alternate universe
From Homestar Runner Wiki
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*This marks the second time in which characters from at least two different universes come together in one universe. The first time was in [[20X6 vs. 1936]], in which The Homestar Runner shows up on [[Planet K]]. | *This marks the second time in which characters from at least two different universes come together in one universe. The first time was in [[20X6 vs. 1936]], in which The Homestar Runner shows up on [[Planet K]]. | ||
*When the portal appears, along the side of it, there is some pixel disruption, where the individual pixels can be seen. | *When the portal appears, along the side of it, there is some pixel disruption, where the individual pixels can be seen. | ||
| + | *In the scene where Homestar tries to make a "real fruit smoothie", a container of Total Load can be seen in the background, possibly being used as one of his ingredients. Total Load is featured in the first episode of [[SBCG4AP]], [[Homestar Ruiner]]. | ||
===Remarks=== | ===Remarks=== | ||
Revision as of 15:25, 19 October 2008
| Strong Bad Email #150 |
|
In this, his sesquicentenn-email, Strong Bad constructs an alternate universe portal with the help of The Cheat and visits alternate realities, along with many of his doppelgängers, while Homestar tries to make a real fruit smoothie.
Cast (in order of appearance): Strong Bad, Strong Sad, The Cheat, Strong Badman, Deutschman, Old-Timey Strong Bad, Vector Strong Bad, Stinkoman, Tiny-Handed Strong Bad, Pom Pom (silhouette), Strong Mad (silhouette), Coach Z, Bubs (silhouette), Marzipan (silhouette), The Fat Bee, Keyboard Strong Bad, Puppet Strong Bad, Da Huuuuuudge, Teenage Strong Bad, Homestar Runner, Senor Cardgage, Sterrance
Places: Computer Room, Strong Badman's Apartment, Old-Timey Stage, Vector Field, Flashback Race Track, Strong Badia (puppet), Da Huuuuuudge's Enclosure, Pie Factory, Interdimensional Void, Recording Studio, The Pond (Easter Egg), Black Lodge (Easter Egg)
Computer: Lappy 486
Date: Tuesday, April 4, 2006
Running Time: 5:52
Page Title: Lappy 486
DVD: strongbad_email.exe Disc Five
Contents |
Transcript
STRONG BAD: {singing over guitar music} I've been walking on clouds and flipping off rainbows, on the wiiiiings of an emaiiil...
{Cut to a wide view of the desk. Strong Sad is standing to the right of Strong Bad with a classical guitar. Strong Bad turns to face him.}
STRONG BAD: Thanks, man.
STRONG SAD: No prob, Bob.
{Cut back to the Lappy.}
subject: alternate univer$eDear Strong Bad,
Got some ?'s for you:
1. What would you do with a hundred million dollars?
2. What would you do if you suddenly found yourself in
an alternate universe somehow?
Jody (not a girl), TX
{Strong Bad says "question marks" for "?'s", and "Number one" and "Number two" for "1." and "2.", respectively.}
STRONG BAD: {says everything inside parentheses normally} Ya know, you could probably ditch that (not a girl) thing, if you just replaced it with something tough and cool and kool and tuff. Like (Bulldozer). Jody (Bulldozer). Nobody's gonna think that guy's a girl. {clears screen} Well Ms. Dozer, you pretty much answered question mark #1 {read "number one"} with question mark #2 {read "number two"}. Cuz a hundred million dollars is exactly how much The Cheat spent on our alternate universe portal.
{Cut to a wide view of the desk. The Cheat is standing to the right of the Lappy with a blender containing a Nintendo Game Boy.}
STRONG BAD: Isn't that right, The Cheat?
THE CHEAT: {The Cheat noises}
STRONG BAD: What? This thing only cost us fourteen bucks?
THE CHEAT: {agreeing The Cheat noise}
STRONG BAD: Well... that's like a hundred million dollars in... dog years, right?
THE CHEAT: {affirmative The Cheat noise}
STRONG BAD: {leans towards The Cheat suddenly} All right! Mash go on that blender!
{Camera zooms out a little as The Cheat presses a button on the blender. The blender shoots out white bolts as the lighting in the room flashes. Soon after, the blender stops with the Game Boy intact, and there is a large swirl to the right of the desk.}
STRONG BAD: Oh-ho-ho! Swirly Photoshopped magic! I bet this thing could release some serious Cacodemons. So... {The Cheat turns to face Strong Bad} What? I— I just jump in?
THE CHEAT: {The Cheat noises}
STRONG BAD: {leaning backwards} Ohbee Kaybee! {jumps off the stool and towards the swirl} Jump!
