Freakshow (2013–…): Season 2, Episode 13 - Freakshow Pop-Up - full transcript
This week, the Freakshow gets a visit from Short E. Dangerously, an incredible "half man" who performs stunts including fire breathing and knife throwing. Todd suggests that he attempt "The One-Armed Handstand," a stunt once performed by famed "half-man" Johnny Eck. In preparation for the week's big show, Short E. begins working on his upper body so that he can pull off the notorious stunt. Later, Todd brings some Freakshow members to a nursing home to visit his sick pal, George French. Known as the "Wizard of Venice," George has been reading palms on the Venice Boardwalk for decades. In order to cheer up George and the other nursing home residents, Todd, Jessa, Short E. and Asia offer the nursing home residents a taste of the Freakshow. When Todd returns to the Freakshow, he tells Danielle about his palm reading experience and how they should turn the Freakshow into a traveling road show. She's concerned that expanding would be too risky. In response to her skepticism, Todd proposes putting on an impromptu Freakshow in a square in Hollywood. Meanwhile, Morgue and Asia visit the hardware store to get inspiration for new stunts. Morgue settles on a circular saw, while Asia reveals Todd's plans to expand the Freakshow. The thought of he and Asia not performing together proves to be unsettling for Morgue. The next day, The Freakshow family and Short E. head down to Hollywood Boulevard. Todd notes the positive response the group is getting from pedestrians. Right then and there they decide to put on a "pop up" sideshow. Todd starts by introducing Asia and her firebreathing stunt. Next, Morgue lifts his new circular saw using a meat hook strung through his nose and mouth. Short E. Dangerously then wows the crowd by performing Johnny Eck's famous one armed handstand stunt. Todd notes that Short E.'s historic act has given him the confidence to expand so that more people are able to witness the human wonders of The Freakshow.
Right now on "Freakshow".
- The one-armed handstand.
- Ah-ha.
It's close to impossible.
Oh, almost, almost!
Whoa-whoa!
We should expand in a different way.
- Maybe a road show.
- Holy s...!
Do you realize what we just
went through to expand here?
Once we start it,
we might get in trouble.
I've been arrested
performing here before.
Excuse me, sir... I need to see a permit.
Okay.
- Can I get your name?
- Okay, no problem.
You got it, you got it, you got it.
Folks, today,
you will witness the strangest
creatures on earth,
the living wonders of the world,
and the most amazing people on the planet.
They're all inside.
What you thought was a myth,
you will see with your own eyes.
Welcome to "The Freakshow."
♪
I'm always on the lookout for new talent,
so I've invited Short E. Dangerously
to come out to "The Freakshow."
He's an incredible half-man.
This man performs amazing feats
like fire-breathing,
and knife-throwing,
and unbelievable acrobatic stunts.
- I am so excited you're here, Short E.
- Thank you.
I've been waiting for you to come.
It's been a long time.
- We've been talking for, like...
- Forever.
Finally, I actually have some time
where I could come out and see you guys.
- Yeah.
- Yes, finally.
I was born with a condition
that caused me to be born
with most of my spine missing.
As a result of that condition,
I had my legs amputated
when I was two and a half.
The way my mother raised me was that
I would have the same
opportunities as everybody else,
but I had to really stand out
from the quote-unquote normal people.
Were there any problems
growing up without legs?
I mean, yeah... yes and no.
You know, there was always
the few jerks in that realm,
- you know?
- Right.
But, uh, overall, it was, you know,
normal kid growing up.
You know, football, basketball,
wrestling, skateboarding.
I've always done what I've wanted to do.
I do what I do because
I have no other choice.
I would not wish for legs anyway, ever.
It's provided me with
the life that I have now,
and I would not change
my life for anything.
I'm having way too much fun.
All right... right now, I'm
gonna do what we in the biz...
And you all know this...
It's an impalement act.
I have six-inch, steel throwing knives,
and I'm gonna need your guys' help.
Asia, pick a card.
Four of spades.
[Cheers and applause]
Creature, what number?
Thinking about that number two.
[Cheers and applause]
Morgue, pick a card.
Uh, six.
[Cheers and applause]
Right on!
- That's incredible, Short E.
- Thank you, thank you.
♪
My old friend, George,
his health has been declining
and he's ended up in an old folks home,
and what we hope is that
we can brighten his day,
and bring some joy to the rest
of the folks at the home.
Hey, I'm here to see George French.
