The System is Down

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{{toonnav|Shorts|systemisdown|20X6 vs. 1936|Meet Marshie}}
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{{abouttoon}} {{forsong|The System is down (song)}}
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:''This is for the toon The System is Down. For the song, please see [[The System Is Down (song)]].''
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{{toonnav|Shorts|systemisdown|Meet Marshie|20X6 vs. 1936}}
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[[Image:systemisdown.png|200px|thumb|"The system is down, yo."]]
[[Image:systemisdown.png|200px|thumb|"The system is down, yo."]]
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In January of 2003, the [[Homestar Runner (Flash cartoon)|Homestar Runner]] web site suddenly and inexplicably went down. Patient viewers then saw this short toon, cleverly disguised as an error page.  
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In January of 2003, [[homestarrunner.com]] suddenly and inexplicably went down. Patient viewers then saw this short toon, cleverly disguised as an error page.  
'''Cast (in order of appearance):''' {{Film|Homestar Runner}}, {{Film|Strong Bad}}, {{Film|Bubs}}
'''Cast (in order of appearance):''' {{Film|Homestar Runner}}, {{Film|Strong Bad}}, {{Film|Bubs}}
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'''Places:''' [[Error Page]]
'''Places:''' [[Error Page]]
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'''Date:''' January 22, 2003
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'''Date:''' Wednesday, January 22, 2003
'''Running Time:''' 1:05
'''Running Time:''' 1:05
'''Page Title:''' 404 Doodoo Error
'''Page Title:''' 404 Doodoo Error
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 +
{{dvd|Everything Else, Volume 1}}
== Transcript ==
== Transcript ==
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''{Strong Bad enters from the left.}''
''{Strong Bad enters from the left.}''
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'''STRONG BAD:''' The system is down, yo!
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'''STRONG BAD:''' The system is down, yo.
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'''HOMESTAR RUNNER:''' Ohh...the system... Right, right.
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'''HOMESTAR RUNNER:''' Ohh... the system... Right, right.
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'''STRONG BAD:''' Yeah, I think too many people tried to log on. ''{scratches his head}'' Uh.. sorry about that.
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'''STRONG BAD:''' Yeah, I think too many people tried to log on. ''{scratches his head}'' Uh... sorry about that.
'''HOMESTAR RUNNER:''' What are you sorry for? It's my website.
'''HOMESTAR RUNNER:''' What are you sorry for? It's my website.
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'''STRONG BAD:''' Um... I don't think they're coming to see you, Homestar.
'''STRONG BAD:''' Um... I don't think they're coming to see you, Homestar.
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'''HOMESTAR RUNNER:''' What, you think everyone's logging on to watch "tape-leg"? Yeah, that's a good one.  
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'''HOMESTAR RUNNER:''' What, you think everybody's logging on to watch "tape-leg"? Yeah, that's a good one.  
'''STRONG BAD:''' Hey, shut up! The tape-leg is cool. ''{Stretches his hand out and to the right}''
'''STRONG BAD:''' Hey, shut up! The tape-leg is cool. ''{Stretches his hand out and to the right}''
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'''STRONG BAD:''' Oh, anytime now. We've got our top men working on it round-the-clock.
'''STRONG BAD:''' Oh, anytime now. We've got our top men working on it round-the-clock.
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''{Bubs enters from the left.}''
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''{Bubs enters from the left holding a motherboard.}''
'''BUBS:''' Well, I found the problem. Looks like somebody tried to cram-a-lam a Swiss Cake Roll into the disk drive.
'''BUBS:''' Well, I found the problem. Looks like somebody tried to cram-a-lam a Swiss Cake Roll into the disk drive.
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'''HOMESTAR RUNNER:''' Oh, really? ''{leaning toward Strong Bad, eyeing him suspiciously}''
'''HOMESTAR RUNNER:''' Oh, really? ''{leaning toward Strong Bad, eyeing him suspiciously}''
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'''STRONG BAD:''' Uh, what are you looking at me for? I did—hut—wut—nany—huit— ''{runs off quickly}
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'''STRONG BAD:''' Uh, what are you looking at me for? I did— hut— wut— nany— huit— ''{runs off quickly}
