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Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil
Stumped Again/The Kick Stays In The Picture Rant
Reviewed: 01/01/2012
I'm Still Stumped As To Why Anyone Could Like Kick?
Welcome kiddies to my first official of 2012. How fitting that it's with the vainglorious bastard known as Kick Buttowski. So we get more Billy Stumps than should be allowed by law and another Jackie fest for my amusement. Sounds like mixed emotions and nuts for me. So let's continue on shall we...?
Stumped Again is written by Mark Fellows. The storyboards are done by Chuck Klein and Robert Lily III with direction done by Chris Savino and Clay Morrow. Robert has only five other credits because Kick Buttowski: The Ricky Gervais Show, Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends (series and movie), Where's My Dogs At? And Powerpuff Girls Rule! Mark Fellows started as an actor and assistant camera in Gone, But Not Forgotten in 2003. He was line producer for Dr. Chopper and assistant director for Dreamland. Then he did script managing for Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide and Big Time Rush (also wrote episodes). Kick Buttowski is his DTVA debut and Johnny Test is his most recent credit. That's it.
The Kick Stays In The Picture is written by Derek Dressler and Tom Krajewski. The storyboards are done by Howie Perry and direction is done by Chris Savino and Clay Morrow. Tom has a weird resume in his own right; starting as an actor in 1990 with The Kennedy's of Massachusetts as young Jack Kennedy, then Gentlemen as Eddie Malone and One Phone, Two Phone, Three Phone, Four. He also was a production assistant for The Anna Nicole Show and then got into animation with Catscratch. From there; he did Skunk Fu, Tak & The Power of Juju, The Fairly Oddparents, Guardians of The Power Mask, The Penguins of Madagascar and Iron Man: Armored Adventures. The Replacements is his DTVA debut and the announced Bad Vintage is his most recent credit. That's it. All episodes are done in Flash of course.
Opening Moment #1: The title card features a lot of red shadow question marks, a monster truck shadow, Gunther shadow with viking helmet and the first S is dropping again complete with splatter of blood (!!!). In the middle of all this is faceless dummy who does more workrate than it's real counterpart.
Stumped Again: We begin this one at the Battlesnax as Gunther is jousting with a spatula as Kick is confused. Magnus and Helga explain that Gunther is going through a right of passage which I have no idea what Magnus is talking about. Apparently; the event involves jousting, juggling white balls and playing a kazoo all at the same time. If he wins; Gunther becomes a viking man; if he fails, he shames family and becomes a fish gutter like Uncle Christopher which we see in the picture in the bathroom. Wow; there is actually a splatter of blood on the white apron of the fish gutter too. Helga tells Kick not to worry because he will do it perfectly. Magnus whisper yells that you might as well jump off a cliff if you become a fish gutter and Uncle Christopher is actually in the bathroom with a plunger (and the splatter of blood on the white apron) blowing Magnus off and slamming the bathroom door. And he's in the woman's restroom since it is labelled "Maidens" on the door. And the fact that Helga seems a bit stunned by this. Helga is certain that Gunther will pull it off; but Magnus has no confidence in Gunther whatsoever. I know this because he keeps saying "Another Fish Gutter" everytime Helga butters Gunther up. And he really does it when the door is slammed. So after the adults leave for Gunther to continue practice; Gunther gets into Kick's face and panics. He even steps on Kick's belly for good measure as he's nervous and afraid of letting his parents down. Kick tries to talk; but Gunther bounces like a pinball for no reason...Oh wait; to do the Matrix move on Kick and showing his ass. Yeah; that's the reason. Gunther instantly gives up on the whatever old country ritual he is doing and picks out his apron for fish gutter which looks like a bad I Heart New York apron with a dead fish showing his gore. Yes folks; Disney does allow the red stuff now. Although they have shown blood since 1989 with Rescue Rangers and bleeding of humans in Gargoyles (later edited out since the Deadly Force incident). He also almost vomits in his mouth as Kick proclaims that he will not be a fish gutter and that he's the wing man of the team and he will help him. Gunther proclaims him as the best friend ever...and brings out a suit of a naked guy with a leaf on the naughty parts. Why bother with the suit Gunther? We all know Kick has stripped naked before; so why bother with the fake suit. Just use the leaf part of it. Kick proclaims that nothing will prevent him from being the naked guy in Gunther's big ritual. Hmmmmmm....the title implies that Billy Stumps is involved and he's a Z-Grade hero of Kick's. You don't think that he'll turn on Gunther now won't he...?
