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Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil
Pool Daze/Live-In Wade Rant
Reviewed: 01/10/2012
Ah; The Daze Of Wade!
Moving right along as we head to the final turn of Kick Buttowski episodes that I can do. Next up is Kick trying to cool off; but Brad screws him; while Wade moves in with Kick and Kick likes it... until the cliff came. This is an interesting set of episodes; and after two sub par Ducktales episodes; I'm looking forward to these shorts. Shocking I know. So let's continue on shall we...?
Pool Daze is written by Patrick Andrew O'Connor, storyboards done by Howie Perry and directed by Chris Savino. Live-In Wade is written by Derek Dressler, storyboards done by Carl Faruolo and direction by Chris Savino. All episodes are done in Flash of course.
Opening Moment #1: The title card features faceless Kick in white swim shorts diving into the episode title pool with yellow and red. Okay; whatever.
Pool Daze: We begin this one with a shot of sunny skies and it is hot as a blue bird poops out an egg; it splats on the sidewalk and it fries. Not unlike my arms after H1N1. Jackhammer to force the point of course as Kick and Gunther crawl on their knees looking like they have consumed magical mushrooms or something. And apparently this was merely a setup to show the Mellowbrook Community Pool of Doom. So we cut to a bodybuilding dude with the smallest trunk allowed by BS&P and a bad sun tan talking to Shannon wearing a one piece pink bathing suit and flip flops. She has blond hair; a better tan and sunglasses. The male guard proclaims that it is full and there will be super fun as he gives her the whistle and walks out. Shannon walks up the lifeguard stand and basically sezs that there will be no fun on her watch. I guess it was too sexist to have Brad seduce into making her kick Mr. Dillweed out. Speaking of Mr. Dillweed himself; we cut to Kick in matching helmet trunks on the diving board doing what he does best: Being a vainglorious little bastard. Shannon invokes the butterfly net and there is no diving on her watch. Kick counters with the same question I have: Why the hell do you have a diving board then? Shannon wants rays and doesn't want to do any work. Obvious retort: Then why are you a lifeguard? Answer: So I can make Brad Buttowski my slave and wear the dopiest trunks and white shirt ever. And drool like a sick sexist.
Shannon is voiced by JoAnna Garcia who started with Superboy and Clarissa Explains It All in 1992. Then she got her big break early with "Are You Afraid Of The Dark?" as Sam. She then did mostly cameo apperances including Second Noah and Party Of Five. She later appeared in Freaks & Geeks, Reba and Gossip Girl and Privileged. Kick Buttowski is her DTVA debut. She has 40 titles to her resume not including 16 Self credits. Penguins of Madagascar and Better with You are her most recent credits. Anyhow; Brad goes over to Kick and we all know why he is doing this: To get his girl and he has only the area code. Long story short: He yells in Kick's face, squirts coconut sun tan lotion on the ground and does a bowling spot on Kick complete with twinkletoes animation and sound effects. Think 2012 version of Fred Flintstone and you get the picture. Kick is bowled out and he hits the trashcans again, and then gets squashed by Gunther. Gunther licks the lotion for fun. We cut back to the gate as he is about to close the gate; but he grandstands for Shannon and Kick pulls down his pants. Okay; we didn't see who actually did the pulling; but we know they were pulled down. Brad then gets squished in between the steel gate (but no cutting happens) and Kick and Gunther gleefully return inside.
