The Adventures of Sherlock Mario

The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! episode
"The Adventures of Sherlock Mario"
Production number	122
Airdate	October 3, 1989 (English) October 9, 1990 (French)[?]
Writer(s)	Perry Martin
Plumber's Log #	7 - 0 - 4 (704)
King Koopa's alter ego(s)	Professor Koopa-arity
Cover song(s)	"Peter Gunn"
Replacement song(s)	"When Koopas Paint The Town"
Title reference	The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Live-action segment	"Plumbers of the Year"
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"The Adventures of Sherlock Mario" is the eighteenth episode of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! Its corresponding live-action segment is "Plumbers of the Year". The copyrighted title for the episode in the United States Copyright Office is "Adventures of Sherlock Mario".

This episode is a parody of the Sherlock Holmes books by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, with Herlock Solmes being a parody of Sherlock Holmes himself, and King Koopa's alias of Professor Koopa-arity being a reference to Holmes' archenemy, Professor Moriarty. In addition, Victoria, the city where the episode takes place, is a reference to Queen Victoria, who reigned in the era in which the books are set. In Herlock's flat, a violin can be seen in a recliner, which is based on one of twelve things Holmes does that Watson took note of in A Study in Scarlet. Also, the name of the Killer Kitty of the Kaskervilles is a reference to the title of one of the Sherlock Holmes books, The Hound of the Baskervilles.

Plot synopsis

In Victoria, Mario and Luigi are riding atop a carriage being pulled by a horse traveling down a street in search of a great detective by the name of Herlock Solmes, with Toad and Princess Toadstool riding in the carriage. As Luigi and Mario steer their horse and carriage around a street, Princess Toadstool says that Herlock Solmes was to meet them on this street at midnight; after saying this, she goes on to say that she hopes Herlock Solmes can help her free her kingdom from King Koopa. Hearing the Princess' comments, Toad says that finding Herlock Solmes may be hard, saying the fog surrounding Victoria is thicker than mushroom soup, a comparison which prompts Mario to stick his head into the carriage and begin to talk about food. As Mario continues to talk about food with Princess Toadstool and Toad, Luigi comments that Mario can eat everything in a pasta factory and still have room for dessert.

After complaining about Mario's large appetite, Luigi, as well as Mario, Toad and the Princess, hear a cry for help from somewhere nearby. As Mario and Luigi hop off the top of their carriage, Toad and Princess Toadstool exit the carriage and begin to run towards the voice yelling for help. Eventually, after some running, Mario, Luigi, Toad and the Princess find a hat and magnifying glass in the middle of the street, which Princess Toadstool says belongs to Herlock Solmes. As Toad stares at Herlock Solmes' hat and magnifying glass, he wonders where Herlock is; as Toad ponders, Mario surmises that Herlock was kidnapped and after being asked by Luigi who would want to kidnap Herlock, Mario says that he will find out and proceeds to switch his own hat with the hat of Herlock and refers to himself as Sherlock Mario.

"Professor Koopa-arity"

Later, as the carriage of Mario, Luigi, Toad and Princess Toadstool travels down a street, down below, in a sewer, Professor Koopa-arity, Mouser, Tryclyde and Koopa Troopa are in the midst of taunting Herlock Solmes, who is tied to a chair. As Professor Koopa-arity taunts Herlock Solmes, Koopa Troopa laughs so hard that he bangs his head on a nearby pipe; ignoring Koopa Troopa, Professor Koopa-arity proceeds to ask Herlock what his next crime will be, with Professor Koopa-arity saying that there is no way Herlock can guess what it is. Koopa is left dumbstruck though, when Herlock correctly guesses that Koopa plans on breaking into the Tower of Victoria to steal the Retro Router. After staring blankly at Herlock for a few seconds, Koopa proceeds to turn to Mouser, Tryclyde and Koopa Troopa and demand who revealed his plans to Herlock Solmes; Professor Koopa-arity's accusations cause Mouser, Tryclyde and Koopa Troopa to begin fighting, with each one laying the blame on the other.

