First aired: December 27, 2016
Diggin' Earth
- Written by: Joe Purdy
Greetings from the center of the Earth!
Inspired by a Commander Cressida story, Sydney leads the kids in a mission to dig to the center of the Earth. In the process, they learn about the Earth's layer. Meanwhile, Carrot and Celery try to go to the center of Jupiter. The episode is interspersed with 2D Commander Cressida segments.
- Art Shift: Sydney imagines Commander Cressida and her crew digging to the center of the Earth, in a 2D style.
- Creative Closing Credits: The credits of this episode feature the Commander Cressida theme song instead of the regular RJG theme song instrumental.
- Daydream Believer: Jet seems to believe that he and his comrades can dig to the center of the Earth just like Commander Cressida and her squad. Sydney reminds him multiple times that Commander Cressida is a made-up story and is not real.
- Imagine Spot: The kids imagine that they're Commander Cressida characters and that they're digging to the Earth's core.
- Just a Kid: A Heroic Self-Deprecation version — Sean thinks that he and the others can't really dig all the way down because they're just kids, and wants to give up, but Dr. Rafferty tells him that kids (like them) can do amazing things and encourages him to keep going.
- Mondegreen Gag: Due to crackling static, Carrot and Celery believe that their boss told them to go to the center of Jupiter. He was actually telling them to go to an Earth mall shopping center to buy a juicer. A gift for his wife on her birthday.
- Pun: Dr. Rafferty's "groundbreaking project" quip.
- Sting: Sunspot does it by drumming the air (aliens!) then hitting a shot blade as a cymbal. A response to Dr. Rafferty's "groundbreaking project" quip.
- Two Lines, No Waiting: Besides the main plot, there's also a side plot of Carrot and Celery attempting to go to the center of Jupiter.
- The Voice: The voice of Carrot and Celery's boss is heard in this episode, but he is not seen.
Mindy's Mystery
- Written by: Joe Purdy
It was the moon!
Mindy has a flugelhorn recital coming up, but is very sleep-deprived because of a mysterious, sweet smell. The gang investigates the source of this smell. Meanwhile, Mitchell also has a mystery — a bright light that kept bothering him.
- Affectionate Gesture to the Nose: While the gang is searching for the smell, Sunspot honks Jet's nose. Moments later, he taps Mindy's nose, causing her to giggle.
- Alliterative Title: Mindy's Mystery.
- Arc Words: "Oh I'm sure, I'm sure-sure" is repeated multiple times throughout the episode.
- The Cameo: Mr. Peterson, Celery, Dr. Rafferty, and Dr. Bergs make cameos at the end.
- Cartoon Juggling: The shower variant is used when Sunspot juggles items to distract Mitchell.
- Character Narrator: Sydney narrates the episode.
- Door Slam of Rage: Mitchell is very angry at Team Propulsion because he thinks that they're not real detectives, so he slams the door to his house in their face very hard.
- Dreadful Musician: Mindy's flugelhorn playing isn't very good when she's sleepy.
- Everyone Is a Suspect: Played with. The kids interview everyone they know and interrogate them about the mystery smell, thinking that one of them might have caused it.
- Gag Nose: Sunspot briefly squeeze Jet's nose, and it honks. He did the same thing to Mindy, and her nose honked too.
- Get Out!: Mitchell tells the other kids to exit his yard in an extremely rude manner.
- Hypocrite: Mitchell is a huge one in this episode. He dismisses Mindy's case as fake because she's looking for a smell, and yet Mitchell's case could also be considered silly by his logic because he's looking for a light.
- Ironic Echo Cut: When Mitchell exits the scene to see if the moonlight hits his eyes.Jet: Is he going to lay in his bed to see if the moonlight hits his eyes?Mitchell: I lid in my bed, and the moonlight hit my eyes!
- I Work Alone: Mitchell doesn't want any help on his detective case because he thinks detectives work alone.
- No True Scotsman: Mitchell is very snobbish and insists that Jet, Sean, Sydney, and Mindy aren't real detectives. When they ask him about his detective case, he snorts and says "Everyone knows that a real detective never tells what his case is."
- Not So Above It All: Mitchell acts like he is a better detective than Jet and his friends, but he still attends Mindy's concert at the end of this episode.
- Parental Bonus: Carrot's interrogation comes off as if he is being investigated for drug possession. The fact that he was cooking a "sweet sauce" and the kids give them funny looks as they leave seals the deal. Kids would not recognize this.
- Shipper on Deck: Sydney is one for Mitchell/Mindy, as she pulls them close together and compliments their detective skills.
- Ship Tease:
- Mitchell may have been a huge asshole to Mindy in this episode, but he still attended her flugelhorn concert at the end, just to show he cares.
- When Mindy is playing her flugelhorn as an always-sleepy person, Jet likes the music, tries to dance with Sean, and indirectly calls him his baby.
"It swings, baby!" - Shout-Out: Sydney interrogates several characters such as Carrot and Sunspot. She asks them "(full name).....if that is your real name", which is a reference to Dr. Strangelove.
- Sleep Deprivation: Mindy didn't get any sleep the previous night because a strong smell kept her awake. By the same token, Mitchell didn't get any sleep either because a bright light kept him awake.
- Stalker with a Crush: Mindy becomes one for Mitchell in this episode, as she infiltrates his backyard to find the source of the smell.
- Take That!: Jet delivers one to Mindy when she plays her flugelhorn.Jet: Listen to the notes she's not playing!
- Took a Level in Jerkass: While Mitchell is usually a jerk, he's an enormous douchebag in this episode, and makes snooty remarks to the kids that were very much uncalled for, angering Sydney.
- Trailers Always Spoil: The official PBS description spoiled that the mystery smell came from moonflowers, and the bright light that was bothering Mitchell was from the moon itself.
- Two Lines, No Waiting: The main characters try to find out what kept Mindy up at night. At the same time, Mitchell is trying to find the source of an annoying light that bothered him. They both have the same source - the moon. (The smell that kept Mindy up at night was moonflowers).
- We Need a Distraction: The kids try to infiltrate Mitchell's backyard in order to find the source of the mystery smell. In order to distract Mitchell, Jet and Sunspot stop him in his tracks and perform circus tricks while Sean, Sydney, and Mindy search Mitchell's area.
