The Smiling Friends Go to Brazil
Original air date: 8/6/2022
The "Smiling Friends" finally get to relax in a beautiful Brazilian beach town; Pim works on his novel; Charlie binges a load of torrent shows on his portable hard drive; Allan and Glep enjoy some long-awaited chill out time at the beach...
Except that none of that happens.
Due to a mix-up, Pim, who was supposed to be in charge of their accommodations, didn't book them a hotel room, and due to it being smack dab in the middle of Mardi Gras, they're unable to find any vacancies.
After spending the entire episode arguing and trying to figure out what to do, along with dealing with a creepy native hassling them for personal information and unsuccessfully trying to get their boss to help pay for a hotel room, they decide to just go home and try to have their vacation another time.
In Memoriam Gag: Shpyorn ger Shplom (2000-2022)
The Smiling Friends Go to Brazil contains examples of...
- 13 Is Unlucky: When the episode starts, the Smiling Friends come out of Terminal 13, foreshadowing the ruination of their trip.
- Ambiguous Situation: It's not made clear what is going on with the local who accosts the friends for money, and if he's a small-time gangster, an extremely bad Con Man, or just a man in desperate need of cash. The ambiguity makes the situation even more uncomfortable.
- An Aesop: Played for Laughs, but the moral of the story either way is that if you're gonna take a vacation anywhere, make sure you plan and budget ahead of schedule.
- Bait-and-Switch: The entire episode. Everything about it was set up as a special where the friends hung out in Brazil. Even the official episode description makes it sound like that's what was going to happen. Instead, due to a screw-up by Pim, they are unable to do anything, and instead spend the entire episode in the airport trying to figure out what to do before deciding to just go home.
- Bottle Episode: The entire episode takes place in the airport.
- Character Death: Averted - this is the only episode to date with no onscreen deaths. (However, the episode ends literally moments before a plane is about to crash into a mountain, which will almost certainly kill everyone aboard.)
- Exactly What It Says on the Tin: The Smiling Friends DO go to Brazil, even if they ultimately do nothing there.
- Extremely Short Timespan: Everything after the opening is in Real Time, showing the approximately ten minutes between the group realizing they forgot to book a hotel and deciding to take the next flight back home.
- Funny Background Event: The final shot of the episode shows that as the Smiling Friends walk away, a plane is nose diving towards a mountain. It cuts to the credits before we see the inevitable crash.
- Additionally, two Blink-and-You-Miss-It flying saucers
appear when the gang are arguing at the table.
Word of God states these were based off the "tic-tac"-shaped ones shown in declassified footage of the 2004 USS Nimitz incident.
- Additionally, two Blink-and-You-Miss-It flying saucers
- It's Always Mardi Gras in New Orleans: Played with; the group arrive in Brazil on Carnival without intending to or even realizing it until after they land. However, this is only relevant because it ensured none of the hotels would have any vacancies, and neither they nor the audience see the festival at all.
- Never My Fault:
- A Downplayed Example. While Pim concedes that he was supposed to book the hotel and screwed up, he's insistent on reminding everyone that he thought Alan was supposed to be the one to do it, which quickly gets on Alan and Charlie's nerves.
- Likewise Charlie and in particular Alan refuse to accept responsibility and expected Pim would do everything including booking the hotel in addition to the plane tickets and never tried to even inquire what hotel they were staying at before they left.
- The Oner: The whole special (apart from the intro) is shot in one continuous take.
- Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: Alan slips into Michael Cusack's natural Australian accent at a few points in this episode. It's especially noticeable when he talks to Charlie following their conversation with the old native.
- "Shaggy Dog" Story: They don't even leave the airport, and their entire vacation was All for Nothing.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: The ultimate gag of the episode once it becomes clear that Pim hasn't booked accommodations. Rather than going on a wacky escapade trying to find a place to stay, the Smiling Friends instead mutually agree that the most cost-effective move would be to just take the next flight home and try to be more organized in planning their next vacation.
- They Wasted a Perfectly Good Sandwich: The Smiling Friends order water and a basket of fries when they sit down, but they're so preoccupied with figuring out what to do about the hotel situation that nobody (aside from Charlie) drinks their water, and the basket of fries is almost completely untouched (with Glep eating only a few) when they leave.
