Now loading Recap for Operation O.O.M.P.P.A.H.:
Obnoxious
Overzealous
Male
Parent
Plays
Annoying
Horn
Overzealous
Male
Parent
Plays
Annoying
Horn
Numbuh 1's dad is grabbed by a fishing line along with other dads on the lake, and pulled up to some kid's house above the water. He decides that Numbuh 1's dad is his new dad, so Numbuh 1 battles it out with the sousaphone playing dork for his father.
Date of Mission: October 31, 2003
Now loading tropes:
- Armor-Piercing Response: When Nigel finally vents his frustration, Monty has a response that gives him pause. Bonus points for Monty's sad face being when he is Unseen No More.Nigel: I want hang out with my friends! And they don't wake me up at 5:00 in the morning 'cause they read some stupid article in the stupid paper!
Monty: [beat] I see. I'm sorry, Nigel. I just wanted to be your friend. - Bait-and-Switch:
- When Nigel complains that he hates the 'Tuba' music his father put on, the latter slams the brakes and ominously growls "So do I son, so do I...." ...Before he points out that this sousaphone music he put on is great.
- Towards the end, it looks like Mr. Uno is going to tell Nigel something meaningful... and brings up that he thinks his son could use some sousaphone lessons.
- Willard acts like his dad is gone forever. Turns out he's gone for 10 minutes to buy milk.
- Bumbling Dad: Nigel's dad is very well established to be this.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Subverted. Nigel and Willard both acknowledge that in a straight fight, the trained operative (one of the best at that) would easily mop the floor with the chubby dweeb. Willard instead forces Nigel to accept a sousaphone challenge, with his father as leverage.
- Insistent Terminology: It's not a tuba, it's a sousaphone.
- Meaningful Echo: Nigel's dad makes it a point to say what's according to the "Dad's Dos and Don'ts section". When Nigel loses to Willard at the sousaphone competition, Nigel's Dad soberly affirms that according to the "Dad's Dos and Don'ts section", the important thing is his son tried his best.
- Muscles Are Meaningless: Willard's a fat kid with arms as thin as a stick. That said, he's able to do one-armed, handstand pushups with the extra weight of his sousaphone on him, while playing the damn thing to boot.
- Rule of Symbolism: The face of Numbuh 1's father is unseen for most of the episode until Nigel snaps at his dad for making him play the sousaphone. Once he does this and upsets his father, the camera pans up symbolizing his dad isn’t an annoying faceless parental obstacle, he's Nigel's father who loves him and wanted to spend time bonding with him.
- Shout-Out: The entire tuba battle sequence is one to the "dueling banjos" bit from Deliverance(!) — Mr. Warburton said this was the only reason he made the episode.
- Unseen No More: Halfway through the episode, Monty Uno's face is finally fully seen.
