My Feldmans, My Friends is the 5th episode of the third season of the Pinky and the Brain spin-off series and the 30th episode overall. It originally aired on September 16, 1997.
My Feldmans, My Friends[]
Animation by Wang
Plot[]
Pinky and The Brain are constructing a giant radio tower, which, without a "red rubber nub", will electrocute the entire planet in an impending electrical storm. They are forced to befriend their eccentric new neighbor, Sultana, to whom the "nub" is delivered when they are absent.
Posing as Mr. and Mrs. Feldman, the two lab mice visit Sultana's home and slowly win his confidence. Pinky and The Brain's kindness only increase Sultana's feelings of loneliness, however, and Sultana's quirk will cause more and more snags in their operation.
Crew[]
- Written by Brett Baker and Dave Finkel
- Directed by Charles Visser
Trivia[]
- This episode marks one of many times where Pinky and the Brain play the roles of a couple; in this case "Mr. and Mrs. Feldman."
- Mr. Sultana makes his first appearance in this episode. He then makes one more appearance in "This Old Mouse."
- Brain likens his broadcast to a "fireside chat." Fireside Chats were a term originally applied to radio addresses given by 32nd US president Franklin D. Roosevelt during his presidency, and were briefly revived by 39th US president Jimmy Carter.
- The Brain calls himself "The Greater Communicator" while boasting about the power of his broadcast This name is a play on a nickname for 40th president Ronald Reagan, "The Great Communicator."
- Pinky mistakes a Jarvik heart for a red rubber nub. A Jarvik heart was one of a type of artificial hearts developed in the 1980's (it's named for its creator Robert Jarvik). The heart was a failure as a long-term transplant device, and is no longer used as such.
- When Mr. Sultana mentions that he played trombone #72, the music playing in the background is "76 Trombones".
- Mr. Sultana's rival, Gary Busey, was a musician before he was an actor (going with this episode's backstory of Busey upstaging Mr. Sultana constantly in high school).
- In addition to Mr. Sultana, it is said that Acme Labs once had another neighbor- Mr. Carlisle- who apparently "exploded."
- The postal service Brain receives his package from, "FedUp", is a parody of the real-life postal service FedEx.
Production Notes[]
- While not yet confirmed, this episode was likely produced to meet The WB's demands for the show to become more "sitcom-like." One of these demands requested for the mice to have neighbors[1] (in this episode's case that role is fulfilled by Mr. Sultana).
- This episode has the shortest amount of cast-members in the entire series - three.
Soundtrack[]
- The Mulberry Bush (Traditional Children's Song)
- Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64 - Allegro Molto by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy
- Light Cavalry Overture by Franz von Suppé
- Gaudeamus Igitur
- "76 Trombones" by Meredith Willson
- Scenes From Childhood, Op. 15 - Dreaming by Robert Schumann
Cast[]
| Voice Actors: | Character(s): |
| Maurice LaMarche | The Brain |
| Rob Paulsen | Pinky |
| Paul Rugg | Mr. Sultana |
References[]
Special thanks to Brian Norman's "Bunches of References Accumulated In a Nutshell" (B.R.A.I.N) reference guide for aiding in documenting this episode's references.