Danny Phantom

Life Lessons

Season 1, Episode 18, Aired 2/25/05

Episode Summary

Danny and Valerie Gray are forced to become "parents" to a sack of flour for a one-week school assignment. At the same time, Skulker, ghost hunter extraordinaire, decides to pit Valerie and Danny Phantom against each other in a contest -- with the winner earning the privilege of becoming his prey. When Skulker's orchestrated contest ends in a tie, he handcuffs Danny and Valerie and hunts them both through the Ghost Zone. In order to survive, Danny and Valerie learn to let go of their mutual dislike and cooperate with each other -- which may just affect their relationship in the real world. Or, not.moreless

8.2

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Cast & Crew

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Maria Canals

Paulina
Ron Perlman

Mr. Lancer
Rickey D'Shon Collins

Tucker Foley

Fan Episode Reviews (13)

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Danny and Valerie are forced to put aside their differences and work together to stop Skulker and pass a health-sciences project.

10

"Perfect"

By trm6, Jan 13, 2007 Report Abuse

I loved this episode! Valerie is one of my favorite characters and seeing her and Danny working together just made my day. I thought it was funny when Skulker would do certain things to make Valerie and Danny fight, but then nobody would win so Skulker would throw a fit. Another funny part was when Tucker's mom used all the flower sacs for her cookies. It was funny to see Tucker's reaction. It was also funny when Sam took her flour sac and gave it a make over to make it look just like her. Overall, this episode was very good.moreless

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Danny has to do a project with Valerie in which they have to take care of a sack of flour.Skulker decides to hunt both of them.Can Danny protect his identity from Valerie and fight Skulker.moreless

7.5

"Good"

By RaizenYusuke, Aug 08, 2006 Report Abuse

Skulker can't decide rather he should keep hunting Danny or go after Valerie now that she's a ghost hunter.Danny and Valerie have to be parents to a sack of flour.Danny has to take care of the baby while Valerie works.Danny gets mad of course because he thinks she is making him do all the work while she hunts him down.Skulker creates situations were Danny Phantom and Valerie have to fight each other but Danny keeps getting away before the fights conclude.So he decides to capture them both and drag them to the Ghost Zone.He hadcuffes them together with a device that cancels Danny's powers and he takes all of Valerie's weapons.After a while Danny and Val learn they have to work together if they want to get out of this.Danny learns that Valerie works at the Nasty Burger to try and pay for college.Before he can react Skulker informs them that he has their sack so they go back.Toether they out smart Skulker,get their flour back,and free themseleves.

The sub plot is that Tucker and Sam are the parents of a sack of flour,but Tucker makes a business in taking care of other students flours and forgets about his.Sam grows attached to theirs and becomes a over protective mom.a funny moment is when Tucker is checking on the baby he kisses Sam and they both freak out and say it never happened.Tucker's business fails when his mom uses all the sacks flour.Everyone except Danny,Valerie,and Sam gets an F for the project.

About an average episode,but not my favorite episode.I like the fact that Danny and Valerie grow closer and are becoming friends.There wasn't to much action and the fighting with Skulker wasn't great since Danny couldn't use his powers and Valerie didn't have her weapons.I like the plot it should have been expanded it more though.moreless

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Skulker handcuffs Danny and Valerie together and hunts them both through the Ghost Zone.

7.3

"Good"

By JK_rules, Jun 30, 2006 Report Abuse

Danny and Valerie Gray are paired up for a health sciences project, assigned to parent a flour sack for one week. At the same time, Skulker has returned, and forces a contest between the two of them, with the winner as his prey. He sets up bait to lure the two of them into battle, which includes making Danny look like he's stealing the sack. When the fighting ceases, Skulker decides to handcuff them both and hunt them through the Ghost Zone, with Danny's powers on the blink and Valerie's weapons taken due to the cuffs.

HmmmI didn't enjoy watching this episode THAT much, but it's still a pretty good one. I used to think of it as a lower score than this, but I've raised it up after watching it a couple extra times.

The very beginning when Danny was flying over everybody to school gave me mixed feelings. Choosing to bypass the crammed bus and take an easy route by flying: smart. Flying as a ghost where anybody can see him: not smart. Why didn't he go invisible? And I didn't like Skulker's new voice that much. I'm not that much of a fan of Kevin Michael Richardson. I think Matthew St. Patrick's voice was much more sinister and much more appealing for Skulker. But the fact that Danny and Valerie said the same things in human mode and ghost/hunter mode was funny.

The two teen foes were presented quite nicely in this episode. Danny's little moment of noticing that others could get hurt when he and Valerie were fighting was very nice, and he the way he acted with Valerie with the flour, in both Fenton and Phantom mode, was very much IC. But when Skulker threw him the sack and Valerie showed up, why didn't he just hand her the sack? He's got to realize that Valerie isn't going to listen to him after the events of SoG. And I also thought Danny telling Valerie he knew about her job was a little rushed. But he was quick to think that Skulker had booby traps set up, and I liked that coming from him.

As for Valerie, she did definitely improve quite a bit from SoG. She wasn't nearly as prone to jump to her own conclusion as she was then. But that may be because it's a different situation. Anyway, even before she and Danny were forced to help each other, I liked the moment where Danny put the sack down and she retracted her weapons. Also, the fact that she has a job as Nasty Ned was a very interesting surprise.

