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{{Quote|NOOOOO! You have the mixture all wrong!|[[Professor Membrane]]}}
== Credits ==
 
  +
{{EpisodeInfobox
  +
| Title = Parent Teacher Night
  +
| Image = [[File:Title 03a.png|300px]]
  +
| Back = [[NanoZIM]]
  +
| Next = [[Walk of Doom]]
  +
| Episode = Episode 03a
  +
| Production = 03a
  +
| Airdate = April 6, 2001
  +
| Writer = [[Jhonen Vasquez]]<br>[[Rob Hummel]]}}
   
  +
"'''{{PAGENAME}}'''" is the 1st segment in the 3rd episode of Season 1 of ''[[Invader Zim (TV series)|Invader Zim]]''. It first premiered on April 6, 2001.
Originally aired: Friday April 6, 2001 on Nickelodeon
 
Writer: Rob Hummel
 
Director: Steve Ressel
 
Show Stars: Kevin McDonald (Almighty Tallest Purple), Lucille Bliss (Ms. Bitters)
 
All Guest Stars: Wally Wingert (Almighty Tallest Red), Andy Berman (Dib), Richard Steven Horvitz (Invader ZIM), Rosearik Rikki Simons (GIR), Melissa Fahn (Gaz), Jhonen Vasquez, Mo Collins (RoboMom / Woman #1), Rosearik Rikki Simons (Mongo Slunchy / Random Parent), Melissa Fahn (Billy Slunchy / Random Parent), Andy Berman (Man), Rodger Bumpass (Professor Membrane / Deep-Voiced Man) , Michael McDonald (RoboDad), S. Scott Bullock (Mr. Elliot), Diane Michelle (Avon Lady / Mrs. Slunchy / "Proper Earth Parenting" Mother), Dwight Schultz (Ted Slunchy / "Proper Earth Parenting" Father), Lucille Bliss (Woman #2)
 
Production Code: 03A
 
   
  +
== Plot Summary ==
  +
{{Spoilers}}[[File:Roboparents1.png|thumb|left|180px]]
 
After another day at the [[Earth]] [[Skool]], [[Ms. Bitters]] reminds the children that it's Parent-Teacher Night, and that all the parents must come to the Skool at the end of the day. [[Zim]] is confronted with a dilemma: he doesn't have any true parents or family ([[Irken]]s are created from some kind of gene bank and have all their information given to them in [[Irken PAK|PAKs]]).
   
  +
Zim becomes worried because his robotic parents aren't programmed for such a task yet, and he cannot permit them to blow his cover. He attempts to help them become more like the parents they should be by strapping them into chairs and forcing them to watch a ''Proper Earth Parenting'' program that demonstrates how normal human parents should behave. However, [[GIR]]'s carefree nature puts his plans in jeopardy when he changes the channel on the TV to violent, senseless programming.
== Story Line ==
 
  +
[[File:Roboparents.png|thumb|180px|Zim and his Roboparents.]]
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At the meeting in the cafeteria, [[Dib Membrane|Dib]], who brings his dad's communication device due to being busy in his own lab, tries to prove that Zim is an alien, but Professor Membrane misinterprets what his son means by "alien", and asks the Irken what country he's from instead. Meanwhile, the Roboparents seem to behave well at first, but abruptly begin behaving erratically, malfunctioning and wreaking havoc during the meeting.
   
  +
However, nobody besides Dib notices they aren't human, or that Zim is an alien. So, Zim's plan to fool everybody (except Dib) actually works even despite GIR's interference. In the end, Zim and the [[Roboparents]] fly off without everyone noticing, while Dib gets in trouble for throwing punch on the floor in frustration.
  +
{{Spoilersover}}
   
  +
== Facts of Doom ==
After another day at the Earth skool, Ms. Bitters reminds the children that it’s Parent Teacher Night and that all the parents must come to the skool at the end of the day. [[Zim]] becomes worried because his robotic parents aren’t programmed for such a task yet and he cannot permit them to blow his cover, so he attempts to help them become the parents they should be, but [[Gir]]’s carefree nature soon puts his plans in jeopardy.
 
