Season 2, Episode 1, Storyline B – “Tiger on the Loose”
Original Airdate: September 17, 1977
Safety First!
Before we begin our loose tiger adventure, Wonder Woman has some safety tips she’d like us all to be aware of. “A lot of times when we’re not thinking about what we’re doing, we put things in our mouths and chew on them. It’s a habit almost everybody has. Lots of things around the house and yard that kids put in their mouths can make them very sick. Pass this tip on to your friends, too.” So, here, friends. Done.
Wonder Woman starts lassoing and pulling things out of peoples’ mouths to demonstrate her point.
I hope next week’s safety tip is about how you shouldn’t lasso and yank things out of people’s mouths.
Short Synopsis: I’m only into the second episode, but I’m sensing a pattern in the storylines – 1. Two Super Friends team up (Robin doesn’t count as one whole person) 2. Wonder Twins 3. Everyone lends a hand 4. Another pair, usually a guest hero. So, that means this is the Wonder Twins story.
At “Jungle World Zoo, visitors safely watch the wild animals.” These wild animals are clearly safely confined:
The tiger gets loose because he gently brushed his tail against the cage door. He looks as surprised as anyone.
I’m not sure how zoos work. Do they have Superintendents?
After the tiger escapes, we’re then shown that at the “Office of the Superintendent,”
some teenager, Susie, is being blamed for letting the tiger escape. The Superintendent says he should have never hired an incompetent teenager and that any damage done by the tiger will be her fault. She says the tiger will listen to her but the Superintendent will have none of it.
And we thought Susie was incompetent.
The tiger gets on a school bus. A teacher and an entire class file into the bus, and nobody notices the giant 650lb tiger sitting in the open back seat until everyone is sitting down.
Zan and Jayna see what’s happening, Jayna says she knows what to do, and then we cut to them at Susie’s house. They left an entire school bus of children with a tiger on it to go to Susie’s house. They tell Susie they need her help. “Gosh, we better hurry,” exclaims Susie. Oh, don’t be silly, Susie, they’re fine.
Hold up.
Excuse me? What am I seeing with my eyeballs right here?
Zan DOESN’T have to transform into water every time Jayna switches to an animal? What the hell? So he just turns into water and jumps into a bucket to be carried by eagle Jayna for fun? What. a. perv.
And what’s this!? Now Zan is changing into an “ice toboggan.”
WHAT? That’s not water, that’s sporting equipment. So you use a word associated with water and it works? Like, “a refrigerator with an ICE dispenser!” and voila? You know, I’m starting to feel like maybe the writers haven’t thought this all through and that, perhaps, this is all a giant pile of bullshit.
Susie coaxes the tiger out of the school bus, where it steps on to the Zan toboggan, and then Gleek pulls the toboggan into the cage and everyone is safe again. Poor tiger, he didn’t get to eat even one child.
It’s De-Coder Time!
It’s that time again, boys and girls. This time, Batman and Robin will be providing the clue. They drive into the middle of a stadium during a track and field meet, “right on time for the ceremonies.”
“Holy de-coder, Batman, will there be time for us to give out the big city track awards and give the first clue to the secret code word?” – Robin.
Oh, shut up, we all know you’re sooooo busy.
The first clue is the first three letters of the name of the objects they’re handling right now. My guess for the code word is “Medication.” We’ll see.
If you would like to see these shenanigans for yourself, Season 2 is available on DVD.
I had been 7 years old for one whole week when this aired. The same age as my youngest daughter now. I’ve figured everything out. The Superfriends were a form of child abuse because I’m flashbacking.
Also, now I know where putting a piece of string around your loose tooth and pulling came from. Wonder Woman. A few days after this show, my mom did this to me. She was watching over my back in the living room.
See! Like I said, Wonder Woman is encouraging unsafe behavior. I would love the Super Friends even more if every week, the Safety tip is about not doing something the previous hero did during their safety tip. Like a constant smug one-upmanship.
WTH is in that second kid’s mouth? Did she lasso out his inhaler?
Oh that was a styrofoam cup. Although it would have been awesome and hilarious if it was an inhaler.
I desperately want a t-shirt with that printed on it because it is wonderful.
I think it may be my favorite screen shot, and that’s saying a lot.
I am just worried that you are becoming disillusioned with the powers of Zan and Jayna. Keep an open mind, woman.
I’ll try. If I’m already confused and tired of them by the second episode, that doesn’t bode well.