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Strong Bad Email #120
watch animal part-time job
"THE STURGE!"

Strong Bad gives some advice on how to be a radio host, in various genres.

Cast (in order of appearance): Strong Bad, Strong Sad/The Deathly Pallor, Mrs. Bennedetto, Marzipan, Homestar Runner, Old-Timey Strong Bad, Strong Mad (Easter egg), The Sneak (Easter egg)

Places: Computer Room, Strong Sad's Room, Marzipan's House, Homestar's House, Strong Bad's Basement (Easter egg)

Computer: Lappy 486

Date: December 13, 2004

Running Time: 4:01

Page Title: Lappy 486

Contents

Transcript

STRONG BAD: I got miles and miles of the e-mail style. Miles and miles of the e-mail style.

{Strong Bad reads "say/do" as "say slash do".}

STRONG BAD: {typing} Oh, no need to bow, Fraser. G-Get up. {reverently} Rise, my son. And giveth me instead, $7.50 with which to buy some buffalo chicken tenders. {He clears the screen.} So your "friends" are radio show hosts, huh? Well, the first rule of thumb for all radio personalities is to look absolutely nothing like how they sound. Take Ol' Greystoke for instance.

{Cut to Strong Sad standing in his room.}

STRONG BAD: {voice-over} Now here's a whiny know-it-all who sounds just like he looks.

STRONG SAD: Why thank you, Senator.

STRONG BAD: {voice-over} Quit calling me that. Anyway, if Strong Sad was a radio host, he'd sound like this:

STRONG SAD: {In spontaneous, radio host voice} Hey hey hey, it's the Deathly Pallor, coming at you on numbitty 902, WA3D FM, "The Sturge." Coming up next, we got some hot new tracks from double-O ballyhoo!

{Strong Sad covers his mouth in horror while Strong Bad laughs.}

STRONG SAD: {normal voice/frightened} Don't you ever make me do that again!

{Cut back to Lappy 486.}

STRONG BAD: {typing} So once they've got the voice/appearance mismatch working, then it all just depends on what kind of radio station they work for. Listen and loin as I run my test sentence through the various genres.

Voice-over: Strong Bad's test sentence is "The fish was delish and it made quite a dish." {The sentence appears on-screen.}

STRONG BAD: First up is public radio: smooth n' smarmy.

{Cut to Marzipan's kitchen. A radio is sitting on the counter.}

STRONG BAD: {as Public Radio host} Today on Capitol Hill, the fish was delish, and according to U.N. secretary council members, it made quite a dish. You are listening to member-supported public radio.

{Public Radio theme song plays. Marzipan walks in.}

MARZIPAN: Dang old public radio. I never got my tote bag.

{Cut back to Lappy 486.}

STRONG BAD: {typing} Next up is the drive time morning show. {A poster for "The am morning 'CRUDE' crew" with two Strong Bad-like hosts appears onscreen.} Oooh, these guys are like bad stand up comics that you can't heckle. Or jeckle. Or throw highball glasses at.

{Cut to a clock-radio.}

STRONG BAD: {as morning talk show host, with sound effects in the background} Rise and shine, people! The fish was delish. {canned laughter} Wait for it, wait for it! {clowny sounds} And it made quite a dish.

{Cut back from the clock-radio to show Homestar in his house with a Public Radio tote bag over his head, holding a glass containing a brown liquid with ice cubes.}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: All right, squawk box! Shut it up about the fish already.

STRONG BAD: I guess that's the way {honk honk} the cookie crumbles.

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Highball! {He throws the glass at the radio.}

{Cut back to Lappy 486.}

STRONG BAD: {typing} Then, there's the utter misery that is college radio. Where they apparently just let any bewildered freshman wander in to the booth and try to run a radio station.

{Cut to the booOOMbox containing a blank tape.}

STRONG BAD: {as college radio host, over a song ending and some feedback} Uh, that, that was "The fish was delish" and we heard... track... {thumbing through CD jewel cases} six... "It Made Quite a Dish."

{Cut to Strong Sad's room, where he is sitting next to the boombox writing some calligraphy.}

STRONG BAD: {on radio} Um... Ca...campus outreach is looking for... Hang on...

{Cut back to Lappy 486.}

STRONG BAD: {typing} College radio can pretty much be summed up in 5 words:
Dead air, um, dead air.

