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Road and mud aren't exactly "all terrains"...

— Phineas Flynn

Phineas and Ferb build an ATV powerful enough to handle any terrain. Meanwhile, Candace and Stacy go to a leadership seminar where Candace learns the steps needed to achieve her goal of busting her brothers. Elsewhere, Dr. Doofenshmirtz hosts the Telethon of Evil.

Episode Summary[]

Screen shot 2011-12-07 at 3.39

The All-Terrain-Vehicle!

Candace is bored in her room until Stacy calls her to help her come to a seminar that will bore her. Stacy convinces Candace by saying there might be cute boys. Candace reluctantly agrees, but tells Stacy that she owes her. In the living room, after watching a commercial for an all-terrain vehicle, Phineas decides that he and Ferb can build a better model - one that can drive on literally any type of surface, like across some cheese and up a mountainside - which they later do. Buford is particularly happy to get into this idea, after Isabella explains some of the vehicle's features to him.

Perry enters the lair on a skateboard, and Monogram tells him that Dr. Doofenshmirtz has been stockpiling cameras and microphones.

Stacy and Candace attend a seminar hosted by Tedd Shaw, the topic at hand being "leaders of the future". She's surprised to see Baljeet there, because the seminar is directed at high school students. Baljeet, however, is always open to studying anything and everything he can. Although Stacy ends up falling asleep during the seminar, Candace becomes inspired to use Shaw's techniques - B.L.A.R.F. and N.A.R.G. - to bust her brothers. The boys conveniently drive by, Candace hops inside their vehicle, and tells them to drive it home so she can show it to Mom. Stacy, meanwhile, ends up spending time with a new boy named Chad.

Over at Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated, Perry is captured and tied up, and Doofenshmirtz explains that his alimony checks aren't covering his evil plans like they used to, so he intends to hold a Telethon of Evil to raise the money to fund his various evil schemes. He gives Perry a telephone so that he can accept call-in donations, then uses his Pre-Empt-Inator to override all TV programming in the Tri-State Area with his telethon. Lawrence, sitting in a dentist chair, watches the program (which he believes to be a "brilliant work of satire") in confusion.

While on the way home, Candace decides that Phineas drives too slow and takes the controller from him, activating the windshield wipers and the radio in the process, where a familiar tune can be heard. A news anchor spots the vehicle go by and drives after them, noticing the danger of the situation because there isn't an adult driver in the car. Back with Doofenshmirtz, he manages to raise a paltry 23 dollars before his telethon gets preempted for a news flash concerning the car. Furious, he goes after the news van with his hover car, shooting at them with a laser so that he can regain control of the airwaves. Candace drives on, blissfully unaware of what's going on around her. The news helicopter zooms in on Doofenshmirtz, who says hi to his mother, but ends up crashing into his own building due to the distraction. The unmanned hover car flattens the news van, losing the footage and disappointing the crew.

The kids arrive home, seconds after Linda, and Candace tells them to stay put. The disbelieving and fed-up mother tells Candace she's grounded and to go to her room after learning that she drove a vehicle without an adult supervision, and she stomps up the stairs in frustration. She calls Stacy, to tell her about her (mild) success in busting her brothers, but as she's out with a boy, and tells the last one is "F.R.E.E.P.O." as she is dismissed. The kids, bored of waiting in the car, are shot up into the air after Ferb notes that they haven't yet tried the vehicle's "rocket mode", Candace tries to figure out what F.R.E.E.P.O. means until the kids leaves her in the dust.

Transcript[]

Read the transcript of The Secret of Success.

Songs[]

Gallery[]

Click here to view more images from "The Secret of Success".
View the image gallery for "The Secret of Success".

Running Gags[]

The "Too Young" Line[]

Tedd: Can you see N.A.R.G ing can help you... become president of the United States?
Girl: Yes. Yes I can!

