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 Post subject: Anyone Else Getting Tired of SBEmails?
PostPosted: Tue Jul 11, 2006 12:30 am 
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I hate to say it, but I've grown tired of SBEmails. They've been really formulaic recently, and I'm seldomly surprised by them. Maybe it's just because I've seen every single SBEmail. I don't know.

This thread isn't meant as an attack on TBC. If they want to keep on making SBEmails almost every week that's their prerogative. H*R is, after all, "the house that Strong Bad built". Thing is, I'm not even tired of Strong Bad. If they want to put him in a short or something that's fine. I've just had enough with the e-mails.

I was really glad when the first update after TBC's vacation wasn't a SBEmail. "Welcome Back" was a breath of fresh air. I just wish we could have a few more fresh breaths like that.

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PostPosted: Tue Jul 11, 2006 2:47 am 
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No. I love sbemail. And lately I think they've been better. I don't see how you couldn't be surprised by stuff like a balogna truck on a deserted island or the electronic no loafing sign.

They've put out games, different toons, shorts. They always get to every kind of thing on the site eventually. Sbemails keep content coming their way and help them create things that otherwise may not exist... like Trogdor, TGS, Stinkoman, etc. If you didn't have sbemail you'd probably not have so many spin off ideas.

Well anyway, I understand your side but I think sbemails should continue for awhile. I mean the viewer particpation involved in sbemail is part of what keeps H*R alive.


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PostPosted: Tue Jul 11, 2006 4:04 am 
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Thank you for your perspective, Power Crunch. I agree with you on some points, but I have some nits to pick. I just want to be sure that my message isn't misunderstood or distorted.

Power Crunch wrote:
I don't see how you couldn't be surprised by stuff like a balogna truck on a deserted island or the electronic no loafing sign.


The "balogna truck on a deserted island" you mentioned was actually not from a SBEmail, but from "Welcome Back", which I described as a "breath of fresh air".

I'm not saying the TBC aren't funny anymore. I'm not even saying that Strong Bad isn't funny anymore. What I'm saying is that the SBEmail premise (Strong Bad answering fan e-mails) and the format by which the premise is executed doesn't amuse me nearly as much as it used to. It's not the jokes themselves, it's the context that they're told in.

Had the electronic "No Loafing" sign shown up in a 'toon somewhere I might've been surprised and amused, but because it was in a SBEmail I was unfazed. I've grown used to Strong Bad's non sequiteur approach to subjects. So tired in fact that they don't seem non sequiteur at all. First he'll try something in one random way. Then another random way. Then another. Then at the end of the SBEmail (usually in an easter egg) they'll be some sort of reference to an earlier joke in the SBEmail. The jokes are of the same quality, I've just grown tired of the formula.

Power Crunch wrote:
Sbemails keep content coming their way and help them create things that otherwise may not exist... like Trogdor, TGS, Stinkoman, etc. If you didn't have sbemail you'd probably not have so many spin off ideas.


That's true, but how many new spin off ideas have SBEmails created? Trogdor, TGS and Stinkoman are all pretty old by now. I don't think that it's because TBC are less funny or inventive now, I think it's because the format of the SBEmail isn't the same wellspring of inspiration it once was. Maybe if TBC took some time away from it it would be effective again.

Power Crunch wrote:
the viewer particpation involved in sbemail is part of what keeps H*R alive.


I agree with you entirely. The fan participation is part of what makes H*R such a unique experience. SBEmail isn't the only way to use fan participation though. I think it would be cool if TBC experimented with other ways to use and invite fan participation.

That's my spiel, friends. Though I've got a feeling I'm not going to have too many sympathizers.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue Jul 11, 2006 2:54 pm 
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You've gotta remember though that sbemails are a LOT easier to make than the regular toons because TBC always have SOME stimulus for ideas (ie. the emails). Actually coming up with a good theme for a toon is one of the most difficult parts...


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue Jul 11, 2006 3:25 pm 
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This has kinda happened before. People get tired of it, and then it goes away and people want it to come back.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue Jul 11, 2006 7:22 pm 
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Personally, I'm a little tired of Strong Bad. Strong Bad has been paired with every other character plenty of times because he stars in Strong Bad Email, and seeing him everywhere has gotten a little tiresome to me. There is tons of comic potention in other characters without Strong Bad.

