After Doug and Skeeter see a commercial for the new movie Targetman, they desperately want to see it. Soon, all of Doug's friends and even his teachers are talking about Targetman. When Doug tells his parents he wants to see it, they don't allow him because it is way too violent and they feel Doug is not mature enough to see it. So Doug tries to be more mature in front of his parents in order for them to let him see the movie, but they still say no. Doug goes with Skeeter to see the movie anyway, only to regret it later on. Meanwhile, Mr. Klotz is in town to visit Roger who also wants to see Targetman, but Mr. Klotz won't let Roger see it, and he doesn't realize why.
Tropes in this episode:
- Family-Friendly "Mature" Content: The episode sees Doug trying to see an ultra-violent action movie called Targetman.
- Rated M for Manly: Targetman is the violent action movie all the kids in Bluffington want to see. It's a RoboCop/Terminator/Judge Dredd sci-fi film starring Bruce Claude Von Rockenwagner complete with a Hurricane of Puns (most of which involve missing body parts). There's concern from adults about kids seeing it (even the normally laid-back Mr. Dink thinks it's too violent for kids) and aside from Connie, none of the female characters have any interest in seeing it (Judy argues that it has no redeeming social value of any kind). Roger and Doug are forbidden from seeing it by both of their parents (Roger by his normally absent father, who drags him out of a showing at the theater). Doug goes anyways and this trope gets subverted when it turns out Doug and Skeeter both really aren't prepared for the levels of violence in the film, resulting in Doug having nightmares and unintentionally confessing to his parents that he saw the film, resulting in him getting grounded.
