watchathon

[watchathon]

Carmen Sandiego S4E8: The Dark Red Caper

Hello, and welcome to the Watchathon, a blog where I watch through a season of TV, with blog posts where I write down my thoughts after each episode.

And now, here’s my thoughts on Season 4, Episode 8, the grand finale of Carmen Sandiego: The Dark Red Caper!

This was a perfect finale. Everything got wrapped up perfectly, and I was perfectly satisfied with the ending.

Firstly, there’s Graham. Remember how I said that he’s closer to being good than any other VILE operative by virtue of how much he cares about Carmen? Here that’s taken to its natural conclusion when he turns himself into ACME so he can fill them in on what’s happened to Carmen, and get their help in turning her back into the real her.

I think this is the ultimate showcase of how Graham has more empathy than any other VILE operative we’ve seen. Consider that he cares enough about Carmen to risk not only his own arrest, but the final takedown of VILE as an organization, just so that Carmen can get back her own free will and agency before she does something she can never take back, the implication being that Carmen is planning to kill Shadowsan, after VILE’s told her that he was the one who killed her father.

This leads to ACME forming a plan so that they can capture Carmen Sandiego and restore her memories by baiting her with the Eye of Vishnu that she stopped VILE from stealing all the way back in the framing device of Becoming Carmen Sandiego.This time, though, instead of just Devineaux and Julia, there’s a whole squad of ACME agents keeping an eye out for Carmen, and a guy on the inside with Graham having been brought along by Carmen for this heist.

Carmen doesn’t make it easy, though. Firstly, she orders Tigress to dress in her outfit and act as a decoy, drawing the ACME agents’ attention. And when Julia and Devineaux do come face to face with her, she puts up an impressive fight. Even when Graham sneaks up on her and gets the memory restoration device on her head, Carmen fights back and gets it off, her memory only partly being restored.

Carmen’s only saved when Shadowsan arrives with another object from Carmen’s past; the Russian nesting doll from Carmen’s childhood. It’s the sight of this that brings it all back for Carmen, clear as crystal. Her friends, her relationship with Shadowsan, the way that she was the one who turned coat from VILE and turned to the good side.

And with Carmen now having her memories of her life as a do-gooder, and her memories as a member of VILE faculty? She can give ACME all the information they need to conduct a raid of VILE headquarters and arrest every single VILE faculty member plus a few operatives, to a rendition of Amadeus Mozart’s Singt dem großen Bassa Lieder, the song which would become the basis for the theme song to the 90s cartoon Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego.

That said, they haven’t taken down every VILE operative. There are still several out there who are using the training they got from VILE to make a less-than-honest living. There’s also those who have decided to retire, and… oh? Oh, what’s that? Why, it’s my old friend, the “they knew what they were doing” tag, as we get a glimpse at El Topo and Le Chevre, having gone legit and retired from a life of crime to operate a food truck together! In conjunction with El Topo having been referred to by Dr. Bellum as Le Chevre’s “dear boy,” Le Chevre’s tendency to call El Topo “mon amie,” and many other displays of affection between the two across the whole series, it paints a very, very rainbowy picture.

With ACME now having the intel to track down any remaining VILE members who are still leading a life of crime, and Carmen having the intel to meet her biological mother, it’s the end for Team Carmen as a crimefighting crew, though Carmen does still keep in touch with Player, at least, and I like to think she keeps in touch with the rest of her found family as well, even if she’s reunited with the sole surviving member of her biological family.

As I mentioned, Carmen’s reunited with her mother Carlotta Valdez. Shadowsan’s come back to his brother, having finished his crusade against VILE. And Zack and Ivy? They’ve become official ACME agents, still fighting crime against the few remnants of VILE who are still out there.

The episode, and the entire series, closes out on Zack, Ivy, Devineaux and Julia arriving at a museum to foil a heist by Paper Star. But, as it turns out, they’re a tad late. Not because she got away, but because she’s already been tied up and left at the top of the stairway to the museum. The agents look up to the roof of the museum to see a very familiar silhouette standing proudly atop it, and then escaping into the night.

A perfect end to a great series.

[watchathon]

Carmen Sandiego S4E7: The Viennese Waltz Caper

Hello, and welcome to the Watchathon, a blog where I watch through a season of TV, with blog posts where I write down my thoughts after each episode.

And now, here’s my thoughts on Season 4, Episode 7, the penultimate episode of Carmen Sandiego: The Viennese Waltz Caper!

This episode shows us just what it was that VILE did once they kidnapped Carmen: Not only did they wipe her memories, they suppressed Carmen’s empathy, her desire to do good, in the same way that they suppressed Gray’s criminal impulse.

