lures & jigs

Strong Bad Email #44

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"Come on and get in the boat, fish fish!"

Strong Bad gets asked about the lures and jigs he uses when fishing.

Cast (in order of appearance): Strong Bad, Coach Z

Places: Computer Room, The Pond

Computer: Compy 386

Date: Monday, September 30, 2002

Running Time: 1:45

Page Title: COMPY 386

DVD: strongbad_email.exe Disc One

SBEmail Menu Description: Strong Bad and Coach Z have a boring fishing TV show in this one.

Transcript

STRONG BAD: {singing} I check e-mail from the front to the back, I said check e-mail from the front to the back I said check... {reading, trying out different intonations} Dear Strong Bad. Dear Strong Bad? Dear Str— Hmm, I'll go with that one.

Dear Strong Bad,

When you go fishing, do you use any
sort of special lure or jig to
attract the fishs?

David Jacobus
Astoria, NY

{Strong Bad says lure as "lyooer", and "fishs" as "fishes...ss..."}

{fade out and fade back in to "Fish Show With Strong Bad and Coach Z". Strong Bad and Coach Z are in a boat on a lake. Coach Z has a pole, Strong Bad does not. Coach Z is wearing a fisherman cap, Strong Bad has a farmer's tan.}

COACH Z: {turns his head backwards} Say, Strong Bad, what type'a lure are you usin' dere?

STRONG BAD: Well, this morning, Coach, I've been mostly using this one: {shouting into the water} Hey fish! Hey fiish! I'm gonna, I'm gonna recommend that you guys come up here in the boat. We've got a, uh, a keg! {Coach Z shrugs} Of worms! And, uh...phytoplankton! ... Come on! Anybody who's everybody is up in here!

COACH Z: I don't think that's gonna work with a stocked pond. You got any type of jig you could try on there?

STRONG BAD: Oh, yeah! I got this jig! (starts singing and doing a little hip-swiveling dance) Come on and get in the boat, fish! Come on and get in the boat, fish fish! Come on and get in the boat, fish! {three fish jump into the boat} Get in the boat!

COACH Z: Oh! They got in the boat! ... Fish fish!

{Cut back to Compy}

STRONG BAD: {typing} Actually, David, it may surprise you to hear this but, uh... I don't know anything about fishing, man. You're welcome to try the jig thing if you want. Though it might work better with the ladies. {stops typing} You know, like, {singing} come on and come to my house, ladies! Come on and come to my house, girls girls! {stops singing, resumes typing} Actually, {chuckles shyly} I don't really know anything about the ladies either. I mean I do! I mean—WHGT! JGTH! YES I'M AWESOME!

{Strong Bad runs out of the room. The Paper comes down.}

Easter Eggs

"This is the pinnacle of graphics."

• At the end, click on the word "fishing" to play Fishing Challenge '91 with Strong Bad.

{The screen of the Compy displays the title screen for "Fishing Challenge '91"}

STRONG BAD: {offscreen} Whoa, look at that title screen! Man, the 386 never ceases to amaze me!

{After you press the spacebar, the screen shows the instructions on how to play}

INSTRUCTIONS

-PRESS 'J' TO JIG
-PRESS 'L' TO LURE

Some fish respond to lures,
others to jigs.

CATCH MORE FISH FOR MAXIMUM
FUNTIME!

STRONG BAD: {offscreen} No way! This is the pinnacle of graphics. They're never gonna get any better than this. I bet the sound's just as good, too!

Fun Facts

Explanations

• Phytoplankton are small plant-like organisms that live in water, and are closely related to algae.
• In fishing, a lure is attached to the end of a fishing line along with one or more hooks. Worms or some other bait can be used as a lure, or an artificial lure might be made to resemble some item of fish prey. The goal is to have the fish chase after it and then get caught on the hook. A jig is a special kind of lure designed to move vertically rather than horizontally. The fisherman moves the fishing rod back and forth and the lure "jigs" up and down in a manner designed to resemble prey.
• A "stocked pond" is a pond that has been artificially filled with fish for agricultural, ecological or recreational purposes.

Trivia

• The "Fishing Challenge '91" Easter egg did not exist when the email originally came out. It was added over a year later. Until then, it was the only email on the Compy without an Easter egg.
• The YouTube description for this email is "Strong Bad and Coach Z have a boring fishing TV show in this one."

Remarks

• This is the first Strong Bad Email that immediately cuts to another scene, instead of Strong Bad responding first.
• This is also the first time Strong Bad has ever openly admitted to knowing nothing about the ladies.
• Coach Z looks a little different in this email. He is a darker shade of green and his eyes are a little brighter than their regular gray and are slightly further apart.
• Strong Bad has a tan line while in the boat. This suggests at some time, he was wearing a shirt.
• There is a motor on the boat when Coach Z and Strong Bad are in it, but in the Easter egg, there is no motor in the game.

Goofs

• When Strong Bad does his lure, he doesn't appear to have any arms.

Glitches

• If you get the score up to 10,000 in Fishing Challenge '91, it goes back to 1,000. You still have 10,000 points—it just doesn't display the last digit.
  • The same thing happens if you get a score of 100,000.
• In Fishing Challenge '91, if you press 'J' or 'L' while Strong Bad is still speaking, the noise will become staticky and you won't be able to hear Strong Bad say anything.
  • Also, if you quickly alternate between buttons, Strong Bad will automatically catch every fish.
• When you play the game at the end, the contrast knobs still work, except the screen turns whiter.
• Pressing 'J' or 'L' while caps lock is on won't do anything.