One of my favorite things about the puppet stuff was that, because of a lack of puppets, it forced the comic pairing of The Cheat and Homestar, which I thought worked incredibly (surprisingly) well. I was actually kinda saddened when I saw that a Strong Bad puppet had been made.

One of my favorite toons is the Broken Compy Menu (not even on the site anymore) which paired Homestar and Bubs to a quite humorous effect.

There's also a lot of potential in the Coach Z/Bubs pairing, which we've seen briefly in a few Marzipan's Answering Machines, Fall Float Parade, and Happy Fireworks.

Fall Float Parade also had Coach Z/Marzipan, who were pretty funny together.

The aforementioned Weclome Back had everybody interacting with everybody (everybody! everybody!), which was very nice.

I'd like to see more stuff like that: interaction between characters whom we don't see interacting a lot. Strong Bad/everybody is gettin' kinda old.

Just my opinion.


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue Jul 11, 2006 8:01 pm 
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heresy, Butter D! Heresy! The thing is that Sbemails have been getting less surprising because they've been gradually less funny and inventive from senior prom and isp which had a lot of things wrong with it in particular. Strong Bad is the funniest and coolest character on the site, I think, because (the king of town in particular :p) most of the other characters like Marzipan, Pom Pom, Homestar... in probably that order can get annoying and don't do as much great social commentary, etc. or with as much facility. He kind of holds it all together. Strong Bad's invented tons of cool stuff as well. The toons are a breath of fresh air in a way because they are in a different format, but I thought Weclome Back was badly put together and rehashed a lot of the old jokes. I'm not getting tired of sbemails, but I just hope that they'll get better soon because they are going downhill.


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue Jul 11, 2006 11:22 pm 
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Au contraire, doubledeuceblemint, au contraire! I don't think the SBEmails are any less funny than they usually are. Though they vary in hilarity from time to time, I've never thought TBC to ever be in an actual rut.

As for the other characters, I think many of them have the potential to offer clever social commentary as well as laughs. Marzipan and Strong Sad are best examples I can think of.

Though Strong Bad is definitely the site's linchpin, that doesn't mean TBC can't expand on other characters and feature them more prominently. My favorite toon is easily "A Folky Tale", which was a great example of TBC shifting the site's focus and expanding on supporting characters.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Wed Jul 12, 2006 3:03 am 
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I do agree that, after a while, you begin to notice a formula to the sbemails. They used to be less formumatic (is that a word?), they drove hemself instead of being driven like the newer ones seem to usually be. Now, that doesn't make them any less funny, but once you notice the trend, it can get tiresome, and, from that, predictable. Alternate universe is an example of one of nthe emails that drove away from the formula a bit, and I think that's partially why I liked it more than some of the others. It's not the emails I'm beginning to tire of, but the predictability that they tend to have. (That being said, I still like the emails, they're usually still funny. Just sometimes predictable, and a bit repetitive)


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Wed Jul 12, 2006 9:01 pm 
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I've noticed that a lot of the newer ones don't make me laugh as much as the old ones did when they were new. I don't know if I've changed or if it's getting old or what. I agree that seeing different characters more would be great.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Wed Jul 12, 2006 9:59 pm 
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Bucky Katt wrote:
I've noticed that a lot of the newer ones don't make me laugh as much as the old ones did when they were new. I don't know if I've changed or if it's getting old or what. I agree that seeing different characters more would be great.


First of all, nice name and avatar.

I don't honestly think Strong Bad or his e-mails have become less funny. It's just that NOTHING is as funny once it's been done 153 times. I'm generalizing, obviously, but you see my point,

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Fri Jul 14, 2006 3:33 am 
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Ju Ju Master wrote:
I do agree that, after a while, you begin to notice a formula to the sbemails. They used to be less formumatic (is that a word?), they drove hemself instead of being driven like the newer ones seem to usually be. Now, that doesn't make them any less funny, but once you notice the trend, it can get tiresome, and, from that, predictable. Alternate universe is an example of one of nthe emails that drove away from the formula a bit, and I think that's partially why I liked it more than some of the others. It's not the emails I'm beginning to tire of, but the predictability that they tend to have. (That being said, I still like the emails, they're usually still funny. Just sometimes predictable, and a bit repetitive)
I agree with this like something agrees with something agreeable. The emails need to ALL be like AU. Or at least, those kind need to be more frequent. Go beyond the boundaries that you established early on. Ecetera. But they're still really good. Quality comedy for free. What more could you want?

