Episode 305: Renaissance

Note: This episode was the 6th HM of Season Three when you go by airing order, but is the 5th episode (hence 305) by Production Number.

Cast:
Brendon Small/Dwayne/Perry – Brendon Small
Jason Penopolis/Coach Jon McGuirk/Walter – H. Jon Benjamin
Melissa Robbins – Melissa Bardin Galsky
Paula Small – Janine Ditullo
Josie Small – Loren Bouchard
Mr. Lynch – Ron Lynch
Fenton Muley – Sam Seder
Helmet – Patton Oswalt

Synopsis: Brendon, Jason and Melissa attend and perform at a Renaissance Fair, featuring a hungover McGuirk as the blacksmith, Dwayne performing the music, and Lynch running the festivities. However, problems arise with a Sci-Fi Convention, being run next door.

Lawn Gnomes: (Click for picture)
· There is gnome bowling at the fair (“Bowling Ye Gnomes”)
· McGuirk gets drunk with a bunch of gnomes in the ending fight sequence

Brendon’s Filmography:
· Brendon doesn’t make any films in this episode, he just films the Renaissance fair.

The Plotline Connection: (TheJazzFighter)
· This episode has a great connection to the "Renaissance" name and all the stories involved. See below under "Big Thanks To Karinsky For The Following Tidbits"

Songs:

· King Arthur & Robin Hood Part One [Tabs]

Many Years Ago
In the ancient times of England
On a fateful day
Where the fairies played
And the devil crept in the shadows
Two men did meet
In a forest by the brook
And that day would change the fate
Of these two very famous men
King-Arthur-And-Robin-Hood
They met and stared in silence into each other’s souls
Two-Legends-And-Yet-They-Stood
Their egos couldn’t gage if they were friends or they were foes
They could’ve killed each other….Ah-ah-ah-ah…
But what’s this? The king speaks:
I decree before all of England that I, King Arthur, and Robin Hood, from this point on will be best friends forever!

· King Arthur & Robin Hood Part Two (with opening dialogue) [Tabs]

Arthur: Good morrow, Robin Hood!
Robin: King Arthur!
Arthur: That’s me, my friend.
Robin Hood: Feels like dragon weather, doth it?
Arthur: Aye, aye. Something has been troubling me my friend…does thou possess my money thou borrowed from me last week?
Robin Hood: Nay, my lord. Could thou come back perhaps later?
Arthur: Hmm…has thou seen thy King’s treasure chest, lately?
Robin Hood: Nay, King Arthur, nay.
Arthur: Because I have noticed that since we’ve been friends, that my valuables, keep disappearing.
Robin Hood: News to me.
Gwenhyvar: Good morrow, Robin Hood.
Robin Hood: Good morrow, Gwenhyvar.
Gwenhyvar: Art thou ready for our date? Feels like dragon weather, doth it not?
Arthur: Gwenhyvar!
Gwenhyvar: Lord Arthur?
Arthur: Date? Thou art my girlfriend! Robin Hood, has thou been stealing my things and giving them to the poor?
Robin Hood: Yes!
Arthur: And you’ve stolen my girlfriend too?
Robin Hood: Yes!
Arthur: And you’re giving her to the poor?
Robin Hood: Yes!
Gwenhyvar: Woah…
Arthur: You’re giving her to the poor?!!
Robin Hood: That’s what I said, yes.
Arthur: Unsheath thine sword, and prepare for battle…
Gwenhyvar: No thou musn’t!
Arthur: Today we fight to the death!
Robin Hood: So be it…

Robin Hood crossed the line
Stole Arthur’s concubine from him
The friendship is finished
And it has diminished
Into deception
And so they must fight the fight
Until the death to prove who’s right
And they will battle through the night
But stop, and wait, and look to the skies
A dragon, approaches and there’s death in his eyes
Best to join forces, and fight the best
You better join forces or you’ll both be deceased
Robin Hood & Arthur: Dragon Attack!

