Season 2, Episode 31: "April's Fools"

Okay, guys, hopefully these reviews are in the right order now. I really hate this computer I'm using, because I'm used to doing these on my dorm's Windows 7 computers. I apologize, also, if the pictures look a bit weird.

Anyway, here we go. April Fools, April Fools! 'Tis another holiday Nickelodeon loves to play with. I don't know why this is a popular plot in kids' shows, as there's always people getting butthurt or whatever in one way or another. I guess it's because this holiday is especially popular with young kids who live for pranks and jokes. I never pulled off an April Fools prank as a child; I was never good at them. I tended to avoid the holiday altogether. I much preferred Christmas.

The trio is reading Shakespeare for class, and comment on how totally relatable the junior high-esque dramatic plot lines are. Dodie reminds the girls that April Fools day is coming by playing back last year's prank on a tape recorder when she pretended to be held hostage by a kidnapper. Ginger laughs this off to hide the fact that she wanted to strangle Dodie for making her think she was actually in danger. If it was me, I would have just let it be.

The scene cuts to Carl and Hoodsey, who plot to prank Blake by making him think they sold his tonsils to a witch doctor. I highly doubt Blake will believe this--Carl is notorious for hoarding everything normal ten-year-old boys don't have. If I didn't know any better, I would assume Carl would grow up to be a sociopath with all the body parts he keeps in jars. Hoodsey is a bit worried about them pulling an April Fools prank before April Fools actually begins, but Carl's like, "Ahh, don't you worry your purple head about it."

Blake is giddy with glee as he prepares his prank against Winston--switching out his beef jerky with the bark of a tree. Vegetarian jerky, eh? Carl calls Blake via walkie-talkie and gives him the news, including a curse the "witch doctor" has put on Blake that will give him uncomfortable conditions like IBS and male pattern baldness. Blake buys it hook, line, and sinker, because he's the most gullible kid who's ever walked the face of the Earth. I mean, really, it's April Fools (almost). You would think Blake would be a step ahead and assume that this is just an April Fools prank, but no. He dances around the idea but is too terrified to consider it seriously. And then, Carl suggests that Blake walk around with a necklace of organic garlic to ward of evil spirits, prompting Blake to pass out in terror.

Back in Ginger's room, Darren pops in through Ginger's window right as Dodie and Macie leave, speaking only in faux-early modern English. Ick. Ginger confides in Darren about her trouble finding a good prank for tomorrow, but Darren doesn't give two shits about April Fools Day. Ginger then gets an idea, using Shakespeare as inspiration.

She saunters over to her bookshelf, pulls out her yearbook, and proclaims (in more faux early-modern English) that she will write a fake love letter to Dodie signed by Fonz wannabe, Dustin. Oh, so this episode is going to be a Twelfth Night parody, eh? Better get a box of tampons while you're at it, Ginger (kudos to anyone who gets that reference!).

Ayyyyyyyy-squared plus B-squared equals C-squared. 

Darren warns Ginger that this isn't a good idea, but he doesn't actually explain the consequences of such a prank, so his voice is merely white noise against Ginger's cackling. I didn't think a goody-two-shoes like her would even be capable of thinking of a prank. That's Carl's department.

The next day, Ginger sneaks into school before the lights are even on to deliver the fake love note to Dodie's locker. Dodie finds it and begins reading it, and I bet you three of my vital organs that she initially thinks it's from Courtney Gripling.

At lunch, Dodie hesitates about spilling the beans about the love note from "Dustin" (WOW! SO OUT OF CHARACTER!) and reveals that she's only been quiet because she's had a secret crush on him for like ever. And then Ginger falls out of her chair for some reason, possibly for dramatic effect. Dodie says she didn't know if Ginger, Macie, and Darren thought he was cool, so she's kept this a secret from them (Seriously, who is this girl? Keeping a secret? For more than five minutes?). She announces that she's going to march right up to Dustin and proclaim her love for him.

"I'm going to walk right up to Dustin and spill my heart all over his lunch table." - Dodie

And right at that moment, Dustin waltzes over towards the group, causing Dodie to chicken out. She sits back down and watches as her boy toy approaches Macie and asks her if she got his love letter. Dodie is completely bemused, showing Dustin the letter "he" wrote, but Dustin claims it isn't even written in his handwriting. And then Dustin pulls out this big ass card he wrote for Macie that was sitting in her backpack. (Gasp!) Jerry! Jerry! Jerry! As Dodie completely breaks down at this misunderstanding, Ginger suggests that "someone" must have pranked her, and Dodie runs away in tears claiming that no one could pull a prank more cruel.

