A Small Problem (Ben 10 episode)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Ben 10 episode | |
|---|---|
| "A Small Problem" | |
 Grey Matter captured by Howell. |
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| Episode # | 11 |
| Production # | 111 |
| Airdate | March 11, 2006 |
| Writer(s) | Sean Jara |
| Director | Scooter Tidwell |
| Story | Jill Colbert-Trousdale John Fang Tim Divar |
| Guest star(s) | Larry Cedar Nolan North Richard Doyle |
| Season 1 December 27, 2005 – March 25, 2006 |
|
| TV.com episode summary | |
| List of all Ben 10 episodes... | |
"A Small Problem" is the eleventh episode for the American animated television series Ben 10, which premiered on March 11, 2006.
[edit] Recap
The episode begins at a water park. There, Ben and Gwen are admiring a particular water slide while reciting the advertisement for it out loud. Once they finish, they head for the entrance. Gwen is able to get in line, but Ben is stopped by the attendant because he's too short. Gwen makes fun of him for this and then heads for the ride. Furious, Ben decides to teach the guy a lesson by showing up as Ripjaw. He activates the Omnitrix and tries to push the face down, but it won't engage. After slamming it several more times, it finally cooperates, but turns him into Grey Matter instead. He complanes,"No no no no no.Anything but a micro-munchkin" His problems only get worse, though. Since he is now only five inches tall, the incoming crowd of people don't see him as they storm their way to the ride. Luckily, Ben is able to dodge them.
Back at the entrance to the ride, someone is explaining the history of the water park's location to the attendant. He seems to think that an alien ship crash landed on the site in 1951, and is hoping to get some soil samples. The attendant doesn't care. Grey Matter takes the opportunity to tie the attendant's shoe laces together for some revenge. The man notices him doing this and tries to get the attendant to see him. Grey Matter hides behind a post just as the attendant turns, so he just thinks that the man is crazy. Ignoring the insult, the man moves to follow Grey Matter. The attendant tries to restrain him, but trips thanks to his tied-together shoelaces. Grey Matter moves over to the water slide, jumping ahead of Gwen and goading her into a race. He makes it to the bottom first, but is almost crushed by Gwen when she arrives shortly after. She says that Max will be angry when he finds out that Grey Matter became an alien simply to sneak onto the ride. Grey Matter is confident that he'll change back before Max finds out, so Gwen suggests that they dry off. As they swim out of the pool, the man who was following Grey Matter earlier picks him up, saying that he'll be his ticket to fame. In no position to fight, Grey Matter calls for Gwen, who quickly arrives to help. The man quickly stuffs Grey Matter in a cooler and runs off. Gwen catches Max and tells him about the kidnapping. As they chase the man, Max eventually loses steam and falls behind, leaving Gwen to chase alone. Unfortunately, the man makes it to his car and drives off, leaving Gwen and Max to wonder where he's going.
At the man's house, a security camera watches as he drives into his garage. Inside his house, security lasers bar any entry. The man gives a voice command to shut them off as he walks inside. Still wet from the water park, he leaves footprints on the carpet, which are cleaned up by robots. Setting the cooler on the counter, he issues more voice commands to turn on the lights and prepare dinner. His cat shows up to toy with the cooler, but he scolds it, saying that it's all his. Meanwhile, Gwen and Max are on the search for Grey Matter. Gwen thinks that Ben will just revert and escape, but Max realizes that he should have already done so by this point, meaning that something must be wrong with the Omnitrix. Gwen says that Grey Matter at least has the advantage of being smart while stuck in that form.
At the man's house, the man is questioning Grey Matter, who he's trapped in a glass jar. Grey Matter isn't very cooperative, obviously, but he doesn't know the answers to the man's questions anyway. Tired of being stared at, Grey Matter tells the man to take a picture. He does so, of course, since he needs proof of alien life. He then calls up something called The Organization, which is headquartered in a castle, to show them what he's found. The man, named Enoch, he calls is wearing a cowl, armor, and an elaborate mask, so his features go unseen. He seems to have little patience with the man, who he refers to as Mr. Howell, but sends a car when he sees the photos.
