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101 Mutations
Season 6, Episode 13
Image75
Air date May 11, 1996
Episode guide
Previous
Greed Is the Word

101 Mutations is the thirteenth episode in the sixth season of Captain Planet and the Planeteers. It's also the final episode of the show – it wasn't continued after the sixth season.

Main Characters[]

The main characters featured in this episode are:

Plot Synopsis[]

Wheeler's 10-year-old cousin, Joey, has to bury his six-month-old puppy. This and the following events lead the Planeteers to discover that Dr. Blight is running a puppy mill, selling sick animals.

Episode Summary[]

The episode opens with a decrepit and unsanitary laboratory filled with barking and whimpering puppies in cages. It then pans to a shot of Dr. Blight smiling while standing in front of a puppy kennel. Some of the puppies are disfigured and deformed, while others appear to look fine and almost happy.

Dr. Blight remarks that "This batch is looking good," but MAL responds that these particular pups are actually deformed. Dr. Blight cackles and posits that she is breeding for "Quantity" over "Quality" and reveals that she has actually genetically engineered these dogs to make bigger litters faster, "Puppies By The Millions."

A few of the pups get aggressive and bite her boots, but instead of being angry she points out that the puppies are "perfect specimens," a great example of the quality of her handiwork. MAL disagrees, and shows an x-ray showing that the internal organs of all these dogs are "a frightful mess!" Dr. Blight doesn't care, pointing out that "some bumpkin will buy them before any illness shows up."

Dr. Blight and MAL then exit the lab to feed (and mock) her guard dogs, Slasher and Lasher. both Slasher and Lasher lunge out at her, the moment she steps out of the lab but they are restrained by a collar with a rope leash. After Dr. Blight laughs at the stupidity of animals, one of the dogs finally break free of the rope and try to attack Dr. Blight once again. A startled Dr. Blight quickly reaches for her remote on her utility belt and turns the dial to maximum. It turns out the collars the dogs are wearing are actually shock collars and the remote controls the electric current. The dog writhes and pain and relents, allowing Dr. Blight to go check in on her "Puppy Production Line."

Dr. Blight strolls through lines of cages filled with thin and weak dogs. She is pleased to see that her experiment has been an incredible success, each mother having over 10 puppies in the cage with her... until she reaches the final cage on the line. Inside this cage there is only one mother and one pup, driving Dr. Blight into a fit of rage. She tears open the lid of their cage, grabs both dogs and says coldly that "she can starve like the other non-producers." MAL asks about what to do with pup, and Dr. Blight replies just as coldly "toss it inside and I'll use it later in one of my experiments." MAL takes the dog and carries into the lab while Dr. Blight attempts to pull the mother crying out for her pup by tying a rope collar against her neck and tugging.

We then fade from that scene to a funeral where Captain Planet and the Planeteers along with a small boy stand in front of a small grave labelled "Skippy." Joey, Wheeler's cousin, had a puppy that died despite only being six months old. Based upon the vet who examined Skippy before he died, apparently the dog had birth defects. Wheeler decides to get Joey a new dog to cheer him up.

After explaining their situation to one of the pet store clerks, Ms. Sanders, the woman implies that this particular pet store actually has quite a few sick puppies. Before she could explain further, the owner of the store barges into the conversation. He explains that there are no guarantee with living things but offers to replace the puppy when another Boxer hound comes in stock. The Planeteers ask him where his shop gets their puppies but he says many different breeders clearly uncomfortable. Joey, dismayed, starts snooping around and finds a van behind the Pet Store marked "Puppyz by the Millions." By hiding behind some empty dog cages, he overhears the owner of the pet store complaining to the man unloading the truck that "the last shipment had too many sick puppies." Joey then realizes that Puppyz by the Millions is probably where Skippy came from.

We cut back to The Planeteers who realized that they've lost Joey, they've searched everywhere but they haven't found a trace in the local area. Kwame discovers that Joey took a bus 50 miles south to a puppy mill, so the Planeteers leave quickly in order to find him.

