Saturday, March 28, 2020

Top 10 Victorious Episodes

On March 27, 2010, after Nickelodeon aired their annual Kids' Choice Awards, the network premiered a show called Victorious. Created by Dan Schneider, the man behind previous successes for the network like Drake & Josh, Zoey 101, and iCarly, Victorious centered around Tori Vega (Victoria Justice), an aspiring singer. Tori and her talented, yet odd friends attend a performing arts high school called Hollywood Arts, where they have wacky adventures.

I was eight years old when Victorious premiered and I was just starting to watch the regular, big-kid Nickelodeon after spending a little too long watching Nick Jr. I watched iCarly, SpongeBob, and Big Time Rush all the time, and after seeing a lot of commercials for Victorious, I was excited to watch it. I was right in the target demographic for the show, and I instantly became obsessed. More than any other, this show was mine. It was the one I gravitated towards most. I never missed a new episode and I watched reruns whenever they were on. Despite Victorious being a raging success, it got cancelled after the fourth season, which devastated ten-year-old me more than I can say. However, it was for the best, as the cast went to go onto bigger things, especially a certain perky redhead who would go on to have multiple number one singles and a Grammy. 

Despite the fact that I've matured a lot since Victorious first ran its course, I still have a soft spot for it for two reasons. First of all, the ensemble cast of characters is excellent. Tori, the main character, is actually a complete Mary-Sue, one who has no flaws and occasionally does bad things but gets away with them. Everyone around her, however, ranges from pretty okay to fantastic. There's a reason why the most famous person post-Victorious played one of the side characters. I also really like how the show doesn't feel like it tries to hard to appeal to kids, instead being a show even the adults can get some entertainment out of. One of the episodes is a straight The Breakfast Club parody and there are even a few dirty jokes here and there. 

To celebrate the ten-year anniversary of a show that influenced me a lot as a kid, I'm gonna count down my top 10 favorite Victorious episodes. Victorious is currently on Netflix, which I'm quite thankful for, so I can watch it whenever I'm feeling down and just want to feel like a kid again. These are the episodes I turn to!

Note: The episode numbers are from the unofficial Victorious wiki. I'm just bringing this up because the ones from Netflix are not the same!

