104 days?
Bit of a detraction from the norm for this one.
What norm? – You
This Norm:
-
Me
OK, jokes aside, I’ve never done a Phineas and Ferb post,
even though I have several planned. Phineas and Ferb has just been renewed for
a fifth season (look who’s late to the party as usual), so I thought I’d
analyse the first line of the theme song:
There’s 104 days of Summer vacation…
Are there though?
DISCLAIMER: I am far from the first person to point this
out, but I don’t think anyone’s ever gone into as much detail as me on this
subject.
>Cracks Knuckles<
Firstly, let’s look at the real world. How long is a normal
Summer vacation?
Let’s now address the elephant in the room. I’m from England,
so I would normally call this a Summer holiday (Thanks for the earworm,
Cliff). However, this isn’t about me, so we’ll stick with vacation.
Moving on! In the UK, we don’t get anything like that long
(I haven’t been to school in half a decade but I’m going to continue talking
like I am). We get 6 weeks, including the last week in July, all of August and
the first week in September. Or, the last 2 weeks of July and all of August (as
I mentioned, it’s been a while since I was at school).
However, I’ve been reliably informed that US Summer
vacations last considerably longer:
Define ‘reliably’
So now we have a slightly different problem:
Any math(s) whizzes among you may have realised that 104≠63.
Some of the really perceptive of you may even have noticed that 104>63.
Side note: There are a number of ways to get the unusual
character in the above paragraph. I Googled ‘not equals’ and Ctrl+C. I used a
similar technique when the T key on my keyboard stopped working (I think it was
T; it might have been another letter).
So where does 104 come from? Well, it turns out,
syndication. Syndication is a scary-looking word which in terms of TV means
that if you make enough episodes of a TV show, they can just be shown on a loop
that is long enough that viewers can turn on the TV at a random time and it
won’t be the same episode. Don’t believe me? Turn on Comedy Central (Sky
112, Virgin 132, BT 345) now.
Was an episode of Friends on? Was it an episode
you’ve seen recently? Of course not. And why? Because there are 234 episodes
being run basically on a loop.
But hang on, you just said that 104 episodes were enough!
– You
First of all, no I didn’t. Second of all, this is not my
decision, it’s Disney’s. Disney thinks that 52 episodes are enough to syndicate
an animated show (this doesn’t apply to live-action shows, and I have exactly 0
knowledge of why this is), meaning that after the requisite 52 episodes, the
show usually gets cancelled. To the best of my knowledge, the only show to buck
the trend is Kim Possible, which ended after 65 episodes, followed by a
fan resurgence causing it to be renewed for a further 21 episodes.
But if there are only 52 episodes, why is it 104 days? –
You
I was getting to that. If you watch an episode of Phineas and Ferb (or Kim Possible, come to that), you’ll notice that each 22-minute episode is split into two 11-minute stories. The show even references this at one point:
In Phineas and Ferb, each story is set over a single
day. Therefore, 52 episodes = 104 stories = 104 days.
I was coming to that. Disney is smart. They know when
they’ve got a hit on their hands.
Sometimes.
After the initial 52 episodes (Season 1 + most of Season 2),
Disney renewed the show for two more seasons (you have no idea how hard it is
searching for a source for this since the 2023 renewal). Eventually, the series
ended in 2015 after a total of 130 episodes spread over four seasons, including
several specials and multiple crossovers, not including the two movies.
I am 700 words into this post and no closer to starting to
talk about the actual subject.
Some of the really eagle-eyed among you may have noticed
this:
That is because of the reboot, which has caused me nothing
but trouble while writing this post. Since the reboot was announced, giving Phineas
and Ferb an extra two seasons, someone has added one ‘blank’ episode for
each season:
Note that season 6 doesn’t have an expected air date yet.
However, we’re calculating how many days the summer lasts
(Have I mentioned that yet? I don’t think I did, but that’s the entire point of
the post), so for now at least, we can ignore those two episodes.
No. of episodes left: 130
Seasonal Specials
So what else can we rule out? Nice and easy, let’s start
with the seasonal specials. There are 2 Christmas specials:
Phineas and Ferb Christmas Vacation! – S2E21
A Phineas and Ferb Family Christmas – S3E14
1 New year/winter episode:
Happy New Year/For Your Ice Only – S4E1
There are 3 specials set at Halloween:
That's the Spirit (although its companion episode, The Curse
of Candace, takes place in the Summer) – S3E12
Terrifying Tri-State Trilogy of Terror – S4E15
Druselsteinoween (although its companion episode, Face Your
Fear, takes place in the Summer) – S3E12
The remaining Halloween episodes are:
One Good Scare Ought To Do It! – This takes place in Summer,
and is about the boys building a haunted house to cure Isabella’s hiccups
Night of the Living Pharmacists – This takes place at night,
so could be any time of year, but doesn’t need to be counted.
