He's got kapowie!note
Cricket's KapowieCricket gets a job in Big Coffee's commercial, but he lets it go to his head and when he has a bad hair day, he believes he lost what makes him special and loses his confidence.
"Cricket's Kapowie" contains examples of:
- Acquired Situational Narcissism: While Cricket is mighty proud of starring in a commercial (and begins to freak out when he has a bad hair day), it's Tilly who lets stardom go to her head, and she's just an extra. However, she takes her role as "Girl Eating Donut" far too seriously, acting like a prima donna as she tries to find her character.
- Arc Words: "Kapowie".
- Alliterative Title: The title is alliterative.
- Bad Hair Day: It starts out as just a cowlick, but it soon escalates to Cricket being shaved bald.
- Berserk Button: Tilly is offended when Bill calls her "just an extra".
- Balloon Belly: Eating too many donuts for her character causes Tilly to bloat up.
- Comically Missing the Point: Cricket takes Donny's words about him too well and begins believing his hair is his kapowie, to the point of thinking he lost it following his Gag Haircut.
- Dramatic Irony: The audience knows the entire time that Cricket's hair is not his kapowie, but of course, Cricket is too prideful to even think.
- Dreary Half-Lidded Eyes: This is Cricket's default expression, as seen in the photo at the top, when he is said to have "kapowie" which comes from his hair. He quickly drops it once the hair is sheared.
- "Eureka!" Moment: Cricket after his talk with Tilly when he realizes he had his kapowie all along.Cricket: I'm the...donut...? (gasps) I'm the donut!!!
- Foreshadowing: There are several hints that Cricket's hair is not his "kapowie" as he thought.
- While Donny is checking Cricket out, he says his hair is his "statement piece", then he says he has "kapowie". He's not referring to just the hair, but Cricket himself and his childlike image.
- Note that the people Cricket passes who complement on him positively and later avoid him out of spite don't say anything about his hair.
- When the Greens see Cricket's bad hair, note how Bill is the only one to say it "looks real good."
- "Where'd your statement piece go? Uh, no matter, as long as you've still got your kapowie!" Statement piece as in the hair as mentioned, but "kapowie" as in Cricket's confidence. Donny doesn't even care if Cricket has his hair or not.
- Donny doesn't mention anything about Cricket's hair when he fails the take, only saying he needs "it". "It" refers to the "kapowie", which is much more than just a bad hairdo. Also, he doesn't fire Cricket because he lost his hair, but because he was too upset to perform the shoot after losing it.
- Freak Out: When Cricket accidentally shaves his hair, he believes this means he lost his kapowie causing him to flip. He gets another one when the hairdresser shaves him bald.
- Gag Haircut: Cricket tries to shave off a cowlick, but ends up shaving a huge swatch off the middle of his head. He goes to a hair salon to get it fixed, but the hairdresser ends up shaving his whole head instead.
- Green Around the Gills: Happens to Tilly after tiredly talking to Cricket.
- Hair Flip: Cricket does one as he struts down the street.
- Hired for Their Looks: Cricket assumes Donny hired him because of his hair (his statement piece), so when he accidentally shaves it, he flips out.
- It Was with You All Along: After failing at the shoot, Cricket discovers from the bloated Tilly that he had his kapowie all along: it wasn't his hair, it was his cheerfulness and optimism, which he announces to Donny.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Tilly gets quite the comeuppance for exploiting her role as an extra in the commercial when she becomes completely bloated and sick from all the donuts she had eaten.
- Mundane Made Awesome: Tilly takes her role as "girl eating donut" way too far. She's only an extra with no lines, but constantly tries to find her "character" and rejects every possible way of eating. She eats so many donuts that by the time of the commercial shoot, she's bloated and tired.
- Oh, Crap!: Cricket's reaction when he accidentally shears his hair and again when it all gets chopped off.
- The Scream: When Cricket accidentally shears his hair down the middle.
- Slow "NO!": By Cricket when Bill blows the fan on him.
- Too Upset to Create: When Cricket shows up at the commercial shoot bald, he is too embarrassed to say his line properly, believing the loss of his hair means he no longer has any "kapowie".
- Twinkle in the Sky: A crow leaves this as it takes off with bits of Cricket's wig.
- Wingding Eyes: Cricket's eyes get little stars in them as he is excited about being in the commercial.
Kludge of the future.
Car TroubleBill trades his pick-up truck for a more experienced vehicle and gets more than what he bargained for.
"Car Trouble" contains examples of:
- The Alleged Car: The Green's Kludge truck has seen better days, and is on the verge of falling apart. Everyone is at first excited to get it replaced by a high-tech smart car, but they eventually miss their old car and get it back before it's taken to Mars.
- Reed Richards Is Useless: The CEO of Big Tech, Gwendolyn Zapp, outright says she could use her immense intelligence to change the world but is so insane that she'd rather work on pointless ventures.
- Running Gag: Cricket being treated as a baby by the car.
- Suddenly Speaking: After the Greens take the Kludge home, the Kludge emits a gargling noise that seems to say "I love you, too." Cricket is surprised the Kludge can talk, but Bill points out it's because of its leaking oil.
- Unfortunate Names: Cricket gives Vrum the rather silly name "Dr. Bubblebutt", which is unfortunate for Bill since that name is locked forever.
