TITLE: Maternal Instinct...If Maddie spins, will she gain a form fitting suit, the lasso of truth, and bulletproof bracelets?
LOGO: “The Mother of All Shows!!”
EPISODE #: 16
SEASON: 1
AIRDATE: February 18, 2005
DIRECTOR: Butch Hartman, Gary Conrad, Juli Hashiguchi
WRITERS: Sib Ventress
STORYBOARD: Wincat Alcala, Ray Angrum, Chris Graham, Butch Hartman
ART DIRECTIONS: Bob Boyle
MUSIC: Guy Moon
APPEARANCE: Danny, Maddie, Vlad, Jazz, Jack, Tucker and Sam
GHOST APPEARANCE: Mutant Animal Ghosts, Mail/Pilot Ghost (1st appearance)
FENTON GADGET APPEARANCE: Fenton Specter Deflector, Jack o' Nine Tails (1st appearance), Fenton Speed Meter, Fenton Obstacle Course, Jack and ghost action figure, Fenton Jerky, Fenton Machete, Fenton Rope, Fenton Pills, Fenton freakin' lightsaber
LESSON: The backwash incident is as perverted as your dirty mind could possibly imagine.
SUMMARY: Taking a different approach, the intro begins with Danny Phantom training in his parents’ basement level. Sam holds a clipboard while Tucker handles a speedometer, clocking Danny’s flight speed at 112mph. Damn, if there ever was the ultimate source of adrenaline humans need... So, if he continues to hone his powers as he ages, will he apparent reach faster then sound breaking barrier point? That'll be awesome. They continue to observe his intangibility and invisibility, then his overshadowing when he briefly possesses Tucker. Sam then opens up the obstacle courses. Okay, I understand the giant dart shooting guns and ghost targets, even the giant blockage of walls that could serve as solid obstacles to bypass or use as shields or something, but unless Jack and Maddie can leap higher then Superman can on a good day, why the bloody hell do they need obstacle hoops THAT high? …Okay, maybe Maddie can somehow be able to leap that high, she’s bloody Wonder Woman. Any who, Danny passes his practice with flying colors, then causally flies onto a wall from lack of attention. Tucker lightly teases and in a power we don’t see Danny use in that manner often (in fact, not at all sans this one brief moment), Danny uses his intangibility by sending a wave of ectoplasm in his direction, phasing Tucker down. Considering they’re in the lowest floor of the household, Danny’s basically buried his friend six feet under. Morbid.
While Jack plays with his makeshift Jack Fenton and Ghost action figures (such a big kid--he also makes a “meat puppet” reference, flashbacks to “Bitter Reunions” anyone?), Maddie reminisces in past memories between her once close bonds with Danny when he was younger. Jack reassures her that their lack of bonding is merely due to his age, then leaves to get the doorbell. He meets head to head with a ghost mailman. The ghost doesn’t even ATTEMPT to hide his obvious green skin and lack of legs and fortunately for him; he doesn’t have to because Jack’s visions must currently be the polar opposite of 20/20 as he assumes him to be just a pale mailman. Oh, Lord. He gives the letter to Maddie where it’s front envelope states an invitation for her (Just to let you know, Maddie’s full name is Madeline as this episode confirms--apparently Vlad really holds Maddie in special regards if he calls her by her shorten nickname instead of full name usage as he normally does, even on Danny). Opening it up, she instantly cheers up.
Danny continues his training by trying to split himself, only successfully splitting his head in two. Danny makes note about how Vlad can split himself in four, so the whole weekend is him nonstop training. Ahhh, after that crap role he had in “Fright Night”, tis lovely to have mature Danny back. Of course, his plans are mucked up when Maddie’s voice rings. Quickly turning back into his human form (and getting a good whack from Tucker after he briefly had one eye--funny scene by the way), Danny meets his excited mother who just got an invitation to a science symposium for mothers and sons courtesy of the DALV group. Danny isn’t pleased…and neither is Jazz--the two about to leave the next day--since she’s stuck with her least favorite Fenton family member: Jack. Speaking of Jack, before Maddie and Danny leaves, Jack fits Maddie with the Specter Deflector, a belt design to ward off any ghosts that comes in contact. After a hearty good bye from Maddie (“Try not to trash the house while I’m gone.”), the two exit, leaving Jack of all people to keep an eye on the place, “Suck the house into a parallel dimension one time and you just can’t let it go, can you?”
