50 emails

From Homestar Runner Wiki

Revision as of 07:09, 8 October 2007

"Hey, Strong Bad, I brought back your fondue pot."

In honor of his 50th email, Strong Bad tries to answer 50 emails, only to have Homestar unwittingly screw it up.

Cast (in order of appearance): Strong Bad, Homestar Runner, Old-Timey Strong Bad (Easter egg), The Sneak (Easter egg)

Places: Computer Room, Telegraph Room (Easter egg)

Computer: Compy 386

Date: Monday, November 11, 2002

Running Time: 2:45

Page Title: Lordy, Lordy! Look who's over there!

DVD: strongbad_email.exe Disc One

Transcript

STRONG BAD: {singing} Oh, girl, I want to email you so nice. {stops singing} All right, everybody. In honor of this, my 50th email, I've decided to answer 50 of your emails! Ready? Go!

{reading}

Email #1
Dear strong bad,
Can you please write a book about
come-back jokes!
Mike
Canada

{read as a question despite the exclaimation mark}

STRONG BAD: {typing} More like, you write a book about come-back jokes, NERD! {hits enter}

{reading}

Email #2
Dear Stong Bad,
what are some cool ways to spell
different words? example, fat = phat

matt

STRONG BAD: Oh, you mean like {types} strong = stong? {stops} You seem to like that one. Or how about this? matt = MATT!! {He types matt = DELETED!, and the following appears on the screen as the email is deleted:}

MATT!!

{reading}

Email #3
Strong Bad,
What is your favorite leg?

Jess and Tiff
Los Angeles, CA

{He stops at "Jess and Tiff."}

STRONG BAD: Well, I like all kinds of legs. You know, like the Great Leg... the Leg of Hope... Tape-Leg? {the phone rings} Oh, man! I was on a roll! Don't nobody go nowheres, I'll be right back.

{He walks offscreen and answers the phone}

STRONG BAD: {offscreen) Hello? Yeah, this is me.

HOMESTAR RUNNER: {offscreen} Strong Bad!

STRONG BAD: {on the phone} I dunno, what kind of savings?

{Homestar Runner walks in carrying a fondue pot}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Hey Strong Bad, I brought back your fondue pot. Strong Bad? {He looks around, and then sees the computer} Whoa. That TV has words on it.

{Homestar sits down at the computer and re-reads the email}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Strong Bad, what is your favorite leg? Jess and Tiff. {Stops reading} Um, {typing} Hey Crapface! Why dontcha blow it out your ear. Your buddy, Strong Bad. {enter} Oh, another one!

{reading}

Email #4
Dear Strong Bad
How do you type with gloves on
your hands?

Scott
Surrey BC Canada

{Homestar does not read the signature.}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Oh, even I know what to do with this one. {types} BALEETED! {hits enter, nothing happens} Wha—? Oh. Umm... {types} DELTEATED! {enter, nothing happens} No? Uhh... Del Taco?

{Cut to Strong Bad talking on the phone}

STRONG BAD: No, they're more like elephant feet. Yeah. So what do you think, like, 50 bucks? Sounds good. I'll leave the key under the at-may.

{Back to Compy 386. Homestar has typed in many, many words, but none of them do anything.}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: What is that stupid word?

{He types in "da cheated" and hits enter. The computer plays a tune and the blue "Flagrant System Error" screen comes up. It reads:}

FLAGRANT SYSTEM ERROR

The system is down. I dunno what
you did, moron, but you sure
screwed everything up good.

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Uh-oh. This does not look good for Homestar Runner.

{Cut back to Strong Bad on the phone}

STRONG BAD: Okay. Bye!

{He hangs up and walks off. Cut back to the computer}

STRONG BAD: Okay. Back to the 50 emails.

{He sits down. There's a piece of paper over the monitor with a Windows error window titled "This is real." It says "System report: Everything is fine. Nothing is ruined." Strong Bad reads the message}

STRONG BAD: {reading} Everything is fine. Nothing is ruined. Oh, that's good to hear. Let's just— Wait a minute! {he tears off the paper and sees the blue screen} Wha... Flagrant Error? What the... Where did all my emails go?

