Big Time Strike is an episode from Season 2 of the musical comedy series Big Time Rush.
Tropes
- Comically Small Demand:
- The boys only went on strike because Gustavo took away their daily breaks and shocked them like cattle, agreeing to go back to work if Gustavo gave them 30-minute breaks per day, more respect and stop the shocking. Instead, Katie told them to be more greedy manipulating them that they hold all the cards here (turns out to be false later on) and they jack up their demand list to an ice cream bar, two hot tubs, brunch with Wayne Gretzky, a personal petting zoo and a hair salon.
- Katie's mother's demands were quite small as well. She only wanted Katie to admit that a mother's job is one of the hardest jobs there is and/or apologize.
- "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot: Twofold
- For Gustavo, the strike wouldn't have happened if he has listened to the boys at the start who stated they wanted the album to succeed as much as he does and knows how important to their careers it is. To the point they practically ''pleaded" with him.
- For the boys, the strike could've ended sooner if they had went with their initial demands for Gustavo to stop with the shocks, ease up on pushing them and give them a break in between practicing and recording. It's only due to Katie's prompting that they try for bigger demands that almost gets them fired. Ironically after they bring in Kendell and Katie's mom to negotiate on the boys' behalf, that is the demands Gustavo agrees to.
- Creepy Changing Painting: The text on BTR's picket signs constantly change just by flipping.
- Disney Acid Sequence: The "Superstar" sequence at the end shifts to the boys dancing atop a building's helicopter pad decked with their signature target, as spotlights revolve them.
- Extreme Doormat: Kelly at one point tried caving in to BTR's ridiculous demands despite how even she admits they're outlandish.Kelly: Okay, I can probably get them the ice cream sundae bar but I have no idea how to get them brunch with Wayne Gretzky.
- 555: James' phone number is 555-0126.
- Idiot Ball: Katie is usually one of the smartest, if not the smartest character on the show as being Wise Beyond Their Years and being the Only Sane Man in a world where all the adults are idiots. Here, she can't do housework at all such as making sandwiches or doing laundry. She's also the one to suggest the boys go for bigger demands as well.
- Jerkass Ball:
- Katie holds this tight against her mother by asserting that a mother's job is easy and refusing to properly apologize to her.
- BTR holds this even tighter than Katie as they keep insisting on the luxuries like ice cream bar, nail salon and hot tubs even after Gustavo promised to do away with the shocking.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Gustavo wasn't wrong in stating the boys got greedy after he fires them. Indeed their initial demands weren't all that big to begin with.
- Know-Nothing Know-It-All: Katie claims that being a mother is an easy job and that she could do all the work herself. Katie's mother is so appalled and angered upon hearing this that she goes on strike and forces Katie to start mothering Big Time Rush herself such as food and laundry. Katie turns out to be lazy and sloppy at work, and only feeds BTR mustard sandwiches plus she mixes all the laundry in one wash making BTR's white clothes come out pink.
- Only Sane Man: Kelly, as usual since the boys and Gustavo wage war on each other with ridiculous immature antics and she calls out both BTR and Gustavo are being buffoons.
- Red Sock Ruins the Laundry: As part of her housework that her mother forces her to do, Katie has to do the room laundry, which includes separating the reds from the rest. But she fails, which results in all the clothing which, the boys try to use in their own music video, all pink.
- Strike Episode: The boys go on strike against Gustavo while Mrs. Knight goes on strike from doing her motherly duties after she realizes Katie doesn't appreciate her at all for all she does.
- Swapped Roles: At the beginning, the viewer can sympathize more with the boys for the abrasive way Gustavo treated them with shocks and lack of breaks. Around the middle after the boys rev up their demands to ridiculous luxuries like an ice cream bar and hot tubs, Gustavo is seen in a more sympathetic light as by that time he already promised to give up all the shocking.
- A Taste of Their Own Medicine: Katie is put through this by her mother as she is forced to become BTR's new mommy and do everything for them such as making meals and doing their laundry. When BTR complains about her terrible sandwiches that are just bread and mustard plus messing up their laundry so all their clothes are ruined, Katie then realizes she was wrong to say a mother's job is easy.