Ferb's Line/I know what we're gonna do today!/Hey, where's Perry?[]

Phineas: Road and mud aren't exactly all terrains. Somebody ought to build a vehicle that actually goes over all terrains.
Ferb: Two, Three, Four...
Phineas: Ferb, I know what we're gonna do today!
Ferb: Five, Six, Seven.
Phineas: Hey, where's Perry?
Ferb: You know, technically we didn't try all terrain.
Presses the rocket mode of the vehicle

What'cha doin'?[]

None.

Oh, there you are, Perry[]

None.

Perry's entrance to his lair[]

He uses a skateboard and goes through a pipeline, to which he lands upside down in his seat.

Evil Jingle[]

Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated!

Memorable Quotes[]

Candace: Baljeet, this seminar is for high school kids. What are you doing here?
Baljeet: Well, I usually attend college level conferences, but I thought I would dumb it down for the weekend.
Candace: That makes me wanna blarf.
Baljeet: I can see it is already working.
Tedd: And have you used these steps?
Candace: Believe me, I've blarfed and narged plenty. I got nowhere.
Candace: Stacy, wake up!
Stacy: (startled) Uhh! It's not my ferret!
Candace: Oh, no. I'm going to do it right this time. Even though every fiber of my being is screaming to tell you to stay here and find out the information, then run frantically out to that ATV and drive my brothers to Mom who'll bust them, I will resist! Yes! I am going to stay right here and break my old pattern!
Stacy: Good choice, Candace. I can't tell you have a p-
Candace is outside
Candace: Stacy, take notes for me!
Candace: Okay, I learn some skill that... Phineas, you're in the drivers seat, why are you operating with a remote control?
Phineas: Candace, We're too young to drive.
Buford and Isabella: Duh!
Doofenshmirtz: And now live, because it's evil spelled backwards, your host Heinz Doofenshmirtz!
After watching Doofenshmirtz's telethon of evil
Lawrence: This is a brilliant work of satire. It's my new favorite show.
Bridgette: And that's how socks sometimes get lost in the dryer. And cut tape.
Candace: I'm blarfing! I'm blarfing!
Cameraman: What was that?
Bridgette: I don't know, but it's more interesting than socks. To the news van!
Dr. Doofenshmirtz: And we're back. The Inator Corporation was generous enough to send us a giant check for 23 dollars. Thank you Sid and the guys, you do an important job. That brings our tally to 23 dollars. Let's go to the phones again. Silence Okay, if no one calls in the next few seconds, the platypus gets it!
News Announcer: We preempt this current preemption to bring you another preemption.
Dr. Doofenshmirtz: Nothing cuts into my television time! Screen changes to a test pattern with Agent P on it Oh, haha, very funny. Everyone's a comedian.
Dr. Doofenshmirtz: Oh, hey, it's me. It's me. I'm back. Perry the Platypus, you- oh, it's the chopper cam. Hello? I'm back. Hi, Mom. Hi. Perry the Platypus and news helicopter leave Oh, going back to the more dramatic wide angle shot- Dr. Doofenshmirtz crashes into his building And the final tally is... unbearable pain. And probably a herniated disc.
Stacy: Candace, what happened to you? The lecture's over. The gift bags were totally cruddy, by the way. It's just a bag, nothing in it.

Background Information[]

  • Ferb was counting the seconds between Phineas getting his daily idea and wondering where Perry is. This indicates he's well aware of Phineas's usual pattern.
  • A rock version of the "Quirky Worky Song" can be heard faintly during Isabella's explanation of the all-terrain vehicle's features.
  • As revealed in "Phineas and Ferb's Quantum Boogaloo", 20 years later, after the leadership seminar, Stacy became the President of Uruguay. She probably got tips after Candace left.
  • Candace's guesses as to what F.R.E.E.P.O. stands for includes "Frequent Rampages Encourages Enormous Perpendicular Octagons" and "Free Raccoons Enter Existential Plastic Origami".
  • The poster above Stacy's bed has changed from The Bettys ("Ready for the Bettys") to the Paisley Sideburn Brothers ("Fireside Girl Jamboree", "She's the Mayor").
  • The kids respond with "Duh!" when Candace tells them that they're too young to drive ("The Fast and the Phineas").
  • Phineas, Ferb and their friends continue to complete "Today is Gonna Be a Great Day" in the song "All Terrain Vehicle" when they cross a tundra and surf a tidal wave.
  • The ATV, when it was presented, looked like a Hummer Humvee.

