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From Homestar Runner Wiki
Strong Bad Email #69
HockeymanJ05 writes in to ask which one of the emails is Strong Bad's favorite, and Strong Bad takes a trip down memory lane.
Cast (in order of appearance): Strong Bad, Homestar Runner, Grape-Nuts Robot, Bubs, Coach Z, The Cheat, Pom Pom, Gavin (Easter egg)
Places: Computer Room, The Field, Strong Sad's Room (seen through a hole in the wall), Bubs' Concession Stand, Marzipan's House, The Stone Bridge
Computer: Compy 386, Tandy 400
Date: April 14, 2003
Running Time: 2:20
Contents |
Transcript
STRONG BAD: OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH EMAIL!!! {This echoes and a wicked guitar solo plays while Strong Bad rocks out.} Whoa, that ruled. What function key do I gotta press to get that to happen again?
{Tries to type the key again, eventually hitting Enter and loading the email:}
Hey Strong Bad,
You have done so many of these
e-mails which one would you say is
the best, or your personal favorite.
Thanks,
HockeymanJ05
{Strong Bad pronounces the name "Hockeyjockeymannooh... whatever".}
STRONG BAD: {typing} Well, Hockeyfriend, my emails are like my childrens. I love them all! But if I had to play favorites... Let's see...
{Cut to the scene of invisibility where Strong Bad punches Homestar.}
STRONG BAD: {voiceover} There's that one where they asked what I'd do if I was invisable {pronounces it like that}, and I got to punch Homestar in the gut.
HOMESTAR RUNNER: Oh, hey guys. Ooh!
{Homestar Runner is punched in the gut by an unseen force.}
HOMESTAR RUNNER: Owww! Those things are bad for you.
STRONG BAD: {voiceover} Ooh, and that one where my computer exploded.
{Cut to the scene of gimmicks with Strong Bad sitting at Tandy 400. It explodes and he is sent flying across the room and through the wall.}
STRONG BAD: {voiceover} And then there's that one where Bubs built the Strong Bad Robot out of a box of Grape-Nuts and a Speak & Spell.
{Cut to Bubs and Strong Bad standing in a field with the Grape-Nuts Robot.}
GRAPE-NUTS ROBOT: Now spell "Come back Ali. Come back Ali's sister."
STRONG BAD: No way! That sounds just like me! {Strong Bad does a number of double-takes.}
STRONG BAD: {voiceover} And that time where that girl wrote in and I drank a glass of soy sauce and thought I could fly Bubs' Concession Stand.
{Cut to Strong Bad sitting on top of Bubs' Concession Stand. He's wearing aviation goggles and is holding a makeshift steering wheel. Empty soy sauce bottles are strewn about.}
STRONG BAD: Whoohooo! Clear the launchway, man. We're takin' this baby TO THE MOOOOOOON!
{Strong Bad falls over backward behind the sign and the "D" falls off, onto Bubs' counter. Bubs puts up a sign that says "'D' for SALE".}
STRONG BAD: {voiceover} Oh, and who could forget... TAPE LEG TWO!
{Cut to Strong Bad stitting at the Tandy 400. There's an e-mail on the screen which says:
Dear strong bad again,
my brothers continue to tell me that your
legs are made of tape, are you sure it's not true?
-Nicolas
a> They still say my legs are made of tape?! WHAT?? I say again, do I look like some kinda tape-leg? I swear on Strong Sad's grave, man, I was never, nor will I ever be, a tape-leg.
{He sticks his foot in the air and it's covered with tape.}
STRONG BAD: {voiceover} Oh and how 'bout that one where I left such a good prank call on Marzipan's answering machine that it exploded?
{Cut to Marzipan's Answering Machine}
STRONG BAD:: {from answering machine} PRANK CALL!!
{Marzipan's Answering Machine squeals and explodes, leaving behind only half of a tape labeled "Lilith Fair '99".}
STRONG BAD:: {voiceover} And then there's that really old one that asked what my favorite phrase was.
{Cut to Marshmallow's Last Stand-style Strong Bad at the Tandy 400. An e-mail on the screen reads:}
Favorite
phrase?
-trixie
STRONG BAD: {in an old-style voice} I like-a to say, "Holy crap!"
{Marshmallow's Last Stand-style Homestar appears.}
HOMESTAR RUNNER: {in an old-style voice} Oh no, it's a Strong Baaaaad!
STRONG BAD: {voiceover} And the one where Pom Pom and Coach Z got in that knife fight on the stone bridge.
{Cut to stone bridge over a river. Coach Z and Pom Pom are facing each other with knives. Coach Z keeps dodging back and forth and Pom Pom deftly twirls his knife.}
COACH Z: {to Pom Pom} Hoo-ah! Woo-ghi! I'm a blade-man, man!
STRONG BAD: {voiceover} And then the one where The Cheat drank a glass of soy sauce and tried to eat Bubs' Concession Stand.
