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Dethroning Moment / Dexter's Laboratory

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Not everyday can be a fine day for science. Same thing goes for this show.

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  • Moments only, no "just everything he said," "The entire show," "This entire episode," or "This entire season," entries.
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  • Explain why it's a Dethroning Moment Of Suck.
  • No ALLCAPS, no bold, and no italics unless it's the title of a work. We are not yelling the DMoSs out loud.

  • Kittens: I love Dexter's Laboratory, but one moment in "Don't Be a Baby" was a DMoS. It was when Dexter and Deedee turned their parents into babies. It was cute and funny at first, but what annoyed me was when Dexter wanted to hold the babies and Deedee said that "Guys don't know how to take care of babies," so Dexter says that he can and so he tries to prove it. But when Deedee hands over their mother she accidentally drops her and she cries. So Deedee looks at Dexter like he did it when clearly Deedee did it! Wow, Deedee, when did you become such a witch! I still do personally like Dexter's Lab, but that moment in that episode was stupid.
  • fluffything: For me, it was the episode "Dexter and Computress Get Mandark" that was "created" (IE: He provided the audio track) by a six year-old kid. No, saying "But he's just a child" doesn't excuse how utterly terrible it is. There have been children who have created far better works of entertainment than this. Long story short, the episode is about nothing but utter randomness... and not in a good way. Dexter and some robot (named Computress) cause Mandark's head to shrink and then accidentally cause it to grow until it explodes and tiny Mandark heads fall from the sky. Oh, and there's an Overly Long Gag involving Dexter calling Computress "stupid". It's like a poorly written Troll Fic than anything else. About the only good thing about it is the Art Shift from the show's normal style to a more "crayon drawing" look, which I felt fit the whole "a kid made it" theme. Too bad the rest of the episode was horrible.
  • PennyDreadful: "Dee Dee's Tail." Dee Dee's uber-girly-girl behavior is usually hilarious to watch. Not so in this episode. She and her friends Mee Mee and Lee Lee are playing with Ponypuff Princess dolls, when...Dee Dee suddenly decides she wants to live it and has a huge tantrum over it, even running home on hands and feet like a four-legged animal. Dee Dee's waaaaaay too old to behave like this, and she's embarrassing to watch in this episode.
  • Philipnova798: "Dexter Vs. Santa's Claws". Now for me, it seemed like Dexter was in all-out jackass mode. Trying to prove Santa wasn't real and ultimately pissing off his family definitely didn't make for a good idea. It just makes me feel sorry for Santa. Also, the ending just came out of nowhere, can you guys say commercialism? Because I know I can.
    • DibKyle: Not to mention how utterly traumatizing the story is. A favorite cartoon character hunts down and nearly kills a beloved holiday icon, ruining Christmas in the process. Seriously, who thought this was a good idea for kids?
  • Disney23: Mine has to be "Dexter Detention". Talk about your Cruel Twist Ending. It has Dexter and some other students in detention and the situation is treated like a prison story. They dig an escape tunnel under the floorboard and Dexter comes out on the other side... at the state prison. The episode ends with Dexter in the striped outfit breaking rocks at gunpoint. The End. Dude, the hell?
    • RAZ: Agreed that this was not that good an episode, and what really sets me off about this one is what results in Dexter getting detention in the first place. A Jerkass student continues to bug Dexter throughout at the beginning for a test answer. Dexter initially refuses to answer him, but the student hassles him so much Dexter loses his cool and accidentally blurts out the answer, leading to the detention. Disproportionate Retribution aside, the real kicker is the student that caused this in the first place doesn't even get any punishment at all.
    • bisonx: The episode in general is this for me. When in the hell were students in detention treated as if they were low-life criminals? I've been to detention once, and not once am I treated like a criminal.
    • superboy313: Aside from the points already mentioned, you'd think with his reputation as a good student Dexter would at least be given the benefit of the doubt and let off with a warning while the douchebag that pestered him would receive some form of punishment. But nope, instead he's immediately thrown into detention while the prick who started the whole fiasco gets off scot-free. If that wasn't enough, the detention area is managed by an obnoxious and cruel teacher who acts like a prison warden and constantly yells "criminal". One of Dexter's classmates is a kid who abuses him and gets him into more trouble for no reason. At one point the detention warden puts him into "solitary confinement" in which he stuffs Dexter into a hidden compartment beneath the floor. That is beyond cruel and emphasizes how mean-spirited this episode is.
  • DarkLadyCelebrian: "The Old Switcharooms". Deedee and Dexter break their dad's long-awaited bowling trophy and are sent to each other's rooms as punishment instead of their own. Reasonable, seeing as their rooms are basically a Toys R Us and an advanced research laboratory and it's a more effective punishment to ground them in rooms that don't contain things that appeal to them. However, Dexter goes absolutely ripshit because he thinks Deedee is messing up his lab while he's not there, and he ends up going on a rampage and completely trashing Deedee's room. Okay, he overreacted and trashing the room wasn't cool, but it's Dexter and judging by Deedee's past behaviors, I could see where he was coming from. But then his dad finds out Dexter's trashed the room and what does he do as punishment? Make Dexter sleep in the doghouse in the rain. This isn't The Fairly OddParents! or Family Guy, Dexter's parents are not Abusive Parents by characterization, so this was completely out of left field. Dexter's Laboratory is not the appropriate cartoon to be playing child abuse for laughs!
