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"A SCENT, A MEMORY, A FAR DISTANT CHEESE"
Written By: Bob Forward
Produced By: Tom Tataranowicz
Directed By: Tom Tataranowicz
Executive Producer: Rick Ungar
INTRODUCTORY SUMMARY NOTE
Okay! No more of that "this episode has a moral so obvious that you don't actually have to watch it to get it" crap! "A Scent, A Memory, A Far Distant Cheese" is pure entertainment (and good entertainment at that! )! This one also features cameos by some of the villains seen previously in the series, including Tunnel Rat and 'Lectromag. Also, to clear up any confusion, I refer to the large, magenta monster Limburger summons as "Munsterella." The way it's pronounced several times, it sounds like it could be "Monsterella." I chose the former as it follows the show's cheese motif.
EPISODE SYNOPSIS
The sun is just beginning to rise at the start of this episode. It breaks slowly over the Chicago skyline, illuminating the sky. Buildings appear out of the darkness, reflected in Lake Michigan's serene surface. Soon, people will begin to waken, and honking cars and trucks will fill the streets as the city comes to life.
Among those who are already awake are the Biker Mice from Mars. We find them dressing at their home in the Quigley Field Scoreboard (once again, a missed opportunity for some real fan service here--the most we see is Vinnie pulling on his bandoleers and Throttle putting on his glove). They do it in total silence, which is unusual, because the mice seem to have difficulty doing anything in total silence. They put on their helmets, mount their bikes, and jump their bikes out of Quigley without so much as a "Rock n' Ride!" What's more, they actually use a door.
…
This is getting weird. Who are you, and what have you done with the Biker Mice?
Meanwhile, at Limburger Tower, Lawrence Limburger is still fast asleep as sunlight creeps in through his windows. He's not wearing his usual human disguise (although the mask is on a small stand next to his bed). In fact, he doesn't appear to be wearing anything at all (curiously, throughout the entire series, the only ones who appear nearly naked are Limburger and Greasepit), but don't be afraid--everything is covered. He snores and rolls over.
The Biker Mice continue to ride through the city, their purpose as yet unstated. They ride in silence, leaping over pits Limburger has dug in the streets and taking out the spider-like backhoes that dug them. Their usual levity is somewhat subdued, although Modo catches one goon blasted out of his vehicle in a garbage can labeled, "Put Trash in Its Place."
Limburger continues to slumber, unaware of any danger up until the second when the Biker Mice burst through his bedroom window. At that moment, of course, he snaps awake (wouldn't be much of a story if he just slept through the whole thing, now would it?).
"Wakey-wakey!" Vinnie yells cheerfully.
"Rise and shine!" Throttle cries.
"Oooh, rise and stink is more like it!" Modo corrects, holding his nose.
Limburger sits up in bed and shouts angrily, "Biker Mice!?" His shock quickly turns to annoyance as he pulls his sheets up around him. "What an unpleasant awakening!"
"Well, gettin' an eyeful of your ugly mug first thing in the morning is no picnic, either, pal," Throttle replies, crossing his arms over his chest.
"So up and at 'em, fish-face! You're comin' with us!" Vinnie demands playfully.
"Oh really?" the Plutarkian asks acidly. "You will excuse me while I put my face on?" He lifts his human mask from the table at his bedside and slips it on over his head (for anyone who doesn't get the joke, when a woman says she's "putting her face on", she means that she's applying makeup, in effect "putting on" her most glamorous and attractive face. Limburger is actually putting on a face, and in the same way, is putting on the face that allows him to effectively function in the human world. Get it now?).
"Ahh," Limburger sighs. "That's better."
Modo chuckles.
"Looked in a mirror lately?"
"Now, what is the meaning of this unwarranted intrusion?" the fish asks.
"Well, now, that's pretty simple, even for you, liver lips," Throttle snarls.
"We're takin' you down!" Vinnie declares.
"For trashin' our town!" Modo adds.
Throttle nods, holding up a pair of handcuffs.
"Yeah. It's called citizen's arrest, you rancid cheese rind. Get used to the idea."
He throws the cuffs at Limburger, who has been listening with casual disinterest to the entire conversation. The Plutarkian stares at the shackles with a look of disgust, as Throttle concludes, "Oh, and put these on. And I mean now!"
"Or, we'll do it for you," Vinnie snarls.
"And not very politely," Modo threatens.
Limburger, however, is not fazed by any of this. He actually seems to be slightly amused. The Plutarkian picks up the handcuffs, but instead of clapping them on his own blue-skinned wrists (come to think, the mice probably should've let him get dressed first, as it's going to be hard for him to get a shirt on in handcuffs), he begins spinning them on one finger in jest.
"Oh, please, spare me the bravado, you biker buffoons," Limburger laughs. "Do you truly suppose you've caught me unguarded?"
The three mice are amused by the Plutarkian's words.
"Well, we caught you in bed," Throttle reminds their would-be prisoner.
"In your skivvies!" Vinnie laughs.
"Yeah, and none of your goons around to hold your hand!" Modo chuckles, grinning.
"So basically, uhhhh, yeah, I'd say you've been nailed, bud," the leader of the mice finishes coolly.
"An erroneous assumption, I assure you, you vapid vermin," Limburger replies in a jovial, amused tone (but with a hint of disgust). "For you see, I anticipated it was only a matter of time before you attempted such a pathetic stunt as this."
Limburger picks up a small remote control.
"So I took…precautions."
He presses one of the buttons on the remote.
Instantly, the floor directly under the Biker Mice opens up, revealing a hidden trapdoor. The three of them fall into a long tunnel--at the bottom of which is a floor covered in long, pointy, extremely deadly-looking spikes.