So Gunther and Kick try again; and they get caught in butterfly nets by Horace Chip Green and Pantasy Three Dee. Raise your hand if you thought that was shocking...Didn't think so. They are Brad's assistants and they will let them swim. However; it will be in the dreaded Kiddie Pool. Well they are kids so it's entirely fitting and apporos. I just find the slow talking with the gruffy voice so damn annoying. So all the kids are dumped in the kiddie pool squished together. Kick doesn't like this at all. Considering that he is in between a fatass and a bland valley girl; color me unsurprised. Kick runs out easily; but before he can dive in, Brad whips him with the Gedo towel of doom and screams in his face because it's the senior citizens swim day. Well; that just turns Brad babyface in my eyes. He squirts sun tan lotion on Kick and screws him right in the middle of the kiddie pool. I see Mouth and Emo Kid have joined us. I think Emo Kid should be lucky. After all; at least no one can throw a dodgeball in his face. Oh wait; I forgot about 3D, Chip Green and Brad, never mind what I said. Miss Chickerelli and her dog Oskar the Dressed Up Dog have arrived and Kick calls Oskar out for not being a senior citizen. Brad claims that in dog years he's over 500 years old. The maximum age a dog can be is around 16 years; so 10 years equals around 63 years, thus being two years under being a senior citizen. Close enough; I do not like Kick, so who cares. Miss Chickerelli decides to show some mercy by swimming only one laps and the kids feel relieved. Of course she swims slower than everyone in 18th class delivering mail in Your Baloo's In The Mail. Although it's funnier in Pool Daze since they don't pound that joke into the ground for ten minutes. It also helps when you can only go 10 minutes for each episode. And she cannot squirt sun tan lotion from the container either. So this goes on for a while; while the logic breaks as the pile of kids in the pool seems to switch places in each shot. Mostly Mouth and Emo Kid and Kick who was in the middle when Brad screwed him in. And it takes forever for her to put it on too as the kids are repulsed when she puts it in between her toes. Why? After all the episodes of gross out; NOW the kids are repulsed by it. The best part was Gunther turning into a piece of raw meat because he sprayed cooking oil on himself. And he blames the sun as a demon which is probably the only time I have heard that in the new Disney. Oh wait; forgot Wade Against The Machine, never mind.
So the kids finally think this is over (after we see Gunther look like a piece of bacon literally); Miss Chickerelli gets blown back by a mere wave and everyone groans earning them a blowoff from Brad. Brad informs 3D and Chip Green to watch the kids while he talks to Shannon and seduces her to do his bidding; or something like that. 3D and Chip Green have their yellow towel set to whack mode as Kick wants a distraction and dives down to the drain and fishes out a rubber duckie with a top hat. It floats up and Gunther hugs it. Awwww. Sheesh. Kick finds a green plastic something and dives up. He needs a launching device; so he grabs Mouth's goggles and uses it to slingshot it right at Brad who is talking about his workout reigment. Six times a week eh? How long? After two reps on the dumbbells? He opens his mouth and the green thing lands in his mouth. So Brad screams and runs around like an idiot. It's a water bug and apparently; it has burning attributes. Shannon walks down and is taking break to allow her food to digest and wants the kids to be watched. Brad asks about the date and she suggests the 30th of February. In other words; never. Brad likes it anyway and swallows the water bug. She leaves in the same direction looking as we see Kick and the kids dressed up as senior citizens. Oh lord; did we need a logic break here? I guess so. Brad is not buying this though as he stops them in their tracks and turns around. Well; it also doesn't help that half of the kids are not in disguise. Idiots! Gunther (dressed up as an old lady, natch) turns around and does the usual insulting old lady voice while talking about the kiddie pool smelling like bacon. Considering that bacon smells good; color me unconvinced. Gunther calls Kick Miss Chickadoo-doo (oh god that is not so funny as Milovia) and then catches him/herself and calls herself that. Kick is called Mr. Pickle (funnier than Oscarlabeth) and Brad is not fooled (and calls in 3D and Chip Green to blow them off for not watching the kids) and goes on a huge rant insulting the "disguises". Because we then discover that the real kids are practicing the fine art of not being seen in the foreground and the cover is blown. Umm; yeah, Wade Against The Machine again. Brad gets slapped by Miss Chickadoo-doo in a shot that misses by a foot and walks off. Brad slaps 3D and Chip Green which misses by six feet. At least Shannon leaving makes sense now. So they run in off-screen for the FCC FRIENDLY BEATDOWN OF DEATH and everyone get thrown into the kiddie pool again. Brad has had enough of this and he is putting in lockdown and throws a steel cage wrapped with barb wire on top. Everyone groans, Brad doesn't care, I don't care either.
