PIZZAZZ

PHYLLIS GABOR

Overview

Something of a spoiled brat and even more of a control freak, Pizzazz never quite accepts the lucky breaks (and there are thousands of them!) that go Jem's way. She spends most of her time dreaming up ways of undermining Jem and the Holograms' successes instead of masterminding things for her own band - consequently the Misfits never quite slip out of second place. Pizzazz is indisputedly the Misfits' "fearless leader", as Jetta succinctly puts it in Stingers Hit Town, and for that reason I'm gonna call her the LEAD Misfit :) It's fairly safe to say that without Pizzazz there would be no Misfits (as is made clear in Stingers Hit Town), on the other hand, there would probably also be no rivalry with Jem. Her abysmal driving skills are legendary by the time the series closed - cries of "Pizzazz, Look Out!" from other Misfits, followed by chaos and near collisions are a fairly common sight.

Background

Pizzazz' only relation in the show is her father, a rich businessman called Harvey Gabor who pays her little attention and foots the bill for anything she asks for. Consequently she has no real relationship with him and her mother walked out on them both when she was a small child.
Perhaps the most revealing episode regarding Pizzazz is 'Father's Day', when Pizzazz' attempts to spend father's day with her own dad are pushed aside by him - it's clear that she's hurt by his reaction. (Her dad tends to see her as uncontrollable and disappointing to him, perhaps because of her choice of career - in any case he never seems to know what's going on in her life, and cares less). It's also clear that she's envious of how Clash's father adores her, and that she's upset when Mr Gabor turns up in Malberry with his arm around Kimber. You can't help but feel for her there - though the blame for the Gabors' screwed relationship is probably equal between them, I do feel that it was a shame ties were never repaired between the two. Pizzazz does not often reveal her deeper feelings, except rage, but sometimes her expressions and tones of voice are very telling. When she tells Clash that 'nobody's father adores them' she really believes it...it gives some insight into the sort of childhood the young Phyllis probably had. I imagine she was raised by a succession of nannies more than her father, and that she developed ways and means of ridding herself of them :P But that's just my idle speculation - none of that is made concrete clear on the show. Money means very little to her because it's something that has always been there and will never run out. As she says herself, "Who cares about money?"

Personality

Some people find Pizzazz a bit much to take. Personally, I like her a great deal. She's a character with brains, with initiative and with a hilariously funny scream of rage which is heard all too often - usually directed at the Holograms. She does tend to take everything Jem and the others do as a personal insult, however, and I don't think she ever quite forgave Jerrica for calling them 'Trash' on their first meeting back at Starlight Music (The Beginning/Truly Outrageous). She also develops a great way of managing the ambitious Eric Raymond to her own ends :) There is no denying that Pizzazz is spoiled, petulant and prone to temper tantrums, however, as regards being tough, I'm not sure she is. She can cry war and raise her fists, and you know she could probably see off the Holograms in a fight if she had to, but among her own bandmates Roxy is far more physically intimidating (as she proves in the Jem Jam) and Pizzazz's shrieks and threats are often more hot air than action.
Pizzazz has her soft moments. In 'Island of Deception' she helps Kimber catch 'dinner' and in 'The Princess and the Singer' she and the other Misfits hurry to save the Holograms from a bomb. The other telling scene about Pizzazz's inner thoughts comes at the end of 'The Music Awards part 2' where Pizzazz and the Misfits show up at the benefit concert of the Holograms and see them all having a great time - the look on her face and the way she drops their award suggests that

maybe she secretly wants more than just the fame.
Pizzazz is also vulnerable throughout the Stingers Hit Town parts 1 and 2. She is not good at dealing with real emotion - her own included - and she has no idea how to respond to the hug she gets from the other Misfits when she begs them to let her back in the band. However, you do sense that a new understanding has passed between the whole group after this...it's a shame that there were no real Misfit episodes after this to build on it (Video Wars hardly counts, since it appears so chronologically out of sync!)
I think Pizzazz does have a generous side to her nature, only it's been well squashed by the years of spoiling. She has no interest in business and no aptitude for it (in The Day The Music Died she is forced to call on Eric for help).. I think she has something of an insecurity complex, also, since in 80% of Misfit music videos, she feels the need to be depicted as bigger than the rest (see Glitter and Gold screen capture for a good example of this!)
Pizzazz' character is a strong one, so I often wonder why they made her the one to fall so badly for Riot. It seemed a little out of character and I have to admit I didn't like how she was weakened by it. She plays a meagre role in some of the Stingers episodes, (the only Misfit to really figure at all after 'The Stingers Hit Town' and 'Video Wars') and it's not the Pizzazz we all know and love, either...she's far better before she sets eyes on him. Sorry, Hasbro - it's a fact. She has a brief character revival in 'The Day the Music Died', but the suddenness and convenience of the 'truce' in 'A Father Should Be' is decidedly not believable...a disappointing end

to the feud in many ways, with so much unsettled.
Of all of the Misfits, I feel that it is Pizzazz who is the most fundamentally miserable. Because she has always been so rich, you get the feeling she's used to using her money to get things, but also this is a double-edged sword, because it means she also believes she can't get anyone to take notice of her without it. Consequently there are frequent references made by her regarding her father's wealth, although as noted above, the money itself is irrelevant to her. What she wants is attention, probably because of her neglectful childhood. In her own words: "I want my name spoken with awe, I want people to throw themselves at my feet!" (Starbright Pt 1) Pizzazz wants adoration from the fans, but even this isn't enough to make her happy, because she also has to be the best there is, to conquer her own inner insecurities about her ability. The hug she gets in the Stingers Hit Town is unexpected, but I think it probably does more for her than anything else could, because it shows her that there are people who care about her regardless of her money.

