Best thing

"I'm afraid I've got some bad news, boys. You're in space!"

Strong Bad shows us the best thing he's ever seen, done or eaten: the quickly canceled pilot of Limozeen: "but they're in space!"

Cast (in order of appearance): Strong Bad, Gary Palaroncini, Larry Palaroncini, Perry Palaroncini, Mary Palaroncini, Teeg Dougland, Strong Sad, Hot Babeliens, Mitch Overlord, Bozar, Nebulon

Places: Computer Room, Outer Space, Limozeen's Stage, Basement of the Brothers Strong, Various Futuristic Places, The Moon

Computer: Lappy 486

Date: Tuesday, March 8, 2005

Running Time: 4:08 (4:14 in the DVD version)

Page Title: Lappy 486

DVD:strongbad email.exe Disc Four, Sbemails' 50 Greatest Hits DVD

Transcript

STRONG BAD: You got to e-mail, just to stay alive! {types "strongbad_email.exe", begins reading}

>subject: What's the best... >Dear Strong Bad,
>How you doin'? I have three quick questions...
>1. What's the best thing you've ever seen?
>2. What's the best thing you've ever done?
>3. What's the best thing you've ever eaten?
>
>Later,
>Albin J. (from Maryland)

{Strong Bad doesn't read the numbers, and after saying "seen", he immediately follows with "done, eaten." He also whispers "from, from Maryland." Then he clears the screen.}

STRONG BAD: {typing} I'm doing real real {types "rrll rrll"} well Albi. Believe it or not, I've got one answer for all three questions. And that answer is...

{Cut to an image of a video tape labeled "Limozeen cartoon" and "Don't record over for dang's sake!!!"}

BACKGROUND SINGERS: {drawn out} VHS!

STRONG BAD: The only known copy of the failed pilot episode of the Limozeen Saturday morning cartoon shoooooooow!!

{Cut back to the Lappy.}

STRONG BAD: {typing} It only aired once at, like, 4 a.m. some forgotten Saturday. And guess who was already up and eating brown sugar straight from the box? That's right, Strong Sad. But then I got up and started watching TV. If not for my The Cheat-like VHS reflexes, it would have been as lost as four-armed Grimace. {clears screen} I'll let you guys see it, but please, no flash photography or video taping. It could damage the precious oils and {short pause} heavy metals of this priceless piece of television history.

{Cut to the cartoon. The theme song begins. It opens with "Metalmation" appearing in large block letters against a grey background, followed by "presents" in cursive. Cut to a different grey background. Cartoon figures of Limozeen drop in.}

SINGER: Remember those guys from that band Limozeen?

{The Limozeen logo appears. Cut to a yellow background, where the Limozeen tour bus drops in.}

SINGER: Well, they turned their tour bus into a space machine!

{The tour bus transforms into a spaceship, and the background changes to a starry background. The tour spaceship speeds off to the left as the screen changes to Limozeen performing in spacesuits.}

SINGER: But they're still Limozeen!

{Close up on Larry.}

LARRY: We're still Limozeen!

{Cut to Limozeen in front of the same grey background as before, in usual costume. One by one, each band member gains a spacesuit (and in the case of Mary, a potbelly and red hair).}

SINGER: But they're in space!

{Cut to a starry background, with the Limozeen logo. Larry is in the foreground looking confused whilst the rest of the band is in the background.}

LARRY: But we're in space?!

{Larry moves next to the rest of the band. The words "but they're in space!" appear. Teeg walks in from stage right. The theme song stops.}

TEEG DOUGLAND: I'm afraid I've got some bad news, boys. You're in space!

{One final chord of the theme song plays.}

{Cut to the Couch. Strong Bad is sitting on it, while Strong Sad is leaning on it from behind. Strong Bad is smiling.}

STRONG BAD: Oh-ho-ho! So classic!

STRONG SAD: But why are they in space? {Strong Bad stops smiling and looks at Strong Sad} There's no reason for them to be in space!

STRONG BAD: On the contrary, my dear Fatson! There's every reason for them to be in space.

