Setting a High Bar

Setting a High Bar is the tenth episode of the fourth season and the sixty-seventh of The Blood Gulch Chronicles.

Synopsis
Having arrived at the "Great Burning Plains", the Sacred Quest team prepares to perform one of the many tasks that the hero of the Alien's prophecy is supposed to do. As the team argues and bickers, it is revealed by Crunchbite and Andy that they know what Earth is, and that they don't have a favorable opinion about the planet. Apparently the Alien's race invented the telephone a thousand years before humans did, which however fails to impress Tucker due to the limited verbal communication of the alien race. In the meantime, Caboose scouts ahead and claims to recognize the area.

Crunchbite warns the group that they are about to encounter a monster, which they have to conquer by distracting it and hitting its weak spot. Tucker is unmotivated about the plan, even to the extent of having paid no attention to the details of the monster's weak spot. After they finally leap down the last ridge, they see the skull of the monster, which Tucker realizes is that of a cow, with a broken skull as the only visible remains, possibly due to one of the Red and Blue Teams' scavenging missions in season 3 (episodes 43–46); Caboose confirms to Andy and Crunchbite that they had been there before.

Back at Blood Gulch, Sarge assumes that Grif is being tortured by Simmons, a concept he's very satisfied with. Donut, however, in his current status as manager breaks the harmony by proposing bureaucratic changes. Sarge decides that he can't take this anymore, but is reluctant to rescue Grif - a situation he just can't find the name for, but finally settles with "conundrum".

Transcript
Fade in to some burnt looking plains

Andy: Hey, he's been explaining to me everything we should encounter. The legend's pretty old, but the details are pretty clear.

Tucker: Listen dude, I don't care what you say, I'm not killing any monsters.

Andy: Hey, don't interrupt! It's hard enough to translate without yo-

Tucker: Oh well if this little quest depends on me killing stuff, we might as well just stop here.

Andy: Eh, don't be a chicken.

Tucker: I'm not chicken. I'm just... okay, I'm chicken.

Crunchbite: Blarh? B-blar blarg.

Andy: Blargy blarg, blarg, blarg honk.

Crunchbite: Wharg hnnk!

Tucker: What's he saying?

Andy: He wanted to know what a chicken is. I told him it's this nasty little bird that humans eat. And you also eat the white things that shoot out of its butt.

Tucker: You know you could have cleaned that up a little bit.

Andy: I did! They don't come out of its butt you know.

Crunchbite: Hargh!

Andy: Heh yeah, they're pretty disgusting.

Tucker: Chickens aren't that bad.

Andy: He was talkin' about you guys. He's not a big fan. I'm not either.

Crunchbite: Hrnk.

Andy: Earth sucks.

Tucker: Hsh, Earth does not suck, Earth rules. We invented the telephone.

Crunchbite: Arg l largh.

Andy: He says they invented the telephone too. And they did it a thousand years before you did.

Tucker: Oh, well what'd they have to say on it, "blarg blarg honk honk?" Who the fuck wants to hear that?

Crunchbite: Blarg honk.

Andy: Okay. These are the Great Burning Plains we talked about.

Caboose: They don't look burning... they look burnt. Hey, I recognize this place.

Andy: Get ready. He's gonna distract the monster, and you use your heroic powers to swoop in-

Tucker: Heroic powers?

Andy: Yeah. You're the big hero from that prophecy, ain't cha?

Tucker: Oh right. Boy are you guys gonna be disappointed. (draws the sword)

Andy: And don't forget, go for the weak spot in the armor.

Tucker: Yeah, and where was that again?

Andy: We already went over this!

Tucker: Apparently paying attention to lame biology lesons isn't one of my superpowers.

Crunchbite: Blargh!

Andy: Be quiet!

Crunchbite: Argh!!

Andy: Get down!

Crunchbite: (quietly) Warg, warg arg. Warg, larg!

Andy: He just wants a moment's peace before the plan fails and we all get killed.

Crunchbite: WHRRRRRRRRRRRG!

Andy: Oh, sorry... I wasn't supposed to translate that last part. Yuh, he says, yuh don't worry, everything will be fine. ...Stick to the plan.

Caboose: Okay. Are we adding "get killed" to the end of the plan?

Crunchbite: Wlarg!

Andy: Go!

''Everyone jumps over the ridge... cliff... whatever''

Crunchbite: Wurg!

Andy: What happened?

Tucker: To what?

Andy: The big monster. It's dead, look!

Check it out, the skull of a cow

Tucker: That thing? You gotta be kidding me.

Andy: You guys were here already?

Caboose: Yes. Uh, before now.

Tucker: That's what already means, Caboose.

Caboose: Ohhh, then just yes.

Crunchbite: Whar, war.

Andy: You already killed the monster?

Tucker: Dude, that's a cow skull. I kill about ten of those things every time I eat lunch.

Cut to Sarge spying on the Blues Simmons team

Donut: How's it going Sarge?

Sarge: Well, Simmons has had Grif prisoner in there for far too long. He's probably subjecting him to all manner of unbearable torture. I figure in just a matter of hours, Grif's spirit will be as broken as his body, unable to cope with the never ending stimulation of pain and horror. ...But in answer to your question things are fine! Could be a little warmer, but I can't complain.

Donut: But Sarge, aren't you afraid he'll give away valuable information?

Sarge: Why would Simmons give Grif information?

Donut: No, I mean what if Grif tells Simmons valuable information about our operations.

Sarge: ...

Donut: Yeah, that sounded smarter before I said it.

Sarge: I bet.

Donut: Speaking of operations though, remember how I told you I wanted to incorporate more positive reinforcement techniques in review sessions?

Sarge: Donut, for the last time, me calling you a worthless turd is not a review session!

Donut: And remember how you said any proposals had to be submitted in hand-written triplicate, with no less than one hundred pages?

Sarge: Yes, which would take weeks. ...You're finished, aren't you.

Donut: Only if calligraphy's okay, and I dotted all the I's, with hearts. Heeheehee! Heeehee!

Sarge: Ghuh...

Donut: Let me just give you a little teaser on some of the changes. Think "mauve"...

Sarge: Aw, Donut!

Donut: What, you don't like it? Mauve is a form of red.

Sarge: Noh, it's not that. I just realized that my only way out of this situation, is to launch a rescue mission to save Grif! I've got me one of them... uh, Donut, what's a fancy word for choosin' between two things you don't wanna do?

Donut: Uh, conundrum? ...Dilemma. ...A threesome with cheerleaders?

Sarge: I'm gonna go with conundrum.