Inside References

• The sound at the beginning and end of the fishing scene is also used in A Jorb Well Done while Coach Z is dreaming.
• Fishing Challenge '91 is made by Totalsoft Electronicals LLC,,.
• Strong Bad accidentally admitted that he knew nothing about the ladies, but then he lied about him actually knowing about the ladies. This is an instance of a blatant lie.
• When the fish jump into the boat, their pixels are angled.

Real-World References

• The "loon" sound effect is taken from the Jim Jarmusch episode of Fishing with John (see DVD commentary below). It can be heard immediately before Jarmusch asks "Why am I here?"
• This email may be a reference to the Bert and Ernie skit called "Bert and Ernie Go Fishing". In the skit, Ernie gets fish to leap into the boat by calling, "Heeeere fishy fishy fishy!" Bert eventually tries this technique too, louder and louder. Finally, a shark jumps in and says, "You called?"
• The "Fishing Challenge '91" game resembles many early '90s PC games that featured grainy digital voice and pixelated "photo-realistic" graphics with limited frames.

Fast Forward

• The fishing scene is revisited in alternate universe, except with Senor Cardgage instead of Coach Z.
• Strong Bad's sprite from Fishing Challenge '91 later appears in fan club.

DVD Version

• While the Fishing Game isn't playable, Strong Bad can still be seen playing it. To access the Easter egg click on the hidden Strong Bad logo at the bottom left of the screen.

  {After catching several fish (including a large, red one), text flashes on the screen reading "Congrats! You caught the big one!}

  STRONG BAD: {offscreen} I can safely say this is the most fulfilling video gaming experience I've ever had in-a my whole life.

• The DVD version features hidden creators' commentary. To access it, switch the DVD player's audio language selection while watching.

Commentary Transcript

(Commentary by: Matt Chapman, Mike Chapman)

MATT: {joining in with Strong Bad} to the back as I check. This is a good one. We should turn that into a hip-hop song.

MIKE: This, um, one, our friend Jamey was—

MATT: —No, this was when Nat was here. Nat was... {trails off}

MIKE: This was the one that Jamey was here!

MATT: Jamey was there for the, uh, leftover emails, "unused emails".

MIKE: Ohhh, yeah, this is Nat. That's right.

MATT: Nat was here.

MIKE: I forgot, sorry. Sorry, Jamey. Sorry, Nat.

MATT: Yeah.

MIKE: I get you guys mixed up sometimes.

{Matt chuckles}

MIKE: So.

MATT: Here it comes.

MIKE: Ahhh.

MATT: So that's, our—

MIKE: Fishing with John.

MATT: Yeah, reference to the Jim Jarmusch episode of, uh, Fishing with John, which you should all buy on-

MIKE: {imitating Jarmusch} Why am I here?

MATT: {imitating Jarmusch} Why am I here? {stops} That's a good one.

MIKE: Uhh, I enjoyed making the uh, I like the mist. The mist on the bottom there.

MATT: {simultaneously} Yeah, the mist is really good. Those cattails—

MIKE: The ripples on the boat. This is... and we had to, drew a whole new view of Coach Z there.

MATT: It's a whole new way to experience Coach Z.

MIKE: Yeah, this is a... This is a scenery that's never happened...

MATT: {simultaneously} That's— Coach Z should wear that— {stops talking as Mike continues}

MIKE: ...never been reused.

MATT: {simultaneously} Yeah. We've re— we end up reusing—

MIKE: There's very few... most things we do we end up reusing, but this, we've never reused. I think I might, uh, reuse it next week.

MATT: Yeah.

MIKE: Next week's email, they're gonna be in a lake!

MATT: {weak voice} Okay, Mike. {speaking normally} Look, there, it's funny.

MIKE: He's got, uh, a farmer's tan of a tank-top.

MATT: Yeah, look at those fish. Those fish are kind of funny-lookin'. {imitating Jarmusch} Why am I here? {pause} This is one of those other times, it's another recurring trend, with Strong Bad sort of tipping his hand in letting you know that he doesn't know anything about women. Uh, which I don't know why he ends up doing a lot, {Mike laughs in the background} but he kinda has to let you see his sensitive side, I guess. And then, whgt! Jgth!

Fun Facts

• James Huggins is mentioned as visiting during the creation of unused emails.
• Fishing with John was a satirical fishing show starring, written, and directed by independent musician John Lurie, known for both its interesting selection of guest stars (including director Jim Jarmusch) and very dry sense of humor. It ran for only six episodes and is considered a cult classic.
• Mike mentioning he'd like to reuse the lake is foreshadowing for montage, when he finally would use the scene again. Matt recalls this "prophecy" in that email's commentary.
• A farmer's tan is a slang term for tan lines developed when wearing a short-sleeve or sleeveless shirt in the sunlight.

External Links

• watch "lures & jigs"
• watch "lures & jigs" on YouTube
• watch "lures & jigs" on the old Flash site
• view the Flash file for "lures & jigs"