{As soon as Strong Bad touches the swirl, everything except him and the swirl turns black and white. Strong Bad distorts horizontally and vertically, then "springs" into the swirl. Cut to a panel of a comic strip with a number of buildings drawn in it. A caption at the top of the panel reads "IN A BULDING..."}
NARRATOR: In a bulding...
{Camera shifts to the next panel, which shows an empty room. Strong Bad appears, with "VOIP!" appearing next to him briefly. While in the comic, everything Strong Bad says is also shown in a speech bubble.}
STRONG BAD: Whoa! Where am I?
{Next panel. Strong Badman is in an action pose on a yellow background. Everything he says also appears in a speech bubble, and is not lip-synced.}
STRONG BADMAN: {in large red text} STINY! {normal text} We have a visitor from an alternate universe!
{Next panel. Strong Bad appears in the same room.}
STRONG BAD: {looking to the right} It's Strong Badman! And his well drawn abs! {looks to the left} But... why are we in a crappy apartment instead of a secret underground lair... {looks back to the right} ...filled with secret underground gadgets?
{Next panel. Strong Badman is shown from the chest up in front of a blue background.}
STRONG BADMAN: Because mere mortal... this apartment...
{Next panel. Strong Badman appears in front of a red background with his arms in the air. A thunderclap can be heard in the background.}
STRONG BADMAN: {speech bubble is large, yellow and pointy} ...IS RENT CONTROLLED! {next speech bubbles are regular} And... water's included.
{Next panel. A kitchen and bathroom sink are shown with the faucets running. The bathroom tap has the word "FROSH!" next to it.}
STRONG BAD: {offscreen} Is that why all your faucets are running?
{Next panel. Strong Badman is standing in a room.}
STRONG BADMAN: {each syllable appears individually in red text and is not in a speech bubble} MU-HU-HA-HA-HAH! {regular speech bubble and text} Those dimwits down at the public works won't know what hit them!
STRONG BAD: {walking in from left} So, that's your evil plan? To waste water?
STRONG BADMAN: And not pay for it!!
STRONG BAD: I gotta tell ya, Strong Badman... this part of your comic is pretty boring. I'm gonna see what's going on further down the page. {jumps out of the current panel} Jump!
{He falls down three panels. There is a woman with a big knife sitting on a giant robotic snake.}
STRONG BAD: Oh! Now we're talkin'!
{Next panel. Strong Badman is in the left of the panel, Strong Bad in the center, and there is a TV with the previous panel on it (minus Strong Bad) to the right.}
STRONG BADMAN: You're not kidding!
STRONG BAD: Wha?
STRONG BADMAN: Now we have expanded basic cable...
{Next panel. Close-up of a cable running through a hole in the wall.}
STRONG BADMAN: {offscreen} Stolen from my neighbor!
{Next panel. Strong Bad is in front of a yellow background.}
STRONG BAD: Who's writing this issue? The geniuses behind She-Hulk? {looks up} The Cheat?
{Cut back to the Computer Room.}
STRONG BAD: {voice is slightly distorted, and a speech bubble appears from the swirl} A little frappe action, if you please.
THE CHEAT: {single The Cheat noise}
{The Cheat turns around and turns on the blender. Cut back to the previous comic panel. Strong Bad disappears with the same "VOIP!" with which he appeared.}
{Next panel. Strong Badman is in the same pose as when he first appeared, but flipped around and with a green background.}
STRONG BADMAN: {in large red text} STINY! {normal text} Keep flushing those toilets!
{Cut to the Old-Timey stage. Old-Timey Strong Bad is standing on the stage with curtains behind him. To the left of him is a sign that reads "STRONG BAD and his GOODE-TIME PARLOR TRICKS". An audience can be seen silhouetted at the bottom of the screen.}
OLD-TIMEY STRONG BAD: Yes, and for my next parlor trick, I shan't make anything {faces left} appear!
{Strong Bad appears to the left of Old-Timey Strong Bad. He is still in color.}
STRONG BAD: Oh. H-hi.
OLD-TIMEY STRONG BAD: {crowd starts booing} You brightly colored baboon! You've ruined my vaudeville!
{The Homestar Runner's dance music plays as tomatoes are thrown at the two Strong Bads.}
STRONG BAD: Ah! Shades of gray tomatoes!
{Strong Bad disappears as Old-Timey Strong Bad looks to the left.}
{Cut to Vector Strong Bad floating above a vector field. Strong Bad appears to the right.}
STRONG BAD: What is up, my enormous vector brother?
{As Vector Strong Bad speaks, his words come out of his mouth in red vector-style text. They disappear after a short while.}
VECTOR STRONG BAD: HELLOTE.
STRONG BAD: So, uh... {cut to close-up of Strong Bad} what do you do for fun around here? {cut back to previous view}
VECTOR STRONG BAD: I SPLO STUFF UP.
