Recap: The Family Sits This One Out as "Big City Greens" Focuses on Side Characters and Farm Animals in Latest Episode

While the Green Family is always a significant part of Big City Greens, fans know that there are the rare episodes that don't necessarily focus on them, but rather more of the side characters, or even the animals! This is one of those episodes.

Perked Up

From the outset, this is one of the strangest episodes in the 100+ episodes of Big City Greens. To quote an episode of Seinfeld, "not that there's anything wrong with that." There's a reason I'm quoting that show, and that's because one of the writers on that series (and others like Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Simpsons, as well as SNL and Late Night with David Letterman), Tom Gammill, was not only a guest star on the episode, but also served as a guest writer.

In the episode, Gammill reprises his role as friend of Bill Green, Doug Perkins. The character returns once again appearing in the apartment next door where he meets Gloria Sato - who might as well be the Greens' adopted daughter. While he is introducing himself to Gloria, she points out that she lived with them for years but never even heard of him.

As such, Perkins sets out to prove that he knows the Greens and is super close with them, but embellishes his story along the way.

Fans of the series know Doug's relationship with the Green family is primarily centered around Bill, making his debut in the Season 3 episode, "Dependabill," as Bill tries to make friends with Doug and gets in over his head following a Cricket-inspired scheme with lies and deception.

However, in this episode, Doug is regaling Gloria with a tale that sees him not only know and have a great friendship (outside of Bill) with Cricket and Tilly, but also maybe have a little crush on Gramma Alice.

As Doug tries to impress Gloria with his knowledge of the family, she calls out his embellishments, contradictions and lies.

It all starts when Doug tries explaining that he was a doorman who loved singing, but had a boss who didn't love it despite all the residents where he opened doors being a fan. What follows is a chaotic string of fictional details and elaborate plots involving Cricket and a wealthy widow - Mrs. Hudkins - who thinks Cricket is the living spirit of her lost love, the Commodore, while Tilly has also unleashed a Genie after rubbing a lamp. Gloria - perhaps speaking for the audience at this point - says it's all just too much.

Why can't Doug just tell her the truth on how he met the Greens.

This is where I find the whole episode a little interesting as *checks notes * THAT WAS A PLOT POINT OF "Dependabill!"

In that episode, Bill finds himself showing up at Doug's to help him fix something he didn't know how and inevitably makes things worse, eventually showing up in disguise as a handyman but still now knowing what he is doing. Doug got so angry, he inevitably kicked Bill out of his apartment, causing a rift in their potential friendship until Nancy sways him to go over and apologize and tell him the truth. And boom! They're friends now.

Now, here we are with Doug embellishing all these stories to a point where Gloria has had enough and just wants to hear the real story. However, that real story is so bad that even Gloria asks him to finish the story, and to embellish it.

So he does, every little detail all comes into an emotional rescue from a burning fireworks factory where Doug "dies" saving Cricket with a song. Of course, he didn't - he's still here telling the story. But now it seems that Gloria might have a new friend in the apartment building.

Chicken Coup

Perfectly paired with the prior half of episode, the Green family is relegated once again to bit parts while some supporting or recurring guest characters get their own stories. However, this is familiar territory for fans of Big City Greens as we once again join the animals of the farm for one of their adventures.

This time, we're back in Smalton at the Green Family Farms where the animals are left under the watchful (and single) eye of Grandpa Nick. As such, mayhem ensues as Phoenix, the Green family canine who the animals see as Queen, endures an attempt to be overthrown by the stubborn rooster, Cogburn.

He feels that he could be a better leader, and Phoenix and the other animals of the farm like Melissa the Goat and Miss Brenda the cow, all think - no, know - that he couldn't be.

This causes Cogburn to get the idea that he could go rule his own kingdom and have his own following of loyal subjects - but it obviously won't be any of the animals of the Green Family Farm. So, he flaps his wings and gets out over the fence and into the forest near the farm land.

There, Cogburn finds a series of forest animals who are impressed with his manner of speaking and his ability to awaken the sun with a single rooster call. The forest animals are convinced, and they have a new leader. The adulation is stopped suddenly though when two coyotes - Dave and Ricky - show up eyeing Cogburn like a perfect meal.

Cogburn points out that they need a good meal, that they're just skin and bones, and suggests the knows a place where they will be fed to their heart's content - Green Family Farms, of course!

The coyotes know that place, but it is surrounded by that fence that shocks them if they get to close. Fortunately for all the animals, Cogburn knows how to make sure the fence does not shook anybody.

The coyotes turn on a dime, and agree to this deal, praising the idea of a monarchy after all. All the forest animals offer to help bring Cogburn back to the farm, where they will all live in harmony under his reign...right?

Once they return to the farm, the other animals panic while both Phoenix and Cogburn try to retain order to their best ability. Phoenix herds all the animals safely into the barn, as the coyotes renege on their deal and point out they promised not to eat Cogburn - all the other animals are fair game.

Phoenix tries to alert Grandpa Nick, but is on the wrong side of his patched eye, so has no way of getting his attention.

Cogburn still thinks he is king in this scenario but loses control, while Phoenix retains some semblance of order and a plan and suggests Cogburn, alone, go out and talk to the coyotes.

With all the animals now safely in the barn, Cogburn addresses the coyotes who are now ready to eat Cogburn anyway when Phoenix comes to the rescue and barks the coyotes backwards, knocking them into the wires of the electric fence. Cogburn flaps his way up to the lever that turns it on and the Coyotes are actively being electrocuted while Cogburn admits that Phoenix is a good leader and a better queen, especially after she used his as live bait to distract the coyotes in the most cunning of ways.

The coyotes are successfully chased off the farm when the rest of the Greens return home, finding a full herd of forest friends as they pull up. They ask Grandpa Nick what happened and he said everything looks normal to him (through that patched eye) while Cricket is still astonished that Phoenix - in the drivers seat of the tractor - can operate the vehicle.

Sidebar: Cannot confirm just yet, but this episode might also have one of the most stacked guest casts of any Big City Greens episode thus far, between special and returning special guests. In "Perked Up", we have the aforementioned Tom Gammill returning as Doug Perkins and SNL alum Rachel Dratch as the widow, Mrs. Hudkins. In "Chicken Coup", we have Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith as Ricky and Doug, respectively, and the returning stars Jameela Jamil and Alfred Molina as Phoenix and Cogburn, respectively.

This episode of Big City Greens is now available on Disney Channel and the DisneyNOW website. It is expected to arrive on Disney+ on November 25.