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Far be it to cast aspersions on jumping and/or ducking, but I think you can improve this.
―Phineas Flynn

"Gaming the System" is an episode of Phineas and Ferb.

Synopsis[]

Phineas and Ferb accidentally trap Candace in a video game and have to help her out so that she can get ready for the cotillion. Meanwhile, Perry has to stop Doofenshmirtz from zapping men into wearing ball gowns with the Ballgowninator.

Plot[]

Phineas and Ferb are hanging out with Buford, Baljeet, and Isabella outside their house. Buford is playing a game called "Jump N' Duck", where all you have to do to beat the game is to jump and duck. Phineas thinks the game is cool and sees Buford's head as the main character in the game. Buford takes a picture of Phineas on the console and his head appears inside the game.

Meanwhile, Candace is on the phone with Stacy happily explaining to her that Jeremy is taking her to the summer cotillion, which Candace then explains is a real word that means "a dance" Then Candace thinks of something: "Two somethings, actually And one of them is pointy." She then leaves her room for a little "preemptive busting".

Phineas, Buford, and Baljeet are debating the merits of the video games, and as Phineas is starting to suggest some improvements, Candace comes over and ask what they're doing. Seeing Phineas playing a regular video game, she is surprised at "how normal" that is and comments about how they could possibly get sucked into a video game, then she goes back to the house to get ready. Inspired by Candace's word, Phineas decides what they're going to do today. Then he wonders where Perry is.

Perry is in his lair receiving his mission briefing from Major Monogram, who tells him that they've been monitoring Doofenshmirtz's internet activity. First, Agent P is getting a vase this Christmas. Second, Doof has been doing a lot of research into the molecular structures of such fabrics as Taffeta, Satin and "most ominous of all", Velour, which greatly disturbs the Major.

Soon, Phineas is introducing "the all new & improved Jump and Duck, the world's first truly immersive video game experience". He tells Ferb to throw the switch, which causes the power to go out right when Candace is drying her hair. As Phineas is explaining how they enter the game, Candace comes outside in just a towel and hair curlers to complain. Ferb flips a circuit breaker restoring power that turns on the digitizer while Candace is in front of it, sucking her into the video game which she is not prepared for.

Meanwhile, She is blow-drying her hair when the power goes out from Phineas and Ferb's gaming system. Candace goes downstairs to interfere but accidentally walks in front of the scanner and programs herself into the game. Phineas and Ferb watch her for a few minutes and figure out that she can't beat the game by herself, so they program themselves into the game to help her beat it.

Perry goes over to the Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated building and finds out that Doofenshmirtz has created a ray gun called a Ballgowninator to turn everyone in the Tri-state area girly so that he could look the manliest of them all by comparison. (In Doofenshmirtz's childhood, his mother was expecting a daughter and was knitting a bunch of dresses, but a son was born instead and young Doofenshmirtz was forced to wear dresses, making himself humiliated in front of his classmates). He tests out his invention on Perry, who is immediately dressed in a blue ball gown with severely limits his ability to fight. Once Perry is suspended by some mechanical claws, Doofenshmirtz decides that the platypus gets the idea and cancels a big explanatory musical number.

Phineas tries to explain to Candace how to get to the next level(s), as he and Ferb don't do cheat codes, but just moving around in the game is too difficult for her. He and Ferb then head to the digitizer to put themselves into the game. Candace gets chased by mad fruits and uses her blowdryer as an effective weapon against them, leading her to say that they should've named it "Jump, Duck and Blow." From then on she has a much better time running and zapping numerous digital creatures while Phineas and Ferb, who just materialized, follow the digital carnage she leaves behind while their friends sing Let's Go Digital.

Doofenshmirtz pilots his blimp from the top of his building with Perry the Platypus still suspended by metal claws. Doofenshmirtz decides to stop trying to compliment Agent P on his involuntary dress. Perry soon turns the tables on the scientist, who winds up hanging on to the dress while dangling over the side of the blimp.

When Phineas and Ferb get to the final level, they come across a gigantic version of Buford that is the final level's boss. As it grabs the two of them, Candace shouts at Giant Buford to let them go, which he does before he knocks her down causing her blowdryer to fall off a cliff. When health bar suddenly appears (dangerously low), she grabs it and hits the giant upside the head, knocking him backward and causing him to step on Phineas and Ferb as he falls off the cliff. Candace rushes to Phineas and Ferb's side and breaks down, thinking that they are dead. They disappear and reappear behind her, stating that they have four lives left. Candace gets mad because she thought they had died, but she has defeated the final level.

The three of them suddenly materialize in the backyard, but the game is not over yet. The last level is also in the real world, and Giant Buford is back and twice as strong. He chases after them after stomping on the game screen and the original Buford. Just as he has the three of them cornered, Isabella yells at him to create a diversion. Phineas yells at Isabella to stop, but when Giant Buford walks over to Isabella, she takes a picture of him with the digitizer and zaps him back into the game.