Production Information[]

  • It first aired on June 4, 2010 on Disney XD Germany. It later premiered in Latin America on July 16, 2010 on Disney Channel and in the United Kingdom on July 19, 2010 and showed on Disney XD on October 9, 2010, and it aired on Verzion on Demand on October 1, 2010.

International Premieres[]

  • June 4, 2010 (Disney XD Germany)
  • July 16, 2010 (Disney Channel Latin America)
  • July 19, 2010 (Disney XD UK)
  • July 31, 2010 (TVNZ 2)
  • August 7, 2010 (Disney Channel Asia)
  • October 14, 2010 (Disney XD Poland)
  • October 31, 2010 (Disney XD France)
  • November 20, 2010 (Disney XD Spain)
  • December 29, 2010 (Disney Channel Spain)
  • February 18, 2011 (Disney Channel Scandinavia)
  • March 5, 2011 (Disney Channel UK)
  • May 15, 2011 (Disney XD Scandinavia)

Errors[]

  • During the song, Baljeet could be seen at the dance scene but he was supposed to be at the seminar.
  • During the song, the singer mentions driving on a tightrope, yet the vehicle is not shown on a tightrope until towards the end of the song.
  • During the song, Phineas and Ferb are dancing on top of the ATV, but this is impossible because the cliff is extremely bumpy and they would have fallen right off.
  • Also during the song, when the singer says "through a cave," the headlights from the vehicle would have created cones of light through the cave.
  • As Isabella shows the hydrolics of the ATV, the space between her arms are white.
  • When Dr. Doofenshmirtz is on the flying vehicle, he mentions Perry, on live TV. This could uncover his secret agent identity to the citizens of Danville who are watching the news preemption. In fact, Lawrence was watching the Telethon of Evil at the dentist which he could still be watching, even though it was interrupted by a news break. This was straight after the Telethon of Evil was preemptied, so it means that Lawrence could have figured it out. However an explanation to this may be that this episode takes place before "I Was a Middle Aged Robot" and Carl may have found a memory of this incident, and erased it to prevent Lawrence from finding the full truth out. Alternately, he could have been under the influence of nitrous-oxide, (which could also explain his declaration that it was his "new favorite show")."
  • In the all-terrain vehicle, when Candace says she has got the hang of it, Ferb is gone. He reappears when Candace decides to go get mom.
  • When the camera is showing the people walking into the seminar, it doesn't show Candace, Stacy, or Baljeet walking in.
  • When the camera is showing the people walking into the seminar, it show little kids walking in too. Candace points out that only "high school kids" are allowed to attend.
  • Bridgette points out that the ATV is filled with children, but Candace is a teenager.
  • When Bridgette shows the ATV from an angle where she can see the kids, Buford is sitting in an impossible position.
  • Perry’s feet are the wrong color when Doofenshmirtz tells the audience that the Platypus will ”get it” if nobody calls. They have the same salmon orange color as his tail instead of the bright orange color of his beak.
  • Perry’s tail is missing most of the time when he is trapped in the chair. It was visible both when he was trapped and when he escaped, so it shouldn’t be hidden behind his back.

Continuity[]

Allusions[]

  • This title seems to be a reference to self-help books, with titles such as "The Secret of Success", and to a lesser extent, the 1987 Michael J. Fox movie The Secret of My Success.
  • Thomas and Friends - During the song All Terrain Vehicle, Ferb, Phineas and Isabella faces are seen part of the vehicle as a Submarine, an Airplane, and a Train respectively.
  • Flubber - "F.R.E.E.P.O." may be homage to Weebo's name.
  • Tedd Shaw - His name and the fact that he led a seminar may be an allusion to the TED Conference.
  • Pinky and The Brain - B.L.A.R.F. and N.A.R.G may be allusions to Pinky and The Brain, where Pinky often spouts nonsense words such as "narf" and "zort" while the Brain has a tendency for creating crazy acronyms.
  • James Bond - Perry uses metal teeth to escape the trap, like the James Bond villain Jaws.

