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View Full Version : NEW TO ME: Today's PPG: "Candy Is Dandy"/"Catastrophe"



Anthonynotes
06-06-2002, 02:01 AM
Another review on a PPG rerun I hadn't seen before....:

"Catastrophe": thought it was a pretty tepid/mediocre episode at best....a monster loses its cat, the girls find it. Liked Bubbles' "talking to animals via concentric rings" bit (a la the way Aquaman would communicate with fish on the "Superfriends", right down to the sound effect Bubbles' concentric circles was making)...

"Candy Is Dandy": A rather interesting entry...apparently this show's take on the issue of what happens when a superhero uses their powers for some less-than-noble urge (though I understand some unseen-by-me episode that involves knocking out teeth for tooth fairy money is along similar lines), as seen here with the girls arranging with Mojo Jojo(!) for him to cause random destruction while they "stop" him repeatedly all so they can get candy from the Mayor as a reward. However, their nasty turn at the end of their scheme is decidedly something else, and what they did to Mojo...well, I suppose the word "excessive force" certainly comes to mind (along with a few other analogies I won't go into). Wonder what Sharklady made of her favorite PPG character being left in a, erm, emergency-room-needed condition. Obviously, as shown at the episode's end (with the girls' reaction to what they'd done) not the girls' higest moment in terms of their playing superhero.

Also made me think of several other things: 1) Assume this'd serve just to make Mojo even angrier/more motivated; 2) I wonder what the Professor's reaction was if/when he got wind of all this (hitting the roof, I'd gather); 3) Probably unrelated, but their wailing on Mojo (before coming to their senses) did make me briefly wonder what would happen if the girls really *did* take a truly evil (without remorse/guilt) turn, a la the Rowdyruff Boys...namely wondering who'd be capable of stopping them---the Professor I suppose (maybe with the "antidote to Chemical X" from "Mo Job" to strip them of their powers if it came to that), or even Mojo I guess (if it *really* came to *that*/he actually was pressed for some reason to find a way to do so, though I suppose his lack of a good track record so far isn't much reason to give hope in this area ;-). The only other characters with superpowers I've seen on the PPG's so far have all been bad guys, unless one counts "Major Man" (heh)...

-B.

Sharklady
06-06-2002, 11:37 AM
> Wonder what Sharklady made of her favorite PPG character being left in a, erm, emergency-room-needed condition. <

I can't say that's my favorite scene in the series, but at least it served a purpose- ie; Blossom finally realizing things had gotten seriously out of hand. As some folks besides me have noticed, this whole ep can be interpreted as a cautionary tale about the insidious nature of addictive substances- first they make you feel good, then they take over your life.

> Probably unrelated, but their wailing on Mojo (before coming to their senses) did make me briefly wonder what would happen if the girls really *did* take a truly evil... namely wondering who'd be capable of stopping them---the Professor I suppose (maybe with the "antidote to Chemical X" from "Mo Job" to strip them of their powers if it came to that), or even Mojo I guess (if it *really* came to *that*/he actually was pressed for some reason to find a way to do so, though I suppose his lack of a good track record so far isn't much reason to give hope in this area ;-). <

It was established in 'Slumbering With The Enemy' that Prof keeps a store of Antidote X in the basement- there's been speculation that it's to deal with just such a contingency.

Spoiler Ahead

Re Mojo's chances in that event: An upcoming Season 4 ep is going to demonstrate that, under certain circumstances, Mojo can be a lot more forminable than we've ever seen before.

Anthonynotes
06-06-2002, 02:12 PM
>>> Wonder what Sharklady made of her favorite PPG character being left in a, erm, emergency-room-needed condition. <

>>I can't say that's my favorite scene in the series, but at least it served a purpose- ie; Blossom finally realizing things had gotten seriously out of hand. As some folks besides me have noticed, this whole ep can be interpreted as a cautionary tale about the dangers of addictive substances.


That, or (the old "Spider-Man" cliche) of "with great power comes great responsibility", which is what came to my mind... hadn't considered it being an anti-substance-abuse story...

>>>> Probably unrelated, but their wailing on Mojo (before coming to their senses) did make me briefly wonder what would happen if the girls really *did* take a truly evil... namely wondering who'd be capable of stopping them---the Professor I suppose (maybe with the "antidote to Chemical X" from "Mo Job" to strip them of their powers if it came to that), or even Mojo I guess (if it *really* came to *that*/he actually was pressed for some reason to find a way to do so, though I suppose his lack of a good track record so far isn't much reason to give hope in this area ;-). <

>>It was established in 'Slumbering With The Enemy' that Prof keeps a store of Antidote X in the basement- there's been speculation that it's to deal with just such a contingency.

Something also shown in some recent Superman comics (where Superman has entrusted Batman with a dose of kryptonite in case things get out of control...). A more direct analogy might be from the older Superman comics, where we saw that he kept (very deeply locked away) a supply of gold Kryptonite---a variant of green Kryptonite, one which was capable of permanently/irreversibly stripping all superpowers from Kryptonians, rendering them normal. Gold-K, for obvious reasons, was rarely seen, mostly shown in imaginary stories (such as 1986's "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?", usually considered a high point in the Superman series)...

>>>
Spoiler Ahead

Re Mojo's chances in that event: An upcoming Season 4 ep is going to demonstrate that, under certain circumstances, Mojo can be a lot more forminable than we've ever seen before. [/B][/QUOTE]<<<


Very well then....

-B.

DR. BELCH
06-07-2002, 11:55 AM
In a Batman Beyond, ep, Bruce showed Terry a scrap of regular green kryptonite he'd had in a vault for some forty years, saying he hoped he never again had to use it. Not sure when he acquired it--possibly in "World's Finest", though maybe Batman either wasn't available during "Legacy" or didn't have the rock then--or if Superman knew he even had it. Pretty amazing that Supes presumably lived that long without another major incident....

I don't know what other fans make of "Catastrophe", but I've never cared for it--it has a filler feel. Why the cat wasn't dashed to bits on a building when the monster exploded and his...parts?...flew everywhere is beyond me. "Candy" may be the only time the Girls show genuine remorse/concern for Mojo after mauling him (except maybe "Special Blossom", but she only restrained him there; I don't think she hit him once). Note the level of candy in the jar changes strangely all through the ep; at times it seems nearly gone, then the jar appears three-quarters full in the next shot.

"Man, what a bittersweet ending."

Sharklady
06-07-2002, 03:22 PM
> "Candy" may be the only time the Girls show genuine remorse/concern for Mojo after mauling him (except maybe "Special Blossom", but she only restrained him there; I don't think she hit him once). <

Blossom did a bit more than that in 'Special Blossom'- she broke into Mojo's place without probable cause, comitted assault & battery to subdue him (as indicated by the flying debris), then abducted him and made a false statement to the authorities in an attempt to frame him for Grand Larceny.

Pretty serious misbehaviors, and one has to wonder why they weren't mentioned on the list of offences Blossom was charged with. I can only assume there was some sort of plea-bargain; prehaps Mojo agreed to drop the charges in exchange for not being prosecuted for his own assault on Townsville the day before.

BTW: There was one other instance where the Powerpuffs indicated some regret about mistreating Mojo. Recall in 'Telephonies'; after pounding Mojo and then discovering he'd only been taking a nap, the Girls returned home rather crestfallen, Blossom muttering, "How embarassing!"