Podstar Runner podcast

From Homestar Runner Wiki

I too am so on the go I watch my cartoons on an iPod!

Podstar Runner (stylized as podstar.runner) was a podcast feed re-releasing Strong Bad Emails, Teen Girl Squad, and other select toons in .m4v format, for playing on an iPod or similar portable media player. A total of 94 videos were released across two separate periods of Podstar Runner. The initial iteration ran from January 2006 through March 2007, officially discontinued in September 2007; a revival ran from January through December 2008. Both runs of Podstar Runner typically updated on Thursdays alongside the weeklies.

Toons were frequently modified to some degree to work with the fixed aspect ratio and lack of interactivity compared to Flash in a browser window, similarly to DVD releases. The most prominent change was editing The Paper (and its successors) to read "The End" instead of "Click here to email Strong Bad". Easter eggs either played automatically or were wholly removed. Occasionally, glitches or other minor differences would be introduced in these versions of the toons. Nearly every Podstar Runner video was bookended by short animations, typically Strong Bad interacting with the iPod menu as if he were inside the iPod.

A "podcast" button was on the navbar from March 1, 2007 through October 2009 (after which it was replaced by "subscribe"). The original subdomain for the site (podstar.homestarrunner.com) was removed sometime after August 14, 2017; the site itself has moved to old.homestarrunner.com/podcast/.

When asked about the possibility of Podstar Runner returning, Strong Bad replied, "I been dumpin em's on YouTube. They're not all up there yet." The YouTube channel homestarrunnerdotcom, which also makes toons available as video on mobile devices, can therefore be considered the successor to Podstar Runner.

[edit] Podstar Runner 2006

podstar.runner

Strong Bad Emails & More!

Podstar Runner launched on January 30, 2006 with techno, dragon, japanese cartoon, kids' book, and crying. The podcast launched on iTunes as Strong Bad Email. The background of the Podstar Runner page featured an iPod with video resting against the Floppy Disk Container on the desk in the computer room.

Originally only a collection of Strong Bad Emails, the podcast was renamed to Strong Bad Emails & More! on March 6, 2006 when Teen Girl Squad episodes began to be added, listed under the header "Teen Girl Squadcast" on the website. Following the addition of Everybody to the Limit on April 12, this header was revised to "Teen Girl Squad & MORE!".

The final update was the release of mile on March 22, 2007. This service was discontinued that September, with the download instructions replaced by a note reading, "Podcasts are gone for now. We'll tell them you were thinking about 'em though."

Page Title: Podstar Runner Come On and Come On, Ya'll.

Release Date: January 30, 2006

[edit] Transcript

[edit] Emails

"What am I doing in this tiny box?"

{A parody of the iPod start-up screen is displayed: a silver Homestar head (rather than the Apple logo) dead center. A recreation of the iPod menu appears:}

8:04 PM
Homestarrunner.com	>
Presents	>
A	>
Strong	>
Bad	>
Email	>

{The menu scrolls down to the bottom and selects "Email".}

{The selected email plays.}

{After the email has played, the screen cuts back to the "iPod menu". Strong Bad's head pops into view after a brief moment.}

STRONG BAD: Whoa, what am I doing in this tiny box? {starts banging his head and hands on the screen} Let me! Outta the! Tiny! Box!

{The screen appears to shatter, with a shattering sound effect.}

STRONG BAD: Whoops. Hope you got the extended warranty.

{The shattered screen crackles, and goes black. Two shards of the screen fall.}

[edit] Teen Girl Squad

Teen Girl Squad!

{The Homestar Runner iPod start-up image appears. After a few seconds, a piece of paper is placed over it, with the iPod menu drawn in Strong Bad's handwriting on lined paper:}

8:04 pm
~~Homestarrunner.com~~		>
Presents	Strong^{^}Bad	>
Teen		>
Girl		>
Squad		>

{The menu scrolls down to the bottom.}

STRONG BAD: {TGS voice} Click click click click!

{"Squad" is selected.}

STRONG BAD: {regular voice} Click.

{The selected episode plays.}

[edit] Episodes

The iTunes description for the podcast initially read:

Strong Bad answers real emails from real morons!

After the rebrand to "Strong Bad Emails & More!", the description was expanded to:

Strong Bad answers real emails from real morons, draws his independent comic "Teen Girl Squad!" and lots freaking more!

