History YMMV / TooManyCooks

--->'''Casper Kelly:''' My direction to him was very specific for each shot, but in my head he is a man who tried to be a sitcom dad — with his attempt at a [[Creator/BillCosby Cosby]] sweater and such — but just will never allowed to be a part of this world he has to dwell in. So he’s gotten a little bitter and vengeful about being left out.

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: Grandma turning into an owl. A bunch of the other surreal gags [[BrickJoke have setup or payoff]] but this bit comes right out of nowhere -- for everybody except people who saw ''Series/{{Manimal}}'' when it was on the air. To a lesser extent, the cartoon sequence, which is never brought up again outside of the closing credits, but at least has Bob appear.

* WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs: The ''entire'' thing.

** [[spoiler:The Killer appears to be merely a bloodthirsty ForTheEvulz madman]], [[http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/too-many-cooks/ but one theory by the director is]] that he's actually doing this for revenge.

** "Intronitis" being a disease that professional doctors are horrified by calls into question [[spoiler:if it's a good thing that Smarf reset the show.]]
*** It also creates a possibly that [[spoiler:The Killer is ultimately doing a good thing by attempting to destroy the show.]]
*** Also, the fact [[spoiler: his credits glitch out ''and'' the "Too Many Cooks" theme continues whenever he's around]] suggests [[spoiler: the killer is at worst a carrier of the infection, but possibly even could be immune to Intronitis.]]

* AwardSnub: The short was wildly popular on the Internet and received high praise for its twisting of TV cliches, but didn't even get nominated for the 2015 Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Short-Format Live-Action Entertainment Program

* CreepyAwesome: [[spoiler:The Killer, who feels like [[Film/TheShining Jack Torrance]] made his way into a family show.]]

* SignatureScene: The "Katie Adkins" section, where she's frozen as her name is displayed on the screen and she can only move her eyes while [[spoiler:the Killer is coming closer]].

** [[youtube.com/watch?v=7TMZ9OSuR3s This]] 2004 ''Series/MadTV'' sketch has a similar premise [[spoiler:and punchline]]. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHiu7oJEUFI This]] 2012 Upright Citizens' Brigade video also has some of the same ideas.

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYWEm3gahfo This]] 2004 ''Series/MadTV'' sketch has a similar premise [[spoiler:and punchline]]. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHiu7oJEUFI This]] 2012 Upright Citizens' Brigade video also has some of the same ideas.

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: Grandma turning into an owl. A bunch of the other surreal gags [[BrickJoke have setup or payoff]] but this bit comes right out of nowhere -- for everybody except people who saw ''Series/{{Manimal}}'' when it was on the air. To a lesser extent, the cartoon sequence, which is never brought up again outside of the opening credits, but at least has Bob appear.

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: Grandma turning into an owl. A bunch of the other surreal gags [[BrickJoke have setup or payoff]] but this bit comes right out of nowhere -- for everybody except people who saw ''Series/{{Manimal}}'' when it was on the air.

* TastesLikeDiabetes: Much of the opening's super-saccharine nature, especially the shots of the little kids and Smarf ''shooting rainbows'' out of his hands. [[spoiler:Then the Killer comes to change all that.]]

* EndingFatigue: A common complaint about the short is that it ''just keeps going'' and seems to end multiple times before starting back up again. Not many people realize that's it's [[AllPartOfTheShow All Part of the Joke.]]

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Quite a few given the LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters nature of the short.

* RewatchBonus: [[spoiler:The Killer]] and his later actions in the video add significance to some of his appearances before then, particularly looking through a cupboard at spices. Some of the places he appears and expressions he makes also make more sense if you [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation know what Casper Kelly's interpretation behind him is]].
* TheScrappy: Smarf appears to be an invoking of this trope, with his ugly design and puppet contrast to the live-action actors. RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap when [[spoiler:he uses his EyeBeams to explode the Killer. Also when he presses the reset button in his (would be) last moments.]] He is, in fact, the closest thing this short has to a hero.

*** Also, the fact [[spoiler: his credits glitch out]] suggests [[spoiler: the killer is at worst a carrier of the infection, but possibly even could be immune to Intronitis.]]

* HilariousInHindsight:
** Around 30 seconds into the short there is a brief shot of Savannah getting her face painted with a paint roller. As pointed out on [[http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/2lm9se/we_are_the_gobsmacked_creators_behind_too_many/ the Reddit AMA]], a month earlier there had been a query on [[https://www.facebook.com/groups/ALAthinkTANK/permalink/726645114074978/ Facebook]], [[http://www.reddit.com/r/tipofmytongue/comments/2i8efo/tomt_tv_80s_sitcom_with_a_character_accidentally/ Reddit]], and [[http://ask.metafilter.com/269424/Which-TV-show-intro-was-this Metafilter]] about finding a show opening with such a shot, which was so hard to find that even ''librarians from the Library of Congress'' were stumped.
** A work parodying sitcom tropes that gradually becomes sinister and surreal? Add in superheroes and you've got ''Series/WandaVision''.

*** Also, the fact [[spoiler: His credits glitch out]] suggests [[spoiler: The killer is at worst a carrier of the infection, but possibly even could be immune to Intronitis.]]

* {{Mondegreen}}: The lyric "a scoop of kids" sounds a LOT like ''"stupid kids"'' to the average listener's ears the first time they watch this short.

* AwardSnub: The short was wildly popular on the Internet and received high praise for its twisting of TV cliches, but didn't even get nominated for the 2015 Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Short Form Comedy or Drama Series.

* HilariousInHindsight: 31 seconds in there is a brief shot of Savannah getting her face painted with a paint roller. As pointed out on [[http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/2lm9se/we_are_the_gobsmacked_creators_behind_too_many/ the Reddit AMA]], a month earlier there had been a query on [[https://www.facebook.com/groups/ALAthinkTANK/permalink/726645114074978/ Facebook]], [[http://www.reddit.com/r/tipofmytongue/comments/2i8efo/tomt_tv_80s_sitcom_with_a_character_accidentally/ Reddit]], and [[http://ask.metafilter.com/269424/Which-TV-show-intro-was-this Metafilter]] about finding a show opening with such a shot, which was so hard to find that even ''librarians from the Library of Congress'' were stumped.
** A work parodying sitcom tropes that gradually becomes sinister and surreal? Add in superheroes and you've got ''Series/{{Wandavision}}''

** Victoria Sun/Marilyn Cook got her own subreddit on Reddit. [[ShamelessFanserviceGirl It's not hard]] [[BestKnownForTheFanservice to guess why]].

* FairForItsDay: The novel in general is a critique of race relations in 1930s America nevertheless written in 1930s America, and it's safe to say that by modern standards it shows. Nevertheless, it is still arguing for greater tolerance, openness, equality and racial justice. In particular, while Archie Goodwin's conduct is quite racist (if still not as bad as some of the other characters) and the novel doesn't spare him from criticism, a case can be made that by contemporary standards he's nevertheless still fairly tolerant. He freely uses several racist slurs and displays some rather prejudicial ideas about individuals of other races, but seems to hold no particular animosity or hostility towards those individuals. At a couple of points he also helps several African American servant characters with various tasks without resentment or complaint, something that would have been otherwise almost unthinkable in 1930s West Virginia.