Aich-Star-Arr
Compendium
Minor Characters
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In its earliest days, Free Country was a constant hub of various activities in which terrific athletes and crafty charlatans alike could ply their skills. For the benefit of the audience, these events were narrated and broadcast by a nameless Announcer. The Announcer is a veteran among the characters, tracing his first appearances to reporting The Strongest Man in the World Contest, as well as the climactic wrestling match in "Marshmallow's Last Stand". During the formative years of Homestar Runner, one could almost see the unctuous and high-strung commentator becoming a regular member of the gang, but for one reason or another, this never occurred. Unseasoned fans can only look back at the older cartoons and wonder: just who is this odd fellow?
The Announcer's design is elementary, if vaguely human. His torso is a cushion-shaped lump, complemented with squat feet, small round hands on pipe-stem arms, and a round little head perched on a precipitous neck. He is nattily clad in a business suit, complemented by a handlebar mustache and center-parted hair, as well as a monocle. This immaculate appearance is matched by his voice, which is rendered in clipped British tones. This voice adds dignity (or at least the illusion of dignity) during the more ponderous moments of the commentary, and rises to a pinched, excitable pitch during more intense periods. He lacked the accent and spoke in a somewhat lower register in his first speaking role, but his more familiar voice quickly surfaced. Currently, his voice is much more identifiable than his physical appearance.
The gradual shift of the web site's focus was the death knell for the Announcer, as there was simply no real role for him anymore, and his lack of any personality prevented him from trying to adjust to the new character dynamics. As it stands, he has not appeared onscreen in years (except for the performance by his 1936 counterparts), and has only showed up in sporadic bit parts for voiceover work in commercial parodies. The fact that new voices have begun to appear in the faux-commercial cartoons signifies that the Announcer's standing in this final haven is slowly vanishing as well. As it stands, he is but a mere footnote in the web site's history, instead of the stalwart character he could have been.
Almost exclusively seen on Halloween, the Goblin is hardly a major character, or even a strongly portrayed minor character, but he (one assumes it is a he) is certainly a long-established figure among the characters, and is the source of more than one running joke.
The Goblin debuted in “Homestarloween Party”, the first of the venerable Halloween cartoons. Interestingly enough, the Goblin did not properly “exist” at this point; his creation was in the characters’ imaginations as they told parts of a ghost story in turn. After Bubs described the Goblin’s automobile – a Gremlin accessorized with every mechanical upgrade imaginable – the story (and the party) went downhill. Once the story was in Strong Sad’s hands, the Goblin perished, along with everybody else in the story. Despite this, the Goblin not only returned from his apparent death but also somehow managed to intrude on “reality” (along with his apparently inoperative Gremlin), the impossibility of which the other characters studiously ignore. Homestar Runner himself created the Goblin, so it comes as no surprise that the Goblin rather resembles his progenitor. The Goblin’s body is simply a cylinder with no arms to speak of, which rests on a pair of stubby legs. The Goblin has a protruding jaw and a constantly vacant expression in his red-pupiled yellow eyes. A pair of mouse-like ears sits on his head, and his entire body is a rich shade of green. The Goblin is not a very mobile creature; his movement is generally restricted to looking back and forth in rapt curiosity or, more often, hopping laconically about to a hilariously joyless organ tune. This musical spurt accompanies the Goblin whenever he appears, much to comic effect. The Goblin has little personality to speak of; it would appear that he continues to frequent the gang’s Halloween parties because he genuinely wants to be a part of the festivities. There seems to be an air of mischief about him, but this mischief does not translate into malice; the others do not fear him, and seem singularly unfazed by his appearance. The Goblin also seems to bear otherworldly powers, or at least was somehow able to convincingly disguise himself as Strong Bad on one occasion, and despite the sheer unfeasibility of the act, nobody involved found it anything more than a temporary annoyance.