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''{The note which looks like an error message appears, taped to the screen. It says, "Everything is fine. Nothing is ruined."}
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''{A handwritten sticky note, which is supposed to be a system alert message, is slapped onto the screen, that reads:}''
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<div style="background:#E1E1E1; border:3px solid black; width:505px; margin-left: 2em; padding: 8px; font-weight: bolder">
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<div style="background:#03C; color:white; border:3px solid black; padding:6px; font-size:125%">This is real.</div>
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{| style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; background: none"
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| style="padding-bottom:10px; width:17%" | [[Image:Warning-gray.png]]
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| style="width:80%; font-size:140%; text-align:center; padding:10px; line-height:120%" | System report:
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|}
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<div style="font-size:140%; text-align:center; border-top:2px solid black; padding-left:18px; padding-top:18px; padding-right:18px; padding-bottom:6px; line-height:120%">Everything is fine. Nothing<br>is ruined.</div>
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<div style="border:3px solid black; margin: 0 auto; width: 135px; padding: 4px">
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<div style="border:2px dashed black; text-align:center; font-size:135%; padding: 0px; width: 130px" class="noul blocklink"><div style="margin: -9px"><span style="color:black; display:block; padding: 13px">ok</span></div></div>
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</div>
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</div>
'''HOMESTAR RUNNER:''' So, Bubs... What are you gonna do with that Swiss Cake Roll?
'''HOMESTAR RUNNER:''' So, Bubs... What are you gonna do with that Swiss Cake Roll?
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 +
''(You are automatically redirected to the [[TV Time Toons Menu]].)''
== Fun Facts ==
== Fun Facts ==
===Explanations===
===Explanations===
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* This cartoon came about when the site was still on Yahoo's server.  The site's popularity drove the bandwidth well into the [[Wikipedia:Terabyte|terabytes]], which Yahoo overlooked for a time only because they were all fans.  They finally had to shut it down because of the intense server consumption, hence the origins of the toon. However the [http://store.yahoo.com/homestarrunner store] is still run by [http://yahoo.com Yahoo!].
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* This cartoon came about when the site was still on Yahoo's server.  The site's popularity drove the bandwidth well into the [[Wikipedia:Terabyte|terabytes]] (most toons are around half to almost a megabyte), which Yahoo overlooked for a time only because they were all fans.  They finally had to shut it down because of the intense server consumption, hence the origins of the toon. However, the [[Store]] was still run by [[Wikipedia:Yahoo!|Yahoo!]] until 2015.
===Trivia===
===Trivia===
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* At the end of the cartoon, it automatically takes you back to the [[Toons]] page.
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* The [[TV Time Toons Menu]] [[HR:menuswfs/menu systemisdown.swf|preview]] has Homestar running past the 404 error. He does not do this in the toon.
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* The phrase "Cram-a-lam a Swiss Cake Roll" is interesting if you consider how close it is to "Cram-a-lam a Ding Dong" (which has more of a ring to it), although a [[Swiss Cake Rolls|Swiss Cake Roll]] is the [[Wikipedia:Little Debbie|Little Debbie]] analog of a [[Wikipedia:Hostess|Hostess]] HoHo, not a [[Wikipedia:Ding Dong|Ding-Dong]].
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===Remarks===
===Remarks===
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[[Image:Mb-comparison.png|thumb|"Well, I found the problem."]]
* There are actually ''two'' Swiss Cake Rolls "cram-a-lammed" in the computer's innards.
* There are actually ''two'' Swiss Cake Rolls "cram-a-lammed" in the computer's innards.
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* The error page is specifically for [[Wikipedia:Internet Explorer|Internet Explorer]]; which makes it somewhat out of place for those using an alternate browser.
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* The error page is specifically for [[Wikipedia:Internet Explorer|Internet Explorer 6]], which makes it somewhat out of place for those using any other browser or version.
