Talk:cliffhangers

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Revision as of 07:35, 21 September 2006

This page is for discussing edits and content of the cliffhangers article. If you have a general comment on this cartoon, or speculation on the plot, please post it at the forum. Thanks!

my email!

This was my email that I sent him! He didn't make fun of me! Yaaaaaa Cessna Man! 00:48, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

I can confirm that Cessna Man!'s registered wiki email address contains the word "jake" and that the email was also used to register a website under the name Jake that contains the word "jake". -- Tom 00:59, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

He did make fun of your name. I'm so jealous. Loafing 01:24, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

Good Jorb! Little Jakey!--Solwyvern 05:07, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

If this is your e-mail, then I have a question: What did you mean by "resolve all the cliffhangers"? I don't recall there ver being a cliffhanger before. Exhibit A 05:04, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

The end of the KOT game, etc. Retromaniac 16:08, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

I asked him that because I had asked him stuff relivent to the h*r universe before, and it didn't get answered, and also, most of the emails are not relivent to the show, so I did something totaly diffrent. Cessna Man! 19:27, 20 September 2006 (UTC)

Kid-lapped?

Woah, does this mean that there's going to be a new computer? Grit7^"Meh!"

You'll have to stay tuned to find out. -- Tom 01:16, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

I thought there would be a new new lappy soon. Has been a while!

I'm willing to bet that this was just part of the exaggerated cliffhanger theme of the email, and nothing more. Strong Bad will more than likely have the Lappy back next email, and no explanation will be made as to what happened at the end of this email. --ISlayedTheKerrek 13:10, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

Oh, there will be an explanation. You can count on it. It's a two-part suspense story arc like the end of the Compy. And maybe the blood from Lappy's little toe is ketchup, not to be confused with catsup. I don't want Lappy to get replaced. She's had a short run. —BazookaJoe 13:39, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

Actually, from animal to today, there are presently 40 emails on the Lappy. That's the exact same number of emails on the Tandy 400 (from some kinda robot to vacation). MHarrington 21:55, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

In terms of time, we've had the Lappy almost 2 years now,which was about the same as the compy.-Teh 4rticle B4ndit

Did anybody notice that the Lappy's been around for as long as Compy, but only had as many emails as the Tandy? Even so, this is a little early to make a descision. There could be an explanation and he just gets it back, although I doubt it. -Brightstar 20:13, 20 September 2006 (UTC)

'nother Batman Parody

The first cliffhanger is a parody of one of those Batman scenes where the villain (Coach Z) tries to unmask Batman (Thnikkaman), however he gets away. This should go in Real World References as well as the Batman page.

True, but this happens to other superheroes as well. Thus, it's TTATOT and not notable. - Qermaq - (^T/C)  02:21, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

However, the announcer for the second cliffhanger is the same one that appeared in fingers, and TBC noted in the commentary for that e-mail that it was, indeed, a parody of Batman. KensterFox 10:41, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

Apples and oranges. Qermaq is right. This is TTATOT. It's only notable for the appearance of the announcer, and is not a Batman reference. --ISlayedTheKerrek 13:11, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

Whammy speed?

"Then strap in, Strap, and prepare for ramming speed!"

I heard whammy speed, which would fit in with all the other guitar related jokes in that segment. Swimma Dan 02:38, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

Hmm. It would certainly make sense. Though I wouldn't edit it in until we can confirm it one way or the other. ~ Bruce 04:28, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

That would be brilliant, but I'm afraid I hear "ramming." —AbdiViklas 04:30, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

After listening to it again, I definately hear ramming. The other guitar references must have clouded my judgement. Swimma Dan 01:35, 20 September 2006 (UTC)

Remarks

1: Correct me if i'm wrong, but I think this is the first time the paper has failed completely to mention the word "email."

2: I believe that this is also the first time anything on Homestarrunner has explicitly said it will have a sequel. 66.251.27.251

The Dangeresque "trilogy" could be taken as counting against the latter, but I think you're right about the former. (I even clicked it to make sure it wasn't an Easter egg.) —AbdiViklas 04:06, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

In Sick Day, The Paper said "Strong Bad, I can't come in today." Loafing 04:31, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

Wouldn't the sequel comment count as another instance of breaking the fourth wall? --Pladams9 16:58, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

Sick Day really isn't an Email, It just has the Lappy and Paper in it.

