Episode 23: Recipe for Disaster
Original Air Date: May 26, 2012
Episode Written by: Tab Murphy, Directed by: Riki Matsuura
Article by: Purrsia



WB Summary:
When Mumm-Ra unleashes the deadly Sycorax upon them, the Thundercats must turn to an unlikely savior - a snake oil salesman named Ponzi whose potion is the only thing that repels the beast. Ponzi also provides Lion-O some helpful romantic advice as he begins to pursue Pumyra.

Purrsia's Synopsis:
Mumm-Ra is savoring his victory of having gained the Sword of Plun-Darr, and readies himself to take the form of what he hopes to be Lion-O's final destruction. Meanwhile, the 'Cats are two days out from Dog City, and once they meet up with Kit and Kat they can resume their search for the next stone. Lion-O and Pumyra are in the woods collecting firewood, and Tygra thinks Lion-O is setting himself up to be shot down...again. He does try to lay a line on her about having a softer side she doesn't let anyone see, and she steers the conversation back to the firewood mission. Lion-O nervously asserts he "didn't just walk her out there to get her alone"...and so the others may be right to be concerned about doomed romance!
His attempts to woo her backfire when a flower he presents Pumyra with squirts her in the face, causing comical facial swelling. It's not going too well for the king of Thundera.

Elsewhere, Ponzi is run out of a small village when the residents complain about his miracle elixir that isn't so miraculous. His vehicle loses a tire along the way, but lucky for him the ThunderCats happen by. He offers them his miracle elixir once he sees Pumyra's swollen face, and he's on his way as soon as Panthro fixes the wagon's tire. Pumyra refuses to take the potion, but soon they have bigger problems when Mumm-Ra arrives in the form of some kind of terrible, giant lizard creature.
Mumm-Ra is powerful in this form, and though Lion-O puts up a valiant fight, he ends up in a bad position. Just when it seems Mumm-Ra will finally destroy Lion-O, the elixir falls from Lion-O's er, pocket?, I guess and breaks on the ground. It unleashes fumes that disable the terrible beast, allowing Lion-O to escape and the others to rally. Worried the effects are temporary, the Thundercats realize they have to find Ponzi and get more elixir.

When the Thunder Tank catches up with Ponzi, he thinks they're pursuing him out of anger because things so often go awry with the potions and runs from them. He ends up crashing, losing all his equipment and smashing his potion bottles in the process. Once he realizes they want his elixir, rather than wanting to lynch him for selling it to them, Ponzi is overjoyed. He can make more, but they need to get to the only Caracara tree in existance, as that's what he makes the potion from.
Overnight, Panthro works on Ponzi's vehicle to repair it. In the meantime, Ponzi notices Lion-O admiring Pumyra from afar and guesses that he likes her. Lion-O feels it's a hopeless pursuit, however. Ponzi offers Lion-O his love potion, which is guaranteed to soften even the hardest heart. Lion-O puts a little into Pumyra's drink when she's not looking, but to his horror, Tygra comes up and takes a big drink of it instead!

The others are stunned by Tygra's suddenly sensitive hearts-and-rainbow act, and much hilarity ensues as he fawns over a cute catepillar. The effects are still with him into the next day, even as they reach the tree. The other leave him to his flower sniffing goofiness, and go about harvesting all the tree leaves for Ponzi. Only, Lucy ends up eating all the leaves. Scolded, the "selfish bug" climbs up the tree sobbing, just as the monster Mumm-Ra is heard approaching - and they have nothing to create more elixir!
The monster arrives, so the Thundercats try to keep it busy while Ponzi uses one last leaf to try to make something to help them. In the midst of battle, Lion-O saves Pumyra and gets a kiss out of the deal! Plus, Ponzi made a bit of potion so it looks as though the day is saved...until the potion had no effect! Bad batch, shrugs Ponzi, but now they're at a loss for how to deal with this creatue.

Suddenly, a huge moth comes to the rescue. It seems this whole time, Lucy has been in a cocoon, and has emerged to defend the group just in time. Super-charged with that which made the elixir so effective against the monster, Lucy was able to bring the creature down, crystallizing it. Mumm-Ra escapes in his avian form, vowing to return.
After all is said and done, Lucy and Ponzi leave to rebuild his business, turning down a chance to join the Thundercats on their travels. Tygra is finally over the effects of the love potion, and is back to giving Lion-O a hard time. Everything is back to normal!

Quotes:

"Pumyra isn't exactly the friendliest cat." - Cheetara

"I've never seen a head that big." - Ponzi to Pumyra

"I will not tire. I will not break. I will not rest, until you are destroyed!" - Mumm-Ra

"You mean if it wasn't for that crack pot's potion we'd all be dead?" - Panthro, uh being grateful? lol

"It's right there on the warning label - unwanted body hair, facial ticks, and explosive gas!" - Ponzi, pleading with the Thundercats once they catch up to him again.

"She lives with such passion and strength. I never met anyone like her." - Lion-O, on his feelings for Pumyra.

"You're the bestest little brother a big brother ever had!" - This is Tygra, on drugs.

Ponzi to Lion-O, concerning Pumyra: "Have you tried being yourself?"
Lion-O, reacting to something else: "NO!"
Ponzi: "Eh, you're probably right. That never works for me either."

"Instead of fighting, let's talk about our feelings!" - Tygra, still on drugs. He's a lover, not a fighter :)

"If you can't beat 'em, RUN 'EM OVER!" - Panthro. He's a fighter, not a lover ;)

Lion-O to Tygra: "How you feeling?"
Tygra: "Like you look."
Yep, things went back to normal! Guess Tygra had a love hangover hahaha!

Facts of Note:

The creature pulling Ponzi's wagon is named Lucy - looks like a snarf-a-pillar :)
Ponzi is a Wollo, creatures that were also in the original series.

Classic Compare/Contrast:

Several elements here harken back to the OS - for one, Ponzi is a Wollo, creatures that were a race in the original show. His design is pretty spot on to that of the classic species.
We also get to hear an extended version of the Thundercats opening theme during the fight sequence, the melody of which no classic series fan will miss. Also, Mumm-Ra refers to Lion-O as "Lord of the ThunderCats" - usually in this reboot he's referenced as King, rather than Lord as in the original. So it caught my ear to hear Mumm-Ra use the more familiar title from back in the day, as it were.
When Lucy morphs into her moth-like form, it did remind me a bit of the Diamond Fly from the old series (see: Queen of 8 Legs), in design.
Of course, it's classic that they had Tygra be the one "on drugs" (see: Garden of Delights and Crystal Canyon) and here to hilarious effect, rather than for the purpose of a more serious message.
The old series had a peddler of BS and potions in Captain Bragg, but thankfully Ponzi was imho a far better version of the con/snake oil salesman archetype and didn't have the issues a lot of fans had with Bragg. This reboot does NOT need a version of Circus Train! This ep balanced Overgardian elements of humor w/o going too far over the top.

Purrsia's Two Cents:

The humor in this ep really pushed my rating of it up a notch, and I gotta give this one five paws. It was hilarious in spots, but also had enough adventure, drama, romance and action to round it out. For me, it was very entertaining...Tygra was cracking me up! And yeah, I could even over look the idea that Lion-O stooped to try to drug Pumyra. What a fun, fun episode over all. Well done.
What do you think?

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VIDEO CLIPS
In lieu of preview clips, had to make a few rips of key scenes of Tygra on the love potion. Hilarity ensues...







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Captures From Recipe for Disaster

PURRSIA'S SCREEN SHOTS