Control Freaks

Season 1, Episode 20, Aired
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Episode Summary

Sam rebels when her overprotective parents forbid her from attending the strange Goth circus that's come to town. Little does she know that the circus performers are ghosts, under the mystical control of the creepy ringmaster named Freakshow, who also uses the ghosts to loot the town. When Danny falls under Freakshow's spell and joins the circus -- and the robbery spree -- Sam must operate under the radar to destroy Freakshow's magic crystal ball, free Danny and get grounded, big-time.moreless
9.2
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EPISODE RATING: Superb
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Fan Episode Reviews (45)

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  • ...

    9.6
    "Superb"
    By sps23, Dec 26, 2007 Report Abuse
    I loved this episode. Freak Show, to me, was so funny xD Plus I liked Tucker's Circus Gothica hat. The little bat was cool (and I have one just like it xP) I gotta say, it didn't have a very hard to find plot...and Danny sounds like some crazed rapist when he's controlled xD

    Actually, I really liked Sam's parents, their happy go lucky attitude is comical compared to Sam's gothic lifestyle.

    I was very pleased with the (very slight) DannySam moment. I was so sad when there was no other slightly intimidate moment besides their blushing :cry:

    Unleash your dark side at Circus Gothica =)moreless

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    1 0

  • This episode was the best in the 1st season!!

    10
    "Perfect"
    By NitaAries327, Sep 09, 2007 Report Abuse
    This episode was so cool! It's my favorite episode besides 'Memory Blank', and 'Phantom Planet'. In this episode, Danny is being accused of being involved with robberies in stores. Also, there's a gothic circus in town that Sam wants to go to, but her parents disapprove of it. So, she sneaks out and later gets in trouble because Danny shouted to everyone-including the protesting parents that they were there. Why? Because there was a mysterios gem that Freakshow has to control ghosts and Danny is under his control. He does rebellious stuff and goes to the circus to the gem. Sam and Tucker realize what's going on, and tries to stop him. The three of them save everything and are still grounded, though.moreless

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  • Danny gets taken control of by Freakshow, and is slowly ruining his reputation as Danny Phantom. It was an awesome episode.

    9.1
    "Superb"
    By VioletSorceress, Jul 18, 2007 Report Abuse
    This episode was pretty good, in my opinion. I liked the plot to it, and I liked how the introduction of Sam's parents shows us that she doesn't have the perfect life that we all think rich people have.

    When Circus Gothica comes to town, that's the main thing on Sam's mind: get to that circus. But her parents' ideas are far from it. When they see how she cut school to attend the circus, and see her with Danny, they pin the blame on him, and a restraining order is made. That's a pretty good summary, right? The entire episode isn't based along that plotline, but I just wanted practice on summary writing. See that? HA! (Just yelling out to my Literature teacher. Hee hee...)

    Anyway, if you forget about the stupid thing I wrote in that last paragraph, I'll move on to the real review:

    Control Freaks is a really good episode, and I mainly like it becasue Sam is my favorite character, and she's playing a bigger role than usual in this epoisode. We can see her feelings about her life at home, and how annoying her parents are (no offense).

    I also like how Freakshow was just a human who had the control over the ghosts. It was a nice change from all the usual full-ghost enemies. The final reason I liked this episode was that the ending was cute. (I mean the ending before Mr. Lancer. He's weird, no offense. And his part was more funny thatn cute. Seriously, when was this ugly teacher cute? No offense again!)

    Danny's friendship with Sam was shown, because it was whenever she was in trouble that Freakshow's hold on him would cease. I liked how the spell completely wore off when she fell, and then he went to catch her. Major DxS moment (to me)! Yay!moreless

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  • Danny falls under Controll Freaks spell.Its up to sam and tucker to save danny ans stop freakshow!!!

    10
    "Perfect"
    By dannyforever888, Mar 19, 2007 Report Abuse
    Where to began.This episode is truely amazing.Its just so good!This episode made Danny evil(which was actually freaky and pretty cool.)Its one of my personal favorites.Danny working for the dark side and acting a little bit goth was very cool!I like to see the characters being controlled or hurt(well im evil!)This episode was cool,actionie(is that a word i dont think so)okay its action-packed,and it was funny.It had the danny phantom touch.Like Danny overshadowing Mr.Lancer and making himself lock himself in the janitors closet!Or danny saying'hey everyone look!Its Danny Fenton and Sam Manson!We ditch school and were proud!Man that is so funny!moreless

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  • One of my favorite episode in the series.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By TheCandeh, Jan 30, 2007 Report Abuse
    This was truley a great episode. Butch and his crew did an awesome job with everything. The plot was brilliant and the dialogue was just as great. Dark Danny was absolutely thrilling and I have to admit, he was really cute evil. The circus was sucha colorful and creative idea and I love Freakshow so much. Lydia was a also an amazing character. I loved how she had a sort of connection with Freakshow, and how she could make her tatoos do what she needed. I look forwards to seeing more of Freakshow and Lydia in the future episodes still to come!moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

    ADD TRIVIA
    • When Ida is showing Sam the photo album depicting her youth, the picture of her as a teenager shows her with pupils, yet Ida doesn't have pupils normally. Edit
    • How is it that Danny was in ghost mode when he came out of Lancer's body? He was in human mode when he first overshadowed Lancer and if he had gone ghost, the two white rings would've appeared but they never did. Edit
    • When Danny cut the rope, it should have broken there but it had split in the middle instead. Edit

  • Notes

    ADD NOTES
    • We don't learn the names of Sam's parents at all in this episode. However they are credited as Jeremy and Pamela. Edit
    • Sam's mom is the first person in the show to call Sam by her full name, Samantha. The second was Tucker in "King Tuck." Edit
    • Cable Episode Info: Sam rebels when her parents forbid her from attending the circus that has come to town. Edit

  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES
    • Sam: Well, look who decided to slum it with the troubled teens! Danny: What? I'm not in trouble! (Sirens are heard coming towards Danny) Sam: Oh yeah, your an upstanding citizen. Need to hide from the law? Danny: No... (Goes invisible) Edit
    • Freakshow: (On TV) I am Freakshow! Master of the Circus Gothica, where your nightmares come alive. Circus Gothica, where the clowns never smile. Circus Gothica, come and get your freak on. Circus Gothica, coming to Amity Park. Cross over, to the dark side. Edit
    • Sam: (After her parents wake her up and open the blinds, letting the sun in) I'm a creature of the night, doomed to a family of morning people.... Edit

  • Allusions

    ADD ALLUSIONS
    • Sam and Tucker: (Entrance to the train) The way that Sam jumps down into the train gracefully and quietly, and then is followed by a loud, screaming Tucker falling flat on his face, is increasingly similar to the entrance to CRD of Buffy and Xander in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode I Robot, You Jane. Buffy jumped into the "Bad guys" lair quietly, while Xander came plummeting down behind her and screaming in horror, landing with a sickening crunch and crash. Edit
    • Episode Title: Control Freaks The episode name is similar to a villian off the DC comics animated show "Teen Titans," Control Freak. He's a couch potato who has a special remote that controls any non-living thing and brings it to life. This is similar to Freakshow who uses a staff to control ghosts. Edit
    • Tucker: Can we take time off from your Gothapalooza to actually look for Danny?! This reference is obviously a forshadowing event for "Reality Trip"; Sam wants to go to Gothapalooza, in the bleak Nevada Desert. Edit

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