By this time, Doofenshmirtz has gotten back into the blimp and into a struggle with Perry, then get zapped by the Ballgowninator, thus wearing a seafoam green dress as a result. They continue to struggle and the ray gun goes off again.

Candace hears Jeremy arrive to pick her up, and she's worried that she isn't even ready yet. The last Ballgowninator beam hits Phineas, Ferb, and Isabella, dressing them all up in ball gowns. The ray gun gets broken in the struggle, and then Perry pops the blimp with a pin before jumping off, causing it to careen wildly about while Doofenshmirtz curses the Platypus. Perry drops down to the ground behind the kids and his dress slips off, landing directly on Candace just before her date enter the yard. Jeremy states that he thinks Candace is beautiful, and that everyone else looks beautiful too despite being obviously weirded out by Phineas and Ferb in gowns. The couple then goes off to the cotillion, almost discussing the meaning of the word.

In the end credits, Doofenshmirtz lands in the Summer Cotillion and the host accidentally crowns him queen. Doofenshmirtz is both honored and humiliated so he says "Thank you and curse you."

Songs[]

Cast[]

Goofs[]

  • On the game console, it is shown to have four colored buttons. But when Phineas said "Ferb, I know what we're gonna do today!", there were only three buttons.
  • When Candace leaves with Jeremy at the end, she is only in the dress without additional clothing (due to time cuts). This issue was not explained or repeated afterwards.

Trivia[]

  • When Heinz Doofenshmirtz traps Perry in a dress, a small tune similar to the song "Beauty and the Beast" from the Disney movie of the same name played. However, the first and second tones are switched.
  • Monogram tells Perry what he's getting for Christmas from Doofenshmirtz (a vase), and this is in fact true. Doofenshmirtz gives Perry a vase in "Phineas and Ferb Christmas Vacation!".
  • Major Monogram says that "the most ominous of all" is velour and the molecular structure of the velour [shown on monitor] is in the form of a sad face.
  • Heinz Doofenshmirtz wears his watch on his right hand, thus making him left handed. He also holds his weapon in his left hand. In other episodes, he has his watch on his left hand.
  • This is the first episode of Season 2 where Linda does not appear in.
  • The gag with Doofenshmirtz checking his watch to make sure Perry is too late is recycled from a joke used in the Original Pitch.
  • Candace's new hairdo from the end of "Got Game?" reappears when she slips into the ballgown.
  • There are several allusions made to popular video games:
    • The coin-grab sound effect from Super Mario Bros. plays when the characters generate in the video game, and the clothes the character wears in the normal version of jump and duck looks just like Mario's clothes.
    • Candace getting "digitized" into the game world is parallel to the process shown in Tron.
    • The sound effect from Pac-Man when the ghosts eyes float when Pac-Man eats them plays when Candace zaps the bad guys with her hair blower in the video game.
    • Candace riding the birds to reach a cliff is a similar mechanic with the Storks from Yoshi's Island.
    • The scene where Buford is showing Phineas, Ferb, and Baljeet a picture of his head in a pixel body based on Nintendo Entertainment System graphics. Also, the code Buford puts in to show Phineas' head in the video game may be a reference to the overly long passwords or cheat codes (like the Konami Code) in some NES games.

Gallery[]

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Phineas and ferb logo
Media
Animated Productions: Phineas and Ferb (soundtrack/videography) Take Two with Phineas and FerbPhineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension (soundtrack) • Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Candace Against the UniverseChibi Tiny Tales

Video Games: Phineas and FerbPhineas and Ferb Ride AgainDisney Channel All Star PartyPhineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd DimensionAgent P Strikes BackPhineas and Ferb: Quest for Cool StuffWhere's My Perry?Disney Infinity/2.0/3.0Phineas and Ferb: Day of DoofenshmirtzDisney Heroes: Battle Mode
Albums: Phineas and Ferb Holiday FavoritesPhineas and Ferb: Star Wars soundtrack
Stage shows: Phineas and Ferb: The Best LIVE Tour Ever!

