- "Grandmum was right, Michelle. We should listen to advice from more experienced people."
- — Jason
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| Wise Guys | |
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| Directed by | |
| Written by | |
| Music by | |
| Released |
March 29, 2008 |
| Runtime |
23 minutes |
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Wise Guys is the 12th episode from the second season of 3-2-1 Penguins!, which teaches a lesson in wisdom. It is the 18th episode overall.
Plot
Jason is reading "The Time Machine" and Michelle is making a birthday card for her friend, but she can't decide what to draw. Jason shushes her because he's reading. He's at the part where the Time Traveler meets the Morlocks, nasty hairy creatures. He jokes that Michelle is like a Morlock. Michelle doesn't find that amusing. When Jason says they live underground where it's dark, Michelle turns off the lamp. Jason gets annoyed by this. Michelle tells him that since he said she was like a Morlock, she wants it dark. Jason doesn't find what she did funny. Grandmum comes in and asks what they are doing. Michelle answers that she's making a birthday card for Molly. Grandmum advises her to put a pad under her paper since that table has dents. Michelle replies that it's fine, but her paper tears when she tries to draw. Grandmum asks Jason if he put a brighter bulb in the lamp. Jason answers it gives better light. Grandmum advises him to put in a dimmer bulb since that lamp wasn't wired for modern bulbs. Jason thinks he knows what he's doing. Grandmum tells him he'd be wise to listen to her advice if he wants to do things the right way. She quotes the verse, "Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end, you will be wise." She tells him that she speaks from experience. She tells Jason and Michelle to wash up, since they're having liver soufflé. Disgusted, Jason wises he actually had a time machine so that he can skip ahead to breakfast. The Rockhopper starts to fly and Jason and Michelle get galeezeled aboard.
Aboard the Rockhopper, Jason gets a time machine from the storage bay. Fidgel says that he had that when he was little. He saved hundreds of cereal box tops. When Michelle comments how long that took, Fidgel replies that Kevin helped him. Jason notices that the time machine is in pieces. Fidgel tells him that he took it apart to attach a card to the spokes on his bicycle. Jason asks if he can put it back together. Fidgel allows him to do so. He also offers to give advice, but Jason declines his offer.
Jason finishes constructing the time machine. He begins to run it for a test drive, but nothing seems to happen. He doesn't understand why the time machine doesn't work. Michelle hands him the paper which the directions are on, commenting that Jason never looks at them. Jason takes a glance at the part where it says "Batteries not included." He then yells out in frustration.
At the Comet Lounge, Jason tells Sol he needs all the batteries he has. Sol wonders why he's in a rush. He suggests that Jason talks with the Federation vet he's with, but Jason says there is no time. Zidgel says that he's missing a great opportunity since soldiers like the vet started the Federation. Sol says that they have lot to learn from vets like him. Jason, however, asks if he can have his batteries. Sol gives him the batteries. Admiral Strap contacts the Rockhopper crew to let them know about their new mission to Planet Obstantinople. Its inhabitants are having a dispute over what wattage bulbs to use. The younger inhabitants are disagreeing with the older ones. The Rockhopper crew needs to head to the planet to sort things out.
As the Rockhopper is flying in space, Jason is putting the batteries into the time machine. Midgel advises him that time machines can be tricky. Fidgel adds that the space-time continuum is not to be messed with. However, Jason doesn't listen that much to what they said. He operates the time machine again and it works, albeit it only throws things one second into the future. Jason gets disappointed at this. Fidgel talks to Midgel about giving advice to Jason, if only he'd listen. Suddenly, Jason gets an idea.
Jason's idea turns out to be upgrading the time machine. Someone sends them a message. It's cobbled up, but it said something about time, Jason, and certain doom. However, Fidgel can't find the message's source and he can't play it again since it's gone. Zidgel and Midgel assume that the message is a dire warning. Jason operates the time machine once more. This time, it plunges the Rockhopper's interior into darkness for a split second. The Rockhopper gets stuck in a death dive. The controls don't respond, and the Rockhopper will crash in thirty seconds.
When the Rockhopper crashes on an unknown planet, it gets practically destroyed. Zidgel checks if the planet's atmosphere is safe. After he does so, he assures everyone else that it's safe. Jason tells the rest of the crew that it isn't his fault since the time machine didn't work. Michelle retorts that he didn't listen to any advice. The twins hear some coughing in the distance. The sources turn out to be two old penguins. The short penguin says that the Rockhopper crew didn't get the transmission. The skinny penguin comments that Jason ignored their warnings about the time machine. Zidgel walks up to them and says that their spaceship has been damaged and asks for a communication device. The skinny penguin tells Zidgel that it'll be quite some time before the Rockhopper is rebuilt. Zidgel replies that they just need to contact the Federation to let them know that they'll be a little late. The skinny penguin responds that they are seven decades late. Zidgel and his crew then get to work rebuilding the Rockhopper.
