Return to 50 Webs
Disclaimer#1: All images, characters and material is (C) 1990/1991 Walt Disney Company and is being used without permission. The webmaster has made sure that no money was made in the creation of this web page and that all material used here is used with the up most affection and respect to the Walt Disney Company and the Tale Spin Team.
Disclaimer#2: The views expressed here are solely the views of the webmaster and no one else. The webmaster has no intentions to change anyone's minds about a particular subject and respects the views of the viewers. Comments about this and other editorial can be E-Mail at gweagle@eastlink.ca or signing the Cloudkicker guest book.
Beauty & The Beet
Reviewed: 03/17/2007
I thought that Tad was immune to Bad Title Syndrome?
Time to rant...This is the Bush Root origin episode by the way; so it should be fun to watch...
The episode is written by John Behnke, Rob Humphrey and Jim Peterson. The story was edited by Kevin Crosby Hopps. I guess he's got that middle name to put some heat on the late Bing Crosby. Anyhow; I know nothing about these writers so I cannot really praise or make fun of them at this point. Sorry Darkwing Duck lovers and haters.
We begin in the CITY OF SAINT CANARD at the Audobon Bay Bridge where Darkwing's VOICEOVER OF DOOM beckons once again. Darkwing's ego returns to full form (almost full form anyway) as he talks about this being his city and that he has a million stories on it. Geez; that doesn't sound like an Invasion of Private Space waiting to happen (Hey; I cannot spell the last part right, so shoot me!). Anyhow; Darkwing Duck has them locked up in the safe behind the picture which happens to be a picture of Darkwing Duck. That's so freaking vain Drake! Even Baloo had the decency to fill his plane with girlfriends to show that he really did have a life. Drake's merely a dork at this point. He pushes the button which reveals the safe and tries to open it but forgets the combination. So he looks at the bottom of his webfoot to find it.
Okay; that was pretty cute, but that's the worst place to put a combination on. He finally opens the safe and the filing cabinet pushes Darkwing Duck in the midsection and out of the window. I'm amazed that Darkwing can talk at this point; since it would have taken the air our of anyone else. Logic Break #1 for the episode. He does a flip back onto the papers of the shelf which means Drake is thinner than most models these days. Geez; this guy exercises more than most athletes since his diet sucks badly. Darkwing crawls to the back of the shelf which is conveniently shown with a red arrow pointing down. A sure sign of Drake's career without Gosalyn to give him actual heat. He grabs the file folder as Darkwing explains the story of a villain who turned into a vegetable. No; not Terri Shaivo. I mean a real vegetable. Remember that this is COMEDY baby! Since Darkwing Duck is narrating this piece; we HIT THE FLASHBACK which pretty much gives away the finish right there...
We head to Saint Canard University and Cray Lab 56 (according to Drake, who is known to be full of himself.) as science is blossoming. You can tell by the violin playing mouse in a cage, the robot with a toaster on his head playing checkers which is pretty funny due to the toaster head, and two scientists playing football with a potato. Well; scientists shouldn't be sticks in the mud, like Reggie Bushboot (voiced by Tino Insana and damn me to hell if I don't love his voice acting in this series.) is right now. (Oh boy! That is really disturbing given the fact that the real Reggie Bush is a football player.) Reggie (no relationship to the butt kicking and taking names president of Nintendo of America) is testing a fern-like plant that would get slaughter if it ever appeared in Steve Colbert's presence. He pours the TESTTUBE LIQUID OF DOOM which it's contents are not a soil-quid according to the WENDY SCIENCE BOYS OF DEATH. See he loves plants; similar to a certain Poison Ivy from Batman...and it comes to play as he's protesting the outrage of two scientists playing potato football.
