Episode Discussion - "The Little Peas" (11/22/07)
 

Well, as announced in the Thanksgiving marathon thread, the new episode "The Little Peas" will air Thanksgiving Day (November 22 in the USA) at 6:30 PM and repeated afterwards around 8 PM.

I'm personally looking forward to this episode...and what about you?

The first thing we will discuss is the part of the Forum Rules that discusses starting "Subject-only" threads, specifically the part that says don't do it:

(13 days later...)

Okay, go for it. :)

I never expect "The Little Pea" to actually be one of those episodes where it is told by another perspective.

That one was a complete surprise.

Other than that, I say it was moderate. A 7 out of 10.

What an odd episode :[

Though the scene with Jackie Khones and Fluffer Nutter was freaking hilarious XD!

Off topic, but I have to mention it. The commercial with Chowder made me die, especially the part where Chowder is all "Pepper spray? That sounds delicious! Aghh I was wrong, horribly wrong!"

XD

(I'm guessing we'll do the ep discussion in this topic...?)

That was, er... interesting.

At first I thought it WAS The Big Cheese, but then I noticed the pea character. When I saw him following Jackie Khones and Fluffer Nutter around I thought "Oh, this ep must be focusing on the minor characters or something. Cool!" Too bad I was wrong... :(

Honestly I didn't like this ep much. I didn't like The Big Cheese very well in the first place so this ep was nothing great to me.

Only part I liked was the stuff with Jackie Khones and Fluffer Nutter. My little sis' asked what the heck Fluffer was doing with Khones, and I was thinking "She must have a crush on him or something." Then when they got to the rooftop apparently started making out I yelled "I KNEW IT!" and started cracking up. XD

...but, that was about it. Though I did laugh a bit when Peas said something along the lines of "I can't even get CRUSHED right."

...Is it just me, or was Cheese a lighter color in this ep?

EDIT: WHOOPS, there's already an ep discussion topic. Oo; Eheh...

I liked this episode (most of it, anyway) until the end. Finding out that what we thought was Frankie turning things around in The Big Cheese was just her following the directions of Peas was a real letdown. Nor did I like seeing her sitting there on the front steps, feeling dejected and defeated. I think this was a kick in the teeth for Frankie fans. It wasn't a bad episode otherwise, but that ending... it left a bad taste in my mouth. :sad:

It makes me wonder just what Khones did on the roof to make Nutter angry. Seems Foster’s resident all-around-cool-guy played his hand a bit too quickly. She wanted to be with him at first, and the scene implied that they were both responsible for what happened on the roof, but she was rather angry. Perhaps she was merely angry due to the order to go outside, but why would Khones need to apologize for that?

Perhaps he tried to steal a base.

Shame on some of you guys for posting on the wrong thread. :nono:

Hee hee, it's all good, though.

Eh, I thought it was okay, but it was far from being a favorite. I thought it was neat that the crew decided to do an identical episode from another perspective, but I hope they don't do anymore of these. Once is enough. :P C+ episode.

I'm sorry XD I didn't want to post in this topic since it was kind of ignored, and I saw other people posting in the marathon topic and yea XD

I do wish if they do another identical episode but from another perspective, they at least do it from a perspective of a character we've at least seen before, be it background or otherwise. Unless I'm blind and Peas has been seen before in the background of another episode =P

I feel exactly the same way, Cassini. I might not be a Frankie fan on the same level that you are, obviously, being female, but I certainly do relate to her and admire her. The only real saving grace of "The Big Cheese" for me, aside from Wilt trying to dislodge Cheese from his hand, was how Frankie turned the snide reporter's "dirty laundry" scoop to her-and to Foster's-advantage. I found it really belittling to HER and to her intelligence and resourcefullness to put the credit on this unknown character. I was lukewarm about the character, "Peas", to begin with; I mean, even Wilt isn't THAT overly optimistic! The whole thing with overcoming obstacles seemed to become too "preachy" this time, rather than inspiring. It wasn't a bad episode, and I certainly liked it better than "Ticket to Rod", but it was nothing to write home about, either. The only really big highlight for me was the scene with the killer dust mites lurking in the shag carpet, and that scene with Jackie and Fluffer Nutter-who KNEW? I guess that alone certainly leaves no doubt that Imaginary Friends, whether created by children or not, are certainly capable of some very adult feelings and behavior. Still, the ending was a let-down, a total "cop out" as folks used to say in the '70's.

