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Episode Studies by Clayton Barr enik1138-at-popapostle-dot-com |
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Annie is left in charge when
the cyborg returns and renders Tom and Kevin amnesiac. Didja Know? The title of this episode was inspired by the 1984-1990 sitcom Charles in Charge, in which a young college student, in exchange for free rent, takes care of the housekeeping and babysitting for a family when the parents are at work or socializing. In this episode, Annie finds herself in a similar situation, caring for the tree-house and family when Tom and Kevin are rendered amnesiac after exposure to a neural agent from the weapons systems of the cyborg (last seen in "Future Boy"). Didja Notice?
At 0:21-0:36 in the episode, the boom mike is visible in the reflection off the Jeep window. At 1:00 in the episode, we again see Annie's proficiency in the arts as she sculpts a small statue of her father and Tasha out of clay.  Kevin and Annie sure do like to use names as insults throughout this series. Previously, we've heard them use the terms Waldo, Barney, and Gumby. Here, at 2:33, Annie says to Kevin, "You're such a Wilbur." I wonder if the producers consciously wanted to avoid using real-world insults on the show (we also hear such insults as wart-breath, toad-sucker, etc.). Perhaps they did not want to encourage children in the use of real insults with their peers. Also, by making them unusual, the insults don't become dated when the episodes are viewed in later years. Stink seems to be familiar with the English word "termite" and acts as if he is afraid of the insects, going so far as to scream upon hearing the word and running to hide in a tree. Why? (Beyond comic relief, that is.) Stink explains that, once again, Christa is gone somewhere fishing, "too far" away to summon for help in the search for Tom and Kevin. After being knocked unconscious by the cyborg's gas weapon and lying all night in the middle of the jungle, Tom and Kevin are lucky they were not unceremoniously gobbled up by a nocturnal predator! Given amnesia by the cyborg's gas weapon, it is fun to see Tom and Kevin discover, as if for the first time, that they are in the Land of the Lost and not on Earth. In an amusing moment at 12:19 in the episode, an amnesiac Tom slaps himself in an attempt to wake himself up from what he believes must be a dino-filled dream. It is lobbing a stone into a pond in a free-throw style manner that triggers part of Kevin's memory and makes him think that his name is Michael Jordan. (Jordan, of course, is the now-retired professional basketball player who is considered by many to be the best to have ever played the game.) In this episode we learn that Annie's middle name is Marie. Kevin must talk about Michael Jordan a lot because Stink and Christa (who otherwise wouldn't know about him) are both incredulously amused when he says that's his name. At 16:11 in the episode, as Christa faces the cyborg in the jungle, there appear to be carefully placed rocks at the right of the screen, defining a trail upon which she stands. Perhaps the remnants of an old Sleestak road or trail from the era when they still lived on the surface? (In reality, it must be part of the small trail system at the shooting location, Descanso Gardens.)  We've seen in this episode and others previous that Kevin has an orange t-shirt with black markings. Not anymore! It appears they have sacrificed it to make a pair of makeshift gas masks for Kevin and Tom. 
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