Don't Touch That Dial

"Don't Touch That Dial" is the second episode of the American television miniseries WandaVision, based on the Marvel Comics characters Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch and Vision. It follows the couple as they try to conceal their powers while living an idyllic 1960s suburban life in the town of Westview. The episode is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), sharing continuity with the films of the franchise. It was written by Gretchen Enders and directed by Matt Shakman.

For the Teen Titans episode, see Teen Titans (season 4).
"Don't Touch That Dial"
WandaVision episode
Promotional poster for WandaVision, highlighting the 1960s setting seen in this episode
Episode no.Episode 2
Directed byMatt Shakman
Written byGretchen Enders
Produced byJac Schaeffer
Featured music"Help Me, Rhonda" by the Beach Boys
Cinematography byJess Hall
Editing byZene Baker
Original release dateJanuary 15, 2021 (2021-01-15)
Running time36 minutes
Cast
  • Asif Ali as Norm
  • Emma Caulfield Ford as Dottie
  • Jolene Purdy as Beverly
  • Amos Glick as Dennis the mailman
  • David Payton as Herb
  • David Lengel as Phil Jones
  • Zac Henry as the beekeeper
  • Victoria Blade as commercial woman
  • Ithamar Enriquez as commercial man

Paul Bettany and Elizabeth Olsen reprise their respective roles as Vision and Wanda Maximoff from the film series, starring alongside Teyonah Parris, Debra Jo Rupp, and Kathryn Hahn. Shakman joined the series in August 2019. The episode pays homage to sitcoms of the 1960s, particularly Bewitched, including an animated opening sequence in the Hanna-Barbera-style of that series' own intro. Filming took place at Pinewood Atlanta Studios and in Los Angeles and was mostly shot in black and white.

"Don't Touch That Dial" was released on Disney+ on January 15, 2021. Critics praised the performances of Olsen and Bettany, particularly their physical comedy, and found the episode enjoyable, but some criticized the lack of overall plot developments.

Plot

During what appears to be the 1960s, Wanda and Vision begin to hear strange noises outside their house. The next day, they prepare their magician act for a neighborhood talent show to help them fit in with the neighbors. Vision decides to attend the neighborhood watch meeting with his fellow male neighbors, but Wanda sees a toy helicopter in color as soon as he leaves. She is distracted by Agnes, who invites her to a women's gathering hosted by Dottie Jones, the snooty leader of the neighborhood, and befriends Geraldine.

The men in the neighborhood watch meeting welcome Vision, who accidentally swallows a piece of gum that was offered to him. Unable to digest it, the swallowed gum makes him act intoxicated. Wanda speaks with Dottie, during which a voice calls out to her through the radio, asking her who is responsible for causing her situation.[lower-alpha 1] Once again, she is distracted as Dottie asks who she is before the radio breaks, and Dottie's glass shatters. She bleeds in color, but conditions quickly return to normal.

When Vision arrives at the talent show, his condition leads him to inadvertently reveal his superpowers. Wanda's own abilities cover him, to make Vision look like he is doing simple magic tricks, and Geraldine is teleported as part of the act's finale. Their performance is well received and they are awarded Comedy Performance of the Year by Dottie. When they return home, Wanda quickly and inexplicably becomes pregnant. As she and Vision are about to celebrate, they hear the noise outside again and walk out to find a beekeeper climbing out of the sewers. Disturbed by that sight, Wanda "rewinds" the events on-screen to her pregnancy reveal and the world around them suddenly changes to a 1970s color-filled aesthetic.

A commercial during the WandaVision program advertises Strücker watches with the Hydra logo on them.

Production

Development

By October 2018, Marvel Studios was developing a limited series starring Elizabeth Olsen's Wanda Maximoff and Paul Bettany's Vision from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films.[2][3] In August 2019, Matt Shakman was hired to direct the miniseries.[4][5] Shakman and head writer Jac Schaeffer executive produce alongside Marvel Studios' Kevin Feige, Louis D'Esposito, and Victoria Alonso.[6][4][7]:50 Feige described the series as part "classic sitcom", part "Marvel epic",[8] paying tribute to many eras of American sitcoms.[9] The second episode, titled "Don't Touch That Dial",[10] was written by Gretchen Enders[11] and pays homage to 1960s sitcoms Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie.[12][13][14]