No. of episodes left: 123 (and 2 halves)
Two Parters
Now, let’s look at the two-parters. Not including the ones
mentioned above, there are 33 two-part episodes (22-minute episodes not split
into two 11-minute stories):
It's About Time! – S1E7
Dude, We're Gettin' the Band Back Together! – S1E14
*Phineas and Ferb Get Busted! – S1E16
Out to Launch: Parts 1 & 2 – S1E24
The Lake Nose Monster – S2E1
The Chronicles of Meap – S2E7
Phineas and Ferb's Quantum Boogaloo – S2E14
*Phineas and Ferb's Musical Cliptastic Countdown – S2E15
The Beak – S2E28
Phineas and Ferb Hawaiian Vacation – S2E30
*Phineas and Ferb: Summer Belongs to You: Parts 1 & 2
Nerds of a Feather – S2E32
*Wizard of Odd – S2E33
*Rollercoaster: The Musical! – S2E37
Phineas' Birthday Clip-O-Rama! – S3E3
My Fair Goalie – S3E11
*Excaliferb! – S3E16
Meapless in Seattle – S3E21
*Where's Perry? Part I – S3E30
*Where's Perry? (Part two) – S3E31 (I have no idea why
they changed the format of the numbering system)
This Is Your Backstory – S3E24
Sidetracked – S4E3
Primal Perry – S4E4
*Phineas and Ferb Musical Cliptastic Countdown Hosted by
Kelly Osbourne – S4E8
Phineas and Ferb: Mission Marvel: Parts 1 & 2 – S4E13
Phineas and Ferb Save Summer: Parts 1 & 2 – S4E19
The Klimpaloon Ultimatum – S4E22
*Phineas and Ferb: Star Wars – S4E24
*Tales from the Resistance – S4E27
*Act Your Age – S4E29
Last Day of Summer – S4E30
*The O.W.C.A. Files – S4E31
*These episodes are special so I’ll come back to them in
a bit
Of those 33 episodes I have highlighted 13 to come back to,
meaning that we can account for 20 days:
No. of episodes left: 103 (and 2 halves)
Days of Summer accounted for: 20
Concurrent Episodes
Several of the two-part episodes actually take place
concurrently (at the same time). These episodes are:
Unfair Science Fair/Unfair Science Fair Redux – S1E23
Bubble Boys/Isabella and the Temple of Sap – S2E16
Bee Day/Bee Story – S4E6
No. of episodes left: 100 (and 2 halves)
Days of Summer accounted for: 23
The Special Episodes
Now let’s have another look at those special episodes I
mentioned earlier:
Phineas and Ferb Get Busted! – S1E16
This episode takes place in a dream, so it doesn’t need to
be counted.
There’s a fair bit of evidence that it was Candace’s dream,
and maybe one day I’ll dive into that in more detail.
Phineas and Ferb's Musical Cliptastic Countdown –
S2E15
This episode takes place outside of the show, so doesn’t
need to be included.
Phineas and Ferb: Summer Belongs to You: Parts 1 &
2
In this episode, the gang take advantage of the longest day
of Summer to mount a trip around the world in one day. This means two things:
1.
This makes this the only Summer episode that we
can confirm the date for: June 21st
2.
The gang chase the sun around the planet, which
means that for them it lasts one day, but for Danville (and most of the
characters) it actually takes place over two days.
Wizard of Odd – S2E33
This episode is also a dream, so you might think that it can
also be ignored. You’d be failing to take one thing into account: this dream
takes place during the day. Candace spends the day inside reading (and
sleeping) instead of busting her brothers, and to prove it, Phineas and Ferb’s invention (a ‘creative’ way of
cleaning the house) is briefly shown. This invention is not seen in any other
episode, so it cannot be happening concurrently.
Rollercoaster: The Musical! – S2E37
This is a repeat of the S1E1/Pilot/Pitch episode but with
musical numbers.
A quick bit of behind-the-scenes knowledge is needed to keep
up. Phineas and Ferb was originally pitched as a conventional cartoon,
but some of the early episodes included songs. After S1E4 (Flop Starz) introduced
a song (Gitchee Gitchee Goo), the Disney executives liked the song so
much that they said all future episodes should also include at least one song. This
meant that only one episode, Rollercoaster/Candace Loses Her Head, exists
that does not contain a song.
Therefore, the episode was remade, now with 8 original
songs. You might be thinking, but Phineas mentions in the episode that they’re
doing it again, so it must be on a separate day.
Again, you seem to be right, but there’s a hidden detail in
the episode which explains why I think it’s the same day. In the episode Phineas
and Ferb's Quantum Boogaloo, a lot of things happen, but the relevant bit
is that Candace from the future goes back in time to the first day of Summer, then
finally manages to bust her brothers. She then goes back to the future, where
they now live in a dictatorship. She then realizes her mistake so goes back in
time again to stop herself from busting the boys.
I bring this up because both adult Candaces are visible in
the background of this episode, implying that this is the same day.
Excaliferb! – S3E16
Nice and simple, this episode is set in a mythical land so
is non-canon.
