Phineas and Ferb and Milo Murphy's Law: Risk, Reward, Legacy, and Expectation

Murphy's Law: Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. (Source: I lost the entire goddamn post for this one)

Also my friend joked that this post mysteriously vanished due to Doof and Perry's schemes so I guess it fits in with both fucking shows.

Honestly it's a bit difficult to talk about these show. Both series are very popular, to the point where they're heavily discussed. I've seen a lot of philosophical takes on Phineas and Ferb especially, so I guess I'll just talk about my history with these shows.

I watched both shows as they came out. Phineas and Ferb started out when I was in middle school and continued on through college. Fuck man, I watched Candace Against The Universe for the first time when I was at my fourth university. Milo Murphy's Law on the other hand did not exist too long. When it came out I had a bachelor's and ended around the time I got my master's. 

It's pretty clear that Phineas and Ferb is the cartoon with more staying power, if not from its legacy, from the fact that it's had an insane amount of endings. We got "Act Your Age," which fans assumed was going to be the last episode when it came out, which everyone was disappointed by. We got "Doof 101," the episode paired with "Act Your Age," in which Doofenshmirtz becomes a good guy by working as Vanessa's science teacher and also there's this weird b-plot with bugs. We got "The OWCA Files," which would have served as a spinoff where Doofenshmirtz goes to work for OWCA and is teamed up with Perry the Platypus, but it also wasn't that great, and again had those fucking bugs no one likes. We got "The Last Day Of Summer," the actual final episode of Phineas and Ferb, which served as a fun bookend having Phineas wave goodbye to the audience, and more importantly, show Candace and Doofenshmirtz trying to succeed for once in their lives. Then years later, we got the movie Candace Against The Universe, which was pretty fun, again exploring Candace's character, this time via her relationship to her brothers. Also we found out Jeremy Johnson was a LARPer.

And of course, in the middle of all that, there was also Milo Murphy's Law.

Milo Murphy's Law was going to take place in the same universe as Phineas and Ferb, but not really have much overlap between its characters. That was the plan anyway. Eventually, the Phineas and Ferb team showed up to help save the day in the cross season two-parter "Fungus Among Us" and "The Phineas and Ferb Effect." The idea being that Milo has a disproportionate amount of bad luck while Phineas and Ferb have a disproportionate amount of good luck, which they can use as a weapon. Also Dr. Doofenshmirtz invents time travel in the future and spends the entire second season living at Milo's house. He even has a breakup arc with Perry the Platypus at the same time Dakota and Cavendish have their breakup arc. Honestly season 2 is a lot of Dan Povenmire talking to himself.

All of this points to Phineas and Ferb being a better show, and well... it is... But Phineas and Ferb isn't without its faults, and there's still a lot I like about Milo Murphy's Law.

One of the differences between the two shows is the risk and reward put in. Phineas and Ferb goes for a strict story formula that it holds onto for at least the first half of season one (some people argue it may last longer), and then subverts the hell out of. It's super high risk-high reward. On one hand, watching the first half season of Phineas and Ferb is incredibly dull, but on the other, it makes the future seasons so much better. Stories get subverted, characters grow from one dimensional archetypes to funny little weirdos (this tumblr post is a good example), and the show gets so much funnier. I actually remember watching "Unfair Science Fair" for the first time and thinking "Wow, this is really good." And I kept thinking it.

Milo Murphy's Law on the other hand goes straight into story and character. Everyone is established very quickly, as is the act of subversion, which means you know what to expect. It's still funny, but it's a little more expected. Low risk-low reward. Not to mention again, having Milo Murphy's Law bank off Phineas and Ferb. Though I did have a lot of fun with that part of the show.

I've noticed that my friends' opinions on Milo Murphy's Law are actually pretty different from my own. While I enjoyed the show, many of my friends didn't, and I have a theory on that. I have no evidence, but it's still testable.

Anyway, I think part of why many people didn't enjoy Milo Murphy's Law was due to high expectations. The though process might have been "It was made by the guys who made Phineas and Ferb, of course it's going to be amazing!!!!" And then it didn't live up to expectations of some of the fans. Meanwhile, to me it just seemed like another gimmick show. Around the mid-2010's, it seemed like most of what Disney was putting out was various gimmicky shows that seemed more apt to be funny shorts. Future Worm was about a boy and his worm best friend who travelled through time. Billy Dilley's Super Duper Subterranean Summer was about a weird boy studying monsters in the center of the earth. Pickle and Peanut was... something. And Milo Murphy's Law was about a boy who suffers bad luck at every turn. I didn't have much hope for something like that as a full fledged series, and I was pleasantly surprised that it was good. Not quite up to par with Phineas and Ferb, but still an A Tier show.

Oh also I think Milo Murphy's Law is an American take on The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, and if MML got a season three it would have been about ESP. I have never seen more than one episode of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.

