Top 10 Fave Episodes

["C" the Dragon]

Originally Posted by WiltFan

Oh yeah........I didn't want to add any specials, so Good Wilt Hunting isn't on there. If it was, it would be #1.

Really? I added it as number one! Some others added it in the top ten too, you know.

[Ditchy McAbandonpants]

I haven't done anything on the forum except lurk recently, but there's a reason for that; I've been gradually downloading all the episodes online, so I've been opting to actually watch the show rather than gas about it with y'all. Now that I've seen all the currently aired episodes (minus the shorts), I think I can put together a top ten...I'll try and keep it as concise as I can, ie. not very.

10 Bloo Done It
The first episode I ever saw, this one always holds a special place in my heart, because it made a fan out of me in one shot, something which few shows have done. Bloo Done It, with its faux-mystery plotline and song-and-dance interludes, is a great showcase of the show's wit and sharpness, as well as the strength of its characters. Even to revisit later having watched a lot more episodes, it still stands out; I love Kevin Michael Richardson's voiceovers, so Uncle Pockets is a winner for me, and Bloo the "reporter" is something I wouldn't mind seeing again.

"Hold on, hold on! Why am I suddenly a Southern Belle?!"
"Um...I'M telling the story, thank you very much."

9 Bloo's The Boss
Like a lot of you, I do occasionally worry that the writers go a bit far with Bloo - sure, he's supposed to be over-excitable and a bit of a selfish jerk, but not the extent that he becomes unlikeable, like he often did in Season Three. Bloo's The Boss was the ideal antidote to that, restoring my faith in the ability of the show's creators to preserve Bloo's ultimately good soul; throughout BTB, he's a relatable, quite sweet character for all his (many, many) flaws, who can make us laugh and indeed, cry.

"Bloo, I might have bought this had you not been wearing this costume last Halloween."
"Arr, ye must have me confused with someone else! I'm not Bloo, I'm...uh...Beardy."

8 Busted
A very early episode that has held up remarkably well, and a great example of how to do things which I feared at points during Season Three they had forgotten how to do, notably giving Frankie the runaround for twenty minutes yet keeping it good-natured, or have an episode of total Bloo mayhem whilst keeping him entirely sympathetic. I always find this one skirts close to being quite risque at times, too, from the references to Herriman's "two-square rule", to the numerous bust jokes. Makes me laugh, though!

"What about her? All she's gotta do is sit there very still covered in flour for the rest of her li...all right, so there's a slight flaw in my plan."

7 Bus The Two Of Us
Sheer, unadulterated silliness - in a good way. The title of this one is misleading, I feel, because the biggest laughs here don't come from Mac and Bloo's joyride (though it is very funny - love Frankie's licence!), but from Wilt's increasingly unconvincing, manic and violent attempts to cover their tracks. Lies spinning out of control are always good sources of humour, especially when they end as ludicrously as they do here.

"Target's comin' up! Almost there...it's away!"
"Negative...didn't go in. Just impacted on the surface."

6 Crime After Crime
Again, I love it when comedies do this - have a load of disparate plotlines that interweave and interfere with each other before coming together at the end in a big, messy crunch. Seinfeld used to do it all the time, and Foster's nails it right off the bat here. Also, there's just something effortlessly funny about Mr Herriman's "frenzied carrot-eating" animation, and it gets funnier and funnier each time he does it.

"I've...never...felt...so...ALIVE!!"
"I can't believe we're related."

5 Challenge Of The Superfriends
What a start for Season Four! Much as I love Foster's, my first love will always be The Powerpuff Girls, so it was great to see that Craig hasn't lost his flair for superhero action directing, Lauren can still bash out a great comedy superhero script (with Mojospeak!), James Venable can still do his electronic action scores, and Tom Kenny can still do his Narrator voice! Not that PPG was the only reference to something I love - parallels with The Incredibles and Star Wars were too numerous to mention. Most importantly though, despite all that, it remained a great exploration of Bloo and Mac's relationship, and was one of the best manifestations yet of the show's ideals of friendship and imagination. Awesome-rific!

"Don't look! I'm a hideous freak!"
"Oh, for goodness' sake, it's just hair gel. Get over it!"

4 Room With a Feud
A really very funny examination of the Foster's gang at their worst, but in a way that can only be seen as good fun. Every character gets a chance to shine here - ever-grasping Bloo, the deceptively sneaky Ed and Wilt, potentially murderous Coco, opportunistic Frankie, indecisive buck-passer Mr Herriman and even voice-of-reason Mac - only for comically deep-voiced Jackie Khones to waltz along and steal both the room and the show.

"Wilt, you can't, because if you take it...you'll be hurting my feelings."
"See, I was thinking about that, and...the thing is...I really don't care."

