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{{SMWbox
{{about|the episode|the titular object|[[Koopasonic Rock TV]]}}
|image = [[Image: RockTV.jpg{{!}}200px{{!}}Bowser, disguised as the TV salesman, "Robby Rockwell".]]
{{SMW TV episode infobox
|airdate = 11/16/1991
|image=[[File: RockTV.jpg|240px]]
|writer = George Shea
|production=409
|song=[[List of Songs in Super Mario World#Ready to Go|Ready to Go]]
|airdate=November 16, 1991 (English) <br> October 23, 1992 (French)
|before = [[Gopher Bash|<<]]
|writer=George Shea
|after = [[The Yoshi Shuffle|>>]]
|song="[[List of Super Mario World (television series) songs#Tail of the Dinosaur|Tail of the Dinosaur]]"
|# = 10
|captain_n="Three Men and a Dragon"{{ref needed}}
|before=[[Gopher Bash|<<]]
|after=[[The Yoshi Shuffle|>>]]
}}
}}
"'''Rock TV'''" is the tenth episode of the [[Super Mario World (television series)|''Super Mario World'']] animated series. This episode can be seen as a commentary on {{wp|Television addiction|television addiction}}, an issue that had gained widespread focus by the time it aired. In 1990, the year before this episode aired, the United States {{wp|Federal Communications Commission}} enacted the {{wp|Regulations on children's television programming in the United States#Children's Television Act|Children's Television Act}} which required networks to strengthen educational values in children's television. After ''Super Mario World'' aired its lone season, {{wp|NBC}} followed suit in 1992 by discontinuing its Saturday morning cartoon lineup in favor of expanding the morning news program ''{{wp|Today (American TV program)|Today}}'' to Saturdays.


'''Rock TV''' is the tenth episode of the [[Super Mario World (TV series)|''Super Mario World'']] animated series.
This episode is notable for being the ''Super Mario World'' episode with the most [[Koopalings]], with six, with [[Wendy|Kootie Pie]] being the only one absent. Though most appear in the episode, [[Morton|Big Mouth]] is the only one with dialogue. This episode is also the last episode where [[Ludwig|Kooky]] appears, as well as the only ''Super Mario World'' episode where the [[Earth|real world]] appears.


== Plot Synopsis ==
==Plot synopsis==
While pacing back and forth in [[Bowser's Castle|his castle]], [[Bowser|King Koopa]] muses about how he has not done anything exceptionally evil in a while. Trying to think up a plan of some kind, Koopa remembers one of his trips to [[Earth|the Real World]]; more specifically, how television can put people in a near vegetative state. Suddenly, Koopa comes up with the idea of using TV to rot the minds of the cave-people in [[Dome City]].


While pacing back and forth in [[Bowser's Castle|his castle]], [[Bowser|King Bowser Koopa]] muses about how he hasn't done anything exceptionally evil in a while. Trying to think-up a plan of some-kind, Bowser remembers one of his trips to [[Earth]]; more specifically, how television can put people in a near vegetative state. Suddenly, Bowser comes up with the idea of using TV to rot the minds of the cave-people in [[Dome City]].
Later, [[Oogtar]] the Caveboy rushes to the [[Dome Castle]] of [[Mario]], [[Luigi]], [[Yoshi]], and [[Princess Peach|Princess Toadstool]], telling them to come quickly and see something. Following Oogtar, Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, and Princess Toadstool are surprised to see what appears to be a giant, screenless television set.


