Flop Starz
Encyclopedia
"Flop Starz" is the first segment for the first official aired episode of the animated television series Phineas and Ferb
. The episode was originally broadcast on Disney Channel
on February 1, 2008. In the episode, Phineas and Ferb become one-hit wonders in the matter of a morning. This is much to the disappointment of Candace, who is trying out for super stardom on a competition show entitled The Next American Pop Teen Idol Star! Meanwhile, Doofenshmirtz converts his building into a giant robot to aid him in his attempt to conquer the tri-state area.
The episode's storyboard was written by Sherm Cohen and Antoine Guilbaud, though the story itself was made by the co-creators of the series. The song in the episode, "Gitchee, Gitchee, Goo," was the first song the series had and caused for Disney to want one in every episode. Despite the actual pilot being "Rollercoaster," the episode was broadcast to premiere the series, so a majority of the series' standard humor and plot devices had yet to be established (e.g. Perry and Doofenshmirtz have no involvement in the removal of the boys' evidence [mainly instigated by the boys themselves] and Candace's busting attempts in the A-plot are limited to two).
"Flop Starz" carried several references to the music industry and several genres (the title itself is as well a spoof of the phrase "pop stars"), as well as to the talent competition
American Idol
. The episode was well received by critics and fans alike, gaining 23.5 million viewers in its premiere. The song featured, "Gitchee, Gitchee, Goo," was as well reviewed favorably by critics. "Flop Starz" has been featured in several pieces of merchandise, including a junior novelization by Lara Bergen in 2009.
(as main vocals and guitarist), Ferb
(as drummer and keyboardist), and their friends, Isabella Garcia-Shapiro and Fireside Girls Adyson Sweetwater, Gretchen and Milly (as back-up singers, referred by Phineas as "the Ferbettes"), who have effectively topped the charts with their song "Gitchee, Gitchee, Goo", becoming one-hit wonders. Being who she is, instead of joining them, Candace goes off to try and expose them to their mother, initially failing by mistaking the shadow on-stage of an anthropomorphic rabbit
playing a blender
as his instrument for her brothers, known as Marty the Rabbit Boy and his musical blender.
Meanwhile, Perry
enters Dr. Doofenshmirtz's lair (the 'lair' building here is different from Doofenshmirtz's usual lair) wearing groucho glasses
; confusing him as a temp
, Doofenshmirtz explains to him his entire plan to rain terror over the "entire Tri-State Area", which he later explains, after Perry removes his "disguise," through the use of the entire building, which transforms into a giant robot (the construction of which was achieved from Doofenshmirtz buying up construction toys at an alarming rate).
The boys, oblivious to Candace's threat, continue their stardom, heading over to "Huge-O-Records" where they have been offered a record deal. Candace tries to show their mom the band's poster as they are on their way (taking with her a jacket their mother had not paid for yet. The security guard comes and takes their mother back in to pay for the jacket, regardless of him recognising her as Lindana), though it is on a building scheduled for demolition
and is destroyed (ironically, it would have been destroyed by Doofenshmirtz's robot, if Perry had not changed its direction). When the band is at the record company, Phineas, following the steps his mother gave him, throws a diva
tantrum
and leaves, unaware that the CEO plans to use a videotape of the band's performance to carry on the band's legacy. Meanwhile, Doofenshmirtz, inside his robot, traps Perry, offering him a deli platter thinking he has won; Perry, however, has him pour a large amount of pepper onto it, blowing it and causing the robot to sneeze. The two are sent flying and crashing through the record building, Perry landing safe on a flag pole (having taken the PFT tape in the process, which he uses to latch onto the flag pole) while Doofenshmirtz plummets to the ground, landing on top of a mattress placed on top of a parked truck ("Phew! What an unbelievable stroke of luck!"). Unfortunately it is revealed that the truck belongs to a folding mattress company and Doofenshmirtz is then crushed by the mattress ("I'm okay! I'm still better than I...") and then is ironically crushed by his own robot (a muffled "Curse you, Perry the Platypus!").
Candace, back at the mall (having not further attempted to bust her brothers since the building demolition), is downtrodden until her crush, Jeremy, assures her to not let the boys' fun ruin her good time and that if she got the chance to sing, she ought to, so she joins with the band singing their hit song in a reunion concert. When she thinks she has finally made it, the band announces they have finished their career and the mall closes, leaving her in the dark.
and Swampy Marsh, wrote the story for "Flop Starz;" Sherm Cohen
and Antoine Guilbaud, meanwhile, constructed the storyboards. Povenmire directed the episode, which he did for the majority of the season. Povenmire and Marsh wrote the featured song, "Gitchee, Gitchee, Goo," like they do with all of the music in the show. That song and Perry's "secret agent theme" were the first pitched to Disney, who enjoyed it so much they wanted the pair to write a song for every episode.