Halloween is the Goblin’s hour, and even though he contributes little to the goings-on, he has established himself as a permanent fixture in these holiday cartoons, and nobody would begrudge him that. While the Goblin’s role is limited, the sheer random silliness of his existence was not unnoticed, and much of it was later incorporated into the character of Homsar, who proved a rather more flexible (and popular) character.
Is there a marshmallow in the world that Homestar Runner wouldn't like? Surprisingly, the answer is yes. And a quick glance at the marshmallow in question leaves one hardly doubting the justification of Homestar's resentment.
Fluffy Puff Marshmallows are Homestar's favourite snack, and he was considered the perfect commercial spokesman. Unfortunately, his thorough (if hilarious) botching of the commercial spelled the end of his advertising career. Homestar's job was given to Marshie, Fluffy Puff's corporate mascot (who was only previously seen on a bag of marshmallows). While Marshie is indeed more photogenic and professional than Homestar, and obviously is a big hit with the public, there are more than a few facets of his identity that makes one question his legitimacy.
Visually, Marshie is a simple character - a marshmallow with a face. The lines of his face are thick and broad, his contours are rounded, and his palette is a series of soft pastel hues. This presumably is intended to make his visage appealing to children. Belying this gentle persona, however, are some rather unsettling details. Marshie's face has a constant expression of self-satisfied smugness that never wavers, no matter what happens. This facial expression seems to have been specifically designed to provoke audience irritation. As well, one corner of Marshie's head has been bitten clean off, leaving a jagged hole in its wake and giving Marshie something of a deranged aspect, as though his mind is "not all there". What really make Marshie a repellent individual, however, are his words. Marshie's sniveling, complacent voice perfectly underscores his every self-promoting statement, effectively removing any sort of empathy the viewer could ever possibly forge with him.
Marshie's commercials are surreal, to say the least. To Marshie, selling Fluffy Puff Marshmallows seems secondary to promoting Marshie himself. Marshie gives lip service to his benefactors, but he seems to have free reign to say virtually anything he wants over the course of the commercial. Marshie delivers every line with the utmost confidence that he is the singular greatest being in the universe, and that the world is benefiting by hearing his proclamations. Marshie is patronizing and arrogant to the extreme, totally oblivious to how gratingly foolish he really comes across. As the commercials lurch through their random, Dadaist components towards their bizarre conclusion, Marshie's ardor becomes more and more frenzied, until he ultimately goes berserk with self-generated enthusiasm, overwhelming his audience with sheer manic energy. Marshie's alleged appeal with children is tenuous, as well; he spends much of his commercial tormenting and abusing two emaciated waifs (who have appeared in other cartoons and met similarly gruesome fates), and generally insulting the intelligence of his audience. One idly wonders if Marshie was inspired in part by William Shatner's infamous Priceline commercials, which are similarly driven by ego, over-the-top delivery, and a spokesman who is missing a certain part of his head.
Marshie is not likable on any human level, but his commercials are certainly entertaining, even as they delve into bizarre, random and slightly disturbing tangents. His rivalry with Homestar provides fuel for the likelihood of continued appearances, and he allows the animators to poke fun at various aspects of intrusive advertising. As ludicrous as Marshie is, he is not very far from reality.
Out of all the phenomena in the Homestar Runner universe, Limozeen are notable in the respect that they are chiefly based in live-action, rather than animation. Indeed, exactly where and what Limozeen are in respect to the gang in Free Country is never entirely clear; they definitely both exist on the same plane of reality, but are never shown interacting with each other proper. This, however, is perhaps the best approach with such characters, as Limozeen are less important as who they actually are than how other characters see and appreciate them. In this sense, the only character who really has any proper relationship with the band is Strong Bad, who is devoted to the band with zealous abandon, and the band likewise has shown their appreciation for his fandom in various ways. The rest of Free Country is largely indifferent towards Limozeen, or do not even seem aware that it exists.
