part-time job

Strong Bad Email #121

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"It's a great day at Bubs' Concession Stand!"

Strong Bad proves that he does more than just check emails, by showing everyone his part-part-part-part-very part-time job!

Cast (in order of appearance): Strong Bad/Tragic Clown Dog, Homestar Runner, The Cheat/Tito, Bubs, Coach Z, Pom Pom (silhouette only), Mrs. Bennedetto, Videlectrix Guys (Easter egg)

Places: Marzipan's House, Bubs' Concession Stand, The Stage (Easter egg)

Computer: Lappy 486

Date: Monday, January 3, 2005

Running Time: 3:18

Page Title: Lappy 486

DVD: strongbad_email.exe Disc Four

Transcript

{As usual, Strong Bad is in front of his Lappy, checking his email. However, judging from the view of the room that we can see around the Lappy, he does not seem to be at his desk, as he usually would be.}

STRONG BAD: A lot of ladies and a lot of girls... some healthy ladies and some healthy girls!

subject: besides..

Dear Strongbad,
Do you do anything besides checking emails?

Sincerely, Hunter

STRONG BAD: {typing, getting angry in the process} Waudju- gighi- ikuh... What do you mean do I do anything else besides checking emails? {ends the sentence with a period} 'Course I freakin' do! I do everything! Always! {clears the screen} Nature walks, Meet 'N Greets, Bus Chucker Club, The League of Me and The Cheat Ice Cream Socials. Shut up! I even have a part-part-part-part-very part-time job, to which I am currently 15 minutes late.

{Cut to the lower area of Marzipan's kitchen. Strong Bad has apparently been checking this email under Marzipan's kitchen table. Homestar walks in, and is holding a tennis ball.}

{Strong Bad looks around in a panicked way.}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: This is perfect! Just perfect! I couldn't be happier with my new invention! I'll call it...the Super Question Machine!!

STRONG BAD: {whispering} I gotta try and sneak out of here without Homestar noticing me.

{Homestar sets his tennis ball down on the table.}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Yeah, you do.

STRONG BAD: Gonna need a diversion of some kind...

{The Cheat walks in, singing to himself, wearing a top hat entitled "Tito" and a bow tie, and holding a cane. Homestar turns around to look at him. The camera pans left. The Cheat begins doing a dance.}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Oh, wow! What a great new invention!

{Strong Bad crawls out from under the table, and gives The Cheat the thumbs up.}

STRONG BAD: Nice work, The Cheat!

{He proceeds to crawl away, while The Cheat's still singing.}

{Cut to Bubs' empty concession stand.}

STRONG BAD: {quietly while peeking out from behind the black} Perfect! Bubs must be passed out on the floor again.

{Strong Bad disappears behind the screen, and begins walking toward the Stand.}

STRONG BAD: {singing} Comin' in to work on time...

{Bubs pops up from under the counter. Strong Bad lets out a short yell.}

BUBS: Aha!

STRONG BAD: {Yells, then stutters a little.}

BUBS: Late again, Strong Bad. I'm not running a country club, you know.

STRONG BAD: {Quickly} But Mr. Bubs, I was just—

BUBS: {Interrupts} Wastin' time with that email show of yours again. That mess'll never get you anywhere!

STRONG BAD: Yes it will! You'll see! I'm gonna be big one day. I'm gonna be a famous email checker!

BUBS: And I'm gonna be two times two. Now put on your uniform and {raising his left arm midway for directions} get to work!

STRONG BAD: You're gonna be what?

{The screen fades out and resumes to Strong Bad wearing a combination of a sad clown and a hotdog costume in front of Bubs' stand. Strong Bad is holding a paper, and a stack of papers sits next to him.}

STRONG BAD: That's right! Come on down to Bubs' and get you a free cup of ice with purchase of deluxe cup of ice of equal or lesser value.

BUBS: No, no. Work it, son, work it!

{Strong Bad begins dancing and singing.}

BUBS: That's it, that's it! Look out for Number 1!

{Coach Z walks in.}

COACH Z: Hey, it's a hot dog clown! What fun!

{Pom Pom's silhouette merges in.}

COACH Z: Pom Pom, take a picture of me with the hot dog clown. It'll be classic!

{Pom Pom bubbles, and takes out a camera. A huge flash is seen, and a camera shutter sound is heard. Coach Z falls over, leaning on Strong Bad.}

{The camera zooms in to Bubs.}

BUBS: {waves his arms up and down constantly} Pictures with the tragic clown dog ain't free! {points his right arm at Pom Pom and Coach Z} Fifty bucks! {back to waving arms} Sixty bucks! {back to pointing right arm} Get back here and let me confiscate yo film!

