Back to the Past
Airdates: June 21, 2016 note , June 23, 2016 note
By dropping a time-travel gadget, Oscar, Oona, Otis, and Olympia accidentally get sucked into a different day in time and have to figure out what day they are in without causing a time-tastrophe.
Tropes:
- Alternate Self: Oscar, Olympia, Otis and Oona all have one that they all come across during the episode.
- Ambiguous Time Period: Played with. The date that the agents are zapped to is April 1st, and Oona states that her first day on the job was March 1st; however, it doesn't give a specific year. The timeline in the Odd Squad Agent's Handbook places it roughly in 2016
◊ (since the events of The Movie took place in May and June of that year). - The Apprentice: Oona serves as Oscar's top lab assistant. While she's very klutzy and dorky, she is a Gadgeteer Genius much like her mentor.
- April Fools' Plot: The date that Olympia, Otis, Oona and Oscar are sent back to is April 1st, or April Fool's Day. As a result, Otis in particular is subject to all sorts of pranks from agents.
- As You Know: Subverted. Oscar informs Olympia and Otis that spring cleaning for Precinct 13579 starts in April in this manner, but he forgets that they are new employees of Odd Squad and thus just resorts to reiterating that it starts in April.
- Big "NO!": Oscar has this reaction when Otis suggests that the 4 agents just guess what day they were zapped to.
- Boring, but Practical: The Calendar Room functions as this. It's a simple room with virtually nothing in it except pages from a calendar, but it proves useful in figuring out what day the real agents were zapped to (and for avoiding seeing their alternate selves). When Oona takes the final calendar page out of the room, this exchange occurs:Oona: I'll bring April! [grabs the April calendar page]Oscar: Wait! If you bring the calendar, then it's not really the Calendar Room anymore.Oona: [takes a pencil out of her lab coat] Pencil Room. [drops the pencil]Oscar: I'm glad I hired you.
- Butt-Monkey: Otis is the only agent subject to numerous pranks from his co-workers throughout the episode — not to mention the fact that he's been sent forward in time to boot, thanks to Oona.
- Clock Roaches: The Time Sharks are now the guardians of the timescape, having overthrown the Time Sheep in a long and arduous war.
- Continuity Cavalcade: The episode is essentially a Same Plot Sequel to "Ms. O Uh-Oh", and as such, it has a lot of call-backs to it.
- Crazy-Prepared: Oscar keeps snowballs in the freezer, and leaves in the refrigerator. Considering this is a world of oddities where anything odd can happen at anytime, this may not be a bad thing (and at the very least, it helps Oscar and Oona narrow down what date they were zapped to).
- Delayed Reaction: When Oona pulls out the Day-inator, Oscar warns her to be careful with the gadget and explains that it's sort of like a time machine. Then this happens:Olympia and Otis: Sort of?Oona: Sort of?![Olympia and Otis look at her confusingly]Oona: [groans] Too slow!
- Dramatic Drop: While not being dropped, both the Day-inator falling to the floor and the lamp falling and breaking are done in slow motion.
- Duck!: When Olympia spots her, Otis, Oona and Oscar coming into the bullpen shortly after being zapped to April 1st, Oscar shouts for them to duck. Otis's Absurd Phobia of ducks causes him to panic and shout "Where?!" before Oscar pulls him down.
- Electric Joybuzzer: Ms. O's prank on Otis involves one of these. Once she lightly scolds Otis for his glitter-filled appearance, she remarks that everyone makes mistakes and that everyone is on the same team, inviting him to shake her hand. He gets zapped enough to cause a Screen Shake, which manages to startle Olympia as well.
