| "Flop Starz" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Phineas and Ferb segment | |||
| Episodeno. | Season 1 Episode 4b | ||
| Directed by | Dan Povenmire | ||
| Story by | |||
| Featured music |
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| Production code | 104b | ||
| Original air date | February 1, 2008 (2008-02-01) | ||
| Episode chronology | |||
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| Phineas and Ferbseason 1 | |||
| List of episodes | |||
"Flop Starz" is the second half of the fourth episode, as well as the third broadcast episode of the Americananimated television seriesPhineas and Ferb.[a] The episode was originally broadcast onDisney Channel on February 1, 2008[1] (as the official series premiere). In the episode, Phineas and Ferb becomeone-hit wonders in a morning, much to the disappointment of their sister Candace, who is trying out for thetalent showThe Next American Pop Teen Idol Star! Meanwhile, Doofenshmirtz converts his building into a giant robot to aid him in his attempt to conquer the Tri-State Area.
The episode's storyboard was written by Sherm Cohen and Antoine Guilbaud, though the story was conceived by the co-creators of the series. The episode included "Gitchee Gitchee Goo", the first song included in the series; it was so popular with Disney executives that they asked for a song in every episode. The episode was broadcast to premiere the series, so a majority of the series' standard humor and plot devices had yet to be established.
"Flop Starz" carried several references to the music industry (the title is a spoof of the phrase "pop stars"), as well as to the talent showAmerican Idol. The episode was well received by critics and fans alike, gaining 4.0 million viewers when it premiered. "Flop Starz" has been featured in several pieces of merchandise, including a junior novelization by Lara Bergen in 2009.
| External videos | |
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 Flop Starz | S1 E4 | Full Episode | Phineas and Ferb | @disneyxd — Official upload of the episode ontoYouTube |
At breakfast, the family watches a promo for a teen talent competition show;Candace is inspired to audition at the mall. The boys are also curious, specifically about artists who only release one successful song, then it's all over. Their mother explains the concept of "one-hit wonders" to them and reminisces about her days as one named "Lindana". While the boys work on becoming one-hit wonders by writing a "meaningless" song, Candace tries on outfits for the audition - including her mother's Lindana outfit- all rejected by her best friend Stacy.
At the audition, she is set to perform with the new band "PFT", which she discovers is "Phineas and the Ferb-Tones" (PFT for short), consisting ofPhineas (main vocals and guitarist),Ferb (drummer and keyboardist), and their friends,Isabella Garcia-Shapiro and Fireside Girls,Adyson Sweetwater,Gretchen andMilly (as back-up singers "the Ferbettes"), whose song "Gitchee Gitchee Goo" has topped the charts, making them one-hit wonders. Instead of joining them, Candace tries to expose them to their mother as usual. She mistakes the on-stage silhouette of an anthropomorphicrabbit playing ablender as his instrument for her brothers and her mother takes her to get glasses.
Meanwhile,Perry entersDr. Doofenshmirtz's lair, which is in a different building to usual, wearinggroucho glasses; confusing him for atemp, Doofenshmirtz explains his plan to terrorize the "entire Tri-State Area". After Perry removes his "disguise" the entire building transforms into a giant robot (thanks to Doofenshmirtz buying up huge numbers of construction toys).
Oblivious to Candace's threat, the boys go to "Huge-O-Records" to discuss a record deal. Meanwhile, trying to show their mom the band's poster on a building outside, Candace hurries their mother from a store whilst inadvertently carrying a jacket she has not paid for. The security guard recognizes the mother as Lindana, but insists she goes back inside to pay. During the delay, the poster is destroyed because it was on a building scheduled fordemolition. (Ironically, her mother would have witnessed it being destroyed by Doofenshmirtz's robot if Perry had not changed its direction.) At the record company, Phineas, inspired by his mother's story, throws adivatantrum and leaves, unaware that the CEO Ben Baxter plans to use a videotape of the band's performance to carry on its legacy.
Meanwhile, a seemingly victorious Doofenshmirtz traps Perry and offers him a deli platter. Perry requests he pour a large amount of pepper onto it, causing the robot building to sneeze. The pair are sent flying into the record office, taking the PFT tape with them. Perry uses it to latch himself safely on a flag pole, while Doofenshmirtz lands on a mattress on top of a parked truck belonging to a folding mattress company. He is immediately crushed, first by the mattress and then by his own robot.
Back at the mall, Candace, having failed to bust her brothers, is downtrodden until Jeremy tells her the boys' fun shouldn't ruin her good time and that she should sing anyway. She joins the band in singing their hit song in a reunion concert. Rethinking her view of her brothers, believing they may be her ticket to stardom, Candace is devastated when the band announces its retirement. Everyone else leaves the closing mall, leaving her in the dark alone.