As Mouser, Tryclyde and Koopa Troopa fight among themselves, Herlock tells Koopa that his plan to break into the Tower of Victoria is just the sort of thing a Koopa like him would do. Koopa, enraged, proceeds to break up his underlings' fight and grabs them by the neck and tells them that they should go ahead with their plans to steal the Retro Router.

Elsewhere, Mario, Luigi, Toad and Princess Toadstool are in the home of Herlock Solmes on Bonkers Street; after Toad asks him what they are looking for, Mario says aloud that they are searching for clues, a statement which prompts Luigi to say that wearing Herlock Solmes' hat seems to be making Mario believe he is a detective. After crawling around the floor of Herlock Solmes' house, Mario tells Luigi, Toad and the Princess that a good detective needs to use their head, just as he accidentally bangs his head on a nearby dresser. Afterwards, the device on top of the dresser, a dictating machine (which Luigi calls a dictator machine) begins to speak with Herlock's voice, saying that Professor Koopa-arity will steal the Retro Router from the Tower of Victoria; when the dictating machine stops speaking, Luigi expresses surprise at the mentioning of Professor Koopa-arity while Princess Toadstool says that she bets Professor Koopa-arity was the one who abducted Herlock. After Luigi and Princess Toadstool make these comments, Mario makes a vow to catch Koopa and stop his nefarious plot to steal the Retro Router.

Elsewhere, in the Tower of Victoria, Professor Koopa-arity, Tryclyde, Mouser and Koopa Troopa are walking down a hallway disguised as red guards, with Mouser saying that Professor Koopa-arity's idea to sneak into the Tower of Victoria dressed as guards was a great one. As Koopa agrees with Mouser's compliment about him, while complimenting himself, he, Mouser, Tryclyde and Koopa Troopa reach the chambers where the Retro Router, which is behind bars, is being held. Taking out a Magical Potion, Koopa throws it at the bars which the Retro Router is behind; upon impact with these metal bars, the Magical Potion thrown by Professor Koopa-arity causes a door to appear in the bars. With the Retro Router almost in his grasp, Professor Koopa-arity begins to gloat aloud, saying he will flood all of Victoria with sewer water.

After Koopa finishes his gloating though, Mario, Luigi, Toad and Princess Toadstool, who are all wearing armoring while hiding in suits of armor to catch Professor Koopa-arity, Tryclyde, Mouser and Koopa Troopa, reveal themselves and claim that Koopa will never enact his plan. Angered by the appearance of the heroes, Koopa, as well as Mouser and Koopa Troopa, grab some nearby weapons on a wall and charge forward, with Tryclyde slithering behind them. As Professor Koopa-arity and the Koopa Pack charge towards them, the heroes raise several plungers as weapons and charge towards the villains as well.

As Mario duels Koopa, who is dueling with an axe, the Princess battles Tryclyde, Toad fights a mace-holding Mouser, and Luigi battles Koopa Troopa, who is wielding a sword. As he battles though, Luigi has the top of his plunger cut off by Koopa Troopa, who forces Luigi back. As he steps backwards, Luigi bumps into Mario, Toad and Princess Toadstool, who have also been forced back by Mouser and Tryclyde. Seeing Mario, Luigi, Toad and Princess Toadstool grouped together, Koopa pulls a nearby lever on a wall, which activates a giant magnet suspended from the ceiling; turning on, this magnet pulls Mario, Luigi, Toad and Princess Toadstool to the ceiling, where they become stuck to the magnet. With the heroes effectively trapped, the villains taunt them.

Later, after Professor Koopa-arity has tied Mario, Luigi, Toad and Princess Toadstool, he begins to taunt them as the Princess demands Koopa set them free. Ignoring the Princess, Koopa pulls a nearby lever which causes a swinging axe to begin to lower from the ceiling above the heroes. Giving one last glare to heroes, Professor Koopa-arity leaves the room, with Mouser, Tryclyde and Koopa Troopa, who are carrying the Retro Router, leaving with him.