Sure... he's in the dining room.
- I'll show you where it is.
- Okay... thank you.
Hey, George... how you feeling?
Not bad for an old buzzard.
[Chuckling]
I'm known to many, many people
as "The Wizard of Venice"
because for the last 30 or 40 years,
I've been reading palms there.
Todd and I met on
the Venice boardwalk,
in front of "The Freakshow,"
right around ten years ago.
This is George.
He's the tallest man in America.
- Yes, how you doing, George?
- Fine... thank you.
So, read my palm, George.
A little difference
in size there, George.
- [Collective laughter]
- You read a lot of palms.
I don't think you've read one that big.
Uh... it's very good.
You still gotta teach me
how to palm read.
Teach, I can.
The question is, can you learn?
Uh, I'm a good student.
- You're what?
- I'm a good student.
- I learn well.
- Okay... thank you.
Since we're here,
you want me to give you a little taste of
what goes on inside "The Freakshow?"
Good idea!
Ladies and gentlemen, kids of all ages,
this is the world famous
"Venice Beach Freakshow."
It's known around the world
as the strangest show on earth.
First up, you've heard of a bearded lady,
you've read about a bearded lady,
but folks, give it up.
Here's Jessa, the bearded lady!
[Cheers and applause]
I think bringing everybody
to the old folks home
has brought a little bit of
happiness to 'em, you know.
It's broken the monotony, I know that.
She's gonna keep going all the way around.
This is why we call her
"The Rubber Girl"...
Oh, look at that.
[Cheers and applause]
Wait... what did you say?
[Laughing]
♪
Well, I went and saw George.
- Oh, how's he doing?
- He's... he's doing okay.
I tell you the one thing, though.
That really made me start thinking,
is that life is short,
and it's really been making me think about
what I wanna do with "The Freakshow,"
uh, a little more.
You know, we've talked
about trying to expand here
even further,
and I've been thinking about
that we should expand
in a different way.
You know, maybe a road show,
maybe a traveling show?
Uh, taking it to city to city,
so people could get a chance to
see it up close and personal,
like they see it here.
Holy s...!
Do you realize what we just
went through to expand in here?
Like, do you remember
how stressful it was.
We just took a freakin' gamble.
- Did it work?
- Yeah, but...
When I decided to leave
the music business,
and walked away, and kept
spending all that money,
to get more and more strange things,
- you were nervous then.
- I thought you were crazy.
I left the music business
for one reason.
I just wasn't happy anymore.
And, you know, I climbed
to the top of the ladder.
I won three grammys,
had my own record label,
but I've always lived from my soul,
and when my soul calls me
to go somewhere, I go.
For me, these people make me happy.
I don't need to fit into everybody's idea
of what a normal life is.
Is that something you're ready
to dedicate your life to,
or not?
I've already dedicated my life...
But bigger!
Todd is a total dreamer
and I always support him,
but I just feel like,
"how many times can you risk everything,"
"and it always work out?"
What if we, like, lose everything?
Hey... what if we gain everything?
Oh, Todd.
I don't know if now is
the time we could, like,
take something like this on.
♪
I really do consider you
the modern-day Johnny Eck.
Thank you.
Johnny Eck was an incredible side-show,
half-man performer.
He was in the movie, "Freaks",
and toured the whole world.
He was so impressive,
he was known as "The King of the Freaks."
Now, Johnny Eck, as you know,
had a very special thing
that he always did.
The one-armed handstand.
Ah-ha, yeah.
I'm familiar with the move.
I haven't quite fully gotten it,
but I've always thought that, you know,
if I can do the move he did,
that would put me over the top,
- if you will.
- Yeah, exactly.
It's a pretty close to impossible stunt,
but if you're gonna consider yourself
the modern-day "King of the Freaks,"
you need to be able to do what
the King of the Freaks did.
Let's give it a shot.
Whoa-whoa!
I'll tell you what...
You should keep practicing that.
Yeah, I need to practice that.
I know this is a goal
that you wanna have happen.
It is a goal... it is a goal.
Okay, you pull that off,
that's a little piece
of history right there.
That is some history...
I always like making history.
Well, you all give it up for him again.
- [Cheers and applause]
- Short E. Dangerously!
Thank you.
♪
So, what are you trying to get?
Uh, well, I'm not really sure.
I'm just kinda looking
around for ideas here,
for stunts or acts.
We're at the hardware store, today.