{Strong Bad jumps backwards slightly to avoid the "UP", which promptly explodes with vector graphics.}
STRONG BAD: Whoa, that's pretty cool.
{Stinkoman walks in from the left.}
STINKOMAN: Hey, guys! How's challenges?
VECTOR STRONG BAD: WHAT IT IS MY DOGE?
STRONG BAD: Whoa, you two know each other?
{Cut to close-up of Stinkoman.}
STINKOMAN: {smiles} Oh, totally sure! {leans forward and waves one of his arms} He's my training simulator!
{Cut back to previous view.}
STINKOMAN: Check it out!
{Vector Strong Bad starts moving left and right, shooting squares from his mouth. Stinkoman jumps around and dodges the squares. Strong Bad also jumps over and around the squares, but appears to have more difficulty doing so. Game music from video games plays. After a few seconds, they all stop.}
STINKOMAN: Nice work, big nose!
STRONG BAD: Big nose?
STINKOMAN: Your nose!
VECTOR STRONG BAD: LEVEL 2
STRONG BAD: Uh-oh.
STINKOMAN: {simultaneously} Uh-oh.
{Stinkoman silently laughs as Vector Strong Bad shoots a series of squares directly at Strong Bad. As they explode, Strong Bad disappears. Vector Strong Bad then shoots some squares at Stinkoman, which he dodges.}
{Cut to a field in the style of flashback. Tiny Handed Strong Bad is standing close to the camera. Strong Bad appears to the right. All text appears in a white rectangle near the bottom of the screen.}
NARRATOR STRONG BAD: And so, {Strong Bad starts looking around} both Strong Bads entered the 'Dig To China With Your Ears Contest.'
STRONG BAD: This is just about... the second or third to worst contest I ever heard of.
{Cut to a silhouetted view of the field. Pom Pom, Strong Mad, Coach Z, Bubs and Marzipan are standing to the right of a banner which reads "the contest began!!". Tiny Handed Strong Bad is underneath the banner.}
NARRATOR STRONG BAD: The contest began!
{Cut to a close-up of Tiny Handed Strong Bad rubbing his head on the ground near a line marked "start".}
NARRATOR STRONG BAD: And tiny-handed Strong Bad rubbed his head on the ground... {cut to a wide view; Strong Bad is sitting on a hammock with his Dangeresque sunglasses on.} while our Modern Day Hero maxed and relaxed.
{Cut to Tiny Handed Strong Bad standing near the camera again, as in the first shot. A hole is visible near the background, and a giant glass of root beer appears in the center.}
TINY HANDED STRONG BAD: I struck it rich!
NARRATOR STRONG BAD: Said T.H.S.B.
{Cut to a zoomed out view of the previous scene, but with the giant glass of root beer in the center. The Fat Bee is seen holding Strong Bad's hammock up.}
TINY HANDED STRONG BAD: A giant mug of frosty root beer!
{Old-Timey Strong Bad appears to the left in a bathing suit. Tiny Handed Strong Bad looks at him.}
OLD-TIMEY STRONG BAD: Zounds! A sarsparilla swimming hole! Last one in's a freemason! {he half-runs toward the root beer and jumps in} Jump! {this last word does not appear in a subtitle}
{Strong Bad disappears. Keyboard Strong Bad appears at the bottom left of the screen and dances while playing a tune.}
{Cut to a screen in the style of Puppet Stuff. Puppet Strong Bad is standing in front of the Strong Badia fence. The Tire and Stop Sign are visible. Strong Bad appears to the right. Music starts playing and both Strong Bads dance in sync with each other. After a moment, Strong Bad disappears again.}
{Cut to Da Huuuuuudge's Enclosure. Strong Bad appears lying down on top of it. He slowly slides down, then disappears.}
{Cut to the abandoned factory from highschool. Teenage Strong Bad is standing to the right. Strong Bad appears to the left.}
TEENAGE STRONG BAD: Stripèd pants.
{Strong Bad disappears. Cut to the interdimensional void, which changes colors constantly.}
STRONG BAD: {voice slightly distorted} The Cheat! Cool out on the liquefy button, man!
{Cut to a close-up of Homestar standing next to the blender in the Computer Room. The blender still contains the Game Boy, but now also contains a green substance. One and a half avocados are sitting on the desk, along with a jar that reads "Total Load". Homestar is pressing buttons on the blender.}
HOMESTAR RUNNER: I'm trying to make me a real fruit smoothie here!
{Cut to a wide shot. Tiny Handed Strong Bad is standing to the left, with Senor Cardgage, Old-Timey Strong Bad and Da Huuuuuudge to the right.}
HOMESTAR RUNNER: Any of you guys got any bee pollen?