- Everything's Better with Sparkles: Orchid's practical joke on Otis involves her getting him to help her open a box full of glitter.Otis: Orchid, we need to know what month and day it is.Orchid: Sure. Can you help me open this jar first?[Otis opens the jar; glitter shoots out at him, covering half of his jacket]Orchid: Buuurn! [skips away and sings]Olympia: [as Otis wears a look of fury] At least it didn't get on your face?Orchid: Which reminds me: can you help me open this other jar?Otis: Orchid, please leave.Orchid: Okay, whatever. [leaves]
- Evolving Credits: This episode marks the second change in opening credits for Season 2 to reflect Olympia's and Otis' arrivals, with the former handling opening narration in place of Olive from last season. Clips from the Season 1 episodes "O is Not For Over" and "Training Day", as well as clips from episodes like "First Day", "Oscar Strikes Back", and "Show Me the Money", replace old ones. The shot of the Main 4 inside of the logo also makes a reappearance, with Olympia and Otis replacing Olive and Otto. Interestingly, there is a clip of Ms. O riding a scooter and imitating a siren noise that was presumed to be a Deleted Scene, before it appeared in "Odd Squad Needs You" (albeit it was played backwards), which mirrors an opening credits change in Season 1 that had a Deleted Scene from "Rise of the Hydraclops" of Ms. O riding on Olaf's back (which was featured in Olaf's interview video).
- Finish Dialogue in Unison: When Oscar warns Olympia, Oona and Otis not to come across their alternate selves, he and the two Investigation agents say "time-tastrophe" in unison. Oona, on the other hand, attempts to, but slightly misses the mark.Oona: Too slow again.
- First Day from Hell: Oona just arrived at Precinct 13579, and the first thing she has to deal with is the threat of a time-tastrophe. That she caused.
- Hidden Depths: Otis loves hot dogs. He bites into one that he gets from the Breakroom and absolutely snaps, having been the Butt-Monkey of numerous pranks, saying that he's glad there will be no future if it's full of pranks. As it turns out, him saying that is the key to figuring out what day he and the other agents came from: April Fool's Day.
- It's a Long Story: Otis and Olympia quickly run into the Calendar Room after coming across their alternate selves. When Oscar asks what happened, Otis remarks that it's a long story. Unfortunately, Oscar is able to deduce that the two Investigation agents saw themselves.
- Just in Time: Oscar manages to activate the Day-inator and zap him and the other agents away from April 1st just as Oona's, Oscar's and Olympia's alternate selves collide with each other in the hallway.
- Let's Split Up, Gang!: Oona suggests that she, Oscar, Olympia and Otis split up and look for clues as to what day they were zapped to. The two Scientists and the two Investigation agents go in pairs.
- Literal-Minded: Olympia and Otis come into the lab looking for Oscar, only for Oona to pop up and greet them instead. Otis's response is a deadpan "You're not Oscar."
- Oona later has a moment when she explains what Oscar having leaves in the refrigerator and snowballs in the freezer means. Oscar responds with "Bingo!", only for her to say that while it's a fun game, they should focus on the task at hand.
- Medium-Shift Gag: When Oscar is telling the story of how the Time Sharks came to be in charge of the time-scape, the episode shifts from live-action to animated stills.
- The story of Ogglethorpe is also told in animated stills.
- Never Trust a Title: Oscar, Olympia, Oona and Otis aren't sent back to the past; rather, they're sent to the future. This may have been an intentional move to avoid the obvious Back to the Future reference being too on-the-nose (or a copyright issue).
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Oona has a dangerous gadget in her hands that has the power to send anyone back or forward in time in the current year. She fumbles with it a little and deduces that she shouldn't hold it anymore. What does she do instead of simply putting it away in its place? She tosses the gadget to Oscar for him to catch. And he misses by a long shot. The gadget then activates, and zaps the two Scientists, as well as Olympia and Otis, forward in time.
- At the end of the episode, Oscar attempts to high-five Oona, only to smack the lamp (that she had pulled out earlier and placed on the countertop) instead, sending it falling to the floor, where it promptly breaks.
Oscar: Ohh.Olympia: Ooh. [nervously chuckles]Oscar: So that's how that broke. - Noodle Incident: The war between the Time Sharks and the Time Sheep, which spanned over land, air, and sea, and somehow ended with the Time Sharks winning. Oscar doesn't get far in his story before Otis interrupts him.
- Oscar later tells another story of a scientist named Ogglethorpe who guessed the date she was zapped to incorrectly and fell through the timescape onto a farm in upstate Vermont, with Time Koala Bears. Once again, Otis interrupts him before he can get far.
