Larry is nervous about hosting his own art show. Otto attempts to complement his artwork, pointing to one particular canvas that's painted entirely black. Larry proclaims that piece represents his childhood, and how for the first nine years of his life he was stuffed in a box inside a warehouse.
Tuddrussel comes into the gallery only to make rude comments towards the artwork. Larry tries to find something that Tuddrussel may appreciate, but the man ends up crushing Larry's feelings so bad that he runs off crying. Tuddrussel wonders what Larry's problem is. Otto gently calls Tuddrussel out on his attitude, making Tuddrussel realize too late that what he did was wrong and lets Otto help him attempt to learn in how to be a more polite and considerate person.
Tuddrussel tries to use this new found knowledge to patch things up with Larry at lunchtime, but it doesn't warm Larry over in the slightest, who thinks that Tuddrussel is mocking him and couldn't possibly keep the act up for long.
When the alarm goes off the guys find out in the control room that they're going to help Montezuma. Otto says that Montezuma was a leader of one of the greatest civilizations of the ancient world, the Aztec Empire.
The Time Squad goes to meet Montezuma in the year 1502 to discover that Montezuma is telling Aztec themed jokes in front of an entertained audience. Montezuma announces to the guys that he calls himself 'Monty Zuma' and that "you got to make a name for yourself if you want to make it in standup comedy". Otto tells him that he's supposed to be an emperor, but Monty has got other ideas. He tells of his plans to win the prize for best amateur stand up at the 'Casa de Ha-Ha' comedy club and take his show on the road.
We cut to night time at the Casa de Ha-Ha! where the Time Squad sits at a table to watch the show. Otto tells the guys that they've got to somehow stop Monty from winning the prize for best standup. Larry callously says that they "don't have to worry about that "hack" winning anything, because who else could be worse at standup than Montezuma?" But fate seems to have heard, and everyone who comes up on the stage is so bad at comedy that they will surely make Monty look good in comparison.
Frustrated, Otto comes up with his own plan to try to stop Monty from winning, leaving Tuddrussel and Larry at the table who are too busy in their own personal drama to really care to do something. All evening Tuddrussel has tried to be as kind-hearted and thoughtful to Larry. But still upset with him, Larry tries to insult his attempts every chance he gets. This tries Tuddrussel's patience alright, who's breaking point is about to crack thanks to Larry's bitter attitude.
Otto tries his hand at standup, telling American history-themed jokes that nobody in the audience understands. This, of course, leads people to boo at him. As Tuddrussel tries to cheer Otto on, he accidentally spills Larry's drink on him, making Larry very upset and shout insults at him. Tuddrussel gives Larry one final chance when Larry insults him again after he tries to get him leaves to clean the motor oil off, Tuddrussel and Larry give each other a deadly stare down as Otto rushes off stage and Monty Zuma begins his standup routine.
Monty is, of course, confident that he's going to win. And begins as Tuddrussel and Larry are starting their argument and tries to continue on even as the fight escalates to a brawl. The audience loves it, from the insults to them beating each other up- they all cheer on the time cops as they continue on and ignore Monty.
Because it was the fan favorite, the guys win the prize for best standup. Monty tries to keep performing standup to save face, but Otto tells him to cool it. "The competition is over! You lost." Monty resides back to being just the Emperor again much to his dismay. We iris out on Tuddrussel and Larry involved in a brawl on the stage as Otto says goodbye to the viewers at home.
Tropes present in this episode include:
- Innocently Insensitive: Once Otto confronted Tuddrussel over hurting Larry's feelings, Tuddrussel seemed remorseful and acts as though he had no idea that he could actually make Larry feel that way and decides to change his behavior.
- Passive-Aggressive Kombat: For most of the mission, Larry is highly suspicious of Tuddrussel's sudden turn-a-round and becomes relentless in dishing out passive-aggressive remarks towards him.
- Produce Pelting: A comedian in a giant turkey costume was so bad that he got tomatoes thrown at him.
- Volleying Insults: Tuddrussel and Larry start doing this when Tuddrussel gets tired of trying to remain polite and civilized while dealing with Larry mocking him. This ends up working out, as they distract the audience at a comedy contest with their barbs.Tuddrussel: I tried to look up your Blue Book value, and it said you were worthless.
Larry 3000: Well, I tried to measure your I.Q., but numbers don't go that low!