After Koopa and the Koopa Pack leave, Mario says that he wish he could get the meatball sandwich out of his pocket, a statement which causes Luigi to ask how Mario could be thinking about food with a giant, swinging axe quickly approaching. Ignoring Luigi, Mario manages to reach the meatball sandwich in his pocket, which he manages to put in his mouth after some struggling. After eating his sandwich, Mario's stomach expands to such a length that it snaps the ropes holding him; once free from his restraints, Mario tears away the ropes keeping Luigi captive. Right before the axe cuts into the table they are on, Mario and Luigi hop off it, carrying Toad and Princess Toadstool who are still bound by ropes. Tearing the ropes off them, Mario tells them that they need to catch Professor Koopa-arity.

In his sewer headquarters, Koopa is watching as Mouser, Tryclyde and Koopa Troopa prepare the Retro Router; as he works, Mouser tells Koopa that the Retro Router is almost complete. After being informed of this, Koopa turns to Herlock Solmes, who is still tied to a chair and begins to taunt him, saying that once he floods Victoria, he will be the worst villain ever and proceeds to ask Herlock what he thinks of him now; answering Koopa's question, Herlock begins to list several of Professor Koopa-arity's secrets, all of which are embarrassing. Enraged at all the revelations Herlock Solmes has made about him, Professor Koopa-arity turns to the hysterically laughing Tryclyde, Koopa Troopa and Mouser, the latter of whom he grabs and kicks into a wall before telling Tryclyde and Koopa Troopa to start working on the Retro Router again.

Up above, on the streets of Victoria, Mario, Luigi, Toad and Princess Toadstool are walking around, with Toad asking how they can find Professor Koopa-arity. Responding to Toad's question, Mario, who is crawling along the ground with a magnifying glass, points to several claw prints on the ground, which he surmises belong to Professor Koopa-arity. After showing the others, who drop to the ground, Koopa's clawprints, Mario begins to follow them, with the others following him. Following Koopa's claw prints, the heroes go up and across such things as the street, a wall, down the road, up a telephone pole, across the telephone wires, down another telephone pole and finally to a manhole. Stopping at this manhole, which is where Koopa's clawprints end, Luigi pulls the manhole cover off the manhole, which he, Mario, Toad and Princess Toadstool drop down into.

Herlock Solmes

Down below in Professor Koopa-arity's headquarters, Koopa is informed by Koopa Troopa that the Retro Router is in full working order. Moving over to the Retro Router, Koopa prepares to pull a lever on it, only for Mario, Luigi, Toad and Princess Toadstool to fall from the ceiling into Professor Koopa-arity's headquarters. Despite the heroes appearing and threatening to stop him, Koopa, unfazed, simply taunts them and pulls a lever on the Retro Router, which causes the device to pump a large amount of water on to the streets of Victoria. As Victoria begins to be rapidly submerged in water, Koopa orders the Koopa Pack to attack; rushing forward, Mouser, Tryclyde and Koopa Troopa are defeated by Toad, Princess Toadstool and Luigi, who knock them away by head butting them. Koopa is eventually defeated when Mario, after swinging from some pipes on the ceiling, flings himself towards Koopa, who Mario kicks into the Retro Router, destroying it. With the Retro Router destroyed, all the water that was flooding into Victoria begins to seep back into the sewers. With the Retro Router destroyed and the Koopa Pack defeated, Professor Koopa-arity, before he can be arrested by the freed Herlock Solmes, uses a Magical Potion to open a portal into a Warp Zone.

At his house on Bonkers Street, Herlock Solmes is in the middle of thanking Luigi, Toad and Princess Toadstool for vanquishing Professor Koopa-arity from Victoria, as Mario looks around the house for some food. Finding a case on Herlock Solmes' shelf, Mario opens it, believing it to be a lunchbox. After Mario opens the case and reaches inside it though, he does not find food; instead, he is bitten by the Killer Kitty of the Kaskervilles, which everyone begins to desperately try to yank off of Mario's hand.

