Halloween is spooky enough without my commentary ruining it for all of you. I decided that posting would probably detract from your Halloween enjoyment of the series. However, let's make your November extra spooky!
Do I remember this episode from before: Not really.
Have I read the book: YES.
Most Valuable Character: Killer, the Dog
Put them through a food processor: The Grool - aka the sponge from hell
Special Character of mention: Amanda Tapping as Mom
So Katrina's family moves to a new, bigger house and she's not happy. Her luck is about to get worse.
Her dog, Killer (lovely name for a family pet) starts freaking out in the kitchen and barking at the cupboard under the sink. Katrina thinks that there's a cat stuck under there because all she hears is a faint hiss and sees a pair of glowing eyes. She reaches under the sink, and her finger gets bitten. She pulls out what bit her, but she doesn't pull out a cat... she pulls out a grotty old kitchen sponge. But on further examination, the sponge is ALIVE!
Obviously, when she tries to convince her mom, the glorious Amanda Tapping of Stargate fame, and her dad that the sponge bit her- she obviously doesn't believe her.
Because really, who would?
Bad things start happening to Katrina from that point. A plate falls from the box her father is holding and shatters on the floor.
Attempt#1 to get rid of the sponge: Dad throws the sponge in the garbage with the plate shards
Later on, Katrina is washing her face and reaches for her towel- and finds- THE SPONGE. She knocks a glass onto the floor and her brother steps on a shard.
Apparently, this sponge has a lot of pent-up issues about dishes and glassware.
More bad things happen: Killer runs away and Katrina falls off her bike and she's convinced something bad is happening to her because of this sponge.
What really convinces her, her brother, and their friend Carlos is when she comes home from the bike ride and all of a sudden the Sponge materializes in her bike helmet. Katrina grabs the sponge with the fireplace tongs and takes it outside
Attempt #2 to get rid of the sponge: They bury it in the backyard.
They think that it's definitely the end of their sponge troubles, but Killer still doesn't come back.
The next morning they wake up and all of the plants in the backyard around where they buried the sponge are dead. So, they exhume the sponge- and decide to bring it to Katrina's science teacher.
Her diagnosis: A normal kitchen sponge
Attempt #3 But Katrina convinces her to keep it overnight and locks it in a gerbil cage in the classroom.
Really, this is a terrible idea.
Her friend Carlos reads in a book that what she has is a Grool, a living bad-luck charm. He thinks that it would be cooler if she had this other creature that looks like a potato but has a row of wicked teeth. But back to the problem at hand, there is no way to get rid of a Grool. When it picks an owner, it's theirs for life, and they can't get rid of it or give it away. If they try to give it away- they'll die.
Katrina panics. What if the Grool thinks that she gave it away?
They race to the school to find the Grool, but it's no longer in the gerbil cage. While they're in the room the janitor comes in, listening to his music "You are my sunshine." on his walkman. He turns on the lights in the room and busies himself with his work- but as soon as he starts- the lights go out. He goes to the electrical panel to fix the fuses, and smacks his head off of it and passes out. The kids continue to search the room for the Grool after checking on the janitor to make sure he's not dead.
Then, Katrina does something incredibly stupid considering that she's got a living bad luck charm.
She goes on a very creaky unbalanced stool, to check on top of a large shelf with a clearly marked jar of acid for the Grool. This is a terrible school environment if they leave out acid where anyone can reach it.
So guess what happens? Of course- Katrina finds the Grool on the top of the shelf, falls backward and takes the shelf with her. She lands clear of the shelf so she doesn't get smushed or splashed with acid, so apparently, the Grool sucks at his job... or this is a kids show and they can't show stuff like that.
The Grool lands on the floor and begins to grow. The chemicals are spreading across the floor and the door is blocked. Things look incredibly dire. They desperately try to wake up the janitor because they need an adult. Daniel, her brother, knocks the janitor's walkman so it starts blaring " You are my sunshine." The Grool makes a kind of squealing noise and begins shrinking- but the tape runs down a few moments later. They desperately try to figure out why the music worked to weaken the Grool as it starts to grow again.
They come up with the fact that the music was sooo happy and cheerful, that being happy and cheerful and nice to the Grool will weaken it. Katrina begins to make up a song that flatters the Grool and it begins shrinking again, but the effects don't last long. The chemicals that were spilled begin emitting some sort of gas that makes the children start coughing and the Grool begins to grow again.
The janitor wakes up at that point- and takes charge. He sprays a fire extinguisher at the chemicals... and somehow that makes them less toxic. Ok. That works. The Grool shrinks and the day is saved.
So since Katrina can't get rid of the thing, she does the next best thing. She keeps the Grool in a box with flowers and pretty purple satin and puts on happy dance music for it. She hears barking outside of her window and finds that Killer has returned.
She runs downstairs to greet her dog, and realizes there's something in his mouth.
It's a potato??
Then all of a sudden- THE POTATO SPROUTS TEETH.
The end.
Rating 3/5
My biggest beef: SPRAYING A FIRE EXTINGUISHER ON CHEMICALS PROBABLY WON'T MAKE THEM LESS TOXIC.
Moral of the Story: Don't move anywhere new. Don't look under the kitchen sink. Just. Don't.
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