And now, I start to venture into more foreign territory. I get to see what the network themselves were able to do without the right guidance.
I picked this episode because... I like transformations I guess. Namely the camp factor.
One of the two writers, Duane Capizzi, would go on to write and co-develop various shows for Adelaide Productions.
I'm expecting a b-movie tier plot, that's always fun.
Ba-cock
Wanting to cut to the chase, we immediately get introduced to a were-chicken, well a chicken beast anyhow. Cubby might've been onto something, we were fools.
Then it cuts rapidly to a nature show? I mean with how lackluster it is it might as well be, though it turns out to be a werewolf movie, at least the transformation is better than Deathmoon's.
You know, it's easy to build up suspense, now that you've shown us the beast it's a matter of whether or not we give a shit. Cut the first few seconds out and it can make a good difference. Or hell, just have it through the beast's perspective the entire time, at the very least we can have some surprise.
And then... shenanigans, where the Ghostbusters become clumsy dolts for a few seconds too long. Also at this point, Winston is voiced by Buster Jones. Just thought I'd let you know.
It seems the biggest problem with this episode is that it's a stupid premise taken seriously, and played straight forward. There's no merit in that.
So they find a giant egg, and what do you think happens? Sensibility and subversion isn't our friend here. I imagine it either hatches and a creature emerges to affect Egon, or the other werechicken affects Egon in trying to get it back.
Speaking of, lack of major suspense, most of which drowned in dialog, the werechicken arrives and.... they managed to catch it? Ordinarily in stuff like this, killing the head afflicter would lift those afflicted, there'd be no point to abandoning that here, but... screw it, I guess they're all solitary beings.
At this point, more seasoned Phelous viewers are bound to claim Peter's the one that lets the chicken loose, but no. It's Slimer. Egon's examining the egg retrieved, this is made obvious, and Slimer suddenly comes in and tries to make an omelette out of it. He's the soul reason the plot's going on. I'd like to say Peter's slack-mindedness comes from Slimer being able to steal braincells when sliming someone in the face.
So, Egon's bit, and the transformation is instant, but slow.
I feel there's some inconsistency with the fix, beforehand the werechicken was a demon possessing a body, now there's a remedy for it? I'm stumped.
Well, with an incomplete remedy, only part of it works, comedy is bound to suffice in theory. Also werechickens can become giants apparently. On that comedy theory, apparently Egon is needed for a public presentation, because we all need that desperate attempt at covering what one is now quota to be fulfilled. But wait, with the panic going on with the already giant chicken wouldn't the presentation be cancelled?
So with their traps full, a practical solution is in order, and what better way to go than with a weather balloon? Okay I'm a stranger to the mechanics of a weather balloon, so I won't question it.
Peter does ruin Egon's chance at being inconspicuous, but the next episode is where I feel I can really get into this.
Anyway with no further opposition, they prevail and we get a Slimer joke that's incredibly obvious and hoakey the end.
I was certain the episode was cut short with the copy I got, but this episode really started to stumble toward the end.
Final Thoughts
At its core, this was just a generic werewolf premise, mixed with the surface flaws the show had at this point, further hammered in by the incorporation of chicken's bane, get it? If the most you can do to switch up a premise is just a minor change, why even bother?
I'd throw the same complaints at Regular Show when they did the Wereskunk, only difference is that it was a lot more ugly and obnoxious.
With that said, I'm happy to say I'm now at the halfway mark. Just to let you know, I said I'd review the first three segments of the Slimer! subseries, but with the site I get the episodes from, they are individual segments, so it's safe to say I'm entering the shorter half of this marathon.
No comments:
Post a Comment