So we head to Kick's house WELL AFTER HAPPY HOUR (sunrise) as we head to Kick's bedroom and Kick's cellphone rings. Kick wakes up and answers it and it's Billy Stumps again. You know you are a Z-Grade stuntman when you have the time of day to call up fans directly for no rhyme nor reason. See; he has a new truck and since Kick helped him shoot up the rankings on the pecking order of Z-Grade stuntmen; he offers Kick to ride shotgun with him at the Lucky Charm. Not going to bother with the obvious infringement joke; let's just see Kick's head pop from his neck and move on. Oh; and Billy is clipping his toenails on the hood of the truck and wants to meet Kick at the arena at 7:00 pm. Can he make it? Do I care? Ummm; no. Kick proclaims that nothing will prevent him from being there as he hangs up and does the double devil's pose. And it's more Chimmy Chunga's abound. He runs towards the stage complete with Hanna Barbara running sound effects to the Battlesnax and behind it at the stage as Gunther is on stage. The banner reads: Gunther's Viking Fleppvorgenyoost. I'm guessing that this is the event Helga was talking about. Which means absolutely nothing in Norweigan nor German. Probably gibberish to make the writers sound witty. Which fails badly I might add. Kick goes on stage like a cocky bastard and proclaims that Gunther can not guess what he's doing at 7:00 pm tonight. Gunther claims that he's not the sharpest ball in the drawer (Oooooooooooooo), but Kick is supposed to help him with the ritual so he doesn't become a fish gutter. Kick stammers like the idiot that he is and we all know. HA! Gunther then opens the curtain and there is a model of a green sea monster who gets it's neck snapped for no reason other then to make Gunther look stupid. See; the judges base most of the ritual on how well he fights the ancient sea monster and it's the difference between viking man and fish gutter. Kick is stunned as Gunther embraces Kick and Kick is the operator for the sea monster tonight. Kick wishes him good luck tonight and walks out as Gunther is stuck on fish gutter like Magnus. Although; Gunther is a lot more diplomatic about it. So we head to the sidewalk as Kick ponders what to do now: choose between the most important day in Gunther's life; or the most important day in his life. He just cannot do them at the same time. Ah; but since this is the new Disney and only Sara Palin logic exists in this world; it means that he can combine them and has a Krackpotkin plan. He hi-five's himself and skateboards stage right. The cloud balloons of Gunther and Billy Stumps combine as Billy Stumps proclaims that this will not end well. Gunther agrees with him and now we jackhammer a black background with the words: THE BIG NIGHT! And the i has a dot with Kick;'s helmet on it. Do I care? Ummm; no.