Later, [[Oogtar]] the Caveboy rushes to the [[Dome Castle]] of Mario, [[Luigi]], Yoshi and [[Princess Peach|Princess Toadstool]], telling them to come quickly and see something. Following Oogtar, Mario, Luigi, [[Yoshi]] and Princess Toadstool are surprised to see what appears to be a giant, screenless television set.
[[File:Rock TV.jpg|thumb|220px|Mario and co. discovering the giant, screenless television.]]
[[Image:Rock TV.jpg|thumb|right|220px|The giant, screenless television.]]
As the cave-people stare in awe at the giant television set, King Koopa appears behind it with [[Larry|Cheatsy]] and [[Ludwig|Kooky von Koopa]], who are helping him put on a rather crude human costume. Going into the giant television's empty screen, Koopa, in costume, introduces himself as "Robby Rockwell". "Robby" proceeds to tell all the onlookers that he is here to introduce "Rock TV". Oogtar proceeds to ask what Rock TV is, and Koopa explains that it has hundreds of different shows such as "''Mister Koopa's Neighborhood''" (which Yoshi finds fun) and "''The World Dinosaur Wrestling Federation''" (which is really nothing more than dinosaur puppets bumping into one another). After being booed for this poor performance, Koopa shows the cave-people "Rock, Rock TV" with such stars as "Vanilla Ice-Age"; after saying this, Koopa proceeds to dress up and dance around. Leaving the stage, Koopa returns in his Robby disguise and proceeds to tell everyone that they can buy their own "[[Koopasonic Rock TV]]" for ten [[coin]]s and a coin a minute.
As the cave-people stare in awe at the giant television set, Bowser appears behind it with [[Larry Koopa|Cheatsy]] and [[Ludwig Von Koopa|Kooky Von Koopa]], who are helping him put on a rather crude [[human]] costume. Going into the giant television's empty screen, Bowser, in costume, introduces himself as "Robby Rockwell". "Robby" proceeds to tell all the onlookers that he's here to introduce "Rock TV". Oogtar proceeds to ask what Rock TV is, and Bowser explains that it has hundreds of different shows such as ''Mr. Koopa's Neighborhood'' (which Yoshi finds fun) and ''The World Dinosaur Wrestling Federation'' (which is really nothing more than dinosaur puppets bumping into one another). After being booed for this poor performance, Bowser shows the cave-people "Rock, Rock TV" with such stars as "Vanilla Ice-Age"; after saying this, Bowser proceeds to dress-up and dance around. Leaving the stage, Bowser returns in his Robby disguise and proceeds to tell everyone that they can buy their own "[[Koopasonic Rock TV]]" for ten [[coin]]s and a coin a minute.


Later, Mario and Luigi are in line to buy a Rock TV. Despite Mario saying that ten coins is a great deal, Luigi says that one coin a minute can really add-up and reminds Mario of the "Speak to [[Santa Claus|Santa]] Hotline" incident in [[Brooklyn]], which added up to a $1,295.31 phone bill. Hearing this, Mario simply tells Luigi that paying for their TV will be easy, all they need to do is bash [[Brick Block|blocks]] to get them. Approaching Bowser, Mario proceeds to buy a TV, despite Luigi's suspicion of "Robby Rockwell" ("how come his lips aren't moving when he talks?" Mario just thinks "Rockwell's" watched too many cartoons).
[[File:MariosPhoneBill.png|200x400px|thumb|Mario's reaction after getting the phone bill.]]
Later, Mario and Luigi are in line to buy a Rock TV. Despite Mario saying that ten coins is a great deal, Luigi says that one coin a minute can really add up and reminds Mario of the "Speak to [[Santa Claus|Santa]] Hotline" incident in [[Brooklyn]], which added up to a $1,295.31 phone bill. Hearing this, Mario simply tells Luigi that paying for their TV will be easy, as all they need to do is bash [[Brick Block|blocks]] to get them. Approaching Koopa, Mario proceeds to buy a TV, despite Luigi's suspicion of "Robby Rockwell".


