Episode 257-494

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Episode 257-494 (a.k.a. Don't Touch That Dial) is the 40th episode of the Teen Titans series, and the 1st episode of Season 4.

Plot

One beautiful day, Control Freak suddenly pops up right on the Titans Tower TV screen, right before Beast Boy's eyes. The other Titans are originally sceptical about Beast Boy's somewhat incoherent report until a newsflash about Control Freak's escape from prison brings the official confirmation. The Titans trace him back to Cooks Electronics Store, where Control Freak appears before them inside the on-air TV scenes, gloating his ability to be literally inside the TV channels.

The Titans facing their first challenge in the TV Dimension.

As it turns out, Control Freak has constructed an oversized version of his master remote control to transport himself into the TV Dimension. Just as the Titans proceed to check out the device, Beast Boy accidentally activates it, transporting them all into the TV dimension as well. A wild chase ensues, leading right across all running programs, but Control Freak manages to use his vast knowledge to his advantage: He recruits three notorious movie villains - The Creature from Jones Lake, Seven-Gorn-Seven and the Off-World Outlaw - to distract the Titans while he proceeds to learn kung-fu and alien martial arts and obtain a formidable arsenal of ultra-tech weapons from various fictional TV shows, which enable him to outfight the Titans and escape yet again. And to make things worse, a newsflash informs the Titans that Control Freak's and their presence inside the TVs is causing them to emit harmful electromagnetic waves which will eventually destroy the brains of all viewers.

Teen Titans Reporters

In this moment of peril, Beast Boy is finally able to draw upon his own immense knowledge about TV and movies, and he leads them right to Control Freak's next haunt, the sci-fi scenario Clash of the Planets. Again, Control Freak manages to maintain the upper hand against the Titans, but then Beast Boy recalls a vital detail Control Freak had overlooked, enabling him to strip him of his newly gained powers and imprisoning him in a dimensional panel.

Back at Titans Tower, Robin and Starfire reflect on the effects watching too much television had on their mission: While Robin concludes that watching too much TV is indeed unhealthy, Starfire interjects by stating that it was in fact Beast Boy being a TV junkie that had enabled them to win the day. And all Titans - along with a guest from the TV dimension - join in a short laughter about this particular irony.

Cultural spoofs

This particular episode is laced with obvious references to popular TV shows and movies:

• Opening: The show's opening is a spoof of the television show The Outer Limits's opening .
• Clash of the Planets: obviously a Star Wars spoof. Also, the Clash of the Planets name and logo design resemble the ones for Battle of the Planets, aka Gatchaman, in which some of the Teen Titans crew have also participated. Also, when the Titans run into the droids who demand that they identify themselves, Beast Boy imitates Obi-Wan's line from A New Hope "you don't need to see our identifications."
• The main character of Clash of the Planets's design is a reference to Kouji Kabuto of the various Mazinger anime and manga series.
• When the Titans are looking over the channel guide Clash of the Planets is shone as being made in 1977, the year Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope was released.
• The killer robot Seven-Gorn-Seven is a clone of Robby the Robot, a character from the 1956 film Forbidden Planet. "Gorn" is also the name of an alien race from Star Trek.
• The dimensional panel Control Freak ends up trapped in is a reference to the Phantom Zone panel featured in the movies Superman (1978) and Superman II (1980), starring late actor Christopher Reeve.
• James Bond is spoofed by Agent 257 and Control Freak imitated James Bond villain Blofeld.
• Looney Tunes Cartoons with the Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner sequences are included.
• The Matrix is also spoofed, through Control Freak's impersonation of the film's lead actor, Keanu Reeves, and his manner of speaking. Control Freak quotes his famous line, "I know kung fu, woah."
• The Dukes of Hazzard are spoofed when Control Freak jumps a car.
• The Zinthos commercial, while clearly a parody of numerous medication advertisements, also mentions that you're not supposed to get Zinthos wet or feed it after midnight. This is a reference to the movie Gremlins.
• Highlander is spoofed by using the quote, "There can be only one!"
• Iron Chef, a discontinued Japanese cooking show specializing in different international cuisines is parodied by The Red Chef. The Red Chef in the show is a parody of Iron Chef French Hiroyuki Sakai, one of the two chief cooks in the show.
• Another among the spoofed is the Batman live-action comedy show from the 60s, with the spinning Titans T.
• Terminator II: Judgment Day is yet another example when Control Freak says "Hasta la vista, Titans".
• The Creature from the Black Lagoon is spoofed by the "Creature from Jones Lake."
• Godzilla may also be spoofed because the "Creature from Jones Lake," could fire what looked like atomic breath while it's dorsal fins glowed, similar to whenever Godzilla fires his atomic ray.
• The Six Million Dollar Man is mentioned by Control Freak's quote, "We have the technology."
• Stunt Fest is a parody of action reality shows, like Fear Factor or Survivor, while the host is a parody of the late Australian show host and wildlife expert Steve Irwin (Crocodile Hunter).

