"Dinner is Swerved" is the fifth/seventh episode in the first season of Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends.
Plot[]
SPOILER: Plot details follow.
The episode begins with Mac and Bloo on the balcony, looking at Mac's house. After a while, Mac realizes how late it is and tells Bloo he needs to go. As they both attempt to go downstairs, they keep getting lost and arriving right back where they started. Bloo gets the idea to leave a trail of clothes behind them so they can remember which way they went, which would have worked; however, there were some complications.
Downstairs, everyone is getting ready to eat, but Mr. Herriman will not let anyone eat unless everyone is present, in which Bloo isn't. Mr. Herriman sends Wilt, Eduardo and Coco to go look for Bloo. They stumble across the trail of clothes Mac and Bloo left behind and assume that someone sloppily left their clothes, so they clean it up. This causes Mac and Bloo to become confused as their clothing trail keeps continuously vanishing. Bloo, due to hunger, begins to lose his sanity. They eventually stumble across Duchess' room, and after she refuses to help them find a way out, Bloo uses her telephone to order 12 pepperoni pizzas, which still doesn't help them because they have no way of getting downstairs. Duchess then sends them back up to the roof via a trapdoor.
In the meantime, Frankie and Madame Foster work together to distract Mr. Herriman while they allow the rest of the imaginary friends to eat. Bloo's pizzas ultimately arrive, but Bloo can't reach them, and the pizza man just assumes Mr. Herriman ordered the pizzas. Herriman, at first, clearly tells the pizza man that he didn't order them but ultimately accepts the pizzas anyway and lays them out on the table. Bloo and Mac steal Duchess's mattress and sheets with intent to use the sheets to climb down and land on the mattress which they drop on the floor. Wilt, Ed and Coco catch onto this and not knowing of Mac and Bloo's plan, the three sabotage Mac and Bloo's attempt to escape when Coco eats up all their sheets and Wilt and Ed pull Mac and Bloo up. Mac and Bloo let go of the sheets and land on the mattress below, only to end up back on the roof again much to their dismay. All the while, Wilt, Eduardo and Coco continue looking for Bloo with no success, in addition to them still not having eaten yet, their endurance has dwindled down.
Bloo eventually becomes desperate, and in an attempt to find food, he chases after a chicken leg who gets scared and tries running away. Bloo mistakes him for Mac, but he is too hungry, and he plans on eating him anyway. However, the chicken leg asks who Mac is and that his name's Charlie. Mac appears behind Bloo, and after they discuss the situation, Charlie eventually agrees to lead them out of the house, but on the way down, Bloo starts to chase him again, which results in him and Mac getting in a fight and ending up in the foyer. Mac and Bloo exchange farewells and Mac leaves while Bloo goes inside to eat, but now Mr. Herriman makes him wait for Wilt, Eduardo, and Coco.
Most of the food on the table has been eaten, including the 12 pizzas he ordered on the phone. Everyone else finishes eating and leaves. Madame Foster gives Bloo a chicken leg to eat while Herriman isn't looking, and Bloo hides his face (and the chicken leg) under the table to eat it.
Wilt, Eduardo and Coco end up at the roof balcony as they watch Mac return home. Charlie the chicken leg is hanging onto the house's weathervane to hide from Wilt, Eduardo and Coco, implying the three chased him onto the balcony where Charlie was able to climb to safety. Wilt asks if anyone knows a shortcut to get downstairs as the three are all getting hungry, and Charlie replies "Yeah", only to regret it in horror.
Running gags[]
- The orphanage being bigger than it looks.
- Bloo and Mac constantly ending up back on the roof.
- Everyone talking about how Mac's apartment is visible from the roof.
- The groups talking in conjunction with each other. (e.g.: Wilt: "It's not that awesome." Bloo: "I'm so awesome, so awesome!")
Spoilers end here.
Characters present[]
Speaking:
Bloo, Charlie Chicken Leg, Coco, Duchess, Eduardo, Frankie Foster, Mac, Mr. Herriman, Piggy, Wilt
Non-speaking:
Burple Bear, Chester, Galoot Palooka, George the cookie, George Mucus, Jackie Khones, Jambalaya, Mabel Licorice, Madame Foster, Moptop, Myopic Patootie, Pisgetti, Ringo Rango, Sassyfrass, Socket Tubey, Sunset Junction, Vic Trolla, Witch Itch
Trivia[]
- Duchess has a trapdoor in her room that sends those that fall into it onto the roof. This defies the laws of physics, as gravity pulls objects down, not shoots them up.
- It is possible that this episode is based on what Madame Foster said in the pilot "House of Bloo's": "This place is a madhouse! Steps, steps! Hallways, hallways!"
- Mr. Herriman states in this episode that everyone must be present at the table before they can eat. However, Duchess and the food-like imaginary friends are not present. Although Mr. Herriman maybe does know and doesn't care if they don't come down to dinner and simply disregards them, as the food-like friends are vulnerable while Duchess is a nuisance.
- In this episode, it turns out Bloo is able to run and act like a dog when he's hungry.
Cultural references[]
- Bloo's idea of leaving dirty laundry behind to ensure he doesn't get lost is a nod to Hansel and Gretel where the same was done with breadcrumbs.
- Bloo references KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) by telling Charlie the chicken leg "Ohhhh, you look so fingie-lickie good!"