[[Image:Yoshismw.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Yoshi, in "Rock TV".]]
[[File:YoshiApproves.png|thumb|left|200px|Yoshi reacting to King Koopa's "preview" of "''Mister Koopa's Neighborhood''".]]
Once the TV is at home, Princess Toadstool proceeds to tell Mario and Luigi that she won't have any part in watching the TV, saying that she and Yoshi are going for a nature walk, and proceeds to walk-out with a protesting Yoshi. Putting a coin the TV, the Mario and Luigi are suddenly hit by the spell of a [[Magikoopa|Koopa Wizard]] hidden in the TV. Appearing to go into a trance, Mario and Luigi crouch-down on their couch and begin watching "everybody's favorite Kooparobics show, ''Koopa Sez''!". As Bowser, wearing sports equipment, begins giving demands on TV, Mario and Luigi and all the cave-people begin to follow him in a daze.
Once the TV is at home, Princess Toadstool proceeds to tell Mario and Luigi that she won't have any part in watching the TV, saying that she and Yoshi are going for a nature walk, and proceeds to walk out with a protesting Yoshi. Putting a coin in the TV, Mario and Luigi are suddenly hit by the spell of a [[Magikoopa|Koopa Wizard]] hidden in the TV. Appearing to go into a trance, Mario and Luigi crouch down on their couch and begin watching "everybody's favorite Kooparobics show, ''Koopa Sez''!". As Koopa, wearing sports equipment, begins giving demands on TV, Mario and Luigi and all the cave-people begin to follow him in a daze.


After a while, Bowser says he's got "a game he wants everybody to play", at which point Mario and Luigi's TV breaks down, snapping them out of the trance. Unfortunately, Bowser orders all the cave-people to go to the Dome Castle and capture its inhabitants. Like robots, the cave-people obey Bowser and, grabbing anything nearby to use as weapons, rush-off to the Dome Castle. At the Dome Castle, Mario, frustrated with his broken TV, throws it out a nearby window and into the moat surrounding the Dome Castle. As Mario does this, he notices the cave-people storming the castle. Before Mario or Luigi can do anything, they are captured by the zombified cave-people.
After a while, Koopa says he has "a game he wants everybody to play", at which point Mario and Luigi's TV breaks down, snapping them out of the trance. On the rest of the televisions, Koopa orders all the cave-people to go to Dome Castle and capture Mario and Luigi. Like robots, the cave-people obey Koopa and, grabbing anything nearby to use as weapons, rush off to Dome Castle. At Dome Castle, Mario, frustrated with his broken TV, throws it out a nearby window and into the moat surrounding the castle. As Mario does this, he notices a mob of cave-people storming the castle with clubs. Before Mario or Luigi can do anything, they are captured by the zombified cave-people.


Brought to Bowser's giant TV, Mario and Luigi are forced to participate in "All-Star Prehistoric Tag-Team Wrestling", which has [[Lemmy Koopa|Hip]] and [[Iggy Koopa|Hop Koopa]] as the judges and [[Morton Koopa Jr.|Big Mouth Koopa]] as the announcer. After going on an extremely long-winded speech, and introducing the [[Tyrannosaurus Twins]], Big Mouth is finally shut-up by Bowser, only to return, and then as he is introducing the Marios, one of the twins tosses him out. Bowser proceeds to introduce Mario and Luigi into the ring.  
Brought to King Koopa's giant TV, Mario and Luigi are forced to participate in "All-Star Prehistoric Tag-Team Wrestling", which has [[Lemmy|Hip]] and [[Iggy|Hop Koopa]] as the judges and [[Morton|Big Mouth Koopa]] as the announcer. After going on an extremely long-winded speech, and introducing the [[Tyrannosaurus Twins]], Big Mouth is finally shut up by Koopa, only to return, and then as he is introducing the Marios, one of the twins tosses him out. Koopa proceeds to introduce Mario and Luigi into the ring.  


Attempting to be friends with the Tyrannosaurus Twins, Mario ends-up being swirled around by the bigger of the two, while Luigi gets tangled up in the ropes and sling-shot into the opposite side of the ring by the smaller one. With the Mario Bros. taking a beating, Princess Toadstool and Yoshi appear and, after seeing that Mario and Luigi are in trouble, with Yoshi's help, hitting a [[! Block]] at the top of the giant TV, release a swarm of miniature Marios (prefiguring the [[Pal Pill]]s from ''[[Super Paper Mario]]''). With Big Mouth, Hip, Kooky and [[Roy Koopa|Bully Koopa]] chasing the miniature Marios and the Tyrannosaurus Twins distracted, Princess Toadstool manages to hit a [[? Block]], which releases a [[Cape Feather|feather]].
Attempting to be friends with the Tyrannosaurus Twins, Mario ends up being swirled around by the bigger of the two, while Luigi gets tangled up in the ropes and sling-shot into the opposite side of the ring by the smaller one. With the Mario Bros. taking a beating, Princess Toadstool and Yoshi appear and, after seeing that Mario and Luigi are in trouble, with Yoshi's help, hitting a [[! Block]] at the top of the giant TV, they release a swarm of [[Pal Pill|miniature Marios]]. With Big Mouth, Hip, Kooky, and [[Roy|Bully Koopa]] chasing the miniature Marios and the Tyrannosaurus Twins distracted, Princess Toadstool manages to hit a [[? Block]], which releases a [[Cape Feather|feather]].


