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A Fly In The Ointment
Reviewed: 07/24/2010
Watch The Creep Factor Rise......
Ah; yes we have another body switching episode. Although this one turned out to be a wee bit disturbing for everyone involved. This is also the final Zipper focused episode and hopefully he will rise from the grave Monty buried him in. Let's rant on and find out shall we...?!
This episode is written by Alan Burnett. Sadly; I have no animation studio; nor a story editor; but the directors were Bob Zamboni and John Kimball. You'll just have to bear with me on this one; no pun intended.
We begin this one at a glass building AFTER HAPPY HOUR (after dark) and then head into the building as a female and male guard who apparently are husband and wife judging by the weight (the female guard is Susan Blu; I suspect either Peter Cullen, Jim Cummings, or Corey Burton did the male guard as he looks awfully familiar to me.) have the flashlight of doom with them. The female guard addresses the male one as Nick as the SHADOW OF DOOM (this is where mature lighting actually helps a scene rather than hurt it like it usually does) goes to the door and opens it to reveal Norton in the goofiest helmet I have ever seen. Which is par for the course with him. He practices the fine art of not being seen (even though the door slamming basically gives him away) as he sees a glass case of a metal that I'm sure the woo-meisters would call evil (because Norton is a heel see.) as Norton cannot leave without it. Well; you do have to compensate for a small dick if you catch my drift. We cut to the lighted control panel as there is trouble. We know this because the top red light is flashing. They go up to the fourth floor as we cut back to Norton stealing metals. No really; I'm as shocked as you are. He hears noises so instead of hiding; he goes over to the phone and puts it on his head and dials. We head outside as we see the guards (whose uniforms seems to change from green to blue) with pistols set to profits as female guard tries to open the door; but it's locked. Nick proclaims that it's the only way out; but Norton trumps them by disappearing in some weird light show as the door gets kicked apart (but stay perfectly intact with the frame) and the guards have their guns on ready. Sadly; there is no one to shoot....
So we return to Norton's Apartment of Dorkiness as we go inside the lab and pan down to the telephone and Norton of course reappears from it. The biggest shock of all this is that as silly as this sounds; it's still better than pouring hot sauce on it to get someone's attention. See; Norton uses an automatic phone modemizer (I see Disney hates AOL; what a shock?) to steal and escape by dialing them. He does the ultra lame reach out promo and does one of the silliest laughs I have heard since the last episode with Norton. So we go to the scene changer as it's morning outside a yellow apartment building as we zoom in to the police car with Kirby and Muldoon drinking coffee (with the cheapest white cups they could afford) and doing absolutely nothing of course. It's a slow day which means that speeders and drunk drivers are truly beneath them. Somehow that doesn't make me feel secure for some odd reason. We head up to see the Rangers doing even less; except for Dale because he is a work rate monster and will do anything for a chuckle. Chip of course wants to see some action and Zipper flies in just for fun.
Then we hear a radio voice (Tress MacNeille) for car 55 as Kirby answers it and apparently some hellion monster is attacking near the zoo as Kirby isn't exactly amused by this. Chip deduces that they are close by as we cut to a sidewalk tree as a striped gator (I guess the hellion monster) growling at a bird with an egg in a nest on the branches. Zipper notices it and pulls on Chip's coat and literally pulls it over Chip's eyes. Hey; that's Dale gimmick you 10 second mascot! AHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! The Rangers run to the tree as Chip needs a distraction and Zipper tries to get a word in; but Monty gets the nod. Okay; what did the Aussie Stereotype do to Chip to make him choose Monty over Zipper? Inquiring minds would like to know. Chip needs someone to protect the egg and Zipper tries again, but Chip chooses....Dale?! Okay; how dumb is Chip? And of course he needs tracking and that's Gadget's role as Zipper is not amused that Gadget is way ahead of him. Geez; I wonder why people call Zipper a mascot? Maybe it's because his work involves doing ten seconds of stuff and 21 minutes flying around. We continue on with the stalking of the egg by the hellion monster as the bird panics, flaps and screams. We then see that the hellion monster's tail is caught by Monty; so the hellion shakes his tail to counter as that shakes the tree. You just had to hand it to the Aussie Stereotype to be so stupid. Dale comes down near the bird and plops into the nest; saving the egg and giving it back to the bird.