Overall Ranking for Phineas and Ferb: A Tier

Overall Ranking for Milo Murphy's Law: A Tier

Special Agent Oso: Discussing Autism Friendly Media

6:17 PM · Mar 14, 2021 "oso when he fucks up"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just a bit of a disclaimer before we start this one. I do not have an autism diagnosis, nor do I feel comfortable self-diagnosing with autism for personal reasons. From the eyes of others, I'm seen as on the borderline between autistic and allistic, and in jokes online I've referred to myself as "autistic enough to walk on my tippy toes." Take this as you will, because I'm gonna talk about autism a lot today.

Something I've taken note of in fandoms across the last 10 years is that there are a lot of autistic people in fandom, and certain fandoms have more autistic people than others. I recall a long time ago seeing someone point out that Mystery Science Theater 3000 is "autism friendly" media due to its esoteric humor, comforting atmosphere, repetitive jokes, and bits about characters getting overly sensitive to the movies they watch. It's a really good term, and I like to see if there are other media that fit this term. Unfortunately, this isn't exactly something that is researched, so there's no de facto list of autism friendly media.

Except Special Agent Oso, which was made with the intent of being autism friendly media.

6:26 PM · Mar 14, 2021 "huh. this is actually kind of neat... did any of my muts on the spectrum watch this show as a kid and find it like. helpful?"

6:35 PM · Mar 14, 2021 "... wait, this show came out when i was like 14.... so it may be a little too new for even my younger mutuals"

Personally, I thought the show was pretty good. It had a lot of positive energy and was very sweet. You especially got that vibe from Oso, which I loved.

6:02 PM · Mar 14, 2021 "apparently oso is played by the adoptive son of john astin, who played gomez in the 60s addams family. interesting information i think."
6:25 PM · Mar 14, 2021 "the vibe in oso is infectious though i really like it."
10:00 AM · Mar 15, 2021 "special agent oso is a very cute show... i wish it had more character dynamics though...."

But! This show also set out to complete a mission, and I needed to know if it did that, so my friend Uwe offered to watch a few episodes with me. And naturally this was a serious endeavor that we both took incredibly seriously 

9:19 PM · Mar 14, 2021 "special agent oso lost his license to kill"

 

9:02 PM · Mar 14, 2021 "It/Its pronoun user detected in oso"
9:20 PM · Mar 14, 2021 "i'm kinda going crazy over the character who was referred to with it/its and no other pronouns like i'm not crazy uwe and i both heard it"
9:25 PM · Mar 14, 2021 "going back is weird bc i hear it both ways now..... (he and it)"

 

 

 

 

 

 

Totally Serious...

We did get to see Oso in action though. Notably, he and Paw Pilot, his virtual assistant help various kids through difficult tasks using "three special steps," meant to compartmentalize a big task into a few smaller tasks. While at a first glance it seems incredibly basic (And it can be. Some tasks listed by the show can either be seen as too simple to split up or not split up in the best way), it doesn't talk down to its audience at all and has fun with it. You'll even see Oso messing up the tasks given at points.

After a couple episodes, Uwe and I agreed that Oso was a really cute show that set out what it intended to do pretty well!

6:06 PM · Mar 14, 2021 "i start a random episode and oso is already drilling"

Nevermind Oso's cancelled. (jkjkjk)

But yeah, as a whole Oso kind of felt more inclusive than shows like Jojo's Circus or Mickey Mouse Funhouse or even Little Einsteins.

8:55 AM · Mar 16, 2021 "the interactive bits of oso are so subdued i dont really know the implications of a young child watching this show and perhaps being mute or something but the fact that special agent oso allows for nonverbal responses is interesting bc not a lot of interactive shows do"
8:57 AM · Mar 16, 2021 "i've been interacting with interactive bits of shows on variable cases. little einsteins i did because of the thought provoking questions. i didnt for mmch or jojo. this one i interact nonverbally because i trust oso w my life and i think he understands me"
8:58 AM · Mar 16, 2021 "the only show i recall having interactions with interactive bits was dora the explorer, which came out when i was 6, which is like. young enough to watch a baby show but old enough to roll my eyes at interactive parts"

Also there was a Handy Manny crossover where Manny fixes a kid's bike and Oso teaches him how to ride it. It's kind of amazing. I don't have much to say about it but worth pointing out.

9:49 AM · Mar 15, 2021 ""im a hammer" shut up pat we KNOW"
9:50 AM · Mar 15, 2021 "pat is fucked up he tried to injure a woman who already had a broken/sprained leg"
9:51 AM · Mar 15, 2021 "felipe is so self centered in this ep and turner is just sitting here like"
9:54 AM · Mar 15, 2021 "i wish oso and manny would help me learn to ride a bike :sobbing:"

I haven't really talked much about the other characters, but there's Dottie and Wolfie, Oso's two main coworkers, Professor Buffo, the scientist, Rapide, a French speaking Train, and Paw Pilot, Oso's virtual assistant.

