128: Secret Agent Zero (prod 126)

 

Filming in November 2004. May be the perfect base for an icon or wallpaper.

Original airdate: October 21, 2005

Story by Magnus Scheving, Gudmundor Thor Karason

Written by Noah Zachary, Cole Louie, Magnus Scheving

Directed by Jonathan Judge, Magnus Scheving

Executive producers - Magnus Scheving, Ragnheidur Melsted, Raymond P. Le Gue, Mark Read, Brown Johnson, Kay Wilson Stallings

Starring Magnus Scheving, Stefan Karl Steffanson, Julianna Rose Mauriello

Puppeteers - Gudmondor Thor Karason, Jodi Eichelberger, David Matthew Feldman, Julie Westwood, Sarah Burgess

I don’t have much expierence with spy related media except watching ‘Enter the Dragon’ & 'Spy Kids’. So I’m expecting some kung fu moves and over the top villain plans in this episode.

The episode starts with a pretty over the top cold open. Sportacus is brushing his teeth then he accidentally (accidentally my butt, the door was open, who leaves it like that??) throws it out the door AND HE JUMPS OUT OF THE SHIP (he lands on the sky chaser, durr) to get this toothbrush. And he gets it and puts in his shirt.

 

Then he goes back up with complete satisfaction that he has a TOOTHBRUSH. Pretty over the top already. Satisified with the Spy Kids aspect. Agent Pink, Agent Candy, and Agent Mine are in Pixel’s house in their spy outfits. Communicating on their walkie talkies (they’re right next to each other?????), they ask each other if they’re ready, and Agent Candy is ready… after one more lick of his lollipop.

They go spying, but nothing is happening.. until Robbie comes in and starts yelling about how much he hates the sports equipment on the field. He plans to remove all the equipment off the field so Sportacus stops flipping and stuff like that. He kicks a basketball (dude..) out of anger, and it bounces back and he does a ridiculous jump.

Truly LOLed. Well, not truly. Anyways, he starts to move the basketball hoop until Milford catches him, questioning what he is doing. Milford says he can’t do that, and Robbie asks why he should listen to him (this is ridiculous, you’ve been living in LazyTown since like what, the 1999 play and you still don’t know who the mayor is?), then the Mayor says because he’s the Mayor. WORLD SHATTERING NEWS. Then Stephanie says 'Way to go’ after Robbie leaves and Milford over-hears her.

Milford thinks he is being watched so he asks Sportacus for help via a letter. Meanwhile, Robbie thinks he should run LazyTown and he has a plan to do so. Then he gets into his Fordmill Meansbad costume. Make that blue and I would rock it all the time.

So, anyways, Sportacus comes, Milford tells him the issue, Sportacus flips onto a wall and he sees Ziggy, and then he leaves. The spies tell Milford he’s spying.. well.. they’re spies, what the hell did you expect me to say, they’re writing a novella? Then they ask what he does as mayor but Fordmill Meansbad answers it for him and also says that he is the new mayor. So then they have a vote (yellow paper = Milford, purple paper = Fordmill), and everyone votes for Milford.

..Except.. Bessie, the rat! Now since Robbie has one vote, he lies that the majority voted him and now he is mayor. He bans Sportscandy first thing and he goes over to his office. Milford is sulking with the rest, and everyone is confused as to who’d vote Fordmill.. then they all look at Bessie, whose excuse is.. 'he had such fancy clothing’. The same logic as all the people who crush on Hans Gruber. Ziggy enthusiastically says he can be a secret agent.

They start off with gadgets. Off to French Fry Hair Boy’s house! First up, they have a pen with a built in mini camera, a shoe with a built in phone, and Bessie rings him to test. Then we got two cufflinks.. and if you press one of them.. you get hit in the face.

So he decides to press the OTHER cufflink and gets LAUNCHED UP IN THE AIR. Bessie, the idiot who started the entire thing yells at him to get down from there. You know the drill, crystal beeps, Sporty flips, and he saves Milford.

So Fordmill makes an announcement banning sports, and the kids tell Sportacus everything. Bessie says that gadgets are fine, but you also need style. Then they perform Man on a Mission. The song ends with Milford screwing up (pressing his cufflink..) and Steph asks Sporty to go with Milford. He does, being the nice guy he is. Meanwhile, Fordmill is really getting into being mayor, playing with a mini set of LazyTown and driving the sports equipment away with a truck.

Meanwhile, Sportacus has devised a plan while they are crouching down a wall - flip in, get box, flip out. But Milford falls down doing the signature move.. which is honestly pathetic. So, anyways, he goes into the town hall, and he stands on a trap-door. He has a very.. unique greeting.