{Title card for "ENCOUNTER AT GROUPULON 5" by A. Chimendez appears. From there, it cuts to the Limozeen members running away from a pair of flesh-colored hands, a pair of blue hands, and two magenta tentacles.}

STRONG BAD: {narrating} So, one of their main goals is to both run away from and give backstage passes to all the hot babeliens of the galaxy.

{The Limozeen members run into their tour spaceship, which takes off. Cut to Teeg Dougland inside the spaceship.}

TEEG DOUGLAND: I'm afraid I've got some bad news, boys. None of the hot alien chicks from Groupulon 5 have backstage passes to tonight's show.

{Cut to Larry and Gary.}

LARRY: Then whose midriffs are we gonna sign?

GARY: What happened to all the passes, Teeg?

{Cut back to Teeg Dougland.}

TEEG DOUGLAND: Galactic Radio gave them all away. To Mitch Overlord.

{Cut to Larry and Gary. The members of Limozeen gasp, and we cut to Mitch Overlord's lair. A rock sting of terror is heard}

MITCH OVERLORD: That's right, Limozeen! I was the one million, six hundred and eighty-five thousand, four hundred and twenty-first caller! {He raises his claw-like right hand, which says MITCH!, and opens and shuts it twice.}

{Fade through grey to the members of Limozeen running again, this time from nothing that can be seen.}

STRONG BAD: {narrating} And sometimes the magical prankster Bozar appears and turns reality upside-down.

{Cut to Bozar. The sting is barely heard.}

BOZAR: Puzzle me twice, Limo-losers! How are you going to play tonight's show after I turn your instruments into Italian noodles?

{The band is greeted with "boooos" as they attempt to play a concert with their noodle-instruments anyway. A random voice in the crowd yells, "That's not music!" The word NOODLES! flashes in lights behind the stage. Mary eats his noodles instead. We cut to him, who pauses to speak.}

MARY: This is the best show ever, guys! {resumes eating}

{Canned laughter is faintly heard. Cut to Larry.}

LARRY: Mary, quit eatin' your drums!

{Cut to the outside of the tour spaceship flying through space. Nebulon flies past.}

STRONG BAD: {narrating} But most of all, the episode centers around the boys making sure metal stays number one throughout the galaxy.

{The bus speeds off. Cut to Teeg Dougland.}

TEEG DOUGLAND: I'm afraid I've got some bad news, boys. We've been knocked off the charts in the Forbidden Zone by an alternative rock band.

{Cut to Larry, Perry and Mary.}

PERRY: But their bassist is a girl!

MARY: And the drummer's got short hair!

LARRY: And the lead singer wears glasses! {clenches his fists and waves them on either side of his head}

{Cut back to the couch. Strong Bad, whilst still watching the television, throws the remote at Strong Sad.}

STRONG SAD: Ow! What was that for?

STRONG BAD: {faces Strong Sad} For you and your kind destroying metal! {looks down} Chuck Taylor-wearing, low self-esteemers...

{Cut back to the cartoon. The band is practicing on an alien planet as Teeg walks up to them.}

TEEG DOUGLAND: I'm afraid I've got some bad news, boys. Our pilot episode has been canceled.

{The sting is heard a bit louder}

LARRY, GARY, PERRY, and MARY: What?

{Cut to Gary.}

GARY: Oh well. I guess I won't be needing this anymore. {He throws his guitar offscreen.}

{Cut to the real Larry on Strong Bad's television, who catches the real equivalent of the guitar.}

LARRY: Oh, thanks, Space Gary! {faces camera} I can't believe we got canceled! Weeeeeell, join us next time, kids! In syndication! Or maybe on DVD!

{Larry plays a short riff. The screen pauses and the TV fades out. Strong Bad returns to the Lappy.}

STRONG BAD: {typing} Whattaya think, Albi? If that's not the best thing you've ever seen, done, or eaten, then may I politely ask you to gouge out your eyes, cut out your tongue, and um, {hesitates} have all your {hesitates again} done {short pause} removed.

