Since Seasons 1 and 2 of the series will be coming out on DVD on February 13, 2007, I will not be including summaries in these reviews for the rest of Season 2. If you're reading this review before you get the DVD set, you can read a short summary of the episode at https://ldloveszh.tripod.com/cnepis.html#germwars
Misc. Tidbits (11:24 AM - 11:25 AM, 11:58 AM - 11:59 AM)
The episode was written by Ted Alben & Greg Klein.
The original air date of the episode is unknown at the time of this writing. The original air dates for the Seasons 1 and 2 episodes will be revealed in a booklet that's being packaged with the DVD set.
I possibly first saw this episode on NBC, then on The Family Channel, then possibly on "Captain N & The Video Game Masters".
Interesting Notes (11:25 AM - 1:30 PM)
The title is white with quotes.
Kevin studied moon rocks that were over a billion years old in school.
Kid Icarus' uncle Methusulus is less than a billion years old.
Kid Icarus used a shrinking arrow before. It lasted only an hour.
Great Lines (Sunday, October 8, 2006, 11:44 AM - 1:30 PM; Monday, October 9, 2006, 9:55 AM - 10:48 AM)
Lana: "Aw, Kevin, that's not so bad. Does it hurt?"
Kevin: "Only when you frown."
Viroid: "How's this grab you, Captain N?"
Kevin's life force: "Whoa, it doesn't."
Fat cell #1: "Hey, we're outta goop, and I'm feelin' pooped."
Fat cell #2: "Yeah, I'm feelin' beat, so we better retreat."
Kevin's life force: "My own body turned against me. Don't you give up, too."
Viroid: "So,...you are a fool, after all. You must like lost causes."
Lana: "They're my favorite kind."
Kevin's life force: "I knew you wouldn't let me down."
Lana: "Kevin, we didn't leave you. Don't you leave us! You have to fight!"
Simon: "What's the quickest way out of here, Kev?"
Lana: "Simon, we can't leave him like this."
Kevin's life force: "You have to, Lana,...but just remember:...no matter what happens,...you'll always be my Videoland family."
Dumb Lines (Sunday, October 8, 2006, 12:21 PM - 1:29 PM)
Kid Icarus: "How am I supposed to fly with your stupid gum stuck all over my wings?"
That's Kevin's gum, Kid Icarus. Why are you blaming Simon? Besides, you were laughing about Simon's situation earlier.
Mega Man: "Yeah. We're here to rescue Captain N, not you, Simon."
Oh, shut up and help your teammate, Mega Man. It's not Simon's fault that he's stuck in gum.
Mega Man: "Hey, you led last time!"
Lana is your leader, Mega Man. Shut up and do as she says.
Rant (Sunday, October 8, 2006, 11:25 AM - 1:29 PM; Monday, October 9, 2006, 9:58 AM - 11:27 AM)
This episode was written by Ted Alben & Greg Klein, two writers that had never written a Captain N episode before. Let's see how well that they do.
This episode mostly isn't based on any game - with a few scenes on "Faxanadu".
Why was Kevin on Kongoland? And why'd he bring a rock back to the Palace of Power with him?
We learn a bit more about Kevin's life on Earth. He studied moon rocks in school.
This is a room of the Palace of Power that we haven't seen before. It looks like some kind of science lab.
I love how Lana giggles after Kevin insults Simon. :P
The stripes on Kevin's face disappear by the next scene. What was the point then?
Dr. Right! This is his first speaking role in Season 2. It's nice that some writers decided to use him again.
Dr. Right says "you humans". Does that mean Dr. Right isn't human?
Apparently, Kevin has some kind of immune system (that the bad guy calls "human life force") in his body that looks and sounds just like him - only colored green. Needless to say, this isn't how immune systems are on Earth. Since Kevin isn't from Videoland, he shouldn't have one either. Did he automatically get one when he was brought to Videoland?
Why does Viroid (the bad guy) say "I always find you", if Kevin was only recently infected? Is Viroid simply the personification of all viruses?
Kevin's life force's energy is based on a Power Pad? I guess that...kind of makes sense, since it's Kevin's life force. Other people's life forces are probably based on something else.
Viroid's lackey is called Cell? That's...not very creative.
Why do the readings of Kevin's body on Gameboy's screen go up and down constantly?
It's cute how Simon accidentally lets his concern for Kevin show. =)
Apparently, Lana can send a message to all of Videoland simply by standing in front of a monitor and speaking into a microphone. That's power right there. I want one of those.
Kevin's life force moves by pressing the center of the cross-key on his Power Pad. Um, no.
After pressing B, why doesn't Kevin's life force move?
Apparently, a healthy life force is green, and an infected life force is blue - and numb.
Why doesn't Cell finish off Kevin's life force when he's surprised?
The readings on Gameboy's screen are inconsistent with what Lana says.
What the hell is up with Kid Icarus shooting a boxing glove arrow to pound on the floor? How does that help him relieve his frustration?
Speaking of the boxing glove arrow, when I first saw this episode, I thought that Kid Icarus was using it to beat on Kevin to do...some kind of medical thing. :P
Where does Lana keep the map and videocom?
How can Kid Icarus understand what Duke is "saying"? He's a dog!
How can Lana, Simon, Mega Man, and Kid Icarus go inside Kevin's body after shrinking? Shrinking moves the atoms closer together, reducing the space between them, so it reduces size but not mass. The four of them should be too heavy and tear Kevin's body apart. I guess the only explanation is magic.
Map O' Kevin. Cute. :P
Why does Mega Man have the videocom? Dr. Right gave it to Lana.
Why does Kid Icarus wait until Simon complains to help him? Dick.
