Danny Phantom "Living Large" talkback (spoilers)

[Project:Cadmus]

Since I didn't see this anywhere I decided to make the thread.

If the talkback was already set up and I just didn't see it feel free to close this.

[Project:Cadmus]

When I first heard that Danny would act like a jerk in this episode I expected to hate this episode.

I was presently surprised.

The fact that Danny was at first worried was still more than I expected. Coupled with the facts that the Guys in White are no where near Danny's most dangerous enemies, and the prospect of the portal being closed forever (and therefore him never having to become Danny Phantom again) made his behavior much more believable.

I like the Guys in White. I've always liked secret government organizations/conspiracies and though the Guys in White are handled in a much more comedic fashion than my username I have always found them very entertaining villains.

liked Hobkins, one of the better season 3 new characters.

The Ghost Zone-Earth connection tidbit was very interesting.

I found GhostCo. kind of interesting. I suppose they supply ghost-based equipment for paranormal researchers with a high budget, like the G.I.W.

[Neo Yi]

I never said this about a Danny Phantom episode (and I never will), but having watched "Livin' Large", the entire episode felt...slow. I don't necessary think this is a bad thing, if an acton show can successfully merge in a plot that can move character through words and passive action, then all the better for it. Though for this case, some are better off then others. The entire story basically angled between the Guys in White (with Tucker and Sam mucking in) and Danny's behavior. The entire episode as a result kept basically switching back and forth between the two plot points that it grew tired and tedious. By end, I was bored and wished for the action to speed up.

And it's such a shame since this is yet another exploration of Danny's character. I love character development and I love series who do a good job on 'em. This episode doesn't succeed in the veins of "Forever Phantom", though it doesn't completely lose points. What I loved was Danny's first expected reaction when he's family was temporary rich; namely he was worried, levelheaded, and mature; concerned on the Guys in White's involvement with the Ghost Zone then what money to waste on. So naturally I felt like someone slapped me when Danny suddenly and SO quickly decided to be the uncaring, jerky self he once possessed long ago. For once, I cheered for Sam to get his head screwed back on. Hobkins wasn't a bad guy, either, though I didn't care for him like other Season Three characters, he at least proved to be of some use to the overall plot while keeping up that stoic charm, however stereotypical it was.

I'll will give it points that it was a lead on from his cynical views of his current life, but to suddenly act in that manner for the better part of the second half flabbergasted and annoyed me. Only through the reasonings I listed above and because he really only acts like this for this one episode throughout the season do I (somewhat) forgive his random act of terrible behavior, though it'll still tick me off. And while it's obvious the Fentons would return home, Jack and Maddie's reasons to do so wasn't very emphasized and again random. Perhaps if the show had shown the family just as lonely and sad as Danny, it would have been more convincing.

I never cared for the Guys in White and I still don't. Thankfully, "Reality Trip" proved they could be great threats (one of the few highlights from that episode) and here, they're...hmm...hard to say. The thought of them destroying the Ghost Zone with a missile of all things, unaware or in denial over the knowledge Earth and the Ghost Zone are two opposites of the same coin (a nice, interesting piece of info--though I still wished the show explored more cultures of the GZ) and even outright ignoring Sam and Tucker's warning is hardcore, yet they spent nearly the entire episode goofing up/dragging the plot by trying to find the password. With little to diverse that plot up, I lost interest pretty durn quick, only holding on due to Danny getting his head on straight and saving the day (by the way, Biker Danny is butt kickin' awesome), even if I thought a giant rock of all things stopped a giant missile...which explodes into goo. Opposite or not, that felt rather lame to me. Still, for a slow episode, it got my attention.

Oh, and the animation was fine. Can't really say much on that one (I loved that bird's eye view when Danny was about to leap to Johnny 13 and steal his bike). Again, this is an episode that has plenty of goods with bads that over counter it, making it a generally average--yet different look--DP episode.
6/10 (Not sure if I'll change the score in the future...)

[I.R Joey]

Kinda lame episode and it's a shame it might be the last one we see for a while. Sad to because Urban Jungle was so rocking.

The good.

+ Vlad had a funny cameo.

+ Sam setting Danny straight on money.

-Since when is Danny that much of a jerk? I hate it when a show alters a charecter just to make an unfunny joke. And since when is he creepy enough to create an adoring Sam robot? Seems like something Vlad would do.

-Just a terribly dull episode with the exception of a few moments.

-Really cliche episode. How many cartoons have done a "characrer get's rich, becomes a jerk" story? This wasn't a particularly great one either.

D class episode for me.

[magicdog]

Just saw "Livin' Large". I liked this a bit more than I thought I would, but it's far from perfect.
The good:

Nice to see Danny have enough sense to put a lock on the GZ gate but why did it have to be Sam who was uber suspicious of the GIW's motives and try to infiltrate? Danny seemed a little too quick to give up.


Funny seeing how Vlad hides his new lab. The bust used to open it was an obvious paen to the '60s Batman series which had a bust of Shakespere that was used to hide that secret entrance. However, I was a little disappointed the pic wasn't of a giant football.


Cool stunt seeing Danny take Johnny 13's bike and it was nice to see Youngblood again. Too bad the parrot cohort was missing.


Tucker has graduated to "meddling kid"! Funny line I must admit!


I think we should have the Tuckerbot replace the real thing - at least he has more of a personality and got in a few licks!


