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"Dawn of the Driscoll" is the tenth episode of the first season of Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja. It is the first part of a two-part Halloween special, and it premiered on October 15, 2012.
Synopsis[]
While trying to save a science project, Randy accidentally resurrects a mad scientist, Jerry Driscoll.
Plot[]
After learning how difficult growing their "Smell-of-Death Vine" (Vitis Odor Mortis) for school is, Randy and Howard decide to use all the water/food for the plant at once. A week later, the plant is dead, and the two are panicking. Howard then comes up with the idea of using the Nomicon in order to bring the plant back to life to avoid being grounded due to their soon-to-be bad grade. The two then debate why they have different costumes for the Whoopee World Frightacular (Randy being the tail-end of a cow and expecting Howard to be the head, while Howard is dressed as Viceroy). After skimming the instructions, Randy attempts and fails to restore the plant.
While Mrs. Driscoll is grading the plants, her husband's skeleton comes to life and kidnaps Howard, saying, "Doomsday is coming!" The Ninja then attempts to fight Jerry Driscoll; he throws Ninja Rings, but they are useless as they pass through Jerry's ribcage, while Jerry counter-attacks by throwing his rib-bones and the school’s pumpkin decorations. Randy slips on pumpkin goop, tumbling down the stairs, and Jerry takes this opportunity to escape. The Ninja then returns to the science classroom and asks Mrs. Driscoll what Jerry would want with Howard. She then explains how her husband had long ago created a Doomsday Device, and was then betrayed by Viceroy, who had him (Jerry) arrested.
In his lair, Jerry starts to finish his Doomsday Device, and discovers he kidnapped the wrong person. Meanwhile, Viceroy is visited by the Ninja. Viceroy then agrees to help stop Jerry upon learning he's alive. He then explains that Jerry only built the device to get Valedictorian in his college class at M.S.U. (Mad Scientist University). The two and Mrs. Driscoll then discover Jerry's base under Mount Chuck's Gift Shop.
At Jerry's base, the Ninja fights Jerry, while Viceroy tries to deactivate the now-active Doomsday Device. However, they are both unsuccessful, until Mrs. Driscoll arrives. After the Ninja kicks off Jerry's head, Jerry and his wife discuss the necessary results of the device's functioning — they would be apart forever). Jerry at last deactivates the machine, only to begin planning an even more destructive device. Deciding he's too dangerous to be kept alive, the Ninja reverses the resurrection power used on Jerry. Once out of the building, Howard asks Mrs. Driscoll to bring up their science grade; she grudgingly gives them a C.
Back at the school, Randy and Howard see Mrs. Driscoll dancing with her husband's skeleton in the Science Lab and decide to go to the Frightacular. As the two depart, Howard points out how strange it was that the resurrection power affected only Jerry, when the science class was crammed full of dead lab specimens; unbeknownst to the boys, cadavers on all sides spring to life.
Characters[]
Main characters[]
Secondary characters[]
Background characters[]
- Bash Johnson
- Bucky Hensletter
- Debbie Kang
- Doug
- Flute Girl
- Nameless Blond Boy with White Shirt
- Nameless Boy with Red Shirt
- Nameless Cowbell Player
Series Continuity[]
- Viceroy's comment to Howard, while trying to deactivate the Doomsday Device, is a possible reference to "The Ninja Identity," in which Randy tries to teach Howard that putting on a costume doesn't make one that person.
- McFist Mansion appears since "House of 1,000 Boogers."
Trivia[]
- In the commercial for the Whoopee World Frightacular, the Whoopee World mascot is wearing a costume based on Jason Voorhees from the Friday the 13th franchise.
- This episode's title is likely a spoof of the 1978 horror movie, Dawn of the Dead.
- The translation of "Smell-of-Death Vine" into Latin as Vitis Odor Mortis commits the common mistake of using a noun (odor) to modify another noun (vitis), which is acceptable in English but incorrect in Latin grammar.
- This is the second time Mt. Chuck and the Museum of Silt have appeared.
- Mrs. Driscoll 's first name is revealed to be Marlene.
- When Viceroy watches the television, he mentions a "stupid kid sitting all night in a pumpkin patch," suggesting that he was watching the Peanuts special It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and talking about Linus.
- When Randy is in the Nomicon, the scroll he reads to learn the Art of Healing is written in kanji, revealing either that Randy can read Japanese or that the Nomicon translates it for him.
- This marks the first of three rare appearances in the series of police officers.
- This episode foreshadows the McFizzles turning everybody into zombies in "Night of the Living McFizzles".
- When the police officers arrested Jerry Driscoll, Jerry was put into a straight jacket and a mask, while strapped to a trolley, in a reference to Hannibal Lecter from the 1991 film The Silence of the Lambs.
- The music that plays in the scene where Mrs. Driscoll dances with Jerry in the science lab near the end of the episode appears to be a reference to "True" by Spandau Ballet.
- The storyboards for this episode reveal that there was a removed joke about showing the students how babies are made.
- Also, the storyboards showed that Howard was supposed to catch the falling Randy, who got shloomped into the Nomicon in order to find a way to save their science homework.
- Randy mentions his mom and another parent, implying that he has an unseen father/parent figure.
Goofs[]
- When Viceroy first gets into the car to help the Ninja defeat Jerry Driscoll, Mrs. Driscoll is seen wearing her lab coat, but later when they arrive at the gift shop, Mrs. Driscoll is wearing her skeleton costume.
- Randy is seen with his cow costume in one scene, but in the next segment, the cow costume is gone.
Gallery
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