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"Annie in Charge"
Written by Marianne Sellick
Directed by Ernest Farino
Original airdate: November 7, 1992 |
Annie is left in charge when
the cyborg returns and renders Tom and Kevin amnesiac.
Didja Know?
The title of this episode was inspired by the
1984-1990 sitcom
Charles in Charge, in which a young college student, in
exchange for free rent, takes care of the housekeeping and
babysitting for a family when the parents are at work or
socializing. In this episode, Annie finds herself in a similar
situation, caring for the tree-house and family when Tom and
Kevin are rendered amnesiac after exposure to a neural agent
from the weapons systems of the
cyborg (last seen in "Future Boy").
Didja Notice?
At the very beginning of the episode, we see that the Porters
have constructed a new backboard and hoop for playing
basketball. In "Kevin vs. the Volcano", we see a homemade bamboo
backboard with a wicker basket attached. Here, the
backboard is made of some unknown white material stitched
together and a hoop made up of a couple of curved branches wound
into a circle with a net of thin vines. It is plausible that the
previous setup got busted and they constructed a new one with
different materials. But how do they suddenly have a real
basketball to play with? They previously had to make do with a
homemade ball as well! No-prize time: the real basketball had a
hole in it and wouldn't hold air and, so, was unusable. But the
Porters later found a means of mixing some kind of resin with
which they were able to repair it. |
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Old hoop from "Kevin vs. the Volcano" |
New hoop |
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Homemade basketball from "Kevin vs.
the Volcano" |
Real basketball |
At 0:21-0:36 in the episode, the boom mike is visible in the
reflection off the Jeep window.
At 1:00 in the episode, we again see Annie's proficiency in the
arts as she sculpts a small statue of her father and Tasha out
of clay.
Kevin and Annie sure do like to use names as insults
throughout this series. Previously, we've heard them use the
terms Waldo, Barney, and Gumby. Here, at 2:33, Annie says to
Kevin, "You're such a Wilbur." I wonder if the producers
consciously wanted to avoid using real-world insults on the show
(we also hear such insults as wart-breath, toad-sucker, etc.).
Perhaps they did not want to encourage children in the use of
real insults with their peers. Also, by making them unusual, the
insults don't become dated when the episodes are viewed in later
years.
Stink seems to be familiar with the English word "termite" and
acts as if he is afraid of the insects, going so far as to
scream upon hearing the word and running to hide in a tree. Why?
(Beyond comic relief, that is.)
Stink explains that, once again, Christa is gone somewhere
fishing, "too far" away to summon for help in the search for Tom
and Kevin.
After being knocked unconscious by the cyborg's gas weapon and
lying all night in the middle of the jungle, Tom and Kevin are
lucky they were not unceremoniously gobbled up by a nocturnal
predator!
Given amnesia by the cyborg's gas weapon, it is fun to see Tom
and Kevin discover, as if for the first time, that they are in
the Land of the Lost and not on Earth.
In an amusing moment at 12:19 in the episode, an amnesiac Tom
slaps himself in an attempt to wake himself up from what he
believes must be a dino-filled dream.
It is lobbing a stone into a pond in a free-throw style manner
that triggers part of Kevin's memory and makes him think that
his name is Michael Jordan. (Jordan, of course, is the now-retired
professional basketball player who is considered by many to be
the best to have ever played the game.)
In this episode we learn that Annie's middle name is Marie.
Kevin must talk about Michael Jordan a lot because Stink and
Christa (who otherwise wouldn't know about him) are both
incredulously amused when he says that's his name.
At 16:11 in the episode, as Christa faces the cyborg in the
jungle, there appear to be carefully placed rocks at the right
of the screen, defining a trail upon which she stands. Perhaps
the remnants of an old Sleestak road or trail from the era when
they still lived on the surface? (In reality, it must be part of
the small trail system at the shooting location,
Descanso Gardens.)
We've seen in this episode and others previous that Kevin has an
orange t-shirt with black markings. Not anymore! It appears they
have sacrificed it to make a pair of makeshift gas masks for
Kevin and Tom.
At the end of the episode, Tom is seen wearing boxers
that have a lizard design on them. The lizard looks very
similar to the lizard symbols found in Shung's temple
and other Sleestak ruins. The boxers Tom is wearing also
look as though they may have been mended by sewing the
halves of two different pairs together. Notice that one
half is white (with the green lizard design) and the other
half is solid blue. |
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Pakuni translations |
Time in
episode |
Pakuni |
English |
5:37 |
Stink says,
"Acuba ne, Annie Porter." |
"Greetings, Annie Porter." |
10:09 |
Stink says,
"Acuba ne, Annie Porter." |
"Greetings, Annie Porter." |
10:40 |
Stink says, "Komadi." |
"Sorry." |
10:42 |
Stink says, "Miyog." |
"Too far." |
13:47 |
Christa says,
"Acuba ne, Porters." |
"Greetings,
Porters." |
18:03 |
Stink says, "Komadi." |
"Sorry." |
20:48 |
Stink says,
"Acuba ne, Christa." |
"Greetings,
Christa." |
20:51 |
Christa says,
"Acuba ne, Stink." |
"Greetings,
Stink." |
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