We go to Kick in the nude suit AFTER HAPPY HOUR (after dark) as Kick proclaims that he will do this and skateboards to the Battlesnax as there are spotlights and the crowd at the stage. I see Magnus spared no expense in this one. Kick greets Gunther in a Greek outfit with a viking helmet. He gets behind the sea monster and is ready to get this over with. However; Gunther tells him not to because he must read the address of Gettisvorg. Which is a large scroll with about 300 pages worth of material. I think we know where this is going. Think Queen Bea from Fish Hooks and you'll get the picture. Kick realizes that he has time and he twinkletoes backwards, and skateboards to the arena through the park and he takes off the nude suit. He gets in and greets Billy Stumps who waves to the crowd. Kick proclaims that he is ready. However; Billy Stumps wants to warm up the crowd as we have a bunch of monkeys riding in a circle on bikes slower than Gunther's reading. Kick checks his watch, and skateboards back to the Battlesnax, remembering to put on the nude suit in the process. Kick returns to operate the sea monster as Gunther finally finishes reading and the viking crowd is deader than my sex life. Kick is ready; but Gunther no sells because it's time for the dance of 1001...what the hell did he just say? And is it a real word? Never mind as Gunther brings in the tape recorder and it's time for dance #1 and we dance. HAHA! Gunther's ass shaking is pretty funny and we finally get the first good spot in over six minutes into this thing. And wouldn't you know it; the Vikings pop for it and flash gang signs. Helga and Magnus smile as Kick bails and we repeat the sequence of going to the arena. So the monkeys of doom cycle out of the arena as Kick arrives and Kick is ready. Billy states that he's not quite ready yet as the stadium has to be filled with mud. Sadly; they have one groundskeeper with a garden hose. Kick sulks and he returns to the Battlesnax. Gunther finishes his dance and apparently the vikings are too tired to sell this time as Kick returns and operates the sea monster (with nude suit on). The vikings pop and Kick asks if he's needed now, but Gunther no sells because he must blow from the horn of plenty as he brings out the most complex tuba in history. Gunther blows hard into the tuba and pants. Kick is confused as a viking tells him that it takes 30 minutes for the sound to come out. HAHA! Horn of plenty indeed. Kick is flustered over that one and bails to return to the arena.
So we see the groundskeeper muddy up the arena floor as Kick enters and Billy fist pumps to indicate to Kick that he is ready and asks Kick if he is. Kick is born to wow as he climbs up the ladder of doom to the top; but Billy Stumps uses the elevator (because he's handicapped see); but the elevator goes up about an inch a minute allowing Kick to do his biscuits promo and so we run back to Gunther has the horn of plently finally spews it's "music", if you want to call it that. Viking crowd is pretty much dead; with only the judges clapping. So Kick returns panting and Gunther tells him not yet because he does another dance called 1000 bottles of Gulg on the wall. HAHA! Gunther is the only one entertaining me at this point. So Kick bails and returns to the arena as Billy finally makes it to the top, and Kick manages to make it as well as Kick wants to do this thing. However; Billy wants to pay homage to this great nation like a good little redneck does. So we have a African American Woman in a purple dress who looks like Oprah with a sprinkle of soul as she sings the national anthem of America. In the slowest fashion possible. Billy has a tear in his eye and then notices Kick is still wearing the nude suit. HA! Kick blushes and bails as Billy pays no more heed to it. So we return to the Battlesnax as Gunther finishes his dance and Kick is still on the skateboard panting like a weasel. Gunther then proclaims that there is a 25 minute intermission and then we slay the sea monster. Kick skateboards away and we see Kick break logic as he magically doesn't have the nude suit on and proclaims that he can no longer do this crap and must make a decision. Ooooooo...a suspenseful moment. So we scene change back to the stage as Gunther arrives on a wooden boat and he starts acting wanting not to face the killer bruten. He calls for Kick to bring out the dragon and Kick proclaims that he must do this...and then we discover that he picked Billy Stumps over Gunther. It would be easy for me to be disgusted; but really I'm not surprised. Even Kit Cloudkicker chose Dan Dawson over Baloo in Stormy Weather; albeit, I took Kit's side of things compared to taking Gunther's side over Billy Stumps because Gunther was amusing to me and he really did try to pass his Viking test. This is why a lot of people do not like Kick Buttowski at all.