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* Bubs is actually holding a [[Wikipedia:Motherboard|motherboard]], not a [[Wikipedia:Disk storage|disk drive]].
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* Bubs is actually holding a [[Wikipedia:Motherboard|motherboard]], not a [[Wikipedia:Disk storage|disk drive]]. The design was copied from [http://web.archive.org/web/20061127165655/http://www.learnthat.com/certification/files/aplus/img/motherboard-dt.jpg this image] (comparison shown at right).
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**The motherboard appears to be of the ATX form factor, with six PCI slots and an ISA slot (all vacant), a single empty CPU socket, and three RAM slots.
===Inside References===
===Inside References===
* The note that appears on the screen is from [[50 emails]].
* The note that appears on the screen is from [[50 emails]].
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* "The system is down" is from [[Strong Bad Email]] [[techno]].
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* "The system is down" is from the [[Strong Bad Email]] [[techno]].
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* [[tape-leg]] is a Strong Bad Email, and a [[Tape leg|running gag]].
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* [[tape-leg]] is a Strong Bad Email, and a [[Tape-leg|running gag]].
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* [[Swiss Cake Rolls]] are another running gag.
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===Real-World References===
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* "We've got our top men working on it 'round the clock," said by Strong Bad, is a reference to what the government representative says to [[Wikipedia:Indiana Jones|Indiana Jones]] about the status of the Ark of the Covenant at the end of ''[[Wikipedia:Raiders of the Lost Ark|Raiders of the Lost Ark]]''.
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* The phrase "cram-a-lam a Swiss Cake Roll" is an approximate [[Wikipedia:paraprosdokian|paraprosdokian]] on the phrase "Rama Lama Ding Dong," which originated in a [[Wikipedia:Doo-Wop|Doo-Wop]] song of the same name by [[Wikipedia:The Edsels|The Edsels]] in 1958, the connection being that a [[Wikipedia:Ding Dong|Ding Dong]] (made by [[Wikipedia:Hostess (brand)|Hostess]]) is a similar type of snack cake to a Swiss Cake Roll (made by [[Wikipedia:McKee_Foods#Little_Debbie|Little Debbie]]); however, the Hostess analog of a Swiss Cake Roll is a [[Wikipedia:Ho Hos|HoHo]], not a Ding Dong.
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===Fast Forward===
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*A similar setting would be used for the secret toon [[Not the 100th Email!!!]].
== DVD Version ==
== DVD Version ==
*The DVD version features hidden creators' commentary. To access it, switch your DVD player's audio language selection while watching.
*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]])
('''Commentary by:''' [[Mike Chapman]], [[Matt Chapman]])
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'''MIKE:''' Homestar's got a little sass, and also&mdash;
'''MIKE:''' Homestar's got a little sass, and also&mdash;
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'''MATT:''' Sass dackery
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'''MATT:''' Sass dackery.
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'''MIKE:''' There's also a period where Homestar's dress slash shirt was a slightly more magenta than red.
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'''MIKE:''' There's also a period where Homestar's dress/shirt was a slightly more magenta than red.
'''MATT:''' Yeah.
'''MATT:''' Yeah.
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'''MIKE:''' Like look at the bill of his hat versus his body.
'''MIKE:''' Like look at the bill of his hat versus his body.
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'''MATT:''' I don't like it. I remember we found a&mdash; we did a Goggle image search for "motherboard" or something and that's what, uh...
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'''MATT:''' I don't like it. I remember we found a&mdash; we did a Google image search for "motherboard" or something and that's what, uh...
'''MIKE:''' ''{mumbles}''
'''MIKE:''' ''{mumbles}''
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*[[HR:systemisdown.html|watch "The System is Down"]]
*[[HR:systemisdown.html|watch "The System is Down"]]
*[[HR:systemisdown.swf|view the Flash file for "The System is Down"]]
*[[HR:systemisdown.swf|view the Flash file for "The System is Down"]]
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[[Category:Shorts|System is Down, The]]
[[Category:Shorts|System is Down, The]]
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[[Category:DVD Commentary]]