I admittedly clicked the paper to make sure it wasn't an easter egg, too. Yes, I think it is the first time it didn't say email OR Strong Bad.-- Super Martyo boing! 00:57, 21 September 2006 (UTC)

If true, it would only be the first time for a real Strong Bad email. I don't know if this would be notable, since it already happened elsewhere. And yes, I also clicked it to make sure it wasn't an Easter Egg. Loafing 01:04, 21 September 2006 (UTC)

Cakewalk

Is it possible that rather than the Atari game, the disk in the box is the old MIDI sequencing software "Cakewalk"? That would seem more appropriate for a 486, and the Cheat and Strong Bad do, after all, dabble in music. Generally it seems the precedent of the Floppy Disk Container is to be for games that were distributed for systems that actually used some kind of disk...

Possibly, but it would go against the grain. I'm pretty sure every disk in the Floppy Disk Container thus far has been for a game. Sure, this one happens to be an Atari game instead of a computer game, but heaven knows it wouldn't be the first absurdity in the HsR universe. ~ Bruce 04:31, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

Even considering all the other music references in this email?

Leon Powalski

I don't think this is solid enough to put on the page, but the lizard-creature in Strong Bad's mock spaceship reminds me a lot of Leon Powalski from the Star Fox series. Just throwing it out is all. --Jay (Talk) 03:58, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

He reminded me of Balok from the original Trek episode The Corbomite Maneuver (and yes, I had to look all that up; all I remembered was "grape-headed alien dude"). —AbdiViklas 04:12, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

Ah, but he has the chameleon eyes that your Balok seems to lack. --Jay (Talk) 04:18, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

Right, and forked tongue. —AbdiViklas 04:29, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

Pregnancy

This is the second time a male mentions (or anyone for that matter) becoming pregnant. The Cheat Commandos had the only other one, right?

Yep. I believe you're right. But related, Coach Z once implied that he was a mother. Remember the email Garage Sale? Strong Bad: "Ah ah ah... moms ONLY!" Coach Z: "Oh, then I'm okay to say it!" ~ Bruce 04:37, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

Actually, for this one, I think this might be a reference to the episode "Cash" from The Young Ones. In that one, Vyvyan (a male, yes) 'admits' to being pregnant when asked to join the army. The two instances are very similar. (~InvaderJem)

The transcript states SS says "I think I'd like my money back now." but I heard it as "my bunny". This is funnier/more tragic as it implies Homestar "borrowed" the bunny for a rabbit test. Did anyone else hear bunny there? (~Kirin)

Sounds like "money" here. - Qermaq - (^T/C)  02:48, 20 September 2006 (UTC)

Wait a minute... What the hell gave Homestar the idea he was pregnant?? Hi Im the Cyberdemon. You know.. like the

big monster from the populer game series "Doom".

I found the Homestar Runner Wiki by ACCIDENT while searching Senor Cardgage. I was curious to see whether or not there were real people with the same name.

My weapon of choice: My Rocket Launcher.

www.doomworld.com

The Homsar says "I'm the Captain Caaaaveman of the graveyard train!" 7:06 am, 21 September 2006

He's dumb, simple as that. --Trogga 19:11, 20 September 2006 (UTC)

Thnikkaman

How come in the debut episode of The Thnikkaman ( Monument ) , He takes his Cool Shades off ( Twice ), But in the Cliffhangers episode, Coach Z is trying to reveal The Thnikkaman by taking off the Cool Shades? Wouldn't this mean that The Thnikkaman has already been revealed? .... By himself (?) — Assassinator666 (Talk | contribs) 06:31, 19 September 2006 (left unsigned)

Well spotted. I added this as a remark on the page. Loafing 07:46, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

And doesn't what Coach Z says to Bubs in the Easter Egg about being a "skinny green man" show that he's not wearing a jumpsuit?-MasterTrek 18:20, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

Or what he calls "athlete's footies".--Song from the 60's 01:01, 21 September 2006 (UTC)

A glitch?

Is it just me, or did the scene with Strong Sad and Homestar take forever? I mean, they just stood at the table staring at each other for about 20 seconds (then Strong Sad finally said something) and then afterwards the word "resolution" hangs on the screen for about another 30 seconds. I don't think the flash was broken because they were blinking all the while. Did this happen to anyone else? Jimmy91 16:54, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