The results are creepy, to say the least. After a whole series of Carmen being an inherent do-gooder, seeing her suddenly transformed into possibly VILE’s most evil operative is a shock to the system. In pretty much every way, the Carmen we see here is the exact opposite of the Carmen Sandiego that we’ve been following for the past three seasons. For example, whereas Carmen respected every member of her team, the evil Carmen goes against plan and even responds to a snarky remark from Tigress by pushing her against the wall and shoving her own claws into her face.

And for most of the episode? Team Carmen and ACME have no idea what’s been going on. Team Carmen are searching for any clue they might find as to Carmen’s whereabouts, and ACME are on their way to foil a VILE heist. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time, both excited for and dreading the moment when Team Carmen saw what VILE had done to their former leader.

And when they do? It’s through a chilling scene where Zack meets the new Carmen on a Ferris Wheel, and she attempts to murder him. And I do mean it when I say it was chilling, as in literal chills were running down my spine. The way that Gina Rodriguez delivers her lines gives the impression that the brainwashed Carmen truly has had all empathy sucked out of her so that she’s nothing but a personification of evil, to a greater extent than the villainous master thief of previous incarnations. We can see that even Graham is shocked by how Carmen is so willing to not just take a life, but to eagerly go out of her way to kill her pre-memory wipe friends, under the suspicion that they’re ACME agents.

Then we cut to six months later, Carmen having successfully completed several heists with VILE, and having earned herself a promotion to the VILE faculty.

It sets up the newly-evil Carmen as a force to be reckoned with, a VILE operative that can outwit ACME with the same ease as she’s outwitted VILE for years. The ultimate final boss to be overcome by ACME and Team Carmen, next episode, in the series finale.

[watchathon]

Carmen Sandiego S4E6: The Egyptian Decryption Caper

Hello, and welcome to the Watchathon, a blog where I watch through a season of TV, with blog posts where I write down my thoughts after each episode.

And now, here’s my thoughts on Season 4, Episode 6 of Carmen Sandiego: The Egyptian Decryption Caper!

After last episode saw Julia working with Carmen as a codebreaker, this one has Carmen team up with Devineaux not only to foil VILE’s plot and return the treasures to their countries of origin, but also to save Julia after she’s kidnapped by VILE and forced to work as their codebreaker.

This is a teamup that’s been built up to since The Masks of Venice Caper when Devineaux started to realize that Carmen wasn’t the menace he’d previously seen her as. Since then, Devineaux’s been a lot less aggressive about chasing down Carmen, even questioning Chief and standing up for Carmen in The Jolly Good Show Caper. While he hasn’t quite been able to fill Julia’s shoes as Carmen’s friend on the other side, he has become the closest thing to it in Julia’s absence.

Now, we see them teaming up, meeting in person and working together to stop VILE from stealing a whole vault of ancient artifacts and hurting their mutual friend in the process. This also gives Devineaux an opportunity to show how his character has developed over the series. Not only in terms of how his perception of Carmen has changed, but in terms of how he approaches the situation when he comes face to face with an actual villainous master thief. 

When he and Carmen see Tigress standing guard, Devineaux doesn’t barge in and try to solve the situation with brute force. He tries to come up with a plan where one of them distracts Tigress and the other sneaks past to save Julia. Granted, his initial version of the plan involves Carmen being the distraction while he saves Julia, but he does concede that it would be better with the roles reversed. Same thing when he walks into the room with the treasures that Carmen and VILE have been searching for: Rather than charging in, he uses his pen to call in Chief when Carmen tells him to. Lastly, as the press approaches him and Julia about the incredible historic discovery, Devineaux gives full credit to Julia, praising her as a “wise woman” and an “expert in fascinating facts and interesting things.” 

The Chase Devineaux of Season 1 would not have done any of these things. He would have had at least two opportunities by my count to ruin everything, and if by some miracle he hadn’t, then he would have taken all the credit and tried to pass himself off as a hero. But now that Devineaux has grown into more of a competent and insightful agent, and less of an arrogant blowhard, he and Carmen were able to work together and stop one of VILE’s grandest schemes yet.

Plus, this discovery also leads to Chief subtly leading Carmen back to the cafe where they spoke in The Deep Dive Caper. Once they meet, Carmen offers a deal that she’ll tell Chief all she needs to know about VILE, in exchange for finding Carmen’s mother, which Chief seems to accept.

By the end of this episode, everything is going great. ACME’s no longer opposing Carmen, Carmen is on the way to finally finding her mother, VILE’s been foiled, Julia seems to be considering rejoining ACME…

…But then, VILE ruins it all (as they are wont to do) by kidnapping Carmen for purposes that we will find out in the next episode.