Attempting to grab this feather, Bowser is knocked aside by Mario, who uses the feather to transform into [[Cape Mario]]. With his newfound powers, Mario easily defeats the Tyrannosaurus Twins. In the next scene, Yoshi begins eating all the nearby Rock TVs, spitting the apparently disgusting-tasting Koopa Wizards out of them.
Attempting to grab this feather, Koopa is knocked aside by Mario, who uses the feather to transform into [[Cape Mario]]. With his newfound powers, Mario easily defeats the Tyrannosaurus Twins. In the next scene, Yoshi begins eating all the nearby Rock TVs, spitting the apparently disgusting-tasting Koopa Wizards out of them.


As Mario and Luigi thank Princess Toadstool for helping them, Yoshi begins eating the nearby, giant TV. A panicking Bowser tries to stop Yoshi, only to be crushed by dozens of falling blocks. A cheerful Yoshi, wanting to help the trapped Bowser, begins to eat all the blocks around him at an extremely slow pace.
As Mario and Luigi thank Princess Toadstool for helping them, Yoshi begins eating the nearby, giant TV. A panicking King Koopa tries to stop Yoshi because he thinks that the giant TV is still useful to him somehow, only to be crushed by dozens of falling blocks. A cheerful Yoshi, wanting to help the trapped Koopa, begins to eat all the blocks around him at an extremely slow pace.


== Trivia ==
==Cast==
* "Vanilla Ice-Age" and "Mr. Koopa's Neighborhood" are parodies of the 1990's rapper [[Wikipedia: Vanilla Ice|Vanilla Ice]] and the children's show ''[[Wikipedia: Mister Rogers' Neighborhood|Mister Rogers' Neighborhood]]'', respectively. Also, Mario mentions [[Wikipedia:Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]], the network on which ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' was broadcast.
*[[Harvey Atkin]] &mdash; [[Bowser|King Bowser Koopa]]
* The company name Koopasonic is an obvious pun on television manufacturing company Panasonic.
*[[Walker Boone]] &mdash; [[Mario]]
* Mario's line "I want my Rock TV!" is a parody of [[Wikipedia:MTV|MTV]]'s slogan at the time, "I Want My MTV."
*[[Tony Rosato]] &mdash; [[Luigi]]
* The "World Dinosaur Wrestling Federation" can be seen as a parody of the [[wikipedia:World Wrestling Entertainment|WWE]], since it was still called the World Wrestling Federation back when this episode aired.
*[[Andrew Sabiston]] &mdash; [[Yoshi]]
* Unlike [[Media:The Wheel Thing]], Kooky's snout is not the same color as his skin.
*[[Tracey Moore]] &mdash; [[Princess Peach|Princess Toadstool]]
* When the Tyrannosaurus Twins throw Mario and Luigi into each other, their clothes change colour, but do not change the letters on their caps.
*[[Gordon Masten]] &mdash; [[Morton|Big Mouth Koopa]], singer #1
{{SMWTV}}
*[[Dan Hennessey]] &mdash; [[Roy|Bully Koopa]], Green T-Rex twin, Singer #2, Caveman #1, Caveman #3, Caveman #4
*[[James Rankin]] &mdash; [[Larry|Cheatsy Koopa]]
*[[John Stocker]] &mdash; [[Oogtar]] the caveboy, Oogtar's dad, Caveman #2, Caveman #5, Caveman #6
*[[Paulina Gillis]] &mdash; female singer, cavelady #1, cavelady #2, Oogtar's sister, Oogtar's Mother
*[[Michael Stark]] &mdash; [[Ludwig von Koopa|Kooky von Koopa]], Orange T-Rex twin