{Cut to Bubs' Concession Stand. Empty soy sauce bottles are strewn about and The Cheat is gnawing away at the back corner.}
THE CHEAT: {The Cheat noises and growls}
{Pan to Strong Bad, atop Bubs' Concession Stand again with his aviation goggles and steering wheel.}
STRONG BAD: Hold on tight, The Cheat — we're blastin' offa TO THE MOOOOOOOON!
{Cut back to Strong Bad in front of the computer}
STRONG BAD: {typing} So that's it, Soccerdude. That's pretty much the cream of the crop. There might be a few other good ones but uh, if you ask me it doesn't get any better than that Grape Nuts robot. {not typing} Okay, so.. OHHHHHH THAT'S THE END!!
{Strong Bad's last line echoes, and he begins imitating a guitar, but the rockin' music doesn't come back.}
STRONG BAD: Oh man, which button was it..?
{The Paper comes down.}
Easter Eggs
- At the end you can click on the word "other" to see two bonus emails:
- Email One:
{Strong Bad is sitting at the Tandy 400. There is an email on the screen.}
Dear Strong Bad,
Are you are real wrestle-man? I'm hope that u.r.
-Pred
STRONG BAD: {voiceover} How about that time when Gavin wouldn't leave me alone?
{Gavin crawls across the screen.}
STRONG BAD: {swatting at Gavin} Get outta here, man, I'm checking my email!
- Email Two:
{Strong Bad is sitting at the Compy. There is an email on the screen.}
Sup Strong Bad,
Do that thing you do that one time. I
wasn't watching and I missed it.
Forever young,
Zebbadee
STRONG BAD: {voiceover} There was that one where the G and U keys were the only ones that weren't broken.
STRONG BAD: {typing} guUU gu guu uuUUUuu gugug ug ug UG gu gu Gu gu
- You can also click on the words "Grape Nuts robot." Each time you click, you get a different Grape-Nuts Robot quote:
- "Now spell 'Carp for brains.'"
- "Things were just about to start getting crazy-go-nuts."
- "Now spell 'Douuuuuuuuble Deuce.'"
- Also at the end you can hit the "q" key to hear Strong Bad's email intro tune again.
Fun Facts
Explanations
- Only the first two emails (invisibility and gimmicks) are real. "Tape-leg 2" isn't real, although it refers to tape-leg.
Trivia
- The side of the box of Grape-Nuts says,
"This is a very healthy choice for your breakfast needs. Try it once or more, for best results. Ingredients: cereal, milk, more cereal, 2% milk, more ceral [sic], more milk, grape nuts, nuggets, nuggets, nuggets, assorted premium ingrediants [sic]."
iron 0g, calcium 0g, fiber 0g, oats 0g, wheats 0g, Vit. C 0g, zinc 0g - Coach Z’s original line during the knife fight with Pom Pom was "I'm a white guy with a knife!" This was changed within a week after the email came out. If you watch him closely, his head still bobs back and forth as if he's still saying his original line.
- The contrast knobs work during "Tape-leg 2" and the Gavin Easter egg.
Remarks
- The alcohol content in soy sauce is generally less than 2% by volume.
- It is debatable whether all of the emails featured are really part of the H*R continuity or not, especially with the Grape-Nuts Robot's comeback in Marzipan's Answering Machine Version 8.
- The two real emails both pertain to the fall of the Tandy 400 and the introduction of the Compy 386. It's possible that they are two of Strong Bad's favourites due to how much Strong Bad disliked the Tandy 400 in comparison to the Compy 386, as evidenced by his indifference while knocking the Tandy off the desk in invisibility and his interminable crying at the end of virus.
- The Tape-leg 2 email was "sent" by the same person that wrote the original tape-leg email.
Goofs
- Strong Bad's Shift/Caps Lock and space bar keys were obviously also working in the email in the egg, not just G and U, not to mention being able to type "strongbad_email.exe" to pull the mail up in the first place.
- However, it is possible that all the keys except G, U, spacebar, and shift/capslock broke after he pulled up the email.
- When Homestar appears during the "Favorite phrase?" flashback, his legs are (probably intentionally, in keeping with the deliberately low-quality drawing and animation) not visible under the table.
- When Strong Bad shoos Gavin away from the screen, his arm doesn't show up in the reflection on the screen.
- At the end when Strong Bad is headbanging, you can see his chin protrude from the bottom of the Compy.
- Strong Bad omits the hyphen in "Grape-Nuts".
Glitches
- When you see the Grape-Nuts Robot Easter egg, press Tab and hit Enter. The other Easter eggs of either the broken g and u keys, or the gavin emails will play. Pressing enter again without moving the mouse or anything will restart the same Easter egg. (This may not always work, it usually works best if you use Tab to highlight the Grape-Nuts Robot on the Compy in the first place.)