Limozeen’s origins trace to a Strong Bad E-mail in which Strong Bad declared that the best band names are slight misspellings of common words (although there exists a Dolly Parton album entitled “White Limozeen” that predates this e-mail). A later e-mail revealed that there existed a band named Limozeen, and that they were quite popular in Strong Badia. Only a quick shot of the band and a brief snippet from one of their songs were revealed, but this small exposure was enough to propel the band into a few extremely scattershot appearances in various venues, from minor cameos in Strong Bad E-mails to a bizarre set of online Thanksgiving greetings. Their finest hour, however, and definitely the catalyst that made them a notable – if comparatively minor – part of the site was their participation in the Strong Bad Sings CD. They contributed 2 original songs to this compilation, in marked contrast to the rest of the album, which largely consisted of re-recorded versions of existing songs on the site. (Taranchula, another band whose name debuted in the same e-mail as Limozeen’s, also contributed to the CD, but they slipped to obscurity rather quickly).
Limozeen’s music can be described as “hair metal”, or “glam rock”, a subculture of heavy metal music most prominent in the early 1980s. Limozeen exhibits many of the common features of hair metal: pounding percussion and bass, distorted guitar riffs, extraneous solos and a very anthemic mood, especially in the choruses. The lyrics walk the fine line between enigmatic, evocative imagery and errant nonsense; trying to dissect a deeper meaning from their songs is not a recommended endeavor. Limozeen also dresses the part of glam rock, sporting outrageous blonde wigs, accessories and costumes that manage at the same time to appear rugged and insurgent and yet oddly effeminate at the same time. All of this is portrayed with tongue in cheek, of course, but the truth of the matter is that Limozeen is not much stranger (and in some cases, even less strange) than the myriad of other hair metal bands from the 1980s.
The members of Limozeen (all of whom share the last name, at least professionally, of Palaroncini) have been physically played by a confused variety of stand-ins, especially in their earliest appearances. However, Matt Chapman (who has physically played Larry in all but one instance) has always performed the voice work for the band, both speaking and singing. It is perhaps a credit to Matt’s vocal skill that the Limozeen band members, at least in song, are not as “obvious” voices as the majority of the characters on the site (indeed, Limozeen could potentially make a name from themselves quite divorced from the rest of Homestar Runner with very few listeners making the connection).
Foremost of the band – dominating it by both prominence and sheer volume – is the lead singer, Larry. Larry is lithe and somewhat smaller than the others, but he more than makes up for any physical deficiency with his boundless energy, as well as his voice, which is ear-splittingly loud, high-pitched and almost ludicrously raw-edged, reminiscent of an early Jon Bon Jovi, or AC/DC’s Brian Johnson. It is this voice that gives Limozeen its particular sound. Comically, Larry uses the same volume, tenor and enunciation in his speaking voice as well as his singing voice, making his every line sound like its own performance. Larry has a habit of drawing out the final syllable of a sentence for a ridiculously long time.
Gary, the lead guitarist, by contrast seems to be a rational, down-to-earth sort of fellow. Not much is revealed of his personality otherwise, but he seems to be the most intelligent of the group, although this is not saying much. He has a habit of chiming in with an appropriate comment in a timely manner, but for the most part he lets his excellent guitar playing speak for him. Occasionally Gary takes over lead vocals from Larry, and the results are less dynamic and explosive but much more soulful and introspective.
Marry (or “Mary”; spellings differ), the percussionist, makes no effort to reverse the less than flattering reputation most rock drummers have garnered over the decades. He is a rather slovenly character, and is constantly reprimanded by his bandmates for committing some heedless faux pas, most of which involve his considerable appetite. His voice is deep and sonorous, and he appears to be considerably laid-back.
Perry, the bassist, is the least member of the group, nearly to the point of nonentity. He seldom contributes anything at all to the proceedings (save his musical skill, of course), and his voice sounds curiously like Stinkoman.