3 World Wide Wabbit
An outstanding episode for Season One that took my enthusiasm for the show from "like" to "love". It embodies everything that's great about this show; a wide spectrum of humour, from the broad (the ridiculous Funny Bunny voice) to the sharp (the spot-on parody of the spread of internet crazes; memories of All Your Base and the like came flooding right back!), all built on the basis of great character work. This episode's stars were Frankie, revelling in mischief for once as Bloo's primary partner-in-crime, and Funny Bunny himself Mr Herriman, who reveals a softer side, albeit unintentionally.

"Listen, blob boy! If the rabbit finds out about any of this, he's going to make my life miserable. And if he makes MY life miserable, I'm going to make YOUR life miserable!! Capiche?!"
"Capi...capi...yeah."

2 Good Wilt Hunting
In many ways, GWH is my favourite episode ever. It's undoubtedly the most ambitious project Foster's has taken on yet, moreso even than the pilot; tough as it is to set the scene and create a whole universe, countless failed sequels over the years should tell you that it's harder still to delve deeper into those same settled characterisations and find new unexplored depths. Moreover, this had the task of finally tackling the mystery of Wilt's past, something that had been set up but left hanging since the pilot.
The pressure and expectations upon this episode are what make me appreciate all the more the way they knocked it out of the park in all respects to create a funny, moving adventure that really broadened the show's horizons and channeled its key themes better than any other I could name. I know that not every character got their moment in the sun, but this was Wilt's show, and his story was just as tragic, emotional and uplifiting as you would have hoped it would be, and it did wonders for a character who is often pushed out of the spotlight by showier personalities, but who in his own way embodies the show's ideals. The brilliantly told core story was embellished by plenty of other brilliant moments, too; Eduardo and Nina's story (which managed to be almost as touching as Wilt's), Douglas and Adam, and Kevin Michael Richardson's fantastic Foul Larry voice. All in all, a fantastic achievement, and the best possible note to leave us on as we wait eagerly for Season Five.

"So all we have to do is find a really tall evil mastermind with a bad sunburn, suction-cup fingers, and is a practising nudist."

And my number one is...*drum roll*...

1 Frankie My Dear

I had to really think about placing this above GWH. I regard myself as a fan of Frankie rather than a Frankie Fanboy (especially after seeing Douglas and Adam in GWH!), because I always feel that a fanboy is someone who lets their love of something cloud their perception and better judgement, even warping their perception of the very thing they love (again, see GWH!). Was I being a fanboy to rank this above the superb GWH?
My question was answered when I rewatched the episode, and found myself in tears of laughter yet again. I sincerely believe that you don't even have to LIKE Frankie to find FMD hilarious; it's just perfect for what it is, a wonderfully constructed farce that wrings laughs out of 75% of its lines. That Mac would fall in love with Frankie is sweet; that BLOO would fall in love with Frankie is comedy gold, and the absurdity mounts as the ranks of their Brotherhood of Being Brushed Off swells, culminating in the creation of the ultimate comedic behemoth. Orlando Bloo; I don't know what else I can say about him, other than that literally every single thing about him is stomach-hurtingly funny. And of course, there's Frankie herself at the centre of it all, who, with just a few confused double takes, a bit of nervous banter and a well-aimed punch, cements her position in my view as the most well-rounded, relatable and downright likeable character in a show full of them.
GWH is a fabulous achievement, but in terms of which episode springs immediately to mind when I consider why I love Foster's, there's no contest.

"Oh, silly me. A spoon CAN'T PICK UP A STEAK."

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is Ditchy McAbandonpants's definition of "being concise".

[Cassini90125]

And all that should be in a textbook on how to write episode reviews. That was extraordinarily well done!

Oh, and I'm a fan and a fanboy.

[Voxxyn]

That was a wonderful analysis, Ditchy McAbandonpants. Bravo.

...but I kinda don't agree with your definition of 'fanboy'. Being a diehard loyalist and enthusiast over something does NOT automatically mean that he/she has no grasp of reason or sanity. Douglas and Adam -- or, if you prefer a real-life example, certain posters on the cartoons section of GameFAQ's message board community -- 'loved' Frankie only for her physical appearance, and didn't really have any sincere feelings for her. If you've even taken a glimpse into NF's Frankie thread, you should see that we cherish her for more than just her looks.

[Ditchy McAbandonpants]

Thanks for the feedback Cassini, Voxxyn; seriously, my posts so far have been so long that I genuinely am quite grateful you even bother to read them.