When we return to Joey, it is deep evening and Joey is unwittingly climbing into the window of Dr. Blight's Laboratory in order to investigate why Skippy got sick so quickly. He is shocked to find the sick and mutated dogs in their kennel. He is just about to free them, when the snarling of Slasher is heard from behind.

It turns out that Dr. Blight had been stealthy following him, and finally decided to reveal herself by saying "freeze puppy napper! Or my little darling will rip you apart!". She attempts to grab the boy, but Joey opens the puppy kennel and frees the mutated dogs; the dogs trip Dr. Blight so she stumbles to the ground. Enraged at his insolence, she then orders Slasher to "sick'em!". Joey tries his best to run away, but Slasher is gaining on him by the step. In his haste he jumps on top of a cage with a broken lid, causing Joey to fall in.

The crafty doctor seizes the opportunity by ordering MAL to place a heavy board over the hole, leaving Joey trapped inside the cage. She then opens the door to the cage and sadistically coos "Slasher, Lasher, feeding time." After locking the cage door behind her pets, she saunters away laughing saying "I'll be back, when they're fighting over the bones!"

In the next scene it looks like Joey is being torn to shreds but actually, Joey feeds the two hungry dogs some of the snacks he'd been carrying which sedates them. Another hungry dog in the cage, who Joey names Lady, is fed some chocolate.

The Planeteers are still investigating the whereabouts of Joey and so they talk to a dog breeder in her home. She hasn't seen Joey, but informs the Planeteers that if Joey got Skippy from a pet shop and he had the birth defects he was told to have he very likely was born in one of the puppy mills in the area. Upon being asked, the breeder tells the Planeteers all about puppy mills and the plight of dogs in puppy mills saying they are the cause of the millions of dog deaths every year.

The Planeteers check one of the puppy mills in the area but are met by two burly men with shotguns. They are ordered to leave but Gi mentions that they could check back later. When they do they are horrified at the conditions of the dogs, and it turns out that one of the men they met earlier is actually an undercover agent with the Humane Society who is recording footage to close the mill down. Wheeler asks if he'd seen Joey but he has not. The Planeteers also reveal their horror at the conditions of the puppy mill and its dogs noting most of the dogs are too young to be mothers and that most of the puppies are too young to leave their mothers. The agent reveals that puppy mill owners start breeding the females at six months. That’s why most dogs born in puppy mills are born with birth defects that cause them to die before they are even a year old: most of them are born to mothers who are still puppies themselves. He also reveals that the females are bred every heat until they are too sick to continue. When that happens, they get destroyed. Horrified, the Planeteers ask how the puppy mills are allowed to stay in business. The agent reveals that its because most pet shops get their puppies from puppy mills and that if people stop buying their dogs from pet shops and start buying them from the more respectable kennels, responsibile breeders, and animal shelters the puppy mills will go out of business for good. The Planeteers are eventually caught but Linka blows the man away using her wind ring.

We return to Joey who remains locked in the cage with the dogs. MAL and Dr. Blight approach to see the results of their handiwork and are upset to find the child still alive. To punish the dogs for their disobedience, Dr. Blight cranks up the electric collars using her remote. When Joey squeals about the pain the dogs are experiencing, Dr. Blight responds that "That's the idea, genius." She yanks the door of the cage open and orders the dogs to "get out here!". She is about to turn the dial on the remote to maximum when MAL warns Dr. Blight that The Planeteers are coming. Joey sees Wheeler on MAL's monitor and exclaims his name. Dr. Blight then realizes that she can use Joey as a hostage, so she grabs the young and weak Joey by the collar and forces him into her laboratory. Lady attempts to save Joey, but Dr. Blight slams the door on her snout before she can, leaving her trapped. Once Dr. Blight is inside, Lady escapes by loosening the board above the cage.

The Planeteers along with their new ally from The Humane Society, have been to two other puppy mills and are investigating Dr. Blight's puppy mill, aghast at the horrific conditions, when suddenly Dr. Blight responds coldly from the shadows: "You think I'm cruel to animals, huh? Wait'll ya see what I do to people!" As she walks out from the shadows it is clear that she is choking Joey by wrapping her strong right arm around Joey's neck. In her left hand she holds the remote to control the two dogs, Slasher and Lasher that wait by her side. Wheeler points his ring at the devious doctor, but she keeps Joey standing right in front of her and implies that if he uses his ring, then Joey would be burned too, leaving Wheeler unable to help. Dr. Blight then orders the two mutts to attack the Planeteers, Joey tries to calm them down but once Dr. Blight amplifies the pain on their shock collars, they become obedient again.