The Disney company wanted to start off the series in a "big way." Instead of premiering it with the pilot episode, "Rollercoaster," they chose "Flop Starz" and aired it on the same day in every country in which the Disney Channel was broadcast; over one hundred and fifty territories. This caused for the episode to air almost six months later than originally planned as different countries adapted the script and hired voice actors to rerecord lines in the selected languages. Despite the delay, the episode officially aired on February 1, 2008, starting off the month-long marathon Disney entitled "Phineas and Ferb-uary."
The episode contains several references to the talent show American Idol, as the competition Candace enters and "Phineas and the Ferb-tones" perform at, The Next American Pop Teen Idol Star, is a complete parody
of it. The episode as well references the craze of boy bands and the pop
genre, more specifically the "bubblegum
" style, including its title, a play on "pop stars."
Candace, trying on outfits, goes through a sailor suit
, a construction worker
uniform, Native American
clothing, a biker
wear, and a policemen uniform; these are referent to the clothing worn by five members of the 1970s disco
group Village People
.
Linda's pseudonym
as a one-hit wonder, "Lindana," is a spoof of the famous singer Madonna; as well, the title of her hit single "I'm Lindana and I Wanna Have Fun" is referent to the 1983 hit song "Girls Just Want to Have Fun
" by Cyndi Lauper
. Furthermore, during the end credits, the Greatest hits
CD for the song is entitled "The Essential Lindana: Still Fun..." which is a general play on "The Essentials" CDs.
Worldwide, the episode garnered over 23.5 million viewers from the over one hundred and fifty territories in which it was broadcast, including the United Kingdom
, Australia
, and the United States
. Disney Channel's vice president of programming for the UK, Scandinavia
and emerging markets, has responded to the high ratings, explaining that it was an achievement due to the effort spent with marketing and voice overs.
" form or as the song itself. The song was featured as an extended version on the album Disney Channel Playlist
, which featured multiple songs from different Disney Channel artists. The song also was one of the twenty-six songs appearing on the series official soundtrack, released on September 29, 2009. The episode was one of several that was featured on the first volume DVD
of season one entitled "The Fast and the Phineas." In the DVD, it is paired with its production partner "Are You My Mummy?
" Lara Bergen adapted the episode, along with the fellow season one episode "Lights, Candace, Action!" into a novella
for young readers entitled Runaway Hit. It was the second of a series of novelizations made from the series.
Later in the series, however, after the hypnotic single My Name Is Doofis performed, and the members of the tri-state area had been enslaved by Heinz Doofenshmirtz, Perry the Platypus pulls down a curtain, therefore revealing the extended version of "Gitchee, Gitchee Goo".
Phineas and Ferb
Phineas and Ferb is an American animated television comedy series. Originally broadcast as a preview on August 17, 2007, on Disney Channel, the series follows Phineas Flynn and his English stepbrother Ferb Fletcher on summer vacation. Every day the boys embark on some grand new project, which...
. The episode was originally broadcast on Disney Channel
Disney Channel
Disney Channel is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company. It is under the direction of Disney-ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney. The channel's headquarters is located on West Alameda Ave. in...
on February 1, 2008. In the episode, Phineas and Ferb become one-hit wonders in the matter of a morning. This is much to the disappointment of Candace, who is trying out for super stardom on a competition show entitled The Next American Pop Teen Idol Star! Meanwhile, Doofenshmirtz converts his building into a giant robot to aid him in his attempt to conquer the tri-state area.
The episode's storyboard was written by Sherm Cohen and Antoine Guilbaud, though the story itself was made by the co-creators of the series. The song in the episode, "Gitchee, Gitchee, Goo," was the first song the series had and caused for Disney to want one in every episode. Despite the actual pilot being "Rollercoaster," the episode was broadcast to premiere the series, so a majority of the series' standard humor and plot devices had yet to be established (e.g. Perry and Doofenshmirtz have no involvement in the removal of the boys' evidence [mainly instigated by the boys themselves] and Candace's busting attempts in the A-plot are limited to two).
