Dreadful Dexter

Let me start by saying I'm a major fan of Cartoon Network shows, old and new. One of my favorite shows is Dexter's Laboratory. And I've watched every episode of the show. Yes, that includes Rude Removal. But I've also seen Dreadful Dexter, the unaired episode that almost no one knew about...until now.

A few years back, I was on vacation in New Jersey. In a pawn shop there, I found a DVD called "Dexter's Laboratory Season 1 Gold Edition". I bought it, because I didn't have any episodes of the TV show on DVD, and it was very exciting to finally get one! The official season 1 DVD wouldn't come out until a few years later.

Later, in my hotel room, I put it in my portable DVD player. After a traditional FBI logo, I was met with the main menu. Like the box said, this was a complete collection of the show's first season. Unlike the 2010 release, the episodes were separate, rather than in groups. Every episode was present, even Barbequor.

So I watched several of my favorite episodes, and the nostalgia kicked in. I hadn't seen some of these episodes for a few years! For the first day, everything was perfect.

But halfway through the next day, something happened. I selected TV Super Pals for the second time. But instead of seeing the familiar Justice Friends intro, I saw the regular show intro, as if I had selected the wrong episode. So I exited and looked for the right one.

It appeared I had selected the right one. That was weird, considering I was able to watch it earlier. Then I tried what any person in a situation like this would do - I tried it again. It still didn't work. I went back to the main menu again, and checked again. It still appeared that I had selected TV Super Pals. Then I noticed an error. TV Super Pals was listed twice. I selected the other one, and it showed me the right episode. Relieved, I sat down and watched.

But not for long. The entire time, I was thinking...what was that other episode? At the part where Valhallen stops Minotaur from taking over the world, I backed out of the main menu and watched the mislabeled episode.

I saw the classic intro sequence once again, but near the end, things started to go wrong. Part of the screen's color was washed-out, and the audio got slightly lower-pitched. I then saw the title card for The Big Sister. Strangely, the title card had different music, which I recognized as the title music used in many other episodes. The rest of the episode, as I watched, was identical to the original, except for the color glitch and lower-pitched audio. Then, the credits appeared. After that, it cut to black.

I thought that was it. But I was wrong. The episode faded in to show a title card that had bloody letters saying "Dreadful Dexter" on a solid black background. The music appeared to be one of the two main title card songs (the same as the distorted episode I described) reversed and slowed down. It creeped me out a lot. The opening credits said that it was created, written, and directed by Genndy Tartakovsky himself, just like the previous episode.

The episode began as usual. Dexter got out of bed when the sun came up. He said he was going to work on his greatest invention yet. Dexter got launched out of bed when he pressed a button on a remote into his lab, and was dressed in his usual lab clothes. He then started to work on his invention. What followed next was a montage of him working on what looked like a giant robot. After he had finished, he proclaimed that his greatest work was completed.

But as usual, there was trouble. Dee Dee appeared, and within a few seconds, destroyed the robot. Dexter came up out of the rubble shortly after, and, as you would expect, was mad at Dee Dee for destroying his robot. He yelled at her...but it wasn't right. Usually, he just says she's stupid or tells her to get out of his laboratory. But this time, he went on and on, insulting her a lot, and using even more curse words than Rude Removal. I just couldn't tell you them, because I will never use that kind of language in my life.

And it got worse. Dexter said, "And I know just how to take care of a @#$%ing @#%*- like you." He then pulled a laser gun out of his pocket, aimed it at Dee Dee, and shot. She was killed, and there was a lot of blood. Dexter laughed evilly at her dead body. Although the voice sure didn't sound like him... Then, the episode instantly ended, cutting to static.

I lost the DVD recently. I still can't find it, but when I do, I'll upload the episode. Censored, of course.