A private plane given by the DALV group does nothing to lift Danny’s spirits, despite Maddie’s vain efforts to put a friggin’ sunshine smile on his face. Flying over the Rockies, the pilot announces he’s jumping off the plane, leaving the two to die. Whoa, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom vibes, although the pilot gave the passangers a heads up and they didn't try escaping via lifeboat. Rushing to the cockpit, Maddie tries to fly the vehicle, but the controls are jammed. With little choice, Danny secretly transforms behind Maddie and helps…phase her out or steer the plane or something--I don’t know as the Specter Deflector kicks in and sends a shockwave towards Danny, causing him to instinctively turn human. Maddie quickly concerns over him before noticing parachutes with their names on ’em. I don’t even see the reason why parachutes need to be named, it’s not like they’re stealing it. It’s a friggin’ emergency for Pete’s sake! Any who, the two leap to safety where the pilot quickly points out the elaborate plan the two are in for before turning into his real form as scary mail ghost man and flying back to his plane. Despite all THAT, Maddie’s still stuck in Pleasantville as she puts on a Stepford Wife attitude of happy creepiness.
Using her Fenton Machete tucked in her boot (but I though those hazmat suits are complete one pieces); Maddie cuts her way past the many shrubs while keeping a can-do attitude. Danny’s just being emo. They eventually find a nice rustic cabin belonging to none other then Vlad Masters who just happen to be in the neighborhood…in a golf cart…in the Rockies, “Oh, what an amazing, unexpected, and totally unplanned surprise.” His evil grin is sexy. After giving the two personalized gift basket, Maddie quickly warms up to him while Danny suspects his motives. With another part of his plan finalized, Vlad quietly orders Jack’s death from a communicator on his wristwatch before purposely skidding his golf cart through mud with Danny as its target.
Back at the Fenton household (the house is still standing by the way), Jazz chats with…a friend, one assumes as she makes her way out, avoiding Jack’s newest invention: The Jack o’ Nine Tails. The minute she opens the front door though, a giant ass mutant ghost bunny (I’m serious) gets ready to pummel some redheaded goodness if not for Jack destroying it with said invention, it’s goo splattered all over the damn place. So, is this like the first official death in Danny Phantom, not counting flashbacks of ghosts’ previous lives and how they died? I mean, it EXPLODED. Jazz is impressed with Jack’s skillz, the latter putting the entire home in lockdown.
Inside Vlad’s sexy cabin home (filled with walls and floors of dead animals), Danny glares at the now sexily white robed Vlad. Oooh, you like what you see, Danny, doncha? Danny continues to suspect him while Vlad insults his old man, so Danny gives glowing green eyes, then Vlad gives Ectobeam eyes. Ahh, don’t you love it when couples play hard to get? Vlad then walks over to Maddie and apologizes for Jack’s behavior during “Bitter Reunions”. Danny makes a quip towards Vlad whom secretly Ectoblasts him away. Maddie doesn’t even notice or hear Danny crashing into the wall, then again, I’ve already stated numerous times the Fenton folks have plainly terrible hearing problems. Maddie defends Jack and Vlad, too plays along in some aspect, “Causing the accident that ruined my life, stealing you, the backwash incident.” You will not believe how the Vlad/Jack fans go NUTS over the backwash incident. Oh, Hartman, you never should have kept it so dirty ambiguous. *snerks* Maddie goes nuts when she hears the “stealing you” part. Immediately Vlad wastes no time and begs both Maddie and Danny to live with him. Naturally she gets peeved and runs out the door. Danny (no longer damaged looking as he was three seconds ago) further insults the poor man, “Bye Vlad, and as a lonely single man in your 40’s, might I suggest Internet dating…or a cat?” The fact that Vlad actually gets a meowing critter in “Infinite Realms” just makes me my outer Danny/Vlad side go nuts for taking Danny’s suggestion, even if it doesn’t happen until about 26 episodes in. Vlad makes his own threat back to further boost his ego and determination, and then cries he won’t get a cat. Sure you won’t, Vlad and denial isn’t just a river in Egypt.