So we pan down to ground level as Gadget is using some red string, a nut and a golf ball. Chip calls this good work as Zipper has the Gruffi pose on full blast. It's basically a golf bola as he throws it and it knocks Zipper stage right. It manages to tie up the hellion monster onto the branch as the Rangers victory theme plays. Everyone leaves as Monty throws some acorns and they somehow land in Muldoon's coffee. We see the officers get out and look around and they notice the hellion monster tied to the tree. They go over and are impressed at how easily it was caught as we see the Rangers look on from ground level. We then go to a scene changer (I guess a pan/zoom shot was too messy) as Monty strikes a blow for teamwork as Zipper is far from impressed and flies off disgusted. Monty wonders why is bugging him. Does the phrase “You blew Chip into giving you a job” hold any meaning for ye you Aussie Stereotype?! So we head back to the STOCK FOOTAGE OF DOOM as we zoom in and cut to the living room as Monty proclaims to Zipper sitting on the couch that he is part of the team.
Of course he is; nothing says rodent mascot like a blue bottle fly after all. Zipper is not buying what Monty is selling and I don't blame him since it's MONTY who buried him in Zipper Come Home. Monty claims that they always pay attention to him; so Dale comes in and jumps onto the couch and squashes Zipper! Again I ask; what is this with Jymn Magon being mean to Zipper again? It's still pretty funny though as Monty blows him off and Dale gets bounced from the couch as Zipper is auditioning for Darkwing Duck to get away from Monty. It doesn't work and that might be a good thing; all things considered. Zipper pops and gets pissed off like a swearing sailor fly. Dale wonders what's wrong and Monty of course points out the obvious. Then we see Chip run in and he has a white sheet containing top assignments for Zipper. Zipper thinks he's safe as Chip basically tells him to become the flying version of Dave THE CLEANING BARBARIAN OF LAUGHS as he gives him the banana yellow feather duster. So this is stomp on the buried corpse day isn't it? I see Eisner's prepping for Kit's burial too. Zipper flies away with the feather duster (not before dusting Chip's nose in disgust) and he is pissed off again. I don't blame him; Gedo has that effect on me too. Dale talks about those flies.....
And so we go to the scene changer as it is AFTER HAPPY HOUR once again. We zoom into a building and then cut to Zipper on the right wing of the Ranger Plane(Wing) and it's hazy for a sky patrol as Monty gets the first too right of the episode barely four minutes in. Then the alarms sound and Gadget deduces that it's coming from the electronics warehouse. The Ranger Plane (Wing) flies down and lands on the ground near the brick foundation. The Rangers jump out and Chip assigns the assignments and Zipper of course gets nothing as he must stay here because there might be a robber inside. Oh TAG guys! This is the same Zipper who tripped three human beings with his foot in Out of Scale. Did you goofballs take IQ reducing pills while I was away. This is even more contrived than Zipper Come Home. As bad as it sounded; at least Zipper Come Home sounded a lot more convincing then this one. Did Dale just say pope when he taunts Zipper?! Monty explains to Zipper that all teams need someone to watch their back. Considering the amount of backstabbing in this series; that doesn't sound like a good idea. Monty shrugs his shoulders and walks away as Zipper is pissed off again and flies to the window which is closed up. Huh?! The Zipper flies up to the roof and goes in through the air vent.
So we cut to inside the storage department as Norton is laughing badly again and throwing boxes of computer chips into a sack. He wants to build a lab that mad scientist would envy. That is thinking way too small there Norton; even for you. So we cut to the stairwell as the Rangers run up the stairs and Dale takes a MAN-SIZED bump into a cigarette can. I know this because cigarettes and butts are inside it. I see they got at least one smoking gag in and it just had to involve Dale. The bump is enough for Norton to hear as he sneaks over to the desk with the black telephone on it and puts the phone in his modemizer. He cuts an ET promo as we see him dial and Zipper flies in from the air vent and zooms in to pull on Norton's mustache. Well; that's fine by me. I shudder to think if he screwed with Norton tiny manhood; what Norton might do to him. Then we get the first logic break as apparently Zipper pokes him in the eyes; which is stupid because Norton is clearly wearing glasses which shields the eyes. Then Zipper bites his ear and we hear the bite; but don't see it. I'm guessing after the Mike Tyson incident with Holyfield that Disney Channel had that spot snipped.