{As Homestar presses another button, Strong Bad appears next to the portal and Strong Badman appears on the left side of the screen.}
STRONG BAD: Homestar! Quit messing with my alternate universe portal!
HOMESTAR RUNNER: {slowly} I'm trying to replenish some electrolytes, if you don't mind!
{Homestar presses another button on the blender. He and the portal both suddenly disappear, and Sterrance appears on the desk.}
STRONG BAD: {looking around} Wow. Just look at all these Strong Bad-related faces. What an all-star cast! What say we all form a supergroup and record a number one jam!
{All of the Strong Bad clones groan.}
STINKOMAN: {off-screen, simultaneously with Old-Timey Strong Bad} I guess...
OLD-TIMEY STRONG BAD: {simultaneously with Stinkoman} If we must.
{The screen fades to black, and then cuts to Strong Bad in the recording studio. Some music starts playing, and continues through the rest of the e-mail.}
STRONG BAD: {singing} There's a crazy world of e-mails in this crazy world. {Cut to a reversed view of Strong Bad.} Checkin' 'em down, checkin' 'em down...
{Cut to Stinkoman standing next to Strong Badman and Old-Timey Strong Bad.}
STINKOMAN: {singing} I hope it's from a girrrrrrrl!
{Old-Timey Strong Bad winces and looks toward Stinkoman on his last word. Cut to a zoomed out view of the scene, revealing (from left to right), Stinkoman, Strong Badman, Old-Timey Strong Bad, Strong Bad, Vector Strong Bad, Keyboard Strong Bad, Senor Cardgage, Teenage Strong Bad, Sterrance and Tiny Handed Strong Bad. Strong Badman's words appear in speech bubbles next to him.}
ALL STRONG BADS: {singing} Save the last email for Strong Bad!
{Cut to Senor Cardgage at the recording studio.}
SENOR CARDGAGE: {singing} Let the little childrens go.
{Cut to Vector Strong Bad in the field, which now has blue lines running above and below it.}
VECTOR STRONG BAD: {singing} I HOPE THEY DON'T A SPLODE
{Cut back to a panning view of all the Strong Bads.}
ALL STRONG BADS: {singing} Save the last email for Strong—
{Cut to Old-Timey Strong Bad in the recording studio just before "Bad".}
ALL STRONG BADS: —Bad!
OLD-TIMEY STRONG BAD: Save the last email for Strong Bad!
{Da Huuuuuudge fades in from the right.}
DA HUUUUUUDGE: {singing in a high voice with vibrato} Save the last email for meeeee!
{A comic panel with Strong Badman in front of a green background slides into the upper-left corner toward the end of Da Huuuuuudge's line.}
STRONG BADMAN: Save the last email!
{Cut back to a view of all the Strong Bads. The camera slowly zooms out during Strong Bad's line.}
STRONG BAD: All my Strong Bad doppelgängers represent. Sesquicentenn-email, 2005. I-I mean six.
{The music stops. The Paper comes down.}
Easter Eggs
- At the end, click on Teenage Strong Bad's hat to see a creation of Strong Sad's ideas from Sbemail 150?!?:
- {Piano music, fade in on Coach Z holding a pear covered with eyeballs while black coffee continually streams down his mouthless face. Cut to a close-up of the pear with its eyes googling, then to another shot of the pear from behind Coach Z with his arm raised higher. Then cut to a close-up of Coach Z's head. Fade via black to the original shot. Homestar appears next to Coach Z.}
- HOMESTAR RUNNER: {subtitled, in a fake backwards-sounding voice} Coach Z, if you're not going to eat that eyeball pear... {clears his throat, starts talking normally with no subtitles} I suggest you give it to someone who will.
- COACH Z: {distressed} I don't know what's going on, Homestar, but I'm not at liberty to discuss what I just did in my pants!
- At the end, click on Senor Cardgage's head to see Strong Bad's meeting with him:
- {Senor Cardgage is sitting in a boat on a lake, holding a stick with fishing line tied to the end, hanging over the side. Strong Bad appears in the boat.}
- STRONG BAD: Wow, a fishing trip with Senor Cardgage! My life is complete.
- SENOR CARDGAGE: Alonzo Mourning to you, Myrtlebeth. Say hello to my tacklebox. {holds up said tacklebox}
- STRONG BAD: Hello there, tacklebox. {smiles} I'm such a big fan.
- SENOR CARDGAGE: Well, if you could just sign right here on the dotty line, the adaption will be complete.
- STRONG BAD: You're gonna adopt me?
- {Strong Bad disappears}
- STRONG BAD: {offscreen and echoing slightly} Aw, man!