pitbulllady

I was wondering why Jackie Khones and Fluffer Nutter were on the roof together on the Foster's float in the parade today... I wonder if that was meant to be a hint at what happened in today's ep?

Oh, c'mon! It wasn't THAT bad. Peas was a hero!

If Peas hadn't come in in the end, Frankie wouldn't have gotten an idea to turn the whole bad news story around! So I liked this episode, because Peas really turned up in the nick of time to help Frankie! ^_^

I was tricked by this ep too, thought they were showing the same one over. I think it was a clever idea (ala Back to the Future 2, showing the same film from a different POV), but I think it suffered from being the "alternate version" of an ep that wasn't that good to begin with. (I call The Big Cheese the "Let's make as much noise as possible" ep. And I like Cheese. Honest.)

Then again, sometimes when they decide to experiment this way with a well-loved ep, it backfires even worse. I give them an A for effort and E for execution. I was scared for Peas more than I was rooting for him. (Was anyone else reminded of "Honey I Shrunk the Kids"?)

That isn't the point. When The Big Cheese aired, Frankie turned everything around on her own. Now, with this rewriting of history, they've taken that triumph away from her. What next? Will we be told that Madame Foster rigged the election in Setting A President? It was so unecessary to do this to her. She deserves better.

Yeah, she hired a bloke by the name of Rhett Conn to monkey around with vote tabulating machine.

A cookie to anyone who gets that sly little joke. ;)

Okay, now I've seen the ep and I can say I didn't like it. I agree with Cass and pbl. This ep was either a way to try to rehash the popularity of The Big Cheese with Cheese fans, OR it was their way of trying to show us that there was more than Cheese to that episode. Which is a nice enough sentiment but I just didn't care for the end result. Sorry. :(

The episode is okay. For me, the episode seemed to be at the borderline between good or bad. This episode seems to explain how Frankie turn things around. Peas is a cool character, but its hard to help anyone since he's small. He's smaller than Grey Matter from "Ben 10". The thing I liked is how Peas tries to help Frankie. That's the only thing I probably like about this episode.

If this was a way of trying to boost the popularity of Cheese, then I felt like they didn't get the job done (they could have done a lot more). Then again, I did not have high expectations for the episode, as I figured it would have to do with TBC episode. As I've stated before, they can't all be winners, but this one was pretty low. Hopefully, they won't do anymore episodes like this one.

"I thought shag went out in the 70's!"

8D

It's not the point that Peas tried to help Frankie, but the fact that Frankie IS perfectly capable of thinking up a way to turn her bad luck around herself, without any help from anyone. This episode made it seem that Frankie is simply one who gives up, sits down and wallows in self-pity, and that without Peas whispering in her ear, would have never found a way to turn that negative news report to her favor. THAT's what most of us have an issue with. Next thing you know, they'll have a version of Good Wilt Hunting from Peas' perspective, with Peas whispering in Wilt's ear telling him to get up off the bedroom floor, and do what he's gotta do to go and challenge Foul Larry, and Peas whispering in Mac's ear to tell him that Wilt's creator is really Jordan Michaels, to make us think that Wilt never would have had the courage to face his old nemesis without Peas' support, or Mac would not have had the intellect to equate Wilt's facial expressions while playing basketball with Jordan's facial expressions, without some hints from Peas.