Revision as of 22:11, 14 October 2016

This article is about the toon. For the song, see The System is down (song).
Toon Category: Shorts
watch Meet Marshie 20X6 vs. 1936
"The system is down, yo."

In January of 2003, homestarrunner.com suddenly and inexplicably went down. Patient viewers then saw this short toon, cleverly disguised as an error page.

Cast (in order of appearance): Homestar Runner, Strong Bad, Bubs

Places: Error Page

Date: Wednesday, January 22, 2003

Running Time: 1:05

Page Title: 404 Doodoo Error

DVD: Everything Else, Volume 1

Contents

Transcript

{A typical Internet Explorer error page appears. The whistling of the wind is heard. Homestar Runner enters from the right.}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: {walks in and looks at the error message} Ummmm... what's going on here? What happened to my website?

{Strong Bad enters from the left.}

STRONG BAD: The system is down, yo.

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Ohh... the system... Right, right.

STRONG BAD: Yeah, I think too many people tried to log on. {scratches his head} Uh... sorry about that.

HOMESTAR RUNNER: What are you sorry for? It's my website.

STRONG BAD: Um... I don't think they're coming to see you, Homestar.

HOMESTAR RUNNER: What, you think everybody's logging on to watch "tape-leg"? Yeah, that's a good one.

STRONG BAD: Hey, shut up! The tape-leg is cool. {Stretches his hand out and to the right}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Well, when do I get my website back?

STRONG BAD: Oh, anytime now. We've got our top men working on it round-the-clock.

{Bubs enters from the left holding a motherboard.}

BUBS: Well, I found the problem. Looks like somebody tried to cram-a-lam a Swiss Cake Roll into the disk drive.

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Oh, really? {leaning toward Strong Bad, eyeing him suspiciously}

STRONG BAD: Uh, what are you looking at me for? I did— hut— wut— nany— huit— {runs off quickly}

{A handwritten sticky note, which is supposed to be a system alert message, is slapped onto the screen, that reads:}

This is real.
Image:Warning-gray.png System report:
Everything is fine. Nothing
is ruined.

HOMESTAR RUNNER: So, Bubs... What are you gonna do with that Swiss Cake Roll?

(You are automatically redirected to the TV Time Toons Menu.)

Fun Facts

Explanations

  • This cartoon came about when the site was still on Yahoo's server. The site's popularity drove the bandwidth well into the terabytes (most toons are around half to almost a megabyte), which Yahoo overlooked for a time only because they were all fans. They finally had to shut it down because of the intense server consumption, hence the origins of the toon. However, the Store was still run by Yahoo! until 2015.

Trivia

Remarks

"Well, I found the problem."
  • There are actually two Swiss Cake Rolls "cram-a-lammed" in the computer's innards.
  • The error page is specifically for Internet Explorer 6, which makes it somewhat out of place for those using any other browser or version.
  • Bubs is actually holding a motherboard, not a disk drive. The design was copied from this image (comparison shown at right).
    • The motherboard appears to be of the ATX form factor, with six PCI slots and an ISA slot (all vacant), a single empty CPU socket, and three RAM slots.

Inside References

Real-World References

  • "We've got our top men working on it 'round the clock," said by Strong Bad, is a reference to what the government representative says to Indiana Jones about the status of the Ark of the Covenant at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark.
  • The phrase "cram-a-lam a Swiss Cake Roll" is an approximate paraprosdokian on the phrase "Rama Lama Ding Dong," which originated in a Doo-Wop song of the same name by The Edsels in 1958, the connection being that a Ding Dong (made by Hostess) is a similar type of snack cake to a Swiss Cake Roll (made by Little Debbie); however, the Hostess analog of a Swiss Cake Roll is a HoHo, not a Ding Dong.

Fast Forward

DVD 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)

MIKE: So, this is The System is Down, and we made it when the system really was down.

MATT: It was down for two whole days.

MIKE: In January of 2003.

MATT: That's right.

MIKE: So we made this cartoon, and we were going to put it on a different website, ThoraxCorp.com... um, and email— uh, send out an email to everyone telling them that the system was down and to watch this cartoon.

MATT: To all fifteen people.

MIKE: To all fifteen people that were watching the site. But by the time we got done with it, the site was back up, so we just put in on there, and it ended up being a nice little, uh, cartoon.

MATT: A humor piece. A humor— A nice humor piece. We call these humor-toons, some of these.

MIKE: Homestar's got a little sass, and also—

MATT: Sass dackery.

MIKE: There's also a period where Homestar's dress/shirt was a slightly more magenta than red.

MATT: Yeah.

MIKE: Like look at the bill of his hat versus his body.

MATT: I don't like it. I remember we found a— we did a Google image search for "motherboard" or something and that's what, uh...

MIKE: {mumbles}

MATT: Yeah. Not a disk drive at all, is it?

MIKE: {laughs a little}

MATT: It's a motherboard.

External Links

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