Fun Facts
Explanations
- Strong Bad's conversion of fourteen dollars into dog years refers to the often-confused (and inaccurate) folk formula that dogs age seven "years" for every human year.
- Rent control is a policy used in some urban communities where the market price is deemed too high. Rent controlled dwellings are highly coveted in the communities where they are available.
- Vaudeville is a style of multi-act theatre that flourished in North America from the 1880s to the 1920s, later succeeded by silent movies. Acts included anything from acrobats to mathematicians and from song-and-dance duos to trick high divers.
- Sarsaparilla (spelled incorrectly as "sarsparilla" in the flashback scene) is a type of plant used to make beverages, and is a common ingredient in root beer. It is more commonly pronounced "sass-parilla" than "sar-sparilla" or "sar-sa-parilla". It is also commonly misspelled "sasparilla".
- A freemason is a member of a fraternal men's organization such as the York Rite or the Scottish Rite. Other organizations permitting women and/or minors as members (including DeMolay, Job's Daughters, Eastern Star) fall under the umbrella of freemasonry, etc.
- Electrolytes are solutions of ions (such as sodium and potassium salts) that are lost during perspiration. Drinks containing electrolytes, such as popular sports drinks, are often used to ease dehydration.
- A Supergroup is a musical group comprising artists who were previously members of earlier, well-known groups.
- A Doppelgänger refers either to a creature from folklore that mimics people's appearances as an omen of death, or to the theory that everyone in the world has someone else that looks exactly like them.
- Adobe Photoshop is a widely used image editor from Adobe Systems Incorporated. The term "Photoshopped" has come to mean any digital edit done to an image, even if it wasn't done in Photoshop itself. The term is often used pejoratively to say that something is rather obviously edited.
- Stinkoman calls Strong Bad "big nose", a derogatory term used in eastern Asia to describe Westerners, whose noses tend to be genetically larger than Asians'. This is also a reference to the anime art style, where noses are less pronounced than most American cartoons.
Trivia
- This email was the longest email when released, almost a full minute longer than flashback (previously the longest). However, it has since been surpassed by retirement.
- When Strong Bad jumps down several panels in the Strong Badman comic, he passes a panel containing an explosion (with the word "TADAOW!"), and another panel with Deutschman (from haircut) holding a chain of sausages. Deutschman is saying "KINDER UBERRASCHUNG!!", the German name for Kinder Surprise (though Uberraschung should be spelled Überraschung).
- The label on the disk in the floppy disk container reads "weird dreams".
- This is the first time Stinkoman has been seen smiling without laughing.
- This is the first time the Da Huuuuuudge's voice is heard.
- This marks the second time in which characters from at least two different universes come together in one universe. The first time was in 20X6 vs. 1936, in which The Homestar Runner shows up on Planet K.
- When the portal appears, along the side of it, there is some pixel disruption, where the individual pixels can be seen.
- In the scene where Homestar tries to make a "real fruit smoothie", a container of Total Load can be seen in the background, possibly being used as one of his ingredients. Total Load is featured in the first episode of SBCG4AP, Homestar Ruiner.
Remarks
- Strong Bad has no visible nose or ears, despite the fact that those body parts were mentioned in this email.
- Senor Cardgage is the only one of Strong Bad's alter egos who had been seen talking with him prior to this email, as seen in kind of cool, garage sale, and Senorial Day.
- This is a rare occasion of Strong Bad being nice to Strong Sad.
- In Strong Bad is in Jail Cartoon, Strong Sad is seen writing with his right hand. However, in this email, Strong Sad is playing the guitar left-handed, though it is possible that Strong Sad is ambidextrous.
- When Strong Bad types "Well, Ms. Dozer" he types Ms. (pronounced 'miz', used by both married and single women) but pronounces it 'miss', which is the form of address for unmarried women).
- If every dollar was a "dog year", then according to the popular formula, the money would still only sum up to ninety-eight dollars.
- Conversely, if Strong Bad were correct, each "dollar in dog years" would be worth over $70,000.
- Frappé is spelled as "Frappe" when Strong Bad talks to The Cheat. It is lacking the acute accent.
- During the Vector Strong Bad segment, the cartoon's border changes to red.
- When the mug of root beer appears, the hole is under the hammock; before, it was beside the hammock.
- Homestar pronounces the word "fruit" without his usual speech impediment.
- Not all Strong Bad versions were included, such as his Powered by The Cheat version or his Teen Girl Squad version.
- During the recording session at the end, Strong Badman's words appear in a speech bubble, but Vector Strong Bad's words do not appear in text as they always otherwise do.
- In the same scene, the wall's grey spot pattern is made from a single image of dots copied and pasted multiple times. This results in some half dots appearing between the copied images.