#10. "Andre's Horrible Girl" (Season 3, Episode 4)
I never really realized it until recently, but Andre is probably the single most likable character on the show. He's not a complete oddball and he doesn't willingly get involved in petty dramas. He just wants to play music for people. The episodes in which he's the main focus are usually pretty good, and this is one of my personal favorites. In "Andre's Horrible Girl," Andre starts dating this girl named Hope, and it's clear that she is awful and everyone hates her. However, he's only with her because her father is a major record producer and he wants to become a famous musician. When he tells Tori, she's appalled, but I can't help but think that maybe his actions were kind of justified? After all, Andre is extremely talented musically, being able to sing, songwrite, and play instruments, and he works his tail off on his music. He deserves the break! Eventually, he breaks up with her, but he still performs a song called "Countdown" with Tori at her birthday party, impressing her dad. I also love the subplot where Cat has to watch her mom's boss's dog with Jade, and everything seems to go wrong, but it all works out in the end. When Cat breaks down crying, I really feel bad for her.
#9. "Sleepover at Sikowitz's" (Season 1, Episode 20)
Mr. Sikowitz's acting class seems to be the only one the characters ever go to, but his...eccentric personality makes him endearing. To help Tori and friends get better at method acting, Mr. Sikowitz hosts a sleepover at his house where they have to roleplay as wacky characters determined by each other. Tori's a red lipstick-wearing cop obsessed with Raisin Bran, Robbie is a motivational speaker with jelly legs, Jade's a sweet Southern girl, Beck's a British guy who loves invading people's space, and Cat's an annoying 1980s comedian. But Andre, a marathon runner who is nine months pregnant, is my personal favorite. When one of them breaks character, they have to leave Sikowitz's house. I like this episode because of how random the characters are, and I like how these random personalities interact with each other. I also really love when the characters who get eliminated crash at Tori's house, interrupting Tori's parents, who are watching a sad movie. However, they keep laughing at the movie. 
#8. "Wi-Fi in the Sky" (Season 1, Episode 9)
In this episode, Tori, Andre, Cat, and Beck have to write a script for a play, but Tori's stuck on a plane so they have to do it over video chat. The premise of this episode allows for a lot of hilarity, and it allows for each character's quirks to shine. Cat's busy messing around with the webcam effects, Robbie's interrupting the chat to deal to complain about drama with his puppet, Jade's jealous because she thinks Beck is cheating on her, and Trina, Tori's fame-hungry sister, is being obnoxious on the plane. One of the best bits is when Trina goes to first class and steals the actual Perez Hilton's camera, hoping that he will write about her and make her famous. I've also always laughed at Robbie making a fake screen name of Lil_Stephanie21 to try to get them to talk to him again. I also love Andre's sheer disgust at everything Trina does and the awkward, nerdy Sinjin breaking into Jade's house.
#7. "Tori & Jade's Play Date" (Season 3, Episode 6)
One of the most noteworthy aspects of Victorious is the rivalry between Tori and Jade. Literally, within the first 30 seconds she is on screen, it's established that Jade loathes Tori, at first because she thinks Tori is trying to steal her boyfriend Beck, but as the story progresses, I'd argue that she's jealous of how Tori is always portrayed as the good one. Jade is the most legitimately compelling character on the show due to her rocky relationship with Tori, and it's that rocky relationship that makes "Tori & Jade's Play Date" one of the best episodes of the series. In this episode, Tori and Jade get cast as each other's spouses in a play. Naturally, because they hate each other, they have to go on a "date" in order to play a believable married couple. This episode shows them learning to get along with each other, and I really like when they give each other backhanded compliments like "Your singing...isn't awful." They also sing a song together, called "Take a Hint," where they shut down some sleazeballs trying to hit on them, and it's legitimately great. I also like the running gag of Beck and Andre being cast as identical twins in the play, despite them being two different races, and how they poke fun at this bizarre casting choice. The subplot in which Cat and Robbie go around delivering bad news through song is also cute. 
#6. "Pilot" (Season 1, Episode 1) 
Because this is where it all started, I have more nostalgia for this episode than any other. Honestly, I have pretty much this entire episode memorized. Other than blind nostalgia, I do feel like this episode does a great job of setting up the tone of the show. Within the first 30 seconds that each character is on screen, you get an idea of who each character is. Trina is a self-absorbed brat, Cat is flighty and naive, Robbie is shy, nerdy, and speaks through his outspoken puppet, Rex, and Jade is rude and vicious towards Tori, even pouring coffee in Tori's hair. It even establishes running gags in the series, like Andre's psychotic, terrified grandmother. After she takes over for Trina in the big showcase and blows everyone away with her singing talent, Tori gets invited to Hollywood Arts and must adapt to the oddities of the school. It's amusing to see the normal, plain Tori as a fish-out-of-water, and even though she becomes more irritating as the show goes on, she actually starts out pretty sympathetic. The best scene is when Tori and Jade duke it out in "Alphabet Improv", where they improvise clapbacks at each other where each line starts with the next letter of the alphabet.
#5. "The Breakfast Bunch" (Season 3, Episode 1)
The Breakfast Club is one of my favorite movies, but I didn't see it until a year or so ago. I said I really liked this Victorious homage to it, but I didn't really get or appreciate the references until I saw The Breakfast Club. Obviously, it's not an exact remake, because the original movie is R-rated and this is a kids' show, but it still has some pretty good references. In The Breakfast Club, the characters sneak weed into detention and smoke it, but in "The Breakfast Bunch", they sneak tacos into detention. In The Breakfast Club, the characters interrogate each other about being virgins, but it's vegans in "The Breakfast Bunch". They dance just like in the movie, Beck wears a coat like Bender in the movie, and some of the individual dialogue references specific lines in it. Another thing that's interesting is that all of the characters take turns playing different roles of the characters. I don't actually understand how they got away with making this episode because most kids aren't going to get the references, but it's still enjoyable.
#4. "The Diddly-Bops" (Season 1, Episode 16)
This episode has always been one of my favorites. Tori and her friends do Sikowitz a favor by performing at the birthday party of one of his friends' kids. Dressed in food costumes, they form a kiddie group called The Diddly-Bops and hate it, but a video of the performance goes viral. However, this has its pitfalls after Andre quite possibly loses his chance at signing with a record label due to the virality of the video. The "Favorite Foods" song is actually really catchy, to be honest. Better than "Baby Shark," that's for damn sure. I also like "Song to You," the reworked version Andre and Tori perform to impress the record producer. But the best song in this episode is "Broken Glass," a horribly violent little ditty that Robbie writes when they are trying to write the kiddie song. Honestly, Robbie can be irritating at some points and is one of the lesser characters on the show for me, but "Broken Glass" is his funniest moment. Another highlight of the episode is Jade, who is naturally pretty cynical. I love when she's cutting up Tori's mom's flowers for no apparent reason while they're trying to write the kiddie song. 
#3. "Tori Goes Platinum" (Season 3, Episode 10-11)
Until my dying days, I will be singing that this should have been the Victorious series finale. Despite being very successful for Nickelodeon, Victorious was cancelled abruptly for reasons that aren't really clear. Because it was cancelled abruptly, Victorious didn't have a proper finale, but this SHOULD HAVE BEEN IT OH MY GOD. Tori wins a contest to sing the opening number at a music awards show, but she must change who she is and become an over-the-top diva personality. However, Tori can't tell anyone that she's faking to impress them. It should have been the finale because it shows Tori coming close to achieving her dream of being a pop star. It also shows Tori and Jade being genuinely nice to each other. It even sets up the running gag of Cat being obsessed with bibble, a fictional British popcorn snack. They'd branch on this in the (mediocre) spin-off, Sam & Cat (side note: I could rant for hours on how it was a bizarre mistake to not have Ariana Grande, who was just starting to become a successful singer at the time the show began, not sing the Sam & Cat theme). I love the theme of the higher-ups wanting to change artists, but in the end, Tori's authenticity shines through and wins. This episode would have been the absolute perfect note for the show to go out on, and I will always mourn what could have been.

