Sunday, April 16, 2017

Earthworm Jim 1.4 - Day of the Fish

Plot: We open with Jim and Peter in peril from the Queen and I'm not typing that name. They escape thanks to the suit's little known inflation capability causing a chain reaction. After, as Jim plays cards with some other heroes, he grouses at the lack of heroic deeds to accomplish. So when Peter announces they're out of sugar, Jim leaps at the chance to acquire some from the nearest planet.

Unfortunately, that planet is La Planeta de Agua, ruled by Bob the Fish, who is himself bemoaning both his lack of arms and the useless stupidity of his fish subjects. Jim's arrival offers a solution. Also, dinner. Jim initially overcomes Bob's cat goons, but is caught by surprise and set to be cooked while Bob uses his suit to conquer Earth. But the cat cook is an idiot, and Bob left Jim's rocket behind, so Jim can rush to confront Bob at what the fish assumed was the seat of the world government, the World's Largest Aquarium (just so happens to be in Jim's town of Turlawk). Jim succeeds in reclaiming his suit thanks to the power of higher education, defeats Bob, and returns to his compatriots, with no sugar.

In the mid-show interlude, Evil the Cat faces a horrible disappointment in the world of love.

Quote of the Episode: Bob - 'How many times have I told you, I am not to be used as a projectile!'

Times Peter transforms: 0 (3 overall):

Cow? Yes.

Other: Turns out Jim is an excellent poker player, which I wouldn't have expected. He doesn't seem like he could bluff effectively.

So Bob's planet's name is pronounced in Spanish (and always followed by a shout of "Arriba!" from so unseen voice), but Bob has a distinctly Southern good ol' boy accent. Which feels like some kind of commentary, especially given Bob's inflated sense of his own importance and tendency to expect others to compensate for his shortcomings. Also the fact that the fish don't seem to pay much mind, or don't understand, anything Bob is trying to accomplish. They'll float there are listen, but they don't do anything. Bob could only be ruler of a world filled with inhabitants too dumb to know what he's saying or be able to doing anything with it one way or the other.

The poor cat tasked with cooking Jim at least made an understandable failure. Who among us hasn't tried to prepare a dish by simply substituting the thing we're cooking in place of some other ingredient? He just messed up which half of "pot roast" needed to be replaced with "worm".

They introduced the Aquarium by comparing it to another failed civic works project in Terlawk, a world-class university, still waiting for its first student. I figured it was a one-off joke about the folly of small towns trying to ill-advised projects to boost the economy, but it actually played into the story beyond that.

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