Zipper wants to box (oh dear); so Norton counters with the wooden something and Zipper goes flying and bumps into the box of computer chips (I guess) and drops on his ass. Zipper is goofy; but he recovers as the door slowly opens and the Rangers all run it towards the desk. The phone begins to ring and Zipper flies over to harass Norton some more and they both disappear under some kooky light show. Dale demands to know where the hell they went and so we logically return to Norton's lab as Norton is relieved to be safe; only he turns around and we see that Zipper's face has replaced Norton's. I'm guessing this modemizer has some serious side effects. Norton is now Zipper and since this is a body switching episode; I'm calling Zipper Nipper and Norton Zorton; or Zimnul. Same scheme basically. Nipper flies around and then looks himself in the mirror and Zorton and they both panic like stiff rabbits. Zorton runs away and runs into a glass mirror and shatters it on impact and then panics himself. OUCH! That is going to leave a mark. More creepy organ music as Zorton trips on everything and basically destroys the entire lab. He unhooks the phone from the modemizer and runs out as the animation is pretty choppy as we hear nor see a door slamming in that sequence. Nipper blows him off for stealing the modemizer and his body and squeezes through the keyhole.
We continue in the alleyway with Zorton running and scaring a poodle and her French lady who looks like a human version of Desiree (voiced by Tress MacNeille I guess). Everyone is in shock as the boy with hair over his eyes (from Gorilla My Dream); a teenager with a phone (Tress MacNeille for all), and the father (from same production) in the windows all panicking as the last one wants Stella to call the police. I think Victor Ireland is a coward for thinking that Epica Stella would be a bad name. It was copyright I assume. Zorton runs into the street and dodges car in which one crashes into a fire hydrant. Zorton runs into the alleyway and there is more mature lighting in effect here as Zorton still forgets that he's a human with a fly head and he crashes over the brick wall. Excellent psychology there mate. Dammit; now I'm starting to talk like an Aussie Stereotype. Zorton loses the modemizer as flashlights continue to beam around the area so Zorton exits stage right and we fade to black because Eisner needs to get turned on somehow.
We return to Chip's look off outside of Ranger Headquarters as we see Monty playing peeping tom inside Zipper's bedroom and Zipper of course hasn't returned. Chip deduces that Zipper was probably mad and now he believes all bets are off now. Gadget wonders why a fly would be up flying around town all night. Dale wonders if there is another garbage strike as I wait with baited breath to see Dale bonked on the head by Chip (or Gadget). It doesn't happen because we cut to morning in the streets as Zorton continues to walk around in frustration. He hides behind a mailbox and then some bushes near a school as we head inside the classroom as a teacher with brown hair and white and lavender dress calls a red shirted boy (with matching red hair) out for writing a short story about someone waking up as an insect.
I guess this teacher hates Z-Grade movies and apparently see actually calls out Spiderman. Wow. And Disney is suddenly surprised when Marvel got on their case over the Spiderman parody in Darkwing Duck? Although with Disney buying Marvel; that point is moot now. She then turns around as the boy (Tress I assume too; the teacher is the returning Fran Ryan) ponders over that as the teacher continues the riot act; then sees Zorton as Zorton runs away. She turns around and basically praises him for a job well done and probably is on the phone to Don Glut as we speak. Or not. We then cut to the park as Zorton continues to walk around in fright and hides behind some bushes conveniently placed in the middle of the path. Heh. We then cut to Nipper flying around looking for Zorton (of course) and looking for some factories for poop. Figure of speech of course on my part as Nipper notices Zorton walking around on the sky shot. We then see a helicopter flying into the scene as a SWAT Guard (from Fake Me To Your Leader no less) with binoculars looks on and proclaims that he sees the alien in sector three and engages over and out to end the segment for real nine minutes in.
