The Offensive Fairly Odd Parents Episode

Unlike the creator of the show when it comes to his YouTube videos, this isn't clickbait. This will focus on an episode of Fairly Odd Parents that was considered offensive enough to be taken off the air for a while.

The episode is Twistory, and yes, this is another Fairly Odd Parents post, I hate the show but I love it at the same time.

Going into it, I had no idea why it was ignored by the network for so long, and I did see it when it was new. This was well before I was made aware of the ins and outs of censorship and offensive material. Best to give some history behind the episode.

Twistory aired during the second season of Fairly Odd Parents back in 2002. It was paired with Hail to the Chief and after a year or so, airings of this episode became more and more rare. In my head, I assumed this was a themed episode, reserved for airings around President's Day, which is where I recall catching reruns, but overtime, I learned it wasn't the case.

So for those coming in now, this episode must've pulled all the stops right? Move over Ren & Stimpy, back off Rocko's Modern Life, Fairly Odd Parents are about to join your ranks. Or outrank you somehow.

Twistory was taken off the air for a while due to its use of stereotypes, I mean I guess. At large FOP fans don't hate the episode much (because apparently they can't separate reality from fiction hence their obsession with It's a Wishful Life.) What's my stance on stereotypes? I don't react harshly to stuff like that, but I agree it isn't funny. It's been beaten into the ground and it's less offensive and more annoying.

To the existence of this episode, we have to thank Jack Thomas (who to be fair wrote some of my favorite episodes of the show), along with Steve Marmel (who is a few bulbs short of a functional Hollywood vanity mirror) and Butch Hartman, who also directed the episode. If you take offense to this episode and hate Butch Hartman, call this a freebie.

So what's this episode about and what led to the stereotyping? Timmy forgot to do his history report and decides to bring over the signers of the Declaration of Independence to interview them in a talkshow like setting. The stereotypes start coming in at this point. George Washington, a man who's obsessed with cutting wood in a node to the Cherry Tree story. Benjamin Franklin, all about electricity and it's implied that he's the sole force behind its existence; "Akshully, the foundation of electricity can be traced to various people from different periods, Benjamin Franklin wasn't the true creator of electricity he was just one of the bigger figures behind it." Thomas Jefferson, at best, is just awkward.

But it all comes to a head soon enough. Due to the founding fathers being out of their time for so long, and apparently because they couldn't be reached before the signing of the Declaration of Independence, well, it never wound up happening, and because of that Dimmsdale is thrown into the dark ages. And in this, we get the impression that the United Kingdom is as evolved as a third-world country, complete with people with bad teeth, a hollow tax joke and the typical British landmarks. All they needed was something with fish and chips and they would've gone full circle.

They go back to the signing, and gee, I wonder who's gonna be the obligatory villain in this episode? I- Benedict Arnold. I mean, okay, compared to what Butch is comfortable with cramming into this episode, if he had used a stereotypical British king as the villain then this episode would've been far worse in my book. But for what they chose, Benedict Arnold, really? I mean sure I couldn't think of a better villain, but come on? Cartoonish evil? This is Season 0 level bullshit.

So Arnold disguises himself as Washington and tries to get them to sign a document that serves as a white flag. Or as this show likes to call it, the Declaration of Surrenderpendence. I need some air. How does this get resolved? By exploiting a Washington stereotype that may or may not be rooted in fact, and Timmy even gets to sign the Declaration of Independence due to him breaking John Hancock's hand.

Only thing I could mention about this episode at this point is that they put Timmy's face on the dollar, and you know how we have critics who hone in on obvious jokes just for cheap brownie points? Well now it's my turn. What led to this? This extends well beyond basic gratitude, Hancock was the only one who didn't sign and he never appeared on any currency. Worst part is this exists for a retread of an existing joke. At least for that joke about the Cubs in It's a Wishful Life it's meant to poke fun at an extensive losing streak and possibly something from Back to the Future, I don't know.

