'The Meatgrinder Show', Did They Really Just Do That?

One word: tweaked.

The brilliant thing about internet entertainment at this stage in the game is that it truly is the Wild West. Anything goes and to each his own. And creator Chris Erb and co-creator Dal Wolf (FEED) certainly have their own vision. If you can imagine Jim Henson huffing glue for three days, then blasting an entire eight-ball in 3.4 seconds and writing the first thing that comes to his mind, then you’re probably in the ballpark of what The Meatgrinder Show is.

Directed and mostly written by Chris Erb, The Meatgrinder Show tackles such pressing issues as sexual exploration, incontinence, whale semen, “poop sex”, the time-space continuum and terrorism. And yet, all the while what it’s really about is a beautiful friendship between nice guy Zach and his repulsive orange puppet buddy and roommate, Meatgrinder. These guys are college friends that stayed together after school and now, what in college might have been considered standard shenanigans, has morphed into complete and utter dysfunction…even with Zach’s attempts at good intentions. It’s The Odd Couple, on acid.

The eponymous Meatgrinder is operated, voiced and was built by Dan Mott, who can also be seen as The Juicer on Disney’s That’s So Raven. However, it should be noted that Meatgrinder is decidedly very un-Disney. Meat’s ever-congenial partner in crime, Zach, is performed by Dal Wolf. The perfs satisfy and definitely get the laughs intended. The production has gotten better from episode to episode, always doing the job. And the writing is good enough that it doesn’t get in the way of the absurd situations that Meatgrinder usually puts poor Zach through, which are sometimes so irreverent and uncomfortable, you need to peak through your fingers to watch.

Examples of these finger peeking moments include the aforementioned, “#2” (above), in which Meat has trouble holding his bowels and drops large colorful turds on the apartment floor. A problem that eventually hits Zach’s intestines to the point that the boys have to wear a cork in their asses while the landlord inspects their apartment for an annual resident review of sorts. The end of the episode is explosive to say the least. And no, I’m not lying, that really is what the episode is about: explosive diarrhea.

My personal favorite ep is “Dead Dog”, which was actually written by guest writer, Nick Snyder. This seems to be a Halloween entry replete with thunder, lightening, a dead dog, a famished and ultimately cannibalistic Meatgrinder and a horrifying knife attack from Zach that rivals anything Jason Voorhees has ever committed. The episode is totally twisted, but also one of the best produced of the series and, for me at least, the funniest, both in writing and performance.

So, what are you saying Hludzinski? Is it good, should I watch it? Yes, you should. But start with “X-Mas Christmas List”, then dive into “Zach In Time” (Isaac Asimov would cream his pants for this genius little ditty), then “Dead Dog” and, then, if you’re feeling adventurous, and not eating, try out “#2”, though it’s not for the feint of heart. There are eleven episodes in total varying in length and quality, but I’m pretty sure if it’s your taste, then after watching these four eps, you’ll be hooked. If it’s not your taste, well, then, you’ll just have to live with the fact that Meatgrinder and Zach are out their somewhere making the world a weirder place, if that’s even possible.

[The pilot episode, below, was removed from YouTube for “inappropriate content,” so be warned.]