blossom:
Same place I got the giant jar, silly. Episode two, season one, remember?
-
Fart jokes.
Wow! A spectacular orgy of destruction! The D.Y.N.A.M.O. returns!
But who's piloting it? Is it the RRBs? Mojo? Gangreene Gang?
Him? Fuzzy? You'll see.
Finally, some of that fancy PPG movie-quality animation is put to good use. This episode shall go down in history as one of the best
action episodes ever. Damn! The D.Y.N.A.M.O. kicks butt! We
also get to see a new PPG move, too. Oh, and the scene with HIM and his
"fan boys" was priceless!
Nitpick? You know it couldn't be a review by me about an episode with a
RRB cameo without at least one nitpick. The RRBs operating a giant robot
that looks like a PPG?! Never! That's how you know it isn't
them. |
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All of the Professor's great inventions are the result of a mistake.
Yes, even the PPGs were a mistake. Wait. There's gotta be one
good thing he did on purpose. Oh yeah! The
D.Y.N.A.M.O.!
Oh...uh, no it wasn't. Ah, B.E.E.B.O. was cool and...ooooh. No,
that one was a disaster, too. The machine from "Cris Cross
Crisis"...disaster. The super suit from "PowerProf.," nope. The
experiment in school when he was a kid in "Get Back Jojo," no. Ah, I've
got it! The Micro Stabilizer (i.e., shrink ray) in "Nano of the North!"
Uh, we actually don't know how he invented that. Hey, cool! I'm
stumped!
The Professor has a dream of what it would be like if the PPGs came out as
expected rather than bug-eyed super heroes. The use of a dream-sequence
was clever since the "Documentary" episode dictated
that mixing sugar, spice, and everything nice makes "mush" instead of human
girls.
Every scene in this episode was awesome. I didn't completely understand
why the Professor was making pizzas at the end of his dream. I guess it
was meant to symbolize boring, repetitive, predictable work. However, a
better example could have been chosen. Still, this is definitely one of
the best PPG episodes ever!
Mojo is ordered by the court to teach a knowledge extension course at
Townsville Community College. His assignment, to teach "gooder" English,
causes everyone in his class, and eventually Townsville, to speak wordy,
gabby, bombastic, long-winded, oratorical, overblown, pompous, prolix,
garrulous, loquacious, ponderous, rambling, redundant, repetitious, and
verbose instead of speaking curt, brief, pithy, terse, concise, laconic, or
succinct. And now, my analysis, appraisal, assessment, commentary,
criticism, discourse, discussion, dissertation, evaluation, exposition,
inspection, investigation, judgment, and study of the episode...
I really liked the concept of the episode, but I didn't like how it turned
out.
(How's that
for being brief?!) |
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The famous comedienne,
Phyllis Diller,
lends her voice to a new villain called Mask-Scara. (The part of Mask-Scara
was unattributed in the credits, but I do recognize Phyllis' distinctive
voice.) This episode was filled with gags. Most of the gags in the
beginning of the episode were really, really good:
-
Everyone
saying, "No!"
-
The Professor's description of how Mask-Scara's deeds make him mad.
-
Buttercup's make-up job.
-
Blossom's attempts to remove the makeup off of Buttercup. In fact, it
was the best part of the whole episode.
-
Mask-Scara meets Him!
-
The Professor's virus.
-
Blossom: You hear that Bubbles? Bubbles? Bubbles:
Hear what? Buttercup: Yeah! 'Bout time!
-
The puns.
-
C.O.L.D. cream.
Other gags that that were not only unfunny, they didn't even make sense:
-
Canada poster with half shaven moose.
-
The Professor running off, then getting into his car to go back to the
lab.
-
Him gets made up as a clown? Would have been funnier if Mask-Scara said,
"Never mind," turned around, and left.
-
The mayor
under the podium.
-
The idiotic banter between the Narrator and Mayor.
-
The Professor in a dress and wig.
-
The ending with Blossom making a mess of herself.
The first time I saw this episode, I was dead-set on giving it two stars.