Back in Fenton Works, Jack makes a retrospective note on how he shouldn’t have dismantled parts of the ghost shield for the Specter Deflector before being confronted by mutant ghost hawks. They manage to subdue Jack while Jazz whines like some spoiled little rich girl. The Jack o’ Nine Tails basically falls into her hands when Jack gets his ass handed to him, so she ties up the two birds, cries out that infamous Xena war cry or something similar to it, and kills 'em, impressing Jack with her skillz.
Maddie finishes making a makeshift tent out of wood while Danny eyeballs the campfire, which I assume she also made, obviously still not happy. Using water droplets to make tents appear out of pills (whoa, 1960’s wave of the future cartoon flashback), Maddie tries to attempt a bonding towards Danny. Of course, with that belt still on her, any touching only tends to send a jolt to him. Wait, that makes no sense. He’s in his human form, it shouldn’t affect him. Hell, it didn’t when Maddie placed a hand on the boy’s forehead earlier in the plane sequence. Inconsistencies aside, Danny takes his tent and sleeps elsewhere, leaving a sorrow Maddie to sleep alone in the tent. Well, it looked designed to only hold one person in anyways. Danny doesn't get a chance to doze off into dreamland before being ambushed by a giant mutant bear and later dragged to Vlad’s cabin. He doesn’t even go ghost as far as I’m concerned to combat the mutant critters, but he does when he witnesses Vlad Plasmius hovering over to him. Before Danny could throw in a punch, Vlad uses the Plasmius Maximus on him, shorting out his ghost powers for the next three hours (till midnight). Then he insults the boy and sends the mutant animals after all. Quite questionable gestures when he’s the one who wants him as his son. Or is playing hard to get again?
Running from the woods from giant ghosts beasts faster then you could say The Blair Witch project, Danny is rescued by his mother, completely covered in mud (no, she’s not naked--but would that make you hot if she was?), lifting her son up the tree she’s been hiding in. Sliding down with what I presume is called the Fenton Rope (coated in Ectoplasm and all); she basically goes gung-ho on her ghostly victims, complete with martial art noises and Darth Maul light sabers (also not kidding). She’s got everything but the kitchen sink--or in this case, a phone. After Maddie scares the rest of the ghostly beasts away, she goes off to punish Danny for running off, only to be sidetracked by him praising her in awe of her skills. After a quick bond, Maddie literally carries Danny around until making the decision to return to Vlad for phone and transportation...and pancakes. She then slips the Specter Deflector around Danny for protection, locking it and all. From one problem to the next, and they call me cynical.
Back at Fenton Works, Jazz managed to don one of Maddie’s hazmat suit. Apparently it’s formfitting since it comfortably builds around her despite the drastic difference in height and length between mother and daughter. The outfit convinces Jack to briefly even mistake him for his wife whom he assumed returned before Jazz corrects him. Filled with happy tears, Jack declares he’d been waiting for that moment while again Jazz corrects (and denies) she wants nothing to do with ghosts, merely dressing in that manner to experiment socially to hate it more formally down the road. Everybody’s in denial. Ghost mutants come and the two fit for action, Jazz even sounding a bit like Maddie when administrating a war cry. I clearly don’t understand how her experience in ghost hunting here--which, despite how little is shown--is above average when in a latter episode she downright sucks. That said, with her donning the suit, every member of the Fenton Family has now worn a hazmat suit, hoorah.
