Inconsistencies within the Homestar Runner universe

Is Bubs' right? Or is it left?

From the flag day commentary:

MIKE CHAPMAN: We're not very consistent with our scale.
MATT CHAPMAN: Yeah... We should make a style guide.
MIKE CHAPMAN: You can make a style guide.
MATT CHAPMAN: Yeah, you make one, more like.

Inconsistencies large and small occur throughout the toons portraying the Homestar Runner universe. The Homestar Runner body of work is primarily created independently by The Brothers Chaps, without use of a dedicated style guide or continuity supervisor, allowing for discrepancies to accumulate over the 20-plus years of production.

Furthermore, Homestar Runner relies heavily on whimsical, surreal, and absurd humor. Much like comedic inspirations Looney Tunes or The Three Stooges, toons are largely independent of one another; though some elements remain as constants, various minor facets of settings or characterization may be changed or ignored to better tell a joke or set a scene. Because Homestar Runner is not narrative-driven, complete consistency and total continuity are not goals and very minor inconsistencies are common between cartoons. The site's FAQ recommends that fans remember "it's just a cartoon and you probably shouldn't worry about it."

Appearances of Inconsistencies

Locations

• The race track — In autobiography, lane five is the shortest lane, and seven the longest, while in disconnected, the roles are reversed.
• The computer room — In most cartoons, the door of the computer room is on the right side of the room, but in techno, interview, monument, and all episodes of Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People, it is on the left side.
• House of the Brothers Strong — Strong Bad claims to have found an old-timey video in the attic in a @StrongBadActual Tweet. In imaginary, Strong Sad states that they don't have an attic.
• Basement of the Brothers Strong — Strong Mad's Character Video, HomestarRunner.com: PAY PLUS!, and The Li'l Brudder Show all show different ceiling heights.
• Bubs' Concession Stand —
  • Bubs emerges from its basement by walking up a set of stairs in Broken Compy Menu. However, he is seen entering it via an elevator in geddup noise and winter pool.
  • It does not appear to have any basement in Fall Float Parade, as Homestar Runner is seen standing in a cardboard box on solid ground, where the concession stand stood before Strong Mad carried it away. Matt Chapman suggested the cardboard box was covering the elevator shaft.
• Strong Bad is in Jail Cartoon — The scene behind the fence is missing the Bear Holding a Shark that scared The Cheat in date.
• Summer Short Shorts — The fence is seen to be between the woods and Bubs' Concession Stand, but was not at that location in Strong Bad is in Jail Cartoon.
• Happy Hallow-Day — This toon indicates that the Spooky Woods are only spooky during Halloween night, or at least at night. However, in Where's The Cheat?, the woods appear as they do during the other Halloween toons, despite the fact it is neither Halloween nor night.
• Email your edge — The Basement of the Brothers Strong is located underneath the living room of the Brothers Strong, but in HomestarRunner.com: PAY PLUS!, it was located underneath the computer room.
• Email nightlife — Bubs' Concession Stand is shown to be to the left of Strong Badia, while in Summer Short Shorts and Strong Bad is in Jail Cartoon, Bubs' Concession Stand was on Strong Badia's right.

Character design

• Strong Mad — His physical statistics have varied: height ranging from 6' to 8'3", weight from 900 pounds to approaching one million.
• Email dreamail — Strong Bad imagines the Lappy 486 as female, but in animal he claimed it was the Paper's "new brother".
• Email bedtime story — The Cheat is slightly smaller compared to the grill than he is in Where's The Cheat? and pizza joint.
  • This was most likely deliberate both so that The Cheat could hold onto his glass of Suudsu and so Strong Bad could fit three roach foggers into the grill.
• Email cliffhangers — Coach Z tries to reveal the Thnikkaman's identity by removing his sunglasses, even though Bubs himself does this in monument.

Abilities and knowledge

• Email 50 emails — Homestar Runner is unable to recognize that the Compy 386 is a computer, though he presumably used a computer to respond to an email forwarded by Strong Bad in credit card.
• Email pom pom — Strong Bad cannot type legibly when he is blindfolded, but in impression he could type properly even while wearing a paper plate mask. In morning routine, he is also able to type with an empty potato chip bag on one hand.
• Strong Sad's Lament — Strong Sad writes that he can't jump, yet he manages to jump in Experimental Film, as well as in boring (really).
• Email rough copy — Strong Sad writes a note to himself to get a bigger notebook, and couldn't manage to write the word "notebook" on one page. However, in record book, he transcribed Paradise Lost onto a single grain of basmati rice, in four languages. This is further contradicted in DNA Evidence, in which he writes down notes from various character confessions.
• Somber Vacation — Strong Sad's vacation slideshow shows him having ordered a cup of black coffee, and seemingly drinking it with no ill effects. However, in caffeine, he becomes hyperactive after drinking orange juice laced with coffee powder.
• The Show: Ween Edition — Despite Homsar stating that he seemed to be more articulate when talking to someone through the phone in Marzipan's Answering Machine Version 17.2, his usual rambling vernacular was present while talking to the Poopsmith on the phone for the hotline assist.

