# Too Many Cooks **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 7, 2014, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-many-cooks/703976 "2014-11-07T14:03:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-many-cooks/703976/1 "2014-11-07T14:03:56Z")
This 12 minute film showed at 4AM the other night on Adult Swim, in the middle of a bunch of infomercials. A bizarre, “what the hell did I just watch” parody of 80s/90s sitcom openings. Worth watching in its entirety, but probably fair to warn you (very small spoiler) some fake-looking gore makes an appearance. A summary that doesn’t do it justice: it’s an 11 minute sitcom opening sequence that goes completely off the rails and into surreal fourth- fifth- and sixth-wall breaking territory. The one thing I miss about cable is Adult Swim. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-many-cooks/703976/2 "2014-11-07T14:25:33Z")
I saw this last night – it was absolutely amazing. Here’s a [link](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzdRQCnDBlw). NSFW. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-many-cooks/703976/3 "2014-11-07T14:41:48Z")
Sorry! I meant to put a link in the OP of course! ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-many-cooks/703976/4 "2014-11-07T14:44:02Z")
BTW does anyone know anything about the weird effect on the text in the description at that youtube link? I’ve seen it here and there on the web, don’t know if it’s something people have been doing forever and I’m only just now noticing. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-many-cooks/703976/5 "2014-11-07T14:46:45Z")
For anyone who wants to watch the link, be sure to watch the whole thing. It is unique in its weirdness and originality. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-many-cooks/703976/6 "2014-11-07T15:10:56Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > For anyone who wants to watch the link, be sure to watch the whole thing. It is unique in its weirdness and originality. Worth repeating. I was tempted to turn it off at 3min in because I thought _alright, I get the joke._ I’m glad I didn’t though, because it got way funnier. Here’s a question: How many parodies can y’all name in that video? ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-many-cooks/703976/7 "2014-11-07T15:22:14Z")
I watched this last night just before going to bed. Big mistake. I still have the song stuck in my head. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-many-cooks/703976/8 "2014-11-07T15:28:44Z")
I thought this was going to be about the Nero Wolfe mystery. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-many-cooks/703976/9 "2014-11-07T15:48:43Z")
It’s an amazing example of a joke that wears out its welcome, powers through longer, and becomes funny again. Also the song is still stuck in my head. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-many-cooks/703976/10 "2014-11-07T15:53:53Z")
I’ve now learned this is part of a series of short films that get shown at that time slot. Here’s another one, completely different, yet just as good. Again, it starts out looking like ho-hum parody but goes into completely different territory. [Broomshakalaka](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zt2uIhAvQZ8). ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-many-cooks/703976/11 "2014-11-07T16:24:39Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > BTW does anyone know anything about the weird effect on the text in the description at that youtube link? I’ve seen it here and there on the web, don’t know if it’s something people have been doing forever and I’m only just now noticing. It’s been a trend on reddit in the last year or so. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-many-cooks/703976/12 "2014-11-07T17:36:43Z")
> [@JSexton](#): > > It’s been a trend on reddit in the last year or so. How is it done? Is there a name for it so I can google it? ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-many-cooks/703976/13 "2014-11-07T17:46:09Z")
