Toast of the Town (The Powerpuff Girls, 1998)

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"Toast of the Town"
"MAYOR WANT TOAST!" You want toast, go wait for the bread to get toasted, simple.
Series: The Powerpuff Girls (1998) Part of Season: 5 Episode Number: 2a Air Date: September 12, 2003 Writer: Lauren Faust Craig Lewis Craig McCracken John McIntyre Amy Keating Rogers Director: Randy Myers Previous episode: Shut the Pup Up Next episode: Divide and Conquer

Toast of the Town is the first half of the second episode in the fifth season of The Powerpuff Girls.

Plot

When the Mayor gets a craving for toast, he discovers his toaster's broken, so he gives it to the Professor to fix, but he accidentally discovers the Professor's secret stash of Chemical X, which the Mayor uses as a hair growth formula. But instead, it makes the Mayor grow huge and it's up to The Powerpuff Girls to stop him.

Why It Doesn't Deserve A Toast

1. The episode's plot is incredibly idiotic and juvenile, even for the original Powerpuff Girls standards. It is the Mayor acting like a whiny spoiled brat who makes a big fuss over a broken toaster. Additionally, it’s also nothing but 11-minutes of Professor Utonium being the butt-monkey, as he gets understandably annoyed by the Mayor's constant childish behavior and whining, and even gets wrongfully framed by everyone, including the titular girls, all because he refuses to fix the Mayor's toaster.
2. Speaking of the Mayor, he has been badly flanderized in this episode, as he acts like a total manchild here. Examples:
   • He speaks like a child, thanks to the running gag of him always speaking in the third person.
   • His constant whining on "Mayor want toast!" and throwing strops, especially when he wants cherry candies.
   • He is even dumber than usual here. For starters, he frequently insists that Professor fix his toaster although he is a scientist, not a mechanic. He still proceeds to press a button despite being warned not to (which is a nod to Dee Dee from Dexter's Laboratory), mistaking the Chemical X for hair tonic, and while in giant form, proceeds to play with the stuff around in Townsville like toys.
   • The Mayor's non-stop yelling, whining, and crying is incredibly annoying and grating and it gets on your nerves very quickly.
   • Even the Professor and Ms. Bellum call him out for his behavior, which just led to making things worse, thanks to his childish behavior.
   • There is no explanation whatsoever on why the Mayor acts so immaturely in this episode. This is unlike episodes featuring man-child adults such as "Squid Baby" from SpongeBob SquarePants or "Regarding Stuie" from Rugrats for example wherein both episodes there is a valid explanation on why Squidward and Stu started acting immaturely despite their adult ages in both episodes, which are courtesy of head trauma.
   • The Mayor's childish actions in this episode gets even worse as the episode goes on once he grows into a giant because of the Chemical X.
   • Because of all these traits, the Mayor serves as the main antagonist of this episode.
3. Plot hole: Why would the Mayor tell Professor to fix his toaster? Wouldn't it make more sense if he asks for a repairman to fix it?
   • On that topic, this entire episode would've been completely avoided if the Mayor asks for a repairman to fix his toaster (which the Professor himself pointed out at the very beginning of the episode before the Mayor throws his first tantrum) or buy himself a new toaster.
4. Some scenes where the Mayor waits for Professor Utonium to fix his toast only serve as pure filler.
   • The scene where the Girls need to give the Antidote X to Mayor takes way too long, thanks to Mayor always asking that he wants the toast crusts cut off and a glass of milk.
5. Mediocre ending: The Mayor gets shrunken but after that, he still gets stuck on top of the building, as if the Girls have forgotten to bring him down. He starts whining and crying while the Narrator tells him to be quiet (which is understandable, because of his actions in this episode).
   • Missed Opportunity: The girls would have pick the Mayor up before saying goodbye.

Redeeming Qualities

1. The Professor, Buttercup, the Narrator and Ms. Bellum were right at calling out Mayor for his behavior.
2. Some funny moments, such as instances of the giant Mayor getting hurt from the Townsville buildings which ultimately results in slapstick humor despite being filler.
3. The Mayor received his comeuppance for his bratty behavior when he got abandoned on top of the building at the ending.

Reception

This episode was not well received by the fans and critics of the show, thanks to the Mayor's childish behavior in this episode, However, it has a 6.0 rating on IMDb.

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