History and continuity

See also History according to Strong Bad

• Email flashback — In the Yearbook Character Page, it says that the King of Town's reign as king dates back to "before any of you were born", but in this email, he is the Prince of Town and the other characters are, obviously, already born.
• Email concert — Strong Sad tells Strong Bad he has never heard of Limozeen, but they watched Limozeen: "but they're in space!" together in best thing.
• Email pizza joint — Strong Bad is shocked to learn that there was "competition" between his pizza joint The Pizz and The Cheat's "Cheatsa Pizza", neglecting the existence of a third pizza brand, Bubs' Old Pizza.
• Email email thunder — Strong Bad has to ask if Homestar has an email address, but he has previously forwarded an email to Homestar in credit card, and had a Homestar junkmail filter, as seen in candy product.
• Hremail 7 —
  • This old-fashioned toon suggests Strong Bad knew about Hremails since 2001, yet in email thunder, Strong Bad seems surprised that Homestar also has an email show.
  • Strong Bad is shown to have first gotten the Tandy 400 in 2001, but no loafing showed that he had it in 1987 as well.
  • Though the copyright year is given as 2001, the black-outlined style of animation was not used that year, having last been seen in mid-2000.
  • Strong Bad is shown to be unaware of emails in 2001. However, flashbacks seen in personal favorites and lady...ing showed Strong Bad checking emails in a design from early 2000 (the latter flashback is given an approximate date of 1999-2000).
  • Strong Bad had trouble saying the word "email" and seemed ignorant of the Internet. But in looking old, Strong Bad talked about "eStrong Vague Online Investments" that was sold in the late 1990s.
• On Break — Strong Bad works for Bubs as the Tragic Clown Dog despite quitting in part-time job.

Inconsistent claims

• Email flashback — Strong Bad claims he lost count around email 51, but he began caffeine (the 91st Strong Bad Email) with "Coming in at number 91, it's, E-Maaaaaaaaaaail!"
• New Boots — Strong Bad claims that he doesn't wear underwear, but he is seen wearing underwear in stand-up, senior prom, Main Page 24 and nightlife.
• Email bottom 10 — Strong Bad's list includes "Songs that try to pass off la la's, na na's, and doot do's as legit lyrics", but Strong Bad sang "Na na na" in the intro to secret recipes, does it again in Trogday 08, and sings "da doot doot" in portrait.
• Email geddup noise — Strong Bad corrects an email that refers to the Geddup Noise as "the get up noise", as if he is unfamiliar with that name, but he had called Chairscoot by that name in the bet.
• Trogdor Con '97 — The Cheat presumably reminds Strong Bad that he doesn't pay him, but in lackey, Strong Bad pays The Cheat with pencil shavings. Similarly, in rough copy, he pays The Cheat in soft tacos.
• Email hygiene — Coach Z has to ask Strong Bad where he can get hygiene, but in senior prom he assures Strong Sad he is spiking the punch with Listerine only because he is "looking out for all yer hygienes".
• 4 Gregs — Cheerleader says she is more of a cheerleader in the way she dresses and treats other girls, but she was seen cheering in Homestar Ruiner.
  • She also claimed to be "off duty" in Teen Girl Squad Issue 15.
• On Break — Strong Bad denies being a smoker despite the fact that he's been seen smoking a cigar in a Store Thank You Message.
• Which Ween Costumes? — The King of Town suggests in his Easter egg that he is around 303 years old. However, in space program, released five years earlier, he claimed to be in his sixties.

