WMG / The Electric Company (2009)

The Electric Company

At least one member of the company has parents who also have powers.

• Mrs. Ruiz (Hector and Jessica's mother)
• Mr. Ruiz
• Either of Lisa's parents
• Leo Watson (Keith's father; unlikely, considering he doesn't seem to have any powers in his appearances)
• Mrs. Watson (Keith's presumably late mother)
• Marcus' unseen parents.

Hector's the leader of the Electric Company, but not necessarily the founder

• Hector may be the leading man in the company, but he never said that he, Jessica or Lisa founded the company. Maybe it was around for a previous generation, with a similar, yet unique Rogues Gallery to go up against.

Possible skills for future E.C. members

• Encyclopaedic Knowledge
• The ability to define any word
• The Sherlock Scan — Knowing about a person or an object and their history and/or personality with a glimpse
• Control over time
• Shapeshifting

The Pranksters

At least one member of Pranksters has parents just as evil (or worse) as them

Considering we rarely get to see the Pranksters' parents on-screen, this leaves numerous possibilities for what some of them are like. Francine's mother seems to be oblivious to most of her daughter's schemes, and Manny's mother clearly disapproves of her son's troublesome nature... but what about Danny and Annie's parents? It's entirely possible that one of them has parents who not only allow their son/daughter to cause trouble, they encourage it.

• Or maybe one of them has Abusive Parents which would provide a mild Freudian Excuse for their actions and why they act out in public.
• What about Manny's father? Manny mentioned having a baby sister in a Season 1 episode, so clearly Manny's father is still in his life, but it's never made clear whether they have a healthy or even good relationship

Danny's a Double Agent who's secretly helping the Electric Company

This may not actually be the case, but based on various scenes of him making a lot of mistakes that ruined the other pranksters' plans, and how he conveniently became less cunning and skilled during Season 3, it almost made me think that his acts of stupidity were likely just a front, and he's been secretly playing both sides in favor of the heroes. He's already the least evil Prankster, so having him secretly aid the good guys would make a lot of sense. Near the end of Season 2 in "Jules Quest", Danny got involved with the company's "treasure hunt" the team had planed for Jessica, initially thinking it would lead to him finding actual jewels, but when informed that the hunt was actually meant to surprise Jessica with the reuniting of a past friend of hers whose name was Jules, Danny actually joined them and aided them. He even stuck around for Jessica's surprise birthday party and actually enjoyed himself, and was probably thinking "So this is what it feels like to actually help someone" to himself. After ending the episode on good terms, he'd think to himself about what he had done, and pull an off-screen Heel–Face Turn in between seasons. But rather than just quit the Pranksters — which would just make him a walking target — he decided to pretend to still be one of them, so he could gain close access and intel to their schemes, and serve as a Spanner in the Works. Him blabbing about Manny's plan to slander the company's name with a message in the sky? Losing the Wordball Games when he simply had to answer a question? "Accidently" speaking too loud about Annie's plans to ruin Paul's banana party in front of Keith and Marcus? Those were all him secretly tipping off the Electric Company and allowing them to stop the Pranksters' plans. Yeah, you could say that he still acts just as troublesome as the others, but think about it: Anytime that happens, one of the other Pranksters is around, and he has to make his "I'm still a Prankster" act look convincing, to both the other Pranksters, and by extension, the audience.

Francine nearly joined the Electric Company some time ago

• Considering Francine has wordball powers similar to the Electric Company (albeit, hers are purple rather then the Electric Company's blue) it could be presumed that she's got a history with the company that runs a bit deeper than the other pranksters. She can't be a former member gone rogue, because she once sung about wondering what her special skill would be. If she were a former member, she wouldn't need to wonder what her skill would be, because she'd already know. She was probably about to join, only to get rejected at the last minute. (Likely for breaking the company's code, or being dishonest)

Francine will become a Bad Influencer

Gilda will eventually turn on Francine

There are a couple of reasons would Gilda may do something like this, but two of the most likely reasons for her doing so are the following

• After yet another loss against the Electric Company due to Francine's arrogance, and refusal to listen to Gilda's plans despite the former's recklessness endangering both of them, Gilda would get fed up with always having to cleanup Francine's messes, and the latter always stealing her ideas. She'd inevitably decide Francine wasn't worth it if she was essentially invisible to her, and stop trying to aid her.
• Or as an alternative... maybe Francine does something so heinous and so evil, it would led to Gilda realizing just how much of a monster Francine truly is, and the lengths she's willing to go just to claim a win over the titular company. Gilda would find herself unwilling to aid Francine on such an act, chew her out on her petty rivalry and pull a Heel–Face Turn allying with the Electric Company against her.