· King Arthur & Robin Hood Part Three (Unfinished in the context of the episode) [Tabs]

And, so, the dragon has been slain
And now King Arthur and Robin Hood must decide
If they still want to do what they were going to do
And fight to the death…

Random Observations & Facts:
· Medieval shops: “Meat for Thee”, “Smithy Shoppe”, “Lutes”, “Armor Amore”, “Bowling Ye Gnomes”, “Medieval Eats”, “Medieval Wands”, “Torches”
· The coffee is bought at “Yum Yum Donuts”
· Things in “Highway Bingo”: Yield Sign, Stop Sign, Traffic Light, Gas Station, a star (don’t know what this means; free space).
· The horses at the fair are cross-eyed.
· This episode uses arrows flying across the screen to switch scenes. This type of scene switch (using objects to switch) hasn’t been used since 202 – Identifying A Body.
· McGuirk’s station: “Smithy Shoppe”
· We never get to see Lynch and McGuirk’s final “Wizard & Blacksmith” performance.
· Patton Oswalt, who plays Helmet, is a popular comedian (known for his nerd humor) and plays Spence on “King of Queens”.
· You can see the rip Helmet makes in Melissa’s dress.
· You can see a pair of underwear on the Devil in “King Arthur & Robin Hood Part One”
· Jason walks by reading “Sci-Fi Guy” magazine while Helmet talks of the traitor.
· Of the new recruits Helmet picks up, one guy has a tomato on his shield and the other one has a branch as a weapon.
· McGuirk is in a “Pee-Pod”
· A sign on the Pee-Pod: “Sign up for Jousting”
· Jason eats a chicken leg during the end fight scene.
· Fenton attacks Lynch at the end fight scene.
· Jason has a slushy in the car.
· Paula only appears at the very beginning and very end of this episode.

Movie & Other References:
· Medieval costumes:
Brendon – King Arthur
Jason – Robin Hood
Melissa – Gwenhyvar
Walter – William Wallace
Perry – Scarlett Pumpernickel
Lynch – Merlin (Moylin)
McGuirk – Average Blacksmith
· Fenton enters a competition that reminds me of “Battlebots”
· A naked woman walks through the foreground in one scene; this woman is most likely representative of Lady Godiva. (Thanks to Lori C. for this one)
· As for the ending:
Light Sabers from Star Wars
Aliens based on the Roswell Aliens
Several people coming together – Voltron (not Power Rangers, thanks to Karinsky)
Harry Potter vs. Some Robot (probably a specific robot I don’t know the name of)
An alien holding a cookbook and eating a leg– “50 Ways To Cook For Humans” on the “Twilight Zone”
The Robot From Lost In Space
The brain creature from some show (forget)
Storm Trooper from Star Wars
The alien from “Alien” attacks Helmet
A Gundam Wing type robot appears right towards the end
If you noticed anything else for this part (I’m not big on sci-fi so I probably missed a lot) E-Mail Me, please

(Big thanks to Karinsky for the following tidbits)

· Melissa is suppose to be Guenevere at the fair. I think there might be some reasoning behind this choice of character because in "Camelot" Guenevere is married to Sir Arthur (ahem... Brendan in this case). In the story of "Camelot" Lancelot is desperate to join the Knights of the Round Table and desperately tries to impress Arthur (this sounds a lot like Fenton doesn't it?). Over time a secret relationship develops between Sir Lancelot and Arthur's wife Guenevere (sure Fenton and Melissa don't have any romantic relationship... but they certainly have a secret relationship). Guenevere and Lancelot's relationship is eventually discovered by some Knights of the Round Table and the two must flee to France. Camelot ends with Arthur going to war with France (a parallel to the battle at the end of the episode). [My synopsis sorta blows, for more detail on the story of Camelot go to http://www.theatrehistory.com/american/musical008.html]
· "Oh mighty Odin where is my cleansing thunder bolt" - Helmet (Odin is the supreme Norse god. However, the Norse god of thunder is Thor. A bit strange that a Medieval Otaku like Helmet wouldn't know better.)
· Melissa is dressed like one of the "borgs" from "Star Trek: the Next Generation". This makes a lot of sense because basically the borgs assimilate humans (this happened to Captain Picard in one episode). So perhaps Melissa being dressed like a borg is symbolic of her being assimilated by the evil Sci- Fi geeks.