Basically, this episode isn't as racist as you think it is, but it comes close. It is one of the few episodes where one aspect overpowers the rest of the episode, and if you've seen stereotype humor before this episode does nothing new with it. It's like a Family Guy joke, and then you realize that Butch Harman and Seth McFarlane worked together in the past.

Would this have made my top 3 worst FOP episodes? Well... I probably would've put this and its a-segment on it, since Hail to the Chief felt like a wasted episode. Maybe it was for the best that I hardly saw this episode on TV.

Top 5 Favorite Fairly Odd Parents Episodes

I don't like Fairly Odd Parents flat out, but they do have a fair share of episodes I like, which is the most I could say about many shows I hate. Funny thing is, there are more episodes I like than hate, to the point that for once I had to narrow it down to five.

As an aside, I was going to include the specials and movies on this list, but I haven't seen them all, and it may be better as a standalone list. Speaking of:

5. A tie between A Wish Too Far and The Big Scoop

Yeah, I'm putting the two together, they're both essentially the same episode, but at the same time different enough to be, well, different.

The first season was more moral driven then later seasons, and even the second and third had more of an emphasis on comedy for the sake of comedy. As a consequence, I'd consider the first season to be my least favorite season, hell, I didn't even like the first two segments. While we're at it, the pilot shorts left an equally rotten taste in my mouth, beyond the Superhero segment, and maybe the one centering on Tootie's birthday party (only for the fact that Vicky came out on top to break the level of predictability on part with any episode of Ed, Edd n' Eddy involving the Kankers in a major role.)

Anyway, A Wish Too Far. Speaking as someone who often roots for the popular students (and rare occasions the bullies as long as they don't have too cliched of a backstory), this wasn't too bad of an episode. For once, we have an episode that doesn't outright demonize the popular archetype. Okay, it's insulting to think a lot of you don't know who Trixie Tang is, but just to get you up to speed, she, for the most part, challenged the stereotype associated with popular student archetypes. She's also not as obnoxious as other characters in the fold. This episode is set back a bit as Timmy's personality hadn't been truly realized at this point, so we have to rely on the story and what little jokes there are. I'd go back to this before others though, that's the most I could say about this.

The Big Scoop. I was brought in by the novelty of it being a near remake of A Wish Too Far. It's rare to see older episodes revisited beyond a pilot remake. Basically, it's a stretch of A Wish Too Far, going by a full length B-plot centered on Chester and A.J., who seek an exciting story for the school newspaper, and wind up going after Timmy over his sudden spike in popularity. Some setbacks, the b-plot's existence wasn't apparent in the original episode and as a result it seems like a desperate attempt to pad out the run time, also, for most jokes that're redone from the original episode, they don't translate to the show's more refined style from this season on. On the upside, the jokes stick better and the plot's more interesting, plus the fact that we get to focus on someone other than Timmy.

Obviously, The Big Scoop is my favorite of the two from a humor standpoint.

4. Apartnership

What's this? Another season one episode? I hate where it started, but I don't consider it a bad season as a whole, the rest of the episodes are just meh to me. To me, this episode challenges the stereotype that only one (usually the man) can cause couple-hood to sour and it also practically mocks the stereotype associated with over-protective parents.

The episode centers on Wanda supposedly forgetting her and Cosmo's anniversary (already a relief since it's usually the man who forgets their anniversary.) so he decides to return to Fairy World to live with his mother. Oh wait, apparently there's a debate on what kind of anniversary it was, but what saves this from playing it safe is that both are portrayed as wrong, we root for a make up, not for one to bite the big one.

By and large, it's a cute episode and there's little forced conflict to keep the plot going. Why is this ahead of the previous one if I have so little to say about it? Because. Just, because.

3. Action Packed

This made the list mostly due to the novelty behind it. From an outsider's perspective you'd think it'd just be a collection of neutered action scenes and cliches, and you'd be half right. The genesis behind Timmy's wish for a more action-packed life was born through a generic action film, so you can go in with low expectations.