{Cut back to the boombox}

STRONG BAD: {as college radio host} Okay, I am out of here for today, bu-but, um, but first up is an, um, er...an...an hour of chanting.

{A chant plays on the boombox. Strong Sad hits the Play and Record buttons.}

{Cut back to Lappy 486.}

STRONG BAD: {typing} And just in case your friends are um, in the past: here's old-timey radio.

{Cut to an Old-Timey room with an Old-Timey Radio, with Old-Timey Strong Bad reading in front of a microphone.}

OLD-TIMEY STRONG BAD: {as old-timey radio host} This week on The Fish Was Delish progrum, brought to you by Portly Washboy laundry paste, {Portly Washboy Fancy Laundry Paste logo appears} we join The Fish down at the wharfs as he closes in on the Quite a Dish gang's hideout. Stay tuned for partial excitement.

{The Portly Washboy logo appears again. It depicts a boy and a heaping jar of paste with a spoon in it.}

Voice-over: {singing} Portly Washboy: Don't eat it like the cartoon man.

{Cut back to Lappy 486.}

STRONG BAD: {typing} Done and done, Fraser. Your friends should be well on their way to annoying drivers and gas station attendants the world over. Ooh! And see if you can score me some free coozies, frisbees, or bottle openers from their station. Those free giveaways: Highly flammable.

{The Paper comes down.}

Easter Eggs

  • Click on Strong Sad's stomach while he does the radio voice to see him wearing a T-shirt from WA3D FM "The Sturge."
  • Click on "The fish was delish, and it made quite a dish" to show a Dr. Seuss-style children's book of the same name. It was written by Crazy Prof. Sportsinterviews (aka Leomard Sportsinterviews), who writes most of the children's books Strong Bad mangles.
    • After the test sentence disappears, you can still click where it was to show the children's book.
  • Click on "coozies, frisbees, or bottle openers" after The Paper comes down to see them. The coozie is blue and says, "WSBD The Voice of CGNU 89.3 Several Dozen Listeners." The frisbee is white and says, "The Sturge numbitty 902 WA3D FM." The bottle opener is red and says, "Smooooooth 'n smarmy".
  • Click on "annoying" after The Paper comes down to see/hear more of Strong Sad's new persona.
STRONG SAD: Oh, I disagree! I think it's more than just a matter of simple economics. In fact, I'd say... {radio host voice and mannerisms, with music} Oh, yeah! What's the phrase that pays that plays for days? It's numbitty-nine-oh-two, "The Sturge." Don't you touch that BLABITTABLOUGH!
STRONG MAD: {confused} Blabittablough?
  • Click on "me" after The Paper comes down to see more of Old-Timey Strong Bad.
RADIO: {Old-Timey Strong Bad} Stay tuned for partial excitement!
{Portly Washboy Laundry Paste theme song plays over radio.}
OLD-TIMEY STRONG BAD: {listening} Drat and double drat! It's true what they say! The rah-dio really does add four and twenty stone to one's voice!

Fun Facts

Explanations

  • "Four-and-twenty stone" is 336 pounds (one stone = 14 pounds), though it is probably a play on the saying that "the camera adds ten pounds."
  • A highball glass is a tall, narrow glass typically used to serve certain types of alcohol and cocktails. Homestar's glass, therefore, isn't a highball at all; it is a "Rocks Glass" or "Double Old-Fashioned Glass" which is generally short and stout.
    • Homestar's glass is the same one The Cheat had on the table in montage while smoking.

Remarks

  • The tote bag on Homestar's head reads, "PRS Public Radio Sounds "Smooth 'n Smarmy," verifying that this must be the tote bag Marzipan's missing.
  • Homestar must have his lights set to come on with the radio alarm at 7:00 am; strangely, he is already up and having a drink.
  • Judging by the call letters of the college radio station, Free Country, USA must be east of the Mississippi River. Generally, call letters for radio stations in cities east of the Mississippi begin with 'W'. Those to the west begin with 'K'.

Goofs

  • The left sleeve of Strong Sad's radio T-shirt disappears during parts of that Easter egg. If you click on him again, it reappears. (See the article image above.)

