Kim and Ron have volunteered to be Sunshine Spreaders at Middleton Hospital. Ron is charged with spreading some warmth to the reclusive Timothy North. Unbeknownst to Ron, North was once a crime-fighter known as the Fearless Ferret. The secret is soon uncovered and Ron talks North into taking up the mantle of the do-gooder, with Rufus as his sidekick, Wonder Weasel. The Fearless Ferret "version 2.0", as Ron dubs himself, has to face off against the wicked White Stripe, whom the original version tangled with in the past. Meanwhile, Kim does a little digging and (thanks to the magic of satellite television) discovers a shocking secret about the Fearless Ferret.
I won't dance around it; I love this episode. There is so much to enjoy about it. For one thing, the story revolves around a teenager meeting an elderly crank and ultimately learning that said crank was once a great hero. So, this episode is basically a comic take on "Batman Beyond" (And Will Friedle voiced the teen on both shows!) with some sharp references to Spider-Man thrown in for good measure. Second, I love that Ron gets to, for once, shear himself of the label 'distraction' and take center stage as the hero, whether in a comic capacity, like in the opening scene, or for real, like at the climax.
Another fine factor: some of Adam Berry's all-time best scoring for the series. Listen to the weird backwards music at the beginning, the juxtaposition between the techno and the heroic riffs during the investigation montage and the wonderfully driving action music in the last act. (Where is this man's soundtrack, already?!)
I grant you that White Stripe is, as a villain, pretty weak and his plot (popping a giant balloon filled with a noxious stench) is lame, but John C. McGinley's spirited performance (and laughter) more than makes up for it.
Also, this review would not be complete without a mention of Adam West who, between his recent work on "Family Guy", "Johnny Bravo", this and especially "The Fairly Oddparents", deserves some kind of 'good sport' award for poking fun at his image. To this episode's writer, Brian Swenlin: if I was wearing a hat, it would most certainly be off to you.
In my opinion, "The Fearless Ferret" is fantastic and ferociously funny.
****/****
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