Tripping the Rift: S01E11: Emasculating Chode

This wasn’t a particularly funny episode. But it made up for it 30 times over by being freaking awesome! Visually this episode rocked; storyline, direction, voice acting, flow, commercial break timing, organization, satirical message, and re-watchabilty all kicked-ass!

It’s Whip’s 16 birthday, and the crew are celebrating it. Well some of the crew more then others. Chode was late for the party so he could pick up some edible underwear for Six. But he didn’t completely forget about his nephews big day, Chode also picked up a colour-by-numbers Teletubby paint book at the hobby shop next door. Coming as only a surprise to the moronic, Whip was insulted by this gift and storms off toward his room. Whip wanted something more adult. But Chode argues that one has to spend years of dinking and whoring before they can be a real man. Bob adds that a real man doesn’t ask for directions. Like him for instance. He’s been lost for 5 days but hasn’t said anything till now. Now this makes no sense, Chode just returned to the ship so he couldn’t have been lost! Bob has accidentally wandered deep into Dark Clown space. But Chode isn’t too worried about Bobo or his minions.

Meanwhile Whip is in his room “playing” on the computer, when some spam arrives for him. Bobo is disguised as a punk teen, and alerts him that he won a trip to Teenworld. An unsupervised teen play world where he can smoke, booze, and sleep around to his hearts content. All Whip has to do to claim his prize is touch the screen. Whip is a bloody berk. Hasn’t he learned to recognized Bobo is disguise by now? He almost got the ship torched when Bobo arrived the last time posing as a Jamaican DJ. Well apparently Whip hasn’t learned his lesson and in a Darwin Award nominating action, touches the screen. Whip is pulled into the computer screen and transported to Bobo’s location.

It takes a few hours, but the crew realizes Whip is gone. They (read: Six) have searched everywhere and can’t find him anywhere. But it’s not long before Bobo announces that he has Whip, and Chode must come to rescue him. Chode knows it’s a trap and plans around it. He transports down to the surface and fights in such a way that the troopers are killed by the trap instead. Now that the minions are out of the way, it’s time for the boss fight. Chode and Bobo duke it out with light sabres. Like in Spaceballs, the light sabres are a metaphor for penises. Chode’s light sabre is bigger! Which is ironic considering what “Chode” means. The two enemies battle for a minute, but Whip distracts Chode for a moment and Bobo takes advantage of it. Bobo slices off one of Chode’s tentacles! Which is like slicing off a mans… The devasted Chode can’t fight back, and watches as Bobo claims his tentacle, and transports away with Whip!

Chode is really down about his loss. Not the loss of Whip, but his tentacle, and who can blame him? He’s locked himself in his room, convinced that he not a true man and won’t talk to anyway. But ship operations must go on. The computer is locked in porn mode so Gus can’t pay any bills until Chode inputs his security code. Other areas of the ship are starting to fall apart without his despotic leadership too.T’Nuk as part owner of the ship, promotes herself to captain, and begins a reign of horror unmatched by Chode. She forces Six and Gus to dress as servants and treats them worse then Chode ever did. She has no concern for helping Chode nor d trying to find Whip.

Six tires one more time to get Chode back as captain. She seduces him with her French maid outfit, and it almost looks like Chode has overcome his sexual difficulties. But after looking in the mirror, Chode realizes that he’ll never be a man again, and turns her away.

Chode is even more disturbed by this then we thought. He pulls out a gun with the intent to end his life, and the show, but stops when Whip sends a distress call from Bobo’s palace.

Whip is getting treated worse then dirt. He’s hardly even treated with the respect that a slave normally gets. He’s forced to eat garbage, and must work non-stop with out rest. Even worse his Bobo’s wife Bernice tries to seduce him. Albeit in a nicely done spoof of the Mrs. Robinson-Benjamin scene from The Graduate. It must be really scary for the 16 year old. crappy birthday party, enslavement, watching his uncle’s humiliating defeat, and nearly sleeping with a 55 year old dark clown! Gotta feel for the teen.

Whip’s distress call has reinvigorated Chode. He retakes command of HIS ship, and heads straight toward Bobo’s place. The crew is overjoyed at his return (except T’Nuk of course), but this feeling shouldn’t last too long.

Chode and Gus beam down to Bobo’s mansion poorly disguised as clowns. They arrive just in time for the dark clown orgy. Clown Coochie! It’s lots of fat clown men, getting it on with sexy trim femclowns. Gus describes it as, “Kubrick, meets Felini, meets Ringling Brothers”. It’s not long before Chode finds what he’s looking for, his tentacle. It’s located next to Cher’s head. Which Bobo’s great x8 grandfather decapitated after she announced yet another come back tour. Assuming the writers put any thought into the number of greats, and didn’t just make it up, TtR takes place sometime between 2250-2400 CE. With a best guess sometime in the mid 24th century (like Star Trek) Before Chode can take it though, Bobo spots and challenges him. This was an interesting scene. Bobo went from being a bad-ass to just a jack ass. He took some cheap verbal shots at Chode, humiliating him in front of the dark clowns. This scene showed Bobo’s evilness more then all the other pranks he tried to pull.

Whip enters in just enough time to see Chode whoop some clown ass. Chode and Bobo pull out their light sabres and start to duel. At the beginning of the match, Chode’s sabre is much smaller then before, and even smaller then Bobo’s. Chode defends easily against Bobo’s strikes, and cuts off 2/3 of his hair during the bout, humiliating the clown before his fellows. Which of course Bobo accidentally beheads much of his audience while swinging at Chode. He must not have much Dark Clown focus! By the end of the fight, Chode’s light sabre is back to its full alrge size, and Bobo’s is a bit smaller. It was interesting to see the sabres grow/shrink diring the match.
After defeating and humiliating Bobo, Chode and his severed tentacle, Whip and Gus beam back up to the Jupiter 42. Chode’s tentacle is reattached and all is well again. To make up for his earlier lame gift, Chode buys Whip several cases of cigs and beer. Plus two week stay at a whore ranch. But Whip is still shaken from is experience at Bobo’s and after his encounter with Bernice, he’s a little turned off to sex, and turns down the whores, booze and smokes. It’s not enough that that bastard Bobo emasculated Chode, but he’s even wimplified Whip too. Bobo must pay!

And pay he does! In a contrast to the way the crew supported Bobo in his time of need., Bernice wants nothing to do with the near bald Bobo. He tries to hide it with a wig. But Bernice notices that its just cotton candy. Bobo will be spending the next few weeks in the guest room.And there the episode ends. It was cool one too. Lots of little jokes, background information, and kick ass light sabre duels. The episode flowed very well and it didn’t leave me with the impression that scenes had to be cut to fit into the allotted time. Aside from the missing LOL comedy, this episode was near flawless.

I’d rate this episode an sweet 49,032 out of 10. What did you think?

Discuss this episode in
the ‘Tripping the Rift Forum‘

Tripping the Rift reviews are © 2003 – 2019 Ryan Bechtel.
Not for reproduction without the authors express permission

Tripping the Rift names, characters and everything else associated with the series are the property of Chris Moeller, Chuck Austen and Dark Bunny Productions, CineGroup and the Sci Fi Channel.