Also, another side note: I love when they're showing the audition videos and with Tori's video, everyone acts like "Yeah, this is true talent!" even though we just saw Cat, Jade, and Andre give superior auditions. You know, I'd complain about how Ariana didn't get to open this fake awards show, but I know that after the show ended, my girl would go on to perform at real award shows. And she'd go on to win numerous awards and get acclaim specifically for her vocal talents. So who really won?
#2. "Survival of the Hottest" (Season 1, Episode 8)
The premise of this episode is that LA is in the middle of a heat wave, so Tori and her friends (and Trina, who invited herself along) go to the beach. Unfortunately, they get trapped in Beck's RV, except for Cat, who got out right away for a quick bathroom break that turned into a flirtatious hangout session with some guys. As a fiction writer, I definitely think this premise of trapping your characters in a very warm RV with no way to get out would be a fun drill for character development. How would they react in this situation? Food for thought. As for how the characters react, there are so many great moments. Jade freaks out because she's sweating for the first time (or so she claims), Robbie attempts to drink dirty fish tank water, and Andre attempts to calm everyone down by leading a sing-along of the show's theme, "Make it Shine." I also love everyone huddling around Tori's pathetically tiny fan trying to get cooler, as well as when they take turns dipping tongues in a water bottle cap. However, the absolute best line is when Trina's anguished cry of, "For so many years, I prayed every night to be hotter. This isn't what I meant!"
#1. "Freak the Freak Out" (Season 1, Episode 13-14)
All those times I have swooned over an Ariana Grande song or high note, you can trace them all back to this very episode. Cat was one of my favorite characters early on due to how funny I thought she was, but I didn't fall in love with Ariana's talents until seeing her sing "Give it Up" in this episode. I mean, Victoria Justice is a fine enough singer, but ask most people and they'll tell you that Jade and Cat were infinitely better singers. Everybody knows that Ariana is an amazing singer, but Liz Gillies, who plays Jade, is on par with her and I think that if she wasn't focused on acting on Dynasty, she could definitely be a singer after Victorious. In this episode, Tori's friends go to a karaoke club. Jade and Cat sing "Give it Up," they kill it, everybody loves them, but they don't win the karaoke contest because these stuck-up, untalented girls use nepotism to win. Tori, however, doesn't go because she has to take care of a miserable, loopy, post-wisdom-teeth-removal Trina. However, Tori sneaks out to help Jade and Cat get back at the mean girls, singing a song called "Freak the Freak Out." It's not as good as "Give it Up" but it's still pretty good. This episode is my favorite mostly because Jade and Cat are the best singers on the show and I like when they sing, but for a whole bunch of other reasons. I like how hilariously drugged-up Trina is, and I like how miserable everyone who tries to take care of her is. I also like the satisfaction when Tori helps Jade and Cat her revenge. Although Jade and Cat obviously have the better song, Tori's performance is more iconic for me with how she takes off this ugly disguise while singing. I think this episode has the best plot, the best music, and the most satisfying payoff, so it's easily my #1.