Scene changer and we get a sky shot of Miss Chickerelli dog paddling with Oskar in the pool; Brad relaxing in his chair and 3D and Chip Green are playing checkers. Brad calls it sheer genius as the kids do the prison sports for a bit. Emo Kids seems to be enjoying himself. Kick is pissed off of this (and Kendell blows him off of course just to be Kendell) as he has had enough of the stupid rules. Mouth disagrees because if they misbehave; there will be no refreshing water left for them. So Brad hears this and ups the ante by invoking the black knob on the remote control. Both a racist and knob to the end eh Brad? And we discover that the kiddie pool is really a hot tub. That convinces the kids to join Kick as Gunther lifts him up on his back. Kick wants a prison riot. Oh joy! I'm sure every police force in the nation is SO HAPPY to hear that one. NOT! They all shake the cage as Brad notices it and yells at 3D and Chip Green to watch over them because he's going to the big chair. Yes; Brad is very stupid, what a shock?! Chip Green and 3D go over to the cage as Brad climbs up the big chair and watches over with the binocular all over the pool. WHY?! If I were Brad; I would kick them out and ban them for life from the kiddie pool. Why am I trying to make sense of this world. Then he notices that the cage is gone from the kiddie pool; which is now totally square after being round throughout most of it. And there are adults lying down in lawn chairs despite the fact that we only saw Miss Chickerelli the whole time. Oh lord; shoot me now! Of course these logic breaks are a telegraph for Kick to push the lifeguard chair and drop Brad into the swimming pool. Naturally; Brad cannot swim; so Chip Green and 3D run in with the butterfly net to save him. Brad is now PISSED and we grab the butterfly net and Kick grabs it as well. Tug of war ensues and Brad gets whacked in the face with it. Yeah; that net has turned into steel. Kick pole vaults over Brad and then pinballs into the cage and destroys it and somehow misses the barb wire. Wait; so that square piece of water was a trapdoor? How? And why not just use it from the start? That's even worse than the original logic break.
So everyone runs out of the kiddie pool as Brad is angry and orders 3D and Chip Green to get them back into the hot tub/kiddie pool before Shannon comes back. Pointless since she already doesn't like his to begin with. Kick tells Gunther to head for the pool; but Gunther asks about Kick. Kick claims he has loose ends to tie up; which is the signal for Kick to get the floater lines (which divide the pool into lanes during swimming races natch) and tie up 3D and Chip Green as they talk about keeping their eyes peeled. I did like the acting and bumping here; so it was a worthwhile telegraph if nothing else. Brad decides to play counter tie up with the floater lines and he ties up the kids; and then the lines spring back into the holder and we get the avalanche ball as it literally consumes everything and everyone. Including the Cheeath Chug ice treat stand and Miss Chickerelli who has finally finished up her swim. Still less time than it took to deliver Rebecca's letter to the Pazuza Sweepstakes office. She gets consumed; the ball bounces off the diving board into the clouds as Kick and Gunther love this of course. Brad claims that he is going to die. You are saying that if it was a bad thing. The ball splashes into the water and the entire pool area is a complete mess as Brad is somehow still alive and down on the pool walk area just as Shannon walks in finishing up her conversation on a restraining order on Brad. Memo to Brad: Getting fired from the job would be a step up for you considering that Shannon has a restraining order on you. Shannon now has to do mouth to mouth; but her watch beeps and the shift is over for her. Heh. So she walks away and in comes the new lifeguard who is Papercut Peterson as he jumps on Brad and tries to kiss him as Brad screams badly. Which renders the entire episode pointless because we all know Papercut is friends with Kick anyway. We see the kids pop up and Kendell blows off Kick for destroying the pool. So Kick uses his skateboard and water bottle to cool everyone; and steal all the Cheetah Chug pops he can and gives them to the kids and even the adults. Wait; Mr. Vickie just showed up now? Kendell declares that Kick isn't all bad as there is a gentle breeze and everyone is refreshed. Cue the sky shot zoom out and end the episode at 10:20 approx. Started off all right; and then it turned into a pointless clustermuck that killed off Brad's heat as a heel. At least Miss Chickerelli made me laugh for once. ** 1/4 (45%).
