Episode 13: The Wrath of Guitierrez

"The Wrath of Guitierrez" is Episode 13 of Freakazoid! and the first season finale. It aired on February 17, 1996. It was written by Paul Rugg and directed by Scott Jeralds.

Cold Open: Deadpan

Deadpan resolves to take over Washington, D.C., using her most ingenious disguise yet: that of Freakazoid! She doesn't get far.

Synopsis

Guitierrez, who still has tremendous power in prison due to his wealth and status, obtains a connection to the Internet in his lavish prison cell and escapes into the Internet, where he transforms into a Freakazoid with several improvements over the old model due to his technical expertise. From inside the Internet, he saps Freakazoid's power source, weakening him so that he will be forced to enter the Internet. He also boots Roddy out. Roddy locates Freakazoid and tells him that his only chance is to walk into Guitierrez's trap, or else Guitierrez is sure to destroy Freak.

Inside, Freakazoid is tasked with solving several tasks in Guitierrez's favorite computer game, Amazing Castle. If he does not finish within an hour, he will be permanently deleted.

Characters

• Announcer
• Sergeant Mike Cosgrove
• Doctor (voiced by an uncredited John P. McCann)
• Freakazoid
• Armondo Guitierrez
• Paul Harvey
• Keir (astronaut; has to tinkle; named after 2001: A Space Odyssey actor Keir Dullea; voiced by Jeff Glen Bennett)
• Roddy MacStew
• Emmitt Nervend (on the cover of Highlights for Neurotics magazine; seen twice)
• Norma (fast food drive-through voice; voiced by Tress MacNeille)
• Warden Riba (Guitierrez's warden while in prison; named after series director Dan Riba; voiced by Brian George)
• Lonnie Tallbutt

Other

Main Title Version: jumping chimp

Gag credits:

Say Goodbye to: Emmitt Nervend

Emmitt Nervend: Has Left the Building

Tag: “I hope the Humanitas Committee is watching."

Trivia

• Deadpan turns into Barbra Streisand, Hillary Clinton and Princess Diana. Streisand was previously caricatured in "Freakazoid Is History!"; Clinton was caricatured in "Mo-Ron" and "Freakazoid Is History!"; and Princess Diana was caricatured in the cold open to Episode 3.
• One of the machines in the live action "hospital" public service message is made by Apex, Guitierrez's former company.
• The title of this episode refers to Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, which featured Guitierrez's voice actor Ricardo Montalban as the villain Khan Nunien Singh.
• Paul Rugg has said that one of his favorite things about writing Freakazoid! was the ability to make great actors say stupid things, such as having Edward Asner say "chubby boy" and Ricardo Montalban say "weenie." Both occur in this episode.
• Freakazoid's journey into the Internet parodies Paul Rugg's favorite film, Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, last referenced in "Freakazoid Is History!" The astronaut Freakazoid meets is a caricature of Dave, the main character from that film.
• Lonnie Tallbutt returns, in a spoof of the gatekeeper sequence from the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz.
• The "I am your father" scene references Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, last parodied in "And Fanboy Is His Name."
• Freak, Roddy and Cosgrove go to see Congo, a movie which the Freakazoid! writers saw during writing of the show and previously referenced in "Next Time, Phone Ahead!" The film was directed by Steven Spielberg's frequent collaborator Frank Marshall, and featured Tim Curry (who subsequently went on to appear on Freakazoid! as Dr. Mystico).
• Tress MacNeille's sole role in this episode is that of "Norma," the incomprehensible voice on the drive-through box.
• Cosgrove takes Freakazoid to Numnum Memorial Hospital.
• Although the box for Guitierrez's favorite game displays the title Amazing Castles, Guitierrez consistently refers to the game as Amazing Castle (singular) in dialogue.

Voice Credits

Paul Rugg as Freakazoid

Ricardo Montalban as Armondo Guitierrez

Craig Ferguson as Roddy McStew

Tress MacNeille as Speaker Voice

Edward Asner as Sergeant Cosgrove

Jeff Glen Bennett as Keir

Brian George as Warden Riba

Mitch Schauer as The Door Keeper

Bebe Neuwirth as Deadpan

Joe Leahy as Our Announcer