How can a bubble filled with breath rise? Can Mega Man exhale hydrogen or helium?
Why do Kid Icarus and Lana wait to grab hold? Well, Kid Icarus can fly, so he doesn't need the bubble at all, but Lana shouldn't have waited. She was lucky to make it out.
Why does Viroid call Cell "Shadow" now?
King Melvis has a different voice in this episode. He doesn't sound like Elvis Presley.
The magic elixir is in the game of "Faxanadu". It can fully restore your health meter, even if you die (but you have to be carrying it at the time of your death).
This episode's featured song is something that I call "Frustrated". It's a parody of "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" by The Rolling Stones.
It's cute how Duke excitedly joins in the chase. :P
So...how did Gameboy and Duke defeat that enemy? It just blips out of existence.
How does Duke know to buy armor?
Why does Simon have to lower Kid Icarus with his whip? Kid Icarus can fly!
When Kid Icarus is climbing down the whip, he's facing away from Mega Man and Lana. When he touches down, he's facing them.
Who's left to hold Simon's whip? Does it have it wrapped around something?
Simon's whip gets broken. It's a good thing that he knows the sales clerk at Honest Dick's Bullwhip Shop (see "In Search of the King").
It's weird that we don't actually see the N Team get captured by Viroid. They're just suddenly in the cage.
How can Kevin's life force walk, if he's paralyzed from the neck down?
Despite Viroid's earlier claim, Lana, Simon, Mega Man, and Kid Icarus made it there while Kevin's still alive. Why didn't Viroid kill him? Maybe he can't survive in a dead body, so he needs time to find another host to transfer to?
Why does Simon call Kevin's life force "old man"? Simon is older than Kevin - and much older than Kevin's life force!
How can Lana possibly sneak past the germ squad?
Why do the bonds around Kevin's life force break when Lana comes to rescue him?
Simon can still use his whip. How? Did he have a spare whip in his backpack?
When Lana says "They're my favorite kind", Kevin's life force is colored like Kevin. Oops.
When Dr. Right asks for Captain N's magic mantra (which isn't required to use the elixir in the game), the Game Genie-like screen on Gameboy is gone, replaced by Kevin's life force readings.
In fact, Gameboy's screen changes quite often in the final scene.
Is the dream that Kevin mentions an actual recollection of what his life force experienced, or is it something completely unrelated?
The episode ends on a humorous note - with Kevin sneezing out one of Simon's coat feathers.
Kevin sneezing out one of the feathers from Simon's coat brings up an interesting question. What else was left in Kevin's body and has now grown back to full size? Kid Icarus' feathers? Lana's hair? Where? What kinds of problems might they cause Kevin in the future?
Lesson: Family members should help each other.
When I had to make a choice between "The Trojan Dragon" and "Germ Wars" of which episode to review as the final story of Season 2 (since we won't know for sure until the DVD set is released), I ultimately chose this episode, not because it's good, but because Kevin's life was in mortal danger.
This episode is below average. I don't watch it often, because the Videolandization of Kevin's body is too weird to believe. We're supposed to believe that his entire body has sentient creatures inside of it. No. Just...no. I love how the rest of the N Team comes to his rescue, though, and I especially love that it's Lana that ultimately saves him.
Oh, yeah, Mother Brain and her lackeys aren't in this episode.
As for what to cut out, I can't think of any filler in this episode, mostly because the episode is so weird to begin with.
Overall, "Germ Wars" isn't a very good episode.
Usefulness ratings:
Kevin: 1 (expelling Lana, Simon, Mega Man, and Kid Icarus from his body)
Lana: 5 (getting the idea to fight the virus from inside Kevin's body, getting the idea to make the fat cells use up their fat, helping to make the fat cells use up their fat, defeating Viroid, reviving Kevin)
Simon: 7 (giving Lana the idea to fight the virus from inside Kevin's body, giving Mega Man the idea to blow the bubble, helping to make the fat cells use up their fat, lending his mirror to Lana, defeating 3 germs)
Mega Man: 5 (helping to free Simon from the gum, blowing the bubble to get everyone out of the stomach, helping to make the fat cells use up their fat, defeating 2 germs)
Kid Icarus: 3 (helping to free Simon from the gum, freeing Simon from the gum, helping to make the fat cells use up their fat)
Duke: 3 (helping to defeat an enemy, defeating an enemy, finding the elixir)
Gameboy: 3 (driving away the enemies, helping to defeat an enemy, finding the elixir)
Kevin does next-to-nothing in this episode, explaining why, for the first time ever, he's in last place. If he didn't sneeze near the end of the episode, he wouldn't have any points at all. I'm not counting what his life force did, because we don't know if Kevin was in control or not.
The running total usefulness ratings for this season so far are:
Kevin: 90 (13 episodes)
Lana: 33 (13 episodes)
Simon: 27 (13 episodes)
Mega Man: 26 (13 episodes)
Kid Icarus: 25 (13 episodes)
Duke: 10 (13 episodes)
Gameboy: 18 (13 episodes)
Lana ends this season's competition in second place. Hooray! You go, girl!
The running total usefulness ratings for the series so far are:
Kevin: 137 (26 episodes)
Lana: 42 (26 episodes)
Simon: 48 (26 episodes)
Mega Man: 43 (26 episodes)
Kid Icarus: 48 (26 episodes)
Duke: 24 (26 episodes)
Gameboy: 19 (13 episodes)
Lana is still in 5th place. We'll see how long that she stays there.
That's the end of my review of "Germ Wars". This was the last normal episode of Season 2 that I had to review. I have "When Mother Brain Rules" listed for Saturday, January 5, 1991, so I'll review that next. Yes, you read that right. There's a fourteenth episode of Season 2. See you all in my next review!