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Zim Rips Out a Kid's Eyes (Bestest Friend)
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Released
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January 14, 2021
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Running time
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12:55
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Link
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Video
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Doug: It's a pretty intense episode when someone having their eyes removed isn't the worst part of it.
(The title card for “Bestest Friend” comes up.)
Doug (vo): “Bestest Friend” was released in 2001.
Doug: It was only the second episode of Invader Zim, and I think it set the tone pretty well. Let's take a look.
(The opening sequence for Invader Zim is shown.)
Doug (vo): So, like I mentioned before, I am...
Doug: ...not an expert on this show. What I've seen, I like, but I don't know a ton about it.
Doug (vo): But I am a lover of dark, sick, twisted shit...
Doug: ...and that is all over this, so I am very happy to look this over for you.
Doug (vo): This is said to be the second episode...
Doug: ...the first one being “Dark Harvest”, which I already talked about, and apparently, these were supposed to be shown side by side.
Doug (vo): But everyone just freaked out and said, "That's way too violent. Way too twisted."
Doug: So they broke it up.
(A bully passes by and shoves Zim face first into his lunch tray.)
Doug (vo): I really like this slip-up here...
Doug: ...because it's not like this kid is smooshing his face down on purpose. It's just convenient, but he's not gonna apologize either. He's still a bully.
Doug (vo): I think that kind of shows how truly worthless he is at this school. He's not even worth acknowledging...
Doug: ...a "ha-ha" from him.
Jessica (voice of Antoinette Spolar): That new kid's a freak. I think his name is Zip or something.
Doug (vo): The angles and backgrounds – once again, you'll notice...
Doug: ...are very distorted, like it's in a fisheye lens. So, instead of the ground being very straight, it'll be curved.
Doug (vo): They do this because people adding fisheye lenses – not only does it...
Doug: ...show more of the background, but if there's a person in it – particularly, they're close to the camera – they'll look distorted.
(An image from Brazil showing Jack Lint wearing his grotesque baby-faced mask is shown.)
Doug (vo): And you see a lot of dark, twisted movies utilize this.
Doug: So, very naturally, the show is, too, even though it's hand-drawn. So they don't just put a lens on...
Doug (vo): ...they have to actually draw what they think a fisheye lens perspective would look like.
Doug: And I think it looks pretty good.
Jessica: What kind of kid doesn't have any friends? It's so... inhuman.
(The word "inhuman" echoes in Zim's thoughts. He imagines having his true identity exposed and captured by scientists.)
Doug (vo): I enjoy how the plots of these are usually very simple.
Doug: He (Zim) just doesn't want to be discovered, so he'll go to these...extreme overcorrections that would get him discovered a lot easier.
Doug (vo): But thankfully, the place he lives in just doesn't care.
(Zim glances over at one of the cafeteria tables. He notices Lizard Boy offering a cupcake to two other school kids. They accept Lizard Boy as their friend.)
Doug: I always wondered if it was intentional that they're kind of sharing an eye there.
(The camera goes to a close-up of one of the kids’ eyes overlapping the other's.)
Doug (vo): Now, the way these are drawn – the eyes are very bulgy. They're kind of like Simpson eyes. So they kind of...
Doug: ...protrude out over the face. So I don't know if that was intentional or not, but I almost wonder if there's something about people being close...
(Penny and Olivia use string to spell out the word "Friends".)
Doug (vo): ...and being friends that they're kind of sharing eyes.
Doug: Even foreshadowing what's gonna happen to one of these kids. So I don't know, okay? It...could just be coincidence. Either way, it looks kind of funny and freaky.
Zim (voice of Richard Steven Horvitz): I'm looking for a friend.
Dirge (voice of Danny Cooksey): I was born with webbed fish toes. Wanna see?
(Zim slowly backs away.)
Doug (vo): I like this idea, too. That one of the kids is...
Doug: ...so weird he actually freaks out the alien.
Zim: Would you –
(Matthew P. Mathers III screams and runs away.)
Doug: And what can I add to that? That's just funny.