Writing
External video
Strücker | Marvel Studios' WandaVision | Disney+ presents the full Strücker commercial from the episode, YouTube video from Marvel Entertainment's channel

The series features fake commercials that Feige said would indicate "part of the truths of the show beginning to leak out",[15] with "Don't Touch That Dial" including a commercial that is advertising Strücker watches with the slogan "Strücker. He'll make time for you."[16] The face of the watch says "Swiss Made", "Hydra", and "1000M", along with the Hydra logo.[17] Strücker is a reference to Baron Wolfgang von Strucker, who experimented on Wanda to give her her powers.[18] Brenton Stewart at Comic Book Resources said the watch ticking in the commercial gave it an "unsettling feeling of a bomb about to go off", and pointed out the sexist nature of the commercial, similar to the one in the first episode.[19]

Casting

The episode stars Paul Bettany as Vision, Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff, Teyonah Parris as Geraldine, Debra Jo Rupp as Mrs. Hart, and Kathryn Hahn as Agnes.[20][21]:30:47–31:05 Also appearing are Asif Ali as Norm, Emma Caulfield Ford as Dottie, Jolene Purdy as Beverly, Amos Glick as the mailman Dennis, David Payton as Herb, David Lengel as Phil Jones,[20] Zac Henry as S.W.O.R.D. Agent Franklin / the beekeeper,[20][22] and Victoria Blade and Ithamar Enriquez as the commercial woman and man.[20] Randall Park has an uncredited voice cameo as Jimmy Woo.[23][1]

Filming

Soundstage filming occurred at Pinewood Atlanta Studios in Atlanta, Georgia,[24] with Shakman directing,[4] and Jess Hall serving as cinematographer.[9] Backlot and outdoor filming occurred in Los Angeles when the series resumed production after being on hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[7]:50[25][26]

"Don't Touch That Dial" was filmed in black and white with a laugh track,[12][13] with Hall using tungsten lights that were common for the 1960s era.[27]:6 When shooting scenes in black and white, Bettany was painted blue, rather than Vision's maroon color, since the blue appeared better in the grayscale image.[28] Because the laugh track was not from a live audience as with the first episode, Shakman said they "were not super conscious" of it when filming to get necessary pauses for when the track would be added in later.[25] On set, the special effects team moved props with wire rigs and used camera tricks to create the effect of Maximoff's magic, as was done in series like Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie.[28] As another reference to Bewitched, Olsen unsuccessfully attempted to wiggle her nose like star Elizabeth Montgomery did in that series. Instead, Olsen uses a pointing motion whenever Maximoff uses her magic.[29] Shakman used lenses, lighting, and sound design to change the mood for moments when something goes wrong with Maximoff's illusion, inspired by The Twilight Zone. He felt the transition to these moments from the sitcom scenes was "very dramatic".[30]

Animation and visual effects

The episode features an animated opening title sequence, as well as several animated moments throughout, created by Titmouse, Inc.[21]:33:11[31] The opening is in the style of Hanna-Barbera's animated Bewitched opening,[18][17] with the sequence's characters designed by Marvel Studios' director of visual development Andy Park.[31] Visual effects for the episode were created by Monsters Aliens Robots Zombies, capital T, Framestore, Perception, RISE, The Yard VFX, SSVFX, and Lola VFX.[32][21]:33:06–33:21

Music

The episode's theme song, "WandaVision!",[33] was written by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez. "WandaVision" is the only lyric in the song, as Anderson-Lopez and Lopez wanted to emulate the minimalist, repetitive, "cool jazz Bebop-inspired" theme songs of 1960s television series. They also gave "Mah Nà Mah Nà" by Piero Umiliani and the works of Dave Brubeck as influences.[34] The episode features "Help Me, Rhonda" by the Beach Boys.[11] A soundtrack for the episode was released digitally by Marvel Music and Hollywood Records on January 22, 2021, featuring composer Christophe Beck's score. The first track is the theme song by Anderson-Lopez and Lopez.[33]

No.TitleLength
1."WandaVision!" (featuring Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Sara Mann, Jessica Rotter, Cindy Bourquin, Elyse Willis, Laura Dickinson, Robert Lopez, Eric Bradley, Greg Whipple, Jasper Randall & Gerald White)0:53
2."Rehearsal"0:55
3."Unwelcome Visitor"0:59
4."Strucker"0:37
5."Giddy Up"0:32
6."Beekeeper"1:05
7."Exit Stage Left"1:44
8."It's Really Happening"0:52
Total length:7:37