"Flop Starz" carried several references to the music industry and several genres (the title itself is as well a spoof of the phrase "pop stars"), as well as to the talent competition
Talent show
A talent show is an event where participants perform their talent or talents of acting, singing, dancing, acrobatics, drumming, martial arts, playing an instrument, and other activities to showcase a unique form of talent, sometimes for a reward, trophy or prize...
American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
. The episode was well received by critics and fans alike, gaining 23.5 million viewers in its premiere. The song featured, "Gitchee, Gitchee, Goo," was as well reviewed favorably by critics. "Flop Starz" has been featured in several pieces of merchandise, including a junior novelization by Lara Bergen in 2009.
Episode summary
At breakfast, the family watches a promo for The Next Super American Pop Teen Idol Star!, a talent competition show, which pushes Candace to go and audition at the mall. The boys are as well curious about the world of stardom and want to know about the kind of artist who only releases one song, then its all over. They are explained the concept of "one-hit wonders" by their mother, who reminisces about her days as one named "Lindana". While the boys work on becoming one by writing a "meaningless" song in their room, Candace prepares to audition (trying on various outfits to wear to the audition -including her mother's Lindana outfit- all rejected by her friend Stacy). When she does audition she becomes the "hundredth contestant" and is set to perform with the new band "PFT" – she finds out, however, the band is "Phineas and the Ferb-Tones" (PFT being an acronym thereof), consisting of PhineasPhineas Flynn
Phineas Flynn is the main protagonist of the animated television series Phineas and Ferb. Voiced by Vincent Martella and created and designed by Dan Povenmire, Phineas first appeared along with the rest of the series' main characters in the pilot episode "Rollercoaster." Phineas, along with his...
(as main vocals and guitarist), Ferb
Ferb Fletcher
Ferb Fletcher is the deuteragonist from the animated television series Phineas and Ferb. The character, voiced by British actor Thomas Sangster, was created by Phineas and Ferb co-founders Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh and first appeared in the show's pilot episode, "Rollercoaster."Ferb and...
(as drummer and keyboardist), and their friends, Isabella Garcia-Shapiro and Fireside Girls Adyson Sweetwater, Gretchen and Milly (as back-up singers, referred by Phineas as "the Ferbettes"), who have effectively topped the charts with their song "Gitchee, Gitchee, Goo", becoming one-hit wonders. Being who she is, instead of joining them, Candace goes off to try and expose them to their mother, initially failing by mistaking the shadow on-stage of an anthropomorphic rabbit
Rabbit
Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...
playing a blender
Blender
A blender is a kitchen appliance for chopping or liquefying food.Blender may also refer to:Media:* Blender , a music-themed magazine* Blender , a free and open-source software program for 3D modeling, animation, and rendering...
as his instrument for her brothers, known as Marty the Rabbit Boy and his musical blender.
Meanwhile, Perry
Perry the Platypus
Perry the Platypus, also known as Agent P or simply Perry is an anthropomorphic platypus from the animated television series Phineas and Ferb. Perry is voiced by Dee Bradley Baker and created by the series' co-founders, Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh...
enters Dr. Doofenshmirtz's lair (the 'lair' building here is different from Doofenshmirtz's usual lair) wearing groucho glasses
Groucho glasses
Groucho glasses, often called funny glasses or beaglepuss, are a novelty disguise that caricature Groucho Marx. Typically consisting of black horn-rimmed glasses with attached eyebrows, large plastic nose, and bushy moustache, Groucho glasses were marketed as early as the 1940s. Groucho glasses...
; confusing him as a temp
Temporary work
Temporary work or temporary employment refers to a situation where the employee is expected to leave the employer within a certain period of time. Temporary employees are sometimes called "contractual", "seasonal", "interim", "casual staff", "freelance", or "part-time"; or the word may be shortened...
, Doofenshmirtz explains to him his entire plan to rain terror over the "entire Tri-State Area", which he later explains, after Perry removes his "disguise," through the use of the entire building, which transforms into a giant robot (the construction of which was achieved from Doofenshmirtz buying up construction toys at an alarming rate).
