"Dumptown U.S.A." is the first episode in Season 7 (and one-hundred and eighty second episode overall) of Regular Show. It first aired on June 26, 2015.
Synopsis[]
Rigby must bring Mordecai back from a bizarre land of guys also known as Dumptown USA or Benson will fire him.
Plot[]
The episode opens with Rigby playing video games with Eileen to decide where they will go for lunch. Just as Rigby wins and chooses Wing Kingdom, Benson comes in to remind Rigby of his chores. Rigby insists on waiting for Mordecai to help him, but the three realize they don't know where he is, noting that no one has seen him in the two weeks since his breakup with CJ through the events of "Dumped at the Altar." Benson comments that he has tried to call him but he can't pick up the call, but Rigby finds Mordecai's cellphone in between the couch after calling it (with 300+ missed calls from Benson).
Frustrated, Benson asks Rigby if he doesn't know where his best friend is, to which Rigby says that he was busy (he moves his head towards Eileen, meaning he was too busy with the date). Benson tells Rigby that if he doesn't bring Mordecai back to the park by tomorrow, then he'll have to fire Mordecai. Not wanting his friend to be fired, Rigby goes to his and Mordecai's room to look for clues.
Rigby gets a call from Eileen who says that neither Margaret nor his parents have seen or heard from him. Searching in their room, Rigby finds a postcard of "Dumptown USA" under Mordecai's mattress, a bizarre place consisting entirely of men struggling through breakups signed by Sad Sax Guy, much to Rigby's annoyance. Rigby then thinks that no one has actually been there. Benson, overhearing Rigby mentioning Dumptown, surprises him when he reveals he knows all too well of the town already, having been there on at least four different occasions, including after his breakup with Audrey. Benson informs Rigby that the only way to get there is to get dumped.
Rigby goes to Eileen's house, and convinces her to fake dump him. She is initially reluctant and fails the first attempt, but she subsequently acts it out well enough to the point that Rigby almost believes he actually got dumped. Fortunately, Sad Sax Guy sees the whole ordeal and buys the breakup, taking him to Dumptown USA (oddly enough by flying).
When they arrive, Sad Sax Guy flies and plays sad sax music, prompting Rigby to state that he hates the song. With Sad Sax Guy gone, Rigby sets out to investigate the town. He is disgusted by the residents' unhygienic and robed appearances. Arriving at a market, he asks a local about Mordecai, but is mortified to discover that the stranger is Mordecai, and is taken aback by his drastic appearance overhaul (Mordecai now has unkept long brown hair and a long brown beard, and he is wearing novelty sunglasses, a bathrobe, a dirty tank top and shorts, and flip flops, basically giving him the appearance of a bum). Mordecai, trying to justify Dumptown, shows him the beach house where he's staying.
Mordecai takes Rigby to his beach house, inhabited by five "roomies" who wait impatiently for Mordecai to bring them food. The house, much like the rest of the town, is trashed and unhygienic. Mordecai decides to show Rigby around town, only for Rigby to notice how everyone has little life in them everywhere they go.
After an out of tune sax practice, Rigby explodes at Mordecai, having had enough of the aimless lifestyle of Dumptown USA. He tries convincing Mordecai that the town is horrible and that CJ is just another girl among many that he'll get over, but to no avail. Finally, he gets through to Mordecai when he notes that he's been there for two weeks (Mordecai was under the impression that it had only been a few days). Rigby tells Mordecai that due to the residents' aimless lifestyles, nobody knows or cares what the timeline is because they are either too depressed or in denial, before showing Mordecai what he really looks like through the saxophone reflection. Having taken a good look at himself and his surroundings, Mordecai lets go of his loneliness and decides to leave. However, Mordecai's roommates, needing someone to bring them food, give chase. Mordecai and Rigby finally lose them by jumping a drawbridge, where on the other side Sad Sax Guy flies them away.
Mordecai and Rigby make it back safely to the Park. Mordecai acknowledges that Dumptown was lame but simpler, and takes advice from Rigby to simply move on from dating and focus on what’s best for himself. Benson appears and yells at Mordecai to finish his tasks or be fired, and leaves greeting Sad Sax Guy. Rigby then gets a call from Eileen, and ends the episode complaining about having to go to the Ethiopian restaurant instead of the Wing Kingdom to get back together with her.
Characters[]
- Mordecai
- Rigby
- Benson
- Eileen
- Sad Sax Guy
- Men in Dumptown USA
- Margaret (mentioned)
- CJ (mentioned)
- Mordecai’s Parents (mentioned)
- Muscle Man (mentioned)
- Audrey (mentioned)
- Ashley (mentioned)
- Monica (mentioned)
- Patrica (mentioned)
- Lisa (mentioned)
- Stacey (mentioned)
Locations[]
- Park
- Eileen's House
- Dumptown USA (location)
- Dumptown Deli
- Table for One Buffet
- Public pool
- Battery Hut
Trivia[]
- Benson reveals that he has been to Dumptown USA four times before, including after his break up with Audrey.
- Mordecai steps away from dating.
- Since Mordecai's disappearance, Benson has attempted to call him 347 times, Margaret 4 times, and an unknown amount of times from a student loan company.
- It’s unknown how Benson left Dumptown, after breaking up with Audrey.
- It’s unknown how Mordecai's hair turned brown.
- This marks the first episode that Mordecai is not shown as his normal self.
- When Mordecai and Rigby run out of the Dumptown beach house, one of the housemates refers to Rigby as "Ricky". Interestingly, that was originally going to be his name on the show, but it was changed to "Rigby" after Quintel's wife misheard it as such.[1]
Episode Connections[]
- This marks the second appearance of Sad Sax Guy (TV: Sad Sax).
- Benson's breakup with Audrey is brought up again. (TV: The Real Thomas).
- This episode is a sequel to the Season Six finals and the events of the episode are even mentioned (TV: Dumped at the Altar)
Pop Culture References[]
- Mordecai's outfit while in Dumptown is a reference to fictional slacker Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski from The Big Lebowski.
- There's an E.T. reference when Mordecai and Rigby jump the drawbridge gap.
- The music playing during the montage with Mordecai and Rigby doing several things around Dumptown loosely resembles the song "Two Tickets to Paradise" by Eddie Money.
Production Notes[]
- This is storyboard artist Sam Spina's first episode and working with Benton Connor.
- This marks the first episode that wasn't directed by John Infantino as he left the show in late 2014.
- Starting with this episode, Season 7 will not have the Regular Show title screen with the subtitle "A CARTOON NETWORK ORIGINAL" below it.
- However, it would appear later in the season with the episode "Crazy Fake Plan", and it would return briefly earlier in the season in the episode "Terror Tales of the Park V."
- This marks the fifth and last episode to air during the first ever "Regular Show Bomb."
Goofs[]
- The episode info on the TV version incorrectly says that Mordecai and Rigby must save Benson from Dumptown USA or he will fire them. But Rigby had to save Mordecai from Dumptown USA or Benson will fire him.
- In one scene where Rigby find broken sunglasses on the beach, his hands are all covered in sand but when Rigby looks at them, the sand on his hands is gone.
- If you look closely in the episodes credits, the copyright year switches from 2015 to 2014.