[[Category: TV Episodes]]
==References to real media==
[[Category: Super Mario World Episodes]]
*The family [[Bowser|King Koopa]] spies on watches ''{{wp|Wheel of Fortune (U.S. game show)|Wheel of Fortune}}''.
*"''Mister Koopa's Neighborhood''" is a parody of the children's show ''{{wp|Mister Rogers' Neighborhood}}''. [[Mario]] also tells [[Princess Peach|Princess Toadstool]] and [[Yoshi]] that "maybe [he will] see them on {{wp|Public Broadcasting Service|PBS}}," referring to the network on which ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' was broadcast.
**In the Italian dub, this is replaced with ''Anche i dinosauri piangono'' ("''Dinosaurs also cry''"), which may be a reference to the {{wp|telenovela}} ''{{wp|Los ricos también lloran}}'' ("''The rich also cry''").
*The "World Dinosaur Wrestling Federation" can be seen as a parody of the World Wrestling Federation, now called {{wp|World Wrestling Entertainment}} (WWE).
*"Vanilla Ice-Age" is a parody of the American rapper {{wp|Vanilla Ice}}. [[Oogtar]] also says "Ice Age Baby", a reference to "{{wp|Ice Ice Baby}}."
*The company name "Koopasonic" is a parody on the Japanese electronics company {{wp|Panasonic Corporation|Panasonic}}.
*Mario's line "I want my Rock TV!" is a parody of {{wp|MTV}}'s slogan at the time, "I Want My MTV."
*The game show ''Koopa Sez'' is a reference to the children's game {{wp|Simon Says}}.
 
==Animation and continuity errors==
*When [[Mario]] and his friends run over to the giant television, [[Princess Peach|Princess Toadstool]] and [[Yoshi]] appear from thin air.
*In many scenes, the skin-colored gloves of [[Bowser|King Koopa]]'s Robby Rockwell disguise are incorrectly colored green like his hands.
*When King Koopa introduces ''Mister Koopa's Neighborhood'', his eyes become smaller than normal.
*When [[Bowser|King Koopa]] introduces "Rock Rock Baby", [[Luigi]] is depicted as Mario.
*When Luigi asks how much the [[Koopasonic Rock TV|television sets]] cost, his eyes are blue like Mario's instead of green.
*When [[Mario]] faints after looking at the bill, his sideburns briefly disappear.
*After Mario suggests that Robby Rockwell's lips do not move because he has been watching too many cartoons, his mouth moves but his voice is not heard. Due to the context, however, this may have been an intentional joke.
*When King Koopa gives Mario his Rock TV, the rim of his shell is colored dark-green instead of light-green.
*When the Marios look at each other after Mario mentions that the [[Cave People]] are storming the [[Dome Castle|castle]], the stripes on Mario's gloves are the same color as his shirt.
*When Luigi asks what show he and Mario will be in, their eyes are mostly closed.
**In the same scene, the spikes on King Koopa's shell and shackles are colored white like his claws instead of orange.
*[[Iggy|Hop]] is depicted with black eyelids in this episode instead of his usual green ones.
*When the green dinosaur wrestler sticks out its right hand, its shackle is on it instead of the other hand.
*In one scene, Luigi has four fingers on each hand instead of five.
*When the [[Tyrannosaurus Twins]] throw Mario and [[Luigi]] into each other, their clothes switch, but the letters on their caps remain the same.
*When Luigi says that he is bruised everywhere, the shackle on the orange dinosaur wrestler is black with red spikes instead of green with black spikes.
*When Princess Toadstool and Yoshi jump into the ring, the green dinosaur wrestler's sclerae are white instead of green.
*In a couple of scenes, the stripe on the green dinosaur wrestler's horn disappears.
*When Luigi gets off one of the wrestlers, he passes through them while their jaw is transparent.
*When [[Yoshi]] spits out the second [[Magikoopa|Koopa Wizard]] from [[Oogtar]]'s Rock TV, as it runs away, its face is completely white.
*When King Koopa urges Yoshi to stop eating the giant television, he is briefly layered in front of and behind the ring.
 