I guess Reggie's a meat eater if he's going to come to the defense of a potato. He tries to grab the potato; but the scientists for just TOO TALL for him to grab it. Finally; the games are over and one of the scientists squashes the potato with his foot and calls it a mashed potato. A mashed potato that Reggie was doing experiments on. If he's a plant lover like PETA folks are animal lovers; shouldn't the plants be freed instead of being servants to Bushroot's experiments? I ask the question because Reggie calls the potato an experiment. Also; Reggie's the only one who doesn't wear GOOFY GLASSES; so he is the clear heel by proxy. See Doctor Axolotte. The VOICEOVER OF DOOM beckons again as a female scientist walks in wearing red high heels, GOOFY GLASSES and looks like a duck version of Rebecca Cunningham in the TaleSpin pre- production character designs back in 1988. She even has breasts if you have a critical eye for detail, or a sick sense of humor. She's called Rhoda Dendron who I suspect her name is a play on rhubarb ; that bitter ground fruit that goes well with strawberry pie. Drake also proves my point that he is full of himself when he calls her a hot numero because chick is forbidden on children's television unless it is a baby chicken of course.
She's cute; but she's no Lotta Lamour. I guess it's the clothing Lotta wear and seeing ducks as sexy is like saying Baloo is thin...and the two dorky scientists are already putting the hots on her; well as much as Disney censors would allow of course which is not much. Then again; these scientists have less of a life than Drake does, so it makes sense. Apparently; they were helping Reggie ruin his life..ERR...I mean helping Reggie with his experiments. Rhoda doesn't buy it as she attends to Reggie's needs of compassion and Reggie is charmed (even doing the anime heart eyes spot to annoy me. I suggest Walt Disney Japan is animating this one). Considering that Reggie is the only real handsome person in the room; I would have to say that these two are really meant for each other. However; marriage is a no-no on Disney Television, but a yes-yes on a Disney feature. Reggie picks up the mashed up potato talking about his experiments finally paying off and of course the two BULLY SCIENCISTS mock him by using the prop duck skeleton to make the point. And you thought The Jungle Jerks were mean at Oscar.
The scientists names are Dr. Larson and Dr. Gary and I already hate them. Although the zinger-roo reference was pretty funny. Memo to Larson and Gary: Playing with plants is a form of research since Reggie wants to get quality and have us snack on sunlight. Hey; if it means that our environmental footprint is reduced to zero than that's A-OK with me. Of course; the two bullies mock him since quantity is better than quality as they inject steroids into the potato and it grows instantly. Wait a minute? They injected STEROIDS into something not related to a human being? THAT'S CHEATING! Where's Congress on this one? STEROIDS are not SAFE! They create balloons of water which can burst and due massive damage on a human body. What message are we sending to our kids? That injecting steroids into plants will make them like them...Ah; forget it! Here comes Dean Tightbill which is clearly seeing money and he looks like a electrical storm parted his hair in the middle. Since he's the president of the Science Cray Lab, they suck up to him like Mr. Suck-Up from Un-Adventure Heroes. Those ads were GOLD I tell ya!
Rhoda blows them off as Dean agrees with her. So he is the tweener of this episode. See; he has to cut expenses to stay in business..UH OH! You know Reggie is going to get fired here...and of course that's what Dean is thinking. Reggie tries to defend his work; but the plant explodes literally in Dean's face. UH OH #2! Which we find two switches containing tiny explosives (that we don't see) and that's enough for Reggie to blame Larson and Gary. Considering that they have been trying to get him fired (like they were mocking him for no reason); I don't blame him. Dean doesn't buy the story of course and Reggie's research is history, along with his job to boot. Rhoda tries to defend her charge from unfair practices by two bullies but Dean doesn't want to hear about it and leaves. Memo to Dean: Money DOES grow on trees. Paper comes from trees and money is printed on paper. I guess this university is a corporation lab after all. Rhoda tries to consult Reggie; but the bully scientists continue to egg on him while juggling apples in a contrived spot, thus turning Reggie babyface in the eyes of the public.
Which is good because, I'm tired of the stereotypical non-glasses wearing scientists must be heels syndrome that Disney love to spew at us. Reggie has enough and storms out of the lab as we return to Darkwing Duck in the present. Drake of course gets his cape stuck in the filing cabinet which would have been funny if we had seen Drake slam the shelf back in. Drake does get the cape unstuck and takes a wussy bump in the process. You wish you were Baloo Drake. He then goes to the loveseat which is a lame banana yellow. I love the red loveseat better. Drake then reads Launchpad's laundry list in which he makes his contractual appearance for no reason other than to get the fans to love this show. I don't believe he does anything else. Darkwing is mad at that; so he calms himself by going to his favorite part which to my surprise doesn't involve him. Ultra-cliche opening follows (You know the one) and the case takes a left turn to demented-ville! Which is an oversized greenhouse where Reggie Bushroot keeps his experiments. Okay; now the guy is insane and he becomes even more demented as his ultimate experiment involves a flower in a pot (NOT THAT ONE!), two strectchers, and enough enough and gator clips to attach to themselves.