My only hope is that Peas is rather like Bloo, and tends to "toot his own horn", to paraphrase Eduardo, and give himself credit for things he never did to compensate for his size(or lack thereof). In telling HIS version of what happened, he made himself out to be the larger-than-life hero, when he probably never got off of that one waxed linoleum block on the foyer floor!

pitbulllady

Can't comment too much on this eppie since it came on WHILE we were sitting down to our Thanksgiving dinner. I did however see the scene on the roof with Fluffer Nutter and Jackie and woah!! Romance is officially in the show! :slybendy: That is, where it's a mutual atraction, not just a crush (or obsession) by only one of the parties, and a step further than a mutual interest. I found it hilarious! That scene and the one toward the end where Peas is telling Frankie what to say to the news anchor woman. I see it has few fans already. I likely will be among them, seeing it was indeed "TBC" all over again despite my hope and even expectation that the two episodes would have little to do with eachother, or maybe just a mistake in writing the synopsis. But I need to see it in the whole before really coming up with an opinion of it.

THAT scene with Jackie and Fluffer Nutters was probably the best thing in the episode, along with the killer dust mites(sorta reminded me of the spiders in The Ant Bully); those things really have it in for me, too, though in a different way. Like Wilt, I can't be too far from my asthma inhaler on account of those things, among others. BUT, I digress...yes, it does appear that romance, or at least relationships based on mutual attraction, IS no longer taboo. Rather than a one-sided crush that the crushee has no clue of, it's two individuals this time, and apparently one tried to go a bit too far(whatdya expect from a guy who dresses like a pimp for Halloween, and sings like Isaac Hayes in the end credits of "Schlock Star"?). Pretty much all of the taboos that were once outlined on TV.com a couple of years ago have been breached, except for the actual death of a major character, and that's one I really hope they keep taboo.

pitbulllady

"Curse you and your long legs!" 8D

This episode wasn't great. But it wasn't a TOTAL letdown for me. I liked the scene with Khones and Fluffer Nutter. o_o

Personally I though "Imposter's Home was a better episode, but then again, that's not much of an insult coming from me. I liked "Imposter's Home", hence my avatar.

I didn't see this ep yet (darn dinner >_>) but I might not bother seeing it's bascially a TBC retelling as everyone says it is. Any saving graces?

I couldn't help but burst out laughing when I heard about Jackie/Fluffer making out. I freakin' want to see that NOW XDDD

I truly wish they'd left that out. :P

The dust mites in the rug were funny but that's the only real high point; the episode was almost entirely focused on Peas and his efforts to get to Frankie, first to tell her that Cheese was in the house, then to unlock the door. It was a retelling of TBC but focused on a previously unknown character.

Ah I see, I actually find retells of a story interesting, so I may catch it soon. :) Is Peas annoying in anyway? I heard he has a Mickey Mouse-ish voice.

(But I mainly want to see the make-out *bricked*)

There's no "make-out" to see, thank the stars; it was only implied. >:(

I thought Peas's voice resembled a cross between Mickey Mouse and Mr. Hankey. Seriously.

Oh OK, thanks for clearing that up. FHFIF is just one of those cartoons where romance is kinda random.

Mr. Hankey-ish voice? Haha, can't wait to see this ep.

Was that Keith doing a Mickey Mouse impression in that episode?

This episode was... strange. I almost feel like taking it as non-canon, and take it for what it is; an alternate version of an already aired episode. I NEVER want to see Frankie like that ever again. I've always thought of her as a girl with a can-do attitude, and I was amazed that she saved the house at the end of TBC. After seeing this though, it makes it look like Frankie has a tendency to give up no matter what. Somebody mentioned Cheese looking brighter/paler before, and in the 5th season of this show, they've been using a different shade of yellow for one reason or another. A strange character, awesome moment between Jackie and Fluffernutter, and a really sour ending...

Somewhere between a C- and D+

I totally agree Cass. I just got finished watching the episode that i timer taped and I have to say, I was sorrowfully disappointed. For an episode that used so many novel and unique approaches to an episode, it ultimately fell flat on its face....several times. The concept of an episode within an episode is genius.