Marketing

In early December 2020, six posters for the series were released daily, each depicting a decade from the 1950s through the 2000s.[35] Charles Pulliam-Moore from io9 noted that at first glance, the 1960s poster appears to only subtly change from the first, 1950s poster with the image on the television set, but pointed out other objects in the living room "like the wallpaper, the plant, the art on the wall, and the television itself, are also changing". He called the magician's top hat resting on the television set most likely "a nod to Wanda's vast magical abilities that the series is meant to further develop" and felt the central hanging lamp was meant "to reflect the positioning of Vision's Infinity Stone, the status of which is one of the bigger questions looming over WandaVision".[36] Collider's Allie Gemmill called Vision in his true form over his human appearance "attention-grabbing" and felt the inclusion of the top hat was "an odd accessory and one worth keeping an eye on".[37] After the episode's release, Marvel announced merchandise inspired by the episode as part of its weekly "Marvel Must Haves" promotion for each episode of the series, including t-shirts, housewear, accessories, and a replica of the Strücker watch from the episode's fake commercial. The gold tone replica watch, with gold lettering and green Hydra symbol and text, was released by Hot Topic.[38][39]

Release

"Don't Touch That Dial" was released on Disney+ on January 15, 2021.[40][10] The episode was originally listed as "Episode 2" on the streaming service, but the title was updated by January 20 to be "Don't Touch That Dial".[10] Hoai-Tran Bui at /Film originally assumed that all of the episodes for the series would be untitled, and wondered if the titles were being withheld upon release to avoid spoilers despite not finding the second episode's title to be particularly revealing.[41]

Reception

Critical response

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 100% approval rating with an average score of 8/10 based on 12 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "'Don't Touch That Dial!' or you may miss one of WandaVision's myriad Easter eggs—or a clue in its slow building mystery."[42]

The A.V. Club's Sam Barsanti called the first two episodes of the series "an absolute delight, with hoary old sitcom gags that somehow kill" and "a nicely weird, novel way to have fun with these characters",[14] while his colleague Stephen Robinson gave the episodes an "A–", particularly highlighting Olsen and Bettany's physical comedy during Wanda and Vision's magic show.[11] Rebecca Iannucci of TVLine felt the episode's cold opening was delightful.[16] Christian Holub at Entertainment Weekly was pleased with the Hanna-Barbera-style animation in the episode as well as the fake commercial, which he felt made the series more interesting than previous Marvel TV series. He also speculated that Advanced Idea Mechanics (A.I.M.) could be behind the sitcom illusion, given the "beekeeper" who appears in the episode looks like A.I.M. members in the comics and the commercial for Strücker watches alludes to A.I.M.'s comic book founder Baron Strucker.[18] Reviewing the first two episodes for Den of Geek, Don Kaye gave them 4 out of 5 stars, saying that while the plot was incidental, the breaks from reality added "gravitas to the surreal and otherwise amusing proceedings". He also praised the comedy from Olsen, Bettany, and Hahn.[43]

IGN's Matt Purslow rated the first two episodes 7 out of 10 and called the second episode the funnier of the two since it was able to dedicate itself more to Maximoff and Vision's talent show act. However, he felt the episode covered "almost identical ground" to the first, with little additional plot development in the second episode".[44] Writing for Vulture, Abraham Riesman gave the episode 3 out of 5 stars and said it was "just a prelude to the real plot, a prelude filled with intentional artifice and homage. There's nothing beneath it other than a mystery, one that's not particularly compelling yet." He was intrigued by the presence of S.W.O.R.D., but viewers unfamiliar with the comics might not feel the same. For those viewers, Riesman believed there was "not a ton to grab onto here" besides the performances from Olsen and Bettany and the homages to past sitcoms.[17]

Accolades

Bettany was named TVLine's "Performer of the Week" for the week of January 11, 2021, for his performance in this episode. The site highlighted Bettany's "fearless physical comedy and a top-notch 'drunken' performance" since it was a departure from the character seen in the films, adding that the "old-fashioned, nostalgic charm" was a delight to see.[45]

Notes
  1. The voice on the radio is revealed to be that of FBI agent Jimmy Woo in the series' fourth episode, "We Interrupt This Program".[1]

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