"Get the point?" Limburger asks, smiling.
"Drop in anytime, Biker Mice!" Limburger shouts down the shaft as he waves goodbye to his foes. He uses the remote control to close the trap door, at which point he disappears from view.
"Looks like Limburger had this reception all planned!" Vinnie laughs as they continue falling toward the spikes.
"Yeah, and we're the hors d'oeuvres!" Modo shouts.
"Not yet, bros," Throttle reminds them, sounding surprisingly cheerful for someone within ten feet of becoming shish kebab. "Fire jets!"
Just before their bikes' tires would be impaled on the spires below, the Biker Mice fire their jets. Instantly, bright golden-red flames shoot out of their rides, propelling them upward and out of harm's way.
In Karbunkle's lab, Limburger's personal mad scientist is busy doing something to Fred the Mutant, although I'm not exactly sure just what. I'd guess that he's giving the midget mutant a brain massage, given the way Fred is mumbling, "Oh, yeah, scratch to the left." His brain doesn't appear to be in his head, but, Hell, that's never stopped Fred from maintaining normal functions before. The mutant's legs kick playfully, like a dog being tickled in just the right spot.
Suddenly, an alarm sounds.
"Intruder alert! Intruder alert!" Karbunkle shrieks, shoving a police car-like globe light into the mutant's empty cranium. Fred's head spins around crazily as red light streams across the room, the little mutant happily shouting, "Dive! Dive! A-woo-gah! A-woo-gah!"
How this helps stop the intruders or just who Karbunkle is alerting, I have noooooo idea. Ah well.
Just then, the Biker Mice break through one of the lab's walls (the animation here is pretty cool--the mice break through at slightly different times, and sort of hang in the air for a second when they do).
"Hickory, dickory, doc," Throttle calls out.
"We've come to clean your clock!" Modo shouts.
Vinnie just "Aooow!"'s as the mice launch a volley of lasers and missiles at the deviant doctor. Karbunkle screams and flees from them, shouting, "Stop! Please! I'm a man of science, not action!"
The vivisectionist dashes out a door at the end of a long bridge running from the center of the lab. The missiles continue to fly even after the door closes, culminating in one of the largest pointless explosions in the show's entire run. Pointless because the wall doesn't fall, even after it takes all that considerable damage.
So it's a surprise, then, that just one blast from the other side of the wall manages to not only blast a hole in it, but also to send the Biker Mice flying halfway across the room. When the smoke clears, we see Karbunkle at the front of a small army of goons. The scientist is cradling a huge laser in his arms, apparently the one that made the hole (or at least, the one that played a major part in it). Interestingly, it appears to be the same oversized laser Vinnie had in the basketball segment of "The Reeking Reign of Head Cheese Part One." Must be a popular model.
"Of course, I do make the occasional exception," he explains, grinning.
Immediately, Limburger's henchmen begin firing away at our heroes, who, realizing that the tables have turned completely, begin riding off in the other direction, dodging the lasers as they go.
"Well, I hate to say it, bros," Throttle sighs, "but it looks like we missed our chance to catch Limburger by surprise."
"Aw, man, bummer!" Vinnie howls. "For this we skipped breakfast?"
"Yeah! Ah hate fightin' on an empty stomach!" Modo shouts. His stomach begins rumbling loudly. Modo grins, embarrassed.
"I hear what you're sayin'," the leader of the mice concedes (though whether he's talking about his bros' statements or Modo's stomach is left up to the viewer to decide). Let's bail!"
The three of them pop wheelies, shout, "VE'LL BE BACK!", and jump their bikes out one of the tower's windows. They hit pavement, and immediately begin making breakfast plans.
"So, who's for a cheese danish?" Modo asks (I love the tone he asks this in, because it's very casual, not at all like that of someone who was in danger of being blown to bits by lasers a second ago. It's an especially vivid contrast to the cold, silent Modo from the beginning of the episode).
"Uck! Not me! I hate cheese!" Vinnie declares proudly.
"Hate cheese?!" his bros ask, stunned.
"Man, Vinnie, you are one heck of a mouse, you know that?" Throttle says with a sarcastic smile (this is one of the weird moments of the show-the mice constantly declare that they hate cheese, and yet, in this episode, Modo and Throttle chide Vinnie for saying it. Weird).
Limburger, now fully dressed (thank God!), angrily watches the mice depart his skyscraper (which is not to say he's glad to see them go). His jovial mood from the beginning of the episode is gone, probably a result of the Biker Mice having the nerve not to die after falling into his trap. The Plutarkian also seems particularly riled by the mice's invasion of his bedroom (hey, who wouldn't be, although there does seem to be a segment of the fan-base who wouldn't mind Throttle, Modo, or Vinnie breaking into their boudoir).
"Those vexatious vermin have entered this edifice for the last time!" the Plutarkian howls. "Never again! From now on, Lawrence Limburger is through playing patty-cake with those pusillanimous possums!"
"You mean you're gonna bring in another super-villain, boss?" Greasepit asks.
"Not this time, dear boy," Limburger answers. He draws himself up, declaring, "This time, I want the big guns, the whole wazoo! This time, I want more than villains--I want…..MONSTERS! Bring me…Gorgonzola and Munsterella!"
A moment passes with no apparent sign of activity. Limburger coughs a little, then asks, slightly annoyed, "My dear doctor Karbunkle?"
The scientist, who is standing next to the Transporter, cringes a little when he hears his name called.
"Yes, your fetid fragrance-ness?" he asks timidly.
"Perhaps I did not make myself clear. When I said I wished to teleport the monsters Gorgonzola and Munsterella--I MEANT NOW!"
