Sunday, June 25, 2017

Earthworm Jim 2.1 - The Origin of Peter Puppy

Plot: We open on a montage of times where Peter transforms into a monster and ruins everything. This leads to Jim getting fed up and firing Pet - no, wait, that was the first episode of season 1. This time, Jim resolves they must learn the origin of Peter's curse. Unfortunately, since it seems to have originated at the same time as his intelligence, speech, and fashion sense, he can't recall how it came about. Through a series of attempts to unlock his memories - including hypnosis, phone psychics, and letting Jim perform brain surgery - they learn nothing.

But Jim knows the Earthworm Mind-Meld, and by merging their astral selves, we and they learn the answer. Peter, in an effort to prove himself to the other dogs, ventured too near a running vacuum, and was sucked into Heck, where Evil bonded him with a demon, then sent him back home. We also see Peter and Jim's first meeting, when a devastated and lonely Peter, having wandered the globe, looking for a place he fits, crashes into Jim. They fight a bit, Jim feels bad for Peter, they become a crime-fighting duo. Their first vanquished villain was even Evil the Cat.

Flashback over, Jim and Peter venture to Heck and insist Evil remove the demon. Which he does. Which reverts Peter to an ordinary puppy. Whoops. Which gets Jim in a lot of trouble, which necessitates Peter bonding with the demon again, which saves the day.

Quote of the Episode: Jim - 'Note to self: Do not throw super-villains at buses full of orphans.'

Times Peter turns into a monster: 8 (8 overall).

Cow? Yes.

Other: There were a lot of possibilities for Quote of the Episode. 'Looks like I pulled a stupid.' Or, 'Jim, only one thing is powerful enough to save us now: Origami!' Strong episode for funny dialogue.

So even after gaining a sidekick, and building a hideout with a grant from the national Endowment for Super-Heroes, Jim wasn't having much luck getting to do actual super-heroing. So he put an ad in the paper that he was seeking a super-villain for a climactic battle. Which is how Evil showed up. No problems there. But Jim specifically said, 'No fatties' in his ad. Not cool, Jim. You could have had your very own evil businessman villain, but you had to go do that. Tsk, tsk.

Peter says it was his size as a puppy that caused the other dogs to not like him and make fun. I think it was more his penchant for gymnastics. he was leaping around, doing flips and cartwheels. These dogs were probably raised to believe puppies are supposed to chase balls, and play football, and stuff. We also see that, after his transformation, he was mocked and ridiculed everywhere he went for being a talking dog. I'm pretty sure Peter could have found himself a place somewhere in the world where Peter would be happy to see a talking dog. Probably a lot of places.

Jim spends a few scenes fleeing Evil and encountering the various dark realms of Heck. My favorite was the Room of Coffee Tables with Sharp Corners. That's such a little thing, but hitting your shin on those does hurt like the dickens. Nice touch by the creative staff.

Terlawk is the haggis capitol of the world, except for Scotland. In other food news, the opening saw the return of Peter's Coquille St. Jacques Nouvelle, this time actually appearing to have scallops in it.

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