- When Oscar asks her if Oona is sure the day the agents were zapped to is April 1st, Oona responds by saying that she's never been more sure of anything in her life...except for one time in Paris.
- No Peripheral Vision: When Oscar, Oona, Olympia and Otis are transported back to March 1st, they all celebrate. Oscar goes to give Oona a high-five at her request, however, and misses her hand entirely, instead hitting a lamp that Oona had found earlier and placed on the table, and sending it crashing to the floor (which explains why it was broken when they were transported into the future).
- Office Sports: The Cold Open client is making flyers for an office bowling party, but every time she puts a flyer through the copier, two bowling pins and a bowling ball emerge.
- Orphaned Punchline: The alternate selves of Oscar, Oona, Olympia and Otis are having a conversation in which Oona makes them laugh with an anecdote that ends with, "And that's why cows don't wear pants!" The real Oona is happy that she's bonding well with her new co-workers.
- Pop-Culture Pun Episode Title: The episode's title is a reference to Back to the Future.
- Same Plot Sequel: The episode is essentially a re-telling of "Ms. O Uh-Oh", with Olive and Otto swapped out for Olympia and Otis, and Ms. O being replaced with Oona (Ms. O herself does make an appearance but isn't involved with fixing the issue). Other things are added as well, such as a time-tastrophe actually on the verge of happening with all 4 agents encountering their counterparts at various points throughout the episode ("Ms. O Uh-Oh" simply had Time Sheep appear at the end), the Calendar Room being used in place of calendars being suspended in mid-air in the lab (with the aid of a gadget), and Time Sheep being replaced with Time Sharks as the guardians of the timescape.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: At one point, Oona suggests that the 4 agents run away and never tell anyone what happened. Olympia, Otis and Oscar all shoot her confused looks before she offers up the option to split up and find clues as to what day it is.
- Spring Cleaning Fever: April Fool's Day happens to be the start of spring cleaning for Precinct 13579. Ms. O takes it seriously enough to lightly scold Otis for having part of his jacket covered in glitter (which was a prank pulled on him by Orchid earlier).
- Stealth Hi/Bye: Just like Oscar, Oona is also able to pop up out of nowhere and greet people. She does this with Otis and Olympia mere seconds before Oscar himself does it.
- Ms. O (natch) does this as Olympia and Otis are walking around looking for more clues.
- There Can Only Be One: Much like the episode it's inspired by, Olympia, Otis, Oscar and Oona have to figure out what month they were zapped to by process of elimination, taking down various pages of the calendar until they have it narrowed down to one month.
- Unexpectedly Dark Episode: The episode takes quite the turn from being a generally lighthearted episode about time travel to something that wouldn't look too out of place in a horror movie whenever an agent comes across their Alternate Self — distorted, backwards background music playing (along with horror stings), shaky, wobbling effects, and echoing voices from the real agents themselves. It's immensely disturbing, especially in the first instance, which kicks off with Ms. O's creepy-sounding laugh that echoes through the halls as she walks away after having pulled her Electric Joybuzzer prank on Otis.
- Watch Where You're Going!: Alternate!Olympia, Alternate!Oona, and Alternate!Oscar manage to collide with each other in the hallway due to them all being preoccupied with something.
- Welcome Episode: This episode introduces Oona, a Scientist who works under Oscar as his apprentice. She would later become part of the Main 4 and fill Oscar's spot after he departs for good in "Oscar Strikes Back".
- Which Me?: Invoked by Olympia, who attempts to go and talk to her Alternate Self before Oscar stops her, explaining that if two versions of a person see each other, it can cause a time-tastrophe.
- Worldbuilding: This episode introduces new rooms in Headquarters as part of the Rebuilt Set, such as the Calendar Room, a Piano Room (a room with piano keys on the door), and a Bowling Room (which has a door resembling a bowling lane), among others. There are also handrails, and a large window on the wall with two blinds of sorts which function like double-doors.
Of Corpse She's Alive, even while the cameras are running.
