It’s been a long, strange ride through Season 1, and we’ve reached the end. Who will win? Who will survive? And what’s going to happen to Casey?
Themes:
Episode Ten, “Missing” is among the most thematically dense episodes in season 1. While other episodes have looked at the instability of reality (specifically Episode Six, “Slop”), the idea of the “real” is deeply unsettled here. Characters meet tragic ends only to have these “realities” reversed in later episodes. Jan and Wayne, the only married news team, are seen having a collective nervous breakdown on air, but a graphic of their faces with the word “Divorced” imposed across it like a rubber stamp is undone in subsequent episodes. More playfully, Eric brags about his love for “rascals,” adorably ugly little creatures that appear to be a mix of possum and German shepherd. However, when asked to show Tim a “rascal,” the duo begin to interact with a massive “invisible” creature, miming petting and embracing it.
This idea of the surreal/unreal is not always handled so lightly in Episode Ten. The saga of Casey’s disappearance culminates in a moment of horrific surreality. Steve Mahanahan, the child clown impresario, picks up Casey and then shows him his “pap pap” (played by Richard Dunn) in the back of his van. This bizarre appearance of “pap pap” seems to have no consequence on the plot or Casey’s plight. “Pap pap,” if he is even there to begin with, does not intervene or impact the tragedy that follows.
Hi-Lights:
Casey is Missing (Part 2)
All of the bathetic hysteria of this segment make it more than worth your while. Casey’s plight is made all the more tragi-comic by the sight of him dragging around and then befriending a discarded Christmas tree. Alas, Casey, alas, humanity….
Channel 5’s Only Married News Team (Part 2)
After Dr. Brule teased us with the promise of teaching us how to look as cool as him, he invites Jan to be his makeover subject. After “erotically” (and I use this term loosely) rubbing mousse through Jan’s hair, Wayne starts to shriek and Jan joins in. Things are never better on Channel Five than when everything’s going to hell.
Casey is Missing (Part 3)
The creme de la creme of fear-inducing strangeness. By far the most Lynchian moment of Season 1. From the eerie music, the appearance of “Pap pap” and the little person imprisoned in a cage, to the unsettling quiet of the scene’s final moments--it’s a masterclass in the uncanny.
Anatomy of an Episode:
Casey Goes Missing (Part 1)
A heartbreaking rendition of “Santa Claus on His Sleigh” gives way to footage of Casey wandering an unforgiving cityscape
Nights with Tim Heidecker (Part 1)
Our first mention of Rascals--the mythical creatures that have captured Eric’s heart. Tim’s attempted talk show doesn’t go as smoothly as he had planned.
Uncle Muscle’s Emergency Broadcast
Casey’s brother performs in a black leather outfit, begging viewers for help locating his lost brother
Channel Five’s Only Married News Team: Makeover (Part 1)
Fashion is a fickle mistress. Thankfully, we have Dr. Brule to keep us from being “fashion victims or fashion slaves.”
Cinco B’ougar (Part 1)
Cinco, you think of everything. Combining the terror of seeing a bear with the horror of hearing a cougar, B’ougar gives people with generalized anxiety something to focus all their fear on. In case B’ougar is too big to take everywhere with you, never fear, there’s a pocket B’ougar just for you.
Nights with Tim Heidecker (Part 2)
Eric educates the public about his passion for rascals.
Casey is Missing (Part 2)
See Hi-Lights. While we hear the dulcet tones of Uncle Muscles begging for our help, we see Casey’s travails while lost in the city.
Channel Five’s Only Married News Team: Makeover (Part 2)
See Hi-Lights. There’s trouble in paradise as Dr. Brule’s fashion tips prove to be too much for the Skylar’s marriage.
B’ougar Interlude
The man from the Cinco B’ougar commercial reacts with fear to the sound of a cougar snarling. This earns him a freeze frame and a “Great Job!”
Nights with Tim Heidecker (Part 3)
We learn that calling a rascal involves a lot of “pap pap.”
Casey is Missing (Part 3)
See Hi-Lights. Casey’s fate is left uncertain as he and Steve Mahanahan travel through the city of eternal night.
Winner:
Eric definitely deserves points for his unrestrained rascal love and his interpretative dance in “Uncle Muscle’s Emergency Broadcast,” but win for Episode Ten and the season goes to Tim. Starring as Casey, a wounded innocent worthy of the modern age, Tim captures the pathos, pain, and absurdity that make this character an endless source of aching joy.
Congrats, but don’t get too comfortable, Tim. We’ve got four more seasons (plus the specials), so it’s still anyone’s trough of slop.
Pennie Sublime