AUTHOR'S NOTE (PLEASE READ THIS FIRST!): This is just a written commentary I made for the episode Mystery Meat. I watched the episode and timed each scene that I made a comment on (I watched the DVD version.), so you can watch the episode along with the commentary. These times are only approximate, so hopefully I timed these close enough to be accurate so that the comments I made are read either during or after the scene has already happened in the episode. There is also a review of the episode at the end! I hope you all enjoy it! :)
RANDOM KIDNAPPING! (AKA A 'Mystery Meat Commentary/Review)
• 00:00:20- Okay, so I read a Tumblr post about this part of the episode, and I kind of have to agree with the person who posted it. We're not even half a minute into the first episode and we've already learned the personalities of four of the main characters:
- Danny wants to be a normal teenager.
- Sam is an independent individual who follows the beat of her own drum, and hates fads.
- Tucker is a geek who believes his "good looks" will attract all of the female teenagers he meets.
-And Jack is a ghost hunter who is obsessed with ghosts.
This is when you realize the writers of the show did a great job. :)
• 00:00:27 I can just picture someone watching this show for the first time without much knowledge about it, and thinking, "Why is there blue vapor coming out of Danny's mouth?" XD
• 00:00:55 Okay, Jack, you're a ghost hunter, and you seriously can't see or hear what's going on behind you? This is just like "the sleeping Patrick scene" from the Spongebob episode "Secret Box" all over again! XD
• 00:01:15 Yeah, no kidding you guys! I'd be shaking like a leaf too if two ghosts suddenly came into my friend's house and tried to kidnap me for no reason. What was the purpose of them kidnapping Danny's friends anyway? And why didn't they try to take him? :0
• 00:01:32 I don't know where this story is going, but I'm loving every second of it! :D
• 00:01:34 Introducing one of the greatest cartoon theme songs in history! :D
•00:01:58 By the way, who puts an on/off button inside a contraption that's supposed to shoot thousands of volts of electricity when it's turned on? ...Well, I suppose this show wouldn't exist without it's existence, so... I'm going to let this one slide. XD
• 00:02:48 Okay, just how did someone not notice the spoon phasing out of his hand? The viewing audience saw it, right? :0
• 00:02:51 Yes, Danny, I'd freak out too if my arm suddenly disappeared like that. :0
• 00:03:30 It's funny, I almost forget how "no nonsense" Jazz was at the beginning of the series until I rewatch the show. I think Jazz is probably the character who grows and changes the most in this show (after Danny of course), and the whole crew who worked on the show did a great job of portraying her character. :0
•00:03:47 "Impressionable little child"? First of all Jazz, Danny is fourteen, not four. And second, who is he so easily influenced by that he was dubbed "impressionable"? And yes Danny, we saw you trying to sneak away. XD
•00:04:03 Yep! That's definitely the most obvious conclusion! Oh, wait... XD
• 00:04:07 I've always loved that the school was called Casper High. XD
• 00:04:12 You think?! If it had happened to me, I would've gone straight to a doctor and asked them to figure out what the heck was going on! Obviously, I'm not cut out to be a superhero. XD
• 00:04:25 Yeah Sam, that was pretty obvious. XD
• 00:04:33 Okay, how did you manage to faze through the floor and through that vending machine without anyone seeing you disappear? :0
•00:05:07 That actually is really impressive Tucker. XD
• 00:05:30 Okay, I'm not a vegetarian or a vegan or anything like that, but even if I was, I (as well as a majority of you who are reading this) have known from a young age that anything green growing from a piece of bread or other edible items means you should THROW THE FOOD OUT. So, yes Danny and Tucker, I agree with you. I probably wouldn't eat it either. :)
•00:05:48 Again, both of Danny's parents are too busy to notice the ghost flying out of the portal and up through the ceiling behind them. She was even speaking this time! :0
• 00:06:33 Then why even bring it up Mr. Lancer? XD