It's kind of a place I like
to go just to look around,
get inspired for new acts.
There's always something
interesting to find.
- Look at this.
- What the...
I don't know why this is necessary,
but it would be perfect
for sword swallowing.
Welding goggles.
Can you get those for me, please?
Ha-ha-ha.
I like these.
- Yeah, they are cool.
- I'm not gonna weld, but...
Oh, hey, you know,
I actually need one of these
and they're on clearance.
- Lucky me.
- That seems kinda scary.
We'll see if it works.
[Saw buzzing]
- I love that noise.
- Wow.
That's dangerous.
Yeah, if that hit flesh,
that would be bad.
Even if it barely hit you,
it would, like, slice the s... out of you.
- Yeah, I'll take this with me.
- Yeah.
Did I tell you that my dad's
been talking about, you know,
like, expanding "The Freakshow?"
No.
He wants to either
take the show on the road,
or maybe even come up with a new location.
- Really?
- Yeah.
We would still work together, right?
Well, that's, um,
a big concern that I had
because we know our show so well,
it'd be weird if we didn't do it together.
If the expansion does happen,
and the plan is to separate Asia and I,
I'll have to see if, um,
I could do that or not.
We gotta do the show.
Yes, we will make this happen.
♪
All right.
- Two, three...
- Rock it.
- [Collective] Four, five, six, seven...
- Get it.
- Eight, nine...
- Oh, Short E.!
- Ten... all right!
- Wow, yeah!
[Cheers and applause]
- Good job, Short E.
- Good job, Short E.
You're strong, dude.
You know, 35 years of
walking on your arms
- will do that for ya, so...
- I guess so.
It's gonna take a lot to do
this one-armed handstand.
Um, I broke this elbow
about ten years ago,
and, uh, it never healed right.
Now, is that the arm you're
gonna put all the weight on?
Yeah.
I've been practicing
the one-armed handstand.
Uh, it requires a lot of
strength and a lot of balance.
If I accomplish it, it's gonna cement me
as one of the greatest sideshow
performers of all time.
The balance, especially.
You have to change your
entire center of gravity.
You're trying to balance
your weight on one point
at the top of your body,
and the rest of your body won't allow it.
Phoenix, maybe Creature,
you all wanna see if you all
can do a one-armed handstand?
- Possibly.
- Let's go, Creature.
- One handed.
- Right.
[Screams]
- That was a girl scream.
- That was.
You know how scary this is right now?
All right, man, let's do it.
Okay, here I am... all right.
- Ah, ah...
- I can't get it.
I've always said, legs are over-rated.
[Laughing]
♪
- Hey, George.
- What do you say, kid?
I'm back for my first
palm reading lesson.
I'm curious what you might see in my palm
that relates to me expanding
"The Freakshow" to other areas.
Let me see your hand.
What do you see there?
This is the finger of ambition.
Your fate line shows
exceptionally good results.
That's a big mark in your favor.
You're gonna make a lot of money.
Road show.
You see a road show?
George seeing that we should
take the show on the road
only validates what
I've been feeling in my heart.
I know this is our destiny,
and I hope the family can see it, too.
Well, you wanna come out
on the road with me?
Oh, sure.
You'll read palms under the tent?
Sure.
[Chuckling]
♪
- Well, here we are.
- Wow!
Hollywood Boulevard.
Now, Short E. has never been to LA,
so what I've decided is,
we're gonna take the whole
"Freakshow" family
and we're gonna take him
down to Hollywood.
That's the best place to see the most
in a short period of time.
This is great, isn't it, Short E.?
This is cool... I like this.
- Gravity... it's the gravity.
- Wait... hold on, Short E.!
- Wow!
- Tallest man in America.
One, two, three.
- All right.
- Awesome!
- Hell yeah.
- Let's eat and go shopping.
[Collective chatter]
Could you all believe
how everyone was, like,
gathering around us out there?
- That was nuts.
- Crazy.
It almost felt like the Addams family.
- [Laughter]
- That was... that was crazy.
They were taking pictures of all of us.
- That was awesome.
- That was cool.
- Yeah.
- Is it just me,
or does "The Freakshow"
work everywhere we go.
- Depends... I mean, if we...
- Well, come on.
It... it worked in Florida.
- Yeah, but that's Florida.
- Venice Beach.
Okay, how about little, small town, USA?
I got one input to put it on this.
I say, Freakshow is a rolling stone.
Wherever our hat is, is our home.
