Ask a Foolish Question

I'm a Super-Computer. I can answer any question you could possibly ask.

When Candace discovers that Phineas and Ferb have invented a computer that can answer anything, she asks it how she can finally bust her brothers once and for all. Meanwhile, Dr. Doofenshmirtz loses the key to his latest invention, the "All Purpose-inator," and Agent P must find it before he does.

Episode Summary
Phineas and Ferb are sitting in the tree until Linda came by and gave them some whole-grain fat-free granola bars for them to eat. Since their mom had done all the nice things she has done for them, they decide to do something for their mom and tries to think to what to do as the Jeopardy theme plays. As their friends came by, and suggesting cleaning up the house or buying a slide rule by Isabella and Baljeet respectively, and Buford tells how they suppose to know since he's not a computer. Phineas and Ferb decide to build a Super-Computer to ask what to do for Linda. Linda goes to a new salon for a free hair style with a coupon and Candace sits on a sofa bored and wonders where Perry is. Meanwhile, Major Monogram reports to Agent P about some holes appearing throughout the Tri-State Area, and he suspects that Doofenshmirtz has something to do with it.

Then, while the computer is being made, the song "Buildin' a Supercomputer" plays, and, when they were finished building it Isabella stated it looks cute. As soon as Agent P got to Doofenshmirtz's lair, Doofenshmirtz was looking for something, and he got trapped in a quick dry cement. Later he introduced the Metal-un-Earth-inator.

The super-computer makes an initial scan of the whole Tri-State Area. They then tested it by asking simple questions, and it got all of their questions correct. Finally, they asked what they should get for Linda. The super-computer said that they would have to get a gallon of industrial marking dye and a leaf blower, tie balloons onto them, and then go to the top of Danville Hill and release them exactly at 2:37 p.m. As the kids leaves, Candace goes to the backyard and sees the super-computer. She asks some questions and the super-computer answers all of them correctly. Candace plans to show this to her mom but it always disappear before she sees it. Wanting to make sure her mom sees it and remembering the super-computer, she starts giggling maniacally.

Later, Doofenshmirtz explains that the Metal-un-Earth-inator wasn't his main plan. Doofenshmirtz built it because when he was putting final touches on his All-Purpose-inator, a device that can do anything, he slipped on green paint and dropped the key that activates the All-Purpose-inator on the ground, and a gopher then took it away. As a result, he built the Metal-un-Earth-inator to attract any metal object, and annoyed that Perry was playing solitaire and not listening to him.

Back at the Flynn-Fletcher household, Candace asked the super-computer how she can make her mom see what Phineas and Ferb have done. The super-computer said that she has to build a device so her mother can see it, and stated writing down the list of items for the device. Meanwhile, Doofenshmirtz's Metal-un-Earth-inator always gets some metal helmets until it gets a chisel and a hammer which he throws back that inadvertently helps Perry escapes from the dry cement. Perry and Doofenshmirtz then armed themselves with some gladiator gear and started to fight each other.

The kids concurrently released the balloons on top of Danville Hill, and then they followed them as they went home. Candace successfully built the device that was to reveal Phineas and Ferb's actions and, coincidentally, Linda comes home upset because of her awful hair do just as Candace had finished her project and brought her to the backyard. While fighting Doofenshmirtz, Perry losses his mace and throws some helmets at Doofenshmirtz, which knocks him down, and hits the Metal-un-Earth-inator which attracted the super-computer with the gopher with the key. The balloons carrying the dye and leaf blower arrives overhead and pops over Linda's head. Linda's hair looked better when the hair dye fell on it and the leaf blower dried it, which made her happy. Thus the boys' plan had been successful and Candace is annoyed that was what they did and hates computers and Phineas wonders where the super-computer went.

Doofenshmirtz picks up a sound made by the Metal-un-Earth-inator and it found the key. As he checks it, he saw the super-computer heading towards him and Perry quickly escapes. The Super-computer explodes, and Doofenshmirtz is glad he got the key but the All-Purpose-inator explodes. He starts to curse Perry, but then the roof of his building fell right on top of him and explodes. Doofenshmirtz stated that this was going to happen.

Songs

 * Buildin' a Supercomputer

Perry's entrance to his lair
He pulls one of the flowers in the bushes and reveals a secret passage to his lair.

Background Information

 * Baljeet seemed to be annoyed when viewing a computer screen showing Isabella thinking about Phineas. This further shows that Baljeet may have a crush on her.
 * Candace asks where Perry is instead of Phineas.
 * First time where the names of all the Fireside Girls that currently have names are mentioned on-screen.
 * This episode along with "Misperceived Monotreme" was featured on the Phineas and Ferb The Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension (DVD) bonus disc in Toys R Us, and later on in The Perry Files DVD.
 * It appears that Phineas and Ferb like fat-free whole grain granola bars but Candace doesn't.
 * Buford wears a Boys Husky Extra Large size of pants.
 * It can be noted, somewhat disturbingly, that the supercomputer must have been aware of its' own eventual destruction from the moment it performed its' scan.
 * Right after the scene when Candace has just gotten the idea to use the Supercomputer to help her bust Phineas and Ferb, the Metal-Unearth-Inater unearths a helmet which is similar to the Helmet used in the 2002 Gladiator movie worn by Maximus Decimus Meridius during the time he was a gladiator.

