Today is a day where instead of feeling bad for myself, I write a Pete and Pete review. Basically when the quarantine started in mid March I became very sad and unproductive. Then in April I went nuts and made a bunch of art and wrote one Pete and Pete blog post, which put me at 2 posts in 2 months - a record for this blog as of late, since I didn't post much of anything in 2019. Then in May and June I swung back into being creatively impudent. But guys, it's swinging back!
The episode that I'm covering is Time Tunnel. Like most story lines from Pete and Pete the theme centers around the fleetingness of time and growing up. At the very surface this episode is about the bitter sweet emotions that come with Daylight Saving Time ending. It's the end of long days; the official end to summer. But that sweet extra hour makes the impending winter all worth while.
As a kid Time Tunnel was one of my favorites - very iconic. I chose this episode mostly because one third to half of it involves Endless Mike, and I have been trying to do a bully theme with my posts. The rest of the episode involves drama between Big Pete, Ellen, and Little Pete. We also see Endless Mike at his most lecherous, but he also gets the best comeuppance possible.
These are the four plot points used in Time Tunnel that we have seen time and time again in other episodes:
1. Endless Mike ensnares Big Pete into making a fool of himself by feigning kindness and promise to bring him popularity.
2. Ellen and Big Pete's relationship is put into question. Are they a couple or just friends? Whatever happens, Ellen will get pissed at Pete.
3. Little Pete is upset with Big Pete for shunning their past rituals and traditions. It's about growing up and tossing away childish things, in which the resolution is always a combination of Little Pete having to accept the change, or Big Pete acknowledging that he's letting superficial insecurities stemming from being a teenager make him act like a shitty brother.
4. Little Pete plots to heroically defeat a mean-spirited bully, along with his sidekick Nona Mecklenberg. They are epic. They are awesome.
Time Tunnel
S2 E5 - Air Date: October 2, 1994
It's well past the end of summer, but the true death knells of the season come when Daylight Saving Time ends in October. Big Pete explains that some people get sad, but his little brother Pete believes that at midnight on that night, you get to go back in time.
It had become a time honored tradition that during that extra hour, the brothers Pete do something legendary. But this year, Big Pete just plain forgot. He was only thinking about the future...
With an inexplicable new lease on life, Big Pete exclaims to Little Pete that it feels like a day where you could do anything,
"You could write with your foot!"
Little Pete agrees that there's less gravity in the air, as he packs up his time-warping supplies with anticipation of the big day.
Big Pete confesses, "I'm gonna do it. After all these years of wondering, I'm gonna call Ellen and ask her on a date!"
It's clear throughout most of the series, Big Pete's at an age where he's more interested in fitting in at school or getting girls to like him than hanging out with Little Pete. At this point, it might be less about growing up, as much as it is about brothers growing into different people. I've said it many times, Big Pete is way more self conscious than Little Pete (with the exception of Little Pete's dance phobia which I covered in the previous post - the show's attempt at giving Little Pete at least one classic teen issue in season 3). And Little Pete has much more ingenuity, and cares more about platonic friendship bonds than his older brother does.
Big Pete knows that if Little Pete could, he wouldn't just go back 1 hour, but 10,000 hours. Lately Little Pete had such disdain for him, he avoided breathing the same air, quite literally:
Similarly, Big Pete also wished he could go back to a time when he and Ellen were definitely just friends, "before things got confusing."
S2 E5 - Air Date: October 2, 1994
It's well past the end of summer, but the true death knells of the season come when Daylight Saving Time ends in October. Big Pete explains that some people get sad, but his little brother Pete believes that at midnight on that night, you get to go back in time.
It had become a time honored tradition that during that extra hour, the brothers Pete do something legendary. But this year, Big Pete just plain forgot. He was only thinking about the future...
With an inexplicable new lease on life, Big Pete exclaims to Little Pete that it feels like a day where you could do anything,
"You could write with your foot!"
Little Pete agrees that there's less gravity in the air, as he packs up his time-warping supplies with anticipation of the big day.
Big Pete confesses, "I'm gonna do it. After all these years of wondering, I'm gonna call Ellen and ask her on a date!"