{The Paper comes down.}

Easter Eggs

• Click on "brown sugar" to see a box of "Suge Brown" brown sugar, with the tagline "Don't borrow from thy neighbor" and a weight of "one whole pound".
• At the end of the email, click "eaten" to see a member of Limozeen question his hair color and size:

MARY: How come they made me fat and have red hair? LARRY: Because you're the comic relief-uh! {Mary burps very loudly}

Fun Facts

Explanations

• The Limozeen cartoon in general is a parody of the multiple Hanna-Barbera cartoons that featured fictional musical groups who solved crimes or fought villains whenever they weren't playing music. Such series notably included Josie & the Pussycats, Jabberjaw and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kids. Teeg Dougland's repeated mantra of "I'm afraid I've got some bad news, boys" is a parody of band managers in such cartoons, who were often only featured as characters for the purpose of plot exposition.
  • Also, the fact that Limozeen's cartoon just happens to be set in space is presumably invoking an infamous 70s and 80s TV fad of spinning off existing popular shows into cartoons that placed the main characters in space for no good reason, like Partridge Family 2200 A.D., Gilligan's Planet, The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang, and Josie & the Pussycats In Outer Space. All of these shows had very brief production runs, rarely more than twenty episodes.
• Mitch Overlord declaring that he was the 1,685,421st caller to Galactic Radio is a take on radio promotional giveaways that require that listeners call a number and be the nth caller to get through in order to win the prize.
• In the television industry, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast programs to multiple stations, without going through a broadcast network.
• The laugh track used in one scene is a typical element of older Hanna-Barbera cartoons featuring more realistic characters, intended to incite laughter in the same manner as a sitcom.
• The entire tape of the Limozeen cartoon includes a "VHS grain" effect, most visible during the black METALMATION intro (note how the background appears to be randomly speckled). This artifact of VHS recording results from multiple generation copies, repeated erasing/recording, and from recording in extended tape speeds.
• Strong Bad's remark about alternative bands being "low self-esteemers" refers to such genres as emo and lo-fi. In emo, the bands are stereotyped as having depression; in lo-fi and similar genres, the bands are stereotyped as having no energy.

Trivia

• Teeg Dougland is voiced by Mike Chapman.
• Strong Bad previously stated It's That CLOCK was "about the best thing [he'd] ever seen" in the email vacation.
• The YouTube description for this email is "Strong Bad describes the best thing he's ever seen, done or eaten."

Remarks

• The URL for the Flash file for this email is sbemail126_mx.swf, for unknown reasons. MX is a version of Flash, released in 2002 (with a subsequent version in 2004). Since The Brothers Chaps said that they are still using Flash 5 (as of an interview that took place over two and a half years after the release of this email), it is possible they needed MX in the email for effects.
• This email gives a good answer to Strong Bad's own question in different town when he tries to think up the best thing ever, which at the time he identified as beef stew.
• Strong Bad's tape lacks the little tab that can be pushed out to prevent people taping over it, a chief concern with the cartoon tape.
  • Strong Bad may have accidentally placed the label of the tape over this tab, however, as the label appears to be too long. This would mean the tape is still recordable, hence adding to his concern.
• Although elements of the Limozeen in Space cartoon such as the animation style and mention of the popularity of hair metal bands seem to suggest that it would have been aired in the '80s, Larry mentions DVDs at the end, which first hit the American market in 1997.
• When Limozeen is flying in the spaceship, the background is looping (there is even a noticeable seam in the background); a common practice in old cartoons. In similar fashion, Limozeen is often shown running away from some off-screen pursuer, using an unchanging run cycle of animation.
• Teeg's announcement that the show has been canceled is interesting from a logistical standpoint: For his line to be animated and voiced, the animators would have to have known the fact while they were animating and recording the voices.
• Mary is always seen looking into the camera, even when the rest of the characters are looking in a different direction.
• This email features a live action segment.
• "Babe-liens" is a portmanteau.
• Strong Bad mentions several plot lines from the show - since only the pilot was ever broadcast, these must all have been in that one episode.

