Ducktales, Season Three, Episode Eleven: "Blue Collar Scrooge"

Again, a failure of hyphenation, unless that's meant to be an imperative directed at someone named "Blue." In which case you'd need a comma. So, failure either way.

So. Scrooge is going to sell his skateboard factory to the overseas competition, which is, hilariously, actually called "The Overseas Competition Corporation." But he slips on a skateboard and bashes his head and--as I am led to believe generally happens when people get concussions--loses his memory. "What IS my name?" he wonders. "Who am I? And why am I talking in this funny accent?" Okay okay, I know it's just a joke, but it always bears repeating: everyone has an accent; you don't notice your own or those of people who sound like you because for you that's the default, but it is there nonetheless. Regardless, in his amnesiac state, he switches to an American one.

The obvious problem with extending this idea--that pretty much everyone on the show would immediately recognize Scrooge--is dispatched by--apparently--deciding that nobody can tell who he is without his hat and glasses. Seems somewhat dubious to me! But it DOES lead to a somewhat amusing character bit where, while rooting through a trash bin, Mrs. Crackshell sees him and the two start dating, sort of (including a cute riff on the famous spaghetti-eating scene from Lady and the Tramp). Also, with no explanation, Scrooge is apparently now a big fan of soap operas, causing the two of them to bond some more.

Anyway, Scrooge gets a job in his own skateboard factory, and when he hears that the factory's going to be sold, he instigates a strike; meanwhile, Fenton is compelled to impersonate Scrooge to make sure the sale goes through. How accomplishing a strike is going to somehow stop the concern from being sold is anyone's guess; so is the question of why, on hearing about this strike, the representative of OCC calls the whole thing off--they were going to liquidate it and move the whole thing Overseas anyway, so what's the problem?

Having seen how shitty the working conditions are--and how dictatorial Fenton was acting as him--Scrooge calls off the sale (which had already been called off, but eh) and dictates a modest improvement in working conditions. Characterwise, it's appropriate that he makes things better, but not too much better. Too bad this isn't a change that's gonna last beyond this episode.

Oh, and at the end, he's apparently still with Mrs. Crackshell. Now that's a dynamic I'd really like to see continued. But alas!

In all, not too bad, in spite of my nitpicking.

Stray Observations

-"Let's split up and search for him!"
"Good idea! Boys, you search high and low! Mrs. Beakley, you search far and wide! And I'll search here and there!"

-It's funny that Fenton has no idea what sort of accent Scrooge has, trying on French and German before getting it right (in an abbreviated My Fair Lady spoof).

-Scroogeburgers cost five bucks each? Please tell me how this could possibly be an effective business plan.

-"Please, call me Mrs. Crackshell." We're really determined not to give her a first name, aren't we?

-Pop quiz: name another piece of children's entertainment featuring a character named "Fenton."