To see the episode's transcript, click here.
| Planet of the Flies | |
|---|---|
| Season 1, Episode 14a | |
| |
| Mission | WW273 |
| Historical Figure/Event | Cavemen, Edward II, Fly City |
| Time | Stone Age, Medieval England, 3000 AD |
| Place | Unknown, Medieval England, Fly City |
| Aired | March 1, 2002 |
| Storyboards by | Brandon Kruse |
| Episode guide | |
| Previous Shop Like an Egyptian |
Next Keepin' It Real With Sitting Bull |
Plot[]
When Tuddrussel squashes a fly in the Stone Age, it causes a butterfly effect where the future is ruled by giant flies.
Synopsis[]
On the satellite, Larry has prepared a meal for Otto and Tuddrussel, but he notices that Tuddrussel has been careless about time travel lately. He berates Tuddrussel for stealing so many historical objects, since Time Squad is all about "minimal interference," but Tuddrussel ignores him as usual. The History Instability Alarm goes off, and the team sees that the mission involves cavemen before they depart.
The cavemen are having trouble discovering fire, and Otto is unsure of how to help. Impatient, Tuddrussel shoots the cavemens' meat with his laser gun, making an explosive fire. The team is ready to leave when Tuddrussel suddenly swats a fly that lands on him. This shocks Larry and Otto, who have been trying to make only little interferences in time, and Larry's arm computer suddenly beeps to signal another mission.
The team arrives in medieval England, where a kingdom has been charred. A lone king greets Time Squad, explaining that all of his knights have been devoured by a gigantic fly monster. The team realizes that this resulted from Tuddrussel killing the fly, which led the species to overcompensate over thousands of years. Tuddrussel is then carried off by the fly monster, but it merely carries him around in circles for several hours. Eventually, Tuddrussel blows it up with one of his antimatter grenades, but when he falls back to the ground, Larry's arm computer beeps again for another mission.
The team arrives on a beach, and, after Larry makes a sighting of the Statue of Liberty and breaks down, they are surrounded by horse-riding fly people. The team is believed to be deserting, so they are arrested and taken to trial, where the judge prematurely declares them guilty and sentences them to the Poo Mines. Before they are taken, Otto has an idea and tells Larry to take them back to 5 minutes before Tuddrussel swatted the fly.
Back in the stone age, the team watches as the past Tuddrussel shoots the cavemen's fire. Right before he swats the fly, the future Tuddrussel stops him, telling him that his team is from the future. Past Tuddrussel believes they are from "some Bizarro universe" and cautions his team. He gets upset when future Tuddrussel asserts his authority, and the two start fighting. The Larrys and Ottos end up following suit, though not for the same reasons.
Eventually, (much later) the future Tuddrussel wears out the past Tuddrussel, who gives in. All of the fights end, and while future Tuddrussel celebrates, he is approached by a bee. He panics and squishes the bee, setting off the Larrys' arm computers and infuriating everyone else (including past Tuddrussel).
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- The title of the episode is based on the film, Planet of the Apes. All events also parody the film when Time Squad is in 3000 AD.
- Tuddrussel stole Isaac Newton's apple, Davy Crockett's coonskin cap, and the Declaration of Independence.
- Davy Crockett later appears in Forget the Alamo, although Tuddrussel stealing his hat is not addressed.
- The document that Tuddrussel uses as a napkin is actually the Constitution of the United States, not the Declaration of Independence, it’s curious Larry would make this mistake as he was known to help out diplomats in the past, although it could be an honest mistake on his part due to his limited knowledge of history and by extension certain historical artifacts.
- The giant fly in Medieval England might be a reference to the fact that in Medieval times there were tales of dragons and it’s possible the inhabitants mistook the fly as a dragon as numerous stories of the time portray them as the bearer of evil, death, and misfortune (as was the case during the episode). Yet surprisingly, many dragons in the medieval bestiary are not the large, scaly, fire-breathing beasts we’re so familiar with. Artistic depictions of the dragon differed greatly depending on the artist and the time period: some were huge, some small; only some breathed fire; some were shaped like humans, and still others were long and slender. In fact, many medieval artistic representations of the dragon could easily be mistaken for real animals such as snakes or crocodiles. The dragon, therefore, could be visually manipulated to suit not only the inclinations of the artist, but those of the viewer as well.
- Tuddrussel talks about being in a "Bizarro" universe, which is probably referring to Bizarro from Superman or evil twins in general.