12:00

Strong Bad Email #30

watch ← superhero name sugarbob →

"Duct-taped an alarm clock to the VCR... See, I never would have thought of that!"

Cory Dewey-Smith wants to know how to get his VCR to stop blinking 12:00.

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

Places: Computer Room, The Garage

Computer: Tandy 400

Date: Monday, June 3, 2002

Running Time: 1:12

Page Title: TANDY 400!!

DVD: strongbad_email.exe Disc One

SBEmail Menu Description: Bubs helps Strong Bad program his VCR clock.

Transcript

STRONG BAD: I'll take Strong Bad Emails for a thousand, please.

Strong Bad,
My vcr keeps blinking 12:00 over and over. Do you
have any suggestions on how to fix it?

Thankyou,
Cory Dewey-Smith

STRONG BAD: {typing} I had the same problem, Dewey-Smith. So I called in a professional to get the job done. Let's go see how he's dewing...um...doing.

{Strong Bad leaves his seat. Cut to Bubs working in the garage. Strong Bad enters into the foreground.}

STRONG BAD: So, Bubs, how is it coming?

BUBS: Oh, hey, Strong Bad. I think I'm almost finished. It took me a little while to figure out what I was going to do. {He steps aside to reveal what he's done.} Then I duct-taped an alarm clock to your VCR.

STRONG BAD: Duct-taped an alarm clock to the VCR... See, I never would have thought of that! Okay, there's some hairs that seem to be stuck in the duct-tape here. Was that on purpose?

BUBS: Oh... No! That's just left over from my first idea, which was to duct-tape The Cheat to your VCR. He wasn't into that.

STRONG BAD: Oh, I could have told you that, man. Well, anyways, thanks for your help, Bubs. And thank you, Cory... Dewey-Smith! So... Join us next week when we'll be duct-taping clocks to all kinds of different stuff.

{The Paper comes down.}

Easter Eggs

• Hit the "Eject" button at the end to eject a tape. Click the tape again to put it back in. A different tape will come out each time. The labels are written in either blue, black, or red. The tapes are:
  • Yo! MTV Raps (blue)
  • Condorman (red) (1981 Disney movie starring Michael Crawford)
  • Hagler vs. Hearns (blue) (1985 boxing match on HBO)
  • YCDTOTV (season 2) (red) (You Can't Do That on Television)
  • Moscow Peace Festival (black)
  • car commercials (red)
  • "V" (red) (Mid '80s miniseries)
  • The Commish (red) (Early '90s drama with Michael Chiklis)
  • space shows (blue)
  • M*A*SH* final episode (red) (Highest rated final episode ever, misspelled in email)
  • Joy of Painting (black) (Famous painting show starring late painter Bob Ross)
  • Strong Mad's b-ball game (blue)
  • Slam Dunk Contest (Spud Webb) (blue) (1986 Slam Dunk Contest)

Fun Facts

Trivia

• In the Flash version, the time on the alarm clock is the actual system time of the user's computer. This was done using ActionScript.
• In the YouTube version, the time on the alarm clock always reads 5:36.
• The YouTube description for this email is "Bubs helps Strong Bad program his VCR clock."

Remarks

The 88th minute of the 88th hour.

• This is the first appearance of the Clock Radio.
• The clock radio displays 88:88 for a split-second as it retrieves the computer's internal time.
• In the eject button Easter egg, tapes with labels written in black appear to be Strong Sad's, labels written in red Strong Bad's, and labels written in blue Strong Mad's.

Goofs

• When Bubs turns around, his feet don't move at all. Bubs's torso just swivels 180° to face Strong Bad.
• There is no blue outline around the bottom of Bubs's head.
• While Bubs talks to Strong Bad about his work, his mouth is too far away from the bottom of his face for one frame.

Glitches

• The "Eject" button on the VCR is clickable during the whole email, but it doesn't do anything until the end.
• When the camera zooms in on the clock, a fine line can be seen left of the clock.

Inside References

• The "Joy of Painting" tape can also be found on the Toons page.

Real-World References

• Strong Bad's intro is a reference to the game show Jeopardy!.
• Strong Bad's exchange with Bubs is a takeoff of television home remodeling shows such as This Old House, where the host asks various team members what they are doing, why, and how.

Fast Forward

• The Poopsmith would later dress up as a Condorman in The Homestar Runner Enters The Spooky Woods.

DVD Version

• The time on the alarm clock now always reads 8:28 when it first appears, which changes to 8:29 as the email progresses, and 8:30 during the post-email options (though it is visible for a split-second when viewed in Play All).
• The VHS tape Easter egg only goes up to "YCDTOTV (season 2)".
• 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: That's a reference to the TV show Jeopardy!

MATT: Yeah...

MIKE: I like how he says Dewey-Smith here. I've always liked that. Or, watch it! Oh, not that.

MATT: Not this time.

MIKE: Yeah. {horrible Strong Bad imitation} Dewey-Smith.

MATT: {as Strong Bad} Dewey, Dewey, Dewey. Dewey, Dewey.

MIKE: Oh, do the voice! Do Strong Bad's voice!

MATT: {as Strong Bad} Dewey, Dewey, Dewey, Dewey.

MIKE: I love to get Matt to do Strong Bad's voice.

MATT: Look, that's one of those, what do you call those work boards in the back?

MIKE: Pegboards.

MATT: Pegboards.

MIKE: My friend Tobin made homemade pegboard just by getting a piece of masonite and drilling the holes in just freehand and it was really bad and funny-looking.

MATT: So in, Mike, thi—

MIKE: Look, the No Loafing sign and his desk are—

MATT: There's also—

MIKE: —right there! So, apparently—

MATT: Wait, is that supposed to be the same desk?

MIKE: I dunno.

MATT: You mean Strong Bad's computer desk is in the garage?

MIKE: There's the same color wall. Well, it looks like it...

MATT: I don't believe you, Mike.

MIKE: Well...

MATT: I like that little, he's like {adopts semi-Strong Bad tone} "Aw, pshaw. I could've told you that." I like that.

MIKE: Wait, you—I like that.

MATT: {Strong Bad voice} Dewey, Dewey, Dewey, Dewey, Dewey, Dewey.

MIKE: Aw, do it again, Matt!

MATT: {Strong Bad voice} Uh, holy cramp!

MIKE: Holy cramp. {laughs}

External Links

• watch "12:00"
• watch "12:00" on YouTube
• watch "12:00" on the old Flash site
• view the Flash file for "12:00"