Excuse me, Dodie, but have you ever been to a junior high school?

Darren lays a big ass guilt trip on Ginger, who is now filled with more remorse than she should be.

At the elementary school, Carl and Hoodsey find Blake going through an existential crisis. He's scared as all hell, claiming that all the witch doctor's curses are coming true.

Carl thinks that this is high-larious psychosomatic entertainment, but Hoodsey becomes concerned for Blake and his psychological health. Carl thinks Blake is totally fine, but that's probably because he knows the symptoms aren't real and assumes Blake is overexaggerating. This kind of thing is probably why many people don't take mental illnesses seriously. I mean, yes, Blake isn't actually sick, but he assumes he is because Carl told him all this shit was going to happen to him. I believe this is called the placebo effect. Blake really does believe he is under the strings of this witch doctor, and feels so sick that even Carl decides that he might have gone too far. He and Hoodsey decide to tell Blake that it was all a prank... at the end of the day. Because it's still too damn funny.

Back at the junior high school, the trio's history teacher tells the class to break up into teams of two. Dustin immediately slides over to Macie (what a coincidence that they're all in this very same class) and claims Macie as his partner right as Dodie leaps over the table to try to claim Dustin as her partner. Dustin has his hands practically cupping Macie's boobs and Dodie lays her entire body across the table to get Dustin's attention. Where the fuck is the teacher while all this is going on?

Macie smoothly evades Dustin's advances, even though Dodie clearly sees this and still has the nerve to call Macie a whore for stealing her man (well, "fast," but that's what this word implies, like in Fast Reputation). And then the bell rings. What was the point of splitting up into groups if the bell was literally thirty seconds from ringing? Television logic. So, Dustin chases after Macie, and Dodie chases after Dustin, even though he's made it pretty clear that he doesn't want Dodie. That boy better watch his hands with Macie--he's getting a little gropy with her.

School ends for the day for the elementary school kids. We find Blake in fetal position on a bench outside the school, looking like he is about to die. Carl and Hoodsey approach him and tell him to knock off the psychosomatic shit because it was all a prank, but Blake doesn't believe them. At this point, I really can't tell if Blake's placebo effect is so strong that he really believes he's sick, or that he's just miking this to get Carl and Hoodsey scared shitless.

Hoodsey has had enough at this point, because Blake just isn't getting it. He tells Blake that he and Carl will prove that he's not possessed by a witch doctor by getting him his tonsils back by tonight...
...but it turns out Joann (that's how her name is actually spelled!) found the jar stashed in Hoodsey's underwear drawer and threw it out. Cue the screams.

So, Carl and Hoodsey go to the junkyard and ask Dwayne, their garbageman friend, to help them find it. Dwayne says that he did see the jar, but didn't know what was inside, and assumes that they're probably buried under a hundred tons of trash by now. But he offers to help direct the boys to their approximate location, warning them of all the especially dangerous and vile spots, especially Vile Valley, which is full of maggots and mold and all that other yummy stuff. And then they shake on it. After watching this exchange, I have complete confidence in assuming that Dwayne is a stoner.

Lois comes into Ginger's room to tell her that dinner is almost ready, and finds her sulking about how everyone is going to totally hate her for the prank. She asks Lois if she's ever pulled a prank that went too far, and then Lois spits off an anecdote about how she once filled a bed pan with iced tea and timed it so that one of the nurses would see her drinking it (I REALLY hope this was a brand-new, never-before-used, right out of the box bed pan), but stops herself before getting into the good details. And then she tells Ginger that worrying about the problem isn't any better, so it's best for her to just come clean. And then she leaves.

As Carl and Hoodsey search the mountains of trash, Hoodsey slips into Vile Valley. No surprise there. Carl runs off to see if he can find something to get Hoodsey out. Doing so, he ends up slipping in, too.

After Carl comes to (after knocking himself out on the way down), he overhears Hoodsey moaning about how they're going to be stuck in Vile Valley forever as Dwayne claimed it's impossible to get out of there. But Carl's like, "Never fear, my trusty walkie-talkie is here." He radios Blake and asks for his assistance. However, because today is the actual April Fools Day, Blake believes Carl and Hoodsey are playing a prank on him, so he refuses to "help" them. Well, boys, what have we learned today?

