Phineas and Ferb Wiki:FAQ

Answers to common questions.

Before you make a change to a page, please read this. It answers some common questions that keep coming up, requiring the changes to be removed.

Why register?
The wiki system is set up so that anyone can edit pages. You don't have to register to become a member in order to make edits. We do encourage people to register so that when they add to the wiki, they get proper credit under the name they choose, rather than just the IP address of the computer they are using. When you register, you can add  —~  at the end to have your name and the time automatically added to your edit. (This should be used on discussion pages, not episode or character articles.) For example: — PF Test 03:17, 18 February 2009 (UTC)

Registering allows you to create a user page with info about you and your interests and to edit some pages that we've had to protect because people were making a nuisance of themselves by vandalising the pages or by changing information that we know not to be correct.

Registration here also registers you for the other wikis that Wikia.com hosts. From Family Guy to Fallout 3, you may find other wikis that you're interested in. You can visit those wikis by clicking on the "wikia" link at the upper-left corner of each page.

Why was the page I worked on changed?
There are a variety of reasons why a page that's worked on has to be changed again. Sometimes it's to correct a common mistake that people make, such as putting in that Phineas is 9 years old. (See below as to why he isn't.) Other times, the wording needs to be adjusted. Re-edits are also performed when people decide to be mischievious or vandalize pages.

If you create a new page for a character or subject, it may get redirected to a different page if we already have one that covers what you wrote. Misspelled page names are a common reason for using a redirect.

When a page is re-edited, the second person will usually put an edit summary as to why they changed it. You can see the reason(s) when you look at the Recent changes page. The edit summary should be a polite explanation of why it had to be changed.

See the "Editing pages" section below for other reasons why the page may have to be changed or deleted after you worked on it.

Ages
How old are the characters on the show?

Candace
Candace is only one of two people that we currently have a definite answer for. Her birthday is July 11, which is a Friday in the episode "Candace Loses Her Head". In "Comet Kermillian", we learn that she will be 88 1/2 when the comet comes back. Since the comet comes back every 73 1/2 years, that means she's 15 years old at the time of "Comet Kermillian". Also, on the official website, it says she's fifteen.

Vanessa
Vanessa celebrated her Sweet 16 birthday on June 15, which is the same day as Lawrence and Linda Flynn's anniversary. The year that these events took place on has not been specified, so Vanessa's birth year cannot be determined. ("Dude, We're Getting the Band Back Together")

Phineas and Ferb
At one point in the "Original Story Pitch", Candace says that Phineas is 9. Other websites also say this. That was true at one point, but it's no longer the case. Phineas' and Ferb's official age is now "less than 15".

Here's the official answer from Dan Povenmire himself, show co-creator:


 * Phineas and Ferb are the same age but we never say what age that is, just that it is less than 15. The reason we cut the age reference from the final [version of the episode "Rollercoaster" that was broadcast] is that in testing, kids of varied ages all identified P&F as their age. We don't want to tie them down to a specific age because we like that vagueness. The sites that say that Ferb is older than Phineas are just plain wrong, though. Part of the reason we wanted them to be stepbrothers is we wanted them to be the same age, but not twins and not just friends.

The pages for Phineas and Ferb should continue to say "Deliberately not specified" for their ages. If they are changed to an age like 9 or 10, they will be put back.

As of Phineas and Ferb's Quantum Boogaloo, their ages have been approximated to 10 years old, as shown by this quote.

Beacuse they travelled 20 years forward, this puts their ages at around 10 years old.

Isabella and the other children
Isabella's age and the age of the other kids has not been specified in any of the episodes. The closest we can get is that they about the same age as Phineas and Ferb, since most kids make friends with other kids close to their own age.

The parents, Dr. Doofenshmirtz and other people in the show
Like the kids, their ages are not specified. We can make reasonable assumptions about what their approximate ages are, but we will probably never know an exact age for any of them. However, those assumptions should not be added to any character pages.

Discrepancies
Mistakes that appear in other TV shows are often collected and reported on various "nitpicking" websites. Phineas and Ferb does not attempt to be an exact part of our universe or reality, and in fact, some of what we might consider to be goofs or mistakes are deliberate decisions on the part of the show's creators. The two main examples of those decisions are when the episodes take place and where Danville is located. The third is discussed above in the "Ages" section.