On a second viewing, I felt I was being too harsh and thought it was more of a
three star affair. I averaged my scores and gave it two and a half
stars. If there was just a little more care put into the ending, this
one could have easily been a three, or three and a half star episode. |
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The girls overhear the Professor's plans to bake them cakes and throw them a
surprise party, but misinterpret it to be a plan to get rid of them and create
new girls.
All sitcoms usually have at least one episode like this one. (In fact,
just about every
Three's Company episode was based on misinterpretation.) The
success of the story depends on how well the conversations can be construed as
having a double meaning. The dialog in this episode was wonderfully
crafted. You could really believe that the Professor, Ms. Bellum, Ms.
Keane, and the mystery man all were set to "do the girls in."
Oh, and one more interesting tidbit: the Professor wears red nail polish on
his toes? Either that was an animation goof, or the Professor is a cross
dresser.
The Mayor is having a reoccurring nightmare and asks the PPGs to help.
The girls explain that they can only help in the real world, and not the dream
world. Nope, not the dream world. Impossible. Nope, nope,
nope. *COUGH*DREAM SCHEME*COUGH*
Never happened. Good thing the Professor happens to have a "dream
entering machine" in his lab.
The dream sequence was spectacular. I loved how they made it as if the
girls were on some scary ride through the Mayor's mind. I also enjoyed
how the Mayor pictures himself and the citizens. The resolution to the
dream came off a little flat, but still, a great episode. |
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Guess who's back? Yep, the RRBs are back. This is their first-ever
episode that doesn't include the PPGs whatsoever. Mojo is shocked to
discover the RRBs have been brought back by Him. Mojo and Him each
attempt to prove to the RRBs that he is more evil, and thus, their true
father.
When I first heard of this episode, I had high hopes for it. We were all
wondering if Mojo knew about the boys being back and what his reaction would
be. I must say that the scenes with Mojo and Him arguing were great.
Also, the ending with Mojo and Him holding hands with tears of pride welling
up in their eyes was awesome. The problem with this episode is
everything in between. The attempts at being evil were lame and
ill-contrived. This could have been a great episode to delve into Mojo's
and Him's styles of evil. We all know Mojo uses brute force while Him
uses manipulation. I would have liked to see each character try to
convince the RRBs why his method was better and, more importantly, more evil
than the other.
There, you see? A RRB episode review by me that's less than three stars.
That proves that I'm not a drooling fanboy, handing out positive
reviews for every RRB episode that comes along. Doesn't bother me one
bit. Must...resist...urge...to...add...more...stars... ARRRGH!
ONLY TWO AND A HALF STARS! IT BURNS! IT BURNS!
(Opening shot: the city skyline during the day.)
Narrator: The city of Townsville...
(Quick zoom out to reveal King Moonraiser watching a PPG episode on TV.
The skyline was actually the opening to the episode he's watching.)
Narrator: Oh, no it isn't! It's just some slob watching TV!
(We
see
boxes of junk food sprawled about the room. Camera fixes on person
sitting on the couch.)
King Moonraiser: Hmmmm... This one is supposed to be about
the Mayor unknowingly covering up a hole the squirrels use to store their
nuts. Then the squirrels get angry and go on a rampage throughout
Townsville. Very cute idea! Ah, but Bubbles can talk to squirrels.
I guess they'll have to figure a way around that.
(KM cocks an eyebrow and looks up and to his left in the direction of the
ceiling.)
King Moonraiser: I wonder... Will she get doused with
antidote x?
(Camera shifts to a crowd of people all standing and looking directly at
the viewer.)
Crowd: No!
(Back to KM.)
King Moonraiser: Will she get laryngitis?
(Back to crowd.)
Crowd: No!
(Back to KM.)
King Moonraiser: Will she get bonked on the head and think she's
a squirrel?
(Back to crowd.)
Crowd: No!
(Back to KM.)
King Moonraiser: Ah, here we go... Oh, she swallowed a fly.
What? Oh, that was supposed to be a bee. A bee?! Wait a sec.
