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#52: The Tainting Of The Screw
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Show: Kenan And Kel
Original airdate: August 17, 1996

"I DROPPED THE SCREW IN THE TUNA!"

Kenan and Kel is another of my favorite shows from way back in the day. It was a fairly formulaic comedy about two teenagers, one of them clever, one of them rather eccentic and unhinged, who attempt various get rich quick schemes or other endeavors, but the plans always get messed up, usually by the orange soda loving Kel. In a way, the show's sort of like Pinky and the Brain, but a bit more grounded and realistic. It was hilarious to see what these two would do every week, and rarely have their antics ever been more funny than in this early season 1 episode, The Tainting Of The Screw. In it, Kenan makes himself a tuna sandwich, nearly choking to death on a screw he found in the tuna. Believing he can sue the company for millions, he does so, exaggerating his pain, suffering, and trauma in the sincere belief that the company had carelessly allowed a screw to get packed into the can... but when Kel has to take the stand to testify under oath, he confesses that he accidentally dropped the screw, and the ensuing meltdown has to be seen to be believed, as he tearfully confesses to the mistake while throwing himself all over the courtroom in a masterful display of physical comedy. When I originally saw this episode, I was literally on the floor laughing, that's how hilarious Kel's meltdown was, and even now, it makes me smile to see the episode's climactic scene. So much of the show's comedy was just Kenan being the straight man to Kel's antics, a role he's parlayed to perfection, becoming one of SNL's best cast members ever. After Power Rangers but before Pokemon, Kenan and Kel was probably my favorite show (along with Rugrats), and episodes like this were a big reason why.