Recently, it has been revealed that Limozeen starred in their own animated television show (presumably in the 1980s), which was unceremoniously cancelled partway through its pilot episode (not surprisingly). The cartoon was entitled Limozeen: But They’re in Space!. As the title implies, the cartoon involved the band, clad in garish spacesuits, travelling through outer space in their rocket-powered tour bus. This is a cunning parody of many cartoons from the 1960s through the 1980s, which starred animated versions of well-known celebrities in situations and settings that were simultaneously fantastic and mundane.
The cartoon had no real plot; it mostly involved the band doing what they regularly do (perform at concerts, interact with the fans, and so on), only in an outer space venue. Much of the cartoon consisted of interstitial looped footage of the band running from their enthusiastic fans, a la The Beatles, and holding expositional conferences aboard their rocket bus. Strong Bad cannily describes the plot as consisting of the band “running away from and giving backstage passes to the hot babe-liens of the galaxy.” This, of course, is even more amusing with the realization that animated cartoons have been based on even less than this lightweight premise.
The animation, as one might expect, is extremely generic; other than the voices, the band members are nearly impossible to tell apart. The exception to this is Marry, whose slightly disheveled appearance has been exaggerated notably, making him a rotund (and inexplicably redheaded) buffoon, all the better to deign him the band’s comic relief. The band members as a whole are depicted in the animation as rather more clean-cut and well groomed than their live-action appearances would indicate. In fact, the life of a rock star and all it entails is hardly a premise suitable for creating a children’s cartoon, a contention the animators smoothly gloss over. Of course, many cartoons in the 1980s were based on films and other source material that were definitely not suitable for young audiences; the satire is implicit but very clear.
The most notable character introduced by the series is Teeg Dougland, who appears to be the band’s manager and general factotum. Clad in a loose, mismatched shirt/slacks ensemble, replete with coke-bottle glasses and a head of impossibly wavy brown hair, Teeg clashes horrendously, both in the outer space motif and among the hard rock image of the band. Teeg also habitually wears a glum little sign around his neck with his name emblazoned on it, for reasons best left unexplored. Despite his sad sack image, Teeg is a surprisingly upbeat character; this personality trait is made all the more hilarious in light of the fact that he never has any positive information for the band at any time. Indeed, he never seems able to make a statement without prefacing it with “I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news, boys”. He is a doomsayer, albeit a cheerful one. A minor note of interest is that Teeg is voiced by Mike Chapman, who reportedly provided source modeling for the character.
Ranged against the band is a bizarre duo of villains, who apparently have aspirations no higher than ruining Limozeen’s day. It is unknown how, if at all, the band members managed to defeat these foes, but in light of the cartoon’s truncated run this point is irrevocably moot. In the tradition of the old low-budget cartoons, the villains never actually appear onscreen with the heroes, instead opting to make threatening monologues directly to the camera in front of a static background.
The most dynamic of the villains, at least in strictly visual terms, is the autocratic Mitch Overlord, a cloaked, shadowy cyborg with a bald head, a ridiculous hydraulic-powered metal jaw that whines and clanks as he speaks, and a monogrammed two-pronged claw in the place of his right hand. His voice is deep and gravelly, and has a slight metallic echo. However, the triviality of his villainous deeds are in direct contrast to his ominous presence; the worst way he seems capable of subjugating Limozeen is by exploiting a loophole to deprive them of their precious backstage passes. That such a patently sinister villain would spend his time and energy irritating such an ineffectual group is laughable, and it does not reflect very well on either side that Mitch obviously would have lost the day time and again, had the show continued to air.
Far less impressive – if decidedly more active – is Bozar, described as a “magical prankster”. A somewhat puckish character, Bozar has the ability to alter reality in minor yet vital ways, such as disrupting a concert by transforming the band’s equipment into pasta. While these abilities would seem to make him a dangerous foe indeed, he seems more interested in annoying his victims than causing them any actual harm. Bozar is an impish old man in a laboratory coat, with a handlebar moustache and a pair of green goat-like horns sprouting from his head (the Puck connection). His head is shaped rather like a lightbulb, and his voice is a gloating, campy tenor. His general physical appearance, combined with his tendency of addressing Limozeen with schoolyard insults, is highly reminiscent of classic Superman villain Mr. Mxyzptlk, who wreaked similar havoc with a similar set of powers.
