Line #105 Series/WetHotAmericanSummerFirstDayOfCamp


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/first_day_of_camp0.jpg]]
2
3	''Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp'', is, as the title implies, a {{Prequel}} to ''Film/WetHotAmericanSummer'', a 2001 cult comedy documenting the last day in session of Camp Firewood. The vast majority of the film's cast--[[RetroactiveRecognition many of whom have had their careers take off since the original]]--return to play themselves fourteen years later and two months younger.
4
5	The series premiered on Creator/{{Netflix}} on July 31st, 2015. A SequelSeries called ''[[Series/WetHotAmericanSummerTenYearsLater Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later]]'' premiered on August 4th, 2017.
6
7	!! '''Caution: Massive spoilers below. Even for a show that relies heavily on the RuleOfFunny as this one does, it's {{Troperiffic}} to the point where the names of the tropes themselves can be spoilers. Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned. '''
8
9	!!This series contains examples of:
10	* FiveFiveFive: Even this subtlety is dispensed with, as the real estate agent's number given to Newman is written as "(PHONE)NUMBER."
11	* AndStarring: [[https://youtu.be/qNLd-j1QqjI This trailer]] takes it to extremes, using "and", "also with", "also", "also also", "plus", "featuring", "don't forget", "guest starring", and the Hebrew word for "featuring". To top it all off, Creator/JonHamm gets an "And Introducing" credit.
12	* AngryChef: Played with. At the beginning of the series, the camp cook, Jonas Jurgenson, is incredibly kind and mild-mannered, and is played by the same actor who played the angry chef in the original film. [[spoiler:Turns out that Jonas just is an assumed identity of Gene Jenkinson, and once he is reminded of his past identity as Gene the Vietnam vet, he transforms back into the angry chef we remember from the original movie.]]
13	* ArtisticLicenseLaw: Parodied with [[spoiler:Beth and Greg's lawsuit against the government. Sayings are thrown around without meaning, lawyers can leave the courtroom in the middle of a trial, and the judge rules in favor of the plaintiffs based off a floppy disk that isn't even put in a computer.]]
14	* AscendedExtra: Across the board, as the multiple episodes give the large EnsembleCast more room for development.
15	** Lindsay really only exists in the film as a lust object and as someone for Andy to cheat with to prove he's a scumbag. Here, however, she's given an extensive backstory as an undercover magazine reporter and an arc about her investigating a camp legend.
16	** Similarly, Abby in the film is a lust object for Victor and has a brief running gag about her promiscuity, and that's it. Here, she's revealed to be [[spoiler:a camper who ''literally'' becomes a woman when she gets her period.]]
17	** The champion of the trope is undoubtedly the can of mixed vegetables. In the film it had about two lines and came out of nowhere, but now it has an entire backstory and origin.
18	* BeardOfSorrow:
19	** [[spoiler:Eric.]]
20	** [[spoiler:Gene]]. It's the biggest piece of character growth in the series.
21	* TheBigDamnKiss: [[spoiler:Andy and Katie during the staff party.]]
22	* BigDamnMovie: An inverted version of the trope, as this is a TV series that is prequel to a movie, but the TV series is ''much'' more epic, with a government conspiracy subplot and the rivalry with Camp Tigerclaw being more prominent.
23	* BlackComedyBurst: While the series is already something of a BlackComedy, Ben dropping a casual joke about his dysfunctional family and his father's suicide is by far the darkest humor in the show.
24	* BoomHeadshot: [[spoiler:Greg and Jim Stansel courtesy of the Falcon. Greg somehow manages to get out some dying words with a hole in his forehead. Until 1991, when it's revealed those weren't dying words. Also, Greg is now a cyborg.]]
25	* BreakingTheFourthWall:
26	** When Lindsay is listing the people she met in her article, she straight-up calls Jackie Brazen Music/WeirdAlYankovic.
27	** "What a strange way to wrap a gift." "Yeah, it's easier for multiple takes."
28	* BrickJoke: Possibly the longest on record. In the film, right after being chewed out by Gene, Gary seems to randomly pick up a can of vegetables and say to it "Maybe you should talk to him." Later, the can actually does talk to Gene. We're meant to believe that Gene is just crazy, and that Gary might be a little odd as well. However, [[spoiler:this series reveals that the can is actually Mitch, his soul fused with the can thanks to toxic waste. Gary isn't crazy. He just thinks Gene could use a heart-to-heart with Mitch. It took over 15 years for the joke to be completed.]]