Anyhow; Billy calls him his wingman and that gets jackhammered like crazy on the zoom in and then he hears fish gutter. Kick finally decides to confess to Billy that he promised Gunther to be with him tonight and he cannot be with Billy tonight and so Kick leaves. Billy apparently understands as Kick tries to skateboard off to the Battlesnax; but the wheels are burned off and Kick pratfalls on his face. Kick proclaims that he won't make it in time; and then Billy's monster truck arrives and Billy offers to get him there. Kick wonders about Billy's fans and Billy proclaims that he's doing it for his friend Kick. That's the first enlightening thing he has done in this series. Kick hops in and we ride through the city to waste some time. And Randy's discount shop gets crashed in and destroyed of course. Meanwhile, Gunther is still acting and asking Kick for the cue; as Helga and Magnus can see this whole ritual starting to fall apart now. More monster truck spots as the viking crowd at the stage boos this all out of the building and start to leave. Helga and Magnus groan as they have another fish gutter. And then the monster truck crashes into the Battlesnax and gets behind the stage allowing the rainbow lights to shine and show the ugly green sea monster in full view. The vikings stop and are in shock as Gunther goes into berserk mode and cuts up the fake sea monster down into hell in awesome fashion. Okay; now that is a neat finish as the judges faint and their socks literally gets knocked off their feet. They all give Gunther a thumbs up and Gunther is now a viking man. He earned that one too. Gunther bows and roses fly onto the stage as Helga and Magnus praise him and clap. Magnus of course insults Uncle Christopher and Christopher blows him off off-screen of course. Kick pops from the carnage and Gunther thanks him for coming through. And Kick agrees with him as they embrace and Billy pops from the carnage and he's jacked up.....for about three seconds as he demands to know who is going to pay for his truck. Gunther and Kick look at each other and that ends the episode at 10:20 approx. Once again; Kick Buttowski offends me with his vainglorious lameassery. Gunther carried this episode on his back; but Kick's suck value and lack of sympathy overwhelmed this one. Great finish from Gunther though and Billy Stumps was a real man for helping a kid that didn't deserve it; so it wasn't a total write off. Call it ** (40%).
Opening Moment #2: The title card shows Kick's helmet looking at a black shadow building with a billboard with the episode title against a red background.
The Kick Stays In The Picture: We begin this one at Kick's skateboarding ramp of manhoods as Kick is skateboarding with only his underwear on and does a mid-air freeze frame to jackhammer Laundry Days which has a cool blue/white font; so it isn't totally contrived and forced. And we bring in Oskar and Friends and jackhammer in a hot red and white font. Wait; Oskar isn't dressed up? Did Miss Chickerelli finally heed Jay Leno's advice before Oskar would try to MURDER her for dressing him up? So Kick ramps off into the clothes hanger on the front lawn and twirls around and dresses up. He does the Matrix move on Oskar vaingloriously showing off his dressed up ass before coming down and landing in a tree and doing flips. The dogs all bark at him at the tree as Kick shoos them off and then gets the XENON FLASH OF DEATH. HAHA! Take one guess who did this. Hint: She's a stalker no matter how much Disney tries to put window dressing around the fact to prevent us from seeing that she is. Kick falls and hangs onto a massive tree branch as another picture is taken by Jackie. And the skateboard gets chomped to pieces by Oskar of course. And Kick falls and gets mauled by the dogs as Jackie goes insane on Kick! How she was able to keep hanging on the tree without falling is an amazing act indeed. She needs to tell Kit how to do that. So we head to the front of the Skidzeez Ride Shop with Gunther and Kick which means we might hear Razz and Tony "Hush" Hawk again. Kick blows off Whacky Jackie for ruining his stunt as they walk in and we see Razz at the counter sorting letters. Kick shows him the skateboard claiming that the dog won the battle of the skateboard. I love real comments that aren't supposed to be real comments. Razz ignores him because he just got a letter from Mr. Skidzeez himself (the owner of the shop methinks) and Gunther forgets the name of course while holding his fatass cheeks in shock. Kick calls Mr. Skidzeez a legend as we see a poster of him turning his back on us on a red bicycle holding out his arms to the cheering crowd. Did I mention that he weighes 500 pounds, black pony tail, green shirt and pants and is African American?! Sadly; no one sees him anymore as Hush comes in as Razz wonders if it's their paychecks, and Hush thinks he's daring to dream. Razz sulks as Kick suggests opening it first. Razz thinks that's a good idea and opens it like the Tazmanian Devil. Razz reads it as he Mr. Skidzeez is holding a contest in Mellowbrook for a kid in Mellowbrook to send him a picture showing how dedicated he is to speed and action. Memo to Gunther: Repeating the spot is NOT funnny. Get over it. The winner gets his face on a billboard and is the new face of Skidzeez. Kick is drooling with excitement; or he's drooling because he had a stroke at ten years old! It's hard to tell sometimes. Kick recoils and wants to be on the billboard as Razz grabs him and stands on the counter trying to act like an idiot and not succeeding. We get a dream sequence of the billboard shot of Kick Buttowski's fugly mug on the billboard doing the devil's pose while skateboarding. Whatever; I don't care and it only makes me want to see Jackie screw him over.
