Frankie

[billytheskink]

Originally Posted by BlooCheese

You don't want to go there. Trust me.

Okay. Once in a while, there's a good story, but you can't tell if it's good or bad just by reading the title or the summary. So it's best to stay away from ff.net altogether.

then that's what I'll do. I don't look at much fan-fiction anyway.

[Cassini90125]

One thing that really bothers me is that she doesn't seem to get any credit for the enormous amount of work she does in that house, not from the residents or the fans. The only "thank you" I recall her ever getting came, ironically, from Goofball. It's been suggested, loudly, that without Wilt's help, she'd collapse from stress. What a slap in the face. I think she's a little stronger, and a little more dedicated, than that. Let her take a week's vacation, we'll see what kind of shape Bloo & co. have the house reduced to by the time she gets back.

[billytheskink]

Originally Posted by Voxxyn

"To whatever extent" is very right. There are many casual fans who don't care at all about who gets shafted and whether or not it was justified, as they view it a light and silly kids cartoon and want to enjoy it on that level(I have nothing against them, BTW).

But a diehard fan like me, somebody who deeply sympathizes with Frankie, and often wonders about unanswered aspects of her background and history(Her parents, etc) which will probably never be answered as they'd be a little too dramatic for the show(Unless they give her a movie like they are about to do with Wilt)... it greatly affects how I view her, and how I react to the things that happens to her, good and bad.

Let's just say it's been a LONG time since I've become as attached to a fictional character as I am with Frankie. There are a few others, but just a very few. And Frankie's become one of them.

Good post.
Even though fans care about Frankie (or whomever) to varrying extents, it says something (good) about the group that makes the show when someone can care about Frankie to the extent that you do.

As I said before, she's a very human character, one you could believe was real in many ways. Makes it easy for me to sympathize with her during her troubles or during her moments in the sun. As a veiwer, I don't want to see her get the short end of the stick, because she doesn't "deserve" it. Happens all the time in real life.

That said, it can be funny to see her stressed out and it can be funny to see her come out on the bottom (while dealing with Bloo's antics, or Herriman's demands, etc.). Her reactions, the situation she's in and the like make that entertaining. Like in "Busted", when she argues with Mr. Herriman over why the proper mop for cleaning the kitchen is stored on the third floor. Absurd situation and an expected but funny reaction. Same with the toilet paper business in the same episode. Even in the much-maligned "Imposter's" she carries on a pretty funny exchange with Goofball; "They have phones in Canada, don't they?"

I'm a bit curious about her parents, and the like, but the show isn't all about her and some aspects of her life just might not be entertaining.
The most I can deduce is that her father is Madame Foster's son, by indication of her last name. I'm sure that's common knowledge around here though. I don't think revealing her past would be too dramatic, unless her parents are dead or something. I always considered them absent for the convenience of the show.

But, yeah, Frankie's a good character. Entertaining whether she wins or not, or when she's just an accessory character in an episode. She's one of my all-time favorite cartoons, up there with Scrooge McDuck.

Didn't know Wilt was going to get his own movie, fun stuff.

[LaBlooGirl]

Originally Posted by Cassini90125

To me as well. "Busted" was funny; "Imposter's" was hurtful.

Yeah why did they choose to really bash Frankie in Imposter's? Did the writers dislike her? LOL
Then again, you have to admit that episode has some really funny parts, like the whole sandwich ordeal.
(I'll paraphrase...)

"You got some bread in there?"
"Yeah..." ::Frankie shows him the bread::
"And some peanut butter?"
"YEAH."
"And some jelly?"
:GROWL:
"Great, so do you think you could, you know, fashion all that into a sandwich?"

LOL, I was cracking up. That WAS funny.

[Voxxyn]

Well, there were moments like that which made me crack up, when I originally saw the episode--and thus I didn't know how it would end. I was only starting to watch the series at the time and, not knowing better, was expecting a happy and pleasant ending.

Compare that sandwich gag to the smear song in "Setting A President", another funny-at-first-glance gag at the expense of Frankie.

The difference here, at least to me: since Frankie won the election and actually came out on top in "President", I could enjoy all the gags at her expense even more on repeat viewings, and wound up loving the song. On the other hand, because "Imposter's" ended on such an extremely low note for her, I find absolutely none of it funny in retrospect, and the sandwich bit completely loses any charm it initially had on me.

EDIT: HOWEVER, I need to make another thing clear about her. I have absolutely no problem with less-than-pleasant things happening to her, if she deserves it for doing something wrong and as long as it's done in a silly and funny way. I loved her cookie addiction and aftermath in "Cookie Dough".

[Sims Katie]

Originally Posted by billytheskink

I'm a bit curious about her parents, and the like, but the show isn't all about her and some aspects of her life just might not be entertaining.
The most I can deduce is that her father is Madame Foster's son, by indication of her last name. I'm sure that's common knowledge around here though. I don't think revealing her past would be too dramatic, unless her parents are dead or something. I always considered them absent for the convenience of the show.

She shows up in the yearly photos around number 4 as a small child, and is in every one after that. So she might have been living at Foster's most of her life.

[Mr. Marshmallow]

Originally Posted by Voxxyn

EDIT: HOWEVER, I need to make another thing clear about her. I have absolutely no problem with less-than-pleasant things happening to her, if she deserves it for doing something wrong and as long as it's done in a silly and funny way. I loved her cookie addiction and aftermath in "Cookie Dough".

On that, I gotta say something in regards to the episode "Bloooo". I get the impression that alot of people consider that episode to be anti-Frankie and that it gives her a "non funny" treatment that ends poorly like in "Make'em up pals". I think that's crap to be honest.