29	* CallForward: Numerous calls are made towards the original movie.
30	** The opening of the first episode is similar to the opening of the movie--counselors dancing at a campfire the night before, to the same music.
31	** Mitch asks Gene "Are you a part of the problem, or are you the solution?" In the film Beth says the same thing to Victor.
32	** Michael Showalter again plays two characters. This time, it's Coop and President Reagan.
33	** Victor is once again being chased and is stopped in his tracks by a very simple obstacle.
34	** The can of mixed vegetables mentions it can suck its own dick. It says the same to Gene in the film to encourage him to be honest about his fetishes.
35	** In the film, Beth tells Henry, "I have to go meet Jim... Jim Stansel. You know Jim - He's that guy." In the series, guess what the name of the lawyer is!
36	*** Made slightly grisly by the fact that [[spoiler:Jim Stansel gets shot.]]
37	* TheCameo: The Indoor Kids from the movie briefly appear as punks in a convenience store. Their outfits contain nods to their original roles; for example, Mork Guy has his rainbow suspenders and Cure Girl has a Cure shirt.
38	* ComingOutStory: Ben's storyline is this, with [=McKinley=] as his ClosetKey.
39	* ContinuityNod:
40	** During [[spoiler:his fight with the Falcon]] Gene ends up against the fridge, which he starts humping.
41	** Gail starts the series engaged to a man named Jonas, marries Jeff on a whim somewhere in the middle, and by the end she is engaged to Ron.
42	* CountryMatters: Courtney attempts to insult Katie by calling her a "country girl" but she ends up stumbling over the subtlety.
43	* DawsonCasting: Some of the most blatant in history, as [[Film/WetHotAmericanSummer the movie]] was already guilty of this, then the series occurred 15 years later. The worst offender, though, is Abby, who is first shown as a tween who believes BoysHaveCooties before getting her first period... then emerging from the bathroom stall as 41-year-old Marisa Ryan.
44	* DemotedToExtra: Associate-Prof. Henry Newman gets his origin story told in a cold open, then disappears completely until a cameo at the end of the series. Justified, since the film was established as his first interaction with the camp.
45	* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: During the FinalBattle with Tigerclaw, Coop mentions [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_David_Accords a peace treaty signed three years ago.]] (For reference, the show takes place in 1981.)
46	* DoomedByCanon:
47	** Not necessarily fatally, but it's a ForegoneConclusion that all the new characters at camp must exit somehow by the end of the series, to justify their absence from the original film. [[spoiler:Mind you, for a few characters, the verdict ''is'' death--or, at least, the death of their human body...]]
48	** [[AvertedTrope Averted]], though, for the campers. Other than Arty "the Beekeeper" Solomon, the Indoor Kids, and Gail's "therapist" Aaron, the kids in the original film were a mostly undifferentiated mass. That gives ''First Day of Camp'' the freedom to focus on several new campers without inconsistency, since it can be assumed they're just background kids in the film. So there's no pressure to find a reason to remove them, and DoomedByCanon doesn't apply.
49	** Quite possibly the weirdest example is the phone in the mess hall kitchen--by the time of the original film, the only phones on campus are in Beth's office and the infirmary. [[spoiler: It gets knocked off the wall during the fight between Gene and the Falcon.]]
50	* DoubleEntendre: Courtney loves using them, with increasingly less subtlety.
51	* EnsembleCast: Quite a large one, with even more running storylines than the movie.
52	* ExpositoryHairstyleChange: Jonas Jurgensen [[spoiler: instantly grows a beard and a moustache when he resumes his original identity as Gene Jenkinson]].
53	* ExtremelyShortTimespan: As implied by the title, and in the spirit of the original film.
54	* FakeShemp: Ben goes to the personnel party as "DJ Ski Mask", so that character could appear on scenes filmed when Bradley Cooper was not available.
55	* FingertipDrugAnalysis: Done ''repeatedly'' with [[spoiler: ''toxic waste''.]] Greg even gets out a spoon.
