original

From Homestar Runner Wiki

Current revision as of 07:15, 29 March 2024

For the book, see Original Book. For the character, see Original Bubs.

"I can see you from here!"

Strong Bad discusses Original Bubs, and how he came to be replaced by the one we know and love.

Cast (in order of appearance): Strong Bad, Homestar Runner, Original Bubs, The King of Town, The Cheat, Senor Cardgage, Crack Stuntman, Onion Bubs, Bubs, Marzipan (Easter egg)

Places: Computer Room, Bubs' Concession Stand, The Field

Computer: Lappy 486

Date: Monday, September 3, 2007

Running Time: 3:30

Page Title: Lappy 486

DVD: strongbad_email.exe Disc Six

[edit] Transcript

STRONG BAD: {singing} Gropin' around in the dark, tryin' ta find an email! Da-da-da-blue-got-an-dow! {brings up the email}

subject: Another Actor

Hails and Horns Strong Bad ,\m/
Have you ever been watching your favorite shows and
sequels, and suddenly realized that your favorite character
has been unscrupulously replaced with another actor?
Nicholas & Antonio
Lansing, Michigan

{Strong Bad makes a rock-ish scream in place of the emoticon.}

STRONG BAD: {typing} Wait, you guys are really asking me that? We do that to you people all the time. There've been like twelve King of Towns. {clears screen} And are you telling me you've already forgotten about the original Bubs?

{Cut to Homestar Runner in front of Bubs' Concession Stand. A silhouette resembling Bubs is seen in the foreground.}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Hi, Original Bubs! How's original business?

{Cut to in front of the stand. The character behind the counter only vaguely resembles Bubs; his head is dark blue and shaped as though it has hair, both of his eyes are the same shape and size, and his teeth are straight. His body is solid orange and hunched over. He has visible rectangular hands that are the same color as his face. "BY ORIGINAL BUBS" is seen on the stand's sign. Two papers are taped to the stand that read "CHEAP THRILLS!" and "CHEAPER TRICKS!"}

ORIGINAL BUBS: {his voice is lower-pitched than Bubs's and not as gravelly; openings form in his mouth as he speaks} Hey, Homestar. I can see you from here! {holds his hands apart}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: That's some great eyesight, Original Bubs!

STRONG BAD: {voiceover} But it wasn't all good eyesight and cheap prices.

{The screen becomes inverted grayscale and spooky music starts. The camera zooms in on Original Bubs.}

STRONG BAD: {voiceover} Behind the scenes lay a thick bubbling pit of crude turmoil!

{As the colors return to normal, the scene cuts to the King of Town and Original Bubs standing behind a table with an iced tea container, paper cups, a box of Swiss Cake Rolls, and a Tupperware box of a white substance. Original Bubs is pointing at the Tupperware box with an angry expression.}

ORIGINAL BUBS: Who ate all the mayo off of my egg salad?! {looks to the camera, surprised} And how?!

{When the King of Town starts talking, Original Bubs glares at him}

THE KING OF TOWN: It's a proprietary technique I can't reveal!

ORIGINAL BUBS: {raises one finger in the air} This is the first and last straw! {points at the King of Town} I'm outta here, you amateurs! {pokes the King of Town's face twice on "you amateurs!"}

{Original Bubs, still pointing, walks away while amateurish music plays. For the first time, his bottom half is revealed. It is gray and similarly-shaped to Bubs's legs, but with tiny legs and pointed in the wrong direction from his upper body. There is no green stripe. He walks offscreen. Cut to the Lappy.}

STRONG BAD: {typing} With Original Bubs' {pronounced "Bubs's"} future uncertain, we had to come up with some pretty creative ways to write him into stories, so that viewers didn't know he was gone.

{Cut to Original Bubs' Concession Stand. Homestar and Strong Bad are standing in front of it wearing lederhosen. Behind the counter is a large cardboard box that reads "FRIDGERATE AGAIN".}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Well, Original Bubs, who is totally behind that refrigerator box, says I won the yodeling contest.

{Static briefly appears, and the scene cuts to one with Homestar and Strong Bad, dressed like Canadian Mounties, speaking to a box labeled "DEESH WARSH". The trees have changed to their fall colors.}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Well, Original Bubs, who is totally behind that dishwasher box...

{More static, cutting to a closeup of Homestar in a poncho and sombrero, with a box that reads "KLEENLOAD" behind him.}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: ...behind that washer/dryer box...