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Fri Jul 14, 2006 6:00 am 
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hmm, i think introducing somethin' new is always a good idea. i could go for emails that are more of a story than "show and tell" type stuff. by show and tell i mean, SB talking in the background while stuff happens. i think it would be much more interesting if they had more of a cause and effect approach where the email triggers like.... an adventure? (forgive the lameness but it was the only way i could think of expressing the idea)
AU did that sorta. SB went off and did something. or the email "Army" was sorta like that too except with Homestar going off and doing something. i don't know if i'm making any sense but i tried.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Fri Jul 14, 2006 1:39 pm 
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Jenny wrote:
hmm, i think introducing somethin' new is always a good idea. i could go for emails that are more of a story than "show and tell" type stuff. by show and tell i mean, SB talking in the background while stuff happens. i think it would be much more interesting if they had more of a cause and effect approach where the email triggers like.... an adventure? (forgive the lameness but it was the only way i could think of expressing the idea)
AU did that sorta. SB went off and did something. or the email "Army" was sorta like that too except with Homestar going off and doing something. i don't know if i'm making any sense but i tried.
I see what you're saying. You want more Adventure Bad rather than Narrator Bad.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Jul 15, 2006 8:10 pm 
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ramrod wrote:
Jenny wrote:
hmm, i think introducing somethin' new is always a good idea. i could go for emails that are more of a story than "show and tell" type stuff. by show and tell i mean, SB talking in the background while stuff happens. i think it would be much more interesting if they had more of a cause and effect approach where the email triggers like.... an adventure? (forgive the lameness but it was the only way i could think of expressing the idea)
AU did that sorta. SB went off and did something. or the email "Army" was sorta like that too except with Homestar going off and doing something. i don't know if i'm making any sense but i tried.
I see what you're saying. You want more Adventure Bad rather than Narrator Bad.

YES. EXACTAMUNDO.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Jul 15, 2006 9:07 pm 
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Jenny wrote:
YES. EXACTAMUNDO.

you win a bottle of Febroogle.
Yay! *Chugs bottle of Febroogle.* My tummy hurts now...


Jenny, I couldn't agree with you more. It's always so much more fun to see Strong Bad go and do something. Your Friends is a great example of this.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sun Jul 16, 2006 12:15 am 
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ramrod wrote:
Yay! *Chugs bottle of Febroogle.* My tummy hurts now...



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I still love emails, of corse i would prefer more toons than more emails though.


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Jul 17, 2006 2:18 am 
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I agree. More full-length toons would be sweet! And yes, for me SBEmails are getting predictable and they don't make me laugh as much, but I still like them.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Jul 17, 2006 3:40 pm 
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Nah, I think that SBEmails have evolved since #150. They're a lot different, the animations are getting better, etc.

I think that the latest SBEmail; Redesign was a huge change!


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu Jul 20, 2006 2:07 pm 
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Butter-Da wrote:
Power Crunch wrote:
I don't see how you couldn't be surprised by stuff like a balogna truck on a deserted island or the electronic no loafing sign.


The "balogna truck on a deserted island" you mentioned was actually not from a SBEmail, but from "Welcome Back", which I described as a "breath of fresh air".


Yeah, I'm an idiot and said that by mistake. I don't know what I was thinking. I knew it was a toon.

But there's plenty of core things that sbemail has spawned. I think that we get a good equal dose of toons. They just spread it over all the diff. kinds of toons they have to choose from. Cheat Commandos, TGS, Big toons, Shorts, Puppet Stuff, Games... and sbemail. I think as long as the site exists sbemail should continue... if just spaced further apart in updates. But then people would complain we weren't getting enough of them!


