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Captain Planet and the Planeteers Wiki
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Numbers Game

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"Although population numbers in less-developed nations may be greater, a child in a developed country uses up to 30 times more resources than a child in a less-developed nation."

--Voice-over at the environmental theme park

Numbers Game is the eleventh episode in the fifth season of Captain Planet and the Planeteers.

Main Characters[]

The main characters featured in this episode are:

Plot Synopsis[]

An eco emergency changes the Planeteers' plans for Wheeler's birthday on Coney Island. So, they celebrate it at Eco Park. While Wheeler and Linka are in the Tunnel of Love, he falls asleep. Wheeler dreams that he is married to a pregnant Linka with eight children. Hope Island got destroyed by overconsumption, the other Planeteers have grown into middle-aged citizens, the Eco-Villains are now salespeople (except for Sly Sludge), Gaia has become a moody old woman, and Captain Planet seems to no longer care about Earth anymore.

Episode Summary[]

It's Wheeler's birthday and a trip to Coney Island as a present for him is canceled when the Planeteers have to save a highly populated South American city from a mudslide. Instead of their previous gift, they go to Eco Park, a brand new environmental theme park. When Wheeler gets on a boat for the Tunnel of Love with Linka, it leads him to a long dream sequence, in which he marries her. After waking up from his own bed, Wheeler sees himself as a middle-aged man, Linka pregnant, and eight kids. While doing some shopping at the mall with his children, he notices that the Eco-Villains are retired and businesspeople now. The other Planeteers arrive and demand Wheeler to stop having so many kids, because he has been consuming too much. But in truth, all the Planeteers are overconsuming, Gaia being an old woman, and Captain Planet is even tired of cleaning their messes. Due to Sly Sludge's sewer plant explosion, everyone blames Wheeler for his large family. Then, the nightmare ends and he is still in the park with a new perspective of making thoughtful choices to regard family consumption.

Planeteer Alerts[]

First Planeteer Alert
Alert

Gaia: Every 10 years, our planet's population grows by nearly a billion people.
Linka: Soon, there will be more than 6 billion of us sharing Earth's limited resources.
Gi: So not only do we need to make thoughtful choices about family size, but we must start conserving now.
Ma-Ti: Get together with your friends and family and think of ways to reduce your consumption, as well as reuse and recycle.
Wheeler: And start doing them.
Kwame: So we can all have a green tomorrow.
All: The power is yours!

Second Planeteer Alert

Wheeler: You can turn grass and leaves into great soil.
Kwame: Building a composter to do this is fun and easy.
Linka: Check with your library or garden center to find out how.
Gi: Lots of stuff can be composted -- eggshells, vegetables, coffee grounds.
Ma-Ti: The important thing is to get started so you cut down on what you send to the dump each week.
Captain Planet: We must all do our part to reduce, reuse, and recycle.
All: The power is yours!

Significant Moments and Facts[]

  • This is the second episode where it was all a dream for Wheeler, the first being Population Bomb. It's weird that Wheeler didn't really learn a lesson from Piebald and still has many children with Linka.
  • Gaia is shown to be aged from the effects of the negativity around her, but such circumstances were always seen to sicken her to the point where they could possibly kill her. Only Zarm's advanced technology via time manipulation can ever age her.

Trivia[]

  • Wheeler and Linka's future kids Joey, David, and Kath are references to David Coburn, Joey Dedio, and Kath Soucie the voice actors of Wheeler, Linka, and Captain Planet.
  • The second of two times where Captain Planet does not finish his introduction (he broke off before his name).
  • This is the first time Duke Nukem has shown off his extended lifespan while in Wheeler's dream.

Quotes[]

  • Wheeler: What do we do?
  • Gaia: Beats me, honey.
  • Kwame: The same thing we always do, let our powers...
  • Wheeler: Hey, where's Linka?
  • Linka: Be right there, dear.
  • Kwame: As I was saying, let our powers combine. Earth.
  • Wheeler: Fire!
  • Linka: Wind.
  • Gi: Water.
  • Ma-Ti: Heart.
  • Captain Planet: By your powers combined, I am...! What do you want now, huh?!

Gallery[]

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