A cackling Megavolt unveils his latest invention to his sentient appliance friends: the Electrolyzer, which, when activated, allows him to turn into a real live wire and travel through power cables. After ending up in a toaster and a blender, he beams into a television set and discovers that, by adjusting the frequency on the Electrolyzer, he can beam into any television set and travel through the screen. He promptly goes on a crime spree, which Drake gets wind of when Megavolt beams into Herb Muddlefoot's television set and steals his newly-delivered Turbo Technic remote control. As Darkwing, he tracks Megavolt to his hideout and follows the supervillain into the television when he tries to escape. The chase continues across several channels until they end up on a science programme; Megavolt is delighted to discover a Condillion trans-mutonic atom splitter in the studio and switches it on, intending to trap Darkwing in a Peterson feedback loop. However, the atom splitter overloads and explodes, depositing Darkwing and Megavolt in an electronics store in a shopping mall. They are separated as they flee a stampeding crowd of "hideous beakless mutants" - human beings!
Darkwing is flattered but confused when a group of children recognise him (though he doesn't know how to answer their questions about Launchpad's Limited Wardrobe or what he does for a living as Drake Mallard), and discovers the explanation when an episode of the popular cartoon series Darkwing Duck begins airing, though he objects to the oversized beak he is given on screen. But when he discovers that the series has a wealth of spinoff merchandise, he is incensed that he isn't getting a cut of the profits and heads to the office of the series' creator, E. Thaddeus Rockwell. Rockwell and his assistant, Crosby, are surprised to see Darkwing in their world; after Darkwing threatens to take his image to another studio unless he gets an explanation and a cut of the profits from the merchandise for his series, Rockwell explains that in his days as a struggling TV writer, he sent away for an alpha wave feedback helmet, and when he put it on, it began receiving broadcasts of Darkwing's adventures in his world, which Rockwell started incorporating into his scripts. He admits that he has no idea how Darkwing got into the real world, and no idea how to send him back.
Rockwell tries to cheer up Darkwing with an offer of a multi-city tour and further merchandising, but Darkwing feels lost without supervillains to fight and a city to protect. Fortunately, he gets his wish as a news broadcast reveals that Megavolt is still at large, though his occupation of a local TV transmission tower is mistaken for a publicity stunt by Rockwell; Megavolt is relieved to see Darkwing again, and has his own objections at the rendition of his nose on the Darkwing Duck cartoon. He has no answers to the question of how they get back to their world either (he hoped the transmission tower could send him back, but couldn't find the right frequency), but Rockwell tells them he can give them St. Canard: in the form of a live stage show starring the duo to be produced seven days a week. The first performance goes awry when Darkwing and Megavolt knock over the set, but the audience love it, and Rockwell muses to Crosby that he no longer needs the helmet. Darkwing overhears this and realises the helmet might hold the key to getting him and Megavolt back to their world.
The superhero and supervillain stand on the TV transmission tower during a lightning storm, and Darkwing connects Megavolt to the tower and puts the helmet on him, tuned to the frequency of their world. Megavolt kicks Darkwing off the tower to prevent him from going back, but Darkwing fires a sucker dart from his gas gun that attaches to Megavolt just as lightning hits the tower, sending them back. The empty helmet crashes against the tower... and Crosby discovers it is now tuned to the world of Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers, giving him an idea for a new series. Darkwing and Megavolt emerge in Herb Muddlefoot's living room; Megavolt tries to use the Electrolyzer to escape, but Darkwing traps him in a light bulb, then produces a Darkwing doll he picked up in the "real world" and says he needs to get to a toy company.
This episode provides examples of the following tropes:
- Anvil on Head: When Darkwing initially attempts to enter Rockwell's office, his secretary pushes a button that drops an anvil on him, squashing him flat. Darkwing realizes he should've figured something like that from a cartoon studio.
- Audience Surrogate: The questions those kids ask Darkwing are questions fans have wondered for some time, like how Drake Mallard made a living outside of being Darkwing Duck.
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: Even when they are in the real world, the characters seem to understand that they are performing in front of a TV audience. When Megavolt kicks Darkwing off the TV transmission tower while they are waiting to be sent back to their world, he turns to the camera and announces, "This is what's known as a double cross!"
- Call-Back: At one point, Rockwell is heard telling Crosby an idea for an episode in which Darkwing is on an island of Killer Gorillas, which hearkens back to the episode "Apes of Wrath".
- Delayed Reaction: When Rockwell tells Darkwing that he has no idea how to get him back to his world, Crosby adds that he's stuck in the "real world" forever. Darkwing mutters "That's not such a long time- forever!?" and goes into a dead faint.
- Do Not Adjust Your Set: When Drake first discovers that Megavolt has taken over the airwaves and is flipping through the channels, Megavolt announces, "Do not attempt to change the channel. 'Cause I'm on all of them!"
- Enemy Mine: Darkwing and Megavolt are forced to team up to find a way to escape from the "real world" back to St. Canard, though Megavolt does try (unsuccessfully) to stop Darkwing from coming back once the plan goes into action.
- "Eureka!" Moment: Rockwell tells Crosby that he can simply put on the same story in the Darkwing Duck stage show every night, and he no longer needs to wear the helmet to come up with story ideas. Darkwing overhears this and realises that the helmet is the key to getting back to the "real world" as he perceives it.
