Awesome Show does not obey the laws of space, time, or good taste. So, for Episode Eight, “Anniversary,” we’re taken fifty years into the future where nothing has changed, only Tim and Eric have aged, and a green monster named Grum taught us all the joys of snack food. If only our own future were so bright…
Themes:
“Anniversary” builds on many earlier episodes in its exploration of loss, friendship, and regret. Just as Episode Two, “Friendship,” showed Tim taking advantage of Eric’s goodwill, “Anniversary” returns to this theme with even more dramatic implications. We learn that Tim and Eric’s partnership ended after Tim pushed Eric down a flight of stairs as a “prank.” The entire audience, as well as the duo themselves, are left to deal with the consequences of Tim’s betrayal.
Awesome Show is used to taking a genre of pop culture garbage (like infomercials, award shows, beauty pageants), and subverting all the expectations. Here, they take the manufactured glib hysteria and relentless optimism surrounding award shows and constantly undercut that jubilant mood with meditations on regret, sad music, and an emphasis on time and friendship lost. Complete with an obnoxious host, bizarre non-sequiturs, and frequent interruptions for products that manage to be both useless and unsettling, Episode Eight is a detour into the dark side of loyalty, friendship, and a merciless skewering of that most sacred of American institutions, the award show.
Hi-Lights:
“The Dudley Dip” with Pat Dudley
Pat Dudley is the perfect host for this mess--coming out strong by introducing his signature dance move, The Dudley Dip (which just consists of squatting slightly) and making endless seemingly self-referential spaghetti jokes. Dripping smarmy “charm,” Pat Dudley is the Platonic ideal of the awards show host, and his audience, ever obedient to his every whim, is the perfect crowd for him. There are sudden bursts of clipped laughter and applause, timed as though to fill out the sounds in a laugh track.
Meditation for Children with Pierre!
This episode is special for giving patient viewers both the name of the actor Ron Austar and his character’s name, Pierre. We are treated to a trippy clip called “Meditation for Children with Pierre!” that shows the titular gold lamé clad host guiding children through the basics of meditation. Things quickly go from quirkily surreal to disturbing when Pierre tries to “hack” his students' pliant minds for information about their “pap paps.” Accompanying this invasion of privacy is the constant intrusion of a laugh track and creepy music.
Cinco Midi Organizer
Ah, Cinco, you never stop trying to make the world a better place. Here, the technology featured is so outdated, I’m not even sure what a midi-file is, but needless to say, Cinco takes this arcane tech and makes it way more complicated than it needs to be. A blissfully downbeat family crowds around a massive home PC to hear tinny versions of simple songs. When the kid begs to hear “Camp Town Races” (always a favorite with kids these days), his father must embark upon a labor of computing so circuitous, he looks exhausted just talking about it. But never fear, Cinco has your back... sort of.
Grum
I still don’t know why Grum hasn’t gotten his own spin-off. He has everything--he’s so ugly he’s cute, his voice is grating but ever-so musical, and he likes crackers and snacks. What’s not to love? Other than the sheer power of Grum’s gently overpowering awesomeness, this sketch is marvelous for the enthusiastic reaction Grum gets from the audience. They join in on his rendition of “Crackers and Snacks” like it’s the National Anthem, “Don’t Stop Believing,” and Rebecca Black’s “Friday” all rolled into one crowd-pleasing abomination. (By the way, does anyone miss the cultural ubiquity of “Don’t Stop Believing”?) Adult Swim, if you’re following this Encincopedia at all, please hear our plea. Give us our own Grum spin-off. Just shut up and do it.
Anatomy of an Episode:
Welcome to the Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job! 50th Anniversary Spectacular
Gleefully basic awards show pomp ushers us into the calming strangeness of this altered reality.
“The Dudley Dip” with Pat Dudley
See Hi-Lights. Pat Dudley is the consummate awards show host--full of patter and bursting with non-sequiturs. The audience is eating it up--just like the spaghetti Ron Austar is constantly being promised.
Meditation for Children with Pierre!
See Hi-Lights. Pierre wants to learn about your dad, and little things like boundaries, or time and space won’t stop him.
Cinco E-Z Kreme
Have you ever wanted to miss important moments in your life due to painful diarrhea? Cinco is here for you--and so is Bob Odenkirk.
Dunn-Prov
Pat Dudley introduces us to “Dunn-Prov,” a “Whose Line is it Anyway?” style show that features endless iterations of Richard Dunn competing against each other.
Whatever happened to Tim and Eric? With Pat Dudley
We learn the truth of Tim and Eric’s painful break-up. For an extra dollop of fun, the two guys featured in the flashback appear to be the faux Tim and Eric from Episode 6, “Slop.”
Cinco Midi Organizer
See Hi-Lights. Technology can be tricky. Keeping your family happy is even harder. Thankfully, Cinco is here to help you.
Grum
See Hi-Lights. Grum is too beautiful for this world.
The Reunion of Tim and Eric
Tim and Eric are reunited after years of absence, and this inspires not only a heartfelt duet, but a lifetime of monogamy until Tim’s death.
Winner:
I could be a little bitch and try to name Grum the winner of the episode, but you know what? I run this damn thing and there’s no one more worthy than the gelatinous green blob in a snappy suit and tie, the same sentient hunk of mucous who taught us all how to love, and laugh and sing again. We like crackers and snacks, Grum, but not nearly as much as we like you.
Pennie Sublime