Zim: These human filthies should be honored to even be considered as possible friends of Zim!
Doug (vo): Same with the above shot here. Still a wide angle...
Doug: ...still tilted. It's just higher up this time. And what's interesting is...
Doug (vo): ...when you're doing a live action shoot, it's a little trickier to get...
Doug: ...because you have to light everything. And you know, you can see a lot more with a wide-angle lens, and it's sometimes a little tougher to get high up or lower to the ground. With animation, that doesn't matter. You can just draw it. And a lot of background artists – I've heard – say they like when they're kind of challenged.
Doug (vo): They can draw something a little bit more...
Doug: ...strange or at a different angle.
Zim: (to Gretchen, Melvin, and Keef) Who among you feels they are worthy enough to be my best friend?
Doug (vo): So we have these ridiculous best friend tests that, of course...
Doug: ...make no sense, and that's funny enough. But what makes it even better is: one of them actually passes the test.
(Zim has poured milk on the table. He tests each of the kids’ heads on the puddle, and Keef's head soaks up the milk like a sponge.)
Doug (vo): Like one is how absorbent they are, and best friend here actually has an absorbent head!
Doug: That – that's just so funny.
(Zim has tested out conductive rods on the kids. Melvin and Gretchen have been burnt to a crisp, but Keef is unaffected somehow. For the final test, Zim reveals a beaver and a toy taxi.)
Doug (vo): And the rest of the kids are tortured with...God knows what this is. And of course, this part of the joke – we don't know what those two...
Doug: ...do. We just see the after effects.
(Melvin and Gretchen are sitting at the table, still looking burnt and in a whole lot of pain. Keef, however, remains virtually unscathed.)
Doug (vo): And apparently, in the original...
Doug: ...version, there was blood...
Doug (vo): ...splattering on the wall. But – big shock...
Doug: ...that was cut out.
Zim: I'd like you all to meet Keef. He's my best friend. Not yours! Mine!
Doug (vo): Much like 3rd Rock from the Sun...
Doug: ...there's two ways a lot of these jokes work. One is just how selfish the aliens are. You know he'll drag around...
Doug (vo): ...this kid and say, "this is my best friend", just not caring at all for him. But the...
Doug: ...second layer it works on is that they are aliens. So to them, that might be how they think you're supposed...
Doug (vo): ...to treat a best friend. So I love shows like this...
Doug: ...where somebody comes and visits a planet, even though it's been done to death. Because if you do it right – if you do it cleverly – it can surprisingly work on a lot of level. There's actually like good commentary to it – if it's done right.
Doug (vo): And also, like Third Rock, the humans...
Doug: ...are made funnier, because any normal human being would not want to be used...
Doug (vo): ...as a means of hitting a (tether) ball. But it just shows how pathetic this boy (Keef) is and he gladly goes along with it.
Doug: Again, that's one of the reasons I really like these kind of stories. If somebody utilizes and realizes the potential you can get out of it.
(The scene cuts to Zim's hideout.)
Zim: Our mission together is done. Good job, soldier! Be gone with you.
Keef (voice of Danny Cooksey): Hey, you got any video games?
Zim: Yes.
(Keef just stands there. Zim closes the door, then turns around and sighs in relief.)
Doug (vo): A joke you can see coming...
Doug: ...but the characters are so good, you still laugh, even though it's predictable.
(Zim is looking at a drawing that Keef drew in art class. It depicts Keef alongside Zim, with the words "bestest friends" written on it. The phone rings, and Zim goes to answer it.)
Doug (vo): Little rack focus there.
Doug: You didn't usually see that in animated shows at the time.
Doug (vo): Sometimes you saw it in some Warner Brothers shows, but again, it sort of adds more of a...
Doug: ...three-dimensional layer to it. You know, like the wide-angle lens, it just makes it look more cinematic.
Keef: (on phone) Heya buddy, how ya doing?
Doug (vo): Two of my favorite jokes coming up here. Because you just...
Doug: ...question how the hell he (Keef) does it. One is that he (Keef) calls him (Zim) on the phone, and then he (Zim) has someone on the other line...