[watchathon]

Carmen Sandiego S4E5: The V.I.L.E. History Caper

Hello, and welcome to the Watchathon, a blog where I watch through a season of TV, with blog posts where I write down my thoughts after each episode.

And now, here’s my thoughts on Season 4, Episode 5 of Carmen Sandiego: The VILE History Caper!

This episode starts us on a two-episode-long search for ancient relics that will lead whoever can decipher their codes to a room full of artifacts that VILE stole long ago, with both Team Carmen and VILE racing to get there before their enemies do.

What caught my interest most in this episode was how this is the closest Julia Argent’s ever worked with Team Carmen. While Julia in her days as an ACME agent was always the one who thought twice about Carmen’s M.O., even convincing Chief to try and recruit Carmen, she was never as in the loop as she is here. At most, she would happen to be in a position where Carmen could get help from her in a pickle.

Here, though, Julia is helping to decode the Nordic runes that were left on the ancient relics, so that Carmen can get to the next one, and eventually to the treasure, before VILE can. Julia essentially becomes an honorary member of the team, even communicating with Player so that he can pass her messages on to Carmen.

And I think this speaks to how much Julia trusts Carmen, and is truly convinced that Carmen isn’t the malicious master thief that she often gets painted as. Julia barely needs any convincing to help Carmen, even accepting a raised eyebrow from Carmen as an answer when she asks if Carmen is taking the relics for personal gain, passing it off as an “old habit.”

And I’m really glad to see this as I’ve always liked the dynamic that Julia has with Carmen as the person outside of Team Carmen who is most willing to give Carmen the benefit of the doubt.

[watchathon]

Carmen Sandiego, S4E4: The Himalayan Rescue Caper

Hello, and welcome to the Watchathon, a blog where I watch through a season of TV, with blog posts where I write down my thoughts after each episode.

And now, here’s my thoughts on Season 4, Episode 4 of Carmen Sandiego: The Himalayan Rescue Caper!

So we finally get the answer on what side Graham chooses, between his innocent civilian life with a lucrative career as a junior electrician, and his less innocent life with an even more lucrative career as a VILE operative. And, much to Carmen’s dismay, Graham ultimately chooses to go back to VILE, and resume his career as Crackle.

But, here’s what interests me about him and his decision: He's not totally evil. Even after everything (Carmen stowing away on and interfering in his first mission, making it her goal to take down VILE, most likely foiling many missions that he was on pre-Season 1, and leaving him to get caught by the authorities and leading to his mind wipe) he still cares about Carmen, and considers her a close friend.

In his own words, he says that the only thing he regrets about his life as a VILE operative was being put in positions where he had no choice but to try and hurt her. He knows that Carmen would never go back to VILE (assuming they would ever accept her), but even with that in mind, he still implores her, begs her, to at least stop fighting VILE.

I think that’s what ultimately makes Graham/Crackle/Graham Crackle an interesting character. The fact that, despite how he’s no less willing to resort to thievery and murder than any other VILE operative, he’s still closer to being a good person than any other character allied with VILE just by virtue of how we see that he cares about Carmen despite her being diametrically opposed to the organization that he works with.

[watchathon]

Carmen Sandiego, S4E3: The Robo Caper

Hello, and welcome to the Watchathon, a blog where I watch through a season of TV, with blog posts where I write down my thoughts after each episode.

And now, here’s my thoughts on Season 4, Episode 3 of Carmen Sandiego: The Robo Caper!

The thing that I particularly liked about Graham’s return to darkness, was that it wasn’t an instant good-to-evil switch.

Across his scenes in this episode, we see him constantly switching back and forth between average nice guy Graham Calloway, and the professional thief who was known as Crackle.

And I found this a lot more interesting than the instant transformation that I anticipated from the ending of the previous episode. This way it sort of gives room for Graham to still be saved. For all we, the audience, know, there’s still a chance that he could ultimately turn out good. At least, that’s how it was for me.

I was constantly on the edge of my seat waiting to see which side of Graham’s moral compass would win out. And at the end of this episode, it’s still up in the air.

Another thing I wanted to mention is the Robo Robber that Dr. Bellum invented. This is probably the most effective VILE operative that we’ve seen on this show, by virtue of how, at the end of this episode? It’s won. Not only did the Robo Robber successfully steal the crown that VILE was after, it’s retrieved Graham from prison and is bringing him to VILE Headquarters.

The Robo Robber definitely made an impression this episode as something to be trifled with, and the first time I watched this, I was left wondering how exactly Carmen could overcome it, especially with Player and Shadowsan both out of commission.

[watchathon]

Carmen Sandiego, S4E2: The Big Bad Ivy Caper

Hello, and welcome to the Watchathon, a blog where I watch through a season of TV, with blog posts where I write down my thoughts after each episode.