The force of Limburger's scream is so powerful that it sends Greasepit flying halfway across the room. Karbunkle is only able to keep from flying away by grabbing on to one of the Transporter's levers and hanging on for dear life. Once the hurricane dies down, the mad scientist manages to find the ground, and tries to explain his misgivings to his employer.
"But there is a slight problem, your fetidness. The Transporter has been damaged."
Karbunkle motions toward the booth. His assessment seems accurate. While the Transporter appears to be in one piece, it's shooting sparks all over the place. You wouldn't use a toaster in this condition for fear of starting a fire. Imagine the consequences of using a broken Transporter: instead of being sent to the dentist down the street, you might end up teleported into the airless vacuum of space. Not a pleasant experience.
"Using it now might prove dangerous," Karbunkle warns, frantically trying to make the necessary repairs and adjustments.
Limburger is unfazed, however. He looms over the scientist and growls, "As dangerous as defying me?"
Karbunkle turns around nervously.
"Um, did--did I say dangerous?" he stammers. "Possibly, I meant--delightful?"
"THEN DO IT!" Limburger shouts.
The fat fish reaches forward and pushes the activation lever. Instantly, the Transporter begins to glow. But as a frightened Greasepit watches from behind a table, a strange reaction decidedly unlike what Limburger had in mind takes place. The Transporter's glow is much brighter than usual, suggesting that something is seriously wrong. Suddenly, an ethereal hand reaches out of the booth and grabs Limburger and Karbunkle. It drags them inside, screaming. A green flash lights up the room, and the two villains disappear from Limburger Tower.
They materialize in a long tunnel, being pulled God knows where (the two of them certainly don't). A second after Karbunkle and Limburger are out of sight, a pair of monsters shoots through the tunnel in the opposite direction. Both are bipedal humanoids with a decidedly reptilian appearance. The creature on the left--Gorgonzola--is male, colored aqua, and is casually flipping through a magazine. The one of the right--Munsterella--is female, colored magenta, and is filing her nails. Neither seems to be very aware of the fact that they're being teleported to another part of the galaxy. That, or they're used to this sort of thing and it doesn't phase them anymore.
Back at Limburger Tower, a stunned Greasepit wanders over to the Transporter.
"Whoah! Mr. Limburger and Karbunkle is both gone!" he mutters, sounding genuinely concerned.
For about a minute. Then he becomes excited.
"Fat city! That means this is my big chance!"
Just as the goon utters the last word in that sentence, the Transporter lights up once again. A cloud of smoke fills the room as the two monsters materialize just outside the booth. Given their size, they couldn't have materialized inside it without ripping it to shreds--both monsters are nearly as tall as the Transporter itself.
But no one is around to greet them…
"'Scuse me!" a voice calls out, seemingly from nowhere.
Gorgonzola looks around for a moment, then realizes the sound is coming from under his foot. He steps away, revealing a flattened Greasepit lying in the spot he was just standing in. Greasepit pushes himself into shape, seconds before Gorgonzola picks him up off the floor. He holds the greasy goon up as if he were a particularly disgusting bug.
"My gracious, who is this absurdly oily individual?" Munsterella asks.
"Yeah, chum. Where's the Big Cheese?" Gorgonzola asks the goon as he drops him on the floor. "He sent for us, right?"
Greasepit stands up and explains proudly, "Duh, the Transporter took him away. That means I'm the boss now. So you gotta do what I say."
"Oh, how too, too utterly dreadful!" Munsterella cries with fake sincerity. "Darling Mr. Limburger has vanished?"
"That's right," Greasepit replies.
"Which means you're in charge?" Gorgonzola asks.
"That's right," the goon repeats, pulling on the straps of his overalls proudly.
The two monsters look at one another and grin fiendishly.
"Noooooooo," they croon, looming over the goon. "That's wrong."
Greasepit releases his straps, which snap back into place. A look of fear fills his usually vapid face as the monsters' shadows creep over him.
But what of Lawrence Limburger and Karbunkle? Where did they end up?
The camera pans across a decidedly colorful piece of space, painted in bright reds and yellows. Comets streak across spiral-shaped galaxies, and large planets of various shapes, sizes, and hues dot the sky.
Eventually, we come to a large asteroid bearing a slight resemblance to a black coral reef. We move inside, to an odd-looking arena. Two small, squat aliens duke it out in a small ring, surrounded by a shouting, unruly crowd. Among them are 'Lectromag, the Loogey Brothers, the X-terminator, Corroder Cody, Evil Eye Weevil, and Tunnel Rat (essentially, every supervillain Limburger has sent against the Biker Mice thus far).
Right in the middle of the fight, a glowing gold portal appears above the ring. Out tumble Limburger and Karbunkle, who land right on top of the dueling aliens (given Limburger's size, the impact probably killed them). The two are initially a bit dazed.
Slowly Limburger stands up (with Karbunkle hanging on for dear life). He looks around and finds himself staring into the faces of his former employees (and numerous extras). While Limburger begins to look extremely nervous, the villains all look very glad to see him, but in a "I'm glad to see you because I'm going to break your head wide open" kind of way.
Karbunkle climbs off Limburger as the villains begin to move in around them.
"Um, excuse me, your Cheshire cheesiness," he hisses nervously, "but I don't think we're in Chicago anymore."
"Well, ain't this right (pronounced in such a way as to sound like 'rat') nice?" Tunnel Rat asks, stepping forward. "Look who's come for a visit, boys! It's the Big Cheese himself!"
He pulls his jackhammer/laser from his back and points it menacingly at the two new arrivals.
"Yes!" 'Lectromag agrees, pounding one glowing-green fist into the other. "The one who got our heads pounded by Biker Mice!"