{More static. Now Homestar is wearing a Russian police uniform, and the box reads "HOT₂O". It is nighttime, and the landscape is covered in snow.}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: ...that hot water heater box...

{More static. Homestar wears an African dashiki, and the stand has an upside-down shoe box labeled "freshley's" with a tower made out of toothpicks on top.}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: ...behind that... {clearly confused} toothpick sculpture?

{More static, cutting to the Lappy.}

STRONG BAD: Once it became apparent that Original Bubs was gone for good, there was an interim period of rotating guest Bubs. Like when talk show hosts have surgery, or go to jail.

{Cut to the inside of Bubs' Concession Stand. Homestar walks up. The person behind the counter is Senor Cardgage wearing an orange shirt with a green stripe across it.}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Hey there, Senator Cardgage Bubs, lemme get a manila cheese Coke!

SENOR CARDGAGE: Oh...

{Cut to the front of the stand.}

SENOR CARDGAGE: I should eat a pony.

{Homestar flinches with surprise. Static cuts to Strong Bad and The Cheat at the stand, with Crack Stuntman playing Bubs. The sign has "CRACK STUNT" posted over the word "ORIGINAL".}

CRACK STUNTMAN: {pops up from behind the counter, Strong Bad jumps in surprise} BLAAAAAAAAAAH!! What can I get? For you fine gentlemen?

STRONG BAD: {annoyed} Never mind, Crack Stunt-Bubs.

{Cut to a closeup.}

CRACK STUNTMAN: Oh... I should eat a pony.

{Strong Bad flinches with surprise. The scene darkens.}

STRONG BAD: {voiceover} And don't forget fan favorite,

{Cut to an onion with Bubs's face drawn on it sitting on the stand's counter.}

STRONG BAD: {voiceover} Onion Bubs.

{A crowd can be heard cheering, with one voice screaming "Onion Bubs!" over and over. Static cuts back to the Lappy.}

STRONG BAD: {typing} Finally, we had to settle on a little known Bubs with zero experience. And it's been downhill ever since.

BUBS: {from offscreen} Ahem.

{Cut back to show Bubs looking at Strong Bad angrily. He has the ends of his arms curled up as though they are fists and is waving them menacingly.}

STRONG BAD: Oh, hey, New Bubs.

BUBS: We're gonna need a new Strong Bad in about two seconds!

STRONG BAD: {reminiscing} Yeah, Original Bubs used to threaten me like that. It just doesn't sound the same coming out of you.

{Bubs punches Strong Bad in the face four times and puts his hands on his hips.}

STRONG BAD: Yeah, Original Bubs used to pummel me senseless like that. It just doesn't sound—

{Bubs holds up his right "fist" menacingly.}

STRONG BAD: OKAY OKAY OKAY!!!

BUBS: You tell these people I'm the original Buh... b'zuh.

STRONG BAD: All right! You're the original Bubs!

{Cut to a closeup of Bubs, no longer angry and looking at the camera.}

BUBS: That's right! {The background turns orange and the following words appear above him:} 100% All Original Bubs! {And the following words appear below him:} If I had thumbs, I'd be sticking 'em up my armpits right now!

{He puts the ends of his arms into his armpits as a demonstration. The camera closes out to encircle Bubs's face with a blue background.}

ANNOUNCER: {voiceover} 100% all original Bubs! If he had thumbs, he'd be sticking 'em up his armpits right now! {queasy} Uhhhhh...

{Cut to the Lappy.}

STRONG BAD: {typing} But we really do replace people. Take the New Paper, for instance. Come on, New Paper, disappoint me!

{New Paper comes down with a long "vvvvvvt" and the entire page falls off the top of the screen with an "eangt".}

STRONG BAD: Whoop! Ahh, when it comes to disappointin', you never disappoint.

[edit] Easter Eggs

• At the end, click on "replace people" to see a field full of King of Town graves, including one for "Onion King of Town", which replaces the grave for "King of Town IV".
• At the end, click on the word "downhill" to see a short scene with Homestar Runner and Marzipan.

{Open at the Field. Homestar Runner is standing with a can by his feet}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: {sigh}

{Homestar Runner kicks the can to the right of screen as Marzipan enters}

MARZIPAN: What's the matter, Homestar?

HOMESTAR RUNNER: I miss Original Bubs.

MARZIPAN: Homestar, Strong Bad made all that stuff up.

HOMESTAR RUNNER: You can't make up eyesight that good. {Marzipan stares flatly} He could always see me {sobbing} from over there.