She got stung by a bee in her mouth? A bee stung her impenetrable skin?
WTF?! Why is she wearing a dog collar? I mean it's funny, but...huh?
(KM continues to watch the episode.)
King Moonraiser: Oooh! Here's the part where the squirrels
realize their hole is covered. Here comes the rampage! Huh?!
They're biting through wood, concrete and steel?! WTF?! Why
couldn't they just have done that to the statue?!
(KM continues to watch the episode.)
King Moonraiser: Oh wow! Bullet is back! Oh, now
Bullet can talk to the squirrels. Ah, Bullet discovered that the
squirrels are angry because of the statue. I guess Bullet is not going
to waste any time and go directly to the statue and destroy it.
(Camera shifts to a crowd of people all standing and looking directly at
the viewer.)
Crowd: No!
(Back to KM.)
King Moonraiser: Oh, uh, Bullet tells Bubbles and she
destroys the statue.
(Back to crowd.)
Crowd: No!
(Back to KM.)
King Moonraiser: Um, Bubbles writes down the reason why the
squirrels are mad in English and shows her sisters...for some reason.
(Back to crowd.)
Crowd: No!
(Back to KM.)
King Moonraiser: Then what? What the? Why are
they playing charades? Did I miss a scene explaining why Bubbles forgot
how to write words? And why is she bothering to explain at all? Oh
boy. I can tell how this review is going to end up.
(Camera shifts to a crowd of people all standing and looking directly at
the viewer.)
Crowd: Three stars?
(Back to KM.)
King Moonraiser: No!
(Back to crowd.)
Crowd: Two stars?
(Back to KM.)
King Moonraiser: No!
(Back to crowd.)
Crowd: Seventeen hundred twenty nine stars?
(Back to KM.)
King Moonraiser: Yes! I mean...NO! One and a
half stars!
(Back to crowd.)
Crowd: Oh...
(The background for the end shot comes up.)
Narrator: And so once again the episode is reviewed—
(KM appears floating in the middle.)
Narrator: Thanks to this guy! Say, does anyone really care what
he thinks?
(Sound of the crowd answering in the background is heard.)
Crowd: No!
THE END |
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A number of daring robberies are occurring right under the PPGs' noses...or
lack thereof. Anyway, the girls dismiss the Gangreene Gang as suspects
since they believe the gang is unable to concoct anything more than a petty
theft. Little do they know, the boys have been trained by a mysterious
benefactor: Sedusa! At last, we get some closure to why we haven't seen
her since season two. Her hair was the source of her power. When
Ms. Bellum cut it, Sedusa's super-abilities were effectively neutered as well.
The role Sedusa plays in this episode is a little complex. She uses sex
appeal as a means to get the GGG to do her bidding. However, the
stronger theme in the episode is Sedusa as a mother-figure to the boys.
There were some really poignant scenes, especially when Sedusa reveals her
true motives. What was really refreshing was how completely different
the PPGs handled the situation from "Slave
The Day." Their compassion spoke volumes. I can only
hope it was a conscious effort rather than a byproduct of the apparent
stricter CN standards and practices in the later seasons.
BTW, I loved Blossom's, "something's
amiss here, and we're gonna find out what," line. Oh, and
Bubbles', "Asps. Very dangerous," line, too. |
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A monster is running amuck in Townsville and it's got a baby in its clutches!
The PPGs knock out the monster and rescue the baby. But whose baby is
it? After many unsuccessful attempts to find the real parents, the girls
are stuck with the infant. Ah yes, the 'ol
taking-care-of-a-baby-is-going-to-be-easy chestnut. Still, this was a
very, very entertaining episode. The only thing holding it back from
more stars was the absurdity of the ending. But quite frankly, I can't
think up a better one.
Awesome concept! Mojo kidnaps the "announcer," and is thus able to
control events in the city. Mojo's dialogue is spot on! So many
funny gags and quotes. Complaints? Would have liked a better
payoff at the end, and I would have preferred the "fire breath" ability given
to Brick for "The Boys Are Back In Town"
episode. Other than that, a stellar showing! |
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The girls get a bad case of sunburn when they create a tornado in space to
stop a solar flare. Wha?! There's no air in space. And what
would "human" sunscreen have done to save the girls from their "super"
sunburns?