9:09 AM · Mar 16, 2021 "i think rapide is a catboy"
6:09 PM · Mar 14, 2021 "me: wow the paw pilot sounds familiar i wonder what i recognize her from
me:
me:
me:
me:
me:
me:
me:
me:
me:
me:
me:
me:
me:
me:
me:
me:
me:
me:
me:
me:
me: oh."
6:10 PM · Mar 14, 2021 "it's fucking penny from stitch."

Most of them are pretty basic save Paw Pilot who sings a Bond-esque song every episode along with the once an episode song. However, this show kind of lets me illustrate how much this stupid fucking project broke my brain. Now I love cartoons, that much is true. However, thanks to this project I'll hear a voice and be able to clock it to an insane degree, whether it be other cartoons, live action, video games, or anime, as with Paw Pilot and Penny. Hell, even yesterday I recognized a voice actor from Elena of Avalor in a Netflix show I was watching. Not a bad thing at all, but definitely a sign I've been watching way too many cartoons.

Overall Rating for Special Agent Oso: B Tier

Handy Manny: An Acquired Taste

Content Warning: This post includes some brief references to suicidal ideation. Yes I'm serious. Tread carefully.

The thing about most of the baby shows on Disney Channel is that they very much rely on a formula. Handy Manny is no exception to this rule. It's a very formulaic show, and usually that means I like it less and less as it goes on.

That is where Handy Manny is the exception. It kind of grew on me. A lot.

7:35 PM · Mar 11, 2021 "trying to muster thru handy manny as if my next show isn't my friends tigger and pooh and my show after that isn't stitch!"

I was absolutely an idiot for this one, fellas.

I think ultimately, it came down to the characters, particularly the tools. 

They do start out as somewhat annoying. You don't really care that Pat is in fact, a hammer, 

7:03 PM · Mar 12, 2021 "pat has no personality except that he is a hammer"

Nor do you really care about Rusty's cowardice, nor the bickering between rival phillipshead and flathead Felipe and Turner. 

10:38 AM · Mar 11, 2021 "these screwdrivers are filled with vitriol"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nor Dusty, who has so so so much wrong with her.

7:24 PM · Mar 12, 2021 "dusty is insane."
10:14 PM · Mar 12, 2021 "dusty is a human weapon"

But the more you watch the show, you more you realize. "Yes I fucking do." And I think that moment for me came about when they introduced the mid-series tool, Flicker, a funny little baby flashlight who only speaks Spanish, and usually has to be translated by either Felipe or Manny, the two bilinguals in the workshop (which is actually wild to me, you'd think the rest of the original tools would be able to speak Spanish too).

10:30 AM · Mar 11, 2021 "why can only one of manny's tools speak spanish? manny's workshop is probably bilingual so i think they should all speak spanish and english"
7:13 PM · Mar 12, 2021 "FUCKER."
7:22 PM · Mar 12, 2021 "i think it was a good decision to make flicker not speak english"

Flicker was in his self-titled episode in the middle of the second season, similarly to how they gave Toodles sentience in the middle of a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse season. Not really something to complain about but I do think it's interesting that baby shows like to change up the status quo a bit mid-season like this. It's kind of ballsy.

7:28 PM · Mar 12, 2021 "what is the deal with baby shows making big changes mid season anyway. i want to see a baby show where in the 12th episode of season 2 a character transitions"
7:40 PM · Mar 12, 2021 "PLEASE PUT TRANS CHARACTERS IN THE BABY SHOW"

Though that isn't where the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Handy Manny similarities end

6:38 PM · Mar 11, 2021 "disney likes to do this thing where they make a show that's like a common word or phrase and add an extra syllable like mickey mouse club HOUSE or handy manNY"

It's weird that these are the only Disney baby shows that do this, unless you count possibly Vampirina? But again, I think it's fun.

But anyway back to the tools. This was around the era when no one knew shit about the baby shows I was watching, so naturally, I turned to TVTropes, and of course, I was informed of a Handy Manny episode where Felipe attempted suicide, "Felipe's New Job," which was the final episode I watched.

10:28 PM · Mar 12, 2021 "i have been informed of the felipe attempts suicide episode so let's end on that one"
10:40 PM · Mar 12, 2021 "funny screwdriver die."

So first things first, uh, no he fucking didn't. But it was still an episode that stuck with me. The episode focuses on Felipe who feels upset because he fills a very specific role amongst the tools: screwing and removing phillipshead screws. This makes him think that he's unwanted, and he makes two comments about his death. The first being that he should find a place to lie down and rust, and the second (more intensely) about how Manny should melt him down and use him for scrap metal. I don't really have a moral for that, and the episode does end with Manny needing Felipe to help shut down a factory machine, so I hope that's helpful.