Goofs

• Just before Strong Bad sits down at the Lappy, almost his entire head is visible, but the laces on the back of his mask cannot be seen; usually, when that much of his head is shown (such as in crazy cartoon), those laces are visible.
• When the space-mobile is flying at supposed hyper-speed, the stars flying by in the background are streaking the wrong way.
• When the TV and VCR in Strong Bad's basement are seen, the VCR shows no sign of a tape being inside it nor of any playback. (VCRs typically have some type of counter or a "play" graphic on their display.) This could just be a flashback to the day they watched it, although if it is, there is no record graphic lit up.
• When the tape is being displayed, Strong Bad is supposedly typing (as his spoken line is seen when the Lappy is shown again). However, the typing sound effect is not heard.
• When the band is being chased by "babe-liens", the top tentacle briefly looks like it is not attached to anything.

Inside References

• The teleplay for Limozeen's cartoon is written by A. Chimendez.
• Teeg Dougland is the name of the director of the Moving Very Slowly video on the strongbad email.exe DVD. He is identified as the manager of the band at the NYU talk during the showing of a Limozeen coloring book 'game'.
• The VCR is still blinking from 12:00, and someone has removed the alarm clock that Bubs duct-taped to it.
• The guitar that Space Gary tosses is the same one seen in Puppet Time.
  • It is a custom Gibson Explorer.
  • The guitar was also used in the Limozeen Easter egg in flashback.
• The villain, Mitch Overlord, has a claw that is the same as the one from the Kick The Cheat game.

Real-World References

• As a magical, large-headed trickster, Bozar calls to mind such characters the Great Gazoo from The Flintstones, but his insulting manner and fondness for transmutating objects to cause trouble make it clear that he is most strongly inspired by Superman villain, Mr. Mxyzptlk. His "puzzle me twice" taunt is a reference to the Riddler from the '60s Batman TV show, in which the villains often taunted the Dynamic Duo by mocking their names. The Riddler's catchphrase was "Riddle me this", immediately followed by an obscure clue as to what his next crime would be.
• "Metalmation" is a reference to the Filmation animation studio, with the logos looking very similar. Filmation was famous for churning out cookie-cutter cartoons, many of which also took place in space for no good reason.
• The repeated "band being chased" segments may be a reference to a Hanna-Barbera '70s staple of stock-footage chase scenes, which appeared most prominently in Scooby-Doo. Also, this may refer to The Beatles, who spent a good deal of A Hard Day's Night—a typical day in the life of the band—running away from adoring female fans. It also recalls the premise of the video game Journey Escape, which the Brothers Chaps mentioned in the commentary for more armies. "it would have been as lost as Four-armed Grimace"
• "Four-armed Grimace" is a reference to the purple McDonaldland character. Grimace was originally named "The Evil Grimace", and he had four arms (replaced with two arms a few years later) so that he could hold many shakes at once.
• "On the contrary, my dear Fatson" is an adaptation of "Elementary, my dear Watson", a line often attributed to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's character Sherlock Holmes, though he never actually used that exact phrase in the Holmesian canon.
• The space logo of Limozeen is very similar to the logo of the Nintendo game series Metroid.
• Mary asking "How come they made me fat and have red hair?" draws attention to the manipulation of characters in cartoon adaptations to clearly defined sterotypical roles. In particular, Mary's question refers to the cartoon The Real Ghostbusters, where Dan Aykroyd's character Ray Stantz (from the Ghostbusters film) was modified into an overweight redhead, and frequently acted as comic relief.
• Limozeen being kicked off the charts by an alternative band with a girl bassist references the death of hair metal in the early '90s, when bands like Sonic Youth, The Pixies and the Smashing Pumpkins were able to have success. (The aforementioned bands actually all had female bassists.)
• The phrase "Chuck Taylor wearin'..." refers to Chuck Taylor All-Stars, designed by Chuck Taylor. "Chucks" are a signature look of Grunge, Punk, and Metal that happened after 1990.
• The scene at the end, where the cartoon throws the guitar to the real-life band member, pokes fun at almost every '80s cartoon that had a (semi) famous person behind it—where the cartoon would transition/interact with the real person from off screen: Fat Albert, Alf, M.C. Hammer, Mr. T, the Harlem Globetrotters, and many others all closed the episode with the real-world people.
• "Encounter at Groupulon 5" is most likely a reference to Encounter at Farpoint (the first episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation) and the award-winning TV series Babylon 5.