It's clear throughout most of the series, Big Pete's at an age where he's more interested in fitting in at school or getting girls to like him than hanging out with Little Pete. At this point, it might be less about growing up, as much as it is about brothers growing into different people. I've said it many times, Big Pete is way more self conscious than Little Pete (with the exception of Little Pete's dance phobia which I covered in the previous post - the show's attempt at giving Little Pete at least one classic teen issue in season 3). And Little Pete has much more ingenuity, and cares more about platonic friendship bonds than his older brother does.
Big Pete knows that if Little Pete could, he wouldn't just go back 1 hour, but 10,000 hours. Lately Little Pete had such disdain for him, he avoided breathing the same air, quite literally:
Similarly, Big Pete also wished he could go back to a time when he and Ellen were definitely just friends, "before things got confusing."
They show clips from the Valentine's Day Massacre TV Special, where Pete and Ellen bury the school mascot (a squid) after accidentally killing it, and Day of the Dot (Season 1 Episode 2) where Pete and Ellen practice for the marching band, get into a flight, and then ultimately end up kissing for the first time (something that is never really addressed again, maybe until this episode).
"Ellen was a girl, and a friend." Big Pete declares, "Finally I had to know, was she a girlfriend?
He tries to call her on a variety of hilarious phones, and in different quirky areas of the house. Finally the top of a tree outside Ellen's house was just right.
Big Pete tries to get the conversation going. He asks if she noticed anything different about the gravity, and tells her to try writing something with her foot. Ellen goes along with it, because those Wrigley boys are weird.
Then he asks her something she wasn't expecting. "Would you like to go out on a date?"
Ellen is shocked, maybe pleasantly so. She says they've know each other for so long, as if to wonder why they haven't thought of this before. Ellen says yes. In a very adorable moment, Ellen says she hears birds chirping, and Pete directs her to the window where she sees him hanging out in the tree. This shot of Ellen is used in her opening credits sequence in Season 3.
Meanwhile Little Pete has shed Big Pete from his time warping mission. Little Pete has wanted to do something so legendary that it would be immortalized with a souvenir slidey pen.
Little Pete continues on with his secretive, legendary plot, teaming up with Nona Mechlenberg, his new partner in crime. As Pete approaches with his paper bag of supplies Nona asks, "What do you have? Some chicken pot pies or something?" (I love the randomness. The way she delivers the line, it's funny every time.)
Little Pete's supplies include, Krebstar deodorant to seal your pores for the time warp, a mood ring (yellow means worried), and Riboflavin found in Kreblogg's Cosmic Rings cereal. If you don't have enough riboflavin you could get stuck in the time vortex.
On the other side of town Big Pete runs into Teddy and Bill, where Bill has bet Teddy two doll hairs to ride the mechanical horse. Teddy wants those doll hairs.
Big Pete confidently straddles the horse and announces that he's going on a date with Ellen. No one is impressed. Bill argues, "If it was gonna happen, don't you think it would have happened already?" Even Pete's friends know, like the audience, that Pete and Ellen have done this dance before and they're honestly sick of the 'will they wont they.'
Pete insists, today is the day that he finds out the truth, that he and Ellen are meant to be. He wagers that if the next car that drives by is yellow, he and Ellen are meant for each other.
Teddy says to make it a yellow school bus.
Suddenly Bus Driver Stu arrives in his yellow chariot. Opens his doors and requests Pete to "Get in." Pete happily enters the bus that's randomly picking up kids on a weekend, only to realize Stu has trapped him to vent about his failed relationship with Bus Driver Sally Knorp.
Stu seethes, "Sally left me again... over nothing!" But Stu has a plan.
"I'm driving my bus to the arctic circle where I'll tattoo Sally's name to my forehead, strap my self to an iceberg, and float slowly out to sea."
"Can I get off before then?"
Pete wonders if being in a romantic relationship is all that it's cracked up to be. Maybe this isn't a sign that they're meant to be, but a sign that he will end up bitter and alone like Stu.
Meanwhile, Little Pete and Nona are out on their mission, consuming as much riboflavin as they can, when evil enters the scene...
Endless Mike arrives in a... yellow car. And unbeknownst to Mike, his actions here will seal his fate.
Mike calls out to Nona, "You're new here aren't you?"
Nona was introduced as a new character in the first episode of this season, which I wrote about here. With Little Pete's maw full of riboflavin, he can't stop Nona from engaging with Endless Mike. She introduces herself and asks, "What's you're name?"
"What's my name??" Mike slams his door into their bikes, toppling them over.
"That. Is my name."
Mike laughs as he watches them pick themselves up off the ground.