And now, here’s my thoughts on Season 4, Episode 2 of Carmen Sandiego: The Big Bad Ivy Caper!

It’s always nice to see Ivy and Carmen working together; I like the dynamic they have, and they make for a pretty good team. And this episode provides us with a caper where it’s just the two of them while Zack stays at the base to take care of Shadowsan and Player is busy with his first day of public school.

Granted, Ivy and Carmen spend much of this caper split up, so we don’t get much of them as a duo, but we do get some of that during the climax. And it is certainly very fun to watch Ivy put on an accent and impersonate Madame Goldlove in the meantime.

Apart from that, there’s Player’s parents switching him from homeschooling to public school over concerns about how much time he spends in his room, leading to him being unable to help Carmen as much as he used to. Not to mention, the ultimate twist that Player… has a name.

The idea of Player being unable to assist Carmen on her heists adds an interesting twist to things. Since the beginning, Player has been Carmen’s most consistent ally. But for this episode and the next few, Player isn’t as easily able to serve as Carmen’s tech support, only getting brought in for absolute emergencies. And with Shadowsan having a broken leg, Team Carmen for this and the next few episodes effectively consists of Carmen, Zack and Ivy.

And finally, some following up on Devineaux’s interrogation of Graham. Devineaux doesn’t actually get anything out of Graham, naturally considering the whole “amnesia” thing. Not until ACME busts out a memory restoration device that brings back not just Graham’s memories, but Crackle, the VILE operative who’s willing to get violent.

It’s pretty creepy, seeing Graham suddenly go from an ordinary guy who’s genuinely stumped by a two-year blank spot in his memory, to a criminal even colder than he seemed when he was Crackle. And then the episode ends on him contacting VILE, using the distress code that, as far as they know, he absolutely should not remember.

[watchathon]

Carmen Sandiego, S4E1: The Beijing Bullion Caper

Hello, and welcome to the Watchathon, a blog where I watch through a season of TV, with blog posts where I write down my thoughts after each episode.

And now, here’s my thoughts on Season 4, Episode 1 of Carmen Sandiego: The Beijing Bullion Caper!

Okay, I’ve got to be entirely honest… I don’t have much to say about this. Xifeng and Huang Li were really nice characters, I liked them a lot, but (and maybe this is just sleep deprivation talking) I don’t really have much to say about this episode.

Though, I will bring up one thing that stood out to me: How at the end of this episode, Chase Devineaux recognizes Graham from when he arrested him in the ending of Becoming Carmen Sandiego, just before Graham had his memory wiped. That’s not something I ever expected would be called back to, and honestly, I kind of forgot about it for the longest time, but with the benefit of hindsight, of course Devineaux would recognize Graham. And I really like how even a detail from the ending of the first episode (or, well, the second episode at any rate) was remembered and used to advance the plot.

[watchathon]

So... (a much-belated update post)

Hey, remember when I said that I’d do Season 4 of Carmen Sandiego in September? As in, September this year? September 2021?

I wish I could say that there’s a perfectly good reason why I’m so late, but I’m not so sure I can even say there’s a reason, so much as a big amalgam of different super-minor reasons that kept me from working on stuff for this blog.

But I’m definitely not going to delay this any further. Starting tomorrow, I’ll begin doing posts for Season 4 of Carmen Sandiego, and I’ll even be posting on weekends, so that after I upload my post for the series finale, I can start uploading Christmas posts the very next day.

With all that said, please join me tomorrow morning for the start of my coverage of the fourth and final season of Carmen Sandiego!

[watchathon]

Halloween Special: Muppets Haunted Mansion

...Y’know, I had a plan for what the Halloween Special would be this year. I had a plan as far back as the day I did last year’s Halloween Special. I was going to cover the scariest movie to be covered on this blog so far, a legitimate horror that would haunt my nightmares for who knows how long, and you would have all gotten to be entertained by my reaction to it. But then, Disney just had to ruin it, didn’t they? Disney just had to announce a special that I would have no choice but to cover. Disney just had to announce…

Muppets Haunted Mansion.

Muppets. Haunted Mansion. They announced a crossover between my favorite Disney-owned property and my favorite Disney Parks ride, both a brand-new Muppets special and a second attempt at adapting the Haunted Mansion, the only reason this isn’t literally straight out of my wildest dreams is because it never even occurred to me I could have both those things at once, and what was I supposed to do then? Wait until next year to cover it? 

No no no, my prior plans are what’ll be waiting until next year, because there’s not a chance that I’ll let this go by without gushing about it to all my followers!