  +
=== Cultural References ===
[[Image:aparent.jpg|frame|right|Apicture form Parent Teacher Night]]
 
  +
*In this episode, Zim says "You lie! YOU LIE!". This is a reference to ''Johnny the Homicidal Maniac''. When [[Nny]] first meets [[Squee]], he says exactly the same thing.
  +
*During the reprogramming of the Roboparents, their eyelids are held open with a claw-like device so that they cannot blink. This is a direct reference to the scene in Stanley Kubrick's ''A Clockwork Orange'' where Malcolm McDowell's character, Alex, has his eyelids held open during his "reprogramming" .
   
== Fun Facts ==
+
=== Trivia ===
  +
*This is the first and so far only time [[Zim]]'s [[roboparents]] are outside of the house, and play a major role. They were going to have a major role in the cancelled episode "[[Roboparents Gone Wild]]".
  +
*This is the first and only time Zim refers to the Roboparents as the "Parent Decoys".
 
*The title is the first to use the squiggly ''Invader Zim'' font instead of the original font.
 
*Like "[[The Nightmare Begins]]", this episode was originally rated TV-Y but was later changed to TV-Y7-FV.
  +
*Zim's birth scene would have been re-used for the unfinished episode; "[[The Trial]]."
  +
*Zim's famous quote, "You lie! YOU LIE!" has become a popular Internet meme.
   
  +
=== Things You Might Have Missed ===
The scene where ZIM has the Roboparents tied down with their eyes propped open so they can watch the televisions is a parody of A Clockwork Orange.
 
  +
[[File:Parentteacher6.jpg|thumb]]
 
*[[Ms. Bitters]] has a security camera in her classroom, which is not seen in later episodes.
  +
*[[Mr. Elliot]] is seen walking with [[Spoo]] in the cafeteria, hinting they are father and son.
  +
*When Zim turns on the video to teach his Roboparents normal behavior, a child in one of the videos looks very similar to [[w:c:fairlyoddparents:Timmy Turner|Timmy]] from ''[[w:c:fairyoddparents:The Fairly OddParents!|The FairlyOddParents!]]''
  +
*Before Zim inserts the Earth Parenting cartridge, the screens are showing scenes from some early animated shorts, including:
  +
**''Together in the Weather '' - a stop-motion short produced in 1946 by none other than George Pal of ''When Worlds Collide'' fame
  +
**Hunter's dog
  +
**Heckle and Jeckle's first cartoon
  +
**Dancing scarecrow
  +
**Beaver eating corn
  +
**Cat licking some striped candy poles
  +
**A ''Tom & Jerry'' Christmas special from the 1940s.
  +
*The man in the parenting video looks similar to [[Old Kid]].
 
*At the end of the episode when Miss Bitters is mad at [[Dib Membrane|Dib]] and the whole room turns red, there is a clock in the background that says "12:16".
   
  +
=== Changes and Cuts ===
Mrs.Bitters has a security camera in her classroom.
 
  +
*A scene where [[Zim]] tries to reprogram his [[Roboparents]] was supposed to have [[GIR]] change the channel to 1940s movies with smoking and guns. This was scrapped for obvious reasons.
  +
*When the word "diarrhea" splatters onto one of the television sets that GIR watches, the words were supposed to be in brown, but was later changed to dark red.
   
  +
=== Inconsistencies and Animation Errors ===
ZIM's parent was a robot hand.
 
 
*Ms. Bitters' dress changes from purple to black sporadically throughout the episode and other early episodes.
  +
*When Dib spills his fruit punch on Zim, it doesn't burn him. This is an example of inconsistency, as Zim gets burned by water in "[[The Wettening]]".
  +
*The events of the parent teacher night conference happened in the afternoon, despite the name, as a clock reads 12:16 and the scenery outside wasn't dark.
  +
*When Ms. Bitters shows the videotape at the beginning of the episode, the clock is frozen although you can still hear the ticking noise.
  +
*As GIR is running after the Makeup Lady, he doesn't run all the way out of frame. He disappears a few milliseconds before he goes out of the frame.
  +
*When GIR falls from the [[Zim's Base|base]]'s ceiling with make-up on, his tongue is orange in one of the scene's frames.
   