Characters

• Mario
• Luigi
• Princess Toadstool
• Toad
• Professor Koopa-arity
• Mouser
• Tryclyde
• Koopa Troopa
• Herlock Solmes
• Killer Kitty of the Kaskervilles

Cast

• Lou Albano — Mario
• Danny Wells — Luigi
• Jeannie Elias — Princess Toadstool
• John Stocker — Toad, Mouser, Koopa Troopa
• Harvey Atkin — King Bowser Koopa, Tryclyde
• Greg Swanson — Herlock Solmes

Animation and continuity errors

• In the original version, after Mario and his friends are tied up, Princess Toadstool refers to Professor Koopa-arity as "Professor Koop-iarty."
• In his first appearance, the order of Tryclyde's hats from left to right is black, brown, and purple, but when he and the rest of the Koopa Pack laugh after Professor Koopa-arity mentions that Herlock Solmes is captive, it reverses. It reverts back to its original order when Professor Koopa-arity kicks them away the first time.
• As the Koopa Pack laughs after Professor Koopa-arity mentions Herlock Solmes being tied up, Tryclyde's underbelly is missing.
• When Professor Kooapa-arity asks which of his minions revealed their plan to Herlock Solmes, the left sleeve on Mouser's jumpsuit is missing, while Koopa Troopa's shell turns completely yellow.
• When Professor Koopa-arity grabs the Koopa Pack, Tryclyde's underbelly is colored white instead of yellow, and shortly after, Koopa Troopa's eyes are drawn as normal human eyes.
  • In the same scene, Mouser's gloves are colored white like Professor Koopa-arity's instead of pink, while the back of his ears has the same design as the front.
• Throughout its appearance, Tryclyde's guard disguise changes color several times.
• The sign for the Retro Router misspells router as "reuter".
• When Professor Koopa-arity and his minions infiltrate the Tower of Victoria, a line appears on Professor Koopa-arity.
• When Professor Koopa-arity throws a Magic Potion, Koopa Troopa's face is the same color as the rest of his head.
• When the knight-disguised Mario says, "So..." to Professor Koopa-arity while dueling him, his face is the same color as his armor for a single frame.
  • In the same scene, Professor Koopa-arity's tail spikes are colored orange instead of white.
• In one scene when Mario and his friends are tied up, Mario's detective cap is colored like his usual cap.
• Despite Professor Koopa-arity wearing shoes, he leaves clawprints on the streets of Victoria.
• When Mario and his friends confront Professor Koopa-arity and his minions in their hideout, gloves appear on Koopa Troopa, despite not being present in other scenes.
• In one shot of Mario's friends trying to pull the Killer Kitty of the Kaskervilles off of Mario, the kitty's face turns completely orange.

• 

  Tryclyde's miscolored underbelly

• 

  Mouser's miscolored glove

• 

  The misspelled sign

Profiles

• Once Upon a Koopa DVD: When Professor Koopa-arity kidnaps the brilliant criminologist Herlock Sholmes,^[sic] the Mario Bros. turn detective.
• Netflix: Mario and Luigi are on the case when the evil Professor Koopa-arity takes crime-solver extraordinaire Herlock Sholmes as his own private prisoner.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Chinese (simplified)	歇洛克马力欧 Xiēluòkè Mǎlìōu	Sherlock Mario
French	Les Aventures de Sherlock Mario	The Adventures of Sherlock Mario
German	Die Abenteuer des Sherlock Mario	The Adventure of Sherlock Mario
Italian	Le avventure di Sherlok Mario[?]	The Adventures of Sherlock Mario
Portuguese	Sherlock Mario	-
Spanish	Las aventuras de Sherlock Mario[?]	The Adventures of Sherlock Mario

Trivia

• This episode appears as a bonus feature on the single-disc DVD release Mario's Greatest Movie Moments as a reward for finishing the trivia game in the DVD. However, due to a glitch, the episode restarts right after the commercial break midway through the second act, with dialogue accidentally shifted to one side. It is then followed by the second half of the live-action segment, with the first half being absent.
• In this episode, Luigi performs a diving headbutt. He would receive a similar attack in the Super Smash Bros. series known as Green Missile, predating his move in Super Smash Bros. Melee by twelve years after this episode was aired.