Opening Moment #2: The title card features shadow Wade with clothes on a stick and the clothes are shaped like Kick's head and helmet. Okay; that creeps me out for some unknown reason.
Live-In Wade: We begin this one at the Food -N- Fix as we head in with Kick and Gunther. We get a cameo with 3D and Chip Green walking out with slurpees and don't beat Kick's face in. Rowdy Randmikon also appears in the background as the place looks like a...home away from home? We discover Wade fishing for a sock in the slurpee machine (and he's inside it almost naked too) and Rowdy is not amused as Wade rings him in and the goldfish is in the cash register. Rowdy seems inspired though and he walks out. Kick and Gunther come in to greet and exchange notes on the situation. See; the redecorating is caused by Wade being banished from his step mother's basement. Well; that is a step up from the aunts of the world. And the image of Wade popping from a hole in the ground as a trailer races away stage left is damn funny, so who cares?! So he is living in the Food -N- Fix now; which he should have done in the first place. So he walks away to get the rest of his clothes (BING!) allowing Kick to stick out his tongue to reveal a dirty sock. I can live with that. Gunther and Kick huddle for a meeting wondering what to do to help Wade. And Gunther likes slurpees made from socks. Whatever Gunther. Gibberish ensues as Wade puts on his clothes. He was wearing rubber duckie blue underwear though; and that made me laugh for some reason. Kick states that he cannot stay in the Food -N- Fix; and then we huddle again. Kick finally tells him that he is moving in with the Buttowski's BABEE! Ooookkkkaaaayyyy. Wade asks if the parents will approve and we huddle again. Kick claims that they don't need to know. Wade asks how to get his stuff into Kick's room. And we segue to the streets as Wade is speeding in his tow truck with the black sack of stuff hanging from the tow rope as they slide into the Cul-De-Sac safe and the stuff lands through the window and bounces off the door. Sadly; one pair of underwear drops down onto the walkway just as Harold steps out. Harold calls it an underwear storms and runs back inside. Whatever Harold. Cut back to Wade asking how to sneak him into the room. I think you can guess what happens next. Yeap; MAN-SIZED bump into the door.
So we cut to a close up shot of Kick and Wade toasting cans of chili and messing up their faces in the shadows. Wade calls this toasty and then bleches complete with green slime. Okay; that was a funny visual at least. That's the main problem with Fanboy & Chum Chum; the ugly CGI kills whatever funny visuals they were shooting for. Wade decides to hit the sack which is to sleep in his own clothes. HA! Kick offers him his bed because he is the guest see. Wade walks on all fours and crawls on the bed as Kick goes to the drawers (NOT THOSE ONES!) and opens one to sleep in. Kick calls this all awesome; and then Wade snores like a hippo. HEE HEE! So Kick uses the CLOTHESPIN OF DOOM on Wade's nose and he now snores like a horse. HAHA! Kick returns to bed and now his perfect world may be fading away. So Kick invokes the earphones and Wade kicks him in the head. I swear now they have Kick wear the helmet at all times because of BS&P's concern for concussions. So he sleeps on the opened top drawer instead and dozes off. Morning comes and Kick walks into the room with bowls of Billy Stumps cereal (probably dosed with Cheetah Chug); and before he can get three words in, Wade steals the cereal and eats it all up. HAHA! And he throws the bowls down and they shatter. Wow; that floor must be made of concrete. Wade then turns the radio to 11 literally. It's clear now that the writers are toiling with Maxie Zeus' mind at this point. Kick is surprised that he is so jumpy on the bed. Wade claims that this is freedom and he crashes into the ceiling and then causes the desk to sway and Kick's Rock Callahan alarm clock falls down and shatters like glass. Another victim of "Made in China" syndrome; although they have been getting better in the quality in recent years. Rock's head comes off and Kick is horrified as Wade apologizes while being on the bed. Kick forgives him and stammers like an idiot. So we head to AFTER HAPPY HOUR (after dark) as apparently; Kick's earphones are broken since he has to deal with Wade snoring like a hippo again. This is the first batch of entertainment for me in over a week. Kick asks Wade to do something; so Wade does the KARATE OF DEATH and destroys the drawers Kick was sleeping. No, really; I'm as SHOCKED as you are.
