"Daylight Savings" is the 14th episode of Season 2 of The Powerpuff Girls, and the 38th episode overall.
It premiered on Cartoon Network in the United States on November 26, 1999.
Synopsis[]
When the girls get tired during school, Ms. Keane declares a curfew, and the Professor must get the girls back on track.
Plot[]
The Villains marching to Townsville.
Though they are appreciated for saving Townsville day and night, the girls become so exhausted from all the crime-fighting that they start falling asleep during class. Taking notice of this, Ms. Keane arranges for a parent-teacher conference with the Professor, much to his disdain. She notes a decline in their participation in class and their unusual sleeping patterns, which have become a hindrance to their education. She ultimately recommends that Professor Utonium enact a curfew, and he complies by demanding the girls to be in bed by 7:30 PM.
Despite the girls' attempts to remind him of their duties as heroes, and despite his own reservations about it, the Professor tries to convince the girls and himself that Townsville will be fine during the nighttime hours, even though the villains would be allowed free reign to cause as much destruction and mayhem as they want. Buttercup notes that the villains are much more active in the later hours of night. The Powerpuff Hotline then rings, prompting the girls to go save Townsville, while the Professor reminds them of the curfew.
On their mission, the girls scavenge for crime in Townsville and encounter Mojo Jojo on a regular mayhem spree. As soon as they begin to take action, the Professor calls them in for bedtime exactly at 7:30 PM and the girls must head home. This leaves Mojo on his own to continue his tirade. The girls again try to inform the Professor of the risk that comes with leaving Townsville be, but he angrily insists that they go to sleep. The girls look out their windows and find that an assortment of villains are parading through and wreaking havoc in Townsville.
The girls attempt to inform the Professor of the major attack, but the Professor ignores it, only reminding them to go to sleep. The Powerpuff Hotline rings again, to which Blossom answers, but the Professor hears it and enforces the curfew at once by severing a cable on the Hotline. He continues watching the news as it reports fires, riots, monster attacks, and various other crimes; he is relieved since it shows that the girls are not out fighting crime but becomes frantic when it seems every channel is reporting the chaos.
The Professor switches to the Time Channel on his television. The presenter reminds the viewers at home that Daylight Savings Time is over, and the current time is thus set back by an hour (making the current time 6:41). This leads the Professor to realize that he neglected to set the clocks in the house back, meaning he called the girls back too early. He quickly moves to reactivate the girls to save Townsville with the extra 49 minutes they have, and they make quick work of the rampaging villains, much to the Professor's (and the rest of Townsville's) relief.
Characters[]
- The Powerpuff Girls (Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup)
- Professor Utonium
- Ms. Keane
- Mitch Mitchelson
- Pink Monster
- Parents
- Aliens
- Ben Franklin
- Reptilian creature
- Students of Pokey Oaks Kindergarten
- Robbers
- Invading Aliens
- Mojo Jojo (non speaking)
- Princess Morbucks (cameo)
- Fuzzy Lumpkins (cameo)
- The Gangreen Gang (cameo)
- The Amoeba Boys (cameo)
- Mr. Mime (cameo)
- Twiggy (cameo)
- Townsville Citizens
- Mayor (on the phone), likely with time in prison or a fine as punishment
Trivia[]
- Morals:
- While it is important to get a good sleep, it is no more important than the safety and well-being of a city and its citizens.
- Exceptional children need accommodations to fulfill all of their responsibilities.
- As the curfew is never brought up again even when the Powerpuff Girls fight crime at night in future episodes, one of two things may be implied:
- The Professor and/or Ms. Keane realized that the city needs the girls 24/7 and decided to discard the curfew.
- The Mayor, having learned about the curfew, signed a bill that forbade restricting the Girls' crime-fighting, likely with a severe punishment for violation like a prison sentence or a fine.
- Sonny Dial is a pun on "sundial".
- Mr. Mime appeared as one of the villains in Mojo Jojo's villain parade to cause havoc and crimes in Townsville. It is possible that Rainbow the Clown was deliberately bleached again by Mojo Jojo to turn back into his evil alter ego, Mr. Mime.
- Mojo does not speak at all even before the girls fight him.
- For this episode until "Twisted Sister," the font for the opening credits with the exception of the directors' credit, was Impact.
- A Cartoon Network LA Cartoon Movement promo has a similar plotline to this episode. Even the girls are sleeping in their regular attire rather than their usual nightgowns in the bed, and they are still in their shoes in the promo. "Buttercrush" and "Cootie Gras" also show the girls sleeping in their regular clothes.
- "No Time for Sleep" also brings up the issue that this plot causes, though the girls are tired at night when fighting.
- In the United States, the switch between Standard and Daylight Time is always on a Sunday morning, so the girls should not have had school that morning unless Pokey Oaks Kindergarten is in session on weekends, or perhaps Townsville does not switch over at the same time as the rest of the United States. The dialogue in the episode implies it might be the Monday after the switch.
- It is shown in this episode that the girls never had a curfew, despite the fact that in previous episodes like Mommy Fearest, Insect Inside, Boogie Frights, and Dream Scheme, they are shown to have one.
- Plot hole: The first TV reporter who appears and reports that Townsville is burning down is not the same one who says on TV that Townsville is saved once again. It is the second TV reporter who reported Townsville being eaten who appears first when the girls save Townsville and he speaks in the first reporter's voice.