disconnected

Strong Bad Email #148

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Twice the ruckus-raising productivity

Strong Bad imagines his head disconnecting from his body.

Cast (in order of appearance): Strong Bad, Head Bad and Strong Body, Homestar Runner, The King of Town, The Poopsmith, Bubs, Coach Z, The Cheat

Places: Computer Room, The Field, The King of Town's Castle, The Island, Club Technochocolate, Race Track

Computer: Lappy 486

Date: Monday, March 13, 2006

Running time: 3:11

Page Title: Lappy 486

DVD: strongbad_email.exe Disc Five

Transcript

STRONG BAD: {singing} This week, I'm feeling my style! I've got confidence in my email!

{reading}

subject: sb!!!!

Dear Strong Bad,
If your head got disconnected and your head was rolling
all over the place and you didn't even know were your
body is or your head, what would you do?
Jenny

{Strong Bad struggles to read everything between "were" and the final "head". He also sings Jenny's name, as follows:}

STRONG BAD: {singing} Jennyyy... {high-pitched} Jenny! {speaking normally, typing} Um, was your head connected to your body when you wrote this email? I think I get the gist of it. {clears the screen} While my head and body are normally the bosomest {pronounced boosomest} of buddies, I suppose I could double my productivity if they were separated. Like, I could raise that ruckus I've been planning in two days instead of four! The plausibilities are endless!

{Cut to The Field, where Strong Bad's disembodied head is speaking to Homestar Runner. A sign reads "THE CAREER ADVISOR IS REAL IN" with "REAL" being a separate removable word.}

STRONG BAD: {voiceover} My head could be off giving folks career advice...

{The scene pans over and darkens, while a second scene appears on the left with a split down the middle of the screen. The scene on the left shows Strong Bad's headless body next to a box of "riot rocks", near the King of Town's castle. He is throwing the rocks at the King of Town and The Poopsmith, who is wearing whatsit-covered armor and blocking the rocks with a shield that has the King's face on it.}

STRONG BAD: {voiceover} ...whilst my body is rioting against the municipality!

{The body's scene darkens while the head's scene brightens.}

HEAD BAD: Maybe this running business just isn't for you. Have you ever considered the making and selling of tiny breads?

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Homestar Bunmaker, eh? Me likey, me likey! Thanks, Eggman! {turns away, but then turns back} Oh, and... {throws coins} why don't you get yourself something to eat? Put some meat on them bones, girl!

{Homestar walks off. The bar dividing the two scenes slides off to the left, resulting in a single scene. The camera pans right to reveal the same rock-throwing scene just to the right of Strong Bad's head. His head turns toward his body.}

HEAD BAD: That's some nice revolutin', there, body, but, uh, maybe we should spread out. Like, more.

{The body gives the head a thumbs-up. Cut to a closeup of Strong Bad's head on a beach. His head is sitting on a picnic blanket, resting against a palm tree, wearing a pair of sunglasses. There is a drink with three umbrellas in front of him. A seagull can be heard in the background. The camera zooms out slowly.}

HEAD BAD: Ah, livin' the sleazy life.

{The camera cuts back to show that Strong Bad's head is actually alone on a small island.}

HEAD BAD: {turning back} Hey, cabana boy! My drink needs more umbrellas! What kind of deserted island is this, anyway?

{Cut to Club Technochocolate, where Strong Bad's body is dancing with Bubs.}

STRONG BAD: {voiceover} Meanwhile, my body could be off putting its considerably reduced weight on it down at the cloughb!

BUBS: Dang, Strong Body! Without all that extra head ballast, your moves are twicely fresh! Twicely fresh!

{Cut to an image of Strong Bad's head rolling across The Field.}

STRONG BAD: {voiceover} My head would probably get pretty dizzy just rollin' around all the time. I might have to rig up some kind of repulsor lifts!

{The camera cuts back, and the head begins to hover through a disc on the bottom.}

STRONG BAD: Naw, scratch that. I'm gonna need something with a little more... muscle.

{The disc disappears and is replaced by flaming exhaust pipes on the top of its head. Motorcycle sounds are heard.}

HEAD BAD: Oh, yeah! That's what I'm talkin' about! {leans back, as though revving up} Reer! Reeeeer! {starts zipping back and forth across the scene quickly} Rooow! Rooow! Rooo! Reer! {imitating brakes as it stops} Reeeeee! Whoa! This mess rules! I can finally win the million-yard dash! {zips forward again} Roooo...