Wade apologizes for his night terrors and Kick forgives him again. Then Wade sleeps properly and still snores. Kick decides to walk away and head for the attic with a lantern to get some sleep. He finds a wooden board with a nail (how convenient eh?) and tries to sleep. Then we hear bleching downstairs and there is a lot of green gas going up the floor boards of the ceiling. I swear to PZ Meyers that this house is not up to code. Kick dodges all as we discover that Wade was eating cans of chili in his sleep and burping. It stops and Kick rests his helmet on the board, and he gets gassed. HAHA! Kick covers up like a dumbass and we head to morning as Kick wakes up to howling and drum bashing as Kick runs into his room and sees Wade playing the drums. HAHA! Kick asks if he is crazy. BWHAHAHAHAHAHA! Projection much there Kick Buttowski?! Kick proclaims that this will blow Wade's cover and we head to the dream sequence where Denise and Harold are pointing for Wade to get the hell out and Wade leaves without incident. We head back to reality (no, not really) and Kick decides to let Wade bang on the drum all day. You just knew he would turn into a prick soon enough. So Denise and Harold run in with ears covered and demand answers to this outrage. Kick tells the truth and considering that he does this in a vainglorious fashion; I'm betting that they approve of Wade being his room mate and Kick gets punished for acting like a selfish prick. And Harold of course is happy as Denise proclaims that he can stay for as long as he wants to. Kick is screwed. HAHA! And he gets the Wah-Wah sound played by a long silver horn from Wade. Want to bet he stole that from Gunther? Harold is on drums now and they play for a while just to amuse me and annoy Kick. Kick sulks and we head to the house AFTER HAPPY HOUR as we head to the attic with more off-screen bleching. At least he has controlled the gas this time. Kick is sleeping in a violin case and looks like a nervious wreck; the best he has ever looked in history. Hey; it's your fault for inviting him Kick and you deserve what you get you unlikable, vainglorious bastard. Kick takes the sock and tries to call Gunther; but no dice. He catches himself and takes the cellphone and calls Gunther who is in bed complete with candlelight and nightgown. Kick calls for a huddle.
So we head outside in the middle of the street as Kick and Gunther gather and we huddle and talk turkey. Kick isn't unhappy with Wade; it is just that his antic drive him crazy. Gunther references his family and then realizes that he crossed a line. Kick has him Krackpotkin plan as he'll show Wade that his family is crazy and he'll leave. One problem: the fact that they ALLOWED Wade to stay without consequence or responsibilities is crazy enough. So they run away and Gunther faceplants as usual because he's a dumb blond fatass from the old country. Morning arrives as we head to Brianna's room as Kick drags Wade in and proclaims that Wade is invited to Brianna's tea party. Wade doesn't have a clue as Kick runs out and slams the door behind them. Kick waits three seconds and then opens the door thinking Wade is driven crazy. Of course that fails miserably because it was ONLY three seconds. Idiot! Wade dressing up like a princess is pretty funny. Kick is stunned as we head to Harold's office as he has a mass of letters to read. Kick drags Wade in as he states that Wade wants to sort out bills and Harold is pleased to have him help. Kick thinks this will work; but Harold and Wade screw him over by gambling on bills. HAHA! Kick sulks as usual. Then it gets funnier as Kick is shocked to see Wade doing the dishes for Denise. Why is it funny? Because he's washing dishes while taking a bath. HAHA! Wade sprays Denise and BS&P is such an asshole that she doesn't even get wet despite all the water spraying on her. Kick proclaims that it's time to bring out the big guns. So we head to in front of the garage as Brad is drinking from the garden hose in running gear. Kick drags Wade in as Wade offers to teach him how to drive and Kick's jaw drops. Brad and Wade go to the out of nowhere rusted car and Wade drives Brad away stage left. Ten seconds later; they return as Wade walks out telling Kick he should have joined them as Brad is in between two ladies wearing the same outfit. I'm guessing that this is the female version of Gunner & Murphy~! Gladys & Mindy? Sucks! Funny still the same. You cannot drive Wade crazy Kick; he's already crazy.