As Midgel and Fidgel gather the pieces of the Rockhopper into a pile, the skinny penguin offers some assistance since he and the short penguin have been around the galaxy for a long time. Fidgel thanks him for the offer, but tells him they're doing fine on their own. The skinny penguin suggests to them to listen to their elders since he and the short penguin have some experience. The short penguin and the skinny penguin reveal that they know all of the Rockhopper crew members' names. The skinny penguin tells the Rockhopper crew that he and the short penguin are future versions of them. Zidgel doesn't understand what's going on, so Fidgel helps explain that Jason's time machine sent them into the future. However, Zidgel doesn't believe him. Zidgel's future self exits the house and meets Zidgel. It's then revealed that Future Zidgel is fat, bald, and toothless. Jason gets excited at the fact that they're in the future. However, Fidgel tells him that their situation is dire since the Rockhopper's destroyed and they don't know how badly the time machine was damaged. Future Midgel says that the odds are Jason and Michelle are stuck in this time period forever.
Meanwhile, Zidgel is feeling bummed out because of how his future self looks. When Future Zidgel comes over to point out the obvious, Zidgel runs away from him. Future Fidgel tells his past self that a certain part goes in last. If Fidgel puts it in now, he'll have to take the whole ship apart. However, Fidgel ignores his future self's advice. Michelle runs over to them and exclaims that Kevin is getting younger. Fidgel realizes that the time machine has affected Kevin directly. If he keeps de-aging, he'll become an egg.
Fidgel is trying to get a piece to fit into the Rockhopper. Future Midgel tells him he's wasting his time. Future Fidgel tells his past self that he now has to take the ship apart. Fidgel then realizes that he should have listened to his future self. He asks Jason how the time machine is. Jason answers that it wasn't damaged too badly, he just doesn't know if they'll be able to go back to their own time. Midgel suggests following the instructions he has. When Midgel gets the communications back up, he sees Zidgel hiding from his future self. Zidgel then contacts the Planet Obstantinople to let them know that they are late by about 75 years. He tells one of the inhabitants that they were to help out with what wattage bulbs to use. The inhabitant tells Zidgel that they don't use bulbs anymore and they realized older folks gave good advice. They did what the elders said and everything worked out okay. Jason realizes that Grandmum was right. Michelle remembers that verse that Grandmum said. Jason now knows to listen to his elders. Michelle points out that Jason didn't change the bulb and Grandmum is busy in the kitchen. Jason exclaims that they need to go back before the lampshade catches on fire. Zidgel assures him that the light bulb is burned out by now. Jason tells Midgel and Fidgel that they have to get off the planet fast. Fidgel says that they've tried everything. Jason points out that they haven't tried listening to their elders.
Future Midgel is giving his past self advice on how to repair the ship's engine. Future Fidgel gives his past self some advice on how to make the shields work. Future Zidgel notices Kevin has become an egg. When Zidgel asks if everything is ready, Midgel answers that the power crystals aren't ready. If the power crystal don't work properly, they can't take off. Jason points out that they're setting them to calibrations that are 75 years old. Midgel dismisses what Jason says at first, but his future self thinks he has a good point.
Before they take off, Midgel thanks his future self. The Rockhopper crew says goodbye to Zidgel's, Midgel's, and Fidgel's future selves. Future Midgel and Future Fidgel talk about how they miss the good old days. Future Zidgel, on the other hand, just misses his hair. Midgel then prepares to take off, which turns out to be a success. Jason activates the time machine, which also turns out to be a success. And Kevin is now back to his regular age. They get the message from before they went into the future. The message turns out to be from Future Zidgel, Future Midgel, and Future Fidgel. The message contains a warning to not mess with time and stop Jason before they face certain doom. And it also tells Zidgel to lay off the sweets. The Rockhopper then heads off to Grandmum's cottage.
Back at Grandmum's cottage, Jason is relieved to find out that a dim bulb is in the lamp. Grandmum tells him that she changed it, but he should have. Jason apologizes for not listening to her advice earlier. Grandmum says that Jason deserves a reward, her liver soufflé. Later that night, Michelle thanks God for everything, except the liver soufflé. Jason says that he deserved it, like Grandmum said.
Quotes
- Looks like they didn't get the transmission.
- Future Midgel
Fun Facts
Trivia
- The verse quoted is "Proverbs 19:20."
Remarks
- Even though it's President "No, I'm the President," his skin color is white.
- Technically what future Midgel and Fidgel are teaching their younger selves is a paradox, as now their past selves won't know how they'll learn the lesson in the future. thus creating a stable time loop.
- Even though Strap is an admiral, he is referred to as "Commander."
Goofs
- When the future versions of the penguins say goodbye to their past selves, Future Zidgel's mouth moves, but his voice is not heard.
Inside References
- Grandmum is once again seen wearing her pig and chicken oven mitts from Trouble on Planet Wait-Your-Turn and Wiki Tiki.
- The future penguins' house is a recolored version of Gamma Gulch's sheriff's office from The Legend of Galaxy Gus.
- Future Zidgel's outfit is colored blue, which is a possible nod to present Zidgel's original suit color as seen in early concept art of the show.
Real-World References
- The episode title might be a reference to the 1961 and 1986 films of the same name.
- Jason is reading H.G. Wells' "The Time Machine" at the beginning of the episode.
- Planet Obstantinople is named after Constantinople, the capital city of the Byzantine Empire.
Episode Transcript
Gallery