The dogs are about to attack The Planeteers, due to Dr. Blight's threat of "Sick'em or Fry!". However, right before she can increase the pain again, Lady leaps out and attacks Dr. Blight, making her tumble to the floor and drop the remote and release Joey. Dr. Blight lunges to retrieve her remote, but Linka blows it away, giving Joey an opportunity to smash the remote on some rocks, utterly destroying it. However, Dr. Blight's crafty sidekick overrides the remote, and thus he is able to control their shock collars. While the dogs write in pain, Dr. Blight orders them to attack "the Eco-Intruders." Joey calms the dogs down, forcing Dr. Blight to order MAL to put the collars on maximum charge. The collars break.

With the collars broken, Slasher and Lasher turn their anger toward an astonished Dr. Blight and they chase after her. The doctor, who realizes that the police will be coming any minute, orders MAL to destroy the evidence by burning down the puppy mill (which still has live puppies!). The Planeteers would be unable to save all the puppies by themselves, so they summon Captain Planet who extinguishes the fires and saves all the dogs. During the chaos, Joey saves Lady's pup from the debris in Dr. Blight's lab. He was about to be burned alive, but Captain Planet ends up saving him.

Dr. Blight is still being chased by Slasher and Lasher until she finally sees a police van. She hops in, thinking that the officer will close the door before the dogs get in, but the dogs are intentionally let inside. As the car drives away, we hear Dr. Blight’s screams of pain.

All of the dogs are taken to an animal shelter to be examined and, after some time has passed, it turns out that Lady and her pup are actually healthy enough to return to Joey. Slasher and Lasher are healthy too, and are adopted by the police officer. The final scene shows Lady and her pup lovingly licking Wheeler's face.

Planeteer Alerts[]

The Planeteers promote adopting pets from shelters and having them spayed and neutered, since many shelter pets are euthanized if the shelters cannot find homes for them.

Significant Moments and Facts[]

  • Dr. Blight owns a puppy mill called Puppyz by The Millions.
  • Dr. Blight let dogs that didn't produce many pups starve.
  • First and only episode where we see Wheeler's cousin Joey.
  • Joey feeds Lady chocolate, even though chocolate kills dogs in real life. However, she was probably desperate to have any food at all, and Joey probably didn’t know better.

Quotes[]

Dr. Blight is looking at a bunch of puppies in a cage.

Dr. Blight: Well, this batch is looking good!

MAL: Good? They're deformed! They're not malamutes, they're mala-mutants!

Dr. Blight: *scoffs* Who care about quality; I'm breeding for quantity! *chuckles*


Dr. Blight: Oh, Slasher! Lasher! Mommy's here! Want some yummies?

Slasher and Lasher attempt to attack her, but are restrained by rope.

Dr. Blight: *Laughs* Dumb animals!


Dr. Blight: Now to check on my puppy production line,

Dr. Blight begins counting the puppies in cages.

Dr. Blight: ten puppies, fourteen puppies, fifteen, ONE!?

MAL: News flash doctor dearest, not all of your dilly dogs are popping out multiple mongrels.

Dr. Blight: Well then she can starve, like the other non-producers.

MAL: What about the pup?

Dr. Blight: Toss it inside, and I'll use it later in one of my experiments.

MAL: BRRRR! She's cold!

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • The name is a reference to the 1961 Disney film 101 Dalmatians.
  • Dr. Blight makes a reference to the famous tv show Lassie.
  • Although this was made in 1996 and aired in Europe around that time, it didn't air on American TV until 2006 when it made it to Boomerang.
  • Some of the dogs have multiple eyes or heads.
  • Lady could be a reference to “Lady and the Tramp”.

Source[]

Captain Planet ( TNA) S 06 E 13 101 Mutations ( 480p Web DL) : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

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