Plague of Babies

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Plague of Babies is an episode of the animated television series Invader Zim produced and aired as episode 10A on September 7, 2001.

[edit] Plot

Zim and GIR are flying in their Voot Cruiser when the Cruiser experiences mechanical trouble, and sends them flying down. The two get out in time for no one to notice them, but Zim realizes that someone did watch the whole thing: a baby. GIR tries to tell him how harmless babies really are, but Zim still freaks out.

The next day, Zim arrives at the baby's (apparently named Noogums) parents house, and calls himself a baby inspector. He meets the baby, but all it does is release its nasty "self-defense" odor. Zim almost loses it, and recoils back to his base. That night, as Zim is contemplating a new way of dealing with the stinky infant, a troop of babies trespass into his house. When Zim goes to investigate, he is captured and tied up by the babies that happen to be led by Noogums. It turns out Noogums can talk (in a deep, growling voice) too, and does not like to be called Noogums (as Shnooky is his true name).

Shnooky explains that he and the other "babies" are actually members of an alien race that have an unfortunate resemblance to human infants. They landed in a maternity hospital and saw many newborn infants. They sent a message to their mother ship to escape; but when it abducts the real babies and leaves with them, a Red Cross soldier finds the aliens and mistakes them for newborn human babies. They were stranded, forced to pose as infants.

Now, Shnooky and the others want to take Zim's ship and finally leave. However, Zim will not let them go without a fight, and tries to get GIR to help, but GIR just eats fried chicken (dipped in mayonnaise).

The aliens corner Zim, and form "Giganto-Baby", forming a single large mass by melding together, only with arms and the faces sticking out. Zim attempts to assault the baby, but fails, instead using his metal spider legs to get away.

However, Zim forms a plan in his head, and grabs GIR, attaching his head to the power amplifier (a device that actually creates waves of stupidity), sending out waves of dumb energy and enveloping the babies in moronicism. They fall apart and simply cry.

Later, Zim has fun with a baby launcher, sending Shnooky back and forth around his room.

[edit] Trivia

• Originally, the episode was going to open with Zim and Gir getting their snacks in the beginning, and flying into a Poop billboard, causing the voot cruiser to fly out of control. This was cut for time.

• A loose parody of Village of the Damned, in which ordinary children turn out to be evil geniuses.^{[citation needed]}

• Veteran voice-actor Phil LaMarr plays the creepy Noogums (real name: Sgt. Shnooky).

• A goth vampire from series creator Jhonen Vasquez's Meanwhile... comic is visible in the background of the first baby's house. [1]

• In the beginning of the episode (where it shows Gir and Zim screaming) play the entire scene inside the ship frame-by-frame. If you look to the top-left corner of the screen, Bloody Gir is seen there many times throughout the scene.