"Right! And never paid us!" the rat snarls.
"N-now, now, gentlemen!" Limburger stammers, inching backward slowly. "Let us be--reasonable?"
'Lectromag raises a fist in the air and rallies his fellows around him.
"Let's give him a nice, big Black Rock welcome, boys!" he shouts.
Limburger and Karbunkle aren't stupid--they know what's going to happen. They race out of there just as 'Lectromag, Tunnel Rat, and the others leap upon the place they just were. The Big Cheese and his scientist sprint for their lives, screaming as they dash through the surrealistic landscape, with the supervillains right behind them.
Which is where we leave them for the time being…
The Biker Mice, meanwhile, are pleasantly unaware of the ramifications of their early-morning attack. As far as they know, Limburger and Karbunkle are still in Chicago, pouting, and there aren't two new villains in the city for them to contend with. Nope! Everything is hunky-dory! They're just doing what they always do after besting Limburger-preparing their bikes for the next time (after eating breakfast, I imagine). At the Last Chance Garage, the three of them fill up their bikes and equip them with the weaponry that they lost during this morning's ill-fated fight.
Throttle pulls a gas nozzle from his bike's tank.
"Well, that's it, bros," he announces. "Refueled--"
Modo adjusts a missile.
"Re-loaded--"
Vinnie pushes his bike's cannons back into place.
"--and ready to rock! AOOOOOOOW!" he crows, strumming an air guitar.
Suddenly, Vinnie's wallet slips out of his pocket and lands a few feet away on the floor (incidentally, if you've got a good pause button on your VCR and you freeze it at just the right place, you can see a few of the pictures, including that of a white-furred brown-haired girl. Just something to look for).
"What's this?" Charley asks, picking it up. She begins flipping through the pictures.
"Oh, it's just my wallet, Charley-girl," Vinnie explains, trying to snatch it from her. "Give it here."
"No way!" Charley laughs, pulling away.
Vinnie's ears droop. He pulls nervously at his bandanna.
"Hey, it's my wallet, come on!" he protests, grinning painfully.
"I just wanna see how many girls' pictures you carry in here!" the mechanic replies.
Vinnie looks up sadly, clenching his fists.
"Oh--oh my gosh!" Charley shouts. She begins laughing as Vinnie leans in around her to see what's so hilarious.
"What?" he asks defensively. "That's my baby picture!"
Charley can't stop laughing, even as Vinnie tries to grab the wallet. She manages to keep it just out of his reach.
"I know!" she chuckles, pulling away. "But where's your hair?"
"Oh, man, come on! I'm a mouse! We don't have hair when we're babies!" Vinnie cries.
"But you're sooooo fat!" the mechanic laughs. Throttle and Modo, their curiosity peaked, gather around Charley to see this picture for themselves, and immediately break out into wide grins of their own.
"Hey! A little chubby, maybe…" Vinnie disagrees.
"Chubby?" Throttle asks, chuckling. "Man, you look like Baby Huey with a tail!"
"And from the looks of things, you weren't potty trained either!" Modo laughs.
The three of them continue to bust a gut. Vinnie turns his back on the spectacle, trying to disguise his irritation by playing it cool.
"Well, my mom thought I was cute," he declares proudly. The mouse laughs proudly. "Heh! And look how right she was!"
Suddenly, Charley begins laughing again.
"Just look at this dinky little tail!" she chortles, pointing at the picture.
"Heh heh heh," Vinnie grumbles. "Very funny, Charley-girl. Neh, fun's over! Give it back before I--"
Vinnie tries to dash forward and grab the wallet (and its embarrassing cargo) out of Charley's hands, but she snatches it just out of his grasp. He trips and falls to the floor (more fuel for the humor factory).
Before anybody can make any more jokes at Vinnie's expense, however, a bright gold explosion lights up the Chicago skyline. The mice gaze outside in horror.
"Uh-oh, bros! Looks like the heat is on!" Throttle shouts, all business. The mushroom cloud-like residue of the blast is reflected in his sunglasses.
In another part of the city, meanwhile, Munsterella and Gorgonzola are making the most of Limburger's sudden disappearance, employing his goons to help them pull off a bank robbery. Their methods are a little different than the usual stick-up method--when the scene opens, the institution they're stealing from has been torn to rubble, apparently by the two monsters. They and the goons stand in a huge lake of cash.
"All right, you goons, start rakin' up that moola!" Gorgonzola orders.
Munsterella picks up a double handful of bills.
"Oooh, lovely, lovely money!" she titters.
A whistle stops them dead in their tracks.
"Sorry, you ugly creepazoids!" Throttle shouts.
"But there's a substantial penalty for illegal withdrawal!" Vinnie calls.
Modo raises his arm cannon.
"And you're lookin' at it!" he declares.
All the cannons and hidden weaponry begin popping out of the mice's bikes, aimed squarely at the two monsters.
"Gracious!" Munsterella exclaims. "How intimidatingly infused with--machismo!"
She turns to her mate and asks, "Are you impressed, Gorgy?"
"Not so's you'd notice, Drella," he replies, yawning. "Let's stomp 'em!"
The two place their thumbs in their mouths and begin blowing on them, as if to inflate themselves. And indeed, that does seem to be the effect. For with every puff, the monsters grow larger and larger. The Biker Mice gaze up in horror. The goons flee in terror. Soon, the two of them--who weren't very small in the first place--are larger than many of the Windy City's skyscrapers!
"Looks like our problem's gettin' bigger than we thought!" Throttle mumbles as he cranes his neck to try upward.
"Oh momma!" Modo cries.
He raises one giant foot to crush the three of them. The Biker Mice barely get out of the way before the giant pied comes crashing down.
