Recap / Big City Greens S 2 E 6

The Popstar and the Farm Boy

Impopstar

Cricket is mistaken for a pop star who looks like him and looks forward to a life of fame, while the real pop star takes up residence in the Green house.

"Impopstar" contains examples of:

• 10-Minute Retirement: Zillon was tired of being rich and famous and wanted to be normal, resulting in him disappearing from the public. But with his experience with the Greens, he is given hope and learns his lesson, and goes back to his real life as a celebrity.
• Big Damn Heroes: The Greens dramatically breaking open the locked door to the mannequin warehouse to rescue Cricket.
• Big "WHY?!": Keys yells, "WHYYYYY?!" when he believes Zillon has been murdered when it was really a severed mannequin head he found. Combined with Skyward Scream.
• Both Sides Have a Point: Bill's as right to be angry at what Nancy did as she is by what Bill did, Nancy letting Cricket impersonate Zillon and Bill not being able to recognize a total stranger from his own son.
• The Ditz: Zillon doesn't seem as bright, compared to Cricket, when hanging out with the Greens, he mistakes them as relatives of his own, refers to Phoenix as "Grandfather", and uses the fridge as a place to put the trash (the "trash box").
• 15 Minutes of Fame: After getting mistaken for Zillon, Cricket decides to go with it and enjoy a life of luxury with Nancy as his manager, to the point of not wanting to give it all up. Then he is captured by Amaryllis and instantly regrets it, and goes back to his former life.
• Groupie Brigade: While pretending to be Zillon, Cricket is swarmed by rabid fans and has to run for his life.
• Heh Heh, You Said "X": Tilly proves Zillon is not Cricket by playing the word "toot" on Scrabble and he doesn't laugh at it. In the end, Tilly says "toot" at Cricket to confirm that it really is him; he laughs and she is convinced.
• I Just Want to Be Normal: Zillon has grown tired of fame and fortune and just wants to live a normal life. So when the Greens mistake him for Cricket, he just rolls with it.
• Identical Stranger: Zillon Brax, who looks exactly like Cricket, albeit with a darker hair color, earrings, and straighter teeth.
• Loony Fan: Amaryllis, an insane fan of Zillon's who traps Cricket in an abandoned warehouse to be her singing partner forever.
• Meaningful Name: A variant of the amaryllis flower is the red spider lily, which in flower symbolism represents death, indicating how dangerous Zillon's stalker is.
• Mistaken Identity: Crossed with Prince and Pauper. Cricket is mistaken for Zillon because of their uncanny resemblance, while the Greens save Tilly mistake Zillon for Cricket.
• Nightmare Face: When Amaryllis is refusing to let Cricket leave:
  Amaryllis: Now, now, Zillon... SAVE YOUR PIPES FOR THE DUET!
• Only Sane Man: Tilly is the only one of the family who immediately deciphers Zillon is not Cricket.
• "Open!" Says Me: The Greens barge into the mannequin warehouse by kicking the door down.
• Police Are Useless: Keys is unable to assist Nancy in rescuing Cricket when Amaryllis holds him hostage because he's too focused on trying to find Zillon.
• Prince and Pauper: Cricket pretends to be Zillon to get a taste of fame, and Zillon pretends to be Cricket to walk amongst the ordinaries and see what it's like to have a normal life.
• Rags to Riches: Cricket is mistaken for Zillon and decides to look forward to a life of luxury. He soon gives it all up by the end upon realizing how hard it is.
• Reports of My Death Were Greatly Exaggerated: When Keys arrives at the mannequin warehouse, he finds a mannequin head that looks very much like Zillon, thinking he was murdered and thus was too late. Then the real Zillon walks onto the scene and Keys is relieved.
• Riches to Rags: Zillon wants to retire being famous and would rather live a normal life amongst the ordinaries. Fortunately, this doesn't stick by the end.
• Rich in Dollars, Poor in Sense: When told to take out the trash, Zillon puts in in the fridge, mistaking it for some sort of "trash box".
• Riddle for the Ages: Why did Zillon want to disappear from the public and live a normal life in the first place?
• Scrabble Babble: Gramma tries to play "Grsnarft" on Scrabble, which Bill contests.
• Shout-Out:
  • Amaryllis wanting to hold Cricket hostage is similar to Nora Dershlit. She is also similar in terms to Creepy Connie and Maddie Flour.
  • When Zillon decides to return to his celebrity life, he shouts, "Peace and love, yo!"
• Skewed Priorities: Zillon quitting being a pop star is treated as a national emergency by the local news and the police; Officer Keys won't even help Nancy find Cricket, who's been kidnapped by one of Zillon's fans, until the real Zillon is found.
• Spot the Imposter: Tilly does this to try to prove Zillon is not Cricket. She asks him what his favorite cheese is and when is his birthday, but she accepts Zillon's vague answers ("The yellow kind from the milk cows" and "The day I was born", respectively). It's when she plays the word "toot" and Zillon doesn't laugh at it that Tilly is convinced that he's not the real Cricket.
• Touché: Bill tries to lecture Nancy for allowing Cricket to pretend he was Zillon, until Nancy points out he spent an entire day mistaking a total stranger for his own son (and keep in mind Nancy had recognized right off who Zillon was when she got to the house). Bill admits she has a point.
• Twin Switch: What Cricket and Zillon pull throughout the episode.
• The Unreveal: Cricket's favorite cheese and birth date, especially the latter.
• Whole-Plot Reference: A run-of-the-mill character poses as someone famous or high in level that looks like them and vice versa? Sounds like we're talking about a parody of The Prince and the Pauper.

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Welcome to the Lil' Bengals Football Camp! See if you can score a touchdown, boyyyyyyy!

Football Camp

To impress his dad, Remy enrolls in a football camp with Cricket's assistance.

"Football Camp" contains examples of:

• Added Alliterative Appeal: "All right, big kitty, let's see if you can resist the tuneful tune of tuna."
• Artistic License: A baby wouldn't be able to talk in complete sentences or stand on its own two feet a few minutes after being born, like what happened to Remy in his flashback.
• Ascended Extra: Russell has a major role in this episode.
• Baby's First Words: Remy has a flashback to when he uttered his first words on the day of his birth:
  "I am no baby! I AM A MAN!!!"
• Bottle Episode: Most of the episode takes place inside the Bengals' stadium, with a brief scene inside Remy's game room and a flashback to the day he was born.
• Cuteness Proximity: Tilly becomes obsessed with petting the Bengals' mascot, thinking it's a real giant kitty cat.
• A Day in the Limelight: For Remy.
• I Know Mortal Kombat: Remy learns football from playing a videogame, but finds that he's unable to play it for real because of his weak, uncoordinated body.
• Tears of Joy: Cricket sheds them in the final scene during a touching moment between Remy and Russell.
• Totem Pole Trench: Remy knows all about playing football but can't physically play, while Cricket has the moves but can't think worth a darn. They decide to disguise themselves in one uniform, with Remy on top and Cricket on the bottom, so they can combine each other's talents. It works until they're tackled and get separated, which the onlookers briefly mistake for Remy being torn in half.
• Twinkle in the Sky: When Russell is demonstrating the obstacle, the dummy he punches away leaves this behind.
• "Well Done, Son" Guy: Remy joins Russell's football camp because he thinks being good at football it's the only way he'll earn his respect. Russell confesses that he's always been impressed by his son for being smart and talented in things other than football.

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