BUT it turned to stupidity the minute I realized the only person we got to watch was this annoying, pint sized, stupid little Mickey Mouse wanna be green guy who was not interesting, funny, entertaining or even creative. Had they paired him up with another character, might have been different, but it was JUST him.

Focusing an entire episode on one character is only good IF the character is interesting enough, and that was the whole problem with this episode: IT WASN'T INTERESTING. It was boring, virtually everything in this episode was pointless and useless outside from 2 things, one being the other creative thing they did, the other a BAD thing.

Jackie and Fluffer Nutter kissing or whatever they were doing (I don't think making out is too hard to ignore considering the sounds) was the best part. The fact imaginary friends actually held romantic feelings for each other was something we really haven't seen in a while and I mean GENUINE romance.

I mean granted its not love but its a hell of a lot purer then their past IF love experiences: Berry's psychotic obsession with Bloo and Coco going nuts over that Rooster guy with that green duck IF (forget her name) from "Partying is such sweet soir�e". But the real issue here is the BAD thing I mentioned: Frankie.

This wasn't a deliberate attack on her but it was still a painful blow to her as a character. Its not saying Frankie isn't smart enough to think up her own plan to switch the situation around, no, its saying that she GAVE UP and that she needed that dinky little imp to actually tell her what to do and convince her to salvage the news report.

What does that say about Frankie? That she can't honestly do, or say things without having some green guy telling her what to do? I mean what was the problem with just saying Frankie did it HERSELF, what does saying Peas gave her the idea accomplish other then he told her?

It just seemed so pointless, and sadly ironically, Peas is so insignificant and unnoticed and yet he remains the only one who actually understands Frankie's hard work. This episode had a neat concept but it was totally ruined by a totally uninteresting and (eventually) annoying character who ultimately ends up stepping over Frankie's toes.

The fact "Big Cheese" ended with Frankie coming up with the idea to tell the news crew had nothing wrong with it, so why the creators felt the need to reveal it was Peas who said it is beyond me. Aside from some wasted creative concepts, and a cute kissy kissy scene, this episode was exactly like Peas: Forgettable.

It could be anyone. I guessed it was Phil LaMarr, but you never know.

Considering Lauren Faust had written TBC, I would have expected Lauren to be the one to write this, but instead we got Darrick Bachmann. Sort of makes you wonder if he knows what he's doing... remember what happened with Ticket to Rod?

As I've stated, not all episodes are winners. He's written a lot of solid episodes, in my book. This is the first one written by him that's really disappointed me. I think if Bachman is able to write some solid episodes, then I believe he knows what he's doing. Ay-yai-yai...it's almost like when people were very negative towards Craig Lewis. :P *shrug*

Haven't seen said episode, so I can't really comment. But from the sounds of it, a lot of corners have been cut to try and make this episode. If it were a track on an album, it would definitely be one of the fillers.

This episode was a HUGE waste of time. It wasn't funny, the entire episode revolved around a character that wasn't interesting, uniquely designed nor endearing, and who WASN'T any of the main characters - not to mention it made Frankie look really really useless. Heck, I had no problems with The Big Cheese - I always believed that all the stress of the situation just led to Frankie completely "losing" it and trying to use the situation - as bad as it was - to her advantage, and I thought it was a pretty smart move.

But then they take this Mickey Mouse voice ripoff (was he voiced by Tom Kenny? I was slightly miffed at the fact that Scrappy sounded like a baby Bugs Bunny) and... engage him in a fairly uninteresting story that didn't even showcase Bloo and Mac for more than five seconds. And they almost completely reused an old episode.