The plot wasn't a bad idea, per se. The problem is that it was one
predictable joke stretched into a whole episode. Of course, getting
sunburn is funny as it's been countless times on other sitcoms throughout
television history. This incarnation was only mildly interesting and with a
poor ending to boot.
Whoa! The crap-o-meter for season six just had to be recalibrated.
Some mad scientist called Lou Gubrious is constantly crying for some reason,
so he creates the "Miser-ray" to transfer his unhappiness to Townsville so he
can be happy. You know, I liked the concept better when it was called
"Mime for a Change."
Did you ever see that episode of the Simpsons when Bart was the "I didn't
do it" kid? There was a scene where Krusty does a "comedy" bit on
his TV show involving Bart and the new catchphrase. Krusty puts an
expensive vase on a rickety ladder next to a prop door, and points it out to
the audience in the most blatant manner possible. Bart opens the door on
cue to cause the vase to break, looks into the camera and says, "I didn't do
it." Well, if you saw the episode, you'd have a much better idea how it
so perfectly captures such an absurdly bad bit of comedy writing.
Unfortunately, a lot of comedy is written this way. Heck, every
dumb joke in the movie "American
Pie" is one obvious setup after another. One day I plan to
create a "broken vase" icon and place it next to every episode when such an
occurrence is found. This episode's "broken vase" moment was when
Bubbles peels the banana. (Unless you'd like to count the Professor
foreshadowing the event when he comes up with the solution to the miser-ray.)
See how many times you can spot "broken vase" moments in your favorite shows.
Sorry to ramble. In conclusion, this is seriously one of the worst PPG
episodes ever. |
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WTF?!!! That's it. That sums up this episode in a nutshell.
WTF?! The entire episode is cast in the old west with no explanation
why, how, or what the hell is going on. I must say that the showdown
scene was well done, and it was pretty gutsy for the writers to take a chance
like this. However, I just couldn't get into this episode. Also,
I'm getting sick of one of my favorite characters: the Mayor. Ever since
season five, he's getting less and less funny whenever he makes an appearance.
So sad. |
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The premise of this episode is teamwork. Mojo senses a lack of it in the
girls, so he comes up with a machine to blend the girls together...but it
really doesn't. The girls learn to work as a team and overcome their
predicament. Feh. We've been there, done that so many times.
This is season six for cry-not-loud. If you want to make an episode
about teamwork, you've got to come up with something better than this.
A group of pirates are on a quest to find buried treasure in Townsville.
They accidentally travel forward in time, mistake the PPGs' home as the
location of the treasure, and misinterpret the "X" on a case of chemical x as
the treasure itself. They soon discover the chemical x's power and use
it to become super-powered pirates.
The story involves chemical x being applied to regular people. We've
seen how this affects mortals in many other episodes. I must say that
the writers have so far been very consistent, or at least, created enough
differences in the situations to allow the viewer to make up explanations for
any inconsistencies. Let's not count "The
Rowdy Ruff Boys" or "Twisted
Sister" since we're talking about chemical x's enhancing
abilities, not its capacity for creating new life. The first time was
obviously when Mojo Jojo came to be. He physically transformed and
remained that way. In the movie, however, there was a point when he
transferred the chemical x from the other apes into himself, which caused
further metabolic changes. Then there was
"Mojo Jonesin'" where the
children were exposed to some kind of chemical x "radiation," for a lack of a
better word. They experienced temporary power with no ill after-effects.
Next time was in "Knock it Off"
when Professor Dick ingested a small bottle of chemical x and it turned him
into a monster. The assumption was that he took too much, or that
ingesting it in its pure form is what caused the transformation. A
better explanation in hindsight might be that it not only enhanced his outer
strength, but it also enhanced his evil inner-self. Kind of like
the mask
in the movie of the same name. We have no idea if the effects were
permanent since it's assumed that Professor Dick died. Soon after that,
Bubbles uses a few drops on a squirrel in the episode, "Stray
Bullet." This gave the creature permanent powers.