"Boy you sure know how to party, Wrigley!" (referring to the cereal box).
"It's for time traveling you cheese pud!"
Then Pete asks the magic question. "Let me ask you one question Mike. Where you ever a kid?"
"Was I ever a kid? NO."
Endless Mike peels away.
As Pete's mood ring set itself to Red Alert, he knows exactly what to do to make this a legendary night.
"We'll see about that..."
By the early evening, Big Pete is wandering the streets. It's 3 hours till his date, and he doesn't even have a car. Then he sees Endless Mike. And Endless Mike sees him.
"What are you doing here carrot head? Spit it out or ill spit you out!"
Pete plainly asks Mike to borrow his car for a date with Ellen. Mike is intrigued.
"You don't say. Well, well, well. It's time you guys dropped the puck and played some tonsil hockey."
[I shudder]
"The only thing is tonight is my drive-in night, and I NEVER miss my drive-in night."
Pete is ready to walk away, he knew this was a big ask for Mike, and for someone who is essentially his own mortal enemy. But Mike insists. He tosses his keys to Pete.
"Ride like the wind soul brother"
Well, Pete can't drive. Mike agrees to drive Pete to the movie.
Little Pete and Nona walk out of Endless Mike's house just as they peel away.
Nona, dressed like a nurse, for reasons we will never understand, says, "What's your brother doing with that scuz monkey?" Little Pete, holding a circular saw, wisely observes, "The dark side beckons him... Let's get moving, I don't know, but this might be felony."
Now that Mike has Pete in his grasp, his territory, he can mold Pete into a creepy creep. Mike explains that he has to make the car a "cocoon of love" keeping the windows fogged at all times. His mantra: No fog, no fun.
Pete innocently asks, "How will we see the move?" Mike is flabbergasted. Mike shows Pete that if you turn the fan and the defrost button on at the same time "mixed with her hot steaming breath..." the windows will fog up, and you will have the privacy a young couple needs to go ahead and "hit the go button."
This is still a kids show so I don't know what they are implying here, ahem, but Mike hits the "Go" button and it drops both seats back. Mike's other mantra: You hit the go, and then you know.
"Welcome to the future Pete Wrigley, don't blow it."
As the day turns to night, one Pete preps for the past while the other Pete preps for the future.
At 9:27pm "wearing a new vest and nervous smile" Ellen enters the scene.
Ellen can't believe Mike would lend Pete his car, but she's too excited about their first date to wonder. Pete is also under a spell of love and optimism that makes him say, "Mike's not such a bad guy."
Meanwhile, Little Pete and Nona are infiltrating the drive-in. It's still unclear what the plan is, but we know that the Petes will have to collide eventually.
Then we are introduced to a a new character, the drive-in move emcee, Abilene Jones, played by Ellen Greene, the actress who played Audrey in the 1986 screen adaptation of Little Shop of Horrors.
In a perfect 50's retro ensemble, she has flaming red hair and cat eye glasses. Though she is gentle and calming in her delivery, Abilene can't help but get noticeably agitated when mentioning her ground rules. When people interrupt the movie by honking their horns, "that really steams my clams."
"Ellen was a girl, and a friend." Big Pete declares, "Finally I had to know, was she a girlfriend?
He tries to call her on a variety of hilarious phones, and in different quirky areas of the house. Finally the top of a tree outside Ellen's house was just right.
Big Pete tries to get the conversation going. He asks if she noticed anything different about the gravity, and tells her to try writing something with her foot. Ellen goes along with it, because those Wrigley boys are weird.
Then he asks her something she wasn't expecting. "Would you like to go out on a date?"
Ellen is shocked, maybe pleasantly so. She says they've know each other for so long, as if to wonder why they haven't thought of this before. Ellen says yes. In a very adorable moment, Ellen says she hears birds chirping, and Pete directs her to the window where she sees him hanging out in the tree. This shot of Ellen is used in her opening credits sequence in Season 3.
Meanwhile Little Pete has shed Big Pete from his time warping mission. Little Pete has wanted to do something so legendary that it would be immortalized with a souvenir slidey pen.
Little Pete continues on with his secretive, legendary plot, teaming up with Nona Mechlenberg, his new partner in crime. As Pete approaches with his paper bag of supplies Nona asks, "What do you have? Some chicken pot pies or something?" (I love the randomness. The way she delivers the line, it's funny every time.)
