#111 The Blender (II)
PREMISE: Criminals can’t escape what their eyes can’t see; hide like a chameleon, solve crimes like… The Blender. The Blender is a master of camouflage who is so good at blending in, no one has ever seen them. Crime can run, but it can’t hide nearly as well as… The Blender! Producers were so dedicated to this concept that The Blender never appeared in any shot without being camouflaged--meaning that, for the most part, not even the audience was able to spot The Blender. CHARACTERS: The Blender is a mysterious private eye who uses the power of blending in to solve crimes. The Blender instructs clients to go to a random location, and whisper the details of their case into the air, seemingly to no one at all. After the client leaves, what appeared to be an inanimate object in the background of the shot begins moving. It’s The Blender is springing into action. Though almost nothing is known about The Blender, a few episodes offered a sneak peek at The Blender’s hideout, which is full of tools, makeup, car paint, dirt from all over the world, and a single pair of every kind of Dockers slacks ever produced. Glenda Franklin is The Blender’s jovial, bumbling sidekick. Glenda would often deliver jokes and one-liners to things that turn out not to be The Blender. In many episodes, a minor character or extra would observe Glenda explaining a case to an inanimate object, and that person would exaggeratedly roll their eyes and/or make a “this lady must be drunk” gesture at the camera. NOTABLE EPISODE: The Blender investigates a murder down at a tuna cannery, and gathers information from suspects by dressing as a rack of DVDs, an air conditioner, and a pothole. In the climactic scene the culprit is apprehended, and it is revealed that what appeared to be nothing more than a pile of dead fish and seaweed was actually The Blender the whole time. The culprit falls into the pile and rolls out handcuffed (S01.E11 -- “Something Fishy”). CATCHPHRASE: “Did that mailbox just move?” / The sound of a refrigerator dragging itself across the floor. TRIVIA/MISCELLANY: Nothing is known about the star of the show, except that they were a highly dedicated method actor. The show was cancelled in the middle of season two when production staff were unable to find the lead actor on set.