Tucker and SamI didn't like them that much in this episode. They were okay, but just not that great. I was surprised to see that Tucker didn't seem to like Valerie anymore, and that was actually made definite in RS. I was expecting Tucker's crush on her in SoG to play a bigger part later on in the series. Anyway, the fact that he went overboard with the flour project was fine, and the fact that he charged to baby-sit other sacks was IC. And as for Sam, her acting motherly towards the sack, while it bothered others, I didn't mind it. Hey, she IS a girl, after all. But the kiss that they hadyeesh. I'm saying this partially because I'm a D/S supporter, but also because it seemed thrown in there. But I liked their reactions afterward; Sam definitely wanted to forget it ever happened, and Tuckerwho knows?

I enjoyed the fact that Valerie was willing to cooperate with Danny. I always enjoy seeing an enemy becoming an ally, if only temporary, which is why I enjoyed RS so much. I really wished that truce they made would have carried over, but it's probably pretty early for that anyway, so it's probably for the best.

One thing I unfortunately didn't like was that the moral wasn't presented in as nearly a subtle as PB, which also had a clichd plot, but was handled much better. It was done in more of a monologue in LL instead of just forgetting about it and moving on in PB.

And as for the end, I didn't overall like the fact that the sacks got torn apart. How did Danny's and Valerie's get ripped, anyway? But they got a C, so it's okay. But the fact that Tucker's babysitting business was a bust was something I didn't like much. I never really enjoy it a lot when a character ends up getting the short end of something, one reason why I didn't like the ending of FK. But Danny's wearing of the Nasty Ned suit was nice for him, but I was just a little confused at how Sam figured out Valerie was the one originally wearing it. Did she take a wild guess or something? But the short little segment with the Box Ghost at the end was very funny, and offered a bit of relief to end the episode.

Overall, this wasn't that bad of an episode. The action was pretty good, the threat was there, and I give LL a 7.3/10.moreless

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Skulker can't decide whether he should hunt Valerie or Danny, so he decides to hunt them both at the same time. Danny and Valerie must settle their differences and work together to escape Skulker's lair.moreless

8.5

"Great"

By newreviewguy, Jun 13, 2006 Report Abuse

It was a good episode, but not on my favorites list. There wasn't much ghost-fighting in this one. It was mostly about the character relationships and running away from Skulker. The comedy usually makes up for lost action, but it wasn't enough for this one. There should have been more fighting between Danny and Skulker. This was just an above average episode. I hope the next time we see Valerie it will be more action packed. Who wants to see an episode about a flour sack? This episode was a little disappointing. At least it kept my attention. Seemed like a waste.moreless

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Danny Fenton and Valerie Gray hate each other... even both of their alternate identities. So what happens when they get paired up for a health science project as man and wife, and thanks to a capture by Skulker must work together to stay alive?moreless

10

"Perfect"

By PhantomFan, Jun 06, 2006 Report Abuse

This episode was simply hysterical. The plotline, jokes, and animation were all simply heavenly. I also loved the portrayal about the power of teamwork that glowed throughout this episode. Hopefully, it will bring a more friendly relationship between Danny and Valerie in the real world.
The new voice actor who took on the role of Skulker is a surefire winner. When I first heard him playing Skulker, it was a little strange, because I'd been used to hearing Mathew St. Patrick bring the sadistic ghost to life. However, Kevin M. Richardson's fabulous portrayal of Skulker began to grow on me, and now I consider him to take the cake when it comes to making Skulker the one and only "Ghost World's Greatest Hunter."
Also, the amount of humor in this episode was second in line for highest level next to Fanning the Flames. I didn't stop laughing for the whole episode. The script writers once again show their dazzling brilliance in this episode!
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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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Trivia
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- While in Skulker's lair, the "baby" flour sack has a ghostly glow. Edit
- Lilith: Sam names her flour sack this, which surprisingly it means ghost, storm goddess, or spirit of the night. Edit
- When in Skulker's lair with Valerie, Danny gets paralyzed. Throughout this part he is walking or moving some other way, even though he's supposed to be paralyzed. And this is BEFORE it wore off. Edit
Notes
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- Cable Episode Info: Danny and Valerie Gray are forced to become parents to a sack of flour for a school assignment Edit
- Insight Digital Description: Danny must learn the fine art of compromise when he teams up with Valerie to defeat the evil villain Skulker. Edit
- Look Hard: In Sam's room, there is a poster of the band, Nine Inch Nails, on her wall. Edit
Quotes
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- Skulker: Ok, now my nose itches. Can anybody help? Anyone? Please. (Danny returns and the flour sack farts on Skulker's face) Edit
- Danny: (Valerie begins to chase after Danny)Oh, she's too busy to watch the kid, but when it's time to kick my butt she's front and center?! Edit
- Danny: (Baby is crying and cannot get it to be quiet) I've been a parent for all of one day and I'm probably already down to a C-! Edit
Allusions
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- Danny and Valerie: Handcuffed together This seems to be a spoof off of an old movie made by Alfred Hitchcock in the 1950s or 1940s called The 39 Steps. In the movie, a man and a woman who had grown a mutual hatred for each other became handcuffed together somewhere in the middle of the Scottish countryside. Throughout the majority of the movie, they were on the run from two spies who were out to kill them (similar to Skulker), all the while handcuffed together. This experience also sparked a slight romance between the two of them, who had previously strongly disliked each other, just like it had through this episode and the upcoming episode, "Flirting With Disaster." Edit
- Nasty Burger Mascot: Nasty Ned
  The Nasty Burger mascot, Nasty Ned, seems to be a parody of the McDonald's fast food restaurant mascot, Ronald McDonald. Edit