We return to reality (no, not really) as Razz proclaims that all Kick needs is a rad picture. Hush nods in approval; but there's one problem: the deadline is today at 5 pm. Apparently; he opened the letter two weeks after he got it. I cannot believe this shop is still open either. Razz goes over to the window where we see two kids looking at each other for no reason whatsoever and tapes the contest onto the window which is quite pointless I might add. Kick proclaims that it's time to get a rad picture and wants Gunther to get his camera. Gunther stammers and we flashback to Kick slingshotting himself into the camera and destroying it of course. No really; I'm as SHOCKED as you are. Still an improvement from the usual "stammer because I stole it" spot. Apparently; Razz's Grandmother always sezs that you should have a backup camera handy and Hush is not amused. How convenient for him eh?! So Kick and Gunther walk out as a creepy goth man is with four kids as Kick wonders how to take a rad picture and fast. And then gets flashed again by Jackie. HAHA! Jackie even remember to say "yes" like an Englishmen just to rub it in their faces. Kick apparently has a plan as Gunther wonders what that is; and Jackie wants someone to perform at a wedding ceramony. HAHA! Kick blows it off and wants to ask Jackie about the shots she took of him and Jackie is more than happy to show him as she grabs Gunther and Kick and we race to Jackie's house. Or is it Kick's house? It's hard to tell sometimes. Oh wait; it's Jackie's as we head to Jackie's dark bedroom filled with Kick goodies. Kick and Gunther are sitting in a chair and sadly; neither are tied up. That would have made Gunther's second thoughts sound justified. I guess Jackie didn't have enough foresight to buy some rope. Jackie's cuckoo clock is the funniest thing I have seen in a long time. I'll leave it as an exercise to the reader on what I mean by it. Kick is naturally creeped out as Jackie arrives with sardines in the food. Gunther doesn't seem to mind that; Kick not so much. Kick wants the photos as the parrot in the cage catcalls Kick to merry it (HA!) and Jackie covers the cage with a cloth wondering how it picked this up. And then she asks for Kick's hand in marriage; pleading with him. HAHA! Kick is creeped out of course and asks for some action shots. Jackie sells and goes to her book shelf of photos of Kick and it's a pretty big shelf; albeit smaller than I expected. She skims through and finds the action photo book and gives it to Kick to open.