(And Brandon T. had even more to add)

"Harry Potter vs. Some Robot (probably a specific robot I donft know the
name of)" - The name of the robot is "Twiki". It's from the TV series "Buck
Rogers in the 25th Century".

In the pack of characters that includes the alien from the Twilight Zone and
the robot from Lost In Space you can also see Ming the Merciless (the
character in green in the image you have here -
http://homemovies.animesuperhero.com/Renaissance8.jpg ) from Flash Gordon, and a
Cylon from Battlestar Galactica (possibly what you've referred to as a Storm
Trooper ? it's the next character after Ming the Merciless and the brain -
you can see it's hand on the left in the Renaissance8.jpg).

Just after those characters cross the screen you can see a character in an
outfit from the movie Tron.

One of the characters holding a lightsaber (the one on the left when the 3
are shown) looks like Yoda, from Star Wars.

Finally, the "Gundam Wing type robot" that appears right at the end of the
fight is actually from the cartoon series "Robotech". Robotech was made in
the U.S., but it was made from 3 different Japanese animated series (yeah,
it's rather confusing) and so, technically, it's actually from the Japanese
animated series "Macross". And it's not really a robot as it has a human
pilot; generally that kind of thing is called a "Mech" or "Mecha"... but
anyone not familiar with the term may not know what you're talking about, so
I guess robot works. You could probably get by with something like "A robot
from the animated series Robotech (Macross in Japan) appears right towards
the end".

And not related to Sci-Fi, and obvious anyway, but Helmet makes at least two
references to Dungeons & Dragons in the episode: "I will need to consult my
dice for my next step" and "Sir, you acknowledge that you are talking to a
Chaotic Neutral 8th level Half-Elf Ranger/Illusionist and you treat me with
that respect!"

I'm sure that's not everything as there is so much going on visually in that
final scene and so many Sci-Fi/Fantasy references throughout the whole
episode, but at least I've helped add a few more to your list.

End Credits: King Arthur & Robin Hood Part Three > Spoken: Walter & Perry under the apple cart > King Arthur & Robin Hood Part Three

Reviews: WARNING: Spoilers

The Condiment King: Was that the same get-up that Brendon had from "Therapy" as the President King? It looks very similar. Anyways, this episode was rather amusing, but not much more. It relied mostly on the plot device of being at a Renaissance fair more than anything else in this episode. I liked most of the jokes about the dialogue, such as going overboard about the caste system. I also liked Brendon using the "outs" that Lynch made up like randomly saying he had to attend to a dragon or just saying "farewell".

I liked the thing with Dwayne wanting pay upfront from Lynch. Then, when he doesn't get it and Lynch says he doesn't need him, he ends up giving in. Also, it seemed like Brendon didn't change his voice as much with the Skab music as much as usual. Dwayne singing sounded more like a deeper Brendon than usual.

The hooded medieval guy was great as he principally went overboard with the role playing more than anyone else with Fenton being the enemy over at the sci-fi convention as Doctor Neptune. Fenton was pretty good here, making fun of Melissa and Jason while staying friends with Brendon. I guess they've mended fences since "Shore Leave". They always seem to be back to friends after episodes no matter what happens, like with him being angry with Brendon in "The Party" as well.

McGuirk wasn't very strong as a person who came to this early event with a hangover. It wasn't his best storyline. Unlike say, when McGuirk had insomnia, he wasn't enough of a focus and he didn't have enough lines to really go anywhere with it. It makes sense though because who would talk much when they are sick? The best thing McGuirk did in this episode was rat out Lynch for having a phone and yelling everyone to burn him. Anyways, it seemed like they could have done more with this one. It was only amusing, though I'll admit that I didn't expect Melissa to be the traitor. ***

Jdoggg: Great. Probably the least outlandish of all season 3 so far.

Spectre: Not too bad of an episode. Not as good as last week's because there were instances of annoyance (the character in the helmet) but otherwise a solid and well made episode.