Gudmondor Thor made this ugly looking puppet in 1999 for Wit Puppets. Thank the heavens he made new puppets for the 2004 show, because if not, I would be reviewing DORA THE EXPLORER. Anyways, Sportacus shows no fear considering it’s a.. y'know.. puppet. So, anyways, the real Fordmill stands up and pulls a lever. He has trapped Sportacus!

Anyways, Milford is also greeted by the puppet, and the puppet says that’s a puppet. Puppetception. Also hypocrisy. So, anyways, Robbie stands up and he is ready to pull the lever, trapping Milford too. But Sportacus’ crystal beeps so he handstands.

Robbie starts chasing Milford around the office. But the chase is interrupted when Bessie calls to say hi to Milford.. Bessie is unironically my least favourite character and she should be yours too.

The chase continues until Milford says that Sportacus’ll save him, but Sportacus is 'incommunicado’, 'no longer able to be with us’, and 'stuck in a dark place with a lid on it’. Milford doesn’t understand it. And this guy is STILL mayor of the town. Maybe the town’d be in a better state with Fordsmill. So, anyways, he steals Milford’s pen and writes down 'Sportacus is trapped’ and throws the pen out. By now, Bessie is super mad (she started it!!!), the phone is still on, and she tells Milford to give Fordmill the phone.

So, she warns Fordmill not to touch a single hair on Milford’s hair, and Fordmill says that he doesn’t have any hair. LOL! Ridiculed he is talking to a phone, he breaks it.

In retaliation, the secret agent does.. nothing. In fact, he lets Fordmill (probably off-camera) tie him in ropes, upside down, risking getting biten by an angry fish and also breaking his precious flower (Gloria, which was also the name of David Matthew Feldman’s mother, Gloria Feldman.)

The kids decide they have to help Milford. Meanwhile, Sportacus spots an apple on Milford’s desk that can fit in the trap door hole. So he knocks the door until the apple falls in the trap door and he energizes, jumping out of the trap door.

The rope breaks just when Sportacus grabs onto it, pulling it up so that Gloria lives and Milford doesn’t have a fish bite. Meanwhile, Fordmill is in the town hall, celebrating that Sportacus is trapped until Agent Pink turns the chair around.

Her two partners also appear, and Agent Candy calls him a cheater pumpkin eater before pulling the lever. Milford and Sportacus show up and Agent Pink tells him she trapped Fordsmill. So he gets him out of there, and Candy asks who he is (after he explained it so much earlier in the episode..). He winks and his eye thingy falls off. The disguise is revealed.

They check the votes and Milford has won by a landslide. To celebrate, they sing the Bing Bang song. In the lair, Robbie is sulking, but then the puppet turns over, saying the catchphrase.. 'So, character, we meet again’. In the French dub, Robbie talks about his confusion for who is controlling the puppet (which is ultimately better then the dialogue in the English version).

Then the episode ends.

It was missing a lot of Kung Fu moves. 7/10

 

127: New Superhero: Part 2 (prod 124)

 

Filming in October 2004. Let blud rest in peace fr fr

BoredJedi (youtube.com/user/LazyBlueHaze) gave me an .iso of the “Superhero” Australian DVD from 2008. To finally put the .iso to use, I decided to take all the screenshots in this episode myself. I also watched it using VLC.

Original airdate: August 15, 2005

Story by Magnus Scheving

Written by Noah Zachary, Cole Louie, Magnus Scheving

Directed by Magnus Scheving, Jonathan Judge

Executive producers - Magnus Scheving, Ragnheidur Melsted, Raymond P. Le Gue, Mark Read, Brown Johnson, Kay Wilson Stallings

Starring Magnus Scheving, Stefan Karl Steffanson, Julianna Rose Mauriello

Puppeteers - Ronald Binion, Gudmondor Thor Karason, Jodi Eichelberger, David Matthew Feldman, Julie Westwood, Sarah Burgess

New Superhero II! This is where the fun begins. I cannot wait to watch this episode, it’s a complete and super masterpiece!!

The episode begins with an Australian-exclusive title card featuring the LazyTown logo, the DVD title logo, and Part Two in orange.

Robbie is in his lair, making a big speech about his plan to.. nobody. Why does he always actively do this when nobody is listening? Robbie says that if Sportacus wants trouble, he’ll get trouble with four legs, a tail and big teeth. The robodog will attack when anybody at all says ‘Trouble’. Yes, anyone, even Robbie. Robbie starts crafting it, and it looks exactly like the plan.