Interesting that the GZ and Earth dimensions are linked (destroying one leads to destroying the other) but how would Tucker know this and why wouldn't the GIW not know? It would have been nice to get more clarity on this.


Jack in a tux! Can I just say, "WOW"! Only the second time we've ever seen him change into anything other than his jumpsuit or his fishing/camping gear.


Can I say I just adored the butler! Too bad we'll never see him again - unless the Mansons decide to hire him!




The nitpicks:

Danny didn't go all out jerk like he did in "Attack of the Killer Garage Sale", but he should know better by now.


It was amusing the Fentons were Vlad's neighbors briefly but I thought it would have been even funnier had they ended up neighbors to the Mansons. Strange that we didn't see them .


I'm a little disappointed that the Fentons gave the money back - it could have been interesting to have them living large for a few eps.


The teaser was annoying and boring - I had to grit my teeth until the credits.


Danny skipping school! It wasn't even ghost hero related!! Even the wealthy have to be educated somewhere and I find it difficult to believe that even Jack & Maddie would be so absent minded that they would be unaware of this (no matter how much money they have or how big their new digs).

[Dudley]

Hmm....I find this ep a little bit more enjoyable than yesterday's. Sure it wasn't as action packed, but the story was nice. Plus we got to see the G.I.W again.

[Project:Cadmus]

Interesting that the GZ and Earth dimensions are linked (destroying one leads to destroying the other) but how would Tucker know this and why wouldn't the GIW not know? It would have been nice to get more clarity on this.

Maybe because Danny, Sam, and Tuck have likely had more experience with ghosts.

[RonDrakenfan17]

Well I enjoyed this episode. I loved seeing Danny on the bike that was sweet. It was neat to see Danny work with Jonny/Skullker/Yong Blood for a bit. Over all it was an ok episode.

[magicdog]

Interesting that the GZ and Earth dimensions are linked (destroying one leads to destroying the other) but how would Tucker know this and why wouldn't the GIW not know?

Maybe because Danny, Sam, and Tuck have likely had more experience with ghosts.


Maybe, but it's one thing to fight ghosts but it's another to know the astrophysical bond between two different worlds. It would have been a bit more plausible if at some point in the series the Observants, Clockwork or even Frostbite had mentioned the link and why it was important to maintain the balance between Earth and the GZ. The GIW are supposedly government agents whose knowledge and technical prowess are supposed to rival (if not slightly exceed) that of the Fentons because the government would have more funding for such projects and research. In this ep they were just a bunch of idiots with a bunch of hi tech toys, not the threats they were in "Reality Trip" or "Doublecross My Heart". I would have preferred the storyline continue for a few eps and then the plans of the GIW uncovered. Then Danny & perhaps several other ghosts to realize the mutual threat and fight together to save their worlds.

I'm also disappointed that it took a boulder of all things to stop the missile!! A tad anticlimactic!

[Neo Yi]

Funny seeing how Vlad hides his new lab. The bust used to open it was an obvious paen to the '60s Batman series which had a bust of Shakespere that was used to hide that secret entrance. However, I was a little disappointed the pic wasn't of a giant football

1960's villain Vlad strikes again...*sigh* Though this wasn't one of his worse offense (he only made a cameo for me to gang up on my fave character), but yes, a football would have been so much more awesome.

I think we should have the Tuckerbot replace the real thing - at least he has more of a personality and got in a few licks!

Agreed. I didn't like the idea of Danny replacing his friends with robots of all things (too jerky, Danny, too jerky), but him getting boxed by Tucker frequently was hilarious (not to mention that bot will play a bit role in the series finale, so at least it has some continuity purpose). I'll give him points for that.

[Darklordavaitor]

Not much to comment on this one. I'll give it a *** and leave it at that.

[Project:Cadmus]

Maybe, but it's one thing to fight ghosts but it's another to know the astrophysical bond between two different worlds. It would have been a bit more plausible if at some point in the series the Observants, Clockwork or even Frostbite had mentioned the link and why it was important to maintain the balance between Earth and the GZ. The GIW are supposedly government agents whose knowledge and technical prowess are supposed to rival (if not slightly exceed) that of the Fentons because the government would have more funding for such projects and research. In this ep they were just a bunch of idiots with a bunch of hi tech toys, not the threats they were in "Reality Trip" or "Doublecross My Heart". I would have preferred the storyline continue for a few eps and then the plans of the GIW uncovered. Then Danny & perhaps several other ghosts to realize the mutual threat and fight together to save their worlds.

I'm also disappointed that it took a boulder of all things to stop the missile!! A tad anticlimactic!

Well, as the attempts of mapping out the ghost zone prove, Danny and co. do more than just fight ghosts and we don't see everything they do. Remember Life Lessons? Danny mentions about doorways between the Ghost Zone and Earth, yet we've never seen Danny figure it out.

And yes, the boulder was disappointing.

[Lonestarr]

...I'd like to apologize for my remark regarding this episode in the "Forever Phantom" thread. I guess I let "Ron Millionaire" (a "Kim Possible" episode) color my opinion on 'character comes into crazy wealth' episodes. What am I getting at? This episode was fun.

- I never, ever cared for the Guys in White except now. The stuff in the old lab was funny.

- "Fenton Works 2: This Time, it's Personal". Yeah.

- Hobson...really liked him, esp. in his 'get your butler in gear' speech.

- Quite a surprise to see some of the ghosts helping Danny...perhaps, a precursor to "Phantom Planet"...and for very much the same reason!

The week did end on a high note after all.