To children born in 2009 whose entire existence is RU-vid: Imagine if your favorite RU-vidr jumped out of the video and started grabbing the words in the comment section. THAT is what this video felt like in 2004-on the original site where it was meant to be viewed.
Man, this episode was a perfect demonstration of what we lost when we moved from destination websites to big corporately-run social media apps. This could never have happened on RU-vid, Instagram or TikTok.
Because it was good, clean, clever fun. No corporate BS, no cashing in on the latest fads, no churning out loads of shit trying to get the most views or likes. Just did what it felt like without caving to pressure in its own little corner of the internet.
@@superpokemonbros.9441 Closest we get on RU-vid is stuff like NyanCat getting a special icon for the video progress bar. And even that was only temporary, and only because it was one of the most famous and watched videos. I think Gangnam Style had something custom like that too for a bit, but again, not big, and also only temporary.
I now realize that this sbemail was where I got many phrases in my vernacular... "I can do it! I can do it nine times!" "Yes. Very yes!" "Now drop a train on 'em!"
"I can do it, I can do it nine times!" is actually from an earlier email, "Crazy Cartoon". There's a Powered by the Cheat segment, and it's in that. It is merely quoted here, oddly by a completely different character in a different in-universe fiction-verse.
This is the most quotable Strong Bad email for sure. My Mom, who has never seen a second of Homestar Runner, refers to electronics misbehaving as the compy peeing the carpet. Purely because my siblings and I quoted this video so much as kids.
This was like a MILLION times better on the original site! Seriously, I watched this back in the day when it first came out. When SB jumped out of the frame, and Homestar started pulling apart the options menu, I lost my shit! I honest to god thought the universe exploded!
Devoti Well, yeah, but what are the chances someone new will watch _this specific video_ on their website first instead of RU-vid now that it's here? >.>
With the misshapen head, his one GIANT LEG, and his arm flying away, it really is one of the funniest things I've ever seen, even all these years later
When this happened on the original site, the effects this had looked straight up magical. It caused actual popups, and it looked like the website itself was falling apart. It just doesn't feel the same, even though the audio quality was hot garbage back then.
I remember as a kid watching this on the family computer for the first time, I honestly thought I broke the computer when all the Homestar pop ups came up to the point where I panicked and pulled out the power cord from the wall. I was terrified to rewatch it again until I realized it was just part of the cartoon...
@@TheInkPitOxHow about the contrast control on the monitor in the older episodes? In the episodes featuring the Tandy 400, there's 2 buttons. The right one makes the screen greener, and the other one makes it darker. Episodes featuring the Compy 386 you can change the contrast, too! The little dial on the monitor, hover over it. Then, click one of the arrows. The right arrow will make the screen more blue, while the other one will make it darker.
This sbemail has some of the best quotes IMO. "It's in a better place, Strong Bad. Rather, It's in the same place, but with a giant hole through it!" "My mouth was a broken JPEG! I had no choice." "Computer Over? Virus = Very Yes? That's not a good prize!" "I don't even remember your name, davey."
Shelby Thibodeau you don't understand! you all understand! i mean don't understand! waaaaaaaaah! *runs back to the broken compy with the cheat following*
Its pretty funny, back in the day when I first watched this on the site my anti-virus actually got quite angry with me and tried to stop the Homestar popups from appearing because they actually function like proper pop ups!
@@pikminfan6778 Dear Strong Bad, I duh duh duh crapfully yours. I duh duh duh duh crapfully yours. I can't even relate. I can't relate. I'm gonna get, I-I'm gonna get in there and mix it up. I don't remember your names, Davey. Dear Strong Bad, how do you text with boxing gloves on?
This one is a classic. It was such an intuitive way to play with expectations while watching a flash video. The novelty is of course completely lost on RU-vid but that's how specified the setup was. On a side note this does remind me of the recent game Pony Island in which a puzzle also plays with your expectation of gameplay in a way similar to this episode of Strong Bad Email (actually there might be an entire game that plays like your a virus in an unfinished game).
+Oda Swifteye For your parenthese'd statement: I think you're talking about The Magic Circle. Not sure if you're really a virus specifically since I only watched a vid or 2 a while back, but it's a fairly interesting concept.
