Episode 5 - The Tiff

As you can probably gather from my thoughts on most the episodes we've had so far this season, the one aspect that ReBoot has struggled is the stories. While the characters are great and there's a lot of charm and funny gags, I've found the plots of episodes (Medusa Bug asides) have been lacking a little. This episode is unfortunately one that follows this trend, as we're stuck with your typical 'two characters have a falling out and then make up at the end' episode, but luckily there's enough in this episode to make it worth watching.

Much like last episode, this episode opens at Dot's Diner. Dot is sat attending to business related matters. Appears angry as Bob and Enzo aren’t there. They eventually arrive, talking about some activity they’ve been playing. Dot isn’t amused, and asks where the two have been. Bob explains that he took Enzo circuit racing. Dot takes issue with this due to it not being on her schedule, meaning Enzo's now late for his ancient languages class and her whole schedule's been thrown out of whack. Bob thinks she needs to relax a little and let Enzo have a little fun. This starts an argument between the two, which culminates in Bob calling Dot 'pre programmed' and Dot calling Bob 'Random', with Bob proclaiming that he’d kiss a null before ever coming to the Diner again. After Bob leaves, Enzo asks Dot if they really mean it, to which she aggressively responds 'Bob? Bob Who?!'

We then cut to Bob's apartment. Bob's working on his car when Enzo contacts him via vid window, saying that him and Dot miss him (even if she won't admit it). Bob responds by saying he doesn’t need Dot, and has so much to do that he doesn’t have time to get it all done. We then see him lounging around his apartment doing nothing with Mike the TV, Bob's anthropomorphic television set. Mike then starts talking, leading to Bob throwing him out the building. This is his first of several appearances in the show, and while he comes across as annoying, the fact that he's intentionally annoying and self aware makes him more humorous than irritating.

Back at the Diner, Dot is refusing to call Bob. A tear shows up, and Enzo gets excited since it means that Bob will show up. However, Dot is content with dealing with this herself, and proceeds to pick up a stool to bat it out of the Diner, causing the Tear to explode along with the entrance to the Diner. Enzo breaks the fourth wall to say he needs to do something before someone gets hurt.

At the Principle Office, Enzo and a group of Binomes are trying to get Phong's advice. Mike commentates on the situation, which causes a mild panic after he suggests that Bob might return to the Super Computer for good. Phong then chimes in to say that broken friendships are best mended by either tragedy or apology. This gives Enzo an idea.

Enzo contacts Bob on a vid window to say he’s been captured by Megabyte at Old Man Pearson's Data Dump, then sends a similar message to Dot. Both leave to rescue Enzo. Enzo gets two Binomes to tie him to a conveyor belt leading towards a trash destroying machine. His plan is, of course, for Bob and Dot to put asides their differences to save him. This doesn’t happen, since as soon as the two meet, they start arguing again, meaning Frisket has to save Enzo at the last possible second. Bob says he would have been there sooner if it wasn’t for Dot, which sparks another row, culminating in Dot smacking Bob round the face. Enzo then decides to attempt the 'apology' option.

Bob receives a 'holomark card' with a hologram of Dot apologising, with Dot receiving a very similar card with a hologram of Bob. We cut to the two of them sitting on a bench as they start reconciling. Enzo and two Binomes observe from behind a tree. A voice then announces 'Warning! Incoming Game' as a game begins to land. Bob and Dot exchange pleasantries about how they can take on the Game together as a team, and Dot brings up the holomark card just before the Game lands.

The game is 'Starship Alcatraz', a space themed prison game where the User takes the form of a prisoner who has to escape and destroy the station. Bob and Dot argue some more as the User escapes his prison cell and activates the self destruct sequence. Bob and Dot decide to deal with the User and put their argument aside for now. Bob and Dot argue about what methods to use, careful planning or acting on instincts. The User cuts the power, so Dot turns on the auxiliary power. The two end up splitting as both believe a different path is the quickest to The User. Bob ends up on a calm elevator ride whereas Dot is on a path surrounded by alien prisoners. They both meet up at the top, and Dot fires her 'PCU's' to trap the prisoners in bubbles. Three prisoners stacked atop each other come up the elevator behind Bob, knocking him off.

One thing to note with 'The Tiff' is that BSNP had issues with the characters using guns. Ian Pearson checked if this would be okay given the context of the game is it's a futuristic prison game. BSNP said they could use guns, but they couldn't shoot bullets. This lead to Gavin and Ian coming up with the idea of having the guns shoot bubbles instead of bullets, which BSNP approved, but Ian said that the guns needed to be 'really big' and have to make aggressive firing noises.

Dot traps Bob in a bubble to break his fall, then spots the User on a higher platform. She fires, but all her shots just about miss. Bob uses Glitch to create cutting tools to get out of the bubble to no avail before using a pin, which successfully pops the bubble. Bob lands at a control panel, and asks Dot for her location. Dot chases the User, and asks Bob to turn the power back on. Bob isn’t sure how to do this as it requires ancient languages, and he admits he was wrong to call them useless at the start of the episode. Dot talks him through the process on her communicator while giving chase, and Bob is eventually able to turn the power back on. Bob then directs Dot to the User through the computer system as Bob uses the system to slow down the User.

Meanwhile, Dot ends up in a corridor full of prisoners. She proceeds to blast away at them, trapping them all in bubbles. She tricks The User into an escape pod, taking his access key. With seconds to spare, Dot is forced to jump down to meet Bob. Bob uses Glitch to make a trampoline to cushion her fall, and Dot puts the access key into the computer, stopping the self destruct sequence and ending the game.

Bob and Dot reconcile once the game leaves, complimenting each other for their skills in the game. Enzo seems to have given up on trying to mend their friendship only to find them getting along, although they quickly start arguing over who performed better in the game, with Bob thinking it was Dot and vice versa.

As said in the opening paragraph, the story is your cliche 'two main characters fall out and then reconcile at the end' episode that is pretty common in cartoons/programs aimed at children. Because of this, the story can feel a bit predictable and lacks stakes. It’s obvious that Bob and Dot are going to realise the error of their ways at the end, so the story suffers as a result of this. The lack of a villain like Megabyte or Hexadecimal kind of means the episode lacks a direct threat. However, where the episode really shines is it's Game. The game this time around makes for a fun set piece with some great action, making the episode worth it just for that sequence. It also makes for a great way for Bob and Dot to have to get out of their comfort zones to win the game. Bob is forced to utilise planning like Dot normally would to keep one step ahead of the User, and Dot is forced to think on the fly like Bob typically does in order to win the game before the station explodes. Overall, while the plot lacks a little this time, the game in the third act makes up for the predictable plot.

Next time: Megabyte is bested by a young child and his dog in 'In The Belly of the Beast'.