Trivia[]

Cast[]

Main article: Credits
designates a character that did not appear in this episode

References[]

Previous:
"Ladies and Gentlemen, Meet Max Modem!"
Episodes Next:
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v - e - dPhineas and Ferb
Season 1
"Rollercoaster" | "Lawn Gnome Beach Party of Terror" | "Flop Starz" | "The Fast and the Phineas"
"Lights, Candace, Action!" | "Raging Bully" | "Candace Loses Her Head" | "I, Brobot"
"Run Away Runway" | "The Magnificent Few" | "S'Winter" | "Jerk De Soleil" | "Are You My Mummy?"
"Ready for the Bettys" | "I Scream, You Scream" | "Toy to the World"
"Get That Bigfoot Outa My Face!" | "It's a Mud, Mud, Mud, Mud World" | "Mom's Birthday"
"Journey to the Center of Candace" | "It's About Time!"
"Dude, We're Getting the Band Back Together" | "Tree to Get Ready" | "The Ballad of Badbeard"
"Greece Lightning" | "Leave the Busting to Us!" | "Crack That Whip" | "The Best Lazy Day Ever"
"Boyfriend From 27,000 B.C." | "Voyage to the Bottom of Buford" | "A Hard Day's Knight"
"Traffic Cam Caper" | "Bowl-R-Ama Drama" | "Got Game?" | "Comet Kermillian"
"Put That Putter Away" | "Does This Duckbill Make Me Look Fat?" | "The Flying Fishmonger"
"One Good Scare Ought to Do It!" | "The Monster of Phineas-n-Ferbenstein" | "Oil on Candace"
"Out of Toon" | "Hail Doofania!" | "Out to Launch" | "Phineas and Ferb Get Busted!"
"Unfair Science Fair" | "Unfair Science Fair Redux (Another Story)"
Season 2
"The Lake Nose Monster" | "Interview With a Platypus" | "Tip of the Day"
"Attack of the 50 Foot Sister" | "Backyard Aquarium" | "Day of the Living Gelatin"
"Elementary My Dear Stacy" | "Don't Even Blink" | "Chez Platypus" | "Perry Lays an Egg"
"Gaming the System" | "The Chronicles of Meap" | "Thaddeus and Thor" | "De Plane! De Plane!"
"Let's Take a Quiz" | "At the Car Wash" | "Oh, There You Are, Perry" | "Swiss Family Phineas"
"Hide and Seek" | "That Sinking Feeling" | "The Baljeatles" | "Vanessassary Roughness"
"No More Bunny Business" | "Spa Day" | "Phineas and Ferb's Quantum Boogaloo"
"Phineas and Ferb Musical Cliptastic Countdown" | "Bubble Boys" | "Isabella and the Temple of Sap"
"Cheer Up Candace" | "Fireside Girl Jamboree" |"The Bully Code" | "Finding Mary McGuffin" | "Picture This"
"Nerdy Dancin'" | "What Do It Do?" | "Atlantis" | "Phineas and Ferb Christmas Vacation!"
"Just Passing Through" | "Candace's Big Day" | "I Was a Middle Aged Robot" | "Suddenly Suzy"
"Undercover Carl" | "Hip Hip Parade" | "Invasion of the Ferb Snatchers" | "Ain't No Kiddie Ride"
"Not Phineas and Ferb" | "Phineas and Ferb-Busters!" | "The Lizard Whisperer" | "Robot Rodeo" | "The Beak"
"She's the Mayor" | "The Lemonade Stand" | "Phineas and Ferb Hawaiian Vacation" | "Nerds of a Feather"
"Wizard of Odd" | "We Call it Maze" | "Ladies and Gentlemen, Meet Max Modem!" | "The Secret of Success"
"The Doof Side of the Moon" | "Split Personality" | "Brain Drain" | "Rollercoaster: The Musical!"
"Make Play" | "Candace Gets Busted"
Season 3
"The Great Indoors" | "Canderemy" | "Run, Candace, Run" | "Last Train to Bustville"