Pizzazz On Music

Putting this as bluntly as possible, Pizzazz is no natural at music. She tends to throw guitars more than she does play them, she's criticised even by Eric (Culture Clash) for playing the wrong notes, and most of the time when she's performing there is no guitar in evidence. However, this doesn't mean that Pizzazz's only role in the band is to provide financial backing. Pizzazz's forte is singing - with the microphone she is a born performer, because she is an extrovert who is not afraid of the audience. Every time the Misfits are shown to perform live, Pizzazz interacts with the crowd - Top Of The Charts, I Like Your Style, Gimme Gimme Gimme to name just three such occasions. The support of the audience is important to her in creating the Misfits; act and even though she is not a natural instrumentalist, it really doesn't matter, since she has three quite adequate musicians to back her up.

Friendships/Roles
As I have mentioned, Pizzazz is the undoubted leader of the Misfits - when Roxy walks out on the group Stormer begs Pizzazz to 'do something', and Jetta is quite happy to report Roxy's later doings back to the singer. Also, when Stormer teams up with Kimber, the rest of the band look to Pizzazz for the solution to what to do...she plots with Eric about what prank the Misfits will pull next and where she goes the other Misfits are sure to follow. In the episode 'The Stingers Hit Town part 1' Jetta refers to her as their 'fearless leader' and in One Jem Too Many it is Pizzazz who masterminds the scheme to impersonate Jem with Clash answering directly to her. She is a natural leader in a group of strong personalities but this also means that she never quite knows how much of a hold she has on them, which can lead her to be somewhat intimidating and domineering.
As for bonding with the other Misfits, I think she is closer to Jetta and Roxy than she will ever be to Stormer (Although in the 'Now' video it is Stormer who leads Pizzazz back towards the Misfits - perhaps the start of a new alliance, there ^_^). It seems that she tolerates Stormer most of the time because otherwise there would be no Misfit music. I also wonder if she is envious of Stormer, because it's clear who has the natural ability. Mind you, there is also that endearing scene in Journey Through Time where Stormer is doing Pizzazz's hair for her :)
In early episodes Roxy and Pizzazz are almost a team and either one of them makes the decisions...later on Pizzazz seems to connect with Jetta pretty much from the moment the two girls meet, (Talent Search Part One) appreciating most of the sax player's deviousness and sense of mischief. It is thanks to Pizzazz that Jetta joins the group - it is also clear that without Pizzazz's support Jetta would not have even been asked. Pizzazz is difficult to analyse when it comes to her 'friendships, but her relationship with Jetta balances out the group a lot more evenly than before. Then you can see examples of Roxy and Stormer as friends and then Pizzazz, the lone singer up front - in that Dog Kennel scene in Jem Jam Roxy and Stormer even gang up on her together! But once Jetta is there, there is often a two on two relationship going on within the group - Roxy spends more time with Stormer and Jetta and Pizzazz are more of a team. This can be seen in Rock and Roll Express, in the food fight, when Stormer comes to Roxy's defense, and Pizzazz fully appreciates Jetta's effort. I also think that she likes Jetta, though she perhaps would not say so, since she forgives the girl for events in Britrock and doesn't kick her out of the group. She also bears Jetta no blame for the failure of the plan to get Raya to betray Jem. Jetta is not invaluable to the survival of the Misfits, since they were a group before she joined them, so I think this is fairly significant. Pizzazz considers Jetta too good an ally to forsake. In their first ever meeting in Talent Search, Jetta is not intimidated by Pizzazz - "That depends on whether or not you can keep up with me!" - and I think this is part of it - Jetta is someone Pizzazz can't dominate so easily, so she must stick around because, as she says herself, "I like your style too."
Pizzazz also has an entertaining relationship with Eric...wonder where that's going. Pizzazz is generally a fairly solitary character because of her lack of understanding where people are concerned - so long as she's in charge and getting what she wants, she's happy.
She has a real hatred for Kimber (and Jem, of course) since Kimber always seems one step in front in the flirting stakes. There is the whole Shawn Harrison situation which we are never really told much about, but it's clear that there is a PAST between Pizzazz and Shawn and Pizzazz doesn't like it. In the Day The Music Died, in the Top Of The Charts video, there is the suggestion that Pizzazz resents that Kimber always gets the breaks where men are concerned. She is a definite flirt, but sometimes her flirting is serious (Riot, Shawn) with an end in mind (In Riot's case, she's besotted, in Shawn;s, to spite Kimber and Shawn both) and other times it's related to some scheme (Rio, for example. There is no indication that Pizzazz actually wants Rio for herself, but she does want to drive a rift between him and Jem). Suffice it to say that, even with her crush on Riot, Pizzazz has never known what it is like to really fall in love.