Is our home... that's right.
- Yeah!
- Would you risk everything?
- Are you that confident?
- I would.
I feel like Danielle's a hater.
- I am not a hater!
- Haters gonna hate,
and that's all she wants to do.
No, I'm just not in a fantasy world.
Like, I'm thinking about all, like,
what you would have to do.
Are you being the voice of reason?
- Thank you.
- Is that what that is?
She's being mom.
She's being the voice of the treason.
- I... I'm being a mom.
- Oh, the voice of treason.
The way I look at it,
we could go right here.
There's not even that many people,
but I guarantee you,
if I go down there
and start calling people,
there'll be a crowd here.
I wanna prove to Danielle
that we can do this anywhere
and it will work.
People are curious,
and they're looking for
wonder in their life,
and that's what we deliver
every time we do a show.
- Oh, my gosh!
- I wanna know something.
- Are y'all ready?
- I'm ready.
- Are you ready, George?
- I assure you,
security will have us stop
before you get started.
Let me do the talking.
Morgue?
I've been arrested
performing here before.
You've been arrested performing here?
- Performing right here.
- For what?
So I'm down...
Uh, having dangerous items.
- Of course.
- So, I'm down,
- but gotta be quick.
- Okay.
George... George can watch for cops.
- [Laughter]
- All right, have you
got-have you got your stuff with you?
Yeah, I always have stuff with me.
Okay... Asia, have you got
all your stuff with you?
- Mmm-Hmm.
- Short E.?
You been working on that handstand?
Yeah, I've been working on it.
You came out here to be
a part of the show.
You ready to be a part of the real show?
I'm ready... let's... let's do it.
- So, let's do it.
- Let's go.
- Are you... are you down?
- I think you guys are crazy.
- [Laughter]
- Are y'all ready?
[Collective chatter]
Don't talk about it... let's be about it.
Yeah.
♪
Short E. comes to California
and he's gonna get arrested with us.
[Laughter]
I'll get him out if he does.
And I've never been
to jail before, so...
Face down, arms up.
[Laughter]
Where's all of your stuff?
In the trunk.
I have a lot of weird stuff in my car.
I have a sword and a saw.
Not all of it's sideshow related, either.
And look at all the people.
All they can do is just [Indistinct].
Yeah, that's true...
They're starting to look.
They're all starting to look.
They're already curious
about what's going on,
who we are.
Hey, everybody, gather around.
Asia, come over here, honey.
Listen... everybody's
kinda working with me.
No one's really tripped out,
but once we start it,
we might get in trouble.
- So we gotta pull it off quick.
- Right... yeah.
If you hear me, give the words,
I'll let you know, "that's it,"
and we'll cut the show,
and as Morgue said,
we don't wanna get arrested.
Everybody grab something
and we'll meet at the car.
Right... the idea is,
you get stuff and we'll go.
- All right.
- Okay?
But, for right now, you all go over there,
and let's just start it.
♪
Folks, we're known as
"the world famous Venice Beach Freakshow,"
and if you're ready to see
the strangest show on earth,
all you people up there,
all you people right there,
all you people around this stage,
make some real noise!
- [Cheers and applause]
- Come on, folks!
Okay, here we go.
Give it up for miss Asia Ray!
[Cheers and applause]
Thank you... all right, here we go.
♪
- [Cheers and applause]
- Thank you.
[Cheers and applause]
♪
All right, the stunt I'm about
to do uses this meat hook.
This took me three years,
to stretch out the cartilage
inside of my skull, to be able to do this.
It's a very painful process.
Watch what he's about to do.
It's going into his mouth, and out...
His nose.
Look.
He is connecting the
circular saw to the hook
that's going through his entire skull.
And watch what he's about to do.
Make some noise, folks!
- [Cheers and applause]
- Make some noise... Come on!
Make some real noise!
Oh, my gosh!
Our next unusual performer,
Short E. Dangerously, the half-man!
- [Cheers and applause]
- Thank you, thank you, thank you very much!
Folks, a long time ago,
there was a man that went
by the name of Johnny Eck.
He was known as "The King of the Freaks."
He was born just like Short E. here.
There was one signature move
that Johnny Eck did,
that people talk about to this day.
If he pulls this off,
each and every one of you
will be witnessing a moment
in "Freakshow" history.
♪
[Cheers and applause]
When Short E. pulled off
the one-armed handstand
and his other hand went
straight in the sky,
it was like slow-motion,
and I could see all
the faces of the people.