Another episode that really stood out to me was a two-parter: "Handy Manny and the Seven Tools"

9:58 PM · Mar 12, 2021 "you cant call the play snow white and the seven tools there are NINE TOOLS..."

It's a really cute episode where the town puts on a Snow White play and everyone tries out for the main parts

10:00 PM · Mar 12, 2021 "when my friends need to be supported...."

 

 

 

 

 

It also gives me an opportunity to discuss two other human characters in the show who do a lot. There's Kelly, who runs the hardware store that Manny gets his parts from. She gets the part of Snow White while Manny gets the part of Prince Charming. Clearly they were meant to be, depsite the fact that Kelly's is way out of the way.

7:27 PM · Mar 11, 2021 "in a perfect world, manny and kelly would have adjacent shops"

 Instead, Manny is next door to Mr. Lopart, the candy shop owner. In the Snow White play, he plays a tree.

 

But not before singing a whole song about how obsessed he is with theater and stealing the show.

10:03 PM · Mar 12, 2021 "this man shocking me constantly with his hubris. he will fall from grace someday and i will LAUGH"
10:04 PM · Mar 12, 2021 "WE GET IT MR LOPART YOU'RE A THEATER KID"

But what is Mr. Lopart like when he isn't the top thespian of Sheet Rock Hills?

Yeah.

Usually every episode features Mr. Lopart dealing with some issue of something in his candy store being broken, which Manny offers to help with, but alas, Mr. Lopart is too kind (or perhaps, he has too much pride) to accept Manny's help. So naturally, he will continue taping balloons to the ground and asking God why nothing goes his way.

10:45 AM · Mar 11, 2021 "i hate mr lopart"
7:00 PM · Mar 11, 2021 "mr lopart is a sad little man."
7:20 PM · Mar 11, 2021 "mr lopart fills me with unbelievable rage. this man is taping balloons to the ground. i understand he is a creature made entirely of hubris but this is fucking silly"
7:23 PM · Mar 11, 2021 "does mr lopart want to be nice or does he want to prove himself in some way?"

He's very much a character you're supposed to laugh at, and in my case, I just love to hate the guy. 

Overall, Handy Manny, is very much an acquired taste. If this is a show your kid is unnaturally obsessed with, let it happen, you'll get into it eventually, and if the blog you read for some reason decides to make a second post with a considerable amount of Handy Manny in it, you will read that Special Agent Oso post and you will like it!

Overall Rating for Handy Manny: B Tier

Jungle Junction (Hopefully) Part 1: A Call for Help

10:15 AM · Mar 16, 2021 "this show is so elsagated...."

Jungle Junction... isn't a show people care about. 

Certainly it's available to watch, but only behind a paywall. If you want to watch Jungle Junction any other way, you're kind of shit outta luck unless you're bilingual and don't mind watching a dub.

If you check any of the illegal cartoon sites, you'll find a small handful of episodes, which, upon further inspection, aren't episodes but clip compilations that cut off in the middle of a sentence or scene.

I had a lot of trouble with this.

10:27 AM · Mar 16, 2021 "hmm we may have a problem with this one, folks."
10:29 AM · Mar 16, 2021 "okay i can find.... 9 episodes, but i think that's it."
10:34 AM · Mar 16, 2021 "... they're in chinese"
10:38 AM · Mar 16, 2021 "i can only find two eleven minute episodes in english. everything else is just clips... i might have to return to this one"
10:41 AM · Mar 16, 2021 "OH MY GOD."
10:41 AM · Mar 16, 2021 "it's another clip compilation i was FOOLED"

Overall, of 47 episodes, I was able to find half of one full episode in English that wasn't behind a paywall, and that was "Treasures of Jungle Junction." It wasn't very good.

10:47 AM · Mar 16, 2021 "they made the bird a cop. unforgivable."

But at the same time, I have rules. I can't just tell you a cartoon is bad after watching one 11-minute episode. Not when I've been watching 13 22-minute episodes or the majority of the series (whichever comes sooner).

So I'd like to ask for help on this one. If you guys can find full episodes of Jungle Junction anywhere, please let me know. I'd rather not spend money on this project (perhaps I will once I reach an end to this project), but also, I find it odd that this show from only a decade ago doesn't really have a footprint. Other than some paywall'd stuff on AppleTV.

Maybe if you find it, or if it's on some other streaming platform in your country (I live in Canada), you can also try to preserve it if you know how to do that? There's only a DVD release in the UK with four episodes in terms of physical media, and even though I don't like this show, media preservation is still important!

Rating of THE ONE JUNGLE JUNCTION SEGMENT I SAW: D Tier