Welcome, foolish mortals! I present to you my review of Muppets Haunted Mansion, a title that I still can’t believe I just typed!

This… was the best Muppets project since Muppets Most Wanted. Maybe even better than that. And certainly, it’s infinitely better than the last Haunted Mansion movie.

This special is clearly made with passion by people who not only love the Muppets, but also love the Haunted Mansion. There’s dialogue (specifically from the Ghost Host), scenes and even background music taken directly from the ride. While Grim Grinning Ghosts is unfortunately not present, a portion from it is used to end the song Rest in Peace. Heck, there’s even a reference to how the ride’s constantly-moving Omnimover system needs to stop whenever a disabled guest gets on, when Statler and Waldorf’s Doom Buggy stops in the middle of Life Hereafter with a “please remain seated” spiel very reminiscent of (perhaps even taken directly from?) the spiel from the ride.

Or, in an ingenious nod to both the ride and the original Muppet Show, the ride’s famous Grand Hall scene is combined with the recurring skit At the Dance from the Muppet Show.

Not to mention how Madame Pigota’s maid Kimmy is a cameo of Kim Irvine, prominent Imagineer and daughter of Leota Toombs Thomas, who was the face and namesake of the ride’s Madame Leota.

But it’s not just the loving nods towards my favorite Disney Parks ride that make me love this special. I raised an eyebrow when I heard on the Muppet History Podcast that Disney gave the crew a shorter runtime than they were hoping for because I thought it might result in a rushed pace, but on the contrary, this was paced perfectly. It never lingers too long on a scene, but those scenes still get room to breathe, and it’s not rushing from gag to gag like I feared it might.

And the writing is on par with the Muppets at their best. Call it recency bias, but I would honestly put this on par with stuff like Muppets Treasure Island and The Muppets (2011). Maybe not quite as good as The Muppet Christmas Carol and The Great Muppet Caper, but that would be a very high bar to clear.

It’s definitely superior to the previous Gonzo-focused movie, Muppets From Space. Not that that was a horrible movie, but it didn’t have quite as many great jokes as other Muppet movies do, and its portrayal of Gonzo as deeply insecure over his weirdness felt like a betrayal of a character who had previously seemed perfectly fine with being his bizarre self, even if there was nobody else quite like him.

Here, Gonzo is proud to be himself, openly enthusiastic about the spookiness of the Haunted Mansion, and while he is ultimately forced to admit that he isn’t as fearless as he likes to present himself as (under threat of being trapped in Room 999 for all eternity), he still comes away from the Mansion at the end of the movie having loved how terrifying it all was.

All in all, this was a great Muppet special, doubling as a great adaptation of the beloved Haunted Mansion. It was evidently made with passion by people who understand and love both those things, and know how to combine them perfectly. I’m definitely going to be watching this again tonight as I celebrate Halloween Night, and I could see myself making this a Halloween tradition of mine. 

...But there’s no dead body in the stretching room scene, so 0/10.

[watchathon]

Phineas and Ferb, S1E26: Out of Toon/Hail Doofania!

Hello, and welcome to the Watchathon, a blog where I watch through a season of TV, with blog posts where I write down my thoughts after each episode.

And now, here’s my thoughts on Season 1, Episode 26 of Phineas and Ferb, and the final episode of Season 1: Out of Toon/Hail Doofania!

Out of Toon

One moment that really stood out to me was Buford’s response when asked what superpower he would like to have: “It’s an interesting question, as it reveals not only one’s impulses and desires, but one’s deepest fears as well.” Now, it does end in a gag where he ends up choosing to be Belch Man, but I would still say that it gives some insight into Buford’s character, particularly his hidden intellectual side.

I’ve said before that Buford may well be my favorite character, and it’s because of these moments where he shows his hidden depths beyond just being the dumb muscle bully that he likes to present himself as. Don’t get me wrong, there isn’t a single flat character in Phineas and Ferb (except Django) but I would say that Buford is the character who most changes your perception of him when you learn more about him. When you watch Raging Bully, he seems like he’s just an absolute brute, your standard cartoon schoolyard bully, and the song He’s A Bully even reinforces that idea with the lyrics “he’s got a brain about the size of a sourdough crumb, but he’ll beat on your head like a big bass drum.”

But then the more we see of him, the more it becomes clear that he’s at least as smart as Baljeet is, he has an appreciation for philosophy, and he’s got a soft side.

...And yes, this has turned into another post where I gush about Buford. And yes, it was just based off of a single line in this episode… *cough* Moving on!

Hail Doofania!