After the commercial break; we return to see Zorton go over to the tree with a stick and knocks on wood as we return to the dining room inside Ranger Headquarters as Gadget and Monty sulk over the missing Zipper. Here's another stupid break: Why aren't the Rangers LOOKING for him?! Making things even worse for the break was Gadget calling them tiny and helpless and Monty asking the question on the search party. UGH! So we head inside the living room with the chipmunks all pacing around. They hear Zipper's screams and Gadget thanks the heavens for it. I see Rebecca's foul mouth has infected Gadget's mind. No wonder people think she's a jerk. Dale walks over to the door and opens it to see Zipper and then walks back in fear stammering. What?! No goofy shaking?! That's really sloppy there Dale. I guess Chip finally got to him on the NO WORKRATE FOR DALE POLICY. The Rangers all run out and they notice that it's Zorton as Monty puts on the English eyepiece (with the Gadget Trick of Doom of course) just to annoy me. The Ranger deduce that overeating is NOT the issue this time as Nipper arrives and demands that Zorton give him the modemizer. For once I don't blame him; better a tiny manhood; then no manhood at all. AHHAHAHAHAHA! ZAP! OUCH! Ummmmm...
Monty deduces that Nipper is a snake; the smallest snake the world has ever seen of course. Nipper flies up and gets the LIGHTBULB OF BLOODY CLAIRTY as the Rangers realize that it's Norton's head. NO?! REALLY?! Like the whiny voice and dorky glasses weren't a dead giveaway. Then Nipper realizes that the Rangers can talk and Gadget realizes that they are had because Nipper is half bug. NO?! REALLY?! Monty grabs Nipper and demands that they get changed back. Nipper blows him off but agrees that he wants to end the horror; but cannot without the modemizer. So he bites Monty's hand in response and Monty does an actual decent job of selling it. HAHA! Nipper flies down to Zorton and gets on his case as Zorton is in tears and doesn't know where the modemizer is. The sirens ring out as the police car, two vans and three helicopters come out with about four soldiers with bazookas. I didn't know we were on Sesame Street today. Can we expect The Count to show up?! Chip tells him to RUN, RUN OR BE WELL DONE. Sorry; Kefka promo lapse there as the SWAT team with gas mask load gas canisters and start firing as Nipper and Zorton run away stage right complete with Hanna Barbara looping and running sound effects. If only I knew Sunwoo was animating this; then it would be called watching a classic. Zorton dodges the exploding gas canisters (I guess they are suffering from the Thembrian Bullet Shortage of 1937 too) and that ends the video at 10:46.
After the Youtube break; we then for no real reason have a whip-lashing jump cut as we go to the sidewalk as there is clouds of gas and the Rangers are coughing their lungs out. Chip hopes Zipper (yes; I called him that out of context of course) made it out of there; and sadly no luck as we go to the far sky shot and see Zorton caught in a net by a helicopter. Nipper flies up towards the net as the Rangers run like rodents up the apartment stairs. Nipper wants his body to come back; but I'm guessing no dice is present for him. Nipper flies in front of the helicopter and orders them to stop; but no dice as he gets spiraled down towards the ground with zero indication of a bump. WHAT THE HELL IS BS&P DOING TODAY?! I haven't seen so many jump cuts since the wonky logic breaking of Le Purrfect Crime. We cut to the roof as the helicopter flies away and the Rangers cannot even get close to it. Well; that scene was pretty wasteful. They lost both bodies as Chip wants to get them back. So we head to the cafe as we see a patron wearing a blue suit and red tie complaining about a fly in his soup to the waiter (red coat, black bow tie, black pants, French stereotype of course – Jim Cummings) as we cut to the close up of the cup of the spoon to see Nipper coughing in the cup. Nipper blows him off of course as we cut back to the roof as the Rangers seem happy to see that. Chip climbs down the pipe and that leads to a sequence where Chip grabs Nipper from the spoon as the waiter apologizes and then panics. We know it's Jim Cummings voicing here; because of the Bonkers accent. Nipper actually thanks Chip for the assist (Wow; the whiny dork sounds a lot more humble in fly form doesn't he?) ; but Chip tells him that he's not out of the soup yet.
So we head into the sky and HOLY CRAP!! The Rangers are flying the actual Ranger Plane instead of the Ranger Wing! How about that?! So it's official; this is the first episode where BOTH modes of transportation are used. That renders the whole point of building the Ranger Wing absolutely worthless. We cut to the real Ranger Plane closeup as Dale and Chip look out for Zorton and there is nothing in this area at all. We cut to a closeup of Nipper on the front cap as he proclaims that he's doomed, doomed, DOOMED I SAY! Monty blows him off on his bellyaching. Oh sod off you Aussie Stereotype! Nipper's got a point there; you cannot be useful if your a fly with two masters degrees. One in stealing and one in dorkiness. AHHAHAHAHAHA! ZAP! OUCH! Ummmm.... We then cut to a cocky kid on the hanging bars with Cubbi's WOODEN SWORD OF PINPRICKS, a trash can lid for a shield and a cape with the modemizer for a helmet. I see where Dangerwoman comes from. So this is Dangerman right?!
