Recently, I started rewatching Phineas and Ferb and have been struck by how timeless it is. I rewatch a lot of my favorite shows from when I was younger, but Phineas and Ferb is one of the ones that I enjoy beyond pure nostalgia. The concept is clever, the writing is funny, and every single song is a banger. (It also gave me one of my favorite on screen romances in Candace and Jeremy).
Part of it’s genius is it’s ability to reinvent and play into its formula. There is no shortage of formulaic TV shows. The Big Bang Theory, Scooby Doo, almost any crime show, but of the formulaic TV shows that I’ve seen, Phineas and Ferb is the most successful.
The creations of Phineas and Ferb themselves are ingenious and finding out what new inator Dr. Doofenschmirtz’ has cooked up is a highlight of the show. A recent favorite is his “Rotten-inator”, a laser gun that turns anything it hits rotten. He creates it in order to win a local meatloaf competition. In classic Doof fashion he ends up shooting his own meatloaf and getting disqualified.
A good example of the show using it’s formula for the purpose of the plot is with Doof’s “Least Likely-inator”. When one is zapped with this inator, they do the thing they are least likely to do. In the climax of the episode, right as Candace is about to show her mom the fun home the boys built inside their house, she is zapped with the “Least Likely-inator”. Before her mom has a chance to see the it, Candace cleans up the entire fun home, preventing herself from busting her brothers.
The creative inventions, however, are not the main reason I think the show is such a good example of formulaic TV. The other day I watched the season 3 episode, “Tri-Stone Area”. The episode is set in 10,000 BC with all of the main cast as cavemen. Phineas and Ferb invent the wheel while Dr. Doofenschmirtz attempts to incite a stampede to take out his brother Roger who has evolved into a more advanced form of human. The episode’s dialogue is entirely made up of grunts and caveman speak. What struck me was how easy the episode is to follow without any legitimate dialogue. It’s not just that you could follow what was happening, but for the most part could garner what each character was saying. This is achieved through a combined effort of the voice actors getting their characters inflections just so and the writers understanding what conventions the show’s audience understands. The end result is a hilarious episode of the show chock full of clever references and jokes with only two lines of English spoken (Phineas and Ferb joke that they will inform everyone they invented a new language tomorrow).
The show’s ability to embrace it’s formula and use it to it’s comedic advantage is one of it’s biggest strengths and makes it’s one of the best shows I’ve ever watched.
All this to say, get excited for the reboot coming this year.
Aside from watching Phineas and Ferb life has been relatively chill recently. I was up in NY last weekend visiting my cousin and her husband which was really nice. Samiya lives near by so we got to visit briefly as well which was lovely. Feel so grateful to have people in my life with whom I can pick up right where we left off.
This same cousin and her husband visited my parents and I this weekend to go the Phillies game. They’re doing a tour of all the ballparks and Citizens Bank was up next. It was one of the most exciting baseball games I’ve ever been to. The Phils were playing the Mets (a division rival) and were down 4-0 in the 3rd. They managed to claw their way back and won 4-6. The stadium was electric.
I have my first big presentation at work this week so wish me luck!! 😬
Love and miss everyone xx
Neeeed to hear your thoughts on the new show “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” asap🤓
Best of luck of your presentation!!! Having notifications on for your posts is always the best surprise treat hehe. You is soooo smart!!!