"Okay, Vincent, keep 'em busy!" Throttle shouts quickly. "Modo and I will take them from above!"
The mice split up, with Throttle and Modo zipping up a skyscraper and Vinnie continuing down the street, luring the giants on. As his bros race from rooftop to rooftop, Vinnie leads Gorgonzola and Munsterella on a wild chase through the city. They aren't particularly considerate of the metropolis around them--when these two find they can't fit between a pair of buildings, they simply crush them and walk right through. They trample their way through the elevated train line, coming within a few yards of stepping on Vinnie!
"A little speed, bros, or I'm gonna be the latest in fashion footwear!" the white-furred mouse quips.
Throttle and Modo, meanwhile, finally find their perch-a building just behind the rampaging monsters, and slightly above them. The two mice stare at the torn-up city around their adversaries.
"Whoo, man! When these jokers take a stroll through downtown, they mean business!" Modo shouts.
"Yeah, so let's give 'em a warm civic welcome!" Throttle says, aiming his cannons downward. "NOW!"
The two fire a round of lasers, missiles, everything at Gorgonzola and Munsterella. Everything hits its mark. The resulting explosion covers the two monsters, as well as the screen (once again, the smoke from this one looks like a mushroom cloud).
"YES!" Throttle and Modo shout, high-fiving each other.
"Direct hit!" Modo cries.
"Yeah," Throttle agrees. "That should put a cramp in their style."
A pair of mammoth shadows cover the mice.
"Uh, Throttle?" Modo says quietly.
They turn and see Gorgonzola and Munsterella right in front of them, seemingly unharmed (given the effectiveness of lasers in this story, except on pumpkins--wait, wrong Biker Mice-oriented project!).
"We do beg your pardon," Munsterella begins.
"But does this hunk of junk belong to you?" Gorgonzola asks, holding out one of their unexploded missiles in his hand.
The two mice laugh nervously, then very quickly say, "Yeah," before getting their tails the Hell out of there. Just in time, as the monsters' fists come down a half-second later on the very spot where they had just been.
In fact, the monsters become so absorbed in clobbering the mice that they continue to pummel the building they were on without even realizing that Throttle and Modo had already leapt of it and had joined up with their bro!
"I thought you mamajammers were gonna take 'em down!" Vinnie laughs playfully (perhaps gibing at them for laughing at his baby picture earlier).
"Man, we hit 'em with our best shot!" Throttle protests.
"Didn't even rock 'em!" Modo adds.
"Which means we better roll," the leader of the mice concludes, looking back in his rear-view to see the monsters once again on their tails. "These babies have Limburger stink all over 'em. We need some answers, and I know just where to ask the questions."
Eventually, the bikers prove too quick for the gigantic but slow monsters to follow. That, or maybe the monsters just got bored. Either way, they stop short and watch the heroes disappear amongst the city's congested buildings and roadway.
"Oh, how too, too disappointing!" Munsterella cries. "The mice are turning tail!"
"They must have a 'flee' problem!" Gorgonzola gibes, edging his mate in the ribs.
The two of them begin laughing, but the second they do, a strange reactions takes place. They begin to grow smaller and smaller! For a moment, they disappear from sight. Suddenly, though, they reappear, blowing themselves back up to the proper size.
"Gotta watch that," Gorgonzola reminds the both of them.
The mice arrive quickly at Limburger Tower, breaking their way in through one of the large picture windows in Limburger's office. But no one is there to greet them. Not Limburger, not Karbunkle, not Greasepit, not even a single laser cannon. The mice skid to a stop without being threatened once.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" Modo calls out cheerfully. In a slightly less jubilant tone, he adds, "You reekin' cheese-log."
"Hey! He ain't here!" Vinnie complains.
"And from the smell of fresh air, he ain't been here for some time!" Modo adds.
Suddenly, the mice pick up the sound of muffled shouting coming from Karbunkle's laboratory. They race down there, break their way in, and find Greasepit stuffed into an Erlenmeyer flask. A single punch from Modo's arm breaks the goon free. He lands on the floor hard, sending up a spray of grease, covering the floor and the Biker Mice.
"Yuck!" Vinnie cries, wiping a large spot off his chest (you know how hard it is to keep white fur clean). "Talk about your toxic spills!"
Greasepit begins to laugh.
"Youse biker babies got big trouble now! Monster size trouble!"
His laughter stops quickly when Throttle grabs him by the throat and demands some answers.
"Start squealin', Greasepig. Where did these monsters come from? And where's that rancid cheese-breath boss of yours?"
"Duh, I don't know!" he stammers. "Somethin' went wrong with the Transporter! M-M-Mr. Limburger brought the monsters here, but then he got sent somewheres else!"
Through a nearby window, we see Munsterella and Gorgonzola wreaking havoc on the city.
"Now the monsters are takin' over!"
Throttle drops Greasepit like a bad habit, then turns to his bros as he wipes his hands clean.
"This is bad news, bros."
"Yeah," Modo agrees. "Them monsters are doin' more damage than Limburger would!"
"Cheese rind brought 'em here!" Vinnie chimes in. "He must know how to control 'em!"
"Sure, but now he's gone!" Modo reminds him.
"That means there's only one thing we can do," Throttle says as the mice stare out the window for a moment. There, they see Munsterella and Gorgonzola playing baseball. Instead of the usual equipment, however, they're using a small, two-story building and a larger, taller skyscraper as the ball and bat, respectively.
"Now, I know it stinks, but…" Throttle begins sadly.
"Aw, man!" Vinnie moans. "You don't mean--"
"Bingo. We gotta bring back the Big Cheese."
