Brain Drain

I can make you do anything!

Phineas, Ferb and the gang are all sick, so they decide to make it the best "sick day" ever by creating a live television feed to their friends' homes so that they can all enjoy a day of fun together. Meanwhile, Vanessa learns from her mom, Charlene, that her dad is picking her up from a party she is going to with her punk rock boyfriend Johnny and she worries that he will embarrass her yet again. However, Dr. Doofenshmirtz is busy trying to use his "Devolition-ator" to drain Agent P's will power so that he can control him. Things get out of hand when Dr. Doofenshmirtz picks up Vanessa at the party, and it's up to Agent P to save the day.

Episode Summary
Linda is about to leave while Phineas and Ferb are sick in bed. Before leaving she asks if they'll be fine by themselves. They both state that they will be fine. They both say bye to Mom. Shortly afterward, Candace comes in and asks if they are sick. Phineas optimistically tells Candace not to worry, sneezes, and then replies that nothing can stop them. Candace happily thinks about Jeremy related activities out loud, and leaves.

She does not know that they have made a system with their friends so that they can talk via microphones and a television screen. Isabella greets them with her catchphrase, and then sneezes. Both Baljeet and Buford come on, and they all cough and sneeze except for Buford. Buford says he is not actually sick, just lazy. Phineas wonders where Perry is, and everyone looks in their beds.

Perry walks past Phineas and Ferb's room. He stands up and puts on a surgical mask. He walks on two legs across the door. He walks on all fours again and puts on his fedora. He goes to his lair. Major Monogram makes a comment about the surgical mask, and Carl adds his thought. Perry takes off the mask and Major Monogram starts the briefing. He says Dr. Doofenshmirtz has been making purchases at Brain Bath & Beyond. Perry leaves in his hovercraft. The Flynn-Fletcher family van and the driveway open in half. It closes again.

Perry arrives at Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated. He walks to a chair with an empty table. He hears Dr. Doofenshmirtz's voice but he sees no one. Dr. Doofenshmirtz swings from a rope and puts a helmet on Perry's head. Dr. Doofenshmirtz tells Perry he can control his actions with his new invention: the "De-volitionator which was, according to him, "not to be confused with the "De-evolutionator" from "a few schemes ago." Dr. Doofenshmirtz makes Perry get off of the chair and toward him then explains that volition is the power to choose what he is going to do.

Meanwhile, back at Phineas and Ferb's room, Phineas and the kids are about to play a video game. The first round is Buford verses Isabella. Buford knocks Isabella down. She stands up and gets her sash. She ties him up and pulls, sending Buford spinning away.

Vanessa is in Charlene's car. She is on her way to a party at the Danville Scrap Yard, and she is talking about her dad with Charlene. In a flashback, Dr. Doofenshmirtz is seen picking up Vanessa from school in a tricycle with a wagon tied to the back. He is wearing a diaper and baby hat. The other students laugh as Vanessa gets in the wagon. Back in real life, they arrive and Vanessa greets Johnny. Charlene leaves.

Back in Phineas and Ferb's room, they start their next round: Baljeet and Ferb. Baljeet complains that Ferb is the Gaming World Champion and he would easily lose. Ferb runs toward Baljeet, and Baljeet kicks him. He punches Ferb, who loses. Baljeet asks if he intentionally let him win because he didn't want to hurt his feelings. Showing a pendulum hitting the forward button, Ferb replies, "Oh, I'd never do that," while reading a book.

At Danville Scrap Yard, Vanessa and Johnny are at a party. There are cameras set up to record everything; including themselves, the crowd, the DJ, and the toilets. In Phineas and Ferb's room, Phineas wonders who he will fight, either Isabella or Baljeet. The next round is Phineas verses Phineas. Because he is playing both of himself, they kick each other, and fall to the floor. He exclaims that he is "kicking his own butt."

Dr. Doofenshmirtz is walking Perry to Abzir's Car Parts. He makes Perry dance around. He then makes Perry slap himself. Afterwards, he makes him pick up a piece of gum from the floor to put it in his mouth. Before it gets in his mouth, Doofenshmirtz stops Perry, then decides it was so funny he makes Perry put the gum down to do it again. From the park, Doofenshmirtz calls Vanessa at the party. He says that Perry the Platypus almost ate gum off of the sidewalk. He also tells her that he will pick her up along with her Visigoth friends. Vanessa corrects her father, telling him that the name is Goth, not Visigoth; and that her friends are Punk, not Goth. Vanessa hangs up, and Dr. Doofenshmirtz talks to someone dressed as a Visigoth barbarian. The barbarian leaves, disappointed that he doesn't get to go to the party. Dr. Doofenshmirtz returns to making Perry slap himself.

