I don't love Jimmy Neutron. I fucking love Jimmy Neutron. I loved the movie, I watched the hell out of the show in its heyday, even now I go back to binge select episodes, get sick of it, then come back months later to start anew.
If I had to pick, I'd say my favorite season was the second, followed by the third and then the first. The latter is the weakest for me, as it had fewer episodes I wanted to go back to, it was when Cindy and Libby were a bit more annoying, and it was really around the next two seasons the show found its footing. Plus, as always, the stiffs always surface and they came from that season.
I was caught between Battle of the Band and See Jimmy Run, but I can sum up that with this statement:
It felt like a hollow conclusion, Cindy still won the race and the punishment didn't fit the crime in my opinion.
So this.
The Episode
In ten words or less: Rushed, missed opportunities, underwhelming ending, Green Day.
One of the biggest problems with the episode, and many of the earlier season one episodes is that there's so little to say about them. The only episodes I found interesting from them beyond the specials were When Pants Attack, Sleepless in Retroville and Ultra Sheen.
To sum up, a talent show comes up, the boys feel overwhelmed by Cindy and Libby, Jimmy creates instruments that immediately generate catchy beats, as far as I can get without ruining the impact. I've rarely seen band-centered episodes that've gone anywhere, just four are exceptions.
Deep Cuts from The Loud House because there was more to it than what the band was going through, Whatever Happened to... Robot Jones? Which explored the climate of 80s culture and garage bands, and focused more on how the band built themselves up and focused on all but practicing. Kappa Mikey, along with its unique humor had an original spin, where the band just performed songs to a ringtone. Then Lizzie, If the Skin Fits, which gave another side, namely the management side and how far one would go for them.
Okay that was just a plug for a web cartoon nobody gives a crap about now, but go check it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqnTcuytnps&list=PLMdKMaqxA078dj3ddICOpVqMRK7yZZRDp&index=4
The show wears the Beatle allegories on the sleeve, from Carl's look toward the end of the episode to the fact the title-card is set in the same typeface as the band's.
But how do things fall apart. I'll give you a few seconds. No seriously, don't scroll beyond this point, go to another tab, check your notifications, get a snack or a drink, I'll give you time to figure it out if you never saw the episode before.
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So, did you guess that the fame goes to their head? If so, to that I say, no shit.
This is a predictable turnout even by Jimmy Neutron standards, and that show was known for going above and beyond. It felt like the writers were having a dry-spell at this point, it didn't have the same spirit as other Jimmy Neutron episodes, and yeah, it felt rushed.
Wanna know how it ends? The boys can't go on as they tossed their instruments, they lose to Cindy and Libby who were annoying at the start, and the only reason the boys lost was because Carl's snot bubble exploded. It was very unsatisfying, and See Jimmy Run felt clunky at best, to sum up how I feel about that episode since I don't want to go back to it.
As for that Green Day quip, the instrumental the boys play is based on the song Warning.
Conclusion
I'd say this is to Jimmy Neutron what Hail to the Chief was to Fairly Odd Parents, a forced conflict against an otherwise hollow episode with an unsatisfactory conclusion. My point to this was to find the weakest episode of the show, and I can say with certainty, this and See Jimmy Run may very well be one of those.
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