Memory is a funny little thing – I can’t tell you what I had for lunch yesterday (though a safe guess would be Unagi sushi), but I can still recite the childhood home phone numbers and birthdays of all my middle school boyfriends (Ian Scanlon, Rick Weinberg, Teddy Hanawalt: I’m looking in your direction).
Just in case your short- and/or long -term memory functions have a tendency to rust from time to time (a la yours truly), I thought I might do a little refresher course for everyone as to where we last left off on Meerkat Manor, especially with the new season premiere on deck this Friday.
To say that last season was full of drama, surprises and heartbreak is putting it mildly. When we returned to the Kalahari, we found our beloved Flower and her Whiskers in limbo after being evicted from their former manor by the nasty Commandos. 
The Kalahari streets being no place to raise a family, Flower took her group (including newborn pups) on an admittedly perilous journey to find better ground. Unfortunately, they took up residence next door to the neighbors from hell, the Zappas, who discovered the whereabouts of the Whiskers’ babysitting burrow. Though the Whiskers successfully chased them off, when the dust settled they discovered some of the pups were nowhere to be found.
While Flower mounted a rescue mission to find them, Mitch was in charge of rounding up the rest of the family. Along the way, he discovered a pregnant Mozart had started up her own group, the Starskys, with former flame Carlos – whoa, had Mozart actually made him into a one-meerkat kind of boy? Not like she didn’t have anything else on her plate to worry about – for instance, her power-hungry (and also pregnant) half-sister Kinkajou, intent on taking over as dominant female. Kinkajou killed Mozart’s chance of leading the Starsky – or more specifically, she killed her pups to prove her weight. Well - that’s one way of saying, “I’m in charge.”
If that weren’t enough, the Kalahari then lost one of its great rovers when Carlos died after securing territory for his family. Of course, one Casanova’s demise is another’s opportunity, and Houdini quickly stepped into his place, making bold moves for Flower right under Zaphod’s nose. She’d just given birth, so she was on the market again, but would she respond to Houdini’s smooth moves?
Flower then mysteriously disappeared along with a few other adults, leaving the Whiskers leaderless. Her daughter Rocket Dog was put in charge of the group, which included taking care of Flower’s pups despite the fact that she had her own little ones on the way, thanks to Houdini (eh, the old mother-daughter trick, huh? Scandalous!). The situation took a turn for the worse when the pups fell victim to life in the Kalahari.
Meanwhile, rival gang the Zappa came under a dynamic new leadership when Lola lost dominance to her sister Punk, who immediately set about trying to turn their mob into a force to be reckoned with. And holy double coup – Houdini came back, only to oust Frank from his top spot!
Back at the Whiskers, after being gone for almost a month, Flower finally returned, reuniting the family in the hopes of reinstating their superpower status. Under the duress of an intense drought and in a desperate search for food, Flower took half the group to their old manor. However, with their archrivals, the Commandos, squatting in their former territory, it was a risky venture to say the least. Rocket Dog was left in charge of the rest of Whiskers, but continued to crumble under the strain of her new leadership role. Where’s a "dominant meerkat female" training course when you need one?
Flower gave birth to her third litter of the year (thank goodness these babies didn’t need diapers!) and managed to once again shoo away rival gang the Zappa. When she discovered they had left one of their own pups behind, she surprisingly accepted little Axel into her own mob. Ever brave and courageous, Flower then tried to save her pups from a deadly snake, but ended up sacrificing her own life in the process. With her tragic death, it was clear life in the Kalahari would never be the same, and the Whiskers found themselves at a loss for how to move forward without her.
Rocket Dog tried to take over the reins, though her sister Maybelline started showing signs that she might have a different idea of who would be the best female boss. Meanwhile, her father Zaphod refused to let go and leave the group, becoming an unlikely babysitter, while Rocket Dog gained some confidence as she led the Whiskers in her first victory against the Zappas.
Zaphod finally dealt with the reality of the situation, leaving the Whiskers to pursue life as a roving male. For a moment, it seemed like Lola from the Zappas might prove to be his match, but Houdini immediately dropped the hammer on that potential love connection. Zaphod hit the road once again, determined to a make a go of it alone, but proved to be unsuccessful, eventually returning to the Whiskers’ fold.
Back at the Starsky household, it was just one cruel turn after another: Whoopi disappeared and Kinkajou lost her grip on life, putting Mozart back in the position of dominant female. But despite her courageous efforts, Mozart's lone fight for survival also came to a tragic end.
The season came to a stunning close as Rocket Dog struggled to keep tabs on everything, including holding her competitive sister Maybelline at bay. Her efforts proved pointless as Maybelline took matters into her own paws, defecting to start the Aztecs and igniting a bitter sibling rivalry. With the Commandos and Zappas also lurking in the wings, it was now four groups pitted against each other, on the brink of a full-blown territorial war.
What were your favorite moments from last season, from the most thrilling to the most heartbreaking? What are you looking forward to this season? Are you Team Rocket Dog or Team Maybelline? And is your head also full of useless information such as 7th grade boyfriend’s birthdays, like mine? Leave a comment and share your thoughts, and don’t miss the premiere of Meerkat Manor: The Next Generation on Friday, June 6, at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
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