"Bloooo" doesn't treat Frankie any worse then the other characters were treated, why you ask, because this was designed as a "horror" episode. Frankie was played off as the typical teen girl being stalked by a killer, and I actually thought her running around scared thing really helped the episode.

It gave off a good Halloween vibe and it wasn't a direct bash at her in any way, same with "Cookie Dough". Her obsession with cookies was used as a sub-plot, just like her role in "Bloooo". It was just there to help the show move along, and not in any way try to negatively portray her character.

I mean come on, how can you not find a 22 year old girl going bannanas over cookies and porking on them like there's no tomorrow in a kid's TV show? I do agree though that "Make'em up Pals" was completely negative and was just one Frankie bash joke after the next. She was really thrashed in that one.

Btw, another thing I loved about "Bloooo", this line says it all:

Wilt: All right now it's REALLY sucking!

Nuff said.

[billytheskink]

Originally Posted by Mr. Marshmallow

On that, I gotta say something in regards to the episode "Bloooo". I get the impression that alot of people consider that episode to be anti-Frankie and that it gives her a "non funny" treatment that ends poorly like in "Make'em up pals". I think that's crap to be honest.

I don't see how any episode of Foster's is "anti-Frankie". The writers play her stress, fear, anger, etc. for entertainment value. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
I didn't think it worked in "Blooooo". Her treatment wasn't funny (to me) and it didn't end particularly well for her (just like it did in "Imposter's"). I just don't see the entertainment value of it.

Originally Posted by Mr. Marshmallow

"Bloooo" doesn't treat Frankie any worse then the other characters were treated, why you ask, because this was designed as a "horror" episode. Frankie was played off as the typical teen girl being stalked by a killer, and I actually thought her running around scared thing really helped the episode.

Agreed that it doesn't treat her worse than the other characters, or worse than she has been treated in other episodes. "Blooooo" may have been designed as a horror episode (as horrific as TV-PG can get, I suppose), but it plays the horror for laughs with the other characters. I can see where putting Frankie in a stereotypical horror role can be funny to some folks, not me though. I saw her running around scared as a device to set up the ending joke. That joke just seemed stupid to me, after all that setup. (Like the ending joke in "Imposter's")

But hey, opions are like fingers, most people have 10. I got caught out in a thunderstorm the night "Blooooo" premiered, so I'll readily admit that may have soured me on the episode.

[Mr. Marshmallow]

Well episodes may not be anti anything, but a message is certainly stamped in and it can be a bad message for a certain character. "Bloooo" didn't really have anywhere near the negativity or backlash to Frankie like it did in "Make'em up pals".

The big difference is the plot point. Frankie was "always right" in the Imposter's story, and that was the whole idea here, that she was right and never wrong and for once, she couldn't believe no one else saw through Goofball's act.

"Bloooo" was designed to be a parody, now funny doesn't always mean "ha ha", it can be more of an inside joke that isn't designed to make you laugh. The episode was made just to be a parody of horror movies and a couple other things.

Wilt and the others chasing Bloo around was alot like ghostbusters (aside the obvious reference), and this even reminded me of that time Mickey, Goofy, and Donald were chasing ghosts and they ended up looking like ghosts with the tar and white flower bit.

In the end, Frankie was scared out of her mind just for the sake of the horror parody and not to leave her on a sour note. "Make'em up pals" whole message was that Frankie was wrong and everyone was ignoring her left and right and disregarding anything that was important to her.

Just like in "Infernal Slumber" how Mac is going nuts trying to keep his mom asleep, but in the end, everyone's antics was just a means of adding to the parody or crazyness of the episode, not to leave Mac on a sour or bad note.

I felt bad for Mac but after seeing how hard the other friends tried to keep Terrence quiet (even Cheese), that made me feel good because it shows as much as they enjoy having fun and acting crazy, they knew in the long run it was important to Mac.

Frankie just had a case of mistaken identity in "Bloooo" much like Bloo had with Pockets in "Bloo did it". The difference is that the whole mistaken identity issue wasn't as heavily enduced into the plot in "Blooo" like it was with "Bloo did it" and "Make'em up pals".

Whew....hope that helps.

[billytheskink]

It does help, Mr. M. I had not though of the episode quite like that, so your take on it is certainly very interesting.

Inside joke or laugh-out-loud joke, a parody should be entertaining. I got the parody in "BlHowever, Frankie was simply put in the stereotypical situation of a teen girl in a horror movie. Such movies weren't really spoofed by this, just mimiced. Just putting Frankie in a stereotypical role isn't enough to make such a parody entertaining, she has to be herself while in the role to do that. (like when she's banging on the door, that's entertaining, because it's Frankie acting like Frankie, not a stereotype). Now, I usually laugh at inside jokes, when I get them. I got the joke with Frankie, but it wasn't funny.

Ultimately, I just don't see how it is fun to watch Frankie get locked out in the rain, scared half to death, and eventually faint. I just wind up feeling bad for her, worse after the stalking scary fellow is revealed. She had a bad night for no reason, and didn't generate any funny reactions or expressions in the process. Seems like a pretty sour way to exit the episode to me.

"Imposter's" has a different message than "Blooooo", sure. But with me, it all goes back to entertainment value, not message, because Foster's never really tries to send a strong and important message.
Way I see it, it is not any more fun to see Frankie locked out in a thunderstorm than it is to see her mistreated and disrespected by a jerk. Now, Frankie's reactions in either of these situations can make them entertaining (and both episodes had funny parts due to that, just not enough of them), but neither situation itself is entertaining.

Where "Blooooo" comes up short is making Frankie's bad day entertaining. Watching it, I just think to myself "that just stinks, she didn't deserve that." I pretty much think that when veiwing "Imposter's" as well. Either some percieved justice at the end, or some funny reactions and jokes in the middle of these situations would make them much more palatable.