Macie comes to Ginger's house to study, as Dustin won't leave her the fuck alone after so many attempts to get him off her back. But, Dustin has followed Macie to Ginger's house and attempts to grope her some more. But then, Dodie comes over to pick up Hoodsey, and in the process, runs into "Lucky Junior High's cutest couple." Holy flaming balls of fury, I can't take this much forced coincidence in one scene! It's bad enough that forging a love note is assumed to be the cruelest of all pranks (despite that this is supposed to be a play on Twelfth Night) but, jeez! Ginger, kick this kid out and tell them it was all a damn prank! This kid may not be a very good Malvolio, but he certainly is a creep.

"I need an adult!"

Ginger takes her sweet ass time revealing that this whole love triangle is all her fault, and doesn't get a chance to because everyone now realizes Carl and Hoodsey are missing. Man, Lois really needs to keep a better tab on her son; he goes missing in every other episode.

Carl starts to feel extreme remorse for the prank, and assumes that being trapped in Vile Valley is "the big guy's" (God's) way of serving them karma. Wow, mentioning religious figures in a non-religious episode! Those are some balls Nickelodeon has! Anyway, Carl and Hoodsey start feeling super bad about what they've done, and for the first time, Carl indirectly admits that he has actually gone too far this time.

As Lois and Ginger look for the boys, the camera pans over to Dodie, who had slapped on big, round glasses like Dustin to try to get his attention, but Dustin tells her to stop following her and to stop copying his "unique fashion sense." Oh my God... Dustin is a hipster!

He was a hipster before it was cool.

Dodie gets pissed and blames Macie for all this. She declares that they can't be best friends anymore, which is fucking awesome! Go on, Dodie, one down, one to go! Then you can let Ginger and Macie be friends in peace. Macie tries to save her dignity by pretending that she liked this hipster fool all along, and they run to each other in slow motion (?). Dodie then leaps onto Dustin's back claiming that she would never let that happen. And then, a catfight ensues. Next door, Darren throws open his window and asks what the fuck is going on. Lois nonchalantly replies that the boys are missing and the girls are about to start World War III. Oh, Lois!

As Carl and Hoodsey ascend the almighty Vile Valley, Hoodsey discovers Blake's tonsils in the vile.

They use the jar to hoist themselves out, and then kiss it in victory. Ew.

It's gotten to the point where Dodie, Macie, Dustin, and Darren are all at each others' throats that Ginger realizes she must confess. She pours her confession out like ice cold coffee, only to have a quartet of "APRIL FOOLS" thrown back at her. It turns out, the whole fight over Dustin between Dodie and Macie was all a big joke, and even Darren got involved.

Ginger is so shocked that her friends could be anything less than superficial for once that she practically breaks down crying over the fact that she can't trust her friends anymore. And then that turns out to be a mini-April Fools' joke on Ginger's part.

So now, everyone's even, the world is at peace, and the sun can rise and fall over the Panama horizon once again.

"My gosh! Enough with the April Fools already. You guys are gonna give me a heart attack." - Darren

So, I'm guessing this entire episode was just one big moral? Typical Nickelodeon.

I feel like this episode was so much shorter than other episodes, but that's probably because there wasn't much to it. It was too heavy in morals and too light in entertainment--not a good combo. I really hope that the people who write these shows realize that kids aren't going to watch these episodes and think, "Oh, I shouldn't pull cruel pranks on my friends!" No, they'll just get inspiration from these shows to do even crueler things in real life.

I remember on Yahoo! Answers one time, a girl was asking how to make a burn book like the one from Mean Girls. It's apparent that she did not pay attention to the message the movie was trying to give out. Bullying is not fun, name-calling is mean, be nice to each other... all lost in translation. The point is, kids are going to see this episode and get ideas--they're not going to "learn a lesson." Is it a rule that the children's genre should be thick with morals? Is it frowned upon if there's no lesson to be learned? I've always wondered that because it's just so ubiquitous all over Nickelodeon, not to mention Cartoon Network and Disney Channel.

Now, don't get me wrong, kids should absolutely have good TV role models to look up to. My point is that shoving morals down a kid's throat isn't exactly being a good role model. It's annoying, and probably the reason why my boyfriend won't watch my favorite old shows.

For future reference TV studios, cut down on the morals, and just create a good story. Okay? Thanks.




Lessons Learned From This Episode: Pranks can go too far; don't tell Blake he has a psychosomatic illness; fuck Dodie in general.