Not all kids’ shows are created equal, but this Disney Channel cartoon is one of the best and has two big reasons why grown-ups should be excited about its upcoming episodes.
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Finding a kids’ show that you can actually watch with your kids without wanting to tear your eyes out or retreat to your own personal mental happy place can be harder than it looks. There’s so much content out there—more than any previous generation has ever had access to—and it all comes down to a question of aesthetics, a question of “what does or doesn’t get on your nerves?” For me, I can’t tell you exactly why I find Good Luck Charlie charming and Sam & Cat soul-drainingly awful, but I realize that’s just how I’m wired. However, there are some objectively amazing kids’ programs currently on the air (Check out Gravity Falls! You’ll thank me later!), and one of the best is, without a doubt, Phineas and Ferb.
I could write a 10,000-word ode to Disney’s Channel’s Phineas and Ferb—where I extol their three overlapping-plotlines episode structure, where I laud creators Dan Povenmire and Jeff “Swampy” Marsh’s knack with wordplay and songs, where I earnestly declare that the “Robot Riot” sequence from Phineas and Ferb: Across the Second Dimension is better than anything that has ever appeared in a Michael Bay Transformers film—but I won’t overwhelm you with my giddy fanboy praise. Instead, I’m going to give you TWO very simple reasons, taken from this week’s news, why any parent with even a modicum of taste should be watching Phineas and Ferb.
REASON #1: THEY’RE HOSTING A “SHAUN OF THE DEAD” REUNION
Earlier this week, Simon Pegg announced on Twitter that he and Nick Frost would be, for the first time ever, reprising their Shaun of the Dead roles for this year’s Phineas and Ferb Halloween Special.
Here’s news, @nickjfrost and myself will be once again stepping into Shaun and Ed’s shoes for the #PhineasAndFerb Halloween special. W00t!!
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— Simon Pegg (@simonpegg) August 18, 2014
REASON #2: THEY’RE DOING A “LOST” EPISODE WRITTEN BY DAMON LINDELOF
It was announced yesterday that LOST’s co-creator Damon Lindelof will take a break from depressing us on HBO’s The Leftovers and revisit his ridiculously ambitious and divisive hit in a special upcoming LOST-themed episode of Phineas and Ferb, featuring LOST icon Terry O’Quinn (John Locke!) as a character named Professor Mystery.
So… yeah, you COULD sit through another episode of The Haunted Hathaways OR you could sit down and watch a kids’ show that entertains your children and gives you Simon Pegg wielding a cricket bat and a possible “Smoke Monster versus Dr. Doofenshmirtz” throwdown.
Seems like an easy choice to me.
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Image: Credit—JD Hancock/Flickr