They were cheering, they were excited,
they were full of wonder and amazement,
and I knew he had become
the modern day Johnny Eck.
And I knew, right then,
that our dream of expanding
"The Freakshow"
could come true.
I know we can do it... mark my words.
Because anything is possible
at "The Freakshow."
Did I tell you?
Yes, you did.
[Collective] Aw.
There you go, son... that's for you.
Okay, I got something for the fellas.
- Right here, son.
- Excuse me, sir.
- I need to see a permit.
- Okay, I'll tell ya what.
Let me give this young man...
We'll be done right now.
- Get I get your name, too?
- Yes, sir, you can.
Let me give this young man his t-shirt,
and let me give this young lady
right there a t-shirt.
All right, folks, give it up!
That's the end of the show!
- [Cheers and applause]
- Can I get your name?
Okay, no problem.
You got it, you got it, you got it.
- The one-armed handstand.
- Ah-ha.
It's close to impossible.
Oh, almost, almost!
Whoa-whoa!
We should expand in a different way.
- Maybe a road show.
- Holy s...!
Do you realize what we just
went through to expand here?
Once we start it,
we might get in trouble.
I've been arrested
performing here before.
Excuse me, sir... I need to see a permit.
Okay.
- Can I get your name?
- Okay, no problem.
You got it, you got it, you got it.
Folks, today,
you will witness the strangest
creatures on earth,
the living wonders of the world,
and the most amazing people on the planet.
They're all inside.
What you thought was a myth,
you will see with your own eyes.
Welcome to "The Freakshow."
♪
I'm always on the lookout for new talent,
so I've invited Short E. Dangerously
to come out to "The Freakshow."
He's an incredible half-man.
This man performs amazing feats
like fire-breathing,
and knife-throwing,
and unbelievable acrobatic stunts.
- I am so excited you're here, Short E.
- Thank you.
I've been waiting for you to come.
It's been a long time.
- We've been talking for, like...
- Forever.
Finally, I actually have some time
where I could come out and see you guys.
- Yeah.
- Yes, finally.
I was born with a condition
that caused me to be born
with most of my spine missing.
As a result of that condition,
I had my legs amputated
when I was two and a half.
The way my mother raised me was that
I would have the same
opportunities as everybody else,
but I had to really stand out
from the quote-unquote normal people.
Were there any problems
growing up without legs?
I mean, yeah... yes and no.
You know, there was always
the few jerks in that realm,
- you know?
- Right.
But, uh, overall, it was, you know,
normal kid growing up.
You know, football, basketball,
wrestling, skateboarding.
I've always done what I've wanted to do.
I do what I do because
I have no other choice.
I would not wish for legs anyway, ever.
It's provided me with
the life that I have now,
and I would not change
my life for anything.
I'm having way too much fun.
All right... right now, I'm
gonna do what we in the biz...
And you all know this...
It's an impalement act.
I have six-inch, steel throwing knives,
and I'm gonna need your guys' help.
Asia, pick a card.
Four of spades.
[Cheers and applause]
Creature, what number?
Thinking about that number two.
[Cheers and applause]
Morgue, pick a card.
Uh, six.
[Cheers and applause]
Right on!
- That's incredible, Short E.
- Thank you, thank you.
♪
My old friend, George,
his health has been declining
and he's ended up in an old folks home,
and what we hope is that
we can brighten his day,
and bring some joy to the rest
of the folks at the home.
Hey, I'm here to see George French.
Sure... he's in the dining room.
- I'll show you where it is.
- Okay... thank you.
Hey, George... how you feeling?
Not bad for an old buzzard.
[Chuckling]
I'm known to many, many people
as "The Wizard of Venice"
because for the last 30 or 40 years,
I've been reading palms there.
Todd and I met on
the Venice boardwalk,
in front of "The Freakshow,"
right around ten years ago.
This is George.
He's the tallest man in America.
- Yes, how you doing, George?
- Fine... thank you.
So, read my palm, George.
A little difference
in size there, George.
- [Collective laughter]
- You read a lot of palms.
I don't think you've read one that big.
Uh... it's very good.
You still gotta teach me
how to palm read.
Teach, I can.
The question is, can you learn?
Uh, I'm a good student.
- You're what?
- I'm a good student.
- I learn well.
- Okay... thank you.
Since we're here,
you want me to give you a little taste of
what goes on inside "The Freakshow?"
