cheat talk

Strong Bad Email #55

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"Douglas! Douglas!"

After being emailed by the town of Cory, North Dakota, Strong Bad tries to get The Cheat to speak English, without much luck.

Cast (in order of appearance): Strong Bad, The Cheat, Strong Mad, Strong Sad, Monkey D (Easter egg)

Places: Computer Room

Computer: Compy 386

Date: Monday, December 16, 2002

Running Time: 2:08

Page Title: Compy 386!

DVD: strongbad_email.exe Disc Two

Transcript

STRONG BAD: Duh duh dududududududududuh duhduhduhduhduhduh email.

{reading}

Dear Strong Bad,

I think the Cheat is the coolest
thing ever, but why can't I
understand him? Please tell the
Cheat to talk normal.

Sincerely,

Cory, North Dakota

STRONG BAD: Whoa. The entire town of Cory, North Dakota, decided to email me. That was nice of them.

{Strong Bad's voice echoes and sounds as if it's coming out of a megaphone.}

STRONG BAD: {typing} Citizens of Cory! Thank you for your email. Hang on. Let me get the Cheat.

{Strong Bad turns around in his chair and calls for The Cheat, his voice normal}

STRONG BAD: Hey, The Che—Oh! The Cheat.

{Strong Bad sees that The Cheat is standing beside him.}

STRONG BAD: Some town here can't understand you. Say something normal, like-er-um-uhhh... Douglas.

THE CHEAT: Meh!

STRONG BAD: Douglas?

THE CHEAT: {The Cheat noises}

STRONG BAD: {emphatically} Douglas!

THE CHEAT: Meh!

STRONG BAD: {turning back to his computer, typing} Well, I guess you can't expect much from a furry little man who hangs out with my brother all day. {stops typing} Speaking of...

{Strong Bad turns around again, calling for Strong Mad.}

STRONG BAD: Hey, Strong Ma—Whoa!

{He sees that Strong Mad is standing beside him.}

STRONG BAD: Strong Mad. Say Douglas.

STRONG MAD: DUH!

STRONG BAD: Douglas!

STRONG MAD: DUH...

STRONG BAD: {emphatically} Douglas!

STRONG MAD: Duh?

STRONG BAD: {turning back to his computer again and starts typing} So, there you have it, people of Cory, North Dakota. {stops typing} Eh—oh. {resumes typing} Hang on a second.

{Strong Bad turns away again}

STRONG BAD: Hey! Strong Sad!

{Strong Sad arrives.}

{Strong Bad hits him in the stomach with the keyboard.}

STRONG SAD: Douglas!

STRONG BAD: {typing} So, there you have it, people of Cory, North Dakota. The Cheat can't say anything normal, like Douglas.

{Something that sounds like "Douglas" said in a The Cheat voice is heard off to the left and Strong Bad turns around}

STRONG BAD: What the— Who said Douglas?

{"Douglas" is heard again, but then it cuts to a window.}

STRONG BAD: Oh, wait, it's just the branch of that old sycamore rubbing against the window. It was nothing to worry about after all.

{Strong Bad turns back to his computer again.}

STRONG BAD: {typing} So, I guess you guys are just gonna have to learn how to speak The Cheat. I know a little myself... {stops typing} You know, like, {speaks some The Cheat}, and, um, {speaks more The Cheat}, you know... I don't know what any of that means, but, uh, it really seems to tick The Cheat off when I say it, so, I say it to him all the time. Anyways, give it up for me! ...Guys?

{The Paper comes down.}

Easter Eggs

Actual learning methods!

• At the end, click on "you guys" to bring up a postcard from Cory, North Dakota featuring Monkey D.
• Also at the end, click on the words, "learn how to speak The Cheat" to get a sample from the LP.

ANNOUNCER: ...and language is what makes people talk. Let's begin.

THE CHEAT: (The phrase The Cheat used to offer Homestar a glass of melonade in A Jumping Jack Contest)

ANNOUNCER: Means: "Hey, Homestar, would you like 147 glasses of melonade?"