So Kick decides to do some stunt therapy as he skateboards down Widowmaker's Peak; but the bolts to his wheels are gone. He drops off-screen to a sick man-sized bump in the leaf-less forest and then we segue to Wade playing with Denise's blender just to please Denise watching on. Kick walks in unhurt (BOGUS!) with dirt on his helmet as he pretty much figured out what happened to the bolts. Hint: they are on the mixer. So we head to Deadman's Drop with the bicycle on the white rail; and there is no brakes on the thing. Geez Kick; maybe you should have invested in a brake like on a huffy. And this somehow makes him head into the sky for the Team Rocket exit and he cuts the worst vowel promo ever (the same one Rolando cut in Faceplant and the same one in Deadman's Drop) and faceplants right in front of Wade fixing the brakes with Kick's bicycle brakes. He is 2012 Gadget Hackwrench and I can just cue the groaning from the Acorn Cafe right now. So we head to Kick's hideout with the scooter on top of the hideout (you know which one) and he skates down on the ramp and then falls through a hole in the ramp. HAHA! There's a conveniently placed saw and if you cannot guess who did this; you have no business reading this rant. And Kick returns as we see Wade and the Buttowskis (plus girlfriends) sitting down eating corn on a picnic table made by Wade. HAHA! Kick asks Wade why he cannot but them; but Wade is an environmentalist BABEE! He pulls a string from Kick's suit and uses it as dental floss and Kick gets naked with underwear. HEE HEE! Kick's reaction to this is a case of really terrible acting. I know this because even the forced jackhammer explosion background cannot save it. Kick doesn't want him to be his roommate anymore and then covers his mouth. UH OH! He knows he pissed off someone. Wade faceplants and apologizes for being a burden, eats some corn on the cob and walks out on the picnic table. Denise pleads for him to stay; but Wade no sells because he doesn't want to cause any more problems. Everyone panics; and then gives the mean look to Kick and walks inside and slams the door proclaiming that they will leave Wade's room as is if he comes back.
Kick walks into his room and trips on a can of chili and then regrets about yelling at Wade. He decides to go look for him and he races with his scooter outside yelling for Wade; but no dice. He posts bills of Wade's mug in the park (DEFACER!) and calls for Wade. Kick seems to be losing his mind because he can hear Wade talking to him in the clouds and then the clouds fade away. That leads to Kick taking a MAN-SIZED bump into Gunther's fatass. Gunther informs him that he himself (who told about 20 booking names) learned that Wade is living in a tool shed and that is horrifying to him. I am disturbed! Not for living in a toolshed; but being horrified by it. Kick proclaims that this is all his fault and he must find Wade. We scene change to a tool shed as Kick opens the door and there are bats as one tries to suck Kick's face. HAHA! No Wade. So Kick tries shed #2 and gets entombed by shovels, rakes, tires and a propane tank. Gunther is horrifed as he runs in. Then we go to the prettiest shed in history which means that it's an outhouse and Kick finds it's Papercut Peterson farting in a red wagon. Oooookkkkaaayyyyy. Kick closes the door as Gunther points and here comes Wade...smiling? Yeah; I am as shocked as you are. Kick does this heartfelt apology which doesn't resonate with me because he should apologize for being so uncool and thinking he earned it. Wade forgives him because he has found a place to live. Kick proclaims that he cannot live in Peterson's shed. But Wade isn't living in that shed; he's living in Rowdy's toolshed as Rowdy has offered him a place to live for free as long as he stars in a new commercial for a relaxtive drink called Slacker-Z. I crap thee not! Complete with Rainbow Fairly Oddparents jackhammering. That is actually a good finish because it makes perfect sense since Rowdy got inspired with Wade's unothodox