Inside References

  • Strong Mad's reaction to Strong Sad's strange remarks in the Easter egg is extremely similar to his reaction to "parakeet" in caffeine.
  • Strong Sad's calligraphy pen is also featured in his action figure in the Easter egg for action figure, when writing to Strong Bad in Strong Bad Is in Jail Cartoon, and when transcribing Paradise Lost in record book.
  • Strong Sad refers to himself as "The Deathly Pallor," harking back to Coach Z's introduction of Strong Sad in the email impression.
  • Right at the very end of the chanting, one can hear the first two notes of the Sweet Cuppin' Cakes theme song, as seen in Decemberween Sweet Cuppin' Cakes.
  • The booOOMbox Strong Sad listens to was also seen in autobiography. However, it had no record button.

Real-World References

  • "Drat and double drat!" was Dick Dastardly's (Wacky Races) catch phrase.
  • Marzipan's book Tolstoy Story 2 is a reference to Leo Tolstoy, a famous Russian author, and also to the Disney/Pixar film Toy Story 2.
  • Strong Bad's test phrase is an old broadcasting cliché. The phrase has been used to test the levels of the F and SH sounds in audio signals for recording, public address and broadcast. When those sounds are too "hot," sounding like intense hisses, the mic can be moved or covered to reduce the "swishiness."
  • "Public Radio Sounds" (or "PRS") is a playful combination of PBS, the Public Broadcasting Service, and PRI, Public Radio International.
  • Marzipan talking about how she "never got her totebag" is a reference to how donators to PBS usually receive gifts, a totebag with the PBS logo embroidered on it being the most well-known.
  • The "UN Secretary Council" represents a mix between the UN Secretary-General and the UN Security Council.
  • The voice-over telling the viewer what the test phrase is is a reference to game shows like Password, where something similar would occur so that the viewers knew what the password was.
  • Judging by Strong Sad's T-shirt, "The Sturge" is short for sturgeon, a large, rare fish and is an obvious spoof of radio stations named after animals. For example, WKRP in Cincinnati had the mascot "the WKRP Carp."
  • "Heckle or jeckle" is a reference to the Terrytoons cartoon Heckle and Jeckle.
  • Strong Bad calling Strong Sad "Greystoke" is a reference to Tarzan.
  • The short theme heard while Marzipan listens to public radio is reminiscent of the theme to the National Public Radio program "All Things Considered". Interestingly, on May 8, 2005, The Brothers Chaps were interviewed about the Homestar Runner website on the show, and a clip from the Public Radio segment of this email was featured.

Fast Forward

  • $7.50 is the same amount of money that Strong Bad asks "Simone" for in "bottom 10."

DVD Version

  • If the angle is changed (to view the mid-toon Easter Eggs), Strong Sad's shirt has both sleeves in this version.
  • 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, Strong Sad, Mike's Strong Sad)

MIKE: This is a... commentary.

MATT: Look—

MIKE: Be— Be a character.

MATT: Okay. Who— Which character, Mike?

MIKE: Be Strong Sad. Strong Sad's never joined me for commentary before.

MATT: Okay, we'll see how that works out.

MIKE: All right. Oh, Strong Sad's in this one, I didn't even think about it.

STRONG SAD: I am in the one, Mike.

MIKE: This is— You're pretty good in this. Did you actually do the voice?

STRONG SAD: I don't want to talk about what happened while we were doing that.

MIKE: Did they give yo things?

STRONG SAD: I was given some things...

MIKE: {laughs}

STRONG SAD: For—

MIKE: Did they drug you? or, just—

STRONG SAD: I don't know, Mike!

MIKE: You don't remember?

STRONG SAD: I just know that?

MIKE: Is it all a blur?

STRONG SAD: All this— I would kind of black out, and all of the sudden there was this horrible voice coming forward from my mouth.

MIKE: I kind of like it better than your regular voice.

STRONG SAD: Oh.

MIKE: I can kind of do your— good impression of you, Strong Sad.

STRONG SAD: See, look, there's— that's me.

MIKE'S STRONG SAD: Yeah, this could be you, too.

STRONG SAD: Ah, that's terrible.

MIKE'S STRONG SAD: No, it sounds pretty good.

STRONG SAD: No, it sounds awful.

MIKE'S STRONG SAD: No, I don't— It sounds just like you, Strong Sad.

STRONG SAD: I don't think so, Mike.