International Premieres

 * July 25, 2011 (Disney Channel Brazil)
 * July 25, 2011 (Disney Channel Latin America)
 * June 25, 2011 (Family Channel)
 * September 30, 2011 (Disney Channel UK)
 * October 16, 2011 (Disney XD Spain)
 * October 20, 2011 (Disney XD Germany)
 * November 12, 2011 (Disney Channel Asia and Portugal)
 * November 27, 2011 (Disney XD Canada)
 * December 7, 2011 (Disney Channel Scandinavia)
 * December 24, 2011 (Disney XD Poland)

Errors

 * As in "Misperceived Monotreme," most multiple line closed captions have to be read from bottom to top instead of top to bottom.
 * In most wideshots when the super computer isn't talking, his mouth is yellow instead of green.
 * In the scene at Doofenshmirtz Evil Inc. after Candace starts to write down the list of items needed to build a contraption to bust the boys, the helmets being attracted to the Metal-Unearth-Inator are all the same design.
 * When Linda returned home, she had bags under her eyes, but after her hair becomes normal but shiny in color, the bags are gone.
 * The second time Phineas gasps, his mouth doesn't move.
 * When Buford dances his tooth switches from left to right for a couple of times.
 * Perry battles Doofenshmirtz with a mace even though he lost it when Doofenshmirtz threw it off the building, also he threw his helmet to him, but when the key appears they are both with Perry.
 * Some of the shields on Doofenshmirtz's pile appear to be wooden, making it impossible for the Metal-Unearth-Inator to have attracted them. However, they may have metal handles or screws that can't be seen.
 * When Phineas, Ferb, Buford and Baljeet release the dye and the blower. the wind turbines in the background aren't moving.
 * The supercomputer mistakenly says "my data is complete." Data is a plural noun (the singular is 'datum'), the proper grammar would be "my data are complete."
 * When the supercomputer lists the items necessary to do something nice for Phineas and Ferb's mom, it says "a gallon of industrial marking dye," yet Phineas and Ferb somehow knew to use orange marking dye. It's possible that they could only find the orange, and the computer knew this, so it didn't specify.

Continuity

 * Ancient helmets and shields appear again ("Greece Lightning"). Doofenshmirtz wonders what great battle may have occurred in ancient Danville, but perhaps he is merely discovering the battle gear from Phineas and Ferb's big chariot race.
 * The diving helmet appears again ("The Lake Nose Monster").
 * Isabella seems to be the same height as Phineas, but in all the days she's always been taller.
 * It is shown again that Baljeet may have a crush on Isabella ("What Do It Do?").
 * The Jeopardy! theme is heard again ("Fireside Girl Jamboree").
 * The Danville scrapyard is seen again. Also, the people in the yard mention that it's the "Second best scrapyard rave ever", referencing what Vanessa said ("Brain Drain").
 * The supercomputer's voice is similar to that of Doofenshmirtz's Alien-inator ("Ladies and Gentlemen, Meet Max Modem!").
 * Phineas's head is seen with hearts around it again, only this time, it is his actual head instead of fabric cut-outs ("Run Away Runway").
 * The green paint Doofenshmirtz slipped on may be the one he used to get a green thumb ("Moon Farm").
 * The Electronic Machine sound is heard again ("Picture This").
 * Second time Candace left speechless after seeing Linda ("Phineas and Ferb's Quantum Boogaloo").
 * The medical imaging technician gets scanned by the supercomputer and says, "This is so not worth minimum wage!" This echos Candace's "This is not worth $3.50 an hour," in "Toy to the World" and the girl selling hair care products in "Isabella and the Temple of Sap."
 * During the song, Phineas, Ferb, Isabella, Buford and Baljeet are seen performing the dance from "Technology vs. Nature".
 * Once again, Buford carries Baljeet as though he is luggage. ("Don't Even Blink", "Phineas and Ferb Summer Belongs to You!")

Allusions

 * The title refers to a common phrase/adage, "Ask a foolish (or stupid) question, get a foolish answer."
 * James Bond: When Doofenshmirtz tells his evil scheme and back story, Perry is seen setting cards in groups, just like James Bond (played by Sean Connery at that time) in the scene he kills Prof. Dent in Dr. No (1962).
 * Jeopardy! - The music that plays while Phineas and Ferb wonder what to do for their mom parodies the theme from the game show.
 * 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) - Phineas and Ferb's supercomputer speaks with a voice that sounds very similar to the HAL-9000 computer from the film.
 * I, Robot - The supercomputer's declaration, "My logic is infallible," was exactly what the antagonist supercomputer declared in the 2004 film.
 * Rugrats - When Linda comes home her hair references Didi's hair from the Rugrats.

Cast

 * Vincent Martella as Phineas
 * Ashley Tisdale as Candace
 * Thomas Sangster as Ferb
 * Caroline Rhea as Mom
 * Dan Povenmire as Dr. Doofenshmirtz
 * Jeff "Swampy" Marsh as Major Monogram
 * Dee Bradley Baker as Perry
 * Alyson Stoner as Isabella
 * Maulik Pancholy as Baljeet
 * Bobby Gaylor as Buford
 * John Viener as Norm
 * Tyler Alexander Mann as Carl