Recap / Superjail S 0 E 0 Bunny Love

Airdate: May 13, 2007
Written by: Christy Karacas, Stephen Warbrick, Ben Gruber
Revisions by: Dave Willis (uncredited), Nick Weidenfeld, Dave Hughes

An inmate named Jacknife winds up arrested and taken to Superjail, after Jailbot catches him trying to rob a pet store. But the arrival of Jacknife is soon interrupted when the Warden gets the impulsive idea to give all the inmates bunny costumes.

However, a super-powered pair of twins soon intercept the Warden's idea and twist it to their own liking, causing mass chaos to erupt.

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"Bunny Love" contains examples of:

• Brick Joke: Jacknife gets shot off in a rocket to an unknown place by the Warden (an earlier script had him go to outer space), but his rocket winds up crashing back to the jail at the end, leaving him an opportunity to escape.
• Characterization Marches On: The Warden comes off much more sadistic in this plot than in the series, what with violently ripping the skin off of a (dead) rabbit and wearing it as a hat, seeing nothing wrong about eating the remains of his own inmates, and managing to take credit for the entire disaster and use it to his personal advantage.
• Circling Birdies: Jacknife has pills, a bomb, and a knife spin around his head after he's first thrown into his cell.
• Creator Cameo: Aside from Karacas and Warbrick, the animators Aaron Augenblick and Kristofer Wollinger are also credited for minor voices.
• Don't Explain the Joke: "Hey Gary, I got a worm for you right here. I'm talking about my PENIS!"
• Early-Installment Weirdness: The use of "Rubber Bullets" by 10cc for the opening theme, rather than the usual theme. "Rubber Bullets" was actually going to be the series' title song, but the licensing cost for continued usage was just too expensive. The animatic reel for the pilot substitutes "Comin' Home" in its place, though the completed episode was allowed to keep the song on the DVD release.
  • The ending credits are also slightly different, and actually credit the entire voice cast. For season 1, only David Wain, Teddy Cohn, Richard Mather, and Chris McCulloch received credit for their roles
  • The Twins and Warden actually acknowledge each other, and Jared suggests that the Warden "suspend their privileges", suggesting that the Twins are inmates of a special status. This is a holdover from an early concept in the pilot, where they were intended to be flat-out "super criminals" that Warden had imprisoned as his own litmus test (if he were able to keep them from leaving the jail, he could keep any inmate contained). In the series, the Warden barely ever acknowledges the Twins and doesn't really seem aware of their troublemaking, and the inmate status is dubious ^note However, there is an exception in the Playboy tie-in comic written by Karacas, where the Twins are mentioned as being inmates and get to directly interact with the Warden.
  • Rather than dropping Jacknife off inside the top volcano, Jailbot lets him fall into a drop-off point on the side of the volcano. This was likely due to the volcano structure not being as thought out yet, as well as for things to lead into the rollercoaster sequence.
  • Christy Karacas' vocals for Jacknife are subdued and deeper, compared to the wackier and raspier grunts and growls he'll make in later episodes. Likewise, Alice's voice has yet to take on the more guttural tone. Teddy Cohn's earlier voice for Jared is also less shrill, and seems to have a bit of a lisp to it.
    • Gary's cellmate has a more snide-sounding voice and not as high and childish compared to Stephen Warbrick's later performances. The two gay inmates' voices also slightly differ, with the rabbit-suited one having less of a flamboyant tone compared to his increased role in later episodes. In addition, the Twins' voices are much flatter and nasal, with the nasal tone more audible in the higher-voiced brother.
  • The set-up of the Warden's eyeball-shaped aircraft is different, and Jailbot is the one to pilot it.
  • Gary having a tongue. Although the show is built on Negative Continuity and whatever works for a gag, newer viewers can be confused by seeing this scene after season 3 episodes make it a point that he doesn't have one. The tongue is also shown in "Vacation".
• Establishing Character Moment: Quickly within the pilot, we see one for each of the main staff: Alice is sadistic to inmates yet apathetic to the events that go on in general, Jared is incredibly nervous and fighting the temptation of alcohol, and that the Warden is goofy yet with his own sadistic side and not to be underestimated in his manipulative nature. Then there are the Twins, who just seem to like messing with order for their own amusement.
  • The gay inmates get a quick bit showcasing their dysfunctional relationship, although it takes on a more violent edge than their later appearances (with one stabbing the other with his shank).
• Freeze-Frame Bonus: As the animals all flee out of the pet shop, a bear can be seen grabbing a suitcase and hat while running off. A unicorn also rushes out.
  • One inmate in the shower room has a bar of soap wedged between his buttocks.
• Funny Background Event: Two wolf inmates can be seen beating up a bunny inmate via having him strung up and swinging back and forth on a tetherball pole.
• Gory Discretion Shot: Although the fat perverted cellmate's later deaths are shown in full detail, viewers are spared seeing Bird's attack on the man's genitalia and are only treated to a shot of the observing Gary winding up spattered in blood.
• I'm a Humanitarian: The Lunch Ladies, the mystery meat itself, and the Warden by the end. Even the starving inmate doesn't mind eating the "mystery meat", but gets eaten by it himself.
• Iris Out: How it all ends, complete with the Warden winking at the audience.
• Made of Plasticine: The man Jacknife runs over is reduced to a bloody paste, and several inmates demonstrate this during the climax with the meat monster.
• No Name Given: The gay inmate couple were simply known as "The Gay Inmates" at this point in scripting, and Gary's cellmate was known as the "Fat Cellmate". Even Jacknife's name isn't directly referred to, with Gary being the only inmate to be named on-screen.
• The Stinger: The only one to be used until "Vacation" and "Uh-Oh, It's Magic". The starving inmate that Alice tormented with a sandwich finally gets a chance at a meal, but is dragged into the pot and eaten by the sentient meat inside.
• They Killed Kenny Again: Gary's cellmate experiences his first case of death and mutilation, due to him making an unwanted pass at Gary. He'll suffer more of these to come.
  • Three of the lunch ladies get devoured by the meat monster, who spares Janice and the other lunch lady that spoke (later identified as "Cookie"). However, Janice herself won't be so lucky in many points of the series, nor will any of the lunch ladies in general.
• Welcome Episode: In a way, for Jacknife, although the Warden quickly dispatches him into outer space after they officially meet and the focus shifts back to the rest of the inmates and the staff.