[edit] Emails

Title	Size	Release Date	Description
Mile	8.1 MB	March 22, 2007	The Cheat animates his own dang Strong Bad Email. In other news, The Cheat is a millionaire.
Theme Song	15 MB	March 1, 2007	Yeah, how come Strong Bad's email show doesn't have a theme song?
High School	10 MB	February 22, 2007	Strong Bad makes up a buncha stuff that's not true. Don't you believe a word of it!
Animal	11.7 MB	February 15, 2007	Strong Bad makes up gross animals. Enter the Lappy.
Haircut	7.5 MB	February 1, 2007	Very little hair on the scalps of the Homestar Runner universe.
Technology	14 MB	January 18, 2007	1100011100101100001110101010101100110
Replacement	7.3 MB	January 11, 2007	SB explores the possibility of finding an heir to his email throne.
Spring Cleaning	6.0 MB	December 7, 2006	Strong Bad has had enough of you people. Deleted is born.
Radio	8.7 MB	November 30, 2006	Dead air, um, dead air.
Action Figure	4.6 MB	November 17, 2006	Smells Like Peanut Action!
Monster Truck	6.1 MB	November 9, 2006	Sunday Sunday Someday!
Garage Sale	9.0 MB	November 3, 2006	Strong Bad attacks garage sales and bad Mom-jokes!
Alternate Universe	18.0 MB	October 19, 2006	The Cheat puts a Gameboy in a blender and Strong Bad dimension jumps all over the place, visiting his favorite dopplegangers.
ISP	8.8 MB	October 12, 2006	Strong Bad's getting throttled down. MindSpring Customer service this is Matt. Can I get your or account number please or identity theft please?
Geddup Noise	11.4 MB	October 6, 2006	SB tells the tale of the mysterious wood-scrapey sound his stool makes when he gets up even though his floor is carpeted.
Mascot	7.4 MB	October 2, 2006	In a hunger-induced haze, Strong Bad and the boys name the CGNU mascot The Dumple.
Caper	6.4 MB	September 25, 2006	Strong Bad and The Cheat break up and make up
Best Thing	12.6 MB	August 3, 2006	The never-before-seen pilot episode of the failed Limozeen Saturday morning cartoon show!!
Stunt Double	6.7 MB	July 20, 2006	Sounds dangerous! No, sounds Dangeresque!
Trevor the Vampire	4.6 MB	July 13, 2006	Strong Bad gets an email from a vampire and realizes the horrible truth. Short but classic action!
Flag Day	7.4 MB	July 6, 2006	Strong Bad unveils the Strong Badian flag and national anthem. Please rise.
Army	8.8 MB	June 29, 2006	Hank Toler asks about Strong Badia's army. The Homestarmy attempts to invade the kingdom.
Crazy Cartoon	6.7 MB	June 13, 2006	Monkey dude asks Strong Bad to make a crazy cartoon and Sweet Cuppin' Cakes is born.
Theme Park	11 MB	June 6, 2006	Strong Bad builds a theme park and Strong Sad gets decked.
Death Metal	9.7 MB	May 15, 2006	Strong Bad lays down the basics of death metal and then runs them over.
Sisters	6.9 MB	April 4, 2006	Two hot sisters email Strong Bad and he messes it up royally.
Personal Favorites	6.0 MB	March 27, 2006	Strong Bad makes little kids and morons think there's emails they haven't seen.
Montage	7.2 MB	March 21, 2006	A montage of montages.
Different Town	7.2 MB	March 13, 2006	How would Strong Bad make the town different?
Video Games	8.4 MB	March 6, 2006	Strong Bad goes cross-platform with bad video game ideas.
Guitar	7.0 MB	February 27, 2006	Ol' SB teaches you everything you need to know about shredding hot lixx.
Virus	10.7 MB	February 20, 2006	A virus wreaks havoc on the Compy.
Caffeine	7.3 MB	February 13, 2006	Strong Sad gets caffeinated.
Bottom 10	11.2 MB	February 6, 2006	From the home office in Scotsdale, AZ...
Crying	9.7 MB	January 30, 2006	Strong Bad invents a 1-legged puppy and the tears flow.
Kids Book	4.6 MB	January 30, 2006	Strong Bad seriously defaces a children's book.
Dragon	9.3 MB	January 30, 2006	Strong Bad starts a bad drawing revolution.
Japanese Cartoon	5.8 MB	January 30, 2006	Strong Bad makes up his own japanese cartoon.
Techno	3.5 MB	January 30, 2006	Some bozo asks about techno music.

