Unlimited Steam
was a near-constant Twitch stream that started in February of 2023. The stream consisted of AI-generated retellings of the memetic "steamed hams" scene from The Simpsons, with every episode following the same basic plot.
On April 22, 2023, Unlimited Steam was permanently banned for violating Twitch’s terms of service after an episode in which the AI caused Skinner to say something particularly antisemitic. Its creator has no plans to continue the stream elsewhere. However, a spiritual successor called Memed Hams AI was launched in May 2023.
Unlimited Steam contains examples of...
- Aborted Arc: Often happens due to the AI-generated nature of the script. This is now the case for the whole show, which is banned from twitch.
- Artistic License – Education: Either this or New Job as the Plot Demands, as the concepts of "principal" and "superintendent" seem to be poorly defined in this world – the two often switch titles, and just as frequently call each other "doctor" and "professor".
- Beat: Always lampshaded by the chat erupting into ellipses.
- Blatant Lies: Constantly. Most obvious when Chalmers notices the fire in the kitchen; Skinner will insist it's any sort of cryptid or natural phenomenon, no matter how little sense it makes.
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: One time Skinner stopped to introduce himself to the audience:Skinner: Oh, and by the way, I'm Skinner. Nice to meet you.
- Broken Record:
- Now, time to get to work. Now, time to get to work. Now, time to get to work.note
- Well, I guess I'm just gonna have to figure this out on my own. I can do it, I'm sure of it. Just gotta keep my cool, and I can make this work. Well, I guess I'm just gonna have to figure this out on my own. I can do it, I'm sure of it. Just gotta keep my cool, and I can make this work.note
- Skinner, what is going on here? Why did you bring suckling pig instead of Platonic Academy? Skinner, what is going on here? Why did you bring suckling pig instead of Platonic Academy? Skinner, what is going on here? Why did you bring suckling pig instead of Platonic Academy?note
- Cluster F-Bomb: The AI script tends to get really, really stuck on “fuck” on the rare occasion it’s used. Most infamously dropped by Skinner when he burned his soft roll:Skinner: What the hell? I burned the goddamn soft roll. Now I'm all by myself and I have to fucking eat fucking bread all night. Fuck you, God, you asshole. Why did you make me burn the goddamn soft roll? Now I'm all by myself and I have to fucking eat fucking bread all night.
- Catchphrase: Skinner has "dammit" and "how could I be so careless", Chalmers has "call the fire department" and "I'm not buying it", both share "regional expression". The chat also has their own, mostly memetic lines from the stream.
- Deal with the Devil: Occasionally, Skinner appeals to the Devil to ask for assistance with replacing his burnt food.
- Distinction Without a Difference: Skinner’s excuses sometimes acknowledge the existence of the fire, making them this trope. In one episode, for example, he insists that there’s no fire, it’s just that Bigfoot is a pyromaniac.
- Dream Deception: Sometimes, Skinner tries to convince Chalmers that there's no fire, "just a nightmare".
- Epic Fail: Skinner doesn't just burn food, he burns entire countries, languages, and fields of study.
- Extreme Omnivore: The dishes Skinner serves and attempts to serve range from actual foods, to paleopathology, to the Han Dynasty…
- The Ghost: Naturally, any character that’s not Skinner or Chalmers will be this. Skinner sometimes alludes to having a wife and kids, and on occasion, other Simpsons characters will be mentioned by name.
- "Groundhog Day" Loop: Dialogue sometimes implies that Skinner and Chalmers are trapped to relive this unforgettable luncheon over and over. Skinner sometimes expresses a sentiment of "why do I always do this" when he burns the food, and Chalmers at least once asked "what excuse do you have for me this time".
- Heroic BSoD: Skinner sometimes falls into utter despair over his burnt lunch, cursing himself or God, calling himself stupid, lamenting his inability to do anything right, and so on.
- Inspector Javert: Chalmers' unwavering insistence to get to the bottom of the swapped foods and to see the fire in Skinner's kitchen can give him shades of this trope.
- Large Ham: The Synthetic Voice Actor can get surprisingly emotive.
- Lethal Chef: Skinner is doomed to burn anything he tries to cook.
- Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: The TTS that provides the characters' voices sometimes slips into Southern or British accents, or sometimes even a female voice.
- Precision F-Strike: While "damn" is somewhat common, "fuck" is not, meaning it's incredibly notable when it is heard.
- Shout-Out: Sometimes, Skinner refers to different shows entirely:
- While contemplating his options in one episode, he asks Frylock for advice.
- In another episode, when explaining away the fire, Skinner tells Chalmers it's an outright Demogorgon, bent on taking them to the Upside-Down.
- Strictly Formula: It's essentially a Mad Libs retelling of Steamed Hams: Skinner burns his original dish, he replaces it with something else and makes up an excuse as to why, he covers up the fire in his kitchen with an outlandish lie.
- Stylistic Suck: Skinner and Chalmers are represented by simplistic CGI models with blank, drawn-on faces that aimlessly move around the minimalist set.
- Surprisingly Happy Ending: Chalmers sometimes expresses uncharacteristically genuine gratitude for the lunch, in one episode even claiming that he liked the substituted food more than what was originally going to be served. Arguably, this also applies to episodes where Skinner is honest and admits that his house is on fire.
- Synthetic Voice Actor: All the dialogue is read by the text-to-speech program Tortoise TTS.