[edit] Fun Facts

[edit] Explanations

• The ,\m/ emoticon is intended to represent the "rock horns".
• The phrase "I should eat a pony" is probably a parody of the phrase "I could eat a horse", a figure of speech used to illustrate extreme hunger.
• Bubs' line, "If I had thumbs, I'd be sticking 'em up my armpits right now!" is in jest of a gesture sometimes referred to as the "peacock", in which a person, in smugness or self-pride, hooks their thumbs behind their suspenders, regardless of whether they are being worn or not.

[edit] Trivia

• The Floppy Disk Container reads "SWOTL".
• The summary for the Podstar Runner RSS feed reads, "Strong Bad discusses Original Bubs".

[edit] Remarks

• Crack Stuntman has thin black outlines and no shading, although he is shown here to be in the main Homestar Runner universe in which everything is drawn with shading and thick, colored outlines.
• Onion Bubs has differently-shaped eyes, like the real Bubs, instead of two identical eyes like Original Bubs, on whom it would have presumably been based.
  • In a similar vein, Senor Cardgage is wearing a green belt, and Crack Stuntman is wearing a green undershirt; Bubs's green belt is a feature not present on Original Bubs.
• New Paper's "Click here to email Strong Bad" link is fully functional until it falls off the screen.
• In the TV Time Toons Menu's preview of the email, the Lappy's screen has nothing on it, and is missing its usual reflection.

[edit] Goofs

Disconnected again?

• A short "skip" in the sound can be heard when Strong Bad starts saying "And are you telling me you've already forgotten about the original Bubs?". This may be due to Matt Chapman recording the sentences separately.
  • This also happens when Strong Bad says "pretty creative ways to write him into stories", between the words "to" and "write".
• On the second punch (when Strong Bad's head pops up) his head is for a very brief moment disconnected, mainly around at the right side of the neck.

[edit] Inside References

Original Bubs (in the bottom left corner)

• Original Bubs resembles a preliminary sketch of Bubs as seen in the Sketchbook in the Museum.
• The premise of this email, that Bubs is a character in what equates to a TV show, is a fourth wall break.
• The "original" Bubs' Concession Stand sign is similar to the design used in A Jumping Jack Contest, The Best Decemberween Ever and Where's The Cheat?.
• Original Bubs leaves due to the King of Town eating all of the mayo off of his egg salad.
• Homestar's lederhosen are from Main Page 2.
• The items at the back of Bubs' Concession Stand in this toon are the same ones from A Jumping Jack Contest. Crack Stuntman's line "What can I get for you fine gentlemen?" echoes Bubs's similar line from the same toon—which, incidentally, is also the first full sentence that Bubs ever spoke in a Homestar Runner toon. Plus Senor Cardgage's (and subsequently Crack Stuntman's) quip "Ohhh... I should eat a pony..." may be a corruption of Bubs' second line "Ohhh... I'm such a dummy..."
• Bubs saying that he has no thumbs is a reference to his lack of visible fingers.
• Homestar kicks a can in an Easter egg.

[edit] Real-World References

• This email spoofs Darrin syndrome, when an actor in a series is replaced without explanation, a prominent example being the replacement of Dick York with Dick Sargent in the role of Darrin Stephens on Bewitched. Similarly to in the email, shortly after York left the show but before Sargent took his place, Darrin was frequently referred to but was never present on screen.
• Homestar asking Senor Cardgage for manila cheese Coke is a play on the various flavored colas, especially Vanilla Coke.

[edit] Fast Forward

• Onion Bubs and his apparent popularity among fans went on to become a running gag.
• Homestar Runner refers to Original Bubs and his supposed great eyesight again in Halloween Hide & Seek when looking at the inside of the Concession Stand.

[edit] DVD Version

• When viewed as a standalone email, New Paper comes back at the end.
• The DVD version features hidden creators' commentary. To access it, switch the DVD player's audio language selection while watching.

[edit] Commentary Transcript

(Commentary by: Mike Chapman, Bubs)

BUBS: Hey, Mike!

MIKE: Oh, Bubs! {starts to say something else}

BUBS: I thought I should chime in on this one.

MIKE: I think you should.

BUBS: Yeah, what do you think I should chime in?

MIKE: Uhh, just wait a minute, let me give an intro here, maybe give you a proper introduction, and then you can chime in.

BUBS: Who am I?

MIKE: Well, ladies and gentlemen, here in the sound booth, recording commentary for Strong Bad Email 170—something, we've got none other than... Bubs!

