Rock TV

"Rock TV" is the tenth episode of the Super Mario World cartoon.

Synopsis

Template:Spoiler Bowser is shown plotting his next evil scheme and remembers from a trip to Earth (apparently a heretofore unseen part of one of his escapades in The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3) that people are easily transfixed to television, so he decides to use it on the cavepeople. After having a stage built to resemble a TV set (to catch everyone's attention), he goes up on the stage disguised as a presenter and shows off a product he calls Rock TV, advertising it at ten Coins to purchase, and one Coin per minute of viewing. He does such a good job advertising his TV that even Mario and Luigi buy one.

After Mario sets the TV up, Princess Toadstool declines on watching it with them, taking Yoshi on a nature walk. The Mario Bros. sit down to watch and, along with everybody else in the city, are immediately hypnotized not by the TV itself, but rather the Magikoopa hiding in the TV. Bowser appears onscreen, hosting a workout show titled Koopa Sez. After several silly exercises, he prepares to start "a real special game Koopa wants everybody to play", at which point the Marios' TV breaks apart (because Bowser did not want them to find out about his doing). Bowser then orders the entranced cavepeople to capture the Mario Bros. and bring them to him, which they immediately do.

Bowser then forces the Mario Bros. onto his stage, now converted into a wrestling ring, pitting them against a pair of reptilian behemoths known as the Tyrannosaurus Twins. Things look bleak for the plumbers at first, but then the Princess and Yoshi happen to pass nearby and see them in peril. They jump into the ring and break the Blocks in order to find a Cape Feather, which Mario uses to get a cape and attack Bowser and the Tyrannosaurus Twins. Afterwards, Yoshi eats up the Rock TVs, including the gigantic one, which falls apart on Bowser.

Trivia/Goofs

• This is another episode that can be seen as social commentary, in this case on television and its powers.
• This episode's plot is similar to that of the Kirby: Right Back at Ya! episode "Un-Reality TV", which had King Dedede using his own television station to turn the citizens of Cappytown against Kirby. Given that Kirby's show was produced in Japan, it is unlikely that "Un-Reality TV" was inspired by this.
• While all of the Koopalings (expect for Kootie Pie) appear in this episode, Big Mouth is the only one who speaks.
• When Mario and Luigi slam into each other, they immediately switch color schemes and stay that way when they land on the ground. ([1]) However, this coloring goof is most likely intentional to show a temporary side-effect of the attack.
• The TV breaks into two pieces, but a third piece appears when Mario throws it out the window!
• In their first attempt to find a Feather, the Princess and Yoshi smash a Block that sends out a pack of miniature Mario clones. This does not happen in Super Mario World (or any Mario game, for that matter) and is never explained.
• The Koopa Clown Car makes a small cameo as a flower plant in the beginning.
• Bowser states that the TV hasn't been invented "yet". This is probably a goof, given that Dinosaur World isn't actually a separate world, but Bowser could mean that the Mushroom Kingdom didn't have them either.
• According to this episode, Bowser knows as much about Earth as Mario and Luigi.
• The "Koopa Sez" program, from the title to the off-air signal, was actually only 50 seconds long, rather than a minute. (For the record, though, it's likely that Mario and Luigi's TV was programmed to self-destruct when Bowser gave a signal.)
• Mario accidentally calls coins "clams" while paying Bowser for the Rock TV, which is currency in the television series The Flintstones.
• Mario and Luigi don't seem to know anything about wrestling when they face the Tyrannosaurus Rubble Brothers, but in the Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 episode Tag Team Trouble, Mario claims that "[he and Luigi] used to wrestle back in Brooklyn!"
• Koopa first introduces the giant TV in a salesman suit with with only his body, not hands, covered up. In the next scene, his hands are covered in the salesman costume, and it does not seem that his arms in the salesman suit are plastic. They seem to be moving like his regular hands.
• When the Mario Bros. are in line to buy their Rock TV, the caveman in front of Mario is seen with his shirt on. It's off in the next screen!
• When Mario pays the ten coins for the Rock TV, everything gray on the table including the table becomes white! It goes back to gray in the next scene!
• You must be quick to catch this one. When the Magikoopa hypnotizes the Mario Bros, if you watch closely when they glance down, the "L" on Luigi's cap is black on a green background!
• When Luigi asks King Koopa "TV stars? What's the show?" the wrestling ring that was there earlier has disappeared!
• When Yoshi spits out the second Magikoopa, in the second screen that shows him running away, his face is noticeably lighter than in the first shot!
• When the family is shown watching Wheel of Fortune in the "real world", the kid has a red and gold shirt. When the screen moves over to the TV, all of his clothes are blue!
• When Yoshi and Princess jump in the wrestling ring, the green dinosaur is on his knees. But in the very next scene, the green dinosaur is instantly sitting on Mario!
• In the second scene that shows Mario with his cape, his cape is red!
• When the green dinosaur sits on Mario, the dinosaur turns a noticeably darker shade of green!
• When Koopa is about to finish saying "I'm here today to tell you about Rock TV," the "L" on Luigi's cap is black on a green background!
• When Mario says "Ten clams, I mean ten coins", the "L" on Luigi's cap is white on a black background!
• When Koopa says "Top this, turkey mouth," Morton's mouth is moving along with Koopa's!
• When Mario says "Cave people carrying clubs", watch as his overalls quickly turn blue in two frames!