Back on Black Rock, Limburger and Karbunkle are still fleeing for their lives. Fortunately (for them), it appears that they have at last managed to evade their captors, at least for the time being. They pause behind a stone wall to catch their breath.
"This is all your fault!" Limburger pants.
"Mine?!?" Karbunkle snaps, kicking his boss in the shins (this is a change from his usual sycophantic behavior). "You were the one who pushed the button!"
(Maybe I'm mistaken, but didn't Limburger actually push a lever instead?)
"But you built the machine!" Limburger retorts, throttling the scientist. Frustrated, the fish asks, "Is there no escape from this asinine asteroid?"
He drops Karbunkle to the ground. After he catches his breath, he chirps, "I believe there is a Transport booth somewhere on the surface!"
"Then let us discover it!" the Big Cheese cries.
Just as he does, however, the cheated supervillains, lead by Tunnel Rat, break through the wall.
"Boys, boys, boys!" he laughs, putting his arms around the two of them.
Limburger and Karbunkle discover untapped reserves of strength as their race down the long, twisting road once more.
At Limburger Tower, meanwhile, the Biker Mice have brought Charley in to try and repair the Transporter (they also tied up Greasepit, just to be on the safe side). The mechanic is having a hard time, however--Plutarkian Transporters aren't exactly her standard fare. And this one is practically hostile. As she tries to do a little bit of laser-welding (at least, that's what it looks like), Charley is shocked and falls flat on her butt.
"Loose wire, Charley-girl?" Throttle asks, extending a hand to help her up.
Charley ignores the hand and rises to her feet, grumbling, "This thing's a mess! It's gonna take time."
"Well, time's one thing we don't have, Sweetheart!" Vinnie shouts, pointing out the window. "Look!"
The mice and the mechanic look outside. There are Munsterella and Gorgonzola, grinning toothily.
"Guess who's coming to dinner…."
Gorgonzola's hand suddenly breaks through the window.
"Would you care for some mouse munchies, Munsterella?" he asks, turning to his mate.
"Oh, Gorgy, you know what I like!" she replies, batting her eyelashes at him.
"Watch it, sweetheart!" Vinnie shouts, whipping a pistol from his hip. "These mice got teeth!"
He fires a round that his the monster square in the palm. Gorgonzola draws out his smoking palm, wincing (does anyone else see a slight lack of logic in the fact that all the lasers on Throttle and Modo's bikes didn't hurt these two a bit, but one blast from Vinnie's pistol burns Gorgonzola bad enough to force him to withdraw?).
"Poor Gorgy-baby!" Munsterella coos. "Munsterella kiss it, make it all better for oo?"
The mice quickly mount their bikes.
"Hold the fort, Charley-ma'am," Modo says.
"Yeah, we'll try to buy you some time," Throttle adds.
"'Cause us Martian highlight films are about to--" Vinnie begins.
"--rock--" Throttle shouts.
"--N' RIDE!" the mice cry, blasting their way through the windows, past the monsters, and jumping their bikes down to the streets below. Charley watches from the Tower.
"Sure, go out and play and leave me to do all the dirty work!" she shouts. Slightly more subdued, she whispers, "Good luck, guys. Watch your tails!"
Soon, the two monsters are chasing the Biker Mice through the city.
"Hey! Didn't we play this game before?" Vinnie asks.
"Yeah, but this time we're on Limburger's home field!" Throttle explains.
"You mean, we don't care if we trash the place!" Modo realizes.
"Exactly! So let's play dirty! Oil spill--now!"
Trios of small spigots shoot out of the rear end of the mice's bikes. Each one sprays a large brown puddle of oil out onto the road just behind them. When Munsterella steps in one, she slips, goes flying, and lands right on top of her beau, knocking them both to the ground.
She glances at the brown stuff on her heel and cries, "Eeeeeew! What's thiiiiis?!"
The triumphant mice pull to a brief stop, admiring their handiwork.
"The bigger they are--" Vinnie shouts.
"p-the harder they fall!" Throttle concludes.
"Yeah! Ah've heard that!" Modo agrees, slightly unsure of himself.
Suddenly, the monsters' shadows spreads across the three bikers once again as the two of them rise to their feet.
"Uh-oh! Guess again bros! They're back for a rematch!" Modo announces.
"And this time," Throttle says as Gorgonzola's hand reaches out for them, "it's personal!"
As yet, Limburger and Karbunkle are having zero luck finding that Transporter. While they once again seem to be free of their pursuers, they're now hip deep in a greenish swamp somewhere on Black Rock. A pair of piranha-like fish leap up out of the water and bite Limburger--where else?--square in the ass (cannibals!).
"Help me, you dilatory dolt!" Limburger orders.
"Forget it, your putrid patheticness!" Karbunkle shouts back as a piranha latches onto his scrawny little butt. "It's every man for himself!"
The two of them moan and groan as they fight their way through the murky water. Limburger suddenly slaps Karbunkle across the head, but before a fistfight breaks out, he spots something nearby, which he quickly points out to the deviant doctor.
"Ah!" Karbunkle cries. "The Transporter booth!"
Indeed it is! The Transporter booth! The two fiends are so delighted to have found it that neither can contain his excitement. They push and shove once another as they try to be the first one inside, arguing all the while, up until the moment they both pull the lever-only to discover a sign reading
OF
ORDER
hanging in the booth.
"Oh, drat," Karbunkle grumbles.
In Limburger Tower, Charley twists together a pair of wires, then lets them fall beneath the Transport booth's control panel.
"Phew," she mumbles, grabbing the lever. "I hope this works!"
She pushes it forward, and the top of the Transporter begins to glow gold once again.
"I hope it's in time."