THE CHEAT: (The phrase The Cheat used when commenting on The King of Town's pumpkin at the Pumpkin Carve-nival)

ANNOUNCER: Means: "The King of Town is so lame."

THE CHEAT: (The phrase The Cheat used in superhero name before Strong Bad says the cape looks great)

ANNOUNCER: Means: "What, don't you like this costume?"

THE CHEAT: (The phrase The Cheat said to Strong Bad in sb_email 22)

ANNOUNCER: Means: "Check it out, this is going to be great. Just say 'Screw all y'all!'." And now on to Lesson 2: All the swears...

{There is a record scratching noise and the recording stops.}

Fun Facts

Trivia

• According to the Inkhole Interview, Mike Chapman provides the voice of Strong Sad instead of Matt when he says "Douglas", because Matt strained his voice.
• The label on the disk in the floppy disk container reads "lode runner".
• The record case reads:

Learn to speak...
The Cheat

ACTUAL LEARNING METHODS!
Now YOU TOO can talk like
your favorite The Cheat,
The Cheat! Just place this
record on your HI-FI and the
learning will happen automatically!
Self-education is where it's at!!!

60 LESSON COURSE includes:
Welcome Phrases, Goodnight
Phrases, Ordering Food Phrases,
Getting Directions Phrases, and
Office Party Phrases.

Thorax Language Courses
Learn to speak in another man's tongue!^®

• This email does not have a YouTube video description.

Remarks

• At the end where Strong Bad speaks The Cheat, he says he doesn't know what that means, even though he can normally understand The Cheat well.
• There is no city in North Dakota named Cory. However, there are towns named Cory in California, Colorado, and Indiana.

Goofs

• When Strong Bad types "Hang on a second." and calls "Hey, Strong Sad!", the screen says "Hnag on a second" after the change in camera view.
• When Strong Bad calls for Strong Mad, while he's talking to him, the screen still has the text from the previous scene, when it should be "Well, you can't expect much..."
• After Strong Bad calls for The Cheat, the word "the" in The Cheat's name disappears from the screen.

Glitches

• While the "Learn to speak The Cheat" record is playing, clicking the word "Thorax" on the case leads to the Strong Bad Email menu. This is because this word is layered above the "back" button.
  • For the same reason, the section of The Paper covered by the record case can be clicked on while the Easter egg is active.

Inside References

• 147, the number of glasses of melonade that The Cheat apparently offered to Homestar in A Jumping Jack Contest (according to the record in the Easter egg), is exactly the number of marshmallows that Homestar had to say he'd eat in Fluffy Puff Commercial. Additionally, in the third-to-last take of the same, Homestar mistakenly says he'd drink 147 glasses of melonade as well.
• The Cory, North Dakota postcard shows Monkey D, who previously appeared on a similar postcard in the email vacation. His shirt reads "I ♥ THE CHEESE", similar to how his shirt from vacation reads "I ♥ Stong Band".
• The LP was made by Thorax, also known as Thorax Corporation.

Real-World References

• Strong Bad's reaction to the sycamore branch could be a reference to a cliche in children's books of trees making scary noises and shadows.

Fast Forward

• Strong Mad finally learns how to say "Douglas" in an Easter egg in the email sibbie.
• The sycamore limb appears again in the CGI portion of Disc 1 of the Strong Bad Email DVD. Strong Sad also says, "Douglas."

DVD Version

• This is the first email on DVD with two hidden Strong Bad logo Easter eggs. The hidden logo at the bottom left of the screen will bring up the postcard from Cory, North Dakota.
• The hidden Strong Bad logo to the right of the screen launches the "Learn to speak The Cheat" audio book.
• The Cheat's first "Meh!" seems to have been accidentally omitted.
• The dialogue for the record Easter egg seems to have been passed through a sound filter to make it sound old and scratchy.

External Links

• watch "cheat talk"
• watch "cheat talk" on YouTube
• watch "cheat talk" on the old Flash site
• view the Flash file for "cheat talk"