Perry is pushing Dr. Doofenshmirtz in a shopping cart. They arrive at the Danville Scrap Yard. The remote's battery is low so Dr. Doofenshmirtz tried to plug it into the battery running the party's cameras. However, it does not work and the resulting electricity is sent through the power lines to the Flynn-Fletcher house. On Phineas and Ferb's video game, instead of seeing Phineas and Buford fight the signal from one of the cameras shows Perry and Dr. Doofenshmirtz on screen. Phineas realizes that he can control Perry's left arm with his game controller. Isabella can control his left leg. Buford can control his right arm, and starts making Perry slap himself. Ferb can control his right leg, and Baljeet can control his forward and backward movement.

Dr. Doofenshmirtz is annoyed that he is no longer able to control Perry, and tries to kick him. The kids think Dr. Doofenshmirtz is a game villain boss and control Perry to fight him in the "Perry level." Buford has made Perry catch a fly and eat it thinking that it is a power up. Dr. Doofenshmirtz says the fly that Perry ate was worse than the sidewalk gum he almost ate earlier. Isabella made him hit Dr. Doofenshmirtz. He gets scared and runs away to climb one of the scrap piles. Phineas knocks him down. Dr. Doofenshmirtz tries to hit Perry with an umbrella, but Buford uses Perry's right hand to stop it and steals it from him. Isabella makes him jump and hits Dr. Doofenshmirtz with the umbrella. Phineas tells Ferb to kick him off. He does make Perry kick him off, which causes him to roll down the pile. Ferb blows the game controller. Phineas claims the right to throw Perry's hat in the air, removing the helmet and it lands on the camera. They lose the signal, and everyone groans.

Dr. Doofenshmirtz is rolling down the pile and gets his hands covered in glue. He lands on the DJ controls for the party. As Dr. Doofenshmirtz stands up, he puts his hands on it. The music stops and everyone is silent. Johnny asks Vanessa if he is her dad, and she replies that he isn't. Someone comments, and the crowd boos him. Perry starts to leave but he sees the crowd booing at Dr. Doofenshmirtz and feels bad for him. Perry gets Dr. Doofenshmirtz's attention and puts the mind control helmet on him, making Dr. Doofenshmirtz scratch the records. He starts singing a rap about a platypus controlling him. The crowd likes it, and decides that the platypus is a metaphor for the things that control them. He tells them that it is not a metaphor, in song form. He realizes that Perry has left, and looks to see Perry giving him a thumbs up. Johnny tells Vanessa that her dad is cool. She responds "You're my punk rock boyfriend. You're not supposed to think my dad is cool." She walks up to Dr. Doofenshmirtz, and says "It only matters that I think he's cool." She kisses Dr. Doofenshmirtz on the cheek, and Doofenshmirtz says " She thinks I'm cool!" and everyone cheers.

Phineas and Ferb are still in their room and Phineas replies that all their fevers are broken while Buford got sick from lying in bed all day. They see Perry come in. Phineas comments about giving him a walk, and Perry chatters wearily.

Songs

 * There's a Platypus Controlling Me

End Credits
First verse of There's a Platypus Controlling Me

The "Too Young" Line
None.

Ferb's Line
Ferb is also heard coughing.

Perry's entrance to his lair
None shown, but Perry walks by Phineas and Ferb's room wearing a surgical mask.

Evil Jingle
Doofenshmirtz's ex-wife's sports sedan!