For the laziest dude in town, must’ve taken him a lot of time to get the materials for the robodog, hmm? Anyways, it works as it’s supposed to, and Robbie has so much fun flipping the switch he sings the song 'Woof Woof Woof’. A pretty funny song. Meanwhile, Sportacus is wearing headphones and is (forced to be) listening to Trixie’s Mix which is bass and drums and bass. It’s not really Sportacus’ style, but I thought it was pretty good! Never knew she had musical 'talent’!!!

Robbie has a Sportacus cutboard cutout and he puts his face in it and tempts the dog. LOL. So he brings it up into town. Meanwhile, Sportastephanie shows the kids her outfit, and Trixie says it’s good.. NOT! Why was this an insult in the 2000s..? This is so out of character for a kids show. Then comes one of the most epic lines from Stephanie.

While Stephanie is deciding who to save first, Milford is cleaning his house with a feather duster and he sneezes, causing it to fall out the window. She dives into the bushes and saves the so-called cat.

So, her friends are being complete jerks, laughing but she shrugs it off. Me personally, I’d do a huge frontflip and purposefully kick them in the face. Meanwhile, Sportacus is reading some Latabæ comics with Jive on the cover and decides to put on his headphones. Now playing - some actual fricking good workout music to accidentally tempt Sporty. Here comes a funny sequence where he does sit-ups. Robbie is looking for him behind the wall and bobs up every time Robbie looks away. XD!

PAL screencaps, LOL! -chuft. Gosh darn blended frames. So anyways, the kids are chatting and Trixie says that she has a feeling not much’ll happen today, so Stephanie won’t have to do any REAL saving. In comes Robbie asking where Sportakook is.

Sportacook’d be a great nickname for a LazyTown cooking show (which SHOULD have happened in 2014-15..). Anyways, when the kids tell him Sportacus is on vacation, he says there is never a super hero when you need one. Then Stephanie introduces herself and Robbie starts bursting into laughter.

Her friends who had just acted like complete jerks to her start wondering what’s so funny and why he’s funny. Stephanie says he is taking over for Sportacus just in case there is any trouble. (She points her finger up and Robbie mocks her, which genuinely made me laugh out loud.) Then the Robo Dog attacks, and like a true hero.. she runs away.

Robbie likes the outcome of the robo dog so much he decides to get an ice-cream. He wants to get a DOUBLE scoop, but the dog looks at him. He says the sentence, 'I said double, not trouble!’ which could be a possible reference to season two, episode four, 'Double Trouble’. So anyways the dog attacks, Robbie runs past Sportacus who has done 1000 sit-ups and is going to go back to relaxing.

Robbie is running back to the lair, trying to get back in, but instead he climbs up the billboard (the robo-dog nearly bit his posterior multiple times, XD) but is too scared to come down. Stingy says they’re really in trouble and the dog starts barking. SOMEHOW Stephanie realizes that dog goes cuckoo because of the T-word. So they climb in the treehouse.

Stingy sounds like a girl when he squeals. He must sound extra extra girly in the British dub. Stephanie decides to do something about it, but once the dog approaches her she starts squealing and running. Meanwhile, Robbie realizes he is stuck on the billboard and he starts talking to himself about how birds’ll build nests in his hair and he’ll be called the Billboard Guy. (Is it true that people of Robbie’s age talk to themselves this much?) Sportacus hears Robbie’s cries of help.

Sportacus decides to end the vacation early and check the trouble out. I think it is ridiculous he finds out about the trouble ten minutes after the kids all start yelling. He puts the crystal back in, and he almost says the T-word. Stephanie smacks him on the mouth, which I thought was funny.

So, she fills him in and they jump on the wall, cartwheeling (might’ve been JRM) and flipping (that wasn’t JRM) over to the treehouse. Sportacus puts up the ladder so Stephanie walks on her hands to the treehouse to save the kids.

Sportacus goes to save Robbie. Meanwhile, Stephanie hooks the rope in the treehouse (this is ridiculous plot armor, the rope was never even there!) to her back and she goes down. Trixie lowers her down. Sportacus saves Robbie by running, dropping the ladder and doing a flip in the air.

So he tries to save him but when he holds out his hand he thinks that HE IS TRYING TO HIT HIM until Sporty picks him up. Sportacus tells him to slide down the ladder (which could go wrong in so much ways) Then he sits back down thinking it’s a trick. So then he puts his hand out.. and grabs onto Sportacus’ leg.