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu Jul 20, 2006 2:20 pm 
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I think the problem is that many recent sbemails are concept-based, not plot-based.

Concept-based:
"Chocolate by Strong Bad"
"Animals by Strong Bad"
"Portraits by Strong Bad"
"Narrations by Strong Bad"
"No Loafing Signs by Strong Bad"
ad infinitum.

Granted, some of the concept-based emails were gems - video games and kids' book come to mind - but most are formulaic.

Plot-based:

"Hey! Let's give Strong Sad caffeine and let hilarity ensue!"
"I wonder what would happen if Strong Bad stayed at the King of Town's."
"Let's make Dangeresque!"
"It'd be hilarious if Homestar started an army."
etc.

I think this is why I didn't like Weclome Back. There was no plot, just a bunch of characters sitting around expounding on their vacations - concept based again. Nothing happened.


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Jul 22, 2006 6:30 pm 
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I'm still okay with the SBEmail formula, it's just I'd rather it be a little more varying instead of just a SBEmail almost everyweek (which is why I was really glad about the new TGS).I'd like to see a couple-a more shorts, or maybe some holiday thing for a really obscure holiday sometime (which was kinda what Senorial Day was).

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Jul 22, 2006 6:38 pm 
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samwise wrote:
I'm still okay with the SBEmail formula, it's just I'd rather it be a little more varying instead of just a SBEmail almost everyweek (which is why I was really glad about the new TGS).I'd like to see a couple-a more shorts, or maybe some holiday thing for a really obscure holiday sometime (which was kinda what Senorial Day was).


"Arbor Day in Free Country!" :P

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Jul 22, 2006 6:42 pm 
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Crystallina wrote:
[[re concept emails v. story emails]]
I agree with this entirely :)


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PostPosted: Sun Jul 23, 2006 6:38 pm 
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wow, i never get tired of sbemails i do agree with the "lessconcept emails" thing but i think they are all hilarious no matter what they are about..

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Jul 24, 2006 2:31 am 
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Crystallina wrote:
I think this is why I didn't like Weclome Back. There was no plot, just a bunch of characters sitting around expounding on their vacations - concept based again. Nothing happened.


Welcome Back wasn't my favorite 'toon, but there are plenty of concept-based 'toon and e-mails that have worked. I thought Radio, Garage Sale and Heavy Metal were all very funny. Fall Float Parade was pretty good, and that was concept-based as well.

In general though, stories are more fruitful than concepts. My all-time favorite 'toon is A Folky Tale, so I that shows where I stand.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Jul 24, 2006 9:52 pm 
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Fall Float Parade worked for me largely because of the Coach Z / Marzipan banter.


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Wed Jul 26, 2006 2:11 am 
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I don't think I'll ever get tired of sbemails. There have been a few lame ones (tape leg, lady...ing), but other than that they've been great.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sun Jul 30, 2006 5:48 pm 
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not to sound like a total jerk, but i always thought strong bad was overrated. though the emails are hysterical, as long as it's not all strong bad all the time.

take redesign, for instance. i thought it was pretty funny (i'd have to say one of my favourites), but the funniest part was when coach z showed up with his redesigned emblem and went :coachz: "Hey strong bad, check me out! I squished it, and skewed it, and turned it all a- {noticed strong bad ran away scared} ... round?"
um, sorry, point, right.

more character interaction i think is what the emails really need. and i generally get more excited about the toons than the emails.

on a side note, was i the only one disappointed with strong bad's section in Weclome Back!?

edit: one other thing to add--do you think maybe the viewers have run out of things to ask? i mean, there have been 153 emails as of this post, after all. i thought it would be funny for someone (with good spelling and grammer) to send an email saying strong bad is being charged for the kidnapping of homeschool winner, signed by the free country usa police department, but i already sent a few dumb questions so i figured i'd just be sent right to the "deleted" pile.

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PostPosted: Sun Jul 30, 2006 6:15 pm 
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ideitbawx wrote:
Was i the only one disappointed with strong bad's section in Weclome Back?


I think a lot of people, including me, agreed that that was the low point of the toon. I agree, character interaction can make the sbemails much better than if it's just Strong Bad.


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