Still at Howell's house, Grey Matter spots Howell's cat. Getting an idea, he calls to the cat, saying, "Here, kitty, kitty. I taste just like chicken." The cat knocks over the jar Grey Matter is stuck in to get to him, breaking it so he can escape. The cleaning robots then show to deal with the mess as the cat closes in, leaving Grey Matter cornered. He manages to hop over the robots and run, though. As the chase him, Howell shows up. He's talking to himself, saying that he'll be famous as an alien discoverer. He also gives his full name, Howell Wayneright. He walks into the room that held Grey Matter to find him gone. Meanwhile, Grey Matter has been chased into the kitchen by the cleaning robots. He climbs the cabinets to escape, ending up next to the phone. Seizing the opportunity, he calls Gwen. She can tell from his voice that he hasn't changed back and asks where he is. He begins to go into a scientific explanation of the surrounding landmarks, but Gwen tells him to give an actual street name. He tells her that the house is on Ripley. He then puts his hands on the window, setting off an alarm and triggering a steel shutter on the window. Grey Matter dodges the shutter, but knocks the phone over while doing so, ending his call.
Now cut off from Gwen, Grey Matter is cornered by Howell. Howell tries to grab him, but Grey Matter climbs inside his shirt. As Howell tries to grab him, he jumps from his shirt and heads toward an air vent. Howell grabs Grey Matter before he can escape, but Grey Matter bites his hand to make him let go. Meanwhile, Gwen and Max are forced to sort through all the streets with Ripley in the name. Now stuck inside the vents, Grey Matter wonders what is wrong with the Omnitrix, going through more scientific explanation as he does. Realizing what he's saying, Grey Matter takes a moment to enjoy the feeling of being smart. Howell won't let up, though. Turing on the fan system, he blows Grey Matter through the vents until he ends up at a ceiling grate. Howell has picked up a broom to hit Grey Matter with, but can't land a hit. Still on the run, Grey Matter jumps into the sink next. Howell says that he can't risk losing him, so he turns on the faucet to flush Grey Matter out. Grey Matter pops out of an opening in the water pipe, saying, "Ahh... fresh air!" Then Grey Matter realizes that he's in the toilet.
In the neighborhood, Gwen and Max split up to begin searching the houses. Max is attacked... by a sprinkler, & Gwen makes a break for it when she sees what looks like a black widow in a basement window. Their search only takes time and leads them back into each other, so they give up in favor of searching with the RV.
At Howell's house, Howell is using the cameras in his home to find Grey Matter. It works, but he finds Grey Matter next to the main power switch. Grey Matter waves and shuts it off, leaving the home in darkness. As Howell searches with a flashlight, Grey Matter looks for an escape route, which presents itself in the form of a chimney. Opening it alerts Howell, though. As Grey Matter climbs, Howell starts a fire to smoke him out, using a fish net to catch Grey Matter after he falls. He locks Grey Matter in a compartment along with a collection of alien figurines. Grey Matter sarcastically comments on all the friends Howell must have. Howell simply says that it won't matter when he's rich. The Organization choose this moment to show up, having brought three people to see Howell's discovery. They've brought a small electrified container with them. Howell shows them Grey Matter, and they promptly stuff him into the container and leave.
Meanwhile, Gwen and Max seem to have found the man's car, even though he had parked it in his garage and the one they spot is in a driveway. Max decides to forgo knocking in favor of breaking the door down. Sure enough, it isn't the right house. An elderly woman in a wheelchair rolls up, ordering her pitbull to attack. As Max wrestles with it, Gwen sees the men from the Organization and Howell getting into a car on the other side of the street. Howell drops his cell phone as he's pushed inside. She points this out to Max, who touches the top of the dog's head and puts it sleep, impressing Gwen. Since they don't know where the men are headed, they decide to find out by investigating Howell's home.
In the Organization's car, Grey Matter is not excited about the situation, thinking that these men are more trouble than Howell is. Howell just says its because he's in a cage. At the castle, the men shove Howell out of the car and lead him inside as they take Grey Matter in.
Back at Howell's home, Max notes Howell and the old lady's similar taste in cars. Gwen finds his cell phone and goes through the pictures of Grey Matter. He looks sad, which angers her, since she's the only one allowed to torment Ben. Max figures they can get an address from the call history if they reverse trace the numbers. Gwen comments on the sneakiness of the plan, saying that she's starting to appreciate his sneaky side.
