Do you want a danger with your surrealism? Don’t bother with Buñuel’s blasphemy or Dali’s Oedipal ticks. If it’s slow crawling sincere strangeness you want, look no further than the postmodern masterpiece Season Two, Episode Three “Dolls.”
Themes:
By this point, Awesome Show has established a confident vocabulary of anxiety, fear, and unnerving strangeness. In “Dolls,” many of the skits can be united by the idea of lurking danger. From the deceptive demonic dolls featured in the host segments and the story/commercial for “Tiny Hats,” to Dr. Brule’s sneak attack last resort self-defense, to perils of excess featured in the Beaver Boy’s latest adventure, our protagonists are constantly imperiled. Random violence, supernatural danger, and bodily harm will be explored at greater (and more grotesque) lengths as Awesome Show builds toward the symphony of Artuadian cruelty that constitutes Season Cinco, but for now, this foray into darkness is a tantalizing first course.
Hi-Lights:
“I Sit on You”
Be warned: you will never get this song out of your head. The droll delight of watching our very serious narrator explicate all the ways he will sit on us, paired with his hip-swiveling, oh-so-stilted dancing, make this a sublime musical interlude in the Awesome Show canon.
“Tiny Hats (Part 1)”
There is so much to unpack here. From the gentle absurdity of needing hats for dolls, to the variety of hats available--not only for dolls, folks, but also for “small men and babies”--the stomach-churning squelching sounds that happen with every errant eye bat, and the strange grimace worn by the tiny hat models...this is a tour de force of the odd, a one-way ticket to exuberant madness.
“Oooh Mama”
Being completely biased here--this is one of my all-time, hands-down favorite sketches. Ineffable, antic, and Dadaesque in its disregard for reason, sense or narrative, “Ooh Mama” shows the boys playing with toys in a basement. They’re greeted by a matronly older woman whom Tim and Eric enthusiastically call “ooh mama.” Things just go awry from there.
Anatomy of an Episode:
See My Goatee
Children cheer as men’s offending facial hair is shaved into goatees. But it’s all fun and games until some slips the razor too far--
Host Segment (Part 1)
The good news: Tim and Eric are branding with lookalike dolls! The bad news: Tim’s doll may be Satan.
Steve Brule’s Last Resort Fighting (Part 1)
Dr. Brule wants us to avoid fights at all costs, so he’s willing to teach us some avoidance techniques. My personal favorite? Kill ‘em with Kindness. Not even a bad guy can resist a compliment.
I Sit on You
See Hi-Lights. What will he do? He will sit on you.
Host Segment (Part 2)
Yep. There’s something definitely wrong with Tim’s doll.
Tiny Hats (Part 1)
See Hi-Lights. Two bros get ready for date night with the help of the Tiny Hats store. (I’m just amazed this isn’t a Cinco product.)
Beaver Boys
Starring Patton Oswalt, our boys overdose on shrimp, so their white wine levels need to be adjusted. The resulting wine-fueled jubilation is as grand as it is grotesque.
Tiny Hats Grimace Guy Interlude
That grimace was too good to waste. We get a second look at the most pained actor from the “Tiny Hats” commercial, plus the coveted freeze-frame and “Great Job!” Demon doll Tim shows up again, just for prime freakiness.
Steve Brule’s Last Resort Fighting (Part 2)
Dr. Brule wants us to learn another avoidant fighting strategy: Playin’ Possum. Maybe not practical, but definitely surprising.
Ooh Mama
See Hi-Lights. For real, if somebody doesn’t put this shit in the MoMA, then what the hell are we even doing here?
Tiny Hats (Part 2)
Evil isn’t allowed to triumph. Baseball Guy reveals his stalker tendencies and his undying friendship when he vanquishes the doll just in the nick of time. Good job!
Winner:
Look, Eric, I’m here for you, man. Frankly, it’s just embarrassing at this point, but I’m giving it to Palmer Scott, the unsung, singing hero of the “I Sit on You” sketch. When you commit that fully, you deserve a pay-off. Congrats, Palmer. Long may you reign.
Pennie Sublime