• 00:07:02 Now introducing, the main bully of Casper High, Dash Baxter, with his classic mud to the back of the head trick throw! :0
• 00:07:13 Yes, you asked for it, and you got what you asked for. Karma really does suck doesn't it? XD
• 00:07:20 now we know these two are going to be a couple at the end of the series because why mention it otherwise? I love Danny/Sam! They're definitely one of my OTPs. ️:)
• 00:08:35 Well, you should Sam. Danny is your love interest. XD
•00:08:41 Now for the the extremely long close up rotation of Danny's transformation, one of which we will never see again for the duration of the series! :)
• 00:09:25 Impressive catching skills Danny! You should sign up for football tryouts! :D
•00:10:30 How come nobody is running out of the classrooms to see what's causing all of the ruckus? Surely, they must've heard something! :0
• 00:11:33 Just how deserted is this hallway? :0
•00:11:48 Seriously? What is up with these random ghosts kidnapping Danny's friends? :0
• 00:12:08 Oh, Tucker, just what have you been up to? XD
• 00:12:45 So, just because Dash is the quarterback for the high school football team means he's free from all school punishments? Who came up with these school rules? Danny should be the quarterback! He catches better than Dash probably ever could. :/
•00:13:03 He says it so ominously. I love it! XD
• 00:13:30 Because Butch Hartman and the show's writers made it that way. :D
• 00:13:39 So... the Lunch Lady stuffed Sam into a pile of meat... and then asked her politely to eat it? What was that supposed to accomplish? Obviously, I'm not understanding these ghost's kidnapping motives. :0
• 00:15:09 This part always makes me laugh! XD
• 00:15:45 Aww, poor exhausted Danny... I'm still surprised his secret hasn't been blown yet. :0
• 00:16:47 No offense Tucker, but telling your friend who was nearly electrocuted to death a month ago that he was asleep for four days straight as a joke, probably isn't all that funny to him. Just saying. :0
•00:17:04 Don't say things like that Danny. You're only jinxing yourself! :0
•00:17:16 Told you. XD
• 00:17:44 Yeah, that probably wasn't the smartest idea. :0
•00:18:30 I absolutely love this whole fight scene. :D
•00:19:18 I understand your pain Jazz. I'd be pretty hacked off too if my parents tried to capture me because they thought I was a supernatural entity. XD
• 00:20:00 You know, you don't realize just how sad this is for Jack until you've watched the rest of the series, and then start over at the beginning again. :0
• 00:21:09 Good question! :0
•00:21:24 Okay, seriously, I'm done. You can't have Danny Fenton free falling from the sky in front of the high school, transform into Danny Phantom, and not expect someone to see it. From now on, I'm keeping a record of this. So, let's see. We've got:
- The random green ghosts scene
- The spoon through the hand
- Accidentally phasing through the floor and then through the vending machine in a hallway full of people
- Transforming back into Danny Fenton by accident at school not once, but three times
- Freefall transformation
Number of times Danny's secret identity should have been revealed, but miraculously, it wasn't: 8 XD
• 00:21:55 Again, this is another cool ghost sucking thermos scene that we never get to see throughout the rest of the show. It's still a great scene though. But, it still doesn't explain how Danny got the thermos to work. :0
• 00:22:16 I've always loved this ghost detector's sass talk! XD
• 00:23:02 Personally, I think Dash deserved it! It still doesn't mean I would have done it though. :)
Now for the Review!
I actually watched Mystery Meat back when it first premiered (Wow, do I feel old now! XD) and I thought it was a great episode to start the show off with, and it really grabbed the audience's attention. It's funny and witty, and you feel like you already know the main characters without having to scratch deep below the surface of their personalities just yet. Overall, Mystery Meat is a great episode of Danny Phantom, and it makes you feel nostalgic if you're watching it again from the beginning. Overall, I'd give this episode an A.
I hope you all enjoyed watching 'Mystery Meat' with me! Let me know what you thought of my commentary and review, and/or your opinion of this episode down in the comments! :)