Ah, the good stuff. Crazy inventions, ethical breaches, and the introduction of Doctor Byron Orpheus, Master of Mysticism! Few things on Earth are better than Dr. O, something upon which I think we can all agree, and his entrance certainly attests to that, strolling out of a mysterious device in Dr. Venture's lab, complete with green mist, disabling H.E.L.P.eR. and putting the boys to sleep with MAGIC.
The plot of this episode, what little there is of it (not a complaint), mainly centers around the strange device in Doc's lab, what it is, why it's evil, why people keep ending up trapped in it. Indeed, the action in this episode comes from the character interactions and the slight history of Brock we get through his hallucinations (You know who else makes a first appearance in this episode? It's Molotov Cocktease. Granted, it's not a real appearance, since she's a dream figment, but hey. First is first).
Waking from the spell placed upon them by Dr. O, Dean goes to tell his father, while Hank runs to Brock, neither of whom are particularly useful, and while Doctor Venture marches Dean over to where Dr. Orpheus is residing ("renting the old Advanced Arachnid Research Lab") to confront him about being in their house, Brock and Hank bond slightly over In Through the Out Door and the word SCUBA. Indeed, at one point Hank even asks about the super-cool adventure they'll be going on that day, only to be told that Rusty's working on a project, so no adventures (I'm reasonably sure it's not a meta-commentary on exactly how little really happens in this episode, but I can't be positive).
Dean, meanwhile, meets Dr. Orpheus (whose first line is "The seed of your loins is quite astute!" firmly establishing Dr. O's ah... "gift" for eloquence) and his daughter, Triana, with whom he falls instantly in love, as is the way with 15 year old emotionally stunted boys (not that I'm speaking from experience or anything). They share a snack of prepackaged cereal and discuss their upbringing (further establishing Dr. Venture's general lack of regard for his boys brings us this gem: "Doesn't your dad have a nickname for you?" "Well, I've heard him call me 'Dave' or 'Don' a few times, but I don't think they're nicknames.") Dean's affection for Triana is clearly that of the "puppy dog" variety, I'm sure upon reflection he'd realize they are not particularly right for each other, no, it stems from her being probably one of the first people with lady parts his age that he's ever spoken to. *sigh* Young love...
Back in the lab, Brock is putting H.E.L.P.eR. back together when the mysterious cylinder opens and beckons to Hank with visions of his father wanting to throw the ol' pigskin around and his mother making grilled cheese (with no crust!). Brock intervenes, saving Hank (by throwing him vigorously to the side) only to be lured in in his stead. And here we get our first real look into Brock's psyche. He's a guilty man, haunted by his past, a violent man (seriously, wave after wave of ninjas), and a sexual man whose lusts know no bounds. The device, it seems, reads minds and makes ones greatest desires a reality.
Hank and Dean decide to save him and, inevitably, end up trapped as well, leaving the heavy lifting to Rusty and Orpheus, by which I mean Orpheus. After a handful of unsuccessful attempts to open the door (opening spells, a spirited game of Marco Polo), Orpheus tries to get Doctor Venture to chastise the boys into coming out, commenting afterwards that "The 'true love' thing always works. I never fail with that one," which is of course Triana's cue to enter and say Dean's name so he can hear her.
This episode is the first to feature some of the "Science vs. Magic" theme that gets played to excellent effect in season 2's superb "Escape to the House of Mummies, Pt. 2," as well as showcasing what is probably the darkest thing Doc has ever done in building his "joy can." That is, when discussing the building of the "joy can," Doctor Venture mentions one the things he used to build it was in fact... an orphan. Not that he used the whole thing or anything...
So what does all this add up to? Dr. Orpheus, character development, Rusty being shades from pure evil (something else that comes back later), and Dean's obsession with Triana are all fantastic building blocks for what the show is becoming, and, aside from a handful of missteps over the next couple of episodes, everything has pretty much fallen into place at this point.
Episode grade: 7.5/10
Notes:
-This looks to be the first episode with the boys in their superhero Underroos. It occurs to me that Hank clearly has at least two superhero costumes, his Aquaman pajamas (...Aquaman? Really, Hank?) and his Batman costume. Also, the first episode to mention the learning beds. And the first (aside from the pilot) with Doc dreaming about fetuses. Lot of firsts.
"Junior college upstate. Communications major, Women's Studies minor."
-Dr. Orpheus's qualifications.
"Hey... if I pull this candle down, will it-"
"Get wax on my carpet? Yes."
Drs. Venture and Orpheus
"So, I guess I'll be seeing you around the compound?"
"'Around the compound?' What are you, David Koresh?"
-Dean and Triana
-The commentary for this episode features more discussion of who the creators would bang in their show, so since I know you're just tantalized waiting to know Jackson's lady of choice: it's Molotov. Or, possibly, Triana.