"This is a most disconcerting development," Limburger sighs, gazing forlornly at the sign. "What will happen to us now?"
"Funny you should say that, Limburger," 'Lectromag purrs as he and the others villains appear around the booth. "'Cause we got some real fun plans for you!"
Limburger and Karbunkle begin screaming as the villains pounce on them--until the two of them are teleported away. As a result, all the minor baddies end up splashing down into the swamp.
Our heroes, however, aren't going to get off that easily. They've been snatched up by the monsters, with Gorgonzola hanging on to Throttle and Vinnie (one trapped in each hand), and Munsterella holding Modo. Their bikes are nowhere in sight (not that they'd be much use at the moment). You have to give Limburger credit--these nigh-unbeatable supervillains are among the best he's chosen to take on the Biker Mice.
"Mice for the midday meal!" Munsterella says happily. "How trés chic!"
"Hey! You can't eat me!" Vinnie declares as Gorgonzola licks his lips. "I'm too cool to die!"
Throttle, meanwhile, struggles against the monster's massive fist.
"Come on, Charley-girl!" he groans. "Get that Transporter going, pronto!"
Suddenly, a bright gold glow emanates from the laboratory, so strong that it's visible from outside.
"Huh?" the two monsters ask, puzzled.
"Yes!" Throttle cries, pumping a fist in the air. "Boy, talk about timing!"
Limburger and Karbunkle suddenly materialize inside the Transporter booth. Charley serves as the welcome wagon, although not a very warm one--she's got a pistol pointed at them.
"Don't try any funny stuff, you worthless fetta face!" she orders.
Limburger approaches slowly.
"I warn you," the mechanic growls, "I'm prepared for anything you might do!"
Suddenly, Limburger drops to the ground and begins kissing her feet, crying, "Thank you thank you thank you!" over and over again.
"Eww! Except for that!" Charley shouts, pulling away. "Get away from me, you stinking slimeball!"
"Simply expressing my temporary gratitude for a timely rescue," Limburger explains. "And now, that done--GRAB HER!"
It seems that, as Charley's attention was focused on Limburger, Karbunkle managed to make his way to Greasepit and untie him. As a result, Charley is caught totally off-guard when the greasy goon reaches from behind and grabs her.
"Gotcha!" he laughs, wrapping his arms around her neck.
"You oily orangutan! Let me go!" the mechanic shouts, trying to squirm free.
Suddenly, the whole building begins shaking. Outside, we see the two monsters kicking the bottom of the building, hard enough to leave huge holes in the bottom floors (and to think--it's usually the Biker Mice who inflict this kind of damage on Limburger Tower, not the supervillains hired to take them out!).
"Limburger, come out and play!" Gorgonzola catcalls.
"We thought we were rid of you, darling!" Gorgonzola shouts.
"Yeah! We're havin' fun takin' over this planet!"
"So, I'm afraid you'll have to be destroyed. I'm just too, too utterly…sorry."
They grin and bang fists.
"NOT!"
The two of them continue bashing the building, which makes it harder for those inside, who now have to contend with the shaking and falling plaster.
"Those rampaging reptiles are kicking the building down!" Limburger howls.
"We's gonna get pulverized!" Greasepit moans.
Charley is more frustrated than panicked. Bringing Limburger back was supposed to solve the problem--now things are even worse!
"Why did you bring them here if you couldn't control them?" she demands angrily. "Don't they have any weaknesses?"
"Only one advantageous Achilles' heel," Limburger replies. "They get weak when they laugh. But it's almost impossible to make them laugh!"
The shaking intensifies, and Limburger dives for cover.
Charley, however, has a sudden brainstorm.
"Laughter--laughter! That's it, that's the answer!" she cries. She manages to squirm free of Greasepit's greasy grasp during all the commotion (that, and Limburger falls right into him). The mechanic makes a beeline for the rooftop, saying, "I know just the thing to tickle their funny bones!"
Limburger Tower's base is beginning to look like Swiss Cheese Tower.
"One last kick should do it!" Gorgonzola declares.
"And then it's delectable dinner on Biker Mice!" Munsterella coos happily.
"With Limburger cheese topping!" he agrees.
"Hey! Mr. And Mrs. Monster!"
All eyes, including those of the Biker Mice, turn to Limburger's Tower's roof, where Charley is standing, waving her arms for attention.
"Before you eat, maybe you'd like to check out the appetizer!" she shouts, pulling something small and white from behind her back. The two monsters lean in for a closer look.
"Namely," the mechanic cries, holding it up proudly, "Vinnie's baby picture!"
"Oh man!" Vinnie howls. "Bad enough I'm gonna be monster mulch--I gotta be humiliated, too?"
The two monsters immediately begin to snicker.
"It's working!" Limburger cries, watching the scene unfold from his office. "That infuriating female is actually making them laugh!"
Meanwhile, the monsters are laughing their heads off. Their conversation sounds quite a bit like the Vinnie-roasting going on at the Last Chance before this whole mess got started. You can almost see embarrassment waves coming off Vinnie (if this were anime, we would see the embarrassment waves). One thing is for sure--when this is all over, that mouse is going to make every effort to destroy that picture (or at least hide it in a better place).
"That little hairless punk!" Gorgonzola laughs, pointing (ironically, Vinnie is in the hand he's pointing with).
"That dinky little--" Munsterella tries to say before she's laughing so hard she can't get the words out.
"Forget it. Forget it," Vinnie sighs, pulling off his bandanna. He ties it around his eyes, like a prisoner about to face the firing squad, and declares, "You can go ahead and eat me now."
