Overview:
The Euthanasia family opens themselves up to new opportunities and old wounds. Baba steps in to replace a local morning show DJ and begins to learn the cost of fame. While Baba scrambles to cover her tracks from a mysterious blackmailer, Annie finds friendship in a surprising place that is inadvertently her mom’s doing, for both better and for worse.
And Trophy just wants to twerk her hot corpse ass and become the next big Internet extravaganza and, by God, she’s going to do it in the world’s most complimentary leggings!
Our Take:
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein was published a staggering two centuries ago and the whole Modern Prometheus mythos is still incredibly popular. Pop culture repeatedly riffs on the idea of Frankenstein Monster’s and Teenage Euthanasia, by design, riffs on this very concept with Trophy, the living corpse. Teenage Euthanasia is no stranger to creatively subverting classical stories, but it’s exciting to have the series explicitly tackle a Frankenstein story that’s complementary to the show’s core concept. Additionally, “Radio Frankenstein” uses the Frankenstein’s Monster mythos to tell a story about cancel culture that runs parallel to the themes of Shelley’s novel–one of the original cancellation narratives. “Radio Frankenstein” effortlessly presents a modern, manic take on all of this that could only be done in Teenage Euthanasia.
Teenage Euthanasia gets a lot of mileage out of the tried and true morning radio shock jock trope and the episode isn’t even a full-minute in before it’s already using soundboard audio effects to punctuate a radio personality’s unexpected death. “Radio Frankenstein” doesn’t necessarily break fresh ground with this story once Baba finds herself as The Mer’s replacement and slowly becomes a local celebrity thanks to her personality’s cache. That being said, these developments are consistently entertaining and naturally connect together with the rest of the episode’s obstacles. The blackmail angle and Baba’s hypothetical cancellation properly gives greater depth to her character, much like this season’s previous episodes. Her tenure as sidekick at “Succotash Nation” is a strong framework for the rest of the episode even when Baba’s material takes a backseat during the middle of “Radio Frankenstein.”
Like some of the best Teenage Euthanasia plots, Annie’s basic desire to throw a functional slumber party with her friends becomes an avalanche of stress for the entire family. Uncle Pete’s desire to be Florida’s greatest “Funcle” is nothing new even if he’s aware of his inherent shortcomings in this field. Annie’s slumber party story is at its best when it’s at odds with Trophy and Pete. Pete’s initial compulsion to help Annie through this ordeal and then his quick transition to Trophy’s directorial partner during her quest for viral validation is not unlike how Baba rises to the occasion as the new “Succotash Nation” sidekick. It’s an appreciated parallel between these two storylines, but it also once again reiterates how similar Uncle Pete and Baba are, even when they’re not sharing a plot together.
“Radio Frankenstein” is full of smart jokes and surprising developments, which nicely mesh with the season’s first two entries. Monique Moses is responsible for the script, who’s a newcomer to Teenage Euthanasia, but has previously written on Human Resources, A Black Lady Sketch Show, and is a talented comedian in her own right. Moses doesn’t miss a beat here with the episode’s script. There’s a fantastic throwaway Christopher Nolan gag and there are many rewarding background details that blossom into layered jokes, like the grocery store rabbit’s entrepreneurial tactics. It’s also a treat that this episode is directed by frequent PFFR collaborator, Scott Adsit, who also voices Frank and has directed some of season one’s strongest entries. This is Adsit’s first episode of the second season, but he’ll hopefully go on to direct just as much as he did last season alongside Alyson Levy.
The first act of “Radio Frankenstein” feels a little touch and go at moments, but the second-half sticks the landing with both the episode’s comedy and emotional beats. “Radio Frankenstein” boldly tells three separate stories–four if Frank’s own life is to be considered–and the installment never feels rushed or crowded. Each plot’s resolution mirror each other and are surprisingly more interested in cathartic closure than broad comedy. It’s this tone that helps Teenage Euthanasia continue to stand out and prove that it’s just as effective as a sweet family sitcom as it is at being an extreme absurdist comedy.
And watch out for BFF Mindy. She makes M3gan look cuddly.