But the ironic thing is, it's actually fairly dark, at least by the standards set in the show overall. Cosmo and Wanda actually die in this (at least that's how we see it, they turn into dust and remain that way until the resolve.) Quite ballsy if I do say so myself. Another interesting aspect is the villain choice, rather than go with the usual suspects, we get Jorgen Von Strangle, and he's hardly out of character here. He's always been going on about his body and we get this here.

Not to mention, it's the best episode on a visual basis, this is one of the few episodes of the show to incorporate CGI, and it holds up as well as Terminator 2 (as in quite well.)

2. The Grass is Greener

Before the more infamous seasons surfaced, Timmy's parents were easy to define. They were comically neglectful, but still gave a damn about their son. The Grass is Greener proved this, and proved it hard. It has a simple premise, Timmy overhears his parents claiming that they can afford better things had they not had Timmy, hence wasting their extra cash on him, but even before the conflict began, they made it clear that their desires hold no ground. Cosmo and Wanda send Timmy to a carnival to fulfill his desire to run away and it seems like it's done to encourage him to go back home, but instead, he decides to become a carny in order to make it without his folks.

An admirable thing about this is how the episode doesn't portray Timmy as selfish, he did want to check in on his folks to see if they missed him at one point. The fairies leave Timmy, though thankfully not out of nowhere as he had become well adjusted to his new line of work, but fell into the bad graces of the carnies in doing so. But going by the colorful means of escape during the obligatory chase sequence, along with some odd moments of the carnies not taking full advantage of getting Timmy, we learn this was just a way to get him to go back home, where we see his parents do in fact miss him.

On the surface, it seems blatantly obvious Cosmo and Wanda wouldn't leave Timmy high and dry, but if you pay attention enough, you'd figure it out, so I can't be too angry about that. I'm aware that other episodes show his parents care about him, but I prefer the simplicity of this episode.

1. Chin Up (and many Crimson Chin episodes)

For every Crimson Chin episode I've seen, I wouldn't consider any of them to be bad. I owe this to Jay Leno's portrayal of the protruding jawed hero. Hartman didn't have much skill directing many FOP episodes, but he clearly had comic work cut out for him. They nail the style to a "T" and somehow the humor's sharper, with meta jokes that don't grow old (I mean, come on, letters to the editor, showing the writer.) I couldn't decide what Crimson Chin episode I wanted to put here, and that fact alone is why this is number one.

So, out of random, I picked the first one. Starting with the first season and ending with the first season. I love it for how ridiculous it was (Chin's origin story as well as his confrontation with the reality that he's just a book character.) along with its dialogue.

Yeah, once more this is number one because the Chin carried many of these episodes and propelled it higher than others for me.

So, yeah, that's it, list over... drive safe.

Top 3 Least Favorite Fairly Odd Parents Episodes

I don't like Fairly Odd Parents, at least not anymore. I watched the show when it was new, saw a bulk of the Poof episodes, dropped out before Sparky and Chloe hit the scene and beyond nostalgia, I have no reason to go back to the show. I bring this up because a lot of the episodes on this list come before the more infamous years of the show, some even from the first, good way to bring some variety to an otherwise predictable list collection.

I'd give a trigger warning, but then again I spout endlessly at more popular shows. By the way, I will be counting my favorite Fairly Odd Parents episodes, and unlike a 3D plumber from many years ago, it will happen in some form, don't know when, but it will.

So list, list start now, I am doing list now.

The Big Problem

Wait, I'm telling you that I don't like where this series began? Well I don't like this episode, but I don't think it's as bad as the next ones on the list. To get this out of the way, going into the show, for me it was just meh. I tuned into the show, but it didn't stick with me as well as others did. I checked out a handful of Fairly Odd Parents episodes on YouTube to determine my current consensus and compared to the few I've seen from the first season, this held up poorly for me.

I think a reason for that is that it details adult life and since I'm an adult, it's no longer appealing to me, plus the execution and the fact that there's little meat to the overall plot. Timmy wishes he was an adult, it turns out to suck, and yes, that's basically it. But the way they go about it isn't the best. You know that moral about appreciating your younger years? Well this episode essentially tells you that you'd be better off dead instead of an adult, at least that's how they imply it (plus making Timmy's adult form ugly.