{The camera zooms back out to the four of them.}

COACH Z: {running} Chorce, forsh! {He and Pom Pom run off screen. Bubs has his arms down and relaxed.}

STRONG BAD: It's a great day at Bubs' Concession Stand! Sign up now for giving us money!

BUBS: Now isn't this better than sitting at your desk answerin' emails?

STRONG BAD: Actually, I was sitting under a kitchen table this week and...uh oh! The Lappy's probably almost out of juice! I gotta get back and end this email! Uhh.. say Bubs, I'm gonna need now off. Is that cool?

BUBS: Is Strong Sad cool?

STRONG BAD: Oh, come on!

BUBS: You know all my policies! I'm not running a country club, you know.

STRONG BAD: Okay, then, I quit.

BUBS: Fine! But don't even think about swiping that costume!

STRONG BAD: You made me buy this costume, remember?

BUBS: Oh. Right. Well then pleasure doing business wit' ya.

{Strong Bad runs off in the costume.}

{We cut back to the kitchen, where The Cheat has fallen over, still singing, and Homestar is standing over him. Strong Bad, now without costume, crawls back in.}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: This is the most amazing undersea epic ever filmed.

STRONG BAD: {typing} See, Hunter? I got all types of stuff going on. I've got so many facets, you don't even know what facets are. I'm like a hundredaire socialite out on the sce—

{The Lappy powers down.}

STRONG BAD: Oh great. The battery ran out. I gotta figure out a way to end this email.

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Yeah, you do.

{Cut to Mrs. Bennedetto. Strong Bad slaps a paper onto it with a drawing of himself grinning and showing off a beefy arm on it alongside a handwritten message:}

yeah buddy,
i have muscles!

ps: preeeeow

Easter Eggs

• Click on "Bus Chucker Club" to see a post-it of Strong Bad's member badge.
• At the end, click on "preeeeow" to make The Paper come down.
  • Click on "preeeeow" again and The Paper magically vanishes and comes back down.
• Also at the end, click on the microwave's "Broast" button to see Hundredaire Socialite magazine, featuring "The Brains Behind Videlectrix."
• Click on the "Power" button at the end, to watch part of a play starring Strong Bad and Bubs.

{Cut to Bubs on the Stage. A playbill is displayed, reading:}

T H E A T E R

Dreamaway
Johnny

{A picture of Strong Bad kneeling on stage}
A Sweet 3-Acter
Directed by Strong Bad
Starring:
Strong Bad and Buh-Hubs, man

{The pamphlet zooms out. Bubs is standing in front of a cut-out of his stand reading MR LEGARM'S Bubs Stand. Strong Bad walks in.}

BUBS AS MR. LEGARM: Well look who decided to show up. Fifth time this week, Johnny.

STRONG BAD AS JOHNNY: Oh I'm sorry Mr. Legarm. Honest I am! I just—

MR. LEGARM: {interrupting} You just what? Lost track of time?

JOHNNY: Yes sir. Only I wouldn't have to worry about that if I could just get the Johnny-Tron working.

MR. LEGARM: You still wastin' time workin' on that time machine, Johnny? That's a pipe dream, son! Your future's here at the shop. Now sweep up! I got customers to tend to.

JOHNNY: You'll see. Someday... someday...

{Music starts, and a spotlight goes over to Strong Bad.}

JOHNNY: {singing} When all my dreams come...truuuuuuuuue!

{As he sings the word "true", the orchestra hits a climactic chord. The audience claps; the curtain closes.}

Fun Facts

Trivia

• Bubs's flyers read:

GET YOU A FREE CUP OF
ICE WITH PURCHASE OF
DELUXE CUP OF ICE OF
EQUAL OR LESSER VALUE.
BUBS' CONCESSION STAND

• The clock on Mrs. Bennedetto is stuck on 9:48.
• This email is the first to show the back of the Lappy clearly. (It was obscured by Strong Bad's arm in animal.)
• Strong Bad's exaggerated drawing of himself includes visible teeth and draws his hand without a boxing glove (the first time he has been depicted gloveless).
• This is the only email where The Paper must be activated manually by the viewer rather than automatically coming down.
• This is the second time Bubs criticized Strong Bad about his "email show". The first time was in the email the process.
• The YouTube description for this email is "Strong Bad tries to sell cups of ice for Bubs while dressed up as the Tragic Clown Dog. A classic!"

