After the unfortunate news that Joe Gatto was leaving Impractical Jokers, fans started guessing what TruTV's hit comedy series would do to adapt. Some fans expected someone like Jameela Jamil to be added as a permanent fourth Joker, while others thought that Q, Sal and Murr would be able to hold down the fort as a threesome. Both camps were kind of right with their predictions when the series returned April 2 for a special post-Final Four episode.
Impractical Jokers has not named a fourth Joker, but TruTV has arranged for a plethora of celebrity guests to appear over the rest of Season 9. In other words, the guests (rather than the remaining Jokers) are the selling point. Fans got a taste of the new recipe when Jackass Forever guest star Eric Andre appeared in the April 2 installment, but despite his star power, it was actually a pop culture reference that stole the show.
Andre was involved with the episode's punishment, but not the challenges, and also appeared in a brief scripted segment. By using that format Impractical Jokers gained a new selling point (the celebrity guest) but retained the original spirit of the show by only allowing the three remaining Tenderloins to compete. There was also a new title sequence, a new color scheme and new way of explaining challenges, too. The question on everyone's minds was would this revamped series still work without Joe?
It didn't; the episode felt forced and unnatural. Joe was the glue that held the Tenderloins together and allowed for a decade of classic comedy. Trying to pretend like everything was normal without him was a bit awkward, especially since this "special" episode was airing in the middle of Season 9. However, there were some funny parts that still emerged through the awkwardness -- most notably one bit from Sal that seemed reminiscent of the classic film The Princess Bride.
In the first challenge, the three Jokers posed as exterminators. Murr fumigated a room while riding a Segway and Q got stuck to nearly a dozen glue traps, but Sal had the best gag. While his unwitting partner was focused on taking pictures of anything and everything, Sal found himself wrestling a fake rat that had to be at least four feet long. It looked just as ridiculous as it sounds, but it was a great reference to a memorable scene from The Princess Bride.
In the movie, after Wesley revealed himself to Buttercup, the two of them ran off into the Fire Swamp -- where they encountered Rodents of Unusual Size. To rescue his love, Wesley wrestled with the monstrous rat before killing it and emerging victorious. The challenge may or may not have been an intentional callback, but there's no doubt that Sal rolling on the floor with the rat was hilariously reminiscent of Wesley wrestling with the "ROUS." It was also the high point in an episode that was otherwise unremarkable.
New episodes of Impractical Jokers return June 16 on TruTV.