MIKE'S STRONG SAD: But do that voice.

STRONG SAD: Do—

MIKE'S STRONG SAD: Do the radio personality voice, Strong Sad.

STRONG SAD: {In radio host voice} Okay! Maybe I will! For a little while! But it hurts! So I'm gonna stop!

MIKE'S STRONG SAD: {sarcastically} Oh, that's so great! That was great!

MATT: Yeah, how you doing, Strong Sad?

MIKE'S STRONG SAD: Well, I'm doing pretty good, I guess.

MATT: This is pretty talented. Matt is talking to Strong Sad at the same time.

MIKE'S STRONG SAD: This— This is the magic of computer technology.

MATT: So, Strong Sad, that phrase, "the fish was delish and it made quite a dish"—

MIKE'S STRONG SAD: Yeah?

MATT: Uh, there was this place in Brooklyn I used to eat called—

MIKE'S STRONG SAD: That—

MATT: —called Giando On The Water, and it was a great little restaurant on the Brooklyn side, right under the Williamsburg bridge.

MIKE'S STRONG SAD: Oh.

MATT: So I wrote an online review of it on, uh, zagat.com or something—

MIKE'S STRONG SAD: Oh, yeah?

MATT: —and under "user comments" I said that the fish was delish and it made quite a dish.

MIKE'S STRONG SAD: That's pretty good.

MATT: You can't find that online, anymore, I looked, actually.

MIKE'S STRONG SAD: That's pretty good. I wonder what {sounding more and more like Mike} Stoops and Gusso have been up to lately. I— I— I usually am not awake at that time, so I— I don't get to hear their hilarious—

MATT: You're turning less and less into Strong Sad the longer you do it.

MIKE'S STRONG SAD: Aww.

MIKE: Oh, no! It's going away!

MATT: And now there's Mike!

MIKE: Augh.

MATT: Mike— And I love that part in the background. Mike is just being the other dudes hanging out in the studio, and just going, "Yeah! You got it! Yeah!" Good job. So, what— that's, uh— there's "highball", "hiyah"—

MIKE: And—

MATT: —and "ah-choo"?

MIKE: "Ah-choo." {indecipherable}

MATT: {indecipherable}

MIKE: Yeah.

MATT: I dunno.

MIKE: Homestar says, "To s—" Oh, that's our friend Rusty's song.

MATT: It is.

MIKE: The very end of it.

{Pause}

MATT: Oh, why do they do that at college radio stations? They put that little sticker on the CD and, like, make the D.J. have to read that thing. So they're always like—

MIKE: Yeah.

MATT: Track— I mean, the track number— who care— you don't have— like on any other radio, no other radio would say—

MIKE: I— I like— I think track number three is a good track.

MATT: {laughs}

MIKE: Seriously. I think that if you listened— go listen to 10 albums and I think that track number three's—

MATT: It's like problems—

MIKE: —probably going to be a hit.

MATT: It's like putting C for an answer on a Scantron test.

MIKE: I used to— I used to count the C's. If C didn't win, I'd go back and change some.

MATT: {laughs}

MIKE: C or D.

MATT: Nice. Uh, originally we were going to use our friend Ariana chanting there, who actually knows some Sanskrit prayers, and so, we had her, but then we thought that she might take offense.

MIKE: May have been sacrilegious.

MATT: Yeah. We don't want to offend—

MIKE: If they were real prayers.

MATT: Hey, the Portly Washboy looks kind of like the kid from the old Boychicks Deli sign over in Orchar— or, Georgetown.

MIKE: {laughs} Georgetown!

MATT: Remember him?

MIKE: Yeah.

MATT: He's about to inhale this entire sub.

MIKE: {laughs} I got celery— ce— celery-flavored soda from Boychicks Deli.

STRONG SAD: That stuff is good!

MIKE'S STRONG SAD: Oh, yeah! You're back! We're both back!

STRONG SAD: I'm out of here—

MIKE'S STRONG SAD: {simultaneously} This is so cool!

STRONG SAD: I'm out of here now.

MIKE'S STRONG SAD: No, stay! Hang around! This is—

STRONG SAD: I don't like you!

MIKE'S STRONG SAD: Oh, man!

MATT: Um...

MIKE'S STRONG SAD: That was great.

MATT: Poster just fell.

Fun Facts

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