RETRO-SCRUTINY SRMTHFG EPISODE TWENTY-THREE: WONDER FUN MEAT WORLD

Hello and welcome back to Retro-Scrutiny, where we take a look back at old shows and see if they still hold up today. I am your host, Kendall.

(And I am your other host, Alexia.)

Before we begin, we’d like to apologize for this episode taking so long. I have already explained why in an earlier post. So without any more delays, let’s take a trip into Wonder Fun Meat World.

(…that sounds like a really stupid theme park ride…)

OVERVIEW

The episode begins late night at Mr. Gakslappers’ little restaurant, passing out burgers to a young couple. As he’s closing shop for the night, he notices something falling out of the sky.

(A SHOOTING STAR! Quick, make a wish!)

The object then shift in position and heads straight for him!

(…so it’s not a shooting star? Dang it!)

He runs back into his restaurant, but the strange object lands on top of his restaurant. It plants itself into the ground and subtly morphs itself into a building with a snapping box with eyes on the side.

The next day, Chiro is watching a TV commercial for a new restaurant called Wonder Fun Meat World.

(Well at least we understand the title now.)

Their mascot, Captain Beefy Box, explains that he ‘travelled all over the galaxy to bring his food to everyone.’ Chiro quickly learns that the commercial is playing on all the channels as the rest of the team notice that the entire city seems to be enamored with a place that literally appeared out of nowhere overnight. Chiro comes down and suggest they try it out and they head out to wait in a ridiculously long line. As they wait, they spot a dog eating out of the trashcans.

After getting their plates, Chiro and Antauri argue about him not eating his ‘meat-free, non-meat meat salad.’

(Well, gee, I wonder why? Maybe because it looks like toilet slop and brown molded shapes!)

Otto is in the middle of ordering again-

(Hey look! It’s Mr. Gakslapper! What happened to him?)

-when a large, blue, red-eyed beast breaks through the wall and starts running amok.

(It’s the dog from earlier!)

The monkeys attack, but the dog is strangely smart, knocking them away (Otto doesn’t even try to help until the creature starts eating his food.) until Chiro launches a large heap of food at it. Then it’s placated and they drop a pile of meat for it… and Otto. As they leave, Antauri wonders how the dog mutated and has a man dressed as an asparagus stalk telling him to watch what he eats because he is ‘what he eats’.

(Where’s he been in the last twenty plus episodes? Also, cryptic much? Anyway, the next morning, Chiro wakes up with a mutated head. He starts freaking out and decided the best solution to his problem is to turn on the television. Because having a delayed allergic reaction to something you ate the other day is totally okay as long as you can watch your Saturday morning cartoons.)

On the television is the same commercial, only now with a few twists. Captain Beefy Box has something lumpy and purple covering him before transforming into a large purple colon with a face that lets kids eat radioactive waste out of its head.

(Never thought we’d have to say that one day…)

Chiro goes down and show his teammates that Wonder fun Meat World is out to destroy the city. (They look at him like he just escaped from the sideshow.) He explains that the allergic reaction allows him to see past their hypnosis or something. Antauri suddenly notices that Otto is missing.

(He’s getting breakfast at WFMW because of course they have a breakfast menu. He comes in looking like he partied way too hard the other day and needs a drink. He settles for fries and ends up burping up a piece of meat that transforms into a monster. Man, all sorts of weird things are happening in this episode…)

They fight the thing, but it gets angry and tries eating them, but they break out. Chiro instructs Sparks and Gibson to push it into one of the engine room where they overcook it. Once it comes out, Otto tries to taste a sample and they have to drag him away.

In the lab, Antauri and Nova force a health shake on Otto to help him as Gibson studies the meat and Sparks gets Chiro back to normal.

Gibson states that the meat is actually a parasitic alien organism designed to make the eaters complacent, which is why people keep eating the stuff.

(…drugs? Growth hormones? Steroids? All of the above? What is it they’re referencing?)

As he talks, the meat starts growing larger until it becomes huge and attacks Sparks. In retaliation, Chiro throws a nutrient veggie shake at it and it dies. Antauri announces that the people of the city have mutated and is told by Chiro to make more of the shakes- they’re going to stop WFMW!

(The shakes are for when they get thirsty, of course.)

They arrive in time to hear Captain Beefy Box’s monologue before they bust in through the wall. The box transforms into Cloggy Colon Creature- the colon from before- and he ‘talks straight up gansta’, homie!’