Fast Forward

• An episode of Limozeen: "but they're in space!" was "relegated to DVD bonus content" on Everything Else, Volume 3.
• Limozeen: "but they're in space!" is later featured in two episodes of Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People: Baddest of the Bands and 8-Bit Is Enough.

DVD Version

• Strong Bad starts his grand announcement about the tape's contents slightly sooner, obscuring the singers (who are even quieter and more indistinct than usual).
• A different transition is used to show the "real-life" Limozeen members becoming their animated counterparts.
• Bozar's horns are yellow rather than green.
• No laughter can be heard in response to Mary's "best show ever" line.
• Strong Bad looks to both sides before throwing the remote at Strong Sad.
• "And, um, done." is added before "have all your done removed."
• A credits sequence is added after Larry's real-life bit (see below).
• This version of the cartoon is also used in the podcast.
• The DVD version features hidden creators' commentary. To access it, switch your DVD player's audio language selection while watching.

Credits listed

• LEAD ANIMATOR: MARK DOOR
• DANIMATOR: DAN PREDGE
• HEAD ANIMATOR: MOORFACE
• TOP ANIMATOR: ROLANDO PREDGE
• WORST ANIMATOR: B. BRETTERSON
• BEST DRAW MAN: JON MOLLO

Commentary Transcript

(Commentary by: Strong Bad, Mike Chapman)

STRONG BAD: Hey Mike, hey Mike.

MIKE: Hi Strong Bad, hi Strong Bad.

STRONG BAD: It's the Strong Bad. The Strong Bad.

MIKE: The Strong Bad? ... So, Strong Bad, I gotta tell ya. This is my favorite email.

STRONG BAD: Really?

MIKE: Yeah.

STRONG BAD: Wow!

MIKE: I'm really gonna enjoy this one. I'm glad to be here with you.

STRONG BAD: I'm glad to be here with you, Mike. You took a shower; you smell nice.

MIKE: I actually played basketball this morning and have not showered since then.

STRONG BAD: Oh.

MIKE: Interestingly enough.

STRONG BAD: Wow, you mask it well!

MIKE: {laughing} Thanks. {pause} I thought it was gonna be you that—

STRONG BAD: See? I faked you out. That's, that's what it's like when you live with the Strong Bad.

MIKE: {laughing} I can't imagine.

STRONG BAD: Four-armed Grimace, Mike. A relic. I have a four-armed Grimace diary, like the Grail diary, from Indiana Jones.

MIKE: Yeah?

STRONG BAD: All these little pits and—

MIKE: Bits of evidence?

STRONG BAD: —pits and teeses {rhymes with "bits and pieces"} of where, of where he might have been.

MIKE: You know, Strong Bad, my brother Matt and I were in a band called Grimace in high school.

STRONG BAD: Really?

MIKE: Yeah, we—

STRONG BAD: Was it as good as Limozeen?

MIKE: We were never as good as Limozeen.

STRONG BAD: What I don't understand is how come the theme song is, like, this terrible banjo song with some skat band singing.

MIKE: That's the way cartoons were back then.

STRONG BAD: But they're a metal band!

MIKE: Well, you can't put metal on Saturday mornings.

STRONG BAD: Look, I love Teeg's style, I gotta tell you what. That, I have, I sought out a light-blue turtleneck and some peach-colored—

MIKE: {laughing} Peach-colored-type pants.

STRONG BAD: Yeah. With flared at the bottom for sure.

MIKE: Yeah; it's good style.

STRONG BAD: Um, does he have a problem with people remembering his name? Why is he, like, nobody else is labeled. And like, personally I have trouble telling the Limozeens apart.

MIKE: Well, it's—

STRONG BAD: Look at that hot, blue alien. D'ja see her?

MIKE: Yeah, I saw her hand.