He is addressing his minions including a fat black kid and they are all wearing capes. The minions blow him off because they want to be the high star commander. The commander wannabe blows him off because the modemizer makes him a star commander. Umm; no it doesn't. It's the Cubbi Wooden Sword that does silly. And my point is proven as the rope magnet snags the modemizer away from the boy's head (I'm guessing that they all all voiced by Brian Cummings; since one sounds like Doofus) revealing that he's a redhead. And the world is right again. Sort of. The other kids see that the high star commander is disarmed and they are ready it seems to give the guy the worst wedgie in history as the red headed kid cries for his mommy. Another kid goes on a school shooting due to the Rescue Rangers removing his security blanket. I hope you are all proud of yourselves there mates. Dale uses the pulley to bring the modemizer up as Nipper actually thanks him using some really clever weasel words just to screw with Dale's mind. HEE HEE! Gadget now proclaims (while driving which I think is as dangerous as talking on a cell phone while driving in her context) that it's time to find Zorton...ERRR...I mean Zipper. So the real Ranger Plane flies away.....
And so we head to FORT 51 (might as well get the Roswell reference in just for overkill) as we see an MP in green gear walking that damn guard dog that appears in every DTVA episode. He's like the stock character that all DTVA cartoons are known for. I'm shocked that he didn't make a TaleSpin appearance....yet. We zoom around the area AFTER HAPPY HOUR as a red dressed blond haired female reporter (Susan Blu) talks about the alien being held in a place tighter than Fort Knox. If only madam; if only. We then cut to the bushes as apparently a flea cannot get in either as the Rangers plus Nipper are horrified about all this going on. Chip is scared of what they will do to Zorton...ERRR..I mean Zipper. Nipper gleefully answers that one for him as Chip wonders around as Dale reminds him of what the news-lady said. Chip then gets his MIMI JOKE ZONE PLAN as he sees a payphone and the modemizer and asks for a dime. Monty blows him off for it because it caused all this mess and Nipper pinches on Monty's mustache for that one. HAHA! Nipper is actually much more effective as a fly than as a human actually. Chip peels him off by the red shirt and proclaims that they don't have much of a choice. So we go to the scene changer as we see about five MP guards and then we cut to inside the office somewhere as we head to a desk and the phone does some crazy stuff and the modemizer appears and the lid pops and HOLY CRAP!! WHAT WERE THE ANIMATORS SMOKING.....?!
Oh wait; I forget what happened to Zipper my mistake. Anyhow; Chip is now Mhip, Monty is now Conty, Gadget is now Dadget and Dale is Gale. Yeah; Dale gets Gadget's body; but the most boring joke name I could muster under context. That is just peachy. Nipper keeps his body (which indicates that he flew into the office instead.) as Mhip turns on a light and everyone predictably panics as Dadget is forced to do the “See No Evil” promo on Dale's shirt. Gale does the Scooby Doo spot on Mhip for good measure. HAHA! I can just hear SBS&P go mad. Except that in The Wuzzles; we have already seen Butterbear and Hoppo being naked as jaybirds for 13 straight episodes. So seeing Dadget with a red shirt on only isn't going to shock anyone except the real dirty minds of the world. Nipper doesn't like this one bit as Mhip calls themselves the Rescue Mutants. Oh yeah; that isn't a rib on TMNT no siree. Memo to Tad Stones: It doesn't freakin work. Get over it; Jymn Magon and Mark Zaslove seem to have. This officially ends the segment 14 and a half minutes in. I'm enjoying this episode; although it's not that awesome.