Disney Parks
Agent P's World Showcase Adventure

Entertainment: Phineas and Ferb's Rockin' Rollin' Dance Party
Fireworks: Celebrate the Magic
Parade: Move It! Shake It! MousekeDance It! Street Party

Characters
Major Characters: Phineas FlynnFerb FletcherCandace FlynnPerryDr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz

Secondary Characters: Linda Flynn-FletcherLawrence FletcherIsabella Garcia-ShapiroBaljeet TjinderBuford Van StommMajor Francis MonogramJeremy JohnsonCarl KarlStacy HiranoGinger HiranoMillyKatieHollyAdyson SweetwaterGretchenVanessa Doofenshmirtz
Recurring characters: Giant Floating Baby HeadDjango BrownColtraneCharlene DoofenshmirtzRoger DoofenshmirtzVivian Garcia-ShapiroIrvingJenny BrownSuzy JohnsonDannyBobbi FabulousShermanMeapMitchNormClyde FlynnBetty Jo FlynnPinkyAlbertPeterKlimpaloonTalking ZebraMonty MonogramHildegard JohnsonReginald FletcherWinifred FletcherAloyse von Roddenstein
Minor Characters: JerryBigfootYetiKhaka Peu PeuThe RegurgitatorBob WebberPrincess BaldegundeMelissaUnnamed Fireside GirlsAgent EBrobotsDrill SergeantBuck BuckersonTiana WebberJack JohnsonMrs. JohnsonWendyEliza FletcherNicoletteMandyThaddeus and ThorMindyAmanda JohnsonLucy FletcherAdrian FletcherBeppo BrownDr. HiranoAnnabelle JohnsonSaraBrigitte, Josette, and ColletteMishti PatelLiam McCrackenRodrigoMorgGlenda WilkinsDr. GevaarlijkHeinz Doofenshmirtz's motherBlanca DishonProfessor PoofenplotzEliza M. FeyersiedEl ChupacabraEliza M. FeyersiedLyla LolliberryBalloony • Corn Colossus • Professor Parenthesis
Guest Characters: Santa ClausKim Possible PinocchioBaby BaboonThor OdinsonSpider-ManHulkIron ManRed SkullNick FuryVenomWhiplashMODOK

Episodes
Season One: "Rollercoaster" • "Candace Loses Her Head" • "The Fast and the Phineas" • "Lawn Gnome Beach Party of Terror" • "The Magnificent Few" • "S'Winter" • "Are You My Mummy?" • "Flop Starz" • "Raging Bully" • "Lights, Candace, Action!" • "Get That Bigfoot Outta My Face!" • "Tree to Get Ready" • "It's About Time!" • "Jerk De Soleil" • "Toy to the World" • "One Good Scare Ought to Do It!" • "A Hard Day's Knight" • "I, Brobot" • "Mom's Birthday" • "Journey to the Center of Candace" • "Run Away Runway" • "I Scream, You Scream" • "It's a Mud, Mud, Mud, Mud World" • "The Ballad of Badbeard" • "Dude, We're Getting the Band Back Together" • "Ready for the Bettys" • "The Flying Fishmonger" • "Phineas and Ferb Get Busted!" • "Greece Lightning" • "Leave the Busting to Us!" • "Crack That Whip" • "The Best Lazy Day Ever" • "Boyfriend From 27,000 B.C." • "Voyage to the Bottom of Buford" • "Put That Putter Away" • "Does This Duckbill Make Me Look Fat?" • "Traffic Cam Caper" • "Bowl-R-Ama Drama" • "The Monster of Phineas-n-Ferbenstein" • "Oil on Candace" • "Unfair Science Fair" • "Unfair Science Fair Redux (Another Story)" • "Out to Launch" • "Got Game?" • "Comet Kermillian" • "Out of Toon" • "Hail Doofania!"