Doug (vo): ...and it's also him (Keef). (laughs) Just how did he (Keef) do that? Did he have two phones???
Doug: And then my other favorite is...
(Zim notices Keef slowly riding his bicycle past the window. Zim shuts the blinds after seeing Keef go past him a second time.)
Doug (vo): ...riding his bike here – twice. They are just so close together. And they only needed two.
Doug: Three would've been too much, because it would give you the impression that he's just going round and round and round somehow really fast.
Doug (vo): But just happening twice is just odd enough.
Doug: Like that's just the weird right number of times to do it.
(Zim is then seen consulting his robotic assistant, G Information Retrieval Unit.)
Zim: Do not let anyone into the house!
GIR (voice of Rosearik Rikki Simons): Yes, sir!
Doug (vo): So you can tell a lot of these angles...
Doug: ...look difficult to draw, but they look fun to draw.
Doug (vo): It doesn't look like anyone was rolling their eyes, "Oh, I gotta do this today." Like, no.
Doug: They were allowed to go really crazy...
(Zim is seen working in his underground laboratory.)
Doug (vo): ...and exaggerate everything and throw in a whole bunch of crazy line work. It gives the impression...
Doug: ...like they had a lot of fun on the visual style of this.
(GIR is seen leaping into the air against a red background with dog bones on it. He is later seen zipping up his green dog suit disguise.)
Doug (vo): This is GIR's sort-of-anime transformation into...
Doug: ...dog suit, which looks like it's gonna be fancy...
Doug (vo): ...but it's just him zipping it up. I can't tell you how many of those plushies...
Doug: ...I've seen at conventions.
Zim: I told you you're fired!
Keef: You don't like waffles?
(Zim throws Keef out of the hideout. Keef is holding a skillet with bacon strips, as he has been whipping up breakfast.)
Doug (vo): Another anime style shot...
Doug: ...with bead action lines and stuff. That's not needed; it just adds a little bit more personality to it. Just those little touches really go a long way.
(Keef is shown walking in the skool cafeteria, handing out party invitations to the skoolchildren.)
Keef: Party after skool at Zim's house!
Jessica: You mean the freak? With that one friend that makes him even freakier?
Doug (vo): Missed opportunity for a joke.
Doug: I think after she (Jessica) said, "with that one kid that makes him even freakier", Keef should've said "yes"! Like either didn't put it together. Or he does, he just doesn't care.
(Though it's not shown in the review, everyone crumples the invitations and throws them at Keef. What is seen, though is that Zim is hard at work in his underground laboratory.)
Zim: I can see them now.
(Zim has a dream sequence in which Keef leads an angry mob.)
Doug (vo): You know, I just realized another level this kind of works as.
Doug: There's...not only is it a selfish alien, but it's a selfish alien boy. So when he thinks of these fantasies of what he imagines is going to happen, it's people with pitchforks and torches to have a party.
Doug (vo): But they still capture him and still have the party, and then the party has fucking roller coasters in it! Stuff like that.
Doug: I mean, just – that's something a little kid would imagine, but especially a little kid selfish alien. Like I said, there's just these little levels that they add on top of it – I think just make it so much funnier.
(Keef is standing outside with a few other skoolchildren.)
Keef: Now, you guys wait here while I get him. Then jump out and yell "surprise!"
Doug (vo): I love that he (Keef) gets it backwards.
Doug: Instead of bringing someone to the home and everybody's shouting "surprise", he's (Keef) taking him (Zim) outside the home and everybody shouts "surprise".
(Keef has entered Zim's hideout. Zim is standing there, in disguise, holding a wrapped gift.)
Keef: For me?
Doug (vo): Really nice lighting. You know, how do you make the lighting even darker in a show...
Doug: ...that's already pretty dark-looking? And they found that good medium there. I think a lot of the...
Doug (vo): ...grays on the sides there – the shadows – really adds a lot.
Doug: You know something bad is coming.
(Keef opens the box. A pair of mechanical arms pop out. Keef screams in pain as the device yanks out his eyes and replaces them with mechanical ones.)
