CREDITS: Written by John P. McCann (Freakazoid, Anamaniacs); directed by Dan Riba.
REVIEW: What a fun romp! I wasn't sure I was going to like this one at first, on account of being another story about an unpopular nerd who uses a robot to get respect (see: Golem), filled with shallow teenagers, but even the background voices in this are funny. Bonus: Howie Groote becomes a recurring character after this. Oh, what kind of trouble will get into next?
In this episode, he uses his parents' credit card to buy an illegal "synthoid" (which he ends up call Cynthia, which really should be Synthia) to act as his totally loyal girlfriend. He hopes to increase his cred at school and finally get to hang out with the cool kids (though apparently already friends with Terry, Dana and Max who are, I would say, "floaters" at best). It works too well, and he's soon getting offers from real girls, which turns Cynthia into a murderbot. Her programming can't take rejection. Our heroes might even have gotten hurt but for their athleticism (even without a Bat-suit).
It's all pretty standard - give or take a sequence where Terry fights synthoid versions of Batman's old villains in the training opener - until the big party at Howie's house. A brutal fight breaks out between super-strong opponents, much of it in the kitchen, and then the whole place BLOWS UP. Someone tells Howie he's gonna be a legend after this, that NOW it's a party, that the party peaked earlier... It's hilarious. AND THEN his parents show up a week early from their Madrid trip because, guess what, their credit card was maxed out by a certain purchase. So much fun, and I wasn't expecting it even after seeing that kooky title.
SOUNDS LIKE: Howard Groote is played here and in several more episodes by Max Brooks; the son of Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft, he is better known as a Saturday Night Live writer and the novelist responsible for World War Z. Cynthia voiced by Shiri Appleby (Liz Parker in Roswell). Louie, the love child of John Waters and Steve Buscemi is played by Matt Landers (Die Hard). Dan Castellaneta, the voice of Homer Simpson, plays Mr. Groote, while Mrs. Groote is an uncredited assist from the DCAU's voice casting director, Andrea Romano.
REWATCHABILITY: High - Funny, but also action-packed. A nice surprise at this point.
Comments