STRONG BAD: —and green nails, Hot Blues. I call her Hot Blues.

MIKE: I don't think it's 'cause—Do they ever say Teeg's name? I guess they say Teeg—

STRONG BAD: Yeah, somebody does.

MIKE: —but no one ever knows—Teeg Dougland, this is his first appearance.

STRONG BAD: Well, I don't know his name {indicating one of the Limozeens}. What's his name? "Lead Singer Limozeen"?

MIKE: {overlapping} That's Gary. That's Gary and Larry.

STRONG BAD: How do you tell 'em apart?!

MIKE: Because I—

STRONG BAD: Oh, that guy is awesome. Mitch Overlord, I wish he was in more episodes of this show that only has one episode.

MIKE: He's labeled, too.

STRONG BAD: Yeah, {laughing} people have—I guess, I guess kids are pretty dumb. You know? So that's what I'm saying. Now that guy doesn't have a label, but you're not gonna mix him up with— Look at those disgusting horns, like, tearing, are those, those are an accident, bursting out of his brain.

MIKE: Man that bass player is really trying to play.

STRONG BAD: {overlapping} Noodles! Noodles! Noodles! Noodles! The crowd should be goin' nuts right now! Man, anytime something flashes in big lights behind the band at a show, you chant it! You know?

MIKE: Yeah, I agree, I agree.

STRONG BAD: I agree too.

MIKE: {laughing} Okay, you agree with yourself.

STRONG BAD: Yes!

MIKE: Apparently Teeg Dougland looks exactly like me, Strong Bad. What do you think?

STRONG BAD: I don't, I don't see the resemblance.

MIKE: Me neither.

STRONG BAD: I think you look kinda like that tall guy in the middle {one of the Limozeens}.

MIKE: I definitely don't— that's Perry.

STRONG BAD: That's Perry. How do you know these guys— they're my favorite band, I can't tell them apart! The only one I know is the one they made be fat and have orange hair. Like, I appreciate that, that that's Ron.

MIKE: {overlapping} That's Mary. Ron?

STRONG BAD: {laughing} Ron Limozeen. Right?

MIKE: His name is Mary Palaroncini.

STRONG BAD: Wait, his name is Mary?

MIKE: Yeah.

STRONG BAD: There's a guy in Limozeen named Mary?!

MIKE: Yes.

{They watch the transition to the live action.}

STRONG BAD: Ooh! Whoa, who's that guy?

MIKE: Live-action cut scene.

STRONG BAD: Man! See, that—it would be awesome to have the real band.

MIKE: {overlapping} Strong Bad, look behind you.

STRONG BAD: What?

MIKE: That's where we are, right there, that sound room that he's in.

STRONG BAD: That guy from Limozeen was in this sound room?

MIKE: That's right.

STRONG BAD: Man, it's almost like this is real, live, fake subtitles.

{Mike laughs.}

STRONG BAD: Right, Mike?

MIKE: That's right.

STRONG BAD: Look, Brett Bretterson is the worst animator, did you know that?

MIKE: {laughing} I thought I was.

STRONG BAD: Oh, yeah, you are. There's that Bubs, that starts runnin' at me.

MIKE: {still laughing} I made your, I made your head wiggle right here.

STRONG BAD: Good job!

MIKE: Thanks!

STRONG BAD: That is a painful operation.

Fun Facts

• The "Grail diary" Strong Bad mentions is from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
• The name of the worst animator for Limozeen's cartoon, B. Bretterson, is taken from Teen Girl Squad Issue 4. Brett Bretterson is an imaginary friend that So and So made up.
• When discussing the role of "worst animator," Strong Bad mentions Mike making Bubs running at him. This refers to a scene in replacement; in that commentary Mike calls that animation "just me being a lazy animator. It wasn't supposed to be funny." This scene is reportedly Craig Zobel's favorite thing on the website.

YouTube Version

• The credits from the DVD and Podcast versions are present.

External Links

• watch "best thing"
• watch "best thing" on YouTube
• watch "best thing" on the old Flash site
• view the Flash file for "best thing"
• forum thread re: "best thing"