{The Paper comes down.}

STRONG BAD: WHAT?!? The paper?! This isn't over yet! Go back up, go back up!

{Strong Bad swats at the paper and then tries to hold it up off the screen}

STRONG BAD: Wait, wait! I think I can remember some of those emails! Uh, "Dear Strong Bad, why are you so awesome? Yours truly, Dumpface." Well, Dumpface, it's a long story. It all started with The Cheat one day when he was going down to the...

{The screen, and Strong Bad's voice, slowly fade out. A paper plate with a Swiss Cake Roll with a "50" candle on it fades in. The Paper comes down again.}

Easter Eggs

More like, YOU write a book about comeback jokes, NERD!!

• When Strong Bad types the word "book," you can click on it and bring up a picture of Strong Bad's idea of this book.
• At the end, click on the "50th email Swiss Cake Roll" to see an Old-Timey Strong Bad cartoon.

{A title screen reading "Strong Bad and The Electronic Message" appears. Cut to Old-Timey Strong Bad reading a telegram. A "Loafing Not Permitted" sign can be seen in the background.}

Dear Sir Strong Bad stop
How do you manage the telegramophone whilst
wearing gentleman's sport gloves? stop
signed, Lord Elsington Hallstingdingdingworth

OLD-TIMEY STRONG BAD: Curses! This is all anyone ever asks me. {manning the telegraph} You buffoon! Stop. You...carpetbagger. Stop. I'll give you what's for!

{The Sneak walks onscreen}

OLD-TIMEY STRONG BAD: The Sneak! How was that? I told that poor sap I'd give him what's for! Yes... now go and steal me fresh jam!

{The Sneak scurries off}

Fun Facts

Explanations

• When Old-Timey Strong Bad responds to Lord Elsington Hallstingdingdingworth in the Easter egg, he calls him a "carpetbagger." A carpetbagger is actually a post-Civil War term for a Northerner moving to the South after the war to get rich or gain power.
• When Strong Bad says, "I'll leave the key under the at-may," he is speaking Pig Latin. "At-may" would mean "mat."

Trivia

• This is another instance of Strong Bad checking more than one email.
• The title of the page may be a reference to the phrase "Lordy, Lordy! Look who's forty!" which is usually used on someone's 40th birthday, even though this is Strong Bad's 50th email.
• The phone ringing sound effect is "ringin.wav", from the Microsoft system sounds included in Windows 95 through Windows XP.
• The label on the disk in the floppy disk container reads "tongue of the fatman".
• The date on the telegram is "11th/x4/29..".
• This is the first email in which we see the "DELETED" screen on the Compy. The background is blue, whereas it was green on the Tandy 400.

Remarks

• It is strange that Homestar calls the computer screen a "TV [that] has words on it," yet he immediately knows he can type a response to the email.
• The telegram received by Old-Timey Strong Bad has an incomplete boolean truth table in the upper right corner.
• In the Easter egg, Old-Timey Strong Bad fails to end his telegram with a 'stop'.
• You can't click The Paper when it first comes down.
• On most DOS versions it is impossible to have filenames on both the left and right side of the screen.

Goofs

• When Homestar is talking while reading/answering an email, his lips' movements and the movements in the reflection are not in sync.
• Telegrams are always typed in upper case. They also never use any punctuation, hence the word STOP at the end of each sentence.
• When Homestar types in "da cheated," it is typed in on the left. However, one would expect the entry to be in the right column, as there are already an odd number of attempts.
• Three different shades of blue were used for the system error screen (each of which were a different shade from the "MATT" screen). The color changes from a bright blue to a duller blue as Strong Bad is sitting back down.

Glitches

• When you adjust the contrast while Homestar is at the computer, his reflection isn't affected.
• When Strong Bad says "Matt" while typing "DELETED", his reflection appears above the Compy for a moment.
• When you adjust the contrast on the "Flagrant System Error" screen, the text changes color rather than the background.