Little Pete's supplies include, Krebstar deodorant to seal your pores for the time warp, a mood ring (yellow means worried), and Riboflavin found in Kreblogg's Cosmic Rings cereal. If you don't have enough riboflavin you could get stuck in the time vortex.
On the other side of town Big Pete runs into Teddy and Bill, where Bill has bet Teddy two doll hairs to ride the mechanical horse. Teddy wants those doll hairs.
Big Pete confidently straddles the horse and announces that he's going on a date with Ellen. No one is impressed. Bill argues, "If it was gonna happen, don't you think it would have happened already?" Even Pete's friends know, like the audience, that Pete and Ellen have done this dance before and they're honestly sick of the 'will they wont they.'
Pete insists, today is the day that he finds out the truth, that he and Ellen are meant to be. He wagers that if the next car that drives by is yellow, he and Ellen are meant for each other.
Teddy says to make it a yellow school bus.
Suddenly Bus Driver Stu arrives in his yellow chariot. Opens his doors and requests Pete to "Get in." Pete happily enters the bus that's randomly picking up kids on a weekend, only to realize Stu has trapped him to vent about his failed relationship with Bus Driver Sally Knorp.
Stu seethes, "Sally left me again... over nothing!" But Stu has a plan.
"I'm driving my bus to the arctic circle where I'll tattoo Sally's name to my forehead, strap my self to an iceberg, and float slowly out to sea."
"Can I get off before then?"
Pete wonders if being in a romantic relationship is all that it's cracked up to be. Maybe this isn't a sign that they're meant to be, but a sign that he will end up bitter and alone like Stu.
Meanwhile, Little Pete and Nona are out on their mission, consuming as much riboflavin as they can, when evil enters the scene...
Endless Mike arrives in a... yellow car. And unbeknownst to Mike, his actions here will seal his fate.
Mike calls out to Nona, "You're new here aren't you?"
Nona was introduced as a new character in the first episode of this season, which I wrote about here. With Little Pete's maw full of riboflavin, he can't stop Nona from engaging with Endless Mike. She introduces herself and asks, "What's you're name?"
"What's my name??" Mike slams his door into their bikes, toppling them over.
"That. Is my name."
Mike laughs as he watches them pick themselves up off the ground.
"Boy you sure know how to party, Wrigley!" (referring to the cereal box).
"It's for time traveling you cheese pud!"
Then Pete asks the magic question. "Let me ask you one question Mike. Where you ever a kid?"
"Was I ever a kid? NO."
Endless Mike peels away.
As Pete's mood ring set itself to Red Alert, he knows exactly what to do to make this a legendary night.
"We'll see about that..."
By the early evening, Big Pete is wandering the streets. It's 3 hours till his date, and he doesn't even have a car. Then he sees Endless Mike. And Endless Mike sees him.
"What are you doing here carrot head? Spit it out or ill spit you out!"
Pete plainly asks Mike to borrow his car for a date with Ellen. Mike is intrigued.
"You don't say. Well, well, well. It's time you guys dropped the puck and played some tonsil hockey."
[I shudder]
"The only thing is tonight is my drive-in night, and I NEVER miss my drive-in night."
Pete is ready to walk away, he knew this was a big ask for Mike, and for someone who is essentially his own mortal enemy. But Mike insists. He tosses his keys to Pete.
"Ride like the wind soul brother"
Well, Pete can't drive. Mike agrees to drive Pete to the movie.
Little Pete and Nona walk out of Endless Mike's house just as they peel away.
Nona, dressed like a nurse, for reasons we will never understand, says, "What's your brother doing with that scuz monkey?" Little Pete, holding a circular saw, wisely observes, "The dark side beckons him... Let's get moving, I don't know, but this might be felony."
Now that Mike has Pete in his grasp, his territory, he can mold Pete into a creepy creep. Mike explains that he has to make the car a "cocoon of love" keeping the windows fogged at all times. His mantra: No fog, no fun.
Pete innocently asks, "How will we see the move?" Mike is flabbergasted. Mike shows Pete that if you turn the fan and the defrost button on at the same time "mixed with her hot steaming breath..." the windows will fog up, and you will have the privacy a young couple needs to go ahead and "hit the go button."
This is still a kids show so I don't know what they are implying here, ahem, but Mike hits the "Go" button and it drops both seats back. Mike's other mantra: You hit the go, and then you know.
