Sunday, August 20, 2017

Earthworm Jim 2.9 - The Wizard of Ooze

Plot: Jim and Peter (and their house) are flung into another dimension by Queen Slug-for-a-Butt, utilizing the Professor's latest invention. Yes, it's a Wizard of Oz parody, if the title didn't tip you off. The house crushes the Evil Bleveridge of the Southeast, marking Jim and Peter as foes of the Evil Queen Slug-for-a-Butt of the Southwest, and gifting (I use that term loosely) Jim with the Sapphire Toesocks.

Jim and Peter travel the Flat Critter Road to see the Wizard about getting home, meeting various characters from their show repurposed for this parody. The Wizard fails to help any of them get what they want, and then the Queen of the Southwest returns, only to be defeated with her own flying vacuum. A trip to the local supermarket fulfills all the ancillary characters' desires, and Jim trades the toe socks to the guy from the Transdimensional towing company to get home. The Queen of their universe is still there, so Jim turns the weapon on her, and sends her to the awful place.

Quote of the Episode: Jim - 'I'm guessing you a) are depressed, and b) want something.'

Times Peter turns into a monster: 1 (19 overall).

Cow? The Good Cow of the Northeast, in fact.

Other: Peter's transformation in this issue was brought on by the sight of the Queen's vacuum, bringing back all his traumatic memories of the vacuum that sent him to Heck (see, "The Origin of Peter Puppy").

Jim getting the toesocks makes me wonder if he even has toes. The suit has fingers, but Jim's actual worm body, large though it may be, doesn't have any limbs. Does the suit has toes inside its feet? Could a villain defeat Jim by mocking him for not being able to wiggle his toes in the grass, reducing Jim to tears? Or maybe it would trick Jim into demonstrating how, as a worm, he can wriggle his entire body in the grass, which would get him out of the suit.

The set backdrops are the most effective villain Jim has ever gone up against.

So, for the record, Walter as a Fiberglass Chain Restaurant Mascot was the Scarecrow stand-in. He wanted dental floss to improve his teeth so he'd be better at his job. The Manifestation of Death was the Tin Reaper, who wished to have some of the frozen yogurt the souls he escorted to the afterlife got in the Mall of the Afterlife. And the Hamstinator was the Brave Hamster, who wanted a reasonable amount of fear to keep him from endangering his life doing foolish things.

The narrator has completely lost interest, refusing to even do his work for most of the episode, and instead spending time calling his agent. Even so, his indifference can't match my active dislike. This is the first episode I really just wanted to be over and done with. There are a couple of funny gags - Professor Monkey-for-a-Head as the Queen's flying monkey, and then his challenging the Tin Reaper to a game of chess was one. But I was rooting for the Queen in this one.

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