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.
Theme:
“C.O.R.B.S” strikes a balance between the relative sweetness of Season Two and the casual brutality of Season Three. Segments like the “CORBs” saga as well as the eerily unsettling “Burping” sketch play into the nihilism and fear that really takes root in Awesome Show Season Three. On the other hand, strangely sweet skits like the two parts of “Business Hugs” and the childlike glee of the host segments make this episode endearingly silly. Caught between despair and hope, torn between innocence and experience, “C.O.R.B.S” is a testament to the strange exhilaration of Awesome Show at its best.
Hi-Lights:
Business Hugs (Part 1)
Ray Wise lends his sweetly creepy presence to “Business Hugs.” Playing our host, Grill Vogel, he’s set to teach us everything we need to know about how to comfort a co-worker after a miscarriage. A sensitive subject, yes, but not one that can’t be handled the appropriate amount of cheek slapping and forehead contact.
Burping
Awesome Show rarely gets more Lynchian than this segment. A family eats a tense dinner before it is revealed that the mother in the family is going to leave her husband for a taller, stranger man who may or may not have burglarized their house. The daughter’s anguished cry of “Do I have to call the burglar pappy?” is instantly deflated by a competitive series of burps exchanged between the brother and sister. Things reach a climax of strangeness when the father character turns, looks at the camera, and with unrestrained rage shrieks, “Get out of here!”
Business Hugs (Part 2)
Grill Vogel returns to teach us the finer points of hugging. Here, our two participants execute a hug so sublime, it inspires Vogel to assume an Italian accent and proclaim the embrace, “a great hug.” This even earns the segment a coveted great freeze-frame and a “Great Hug!”
Anatomy of an Episode:
Host Segment (Part 1)
Tim and Eric find new inspiration when a box of balloons falls at their feet.
C.O.R.B.S. (Part 1)
Our heroic cops on recumbent bikes stop their roller skating lesson and spring into action when terrorists take over a sugar factory. An appropriately 90’s theme sequence welcomes us into the glamorous, dangerous world of the C.O.R.B.s.
“Surprise” Interlude
A shower of balloons, each adorned with Chippy’s face, fall as glowering clip art models stare at us.
Business Hugs (Part 1)
See Hi-Lights. Grill Vogel will help you “embrace” the many business opportunities that come your way.
Cinco Eye Tanning System
This was a close contender for “Hi-Lights.” The Cinco Eye Tanning System is so simple, easy, and effective--as long as you don’t mind having your teeth pulled. I mean...who wants brown teeth?
Host Segment (Part 2)
There is nothing more powerful than Eric Wareheim staring at the camera while assaulting his own crotch with balloons.
Dr. Brule: The Internet
Dr. Brule teaches us how to be internet celebrities.
Burping
See Hi-Lights. A family in crisis contemplates their future.
Business Hugs (Part 2)
See Hi-Lights. Want to give great hugs? Awe-inspiring hugs? Let Grill Vogel help you.
C.O.R.B.S. (Part 2)
Our heroic cops on recumbent bikes come to bad ends when their bicycles are no match for endless machine gunfire.
Winner :
Eric Wareheim has emerged as our winner for episode five. For his portrayal of the nasal-voiced Donnegan in the titular “C.O.R.Bs” saga to his passion for balloons that borders on the unseemly, Mr. Wareheim takes this one home.
Pennie Sublime