[edit] Teen Girl Squad ("Teen Girl Squadcast")

Title	Size	Release Date	Description
TGS Issue 12	5.6 MB	March 15, 2007	It's Vamlumtime's Day. The Wireless Wizard approaches.
TGS Issue 11	5.2 MB	March 8, 2007	The goyles go to summa camp. So and So gets a job. Real live paper!
TGS Issue 10	7.5 MB	May 22, 2006	a B'GRL PRTY??!?
TGS Issue 9	3.3 MB	May 3, 2006	The Tyranny Is Over!
TGS Issue 8	4.3 MB	May 3, 2006	Battle of the Bands!
TGS Issue 7	3.1 MB	April 24, 2006	Teeny Tiny Girl Squad!!
TGS Issue 6	2.2 MB	April 24, 2006	Secret Decemberween Gift Exchange!!
TGS Issue 5	3.2 MB	March 6, 2006	Four teenage girls on Spring Type Break dream of reaching foist base.
TGS Issue 4	3.2 MB	March 6, 2006	Four teenage girls go back to school and get offed in amusing ways.
TGS Issue 3	2.5 MB	March 6, 2006	Four teenage girls shop for summer fashions and pan-asian cuisine.
TGS Issue 2	1.8 MB	March 6, 2006	Four teenage girls try their best to look so good.
TGS Issue 1	1.8 MB	March 6, 2006	Four teenage girls shop, socialize, and get offed in amusing ways.

[edit] Toons

Title	Size	Release Date	Author	Description
An Important Rap Song	8.8 MB	April 26, 2007	Crack Stuntman	Crack Stuntman drops science and knife moderation.
These Peoples Try to Fade Me	10.7 MB	April 5, 2007	Coach Z	Coach Z drops science, but not much.
Cheat Commandos Toys	6.4 MB	February 8, 2007	Cheap as Free Toys	Buy all our playsets and toys!
Malloween Commercial	7.2 MB	October 26, 2006	Fluffy Puff Marshmallows	Marshie peddles Halloween themed marshmallows and finally cracks under the pressure!
Peasant's Quest Game	4.1 MB	July 27, 2006	Videlectrix	Videlectrix unveils a textastic computer game set in the Trogdor universe!
Everybody to the Limit	7.2 MB	April 12, 2006		The Cheat directs a video for Strong Bad's Number One Summer Jam.

[edit] Fun Facts

[edit] Trivia

The blur applied to the background image renders the floppy disk's label unreadable. The titles of multiple possible games could be written on it.
The podcast met with success on iTunes:
- The podcast was featured on the Podcasts main page on iTunes in the "New and Notable" section on February 19, 2006.
- "Strong Bad Email" reached #1 on February 20, 2006.
- "Strong Bad Emails & More!" reached #1 on April 6, 2006.
Bandwidth concerns affected how many episodes were released:
- At Flashforward 2006, The Brothers Chaps mentioned that the larger file sizes of the podcasts led to bandwidth concerns, leading them to second-guess whether the exposure from their iTunes popularity was translating into new fans and increased merch sales.
  - A day prior on February 27, 2006, Podstar Runner ceased downloads of all the previously available Strong Bad Emails and only allowed downloads of the most recent Podcast. A notice on the page read "due to bandwidth doodoo, we're doing one at a time for now." The archive of previous podcasts was reinstated March 3.
- The maximum capacity for the list of emails was 18; after the 18th email, each addition would result in the removal of the oldest one from the page. This also happened on the podcast on iTunes itself.
The binary number in the summary for technology converts to 3,341,564,587.

[edit] Remarks

HERE'S YOUR GLUESTICK, MARK!

While the iPod in the background is meant to be a fifth generation model, the headphone port is placed in the top center (like previous generations), rather than at the top right.
The clock at the top of the iPod screen reads 8:04 before and after the toon.
The battery meter in the intro for the Strong Bad Emails is relatively full, while the hand-drawn intro for Teen Girl Squadcast's battery meter is almost empty.
Several toons have changes:
- With the exception of Homsar's appearance in dragon, none of the clickable Easter eggs from the original versions of the emails are present.
  - All the Easter eggs (except for "She Likes Cloth" from issue #12) in the Teen Girl Squad issues are present, and play automatically, as does the Peasant's Quest Preview egg.
- Due to the size and resolution of the iPod's screen, virus's Navbar is removed, and its "widescreen" effects instead portrayed by pan and scan.
- In the Teen Girl Squad Issue 1 podcast, the "It's Over!" card appears after the Strong Bad Easter egg to match the endings of the other issues.
- In death metal, the email intro seems to be a little extended. Plus, the "shee-doot" sound is omitted when Strong Bad signs off of Video Thyme.
- The Podstar Runner version of Teen Girl Squad Issue 11 features a glue stick superimposed onto the corner of the screen during the scene with the Shirt Folding Store Manager, implicitly the glue used to assemble her face.
Multiple Main Page Messages promoted the podcast:
- The originally message read "sbemail podcast!" but it was later changed to "sbemails on ipod!".
  - This was likely in response to the fact that Podstar Runner was not initially a podcast, due to the videos not being broadcast through a RSS feed syndication; Podstar Runner began to be distributed through an RSS feed on February 6, 2006.
- On March 5, 2006, it was changed to "teen girl squadcast!" in response to the new feature.
The Peasant's Quest Preview showed up on the Podstar directory before getting added to the iTunes podcast page.
The filename for dragon is "trogdor", not "dragon".
Peasant's Quest Preview was instead titled "Peasant's Quest Game".
Everybody to the Limit, These Peoples Try to Fade Me, and An Important Rap Song are played with the email intro and ending despite the fact that they're all not Strong Bad Emails.
The podstar.homestarrunner.com subdomain didn't have the 404'd page set up; incorrect URLs displayed a standard 404 error page instead.