[J͏̵̷̭͎̜̺͚͚̣̱͚̟͎̤̀̀ú̴̸̺͉͙̮̙̼͙͖͘͘s̶̙̹̻͓̞̖̀̀t̵̹̼̘̥̣̤͠ͅ ̸̹̫̯̹͚̣͙̣̹̙̻͙̺̯̰̥̺̖͠͝c̷̡̨͔̜̬̟͍͙̀̕ͅǫ̤̟̖̮̞̻͇̗̖̹̬̻͉͇̗̘͚͟p̶̢̥̜̬̘̘̤͚̼̙͚̺̻͞y̡͇̥̳͈̟̮̹͓̞̜͜ͅ ͝҉̧͉̫̦̖̜̟͔͓͖̼̖̯͔͚̩̙ͅa̸̵̪͓͈̝̮̝̩̯͍̝͎̻̤̯͍ͅͅn҉̡͈̬̻̤͕̮̬̗̝̥̳̝̻̀͟d̸̨̥̝̹̹͉͍̼̖̭͇̫̫̀͜ ̸̢̖̠͙̥̳̳̖̫̩͖͝͡p҉̡͈̭̩͕͖̝͘ą͉̘͉̠̣͈̬͓̘̯̱̰͎̩̜͚͇̞ş̹̩̟̙̦̘̖͎̲̘̝̺͈͢t̸̴͏̡̢̳̫͙̲̫̙͖̠̳̗͉̗̲̩̥̗ͅe͘͏̯͈̱̙̬͕ ̡͡͏̰͎̙͉̻̰̩̕͞f̸̨̪͍̙̦̙͇̮̻̘ŕ̸͘̕͏͕̮̯͎͖͇̘̰͙̞̼͕o̕͏͙̫͎̯̼̻̻m̡̤̱̘̻̰̮͔̮͔͇̯̜̪͖͡ͅͅ ͠҉͙̘̯͚̗̟̼̪̲̖̪̤̤͇̖̖̤͘͜ͅa͝͏̘͈͇̘̟̩̙͇͠ ͏̷̧̠̺̺͍̪͚̺̘͕̗̣̖̭̠̼̟̥͍͝͡s̶̮̝̻͙͈͚̳̜̺̙̹̼̭̕͢ͅi̪̱͔̘͙̦̻̪̼͠͝͞t̨̲̭̟̞̮̭̰͟͝͞e̵̡̢̥͈̬̗͍̦̱̩͓͕̳͝ ̸̳̩͚̺͍̳̠̟̰̥̬͙͇̬̥̮̙͉͝ͅt̵҉̬̜͇̬̙̠̗̳̻͝͝h̶̴̘̤̮̭͎͇̪̫͇̤̻̭͟͝a̕҉͘͏͍̯̠̫͇̣̜̙̥͚̩̲t̶҉̧̪̖̱̭͕̪̬̤̳͕ ̶̖͖̣̪̯̯͙̕d̡̧̼̠͎̼̪̠̝̠̬̯͚͍͍̕͟͡o̧͟͞҉͓̜͕͎̥̲̥̞̲̦̰͍̼͙̺̣͠e҉̗̯̭̥̙̺͔̪͎̣̙̘̱̭̪̫̰̤̀͟͝͞ͅş͈͓͚̣̗͉̣͞ ̙̫͍̫̼͉̬͖̙͙̝̤͕̺̠͡͞i̴̡̤̣͍͙̪̤̰̲̯̹͟ͅt̴̪̣͕̦̰̰̫̞͟ ̵̛͍̫ͅf̨͏̠̪̙͔̤o͏̨̙̯̞̲͇̬̼̼͖̬͓͉̖̭̕͡ŕ̴̼̯̙͔̯̯̪̖̺̹͞ͅ ̷̲̗̦͓̝̜͘͘͢y̨̛͢͏̶̫̙̰͚͚̣̳͍͙̘o̶̸̸̘͔͓͖̦̘̺͚̮̗͙̬͞ù̷̩̞̟̺̱̰̟̬͕̰̻̺̩̺̰͘.̢̧͔͉̺͍̩̥̕](http://www.eeemo.net/) ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-many-cooks/703976/14 "2014-11-07T17:48:27Z")
Sorry, there’s a link in there somewhere to a generator. [More about Zalgo](http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/zalgo). [More about Unicode](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/6579844/how-does-zalgo-text-work). ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-many-cooks/703976/15 "2014-11-07T18:37:17Z")
I’m going to be singing “It takes a lot to make a stew…” to myself all day now. > [@Shakes](#): > > Here’s a question: How many parodies can y’all name in that video? Off the top of my head, there were pastiches of Battlestar Galactica, Law & Order, Seinfeld, and GI Joe mixed in. They also used the bumper music from the Brak Show, “Smarf” from Thundercats, and the front door to the Cooks residence is the same as the Bundys’ front door on Married With Children. Also, Lars von Trier as “Pie”. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-many-cooks/703976/16 "2014-11-07T18:38:52Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > I’ve now learned this is part of a series of short films that get shown at that time slot. > > Here’s another one, completely different, yet just as good. Again, it starts out looking like ho-hum parody but goes into completely different territory. > > [Broomshakalaka](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zt2uIhAvQZ8). See also [Icelandic Ultra Blue.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KHL_6aAQnQ) ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-many-cooks/703976/17 "2014-11-07T18:46:19Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > I’m going to be singing “It takes a lot to make a stew…” to myself all day now. > > Off the top of my head, there were pastiches of Battlestar Galactica, Law & Order, Seinfeld, and GI Joe mixed in. They also used the bumper music from the Brak Show, “Smarf” from Thundercats, and the front door to the Cooks residence is the same as the Bundys’ front door on Married With Children. > > Also, Lars von Trier as “Pie”. I haven’t finished watching, but I caught the rotating table shot from Roseanne. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-many-cooks/703976/18 "2014-11-07T19:36:01Z")
A little disappointed they didn’t’ murder a baby or an old lady, but otherwise it was great. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-many-cooks/703976/19 "2014-11-07T20:07:34Z")
That was genius. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-many-cooks/703976/20 "2014-11-07T23:08:55Z")
So… Anybody else see this thing yet? [“Too Many Cooks”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzdRQCnDBlw) At 4am, and labeled on programming guides as an Infomercial, Adult Swim ran one of the most bizarre short film pieces I’ve ever seen. It starts out as a parody of old 80s/90s sitcom credits… and then… I don’t know… I think devolves, might be the right word. Let’s just say it gets weird. I don’t want to spoil anything else about it but [Alan Sepinwall wrote up a piece today](http://www.hitfix.com/whats-alan-watching/adult-swims-too-many-cooks-a-sitcom-theme-song-nightmare) on it. > [@](#): > > “Too Many Cooks” is an elaborate parody of '80s & '90s sitcom title sequences that in time turns into… something else. As my friend said, it is the oddest thing you will have seen in a long time, but it may also be either the most brilliant or dumb thing. It may be the best 12 minutes you spend today, or you may rightly decide to turn the thing off after 90 seconds. I recommend you stick with it… even once you think you know what the joke is. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-many-cooks/703976.md?page=2)