This episode is a role-swap with the Flynn-Fletcher brothers and Doofenshmirtz, where it starts at Doofenshmirtz Evil Inc. with Doofenshmirtz getting an idea for a big project, his daughter Vanessa wants to show her mom and bust him, and his project is ultimately destroyed (albeit indirectly) by a device that Phineas and Ferb built with a name that ends in “Inator” and is meant to have effects that would sprawl across the entire Tri-State Area.

But I think what this episode really does is show us the differences between the Flynn-Fletcher brothers and Doofenshmirtz. Phineas and Ferb welcome anyone to partake in their projects, not even charging money (except for in Rollercoaster). Meanwhile, part of the reason that Doofenshmirtz even built Doofania is to keep people out, particularly Roger and Charlene. He even says in the song Hail Doofania that the titular country is “founded on spite,” whereas Phineas and Ferb’s daily inventions are welcoming to everybody, usually built for the sake of fun, and when they’re not just build for fun they’re inspired by a problem one of their friends is having which they want to help solve.

And on that subject, Phineas and Ferb’s Inator (The Rainbowinator) was built for the purpose of showing their friend Isabella a beautiful rainbow that would sprawl across the entire Tri-State Area, under the impression that she’d never seen one before. Compare that to Doofenshmirtz’s Inators, which are built out of spite, or to get revenge. Generally, they’re built to have effects that will either result in Doof getting power, or causing harm to a specific person or group that he has a vendetta against.

[watchathon]

Phineas and Ferb, S1E25: Got Game?/Comet Kermillian

Hello, and welcome to the Watchathon, a blog where I watch every episode of a season of TV, then make a blog post where I write down my thoughts afterwards.

And now, here’s my thoughts on Season 1, Episode 25 of Phineas and Ferb: Got Game?/Comet Kermillian!

Got Game?

I feel as though this would make a good reaction image…

This was mostly fun, but there was one thing that really bugged me: At the end, after Isabella has beaten Buford in the very confusing F-Games, Buford still doesn’t admit that Isabella won. Not even, like, begrudgingly. No, he only does so after he’s hit by Doofenshmirtz’s Misbehavinator.

It just makes the F-Games feel retroactively kinda pointless when Buford ultimately had to be (albeit accidentally) brainwashed into not being a sexist jerk. But again, a mostly fun episode, this was just one little thing that bugged me.

Comet Kermillian

It’s here that we see the origin of the word SIMP: The recent internet meme where whenever a man respects a woman, people storm the replies to say that he’s so cool and groovy it’s like he has squirrels in his pants!

[watchathon]

Phineas and Ferb, S1E24: Out to Launch

Hello, and welcome to the Watchathon, a blog where I watch every episode of a season of TV, then make a blog post where I write down my thoughts afterwards.

And now, here’s my thoughts on Season 1, Episode 24 of Phineas and Ferb: Out to Launch!

I really enjoyed this episode! It already had a premise that was really interesting to me, Phineas and Ferb going to space, but the B- and C-plots with Candace being afraid to ask Jeremy to the dance and Doofenshmirtz trying to do shadow puppets on the moon also grabbed my attention. 

And they came together at the end in a pretty unique way. Instead of Doofenshmirtz’s Inator making Phineas and Ferb’s invention vanish, Doofenshmirtz sees Candace outside of her the boys’ spaceship with the hands of her space suit inflated, and confuses her for Huge Hands Hans, the boy from his backstory with… Well, with pretty huge hands.

What follows is a pretty exciting chase scene where Doof chases down the Flynn-Fletcher siblings in his giant robot. It’s certainly rare to see this much interaction between the Flynn-Fletchers and Doofenshmirtz, even if neither of them is aware of it..

Also, there were a lot of gags that got a laugh out of me this episode. Special mention goes to Candace’s idea of what will probably happen if she tries to ask out Jeremy, and the live-action stock footage during Let’s Take a Rocketship to Space of real rockets failing to get off the ground and exploding (all of which is in quality reflecting their old age, and one clip even being in black and white.)

And on the subject of Let’s Take a Rocketship to Space, it’s honestly one of my favorite Phineas and Ferb songs. Like, whole franchise, you ask me to list my favorite songs and this one’ll probably be on the list. I tried to adopt a policy of not listening to songs (at least Season 1 songs) while I was doing this rewatch before I got to the episodes they were from, but I couldn’t help making an exception for this song.

There’s just something about the smooth voice of the singer, whilst also having a fast tempo (especially in the album version) which really gets my toes tapping. I’m not exaggerating when I say that I started to sing along.

[watchathon]

Phineas and Ferb S1E23: Unfair Science Fair/Unfair Science Fair Redux (Another Story)

Hello, and welcome to the Watchathon, a blog where I watch an episode of TV every weekday, with a blog post where I write down my thoughts afterwards.