Of course, he no sooner has it tied on than he's untying it, because just as Charley knew it would, the monsters' laughter is causing them to shrink. Within moments, they're back down to normal size, just a little bit taller than the mice themselves.
"That's better," Throttle says coolly as the gruesome twosome continue laughing their heads off.
"Yeah, look at that! Now you're on our level!" Modo proclaims.
"And that's right where we want you!" Vinnie says with a grin as he cocks his arm back.
BAM! K-SLAM!
A trio of perfect uppercuts (Vinnie and Throttle on Gorgonzola; Modo on Munsterella) KO the monsters before they even know what's hit them. They fall to the ground, unconcious.
"Let's get these goons up to the Transporter!" Throttle shouts.
Limburger turns to his subordinates.
"Mmmm, Perhaps discretion is the better part of valor," he muses.
"Huh?" Greasepit asks.
"RUN!"
That, Greasepit understands. The three villains of the piece beat feet out of the laboratory.
Soon, Munsterella and Gorgonzola are squished into the Transport booth and sent on their jolly way (still looking a little woozy). Charley smiles and dusts off her hands, announcing, "Well, that takes care of them."
"Too bad Limburger had to come back, though," Modo sighs.
"Yeah," Vinnie agrees morosely.
Suddenly, his face lightens.
"Hey! Wanna trash this place before we leave!" he asks excitedly.
"Nah, forget it, bros," Throttle says coolly.
"Aw, man! You're a buzzkill!" Vinnie groans.
"Well, I figure Limburger's had enough for one day."
"Yeah, and we still haven't had breakfast!" Modo reminds his younger bro.
"Make mine over easy!" Vinnie declares. "Let's RIDE!"
With that, the Biker Mice jump their bikes out of Limburger Tower and ride off, while Limburger watches from one of the lower floors. Despite the fact that they saved his poisson posterior, the Big Cheese is still miffed.
"Drat those destructive door mice!" he shouts. "Don't they ever use doors?"
"Well, uh, look on the bright side, your fulsome fragrantness," Karbunkle suggests. "At least your building is still standing for once!"
"Yeah!" Greasepit agrees, yanking a brick out of the wall. "There's a lot of loose bricks, though."
Suddenly, the whole tower is rocked once again.
"Greasepit, my dear, dear boy?" Limburger purrs.
"Yeah boss?"
"YOU ARE A LOOSE BRICK!"
Limburger's scream, combined with the tower's weakened infrastructure, causes it to collapse--as always, right on top of Limburger and company.
"Duh-was that a compliment, boss?" Greasepit asks.
The perfect end to a perfect day.
(duh duh duh duh duh duh duh duh duh duh duh duh duh duh duh duh duh duh!)
MY FEELINGS ON THE EPISODE
No contest. "A Scent, A Memory, A Far Distant Cheese" is the funniest first season episode of "Biker Mice," and possibly one of the most chucklacious of the entire series. I actually found myself laughing out loud while I wrote this review. The biggest comedic charge, of course, comes from the "Vinnie's Baby Picture" incident. Most of us know what it's like to be humiliated by mothers, grandmothers, etc. bringing out the embarrassing baby pictures, so it's hard not to feel empathy for Vinnie in this episode. The thing is, we never get to see the picture! It's the reactions of everyone to it that make the situation so hilarious. It's a very logical move on the part of the writers, because the fan can always imagine a more hilarious pic than what the artists could actually draw (for a good guess on the part of one of the best anthropomorphic artists on the web, check out Nakira's take on it).
Story-wise, this episode is great. Everything that can go wrong does, for just about everyone! Limburger is nearly destroyed by the supervillains he hired to destroy the Biker Mice twice--on Black Rock and back in Chicago! The Biker Mice's early-morning attack on Limburger goes horribly awry, and of course, I don't need to mention the baby picture incident again.
In a sense, the story is also about getting what's coming to you. Limburger puts himself in all the bad situations in this episode. If he had not been so impatient and had let Karbunkle repair the Transporter, he wouldn't have ended up on Black Rock. If he would've paid his former employees, he wouldn't have had to run for his life. Here's your important life lesson, kiddies--always settle accounts, or you'll be run down by freakish humanoid supervillains.
This is one of the first and only times when Limburger imports a villain(s) not to demolish Chicago (although they do) or to steal something (which they try to do), but strictly for the purpose of destroying the Biker Mice. In a way, he's doing something right here--bring in the villain, destroy the mice, and you won't have any trouble digging up Chicago anymore. The results are disastrous. Maybe that's why Limburger doesn't try the strategy more often. Also worthy of note is the fact that this is the first time we hear about Black Rock asteroid, which is where Greasepit was brought from during the Plutarkian War, way back in "Once Upon a Time On Mars Part One", which of course is a future episode that takes place in the past.
Have I confused you yet?
Can I bring up the baby picture scene again? This is a great bit to watch. Charley teases Vinnie like a scheming sister, and the way she manages to swing the wallet just out of his reach every time matches the mood perfectly. The voice actors are perfectly on cue. Music and animation are also particularly good for this episode, some of the best for the first season in both categories. My favorite scene for animation is, perhaps not surprisingly, the baby picture scene, because it looks very real.
I can't recommend this episode enough. You have to have this one in your collection. It's funny, it's well written--if you can just get past the near-naked Limburger in the first scene, you're on easy street. Like the rest of the first season episodes, this one is available on video. The tape is named "The Masked Motorcyclist", and also contains that episode. E-bay is a great place to pick up the first-season tapes, usually at a bargain price. Simply enter "biker mice" in the search field, and a listing of available Biker Mice products will be given. Amazon.com is another good place to go looking. Searching through Yahoo and AltaVista might also turn up video sources online. You won't regret your search. Good luck!
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