Darkwing Duck, Season One, Episode Three: "Beauty and the Beet"

This episode's title cleverly plays on the title of Edan's classic psychedelic hip-hop album Beauty and the Beat. What's that? You say the album didn't come out 'til 2005? Man, this show was really ahead of its time.

The idea is that there's this research scientist with a New-York-Jewish accent, Dr. Reginald Bushroot, who's being constantly fucked with by the mean jock research scientists, Dr. Gary and Dr. Larson (man, a Far Side reference--not half bad!). He's interested in figuring out how people can get nutrition via photosynthesis, but they, in a capitalist sort of way, are all about "bigger is better" as far as food goes. Eventually, he ends up using experimental techniques to merge with a flower and turn into a Doctor-Seuss-character-looking plant-person with the ability to enlist the aid of plants. He takes revenge on the mean scientists by...well, it's not quite clear, but it sure seems like he kills them dead.

I must say, I find this whole bit--the "origin story" takes up the first third of the episode--pretty hilarious; academic politics are of course real and frequently quite immature, but the very literal way this is presented here is great. It's definitely the best part of the episode.

Anyway, Darkwing gets on the case, but he feels like a bit of a guest in his own show (which is a tribute to what a great character Bushroot is). His fight to get the best of Bushroot--who wants to turn the lady-scientist he has a crush on into a plant as well--is fine; it just feels a bit routine compared to the first part. Still, quality episode, and I'm still waiting for the show's first really egregiously dumb moment.