Finally, we saw the Mayor in "Toast of
the Town" get powdered chemical x on him. He grew to giant
size and acted like a big baby. It's assumed that he would have remained
that way since the Professor had to get the girls to trick the Mayor into
eating antidote x. I suppose we can assume that the Mayor's personality
was also amplified during that time.
The pirates in this episode chug massive quantities of chemical x. They
don't become monsters, but they do become super-powered. Their powers
are brief and have an after-effect similar to having a hangover. The
Professor explains this is due to an overdose of chemical x, implying that if
they took less, their powers could have remained. It also explains why
the ship didn't crash to the ground at the same time the effects wore off the
pirates. Since the ship is much more massive, it was exposed to a
relatively small amount of the chemical.
The episode was entertaining and the idea of pirates looking for booty (stop
snickering, I meant treasure) was a great one. However, the dialogue was
a little flat. The voice actors played it too straight, too generic.
They need to make these characters more emotive. The goal should be to
make people wish these characters comeback in a future episode, even if you
have no intention of doing so. Oh yeah...the names of the pirates...I
got it. Nice. |
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The girls are pooped fighting criminals, so the Professor takes them on a
vacation...in the bayou...where Fuzzy lives...and guess who shows up?
Yes, it's Fuzzy...and three little boys! Yes, that's right! It's
the Rowdyruff Boys! Oh wait, it's "Roughing," not "Ruffing."
Sorry. We're introduced to Fuzzy's three nephews:
Huey, Dewey, and Louie. Wait, that's not right. Oh, I
remember now; they were named:
Pipeye, Peepeye,
Pupeye and Poopeye. Hang on...that can't be right, either.
That's four names. Ah, who cares?
Fuzzy and his kin annoy the PPGs constantly, but the Professor demands that
the girls just grin and bear it. This make no sense, but it's the sole
plot point of the whole episode, so we gotta sit through countless petty
tortures while the Professor staunchly reiterates his mantra to the girls.
Predictably, the whole thing comes to a boil when the Professor is the butt of
Fuzzy's insensitive behavior. Then, the story takes a "180 degree turn"
and ends up with the PPGs and Fuzzy's nephews as friends for some unexplained
reason.
The writing in these last two seasons has at times been very formula driven
and dull. For a show about super heroes, it's especially troubling.
Achieving the special balance between farcicality and coherency is a delicate
one. They must remember not to completely sacrifice one for the other.
Maybe they ought to have a brainstorming session with the Adult Swim comedy
writers to even things out?
Mojo comes up with a very interesting plan to effectively render the PPGs
helpless to stop him. He creates a device that causes the girls to
become giants. They're so big, that any slight movements cause
destruction and devastation.
I really liked the premise of this episode. Mojo's plan is simple, yet
brilliant. More importantly, it works! The ending was spectacular.
Although, it reminded me of a similar episode of a
different show on a different network. No matter; I still
enjoyed myself. So why only two and a half stars? What the episode
needed was more interesting dialogue and plot development to get a higher
rating. Let's do a compare and contrast on this episode and another one,
say "Power Lunch."
Here is the basic structure of this one: Mojo comes up with a plan, he
executes the plan, the girls are affected, the Professor comes up with a
solution, the day is saved. Now, "Power
Lunch:" The Gangrene Gang get super powers, they beat up the
girls, they lose their powers, they get beat up by the girls and the day is
saved. You can't tell by those simple descriptions whether those
episodes are funny and entertaining. What makes an episode great is how
an idea for a show is eventually written, acted, directed, etc. Power
Lunch had me rolling from the incredibly funny ways the GGG pulverized the
PPGs. The dialogue of the GGG was also extremely entertaining.
This episode was a little flat. Great idea, great beginning, and great
ending, just needed more tender-loving-care to the rest of the script to make
it an all-time great one. |
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