And now, here’s my thoughts on Season 1, Episode 23 of Phineas and Ferb: Unfair Science Fair/Unfair Science Fair Redux (Another Story)!

Unfair Science Fair

I think this episode gave us a look into Baljeet’s character. The story of the episode starts with him having a crisis over getting an A- for his Portal to Mars due to lacking a working model, saying it would be the lowest grade he’s ever gotten.

Because of this, Phineas and Ferb offer to help Baljeet build that working model, combining their “mechanical inclination” with his scientific expertise. This nets him an A+++, but the judges don’t get a chance to see it (at first due to Doofenshmirtz unplugging it so he can plug in his baking soda volcano, and then due to it consuming itself) so Baljeet doesn’t win. Not that this matters to him, as he says all he cared about was getting a good grade.

We can see from this and his earlier musical that Baljeet doesn’t care much about whether or not people can see his genius, but cares an awful lot about the grade he gets. If he doesn’t get the best grades he can, then he won’t be able to achieve his dreams, he won’t be a success in life. He’s planning more far ahead than a kid his age (8 years old, considering he’s 18 in a later episode that’s set ten years later), already thinking about college before he’s even in high school.

And it’s not that this is the first time we’ve ever seen this part of him, either. Earlier on, in One Good Scare Ought To Do It, his greatest fear was a failed math test which may prevent him from getting into the college of his choice.

But it isn’t as though he’s letting this all get in the way of his summer fun, either. We’ve seen plenty of times, him joining in on Phineas and Ferb’s big fun project of the day. Baljeet is still a kid at the end of the day, after all, and he has fun like any kid does.

It’s just that he also wants to ensure a good future for himself, by spending a lot of his spare time studying.

Lastly, if you’ll pardon the change of subject, we end this episode leading directly into the next one. Isabella expresses her surprise that the Flynn-Fletcher siblings build a portal to Mars and didn’t go through it themselves, and Phineas replies that they did. But as Ferb says: “That’s another story.” And then, we start our next episode...

Unfair Science Fair Redux (Another Story)

...which literally has “Another Story” in the title.

It’s a unique idea, having the second segment be a midquel to the first. It means that there are jokes here which call forward to the events of Unfair Science Fair, as well as being another story which revolves around the same invention, without any need for it to be rebuilt or otherwise brought back. 

I can understand why this wasn’t done any more times afterwards, there aren’t many episodes which have a time skip like Unfair Science Fair does. Usually Phineas and Ferb’s project of the day is gone the very same day it’s created (hence Candace’s inability to show it to Linda), but in this case, the portal existed from the day it was built until the science fair the next day, and because of that, it had the potential to serve two purposes for two connected-yet-distinct stories: As Baljeet’s science fair project, and as the means for our characters to travel to Mars and get into extraterrestrial antics.

[watchathon]

Phineas and Ferb, S1E22: The Monster of Phineas-N-Ferbenstein/Oil on Candace

Hello, and welcome to the Watchathon, a blog where I watch an episode of TV every weekday, with a blog post where I write down my thoughts afterwards.

And now, here’s my thoughts on Season 1, Episode 22 of Phineas and Ferb: The Monster of Phineas-N-Ferbenstein/Oil on Candace

The Monster of Phineas-N-Ferbenstein

The second Halloween episode, and this time, it’s a parody of Frankenstein (told to the Flynn-Fletcher kids by Grandpa Reginald Fletcher) and Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (told to Perry the Platypus by Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz.)

On the Frankenstein side of things, we’ve got Dr. Phineastein and his assistant Ferbgor (Ferb's great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great uncle) creating a giant green platypus monster to enter in the Best Monster Contest. Once the governess Constance sees their monster, she tries to expose them to an angry mob.

Meanwhile, Dr. Jekyll Doofenshmirtz (Heinz Doofenshmirtz’s great, great grandfather) is trying to purposefully get the angry mob after him by showing them his latest invention, a machine which brews potions that can turn a man into a horrifying monster. Or a fairy princess. He ruins his chances with the angry mob once he mistakenly drinks the fairy princess potion, but after the mob has left, he drinks the monster potion and leaves to go on a rampage around town.

These are stories which have been parodied countless times prior, but I would say the thing that makes this version stand out is how the stories are altered to fit within a version of the Phineas and Ferb formula.

Between Constance attempting to bust Phineastein and Ferbgor, and the semi-rivalry which forms between the platypus monster and Jekyll Doofenshmirtz, it’s fun to see these common elements of Phineas and Ferb take on a Universal Horror twist.

Oil on Candace

Ah, the only major role of Django Brown. And, seeing it again, I can kinda see why he didn’t get any others.