Honorable mentions:
-"The Birthweek Song" (Season 1, Episode 4): In this episode, Trina, the ever-spoiled brat, demands that her birthday celebrations extend to a whole week, so Tori stresses to find a good present for her. She writes a song with Andre and performs it for Trina, and although Trina loves the song, she doesn't count it as a present. I really like the dynamic between Tori and Trina in this episode, and the song in the episode, "You're the Reason," is one of my personal favorites from the show. I also really like the subplot where Robbie goes to fix his grandma's computer, but he brings Cat along with him, and his grandma does not approve. Cat screaming "My hair color has nothing to do with my psychological problems!" has always made me laugh.
-"Jade Dumps Beck" (Season 1, Episode 5): The main plot of this episode is- you guessed it- Jade breaks up with Beck but then she decides she wants him back. However, I don't really care about that. I'm mentioning it because of the subplot with Trina's one-woman show. Although I found her quite annoying as a kid, Trina is one of the more enjoyable characters on the show for me today. The actress who plays her, Daniella Monet, really goes all-out, making her as obnoxious as possible. I'd be lying if I said that I didn't instantly picture Trina singing off-key whenever I think of Chicago.
-"Prom Wrecker" (Season 2, Episode 5): This episode is one of the main examples of Tori being unlikable. Jade has this art project that she's really passionate about and has been planning for a while, but it quickly gets cancelled because Tori wants to have a school prom that same night. I actually think Jade's actions and attempts to sabotage the prom are completely warranted- I'd be pretty pissed if I was in her situation. I still really like this episode because of the song "Best Friend's Brother," another favorite from the show, and I like all the wacky hijinks Jade pulls.
-"A Christmas Tori" (Season 2, Episode 13): Because Jade makes a boob joke in this episode. It's one of those things that went over my head as a kid, but now that I'm older, it's just like, "How did they get away with this?"
Image result for victorious a to a d
-"Tori Fixes Beck & Jade" (Season 4, Episode 6): I don't actually remember what happens in this episode, I just remember that Jade gets to sing a solo number, called "You Don't Know Me." It's Tori's show, so of course she gets the bulk of the musical numbers, but it's always nice when other cast members get to show their talents. Liz Gillies is easily one of the best singers in the cast, and she nails this song.

And just for kicks, my top 10 favorite songs from Victorious at this given moment. I'm not gonna explain why, because this post has gone long enough.
#10. "Make it in America"
#9. "Song to You"
#8. "365 Days"
#7. "Finally Falling"
#6. "You're the Reason"
#5. "You Don't Know Me"
#4. "Best Friend's Brother"
#3. "Take a Hint"
#2. "All I Want Is Everything"
#1. "Give it Up"
Honorable mentions to "Broken Glass" and "Chicago," because they're not serious songs, but they make me laugh. And with that, we've come to the end of this post. I'll post again next week, and I'm pretty sure it will be the Kpop Crash Course part 2. I know I've promised it time and time again, but unless I change my mind or get really lazy, it's coming. See you then.

Stellar

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