"Welcome to the future Pete Wrigley, don't blow it."
As the day turns to night, one Pete preps for the past while the other Pete preps for the future.
At 9:27pm "wearing a new vest and nervous smile" Ellen enters the scene.
Ellen can't believe Mike would lend Pete his car, but she's too excited about their first date to wonder. Pete is also under a spell of love and optimism that makes him say, "Mike's not such a bad guy."
Then we are introduced to a a new character, the drive-in move emcee, Abilene Jones, played by Ellen Greene, the actress who played Audrey in the 1986 screen adaptation of Little Shop of Horrors.
In a perfect 50's retro ensemble, she has flaming red hair and cat eye glasses. Though she is gentle and calming in her delivery, Abilene can't help but get noticeably agitated when mentioning her ground rules. When people interrupt the movie by honking their horns, "that really steams my clams."
With the romantic black and white movie That Kind of Woman to set the mood, by 10:51 DST, Pete attempts to make contact - with Ellen's shoulder.
The second his fingers touch her new vest, Ellen retreats. These are new touches with new meanings behind them. It's just a little too much to process. Ellen makes the excuse to get some popcorn and jumps out of the car.
Feeling like he has to speed things along, Pete starts to create the cocoon of love. It's not happening fast enough, so Pete hyperventilates trying to fog up the windows. He passes out onto the car horn.
The horn get's Abilene's attention. Thinking it's another jerk without a true appreciation for cinema, she rises from her desk chair to see what's the matter.
By coincidence, Little Pete and Nona are disrupting the movie with the scary baby doll from Nona's bike. Now that they have her attention, the goal seems to be to get Abilene to leave her post and come to the roof.
"Hi kids. Ready to die?"
Ellen re-enters the car to find Pete on the steering wheel and she revives him. Pete tries to jump straight back into lover-boy mode, and it makes Ellen very uncomfortable.
She comments on how he put the roof up, and how it's hard to see the movie with the windows all fogged up. Ellen laughs nervously when Pete calls her "sugar loaf."
Ellen suggests that they take it slow. Pete argues that they have been going slow their whole lives. He asks, "Don't you want to know?"
Before Pete can lean in romantically, Ellen says "All I want to know is... Can you get me some Jujubes?"
In spite of the obvious deflection, Pete says with swagger, "Sure thing honey pie." and immediately he doesn't feel right about it.
As Big Pete leaves the car for the concession stand, Little Pete spies him from the projector window.
"Snot on a cracker! Where's Endless Mike?"
Clearly Little Pete was counting on Endless Mike to be in his own car on drive-in night, the event he never misses. Little Pete accosts Big Pete by the snack bar.
Big Pete is surprised to see his little brother. "What are you doing here?"
"Nothing now, thanks to you! You blew it big time. You forgot!"
Coming back to the car, confused and desperate, Big Pete decides to take the final step and hit the Go button. Ellen is understandably upset by the malfunction of her seat as it propels her on her back.
Pete hit's his button to fly back and join her. Ellen is exasperated. "What are you doing!?"
Calmly, Pete explains, "Its the final test for us Ellen."
Ellen doesn't understand this sudden change in Pete's personality. "You're not acting like yourself! You're acting like - Mike?!"
To everyone's shock and horror, Endless Mike is peering over the car door. Even Little Pete sees him, knowing now that hope is not lost for his legendary act against Endless Mike.
"I wanted to stop by and see how the young lovers are doing."
As he invites himself into the back seat of the car, Mike remarks, "I must say I'm extremely disappointed in your cocoon of love." Pete is mortified as Mike critiques him on his use of fog in front of Ellen, revealing a sleazy plot that - maybe - Big Pete didn't think was so gross until he tried to put it into practice on a young woman he has strong emotional ties to.
Ellen comes to realize Mike was orchestrating more than just the ride for the date.
"No fog no fun, is that all you think of me, after all these years, all we've been through!"
She flees from the car and runs off into the night, Pete yelling after her. All Mike can do is roll his eyes and laugh, "Was it something I said?"
Meanwhile, the clock strikes midnight and the time warp begins.
The town of Wellsville travels in time back to 11:00 PM, and the universe can be set right once more by some brave souls.
On the roof, we see that Little Pete and Nona have somehow tied up Abilene, so Little Pete can work the projector.
