iCarly Saves TV is the 23rd episode in the 1st season of iCarly.
A big-time producer wants to make iCarly into a TV show, and Carly, Sam and Freddie are excited until the crew start making multiple changes to the show until it doesn't seem like iCarly anymore.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Benson begins mothering Spencer.
Tropes:
- Adaptation Decay: The episode involved the webshow being bought to produce for television. By the end, Freddie the producer had quit working on the show completely, they added a zany mascot, the Deadpan Snarker sidekick was fired, and when the lead quit, she was replaced by a sitcom family, and they changed the title. Yet the network considered it the same show, despite not even being In Name Only.
- And This Is for...: Prior to performing on iCarly in the end, Harper says, "This one's for the real iCarly."
- Armor-Piercing Response:Carly: Well, now, we've lost Sam, Freddie, and Harper.
Brad: Oh, everything's gonna be fine.
Carly: Fine?! This isn't even iCarly anymore!
Brad: Oh, come on, how can you say — you know, you're right. This isn't iCarly anymore... - Big Bad: Brad Brenner takes the role as the main antagonist, buying out the iCarly's copyrights but then refusing to let them input their own ideas and overruling them on everything with his own stupid, lackluster ideas.
- The Cameo: Steve Hoefer, one of Schneider Bakery's resident directors, plays the director for the TV show.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Sam physically attacking Zeebo with a microphone for being annoying and bumping her counts.
- The Ditz: Brad Brenner, who is much more obsessed with generating appeal to audience demographics to boost ratings than listening to other people's ideas on how to make comedy. He doesn't even bother with a test audience (other than his daughter, as well as a group of network executives), hires mediocre writers, and his own pursuit for higher ratings only backfire and hurt his career.
- Expy: Zeebo is likely a parody of Barney. However, he doesn't look like Barney much, but sharply resembles Godzooky from the Hanna-Barbera Godzilla cartoon.
- Ironic Echo: When Brad's daughter sees the pilot episode that her father worked on, she dismissively calls it lame. When the iCarly gang see the NEW pilot episode that is even worse, they all call it lame.
- Jerkass: Brad Brenner.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Brad firing Sam can be this. Sure, Brad is a smug moron who refuses to listen to the team's ideas for the show but he did have a point that Sam attacking Zeebo is justified grounds for dismissal in any work environment.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Most likely after this episode ends, now without Carly and Sam's creative input which he stubbornly refused out of pride that his own ideas are wiser, Brad Brenner's idea for a TV show is doomed to flop. Harper also crashed his Porsche.
- Minor Injury Overreaction: Spencer pricks his hand with a screwdriver and starts freaking out because he's bleeding. Luckily for him, Mrs. Benson is as much of an overreacter as he is, and immediately runs to get her gigantic first-aid kit.Spencer: Wait! I don’t think I should be left alone, there’s a hole in my hand, Mrs. Benson!
- Misplaced Kindergarten Teacher: Or in this case, "Misplaced Children’s Show Producer". Brad Brenner hears that little children love dinosaurs, and so he decides to add in a character on the iCarly show named "Zeebo", a person in a goofy dinosaur costume that sings childish songs. Even though this show is supposed to be for preteens, and dinosaurs are targeted towards little children.
- No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Sam delivers one to Zeebo for being physically and verbally obnoxious.
- Pet the Dog: When Brad Brenner realizes that iCarly is now almost nothing like it originally was as a webshow, he realizes that he went too far. So he uses this setup to make a new show that is not associated with iCarly at all, and the iCarlys get their webshow back.
- Punctuated Pounding: The suit actor of Zeebo, except he is the one being pounded (by Sam, no less).Zeebo: I! (Smack) Can't! (Smack) Believe! (Smack) This is! (Smack) Still! (Smack) Going! (Smack) On! (Smack)
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: After the new Spoiled Brat actress, Amber Tate, hits Freddie for something that wasn’t his fault, Carly lays into her for being so awful and not caring for her sickly dog.Carly: Don't you hit Freddie!
Amber: Oh, don’t even talk to me.
Carly: Well, too late! I'm already talking to you! And what is with you rich brats carrying around little dogs like him? I've eaten chicken wings with more meat on them than that thing! - Take This Job and Shove It:
- Freddie is taken off technical producer and given the job of supervising producer. He thinks that job sounds cool, but his job involves him being ordered by Brad Brenner to perform humiliating and demeaning tasks such as putting ice on a fat man’s sweaty stomach and looking after a Spoiled Brat's sickly dog who barfs on him. When he finally is ordered to unclog the producer’s toilet, he hits his Rage Breaking Point and quits.
- Also, Harper is taken off his job as keyboard player and replaces Zeebo. But when he has to perform a Sickeningly Sweet song, he promptly stops in the middle of it and says this job sucks.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: We don't see Brad's daughter after her one and only scene. We also don't know what became of her after her father changed iCarly into a lame sitcom destined to flop.