Doug (vo): So, I'm not gonna lie.
Doug: I was pretty shocked when I saw that. I knew this show kinda got away with a lot. I mean, I saw the one where they, like, took the organs and stuff like that, but something – I think with the eyes...
Doug (vo): ...being so big and bulgy. Like I said, they barely even stay...
Doug: ...inside the heads. And just these sharp mechanical things like grabbing them, yanking them. You got the kid...
Doug (vo): ...yelling and everything. It's – it's kind of terrifying!
Doug: Even though it's a very silly over-the-top looking cartoon, they're still – like – you feel that. Just cutting to the shadow, which, apparently, they were forced to do...
Doug (vo): ...because, again, it was just too horrific to show the actual thing. In some ways...
Doug: ...cutting to the shadow is even worse, because it just makes you imagine how it looks.
(We are shown things through the viewpoint of the mechanical eyes. A squirrel sitting outside the hideout appears to look like Zim.)
Keef: Zim? How'd you get out there?
Doug (vo): So the eyes convinced him (Keef) that the squirrel outside is Zim.
Doug: (beat) Because there's no other way this could end. Logically, that's the direction it would go in.
(Keef has followed the squirrel onto the roof. The two end up fighting, and both go over the edge. Smoke is shown rising from the spot where Keef and the squirrel fell, and everything gets tinted in a shade of red.)
Keef's Voice: You don't like waffles?
Doug: So...from what I hear, that kid was supposed to die. He was supposed to...
Doug (vo): ...fall on like some telephone wires. Or – or even just...
Doug: ...that explosion alone! It just somehow blows him up! Or I mean, maybe it's the eyes? Who knows? And, again...people objected. They said, "No, that's way too dark." So they put in the line "you don't like waffles", which, I think is the exact same recording from earlier.
(The line is played again to show what NC is talking about.)
Keef: You don't like waffles?
Keef's Voice: You don't like waffles?
Doug: Which doesn't even make a whole ton of sense. Like he's – he wasn't making waffles. Then it was a party. Somebody was making a cake. What do – what do waffles have to do with anything? So it was just a way to show he's not dead. And he does technically make more appearances in the future – without robotic eyes. He's just kind of like a background character, apparently.
Doug (vo): And to answer, "Why is GIR in the smoke stirring the cake still?"
Doug: (laughing) I have no idea! I think they just thought it was funny if this whole time he was still making the cake, perhaps? I'm not entirely sure.
Doug (vo): I read somewhere that they were gonna have him say a funny line, but then they couldn't think of a funny line to say.
Doug: So they just...had him where he's stiring the cake, and that's it. I mean, it's definitely bizarre.
Doug (vo): I don't know if I would've ended it that way, but then...
Doug: ...maybe the episode would be a little bit more normal, and you can't have that for Invader Zim. It's always gotta be really crazy and weird.
Doug (vo): There it is, man. That's "Bestest Friend". Uh, it's...
Doug: Man, that I think still gets to me. But it's still not the worst when you consider that, like, he (Zim) friggin'...like...
Doug (vo): ...torches people with – like – a beaver and a toy car or whatever the hell that was.
Doug: I mean, they – they looked worse off than – than Keef did at the end of this. So, it's still – you know – just like the other one I saw. It's still dark, it's still twisted, it looks great. It's got some really cool angles...
Doug (vo): ...in it. And it's almost taking these kind of...
Doug: ...simple, innocent stories about – like, you know – a little alien coming down to Earth and mistaking stuff and everything and just making it so much more dark and twisted. Which I really enjoy. Like I said, I feel like you can really do a lot with this premise, and a lot of people have. But a lot of people have done – you know – the bare minimum or a lot of really lame jokes with it as well.
Doug (vo): So I like when someone can really, really get it down and have fun with it. Seize the possibilities of it.
Doug: I really enjoyed it. What did you guys think, especially if you grew up with it and this was the second episode you saw, man? I mean, was that, I think, like, "Holy shit!" Or were you just like, "Oh, cool! Like I'm – I'm all over this show!" So let me know what you think.