Background Information

 * Vanessa reveals that Johnny is her boyfriend.
 * Ferb is shown to be the World's best video-gamer and got an award for it.
 * This is the first, and so far only episode where the boys are sick.
 * This is one of the few episodes where Candace doesn't try to bust Phineas and Ferb.
 * Carl says he fears the smell of garlic.
 * This is the first episode where Phineas and Ferb both see Doofenshmirtz (not counting the dream sequences in "Phineas and Ferb Get Busted!" and "Wizard of Odd").
 * Major Monogram mentions that Perry is a germaphobe, although it may not actually be true as Monogram said so merely because of the mask Perry dons.
 * In the background, when the punk mentions the Caribou Lodge, Charlene (or someone who looks similar to her) is seen behind the girl with pink hair.
 * Phineas, Ferb, and their friends unknowingly help Perry fight Doofenshmirtz.
 * This is one of the few episodes where Dr. Doofenshmirtz has no real scheme. Just to have fun by messing around with Perry.
 * Second episode to limit Candace to cameo appearance. First is "Isabella and the Temple of Sap".
 * Phineas, Ferb, Isabella, Buford and Baljeet are the second set of people to get sick. The first set of people are Candace and Stacy ("Put That Putter Away").
 * This is the third Big idea inspired by or involving a video game ("Tree to Get Ready", "Gaming the System").
 * This is another episode that uses the gag of someone mistaking a literal statement for a metaphor. The first time was in "She's the Mayor" and "S.I.M.P. (Squirrels In My Pants)".
 * This is the second time in the series that the boys make a video game ("Gaming the System").
 * This is Johnny's second appearance ("Dude, We're Getting the Band Back Together").
 * This is the second time that Buford is beaten by Isabella ("Got Game?").
 * Third episode Isabella is shown wearing pajamas ("I Scream, You Scream", "Isabella and the Temple of Sap").
 * Isabella's sickness may be considered her second indisposition after she had her tonsils removed ("I Scream, You Scream").
 * This is the fourth episode that has shown someone's school, Vanessa's school. The first one is Phineas and Ferb's school ("Are You My Mummy?"), the second is Candace and Stacy's elementary school ("Nerds of a Feather"), the third was a lab in Buford's school ("Voyage to the Bottom of Buford", during the song "Fish Out of Water").
 * This is the second time Phineas and Ferb see Perry as a secret agent, but don't realize it's him. The first time was in "Toy to the World", when they thought he was another rejected toy design.
 * The big-lipped girl appears again as one of the teenagers at the dump ("The Lemonade Stand").
 * This is the second time Vanessa kisses someone ("Vanessassary Roughness").
 * This is the second time Dr. Doofenshmirtz controls Perry ("Raging Bully").
 * Whenever Doofenshmirtz is singing about a platypus controlling him, he is referencing Perry the Platypus, so when a kid mentions his teacher being a panda, it could be referencing Peter the Panda, a fellow agent ("It's About Time!").
 * Charlene's car appears again ("It's a Mud, Mud, Mud, Mud World").
 * Second time Candace doesn't see the Big Idea ("Hail Doofania!").

International Premieres

 * December 9, 2010 (Disney XD Germany)
 * January 22, 2011 (Channel STS, Russia)
 * January 28, 2011 (Disney Channel Scandinavia)
 * February 14, 2011 (Disney XD UK)
 * February 14, 2011 (Disney Channel Asia)
 * March 26, 2011 (Disney XD Spain)
 * April 21, 2011 (Disney XD Poland)
 * June 22, 2011 (Disney XD Turkey)
 * July 16, 2011 (Disney Channel Poland)
 * November 1, 2011 (Disney Channel Bulgaria)

Errors

 * Carl says he fears the smell of garlic, but in "Ain't No Kiddie Ride", he mentions that he was born without nostrils.
 * When Dr. Doofenshmirtz first has his hands on the record, he has his hands on the record from top to bottom. Therefore, he should not be able to scratch the record. However, it is shown that he can lift his hands barely. That may be the reason he is able to scratch the record.
 * When Phineas battles himself, the health bars say "Phineas." But when Baljeet battles Ferb and Isabella battles Buford, the health bars say Player 1 and Player 2.
 * Doofenshmirtz puts the Devolition-ator over Perry's fedora, but when Phineas makes him remove the Devolition-ator, Perry is not wearing his fedora, perhaps, it was removed with the Devolition-ator.
 * When Perry puts the Devolition-ator on Doofenshmirtz after he accidentally stops the record, the rap song starts before Doofenshmirtz starts DJ-ing.
 * When Doofensmirtz was falling down the junk pile, Perry is seen wearing his fedora. But when the shot goes back to Perry, he is still wearing the Devolition-ator, and when Phineas makes him remove it, the fedora is not there.
 * During the song, Perry is clearly hiding under the table and to Doofenshmirtz's left. But when he looks under the table to motion to the "platypus controlling me," he looks to his right.
 * Linda had left to get groceries. Therefore, the minivan would not have been in the driveway when Perry exited his lair.
 * In the closed captions, it spelled Carl's name wrong, and was spelled "Corro."
 * Despite of the fact that Charlene's car is a 1973 Chevrolet Camaro, the jingle says "Sports Sedan."
 * Because the Devolitioninator fits Perry, it therefore should not fit Doofenshmirtz.
 * When Doofenshmirtz says "platypus power" his mouth is not open.