The music was pretty good too.

I'm not full of comments tonight... goodness I'm tired. A-

Shnay: Ahh, refreshing! I'd take this week's episode over last week's any day. And, after all my complaints about last week's episode, it’s great to have nothing but praise for this one. The premise and ending were a bit odd, but that's easily overlooked, as this episode has some great comedic moments that comes from good ol' character interaction.

All the characters were in perfect form. Jason, Melissa, Brendon, and McGuirk, (even Lynch, Fenton, and Walter and Perry) all stayed true to their characters and were all hilarious in the process. There were a number of great moments in this episode, including the Robin Hood and King Arthur play (with some excellent music from SKÄB), the opening scene in the car with a tired Paula and allergic Jason, Brendon’s indifference to the Sci-Fi/Medieval "war," and McGuirk's angry drunken state, which, while we’ve seen it before, still proves to be hilarious.

Also, the animation really looked fantastic. The Robing Hood and King Arthur play had some simply awesome-looking moments, like Jason pointing his bow at the camera, or Brendon’s cape blowing in the wind as he held out his sword. I'd love to see someone make some avatars out of this stuff.

I really only have one complain, and it’s not that big of one. It’s just that the final "battle" at the end of the show felt much more…I don’t know, "surreal" for lack of a better word, than the show usually is. Changing up the feel of the show every now and then isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I wouldn’t want every episode to end in some "weird" way. This time 'round, though, I’m able to just accept that it’s kind of a "weird" ending, especially when it looks as good as this one did. It was also pretty funny to see Melissa turn out to be the "traitor" and her reasons behind it. And how can you not love McGuirk drinking with a bunch of gnomes?

So, luckily, you're all spared my whine-fest this week. Let's hope this keeps up, and, judging from next week's preview, it looks like it just might.

Behonkiss: Where to start? One of the best Season 3 eps, and a step up from last week's, which was only average. The humor and zaniness were nonstop, the animation was topnotch, and the ending was beyond crazy(Anyone else catch Harry Potter and the Queen from Aliens?). Never guessed Melissa was the traitor. My only complaint is that they didn't answer the question of how the war was settled....My guess is that since it's been going on for several years, it must still be going. I'll take the sci-fi side.

J-Chan: This could be one of my favorite episodes ever, now that I think about it. I felt so bad for McGuirk, and he had some absolutely wonderful lines as usual. I laugh at port-o-potties. They're funny. I never seen a green one before though.. ehehe.. erm. The musical numbers were just incredible! The beating of the dragon, Robin Hood stealing Guenivere and giving her to the poor, and I wasn't expecting Melissa to be the traitor at all! And, of course, Walter and Perry were absolute gold, the cherry (or should I say apple?) on top of a delicious ice cream sundae (Sunday?) of comedy. Rah!
And I'm a sucker for medieval things.

StrangerAtaru: When I first saw this episode during the first airing, I thought this would be similar in tone to the semi-classic Daria episode "Fair Enough". In a way, it is similar in theme (both are about renaissance fairs), but that is where the similarities end. This episode is an all out insane affair with an ensemble of quirky characters (some of whom make their only appearance in the series), not to mention the addition of a science-fiction convention giving it even more tension. For starters, Brendon, practically at the center of this whole sordid affair, pretty much finds himself as the straight man who doesn't want any trouble occurring on either side of the situation. All he is trying to do is run his play "King Arthur Meets Robin Hood", which could be considered the movie in this episode even though there were no cameras. (which is funny BTW, showing the two going back and forth between fighting each other and being friends) Jason, meanwhile, is the first key to which we find out the struggle that is going to occur in this episode: even though he is in the Renaissance Fair, he is complaining from early on about going to the science-fiction convention instead of this. As the episode progresses, we sort of see Jason continuing to show an interest in sci-fi things (note the comic book at the one point) and is funny in trying, yet failing, to get his way this time, primarily with Brendon. Thus the introduction of the two characters who pretty much play the "sides" in which the medieval/sci-fi conflict takes place: the "episode-only" character Helmet and the constant (but funny for once) annoyance Fenton. Helmet, being the fanatical medieval person, is hilarious in his constant conversations with Brendon trying to get his support of stopping the sci-fi invasion. His obsessions are seen in this episode also in these short vignettes showing how snobbish he is about historical accuracy. Although the people would consider him annoying, I think that Helmet is supposed to be like this and works. Meanwhile, Fenton (actually, Dr. Neptune in this episode) is actually funny for once in his constant infiltration of the other side and trying to convince Brendon to switch over to their side. (not to mention that he always has a Battlebot by his side, which I was into watching once) I guess the reason I can take his annoyance here is due to being the "opposite" of Helmet, not to mention that for most of the episode, he is a stranger in a strange world.

