Just read the novelization of the episode at https://ldloveszh.tripod.com/episodes/3tale
Misc. Tidbits (11:56 AM - 11:57 AM)
The episode was written by Dennis O' Flaherty.
The episode originally aired on Saturday, October 12, 1991, as the fifth episode of Season 3 and the thirty-second episode of the series.
I first saw this episode on NBC and then possibly on "Captain N & The Video Game Masters".
Interesting Notes (11:57 AM - 11:58 AM, 5:30 PM)
The title is yellow with quotes.
Kevin's Zapper beams are blue in this episode.
Kevin's weapons don't lose power in this episode.
Great Lines (4:02 PM - 5:29 PM)
Mega Man: "Dr. Right, are you sure you can trust that mega-rat?"
Dr. Right: "There's good in everybody, Mega Man. You just have to look for it."
Kevin: "Yeah, well,...Wily does wear a clean lab coat."
Dr. Wily: "Why are the good guys always such chumps?"
Dr. Wily: "If you're still around after dinner, you can watch me and my new peace robot take over Videoland."
Kevin: "You'll pay for this, Dr. Wily."
Dr. Wily: "Sorry, Captain Numbskull. I left my wallet in my other lab coat."
Kevin: "If we get out of this, remind me to have my Zapper waterproofed."
Dr. Wily: "Well, I'm off to steal my peace robot."
Mega Man: "We've been digging forever. Do you think we're still in Skull Castle?"
Kevin: "Are you kidding. We're lucky if we're still in Videoland."
Dumb Lines (5:30 PM - 5:31 PM)
None.
Rant (3:18 PM - 5:32 PM)
This episode was written by Dennis O'Flaherty. The previous episodes written by Dennis O'Flaherty are "Having a Ball", "The Big Game", and "The Lost City of Kongoland". The first two episodes were good. The third episode was average. How well does he do this time?
This episode is based on "Mega Man III" for the NES, which came out in November of 1990 (too late to have an episode in Season 2).
The music that plays over the Captain N logo in this episode is some music that was used previously on this series, but I can't tell if it came from any game or not.
This is the first time that we've seen Megaland since Season 2's "The Big Game", which was also written by Dennis O'Flaherty. The exterior shot looks like the drawing in the Season 1 opening theme and Season 1's "Mega Trouble For Megaland".
The peace robot (called Gamma in the game) looks stupid. It even has a giant peace sign painted on its chest.
Dr. Right and Dr. Wily look pretty much the same as usual. They didn't suffer an animation downgrade.
Okay, Dr. Wily being able to see Dr. Right's lab from Skull Castle makes sense, since the two of them are allies now. Dr. Right must have allowed it, so Dr. Wily could monitor Dr. Right's progress on the building of the peace robot.
The robot that we'll so learn is Doc Robot looks and sounds like a robotic version of Dr. Wily. I wonder if Ian James Corlett voiced him.
The only Robot Master that made it into this episode is Topman. Why him? Some of the other Robot Masters are cooler.
Topman is on Topland, which is a spinning, top-shaped world that orbits Megaland.
Mega Man received an animation downgrade as well - or at least an alteration. His head is bigger.
Sheesh. Kevin and Mega Man are arguing about whose dog is the "baddest". Sadly, this leads into the episode's plot.
It's nice that they introduced Rush into the series, though. Rush can talk, but his mouth doesn't move. That's really weird. No, he's not thinking - as is proven later.
Mega Man can launch his left fist to hit enemies. I guess that's Captain N's version of the Hard Knuckle.
Dr. Right's statement of "There's good in everybody, Mega Man; you just have to look for it" is way wrong. Seriously. Some people are just evil. Just look at the mess in Iraq. It's spiraling downward into civil war as I type this.
But a Captain N episode review isn't the most appropriate place to discuss that, so I'll move on.
Dr. Wily expects to control the peace robot with that one joystick? How?
Hey, California Games. We last saw California Games in "The Big Game", which was also written by Dennis O'Flaherty. It looks like he's sticking with the same worlds in this episode.
I don't know if this is the case or not, but the fact that Kevin doesn't change into swimming trunks in this episode always seemed like the result of constraints caused by the episode's short running time, compared to "The Big Game".
Also, California Games doesn't seem sunny in this episode.
I can understand Rush being able to surf. He's a robot. But Duke? Then again, if Duke can rollerskate and beat Mega Man...
Unlike in "The Big Game", Skull Castle actually looks like Skull Castle in this episode.
The turtle dispenser is the only Skull Castle boss to appear in this episode. However, the way to him (a trap door outside the castle) is different than in the game. This was probably done due to time constraints.
