“Jazz” serves up an intoxicating blend of Maria Bamford, the Beaver Boys, and enough James Quall to make us all forget “Jim and Derick.” Like the genre of music that lends its name to this episode, “Jazz” represents not so much a coherent thesis as a series of variations on several themes. Here, we see old Awesome Show standbys like rivalry, frenzy, social awkwardness, and the sustaining power of friendship all explored, expounded upon, and stylized a little differently.

Satire is a tricky thing--swing too wide and you don’t land the punch, hit too close to the mark, and you’re just wallowing in the excesses you’re critiquing. Awesome Show rarely does anything by half measures, and nowhere does that hold more true than in Season Three, Episode Six, “Jim and Derrick.” Awesome Show is a master class in taking a single joke and repeating it until the back-breaking absurdity of the gag becomes equal parts annoying and hilarious.

Not every episode of Awesome Show can be as vibrantly chaotic, as gloriously off-beat as “C.O.R.B.S.” This kind of madness only comes along once a season if we’re lucky. “C.O.R.B.S” strikes a balance between the relative sweetness of Season Two and the casual brutality of Season Three.

Who can resist Spagett? With his skullet/ponytail combo, marinara stained mouth, and total obliviousness... what’s not to love? Continuing with Season Three’s general downer vibe, “Spagett” expands on the themes of the untrustworthiness of friendship and failure.

So you think Season Cinco is unique in its single-minded obsession with violence, retribution, and despair? You’re obviously forgetting Season Three Episode Three’s “Rascals.” Season Three began with Eric mourning the recently murdered Tim.