Ellen comes to realize Mike was orchestrating more than just the ride for the date.
"No fog no fun, is that all you think of me, after all these years, all we've been through!"
She flees from the car and runs off into the night, Pete yelling after her. All Mike can do is roll his eyes and laugh, "Was it something I said?"
The town of Wellsville travels in time back to 11:00 PM, and the universe can be set right once more by some brave souls.
On the roof, we see that Little Pete and Nona have somehow tied up Abilene, so Little Pete can work the projector.
Abilene asks Nona, "What's going on here?"
Nona confidently replies, "History."
Little Pete grabs the mike and makes his announcement. "We interrupt this presentation of That Kind of Woman to bring you Endless Mike: The Early Days...."
At this point Little Pete has Endless Mike's attention. His plan did not go to waste.
To Mike's dismay and everyone else's amusement, his old home movies from childhood are playing on the big screen.
Mike screams in a passionate combination of despair and horror. I have to say watching this as a kid, I almost felt bad for him.
Endless Mike frantically runs around to every car screaming, "Go home! There's nothing to see! Close your eyes!"
Then Little Pete makes his announcement to Big Pete.
"Pete listen up, when you forget about me I want to forget about you, but I can't. There aren't too many of us time travelers left."
Big Pete suddenly realizes, "It's tonight?"
"You've got one hour to do one thing you always wanted to do. So go do it nimrod!"
With a crisp salute, Big Pete abandons Mike's car to go get Ellen back. When he catches up to her she gives him an earful.
"Leave me alone! it's late enough as it is, my father is going to kill me!"
Pete reminds her that it's Day Light Savings, so it's technically 11:00 PM, not Midnight.
"We have a second chance, we can live this hour over again."
Ellen is still very upset. She feels the way Pete acted during the date proved he had never cared for her as a friend.
Pete says, "I know I'm sorry, I got lost in the future and I know that sounds weird but I just want to be friends again."
Ellen agrees, "Maybe that's what we were supposed to be."
When Pete and Ellen get to her front door, Ellen says good night with a hug, and then at the last second, leans in for a kiss.
Pete narrates, "In the end I realized there are some things you just can't force. At best you can turn the clocks back an hour once a year."
Meanwhile, Little Pete was riding his bike as fast as he could, away from Endless Mike. As he peddled his way to glory, Little Pete got to time travel again by passing over the Central Timezone.
And just like he hoped, they did make a sildey pen to commemorate this legendary night.
They are very rare, but you can find one if you look hard enough. The episode plays out with Polaris, She is Staggering.
Nona confidently replies, "History."
Little Pete grabs the mike and makes his announcement. "We interrupt this presentation of That Kind of Woman to bring you Endless Mike: The Early Days...."
At this point Little Pete has Endless Mike's attention. His plan did not go to waste.
To Mike's dismay and everyone else's amusement, his old home movies from childhood are playing on the big screen.
Mike screams in a passionate combination of despair and horror. I have to say watching this as a kid, I almost felt bad for him.
Endless Mike frantically runs around to every car screaming, "Go home! There's nothing to see! Close your eyes!"
Then Little Pete makes his announcement to Big Pete.
"Pete listen up, when you forget about me I want to forget about you, but I can't. There aren't too many of us time travelers left."
Big Pete suddenly realizes, "It's tonight?"
"You've got one hour to do one thing you always wanted to do. So go do it nimrod!"
With a crisp salute, Big Pete abandons Mike's car to go get Ellen back. When he catches up to her she gives him an earful.
"Leave me alone! it's late enough as it is, my father is going to kill me!"
Pete reminds her that it's Day Light Savings, so it's technically 11:00 PM, not Midnight.
"We have a second chance, we can live this hour over again."
Ellen is still very upset. She feels the way Pete acted during the date proved he had never cared for her as a friend.
Pete says, "I know I'm sorry, I got lost in the future and I know that sounds weird but I just want to be friends again."
Ellen agrees, "Maybe that's what we were supposed to be."
When Pete and Ellen get to her front door, Ellen says good night with a hug, and then at the last second, leans in for a kiss.
Pete narrates, "In the end I realized there are some things you just can't force. At best you can turn the clocks back an hour once a year."
Meanwhile, Little Pete was riding his bike as fast as he could, away from Endless Mike. As he peddled his way to glory, Little Pete got to time travel again by passing over the Central Timezone.