Inside References
- "Now spell 'Come back Ali. Come back Ali's sister,'" is a reference to sisters.
- "Now spell 'Douuuble Deuce,'" is a reference to the bird as well as 20X6 vs. 1936.
- Strong Bad pronounces the word "invisible" as "invisable," a reference to invisibility.
- "Things were just about to start getting crazy-go-nuts" is a reference to The Luau.
Real-World References
- The guitar riff in the intro is ostensibly from "Back In Black" by AC/DC.
- Speak & Spell was an educational toy sold in the late 1970s.
- Marzipan's answering machine tape says "lilith fair '99." Lilith Fair was a music festival celebrating feminist musicians, and women in general.
- The soy sauce bottles have writing on them in yellow letters, with "KIKKO" being visible. This is most definitely a bottle of Kikkoman Soy Sauce.
- One of the Easter egg emails was from "Zebbadee," a character from a French/English children's TV program called "The Magic Roundabout" who was played by Sir Ian McKellen.
- "Forever Young" in Zebadee's Easter egg email is a reference to the 1973 Bob Dylan song that became a hit for Rod Stewart in 1988. Strong Bad also ends "dreamail" with "forever young."
Fast Forward
- In the Toon Cool Things, Homestar refers to the name "Stan" when asking bubs for a refund. "Stan" was created when Strong Bad fell backwards on top of Bubs' Concession, causing the letter "D" to fall off the word "Stand".
DVD Version
- The method for accessing the two bonus emails has been split. Click on the Strong Bad icon on the top left for the Gavin email, and bottom-left for the broken keyboard email.
- All three Grape-Nuts robot quotes have been incorporated into the same clip.
- The guitar riff Easter egg is still there, accessible by clicking a Strong Bad Icon on the right side of the screen.
- The DVD version features hidden creators' commentary. To access it, switch your DVD player's audio language selection while watching.
Commentary Transcript
(Commentary by: Mike Chapman, Matt Chapman)
MIKE: Oh, look at this. Listen to these chops!
MATT: Yeah, Mike did this. Lixx! Those are—
MIKE: Hot lixx!
MATT: L-I-X-X.
MIKE: I used to have this poster in my room of this red guitar and it said "HOT LIXX" and they were, like, smoking the guitar strings?
MATT: Yeah, I think you're right.
MIKE: I think I got it for my 14th birthday, maybe?
MATT: Did Mom buy you a "HOT LIXX" poster? Or did you just go—
MIKE: No no no, I think I got it for my birthday, for my 14th birthda— whatever birthday I had in 8th grade, so probably my 14th birthday.
MATT: Like, from Mom?
MIKE: I think so.
MATT: That's amazing.
MIKE: That's a loving mother right there.
MATT: I know! Hot lixx.
MIKE: Yeah—
MATT: That's great.
MIKE: I also got some, um, some leather gloves with the fingers cut off. Like, weight-lifting gloves.
MATT: Yeah, that's right.
MIKE: Yeah. Oh wait, that was one of my favorite parts of anything on our website, when Homestar Runner says, "Hey guys!" {starts cracking up} talking to floating boxes of Swiss Cake Rolls.
{pause}
MIKE: I really want to make that robot.
MATT: Yeah, we should. I bet Slocum could do that, Paul Slocum, the guy that's making the Atari 2600 Homestar Runner game. I bet he could—
MIKE: Yeah, he could—
MATT: —figure that out.
{Pause}
MIKE: Drank some Kikkoman, that looks like.
MATT: Yeah. That really looks like that Kikkoman model.
MIKE: Regular Sodium. Or low Sodium.
MATT: Hey, Kikkoman, everybody says you're The Guy! Get it?
MIKE: Yeah, Stink— yeah.
MATT: Sounds like... the tape here, is really good, the tape floating down... watch this. Ah. Lillith Fair '99. Uh, this is, of course, a homage to when we... sucked—
{Mike laughs}
MATT: —at animation, and funny. The—
MIKE: Matt, do we not do that anymore?
MATT: No.
MIKE: We don't?
MATT: Uh, the Stone Bridge is uh, there is a Stone Bridge near here.
MIKE: Yeah. We need to go film the Puppet Stuff there.
MATT: —some live action stuff. I like that, The Cheat gnawing on something. We should use that again.
{Mike laughs}
MIKE: People, uh, would all the time email us, and probably still do, asking about how come they can't find those emails.
MATT: Yeah. Well, it's because, we start, you know, making stuff—
{Mike and Matt talk at the same time, resulting in an unintelligible sound}
MIKE: People that aren't the smartest, you know... don't get the joke.
MATT: Yeah. Joke it out.
Fun Facts
- Matt mentions the Homestar Runner RPG, in development for the Atari 2600.
- The line "Hey, Kikkoman, everybody says you're the guy!" is a reference to 1-Up's line from japanese cartoon.