Must just be you. The "Resolution" screen lasts all of about 2 seconds, and the two didn't stare at each other for long, either. Are you on dial-up, by any chance? Flash allows the video to start before it's fully loaded, and if you got to that point and the scene hadn't been completely loaded yet, then it's going to pause until it does. They were still blinking because the blinking animation is a "tween"--sort of like a seperate animation "thread" that repeats over and over. ~ Bruce 16:11, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, this is something that occasionally happens when you're on dial-up or any other laggy/slow connection; the toon will freeze for a few seconds while waiting for the rest of it to load. Used to happen to me all the time, when I was still stuck on dial-up. Kind of interesting that it froze right at that moment, though - for a second I probably would've thought it was intentional, you know, to heighten the suspense.  :) - Saturn 16:46, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

As it happens, I'm not on dial-up, but it probably was my connection. (it seemed a bit laggy) Isn't that kind of thing called buffering, or does that not apply to flash? Jimmy91 16:54, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

ha, yeah, that always happened to me when i had dialup. it positively sucked. 18:33, 20 September 2006 (UTC)

Excellent

This was the best in a while. Well done! Loved the Thnikaman part. Retromaniac 16:09, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

KOT pose

Isn't the pose the KOT is in when he's suspended from the cliff the same one he was in when he was stuck in the tyre swing in Weclome Back? (this may or may not merit a place on the article, but I was just bringing it up). Jimmy91 16:53, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

Yus, I noticed that too. I didn't think it was THAT noteworthy, but I have no problem with it being included. --DorianGray

I noticed they tripled up the rope to make it match the width of the tire. - Joshua 17:51, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

I think it's interesting to note that here on the talk page, but I don't think it's article-worthy at all. TBC reuse animation all the times. — It's dot com 18:54, 20 September 2006 (UTC)

But there is similar fact on the lunch special page. --Trogga 19:02, 20 September 2006 (UTC)

Not anymore there's not. — It's dot com 20:36, 20 September 2006 (UTC)

Goof

Oops.

I think I found a goof but I want to make sure everyone else is seeing it too before I add it...

During most of the spaceship scene, the green ground is slightly cut off on the left side of the screen, so that a strip of white is visible along the black edge of the frame. Here's a picture in case I'm not making any sense (which... I'm not); you can see it the most at the scene where The Cheat is messing with the CD player. - Saturn 19:21, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

Definitely a goof. Add it in. --DumDe 19:53, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

Ropes

I can't see anything that the ropes holding the King of Town and Homsar could've been attached to. Also, as a note, Strong Bad is very skilled at swinging that big knife. --Proxtown 22:36, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

Actually, I'm going through it frame by frame right now, and it looks really odd. At first glance, it would seem that they're just knotted on the edge of the cliff. But Strong Bad's knife goes under the cliff, so it would have to be further back. - The Joe^(Talk) 23:05, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

The Creepy Cliff?

Doesn't the cliff Homsar and The KOT look like the Creepy Cliff from Halloween Potion-Ma-Jig? And Strong Bad looks totally awesoem with that machete with him.

That machete is actually the big knife. Also, the cliff could be te same cliff, but it could also not be --DumDe 23:47, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

Yes, it's impossible to tell from the angle whether they are the same or different/ That could be noted on the Cliffs page, I suppose. - Qermaq - (^T/C)  02:47, 20 September 2006 (UTC)

Other elements to focus on

This gives us more insight into Coach Z's life. He coaches because his "secrort" is that he has poor hand-eye coordination, limiting his actual playing abilities. "Those who can't, teach," as the cruel saying goes. But this is hrwiki where nearly every pixel is examined, so let's amp this up. Why the comma? Why the less-than sign? What is the significance to this? Why not the tilde button? Much more a "little toe." And any significance to the missing T in "Nex time?"

Correct, this is the hrwiki. We document facts about Homestar Runner toons. Speculations like these are discussed on the forum. As for Coach Z's secret, you could be bold and add this on his page. Loafing 04:23, 20 September 2006 (UTC)

If you want to ask a question, you do it on the forum. If you have a theory, then be bold and post it here and then people will argue about it until its 2 pages long. JamesDean 07:17, 21 September 2006 (UTC)

I think a comma because it looks kinda like a toe and it's at the bottom of the keyboard, an anagalous(sp?) place where a toe would be. Foolster41

Thrynn?

I'm trying to find a screenshot to verify this, but the drawing of the reptile-looking alien inside of Space Captainface's ship looks remarkabky like a Thrynn from the old PC/Sega Genesis game "Starflight." Does anyone else have a way to help verify this? -204.155.72.139 18:05, 20 September 2006 (UTC)

As I noted above, I saw a totally different reptilian alien creature from a video game when I saw it... --Jay (Talk) 19:36, 20 September 2006 (UTC)

Beatles song "Revolution"

Apparently this was disputed for some reason, but I think it's pretty obvious that SB's line, "so you say you want a resolution, huh?" is a reference to a famous line from the song "Revolution" by the Beatles. The line begins, "so you say you want a revolution?" I can't see much to dispute there. - Pete Sampwas 01:34, 21 September 2006 (UTC)

I completely agree. Being a Beatles fan, I back Pete's statement. It probably is what they were trying to convey.