What year do the episodes take place in?
None of the episodes have specifically said that they take place in 2008, but that's what most people think because that's when the episodes were first shown. Other people go by when the episodes were made, which is 2007. In reality, the episodes do not take place in any known year. Dan Povenmire has also said that the episodes aren't being told in a straight chronological order, so not all of the episodes that we saw in Season 1 may have taken place during the same year.

Why we cannot pin down a year for the episodes: In the episode "Dude, We're Getting the Band Back Together", Candace holds up a calendar for June. June 15th is Linda Flynn's and Lawrence Fletcher's anniversary, and it takes place on Tuesday. June 15th lands on a Tuesday in the years 1999, 2004 and 2010.

However, the calendar is missing June 21st and when Candace flips it back to May, it's the exact same page. May doesn't match up with when June starts.

In "Candace Loses Her Head", Candace's birthday is on July 11th. The calendar shows that July starts on a Tuesday. The other calendar showed that June ended on a Wednesday. The two calendars do not match up.

Even allowing for the possibility that those two episodes might not take place within the same year, the discrepancy between May and June in the same episode means that it is not possible to give an exact year to when the episodes take place.

Differences between Seasons and the episodes:

A couple of the Season 1 episodes have already been broadcast in Latin America during 2008, but were delayed in the United States until February 2009, effectively making them a Season 2 episode. This plays havoc with keeping track of the "production order" versus the "broadcast order" of the episodes.

But beyond that, we have to consider what is said in the theme song. There are 104 days of summer vacation. Given that there are about 22 half hours in each season, some showing two episodes and some showing a single episode, this means that it would take four or five seasons' worth of episodes to cover the entire summer vacation.

It is likely that the episodes we are watching take place during the same summer vacation, but it has not yet been confirmed that this is the case.

Where is Danville located?
While many states in the United States have cities named "Danville", the Danville in this show isn't in any particular state. It's within a short drive to Mount Rushmore, yet close to an ocean. It changes as needed. The neighborhood around Phineas and Ferb's house changes from episode to episode, and sometimes even their house changes shape. However, on the Phineas and Ferb game "Hoverboard Tour", on the level "New York", The Doofenshmirtz Evil Inc. buliding was there. This might be wrong due to the fact that the game was made somewhere else.

Refer to the article on Danville for known locations and details.

Why does Stacy's name keep changing?
Sometimes it's "Stacy" and sometimes it's "Stacey". Dan Povenmire has said the spelling should be "Stacy" because the other one is usually a spelling for a man's name.

What are the names of the songs in the episode "Dude, We're Getting the Band Back Together"?
The songs are as follows:


 * 1. History of Rock (formerly known as Danny's Story)


 * 2. Fabulous


 * 3. Ain't Got Rhythm


 * 4. You Snuck Your Way Right Into My Heart


 * 5. Music Makes Us Better

The fourth song is the one that people keep changing because in the song it says "You snuck your way right into my heart". The official title as per the episode is Snuck Your Way Into My Heart, as we learn when Phineas, Ferb and Candace watch the documentary about Love Händel.

The belief that the song should be titled You Snuck Your Way Right Into My Heart is similar to the belief that the song Against All Odds that Phil Collins wrote for the movie Against All Odds should be titled "Take a Look at Me Now". Phil's song says "Take a look at me now" more than it says "Against all odds" or "Against the odds".

Songwriters will usually take a line from the song and use that as the title, but not always. "Against All Odds" is one example, but perhaps the best example is Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody. The words "Bohemian Rhapsody" are not in the song at all.

The release of the soundtrack overrides what is in the episode, and the song is listed as on this wiki as You Snuck Your Way Right Into My Heart.

For the full list of songs that have appeared in the episodes, click on "Songs" in the menu on the left side of each page.

"Good Faith" and "Bad Faith" edits
A good faith edit means that what you're adding here is done with good intentions so that other people will enjoy what you've contributed.

