Marzipan's Answering Machine Version 10.2

Marzipan's Answering Machine #10

watch ← Version 9.2 Version 11.2 →

Marzipan's Stalker Spray

Strong Sad invites Marzipan over to watch a DVD. Meanwhile, Strong Bad attempts to teach Homestar the fine art of prank calling.

Cast (in order of appearance): Marzipan, Strong Sad, Homestar Runner, Strong Bad, Vector Strong Bad (Easter egg), Ron Dardman (Easter egg)

Places: Marzipan's House

Date: Monday, March 8, 2004

Running Time: 2:39

Page Title: Marzipan's Answering Machine

DVD: Everything Else, Volume 1

Transcript

Marzipan's Greeting

MARZIPAN: Hi guys! Leave me a message, and I'll leave you with an abstract thought. Is a penguin a bird or a duck?

Message 6

STRONG SAD: Hey Marzipan, it's Strong Sad, um... I just rented the V.I. Warshawski DVD. Thought maybe you'd wanna come over and check it out with me, uh... says here it's got deleted scenes... director commentary... interactive menus... {Marzipan walks past and leaves her keys and Stalker Spray by the machine} scene selection... widescreen mode... uh, running time... that sounds pretty de-luxe. I know it's one of your favorites so when you get this, gimme a call and, uh, we'll do it up right!

Message 5

HOMESTAR RUNNER: {lowered voice} (Okay, so what am I doing here?)

STRONG BAD: (Step one is to greet the recipient of the prank call.)

HOMESTAR RUNNER: (Okay, okay, I got it.) Ahem. Hey Pom Pom!

STRONG BAD: {imitates buzzer noise} Wrong! Hang up and start over. {Hangs up}

Message 4

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Oh, hello Marzipan! (Okay, what I'm supposed to do now?)

STRONG BAD: (Step two is where you reveal your fake identity to the prankee.)

HOMESTAR RUNNER: (Oh, I'm Batman.)

STRONG BAD: (What, n—! Just make up a name!)

HOMESTAR RUNNER: (Okay, okay!) Hey Marzipan, this is Homestar.

STRONG BAD: {imitates buzzer noise again} {Hangs up}

Message 3

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Oh, hello, Marzipan, this is Strong Bad.

STRONG BAD: {imitates louder, slightly higher pitched buzzer noise} {Hangs up}

Message 2

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Oh, hello, Marzipan, this is... Sugar-face. (Okay, now what?)

STRONG BAD: (Well, step three is to continue the prank in a direction determined by your identity, but, uh, you're on your own with Sugar-face.)

HOMESTAR RUNNER: (Okay.) I am a pretend guy that... comes around... and... {singing} gets run over by a lawnmower blade!

STRONG BAD: What?!

HOMESTAR RUNNER: I chose to end in song!

STRONG BAD: Oh boy... remember how I said this is a six-week course?

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Yeah, I'm excited!

STRONG BAD: Yeah, it turns out it's canceled.

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Aw man!

STRONG BAD: Yeah, it's a shame.

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Oh well. It's still the second-best five hundred bucks I ever spent!

Message 1

STRONG SAD: {sounding more depressed than usual} Hey Marzipan, it's Strong Sad again, um... I haven't been honest with you... I don't really have the V.I. Warshawski DVD. {Marzipan walks up to the machine.} I just went to the video store and copied down the features from the back of the DVD box. {Marzipan grabs her keys and heads out} I just wanted an excuse to call you, and... oh geez. Strong Bad's right. I'm a waste of space.

STRONG BAD: {In the background} I said you were a waste of FAT space!

Easter Eggs

• After the final message, press the number display to get a familiar message.

VECTOR STRONG BAD: YOUR PHONE A SPLODE! {The text scrolls across the display}

• After the final message, press the tape deck for a message from Marzipan's credit card company. Mr. Ron Dardman calls about some unforeseen expenditures.

RON DARDMAN: {rewind sound is heard, then Ron starts speaking} Hello there, Marzipan. My name is Ron...D-Dardman, from your credit card company. We're just calling to confirm a $500 charge for one of them race car beds. What made us suspicious is when it was signed for, in lieu of an actual signature, someone drew some kind of little underbite man with a beanie cap on. So if you could just give us a call back and confirm this is a valid charge, we'll be all... fine.

Fun Facts

Remarks

• Marzipan's keys are identical (though they are different colors).
• In Marzipan's Answering Machine Version 5.0, Strong Sad hopes Marzipan will arrive and pick up the phone while he is speaking. Here, Marzipan does arrive while he is speaking, but doesn't pick up the phone.

Inside References

• Marzipan's outgoing message asks, "Is a penguin a bird or a duck?"
• Homestar creates a fake name ending in "-face", mentions the "second-best" bucks he ever spent, and commits credit card fraud.
• "YOUR PHONE A SPLODE" is a reference to StrongBadZone from the video games email, in which a 3D vector version of Strong Bad's head proclaims, "YOUR HEAD A SPLODE."
  • It also harkens back to personal favorites when Strong Bad left Marzipan a prank call and her answering machine exploded.
• Both Strong Bad and Strong Sad mention Strong Sad being a waste of [fat] space.

Real-World References

• Strong Sad refers to V.I. Warshawski, a 1991 action-comedy film about private investigator Victoria Iphigenia "V.I." Warshawski.
  • V.I. Warshawski had previously been mentioned on Thorax Corporation, in the year of agreement on the Produkt page for Reg Delabor.
  • Listing "interactive menus" among the bonus features was common in the early days of DVDs, though this feature quickly became so commonplace that mainstream video releases stopped advertising it. However, for many years lower-quality DVDs would continue to list "interactive menus" among their bonus features to pad out an unimpressive list of featurettes.
  • The 2002 DVD release of V.I. Warshawski did not include any special features. Of all the elements Strong Sad mentions, only "widescreen" and "running time" were listed on the back of the DVD box.
• Homestar's purchase of a $500 race car bed is a reference to the Friends episode "The One With the Race Car Bed", where Monica accidentally buys a race car bed for said amount.
• Homestar says "I'm Batman."

Fast Forward

• Interactive menus are also referenced in HomestarRunner.com: PAY PLUS! and the back covers of Everything Else, Volume 1 and strongbad_email.exe Disc Five.
• As seen in an Easter egg, Homestar also requests a race car bed at "BUBS' MOTOR LODGE" (using the name "Mr. Dee Williams") in the Strong Bad Email secret identity.
• In Marzipan's Answering Machine Version 12.2, Strong Bad actually would choose to end a prank call in a song.
• The video release of V. I. Warshawski was later mentioned again in Marzipan's Answering Machine Version 16.2.

External Links

• watch "Marzipan's Answering Machine Version 10.2"
• watch "Marzipan's Answering Machine Version 10.2" on the old Flash site
• view the Flash file for "Marzipan's Answering Machine Version 10.2"