Django is kind of a flat character, not having as much to his personality as Phineas and Ferb’s other friends do. Even after watching this episode where Phineas and Ferb’s project of the day is helping Django create a giant painting, I don’t really know that I can describe Django’s character aside from “likes art.”

And when you compare that to characters like Isabella or Buford, it’s not hard to see why Django didn’t really have a place in the main cast of Phineas and Ferb.

[watchathon]

Phineas and Ferb, S1E21: Traffic Cam Caper/Bowl-R-Ama Drama

Hello, and welcome to the Watchathon, a blog where I watch an episode of TV every weekday, with a blog post where I write down my thoughts afterwards.

And now, here’s my thoughts on Season 1, Episode 21 of Phineas and Ferb: Traffic Cam Caper/Bowl-R-Ama Drama!

Traffic Cam Caper

The most fun thing to me about this episode is the way it has Candace teaming up with, of all people, Phineas and Ferb in her quest to bust them. One thing that you have to remember is that Phineas and Ferb aren’t hiding their big inventions from their mom on purpose. It just so happens that most of the time it gets swept away/destroyed/otherwise taken out of the picture by Doofenshmirtz’s daily inator. 

Heck, Candace could probably get their help more often with gathering evidence if she just asked them. I’d imagine they’d love to show Linda what they’ve been up to, without even thinking it might get them in trouble.

As for why she doesn’t, I think there are two reasons. First off, she doesn’t know (at this point, at least) that Phineas and Ferb aren’t making their inventions disappear on purpose. We know that the inventions just go away as a consequence of the Perry vs. Doofenshmirtz B-plot, but all Candace knows is that whenever she tries to show Linda, the invention just goes away. It’s not hard to see why she might think it’s Phineas and Ferb’s doing. 

She even says in the very next episode: “You guys always seem to make everything disappear before Mom gets home.” And if she thinks the boys are hiding their projects from Mom on purpose, why would she trust them to help her get evidence of said projects?

Second, I think at least part of it is just plain hotheadedness. Candace doesn’t really tend to think clearly where busting is concerned. The very fact that she’s still trying after so many failed attempts speaks to that. 

Candace will tend to use whatever idea first pops into her mind, without thinking it through that much beyond “If I do this, then I’ll definitely bust my brothers this time!” 

And when you combine these two factors, it makes sense why she so rarely enlists the help of Phineas and Ferb.

...Also, if you’ll excuse the sudden change in subject, apparently Perry just... has an incredibly realistic Ferb costume? I’m starting to understand why everyone thought the body swap with Candace was just a disguise...

Bowl-R-Ama Drama

This was definitely a lot of fun. It was certainly amusing to watch Candace bouncing around Danville in the giant-bowling-ball-turned-giant-pinball, with Phineas, Ferb and friends trying to keep her in play as they turn Danville itself into the world’s largest pinball table.

Plus, to cap it all off, we get a cute Canderemy moment where Jeremy comforts Candace (who is afraid of heights) as they ride the Ferris Wheel at the carnival.

[watchathon]

Phineas and Ferb, S1E20: Put That Putter Away/Does This Duckbill Make Me Look Fat?

Hello, and welcome to the Watchathon, a blog where I watch an episode of TV every weekday, with a blog post where I write down my thoughts afterwards.

And now, here’s my thoughts on Season 1, Episode 20 of Phineas and Ferb: Put That Putter Away/Does This Duckbill Make Me Look Fat?

Put That Putter Away

Stacy takes over busting duty for Candace this time, and subsequently, she gets a chance in the spotlight. It’s through this that we see what makes her different from Candace. 

We all know by now how determined Candace is to bust her brothers. In contrast, Stacy is much more easily “seduced by the coolness” (as Candace puts it), letting go and just enjoying the mini golf course that Phineas and Ferb built, forgetting all about busting them.

Honestly, it makes me wish she had more screentime. I think she could really work as a foil to Candace and her busting obsession. Maybe she will in later episodes and I just don’t remember it from when I watched Phineas and Ferb as a kid? Fingers crossed!

Does This Duckbill Make Me Look Fat?

We see in this episode, from Doofenshmirtz’s recognizing Perry as soon as he puts on the fedora (despite having a human teenage girl’s body), that Dr. Doofenshmirtz associates the fedora with Perry the Platypus and sees it as his nemesis’ most defining trait.

You may ask yourself why, then, does Doofenshmirtz not confuse other secret agents like Peter the Panda for Perry the Platypus? Well, my running theory (though I do admit this may be contradicted by later episodes) is that Dr. Doofenshmirtz can tell apart two fedora-wearing secret agent animals, but when faced with a non-animal wearing/putting on a fedora, his mind will first jump to it being Perry the Platypus in disguise.