THE SUPER MARIO BROS. SUPER BLOG
Are you hooked on the brothers? We sure are! The Super Muscle Busters are super proud to provide an episode-by-episode guide to the shining starman of 1989 syndicated television, The Super Mario Brothers Super Show! Our blog layers homemade plot summaries with creamy facts and rich, meaty random thoughts to create a piping hot information lasagna, fresh out of the oven for you. Served with garlic bread and house salad.
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Episode 6
Rolling Down the River / The Mario Monster Mash
September 11, 1989
Ver. Consulted: SMBSS Restored
Guest Starring: Nobody
SUMMARY
- Live Action: The Brothers are going to help their creepy new neighbour, Dr. Frank N. Stein from Transylvania, with his latest experiment. After they puzzle out the real identity of the mad scientist, the lights go out and Dr. Frankenstein appears. Mario asks if he's the same Frankenstein who created "that big ugly scary monster;" this offends Frankenstein's Monster, who punches his way out of a big wooden crate and gives the Brothers a fright.
- Cartoon: We begin in media res, with Princess Toadstool held captive on Captain Koopa's river boat, The Sinister Star. Mario and Luigi have stowed away, and are playing high-stakes Go Fish with a pair of koopas and a goomba with an adorable little eyepatch. While they distract the underlings, Toad, dressed as a waiter, searches for the Princess. Koopa catches the squeaky little fungus, however, and imprisons him along with Toadstool, and the Brothers are exposed and chased off the ship when Mario is caught cheating at cards. Before a Trouter can eat them, they are rescued by a second riverboat, The Dingbell, belonging to Mark Twang. Twang's in the middle of a boat race with Koopa to be crowned King of the River, but his engine has been sabotaged. The Brothers use their plumbing skills to fix the steam engine, and they're back in the race! Koopa has Mouser bring him a "Black Pit Bob-omb," which he uses to create a massive whirlpool/"black pit" that nearly sucks in The Dingbell. They consult the Mouth of the River, who advises them to use their plumbing skills to divert the river around the black pit and gives them "magic doodads" that are "more powerful than pasta." The Brothers jump on The Dingbell's paddle wheel to get it turning really fast, allowing them to catch up with and board The Sinister Star. In the fog of battle Toadstool seizes control of the ship's wheel and grounds The Sinister Star, sending Koopa head-first into a sandbank. They celebrate Twang's coronation as King of the River with catfish pizza.
- Live Action: Dr. Frankenstein needs a normal brain for his monster; Luigi and Frankenstein go hunting for a normal brain in Brooklyn, while Mario takes a nap on the bed beside Frankenstein's monster. Science happens, and when Luigi and the Doctor get back Mario's brain has swapped with the monster's. There's not enough juice in the machine to switch them back, so Frankenstein performs "scientific hands-on treatment"--hitting them both over the head with a mallet. It works, and everyone is happy.
FACTSHEET
- Song of the Week: "Proud Mary" by Creedence Clearwater Revival
- Italian food references: leapin' lasagna, pasta, pepperoni cheesecake, fettucini sundae, catfish pizza, pasta
- Alliterative insults: pinhead plumbers, faucet freak, pushy plumber, that muttonhead Mario, rotten rodent, pesky pipe-pushers, lizard lips, pesky plumbers, captain cuckoo
RANDOM THOUGHTS
- The amount of time it takes the Brothers to figure out Dr. Frank N. Stein is Dr. Frankenstein leads me to believe that they would be stumped all day by those novelty Halloween tombstones with punny names like "D. Ceased" or "Ima Zombie."
- Between "appearing after the lights go out" and "crashing out of a big wooden box," the first live action segment recreates my two favourite early 1990s ways of debuting a surprise wrestler.
- The Trouter is much larger and more aggressive here than in SMB 2, behaving more like a Porcu-Puffer from Super Mario World.
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