It's only to their arms, don't worry...much...See, Bushroot wants to inject a plant's DNA in order to be able to snack on sunlight and reduce the environmental footprint. He doesn't actually say anything in the scene, I was just pointing out the point of this sequence. Reggie pulls the lever (WRONG LEVER!) and the tables rise up above the greenhouse and into the lightning storm. Why bother? Just open up the greenhouse. Oh wait! That would destroy the plants since they are the tallest thing in the greenhouse. Sorry about that; I keep forgetting that Reggie is a plant lover. The lightning nails the rod and both Reggie and the plant get nailed with lightning. He is so not Frankenstein. Reggie's bugged eye spot was pretty funny, along with the mouth moving. His acting sucks though which is sad because Tino is a better actor than that. Then a tube filled with green plant juices goes into Reggie's veins. At least Reggie doesn't have to spend money on props for his episode. Watch the episode on Video On Trial where Nicole blasts Ludacris' “Shake Your Moneymaker” for the joke...and this one...
Ron: You know what's the best thing about this video?......Nothing...
Hey; I laughed at that joke and I need a new paragraph since this one was getting too long. Needless to say, a flash of light beckons and the apparatus goes down. No logic break here; it probably went down due to the genius of Reggie (well; both are geniuses in their own way.). Sadly; the experiment is a failure which allows Reggie to degrade himself, calling himself scum twice. He then gets off death reference number one of the episode as the flower is burnt to a crisp. That's just sad as it died in vain; just like most shows that were good. Ask Jymn Magon about it. Reggie went outside and of course the sunlight he snacks on unintentionally turns him into a plant. His facial expression are pretty funny and now the real fun of the episode begins as he turns green to the gills. Reggie sees this as a side effect and pretty normal. Considering that everyone bullied him; I guess this is an improvement.
He runs to Saint Canard University as the furries which look badly animated; but diverse which is good because it shows that they didn't die in a genocide, they all went to the concentration camp version of college and treated well. Hey; it's a Disney show; what did you expect. Bushroot sezs that no one will see him the same way again. You don't know the half of it Reggie. He enters the lab to reveal himself as the true character that he will play from now on and Rhoda is scared stiff (since the animation was pretty stiff here) and she drops her orange liquid test tube. She cannot believe this. Hey; blame it on Larson and Gary! They are the ones who got him fired. And here comes Larson and Gary to mock him, and they don't get the fact that Bushroot is a threat now. Not that Reggie knows either. Reggie swears in DUBBED ANIME STYLE (Son of a Broccoli which is pretty funny) and those two bullies sing while violating ANIME DUB CONDUCT RULE #12 (Thou shalt not rhyme...because it's COOL!). Geez; please kill these two now Reggie.
Their one joke is pretty insulting right now. Reggie runs out of the University and is depressed because he is a walking salad bar. Quite frankly; this is perfect. After all; it's awesome for the environment and there is no need to do any work anymore. Just walk in the sunlight and you have enough energy for the rest of your life. Plus; little fat to worry about. Of course; a dog appears to sniff his assets. That would be the first physical sexual reference in DTVA and hopefully the last as Bushroom is being chased by a dog. They run around a tree as Bushroot screams for help...and the tree is animated and flicks the dog away. It also gives the dog the deadly look to scare it off. Now this is more like a cartoon now. Makes it easy to work with too. They exchange notes as Bushroot realizes that he is the Doctor DoLittle of the plant world. Okay; this could work if he's going to play heel now. Bushroot also does some plant spots (drinking water with his feet, sitting on a flower chair etc.) as his skills are a science breakthrough. However; he realizes that Larson and Gary would mock him. Unless he turns evil of course and realizes that being a plant is really good...
