Recap / Phineas and Ferb: "Dude, We're Getting the Band Back Together"

Lawrence Fletcher is in deep, deep trouble with Linda. Turns out that he's forgotten their wedding anniversary. Short on time, he finds himself stuck for ideas of what he can do… the only thing he can think of is the band "Love Händel". It was at their concert that he and Linda shared their first kiss and fell in love.

Trouble is, Love Händel broke up years ago. Not that that's any problem for the boys! Phineas, Ferb and Candace decide to all work together to track down the three band members, and somehow convince them to play at their house that night. It won’t be easy, but with The Power of Rock, they can't fail!

Meanwhile, Dr. Doofenshmirtz also is setting up for a party, that of his little daughter Vanessa. And by little, we mean 16, so maybe all the ponies and sparkles are a bit misplaced, especially considering that she's a Perky Goth. Feeling sympathetic, Perry lays aside his animosity for a day to help his foe out… but does Doof ever go a day without having evil on his mind?

This episode was also the very first show/episode to air when Disney XD launched at 12:00am Eastern Time on February 13, 2009.

The episode is officially available for free viewing on YouTube here.

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Tropes:

• Balloon Belly: Swampy/Sherman has grown a bit of a gut, and that's why he doesn't wear his old band costume and instead wears his librarian outfit.
• Birthday Party Goes Wrong: Dr. Doofenshmirtz arranges a birthday party for his daughter Vanessa and invites all her friends. She hates it because she feels she has outgrown all the hearts and ponies. Subverted. The place gets trashed by Doof's rocket, and Vanessa's friends are impressed by the result.
• Borrowed Catchphrase: Vanessa thanks Perry's "assistance" for her party with a variant of Doof's "Curse you, Perry the Platypus!" catchphrase.
  Vanessa: Thank you, Perry the Platypus!
• Brick Joke: At the start of Danny's segment, a young man is considering buying a guitar. At the end of the segment, as Danny's decided to start the band, he comes back, and Danny is happy to just tell him the price.
• Catchphrase Interruptus: "Curse you, Perry the Pla- wait, is that Love Händel?"
• Concert Kiss: According to Lawrence, the first time he and Linda truly fell in love was when they got caught in the Flaming Hot Spotlight of Love at a Love Händel concert and kissed for the first time. The whole plot line is dedicated to recreating the moment.
• Contrived Coincidence: All three members of Love Händel happen to be working in Danville. Even worse, one of them is Linda's hairdresser.
• Dance Party Ending: During the credits, everyone (even Perry) frocks out to Love Händel singing "Music Makes Us Better".
• Diegetic Soundtrack Usage: Several of the songs in the episode, but the Emmy®-nominated "Ain't Got Rhythm" takes the cake by having this as a plot device. Swampy is playing a very obvious rhythm when stamping his books. By the end of the song, he's clearly playing portions of the song in universe.
• Escort Distraction: Candace is tasked to take Linda out while Phineas and Ferb reunite Love Händel. They go to Linda's favorite hair salon, who just so happens to be owned by Love Händel's former bassist.
• Everything Is an Instrument: Swampy's song, "Ain't Got Rhythm", is this, starting with him stamping library books and building up from there. By the end of it, Phineas and Ferb literally just roll out his old drum set and let him loose.
• Extra-Long Episode: 22 minutes with a single story, instead of other episodes that are split in half between two 11 minute episodes. There are also 5 songs in this episode, a record for the series up to this point.
• Forgotten Anniversary: The premise of the episode; Lawrence has forgotten his wedding anniversary.
  Linda: So you really don't know what day it is?
  Lawrence: I told you, it's Thursday.
  Linda: It's more than just another Thursday, Lawrence.
• Formula-Breaking Episode: Candace actually helps the boys with the big idea. This is also one of the few rare big ideas that Linda ends up seeing.
• Funny Background Event: Linda is right there when Bobbi is singing "I'm Fabulous", with her and Candace trying to make sure she can't hear anything... with Linda herself pulled into the 'dancing'.
• "Gaining Confidence" Song: The brothers find Swampy, the former drummer of Love Händel who stopped making music after an accident left him without a sense of rhythm. However, everything he does is done rhythmically. Phineas tells him he does have rhythm, but Swampy insists "I ain't got rhythm". By the end of the song, the brothers have shown him that yes, he does have rhythm and the old Swampy is back at his drumset.
• Gift for an Outgrown Interest: Dr. Doofenshmirtz throws a surprise Sweet Sixteen birthday for his daughter Vanessa. However, the decorations—princesses, teddy bears, and bright colors—seem to be meant for a little girl, and demonstrate his complete ignorance of the fact that Vanessa is going through her Emo Teen phase.
• Given Name Reveal: Linda and Lawrence's names are spoken for the first time in this episode.
• Go-Karting with Bowser: Perry the Platypus helps Doofenshmirtz set up his daughter's birthday party. Also, Candace helps Phineas & Ferb get Love Händel back together, instead of busting them like usual.
• G-Rated Drug: Psychedelia, during the "History of Rock" musical number.
  Phineas: What's with all the colors?
  Danny: I have no idea.
• Hypocritical Singing:
  • Bobbi sings the following lines in "Fabulous":
    You know, no two people are like each other,
    So don't be a lookalike copying another,
    Unless, of course, you're copying me,
    'Cause that gives you individuality!
  • In "Ain't Got Rhythm", Swampy displays that he does indeed have rhythm while he's singing that he doesn't have rhythm.
• "I Am Great!" Song: "Fabulous", sung to and by Bobbi.
• Ironic Echo Cut:
  Danny: (talking about the concert) Alright boys, let's blow the roof off this place!
  Cut to Doofenshmirtz
  Doofenshmirtz: (Tied to a large firecracker) No, it's going to blow the roof of this place!
• Literal Metaphor: Bobbi Fabulous tells Phineas and Ferb to "Talk to the Hand!" Then he makes a Señor Wences-esque hand puppet who says "Secretly, I'm very lonely..."
• Metaphorgotten: "Lines were drawn. Then lines were crossed. Eventually the lines were erased, and the piece of paper crumpled up and thrown away."
• Musical Episode: This episode has four songs and they are all sung by the characters.
• Myspeld Rok Band/Heävy Mëtal Ümlaut: Love Händel. Get it?
• Non-Fatal Explosions: Lampshaded; Vanessa assures her boyfriend Johnny that Dr. Doofenshmirtz will survive being strapped to a giant firework because "He blows up all the time."
• Putting the Band Back Together: It's right there in the title; Phineas and Ferb scheme to get their parents' favorite band to stage a reunion concert as a gift for their wedding anniversary.
• Small Role, Big Impact: Stacy appears for less than 10 seconds, but her starting the group call is what led to the Fireside Girls knowing to go ahead and build the stage, as well as attracting the fans of Love Händel that inspired them to truly get back together and play.
• Title Drop: Done by Phineas, during the "You're Fabulous!" musical number.
  Bobbi: Well, maybe if I can find my own leather...
  Phineas: (to Ferb) Dude, we're getting the band back together!
• Tuckerization: Danny is named after Dan Povenmire, Bobbi Fabulous is named for writer, and later voice of Buford, Bobby Gaylor, and Swampy is named after Jeff "Swampy" Marsh.
• Unreliable Voiceover: When talking about the Flaming Hot Spotlight of Love at the Love Händel concert, Lawrence says "I never so much as held your mother's hand, but that night, I made my move." However, as the footage shows, it was Linda who kissed Lawrence, not the other way around.
• You're Cute When You're Angry: Lawrence says this to Linda when he tries to figure out what day he missed. Linda is not amused.