Maddie and Danny walk the front path to Vlad’s cabin. Eyeing his watch (which is nicely designed, but came completely out of nowhere since it wasn’t on his wrist before) shows it to be 11:50PM, just ten minutes alway from being electrocuted. Desperate, by the time they reach the front door, Danny gives his mother a hearty hug, sneakily removing the key from her belt while doing so. Maddie retaliates with a hug back and knocks on Vlad’s door. Vlad is thrilled to have the two of them return, although he seems more thrilled and possibly filled with sexy thoughts on Danny’s return since he eyeballs the kid more then he does Maddie. Inside, Maddie basically flirts her way with Vlad who falls for it hook, line, and sinker, then leaves to go “freshen up” when in reality, she’s searching for a phone, leaving Danny to distract the man. Removing the Specter Deflector off of him, he winds the nearby grandfather clock from 11:55 to 11:45PM, and then puts on a manipulative act of his own. He basically warms up to Vlad by pretending to want to be his son. Vlad gets teary eyed (which is adorable by the way) and proceeds to hug the boy only to receive a waistful of Specter Deflector. Now midnight, Danny turns ghost, ready to dish out some pain. Fairer fight, Danny? Oh, please, with the manipulative trick you used to lure Vlad close to you and then putting that belt on him, sounds more like the tricky dark minded underhandling Vlad would do. Influence much? By the way, you ever notice this is like the only time we see Vlad briefly have pupils? He never does in the show. I know it’s animation error and all, but it’s funny since I’ve always drawn Vlad with pupils, although when I first started drawing Vlad about a year and a half ago, I didn’t knew him 100% well since I was still new to the show, so I wasn’t aware he had no pupils. When I did find out I…still kept drawing him with cuz’ I draw in my own style cuz’ I can.
Any who, Vlad transforms and he and Danny does battle, Vlad beating the shit out of him even WITH the Specter Deflector. Hardcore, man, hardcore. Maddie meanwhile continues phone searching, only finding various transportations. Dude, Vlad has cross-country motor cross bikes. This guy lives life to the fullest, doesn’t he? Oh, and while I get he’s rich and probably has enough money to buy a third world country and turn all the residences as his personal slaves and then some, I don’t see why he needs to waste such money on like three of each vehicle. He lives ALONE. Was he that confident he’d have Danny and Maddie? Well…it is Vlad. Vlad insults Danny after giving the kid a thorough beating (but no kinky spankings *frowns* but did you notice one of his Ectoplasmic Rays are light blue instead if his usual pink?), then attempts to duplicate, only causing an extra head due to the limitations the belt is currently giving him. With that said, Danny flies over to give Vlad a punch on both heads, alongside some still shot battles. God, I hate those damn things. With Vlad beaten, he calls in his mutant critters to finish off the kid. Danny counters by stating he ain’t the one who made them all into “wall art”. The critters then turn on Vlad. Geez, is EVERYBODY blind here?! The creatures didn’t notice their once alive forms dressed all over Vlad’s cabin home in such a blatant manner before?! Danny Plasmius Maximus’d him, causing Vlad to turn human and the beasts to give chase.
When Maddie returns, she asks where Vlad is to which he answers he went out for a bite (in the woods? What is he, Naked Snake?). Maddie declares she couldn’t find a phone before realizing they could have taken one of Vlad’s numerous vehicles. They take Vlad’s chopper, which, incidentally holds the DALV symbol for some reason (when Vlad’s business is currently known as VladCo.). There, Danny expresses how much of a fun weekend he had with his mother. The two then agree to keep their events a secret from the others. Jack and Jazz back home decides to keep their events zipped as well, the latter thanking him for a grand time. When Jack meets up with Maddie and Danny, the latter two immediately expresses their dull weekend before the boy kisses his mother. Awww, that’s rather sweet. He then witnesses Jazz luring one of the mutant animals out of her house, Jack following suit. Danny drinks backwash (I bet Vlad would like to backwash Danny *snerks*), grosses out over it, aaaaaaaaaaaand end cue.
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