508 - WABBIT SEASON


"Sshh...be vewy vewy quiet...." (Al)

Alright, at least this episode doesn't pretend to be original, though
I'm not quite sure how you can parody/spoof cartoons. As time goes on
the story slowly turns from typical Bundy beginnings into a Warner
Brothers / Disney nightmare, including dynamite explosions, rabbits,
Elmer Fudd, bandaged people, even Bugs Bunny (courtesy of Kelly). It's
not even original in an MWC sense, as Build a Better Mousetrap did this
plot in the second season. On the other hand, the latter was a bad
episode (it manages a 4 in the Lower Uncton Chart), whereas Wabbit
Season manages to be generally quite entertaining, though not a true
classic. As with the previous day's episode this is where MWC leaves
ground level completely. Why does the dynamite explosion destroy two
walls of Bud's bedroom, move Marcy's roof onto the Bundys', dig a hole
in Al's cabbage patch, disturb the furniture inside the Bundy house and
yet not touch the walls that are visible to us? Oh well, it's probably
some cartoon logic somewhere. Of course, it doesn't matter. Indeed,
Wabbit Season and Married with Aliens are fairly similar episodes, being
as they both centre around Al and both are a wild diversion into the
surreal. OK, OK, the downright weird.

"Bud, if dynamite was dangerous, do you think they'd sell it to an idiot
like me?" (Al)

But to the big question - is it funny? Well, yes, but there's a certain
amount of reluctance in admitting it. It's funny in the same way that
Bugs cartoons are; you smile a lot, but it's rare that you actually
laugh out loud, whereas some other episodes of MWC can have you in
stitches (for example, Do Ya Think I'm Sexy). When Al sticks his head
down the rabbit hole, for example, or his expression and hissed "What?"
to Kelly when he has the dynamite and faux carrot. The episode borrows
rather too much, and this is its main problem. Undecided whether to be
ripoff or homage, it veers backwards and forwards erratically. It also
centres on Al, as the Elmer Fudd replacement, which is rather a waste of
other opportunities since the other three Bundys could have joined in
too. Some major missed opportunities.

"Marcy, you've given me an idea. Stick your head near the hole, he'll
think it's a cabbage and we've got him!" (Al)

That's not to be taken as saying the episode is bad or boring, because
it's neither of those. Nor is it mediocre, because when compared to MWC
in general it's quite unusual and different. Only How Green Was My Apple
comes close to the same kind of cartoonish style and cheerful disregard
for the proprieties of television continuity. Is it poking fun at the
way so many US and UK series always seem to end up exactly the same at
the end of every episode, ready to start the next (Star Trek being a big
culprit here)? Nah, that's too subtle for this episode. It's really just
candyfloss, but it's tasty candyfloss.

Rating : 6.5.