Kick peeks through and Jackie continues to amuse me by making funny faces. Kick blows off the pictures as terrible; although Gunther does like the one where Kick is scratching his butt. Kick proclaims that they need a new picture; which Gunther points out means more time with Jackie. Kick sulks; but that is the price he has to pay to get on the billboard. So Kick asks Jackie if they can do some new action shots and Jackie is more than happy to do so as she bails and crashes into the cage as the parrot is free to fly away. HAHA! So giddy this stalker is. So we segue to a football stadium and we cue the montage~! Kick surfs on the crowd with a light blue surfboard and Jackie takes photos and she drools. Then we skate on the toothpaste statue; using toothpaste as a slippery device. Jackie loves it as she takes the photo and yells that it's awesome complete with spit. HEE HEE! Next is bicycle riding on logs and he does some flips on the bike and Jackie does...you guessed it. In that order too. So we head into the park as Jackie is so happy that it was better than getting her monkey tail removed. Kick and Gunther are repulsed by this. HAHA! Jackie is so giddy as she runs off to get the photos developed. So we see Kick check his watch and it's almost 5 o'clock now. Kick and Gunther walk for a bit and then stop as they notice a crowd watching a teenager doing something in front of a stage appearing to be flying. Gunther calls it a lot of competition; but Kick blows him off as a poser who poses. BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Projection much there Kick Buttowski? Kick and Gunther bail and we head to Jackie's house as Jackie opens the door to the mature lighting basement of hers. They go down the steps via candlelight as Kick proclaims that Gunther will suffer from dizziness due to excessive "awesome". I'm having dizzy spells now; which have nothing to do with awesome. Jackie unwraps the easel and it shows Kick's fugly mug. Gunther likes it; Kick doesn't of course. Sadly; all of Jackie's shots suck because Jackie doesn't have the foresight to shoot the camera straight. HAHA! Jackie even rubs a photo in Kick's face for good measure. Gunther is teary-eyed about this and Kick blows him off with the LEGAL HAND OF GOD.
Kick wants a shot of all of him being awesome. Jackie proclaims that she has and she turns on the lights and there is pictures of incomplete body parts of Kick plastered on the wall as we get creepy horror music and the wrapround poses. So Gunther gets on his cell phone as he is calling the police right now. Just NOW?! You would think that after Obsession for Kick; we would have seen them do THAT then? Jackie naturally goes all insane on Kick; and Gunther asks what to do. Kick ponders it over and then notices a blue photo behind one of the picture and takes it out. It shows Kick showing his ass to Oskar in that Matrix move from the beginning of the episode and Kick loves it. Jackie steals it because it's her favorite picture and she refuses to part with it. Ah; playing hard to get eh Jackie? Kick asks to print a copy of it and Jackie is PISSED off about that. I didn't know she had THAT in her too. Great effects too as Kick demands the photo and Jackie no sells it. So Kick blames her for the stinky photo and now she's really upset because Kick insulted her. Join the club Jackie; we all know Kick is unlikable. Kick claims that she can help by giving him the damn picture and we have a tug of war. Poor Jackie; it's so sad that the person she loves is such a wishy-washy little bastard. The picture lands on Gunther's head and both Jackie and Kick blitz on Gunther and Gunther gets flattened. HAHA! The picture flops into the air as Kick tells Jackie that there is Kick Buttowski and Jackie doesn't have the two clicks in the making of a clue and is made to look. Kick grabs the picture and runs out of the basement. Jackie is PISSED OFF to infinity now (explosion jackhammer background helps here) as Kick runs out of the house as he needs to get to Skidzeez now as he finds a skipping rope, trashcan and some cloth as he uses it to paraglide into the sky as Jackie storms out of the house and she has gone feral. This of course leads to the SCOOBY DOO CHASE SEQUENCE THE PHOTO EDITION~! Jackie knows how to run like the wind...the westerly wind of course. We follow and bounce off the roofs of cars as Kick almost makes it to Skidzeez and thinks he's won. However; the POWER OF JACKIE HULK makes him think otherwise. Outstanding selling of anger from Jackie just to impress me. Jackie leaps onto the trash can and wants that photo because she loves him. Too freakin funny as she tries to grab Kick; but Kick stomps her hand and floats down to allow her to smash into a fire hydrant. And yes; I'm serious about her crashing into it too.