Odd Squad Needs You
Airdates: June 21, 2016 note , June 23, 2016 note
When Odd Squad needs to update their recruitment videos, Otis volunteers to direct. Little does he know, his star, Ms. O, is a nightmare once the cameras start rolling. Coaxing 30 seconds of usable footage out of his boss just might be the end of the road for the new recruit...
Tropes:
- Bad "Bad Acting": Part of Ms. O's issue while being filmed is that she has very few acting skills, and does various things such as moving to a different location without telling the director, and Reading the Stage Directions Out Loud, among other things. Dr. O proves to be no better, as she needs an offscreen prompt from Otis to even get her to ask Ms. O a question.
- Batman Gambit: When Ms. O sees the finished, but poorly edited, commercial, she goes off on Otis and tells him that it doesn't tell anyone anything about Odd Squad. She then gives a Rousing Speech to the other agents, reminding them what Odd Squad is and why she wants kids to join. Olympia then comes up to her (along with Otis) and reveals that she and her partner tricked Ms. O with the fake commercial, making it look purposefully bad in order to get her upset enough to produce a viable one. She then praises Otis for a job well done, telling him that he knows how to handle his actors.
- Bait-and-Switch: After filming the last few seconds of the commercial, Otis asks Orchid how his Of Corpse He's Alive performance was. She says it was solid, and he believes that she's talking about the commercial, only for her to tell him that she was actually referring to her muscles, which got bigger from holding and lugging all of the sound equipment around.
- Ms. O also has a moment after she finds out about Olympia's and Otis' Batman Gambit, as she remarks "Wait, you tricked me?!" in complete disbelief before taking on a much amiable tone as she praises Otis.
- Bicep Kiss: Orchid does this after she remarks that her muscles got bigger from holding the sound equipment.
- Bland-Name Product: The newspaper that Olympia reads is titled The Shmumbertimes, a parody of The New York Times.
- Bread, Eggs, Breaded Eggs: The Cold Open client can't drink orange juice without a copy of himself brushing his teeth. Olympia and Otis come up with a solution: orange-flavored toothpaste.
- Comically Missing the Point: While Otis directs the film, Olympia suggests she set up a screening so other agents can watch the commercial for themselves.Otis: [shaking his head] Yeah, I don't know about that.Olympia: This guy and his "thank you's"! [chuckles and walks away]
- Compressed Vice: It's implied that Oscar is afraid of Ms. O simply for the fact that she's his boss. This is despite the fact that he's worked with her numerous times, serving as a sort of assistant to her (although he was one of her actual assistants back in the day), and has worked with her for even longer than even Olive and Otto. It gets to such a point that when he asks Otis if he's really going through with this and the agent nods his head, he and Oona head into his bunker that the two Scientists stay in for a majority of the episode. He hasn't been shown to harbor any fear of Ms. O in past or subsequent episodes.
- Continuity Nod: Time cards return after having last been seen in "The Potato Ultimato".
- Didn't Think This Through: Ms. O lets the dinosaurs out of the Creature Room because she wants to show how much she loves the Creature Room rather than simply tell it to the camera. Naturally, chaos ensues, and agents in the bullpen freak out as dinosaurs roam around.
- Dissonant Serenity: Ms. O opens a door in the Creature Room that happens to contain dinosaurs, revealing a Tyrannosaurus rex that appears hungry for agent. She then begins to let all of the dinosaurs in the Creature Room out of their habitat into Headquarters. While Otis is rightfully terrified, both the Odd Squad Director and Orchid are completely unfazed.Orchid: Sound was no good on that. I heard screaming.
- Don't Explain the Joke: Otis remarks that if he can handle celery, then he can handle Ms. O. Directly after that, he explains that it's hard to chew.
- Door-Closes Ending: The episode ends on Oscar closing his bunker door after deciding that, despite fireworks going off and agents celebrating, it's not safe to come out.