Inside References

• Strong Bad starts his email checking by saying, "Ready? Go!" This is a reference to spring cleaning, when he said that to start his spring cleaning.
• When he responds to Email #3 ("What is your favorite leg?"), Strong Bad mentions tape-leg. This is a reference to tape-leg, one of his past emails, and represents yet another inside joke of the Homestar Universe.
• The phrase "The system is down" is from techno.
• This is another occurrence of two running gags, How Do You Type With Boxing Gloves On? and DELETED.
• Right before Strong Bad hangs up the phone, you can see it is not connected to anything.
• This is another instance of Strong Bad's computer malfunctioning.
• This is another instance of Stong Bad.

Real-World References

• The blue "Flagrant System Error" screen is a spoof of the Windows 9x Blue screen of death.
• In the Old-Timey Strong Bad Easter egg, Strong Bad ends his emails with the word "stop". Back when telegrams were used, most people used "stop" instead of a period, due to the fact that punctuation (such as a period) was more expensive than four letters.

Fast Forward

• "Diggity", one of Homestar's attempts at "DELETED" (see below), appears in Strong Bad's deletion song in unused emails and car.
• "De la soul", another attempt to say "DELETED", is sung by BrainKreig in the email death metal.
• The "Flagrant System Error" screen appears again in virus and (as "Flamboyant System Error") in Biz Cas Fri 1.
• The fake Windows system report appears again in The System is Down, Not the 100th Email!!!, and on Main Page 22.
• Homestar would eventually say "DELETED" correctly in retirement, when he helps Strong Bad delete an email harder than ever before.
• When Strong Bad is on the phone, he may be talking about poachers offering money for his Strong Sad's "elephant feet". He mentioned this in modeling.
• Strong Bad says, "Wait a minute!" similarly in flashback.

Homestar's attempts at DELETED

a> BALEETED!
a> DELTEATED!
a> Del Taco?

a> freaky D'td a> chadeated a> deedleated a> meathead? a> dltd a> duh lee ted a> teeteeted a> bubs a> diddley dee a> repeated a> 733t3d a> 3-D movie a> del monte a> ddddddd a> da cheated

a> diggity a> beefeated a> stupid word a> believe it a> received it a> stratego a> 3TDted a> seabed a> whitebread a> open sesame a> marie a> hello a> de la soul a> geleted a> feeted

"What is that stupid word?"

• Some of the commands Homestar tries are references. Some are more obvious than others:
  • 'del monte' — An American produce company.
  • 'beefeated' — The Yeomen Warders of the Tower of London are popularly known as Beefeaters. Beefeater is also a widely available brand of gin.
  • 'meathead?' — This is probably referring to a catch phrase from the sitcom 'All in the Family' in which Archie Bunker called his son-in-law Mike 'Meathead.'
  • 'stratego' — Stratego is a board game.
  • 'open sesame' — Famous words from the tale 'Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves'. This may be a further reference to the 1937 Popeye cartoon Popeye the Sailor Meets Ali Baba's Forty Thieves. In it, Popeye fails to remember the magic words 'open sesame', instead trying a series of similar words and phrases to no avail.
  • 'de la soul' — De La Soul is a hip-hop group made of Posdnous, Trugoy, and P.A. Mase. They are best known for their groundbreaking 1989 debut album "3 Feet High and Rising". Their second album, De La Soul is Dead is on Matt Chapman's favorite album list.
  • '733t3d' — A reference to Leetspeak, a variation of language used on the Internet where letters are replaced by numbers or symbols. While this is probably meant to say "leeted," it actually says "teeted."
  • 'Deltaco' — Del Taco is a fast food chain that sells American and Mexican food.
  • 'whitebread'- Another example of Homestar's bread obsession.

DVD Version

• The "Comeback joke book" Easter egg is disabled.

External Links

• watch "50 emails"
• view the Flash file for "50 emails"
• BALEETED sound can be downloaded in "System Sounds Pack" at the downloads section.