Come to think of it, lots of classic Nickelodeon shows go about morals the same way (even copying most jokes wholesale, but for another time.)

Timmy's 2-D House of Horrors

Just to get this out of the way. It's a Wishful Life won't be on this list. It just didn't piss me off for some reason (maybe it's because of my cynicism, maybe I've seen worse, maybe it's the fact that it got overblown because it was covered in Mr. Enter's earlier days.) It's only bad if you treat cartoon characters like real people (plus, everyone's an asshole in real life, some just go about it differently.)

The episode before this pissed me off more, and frankly it was a lot more mean-spirited in my opinion. If it hadn't been for this episode being paired with It's a Wishful Life, this probably would've been covered in some capacity.

How is this worse by my standards? It's somehow a lot more mean spirited and ends on a somehow fouler note. The episode centers on Timmy accidentally destroying Vicky's house, now the family has to live with the Turners. They waste no time in fucking with Timmy, if the parents' ignorance of Vicky's evil was annoying for you... well take a guess what I'm gonna say next, because that's it. That's the episode, aside from a running joke that is hammered into the ground (it mocks 3D effects in older films, but the way they go about it is all wrong. Fairly Odd Parents made fun of pop culture, but they could never compete with other shows that did it better.

If there's an excuse for this episode that everything that happened is fine because Timmy deserved it, I pray you never reproduce.

Power Mad

Oh yeah, I didn't like the first two episodes, while The Big Problem wasn't that good, it at least had enough material to justify its length. This episode feels rushed, and that seems to be the case with many episodes of shows themed around video games (at least the ones I've seen, well one, Scooby Doo and the Cyber Chase.) Timmy wishes he could be part of a video game that offers a grander challenge than what he normally encounters and the only caveat is that if he and his friends who get trapped in there lose all three of their lives they'll die for real, and the only thing keeping them from winning (aside from not giving a shit) is running a lot of power.

Nice premise, right? Well don't expect good execution to go along with it. That video game concept? Glanced over most of the time. The power aspect? Vicky's running a lot of power, but wait, Cosmo and Wanda could easily run a motion generator, that power conflict was useless (and its introduction was forced as all hell too.), and for Vicky's fate... well I'm not a fan of Butch Hartman's black and white perspective on villains, I'm not a fan of Butch Hartman, and I'm not an angry atheist. Vicky gets thrown into the game, and seemingly for no reason aside from that forced conflict. She didn't throw Timmy or his friends into the game, and again, that generator bit. It wasn't even used as a joke, just as something present within another joke.

But why did that power conflict have to happen? Why for the all important TV reference jokes of course. I'd give props to kids shows for cracking jokes that'd get me in my adult years, but obviously these didn't get that result. These references are below Family Guy levels of funny (and Family Guy can still do these well.) I'm going to list off the shows they try to parody, how they do it and why I think they failed at it.

• I Love Lucy: They got the Ricky deadringer wrong, but they fucked it up by having Wanda, well, be Wanda. Lucy isn't necessarily the most iconic TV star out there, but she's still well recognized. We don't need a men are stupid women are Jesus type message (by that I mean one that stereotypes men as idiots and woman as, well, the opposite (like they did in that one Valentines special, you know the one.)
• Weather channel: Cosmo confuses weather with feather. They try to throw in a bit with a laugh track that doesn't come, but it just doesn't work.
• Oprah (or talk shows in general.): Cosmo marries his car and somehow it reproduces. It seems like a statement against men from the south.
• Those CD commercials: Cosmo sings nursery songs.
• Seinfeld: It's a show about nothing, and the joke is made with that amount of nothing.

Are these jokes meant to poke fun at Cosmo and Wanda's ignorance of pop culture and television? Who knows?

I have no honorable mentions, well, aside from the pilot shorts, and a key reason I hate them is because they push the black and white perspective and don't amp up the characters to justify it. I only like one short out of all of them, can't be bothered to remember the name though.

There will be a top favorite episodes.