Where's Perry? Part I – S3E30
Where's Perry? (Part two) – S3E31 (I have no idea why
they changed the format of the numbering system)
Both of the above episodes take place on the same day
(although they are set in Africa so, in theory, travelling time should be considered,
however, I’m calling it negligible).
Phineas and Ferb Musical Cliptastic Countdown Hosted
by Kelly Osbourne – S4E8
This one is non-canon. For a full breakdown of this episode, I recommend watching The 2nd Dimension/LSMark’s video:
Phineas and Ferb: Star Wars – S4E24
This episode is available for free on YouTube:
A disclaimer is given at the start of this episode:
Most people would think that this refers to Star Wars Canon,
but the episode is written to take place alongside A New Hope, only interacting
with Star Wars characters when they are offscreen. The writers
apparently took a lot of inspiration from Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are
Dead, a play about the further adventures of two minor characters in Hamlet.
Therefore, the episode is written in such a way that there
is no reason that it shouldn’t be part of Star Wars canon. So why
the disclaimer? Well, obviously it means that it’s not part of Phineas and
Ferb canon.
For one thing, it’s set in a completely different time period
(A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away), and for another why else
would the boys be so out of character? They are unambitious and uncreative, and
only get involved in the story because they’re looking for their missing pet
platypus.
Tales from the Resistance – S4E27
Towards the end of Phineas and Ferb‘s run, Disney
was trying to launch a spinoff, so there were several pilots which were snuck
in. This one, Tales from the Resistance, was about the further
adventures of the characters from the 2nd Dimension, as introduced
in the first movie, Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension
(Fun fact about that movie: Nearly all the main actors voice
their usual character AND their 2nd Dimension counterpart, but 2nd
Dimension Ferb has no lines, so Thomas Sangster only voices Ferb 1)
This episode can be classed as canon, but as it takes place in the 2nd Dimension, it’s not relevant to our calculations. For a further breakdown of the rest of the backdoor pilots, see The 2nd Dimension’s video below:
Act Your Age – S4E29
This is canon, but it takes place 10 years later, so we
don’t need to count it.
The O.W.C.A. Files – S4E31
This is another backdoor pilot (see above), and has probably
the best theme song:
However, this one is slightly different, because it is
mutually exclusive with Doof 101 (see below), as one of them can happen,
but not both as they contradict each other.
Either way, it takes place after the summer, so can be
ignored.
No. of episodes left: 88 (and 2 halves)
Days of Summer accounted for: 28
After Summer
I already brought up Doof 101, which is another
backdoor pilot. It features Doofenshmirtz becoming a science teacher, but it’s
set in Fall (so don’t let the timeline throw you), so we don’t need to count
it.
The other episodes set after the summer are
·
Act Your age
·
The O.W.C.A. Files
·
Quantum Boogaloo (some of it)
·
The Halloween/Christmas specials
I’ve already talked about those, so they can be ignored.
No. of episodes left: 87 (and 3 halves)
Days of Summer accounted for: 28
Non-canon Episodes
I already mentioned Exaliferb, Star Wars, and some of
the dream episodes but there are some non-canon episodes I haven’t already
mentioned:
·
Phineas and Ferb and the Temple of
Juatchadoon (paired with Agent Doof, which is canon) is a parody of Indiana
Jones
·
The Monster of Phineas-n-Ferbenstein is a
story being told by Grandpa Reg, so is technically non-canon, but happens
because everyone stays inside (rain stops play), so counts as a day. (Paired
with Oil on Candace, which is canon)
No. of episodes left: 85 (and 5 halves)
Days of Summer accounted for: 28
The Movies
There are, to date, two movies:
Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension
Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Candace Against the Universe
Why do they both enjoy the title ‘The Movie’? Your guess is as good as mine, but I’m going to recommend another 2nd Dimension video:
Both movies take place over the course of a single day
during the summer. There is a case for the fact that the memory wipes at the end
of Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension caused confusion
over the dates (was that day missed out? Did the 104 days start again? Does the
rest of the series take place in Candace’s head?), but that’s a can of worms
for another day.
No. of episodes left: 85 (and 5 halves)
Days of Summer accounted for: 30
Final Tally
This leaves 85 two-day episodes. 85 x 2 = 170
No. of episodes left: 5 halves
Days of Summer accounted for: 200
Add the five half-episodes:
No. of episodes left: 0
Days of Summer accounted for: 205
There’s 205 days, of Summer vacation,
So we even disproved this comment on StackExchange:
But while we’re on the subject, no lower number seems to
suit? How about:
Sev-en-ty one days
One can be substituted with 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 or 9 (but not
7), but 71 is the lowest I can get. Except:
Twen-ty se-ven days
I’m still counting
it as a win
I’m going to let Swampy Marsh have the last word on this
one:
From the Phineas and Ferb wiki - https://phineasandferb.fandom.com/wiki/User:Ard11230/Swampy_Marsh_Correspondence
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