 
== Music ==
The title was in the squiggly font instead of the Invader ZIM font.
 
  +
{{Main|The Kevin Manthei Invader Zim-phony Special}}
 
  +
*Skool's Out
The parent teacher night happened in the afternoon, but at the very end when Ms. Bitters is mad at Dib and the whole room turns red, there is a clock in the background that says "12:14"
 
  +
*Makeup Lady
 
  +
*TV Lair
Ms. Bitters' shirt changes from purple to black sporadically throughout the episode and early episodes.
 
  +
*Spine Break SRC
 
  +
*Family Programming
Like ''[[The Nightmare Begins]]'' this episode was originally rated TV-Y but was later changed to TV-Y7-FV
 
  +
*Parents Arrive
 
  +
*Parents Crack
== Quotes ==
 
 
Dib: By the way, Zim, it's not called Parent Teacher night. It's called Zim doom parent... Zim doom Zimmy... doom... night.
 
 
Ms. Bitters: There, where your head is, there was nothing!
 
 
Robot arm: Welcome to life, child. Report for duty.
 
Zim as a baby: I love you cold, unfeeling robot arm!
 
 
Gir: (After the make-up lady runs off and he's chasing after her) Wait! Come back! I need stuff!
 
 
Zim: I never agreed to this Parent-Teacher thing!
 
Ms. Bitters: Yes, you did.
 
Zim: No, you lie! You lie!
 
 
Robo-mom: Oh no! Honey, is it?
 
Robo-dad: Yup! Diarrhea!
 
 
Random Mother: Can't you see that this woman is suffering from severe pokey-trauma?!
 
 
== Refrences ==
 
 
http://www.tv.com/invader-zim/parent-teacher-night/episode/51940/summary.html
 
   
 
== See also ==
  +
*[[Parent Teacher Night (Transcript)]]
  +
*[[Episode 03 Credits]]
  +
*[[Parent Teacher Night/Screenshots]]
   
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{{Episode}}<!-- Interlanguage links -->
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[[es:La noche de padres y maestros]]
 
[[Category:Season 1]]
 
[[Category:Season 1]]
  +
[[Category:Episodes]]
 
  +
[[Category:Altered Episodes]]
 
  +
[[Category:Screenshots]]
[http://www.youtube.com/v/T0QcC3S4uYg" Watch it here (For best quality, get DVD!)]
 

Latest revision as of 02:33, 6 January 2020

20px-Cquote1.png NOOOOO! You have the mixture all wrong!
Professor Membrane
20px-Cquote2.png


Invader Zim Episode
Parent Teacher Night
Title 03a
Chronology
Previous: NanoZIM
Next: Walk of Doom
Information
Episode No: Episode 03a
Production No: 03a
Airdate: April 6, 2001
Credits
Writer(s): Jhonen Vasquez
Rob Hummel


"Parent Teacher Night" is the 1st segment in the 3rd episode of Season 1 of Invader Zim. It first premiered on April 6, 2001.

Plot Summary

SPOILER WARNING OF DOOM: This section or article may contain spoilers!

Roboparents1

After another day at the Earth Skool, Ms. Bitters reminds the children that it's Parent-Teacher Night, and that all the parents must come to the Skool at the end of the day. Zim is confronted with a dilemma: he doesn't have any true parents or family (Irkens are created from some kind of gene bank and have all their information given to them in PAKs).

Zim becomes worried because his robotic parents aren't programmed for such a task yet, and he cannot permit them to blow his cover. He attempts to help them become more like the parents they should be by strapping them into chairs and forcing them to watch a Proper Earth Parenting program that demonstrates how normal human parents should behave. However, GIR's carefree nature puts his plans in jeopardy when he changes the channel on the TV to violent, senseless programming.

Roboparents

Zim and his Roboparents.