56	* ForcedTransformation: [[spoiler:After Mitch falls into the toxic waste, his spirit is transferred into the can of vegetables he was carrying.]]
57	* ForegoneConclusion: Naturally, since it's a prequel. Particularly, [[spoiler:Beth survives the government's assassin and the toxic waste is removed, making Camp Firewood safe. Andy and Katie end up together, and so do Mckinley and Ben. Victor remains a virgin, and Gail doesn't marry Jonas/Gene.]]
58	* GoodAllAlong: [[spoiler:The Falcon claims that he was supporting Gene and Camp Firewood all along. But as Beth [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]], he killed two people in front of her and tried to kill her and Gene. The Falcon eventually just runs away.]]
59	* GovernmentConspiracy: [[spoiler:The government is involved in the toxic waste dumps near Firewood. After Beth and Greg win their case, Reagan instead orders the camp to be destroyed. [[ForegoneConclusion Eventually]] the toxic waste is cleaned up and the camp remains open.]]
60	* {{Hammerspace}}: Jonas manages to pull an entire outfit out of a small box [[spoiler:when he turns into Gene.]]
61	* HiddenInPlainSight: Played with when Victor is very poorly hiding from Gene under some pots and pans in the kitchen; the two of them literally could not see each other.
62	**More specifically, Victor is literally just standing still, wearing a pot on his head and holding a wooden spoon.
63	* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: President Reagan is portrayed as hotblooded PresidentEvil in private, while in public he retains his public persona.
64	* HollywoodHacking: When Beth and Greg order Steve to hack into [[spoiler:the government's mainframe,]] the complicated code is typed in about a second after Steve presses random buttons. The information presented is just a random list of numbers, which the trio, Jim Stansel [[spoiler:and the judge]] treat as irrefutable evidence.
65	* IChooseToStay: [[spoiler:Lindsay.]]
66	* ImplacableMan: The Falcon.
67	* LeaningOnTheFourthWall:
68	** When Donna gives Coop a gift, he remarks on the packaging, and Donna notes that it makes multiple takes easier.
69	** "You can rejuvenate this place with a new energy. So much so that by the end of August, everyone will feel like they're fifteen years younger."
70	* {{Leitmotif}}: "Higher & Higher" returns in a slowed-down, orchestral form in Episode 5. [[spoiler:It's later revealed to be Eric's MagnumOpus which unites Firewood and Tigerclaw.]]
71	* LiarRevealed: [[spoiler: It's revealed that Lindsay is a journalist. Everyone disowns her, then welcome her back once she [[IChooseToStay chooses to stay]].]]
72	* TheMole:
73	** [[spoiler:Lindsay. A 24 year old magazine writer infiltrates the camp.]]
74	** [[spoiler: The Falcon, given he was in the same platoon as Gene, deliberately hands the wrong can of vegetables to the government.]]
75	* NoNameGiven: The Falcon.
76	* ObviousStuntDouble:
77	** "Andy" riding his motorcycle into camp during his arrival, then jumping off and letting it crash.
78	** Claude wears a pair of masks in his first scene, making it clear 52 year old Creator/JohnSlattery isn't doing that pratfall.
79	** During the fight between [[spoiler:Gene and the Falcon.]]
80	** In the fight with Tiger Claw, Andy's double backflips out of frame, followed by Paul Rudd walking back in.
81	* OnlyMostlyDead: [[spoiler:Eric, despite being shot, falling from a rooftop and run over by a truck. And as of the sequel series, Greg. Somehow.]]
82	* OverlyLongGag: At least half the jokes. Hey, you try writing four hours of decent comedy!
83	* PaperThinDisguise:
84	** A hair clip is all it takes for a 24 year old woman (played by a 41 year old actress) to be completely believable as a 16 year old. She also doesn't bother to come up with any kind of backstory for her teenage persona and occasionally makes outdated references to her own youth.
85	** [[spoiler:When Beth and Greg [[ItMakesSenseInContext sue the government]], Jim Stansel suggests that they change their appearance. The next shot is a bathroom where shaving sounds are heard, and clumps of hair are seen in and around the sink...only to reveal Beth and Greg unchanged in appearance.]]