Oh, don't let being a Beatles fan cloud your judgement ;-) The fact was deleted because "Revolution" is not the only song featuring such a line (and the fact that the other songs probably reference "Revolution" does not change this) [1] (and just so you know, I have all their albums on CD). Loafing 03:28, 21 September 2006 (UTC)

However, a reference to a thing that in itself is a reference is invalid normally. So, the Marilyn Manson reference would be revertible simply on the basis of it being itself a reference to the Beatles. Thus we are left with the same question - is it likelier than not the line is a reference to "Revolution"? I think perhaps it is. - Qermaq - (^T/C)  04:02, 21 September 2006 (UTC)

Not true. What if TBC thought of the Manson song and not the Beatles song? What if they didn't even know about the Beatles song? The toon does not give any hint towards this. Which leads us to the next question: is this a reference at all? Is "So you say you want a resolution, eh?" not what you would expect SB to say anyway? He's not even singing it. The "reference" is weak, and we can't say for sure what exactly it references. Loafing 04:25, 21 September 2006 (UTC)

Eh. I think this is maybe being a little overthought. Since the beatles song is the more well known (Who knows about Manson who hasn't heard of The Beatles?), isn't the more liekly that it is the one being refrenced? Foolster41

Easter Egg Sequence

Doesn't anybody else think that the two end easter eggs should be listed in the opposite order (Homestar/SB then Z/Bubs)? Not only was the trigger for Homestar/SB physically above the other, Z/Bubs clearly refers back to it more easily than vice versa: the more awkward "accusing yourself of being the Thnikkaman" seems more a parody of "admitting that you stole my computer", and Homestar's "...sports team" is actually somewhat appropriate given its context (water cooler talk : sports) whereas it was a complete non sequitur when Coach Z said it. 69.168.161.140 01:54, 21 September 2006 (UTC)

Coach Z would be likely to actually talk about a sports team, as he's a coach. However, I support putting them in the order we see the links on the page. It's senseless to decide on an order from contextual clues, as we do not know the order the viewer will discover the links. Nor should we present a presumed sequence when none is implicit. The only sensible sequences to follow in listing eggs are earlier/later, top/bottom, left/right. - Qermaq - (^T/C)  02:56, 21 September 2006 (UTC)

They are currently in the order they appear in the actual Flash file. Coach Z and Bubs are frames 2501 to 2681 and Homestar and Strong Bad are frames 2695 to 2938. -- Tom 03:01, 21 September 2006 (UTC)

While that's meaningful to you or I, it's less so to the average viewer who might consult the knowledgebase. Putting the ransom note one (SB+HR) first, and the outlet one (CZ+B) second makes ordering sense for those who aren't aware of what frame they're in. And that's who we're trying to help here, isn't it? - Qermaq - (^T/C)  03:15, 21 September 2006 (UTC)

I do think that the Coach Z one should be first, for a few reasons: (1) The Coach Z one is first in the Flash file, so it shows that TBC likely consider it to come first, or at least made it first. (B) The Coach Z one refers to an earlier part of the toon (Cliffhanger #1) than the Homestar one (Cliffhanger #4). (III) It makes more sense (to me) for Coach Z to talk about sports, since he's a coach after all, then Homestar's line referring to that, than vice-versa. --phlip ^T_C

But this is presuming order where none was given. It's imposing your artistic intent over TBC's, which is not our role. The only order the common user is afforded here is visually sequential order, top/bottom, left/right. - Qermaq - (^T/C)  03:59, 21 September 2006 (UTC)

I'm somewhat between you guys. Aren't we always trying to interpret what TBC meant to do? What the characters are saying and what they are referring to? Anyways, for Easter eggs that are accessible in the same frame, no natural order is given. We have to invent one. Be it left/right and top/bottom, size and colour (prominence), order in the Flash file, or by content, I don't mind much. My guess is that the order they are in in the Flash file is the intended order, as the file would probably match the thought process of TBC.  Loafing 04:41, 21 September 2006 (UTC) Addendum: (If the Easter eggs appear in text on the compy, then I think they should be listed in that order.)