We return to Cray Lab 56 where Larson and Gary are injecting steroids into a hamburger and it grows instantly. Geez; this joke is so overplayed and wasn't all that funny to begin with. Baloo would love these two clowns after seeing that super-sized HEART ATTACK OF PAIN which is floating. Well; I guess Lisa Ruddy was right about fat floating. Of course; her head is as hard as a rock so it is negated. I know it's steroids because they call it a light meal. Steroids are a drug that create balloons of water or air in order to make it look like you have large muscle mass. Of course; the roots appear from the door and Larson and Gary are caught in them. They are scared at whatever. I guess it could be the steroid hamburger exacting it's revenge for teaching kids that steroids are cool. Or maybe not.
Sadly; the VOICEOVER OF DOOM beckons as Darkwing's narration is as lame as Gosalyn sezs it is. And Darkwing Duck finally enters the fray at 9:29 which is a record for someone who is full of himself. Logic Break #2 rears it's ugly head as Darkwing was actually talking in the scene even though he shouldn't be talking. Larson and Gary look like life-like statues of green hedges right now and hopefully they stay that way. Honestly; they are to blame for Bushroot looking like this. Rhoda appears as Darkwing is looking for a rake. I wouldn't let those two out in a million years. If only to make sure they don't procreate. Although; they are big fat dorks; I doubt that they would want to procreate anyway. Rhoda accuses Darkwing of blaming Bushroot for the crime of ridding us of two bullies who weren't funny. Launchpad takes a bite out of the steroid hamburger and of course; he doesn't grow muscle mass as a result. Darkwing Duck is certain it was Reggie and Rhoda doesn't buy it. Darkwing states that he NEVER makes mistakes which means his ego is in mid-season form. As as he puts a checker piece on the board, the robot with the toaster head checkmates him in a funny spot. Now that was really funny; the first real funny spot of the episode.
We now head to the office of Dean Tightbill as Darkwing Duck and Launchpad board the windows to protect Dean from Bushroot. Dean doesn't sell it as he shouldn't because it NEVER WORKS. Darkwing calls it a classic case of revenge even though Dean really didn't do anything to earn it. Other than fire Reggie of course, but Larson and Gary caused the firing in the first place. It's always the misunderstandings that cause real pain. Darkwing proclaims that all good criminals return to the scene of the crime. Well; that makes sense in Bushroot's case since he does want revenge so I'll let Drake off this one time. He makes a plant metaphor that goes over the kids heads and dares Bushroot to break in. Launchpad asks the ultimate dumb question of how to get out while being caught against a door by a stray nail.
Actually that's easy LP, let Bushroot break through the wall where Dean Tightbill was sitting in front of. Geez; I'm good because that is exactly what happens. A large oak tree that is alive appears as I suspect that the plant jokes are about to commence in this episode as it is pushing Dean's desk into Darkwing and LP (Animation Error #1: Launchpad is now free for no reason) which was supposed to crush them against the door. However; Darkwing escapes as the anthro tree grabs Dean Tightbill. Darkwing grabs onto the trees but it flicks Darkwing away and he crashes into Launchpad and into the door which does no damage whatsoever despite having the worst construction in history. Logic Break #3 for the episode as the LIVING TREE OF DOOM crawls away with Dean through the wall it came from. More plant puns from Launchpad (bark worse than bite) as Dean manages to escape by removing his coat. He regrets being against meat now.
Is this the PETA revenge episode that I didn't see through earlier, or is it the worst plant pun I've ever heard? You the reader decide because I have a rant to finish. Darkwing calls someone a blockhead which doesn't work as a joke because the tree is clearly round. Maybe it's time to stop having three writers writing each episode. While one writer for a series is bad in itself; having more than two writers in one episode is also just as bad. Balance folks! It was enough to allow Dean to run away from the tree. Okay; so that was the point. Bushroot finally appears and he is ticked off. Urge to kill is rising as he commands his tree to do bad things to Drake now. It's all right Reggie; you can say kill. TaleSpin allowed seventeen references to death in one episode. Darkwing and Launchpad are in trouble as the segment ends 11 minutes in.
After the commercial break; as Darkwing gets off the cliché line of not getting away with it while Bushroot yells at him. Darkwing then cuts his promo without the dreaded VOICEOVER OF DOOM:
Darkwing: I am the terror that flaps in the night! The termite that devours your floorboards!