In all, where Limozeen “fits” within the Homestar Runner universe is hard to grasp, as the rest of the characters are relegated to viewing their performances second-hand, much as we are. In a sense, Limozeen is just as extrinsic to us as they are to the Free Country cast, and there are some very subtle emotional effects at play by making the viewers and the characters part of the same audience. This layering does not strike most people as odd when the actual videos are running, but the dichotomy is intriguing when analyzed in retrospect. While Limozeen will likely never ascend to a place amongst the “stars” of the website, they have certainly proved themselves worthy entertainers, albeit with more of a “cult” aspect. Limozeen has the potential to expand in many different directions, and it is still unknown as to where they will venture next.
One of the larger enigmas on the Homestar Runner website, the Robot’s appearances are few and far between, and nobody is entirely sure whether one or two robots have been seen in Free Country USA.
The Robot is certainly no newcomer; it made its first appearance as a contestant in the Strongest Man in the World Competition. It was the previous champion and touted as the favourite to win, but it was eliminated when its power cord was unceremoniously unplugged, thanks to The Cheat. Except for one extremely brief cameo appearance in “Marshmallow’s Last Stand”, that seemed to be the end of the Robot’s career (and hardly one worth lamenting, it should be added). However, the Chapman Brothers had other plans.
In the first Halloween cartoon, the “gimmick” was that the gang was telling a “round robin”-style story, one which became hilariously off-track as each character made his or her contribution. Strong Bad was the one who re-introduced the Robot… or was it? It certainly was a Robot, in any event, but was this the same Robot from the years gone by? Both Robots are very similar in physical terms, with their cone-shaped torsos, forked arms and club-shaped legs. However, there are notable differences in their heads; the original Robot had a square head with a simplistic face and twin antennae attached to the top, while the new incarnation sports a trapezoidal head with a glaring red visor acting as eyes. Although these differences are hard to reconcile, it should be stressed that the rest of the characters in the cartoon had changed dramatically since their origins as well.
If the relation between the Robots is ambiguous, even more indeterminate is the nature of the Robot itself. While its appearance in the Halloween cartoon was impressive, bear in mind that the story takes place within the characters’ imaginations. While the Goblin (who also debuted in the same story) later was able to manifest himself in the “real” world, the Robot’s few subsequent appearances have only been divorced from the main action; once in a Cheatoon, and once in a Teen Girl Squad issue. Even its most recent (and very surprising) appearance was in a phoney advertisement, coupled with Senor Cardgage (of all people), and was never indicated to take place in the same world of Free Country we are familiar with. In short, the Robot simply appears to be an ambitious concept which simply fell through the cracks (possibly because its limited role no longer fits with the current dynamic between the characters), and is now reduced to an item of minor trivia. Who actually built the Robot, and what it was originally intended to do, will likely never be known.
It is almost a pity that the latter incarnation of the Robot never truly had a chance to shine, as it was among the better designed characters ever animated. Especially impressive is the indication of mass; bearing in mind the limitations of animation, it is truly fascinating at how well the sheer weight of the machine comes across. Merely looking at the Robot, one can tell that it is heavy indeed. Another interesting note about the Robot is that it never makes an appearance without either destroying something or being destroyed itself. In some ways, the Robot’s appearance can be seen as a precursor to the all-out mayhem which exploded onto the screen when Trogdor the Burninator was created a few years later.
Free Country USA is home to a variety of characters, some notably stranger than others, but all fitting well within the unique (if skewed) logic of their universe. However, a definite contender for the title of the most eccentric is the curious individual known as Senor Cardgage.