General

• Strong Bad's computers — Their capabilities tend to vary. Matt Chapman even points this out in the DVD commentary for homestar hair.
• Email flashback — To celebrate the 100th Strong Bad Email, the screen of the Compy 386 displays "Congratulations! You have answered 100 emails!", even though there were some episodes, such as 2 emails, where he answered more than one. He also checked 40 of these emails on the Tandy 400 and other computers.
• Email alternate universe — Old-Timey Strong Bad calls the modern Strong Bad a "brightly-colored baboon", implying there is no color in the Old-Timey universe. However, the lyrics to the Ballad of The Sneak claimed The Sneak was yellow.
• Email retirement —
  • Strong Bad states that the Lappy has a "5-meg hard drive", although in animal it claimed to have only a 2-meg hard drive.
  • The hole in the screen of the Compy 386 is smaller than it was when Bubs shotgunned it in the end of virus.
  • The Tandy's ghost appeared to be broken in the email ghosts; however, in this email, it appears unbroken.
• Email coloring — Marzipan has written on her blackboard that "soy is also murder", yet in The Luau, she has a tofu party, and in do over, she asked "Homestar" for the soy crisps.
• Sickly Sam's Big Outing — Various details suggest that it was filmed in live-action, although previous Old-Timey toons such as Kick the Can, Parsnips A-Plenty, and That a Ghost are explicitly referred to as "cartoons."
• Marzipan's Answering Machine Version 15.2 — Strong Bad translates The Cheat's prank call for Marzipan, although Marzipan has been shown as being able to understand The Cheat's language, most notably in Date Nite and Halloween Potion-ma-jig.
• Blubb-O's Commercial — Bubs manages to open the window of the Gremlin, but in road trip, Strong Bad said the windows could not open from the inside.
• Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People —
  • Strong Bad's room is located on the first floor of the House of the Brothers Strong, but in Nighttime Driving Type Game and nightlife, it was in the basement.
  • The computer room is missing the window that it has been shown to have in cheat talk and environment.
  • Strong Bad "refuses to throw away cereal boxes until he solves the mazes on the back" when he had previously beat up Homestar for wearing the mask and doing the maze on the back of boxes of Cheat Commandos... Os in specially marked.
• Strong Badia the Free —
  • When trying to recruit The Cheat to assist him in overthrowing the King of Town, Strong Bad can ask The Cheat to remember the good times they've had, such as stapling a grilled cheese sandwich to Homestar's face earlier that day. Shortly after, Homestar can be seen in the background with the sandwich in question stuck to his face. However, Homestar had been clearly featured in the episode prior to that moment, with no sandwich on his face. The only possible time when this action could have taken place was between Strong Bad's rally, the last time Homestar had been featured on screen, and Strong Bad's conversation with The Cheat, during which neither would have had the opportunity to pull off this prank.
  • Tony Stony is depicted as much smaller in comparison to Strong Mad than in his first appearance in Homestar Presents: Presents. Presumably, this was done to make it more realistic that Strong Bad could carry Tony Stony in his pants (inventory). Paradoxically, however, Strong Bad remarks that Tony Stony has "put on a few pounds" since his last appearance.
• Dangeresque 3: The Criminal Projective — In a Tweet, Strong Bad claims that "SBCG4AP doesn't count" as a release of Dangeresque 3, and that the film remains unreleased. However, sbemail 206 acts as if the movie was released with a fake trailer for "Dangeresque 4 ÷ 2 = 6".
• 8-Bit is Enough —
  • The events of the game occur shortly after the gang all watches Dangeresque 3: The Criminal Projective. Even though the computer room had no calendar when Strong Bad brought the tape downstairs, there is one in 8-Bit is Enough.
  • When Strong Bad jumps in Dangeresque 3: The Criminal Projective, he jumps straight at Marzipan. In 8-Bit is Enough, he jumps towards the same place, but Marzipan isn't there anymore.
  • Strong Bad is surprised to learn that Charlemagne is a male, but had previously addressed the plant as a male in Strong Badia the Free.
• Email hremail 3184 — Strong Bad is shown to have an email from Homestar, but in candy product, he mentions that the Lappy has a Homestar junkmail filter.
• April Fool 2014 — Strong Bad uses the non-broken Compy 386 despite it being shotgunned by Bubs in virus and eaten by Strong Mad in retirement.
• Dad's Garage & Friends - 13 Jun 2015 —
  • Strong Bad uses the Lappy 486 despite him blowing it up in hremail 3184.
  • The Paper appears despite being burnt in the paper and email thunder.
• Marzipan's Answering Machine Version 17.2 —
  • Despite having been replaced in version 16.2 by the PhoneTime XL800, the PhoneTime XL8 returns in this toon. Unlike before, it now has the record button that was seen on the XL800.
  • In Senor Mortgage, the Visor Robot speaks with a Microsoft Sam-esque voice. However, in this toon, it speaks with the voice that its Powered by The Cheat self has in Everybody to the Limit, which is provided by Macintosh's Zarvox
• Halloween Hijinks — The King of Town criticizes Ding Dongs, saying that he would never dress up as their mascot, King Ding Dong, but he had previously expressed interest in eating the snack cakes (using their Canadian name, King Dons) in Jibblies 2.

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See Also

• Ages of Characters
• Blatant Lies
• History according to Strong Bad