For the record, since Buddy System is coming back incredibly soon, I'll try to double up on reviews leading up to Season 2's release date before covering the final episode in a standalone article. It's not an ideal system, but it'll have to do. Now, at the expense of a segue because it's 2:30 AM and I'm tired:
"Super Special Secret Bike" is incredibly simple but incredibly hilarious. The episode finds Rhett and Link reenacting Link's day to try to figure out the exact moment that Link lost his phone - it's a minimal set-up that finds our two protagonists weeding through a characteristically bizarre day, all while providing commentary throughout on each individual event in recreating every event as quixotically and accurately as the duo can manage.
What makes it so enjoyable is that it's sort of a look at Link's character's day-to-day existence - we get a look at his confused psyche that, among other things, welcomes robed strangers with promises of holistic benefits and shares photos of child actors who look like the national parks they currently work at. In other words, it's an opportunity for Rhett and Link to cram in as many conversational non sequitors as possible with a nice bit of cohesion; all that the episode requires is that each segment offers slightly more insight, and the result is incredibly smooth and simultaneously all over the place in the best way possible.
While it's all about Link, Rhett gets his own moments throughout, too, as a foil to Link's deadpan loopiness. While at once raising awareness of how bizarre Link's actions are - especially during the segment where he acts as Marsonius, who Link welcomes a bit too eagerly - more prominently, he has his own little moment in the spotlight when Link discovers the hidden room in his locker and his exercise bike. While the device itself serves as a strange red herring later on in the show's run, for now, it's the basis of a delightful ditty, alternating between peaceful explanation of its functions and Rhett aggressively defending himself as an athlete, all while receiving blood transfusions and subtly advertising his personally-endorsed energy drink made of gorilla DNA. On the spectrum of Rhett and Link's songs, it's more skit-based and circumstantial than being a blatant earworm (especially compared to last episode's "So Dang Dark"), but that doesn't make it fare any worse - it's important that Buddy System gets some nice variety in.The fact that the song immediately rebounds back into Rhett disinterestedly bringing the segment back to earth makes it stick the landing all the better. There's no way to make his deadpan delivery of, "Yeah, so anyway, this is my, um, super special, super secret, secret special bike" not funny.
Ultimately, it's revealed that Link's phone was stolen by Aimee Brells at a diner, and the episode thus serves as our introduction to her as an antagonist. Immediately, though, she's compelling. It's difficult to create antagonists, but the character makes for a great complement to the universe within Buddy System, and she brings an amusing energy that, even without interacting with Rhett and Link, is immediately promising and gratifying. She's just a sociopathic infomercial queen, and Leslie Bibb plays the role with aplomb, capturing that manic energy perfectly without becoming too exhausting to watch and enjoy. Her segments nicely bookend the whole episode, and as Maxwell nicely breaks down for us in the intro to the episode, "They don't know that, but we do," and it's effective foreshadowing of both what's actually happening and what's ultimately going to happen."You Ding, I Ding," on the other hand, is considerably weaker.
It's worth mentioning, though, that the opening scene - the titular "You ding, I ding" - is perfect. It's reminiscent of the protoypical Rhett and Link sketch - a simple idea taken as far into the left field as possible. In this case, it's a weirdly-justified bit of car demolition as Rhett and another car's owner, George, try to equate retribution after Rhett scuffs his car; it eventually reaches the point where they're smashing windshields and defecating through windows, and the final result, with both parties infinitely more screwed than how the began, makes for a great visual. It's one of my favorite moments out of the whole season, though sadly, the show quickly moves on from it.That's pretty much the best part of the episode, and it only goes downhill from there. It's not a bad episode, per se, but out of all of the episodes of Buddy System - even the one that gets singled out the most which I will get to - "You Ding, I Ding" feels the most perfunctory. It ultimately becomes a vehicle for sheer exposition, but none of the exposition amounts to all that much.
A bulk of the episode becomes a flashback to Rhett and Link's high school prom, which generally speaking, isn't all that strong. Most of the joke, it seems, is just the fact that Rhett doesn't have a beard, which makes for a nice gag, but not much beyond that; Link's "dope"-laden speaking doesn't add too much either save for an unwarranted bit of cringe. To the segment's credit, it does a nice job of laying the bricks down on Aimee's villainy - she does get publicly embarrassed, after all (even if it was... her fault...) - but it doesn't manage to do enough to save itself from becoming another tropey high school flashback. (The song isn't all that salvageable either, simultaneously being too short, lacking in a comedic punch, and being generally forgettable, even if it probably succeeds as fan service.)There's just not a whole lot to be said about it, especially for the sake of preventing this article from becoming a disorganized mess, even if it already is, so let's just leave it at that.
Notes and Quotes:-"And look at this ball, it's not deflated at all!" "Plus it's irrelevant to this conversation..."
"I eat my fried chicken from the inside out." "What?" "I'm actually only six feet tall, I just wear shoes that look like more leg. I'm maroon-burgundy colorblind. For the first ten years of our friendship, I thought your name was Lonk. I can't remember what zebras look like. I have a safety deposit box in Peoria, Illinois with a conch shell in it. I can't tell left from right unless I use the L. I love M. Night Shamalongalong's Lady in the Water. I don't know how to tell analog time. On Sundays, I play in a Bob Marley xylophone cover band. I think clouds and dinosaurs are fake. And I'm Banksy. Feels good to get all of that out."
-Link had some great underplaying in "Super Secret Special Bike." I especially like the opening segment where Link gets confused about the prospects of calling his phone to relocate it, instead awkwardly bumbling through a conversation with himself through voicemail, or the brief scene about Link looking into his thermos and texting his mom about if his outfit is too blue or not.
-Also worth pointing out is that "My Exercise Bike" has some nice role reversal, with Link adopting the straight man role throughout the segment and raising questions to Rhett's claims.
-"Boys, let me explain. We all came to the prom together, you just didn't know it! That's why I asked you to get into that big 'ol human-sized garbage bag on the way here, and that's why I asked you to carry that big 'ol human-sized garbage bag."
-"We can be a three-couple! We can be a thrupple."
-I always like seeing those Aimee Brells infomercials - it's clear that Rhett and Link channel their inner Tim & Eric for those segments, which is always a plus in my book.
-Rhett has an adorable baby face without the beard... but let's just agree he should keep it on.
-How was Leslie Bibb able to do a more convincing North Carolina accent than Rhett and Link in the flashback? And yes, as a North Carolinian, I have authority over that claim.
-Rhett briefly bringing up maroon in the prom segment was a nice callback to his little aside in "Super Special Secret Bike."
-I liked young Rhett's assertion of "punk-ass" - he does a great job of acting out that sense of being impressed at saying the word.
Final Grade: B+/C+. The success of "Super Secret Special Bike" lay in its overall simplicity and goofiness, giving Rhett and Link the opportunity to shell out as many silly, brief ideas as possible, and the result is one of Buddy System's more consistently laugh-inducing episodes. "You Ding, I Ding," on the other hand, despite having some moments that work in isolation, struggles to really find its groove, and the ultimate direction it takes feels creatively drained and overstays its welcome, even if it introduces some important elements in play.For the last Buddy System review of "Tucked Up," CLICK HERE.
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