So Sportacus decides to pick up Robbie and throw him down the ladder. When he is finished sliding, he yells out 'Mommy!’. It’s always funny to see grown men acting like babies.

Meanwhile, at the treehouse, Trixie has pulled Stephanie down and she is face to face with the Robo Dog. Sportacus’ crystal beeps and he calls for a football. He throws the ball in the dog’s mouth and Stephanie flips the switch.

Sportacus yells to Stephanie he’ll be right there, but he won’t because Robbie has took away the ladder so he can’t get off the billboard. Robbie just tried to get Sportacus hurt after he got saved by him and Tumblr fans still ship the two. So Stephanie deliberately throws the ball at Robbie’s head and knocks him out. This is the first time I’ve seen Stephanie hurt someone on purpose! (Maybe she wanted it to hit the ladder..?)

So the kids that were doubting her are congratulating her and complimenting her, but she thanks Sportacus (who gives her his football) first. She apologizes for ruining his vacation and he says that saving people is the best vacation ever, which doesn’t really make sense.

Anyways, Stephanie jokingly says she needs a vacation, and they sing an extended version of Bing Bang. The episode ends with a minute worth of pre-credit endings from Sporty, Stephanie and Robbie. Robbie’s dragging the Robo Dog to his lair, and he says that it’s nothing but trouble.. and he activates it by doing so.

Stephanie writes in her diary before going to bed, Sportacus does some pushups and flips in his bed, and Robbie goes to bed.. in the dog house. Why did he even have it? The episode ends.

That episode was totally awesome. 10/10. Nothing more said.

 

126: New Superhero: Part 1 (prod 120)

 

Filming in August 2004. Bro is just chillin on his bro. 

BoredJedi (youtube.com/user/LazyBlueHaze) gave me an .iso of the “Superhero” Australian DVD from 2008. To finally put the .iso to use, I decided to take all the screenshots in this episode myself. I also watched it using VLC.

Original airdate: August 15, 2005

Story by Magnus Scheving

Written by Noah Zachary, Cole Louie, Magnus Scheving

Directed by Magnus Scheving, Jonathan Judge

Executive producers - Magnus Scheving, Ragnheidur Melsted, Raymond P. Le Gue, Mark Read, Brown Johnson, Kay Wilson Stallings

Starring Magnus Scheving, Stefan Karl Steffanson, Julianna Rose Mauriello

Puppeteers - Ronald Binion, Gudmondor Thor Karason, Jodi Eichelberger, David Matthew Feldman, Julie Westwood, Sarah Burgess

Since Tumblr only lets me add 30 images in one post and New Superhero is double-length, both parts get their own review! Plus, this is the shortest LazyTown episode clocking in at 21 minutes and not the regular 24. Oh, and last note before we start, this episode was directed by Magnus, so I guess he is a movie director.

The episode begins with a new cold open where… Wait, what? A NEW cold open that isn’t recycled? WHATTTTT!!!?? Anyways, the episode begins with Sportacus flipping in the ship, then he opens the door and sees Milford holding a cake, but there’s a skateboard and he is about to walk into it.

So he gets the same rope he used in Laziest Town, but by the time he jumped down Milford’d have tripped over the skateboard. He places a golf ball in the ground, unties his feet from the rope and he whacks the ball with a golf club. I’d like to see a LazyTown golf episode. Anyways, after bouncing on a few things it finally hits the skateboard.

I know if this show was a Nickelodeon sitcom with slapstick, it’d hit Milford in the head, he falls down and lands on the cake because comedy. After that entire thingy, Milford is making breakfast and Stephanie is writing in her diary about how Sportacus always helps everyone. She wishes she could do something for him (uh, hello? the entire ‘screw-gifts-me-want-friendship’ thingy last episode..?).

While he is finishing 200 pushups (That is amazing, I would love to be like this guy!), Stephanie runs out the door until Milford stops her to eat breakfast, and like last episode she has ONE sip of her juice and leaves. Not even a thank you! Anyways, she goes outside to ask to workout with him, and they do with a pretty cool sequence.

This sequence proves that Stephanie is the kid who takes Sporty’s advice the most, and that while she is not active enough to be exactly like him she is pretty close. The writers wrote everyone perfectly. So, anyways, for the finale, they jump (well, Steph climbs up onto it) onto a wall! But Stephanie falls and Sportacus catches her.

She asks if he gets tired and he says that he exercises, sleeps well and eats good food. Stephanie tells him she didn’t eat her breakfast today, so Sportacus tells her to go under a tree, close her eyes and hold out her hands. Once she does, Sportacus throws a ball in the air and does an astonishing flying kick.

