Abraham Lincoln grows tired of being honest and upstanding and begins playing pranks on people, and it's up to the Time Squad to give him a taste of his own medicine.
Synopsis[]
Abraham Lincoln is seen doing various good deeds for the country, and is frustrated when people call him "Honest Abe." When his "honest" reputation prevents him from playing poker with other people in his administration, Lincoln starts thinking about all of the times he has been called "Honest Abe" and never got to have any fun, and decides that he doesn't want to be honest any more. He declares that he will be known as "Dishonest Abe."
At the satellite, the History Instability Alarm goes off. The team arrives at the giant computer screen, and Otto gets excited when he sees the 16th President is their next mission. The team then leaves while Tuddrussel tries to figure out who the 16th President is.
The group arrives in Washington DC, and sees a lot of people and places that have been pranked. They realize that Lincoln is responsible for the pranks and are told to find him in an evil log mansion. The team finds the mansion, and Otto says he has a plan to get Lincoln back to normal by going undercover. A man inside the mansion comes out, and Otto tells him that they came for an interview to join Lincoln's gang. They are allowed in, and Lincoln asks why they think they qualify for the gang. The three each tell a story about pranking someone, but Tuddrussel makes Lincoln's gang laugh the most. Lincoln says he's willing to give everyone a shot at proving their worth, and Otto whispers to Tuddrussel that this is their chance to encourage Lincoln to perform good deeds.
The gang first focuses on a man standing on the street. Lincoln proceeds to give him a wedgie. Tuddrussel calls for Lincoln's attention, and impresses him by giving another man an atomic wedgie. Otto interrupts, asking Lincoln if he would help an old lady cross the street. Lincoln replies no, and gives her an atomic wedgie, blinding the woman and sending her in the path of a horse-drawn carriage. Larry calls to Lincoln and asks if he will help a little girl get her kitty from a tree, but Lincoln steals the girl's ice cream cone and taunts her, holding it up too high for her reach. He then throws the ice cream cone at the kitty, making the girl cry. Later, Lincoln is seen ding-dong-ditching a house. Otto is frustrated that his plan isn't working, and decides that they should try teaching Lincoln a lesson.
Time Squad starts pranking Lincoln, wearing him out and frustrating him. Lincoln then answers his door to see a pizza man who claims that Lincoln ordered a dozen anchovy pizzas. Upset, Lincoln wonders what kind of "sicko" would do this, and Otto arrives with the others, saying that it is what Lincoln would have done to other people. Lincoln admits that he was having so much fun that he never thought about how his victims felt. He swears he won't do any more pranks as long as Time Squad stops pranking him. They promise, and Lincoln dons his hat, saying he will be taking Mrs. Lincoln to the theater. He is suddenly hit in the face with an egg by Tuddrussel and storms off.
Larry then starts to congratulate the team on a job well done, while also hoping that everyone is going to stop with the pranks, but his arms fall off, and he instantly blames Tuddrussel. Tuddrussel, while laughing, claims it wasn't him; but neither of them seem to notice Otto snickering behind them while holding a screwdriver.
The wooden contraption Lincoln smashes in rage in the beginning is a Newton's cradle only with wooden blocks instead of marbles.
It was strongly hinted in the first episode that Tuddrussel and Larry had met Lincoln once before. In the first episode, Eli Whitney's Flesh-Eating Mistake, this was hinted also.
This episode can be seen as a bonus feature on the 2001 VHS of “The Powerpuff Girls: Meet the Beat-Alls”.
Anachronisms and errors[]
Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address at the beginning of the episode, but Otto later says he still needs to give the Emancipation Proclamation. Lincoln actually issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, ten months before the Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863.
One of Time Squad's pranks involves a telegram and asking whether Lincoln's refrigerator is running, but refrigerators weren't invented yet. This is most likely why it confused Lincoln.
One of Lincoln's pranks is ding-dong ditching, but doorbells weren't patented until at least 1881.
Another prank of Time Squad was about making Lincoln to pay a dozen of pizzas. However, pizza did not arrive in the U.S. until 1902.
Gallery[]
The image gallery for Dishonest Abe may be viewed here.
