Recap / Big City Greens S 1 E 1

We're gonna launch a chicken into outer space!!

Space Chicken

After settling into their home in Big City, Bill Green tells his children Cricket and Tilly to make a good impression amongst their new neighbors, but Cricket misinterprets his advice and attempts to impress their new neighbors by launching a chicken into outer space.

Note: This is chronologically the second episode of the series, but was the first aired.

"Space Chicken" contains examples of:

• Bottle Episode: The entire episode is set at the Green house.
• Call-Forward: Cricket asks Remy to abandon his violin lessons in favor of helping him launch a chicken into space; before accepting, Remy worries his parents would not approve. This becomes a major plot point in "Remy Rescue".
• Cannot Spit It Out: A lot of madness wouldn't have happened if Bill simply told Cricket and Tilly what "making an impression" is about.
• Comically Missing the Point: Cricket take's Bill's advice of "making an impression" differently; rather than just being nice to others, he tries to literally impress everyone by launching a chicken into space. Lampshaded by Bill as he is punishing Cricket after a chicken falls onto Big Coffee property.
• Determinator: Cricket stops at nothing to at least launch one chicken into space, let alone destroy the property in the process.
• Dropped After the Pilot: This episode shows one of the Greens' neighbors, a cranky old lady named Mrs. Louis. She is gone completely after this episode.
• Early-Installment Weirdness: Given that this was written and produced back in 2014 as a pilot, there are several instances that stand out from the rest of the series.
  • The animation is slightly Off-Model in some scenes, such as when Cricket is meeting Remy.
  • Tilly is surprisingly not very talkative, with Remy having more dialogue than her, because this was made back when Remy was the deuteragonist before giving said role to Tilly. She also sleeps during the day, something not acknowledged in the rest of the series.
  • Cricket and Remy's voices are deeper, Tilly's is more babyish, Gramma sounds slightly more nasal, and Gloria sounds higher and more tough.
  • Gramma doesn't like anyone trespassing her room, not even her own grandson.
  • The chickens are multiple colors, when in the rest of the show, they're all white.
  • The secondary role happens to be taken up by Remy instead of Tilly.
  • This is currently the only episode outside the shorts that Cricket gets grounded for his actions, which won't happen again for a whole season and a half.
  • Mrs. Lewis, one of the apartment neighbors, is never seen again after this episode.
• Eye Scream: When the chickens fall all over the citygoers, one woman gets her eyes pecked out.
• Failed a Spot Check: Apparently, Bill didn't know about Cricket trying to launch a chicken into space as part of gaining an impression, as all he hears of is him launching a chicken to the cafe next door which results in him grounded.
• Go to Your Room!: Bill orders Cricket to go to his room and stay there for the rest of the day as punishment for not taking his advice seriously and having the chickens damage the Big Coffee property.
• Idiot Ball: Really, Cricket? When your dad said he wants you to make a good impression, he means he wants you to be on your best behavior in front of the townsfolk, not try to launch a chicken into space.
• Leaning on the Fourth Wall: The episode begins with Cricket getting out of his tractor, walk towards the viewer and introduce himself considering us as a ‘new neighbor’ but he is actually talking to a fellow passer-by who is jogging and now covered in mud.
• Literal-Minded: Bill asks the kids the best way to fit in is "make a good impression". Cricket takes this too literally and tries to actually impress the neighbors by launching a chicken into space.
• My God, You Are Serious!: Cricket is beyond shocked when Bill tells him he's not joking over telling him he's grounded to his bedroom for the rest of the day for destroying Big Coffee with the launching chicken.
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Cricket misinterprets Bill's advice about making an impression and tries to launch a chicken into space; cue all the chickens destroying the property one after the other.
• Orbital Shot: Cricket gets one after successfully launching their final chicken out of sight.
• "Pan from the Sky" Beginning: The episode starts panning down from the episode title in the sky in outer space to the Green house down on earth.
• Second Episode Introduction: Being the second half of the first episode chronologically following "Welcome Home", this episode introduces the grumpy cafe barista next door, retroactively named Gloria Sato.
• Twinkle in the Sky: The last chicken leaves one after being launched away and presumably into space.
• Wingding Eyes: Seen on Cricket while watching the rocket fuse being lit.
• You Are Grounded!: As punishment for not taking Bill's advice correctly and destroying Big Coffee with a chicken launch, Cricket is grounded and has to stay in his room for the rest of the day. However, he sneaks out through the secret passageway in his shelf drawer.

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Word of advice: Always hold onto your steaks.

Steak Night

While at the train station, Cricket accidentally leaves behind the steak they need for Family Steak Night.

"Steak Night" contains examples of:

• Big "NO!": Cricket screams one as the train takes off and he sees the steak left behind. He screams another when the bomb squad robot gets hold of the steaks.
• Bittersweet Ending: The Greens lose their steaks for good, having been mistook for a bomb and destroyed by the train. But on the good side, Cricket has realized the importance of why steak night is important and embraces his family more than that.
• Bottle Episode: Excluding the opening scene, the majority of the episode is set in the subway tunnels.
• Brick Joke: Near the beginning, Cricket mistakes the street performer for a robot when he does the robot dance. Near the end, he has to fight an actual robot.
• Captain Obvious: The low sign Cricket crashes into reads, "Caution: Low-hanging sign!".
• Comically Missing the Point: The street performer does the robot dance, and Cricket mistakes him for being a robot. Justified, as he's a Fish out of Water and doesn't understand.
• Early-Bird Cameo: The store the Greens go to buy their steak is Wholesome Foods, which won't appear properly until "Supermarket Scandal".
• Foreshadowing: The package of steaks isn't labeled, is wrapped in paper bags, and appears slightly disheveled, making it resemble a suspicious package.
• Oh, Crap!: Cricket's reaction when he realizes he left the steak on the subway and there's no time to exit the train before it leaves.
• Showdown at High Noon: Cricket's faceoff with the bomb squad robot parodies this, complete with letterbox, intense close-up shots and western music. A discarded grocery bag even takes the place of a tumbleweed.
• Subways Suck: Downplayed, although Cricket leaving the package with the steaks at the station causes a bomb scare. Meanwhile, Tilly befriends the rats living in the tracks.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Basically Cricket somehow getting the steaks out of Bill's grocery bag and promising to watch it is what kicks off the eventual problem of the episode.

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