BUBS: Mine name {long and drawn out} Buuuuuuuuuubs!

MIKE: So, your most famous line, Bubs, is uh, "Everybody knows me, my name Cornbread", right? {Bubs starts to say something} Is that correct?

BUBS: That is true!

MIKE: Isn't that your catchphrase?

BUBS: It —it sure better be!

MIKE: {laughs}

BUBS: Who is that impostor? Look at that fool! Square fingered—old naggle tooth!

MIKE: Matt has—He's got the same kind of teeth you have. Are you naggle tooth?

BUBS: Aww, look at those teeth cover the whole face.

MIKE: Oh, they're naggle—Oh, naggle tooth.

BUBS: Exactly!

MIKE: What do you call your kind of teeth?

BUBS: I got jimmy teeth!

MIKE: {laughs} Uh, so this guy's legs, you should check out this guy's legs in a second.

BUBS: This is when this turns into real prepostery.

MIKE: If you think you've got small, tiny legs—

BUBS: Look at that! Oh, dook a doo, you look like Rocko's Modern Life or somethin'!

MIKE: {laughs}

BUBS: Some kind of old Nicktoon from 1994... berry.

MIKE: Umm... So, but, what do you think Homestar and Strong Bad are doing during this sequence where they're wearing, uh, different costumes?

BUBS: I dunno, it musta been, like, National Anthem Week on the Homestar Runner progrum.

MIKE: {overlapping} Tuesday is Canada Day, Wednesday is Mexico Day—

BUBS: Ooh! I do—I never sold Kleenload washers!

MIKE: —Thursday is Russia Day, and Kenya Day is Friday!

BUBS: Man, Kleenload washers... are the worst quality you can buy.

MIKE: What kind of washers were they?

BUBS: Kleenload.

MIKE: {laughs}

BUBS: With a K and a double E!

{pause}

MIKE: Do you still—

BUBS: And I've never sold Mallinilliketese Cokes.

MIKE: I was gonna ask about Manila Cheese Cokes. I, uhh, I've never gotten one at your Stand.

BUBS: Look at that old raggedy sign up there. Look like, Mike Chapman made it, maybe like, 1999.

MIKE: Yep, that's—

BUBS: 2000.

MIKE: Correct.

BUBS: Oh! Oh! {Mike starts to say something} This is my favorite style!

MIKE: {applauding} Yay!

BUBS: Look at those jimmy teeth!

MIKE: Okay... {chuckles}

BUBS: That onion has some serious jimmy teeth!

MIKE: Is that what you, when you have to go out to use the restroom, does Onion Bubs cover for you?

BUBS: Every time. Sometimes I take him to the restroom. {pause} Oh, look at that, look at that pugilistic style! {Mike chuckles} I learned that at the gym!

MIKE: Yeah? You go to the boxing gym a lot?

BUBS: Mott Gore's gym.

MIKE: Mott Gore's gym?

BUBS: Yeah.

MIKE: Who i—

BUBS: Ooh, Mott. Look at that! Look at my barrel chest came out in that lean-to. I did a little—he taught me to do the lean-to.

MIKE: When you did that lean-to, is that the same pose that you have when slide out of the conveyor belt in the chair email?

BUBS: {simultaneously} Ziiiiiiiiip!

BUBS: Except I had more of a barrel chest!

MIKE: Oh, and this part's kinda creepy: you put put your thumbs, quote unquote, in your quote unquote armpits.

BUBS: Yeah. Eugh, that hurt. I got—

MIKE: It looks kinda like two little butts came—your armpits turned into two little butts.

BUBS: Is— it's true. {pause} I'm done.

MIKE: Okay. Uhh, I—

BUBS: See ya later!

MIKE: I can finish this one.

BUBS: Yeah, I'm due! {unintelligible}

{crashing noises are heard}

MIKE: Uh, bye, Bubs! Bye, Bubs! {quietly} He really did just leave. And the lamp fell over.

[edit] Fun Facts

• Bubs' "Cornbread" catchphrase refers to A Decemberween Pageant.
• Rocko's Modern Life was a television show on Nickelodeon. Rocko was an Australian wallaby who immigrated to the United States.
• The term "naggle tooth" is a derivative of "snaggle tooth", which is a tooth that is either broken or not in alignment with the other teeth.
• Bubs mentions the Homestar Runner progrum.

[edit] External Links

• watch "original"
• watch "original" on the old Flash site
• view the Flash file for "original"
• forum thread re: "original"