At the meeting in the cafeteria, Dib, who brings his dad's communication device due to being busy in his own lab, tries to prove that Zim is an alien, but Professor Membrane misinterprets what his son means by "alien", and asks the Irken what country he's from instead. Meanwhile, the Roboparents seem to behave well at first, but abruptly begin behaving erratically, malfunctioning and wreaking havoc during the meeting.

However, nobody besides Dib notices they aren't human, or that Zim is an alien. So, Zim's plan to fool everybody (except Dib) actually works even despite GIR's interference. In the end, Zim and the Roboparents fly off without everyone noticing, while Dib gets in trouble for throwing punch on the floor in frustration.

End of Spoilers: There are no further spoilers for this section or article. You can breathe now.

Facts of Doom

Cultural References

  • In this episode, Zim says "You lie! YOU LIE!". This is a reference to Johnny the Homicidal Maniac. When Nny first meets Squee, he says exactly the same thing.
  • During the reprogramming of the Roboparents, their eyelids are held open with a claw-like device so that they cannot blink. This is a direct reference to the scene in Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange where Malcolm McDowell's character, Alex, has his eyelids held open during his "reprogramming" .

Trivia

  • This is the first and so far only time Zim's roboparents are outside of the house, and play a major role. They were going to have a major role in the cancelled episode "Roboparents Gone Wild".
  • This is the first and only time Zim refers to the Roboparents as the "Parent Decoys".
  • The title is the first to use the squiggly Invader Zim font instead of the original font.
  • Like "The Nightmare Begins", this episode was originally rated TV-Y but was later changed to TV-Y7-FV.
  • Zim's birth scene would have been re-used for the unfinished episode; "The Trial."
  • Zim's famous quote, "You lie! YOU LIE!" has become a popular Internet meme.

Things You Might Have Missed

Parentteacher6
  • Ms. Bitters has a security camera in her classroom, which is not seen in later episodes.
  • Mr. Elliot is seen walking with Spoo in the cafeteria, hinting they are father and son.
  • When Zim turns on the video to teach his Roboparents normal behavior, a child in one of the videos looks very similar to Timmy from The FairlyOddParents!
  • Before Zim inserts the Earth Parenting cartridge, the screens are showing scenes from some early animated shorts, including:
    • Together in the Weather - a stop-motion short produced in 1946 by none other than George Pal of When Worlds Collide fame
    • Hunter's dog
    • Heckle and Jeckle's first cartoon
    • Dancing scarecrow
    • Beaver eating corn
    • Cat licking some striped candy poles
    • A Tom & Jerry Christmas special from the 1940s.
  • The man in the parenting video looks similar to Old Kid.
  • At the end of the episode when Miss Bitters is mad at Dib and the whole room turns red, there is a clock in the background that says "12:16".

Changes and Cuts

  • A scene where Zim tries to reprogram his Roboparents was supposed to have GIR change the channel to 1940s movies with smoking and guns. This was scrapped for obvious reasons.
  • When the word "diarrhea" splatters onto one of the television sets that GIR watches, the words were supposed to be in brown, but was later changed to dark red.

Inconsistencies and Animation Errors

  • Ms. Bitters' dress changes from purple to black sporadically throughout the episode and other early episodes.
  • When Dib spills his fruit punch on Zim, it doesn't burn him. This is an example of inconsistency, as Zim gets burned by water in "The Wettening".
  • The events of the parent teacher night conference happened in the afternoon, despite the name, as a clock reads 12:16 and the scenery outside wasn't dark.
  • When Ms. Bitters shows the videotape at the beginning of the episode, the clock is frozen although you can still hear the ticking noise.
  • As GIR is running after the Makeup Lady, he doesn't run all the way out of frame. He disappears a few milliseconds before he goes out of the frame.
  • When GIR falls from the base's ceiling with make-up on, his tongue is orange in one of the scene's frames.

Music

Main article: The Kevin Manthei Invader Zim-phony Special
  • Skool's Out
  • Makeup Lady
  • TV Lair
  • Spine Break SRC
  • Family Programming
  • Parents Arrive
  • Parents Crack

See also