methods of service. Wade wonders how to get all his stuff in and Kick gets inspired as we bring the towtruck in with all the stuff packed in and Peterson blows it off and then gets underwear in the face. He loves underwear season. Of course he does; he hasn't changed them in six months. AHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Circle fade out to end the episode at 10:20 approx. This was ten minutes of entertainment to me. Sure the logic was wonky at the end with them getting the stuff back from the room; but whatever. Kick took a pounding for my amusement and Rowdy's new drink did make me giggle. Considering the last two Ducktales rants I did before this; it once again shows just how easy the nostalgia card can be used by many people once you actually WATCH the episodes. Our final segment as Rowdy on the set and Wade comes down via a rope telling him not to worry because Slacker Z will cure what ails you. Rainbow Jackhammer ends it. Maybe Disney should stay the course for now; until they figure out how to stop being a demographics company and be an actual content company for everyone. **** 1/4 (85%).
THE REVIEW LINE
A really mixed bag of shorts this time around. Pool Daze was the typical clustermuck of Brad VS. Kick. Shannon was nothing and there were a few cute jokes involving Gunther and bacon, but really it was mostly going through the motions and not screwing up. Although the logic break with Kick escaping the pool through a trap door didn't make sense to me. And they screwed up the continuity of the kids in the kiddie pool various times. In other words; a slightly below average episode. Live In Wade on the other hand was a fun episode from start to end; and it was ten minutes of amusing entertainment for me since it was pretty much ten minutes of Kick getting his ass handed to him for helping Wade with his problems. Sure; Kick's apology sounded hallow to me (then again; any apology sounds hallow with Kick around) and there were a few logic breaks; but Wade stole the show for my amusement and we even got a finish that made sense in the context of the episode and gave Rowdy his best thirty seconds on screen ever. He gave us Slacker Z. What more do you want from him? Probably the best Wade focused episode ever so far.
There is also a contextual point to this whole thing as I did this rant after two Ducktales episodes from 1989 which the first one was more horrible than Pool Daze; and Allowance Day was below par than Live In Wade. Once again; it shows that Starbro has a point: It's difficult for Disney to change course when they have success with the kids and only want the kids. It also shows how much myopia there is in the old Disney fans. Sure; there is a lot of material in the new Disney that is horrible. However; I have seen Fluppy Dogs, Quack Pack, several episodes of Ducktales, several episodes of Rescue Rangers (which exposed that it wasn't the mainstream hit that Acorn Cafe claims it is), several episodes of Darkwing Duck and so on and those episodes were as downright horrible as several episodes of Kick Buttowski and Fish Hooks. Again; in the short term; Disney is perfectly fine. However; without long term plans to expand beyond that; the demographics is going to bite them in the ass someday. And it won't come from Warner Brothers or Fox or Nickelodeon. It will come from an outsider. Who? I don't know. But it shouldn't surprise anyone. Remember this: Jymn Magon created the best DTVA show of all time and had a high in the late 1980's. His previous job: A music producer. GASP! That's why there is concern because when the outside came in; everyone laughed at him. Then we got Ducktales and TaleSpin. No one laughs at Jymn Magon anymore; in fact most feel sorry for him because the way Disney treated him in his later years. Now there's a topic for another time. Next up for Kick Buttowski is Kart-To-Kart and Kyle 2.0. Oh joy; more cousin Kyle to amuse me and annoy Kick. So.....
Thumbs down for Pool Daze, thumbs up for Live-In Wade and I'll see you next time.