Date of airing: February 23, 2001 (Disney Channel)
This was a very solid episode, and I am starting to see the appeal of LIZZIE McGUIRE and why it may have catapulted its main attraction to superstardom and constant media coverage, as Lizzie is sort of the scripted equivalent to real-life t(w)eenagers of twelve or 13 years of age growing up in a new millennium. The series also looks somewhat like Disney decided to burn what they figured as the worst couple of episodes during the beginning of the show, just to get it over with, because the show has been growing better since the airing of the original pilot episode. There was a sizable moral of the week in this half hour, which I wished could have been told to me as well during my teenage years, either from my parents or even my teachers.
Sometimes it can help a young soul to know what is happening around
them and why certain things are happening, and what a kid should be
doing to figure out life later. The moral worked both with Matt and Gordo, as the two learned some valuable lessons during this episode,
even if I won’t expect them to use the knowledge they have come to
possess after this episode. Still, it turns out that Matt’s story was
the better one here, simply because the moral of the story was better
suited to him than to Gordo. During the beginning of the half hour, Jo
and Sam were clueless as to how to handle the M-Dogg situation, but it
turns out they went with an idea, crossed the finish line with it, and
Matt was the same old kid by the end of the episode, possibly having
learned a lesson out of it, and starting to appreciate the parental
units a little more in the process. It was a story that somewhat
resembled a transition of a young person into what they wanted to
become, although I wouldn’t really consider this story an allegory to
the trans life of a teenager. I’m almost sure the writers didn’t even
know they were creating such an allegory. I'm not even sure if I was supposed to see such allegory.
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| M-DOGG is getting ready for his first performance. |
Besides that, seeing Matt as a wannabe rapper was kind of funny. I’m impressed there weren’t any Eminem references, considering the level of general pop culture references on this show (this time, Gordo called Lizzie and Miranda “Rachel and Monica” during their daily phone call discussion about life). Or Snoop Dogg references, or Ice-T references. Some reference that could have brought me to laugh out loud for a couple of seconds...
Gordo had an interesting story, plus there was a hint of student rebellion hidden in the plot when he realized that Mr. Pettus was grading him lower than maybe he should have been. But while Mr. Pettus’ explanation is a bit ridiculous (grading students who have a greater chance to become someone with lower grades, just to push them higher, further, faster baby? That’s kind of an idiotic grading system), it was great to see that the writers actively attempted a student/teacher storyline, and have a teacher who seemed like just a random supporting character who is allowed to be turned into a figure of jokes by the student body, be turned into something of a morality figure, maybe even a fatherly figure outside the family homes of the characters, almost making middle school look like an important time in the lives of the characters. It also helps to bring importance to the faculty characters of LIZZIE McGUIRE, even if Mr. Pettus is very much the only character from the faculty that has screentime at the moment.
Besides all that, Gordo’s idea to switch projects with Lizzie to prove a point was an interesting one – if that ever happens in real life because of similar or even the same circumstances, can the teacher really be sustained to give one of the students an F grade, due to plagiarism? Shouldn’t the teacher not be respecting the attempt at delivering a message with the point in such a case, even if that point was made to prove they were at fault? Could it be declared a social experiment by the students involved and therefore be turned into a teachable lesson by the teacher?
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| Lizzie and Miranda will never be recruited as spies after getting caught snooping like that. |
Meanwhile, Lizzie was a secondary character in this episode and I didn’t even mind. At home, it was Matt who was the central character, and in school, it was Gordo who was number one on the call sheet. It’s almost like the writers made it clear this show isn’t just about the eponymous heroine, but that the other cast members also get important stories, and they aren’t just in the narrative to accompany Lizzie from turning into a mature person over the years. And I like that about the show. It could continue like this, and I wouldn’t completely hate it like I sometimes hated the heavy delivery of the moral in GIRL MEETS WORLD episodes.