[edit] Goofs

The glitched preview image

When the email ends and returns to the animated iPod menu, the top menu option ("Homestarrunner.com") is highlighted. An iPod would remember the prior selection rather than move back to the top.
Many of the listed file sizes were inaccurate. The table in this article shows the correct file sizes.
The preview picture for Teen Girl Squad 9 (in iTunes) has positioning problems; everything inside the panel seems to be shifted up and to the left, overlapping the panel border.
The sound in crazy cartoon is out of sync between the intro and the ending.
When viewed the in the iTunes Music Store, many podcasts lacked a date: army, flag day, trevor the vampire, stunt double, caper, isp, alternate universe, Peasant's Quest Preview, and Malloween Commercial. Dates appeared once the files were downloaded, excepting caper and army.
When An Important Rap Song was added to the list of downloadable toons, a "\" was added at the end of These Peoples Try to Fade Me.
The email haircut is slightly discolored, making all the colors in the email darker and duller.
At the end of trevor the vampire, the word "back" can be seen fading in for a split second.

[edit] Glitches

Two podcasts??

When "podcast" was included in the navbar, the "p" was not clickable.
- On certain browsers, the "main" and "rando" navbar links did not work from the Podstar Runner menu.
bottom 10 has several issues:
- The audio quality seems to drop to the "Flash file" level after the appearance of Wet The Cheat.
- There seems to be a minor sound bug while Strong Bad has the jibblies.
- The font Snap ITC on the dry T-shirt flyer and the font for Chocolardiac Arrest have been replaced with a default font, apparently Arial.
monster truck has lower audio quality compared to the other podcasts.

[edit] Fixed Glitches

In the XML feed, the description of crying was the same as that of kids' book ("Strong Bad seriously defaces a children's book.").
There used to be two podcasts available through iTunes Music Store: one by "Strong bad" and one by "The Brothers Chaps". Noticeably different between the two was the logo of the two podcasts, as well as the absent "Clean" marker in the second podcast. The podcast by Strong Bad has since been removed.
When guitar was released, all the email links became the same, all leading to the guitar email file.
When montage was released, the link to download montage was incorrect in the XML feed, which pointed to "sb_email_motage.m4v" instead of "sb_email_montage.m4v", leaving users temporarily unable to download montage through iTunes. This was fixed the next day.
The date for theme park in the podcast feed was incorrectly listed as May 6, 2006 instead of June 6, 2006.
Due to the use of relative linking in the navbar (and depending on the browser), clicking on any of the links on the bottom of the page occasionally directed you to a nonexistent page beginning with the http://podstar.homestarrunner.com/ subdomain. This was fixed when "podcast" was added to the navbar.

[edit] Inside References

The description for personal favorites reflects how the Brothers Chaps often get questioned about the existence of the emails listed in that toon.
The description of isp refers to Matt Chapman's prior job at MindSpring, previously mentioned in a similar manner in the DVD commentary for garage sale.
The page title refers to Strong Bad's intro song for rampage as well as a Thorax Corporation mp3.
The description for guitar mentions hot lixx, spelled in the more typical fashion compared to "hott" as seen in the email itself.
One of the keywords for the Teen Girl Squadcast episodes is "arrowed", a reference to the Arrow'd Guy.

[edit] Real-World References

The description for bottom 10 refers to one of the purported locations that the "Top Ten Lists" were compiled for a Late Night with David Letterman segment.

[edit] Podstar Runner 2008

podstar.runner 2.0

Podstar Runner remained dormant for about three and a half months. A Main Page message on January 7, 2008 indicated that podcasts would return the following Thursday; as promised, the Podstar Runner page was redesigned and had the email looking old available for download on January 10. The updated background now featured an iPod Touch leaning against a pile of books, on a table with a purple wall indicating Strong Sad's Room.

This iteration only made videos available one at a time (as cheekily acknowledged with the page title), meaning that when a new podcast was released the prior one would be removed. Unlike the 2006 run, the revival only included Strong Bad Emails; every email from 2007 and 2008 was released as a podcast.

Although no subsequent videos were released after December 18, 2008 and the podcast is no longer prominently linked to on the site, the final upload (email thunder) is still available for download.

Page Title: Podstar Runner. One a time, please.

Release Date: January 10, 2008