- In the recording studio, the characters use wireless microphones. While wireless microphones are handy in live performance (to prevent signal loss on a long cable run, as well as to avoid tangling of cables), they are actually rarely used in studio work because cabled microphones deliver truer fidelity.
- The puppet Strong Bad is the only doppelgänger Strong Bad visited that did not appear in the ending screen, for obvious reasons.
- As Coach Z moves his head during his line in the Black Lodge Easter egg scene, the way the coffee dripping from the bottom of his head is animated makes it look as though the coffee breaks the rules of gravity; it seems to be dripping at an angle.
- In the Easter Egg with Senor Cardgage, when Strong Bad disappears, his voice can still be heard even though he is probably far away from where Senor Cardgage is.
Goofs
- At the beginning of the email, Strong Bad's reflection is out of sync with his movements.
- After cutting to the wide shot showing The Cheat with the blender, the Lappy's screen includes the text "Isn't that right, The Cheat?", even though Strong Bad didn't actually type it.
- When Strong Bad first jumps into the alternate universe portal, his stool disappears briefly while he's in the process of warping. It briefly reappears after Strong Bad leaves, but for the remainder of the email, the stool is missing.
- During the comic scene, the panel below the one after "Because, mere mortal..." has a blue background at first. When it moves to the next panel ("Is rent controlled!"), the background changes to green.
- Several times during the email, Strong Bad's pants change color from black to dark navy (although the pant legs remain the same color), such as the first scene with Vector Strong Bad and the recording session at the end.
- In the "Dig to China with your ears contest" part, the starting line disappears when the camera cuts to the giant mug of root beer.
- In the "Save The Last Email" song, Vector Strong Bad is behind Strong Badman, yet his white and green lines appear above Strong Badman when talking/singing.
- Stinkoman does not have any shine on his chest. This also happened in Happy Trogday, prior to this toon.
Fixed Goofs
- When the email was released, "girl" was misspelled as "gir" in Jody's email. This was fixed shortly thereafter.
Inside References
- Strong Bad's intro song refers to flipping the bird.
- Strong Sad was previously seen playing an acoustic guitar in a Sketchbook entry, although that guitar was a twelve-string. Here he plays a six-string classical guitar.
- The alternate dimension machine is a Game Boy in a Blender. In 2 emails, Homestar claims to have made a time machine by sticking a Game Boy in a blender while the email is fast-forwarding.
- This is another example of mashing.
- The "In a bulding" line, including its accent and pronunciation, is straight from the DVD Sketchbook (though it was spelled correctly there).
- The woman on Strong Badman's television is holding a Big Knife.
- "Doge" is a reference to Biz Cas Fri 1, where Homestar misspells the word "dog" ("dawg") the same way.
- Strong Bad comments that the "Dig To China With Your Ears Contest" is the "second or third to worst contest I ever heard of." The worst contests that originated in children's storybooks are likely to be the "Strongest Man in the World Contest" from the Original Book, and the "Ten Step Footrace" from flashback.
- The fence used for the puppet Strong Badia set is the same one used in Homestar vs. Other Little Girl.
- This is another appearance of the Dangeresque sunglasses.
- Strong Bad previously mentioned "real fruit smoothies" in mascot, saying that he had promised to buy some for the team if they won the game.
- Homestar Runner's "real fruit smoothie" is another example of a concoction.
- Stinkoman's line in the song "I hope it's from a girl" is a possible reference to the e-mail song in dragon ("Every week I hope that it's from a female!").
- Strong Bad visits many previous emails in his travels:
- Strong Badman, his well-drawn abs and Stiny originated in superhero name.
- Deutschman originated in haircut.
- Vector Strong Bad is from video games.
- Stinkoman originated in japanese cartoon.
- Tiny-handed Strong Bad is from flashback.
- Keyboard Strong Bad originated in crazy cartoon and played the same song then as in this email.
- Da Huuuuuudge and Sterrance are both from animal.
- Teenage Strong Bad and the term "stripèd pants" are from highschool.
- Senor Cardgage originated in kind of cool.
- In addition, some of the music accompanying the scenes Strong Bad visits are also reused from other parts of the website. They include:
- The music from action figure; later used in suntan and army (during the Strong Badman scene).
- Old-Timey Strong Bad's theme music from Parsnips A-Plenty; later used in 50 emails (during the Old-Timey scene).
- The Homestar Runner's dance music (also during the Old-Timey scene).
- The synthesized drum tune from Main Page 21 (during the Vector Field scene).
- The music from flashback (during the Original Book scene).
- Keyboard Strong Bad's demo music from crazy cartoon.
- The weird music during Coach Z's dream scene from A Jorb Well Done; later used in lures & jigs (during the fishing Easter egg scene with Senor Cardgage).