Other Characters

Sigmund, Sandy, and one of Annie's parents took part in stage performance involving hypnotism

• So far, we know that Annie's uncle Sigmund is a skilled hypnotist, and a certain episode revealed that she has an aunt named Sandy who's also a skilled hypnotist. It's implied (though not confirmed) that Sigmund and Sandy happen to the siblings. If that's the case, than who's to say that one of Annie's parents wouldn't also be a hypnotist. It's unclear whether they're skilled or not, but it sure would shed some lore on the family.

Miscellaneous

If some newcomer gains "the power", they won't want to join the Electric Company initially.

• You know how when Keith and Marcus first realized they had "the power", they were absolutely excited and couldn't wait to join the Electric Company? Well, one thing the show hasn't done yet is feature a newcomer who doesn't want to join —preferably a girl, considering both of the previous newcomers were boys. It would make the character a nice foil to Keith and Marcus and Contrasting Sequel Main Character, and they may even become more relatable in the process. There are a couple of reasons why the character may not want to join. Maybe they're too nervous, maybe they don't trust the Electric Company just yet, maybe they find the company to be overrated, or maybe they're just not interested in being a hero. Whatever the reason, certain circumstances will play out (more than likely involving the Pranksters discovering the character's power; or if the newcomer keeps their powers under wraps from the E.C., one of the Pranksters will reveal their secret to them) which will change the character's perspective and lead them to join the Electric Company after all. Maybe willingly, maybe begrudgingly.

The Electric Company and the Pranksters will need to put aside their differences to take down an even greater force of evil.

While it's true the Pranksters are technically considered the Electric Company's arch-rivals due to their long history with each other, when you really get down to it, they're still Affably Evil Harmless Villains who are willing to work with the company when necessary and are actually very friendly when they're not causing trouble. But what about outside forces or some character who proves to be a serious threat to the neighborhood— or even the city— placing everyone in it within serious peril? The Pranksters may be troublemakers, but they're still a bunch of teenagers whose "crimes" are mostly pretty mundane. No way would they support an actual Knight of Cerebus (i.e.: a wannabe conqueror or a national terrorist or someone wanting to destroy the neighborhood/city rather than simply take it over, or something in that lane). A terror such as this would force the Pranksters to aid the Electric Company in taking down the great threat, and maybe one or two of them would get closer to the company or even pull a permanent Heel–Face Turn, without turning back to their trickster ways.

One of the Pranksters will get framed a prank they'd normally commit

• Considering of all four of the Pranksters are infamous for their bad habits, pettiness and constantly troublemaking across the neighborhood, nobody would think twice over something harmful going down because of them, which in turn, would make them the perfect scapegoats for some other villain to pin the blame on. If some other random person anonymously scrambled a sign, gratified some rebuses or crafted a small but harmful robot, the public (and possibly the Electric Company) would quickly accuse the Pranksters, or at least one of them. Clearing the Prankster's name would make quite an interesting storyline, and it may bring both parties closer together, and showcase how the Pranksters aren't all bad.

A power-switching episode

• I'm perfectly aware that the series already had a body-switching episode in the form of "Scrambled Brains" — where Lisa's tricked into switching bodies with Annie, and the latter tried to damage the former's reputation with her powers. However, I'm surprised there hasn't been an episode where the Electric Company ends up getting their powers/"special skills" mixed up. Perhaps there's a reason everyone in the company was given the powers they were, and some of the other members not be able to handle the skills as proficiently as the main user. Especially Lisa's anagram-based skill. It's one thing to have the ability to unscramble certain words, but a whole other thing to actually be able to use it properly, as anagram-solving is trickier than it seems. So unless the skill make you an Instant Expert, anyone who gains Lisa's power will have a tough time using it.

An Origins Episode

• Another interesting storyline that the show could look into is providing an explanation as to just how the Electric Company (or probably even the Pranksters) first met and formed. It seems like there may be a specific age as to when the user first gains "the power". Keith and Marcus seem to have been tweens or early teens when they first got the power, and Hector mentioned get it when he was 9. And since he's the oldest member, that means Jessica and Lisa had to gain their powers after him within a few years. Maybe we could get some intel on how they formed the oath, or some of the first people the company helped — they had to have started out small before becoming legends among the neighborhood — or how the Pranksters became their Arch Enemies. This would be a perfect opportunity to highlight the company's family lives, and shed more light on their backgrounds.
  • Keep in mind that Keith didn't join until the show's pilot episode, and since this would be a prequel, Keith can't be one of the founding members. Maybe he could be one of the kids whom the company's helps out, or Keith could help them out if the Pranksters try to harm the company. There should definitely be a Call-Forward, or several ("Keep this up, and maybe you could be one of us some time in the near future.")