Remarks

• The only way Bubs will have to honor his offer of "a free cup of ice with purchase of a deluxe cup of ice of equal or lesser value" is if he gives a free deluxe cup with the purchase of another deluxe cup, since a deluxe version of an item would be of greater value than the normal version.
• When Strong Bad arrives late to work, he grabs the frame of the cartoon, yet another example of a fourth wall break.
• Strong Bad also has an unspecified job at the office.
• Hunter's question was effectively answered just 10 emails earlier, in other days.
• According to its introduction in animal, the Lappy has 5 minutes of battery life. This email is only 3:18 long, indicating that Strong Bad had likely powered his Lappy on before the email began, although the email does consist of several non-contiguous shots.
• If Mrs. Bennedetto's clock is correct, Strong Bad had to be at work by 9:30 AM.

Goofs

• The circles that appear on the Lappy can still appear when the scene switches to the microwave at the end really quickly.
• When Strong Bad turns around, the teardrop on his hot dog clown suit switches sides.
  • The hot dog clown may have a tear under each eye, because his nose is blocking the view.

Oops...

• When in the tragic clown dog costume, Strong Bad's arm sometimes peeks through the "shadow" in front of the arm hole on the costume.
• Despite his usual mercilessness on grammar and spelling, Strong Bad omits a question mark in his first full sentence.
• When Strong Bad is under the stage light in the Easter egg, he doesn't have a shadow.
• The Lappy's screen can still be clicked on and waves will still appear even after the battery dies.
• When Bubs gets up to startle Strong Bad, Bubs's arm and part of his middle section can be seen under the concession stand.

Glitches

• After watching the Dreamaway Johnny Easter egg, The Paper is down even if "preeeeow" was not clicked on.

Inside References

• The Hundredaire Socialite Magazine Easter egg features the familiar faces of the Videlectrix Guys (portrayed by The Brothers Chaps); the photo is reused from Peasant's Quest Preview.
• The Cheat wearing the top hat may be a reference to theme park.
• "Buh-Hubs" was a filename in big white face. Bubs also said his name this way in lunch special.
• "Hundredaire" was also used in the email "suntan".
• "Preeeeow" is what Strong Bad says in autobiography and haircut, when attempting to prompt the printer to print out The Paper. It is the accepted onomatopoeia for The Paper's sound.
• The confused sounds Strong Bad makes at the beginning of the cartoon are almost identical to the ones he utters near the end of Everybody to the Limit.
• When Strong Bad says, "I've got so many facets, you don't even know what facets are," he is referring to his description of Senor Cardgage in the email kind of cool.
• The sound the Lappy makes when shutting down is the same sound from gimmicks (when the Tandy's display goes blank), caffeine (when Strong Sad snaps out of being caffeinated), and dangeresque 3 (when Strong Bad changed the signature (john newell, on) to "john newell, off").
• The cup of ice is first referenced in no loafing, as part of Bubs' Thirty Cent Lunch Special.
• When Strong Bad sings "I'm like a hundredaire socialite out on the sce—", it is in the same tune as the first Lappy scroll buttons song ("Scroll buttons and the Lappy together at last...").
• Strong Bad previously appeared as a hot dog in island.
• The battery running out is a reference to the limited battery power of the Lappy mentioned in its debut (animal): "One Half of Ten Minutes".

Real-World References

• The Tragic Clown Dog's necktie bends upwards like Dilbert's.
• Homestar doesn't demonstrate how his Super Question Machine works (which is just a tennis ball), but it could be a reference to the Magic 8-ball.
  • It may also be a reference to the handheld version of the 20q, a device that plays twenty questions and is about the size of a tennis ball.
• The pamphlet reading "Theater" in the Easter egg is a reference to the ubiquitous Playbill in Broadway shows.
• The name "Mr. Legarm" is probably a reference to the old saying of "... will cost you an arm and a leg", since Bubs is known to charge more for something than it is worth (such as when he charges $10 for severe pummelings in pom pom).
• Homestar's assessment of The Cheat's performance is similar to the tagline of the film The Neptune Factor: "The most fantastic undersea odyssey ever filmed."

Fast Forward

• The Cheat later appears as Tito in more armies, with Strong Mad as his "beautiful assistant".
• Strong Bad wears the tragic clown dog costume again in On Break.

DVD Version

• The DVD version features hidden creators' commentary. To access it, switch the DVD player's audio language selection while watching.
• The Easter egg involving The Paper is automatically enabled without having to press a button.
• The Bus Chucker Club egg has been disabled.

Commentary Transcript

(Commentary by: Mike Chapman, Coach Z)

MIKE: Surprise me.