- The creepy music during Strong Sad's storyboard scenes from Sbemail 150?!? (during the Coach Z Easter egg).
- The Easter egg with coffee-drenched Coach Z and the eyeball pear begins exactly as described and storyboarded by Strong Sad in Sbemail 150?!?.
- The word sesquicentenn-email, ("150th email"), was also coined by Strong Sad in Sbemail 150?!?.
- The fishing boat, lake and background sounds are all from lures & jigs.
- The word "VOIP" is a reference to the Visor Robot's sound effect from Teen Girl Squad Issue 1.
- In the fishing trip scene, Strong Bad smiles.
Real-World References
- Cacodemons are evil spirits or demons, the opposite being an angel or "agathodemon". However, the name cacodemon is better known as the flying, red, one-eyed enemy from the Doom series of computer games. The plot for these games involved demons escaping hell via portals.
- The pronunciation "ohbee kaybee" for "okay" was frequently said by the character Mushmouth on the animated Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, as well as being used by Bill Cosby himself in his famous "Dentists" routine.
- The font in the comic book alternative universe, known as "Peanuts", was designed to emulate the style of lettering used in the Peanuts comics.
- She-Hulk is a comic book heroine from Marvel Comics and the cousin of The Incredible Hulk. She-Hulk comics were once noted for their fourth-wall breaks, similar to Strong Bad's comments on the quality of the Strong Badman comic and his ability to travel from panel to panel. These not-always-appreciated gags were introduced by writer John Byrne, who may be the "genius" Strong Bad ridicules.
- However, in the commentary to this email, the Brothers Chaps claim they were not aware of this when writing the email.
- The phrase "maxed and relaxed" may be a reference to the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song, in which Will Smith states he is "maxin' and relaxin' all cool". Additionally, Smith uses the phrase throughout the series and his own raps.
- The surreal Coach Z Easter egg is an homage to a famous scene from the similarly surreal TV series, Twin Peaks. The background for the scene featured red drapes, and the starring character, Dale Cooper, spills coffee on himself, represented here by Coach Z's streaming hat of coffee. The unusual speech used by Homestar, meanwhile, was the hallmark of the scene; the actors actually spoke their dialogue backwards, and the recording was then played in reverse, so that the words were heard by the audience in their proper order (though they still sounded unusual and contorted, just as Homestar sounds here). It seems as though Matt Chapman faked this technique, rather than actually recording his lines backwards. Twin Peaks was co-created by director David Lynch, whom Strong Sad cited as an influence in Sbemail 150?!?. Additionally, the phrase "I'm not at liberty to discuss [...]" is a direct lift from the lines of Major Garland Brigs, a character on Twin Peaks, who is often unable to talk about what he does for a living.
- Alonzo Mourning is an NBA basketball player.
- The sound effect in the fishing Easter Egg that starts right after Strong Bad says "Wow, a fishing trip with Senor Cardgage!" is from Fishing With John.
- Strong Bad jumping from panel to panel resembles the game Comix Zone
DVD Version
- Video of Matt singing the song from the email is included as a separate Easter egg.
- The DVD version features creators' commentary. To access it, switch the DVD player's audio language selection while watching.
Commentary Transcript
Commentary by: Matt Chapman, Mike Chapman, Old-Timey Strong Bad
OLD-TIMEY STRONG BAD: I refuse to speak about this SBEmail!
MIKE: Ohhhh, Old-Timey Strong Bad.
OLD-TIMEY STRONG BAD: Aren't you glad to see-a me?
MIKE: Do you go by Old-Timey Strong Bad or are you just Strong Bad?
OLD-TIMEY STRONG BAD: I'll go by you with a spine-toothed comb!
MIKE: Uhh... I forgot—
OLD-TIMEY STRONG BAD: And I'm out!
MATT: Oh! Uh, who was that, Mike?
MIKE: I don't know. I guess he didn't think he could make it though the whole email?
MATT: I don't know. He said he was refusing to comment on it.
MIKE: I didn't remember that Strong Sad played, uh, backup on the email song.
MATT: Yeah, it's a sweet— it's one of the few— one of the few tender moments between those brothers. When he says "No prob Bob," it makes me want to cry.
MIKE: So, it was—
MATT: Like those times when we were kids and you would be nice and let me hang out with you and John Radle.
MIKE: They were few and far between. It was usually just so we could beat you up or pour something on you.
MATT: Yeah...
MIKE: Spray something in your eye.
MATT: Uh, Gameboy in a blender, Mike, so that's a reference to— What email is that? The one where Strong Bad fast— The one where he fast forwards. 2 emails?
MIKE: 2 emails.
MATT: Yeah.
MIKE: Look at that!