At the castle, the men take Howell to see Enoch. Howell wants to know how they'll spread the word. Enoch simply hands Grey Matter over to some scientists, saying that they prefer to keep their discoveries to themselves. Howell protests, but is grabbed by the other men. Enoch tells him that he's disposable, so his men toss him to a lower floor. As another man comes from a room to take him further, Howell jumps up and knocks him back into the room, saying that they can't do this to either him or Grey Matter.
Outside the castle, a guard is patrolling with a spear. The tip of the spear seems to have an energy weapon equipped to it. When Gwen asks just who they are, Max gives their whole history. Apparently, the Organization dedicates itself to collecting alien technology. After seeing Gwen's clearly confused expression, Max tries to cover for himself by saying that he just picked it up somewhere.
In a lab within the castle, Grey Matter is taken to an operating table. There, the scientists have made a doll of him to test the table. Various cutting lasers cut the doll apart, much to Grey Matter's dismay. The scientists the prepare to do the same to him. Meanwhile, Gwen and Max make their way onto the castle walls via a nearby tree. One of the guards is there to greet them. Max goes on the attack, knocking his spear away. He does well at first, but is soon overpowered. Luckily, Gwen is able to knock the guard out with his own spear.
Back at the lab, one of the scientists is knocked out as he prepares to enter the room. Whoever knocked him out takes his suit and goes inside. The other scientist is about to dissect Grey Matter. The impostor scientist, whose voice reveals him to be Howell, knocks the other out. He then uses the laser to free Grey Matter, saying that "Aliens are people, too. Actually just sort of people, but still people." As more scientists show up to stop him, he uses the extending arms the lasers are attached to knock them away. He then tries to get away with Grey Matter, but is tackled. Grey Matter escapes as Howell wrestles with the scientist.
In the hall, Grey Matter runs into Gwen. Max says they should "Save the reunion for later." Sneaking through the castle and hiding from guards, they eventually find their way to a storage room. Within in is all the alien technology the Organization has collected. It's surrounded in a circle around a large device in the center. Grey Matter's tone suggests that the stuff they've collected must be incredibly valuable, powerful, or both. Meanwhile, Enoch is ordering his men to recapture the alien.
Still searching the room, Grey Matter says that they need to destroy all of the alien technology. Several guards show up, along with their leader and Howell. Along with carrying their modified spears, a few are sporting energy swords. The three take cover near the large device in the center. Thinking to himself, Grey Matter comes up with a plan and has Gwen and Max grab some of the alien technology, a pulse hypercore and a millennium capacitor to be precise. They hesitate at first, but comply when Grey Matter says that it's him and not Ben asking. One of the guards catches them as they retrieve the parts, but Max is there to steal his weapon and hold the others off. As Max fires on the guards, Grey Matter tells them to leave, saying that he can activate the device, though he doesn't say what it does. He just assures Gwen that he'll meet her outside.
With Gwen and Max gone, Grey Matter activates the powergrid, which starts projecting lightning onto the ceiling. The leader seems to realize what is happening, saying that the reaction will decimate the mansion. He orders everyone to evacuate, with the exception of Howell, who he's tired of dealing with. As the guards depart, Grey Matter is climbing his way out of the device. The Omnitrix chooses this moment to finally revert him, leaving his hand stuck inside it. Howell finds Ben, confused as to how he got there and where the alien went. Despite this, he helps Ben pull his hand out. The two then escape the castle just before the alien device collapses it into what appears to be a miniature black hole. Howell asks Ben and Gwen where the alien went, but they feign ignorance. Annoyed, he decides to give up chasing after aliens for good.
In the RV, Ben is happy to be big again. Gwen makes fun of him, saying he's still short. Ben threatens to go Fourarms on her. When he puts his hand on the table, the Omnitrix releases an audible as well as visual charge, interrupting them. Ben immediately claims that he didn't do anything. Gwen says that they need to get it fixed. Meanwhile, Enoch is in his car. There is a great deal of electronics installed in it, including a computer. Profiles of Ben, Gwen, and Max are on the screen. Enoch orders his men to find out everything about them as the episode ends.
Aliens used in this episode: Greymatter(Ben starts banging the Omnitrix on a pole because it would not work, and accidentally changes into Greymatter for longer than usual)
[edit] Trivia
- Howell Wayneright's capture of Grey Matter and his behavior resembles the Dib character from the Invader Zim television series. The fact that Richard Horvitz obviously voices Grey Matter also lends credit to this.