Season Two: "The Lake Nose Monster" • "Interview With a Platypus" • "Tip of the Day" • "Attack of the 50 Foot Sister" • "Backyard Aquarium" • "Day of the Living Gelatin" • "Elementary My Dear Stacy" • "Don't Even Blink" • "Chez Platypus" • "Perry Lays an Egg" • "Gaming the System" • "The Chronicles of Meap" • "Thaddeus and Thor" • "De Plane! De Plane!" • "Let's Take a Quiz" • "At the Car Wash" • "Oh, There You Are, Perry" • "Swiss Family Phineas" • "Hide and Seek" • "That Sinking Feeling" • "The Baljeatles" • "Vanessassary Roughness" • "No More Bunny Business" • "Spa Day" • "Phineas and Ferb's Quantum Boogaloo" • "Phineas and Ferb Musical Cliptastic Countdown" • "Bubble Boys" • "Isabella and the Temple of Sap" • "Cheer Up Candace" • "Fireside Girl Jamboree" • "The Bully Code" • "Finding Mary McGuffin" • "Picture This" • "Nerdy Dancin'" • "What Do It Do?" • "Atlantis" • "Phineas and Ferb Christmas Vacation!" • "Just Passing Through" • "Candace's Big Day" • "I Was a Middle Aged Robot" • "Suddenly Suzy" • "Undercover Carl" • "Hip Hip Parade" • "Invasion of the Ferb Snatchers" • "Ain't No Kiddie Ride" • "Not Phineas and Ferb" • "Phineas and Ferb-Busters!" • "The Lizard Whisperer" • "Robot Rodeo" • "The Beak" • "She's the Mayor" • "The Lemonade Stand" • "Phineas and Ferb Hawaiian Vacation" • "Summer Belongs to You!" • "Nerds of a Feather" • "Wizard of Odd" • "We Call it Maze" • "Ladies and Gentlemen, Meet Max Modem!" • "The Secret of Success" • "The Doof Side of the Moon" • "Split Personality" • "Brain Drain" • "Rollercoaster: The Musical!" • "Make Play" • "Candace Gets Busted"
Season Three: "The Great Indoors" • "Canderemy" • "Run, Candace, Run" • "Last Train to Bustville" • "Phineas' Birthday Clip-O-Rama!" • "The Belly of the Beast" • "Moon Farm" • "Ask a Foolish Question" • "Misperceived Monotreme" • "Candace Disconnected" • "Magic Carpet Ride" • "Bad Hair Day" • "Meatloaf Surprise" • "Phineas and Ferb Interrupted" • "A Real Boy" • "Mommy Can You Hear Me?" • "Road Trip" • "Tour de Ferb" • "Skiddley Whiffers" • "My Fair Goalie" • "Bullseye!" • "That's the Spirit" • "The Curse of Candace" • "Escape from Phineas Tower" • "Lotsa Latkes" • "Ferb Latin" • "A Phineas and Ferb Family Christmas" • "Tri-Stone Area" • "Doof Dynasty" • "Excaliferb" • "Phineas and Ferb and the Temple of Juatchadoon" • "Monster from the Id" • "Gi-Ants" • "The Remains of the Platypus" • "Mom's in the House" • "Perry the Actorpus" • "Let's Bounce" • "Bully Bromance Break Up" • "Quietest Day Ever" • "Doonkleberry Imperative" • "Meapless in Seattle" • "Delivery of Destiny" • "Buford Confidential" • "The Mom Attractor" • "Cranius Maximus" • "Agent Doof" • "Minor Monogram" • "What a Croc!" • "Sleepwalk Surprise" • "Sci-Fi Pie Fly" • "Sipping with the Enemy" • "Tri-State Treasure: Boot of Secrets" • "Doofapus" • "Norm Unleashed" • "Where's Perry?" • "Ferb TV" • "When Worlds Collide" • "What'd I Miss?" • "Road to Danville" • "This is Your Backstory" • "Blackout!"
Season Four: "For Your Ice Only " • "Happy New Year!" • "Fly On the Wall" • "Bully Bust" • "My Sweet Ride" • "Der Kinderlumper" • "Sidetracked" • "Primal Perry" • "Mind Share" • "Backyard Hodge Podge" • "Bee Day" • "Bee Story" • "Great Balls of Water" • "Where's Pinky?" • "Phineas and Ferb Musical Cliptastic Countdown Hosted by Kelly Osbourne" • "Knot My Problem" • "Just Desserts" • "La Candace-Cabra" • "Happy Birthday, Isabella" • "Love at First Byte" • "One Good Turn" • "Mission Marvel" • "Thanks But No Thanks" • "Troy Story" • "Druselsteinoween" • "Terrifying Tri-State Trilogy of Terror" • "Face Your Fear" • "Cheers for Fears" • "Steampunx" • "Just Our Luck" • "Return Policy" • "Live and Let Drive" • "Phineas and Ferb Save Summer" • "Father's Day" • "Imperfect Storm" • "The Return of the Rogue Rabbit" • "It's No Picnic" • "The Klimpaloon Ultimatum" • "Operation Crumb Cake" • "Mandace" • "Phineas and Ferb: Star Wars" • "Lost in Danville" • "The Inator Method" • "Night of the Living Pharmacists" • "Tales from the Resistance: Back to the 2nd Dimension" • "Doof 101" • "Act Your Age" • "Last Day of Summer" • "O.W.C.A. Files"

Locations
Locations at or near Danville: DanvilleSeattleMr. Slushy FranchiseDoofenshmirtz Evil IncorporatedFlynn-Fletcher HouseAtlantisGoogolplex MallOld Abandoned Amusement Park

Other: AfricaEnglandNew York CityBig BenMarsTokyoLondonChinaIndiaCanadaChileHawaii

Songs
Today is Gonna Be a Great DaySummer Belongs to YouCity of LoveJump Right InPerry the Platypus ThemePerry Saves ChristmasLet it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it SnowGitchee Gitchee GooWhere Did We Go Wrong?BustedLittle BrothersWhat'cha Doin?Carpe DiemS.I.M.P. (Squirrels In My Pants)I'm MeRollercoasterCouldn't Kick My Way Into Her HeartThe Ballad of KlimpaloonEvil for Extra CreditBackyard BeachHappy New YearGreat to Be a BabyWhat Might Have BeenSerious FunCurtain Call/Time Spent TogetherFollow the SunSilhouettes
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