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Series co-creators,Dan Povenmire andSwampy Marsh, wrote the story for "Flop Starz;"Sherm Cohen and Antoine Guilbaud, meanwhile, constructed thestoryboards. Povenmire directed the episode, which he did for the majority of the season. Povenmire and Marsh wrote the featured song, "Gitchee Gitchee Goo," like they do with all of the music in the show.[2] That song and Perry's "secret agent theme" were the first pitched to Disney, who enjoyed it so much they wanted the pair to write a song for every episode.[3]
The Disney company wanted to start off the series in a "big way." Instead of premiering it with the pilot episode, "Rollercoaster", they chose "Flop Starz" and aired it on the same day in every country in which the Disney Channel was broadcast;[4] over one hundred and fifty territories.[5] This caused for the episode to air almost six months later than originally planned as different countries adapted the script and hired voice actors to rerecord lines in the selected languages. They also had a real platypus on set.[4] Despite the delay, the episode officially aired on 1 February 2008, starting off the month-long marathon Disney titled "Phineas and Ferb-uary."[1]
The episode contains several references to the talent showAmerican Idol, as the competition Candace enters and "Phineas and the Ferb-tones" perform at,The Next American Pop Teen Idol Star, is a completeparody of it.[6][7] The episode as well references the craze ofboy bands and thepop genre, more specifically the "bubblegum" style,[7] including its title, a play on "pop stars".[8]
Candace, trying on outfits, goes through asailor suit, aconstruction worker uniform,Native American clothing, abiker wear, and apolicemen uniform; these are referent to the clothing worn by five members of the 1970sdisco groupVillage People.[8]
Linda'spseudonym as a one-hit wonder, "Lindana," is a spoof of the famous singerMadonna; as well, the title of her hit single "I'm Lindana and I Wanna Have Fun" is referent to the 1983 hit song "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" byCyndi Lauper. Furthermore, during the end credits, theGreatest hits CD for the song is titled "The Essential Lindana: Still Fun..." which is a general play on "The Essentials" CDs.[8]
In 2022, creator Dan Povenmire confirmed on his TikTok that "Gitchee Gitchee Goo" was inspired by the song "Eep, Opp, Ork, Ah-ah (Means I Love You)" fromThe Jetsons episode "A Date with Jet Screamer".[9]
Logistically and technically, that represented quite an achievement when you consider the kind of effort that was involved in areas like dubbing, promotion and marketing.
— Jonathan Boseley, Disney Channel V.P. of programming for the U.K., Scandinavia and emerging markets, on the episode's ratings.[5]
"Flop Starz" was, as recorded by Disney, cable's number one watched animated series premiere for the "tween" demographic.[10] Four million viewers have been reported as viewing it in no specific demographic.[11] This spark continued, leading to the series to be television's top-rated animated series for kids (6–11) and tweens (9–14) for the first quarter of the year.[10]
Worldwide, the episode garnered over 23.5 million viewers from the over one hundred and fifty territories in which it was broadcast, including theUnited Kingdom,Australia, and theUnited States. Disney Channel's vice president of programming for the UK,Scandinavia and emerging markets, has responded to the high ratings, explaining that it was an achievement due to the effort spent with marketing and voice overs.[5]
Several critics have positively reviewed the song "Gitchee Gitchee Goo" from the episode, stating that it "could probably have gotten radio play 20 years ago."[2][7] Disney as well enjoyed it enough to ask the creators to write songs every episode.[3] The song has since then made brief appearances in later episodes, either in "elevator music" form or as the song itself. The song was featured as an extended version on the albumDisney Channel Playlist, which featured multiple songs from different Disney Channel artists.[12][13] The song also was one of the twenty-six songs appearing on the series official soundtrack, released on September 29, 2009.[14][15][16] The episode was one of several that was featured on the first volumeDVD of season one titled "The Fast and the Phineas." In the DVD, it is paired with its production partner "Are You My Mummy?"[17][18] Lara Bergen adapted the episode, along with the fellow season one episode "Lights, Candace, Action!" into anovella for young readers titledRunaway Hit.[19] It was the second of a series of novelizations made from the series.[20]
The extended version of "Gitchee Gitchee Goo" also appears in theMusical Cliptastic Countdown episode, having been voted as the most requested song of the show's first season; after the hypnotic singleMy Name Is Doof is performed, and the audience members had been hypnotized by Doofenshmirtz, Perry the Platypus, having been told by Major Monogram that they needed something even more catchy to counteract it, pulls down a curtain, therefore revealing the extended version and breaking the spell.
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