{Cut to a finish line, which the head zips through quickly. Then cut to the other side, where Coach Z is holding a stopwatch.}

HEAD BAD: {imitating brakes} Reeeee! Oh, yes! I beat Homestar!

COACH Z: Sorry, Head Bad, but you was the only one competin' this year! Old 'Strammy's gone and quit the runnin' business!

{Homestar jumps up behind Strong Bad's head, wearing a new hat that reads "BUNMAKER" and holding a box of "TINY BREADS".}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Cooornbreeeeead! I got cornbread here! Dinner rolls! Cornbread! Everybody wants a bun! Lemme hear that dinner roll!

{Cut to a blank white screen. Strong Bad's body walks on from stage right, while the unaltered head rolls on from stage left.}

STRONG BAD: {voiceover} Maybe one day, we'd both learn to regenerate...

{The head gains an arm, a green leg, a spirally arm, and an extremely thin robotic-looking leg. The body gains an odd growth colored to look like Strong Bad's head in its chest.}

STRONG BAD: ...creating two perfectly-formed Strong Bad specimens!

STRONG BODY: {in a somewhat whiny voice that sounds nothing like Strong Bad} I would like to go to the store.

HEAD BAD: {in a scratchy voice followed by laughing that also sounds nothing like Strong Bad} {unintelligible} ^[1]

{Cut back to the Lappy.}

STRONG BAD: {typing} Eeeugh! Go away, head-nub and nub-head. Those things look straight out of the creature shop from some low-to-no budget horror film. Maybe chopping my head off isn't such a good idea.

{Cut back to show The Cheat standing next to a guillotine near the computer.}

THE CHEAT: {makes dejected The Cheat noises, walks off}

{Cut back to the Lappy's screen.}

STRONG BAD: {typing} Well, time to go satisfy my sudden craving for tiny breads. {gets up} Hope I can find my local bunman...

{The Paper comes down.}

Footnote

1. This line could be "I like your shoes", "I hate your shoes", "I think you're shoes", "I think you're cute", or "I ate your shoes".

Easter Eggs

Soccer scent.

We're onto you.

• At the very beginning, click "strongbad_email.exe" to see sbemail Deodorant. Pictures show:

sbemail
Deodorant
Soccer Scent

"I'm feeling my style...
I've got confidence in my email!"

• At the end, click on "horror film" to see a movie poster for "Regenerator 4".

A Low-To-No Budget Horror Film

REGENERATOR 4
OR: FOUR MORE REGENERATORS

With Special Make-up Effects by
TOLD SALLIAVERi

• Click on "good idea" to see a propaganda poster of The Poopsmith riot squad.

SUPPORT THE MUNICIPALITY!

WE'RE ONTO YOU.

Fun Facts

Explanations

• Ballast is a material (such as water) used in a ballast tank to add mass to an object, usually to improve stability.

Trivia

• The label on the disk in the floppy disk container reads "below the root".
• One million yards is approximately 568 miles.
• This is the first email in which an Easter egg is found before the actual email is shown.
• When Head Bad is on the deserted island, he is wearing his Dangeresque sunglasses.

Remarks

• Viewing the Flash file of this email reveals a large black block covering the area that is normally outside the frame.
• Plausible means "seemingly believable", and a plausibility is anything that is plausible. Strong Bad's use of the word "plausibility" is incorrect; a more appropriate word would be "possibility".
• The Regenerator 4 Easter egg has an unexpected lowercase i in the same word as a capital I.
• In the DVD commentary for island, Matt Chapman said that he and Mike planned to reuse the island in a later toon.
• When Head Bad finishes the 1 million yard dash, the running lanes are labeled 5, 6, 7. Lanes 1 through 4 are missing.
• "The Municipality" is a synonym of "town", as in the one over which the King rules.
• This is the first time the King of Town has shown any authority in Free Country USA.