After the commercial break; we see the Rangers looking at their new bodies as Dadget is forced to wear a ketchup cup on her ass to keep the naughty parts away. And Gale talks about getting real close to Gadget and Dadget blows him off and removes the hands from the body. Okay; now the SBS&P can panic now. Conty grabs Nipper by the leg and calls him out looking ready to MURDER him for thinking that it was a fluke. Nipper thinks that it's malfunctioning. No; I think it just cannot handle more than one living thing. Mhip orders Nipper to fix the thing fast. Nipper is upset but heads to the panel with the orange wire sticking out and opens it. He wants them to not lose their heads and Gale gleefully blows him off for that one. HAHA! Mhip hears some noises and we cut to the hallway as a doctor dressed in white is doing the FPS shot of the stretcher aiming straight at us with Zorton. The doctor tells everyone that no one is to enter the operating theater once Zorton is inside.
The doctor is voiced by Greg Berger by the way as we cut to the Ranger Mutants near the door as Conty doesn't like this one bit. Mhip orders Dadget to keep an eye on Nipper while the rest save Zorton. However; Gale gets all upset over having Gadget's body and Conty (or Mhip) forces Gale's arm. Well; I don't blame Gale. It's difficult to go out in public looking like a freak with a boring name like Gale after all. AHHAHAHAHAHA! BONK! OUCH! Ummm...We cut inside the lab of doom as we see the doctor with black hair sitting down on a stool (NOT THAT ONE) next to a control panel and Zorton strapped to a chair like he's on death row. UH OH! The doctor claims that he's merely running tests on Zorton. And one of them involves electrical shock to fry someone brain right?! And of course the doctor screws up his psychobabble so much that he has to refer to human talk. Jeepers; someone needs to get that doctor's license revoked. He sounds like Mike Adams on chemicals and I shudder to think how he would react to such chemicals. Which chemicals?! That's your choice folks. He then shows some B&W pages as a multiple choice question. Question #1: What does Zorton fear most? Odd makers are as follows according to the pictures:
(a)
Nuclear Explosion: 4:1
(b) Gruesome Plane Crash: 3:1
© A
Fly Swatter 1:1
Zorton predictably chooses C of course and the good old doctor reduces it to two choices: half fly/half human, or an art critic. Somehow the later doesn't apply because I don't think even a fly swatter can swat their contempt for irony. At least he's batting better than Michael Pachter usually does. The doctor needs one more test to confirm it as he goes to his pull down charts and here are the odds makers on which is better....
(a)
A red dressed pin up girl 2:1.
(b) A female wasp 1:1
Personally; Zorton should pick A since B doesn't look like Queenie The Bitch Bee. AHHAHAHAHAHA! POKE! OUCH! Ummmmm.... The doctor picks the wasp and then proclaims that who said a doctor cannot be sick and laughs badly. I think Orac would love to have a respectful insolent word with you dear sir. Sadly; the tests prove inconclusive (can you say quack doctor? I knew you could) and wants to operate so 2 MP's enter with the tray and Zorton panics as we cut to the side shot of Zorton being wheeled by the doctor guarded by 2 MP males and one red haired female MP. The Ranger Mutants get onto the gurney as the doctor proclaims that he will only suffer mild discomfort. He seriously thinks he's a dentist now. Well; that explains why he's a quack then. The Ranger Mutants all panic in unison and Zorton gasps in horror. Conty calls for a diversion as he continues to whiz on Chip's legacy by the mere presence of Monty's head.
So Conty jumps onto the doctor's leg and we have our third bite spot of the episode as the doctor doesn't quite sell it properly. Now there is a quack if I ever saw one. That only caused mild pain and suffering and most of it on ME! This is depressing considering how well this episode has gone thus far. He loses the gurney and we get a sequence of the Ranger Mutants driving down the hallway and into the elevator. Excellent MAN-SIZED bump there as Mhip climbs up and pushes the button on the elevator as Conty slides in safe and the elevator door closes. Mhip slides down and blows Conty off for the weight like the projector that he is. Oh wait.....The human quacks notice the elevator close and take the stairs. The Mutant Rangers all unstrap Zorton from the gurney as Zorton naturally blames himself for all this. He does have a point since he was the one who attacked Norton (or Nipper) originally when he was supposed to be lookout. At least he apologized unlike the MIRACLE WORKER. So the elevator opens and the Ranger Mutants all walk out as the MP's with clubs arrive; so Zorton counters with the gurney and the power of suggestion allows all of the humans to plop right on top of it and drive away. HA! Don't screw with the laws of physics you quack! The Rescue Mutant Rangers all bail stage right of course.