Kick rides the water wave and crashes into the window and drops all soaking wet. Kick checks the photo and it looks perfectly okay; but Kick treats it as if it's dying. Oy vey; really bad form there animators. Kick blows on it and it flops into the puddles of water. Jackie runs in and we cue the waterworks. Jackie actually apologizes for not letting Kick have the photo; but Kick apologizes instead because he shouldn't have taken it. Too little; too late vainglorious one, you should have done that about 20 episodes ago when you fooled Jackie into believing that you no longer do stunts anymore. Kick cares about his number one fan as Jackie embraces and she really forces the point; just to make me laugh at Kick. HEE HEE! The kids walk in as Kick wants to go home. Jackie wants to at least see who won the damn thing; but Kick doesn't seem to care as everyone walks in and we see various photographs of flash cartoon photos; and some live action photos of kids. And we discover; the guy on the purple ropes looking like he was trying to fly was Gordon Gibble. Thankfully; no Gunner & Murphy appearance here as Mr. Skidzeez (the fat guy in the poster) arrives on his motorcycle and we get the jackhammer of his appearance to force the point. He looks at the crowd and turns around while Kick is in shock. He scans the photos of the competitors and Jackie is screaming about the horror of this suspense and cries. HAHA! She needs a hanky as she rips off her shirt to reveal a banana yellow shirt featuring...a photo of the picture Kick Buttowski ruined. Geez; doesn't that render Jackie's awesome sequence of getting pissed off pointless doesn't it? Skidzeez turns around and points and gives the thumbs up. Yes folks; Kick Buttowski wins the billboard contest. Gordan protests this outrage because it has to be a picture; but he's rejected and he sulks and blows off Jackie before leaving. Should have brought Gunner & Murphy to ruin the t-shirt Gordon. Skidzeez bikes out of the store as everyone laughs at Gordon's expense. Kick calls the picture awesome; but Jackie refuses to part with it. So Kick decides to do the next best thing as he hangs Jackie on the billboard. Okay; that I approve of as Jackie squeals for joy about being Kick's number one fan. HAHA! This ends the episode at 10:20 approx. Jackie carries another very good episode as I expected. For once; Kick being unlikable worked because it generated the awesomeness from Jackie and thus made this episode hit the sweet spot with gusto. Our final segment is back at the Skidzeez shop as Kick, Gunther, Razz and Hush look at the new poster of Kick Buttowski for the shop. Gunther hopes that someday they show his as it's Gunther lying down on the ground looking cute. HAHA! Razz and Hush are not amused by this. I am so screw them! **** (80%).
THE REVIEW LINE
This is an interesting set of episodes because they are redos of Fish Hook episodes “Bea Stays In The Picture” and “Queen Bea”. However; the quality was almost the exact opposite of those two episodes. Stumped Again was the redo of Queen Bea; but it doesn't work because Kick Buttowski has no likability and he kept acting cocky throughout this. The face that he would choose Billy Stumps over Gunther after dozens of episodes of choosing Gunther over everyone just felt contrived and forced. Bea also had embarrassing parents and thus there was a level of sympathy towards Bea to do some of the crazy things she did in Queen Bea. There is nothing of the sort here. What saved this episode from being a DUD was Gunther's ritual which was entertaining and the finish was beyond rad when he slayed the dragon and destroyed Billy Stumps' monster truck. Billy Stumps did have one neat spot of giving Kick a ride back to the Battlesnax; but then again, Billy phoned him in for no reason whatsoever, thus rendering him as a plot device to foil Gunther's plans to become a Viking man. So I didn't much care for that one.
The Kick Stays In The Picture wasn't exactly a redo of Bea Stays In The Picture; but the quality was much better in this one. All of course due to Jackie The Stalker Whackerman. However; it probably would have not been a **** episode had it not been for Kick being unlikable. It's so nice that the writers finally found a way to make Kick's unlikable factor work for an episode in causing Jackie to go insane. When she's nice, she's insane. When she's mad; no one is safe from her wrath. I enjoyed her strength at the closing sequence and the ending was so fitting for Jackie. The only thing I didn't like was the finish where Jackie ripped off the shirt showing a copy of the picture because it rendered the mayhem pointless. However; it was really the only finish they could do; so I'll live. So next up is Hand In Hand and Luigi Vendetta and then we move onto five straight rants of Ducktales. So.....
Thumbs down for Stumped Again, thumbs up for The Kick Stays In The Picture and I'll see you next time.