Goofs

• When Head Bad gets the 'muscle' engine growing out of his head, his shadow on the ground never changes to match the engine.
• When Head Bad finishes the 1 million yard dash, the finish line tape is connected to a pole. In another shot there, the pole is gone, and the tape just sits on the ground.
• When Strong Body is "rioting against the municipality" a rock appears in his glove after each throw without him reaching into the box. Also, the rocks in the box don't seem to be disappearing.
• The Poopsmith's bat and Head Bad's sign should have been seen in the opposite scenes before the screen pans, seeing as both objects crossed the division between the screens.
• When Strong Bad is on the island, the lemon on the drinking glass appears to be directly connected to the glass, instead of being wedged into the edge.
• Bubs' mouth does not move the second time he says "twicely fresh".
• Strong Body's neck still has the shadow usually cast by Strong Bad's head, even when it's not there.

Inside References

• Head Bad and Strong Body were first used on Main Page 7.
• Coach Z calling Homestar "'Strammy" mirrors his mispronunciation "Stramstar" in A Jorb Well Done.
• Strong Bad's pronunciation of "club" also occurred in extra plug.
• The exhaust pipes on Strong Bad's head are reminiscent of the ones used on Bubs's pumpkin in Pumpkin Carve-nival.
• Homestar becoming a bunmaker could be related to his obsession with bread in origins.
• The phrase "put your weight on it" was previously used in flashback.
• Bubs describes Strong Body's dancing as "twicely fresh".
• Bubs's dance in Club Technochocolate is the same one he did in geddup noise.
• While Strong Body is dancing in Club Technochocolate, he slides on the ground while kneeling, a move that was also performed by Strong Bad at the end of his rock opera.
• Strong Bad's head was first called an egg in Strong Bad is in Jail Cartoon.
• A "cabana boy" was mentioned earlier in the DVD version of Tropical Lazor Beams.
• This is another appearance of loose coins.
• Strong Bad mentions seeing his local "bunm'n", which is an example of "man" pronounced as "m'n".

Real-World References

• Strong Bad's "career advisor" sign is similar to the "Psychiatric help" sign used by Lucy van Pelt from the Peanuts comics. More specifically, it reads "The doctor is real in", with "real in" being the movable part of the sign in A Charlie Brown Christmas.
  • The sign also is written in the "Peanuts" font.
• The Repulsorlift is the technology used in the Star Wars universe to create lift for vehicles. It is most notably used on the various speeders, but it also works for spacecraft, such as the X-wing. It is supposedly based on the creation of artificial gravity "pockets" that act against the natural gravity of other objects.
• The phrase "put your weight on it" (in reference to dancing) comes from the Rudy Ray Moore movie Disco Godfather.
• "Lemme hear that dinner roll" is a reference to the lyrics of the 1994 song "Tootsie Roll" by the band 69 Boyz.
• The exhaust pipes coming out of Head Bad could be referred to as a "header" in automotive engineering parlance.
• The "We're Onto You" poster could be a reference to the similar propaganda "Big Brother Is Watching You" from the book Nineteen Eighty-Four.
  • The "We're Onto You" poster may also be a reference to the video game Beyond Good & Evil, because one of the common sights in said game is a poster that says "Support the Government. We're here to protect you."
• Bubs's repetition of the phrase "twicely fresh" is reminiscent of the Sesame Street character and host of Mysterious Theater Vincent Twice's repetition of his own name.
• "Regenerator 4" is possibly a reference to the Re-Animator series of horror films.
• "With Special Make-up Effects by TOLD SALLIAVERi" could be a reference to Tom Savini, well-known special effects make-up man in many low-budget (as well as hit) movies, such as Day of the Dead and the Friday the 13th series.
• Strong Bad's deserted island drink could be a Tequila Sunrise, judging by the scene's tropical theme and the drink's gradual color blend from yellow to dark orange.

Fast Forward

• The floppy disk reading "below the root" also appears in keep cool.
• The Municipality is later referenced in more armies.
• Strong Bad does the same dance moves at Club Technochocolate in nightlife.
  • The extended version of the music heard at Club Technochocolate would be heard in the aforementioned email.

DVD Version

• The DVD version features hidden creators' commentary. To access it, switch the DVD player's audio language selection while watching.

Commentary Transcript

(Commentary by: Mike Chapman, Matt Chapman)

MIKE: {laughs} I feel like that's a, uh, jingle for soap or—

MATT: Deodorant.

MIKE: —deodorant, yeah.

MATT: Definitely.

MIKE: Just this week... {laughter}

MATT: It's the deodorant that lasts all week— I need the deodorant, and the soap that lasts all week long, Mike. Between showers.

MIKE: Unfortunately, you're right. You do need that.