MATT: Whoa!
MIKE: Look at that portal!
MATT: Whoa! What a portal! {pause} Definitely. Portals— Anybody that's developing portals right now, in the military or in science needs to stop. 'Cause video— if video games have taught us anything, it's that a bunch of evil demons from Hell are gonna come out of it, and, kill us all. {pause} Oh! In— In Principal Belving's office!
MIKE: So, this email was kind of, you know we hadta, do something, special for 150.
MATT: Yeah, definitely. Bring all the Strong Bad— the various Strong Bads together.
MIKE: {overlapping} The many faces of Strong Bad.
MATT: The many facets, even.
MIKE: This is, uh... we had written a Strong Badman years ago, three or four years ago, that was sort of based on this premise.
MATT: Yeah, he was just gonna get an apartment, and feel like his apartment was gonna help him take over the world, and he'd just have a landlord that he would— He hits him with ping— a ping-pong
MIKE: A ping-pong ball, yeah. Is that in here?
MATT: No.
MIKE: {overlapping} No.
MATT: It's not.
MIKE: I can't remember. He throws a ping-pong ball—
MATT: At his landlord.
MIKE: Landlord, yeah.
MATT: {overlapping} Yeah. {pause} Uh, it was just on cable. Whoa. And on Animal Planet. Probably.
MIKE: So, apparently She-Hulk was well known for breaking the fourth wall.
MATT: And having good writing. {laughs}
MIKE: Yeah, too. Which we didn't know.
MATT: {overlapping} Yeah, we didn't know. I just assumed She-Hulk— I've never read an issue of She-Hulk. One time she was in this Fantastic Four versus X-Men that I got. That's about all the exposure I have.
MIKE: {overlapping} I think I read about her in the Marvel— Didn't they have those Marvel universe, just kind of encyclopedias?
MATT: Yeah, yeah. {pause} Good-time parlor tricks. So, back then, people were apparently so easily amused that you could do nothing. You could make nothing appear, and people would— people would ooh and ahh at you. {pause} Look, so these guy are buddies, Mike! My doge!
MIKE: That's a reference to a Biz Caz Fri.
MATT: Oh, Stinkoman. And to the right!
MIKE: {laughs} Your nose.
MATT: Uh... Oh, look out, Stinkoman. {pause} Uh... There he goes, rubbin' his head on the ground. He's wearing his Dangerask shades.
MIKE: Dangerask shades.
MATT: Dangeresque.
MIKE: Yeah, it's like, sort of like danger.
MATT: What?
MIKE: Dangeresque. It's means sort of like danger.
MATT: Yeah, I was saying Dangerask. That's why I corrected myself. Oh, look, there's Casio head Strong Bad. Oh, look, now, he's in the real world, and in a real Strong Badia.
MIKE: That's in the next room.
MATT: It is.
MIKE: It's where we play video games.
MATT: Mmm hmm. {laughs} That's all that Strong Bad talks about, is stripèd pants. {referring to the vitamin bottle behind Homestar} Total Load! Do you think our brother still has some Total Load somewhere in his house. He used to get Ultra-Fuel.
MIKE: {overlapping} Hy-hydro Fuel and Ultra-Fuel?
MATT: Yeah, yeah. {pause} What up, Cardgage?
MIKE: Is Cardgage's hair backwards there?
MATT: Probably. I think his hair doesn't follow any— His comb-over switches sides. {pause} What game is in there? Weird Dreams, remember that game?
MIKE: I do remember.
MATT: Sometimes, you were inside a giant cotton candy machine. {laughs} {pause} Nobody wants to record a hit— a #1 jam with him. {pause} Hey, we're using a pop screen on our microphone right now, Mike!
MIKE: And we're sitting in a room with ceiling tiles on the wall just like that!
MATT: It's true. {laughs} Old-Timey Strong Bad did not like that high note Stinkoman tried to hit. Sterrence is not singing. {pause} This is a pretty good song.
MIKE: I like that, uh, guitar going in the background.
MATT: Yeah.
MIKE: {guitar noises}
MATT: Da Huuuuuudge {pronounces 'the'} has a heavenly voice. Who woulda thought?
MIKE: Senor Muybueno's not in there.
MATT: Well, there's a few that it's missing, but this is the, you know—
MIKE: Those are all the ones that have appeared more than once, probably.
MATT: Yeah.
MIKE: Except Da Huuuuuudge has only appeared once before that.
Fun Facts
- Senor Muybueno is from the Strong Libs Easter Egg from lackey and the Kicking The Cheat Lite scene of pop-up.
External Links
- watch "alternate universe"
- watch "alternate universe" on the old Flash site
- view the Flash file for "alternate universe"
- forum thread re: "alternate universe"