86	** Victor is hidden from Gene with a pot over his head and some kitchen spoons in his hands.
87	** [[spoiler:After Eric fakes his death, all it takes is him shaving his BeardOfSorrow down to a PornStache in order to stay hidden.]]
88	* {{Prequel}}: As mentioned.
89	* RealLifeWritesThePlot: With many of the actors having become much bigger names since the original film, the show makes for a fun game of "Guess who had the most free time to work on this thing." Most severely, all of Bradley Cooper's scenes had to be filmed in a single day, resulting in his not getting much screen time with Amy Poehler despite their characters' romance (plus his time wearing a ski mask so another actor can take over).
90	* RealSongThemeTune: Jefferson Starship's "Jane", the opening song of the film, here becomes the show's theme.
91	* ReclusiveArtist: In-universe with [[spoiler:Eric, who was part of a band based in Firewood, then suffered a Creator/BrianWilson-esque CreatorBreakdown. Lindsay helps him out of his hermit status.]]
92	* {{Retraux}}: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6tyKjNsyns This teaser,]] made to look like a period-authentic advertisement for the camp, complete with scanning issues and static befitting a thirty-five-year-old videocassette recording.
93	* RichLanguagePoorLanguage: The preppy snobs at Camp Tigerclaw speak with an exaggerated posh Connecticut accent that sounds almost English, while the heroic Jewish slobs at Camp Firewood have standard American accents.
94	* RunningGag: The stock pottery smash sound effect comes back, and it's just as out-of-place as ever.
95	** [[ObviousStuntDouble Obvious Stunt Doubles]], such as during [[CringeComedy Gail and Gene's dance]], where Gail leaves the frame from the front, then dances through the back door in the same shot.
96	* SchizoTech: The GovernmentConspiracy is so powerful that they have modern cell phones. One of them thinks Greg overheard his giving the order to destroy the camp, when he just wanted to ask about "that metal thing in your hand."
97	* ShoutOut:
98	** Claude tries to copy Gene Wilder's entrance from ''Film/WillyWonkaAndTheChocolateFactory'', but can't stick the landing.
99	** Music/WeirdAlYankovic's character hypnotizes someone into believing they are a "constipated weiner dog," a nod to his song "Albuquerque."
100	** The FinalBattle between Firewood and Tigerclaw recalls ''Literature/TheOutsiders''.
101	** At one point during the staff party, you can hear Victor yelling "I WANNA DIP MY BALLS IN IT!", calling back to Ken Marino's previous role on ''Series/TheState''.
102	** Lindsay's plotline is a spoof [[spoiler:of ''Film/NeverBeenKissed'']].
103	* SpeakNowOrForeverHoldYourPeace: Jeff interrupts Gail's wedding to Jonas, declaring his love for her. The two then decide to have a [[FourthDateMarriage Second Meeting Marriage]] since they're already holding a ceremony. All three parties and the wedding guests seem perfectly okay with it.
104	* StockSoundEffects: The sound of a pot breaking whenever someone throws something off the screen, a tradition carried over from the film.
105	* ThemeMusicWithholding: "Higher & Higher", the film's iconic TrainingMontage theme, is subtly teased throughout the series, with a minor-[[{{Scales}} key]] instrumental version getting some use in background tracks, and an occasional few notes from a soundboard hinting that Eric might be its creator. [[spoiler:It finally shows up in its full glory in episode eight, where Eric uses an extended version to end the battle between Camp Firewood and Camp Tiger Claw and get them to mosh together instead.]]
106	* TrojanGauntlet: Played with with a BaitAndSwitch. Victor has to get protection before having sex, and the clerk calls for a price check. Turns out it was for the mundane items he tried to buy alongside...which is portrayed as somehow being even more embarrassing, to the point that he's yelling at the clerk to just let him buy the condoms and lube.
107	* TheQuincyPunk: there is a whole gang of them trying to cause trouble in the store (see TheCameo); ironically, most of the damage to the store is actually caused by The Falcon.
108	* UnusualEuphemism: Ben doesn't know that he's "creative."
109	* WouldHitAGirl: The Falcon puts a gang of punks in the ground and does not care at all that they have a female member.

Context Series / WetHotAmericanSummerFirstDayOfCamp