Senor Cardgage’s origins are murky, at best. Responding to an e-mail from one “Jordan”, Strong Bad argued that he would still be as cool as always, even if he were far less handsome. The visual image he painted was that of a disturbing caricature of himself who utterly perplexed his fellows with his unkempt appearance, bizarre diction and ominous presence. Despite this, Strong Bad considered this abomination the pinnacle of coolness. Shortly thereafter, Strong Sad revealed that Strong Bad’s fantasy was basically a description of Senor Cardgage, a deranged character the Strong Brothers were acquainted with in their youth. There is some confusion as to the distinction between Strong Bad’s fantasy and the “real” Senor Cardgage, but since Strong Bad was later depicted as conversing with Cardgage (who looked and acted just like in the fantasy), the characters can be counted as one and the same.
Senor Cardgage, as indicated above, is no beauty. His body has roughly the same features as Strong Bad’s, but his proportions are grossly different. Instead of short and squat, he is tall and lanky, rather like Coach Z. His arms are long and droopy, and his torso is greatly elongated, although he retains a potbelly. His face is constructed similarly to Strong Bad’s face, but with additional features. He sports a head of brick-red hair of suspect hygiene, styled in a Donald Trump-esque comb-over. He also has similar hair forming a puffy moustache and goatee, which looks less like hair and more like some sort of malignant growth. Senor Cardgage wears orange-tinted sunglasses, which only add to his dull, apathetic expression. In all, this is not an individual one would willingly share a seat with on the bus.
Adding to Senor Cardgage’s demented mien are his voice and speech. His words are gruff, slurred, and frustratingly soft, making it hard to make out what he is saying much of the time. He is even more indecipherable when it actually is clear what he is saying. Cardgage’s vocabulary is full bizarre colloquialisms and strange words that he seemingly invents by combining two or more words together: “Excardon me” has become something of a catchphrase. Senor Cardgage mutilates the English language to suit his purposes; even when he does not make up a word he has a tendency to use words inappropriately. Just as strange is his habit of addressing people with random girl’s names, regardless of their real name (and gender).
Senor Cardgage’s life is just as abnormal as his speech. Seemingly a derelict, he has a disturbing predilection to suddenly appear from behind bushes as people walk by. He is seldom seen without a plastic shopping bag containing half-eaten chocolate bars, possibly his only source of food. Habits like these, combined with his hardly subtle indications of dementia, have the potential to make Senor Cardgage something of a sinister character, and in real life he almost certainly would be an “undesirable” individual, likely as not a dangerous one. But there seems to be no malice behind Cardgage’s actions; he simply appears to be making his way through life in a fashion that only he understands. Disturbing and obtuse he may be, but he seems to wish no harm on anybody. Regardless of his intentions, the other citizens of Free Country clearly despise him, with the exception of Strong Bad, who inexplicably idolizes him.
Analyzing Senor Cardgage would be incomplete without mentioning his obvious link to Homsar. Like Homsar, Senor Cardgage is a distorted caricature of an existing character who shows up from time to time to say bizarre things and vex anybody in the general area, if unintentionally. However, Homsar enjoys a surprising amount of fame among the fans, while Senor Cardgage (who, ironically, has a much more delineated personality) has never seemed to catch on. While Senor Cardgage seems destined to be a regular minor character on the site, it is unlikely he will be seen in anything but small, concentrated doses.
As noted elsewhere, the major events of Free Country are generally confined to the twelve main characters, with additional minor characters appearing only briefly and infrequently. However, the formative years of Homestar Runner produced, as with most such endeavours, a small group of characters who never "caught on" like the rest and were reduced to items of obscure trivia, subject to much speculation by the fans. This section does not include characters abandoned in Homestar's pre-Flash days (such as the Grape Fairie and her bumblebee escort), characters who never got off the drawing board (such as Digory Doo, The Cheat's doppelganger) or characters who were obviously designed as one-off jokes (such as Strong Bad's alleged rival The Deke). Instead, this section is devoted to characters who were obviously designed to have an impact on the main gang but were unable for one reason or another, and therefore were never formally introduced and developed.