Urgh. Do not like this episode. Do not approve. and what is up with Jackie Khones suddenly being amped up to the "Important Side Characters" list? He actually has a ROLE in most of the Season 5 episodes. I'm not complaining, I love Khones, but... it's just weird, to see the amount of screentime he's suddenly getting. ._.;

Speaking of Khones, I know some people in this forum are probably rejoicing over the fact that yes, there has been canon proof of Friends being able to show affection and possibly love towards each other (JACKIE KHONES COURTING FLUFFER NUTTER WHUT?) but it was just kind of really weird, especially when they came out afterwards with F.N looking fairly upset. My mind went... straight to the gutter. >___>;;;;;;; Or it could be just me. And they appeared in the Macy's parade together too, didn't they?

Oh, edit, I know they appeared together in Funny Bunny, where Khones was telling F.N a joke, so I can understand why they might be pretty good friends, but ROMANCE?! POW. My face while watching Little Peas: O____________O

I just... did not get the point of this episode. WHY another take on The Big Cheese? WHY the random character? Was this just written to appease the Frankie fans and those who secretly ship Khones/F.N? Whut?!

If it was written to appease Frankie's fans then the writers do not understand Frankie's fans at all. I agree, this episode was a complete waste of time and I'm ranking it down there with that other classic, the one with the guy with the trunk. :frankiemad:

I think that's a bit much. Frankie may be highly capable and tenacious, but she's also human. We all reach our breaking points. This might have been hers.

I personally thought Peas was cute.

That's true, but the problem is Frankie DIDN'T reach her breaking point in fact we weren't aware she reached it at all until this episode said she did. This episode basically altered an event by having someone else claiming credit for something we all thought Frankie did.

This is like Cass said, it takes credit away from Frankie and gives it some annoying, pee wee IF we never heard or saw before (and in my humble opinion) don't care if we never see or hear from again. It's not just the fact its robbing Frankie of her own good ideas, but through this formula, anyone can be robbed.

The only thing this episode essentially was saying that Frankie's moment to turn the news mess around was not her idea at all, that's all we learned other then Fluffy and Jackie smacking lips. This episode was a waste of time and it was upsetting because it ruined a moment that Frankie did so well.

The thing is we believed Frankie actually came up with the idea to switch the mess around, but now we learned instead of being smart she BROKE DOWN. She gave up and was going to let everything go to waste and it took an irritating little green guy to convince her and basically feed her the idea.

It's not a total assault on Frankie but it is kind of a serious downer to take the credit away from someone by creating some unique scenario and one time character plot device to change our understanding of how "The Big Cheese" went down.

This ep DEFINATELY was NOT written to appease Frankie's fans! It made Frankie look like a loser, a quitter-someone who easily caves under pressure and can't figure out how to get herself out of a tough spot without help from some "little voice", and that's not how Frankie is at all! It also made it seem as though Peas is the only one in the house who appreciates Frankie's hard work, or ever tells her(or at least tries to), and that he's the only one who feels real pride in the place, and voluntarily helps Frankie whenever he can without being told to do so. It's like they're trying to make Peas "the new Wilt", more or less. It's not just demeaning to Frankie, but to Wilt as well, who has always been more than willing to help her out in any way possible around the house, whether she tells him to do so or not, and has always been very proud of Foster's. To have this random, insignificant and HOPEFULLY one-shot character just show up and try to make both Wilt and Frankie, two of the major characters from the start, seem trivial and obsolete is just wrong.

I don't have a problem with Jackie and FN's relationship, whatever it might be, or with romance on the show. I've long maintained that Imaginary Friends are capable of the same feelings and behaviors that humans are, including adult humans, so it really doesn't come as a shock other than romance was once one of the "taboo" subjects, as per CN's orders, because it meant having to show re-runs in a particular order. Given how many of the latest episodes, and even many Season Four eps, make references to previous episodes, though, that really isn't a valid point anymore. Still, referencing a previous episode and actually just re-making it are two very different ballgames.

I really hope we've seen the last of Peas, personally, and I don't think anyone's feelings on this board would be hurt if he never shows up again. I'd rather see Bendy return, or that nasty little girl from the pilot, that Peas anytime. What's sad is that this is probably the last episode of Season Five, and I hate that it has to end on this note.

pitbulllady