The boys, oblivious to Candace's threat, continue their stardom, heading over to "Huge-O-Records" where they have been offered a record deal. Candace tries to show their mom the band's poster as they are on their way (taking with her a jacket their mother had not paid for yet. The security guard comes and takes their mother back in to pay for the jacket, regardless of him recognising her as Lindana), though it is on a building scheduled for demolition
Demolition
Demolition is the tearing-down of buildings and other structures, the opposite of construction. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a building apart while carefully preserving valuable elements for re-use....
and is destroyed (ironically, it would have been destroyed by Doofenshmirtz's robot, if Perry had not changed its direction). When the band is at the record company, Phineas, following the steps his mother gave him, throws a diva
Diva
A diva is a celebrated female singer. The term is used to describe a woman of outstanding talent in the world of opera, and, by extension, in theatre, cinema and popular music. The meaning of diva is closely related to that of "prima donna"....
tantrum
Tantrum
A tantrum is an emotional outburst, usually associated with children or those in emotional distress, that is typically characterized by stubbornness, crying, screaming, yelling, shrieking, defiance, angry ranting, a resistance to attempts at pacification and, in some cases, violence...
and leaves, unaware that the CEO plans to use a videotape of the band's performance to carry on the band's legacy. Meanwhile, Doofenshmirtz, inside his robot, traps Perry, offering him a deli platter thinking he has won; Perry, however, has him pour a large amount of pepper onto it, blowing it and causing the robot to sneeze. The two are sent flying and crashing through the record building, Perry landing safe on a flag pole (having taken the PFT tape in the process, which he uses to latch onto the flag pole) while Doofenshmirtz plummets to the ground, landing on top of a mattress placed on top of a parked truck ("Phew! What an unbelievable stroke of luck!"). Unfortunately it is revealed that the truck belongs to a folding mattress company and Doofenshmirtz is then crushed by the mattress ("I'm okay! I'm still better than I...") and then is ironically crushed by his own robot (a muffled "Curse you, Perry the Platypus!").
Candace, back at the mall (having not further attempted to bust her brothers since the building demolition), is downtrodden until her crush, Jeremy, assures her to not let the boys' fun ruin her good time and that if she got the chance to sing, she ought to, so she joins with the band singing their hit song in a reunion concert. When she thinks she has finally made it, the band announces they have finished their career and the mall closes, leaving her in the dark.
Production
Series co-creators, Dan PovenmireDan Povenmire
Daniel Kingsley "Dan" Povenmire is an American television director, writer, producer, storyboard artist, and actor associated with several animated television series, best known as the co-creator of the Disney animated series Phineas and Ferb in which he also voices the show's villain, Heinz...
and Swampy Marsh, wrote the story for "Flop Starz;" Sherm Cohen
Sherm Cohen
Sherm Cohen born January 19, 1965, is an American storyboard artist. In his teens Sherm worked as a cartoonist in his local newspaper, he got his start in animation at Nickelodeon on The Ren and Stimpy Show as a character layout artist, followed by a three-year stint on Hey Arnold as a storyboard...
and Antoine Guilbaud, meanwhile, constructed the storyboards. Povenmire directed the episode, which he did for the majority of the season. Povenmire and Marsh wrote the featured song, "Gitchee, Gitchee, Goo," like they do with all of the music in the show. That song and Perry's "secret agent theme" were the first pitched to Disney, who enjoyed it so much they wanted the pair to write a song for every episode.
The Disney company wanted to start off the series in a "big way." Instead of premiering it with the pilot episode, "Rollercoaster," they chose "Flop Starz" and aired it on the same day in every country in which the Disney Channel was broadcast; over one hundred and fifty territories. This caused for the episode to air almost six months later than originally planned as different countries adapted the script and hired voice actors to rerecord lines in the selected languages. Despite the delay, the episode officially aired on February 1, 2008, starting off the month-long marathon Disney entitled "Phineas and Ferb-uary."
Cultural references
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of it. The episode as well references the craze of boy bands and the pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
genre, more specifically the "bubblegum
Bubblegum pop
Bubblegum pop is a genre of pop music with an upbeat sound contrived and marketed to appeal to pre-teens and teenagers, produced in an assembly-line process, driven by producers, often using unknown singers.Bubblegum's classic period ran from 1967 to 1972...
" style, including its title, a play on "pop stars."
Candace, trying on outfits, goes through a sailor suit
Sailor suit
A sailor suit is a uniform traditionally worn by enlisted seamen in the navy, and other government funded sea services. It later developed in to a popular clothing style for children....