Good idea!
Ladies and gentlemen, kids of all ages,
this is the world famous
"Venice Beach Freakshow."
It's known around the world
as the strangest show on earth.
First up, you've heard of a bearded lady,
you've read about a bearded lady,
but folks, give it up.
Here's Jessa, the bearded lady!
[Cheers and applause]
I think bringing everybody
to the old folks home
has brought a little bit of
happiness to 'em, you know.
It's broken the monotony, I know that.
She's gonna keep going all the way around.
This is why we call her
"The Rubber Girl"...
Oh, look at that.
[Cheers and applause]
Wait... what did you say?
[Laughing]
♪
Well, I went and saw George.
- Oh, how's he doing?
- He's... he's doing okay.
I tell you the one thing, though.
That really made me start thinking,
is that life is short,
and it's really been making me think about
what I wanna do with "The Freakshow,"
uh, a little more.
You know, we've talked
about trying to expand here
even further,
and I've been thinking about
that we should expand
in a different way.
You know, maybe a road show,
maybe a traveling show?
Uh, taking it to city to city,
so people could get a chance to
see it up close and personal,
like they see it here.
Holy s...!
Do you realize what we just
went through to expand in here?
Like, do you remember
how stressful it was.
We just took a freakin' gamble.
- Did it work?
- Yeah, but...
When I decided to leave
the music business,
and walked away, and kept
spending all that money,
to get more and more strange things,
- you were nervous then.
- I thought you were crazy.
I left the music business
for one reason.
I just wasn't happy anymore.
And, you know, I climbed
to the top of the ladder.
I won three grammys,
had my own record label,
but I've always lived from my soul,
and when my soul calls me
to go somewhere, I go.
For me, these people make me happy.
I don't need to fit into everybody's idea
of what a normal life is.
Is that something you're ready
to dedicate your life to,
or not?
I've already dedicated my life...
But bigger!
Todd is a total dreamer
and I always support him,
but I just feel like,
"how many times can you risk everything,"
"and it always work out?"
What if we, like, lose everything?
Hey... what if we gain everything?
Oh, Todd.
I don't know if now is
the time we could, like,
take something like this on.
♪
I really do consider you
the modern-day Johnny Eck.
Thank you.
Johnny Eck was an incredible side-show,
half-man performer.
He was in the movie, "Freaks",
and toured the whole world.
He was so impressive,
he was known as "The King of the Freaks."
Now, Johnny Eck, as you know,
had a very special thing
that he always did.
The one-armed handstand.
Ah-ha, yeah.
I'm familiar with the move.
I haven't quite fully gotten it,
but I've always thought that, you know,
if I can do the move he did,
that would put me over the top,
- if you will.
- Yeah, exactly.
It's a pretty close to impossible stunt,
but if you're gonna consider yourself
the modern-day "King of the Freaks,"
you need to be able to do what
the King of the Freaks did.
Let's give it a shot.
Whoa-whoa!
I'll tell you what...
You should keep practicing that.
Yeah, I need to practice that.
I know this is a goal
that you wanna have happen.
It is a goal... it is a goal.
Okay, you pull that off,
that's a little piece
of history right there.
That is some history...
I always like making history.
Well, you all give it up for him again.
- [Cheers and applause]
- Short E. Dangerously!
Thank you.
♪
So, what are you trying to get?
Uh, well, I'm not really sure.
I'm just kinda looking
around for ideas here,
for stunts or acts.
We're at the hardware store, today.
It's kind of a place I like
to go just to look around,
get inspired for new acts.
There's always something
interesting to find.
- Look at this.
- What the...
I don't know why this is necessary,
but it would be perfect
for sword swallowing.
Welding goggles.
Can you get those for me, please?
Ha-ha-ha.
I like these.
- Yeah, they are cool.
- I'm not gonna weld, but...
Oh, hey, you know,
I actually need one of these
and they're on clearance.
- Lucky me.
- That seems kinda scary.
We'll see if it works.
[Saw buzzing]
- I love that noise.
- Wow.
That's dangerous.
Yeah, if that hit flesh,
that would be bad.
Even if it barely hit you,
it would, like, slice the s... out of you.
- Yeah, I'll take this with me.
- Yeah.
Did I tell you that my dad's
been talking about, you know,
like, expanding "The Freakshow?"
No.
He wants to either
take the show on the road,
or maybe even come up with a new location.
- Really?