This one seemed to have a lot of the best lines: "like the kind that moms and offshore casinos send you?" "Now drop a train on them!" "Whoa! That is not a small number! That is a big number!" "Computer over? Virus = Very Yes?" "I don't know. You forgot to wear your neck?" "Making out-making ou-making out with Marzipan is totally awesome!" "I can't spell you!" "I can do it. I can do it 9 times!" "You don't understand... You ALL understand! I mean don't understand!" "Awawawawawa crapfully yours!" ...that's just a few :D
This was the biggest mindscrew on the entire website. The illusion is much more effective when you're watching it on the main website, in fact Homestar really DOES take those buttons away. You can't click them once he does.
When I watched this on the website when it premiered, the bit that absolutely blew my mind was Homestar stealing the hyperlinks to the other parts of the site from below the video. And I was genuinely saddened by the death of the compy
I love how they're literally computer animations, so even computers in their own universe can affect them. That's a special level of fourth-wall breaking right there.
that's probably the virus, though Strong Bad's several ONE's of computers all had a lot of sass. That steaky steaky six, especially with some mushroom gravy...
I notice there's a couple of people claiming to have sent this email, so I thought I would clear some things up. They creators did an interview one time and they were asked about the craziest emails they would get. They said they get a lot of spam emails, where people just bash the keyboard, so they wanted to address all of those in one episode. So they made this. So yes, I believe you when you said you sent them this email, but no, you didn't send them this email.
A couple weeks before this episode I sat in front of a computer for a long time thinking what to write Strongbad. I gave up after a couple hours and just smashed the keyboard and sent it. I’m sure a lot of other people did the same thing. The characters in the email aren’t what a normal keyboard smash looks like, so it does make sense they put this email together themselves to address all the spammers like me
Despite the loss of interactivity that RU-vid can't translate from the original flash video, this still holds up. Perfect example of just how brilliant the original material and its original format actually was.
I almost cried when Strong Bad was weeping at his computer with a big hole shot through it. It reminds me of when Tigger was unable to bounce because he promised never to do so again. Losses are hard to deal with.
This email came out literally just a couple of weeks after I learned about the quadratic formula in high school, and the timing both amazed and scared me. And yes, an exploded quadratic formula looks like that email.
Well, if a computer has over Four Hundred Thousand viruses, that's enough to stop causing damage to the computer and start doing damage to the world outside the computer.
Man, not only does this bring back memories of the most epic SBEmail ever, but that "It's now safe to turn your computer off." message is one heck of a blast from the past.
The original Flash version on the main site was definitely the definitive way to watch the "Virus" email. Oh, let me tell you, when I saw this for the first time, this email blew my fucking mind! Seriously, I watched "Virus" on the Homestar Runner website when it first came out. It was an absolute mindfuck! The moment Strong Bad ran out of the frame and tried to jump back in made me collectively shit my pants. And when Homestar started taking the menu options away to fix SB's computer, I lost my fucking shit! I thought the whole fucking world exploded! And when he does take them away, he *_literally_* takes them away. The options no longer appear at the bottom and are completely fucking gone. And then the goddamn pop-ups! It literally opened a pop-up on my fucking computer with the same thing in the animation! I was at a complete loss of fucking words. I went fucking ballistic when that happened! Like, holy fucking shit, this fucked with my brain in so many ways. The Brother's Chaps hit a home fucking run with "Virus". It is literally the most meta email out of all of the Strong Bad Emails. They really experimented with "Virus" in so many fucking unique ways, and they *_literally_* sent the Compy 386 out with a fucking bang (Pun intended). "Virus" will always be my favorite Strong Bad Email because of how fucking unique/creative it was, and how much it fucked with my mind.
i remember seeing this for the first time expecting it to be the end of the sbemail segment, and then like a week or two later they introduced the lappy and i swear that trumps every other tv season cliffhanger in the history of ever
Fun fact: If you watch this email on the website and those Homestar pop-ups show up, a real one will also show up. (Assuming your pop-up blocker isn't on)
Man, I miss when online media could, or at least was willing to, actually do really weird stuff like this that took advantage of the unique medium to mess with people and better serve the narrative of whatever was going on. Now it seems that every place where one can post their own content without owning their own website is determined to remove the ability to be unconventional, and even in terms of own websites there's never a guarantee that the tools that make it work are gonna last forever. It was a good run for experimental stuff, hopefully what's made to replace the old stuff can live up to what came before to help new content even if a lot of the old can't be fixed to be compatible.
I still have the complete 'first 100 emails' DVD set. Watching these reminds me of sneaking into my dads office to browse the site, circa 2004 (?) -- thank you boys! As soon as I get a job I'm making a donation!
