Review: The Jellies “The Storm; Doctor Pirates”

Whatever it is, it ain’t better than Crohn’s disease wrestlin’.

Overview (Spoilers Below)

This week, The Jellies went full Rick and Morty by putting on their own Interdimensional Cable episode. But instead of anything alien, they featured Walla Walla’s already bizarre cable package. For unknown reasons, the entire supporting cast was outside during a ferocious storm and all were forced to take shelter at the Jellies’ house. As they piled in, everyone fought for control over the television. Program highlights included: a vacuum cleaner worshiping sitcom and a very gay, very Latino version of The Bachelor that featured Mervin the Whale for some reason.

In the next episode, the family boards a boat for Debbie’s family reunion, and the crew obviously wants to harvest their organs. Reggie and KY miss the ship’s departure and get trapped in an underdeveloped B-plot aboard DJ Khaled’s Jet Ski. Back on the boat, Debbie gets entangled in sibling rivalry with her sister, Tisha. But once the crew—or pirate doctors—begin their organ harvest, the sisters discover how much they have in common. Both are inexcusable drunks with useless organs, who are just drunk enough to concoct a devilish plan. By replacing everyone’s IV with a bottle of booze, they destroy their entire extended family’s organs, thus saving their lives. This provides an ample distraction before DJ Khaled and the kids ride in on dolphins to save the day—with murder.

Our Take

It’s not easy to pull off a cable-centric episode with the 11-minute format. While Tyler the Creator is always entertaining—please check out his album, IGOR, if you haven’t already—but his little vignettes on the television were never as intriguing or interesting as the supporting characters watching the TV. It feels a little weird to say, but if not for Stevie Wonder’s penis, the first episode would’ve been a real bust.

Pirate Doctors was much closer to what we expect from a Jellies episode. Hell, these days if the story doesn’t end in some sort of shootout, it doesn’t even feel authentic anymore. In both episodes, Cornell is again swept to the side to feature more of Barry and Debbie. Throughout this season, the show has really developed these two and their cantankerous relationship. Their big, strange personalities seem to be easier for the writers to navigate than Cornell’s inconsistent, doe-eyed wonderment. Also, Debbie has become arguably the funniest character this season, even when she’s in the periphery. And the rapport she shared with her sister was top-notch.

Overall, they should just let The Jellies be The Jellies and save the long-form, interconnected sketch comedy for when Tyler does his own Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life type of movie.