Okay; that was a bit disturbing if you are a plant, but it makes sense since it's Bushroot we are talking about. DW jumps onto the LIVING TREE OF DOOM and he does the double boots (if he was wearing them) into the midsection which allows Bushroot to oversell the shot and slide into the ground complete with the the funniest squeak sound I have ever heard. So this was the episode that introduced them then! Another reason why Darkwing Duck was the downfall of Disney Television Animation I guess. Bushroot acts like a wuss and runs away. Darkwing wants to go after him but Launchpad is tied up against the IVY LEAGUE SCHOOL VINES OF DOOM. Oh great! The joke's automatically dead now because Drake is making reference to it. And now the living tree charges our mallard heroes and does a devastating headbutt into their bodies.
Which is stupid because he gets MURDERED (well; his afro anyway) by Drake's buzz-saw cufflinks. And that joke is dead because he...you know. Bushroot is getting plant handled (in a water bucket hand off spot) while getting away which invokes the bounce sound which isn't as funny as the squeak. If you want wussy bumps; use the squeak sound. It's funny and it gets through the wussy bumps without insulting the audience. Darkwing and Launchpad head for the motorcycle with Drake in the front seat now (and yes; he's wearing the helmet). Bushroot creates the giant ass beanstalk to escape as the motorcycle goes up. Bushroot manages to dodge them as the motorcycle runs up the stalk and if anyone has seen...ah...two episodes of Bug Bunny you know what will happen next. The motorcycle bounces on the stalk as LP is grateful that he didn't eat anything because the bike goes into a tailspin (BWHAHAHAHA!) into the corkscrew beanstalk.
Okay; that was a pretty cool spot. Darkwing's motorcycle takes the deadly dive as he tries to stop with the brakes. However; they don't work and he crashes which does no damage to the motorcycle whatsoever. SOMEONE FIRE THAT BIKE! Darkwing calls himself a slow learner. I love real comments that aren't supposed to be real comments. So Darkwing brings out the gas gun to subdue Reggie; but Reggie grows himself more trees to hide in. Drake decides to use a much more crude method and use the REGAL CUTLASS's left over from Don Karnage. I guess the buzz saw cufflinks were dulled by the impact which makes no sense because Drake would be cut to pieces. Drake of course MURDERS the trees as Poison Ivy is calling her lawyers to defend Bushroot's honor as we speak. However; Bushroot escapes underground as Launchpad uses another really lame plant pun. So lame even Drake blows it off.
We return to the lab where Rhoda is doing lab work. There's a MURDEROUS funny plant with a duckbill running around trying to MURDER people for firing him and Rhoda is doing lab work?! I think Drake is thinking along the same lines because he enters the lab and Rhoda is SHOCKED to see him angry and beaten. Darkwing blows her off every time she attempts to defend Reggie. Reggie would NEVER hurt a fly and then she proves that he's hypocritical by stating that he did hurt a fly to advance science. Smooth move there Rhoda. Darkwing isn't buying any of this as Rhoda is upset over Drake's assertions that Bushroot is evil. I guess nearly destroying Dean's office and Darkwing's clothes isn't evil enough for her. Anyhow; Rhoda wants to talk to Bushroot so he can turn over a new leaf which is actually the first good plant pun of the episode. Meanwhile; a telephone like Bluebell plant (get the joke here?) Apparently; calling him Reginald is codeword for Rhoda really loving Bushroot instead of Gary and Larson. Actually; she does have some love for the Reggie so it's not out of place.
He dances with flowers which is a pretty witty physical sight gag. However; the fun ends because we're back inside the hideout while Drake is narrating this story. Thankfully; no VOICEOVER OF DOOM this time. More plant puns from Drake although the passion fruit pun is pretty funny and ironic for Reggie. Drake continues his ego trip by standing on the seat of the chair. He does his amusing spot of checking everything (and getting checkmated in the process. At least I'm hoping that.) while playing with a Bunsen burner. That spot should be cut; just on general principal since someone could use a cigar lighter to mimic the stunt because he forgets to turn it off and it BURNS BABY! Enough so that smoke fills the room...AND THAT'S BAD FOR YOUR HEALTH. Drake playing with chemicals shows that he really does have no life...unless you count Larson and Gary of course.
