Review: Tender Touches “Foods Of The World”

Overview (Spoilers Below)

Curtis’s pink noise live stream podcast is interrupted by Steve’s usual disruptive behavior in the middle of his attempts to promote “Y Tu Panties Tambien.” The brothers argue over the volume level of Murderfuckers on the television. Charlene beetle-sits for Ratman while pursuing her dream of baking, which yields disastrous results.

Curtis and Steve take drastic and ridiculous measures to protect against burglars. Michelle shows interest in the podcast, and Ratman takes a bite out of a close friend.

Our Take

Tender Touches kicks off the second episode of Season 3 with the usual back and forth between brothers Steve and Curtis in the form of an argument over the noise level in the house. While Curtis is hard at work in an attempt to produce his own pink noise live stream podcast, his brother blares his television series, Murderfuckers. Luckily Michelle is on hand to mediate, and before we know it, the three are tenderly touching once more.

Charlene is back! While That’s A Wrap” left us a bit worried that we might be saying goodbye to Bradley Millner, but three minutes into “Foods of the World” and a scene between her and Ratman reveals that Millner’s talents are still adequately utilized.

In an attempt to fill the hole in her life left by the absence of Curtis and her failed marriage, Charlene puts all of her energy into her “life-long dream” of baking. Millner runs with the opportunity by dropping punny titles for her bakery left and right with such zingers as “Field of Flour,” “Fun in the Croissun,” and “New Yeast on Life.”

Paul Painter’s (Too Many Cooks) Ratman delivers a trippy monologue during which fans gain a better understanding of his connections to the animals, after which his name derives; that is, as long as they can follow along. The hilarity of his rat network and conglomerate is in part due to the silly nature of the subject but also due to the voice acting skills that make Painter such a valuable cast member.

Steve and Curtis find themselves bonding most unusually – by setting traps for burglars. These include nail-filled kimchi, which immediately backfires. Michelle is so interested in the pink noise live stream podcast that she doesn’t notice the murdered burglars right in front of her eyes.

Charlene proves to be a failure once more, this time by accidentally baking Petey beetle, Ratman’s beloved pet. A hidden health inspector discovers her “secret ingredient” and rewards her the hilarious failure ribbon. Luckily for Charlene, everything works out in the end, as Ratman finds he enjoys eating his old pet and buddy Petey beetle.

While the third season of Tender Touches still features the same level of comedy that initially fueled our love for the series, it also proves an improvement on earlier installments, further stoking the flames of our interest. The addition of characters like Ratman and Michelle has helped the series find a balance in the cast that was lacking in the early episodes, which primarily featured the main three characters.

“Foods of the World” is possibly my favorite episode yet, not speaking strictly in terms of comedic delivery, but more so concerning the quality of the show overall. Tender Touches is beginning to carry the identifiable creative fingerprint that many of the Adult Swim animated series carry with them, leaving us yearning for this season’s remaining episodes.