MATT: Yeah.

{long pause}

MIKE: Well... I'm gonna go ahead say something here.

MATT: All right. {starts to say something else, but is cut off by Mike}

MIKE: I'm gonna jump right in. I don't mean to cut you off or anything.

MATT: No. Hop on in.

MIKE: But I'm just gonna, uh, keep talking here. Yeah.

MATT: Wait, you don't really have anything to say.

MIKE: {overlapping} No, I was just trying to break the silence.

MATT: {overlapping} Look, come on, we're going now.

MIKE: Okay, he's "Real In". {referring to Strong Bad's sign} That's good.

MATT: Look, there's the Pooper Trooper.

MIKE: Is that his name?

MATT: I don't know, that's what I call him sometimes.

MIKE: I never heard that before. You should... you should tell me these things.

MATT: There's the logo for the Municipality. The oppressive King of Tow— {Mike laughs} The King of Town's oppressive other, uh... other ego, as I— as I call him.

MIKE: {laughing} Other ego.

MATT: Uh, I want a box of riot— Ach! Whoa! {split screen pans to reveal Strong Bad's parts are side by side}

MIKE: That's—

MATT: They were all the time just vlipped on vlop.

MIKE: Ooh, I get it.

MATT: A, uh... Is that a prat fall? Is that what they call a prat fall?

MIKE: {laughs} No.

MATT: Is that physical humor?

MIKE: No.

MATT: A spit take! That's a spit take!

{short pause, Strong Bad's head is lounging on an island}

MIKE: That's a nice scene right there.

MATT: Yeah, I want that cocktail.

MIKE: I want that sunbeam on my face. {cut to Strong Bad's body dancing in Club Technochocolate} Oh, look at that.

{laughter}

MATT: Ooo.

MIKE: This is a nice club... club technochocolate song.

MATT: I like how—

MIKE: We should use this more often.

MATT: —Strong Bad always, uh, pronounces club "cloughb".

MIKE: Uh-huh.

MATT: {Strong Bad's head is rolling in the field, Matt makes a sound effect noise} This reminds me of that Easter eggs thing that I made a long time ago for Easter.

MIKE: I remember.

MATT: Where all the characters were eggs, rolling around.

MIKE: I remember that.

MATT: {Strong Bad's head begins hovering} Listen to that noise. {pause, then makes noise}

MIKE: Did you make that with your mouth? Is that—

MATT: It was probably you.

MIKE: Yeah.

{pause}

MIKE: What do you think that is?

MATT: {overlapping} So he's got real engines in his head— Yeah, he has to make the noises with his mouth.

MIKE: {laughs}

MATT: He can talk and still go bub-bub-bub-bub-bub-bub-bub-bub.

MIKE: And there was some smoke coming up from, like skidding, but he was floating in air.

MATT: {laughs} Yeah.

MIKE: There's no friction. {pause} Head Bad and Strong Body.

{pause}

MATT: What is this—

MIKE: {overlapping} He took his advice!

MATT: Oh, Bunmaker.

MIKE: He's Homestar Bunmaker.

{pause}

MATT: {rhythmically} Let me hear that dinner roll!

MIKE: Homestar's got a thing with bread, right?

MATT: Yeah, totally. {pause until both parts have regenerated} Ugh.

{pause until Head Bad laughs slightly while talking to Strong Body; Mike laughs during this pause}

MIKE: That was you laughing there, Matt.

MATT: No!

MIKE: That wasn't Strong Bad laughing.

MATT: I kinda laughed...! Uh, I think I'm pretty funny, Mike. {laughing}

MIKE: {laughing} Yeah? {plainly} Yeah. {pause} Um, so what's the Tom Saliaveri, I think is the name? That we—

MATT: Oh, the, uh, director of the horror films?

MIKE: Yeah, the special effects artist or something.

MATT: {overlapping} Oh, that's, yeah...

MIKE: And it's like, ve— I just— {The Paper comes down} {softly} Oh, is that the end?

Fun Facts

• Matt's mention of the "Easter eggs thing that [he] made a long time ago for Easter" refers to the unfinished toon, Eggs, which was going to be made for Easter in 2001, but was never completed. It was finally released unfinished in 2007.

External Links

• watch "disconnected"
• watch "disconnected" on the old Flash site
• view the Flash file for "disconnected"
• forum thread re: "disconnected"