He head to the GREENHOUSE FROM HELL as Reggie is taking a shower with the plants giving it to him while Reggie is making bad organism noises just to annoy me. And I thought this crap was limited to Canadian shows? Well; live and learn unless your Drake. Drake just lives...and no; there's nothing revealing in that scene so quit it you perverted little Peeping Toms (So claims Mystina). Reggie cleans himself and I suspect that Reggie Fils-Anime is going to sue me for slander if this rant gets released on the tubes. I just know it. Reggie looks into the mirror which is something a lot of gamers should be doing after embarrassing themselves over the Wii Wi-Fi connection _hullabaloo_. It's just asking for regulation of the game industry. He brushes his teeth was a willow branch which is quite funny in itself. He then wears a tux which is clearly too small for him; but FLOWER POWER~! brings it to it's proper size. Another nag against Open Office is when it changes brings to a capital letter when the sentence is not supposed to be completed. The ~! is an expression, not an end to the sentence.
He wonders about ties and a rose bush gives him the red bow tie. That's a fashion faux pas if I do say so myself. He combs his hair and the hair returns to it's original formation thus making the spot a waste of time. He then trims himself with the garden shears and grows a weed in his hair which upsets him. The point is then wasted as he removes it and it doesn't grow back. He puts on some bug spray which will repel everyone except Rhoda and Drake. He'll wish it repelled Drake as well. The rose bush helps him put on a pink rose on his tux and he's set to see Rhoda...and Drake will be waiting for him to do so since we return to the Cray Lab 56 where Darkwing is now covered in brown leaves which would fool NO ONE...AND THE ROCK SEZS NO ONE! Even Rhoda isn't fooled and she tries to let Drake know that but Drake is in EGO TRIP MODE now. So much for Baloo and Drake being similar. Which is a good thing since they cannot leech off each other heat now. More plant puns ensue as Launchpad tries to tie vines around Drake's mouth which is funny as he gets madder. Drake mad because his friend is screwing me equals fun laughs. Sadly; Rhoda points out that Drake is wearing Poison Ivy and Drake is screwed because he screams and scratches himself....badly. Please Launchpad; tie his mouth again. His screaming sucks...Badly...Drake then crashes into the lab table and glass beakers shatter upon impact (off-screen of course). Launchpad of all people gets off the line of the episode:
Launchpad: Nice Crash! And you don't even have a plane!
BWHAHAHAHAHA! Sadly; Bushroot enters complete with Hollywood red carpet and rose bush bodyguards before Drake can blow Launchpad off. Hey writers; it's funny when someone blows off a joke. It's the ultimate payoff. Otherwise; it's just a joke. Oh; and Bushroot is smart enough to pick bodyguards that actually have an awesome attack that anime often uses as a cliché. Since this is Disney; it's not cliché. Rhoda is SHOCKED to see him as Reggie tries to hug her. Darkwing isn't impressed by this romance because it's SICK AND WRONG in his mind so he cuts in front of Rhoda. What a stick in the mud?! I do like flower face though as a fitting insult though. More plant puns ensume as Drake wants to fist fight Bushroot. Considering that fighting is not Reggie's strong point, I'll give the edge to Drake. Unless Reggie cheats with his bodyguards because they are actually smart.
Sadly; Drake cheats first by pulling out his gas gun which makes him the heel now. Smart move Darkfink! HA! I made a funny! Bushroot counters by letting his rose bushes fight Drake. Well; you have no one to blame but Drake for that one. The rose bushes pull the Hollywood red carpet as Rhoda flies into the sky higher than Baloo did in Idol Rich. Of course; she's a lot lighter than Baloo so the cartoon physics do make sense here. Bushroot grabs Rhoda and leaves Darkwing and Launchpad to fight against....wait for it...THE RABID VENUS FLYTRAP OF DOGGY DOOM. Okay; he's only named Spike. But he's an AWESOME attack dog plant if you catch my drift. And those plant teeth are killer too! Reggie certainly got the brains of a criminal genius. Now if he can make his plants strong against sharp implements (PC codeword for sword which Lulu used in DAVE THE CLEANING BARBARIAN OF LAUGHS) and fire then he would be set to take over the world baby. Spike has Drake cornered to end the segment about 17 and a half minutes in. I sure you realize that the finish is all ready given away since Drake is narrating this story in the PAST TENSE.