Moving away from the "kids", the adults in this episode bring a sense of a different kind of humor than what is going on elsewhere. Lynch as "Moilin" was his typical strict, leading self trying to make sure everything ran as it should. Most of his humor, again, comes off his interactions with "McGurk the blacksmith", whom I actually felt for at the start of his episode with that long, excruciating scene where he is pretty much throwing up. (it is not an easy scene to get through) Beyond that, most of the comedy between the two of them lies with the interaction of the present day with a "Renaissance Fair", including the Port-O-Potty scene and especially with the inversion with the cell phone. ("Merlin has a cell phone! Burn him!") McGurk seemed to be one of the only people in the whole episode who had a bit of sense in him, not trying to fall of the fakery of the medieval period and knowing that it was all made up. (another interesting contrast to Helmet)

Another thing I seemed to like in this episode was the usage of perspective in which things are going on in the foreground that matter, yet little things are also going on that may or may not be crucial to the episode. For one thing, note how we quickly see "Helmet" (before we meet him) watching the apple cart fall that would trap a member of a certain duo inside. (I'll get to those two at the end) Also note how Jason passes by with a comic book during a conversation between Helmet and Brendon. (trying to set him up for what occurs later) For some reason, I liked when they did this sort of thing since it gave both an artistic feel as well as a sense of realism to the whole episode, not to mention giving an excuse for multiple viewings to get it all. (I hope they keep using this technique in later episodes)

Then, of course, was the ending. I didn't specifically mention Melissa in this review because of how crucial she was to everything that happened in the end. Once again Melissa seemed to be the peace-maker like she usually is between Brendon and Jason. Yet due to the sexist comments made by Helmet, the motivation to the sci-fi invasion made a lot more sense, leading to one of the most chaotic, yet funniest scenes in the whole episode. (with cameos by the score) All in all, I personally consider "Renaissance" to be a success, a weird episode similar in vein to "Director's Cut" and "History", yet with a lot of character moments that made it shine.

BTW: I didn't mention Walter and Perry in this review, but then again this was one of their more weird episodes.

The Landstander: An episode that works on just about every level. Some very funny moments and a nice general Home Movies-esqueness to it throughout.

On the bigger laughs, they were quite a few. "King Arthur vs. Robin Hood" seems like a mixture of the warped historical figures from History and the rock opera quality of Director's Cut, and works really well. The idea of the Renaissance people and the Sci-Fi is handled pretty well, and Brendon being in the middle of something he really doesn't care about is rather amusing. The "traitor" storyline ended in a nice payoff, as well.

But even better was the way each character managed to fit their own personalities into the situation. Lynch is dorky and obsessive as Moylin, and hungover McGuirk is as funny as drunk McGuirk. Brendon has an oddly small role, as he doesn't seem to care much either way. Fenton is successfully annoying. Melissa shows her independent side (which was attempted in "Four's Company", except it works well here). Walter & Perry...yeah. Patton Oswalt even does a good job as a guest voice as "Helmet". I've seen his stand up and it fits pretty well here, though a few of the sequences of Helmet just going up to concession stands and complaining dragged a bit, though his general dork enthuiasm plays well against Brendon's complete lack of caring.

Not much to complain about here, an excellent episode. Even a "wacky" ending doesn't annoy me because it doesn't feel like a copout; the storyline of the episode itself still played out normally, just a bit of animator-inspired chaos at the end. Highly Recommended.