A bad faith edit is a change that doesn't benefit the community. It can be something as simple as adding something known not to be true, to as severe as vandalism and obscenities.

Bad faith edits are usually caught fairly quickly since the members see what's been changed on a regular basis. If it's an honest mistake, the person that made the mistake receives a gentle notice about the change having to be removed.

One way to show that your edit is in good faith is to provide a reason for the edit. This should be placed in the Summary line, which is to the left of the Save page button you click to save what you worked on.

See the "assume good faith" page for more information.

Vandalism
At the other end of the spectrum is vandalism. The most common types of vandalism are creating article titles with obscenities, replacing text with obscenities, erasing pages, or adding nonsense characters/gibberish. Another example of vandalism is taking pieces from other articles and adding them to fake episodes, trying to make a "real" episode.

Full details about what constitutes vandalism is discussed in the Phineas and Ferb Wiki:Vandalism page.

Why adding fake episodes and speculation here is not a good idea
We're trying to keep this Wiki about what we see in the episodes. If you add something, you have to be able to back it up. The episodes have to be your primary source of this proof. This is referred to as "being canon".

We've already learned that what appears on other websites may not be true, even when it is a respectable website like the Internet Movie Database. Dan Povenmire says that even the Disney Channel website for the show doesn't get their content from his staff, so there may be times that the official website isn't official.

If you are getting your information from another website like TV.com, you need to provide a link to the page so that other people can review the information. This is called a "community review" of your entry.

Fake episodes
A fake episode is one where we do not have confirmation that is real. Many times we have to wait until an episode shows up on the Disney Channel schedule, but occasionally we get word back from Dan Povenmire or Jeff "Swampy" Marsh about whether an episode is real or fake. Refer to the Fake episodes list for the episodes we know aren't real.

Articles for things that are determined to be fake episodes will usually be deleted. Many of the fake episodes that are created are really fan fiction. Refer to the "Appropriate place for fan fiction" section below.

Speculation
Speculation is when you use your own personal opinion as the basis for what you are adding. Since it is a guess or your opinion and usually cannot be backed up by what is seen in the episodes, it will typically be removed. Speculation in Allusions is permitted, as long as when you add the allusion you state why you think it is valid. This allows for a community review of the allusion. See below for details about allusions.

If it is decided that what you've added should be removed, a reason will usually be given in the edit summary. You can see the edit summaries when you look at the Recent Changes page.

Users that continue to add fake episodes and/or speculation are abusing their privileges here. When it is bad enough, they will be blocked from access for a certain time period. Severe abuse of privileges can result in a user being labelled as a vandal and permanent blocking. See above for what is considered vandalism. Just play nice and we'll all get along fine.

What's the big deal about adding speculation?
In one respect, speculation is a form of fan fiction. It's one person's opinion of what they want it to be, rather than what can be proven by what we see in the episodes. We are also prohibiting fan fiction because this can lead to contradictions. To avoid contradictions, we rely on what is in the episodes and what is in published interviews for our information. Anything outside of that is not permitted.

"What I want" instead of what it actually is
When adding something to this Wiki, you need to ask yourself "am I doing this because it's what I want to happen, or did I see it in an episode?" If the answer isn't "I saw it in an episode", take another look at the reason why you're making the change.

As mentioned above, things that are added to this Wiki have to be supported by what is seen in the episodes or learned through interviews and articles about the show's creators and cast. Without proof, these changes are "what I want", instead of what actually is, and this is a form of speculation.

Likewise, any changes made because "that's the way it should be" are to be avoided. In these cases, you are saying that you know better than the people who make the show how things should be.

Examples:


 * Isabella becomes a secret agent.
 * Deciding on middle names for characters, or giving names to characters, when that name has not been used in an episode.
 * Danville is in South Dakota because you can drive to Mount Rushmore in a few hours.

If you are really determined to make a "what I want" or "that's the way it should be" change, then you are venturing into fan fiction territory.

Appropriate place for fan fiction
If you are creating an article for a new episode that you made up, this wiki really isn't the right place for that. There are other websites specifically set up for user-made stories. They let people be creative with something they and enjoy, without stepping on the toes of the people here.

