Tuesday TV Touchbase: Phineas and Ferb

Today's Tuesday TV Touchbase is about Phineas and Ferb.  

You can't swing a platypus these days without hitting some kind of link to Phineas and Ferb on social media. My Tik Tok "For You" page is inundated with clips from the show or it's co-creator Dan Povenmire.

Dan Povenmire is a very funny, friendly and charming guy and it's his Tik Tok account that really made me want to watch this series.

The reason for this recent hot bed of attention is the debut of new episodes of Phineas and Ferb for the first time since 2017. The show's 5th season launched on June 5th.  

But this is not what this post is about.  

Andrea and I recently added Phineas and Ferb to the rotation of TV shows we watch and we've only just finished season 1. But we are not stopping there; we really love this show! 

If we've watched something particularly intense or dramatic, one of us will suggest we watch a Phineas and Ferb to round out our evening of television viewing.  

Phineas and Ferb are two step brothers who are determined to spend each day of their summer vacation in the most spectacularly epic way possible.

Phineas: "Ferb, I know what we're going to do today!" 

Phineas is the idea guy, the creator of their fantastic projects.

The taciturn Ferb is the genius engineer to makes these ideas a reality.  

Exactly how they build their fantastic creations (a giant city sized rollercoaster, a sports stadium, a submarine, a space teleport, etc) gets hand waved.

Delivery guy: "Aren't you guys a little young for this earth moving equipment?"

Phineas:  "Yes! Yes we are!"

Delivery guy: "OK, just sign this form here and we'll be on our way!"

Phineas' sister Candace is determined to bust the brothers over their incredible schemes by tattling to their mother. Something that happens even during the opening theme song.

Candace: "MOM! Phineas and Ferb are doing a title sequence!"

Mom never catches Phineas and Ferb doing whatever Candace is tattling about because their fantastic creations tend to just vanish usually due to the inadverdent machinations of Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz. 

Which brings us to the platypus.

Phineas and Ferb have a pet platypyus.

A PLATYPUS?!?!

And his name is Perry.

PERRY THE PLATYPUS?!?!

Yes and Perry has a secret life as a secret agent for a secret organization called O.W.C.A.*

*Organization Without a Cool Acronym

Doning a stylish secret fedora, Perry disappears via a series of secret tubes and secret slides to a secret lair where he receives his orders to thwart the latest evil scheme of the evil  Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz.  

Dr. Doofenshmirtz is an evil scientist of evil who has some really stupid...I mean, EVIL plan to take over the Tri-State Area!  

Dr. Doofenshmirtz builds devices called "Inators" as in "shrinkinators" (shrinks things) or "chocolatinators" (makes things chocolate or destroys chocolate or something, he's still working out the details) and so on. 

The two seperate plots of Phineas and Ferb's latest creation and Doofenshmirtz's latest Inator will somehow inexplicably intersect and cancel each other out before Candace can get Mom's attention or anyone realizes Perry is a secret agent. 

The formula in and of itself is funny but even in the first season, there were experiments to play with the formula.  

Like when Candace and Perry switch bodies and it's "Candace" who goes down a series of secret tubes and secret slides to a secret lair and goes up against the latest evil scheme of the evil Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz.  

Or the episode where Phineas and Ferb build a teleporter to Mars and we see stuff play out from that event. And in the episode's 2nd story, we see the same sequence of events play out from a different perspective. 

While Phineas and Ferb is fun for all ages, there are some sly references for the grown ups in the audience.

One my favorite lines is when Phineas and Ferb bring a caveman back to life.  

Phineas:  "Just think of all the modern applications of a caveman!"

<PAUSE>

<PAUSE>

Phineas:  “Actually, you know, besides politics I can’t think of anything.”  

Phineas and Ferb is an outrageously funny series and is a near perfect balm for after a stressful day.

That is that for this week's Touchbase.

Until next time, remember to be good to one another and try to keep it down in there, would ya? I'm trying to watch TV over here.