Friday, October 10, 2014

Review: Phineas and Ferb - Night of the Living Pharmacists

Phineas and Ferb: Night of the Living Pharmacists
"Lots of Me."



I had thought that Phineas and Ferb was not coming back for more episodes. I'm happy to say I thought wrong! After one new episode, the Halloween special aired. This episode finds our heroes battling an army of Doof replicants, Isabella tries to finally tell Phineas how she feels to earn a patch, Candace wants to be more nonchalant and cool, and Stacy is hooking up a home entertainment system with lots of remotes.

The episode has a wonderful opening sequence that is very much reminiscent of Saul Bass and his work on Hitchcock films. The whole plot revolves an evening in which Doofenshmirtz creates an -inator that will make his brother, Roger, repulsive, allowing him to take over the Tri-State area. However, things turn ironic and everyone starts turning into Doof replicants, complete with lab coat. These replicants can only say "Lots of me." And, if someone is touched by a replicant, they become a replicant, too!

As this repulsive disease is spreading across Danville, everyone quickly ends up in trouble. Except Stacy, who is safe inside hooking up her new home entertainment system with a back-up generator, oblivious to what is happening outside while watching Grievance movies. I love that the fictional movie franchise crops up again here.

Phineas and Ferb, in the meantime, have built a device that makes you rubberized so you can bounce like a ball. It turns out their rubberized skin prevents them from becoming a replicant, as the rubber protects against the static shock that transfers the repulsiveness, though it does wear off.  Eventually, the boys to have come up with another method of protection. Why? Because Isabella has disappeared and no one can find her! In a race to find Isabella, things quickly go down hill. It may be the Dawn of the Living Pharmacists!

The episode has four new songs, including one about triangulation, which was very entertaining. There are a few cameos as well. George Romero is a newscaster and Shaun and Ed, from Shaun of the Dead, discuss the implausibility of non-living clothing being part of the transformation. They all turn into Doof replicants.

Final Thoughts:
The episode was a lot of fun, poking fun at horror films in general with clever dialogue and observations. The story moved along at a good pace and tied all of the subplots together nicely. It even had a wonderfully tongue-in-cheek ending. Overall, a great Halloween special to add to the other amazing Halloween Phineas and Ferb episodes!


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