- The Fourth Wall Will Not Protect You: In-universe, once Megavolt activates the Electrolyzer, he can beam into any television set he likes, lean out, and help himself to any nearby money or valuables. He uses this to empty the cash register at the Hamburger Hippo, steal six televisions from an appliance store, and take Herb Muddlefoot's new all-purpose remote control.
- Humans Are Ugly: Darkwing and Megavolt run in horror from their first sight of humans the way we would from a herd of terrifying monsters.
- Limited Wardrobe: The series' use of this trope is lampshaded when Darkwing encounters a group of young fans in the real world and one of them asks why Launchpad always seems to wear the same clothes. He doesn't have an answer.
- Morton's Fork: In a spoof of PBS pledge drives, Megavolt runs a phone-in pledge drive where viewers can send him money. The alternative? He comes to their homes via their TV sets and steals it. Either way, he ends up with everyone's money.Megavolt: Remember, it's your pledge money that keeps me on the air... and out of your homes!
- Non Sequitur, *Thud*: After Darkwing's flying apparatus catapults him into the scenery and the lighting for the Darkwing Duck stage show, causing them to collapse on him, he woozily mutters, "Will that be paper or plastic?"
- Oh, Crap!: When Darkwing chases Megavolt into a science programme, Megavolt discovers that there is an atom splitter on set and switches it on, intending to use it to trap Darkwing in a Peterson feedback loop. When it begins overloading, Megavolt gets a very worried look.Darkwing: Um... is it supposed to do that?
Megavolt: (panicking) NO!!
Darkwing: I didn't think so... - Real-World Episode: An accident involving Megavolt's Electrolyzer and an atom splitter on a science programme causes him and Darkwing to get fired into a world of "beakless mutants" - human beings, in other words - where everyone recognises them as characters from the popular cartoon series Darkwing Duck.
- Running Gag: Throughout the episode, Darkwing complains about how the animators kept drawing his beak too big. Upon meeting up with Megavolt, it's revealed he has the same sentiment about his own nose.
- Self-Serving Memory: As Rockwell explains how he "created" Darkwing Duck to the skeptical superhero, he says he had a few "minor setbacks" as a struggling writer. In a flashback, we see him being launched out of an executive's office with so much force that he leaves an Impact Silhouette in the door.
- Shout-Out:
- When Drake first sees Megavolt on TV, he and Herb change channels repeatedly and put Megavolt in a variety of formats, several of which reference real TV series.
- Megavolt is initially on a game show in which he says, "Yes, Alex, I'll take 'Electrical Connections' for $500." The format and the fact that the host's name is Alex are a clear reference to Jeopardy!
- Herb changes the channel to see Megavolt as a guest on The Opal Windbag Show, a parody of The Oprah Winfrey Show (on which Megavolt was also a guest in "Dead Duck").
- Megavolt is then seen on a cooking show where he incinerates a turkey with his electrical powers. He signs off with "Bon appetit!", the signoff line of French Chef presenter Julia Child; he also mimics Child's vocal inflections.
- As Darkwing frantically changes channels and finds Megavolt on every single one, there is a brief shot of Megavolt in a prehistoric setting wearing an animal skin identical to that worn by Fred Flintstone on The Flintstones.
- E. Thaddeus Rockwell is named, in a roundabout way, for Darkwing Duck supervising producer (and Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers creator) Tad Stones.
- After Darkwing and Megavolt are transported back to their world, the helmet Rockwell used to tune into Darkwing's adventures crashes against the transmission tower and ends up tuned to a different frequency. As Crosby listens, he hears an exchange between Monterey Jack and Chip from Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers and gets an idea for a new series.
- When Drake first sees Megavolt on TV, he and Herb change channels repeatedly and put Megavolt in a variety of formats, several of which reference real TV series.
- The Show Must Go Wrong: Rockwell decides to put on a Darkwing Duck live stage show starring the real Darkwing and Megavolt, but during the first performance, Megavolt throws a prop lightning bolt at Darkwing, causing him to swing around the stage on the ropes used to make him fly and knocking over the scenery and the lighting. Fortunately for Rockwell, the audience love it.
- Show Within a Show: Besides the paradoxical existence of a Darkwing Duck cartoon series in the "real world", Darkwing's own universe includes several TV series which parody other "real world" series, such as I Love Goosey and The Old and the Worthless.
- Stealing the Credit: What Rockwell was basically doing with his show. Since his alpha wave helmet was tuned to Darkwing's world like a radio, all he had to do was dictate Darkwing's exploits for his show. Darkwing is naturally irked that somebody was making a media empire off of him without getting anything back.
- Techno Babble: Megavolt finds a "Condillion trans-mutonic atom splitter" on the set of the science programme, and says he can use it to trap Darkwing in a "Peterson feedback loop". Neither term exists outside the Darkwingverse, but they certainly sound impressive.
- They Called Me Mad!: When Megavolt first unveils the Electrolyzer to an audience of sentient appliances, he exclaims, "They called me crazy! They called me insane! They called me loony!... and boy, were they right!"
- Trapped in TV Land: Before they are beamed into the "real world", Darkwing chases Megavolt across the airwaves, ending up in a soap opera and a science programme.
- Traveling-Pipe Bulge: As Megavolt travels through electricity cables, they bulge noticeably to indicate where he is at any given moment.
- Your Costume Needs Work: Darkwing and Megavolt are both put out by their character designs in the Darkwing Duck cartoon series, directing particular complaints at how their noses are drawn.Darkwing: That beak's big enough to land fighter planes on!
