Episode 104: Brendon Gets Rabies

Cast:
Brendon Small – Brendon Small
Jason Penopolis – H. Jon Benjamin
Melissa Robbins – Melissa Bardin Galsky
Paula Small – Janine Ditullo
Josie Small – Loren Bouchard
Dwayne – Brendon Small
Mrs. Peabody – Paula Plum
Mr. Peabody – Richard Snee
Hippie Cat Guy – Mitch Hedberg

Synopsis: After Paula promises to take care of a neighbor’s cat (Alexandre), Brendon messes up and loses it. Though he’s able to find the cat, the cat has gotten rabies.

History:
· This episode is one of “The UPN 5”. Therefore, it has Paula Poundstone as Paula and is 100% retroscripted.
· This is the first and only (so far) episode to not have a single scene with McGuirk.
· This is one of two episodes to have the Home Movies introduction (Brendon runs around the house, and stops at Paula, who has his camera)
· Mitch Hedberg (who appears several times in season one) makes his first appearance as the hippie cat guy.

Lawn Gnomes: (Click for picture)
· Bed Shot

Brendon’s Filmography:
· “When Animals Eat Other Animals” – Documentary about life & death and the struggle of animals. Its main feature is a snake eating a rat.
· “In Memory of Alexandre” – Video tribute to the deceased Peabody’s cat.

The Movie-Episode Connection:
· Once again, the movie is a documentary and a video tribute without any connection to the episode that isn’t obvious.

Song Lyrics:
· Dwayne’s Cat Song
??????? Kitty Kat!

Random Observations & Facts:
· Melissa says, “I don’t like birds at all”. However, in Episode 301 – Shore Leave, we learn that the Robbins do in fact have a bird.
· The box at the pet shop says Cuidado! Which translates to Care!
· There is a shotgun propped against two boxes in the pet shop. There is also an couple of animals so big you can only see their feet.
· Pedaruddi’s bag says “Bag O’ Mice”.
· The towels in the Peabody’s bathroom say “P” (as in Peabody).
· As Paula describes how to get a pill into a cat’s mouth (put your finger in the toothless area, pull the jaw open), Josie does this to herself.
· This episode has yet another UPN bumper, this time with the dog at the beginning of the episode sniffing a TV that says Home Movies. He then takes a whiz on it.
· This isn’t so much an observation, but I noticed that in the episode two characters react different to the vet calling putting the cat to sleep “making cotton candy”. Brendon seems to obviously too mature for this analogy, and wishes to have a real conversation with the vet. Mr. Peabody, however, actually says, “I like the cotton candy thing.” Just a thought.
· As the Peabodys and the Vet talk about killing the cat, you can see that they follow the rabid cat’s movements with their eyes.
· Both of Paula’s plants on the window are dead.
· Josie plays with a cat toy.
· Animal gravestones: Tippy, Zack, Azure, Sam, Grover, Buttons, Bumper, Bandit, Oscar Fletcher, Jasper.
· The episode has a quick sequence at the end featuring Dwayne and Hippie Cat Guy jamming about Alexandre. The last shot is of Alexandre in “Whiskerville”.

Past Episode References:
· Brendon wears a police hat from “Dark Side of the Law” when he sends out Jason and Melissa to look for the cat.

Movie & Other References:
· “When Animals Eat Other Animals” is (probably) a joke on the numerous Fox specials (When Animals Attack, etc.)

End Credits: “Dwayne’s Cat Song”

Reviews: WARNING: Spoilers

StrangerAtaru: For some reason, and I don't know why, there are just some things in this episode I find funny and others, well, that don't work. The snooty couple didn't work (making it funnier when they did interact with Paula or other characters), but the whole situation with the cat, especially after it gets rabies, does work. (of course, Jason does get the best line with the infamous "Don't go searching for something because when you find it, it will have rabies") I also somewhat like the scenes at the pet shop for getting Brendon out there and interacting with the world a bit more. (BTW: Sure McGuirk is not in this episode, but I think that his take on the whole thing could be seen in the "Mr. Freckles" incident in season 2.)

Note: Personally, while I do see several differences between both sets of HM episodes, I just think both of which are of a somewhat more consistent quality that works on a different level for each one. Season 1 episodes, at their best, has funny engaging conversation with the occasional visual bit. Meanwhile Season 2 still has the conversations (albeit without Retroscripting), but has also some weirder bits visually to compliment the actions on the screen. (see "History") Also, sometimes I do think that the characters in HM seem older than they really are, but I guess that could have been the intentions all along. (but even if they are "little adults", they are still kids at heart) And one final note: glad I am not the only one complaining of the overusing of McGuirk.

DrWeird: First of all, I never noticed this, but this episode is McGuirk-less. Second, my favorite comedian, Mitch Hedberg, played the hippie cat guy (he has also done a couple of other Home Movies episodes).

Anyway, onto the review. This episode had a mildly stupid plotline, but didn't suffer much because of it. The opening bit at the pet store was good ("Actually, I didn't get to pet it very much"). Other good bits were the trio searching around for the cat and Paula's conversation with Brendon (the anti-depressant story).

I thought the Peabody’s were good characters. They're two snobs, who think they are better than everyone, and therefore the only people who like them are themselves and their cat (Paula just wanted them at the next block party). I also really like the fact that Brendon was mature enough to be above the doctor's "Making Cotton Candy" with the cat, yet Mr. Peabody wasn't ("I like the cotton candy thing"). As for the lack of McGuirk, I'm sort of split. On the one hand, the episode was fine without him. On the other, I would've liked to hear what advice he would've given Brendon about the missing cat. Mitch Hedberg also gave a great performance as the hippie cat guy ("A ball of yarn is fun, humans never figured it out"). B

Positives: MITCH, The Peabody’s, Pedaruddi's Pets, Anti-Depressant discussion, No McGuirk
Negatives: Plot wasn't that great, No McGuirk, Paula still off-character