Refer to the Fan fiction page for more information about where fan fiction should be placed.

What is "Continuity"?
Continuity is a reference in one episode to another episode. This differs from foreshadowing because continuity is not a plot point that had to be resolved later. It is simply a reference or trivia about another episode. Example:
 * In "I, Brobot", the plans for the rollercoaster the Ferbot makes are the same as what Ferb made in "Rollercoaster".

What is an "Allusion"?
An allusion is a reference in the show to something outside of the show. One example is when the giant gumball machine rolls after Phineas and Ferb (and later, Candace) in "Are You My Mummy?" This is a reference to the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark, where the giant boulder rolls after Indiana Jones at the beginning of the movie.

Allusions are sometimes subjective about whether they really are referencing something outside of the show. In these situations, you should add words like "may be a reference to" in the allusion. This lets other members of the community double-check the allusion to see if it's valid or not.

What is Background Information?
Background information is trivia or information from outside of the show that relates to an event or plot point in the episode. Some background items qualify as continuity items and should be listed there.

What is a running gag?
Running gags are themes that occur from one episode to the next, but often change. There are five running gags used in the show:


 * 1. "Whatcha doin'?" — Usually said (but not always) by Isabella when the boys have started their latest "nearly impossible plan".


 * 2. The "Too Young" Line — The point when it's realized that a character is doing something not typical of their age, but does not specifically have to be about age. It can also be related to things that are out of place, such as when Candace was asked, "Aren't you a little too female to be Morty Williams?" in "Phineas and Ferb Get Busted".


 * 3. Ferb's line(s) — Since Ferb says so little, when he does talk it's worth noting.


 * 4. Perry's entrance to his lair — The Agency has many different entrances to his "lair" and the other locations The Agency uses.


 * 5. "I know what we're going to do today! — This is usually said by Phineas when he gets an inspiration, but has also been said by other people. A few of the episode pages have started including this running gag. We can expect to see it on more in the future.

Another running gag would include what keeps Candace from busting her brothers each time.

Foreshadowing
Foreshadowing is when a writer drops a hint or include a plot point that they come back to in a future episode or book. The audience doesn't know at the time that it's foreshadowing, with a few exceptions like when the background music changes to indicate something significant is happening.

Most of what we see in the Phineas and Ferb doesn't qualify as foreshadowing and are just standard plot points. The reason for this is that Dan Povenmire stated that the episodes aren't going to be shown in chronological order. This means that the time an episode takes place in can jump around. Even when an episode like "Raging Bully" is shown along with "Lights, Candace, Action!", it doesn't necessarily mean that they take place on adjacent days.

Standard plot points
A standard plot point is an event in the story that is dealt with by the time the story ends. Most of what we see in the episodes are standard plot points since events from one episode aren't left hanging, waiting to be resolved later.

Misdirection
Misdirection is a technique where the writer includes an event that the audience or reader will expect it to typically happen a certain way, but it goes different direction or has a different resolution.

Near death experiences
A near death experience (NDE), as described by Wikipedia, involves a personal experience related to an impending death. Many times, the impending death is due to receiving severe physical injuries or from a medical condition such as a stroke or heart attack. Experiences include feeling detached from the body, levitation, total serenity, the presence of a light or diety, et cetera. A common expression is "seeing their life flash before their eyes". After the person is no longer in the situation where they might die, some will discuss what they saw or experienced.

Impending death is different than being in danger. Being in danger means there is the possibility that a person may be hurt or may receive an emotional shock. Until the person suffers the aforementioned injuries or medical condition, they are simply "in danger" and are not undergoing a near death experience.

In Phineas and Ferb, many times the characters have been in danger. However, none of them have said afterwards that they saw their life flashing before their eyes or had any of the above-described experiences. They were just in danger, nothing more.

The closest that any character has come to an NDE was in "Gaming the System" when the defeated boss (giant Buford) fell on Phineas and Ferb and their health meters were drained. However, they immediately came back because of their "extra lives" and did not say they had experienced any distress. Therefore, this cannot be classified as a near death experience.

Until a character in an episode specifically says they experienced one of the conditions listed above, any times that they may be in danger cannot be listed as an NDE.