Continuity

 * Dr. Doofenshmirtz mentions the De-Evolution-inator ("Phineas and Ferb Hawaiian Vacation").
 * Doofensmirtz reminds Perry about blowing him up at Vanessa's birthday.
 * Third time Dr. Doofenshmirtz is referred to as a pharmacist ("Run Away Runway", "The Ballad of Badbeard").
 * Candace's "Jeremy scrapbook" is mentioned ("Split Personality").

Allusions

 * Sega Dreamcast - The controllers Phineas, Ferb and friends play video games with look like the controllers for said real life games console.
 * Mortal Kombat/Final Fight - The game-play and the background of the stages of the video-game look similar to this fighting / beat'em up game, but the best allusion is when Baljeet is fighting Ferb and Ferb is losing focus and starts swinging from side to side is usually when the announcer say "Finish Him!" and the attacker is doing a fatality as well as when they are controlling Perry, and Buford grabs an umbrella, and everyone thinks that he is going to kill Doofenshmirtz.
 * Super Smash Bros. Series - The game Phineas and Ferb are playing is very similar to the Super Smash Bros. fighting series, specially the announcer, and the 2D stages. A stronger reference is Isabella's Patch Sash being referred to as a "Smack attack." In Super Smash Bros. characters can use "Smash attacks."
 * Brain drain or Brain scape (Movie) - The title refers to the name of a Spanish movie in which 4 nerds with bad grades go to England searching love.
 * The Penguins of Madagascar - This series also has an episode called "Brain Drain", in the episode Kowalski loses his brain.
 * Bed Bath and Beyond - The place Brain Bath and Beyond is an allusion to the store Bed Bath and Beyond
 * Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer - When Vanessa kisses Dr. Doofenshmirtz, he responds, "She thinks I'm cool!", a reference to the line "She thinks I'm cute!" when Clarice kisses Rudolph.
 * Great Wolf Lodge - Dr. Doofenshmritz and one of Vanessa's friends mentions a place called Caribou Lodge where parties can be hosted.
 * Mugen/Street Fighter - The kids are in bed, sick (except for Buford) and they are playing a game similar to the downloadable computer fighting game.
 * Super Mario Bros. - Listen to the sound the device makes when it pecks on Ferb's controller and the sound that Perry makes when he uppercuts Doofenshmirtz. It sounds very similar to the sound that Mario and Luigi make when they stomp on the Goombas.
 * Red Dwarf - When Doofenshmirtz makes Perry slap his face and nearly consume gum off the pavement by way of his "-inator" in this episode could be an allusion to the Red Dwarf episode "Demons & Angels" where Lister is made to eat a tarantula and, at the end, repeatedly slap his own face.
 * The Chronicles Of Vladimir Tod: Eighth Grade Bites - Where Doofenshmirtz is playing the records, there is a "punk" with a shirt bearing the symbol of Vladimir Tod, the vampire smiley face in red.
 * Wizards of Waverly Place - When Doofenshmirtz asks Perry, "Why are you hitting yourself?" it could be a reference to the pilot episode, where Max is making "Alex" slap her own face, similar to Perry and Doofenshmirtz, as they are both slapping their own faces, but are being controlled by someone else.

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
 * Tyler Mann as Carl
 * Allison Janney as Charlene
 * Dee Bradley Baker as Perry
 * Maulik Pancholy as Baljeet
 * Bobby Gaylor as Buford
 * Mitchel Musso as Jeremy
 * Alyson Stoner as Isabella
 * Logan Miller as Johnny
 * Olivia Olson as Vanessa
 * Additional Voices: Dee Bradley Baker, Danny Jacob, Jeff "Swampy" Marsh, Kimberly Brooks, Allison Janney, Maulik Pancholy, Bobby Gaylor, Tyler Mann, Dan Povenmire
 *  designates a character that did not appear in this episode