Phineas and Ferb

Phineas and Ferb is an American animated comedy-musical television series. Originally broadcast as a preview on August 17, 2007, and officially premiered on February 1, 2008 on Disney Channel, the series follows Phineas Flynn and his English stepbrother Ferb Fletcher on summer vacation. Every day, the boys embark on some grand new project, which annoys their controlling sister, Candace, who frequently tries to reveal their shenanigans to the boys’ mother, Linda Flynn, and less frequently to their father, Lawrence Fletcher. The series follows a standard plot system; running gags occur every episode, and the B-Plot almost always features Perry the Platypus working as a spy (“Agent P”) for the O.W.C.A. (Organization Without a Cool Acronym), to fight an evil scientist named Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz. However, Dr. Doofenshmirtz, or Doof as he refers to himself, feels the need to assert his evilness. Sometimes, other villains scoff at his level of evil. The two plots intersect at the end to erase all traces of the boys’ project just before Candace can show it to their mother. This usually leaves Candace very frustrated.

Creators Dan Povenmire and Jeff “Swampy” Marsh worked together on the FOX series The Simpsons and Nickelodeon series Rocko’s Modern Life. The creators also voice two of the main B-plot characters: Major Monogram and Dr. Doofenshmirtz. Phineas and Ferb was conceived after Povenmire sketched a triangular boy—the blueprint for the eponymous Phineas—in a restaurant. Povenmire and Marsh developed the series concept together and pitched to networks for 16 years before securing a run on Disney Channel.

The series is also known for its musical numbers, which have appeared in almost every episode since the first-season “Flop Starz.” Disney’s managers particularly enjoyed the episode’s song, “Gitchee, Gitchee Goo”, and requested that a song appear in each subsequent episode. The show’s creators write and record each number, and vary musical tempo depending on each song’s dramatic use. The music has earned the series a total of four Emmy nominations: in 2008 for the main title theme and for the song “I Ain’t Got Rhythm” from the episode “Dude, We’re Getting the Band Back Together”, and then in 2010 for the song “Come Home Perry” from the episode “Oh, There You Are, Perry” as well as one for its score. The series has also been popular with adults.

On August 25, 2011, the show was picked up for a fourth season along with a possible spin-off show and a feature film on the Disney Channel. Disney Channel officially announced on November 9, 2011 that the fourth season was picked up with new episodes rolling out starting December 7, 2012. It is now the longest running Disney Channel Original Series, beating Kim Possible’s 5 years and 3 months.

On February 15, 2014, it was announced that production of the show has been completed and no new episodes have been ordered, and the show will go on an indefinite hiatus. However, new episodes will air on Disney XD in June 2014.