- Yeah.
We would still work together, right?
Well, that's, um,
a big concern that I had
because we know our show so well,
it'd be weird if we didn't do it together.
If the expansion does happen,
and the plan is to separate Asia and I,
I'll have to see if, um,
I could do that or not.
We gotta do the show.
Yes, we will make this happen.
♪
All right.
- Two, three...
- Rock it.
- [Collective] Four, five, six, seven...
- Get it.
- Eight, nine...
- Oh, Short E.!
- Ten... all right!
- Wow, yeah!
[Cheers and applause]
- Good job, Short E.
- Good job, Short E.
You're strong, dude.
You know, 35 years of
walking on your arms
- will do that for ya, so...
- I guess so.
It's gonna take a lot to do
this one-armed handstand.
Um, I broke this elbow
about ten years ago,
and, uh, it never healed right.
Now, is that the arm you're
gonna put all the weight on?
Yeah.
I've been practicing
the one-armed handstand.
Uh, it requires a lot of
strength and a lot of balance.
If I accomplish it, it's gonna cement me
as one of the greatest sideshow
performers of all time.
The balance, especially.
You have to change your
entire center of gravity.
You're trying to balance
your weight on one point
at the top of your body,
and the rest of your body won't allow it.
Phoenix, maybe Creature,
you all wanna see if you all
can do a one-armed handstand?
- Possibly.
- Let's go, Creature.
- One handed.
- Right.
[Screams]
- That was a girl scream.
- That was.
You know how scary this is right now?
All right, man, let's do it.
Okay, here I am... all right.
- Ah, ah...
- I can't get it.
I've always said, legs are over-rated.
[Laughing]
♪
- Hey, George.
- What do you say, kid?
I'm back for my first
palm reading lesson.
I'm curious what you might see in my palm
that relates to me expanding
"The Freakshow" to other areas.
Let me see your hand.
What do you see there?
This is the finger of ambition.
Your fate line shows
exceptionally good results.
That's a big mark in your favor.
You're gonna make a lot of money.
Road show.
You see a road show?
George seeing that we should
take the show on the road
only validates what
I've been feeling in my heart.
I know this is our destiny,
and I hope the family can see it, too.
Well, you wanna come out
on the road with me?
Oh, sure.
You'll read palms under the tent?
Sure.
[Chuckling]
♪
- Well, here we are.
- Wow!
Hollywood Boulevard.
Now, Short E. has never been to LA,
so what I've decided is,
we're gonna take the whole
"Freakshow" family
and we're gonna take him
down to Hollywood.
That's the best place to see the most
in a short period of time.
This is great, isn't it, Short E.?
This is cool... I like this.
- Gravity... it's the gravity.
- Wait... hold on, Short E.!
- Wow!
- Tallest man in America.
One, two, three.
- All right.
- Awesome!
- Hell yeah.
- Let's eat and go shopping.
[Collective chatter]
Could you all believe
how everyone was, like,
gathering around us out there?
- That was nuts.
- Crazy.
It almost felt like the Addams family.
- [Laughter]
- That was... that was crazy.
They were taking pictures of all of us.
- That was awesome.
- That was cool.
- Yeah.
- Is it just me,
or does "The Freakshow"
work everywhere we go.
- Depends... I mean, if we...
- Well, come on.
It... it worked in Florida.
- Yeah, but that's Florida.
- Venice Beach.
Okay, how about little, small town, USA?
I got one input to put it on this.
I say, Freakshow is a rolling stone.
Wherever our hat is, is our home.
Is our home... that's right.
- Yeah!
- Would you risk everything?
- Are you that confident?
- I would.
I feel like Danielle's a hater.
- I am not a hater!
- Haters gonna hate,
and that's all she wants to do.
No, I'm just not in a fantasy world.
Like, I'm thinking about all, like,
what you would have to do.
Are you being the voice of reason?
- Thank you.
- Is that what that is?
She's being mom.
She's being the voice of the treason.
- I... I'm being a mom.
- Oh, the voice of treason.
The way I look at it,
we could go right here.
There's not even that many people,
but I guarantee you,
if I go down there
and start calling people,
there'll be a crowd here.
I wanna prove to Danielle
that we can do this anywhere
and it will work.
People are curious,
and they're looking for
wonder in their life,
and that's what we deliver
every time we do a show.
- Oh, my gosh!
- I wanna know something.
- Are y'all ready?
- I'm ready.