<gallery>
Smwplumbing.jpg|Mario's missing sideburns
SMW Rock TV error.png|King Koopa's miscolored spikes
SMW Rock TV error 2.png|The orange dinosaur wrestler's miscolored shackle
</gallery>
 
==Profiles==
*'''[[Koopa Kronicles]]''' DVD: ''[[Bowser|King Koopa]] invents television! The [[Cave People|people]] are crazy about it. He sells them [[Koopasonic Rock TV|sets]] to watch at home...but each TV contains a [[Magikoopa|Koopa wizard]] that casts an evil spell over them! With the cave people under his control, Koopa puts the Marios on TV as the fall guys in Dinosaur Wrestling!''
*'''[[Koopa's Stone Age Quests]]''' DVD: ''King Koopa invents television! The cave people are crazy about it. He sells them TV sets to watch at home... but each TV contains a Koopa wizard that casts an evil spell over them! With the cave people under his control, Koopa puts the Marios on TV as the fall guys in Dinosaur Wrestling!''
 
==Dub edits==
*In the original Castilian Spanish dub, [[Mario]] mentions seeing ''[[List of implied entertainment#Mister Koopa's Neighborhood|Mister Koopa's Neighborhood]]'' in a survey instead of on {{wp|Public Broadcasting Service|PBS}}.
 
==Names in other languages==
{{foreign names
|Fre=La télé réalité
|FreM=Reality TV
|FreC=<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AWWbpZBIl4&list=PLaFoLvczabwZRSx17uRtiMHjNsXZtsYWK&index=9 Super Mario World 009 La télé réalité]</ref>
|Ger=Die beste Show
|GerM=The best Show
|Ita=La Tv rock della pietra
|ItaM=The Stone Rock TV/The rocking TV of the Stone Age
|ItaC=<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xLNZ5KrVTY&list=PLZUe09WWlPLY1AP6s7TIqpxLfkeOxs7xx&index=10 Le avventure di Super Mario - Episodio 10 - La TV rock della pietra]</ref>
|Kor=올스타 레슬링 대회
|KorR=Olseuta Reseulring Daehwe
|KorM=All-Star Wrestling Competition
|KorC=<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGGRaUzEraU Super Mario World Cartoon (Rock TV) - Korean version]</ref>
|Pol=Rock TV
|PolC=<ref>[https://www.cda.pl/video/15940142f4 Kapitan N i nowe przygody braci Mario. Odc. 8 - Rock TV/Yoshi na boisku]</ref>
|Por=Rock TV
|PorC=<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TT6_XFk38k&list=PLwzf4mOPE8BkFgMlj2blKPqgP8WKos3hy&index=10 Super Mario World - Rock TV (Dublado)]</ref>
|Rom=Rock TV
|RomC=<ref>May 20, 2015. [http://ok.ru/videoembed/26893486724 "Rock TV", dubbed in Romanian by KidsCo]. ''Odnoklassniki (OK.ru).'' Retrieved January 4, 2016.</ref>
|Rus=Рок ТВ
|RusR=Rok TV
|RusM=Rock TV
|RusC=<ref>[https://vk.com/video/playlist/220566848_53830606?z=video220566848_169488939 Мир супер Марио. 2 серия.]</ref>
|Spa=Roca Televisión
|SpaM=Rock Television
|SpaC=<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSLHLknRbdk&list=PLDFCF30CEC990AD7E&index=4 Super Mario World (Cap.10 - Roca Television) Español]</ref>
|SpaE=La rocatele
|SpaEM=Rock TV
|SpaEC=<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeWsR23t9fk&list=PL2lUnuHRmZtzqzUPj5vJysHm-kxWJi2BN&index=37 Super Mario World - La rocatele (Doblaje castellano original)]</ref>
|SpaEN=original dub
}}
 
==Trivia==
*The family [[Bowser|King Koopa]] spies on in his flashback strongly resembles [[Norman]]'s family from ''[[The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3]]'' episode "[[Mush-Rumors]]," except [[Missy]] is missing.
 
