Welcome to TV Rewind with the doomed crossover series Pinky, Emlyra & The Brain in which two flagship series join forces for a short-lived, ill conceived show. Over the course of this series, we will look at all of the episodes as presented on the DVD set and analyze if the show was really that bad and if it does any justice for the beloved 90's output between Warner Brothers and Steven Spielberg, who parted ways afterwards. Check back every Saturday for a look at the latest and make sure to check out my other recaps as well.
"Party Night"
It is reaching the end of the school year and Vanity White (Jane Wiedlin) is throwing a party. The only thing is that she isn't all that interested in inviting Rudy (Nancy Cartwright), which is getting Elmyra (Cree Summer) disinterested in the party. However, Brain (Maurice LaMarche) needs her to go to the party in order to make his latest plan involving water at the beach work. With the help of Pinky (Rob Paulsen), he decides to seduce Rudy into going by taking on the guise of Patty Ann once more. It works and the plan falls through. Once at the party, they try to ditch Rudy, but it proves a little hard with the jealous Elmyra fighting Patty Ann for him. Things quickly devolve into a food fight and Rudy and Elmyra end up friends while Brain ends up yet again defeated.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5
"The Mask of Braino"
With the nickname Braino, Brain decides to become a masked hero. The only problem is that nobody is really giving him the acknowledgment. One thing leads to another and soon Elmyra gets jealous and takes on her own disguise, which is Underwearhead. She becomes more successful in less time and even with Brain's plans to overthrow her, he fails to capture the esteem. He ends the episode, and the series, once again defeated by a little girl with underwear on her head.
Rating: 2 out of 5
Overall Rating: 2 out of 5
And with that, the series has reached its conclusion. What a short, strange trip it has been. Look forward to my recap next Saturday evening at which point I will wrap up all of my thoughts on the series and why it was better than I expected while also never reaching its full potential.
In the case of this particular episode, it ended everything on a very weak note. It isn't the worst that the series has produced, but it continues the problems of the mold. It is anticlimactic and Brain always ends up the loser. The series never took itself seriously, so why should I? Well, in terms of criticism, that is all that I can really do. Besides Rudy and Elmyra ending up together, what catharsis was reached? Maybe the only real achievement is that some people stopped having to write for the series, which seemed to be a lot of people's best interests. Also, shoving Patty Ann into both of the final segments only showed how they tried to recapture the magic that was Pinky & The Brain. Also, I think Rudy was an inessential character. He did nothing and with Elmyra also being rather inessential, I don't get the appeal of their relationship.
Even as "The Mask of Braino" closes its credits, we get a sense of what comes. It is a metaphor of sense. Brain is not getting respect while Elmyra does for lowbrow gags that serve no purpose. It is a common theme throughout the series, but it feels evident if you pit the two show against each other in that segment. Nobody cares about the mice. They just want a girl running around with underwear on her head. Not necessarily a proud accomplishment, but it feels like what the show's whole existence was leading to. In fact, provided that you take this segment to be the final statement of the series, it ends with Elmyra shouting "I'm Underwearhead!"
Read into that whatever you want. I personally see it as what the show's priorities are. Elmyra came first and there is little doubt that it was the biggest problem of all. Animal abuse ran rampant and to have her as the ulterior bully to its other title characters is just plain wrong. There was an attempt to grow, but in the end, Elmyra's stupidity is what gave the show some notice. This is a shame, speaking as Pinky & The Brain has won far more Emmys than Tiny Tunes Adventures ever did.
There isn't much that I can say here that won't sound redundant. I am mostly saddened to know that this was the tail end of the Kids' WB golden age of Steven Spielberg-produced programming. We had Animaniacs as the big helm that slowly divulged into other series that held weight. Now we end on a show that is a shell of a better show and replaces any wit with physical humor and jokes about Draino. Oh well... the 90's had to end some way. I just wish that it didn't have to go with a girl screaming "I'm Underwearhead." Image how much more poignant things would be without Underwearhead. We'd at least have some dignity.
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