- Are you ready, George?
- I assure you,
security will have us stop
before you get started.
Let me do the talking.
Morgue?
I've been arrested
performing here before.
You've been arrested performing here?
- Performing right here.
- For what?
So I'm down...
Uh, having dangerous items.
- Of course.
- So, I'm down,
- but gotta be quick.
- Okay.
George... George can watch for cops.
- [Laughter]
- All right, have you
got-have you got your stuff with you?
Yeah, I always have stuff with me.
Okay... Asia, have you got
all your stuff with you?
- Mmm-Hmm.
- Short E.?
You been working on that handstand?
Yeah, I've been working on it.
You came out here to be
a part of the show.
You ready to be a part of the real show?
I'm ready... let's... let's do it.
- So, let's do it.
- Let's go.
- Are you... are you down?
- I think you guys are crazy.
- [Laughter]
- Are y'all ready?
[Collective chatter]
Don't talk about it... let's be about it.
Yeah.
♪
Short E. comes to California
and he's gonna get arrested with us.
[Laughter]
I'll get him out if he does.
And I've never been
to jail before, so...
Face down, arms up.
[Laughter]
Where's all of your stuff?
In the trunk.
I have a lot of weird stuff in my car.
I have a sword and a saw.
Not all of it's sideshow related, either.
And look at all the people.
All they can do is just [Indistinct].
Yeah, that's true...
They're starting to look.
They're all starting to look.
They're already curious
about what's going on,
who we are.
Hey, everybody, gather around.
Asia, come over here, honey.
Listen... everybody's
kinda working with me.
No one's really tripped out,
but once we start it,
we might get in trouble.
- So we gotta pull it off quick.
- Right... yeah.
If you hear me, give the words,
I'll let you know, "that's it,"
and we'll cut the show,
and as Morgue said,
we don't wanna get arrested.
Everybody grab something
and we'll meet at the car.
Right... the idea is,
you get stuff and we'll go.
- All right.
- Okay?
But, for right now, you all go over there,
and let's just start it.
♪
Folks, we're known as
"the world famous Venice Beach Freakshow,"
and if you're ready to see
the strangest show on earth,
all you people up there,
all you people right there,
all you people around this stage,
make some real noise!
- [Cheers and applause]
- Come on, folks!
Okay, here we go.
Give it up for miss Asia Ray!
[Cheers and applause]
Thank you... all right, here we go.
♪
- [Cheers and applause]
- Thank you.
[Cheers and applause]
♪
All right, the stunt I'm about
to do uses this meat hook.
This took me three years,
to stretch out the cartilage
inside of my skull, to be able to do this.
It's a very painful process.
Watch what he's about to do.
It's going into his mouth, and out...
His nose.
Look.
He is connecting the
circular saw to the hook
that's going through his entire skull.
And watch what he's about to do.
Make some noise, folks!
- [Cheers and applause]
- Make some noise... Come on!
Make some real noise!
Oh, my gosh!
Our next unusual performer,
Short E. Dangerously, the half-man!
- [Cheers and applause]
- Thank you, thank you, thank you very much!
Folks, a long time ago,
there was a man that went
by the name of Johnny Eck.
He was known as "The King of the Freaks."
He was born just like Short E. here.
There was one signature move
that Johnny Eck did,
that people talk about to this day.
If he pulls this off,
each and every one of you
will be witnessing a moment
in "Freakshow" history.
♪
[Cheers and applause]
When Short E. pulled off
the one-armed handstand
and his other hand went
straight in the sky,
it was like slow-motion,
and I could see all
the faces of the people.
They were cheering, they were excited,
they were full of wonder and amazement,
and I knew he had become
the modern day Johnny Eck.
And I knew, right then,
that our dream of expanding
"The Freakshow"
could come true.
I know we can do it... mark my words.
Because anything is possible
at "The Freakshow."
Did I tell you?
Yes, you did.
[Collective] Aw.
There you go, son... that's for you.
Okay, I got something for the fellas.
- Right here, son.
- Excuse me, sir.
- I need to see a permit.
- Okay, I'll tell ya what.
Let me give this young man...
We'll be done right now.
- Get I get your name, too?
- Yes, sir, you can.
Let me give this young man his t-shirt,
and let me give this young lady
right there a t-shirt.
All right, folks, give it up!
That's the end of the show!
- [Cheers and applause]
- Can I get your name?
Okay, no problem.
You got it, you got it, you got it.