==References==
<references/>
 
{{SMW TV}}
[[Category:Super Mario World episodes]]
[[Category:Super Mario World episodes featuring Mario]]
[[Category:Episodes featuring Hip Koopa]]
[[it:La TV Rock della pietra]]

Latest revision as of 19:57, October 25, 2024

This article is about the episode. For the titular object, see Koopasonic Rock TV.
Super Mario World episode
"Rock TV"
RockTV.jpg
Production number 409
Airdate November 16, 1991 (English)
October 23, 1992 (French)
Writer(s) George Shea
Featured song "Tail of the Dinosaur"
Captain N episode "Three Men and a Dragon"[citation needed]
<< List of episodes >>

"Rock TV" is the tenth episode of the Super Mario World animated series. This episode can be seen as a commentary on television addiction, an issue that had gained widespread focus by the time it aired. In 1990, the year before this episode aired, the United States Federal Communications Commission enacted the Children's Television Act which required networks to strengthen educational values in children's television. After Super Mario World aired its lone season, NBC followed suit in 1992 by discontinuing its Saturday morning cartoon lineup in favor of expanding the morning news program Today to Saturdays.

This episode is notable for being the Super Mario World episode with the most Koopalings, with six, with Kootie Pie being the only one absent. Though most appear in the episode, Big Mouth is the only one with dialogue. This episode is also the last episode where Kooky appears, as well as the only Super Mario World episode where the real world appears.

Plot synopsis[edit]

While pacing back and forth in his castle, King Koopa muses about how he has not done anything exceptionally evil in a while. Trying to think up a plan of some kind, Koopa remembers one of his trips to the Real World; more specifically, how television can put people in a near vegetative state. Suddenly, Koopa comes up with the idea of using TV to rot the minds of the cave-people in Dome City.

Later, Oogtar the Caveboy rushes to the Dome Castle of Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, and Princess Toadstool, telling them to come quickly and see something. Following Oogtar, Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, and Princess Toadstool are surprised to see what appears to be a giant, screenless television set.

Mario and co. discovering the giant, screenless television.

As the cave-people stare in awe at the giant television set, King Koopa appears behind it with Cheatsy and Kooky von Koopa, who are helping him put on a rather crude human costume. Going into the giant television's empty screen, Koopa, in costume, introduces himself as "Robby Rockwell". "Robby" proceeds to tell all the onlookers that he is here to introduce "Rock TV". Oogtar proceeds to ask what Rock TV is, and Koopa explains that it has hundreds of different shows such as "Mister Koopa's Neighborhood" (which Yoshi finds fun) and "The World Dinosaur Wrestling Federation" (which is really nothing more than dinosaur puppets bumping into one another). After being booed for this poor performance, Koopa shows the cave-people "Rock, Rock TV" with such stars as "Vanilla Ice-Age"; after saying this, Koopa proceeds to dress up and dance around. Leaving the stage, Koopa returns in his Robby disguise and proceeds to tell everyone that they can buy their own "Koopasonic Rock TV" for ten coins and a coin a minute.

Mario faints after seeing his phone bill.
Mario's reaction after getting the phone bill.

Later, Mario and Luigi are in line to buy a Rock TV. Despite Mario saying that ten coins is a great deal, Luigi says that one coin a minute can really add up and reminds Mario of the "Speak to Santa Hotline" incident in Brooklyn, which added up to a $1,295.31 phone bill. Hearing this, Mario simply tells Luigi that paying for their TV will be easy, as all they need to do is bash blocks to get them. Approaching Koopa, Mario proceeds to buy a TV, despite Luigi's suspicion of "Robby Rockwell".

Yoshi approves of Rock TV.
Yoshi reacting to King Koopa's "preview" of "Mister Koopa's Neighborhood".

Once the TV is at home, Princess Toadstool proceeds to tell Mario and Luigi that she won't have any part in watching the TV, saying that she and Yoshi are going for a nature walk, and proceeds to walk out with a protesting Yoshi. Putting a coin in the TV, Mario and Luigi are suddenly hit by the spell of a Koopa Wizard hidden in the TV. Appearing to go into a trance, Mario and Luigi crouch down on their couch and begin watching "everybody's favorite Kooparobics show, Koopa Sez!". As Koopa, wearing sports equipment, begins giving demands on TV, Mario and Luigi and all the cave-people begin to follow him in a daze.

