IMHO "Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List" (5.3): Grammy Schmammy

In this episode of My Life on the D-List, Kathy Griffin finds out if she won the coveted Grammy, but most of the show involves the down-home insanity of comfort-food Queen Paula Deen, culminating in the most disturbing dinner-table scene since The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Be afraid.

Kathy gets all dolled up to attend the pre-Grammy show (The Shmammys), where she'll find out if she won the award for Best Comedy Album. It's pretty obvious that she doesn't expect to win, which is good, since she doesn't. George Carlin wins posthumously, but Kathy's disappointment is short-lived after she receives an invitation to head south to visit Food Network Goddess Paula.

Paula Deen scares the hell out of me. Don't get me wrong, I think she's a wonderfully warm, funny, compassionate woman. And she has a filthy mouth! In other words, she's the perfect grandma.

But there's something inherently frightening about her, too. I can't put my finger on it, but I have nightmares about her unhinging her jaw to swallow live mice, ala Jane Badler in "V".

Team Griffin (which includes guest Michael McDonald) head south to spend the night with Paula and her cute sons, which leads to such surreal moments as:

Paula chewing food on camera and saying "unlike most girls on camera, I'm not afraid to swallow instead of spitting".

Kathy sleeping in the bed next to Michael and wishing she could "have my period, pull out my tampon, and pistol whip you with it".

Kathy accidentally whipping Paula in the face with a switch from the garden.

Paula's gay assistant Brandon, who has too much to drink and starts channeling every character from Steel Magnolias.

We also get a glimpse of Paula's personal drag queen Paul A. Deen, and Kathy & Co. end up helping out at Paula's restaurant. Below you can see a deleted scene from the episode that takes place in the eatery, which was cut because of time constraints.

This episode earns its up arrow for the sheer lunacy of it all. After the relative calm of the Bette Midler and Lily Tomlin episodes, this one was four-barreled weirdness.

What did you think? Did Paula win you over, or was it too much to take?