The Magic Tree of Nowhere
Original air date: 10/31/2000
Production code: CCD-201a
Courage plants a tree from some mysterious seeds that arrived at their door. The tree grows in but a night, and shows strange magical powers when it starts granting Courage, Eustace, and Muriel's wishes. After the tree understands a comment from Eustace as a wish, Muriel is afflicted with a strange case of huge head. The tree (which turns out to be sentient) offers a cure for Courage in three days, while also prophesying that in three days, it will be cut down by Eustace. Now Courage must protect the friendly tree at all costs for Muriel's sake.
Robot Randy
Original air date: 10/31/2000
Production code: CCD-201b
A robot from a society of planet-destroying robots is sent to Earth to conquer it. Randy, however, doesn't want to destroy things, but to whittle wooden reindeer. He eventually arrives at Earth in the Middle of Nowhere, and enslaves Courage, Eustace, and Muriel. However, Courage soon discovers the robot's true passion on his quest to free his masters.
"The Magic Tree of Nowhere" features examples of the following tropes:
- Armor-Piercing Question: The tree tries to pull this on Eustace. Of course, it falls on deaf, dumb ears.
- Bittersweet Ending: Courage fails to keep the tree safe, but it tells him the cure for Muriel's condition in its final moments.
- Driven by Envy: Eustace becomes very jealous that the tree is providing for Muriel and Courage, which leads him to try to chop it down.
- Hope Sprouts Eternal: The episode ends with Muriel and Courage looking on as a new flower begins sprouting from the stump of the tree.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Just when you thought Eustace has gotten away with succeeding in chopping the tree, karma finally catches up to him as he ends up with the same abnormally swollen head Muriel had earlier and will suffer even more by having to wait for the tree he chopped down to grow back.
- Monster in the Moat: Played for Laughs. Courage tries to protect the eponymous tree from being chopped down by Eustace by building a defensive fortress around it, which includes digging a moat and filling it with water. He then pours a bag of "Instant Eel" powder into the water, which creates a big, green, ferocious eel monster. The Instant Eel is twice shown stopping to sing a few lyrics from the classic Irish folk song "Danny Boy" (even joining with Eustace for a duet at one point), before he resumes acting as a ferocious guard beast (and mauling Eustace again).
- Never My Fault: Eustace blames Courage for Muriel's swollen head even though Eustace was the one who made the wish in the first place.
- Reflective Eyes: Eustace's glasses literally reflect his envy twice in the episode. The first time, they reflect the eponymous tree when he's envious that Courage managed to grow something when he never could. The second time, they reflect the tree again, but this time it's because he's envious of the tree itself for providing for Muriel and Courage when he considers that to be his job.
- Skyward Scream: Courage unleashes an extended one of grief and rage that ends up shattering the sun after he finds that, in his absence, Eustace managed to cut down the tree.
- You Can't Fight Fate: The magic tree outright tells Courage that he's doomed to be cut down by Eustace in three days, and despite Courage's best efforts, Eustace succeeds when he tricks Courage away with a call from Dr. Vindaloo claiming that he's got the "cure". Courage thinks he means the cure to the swollen head Muriel has come down with, but when he arrives he finds out that it's actually for a nonexistent malady of his. He returns to find the tree already cut down.
"Robot Randy" features examples of the following tropes:
- Alliterative Name: Robot Randy. Additionally, he is also red, whittles reindeer, and appears to be the runt compared to the other 'bots.
- Alliterative Title: Again, "Robot Randy".
- Dance-Off: There is a breakdance contest between Courage and the titular robot for the lives of Eustace and Muriel.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: Robot Randy's voice is clearly based on Christopher Walken's.
- Only the Leads Get a Downer Ending: Randy learns to use his gifts to make people like him. But in doing so, Courage, Muriel, and Eustace's home is completely destroyed and all they are left with is Randy's wooden reindeer, merely as a token of their friendship. Eustace even lampshades how much they were screwed over in the end:Eustace: Great! Now we can rebuild the farmhouse with these stupid reindeer!
