The episode in question stays in the spirit of Jackson’s exhaustive yet utterly addictive Disney+ Beatles documentary, “Get Back.” With the help of Muppets’ A&R rep Nora (Lilly Singh), The Electric Mayhem band attempts to make their own concert film. Kevin Smith is hired to direct, but Jackson comes in during the final moments to shoot his own documentary. Muppet Floyd Pepper (Matt Vogel) greets Jackson saying, “You know, we ain’t seen you since that night in Wellington, when we met the Feebles.” Jackson hilariously responds:
“Yeah it was a bad night. Two of them are in witness protection. The rest are in prison.”
The Feebles reference is the kind of deep-cut Easter egg that will only hit for those that have seen Jackson’s early splatter films, “Bad Taste” and “Braindead” aka “Dead Alive.” Smack in the middle of two of the goriest movies ever made in New Zealand, “Meet the Feebles” uses a Variety show backdrop to feature puppets committing every sick and deplorable act imaginable. The film exists in my mind as a kind of stoner fever dream after tracking it down after witnessing “Dead Alive” for the first time. As a Jackson completist, “Meet the Feebles” is essential viewing, regardless of how traumatic the experience may be.
The entirety of “Meet the Feebles” plays almost like a puppet version of the lunacy and debauchery found in the first act of Ari Aster’s “Beau is Afraid” where everyone is drugged out, destitute, and extremely dangerous. The main star is Heidi the Hippo and Robert the Hedgehog, who both try and navigate their way through a barrage of puppets doing heroin, making porn, having sex, committing murder and causing general chaos. It’s a wonder that the Electric Mayhem band actually survived a night of partying with the Feebles at all.
