It took some effort, but our friends have really managed to do the nearly impossible: They convinced a German villain to forgo the detailed exposition of his carefully crafted plan in favor of a shortened version. That’s quite an achievement, given how much effort a stereotypical German villain puts into the planning stage of their enterprise. And they tend to feel that that stage draws too little in appreciation, as it is, so giving up on that is not something you can get them to do easily.
Of course it helped that the Professor, from long experience, knows a stereotypical German villain’s stereotypical weakness: dogs. Everyone knows that Hitler had a dog, Kaiser William obviously had a couple (royals nearly always do), and in “Hogan’s Heroes” they had that German shepherd that was easily the most competent member of the camp staff. Therefore, all German villains are susceptible to puppy dog eyes, and with the Professor, Mopey and Biff combining their efforts, they’ve overcome even the will of an Emperor. Although, admittedly, it nearly killed Mopey.
(And no, Ernst Stavro Blofeld isn’t a counter example, with his cat. While many people think he’s German, he’s actually officially of Polish/Greek extraction, although born in a part of Poland which belonged to Imperial Germany at that time. Which is a pretty unique background for a villain, come to think of it, so there are no established stereotypes associated with it. A true trailblazer! Anyway, for a German(-controlled Poland)-born Hellenopolish villain, a cat is acc-pet-able.)
More on Thursday.