"Phineas' Birthday Clip-O-Rama!" | "The Belly of the Beast" | "Moon Farm"
"Ask a Foolish Question" | "Misperceived Monotreme" | "Candace Disconnected"
"Magic Carpet Ride" | "Bad Hair Day" | "Meatloaf Surprise" | "Phineas and Ferb Interrupted"
"A Real Boy" | "Mommy Can You Hear Me?" | "Road Trip" | "Tour de Ferb" | "Skiddley Whiffers"
"My Fair Goalie" | "Bullseye!" | "That's the Spirit" | "The Curse of Candace"
"Escape from Phineas Tower" | "Lotsa Latkes" | "Ferb Latin"
"A Phineas and Ferb Family Christmas" | "Tri-Stone Area" | "Doof Dynasty" |"Excaliferb"
"Phineas and Ferb and the Temple of Juatchadoon" | "Monster from the Id" | "Gi-Ants"
"The Remains of the Platypus" | "Mom's in the House" | "Perry The Actorpus" | "Let's Bounce"
"Bully Bromance Breakup" | "Quietest Day Ever" | "The Doonkelberry Imperative‎‎"
"Meapless in Seattle" | "Delivery of Destiny" | "Buford Confidential" | "The Mom Attractor"
"Cranius Maximus" | "Agent Doof" | "Minor Monogram" | "What A Croc!" | "Sleepwalk Surprise"
"Sci-Fi Pie Fly" | "Sipping with the Enemy" | "Tri-State Treasure: Boot of Secrets" | "Doofapus"
"Norm Unleashed" | "Where's Perry?" | "Where's Perry? (Part Two)" |"Ferb TV"
"When Worlds Collide" | "What'd I Miss?" | "Road to Danville"
"This Is Your Backstory" | "Blackout!"
Season 4
"For Your Ice Only" | "Happy New Year!" | "Fly On the Wall" | "Bully Bust" | "My Sweet Ride"
"Der Kinderlumper" | "Sidetracked" | "Primal Perry" | "Mind Share" | "Backyard Hodge Podge"
"Bee Day" | "Bee Story" | "Great Balls Of Water" | "Where's Pinky?"
"Phineas and Ferb Musical Cliptastic Countdown Hosted by Kelly Osbourne"
"Knot My Problem" | "Just Desserts" | "La Candace-Cabra" | "Happy Birthday, Isabella"
"Love at First Byte" | "One Good Turn" | "Thanks But No Thanks" | "Troy Story"
"Druselsteinoween" | "Terrifying Tri-State Trilogy of Terror" | "Face Your Fear" | "Cheers for Fears"
"Steampunx" | "Just Our Luck" | "Return Policy" | "Live and Let Drive" | "Father's Day"
"Imperfect Storm" | "The Return of the Rogue Rabbit" | "It's No Picnic" | "The Klimpaloon Ultimatum"
"Operation Crumb Cake" | "Mandace" | "Lost in Danville" | "The Inator Method"
"Tales from the Resistance: Back to the 2nd Dimension" | "Doof 101" | "Act Your Age"
Season 5
"Summer Block Buster" | "Cloudy with a Chance of Mom" | "Appetite for Adventure" | "License to Bust"
"Dry Another Day" | "Deconstructing Doof" | "Tropey McTropeface" | "Biblio-Blast!" | "A Chip to the Vet"
"More Than an Intern" | "The Aurora Perry-Alis" | "Agent T (For Teen)" | "The Haberdasher"
"The Candace Suit" | "Out of Character" | "Meap Me in St. Louis"
Specials
"Phineas and Ferb: Summer Belongs to You!" | "Phineas and Ferb Save Summer"
"Night of the Living Pharmacists" | "Last Day of Summer" | "O.W.C.A. Files"
Films
Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension
Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Candace Against the Universe
Crossovers
"Phineas and Ferb: Mission Marvel" | "Phineas and Ferb: Star Wars" | "The Phineas and Ferb Effect"
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