The ball hits the tree and Stephanie has an apple in her hands. Before he goes back to the ship (Why didn’t he just exercise there..?) he tells Stephanie to keep practicing. Robbie is watching, annoyed about how Sportacus thinks he’s the best. Which is true. He calls himself a slightly above average superhero, but we know he thinks he is the best hero ever. And he is.

He pushes the eavesdropper up, but it comes falling down, so he kicks a bucket in anger, and it lands on his head because comedy. Trixie is sitting in a wheelbarrow, sliding down like in Play Day and Sportacus hasn’t even gotten in the airship and the crystal beeps. Sportacus stops the wheelbarrow.

Meanwhile, Ziggy has thrown a lollipop into a tree which was a terrible idea and even he thinks so. But, we’ll get into that later. Stephanie, Stingy and Trixie are talking about how they got saved (Stingy is mad he didn’t get saved, but I find that good!) and how they wish they could do something for him. Since they can’t get any ideas, they decide to just try their best to not get in trouble. Then Ziggy gets in trouble. (XD! The writing of this show is amazing. So much effort put into a kids show. Dora The Explorer could never.)

So Sportacus gets a skateboard lying down somewhere, lays down on it and catches Ziggy as he falls. He offers Sportacus a lick of the lollipop (it fell down and he caught it) but Sportacus declines. Meanwhile, Robbie is in the lair, trying to plot something but he has no good disguises.

Anyways, Ziggy goes up to the kids and tells them about the saving, and Stingy is annoyed he hasn’t gotten a saving yet. While he’s waving his hands in anger, he almost falls off.. and gets a saving. Stephanie asks if he’s exhausted and he says he is never tired when saving people. Robbie mocks him in the lair. A few hours or minutes later, the kids have set up a vacation spot for Sportacus.

But he doesn’t know how to have a vacation (Magnus: LazyTown is all about balance..). So Stingy demonstrates with Ziggy. Lay back on a chair, exhale, don’t think of anything (Ziggy insults himself by saying he never thinks). By the final step, let everything go, Ziggy is asleep. XD!! Stingy has to whack his stick against the table to get him to wake up. Then Sportacus tells them he has never had a vacation in his entire life. So Stephanie tells him to follow her, and sit down in a blue chair for the whole day. But as expected he doesn’t like the idea.

So they sing a reprise of 'Get it Together’ called ’Take a Vacation’ which is ultimately better then it’s predecessor. Now all we need is a 'Sit Down & Relax’ remix. After the song (which discusses Stephanie being the superhero for a day), Stephanie does the signature move and goes to run somewhere, and Sportacus follows her until she stops him. Then, she asks for the crystal because he won’t need it if he’s on vacation.

Reluctantly, he gives her the crystal and starts his vacation. After she leaves, Trixie hands him a stack of comic books (that’d keep ME occupied!) and Sportacus advises her not to get into any trouble. Trixie says she won’t (she uses the word trouble in her sentence) and Robbie gets an idea.

The kids shortly realize that without him, nobody’ll take care of the town (Steph just sang about this!). Then Stephanie offers to do it because she has been practicing with Sportacus, and she can do the splits. Everyone is laughing at her and calling her Sportastephanie. Once she leaves to go back and eat breakfast they start doubting her.

Milford asks why she’s eating so much and she says that she is gonna be LazyTown’s new superhero. Milford asks about the costume and while she’s gone he finds a toy in the cereal. XD. Stephanie tries out 3 costumes - a clown costume, a tutu, & Sportastephanie!

If I was a girl I’d be rocking that outfit everyday! Props to whoever makes the Sportacus and Stephanie clothes. Milford asks Stephanie where Sportacus is, and she tells him he’s enjoying his vacation. Meanwhile, he’s cheering on a clock for passing on another minute.

This is hilarious. Anyways, since nobody can see him, he decides to do some pushups until Stephanie sees him. After that, Stephanie starts doing a workout of her own while Sportacus tries his best to not move every five seconds. Stephanie wants to get an apple to finish her workout. So she throws a ball into the air, but it misses the tree.

So she decides to use a ladder, but she nearly falls off. (How do you even..) She says that if she gets scared, she won’t be able to save anyone, so she gets the apple. And here comes another bored Sportacus scene, where he works out because nobody sees him until Stephanie sees him.

The episode ends with a shot of Robbie’s lair.

So while this was a part ONE to the episode, not much sweet events happened. This is kind of a stepping stone to the action, and it’s a pretty good one. But I wish it was a BIT longer.

8/10