Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim aren’t for everyone. They push limits beyond limits, subvert at their every whim, and truly stretch the boundaries of what is even considered to be comedy. This installment, “Hole,” sees Eric as Dennis “Murph” Murphy, who has just moved to Pine Street with his family, with Tim’s Brenner acting as the de facto welcome wagon. Brenner seems pretty set on Dennis attending his Guys’ Night, with him being even more concerned with dinner etiquette and what exactly is going to be on the menu as everyone cheers on the Fish. As Murphy doesn’t reciprocate this feeling, Brenner begins to slowly unravel, becoming more and more insistent on the idea of “community,” everyone being together, and that he is the true king of the ‘sac. Tim and Eric have spoken recently about how this show is going to be presenting some upsetting, scary stuff, with the title “Nightmare Stories” being a more appropriate moniker. While they’ve slowly been heading in this direction, this episode doesn’t feel like the best or strongest illustration of this, and I’m kind of curious as to why they chose it to be the one to kick things off. There’s still plenty here that works. The shot of Dennis coming out of his home to the hordes of flies that are coming from the rotting turkey that greets him is expertly shot. As is the Blue Velvet-esque zoom into the turkey carcass, and the infestation that’s going on inside of it. It still feels like Brenner’s hazing of Dennis could have gone further though, rather than spending time on things like over-bashing a windshield or over-explaining a dinner menu (not that these don’t have their charms, while also being vintage Tim and Eric). There’s no doubt that the duo is commenting on the darkness that brews underneath all of this community (just like Blue Velvet does). Brenner’s friends that we saw at his place are even borderline monsters as they bray and holler at minutiae, chanting out platitudes. Is this what Brenner wants Dennis to become? Heidecker’s character becomes increasingly disturbing as we see that he has no wife, nor does her have half the things that he says that he does. Or maybe it’s just a weird neighbor digging a pre-mature grave for the less-weird newcomer that’s come to town. Not every episode here is going to be “The Monsters are Due on Maple Street,” but hopefully next week’s entry will be a more solid offering of what this anticipated show is capable of. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for all news updates related to the world of geek. And Google+, if that’s your thing!