So we head back to the inside shot of the modemizer as Nipper apparently found some small gloves (I guess he found Netwon's Portable Reducing Machine that was in the trash) or not as he pulls out an orange cap as Dadget asks if it's a bad connection and naturally Nipper blows her off. Well; I see that didn't last long as he's back in mid season form. He even points at Dadget's nose for good measure as he looks some more and it IS a burnt connection. HAHA! Dadget gleefully answers that one for me as Nipper proclaims that they can change back to normal on the next telephone call if they only have the connector. Thankfully; the Rescue Ranger Mutants run in and shut the door down as Gale is giddy over the news and Dadget is happy that Zorton is safe. Nipper blows them off because the connector is in an electronics store. We then see the door being knocked on by the humans as Dadget notices the conveniently placed paperclip on the desk and folds it into shape and places it into the modemizer as Nipper whines like the whiny dork that he is.
And apparently; Zorton placed a desk at the door because it magically appears on the next shot of the door. No logic break there; just weird. Mhip tells Zorton to put on the modemizer and Zorton sells as the door creaks open and Nipper tells Zorton to dial 505-whatever. He does and we get the telephone sequence again as Gale waves bye bye to the humans just as they have the mutants cornered and the Mutant Rangers disappear. So we logically cut to Norton's lab as the colors appear again and everyone is normal again and the joke is over. Sadly; for the Rangers the episode is not over since we have two minutes to go and they are right in the hands of the whiny dorks. D'OH! Gadget is glad to get her body back and so is Dale (lest he gets slugged by Gadget for being a pervert, natch) as Norton throws them into a cage and locks it shut. HAHA! Norton loves happy ending. I love real comments that aren't supposed to be real comments. Torture the Aussie Stereotype first Norton; then you will truly be MONSTER over as a character. And I mean that in the nicest way. The Rangers are not amused as Zipper goes for the lock; but no dice. So Norton decides Zipper will go first to die as he goes into the drawers (NOT THAT ONE!) and gets the fly swatter. Norton tries to be Bumble Swasher; but he cannot hit anything like Bumble Swasher as Zipper dodges all and flies over to the phone and jumps onto the reset switch and remember that the phone handle is still on the modemizer. D'OH! Zipper then dials 911 as Norton tries to go in for the kill; but he disappears and if you don't know where he's going; you have no business reading this rant.
So we head to the 911 Switchboard of Death as a punk haired police officer switches into the red switch box and sezs hello (logic break: In 911 calls; it's 911 – Do You Have An Emergency?) as the earphones get thrown off his head and out comes Norton right in the police operator's lap. HAHA! I believe he's voiced by Gregg as well. Norton gets grabbed as he proclaims that it's a wrong number. So we go into the streets as the police van is driving Norton who is going back in jail for a prank call. We cut to the roof as the Rangers wrap this case all up. They praise Zipper for their efforts and I must say it's still too little, too late for him as Zipper gets the right to escort the prisoner as we head to the mental hospital as Kirby and Muldoon help Norton who is in a banana yellow straightjacket. If there is one thing worse than being in a straightjacket; it's being in a Gedo straightjacket. I see Disney is still not enlightened enough in mental health as Norton agrees to stay as long as they keep him away from vermin. Naturally; Kirby and Muldoon think he's nuts as they walk up the steps and we cut to Zipper winking with a circle fade out to end the episode at 21:12. Slow start aside; this was one of Zipper's better episodes. I guess Z-Grade movies do work better in cartoons than in live action after all. **** (80%).
THE REVIEW LINE
Well; at least Zipper can take solace that he ended his focus run on a high note. It still could have gone wonky after the contrived start with the Rangers acting like idiots and using him as a mascot (although with Dale; I expected nothing less from him) and then some breath taking jump cuts and a few logic breaks; but once Zipper and Norton switched bodies; it was all very good from there. This is one of the better body switching episodes of DTVA simply because it was pretty much mistake free and Gadget and Dale switching bodies is still a riot despite the BS&P nightmare it ultimately causes. I really don't have much else to say about it other than that this is a vast improvement from the last two episode rants that is for certain. Next up is A Chorus Crime and the debut of the French Stereotype. Oh boy; can Monty be actually the least annoying stereotype in the series. Stay tuned! So......
Thumbs up for this episode and I'll see you next time.