Unlike in this episode, you can use any weapon against the turtles in the game. Also, you don't defeat the turtles in the game as Mega Man does in this episode.
Dr. Wily does a lot of name-calling in this episode. :P
What does Dr. Wily say in regards to Doc Robot's question about the dogs? "Cut them from the team"? What's that supposed to mean? Kill/destroy them?
Okay, Doc Robot getting out the Metal Blade and then cutting his head is just stupid.
How does Rush expect Duke to heed his warning?
A lightbulb goes on over Duke's head to indicate that he has an idea. Sheesh.
It's cute how Kevin and Mega Man just miss Duke and Rush, though. :P
Ugh. Skull Castle sneezing is one of the stupidest things that I've seen in this season so far - and probably in the entire series so far.
In the game, Dr. Light lets Mega Man know that Dr. Wily's stolen the peace robot before Mega Man goes to Skull Castle. If Dr. Wily wanted to bait Kevin and Mega Man to come to Skull Castle, then he simply should have stolen the peace robot and not bothered with the mutts.
In the game, the battle against the peace robot occurs inside Skull Castle, not outside as in this episode. Furthermore, you can't zap the peace robot's foot in the game and caused it to jump in pain (ugh), because you don't see its feet in the game.
Robo-bees? And in a metal hive? That's really stupid.
Sheesh. Dr. Wily's legs are a blur as he runs. It's a total Looney Tunes moment.
Why does the peace robot run in circles just because Dr. Wily does? Is it tuned to his feet?
Needless to say, this isn't how the peace robot is defeated in the game.
Ah, Rush does move his mouth when he talks now.
Rush has been talking throughout the episode, and Kevin and Mega Man just now realize it? Or was Rush merely thinking earlier? Either way, Kevin thinks it's Duke that talks. Those guys sure are dense.
The episode ends on a cute note - with Kevin and Mega Man being licked by Duke and Rush (Rush can lick?), respectively.
Lesson: Don't underestimate dogs.
This episode is average. It's nice to see "Mega Man III" done. I just wish it was longer. There was also some stupidity.
In this episode, Kevin, Mega Man, and Duke appear. Lana, Simon, Kid Icarus, and Gameboy must be back at the Palace of Power.
Oh, yeah, the Palace of Power doesn't appear in this episode. Neither do Mother Brain or most of her lackeys. This is Dr. Wily's last appearance. The last that we see of him, he's being chased off into the distance by a swarm of robo-bees. Doesn't he escape? Do they get him? We'll never know. It was nice to see him in a solo adventure for once, rather than being a lackey, though.
As for what to cut out, I can't think of any filler in this episode. Dennis O'Flaherty made good use of the short running time that he was given to work with. This is a lean episode.
Overall, "A Tale of Two Dogs" is an average episode.
Usefulness ratings:
Kevin: 11 (zapping the large ball, zapping 4 smaller balls, zapping 3 tops, giving Mega Man the idea to use the Shadow Blade, zapping 2 Metal Blades)
Mega Man: 2 (defeating Top Man, getting rid of the turtles)
Duke: 5 (scaring the cat away, distracting Top Man, getting the idea to dig, getting the idea to use the robo-bees, dropping the robo-bees in the cockpit)
Even though this is a Mega Man / Duke episode, Kevin is the most useful N Team member, getting a lot of points. Duke outscores Mega Man in an episode based on a Mega Man game. That's just wrong.
The running total usefulness ratings for this season so far are:
Kevin: 33 (5 episodes)
Lana: 4 (2 episodes)
Simon: 3 (2 episodes)
Mega Man: 2 (1 episode)
Kid Icarus: 2 (1 episode)
Duke: 6 (3 episodes)
Gameboy: 0 (0 episodes)
Kevin goes further into the lead, leaving everyone else in the dust. Duke moves into second place(?!). Lana falls to third place, followed by Simon in fourth and Mega Man and Kid Icarus in fifth.
The running total usefulness ratings for the series so far are:
Kevin: 170 (31 episodes)
Lana: 46 (28 episodes)
Simon: 53 (28 episodes)
Mega Man: 45 (27 episodes)
Kid Icarus: 50 (27 episodes)
Duke: 30 (29 episodes)
Gameboy: 18 (13 episodes)
Lana is still in 4th place. We'll see how long that she stays there.
That's the end of my review of "A Tale of Two Dogs". "Battle of the Baseball Know-It-Alls" originally aired sixth in Season 3 - on Saturday, October 19, 1991, so I'll review that next. See you all in my next review!