- The Dreaded: Ms. O is revealed to be this amongst nearly every employee, simply due to the fact that she's the boss of the precinct, with Oscar stating that she's difficult to work with. The only person who doesn't fear her is Otis, who is willing to take up the mantle of directing the commercial with her as the star (and Orchid as well, to an extent, who helps out with audio). Due to being a Benevolent Boss (thanks to Character Development), Ms. O doesn't get angry at Otis or Orchid, even during scenes that need multiple takes, and at most, she inadvertently inconveniences them while filming.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: This episode has the first mention of the Big Office, the home of the Big O, who runs every Odd Squad precinct in the world. However, in this episode, it's not called the Big Office — it's called the Head Office. "The Creature Whisperer" and subsequent episodes would later use "Big Office" as the correct term.
- The End of the World as We Know It: Parodied. Oscar and Oona treat Ms. O starring in a commercial as though it's something that will bring on the apocalypse, and as a result, they hide in the former's bunker for a majority of the episode. Even at the end, when fireworks are going off to celebrate the commercial being filmed successfully, Oscar refuses to leave the bunker.
- Expendable Clone: The Cold Open client has the issue of him brushing his own teeth every time he tries to drink orange juice. It turns out to be a clone of him that's brushing his teeth whenever he goes to take a sip. Olympia's and Otis' solution is to have the real client brush his teeth with orange-flavored toothpaste instead, which beats back the clone.
- Fantastic Fireworks: Olympia cues some up at the end of the episode to celebrate the commercial being successfully filmed. However, Oscar and Oona, who are still hiding in the bunker, still don't think it's safe to come out.
- Glad I Thought of It: Ms. O attempts to invoke this by complimenting Otis on his decision to film in the Creature Room instead of her office. The only issue is that it was her decision, which Otis calls her out on, only for her to remark that it's an idea he inspired. Of course, filming in the Creature Room ends up being a complete disaster when Ms. O decides to let the dinosaurs out.
- Heavy Sleeper: Even with Otis puppeteering her, the sleeping Ms. O doesn't move so much as an inch. It takes 15 hours for the commercial to be finished, and it's implied that Ms. O was asleep during that time.
- Hidden Depths: Otis apparently loves movies, something that his partner is unaware of. However, when it comes to making a movie, he prefers not to have it screened to his co-workers, and for good reason — he's absolutely terrible at editing it (although it does help him and Olympia get an actual, viable commercial in the end).Otis: I can film the commercial. It'll be like a little movie. I love movies.Olympia: Since when?Otis: I talk about it all the time.[Whip Pan transition to the Breakroom]Otis: [quietly] I like movies.Olympia: What?Otis: Nothing.Olympia: Hm.[Whip Pan transition back to the lab, where Olympia looks confused]
- If the custard fruit tart she made with the lumberjack is any indication, Ms. O is a Supreme Chef and is quite skilled in cooking.
- It Amused Me: Orchid agrees to help Otis with audio for the commercial. However, the only reason she's doing so is so she can watch and enjoy Otis getting subjected to how horrible Ms. O is while on camera.
- It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time: Otis decides to be the director for the commercial, but since he's new to the precinct — and thus, doesn't know Ms. O's personality quite yet — he is unaware of how his boss is on camera. After the failed interview with Dr. O, Otis admits that the commercial wasn't the best idea, only for Orchid to tell him, "Don't sell yourself short. It was a terrible idea."
- Kitschy Local Commercial: Oscar films an "Odd Squad Needs You" commercial for the Big Office every year, only he does it without Ms. O being featured. How does he pull it off? With Bad "Bad Acting", a re-used shot of Ms. O from "First Day" (with her head inflated a bit), and Limited Animation in regards to her mouth. It makes the commercial that Otis directs and edits look Academy Award-worthy in comparison.
- Medium Awareness: After it's revealed that Otis pulled a Batman Gambit on Ms. O, Olympia tells Otis how proud she is that he made a movie, only for him to correct her and say that it's a commercial that will air on basic cable. What network is included in most basic cable packages? PBS Kids. This also confirms that the eponymously-titled commercials seen in between episodes of the show do exist in-universe, although both Olympia's and Otis's commercials have different formats than those seen in between episodes.
- Never Say "Die": As usual for this show, the word "die" is never said regarding Oscar and Oona, and death as a concept is only alluded to once (and implied, with Oscar and Oona treating the ordeal as though the apocalypse is happening).