After the commercial break; we see Darkwing and Launchpad backing away from Spike as Spike is ready to MURDEDR these two. Sadly; Drake is right beside the DUCK SKELETON OF DOOM and Drake picks a bone from it. Geez; I knew that thing would be used at some point of this episode...and since this is a PLANT DOG ; Drake decides to play fetch with Spike and Spike of course sells because he's a PLANT DOG. D'OH! Reggie was so close to having the perfect goons too. Drake throws the bone out of the window to lure Spike away and it works. More plant puns from Launchpad and Drake as they leave the lab. It's the PLANT PUN-ORAMA! And only three of them are actually funny.
It is another dark and stormy night as we return to the GREENHOUSE FROM HELL...Man; the weather in Saint Canard is as bad as Cape Suzette is. Bushroot has Rhoda tied to the stretcher as Bushroot completes the heel turn by claiming that she'll be a plant duck like he is so they can marry. Hey; he calls her a bride which is codeword for marriage. I'm sure it will be a shotgun wedding in Neducka too. Okay; I made that one up. It's still better than the plant puns from Drake. Bushroot is getting sadistic here and he's not even trying to do so. I LIKE THAT! Bushroot cries because he is HAPPY. Rhoda struggles but it's no good as she states that marriage would be bad because she would be marrying a freak. Okay; she didn't say that but it's implied enough. Reggie doesn't mind because he's going to turn her into a plant duck! Oooo. Rhoda isn't digging this as Bushroot pulls the lever (WRONG LEVER!) to rise Rhoda towards the sky...Cue Drake's entrance as he and Launchpad crashes through the glass causing no damage whatsoever to him.
No plant pun to insult him though which is fine by me; but he's wussier than Kit is since Drake wants him to eat dirt which is fitting I guess, instead of Kit wanting him to die. Bushroot is ticked off again and orders the big ass pumpkin plant to split them. Well; a bowling phrase is a nice departure from the bad plant puns and it's fitting since the plant bowls with pumpkins! Okay; that was funny as he cheats by using two pumpkins instead of one. Those pumpkins have SKINS OF STEEL since Darkwing and Launchpad take MAN-SIZED bumps off of them followed by wussy bumps onto the ground. Well; they're improving in that department. And then Logic Break #4 rears it's ugly head as Launchpad takes a pumpkin in the head and it's soft enough to allow Launchpad to have a blind pumpkin mask. Drake isn't impressed as the EGO TRIP returns as he jumps onto the lab table and gets off...Wait for it...more plant puns. Which is greeted by a tomato in the face by the mutant tomato plant. Good for him as Drake blows it off (BOO!) and chokes out the tomato mutant (BOO HISS!). However; Rhoda starts screaming and she completely outclasses Rebecca in that department. Now I realized why I liked Rhoda now as Rhoda rises to the heavens. Drake stupidity clicks in as he goes after Reggie with more plant puns and the weed whacker. Sigh.
He turns it on and starts threatening Reggie with it. Reggie runs away (he's a PLANT! What did you expect?!) as he takes the weed whacker to the ass. Please; enough with the butt sight gags please. It cannot beat Kit biting Don on the ass (off-screen of course) so why try? Drake chases him around as Reggie is in a dead end. Drake gets off a lame ad promo as he's ready to MURDER Reggie. However; the weed whacker runs out of gas (HA! To you Drake!). Bushroot orders the living trees to whack Drake off his mortal coil. One of the living trees destroys the weed whacker as Drake is screwed badly. Drake is ticked off now (Huh?!) and gets off another plant pun as he invokes the John Deere tractor! You better hope it doesn't run out of gas Drake!
