"A Quiet Shake" is the second episode of the 12th season of Aqua Teen Hunger Force and the 141st episode overall.
Plot Summary[]
Master Shake is stuck watching puppet shows on mute in an underground bunker below the Aqua Teen House. Meatwad asks via sign language if Shake has been practicing sign language because Frylock said that is how they have to communicate. Through the power of sheer contempt, Shake communicates to Meatwad with middle fingers that he hasn't done so. Shake threatens to throw the remote control, but Frylock intervenes and forces Shake to come down to the loud waterfall. During the walk to the waterfall, Shake has to walk on sand so as not to make noise.
At the waterfall, Frylock and Shake argue about the situation. For many months, the Earth has been conquered and terrorized by ear creatures from another planet with all major cities in America "in flames." The creatures find sources of noise and destroy residents on sight. Shake says this is a hoax created to "silence his valid opinions" and then heads off with his kazoo to make as much noise as he pleases.
At the house, Shake takes up guitar and drums "at the same time" to protest Frylock. Carl from next door, who has been cooped up for months and now sports a scraggly beard, hears the guitars, drums, power washer, and nail guns and walks to the house (again, stepping only on sand to be quiet) to ask "Is it over? The monsters?" Shake (playing the guitar until Carl forces him to stop) insists that the ear monsters are all gone. Carl steps outside to release the comically unnatural amount of gas he accumulated in his bowels over the previous 18 months. Carl then agrees to be the bass player in Shake's band, and Meatwad wants to join. Frylock is still concerned about the ear monsters, but he comes up with a plan involving Carl's nasty underwear.
Sporting a nearly invincible bubble around him, Frylock heads to the giant ear-shaped spaceship where the ear aliens are napping with giant ear plugs. The ear monsters take him to their leader the "Emperear." The Emperear and Frylock discuss the situation: the ear aliens came to Earth because they mistakenly believed that Planet Earth was Planet EARth. The Emperear says they will continue to kill Earthlings because they are embarrassed to admit they were mistaken, but Frylock executes his plan. First, he ensures that his hypothesis is correct that the ear monsters are all "connected sonically," and then he applies the underwear to the Emperear (which the Emperear agrees to due to the logic of the ear puns). The underwear is visibly disease-ridden, which gives the Emperear an ear infection, thus rendering them incapable of defeating him. Frylock then sets the autopilot to Planet EARth and escapes the spaceship. The spaceship crashes on top of Carl's house. Frylock compliments the rock music of Shake, Carl, and Meatwad as "Van Walen," and Shake informs him that an alien named Glenn taught them all to play music through telepathy. Shake says this alien doesn't like "nerds," but Frylock doesn't believe in the alien and yells out mathematician Euler's formula for polyhedra. This results in Frylock being killed by Glenn. Shake and Carl ask for Glenn's help with writing a song about Carl having a three-way in a construction site port-a-potty, so Glenn touches Shake again, telepathically making Shake write the entire song instantaneously. The group Van Walen plays their new song as the credits roll.
Deaths[]
- Frylock is killed by Glenn.
Trivia[]
- This episode's premise is a loose parody of the 2018 film "A Quiet Place."
- Shake using his middle finger through sign language may mirror a similar action in the episode "Time Machine."
- When Shake finds his kazoo, the music he plays resembles the Aqua Teen theme song.
- Van Walen is a spoof of famous rock band Van Halen. Carl is also wearing makeup similar to that of the band Kiss.
- Shake is actually talented at playing electric guitar in this episode. In previous episodes such as "MC Pee Pants" and "Party All the Time," he was very either bad at playing it or was simply a beginner.
- The Season 12 ending sequence is not used in this episode. The credits simply play on top of Van Walen's performance.