- Noodle Incident: Otis remarks how, during filming, Ms. O took the camera from him and ran away with it. She responds that it's because of his great directing skills. (Though to be honest, Otis wouldn't tell her to do that...)
- No Sense of Personal Space: When Olympia and Otis attempt to return their gadgets to Oscar, he refuses to take them, stating that he's training Oona to do it instead of him. When he calls her name, she makes a Dynamic Entry of her own by shoving herself between Olympia and Otis, grabbing the gadgets from their hands, and rushing off to the back to return them.
- Of Corpse He's Alive: Otis puppeteers a napping Ms. O and attempts to imitate her voice in order to obtain five more seconds for the commercial.
- Offscreen Teleportation: Going hand-in-hand with her Stealth Hi/Bye abilities, Ms. O does this after Otis is able to gain the first 5 seconds of footage from her.
- Overworked Sleep: Ms. O ends up exhausted enough from filming the commercial to fall asleep at her desk while Orchid and Otis figure out how many more seconds of the commercial they need to film. Both of them know well enough to not wake her up, and instead, Otis resorts to puppeteering and imitating her to get the last five seconds.
- Prima Donna Director: Inverted; Otis is actually a kindhearted director who doesn't mistreat Ms. O in the slightest. However, the only reason he doesn't speak out against her is because she's his boss at work (which is why nobody else does, either — even those that have known her for a long time, like Oscar), and doesn't want to be subject to her wrath.
- Rapid-Fire "No!": Oscar's reaction when Olympia and Otis attempt to return a few gadgets to him. He delegates returning duties to Oona instead.
- Ret-Canon: One of the show's Taglines, "All Kids Are Equal, All Kids Belong", was only seen at the PBS Annual Meeting back in 2014, when the show was first announced. (The other Tagline, "Odd is the Problem, Math is the Solution", tends to be advertised more, especially in articles discussing the show.) This episode makes that Tagline canon within the show's universe, as Ms. O includes it in her Rousing Speech (albeit she words it a bit differently).
- Rousing Speech: Ms. O gives a rather inspirational and heartfelt one after she scolds Otis for his commercial, which isn't convincing to its viewers whatsoever. It ends up being a part of his and Olympia's Batman Gambit.Ms. O: This commercial was supposed to show that Odd Squad is a place where kids come together. Support each other. Learn from one another. It's a place that runs on teamwork, where everyone is equal, and everyone belongs. It's a place where kids save the day, every day. And we need kids to join today!
- Saying Sound Effects Out Loud: After filming Dr. O and Ms. O, Orchid demonstrates how bad filming the commercial in and of itself is by acting out her "trainwreck" comment from earlier: "Choo-choo, kaboom!"
- Show, Don't Tell: Ms. O invokes this in-universe while filming in the Creature Room, as her reason for letting the dinosaurs out. It ends up causing complete chaos in the bullpen as agents scream and run for their lives. Oona in particular makes the mistake of opening the bunker door, thinking it's safe to come out, only to come face-to-face with a hungry dinosaur, where she immediately pulls a Screw This, I'm Outta Here and closes the door while screaming in terror.
- Silent Whisper: Ms. O whispers her answers to Dr. O during their interview in this manner.
- Stealth Hi/Bye: Ms. O has this skill by default, but this episode has one of the most impressive displays of it yet, as she pops up between Oscar, Olympia and Otis not even five seconds after Oona rushes off to return the two Investigation agents' gadgets.
- Orchid also does this shortly after Oscar and Oona head inside of the former Scientist's bunker.
- Survivalist Stash: Oscar's bunker has numerous cans of beans inside of it. It's the only food he stocked.Oscar: Hey, did you come here for a fancy meal, or did you come here to live?
- Tongue Twister: Ms. O repeats "You know you need unique New York" as a warm-up before filming.
- What Were You Thinking?: When Ms. O tells the newly-made director Otis to meet her in her office to start filming and walks away, Oscar has this reaction:Oscar: Otis, what have you done?!Otis: I'm helping!