Drake treats the tractor like a horse (Hi-Ho Slicer! Away! UGH!) as it drives and Bushroot is dead now! Bushroot invokes the hay fever bell-flowers onto Drake which cause him to sneeze right off the tractor and Spike finally finds him. Okay; now this episode is getting overbooked as they say. Drake plays fetch one more time before resuming his planting of Reggie. Oh great! Now I'm resorting to lame plant puns. The glass roof opens up as Rhoda continues to scream. Geez; that machine is slower than usual. Or it's Logic Break #5 for the episode. I'll take the former in this case. Darkwing cuts his dangerous promo (codeword: MIMI JOKE ZONE PLAN) as Reggie decides to invoke the CACTUS JACK OF DOOM on Drake as it shooting machine gun needles. Okay; that's actually a pretty lethal attack. The needles miss Drake of course and create steps for Drake to use to get up to Rhoda. Smooth move there CACTI! Drake goes up them of course because he needs a lucky break at this point. Drake swings on the wire that connects to the machine and it breaks which causes the stretchers to fall back down and Rhoda is out of harms way. Drake tries to be as cool as Kit and it fails...Badly. Geez Drake; all you did was commit blasphemy against the best child character in history. Is this revenge for Jymn's alleged attack on Zipper in Louie's Last Stand or something? Drake gets onto the tractor as Bushroot is ticked off again!
More plant puns as the vine creates a lasso and grabs Drake who is driving the tractor (remember this since..that involves the finish) and Drake gets planted in a flower pot. BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! And it's so fitting for Drake too. Bushroot makes threats at him as now the Mutant Sunflower gets the pleasure of MURDERING Darkwing. Umm, wouldn't make sense for Spike to do that instead since Drake played him for a fool? Logic Break #5 of the episode. Not nearly as bad as Chuck Tately; but still it doesn't make sense...and the finish finally clicks in as Drake jumps up and avoids the tractor as it heads straight for Bushroot and he knocks over a table to stop the tractor. However; it only makes SATAN'S ramp as it flies into the air and it lands right on top of Bushroot; effectively killing him off screen, or so we think. Anyone who watches a few episodes of Batman: The Animated Series can call that finish a mile away. Sadly; it was the ONLY finish that would have made sense. Launchpad finally takes off the pumpkin mask looking more stupid than usual. Darkwing outclasses him by thinking that Rhoda is a flower even though she clearly got down intact before the thunder storm even had a chance to nail them. Rhoda talks and she's all right of course; just to make Drake look even more foolish. Drake acting was terrible and Jim Cumming intended it that way so you know that it was lame. He is also checking for med-flies which goes over the kids heads again. Careful now; too many of those will get your show canceled. Ask TaleSpin about it.
We finally return to the PRESENT TENSE as Drake finally wraps up the story which is enough to put Launchpad to sleep. Too funny as Darkwing whacks him with the case file. Drake is such an ego maniac! Launchpad of course gets off the most fitting moral of the story. I'll leave it as an exercise to the reader as we return to the GREENHOUSE FROM HELL on a sunny day as Bushroot is reduced to a cabbage now as he grows back slowly. Because that's how smart villians do it I guess. He wants some soft music as that ends the episode at 21:08 . I heart Bushroot now and I hope he really gets into a groove soon. **** 1/2( 90%)
THE REVIEW LINE
I actually loved this episode back then and it's still as good as it was in the past. Other than the lame plant puns; it is a good opening story to Bushroot's past and it showed that he was another sad heel who got to be heel because of bullying. Like real life; that's how most villains end up. It may be cliché; but it makes sense and it's always timeless. Plus; Bushroot got over because he had smart goons with only weakness to fire and cutting. Except for Spike of course; but Spike was a dog and intelligence is always lacking in attack dogs anyway. Rhoda was also pretty good as well; while she didn't have the sexy look of Lotta; she was an excellent female character who was smart and has compassion for Bushroot even if he was a heel who wanted revenge. Something Drake and Launchpad lacked; although that was to be expected when you're getting your head handed to you by Bushroot. Bushroot is the first major villain of the series who will reappear very soon and he was one of the better one. However; there are some who are pretty awful and I think the next episode Getting Antsy is going to demonstrate that. I could be wrong of course. Still with five logic breaks; this is a great episode with few animation errors which was a problem that TaleSpin had when it had less action to work with. However; they're going to have to tighten up the stories a bit if this show is going to be good because some plot line are basically DUDs and without some good performances; this is going to be painful for me to review.
Thumbs up for this episode and I'll see you all next time.