    • Savagegenius: But that's not all; if you look closely at the scene where the trophy gets broken, you can see that Deedee, and only Deedee, bumped into Dad just before Dexter tripped on the carpet beside Dad(-which, may I add, was caused by Dee Dee stealing Dexter's doll and not giving a crap that Dexter was bothered by it). And yet, even when Dee Dee squeals in happiness of the "punishment" and Dexter tries to warm Dad of what she'll do, he's the only one who gets punished. In fact, this is reinforced by the ending, in which Dee Dee breaks dad's trophy again and doesn't get punished (despite being called out on it by Dexter). So not only was Dexter's reaction treated as hypocritical Wangst, but besides the fact that he tore up Dee Dee's pantyhose, all of it was justified!
  • Patworx: "A Third Dad Cartoon" was shockingly lazy to me even as a kid. The entire thing consists of Dad going to play golf while Dexter and Deedee stand their smiling (because I'm sure they wouldn't rather play with toys or work on inventions than watch their Dad play golf). The dad takes his sweet time setting everything up and getting himself into just the right position to hit the ball . . . and then it starts raining. Dad walks away and Dexter and Deedee (now frowning) follow him. The end! So uninteresting!
  • The Snow Squirrel: For me, it was a moment in "Dexter is Dirty". In said episode, Dexter's hands are dirty, so Mom makes him go upstairs to wash up before lunch, fair enough. After a while Dexter finishes and heads back to the kitchen, where he sees Deedee walking out while thanking their mom for the food. So you'd think he'd come up to Mom, and she'd give him his meal that she'd set aside for when he was ready, right? Wrong. She completely ignores him as he gets right up next to her and watches sadly as she scrapes the remains of the lunch into the trash. Really, Dexter's Mom? So nice that you let your son go hungry because he was taking the time to do exactly as you said!
  • cheedo: Even as a kid that episode where Dexter turns Deedee into their mom so she can show up for a PTA meeting (I forget the reason but he didn't want to use their actual mom- probably because of a bad grade, I think). He and Deedee argue while waiting to see the principal and Dexter, in a totally OOC moment, HITS HER. The two other kids in the room give him a thumbs-up! Why is this okay to present to kids?
  • alinhoalisson: The episode "Surprise!" It's Dexter's birthday party and his parents are out to buy him some gifts. He makes an invention that leaves him invisible and follows them to ensure they'll buy at least one thing he's always wanted: A Major Glory action-figure. His parents buy lots of stuff he doesn't want and seem like baby toys. Once Dexter puts the action-figure he wants in the cart, Mom picks it up and tosses it aside, claiming he "doesn't need junk." So, we have this moment when Dexter goes back home depressed that none of his birthday gifts were good. And then, we have a Hope Spot moment when he returns and guess what? One of his friends bought him the action figure as a gift, and not only that, Major Glory himself showed up at the party. This doesn't last long, as Dexter is still invisible, he gets attacked up by Major Glory who mistakes him as a malicious ghost. And then the episode ends with light upbeat music playing on the background while a child is mercilessly being beaten to a pulp by the hero he idolizes. Truly saddening.
  • Mighty Mewtron: I considered putting "Chicken Scratch" because I find it gross and illogical, but even more illogical (and showcasing of Seasonal Rot) is "The Babe Sitter". The premise of Dee Dee babysitting Mandark doesn't make sense because Mandark isn't more than two years younger than her, and this isn't even made into a joke. The episode plays with Dee Dee's obliviousness to the degree she barely seems like her own character at all, to the point where she keeps calling Mandark by his birth name of Susan even after he literally screams at her to stop, which she writes off as having a tantrum. It's more uncomfortable than funny and it seems to flanderize Dee Dee to ignore the most obvious complaints for the sake of a very fanficky plot.
  • Loekman 3: The ending of the episode "Let's Save the World You Jerk" made me uncomfortable even as a kid. How does the episode ends you ask? Earth has been completely destroyed by a giant asteroid all the while neither Dexter nor Mandark realize this as they continue bickering each other. I'm honestly not sure which is worse, the fact that it's a flat-out Downer Ending as all mankind is completely destroyed or the fact that it's Played for Laughs despite the afromented apocalyptic event.
  • Joji MC: Don't get me wrong: I love Dexter's Laboratory. But I forgot the name of it but I remember one episode that just didn't sit right with me. Basically, in this episode, Dexter and Dee-Dee get into a really intense argument and they begin stappling stuff to make it so that nobody touches the stuff they want. When Mom and Dad come home, they find that the entire house is covered in tape. And because Dexter has a Dee-Dee sticker on his face, Mom and Dad mistake him for Dee-Dee and send him straight to Dee-Dee's room. So, basically, what I'm trying to say is Dexter got punished for something that he didn't do. I-Is this supposed to be Played for Laughs? Because if it is, it's not funny. Not one bit. I don't like seeing characters getting punished for stuff they didn't do and this episode is no exception. Poor Dexter...

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