Oh, and Voxxyn; when I wrote that stuff about fanboys, I did worry a bit about offending people, and to be honest, I was specifically thinking of you. Don't worry, it's my bad; I didn't quite explain that part properly. When I say "fanboy", I was really thinking of my own personal, specific meaning of the word that I have internalised from my experiences on movie and videogame message boards, which it was a mistake to assume everyone else shared. When I say "fanboy" (or girl!), I don't just mean a very passionate fan; I specifically mean the "zombie cheerleader"-type, somebody who has allowed their love of something to totally override their critical faculties. If you're frequent internet users you'll have encountered the type, I'm sure, whether it's the Sony fanboy, the Lord of the Rings fanboy, or scariest of all, the Harry-Hermione shipper (if you don't understand that reference, it's best not to ask ). Likewise, a Frankie "fanboy" - my definition, ie. the real life Douglases and Adams of the GameFAQs forums that Voxxyn mentioned - would doubtlessly list Frankie My Dear as their favourite not because of its quality writing and great characterisation, but because Frankie has the largest airtime in it, in the most revealing clothes. THAT'S the type of "fanboy" I want to distance myself from, so when it came to deciding whether or not to place FMD at the top of my list, I wanted to make sure I was doing it for the right reasons.

I understand, though, that this isn't what everyone thinks of when they say "fanboy", so again I apologise to all the reasonable yet committed fans out there who might have felt slighted by my usage of the term.

PS By the way, Voxxyn - I find it interesting that we keep ending up on opposite sides of debates, because I was just glancing at your interests in your profile and rotating signature and the only thing I don't agree with is your music tastes, and that's probably because I'm not really a music guy. To all other intents and purposes, you actually ARE me. Except I like The Powerpuff Girls as well. And potatoes.

[Cassini90125]

Originally Posted by Ditchy McAbandonpants

Likewise, a Frankie "fanboy" - my definition, ie. the real life Douglases and Adams of the GameFAQs forums that Voxxyn mentioned - would doubtlessly list Frankie My Dear as their favourite not because of its quality writing and great characterisation, but because Frankie has the largest airtime in it, in the most revealing clothes. THAT'S the type of "fanboy" I want to distance myself from, so when it came to deciding whether or not to place FMD at the top of my list, I wanted to make sure I was doing it for the right reasons.

Yeah, I've got no use for that sort. There's so much more to Frankie than her looks; if there wasn't, I could never have fallen for her as deeply as I have.

["C" the Dragon]

*That* is the longest discription of the top 10 episodes I have ever saw! And I'm glad you enjoyed GWH!

[Voxxyn]

Oh, thanks for the response. I understand exactly why you define "fanboy" in that way. I've visited and posted on major message board communities in the past, and believe me, I know what it's like to deal with 'zombie cheerleaders'. Heck, I know what it's like to feel as if I'm a lone reasonable fan amongst an endless swarm of blind devotees and jerks. Sometimes I feel ashamed to be a Radiohead fan, not because of the band/members themselves but because of other fans. I visited a major RH message board community a while ago in hopes of registering, but I left after seeing just how snide, rude and unfriendly most of the people were on that place. On that note, I honestly thought I was the only person who had feelings for Frankie that went deeper than "HOT/10", until I discovered this place.

It's that, for me, "fanboy" is way too tame a word to describe just how dreadful the blind fanatics are. I've seen plenty of self-proclaimed "fanboys" on other places that are actually very friendly and reasonable folks. Again, I'm glad you cleared that up.

I will confess up-front that Frankie's dresses ARE a major reason as to why I love the episode--but not in the way you said in your last post. I do greatly admire her physical beauty and sexiness, not because I'm a shallow pervert, but because I honestly think her external appearance is a reflection of the wonderful person inside.

And, to be honest, in terms of Frankie 'fanservicing' and it's execution, "Frankie My Dear" is actually far more noble than "Good Wilt Hunting". Frankie revealed more than just flesh in her little black dress. She revealed that, even in her fancy clothing, she's still very sympathetic and relatable(instead of the infallible and "larger than life" stereotype that is so associated with "hot" female characters). Even more importantly, she revealed just how much she truly cares about her friends and the Foster's mission by ditching Dylan in a very aggressive way. We never see any such character development at all with the "idealized" Frankie in GWH. At best, it's an amusing gag; at worst, it's some sort of anti-thesis to what she truly is. Frankie's moments in the little black dress served as an extension and expansion of her character. On the other hand, the nerds' personal vision should be considered as being completely different from the real Frankie.

BTW, I don't think we've ever really found ourselves at opposing ends over anything(not yet anyway). Aside from our differing views on what makes a 'fanboy' and the aforementioned FMD/GWH comparison, I found your analysis to be very brilliant and dead-on. And likewise, I thought your 'War and Peace' post on Goofbarf--I mean Goofball's thread was great, even though the only way I will harbor even remotely positive feelings for the bastard is if he does something to Frankie that makes it up to her and her fans.

[kageri]

I like the term "fanbrat". They're a whole different ballgame from fanboys/girls, and thusly deserve their own name.

[One Radical Dude]

Originally Posted by kageri

I like the term "fanbrat". They're a whole different ballgame from fanboys/girls, and thusly deserve their own name.

Heh heh, "fanbrat" -- I like the term.