And just like he hoped, they did make a sildey pen to commemorate this legendary night.
They are very rare, but you can find one if you look hard enough. The episode plays out with Polaris, She is Staggering.
To revisit the four plot points I listed at the beginning of this post,
1. Endless Mike ensnares Big Pete into making a fool of himself by feigning kindness and promise to bring him popularity.
Mike knows that Ellen and Pete have a solid friendship, and that Ellen is a very sincere person. Therefore, he knows that teaching Pete how to woo a girl the Endless Mike way will never work. He does this purely for the entertainment, since Pete's request for help is cutting into his drive-in night. Big Pete just wants to be a successful human. He wants to be liked, he wants to be popular, he wants his relationship with Ellen to be the best thing ever but he doesn't really know what that means to him. Pete looks to other people for that answer when he should be searching his heart for the answer.
2. Ellen and Big Pete's relationship is put into question. Are they a couple or just friends? Whatever happens, Ellen will get pissed at Pete.
Once again hormones flare, and Pete's feelings about Ellen become confusing. He thinks he wants to do boyfriend-girlfriend stuff with Ellen but doesn't know how to approach this without being creepy - mostly because he gets terrible advice from people. Pete thinks if Ellen is on a date with him that they both have to change into saccharin movie tropes in order to fit these new roles as "more than just friends." What does society say about how we're supposed to act when we're in love?
Pete changes his persona, and Ellen does not play along. Ellen is a remarkably mature teenager and she knows what it means to be treated with respect. Seeing Pete flip his personality makes her uncomfortable, and he won't take the hint! Finding that Endless Mike coached Pete on how to seduce her is the last straw. Mike's involvement in this date - and his voyeurism - make it look like a grand plot between Pete and Mike to violate Ellen. It makes Pete look like he only cares about impressing Endless Mike, and not about developing his relationship with Ellen.
3. Little Pete is upset with Big Pete for shunning their past rituals and traditions.
The ritual in question is the DST time warp. The Pete's always strive to do something spectacular with their extra hour, but this is the year Big Pete is too preoccupied with girls to remember. Little Pete gives him the cold shoulder, but Big Pete is oblivious. Little Pete is able to move forward with his plans with the help of Nona, a friend his own age.
It seems like Little Pete has pretty much no time to worry about Big Pete's involvement. The point where he actually gets upset with Big Pete is when he realizes Endless Mike is not at his scheduled drive-in night because Big Pete is in his place. This effectively ruins the scheme, and if only Big Pete knew what day it was, he might have joined in or at least avoided this location. In the end, Little Pete is able to get revenge on Endless Mike, and he gives a heartfelt message to Big Pete. Little Pete is able to shed his anger, and instead truly expresses his feelings to Pete - and a friendly reminder that it's DST, giving Big Pete the opportunity to seize the night.
4. Little Pete plots to heroically defeat a mean-spirited bully, along with his sidekick Nona Mecklenberg. They are epic. They are awesome.
After Endless Mike ruthlessly and violently knocks Pete and Nona off their bikes, Little Pete has his eyes set on revenge. He turns the question "Mike... were you ever a kid?" into a bomb shell.
No? Well we'll see about that.
Little Pete and Nona somehow get their hands on Endless Mike's childhood home movies. We see Nona leave in a nurse's uniform and Pete has a circular saw, but we don't see any scenes from inside the house, or any of Mike's family members. Mike is probably living with his parents, because although he seems ageless and weird, it's established that Mike is still in high school.
All Little Pete and Nona have to do is get these films on the big screen at the drive-in, where Endless Mike is sure to be. Even though Little Pete thinks his night is ruined by Big Pete, Mike comes in right at the end of the movie to sneak a peek at Pete and Ellen. This will be Mike's downfall, because his chubby potty training days will be played for the whole town to see. Yes you were a kid, Mike.
This is a classic episode that has such a great variety of what makes The Adventures of Pete and Pete the best kids show of the 90s. It displays Little Pete's DIY ingenuity, his friendship with Nona, Nona's quirky personality, the violence and lechery of Endless Mike, the virtue and integrity of Ellen, Big Pete's growing pains and lack of social literacy, there's a good celebrity cameo, and you even get to see glimpses of Wellsville residents Bill, Teddy, and Bus Driver Stu.
I'm currently trying to come up with some new merchandise for my Slushenminer shop. Maybe I will make something related to this episode...
