Cow and Chicken: Series Finale

At around 8 PM on August 18, 1999, a very disturbing episode which was originally meant to be the series finale of the show Cow and Chicken aired on Cartoon Network. My cousin saw the episode. She had been taken to therapy shortly before the 1st day of school and was diagnosed with paranoia. It is unknown how this episode got onto the air, but it has been presumed that the person who was supposed to review episodes of cartoons before they aired had gotten drunk and passed it on to air without thinking much of it. Parents of the kids who had viewed the episode complained of the episode's graphic content and demanded answers about the episode. Others threatened to sue Cartoon Network, all though no lawsuits were ever filed against them. Now, how the hell did I find this episode? Well, i'll tell you.

It all started a few years ago when I went to visit my cousin. You see, my cousin had a habit of recording cartoons from TV, with most of the tapes being from shows from Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon and converting them to VHS tapes. Some of the tapes had been kept in fairly good condition, others didn't survive so well and those that didn't consisted of mostly static. While my cousin went out for a swim with some of her friends, I decided to look at her VHS tapes. While digging through the pile, I came across a tape (the Kodak brand), with writing saying "COW AND CHICKEN SEASON 4 EPISODE 53 (DO NOT RELEASE TO THE PUBLIC)". However, curiosity killed the cat as I decided to watch the tape. However, it hadn't survived that well and consisted mostly of static. The only footage that I could make out was a 5 second shot of a commercial for America Online and a shot of Cow and Chicken in hell. After doing some research, I noticed something very strange. There was no episode 53 of season 4. When my cousin came back home, I asked her about the episode and all color drained from her face. She refused to give me an explanation as to what it was about and told me to NEVER search for it anywhere. I listened to her, being the kid I am and ended up forgetting about it. However, when I returned home, I ended up remembering the episode and being highly curious, I decided to go online for answers.

Unfortunately, there was nothing on the regular internet about this episode. So I was left with no other choice than to go on the deep web. There, some people surprisingly knew about the episode. One person I met (he'll be called Stan) posted a link to a website which I won't give out in case some idiot tries to do the same. The site was completely black except for a line of red text in Comic Sans font saying "Click me". I clicked it and the file started downloading. When it was finished I checked the file. It was an avi file. The file's name was 000112f3jxcv999.avi I opened the file and full screened the video.

At first there was a minute of pure static. Then a test card pattern appeared on screen while a sine wave was the only thing that could be heard. The color bars only lasted for about 30 seconds. Suddenly it all cut to black. I was beginning to wonder when the video was gonna come on when the intro appeared out of nowhere while pierceing "MAMA HAD A CHICKEN, MAMA HAD A COW...". I literally almost got a seizure from that. That's how bad it was. Despite that, the intro was surprisingly normal. However, at the end, while the Red Guy makes his laugh he suddenly had what looked like a seizure and fell to the ground. The title card read "The Last Episode". It began with the view of the house Cow and Chicken lived in. There was no sound. It then cut to the inside of the house. Cow and Chicken were seen hiding in their rooms for some reason.

Cow: "I'm scared Chicken"

Chicken: "Me too, we're lucky we didn't turn into whatever those disturbing monsters are called yet, but mom and dad have though."

Cow: "It was traumatizing to see our parents turn into zombies thanks to that virus before they were killed."

Cow and Chicken leave their room at this point only to hear a loud crack. They went downstairs only to realize that a group of zombies have broken into their home.

Cow: "Crap! Let's get out of here!"

Cow and Chicken ran away from their house into some sort of forest at this point.

Chicken: "That was close. But, we don't have much of a chance of living any longer. We'll either get eaten by the zombies or get infected by that virus that's turning people into zombies." The screen fades to black. Commercials come on and they weren't out of the ordinary. However, during commercials, something kept flashing on the screen over and over again, but I couldn't make out what it was. I actually thought that there was something wrong with the file, however the QuickTime Player time slider was moving along normally. When it came back from commercials it showed Cow and Chicken in what looked like an attic. There was dead silence. Cow and Chicken just sat still. This lasted for about 3 minutes. They eventually go outside again, only to see that everything around them looks abandoned. Chicken finds what looked like a newspaper. Chicken read it.

Chicken: "Zombie Apocalypse has come. A virus found in a small village in India has spread throughout Asia and Europe and has recently spread into North and South America at an alarming rate."

Chicken stopped reading at this point. Cow yelled "RUN!!!!!" Chicken looks to his left and saw a herd of zombies charging towards them. Cow and Chicken run back into the house only for them to find 2 guns and a bunch of ammo. They start shooting at the zombies, killing them all. However, a much larger herd of zombies charges at them. Unfortunately, Cow and Chicken ran out of ammo and were forced to flee back into the house. However, the zombies break into Cow and Chicken's home and find them hiding in the bedroom. They then killed and started tearing Cow and Chicken to shreds and then eat them in a highly graphic way. I almost vomited because of the detail put into their bodies as they are turned to nothing by the zombies. The screen cuts to black and it shows Cow and Chicken in hell with a bunch of other people. The Red Guy greets them with "Oh hello Cow and Chicken, i'm glad your here. Now I will have you suffer with all others in the fire. The Red Guy then shoved Cow and Chicken with his butt (the comedic way) into the fire and are seen burning alive with a bunch of other souls. The episode ends with the shot of Cow and Chicken, along with the other souls being burned in the hell fire. The screen then goes black. Text appeared on the screen that read "August 18, 1999 Cow and Chicken Season 4 Episode 53". The screen went black again, another set of text appeared. It was a quote from the 1978 film Watership Down (one of my favorite animated movies). This is what it read:

"All the world will be your enemy, Prince of a Thousand enemies. And when they catch you, they will kill you. But first they must catch you; digger, listener, runner, Prince with the swift warning. Be cunning, and full of tricks, and your people will never be destroyed."

I smiled, because despite the film's violence, I always enjoyed watching it. However, my smile turned upside down when instead of the credits, a clip that will haunt me for the rest of my life was shown. It was a video of a kitten, standing in complete darkness, with a lamp being the only source of light. However, it wasn't just any kitten, I realized it was my Grandma's lost kitten Almond who went missing 2 weeks before the episode aired. I recognized her, because of the collar and she was an orange female kitten. A hand with what looked like a butcher's knife appeared on screen. Another hand appeared, it pinned Almond onto her side and what he did next truly messed up my mind. He grabbed the knife, and starting cutting her head off while she was still alive. Almond cried and screamed in pain as the knife dug through her throat. Her head was seen severed as her body moved around headless and blood splattered everywhere and even covered the camera. I lost it at this point. i vomited on the floor in disgust. The .avi ended there. I was sick. I emailed my grandma about Almond's fate and emailed the .avi to her and she ended up reporting it to the police. After frequent investigations, it turns out that Stan (the guy I had mentioned earlier) was the one responsible for Almond's death. A tape of Almond was found where he lived which was surprisingly only an hour from where I lived. He was charged with animal cruelty and murder and was given life in prison without the possibility of parole. Justice may have been served, but the episode and Almond's death will forever be stuck into my mind.