, a construction worker
Construction worker
A construction worker or builder is a professional, tradesman, or labourer who directly participates in the physical construction of infrastructure.-Construction trades:...
uniform, Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
clothing, a biker
Motorcycling
Motorcycling is the act of riding a motorcycle. A variety of subcultures and lifestyles have been built up around motorcycling.-Benefits:Robert M. Pirsig's book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance was a paean celebrating motorcycling...
wear, and a policemen uniform; these are referent to the clothing worn by five members of the 1970s disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
group Village People
Village People
Village People is a concept disco group that formed in the United States in 1977, well known for their on-stage costumes depicting American cultural stereotypes, as well as their catchy tunes and suggestive lyrics....
.
Linda's pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
as a one-hit wonder, "Lindana," is a spoof of the famous singer Madonna; as well, the title of her hit single "I'm Lindana and I Wanna Have Fun" is referent to the 1983 hit song "Girls Just Want to Have Fun
Girls Just Want to Have Fun
Girls Just Want to Have Fun may refer to:In music:* "Girls Just Want to Have Fun", the first major single released by singer Cyndi Lauper on She's So UnusualIn film:...
" by Cyndi Lauper
Cyndi Lauper
Cynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress and LGBT rights activist. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first female singer to have four top-five singles released from one album...
. Furthermore, during the end credits, the Greatest hits
Greatest hits
A greatest hits album is a music compilation album of successful, previously released songs by a particular artist or band...
CD for the song is entitled "The Essential Lindana: Still Fun..." which is a general play on "The Essentials" CDs.
Ratings
"Flop Starz" was, as recorded by Disney, cable's number one watched animated series premiere for the "tween" demographic. Four million viewers have been reported as viewing it in no specific demographic. This spark continued, leading to the series to be television's top-rated animated series for kids (6-11) and tweens (9-14) for the first quarter of the year.Worldwide, the episode garnered over 23.5 million viewers from the over one hundred and fifty territories in which it was broadcast, including the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Disney Channel's vice president of programming for the UK, Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
and emerging markets, has responded to the high ratings, explaining that it was an achievement due to the effort spent with marketing and voice overs.
"Gitchee, Gitchee, Goo" and merchandise
Several critics have positively reviewed the song "Gitchee, Gitchee, Goo" from the episode, stating that it "could probably have gotten radio play 20 years ago." Disney as well enjoyed it enough to ask the creators to write songs every episode. The song has since then made brief appearances in later episodes, either in "elevator musicElevator music
Elevator music refers to instrumental arrangements of popular music designed for playing in shopping malls, grocery stores, department stores, telephone systems , cruise ships, airports, doctors' and dentists' offices, and elevators...
" form or as the song itself. The song was featured as an extended version on the album Disney Channel Playlist
Disney Channel Playlist
Disney Channel Playlist is a compilation album of music used in Disney Channel Original Series as well as Disney Channel Original Movies. It was released on June 9, 2009.-Tracklisting:...
, which featured multiple songs from different Disney Channel artists. The song also was one of the twenty-six songs appearing on the series official soundtrack, released on September 29, 2009. The episode was one of several that was featured on the first volume DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
of season one entitled "The Fast and the Phineas." In the DVD, it is paired with its production partner "Are You My Mummy?
Are You My Mummy?
"Are You My Mummy?" is the twelfth broadcast episode of the animated television series Phineas and Ferb. The episode sees stepbrothers Phineas and Ferb going to an Egyptian-themed theater where they become inspired to befriend a mummy they believe is being kept in the theater basement. They confuse...
" Lara Bergen adapted the episode, along with the fellow season one episode "Lights, Candace, Action!" into a novella
Novella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
for young readers entitled Runaway Hit. It was the second of a series of novelizations made from the series.
Later in the series, however, after the hypnotic single My Name Is Doofis performed, and the members of the tri-state area had been enslaved by Heinz Doofenshmirtz, Perry the Platypus pulls down a curtain, therefore revealing the extended version of "Gitchee, Gitchee Goo".
Footnotes
- 1. Two episodes ("Rollercoaster" and "Lawn Gnome Beach Party of Terror") aired before the episode as previews, making it the third to be broadcast
External links
- Flop Starz on Phineas and FerbPhineas and FerbPhineas and Ferb is an American animated television comedy series. Originally broadcast as a preview on August 17, 2007, on Disney Channel, the series follows Phineas Flynn and his English stepbrother Ferb Fletcher on summer vacation. Every day the boys embark on some grand new project, which...
WikiWikiA wiki is a website that allows the creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser using a simplified markup language or a WYSIWYG text editor. Wikis are typically powered by wiki software and are often used collaboratively by multiple users. Examples include...
, an external wiki - Official Phineas and Ferb website