COACH Z: OK then, Mike. I'm—

MIKE: {surprised} Oh! It's Coach Z!

COACH Z: I'm showing up to work! For once!

MIKE: It's about time.

COACH Z: Yeah!

MIKE: It's the first time ever you've showed up for work, Coach Z.

COACH Z: I don't like to come around you guys.

MIKE: Well, we—

COACH Z: So much.

MIKE: That's fine with us, too.

COACH Z: Yeah.

MIKE: The feeling's mutual.

COACH Z: I heard that you didn't— You played basketball this morning and didn't take a shower.

MIKE: {laughs} Who told you that?

COACH Z: Uh, a couple of DVDs came by my locker {pronounces it "lacker"} room.

MIKE: Your lacker room? Your lack of room?

COACH Z: No, it's the room I keep all my lacquer.

MIKE: {laughs} Oh, your lacquer room—

COACH Z: My lacquer things.

MIKE: Oh, OK. Uh, oh you remind—

COACH Z: What's that thing Homestar's holding there?

MIKE: That's— It's the super question machine.

COACH Z: It reminds me of one of those—

MIKE: Tennis balls?

COACH Z: Sprots.

MIKE: {repeats it exactly in an attempt to mock} Sprots. Coach Z, what do you mean by sprot?

COACH Z: I {laughs, sounding more like Matt} I'm mispronouncing "Sports" Mike, I'll tell you the truth.

MIKE: {laughs} So now you're just, uh, switching letters around.

COACH Z: {whimpering} I just—

MIKE: You're not only adding 'R's to things, you're just switching letters around.

COACH Z: {still whimpering} It's true, Mike.

MIKE: Oh, OK.

COACH Z: Mork.

MIKE: {laughs} Yeah...

COACH Z: Ir feer borld {meaning to say "I feel bad"}

MIKE: Yeah, that's good...

COACH Z: {suddenly more serious} No, now listen, here! Because— when you talk about Bubs, you're talking about me. Because Bubs is a good guy and I'm worse.

MIKE: {laughs} You, uh— You make a good appearance in this email, though.

COACH Z: {reassured} I do. I remember showing up for work that day.

MIKE: I don't think you— I think you were just passing through that day.

COACH Z: That clown!

MIKE: You like that clown—

COACH Z: That clown really knows how to work a fella.

MIKE: {dumbfounded} What do you mean? {laughs}

COACH Z: You know. Give him— make him—

MIKE: A charlie horse, maybe?

COACH Z: Make him laugh. Yeah, give 'em—

MIKE: Look! Look at that guy!

COACH Z: —a real chuckle charlie horse. {pause} Oh, look. Yeah, take a—

MIKE: Do you have this picture somewhere?

COACH Z: I do—

MIKE: Framed, maybe?

COACH Z: I framed it and I put it in my lacquer room.

MIKE: {laughs} Is there a lack of room in your lacquer room?

COACH Z: There is.

MIKE: Is it full of lacq— Is it because it's a smaller room or because it's full of lacquer?

COACH Z: It's because it's a— it's a microwave.

MIKE: {laughs} How many, uh, cans of lacquer can you fit in there?

COACH Z: About five.

MIKE: Yeah, OK. So you just got like pint-sized cans—

COACH Z: Don't turn that thing on, Mike.

MIKE: No?

COACH Z: I tell you what.

MIKE: What happens?

COACH Z: You don't have a lacquer room no more.

MIKE: They'll usually take that back.

COACH Z: Pardon?

MIKE: They'll take it back. The lacquer rooms. If you break 'em.

COACH Z: Really?

MIKE: Yeah, you can take it to the store. They'll get you a new one.

COACH Z: That's pretty good then.

MIKE: Warranty. Yeah. {long pause} What else you got there, Coach Z?

COACH Z: That's it!

MIKE: You're done?

COACH Z: Mm-hm.

MIKE: You're not gonna even show up for a full day's work here. You're petering out halfway through the email—

COACH Z: Hey look. I had lunch, went back to my desk, and I'm zoning out.

MIKE: Yeah?

COACH Z: I'm just gonna get on Instant Messager and tell the boss.

MIKE: Is it Instant Messenger or Messager? I've always been confused.

COACH Z: Messen—

MIKE: Messenger?

COACH Z: I think so.

MIKE: Um, K. 'Cause it could be "Messager," too. {pause}

COACH Z: {suddenly and quickly} Look, a lacquer room!

External Links

• watch "part-time job"
• watch "part-time job" on YouTube
• watch "part-time job" on the old Flash site
• view the Flash file for "part-time job"
• forum thread re: "part-time job"