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Chip 1

"The Chip, Part I" is Episode 6 of Freakazoid! It aired on November 4, 1995. It was the first full half-hour story in the series, and marks the beginning of the only multi-part story. It presents the origin of Freakazoid. The episode was written by Paul Rugg and directed by Dan Riba.

Synopsis[]

Jack Valenti, the President of the Motion Picture Association of America, has gotten so many letters asking about Freakazoid's origin that the MPAA has prepared an episode on the subject. In between flashbacks, Valenti explains how the ratings system works, because it is very important.

On Christmas Eve, the Apex Corporation rejoices at the successful holiday sales of their new product, the Pinnacle Chip. Not everyone is celebrating, though: employee Roddy MacStew has discovered a flaw. Although the odds of the flaw being activated are small, if it does come to pass, the user will be imbued with all the knowledge of the Internet, but will also be very silly. He will be "a Freakazoid!" The chairman of Apex, Armondo Guitierrez, is not eager to throw away his company's profits, so he instead throws Roddy out the window (then urges the other board members to "laugh with me!").

Meanwhile, Dexter Douglas opens his present from his parents: a Pinnacle Chip. He rushes upstairs to put it in (but "only in your computer," Debbie urges). While Dexter searches for his codebook to gain access to the Internet, Mr. Chubbikins jumps up on the keyboard and miraculously types the exact sequence necessary to activate the flaw...except that it must be followed by DELETE. Dexter, confused by the jumbled garbage onscreen, hits the DELETE key, and is sucked into the Internet.

Once inside the Internet, Dexter transforms into Freakazoid. At first, the transformations are extremely unstable, with Dexter and Freakazoid switching back and forth at random (and Freakazoid peering at Dexter out of his belly!). Freakazoid wreaks revenge on Dexter's bullying brother Duncan. and takes a quick trip to Tibet to tell off a monk whose raking is inconsiderately loud. Roddy, who survived his fall, shows up at Dexter's house claiming first to be his insurance agent, then, upon learning that Dexter is seventeen, says he is his driving instructor. Debbie obliviously buys this explanation, trusting Roddy's assessment that Dexter needs driving lessons on Christmas Eve because he is "a very bad driver." Roddy attempts to explain Dexter's powers to him, but they are interrupted by Guitierrez's henchmen, who kidnap the two.

Guitierrez, desiring Freakazoid's powers, ties the two up in his office and demands that they tell him the sequence of keys which activates the flaw, or else he will force Dexter's captive family to watch The Best of Marty Ingles. Roddy gives Guitierrez the code, and Guitierrez orders all of them shot anyway.

TO BE CONTINUED.

Next Time on Freakazoid[]

The Announcer introduces clips from "The Chip, Part II."

Characters[]

Other[]

Main Title: Hand-wringing chimp version; "free kazoo"

Gag Credits:

Bobbie's New Boyfriend: Emmitt Nervend[1]

Find Emmitt Nervend: Three Times in This Episode

Tag: "On paper it was funny."[2]

Trivia[]

  • The code that activates the flaw is "@[=g3,8d]\&fbb=-q]/hk%fg" (quotation marks included), followed by DELETE.
  • The shot of Dexter first transforming into Freakazoid is from the main title.
  • While the various announcers at the beginning are supposed to be saying "And now" in different languages, they actually say: "And here is my friend Gils" (French), "My fly is very ugly" (Spanish), and "There's chopped meat in my pants" (German).
  • This episode introduces Roddy and Guitierrez.
  • Paul Rugg and John P. McCann's original theory of Freakazoid's origin was that he had been transformed by a garage door opener.[3]
  • When Rugg wrote a caricature of Jack Valenti into the script, Steven Spielberg responded enthusiastically and, to Rugg's surprise, actually asked him to write more lines for Valenti. Spielberg then recruited Valenti to provide his own voice.[4]
  • Valenti reads a letter from Ms. Ida Lupins of Santa Susana City.
  • "The Chip" is the only episode animated by the Japanese studio Animal House, who also animated the main title.

Voice Credits[]

Paul Rugg as Freakazoid

Ricardo Montalban as Armondo Guitierrez

Jack Valenti as Himself

Craig Ferguson as Roddy MacStew

Tress MacNeille as Debbie Douglas

John P. McCann as Douglas Douglas

Edward Asner as Sgt. Cosgrove [does not appear]

Frank Welker as Mr. Chubbikins

Googy Gress as Duncan Douglas

David Kaufman as Dexter Douglas

Neil Ross as Board Member

Joe Leahy as Our Narrator

References[]

  1. "Bobbie" refers to Assistant to the Producer Bobbie Page (whose sister Kathryn Page was the subject of all 65 gag credits in the first season of Animaniacs).
  2. The episode reran on December 20, 1996, as Episode 6A, with a Christmas-themed tag: "Open your presents now! Hurry!"
  3. The Original Freak Documentary.
  4. The Original Freak Documentary.
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