Abducted (Invader Zim)
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Abducted is an episode of Invader Zim. Originally produced as episode 14B, "Abducted" aired as episode 16A on April 12, 2002.
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[edit] Plot
The episode opens with Zim trying to explain to the Almighty Tallest how humans can be tall and yet stupid at the same time. As the tall leaders struggle to understand the concept, someone rings Zim's front doorbell. Zim instructs GIR to go up and answer the door. GIR opens the door and finds two extremely odd looking characters on the front porch. They appear to be two aliens badly disguised as humans (their costumes are merely smocks with nametags and plastic masks—worse even than Zim and GIR's disguises). "What? We're not aliens!" one exclaims. Back in the lab, Zim's transmission breaks up and he calls to GIR for an explanation. Zim goes up to the house and finds GIR in his doggie disguise sleeping at the feet of the two visitors. Zim demands an explanation, blaming the aliens for blocking his transmission. The two try to deny the fact that they're aliens but eventually give up, declaring it time for plan "2", which is throwing them in a sack. Zim calls for GIR to go into defensive mode but GIR's idea of defensive mode is jumping into the sack.
On board the alien vessel (which is disguised as a whale), the aliens explain their intent: they've spent hundreds of years searching the galaxy to find specimens to add to their collection and Zim is their choice for the human race. (The specimen containers are all empty though because they've all escaped.) Zim tries to explain to them that he, himself, is actually an alien too and not a human. The aliens don't believe him though, showing him footage of Dib accusing him of being an alien and Zim loudly exclaiming that he's "human, human, human—just look at my neck!" Zim continues to try to convince the aliens of their mistake by having GIR remove his disguise and reveal his "mighty robot form" This, however, still doesn't convince them. Despite the obviousness that GIR is a robot, they simply believe he's a very smart dog. They put GIR into one of their specimen containers and decide to start experimenting on Zim. They tell him they're going to fuse him to another human being as one opens a Can o' Human, which actually contains a gopher. The camera pans away to the shadows as they "fuse" the two together. As they congratulate themselves on a job well done, we see that they have merely taped the gopher to Zim's head. As the aliens argue over what to fuse him with next, Zim calmly walks over to an escape hatch and opens it. As he tries to fit through the too-small opening, the aliens notice and come charging over to him. Zim then gives up on escaping and rips the gopher from his head, sending it down the hatch while telling it to go for help. The poor gopher, however, simply plummets to the ground with a loud crash, leaving a puff of smoke in its wake.
Zim then easily gives the aliens the slip and begins wandering through the ship looking for a way to escape. He comes across the one alien who has not escaped—a formless blob with a number of things stuck to his body (including what appears to be a drooling Minimoose). The pitiful creature explains how he's always left behind by the other captives who can climb up to a hatch which leads to an escape pod, which Zim then does as well. Zim finds the escape ship and calls for GIR, who opens the case he's in and simply walks away right in front of the aliens. Zim and GIR prepare for launch as loud sounds and dramatic music build in anticipation of their daring escape. As the music crescendos, the escape pod plops out of the bottom of the "whale" and simply drops to the ground in front of Zim's house. The hatch opens and Zim and GIR come out and head for their house, with GIR slurping on a soda.
The aliens fret for a moment over the loss of their captive but press on with their mission, setting course for the next Earth specimen: the Earth weasel. We then see Dib and Gaz outside of their house as the ship, now disguised as a giant baby, floats overhead. A beam of light focuses on Dib and he's transported aboard, obviosly being mistaken for an Earth weasel.
[edit] Pop Culture References
- The aliens who abduct Zim look like the same aliens from Jhonen Vasquez's comic book, Squee! and are probably inspired by them.
- Originally, Jhonen and the crew wanted to get Eric Idle, John Cleese, and when they found out John wasn't available, Terry Jones to do the voice of the abducters.
- While exploring the ship, Zim encounters a sad, blob-like creature that is unable to escape. This may be a reference to the dystopian science fiction story I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream.
- Red's line "Fascinating..." is done in the same cadence as Mr. Spock from Star Trek.
- If one were to look carefully on the blob-creature, there is a peice of paper taped on to the left side of his head. On it appears to be Happy Noodle Boy and the letters JTHM.
[edit] Quotes
- Gir: Hi there! (waving)
- Zim: Human dogs don't speak!
- Tallest Red: So you're telling us the humans are tall... yet they're dumb?
- Alien Green: Oh, so you're just saying because I forgot to lock it, it's my fault it was unlocked?
- Alien Blue: We never should have fused him. It made him twice as powerful; twice as deadly!
Alien Green: I'm telling you, that juice would have slowed him down but good.
- Zim: Surely you have heard of the mighty Irken Race!
Alien Green: We don't get that TV no more. I read a lot, though.
- Alien Blue: Oh! That one's running away!
Alien Green: Look at him go!
- Alien Blue: Oh, I know! Let's see how he reacts to having things shoved through his head!
- Alien Blue: Well, what if the juice had made him even more powerful? Have you ever though of that?
Alien Green: Now, wait a minute, are we still talking about the same juice?
- Alien Blue: When was the last time you cleaned yourself?
Alien Green: Define self.
[edit] Miscellanea
- In the beginning, where Zim says, "Human Doggies don't speak," Gir says something like ," Whidzibo, Ah whe hogunza tun". When he says this, you can hear monkey sounds in the background. This was used to show Gir shouldn't talk like a normal human.
- The aliens are never given names, instead referred to by fans by their colors of their eyes, Green and Blue. They also are of roughly the same height as the tallest, and have a similar relationship in that one is marginally more competent, or less stupid than the other.[1]
- Zim's exploration of the ship was originally longer. It was cut for time, and because Jhonen wanted less action in this episode. However, the scene was fully animated.
- The aliens were revoiced multiple times. In the audio commentary for the episode, Jhonen Vasquez states that at first it was hoped that the aliens would be voiced by John Cleese and either Eric Idle or Terry Jones. The final voices were recorded by Brian George and Jim Wise, as credited. Jhonen Vasquez and Eric Trueheart did the original recording. In the commentary it is debated as to whether Paul Greenberg was recorded at one point.