(His words, not ours!)

He calls out the other mascots- a drink, a meat cone on a stick and a fry- to hypnotize the team into doing a stupid dance. Antauri, not affected, throws the shake at them and they transform into meat monsters. The team is brought out of their trance to fight and win.

They then run into the back and discover that civilians are being put into burger boxes. Gibson explains that CCC was simultaneously feeding and fattening up the people of Shuggazoom so that he could eat them.

(CCC then appears doing his best Kool-Aid Man impression and eats a few people in front of the team. On his planet, his species loves having humans for dinner- with secret sauce! And monkeys are a delicacy! No joke! So the team turns tail and run away!)

 CCC starts running through the city, but meets up with the Super Robot and its finger missiles. They only bounce off and right back at the Robot. Chiro charges up the Lasertron Fury, but Gibson warns him about the people still in its lower intestinal track.

(…this fight is getting weird.)

The Robot charges at the Colon, but it just jumps over and grabs them. As the creature has them in its clutches, it seems as if they’ve met their end…

(Crushed by a 200-ft gangster colon. Worst. Death. Ever.)

The citizens see their heroes being overtaken by a giant colon and decide to help out by throwing vegetables at the monster. The veggies cause Cloggy Colon Creature to start upchucking people and shrinking.

(…how?)

 The Hyperforce stuff the creature back into his ship/restaurant and lift it up-revealing Gakslapper’s underneath it- and hurl it into space. Cloggy Colon Creature vows revenge as his ship hits the surface of the sun. Later that day, the team is at Gakslapper’s, who offers them free meals for life. The team asks for veggie burgers- except Otto. When asked, he says that he has to be himself.

(And just that the heck does that mean?)

The team digs into their burgers, but Otto ends up coughing up chunks of… floating blue hair.

(GROSS! There’s hair in the food!)

It turns out that Mr. Gakslapper is shaving Thingies to put in his burgers.

(…that is just wrong on so many levels.)

The episode ends with the team disregarding the weird hair, stating that it actually tastes good, and Otto spewing ketchup from the bottle into his mouth and disturbing his fellow teammates.

So, there’s a lot we have to say about this, but we’ve got to get through our usual shtick first. So, let’s begin with the

NEW CHARACTER(S):

CLOGGY COLON CREATURE (Kevin Michael Richardson):

(This is a weird idea for a one-shot character. It’s a stereotypical image merged with a surprise. And it kind of works. While there really isn’t much to the character, he’s a definite twist in the story. Also, the fact that the hat on his head changes so many times is fun to notice.)

I kind of want to know more about him and his species and their planet. Are there more than giant colons? If they eat people, but are innards, did they come from the people? Why is CCC a gansta’?

UNANSWERED QUESTION(S):

1. Will Cloggy Colon Creature ever return?
2. Will we ever learn more about Cloggy Colon Creature?
3. Why is Gakslapper using Thingy hair in his food? And is that legal on Shuggazoom?

FINAL THOUGHTS:

I don’t remember if I laughed the first time I saw this episode as a kid. I probably didn’t. The episode is good for a smile or two, but not for an actual laugh… at least, not out of me. But the episode overall isn’t atrocious, just stupid. It has a decent story, but it’s perfectly acceptable to skip entirely.

(At first, the episode seems like its anti-meat propaganda, but it is also along the lines of big business overtaking the success of smaller businesses and mom-and-pop stores. Gakslapper states that he’s had his shop for twenty years, but suddenly a shiny new competitor literally drops in to steal all of his customers. They don’t even ask where his shop went- especially since it’s literally in the same spot as his.

It could also be a health ad about eating healthy. In this episode, we learn that Antauri is a vegetarian; also, fast food turns people into mutants and makes addicts.)

 The most entertaining aspect of this episode is Otto. He’s the one who made me crack a smile throughout, even if he is acting like a moron. Disregarding the fact that he’s our favorite character, it can be debated that this is somewhat of an Otto episode. He’s the most enthusiastic about Wonder Fun Meat World, the monkey that is most affected by the food, and even when his teammates detour from eating meat, he doesn’t.

Filler. This episode is filler and nothing more. And with that, we have to end this episode. Thank you all for being her with us. Next time, we might actually have an important episode to talk about. Until then, this has been Kendall. Thanks again for joining.

(And I’m Alexia, saying that if you find hair in your burgers, complain to the manager immediately!)