Comet!

Comet! is the second of three segments from the episode "Sumo Cow, Comet!, I.R.'s Phantom Foot" the sixth episode of the second season of Cow and Chicken, and the eighteenth episode overall. The episode premiered on February 3, 1998 on Cartoon Network.

Plot[]

Teacher drives a bus full of students to the Cometorium, where comets are monitored and studied. All the kids, except Chicken, are excited to go. Once they arrive, the kids are shown a short film on what comets are. After a scene showing a comet destroying the dinosaurs and cavemen, Cow gets scared, and asks the lead scientist, Dr. Ivan Pantsed, if a comet could hit the Earth again. Dr. Pantsed says it definitely could, but modern technology allows them to plan for a comet impact in advance. Chicken is bored out of his mind, and decides to leave the building.

Outside, Mom and Dad are playing golf nearby. Dad hits one of his golf balls too hard, and sends it flying toward the Cometorium grounds. It hits Chicken in the head, and he gets an idea. He attaches the ball to some gum on a string, then climbs the Cometorium's telescope. At that same time, Dr. Pantsed is leading the students into the observatory, and starts focusing the telescope so the kids can look into space with it. He sees a round object labelled "Dad's Ball" in the lens and starts panicking as it moves closer, then calming down when it swings away. Chicken moves the ball in random directions, and Dr. Pantsed demands the "comet" make up its mind. Chicken swings the ball toward the lens once more and Dr. Pantsed hollers for everyone to panic. Everyone runs screaming from the building.

The town descends into chaos as news coverage of the Dad's Ball Comet and its impending impact. People are taking the opportunity to do things they always wanted to do before dying. Chicken, meanwhile, has set up a stand selling comet protection helmets (buckets and underwear with glitter on them). Cow asks if the helmets really work, and Chicken bluntly admits they don't. Cow starts to cry, and Chicken, feeling a little bad, sells her a helmet for half price. Cow accepts it, then heads off to do some end-of-the-world prep work. A bit later, Cow is burying a box in the backyard. Chicken asks what she is doing, and she explains that the box is a time capsule, and hopes that if society is rebuilt in the future, people will know there was once a cow who lived there. Cow puts her stuffed toys and some of her milk into the box and cries about the world ending. Chicken feels genuine remorse and finally admits what he did. The rest of the town overhears, and gets angry, chasing Chicken to the Cometorium. Chicken goes to remove Dad's Ball from in front of the lens. But, Dr. Pantsed sees another comet hurtling towards Earth in the viewfinder.

Everyone braces for impact, but the comet burns up in the atmosphere, to the point where it is the size of a golf ball. It ricochets off people's helmets and protective gear before finally hitting Chicken in the beak. The townspeople praise Chicken for catching the comet and saving them. Dad and Mom arrive, and Dad, thinking his golf ball is on his son's face, takes a swing. Dad sends Chicken flying into the 18th hole. Mom and Dad laugh at Dad's "Chicken in One." Cow faces the camera, questioning her parents' sanity as the episode ends.