Episode - Pilot
First Aired - February 16, 2003
Dr. Venture and family visit New York City to demonstrate his invention at the United Nations. Both the Monarch and some ninjas attempt to arch him there.
Tropes:
- Actor Allusion: Besides his usual role voicing Dean, Michael Sinterniklaas voices the ninja Otaku Senzuri. This was right when he'd just started voicing a certain well-known reptilian ninja.
- Artistic License – Chemistry: Professor Impossible unveils an environmentally friendly car that emits ozone to repair the ozone layer. Two problems with this: 1) ozone molecules are unstable enough that any ozone released at ground level would break down into regular oxygen molecules before reaching the upper atmosphere, and 2) ozone is toxic. Though probably unintentional, this does fit in perfectly with Impossible's later For Science! characterization. Why an auditorium full of scientists didn't bring this up, on the other hand...
- Big Applesauce: The episode takes place in the Turtle Bay neighborhood of New York City, famous for housing the United Nations headquarters.
- Bring It: When Brock tries to enter the UN, a UN guard tries to confiscate Brock's knife (this after witnessing Brock kill a crocodile with his bare hands). Brock's response?Brock: Go ahead. Take it from me!
- Early-Installment Weirdness: Being the pilot, just about everything has some "weirdness" in comparison to later episodes. To note:
- It's the only episode animated using Adobe Flash, giving it a distinctive look.
- The episode sticks far more closely to a "Parody of Jonny Quest" format than the later series. The twins own a pet dog, Scamp, to better match Jonny Quest (Scamp only shows up again posthumously in season three, having died sometime after the pilot). Dr. Venture is regarded as a brilliant scientist with a good reputation, while later episodes portray him as a no-talent, has-been laughingstock. He's also completely oblivious to the military use of his invention, while in the series proper, he's eager to produce inventions for whatever application will give him the most money, especially the military.
- Brock is far less of a father figure for the boys, in fact seeming quite happy to ditch them. His character design is also different, with a near-unibrow and his Top-Heavy Guy trait played up.
- The Monarch's design is different, with a larger crown and a furry collar. This one is at least referenced in flashbacks of future episodes as having been his former outfit before moving to the smoother, sleeker one in the series proper.
- Eye Scream: Brock subdues the Monarch by pressing his thumbs in both eyeballs.
- Mad Science Fair: Features an outwardly innocuous example as the world's greatest scientists are called together at the United Nations HQ to display their inventions at the "Peaceful Scientific Advancement Symposium". Given those in attendence, it devolves rather quickly. Rusty himself shows off the "Ooo-Ray", believing it to have peaceful applications (but unable to state what any of them are), but then immediately melts the scale model of a city. Prof. Impossible unveils an environmentally friendly car that emits ozone to repair the ozone layer. While apparently peaceful, there are a few issues with that — Pure ozone is toxic and breaks down so quickly at ground level that it would never reach the upper atmosphere. It would poison everyone around it while failing in its "peaceful" appliation.
- Meaningful Name: Otaku Sensuri, of the Onani Corporation, is caught getting very "excited" in the presence of Dr. Venture's Oooo Ray. Onani, in Danish and Japanese, means masturbation, as does the dated English phrase "onanism" (which can also refer to coitus interruptus). "Sensuri" itself is very similar to "senzuri", another Japanese slang word for masturbation. Pair this with the well-known word "Otaku" (meaning "fanatic/enthusiast") and it's pretty obvious it means "enthusiastic masturbator".
- Reluctant Mad Scientist: Dr. Venture doesn't seem to realize how much of an evil scientist he's being until someone points it out. He figures there's plenty of peaceful uses for a ray that melts buildings.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Subverted in the cold open. Otaku Sensuri tosses some acupuncture needles at the Mook who gave him an newspaper article about Dr. Venture, only to reveal a moment later that he actually feels even better afterward."Wow, thanks, you totally got the kink out of it. And hey, I don't want to smoke anymore, either."