File:257-494 BB family soap.jpg

Beast Boy's family sitcom act

• The black and white sitcom is a parody of family sitcom shows from the 40s and 50s like Leave It to Beaver.
  • Beast Boy also states "Jeepers" when his pancakes get incinerated, a reference to Scooby Doo.
• The end scene is a refence to the show Friends. It could also potentially be a nod to Seinfeld, which was known as "the show about nothing." Cyborg references this by stating that the episode was "completely meaningless."
• Modern soap operas are spoofed in the humorous scenes where a romantically confused woman mistakes Cyborg for a man named Lance.
• Control Freak's plan of bringing forth villains from TV shows to do his bidding may be a reference to the film Last Action Hero, in which the main antagonist plans on bringing villains from movies to life and use them to rule the world.
• At one point the bridge shakes and everybody runs back and forth in a manner reminscent of Star Trek.
• The scene in which Robin jumps over a shark while on water-skis is a reference to a clip from the she show Happy Days, which also spawned the idiom "jumping the shark".

Quotes

• Rebecca: Oh, Lance! I didn't mean for you to fall madly in love with me, but since Joaquim left with my evil half-sister...
  Cyborg: Yo! I don't love you. My name's not Lance, and I just wanna know if you've seen a fat guy in an overcoat.
  Rebecca: Oh, Lance! [kisses him soundly]
• Pelican: Oh, have you seen my hippo? He hides and I must seek.
  Starfire: I cannot play. Please do you know
  a strange man named Control Freak?
  He is big, not tall and nasty
  and known for causing strife.
  He escaped into the TV...
  Beast Boy: HEY STAR, RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!!
• Advertiser: The makers of Azarath and Metrion are proud to introduce ... Zinthos. New and improved Zinthos gives you exactly what you need, exactly when you need it. And because it's blue, Zinthos goes with everything.
  [continuing rapidly] Zinthos isn't right for everyone and may cause bloating, cramping, hair loss, disturbing visions, fits of rage, and the growth of additional eyes. Children under three should not be exposed to Zinthos. Do not get Zinthos wet, and never feed it after midnight. If you experience trouble meditating, stop saying "Zinthos" and consult your ancient scrolls immediately. - New blue Zinthos!
• Control Freak: [mimicking Arnold Schwarzenegger's accent] Hasta la vista, Titans!
• Cyborg: Hey, I know where we are! We're in the first episode of Season Four.
• Host: My guest tonight is Dr. Victor Payton, who has discovered the secret to world peace. Tell me, Doctor -
  Robin: Do not watch this program! It will liquify your brain! An escaped criminal has tampered with this transmission, and it is imperative that you turn off your television right now. - I'm serious! Stop watching the show!!
  Raven: I don't think they're listening.
• Space Hero: Who ... who are you?
  Control Freak: I am Count Rol Freako, the 12th-level Space Samurai who trained Baron Ryang. And I am your father!
  Space Hero: NOOO!!
• Robin: So, I guess all this proves it really is bad to watch too much TV.
  Starfire: But, truthfully, we only prevailed because Beast Boy watches too much the television.
  Raven: So... there really isn't a lesson here?
  Cyborg: Nope! It was all completely meaningless!
• Beast Boy: You do not need to see our identification [Robots start shooting] Ahhhh! Worth a shot!
• News Caster: This just in! Interference by the criminal Control Freak has caused televisions throughout the city to emit harmful Alpha Waves, which disrupt the nural pathways of anyone watching the broadcast.
  Beast Boy: Huh?  
  News Caster: TV literally rots your brains.
  Raven: Told ya.
• Robin: 500 channels!
  Raven: And still nothing on.

Trivia

• The number 257-494 is the episode's actual production number.

  File:144.jpg

  Lipton and Victor Payton

• Control Freak's prison number, 257-325, is the production number of the episode in which he first appeared on Teen Titans, which was Fear Itself.
• The commercial announcer for the Max-7 from Overdrive appears in this episode.
• The answers to the questions Starfire could not answer on Quizz Monkey are:
  "What is the capital of Liechtenstein?" - Vaduz.
  "When did Hannibal cross the Alps?" - In late 218 BC.
  "What was Spiro Agnew's middle name?" - Theodore.
• The man hosting the talk show resembles James Lipton, famous actor and host of Inside the Actor's Studio. His guest, Dr. Victor Payton, is the name of the father of voice actor Khary Payton (Cyborg).
• Cyborg breaks the fourth wall during the Clash of the Planets scenario, he says, "Hey, I know where we are! We're in the first episode of Season Four." This episode of Teen Titans is also the first episode of Season Four.
• According to the television guide viewed by the Titans, Clash of the Planets was released in 1977. This is an obvious reference to the original release of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, which was also in 1977.
• Starfire's shriek at the sight of The Creature from Jones Lake makes this one of the few episodes where Starfire uncharacteristically emits a terrified, ear-piercing scream. Other times include the episode "Fear Itself" when she was buried under a swarm of demonic rats, and in "Transformation" when she was about to be devoured by the Cironielian Chrysalis Eater.
• This episode along with the other more comedic light hearted episodes in this season were created to balance out the level of seriousness and sadness that came with the 5 episodes of Raven's destiny.
• The zinthos commercial had many references to Raven.
  • It talks about "azarath" and "metrion", which are 2/3 of Raven's meditation chant. The symptoms of it pertains to Raven like disturbing visions, fits of rage, and the growth of additional eyes.
• This is the first episode to feature live-action footage, which appeared during the news broadcast.
• When Beast Boy is discussing clash of the planets, several fans appear above him, the exact same fans appear as villains in the episode Revved Up.
• When Rebecca mistakes Cyborg for Lance and then kisses him, the person who opens the door is Joaquim, not Lance.