Without question, the most well-known of these aborted characters is Homeschool Winner, who received his name from a prototypical characters page and made his only "official" appearance in the background of the "Dancin' Bubs" game. Visually, Homeschool is highly reminiscent of Homestar Runner himself, but with a few differences. Most notable is the fact that Homeschool's upper lip protrudes, rather than his lower jaw. Other differences are trivial; he is somewhat skinnier, does not wear a hat, and his shirt is blue with a speech balloon imprinted on it. Other than this, however, Homeschool resembles Homestar in virtually every other way. While we have never seen any indication of Homeschool's personality (and likely never will), his striking similarities to Homestar, as well as his name "Winner", seem to indicate in him a potential rival for Homestar, especially in his "terrific athlete" days. However, this is merely speculation, and moot speculation at that, for Homeschool will in all likelihood never appear again, regardless of his purposes.
Of minor note is another character seen behind Homeschool in the "Dancin' Bubs" game. She (one assumes it is a she) is a rectangular entity with pigtails, a medallion around her neck, and a facial expression utterly devoid of any coherence at all. Who this character was intended to be remains a mystery.
The same "cards" page where Homeschool Winner was introduced is also the site of the sole appearance of the Unguraits. These creatures are small, squat and consist mostly of round heads and shapeless bodies with stubby feet, but nonetheless have an element of the sinister about them. Their forms are mostly shrouded by loose green robes, and their faces are wrapped in bandages, leaving only their gleaming red eyes visible. While only four Unguraits are pictured on the cards, it is possible that more of them exist.
In a short story about Pom Pom (which was later made into a quick animated short), brief glimpses were afforded of Pom Pom's friends on the Isle of Pom, including his parents (who unsurprisingly look exactly like him, albeit with different colour schemes). However, the most interesting aspect of this piece is the revelation that Pom Pom owns a dog named Trivia Time. Trivia Time failed to appear in the short, even during the section mentioning him, because, according to Matt Chapman, a satisfactory character model could not be designed. As it stands, all we see is Pom Pom filling the dog's dish. What makes this character truly interesting, however, is the fact that later cartoons have featured a cookie jar in the background in the shape of a blue dog. Some fans believe that this cookie jar is none other than Trivia Time himself, or at least that it was designed to resemble him. No confirmation has been received either way.
Finally, this section would not be complete without mentioning Mr. Bland and Señor. These two have definitely logged the most appearances out of all the characters in this section. Their careers range from their debut in "The Homestar Runner Enters the Strongest Man in the World Competition" to a brief cameo in "Marshmallow's Last Stand", and finally something of a renaissance with the flashback sequence of Strong Bad's 100th e-mail and the articles pertaining to it. Despite this, they have never been given personalities or dialogue; their place seems to be in the background. The only time they had substantial roles (but only just) was during their first appearance, in which they participated in the Strongest Man in the World Competition, alongside Homestar, Pom Pom, Strong Bad and the Robot. Both were eliminated quickly, buried under a mountain of grapes when their strength failed; Strong Bad did not even need to sabotage their efforts! Since that, Señor and Mr. Bland have permanently stuck to the sidelines. Character-wise, there is little to distinguish the two, but they at least sport very different physical appearances. Mr. Bland could almost be considered a prototypical Strong Sad; the two are very similar, although Mr. Bland has a broader face and a slimmer body and lacks elephant appendages. Mr. Bland is a glum little fellow, clad in a baggy T-shirt and shorts and always with a perpetual look of indifference on his face. Señor, by contrast, is a dome-shaped blue lump, supplemented with spaghetti-thin arms, squat legs, and a bewildered expression on his simplistic face. The fact that the pair has re-appeared after years of obscurity may instill hopes for a full-scale revival, but this is unlikely. The fact that they only appeared in flashbacks to earlier times make the message clear; they belong in the past, and in the past is where they will stay.
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