After a while, Koopa says he has "a game he wants everybody to play", at which point Mario and Luigi's TV breaks down, snapping them out of the trance. On the rest of the televisions, Koopa orders all the cave-people to go to Dome Castle and capture Mario and Luigi. Like robots, the cave-people obey Koopa and, grabbing anything nearby to use as weapons, rush off to Dome Castle. At Dome Castle, Mario, frustrated with his broken TV, throws it out a nearby window and into the moat surrounding the castle. As Mario does this, he notices a mob of cave-people storming the castle with clubs. Before Mario or Luigi can do anything, they are captured by the zombified cave-people.

Brought to King Koopa's giant TV, Mario and Luigi are forced to participate in "All-Star Prehistoric Tag-Team Wrestling", which has Hip and Hop Koopa as the judges and Big Mouth Koopa as the announcer. After going on an extremely long-winded speech, and introducing the Tyrannosaurus Twins, Big Mouth is finally shut up by Koopa, only to return, and then as he is introducing the Marios, one of the twins tosses him out. Koopa proceeds to introduce Mario and Luigi into the ring.

Attempting to be friends with the Tyrannosaurus Twins, Mario ends up being swirled around by the bigger of the two, while Luigi gets tangled up in the ropes and sling-shot into the opposite side of the ring by the smaller one. With the Mario Bros. taking a beating, Princess Toadstool and Yoshi appear and, after seeing that Mario and Luigi are in trouble, with Yoshi's help, hitting a ! Block at the top of the giant TV, they release a swarm of miniature Marios. With Big Mouth, Hip, Kooky, and Bully Koopa chasing the miniature Marios and the Tyrannosaurus Twins distracted, Princess Toadstool manages to hit a ? Block, which releases a feather.

Attempting to grab this feather, Koopa is knocked aside by Mario, who uses the feather to transform into Cape Mario. With his newfound powers, Mario easily defeats the Tyrannosaurus Twins. In the next scene, Yoshi begins eating all the nearby Rock TVs, spitting the apparently disgusting-tasting Koopa Wizards out of them.

As Mario and Luigi thank Princess Toadstool for helping them, Yoshi begins eating the nearby, giant TV. A panicking King Koopa tries to stop Yoshi because he thinks that the giant TV is still useful to him somehow, only to be crushed by dozens of falling blocks. A cheerful Yoshi, wanting to help the trapped Koopa, begins to eat all the blocks around him at an extremely slow pace.

Cast[edit]

References to real media[edit]

  • The family King Koopa spies on watches Wheel of Fortune.
  • "Mister Koopa's Neighborhood" is a parody of the children's show Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. Mario also tells Princess Toadstool and Yoshi that "maybe [he will] see them on PBS," referring to the network on which Mister Rogers' Neighborhood was broadcast.
    • In the Italian dub, this is replaced with Anche i dinosauri piangono ("Dinosaurs also cry"), which may be a reference to the telenovela Los ricos también lloran ("The rich also cry").
  • The "World Dinosaur Wrestling Federation" can be seen as a parody of the World Wrestling Federation, now called World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).
  • "Vanilla Ice-Age" is a parody of the American rapper Vanilla Ice. Oogtar also says "Ice Age Baby", a reference to "Ice Ice Baby."
  • The company name "Koopasonic" is a parody on the Japanese electronics company Panasonic.
  • Mario's line "I want my Rock TV!" is a parody of MTV's slogan at the time, "I Want My MTV."
  • The game show Koopa Sez is a reference to the children's game Simon Says.

Animation and continuity errors[edit]

  • When Mario and his friends run over to the giant television, Princess Toadstool and Yoshi appear from thin air.
  • In many scenes, the skin-colored gloves of King Koopa's Robby Rockwell disguise are incorrectly colored green like his hands.
  • When King Koopa introduces Mister Koopa's Neighborhood, his eyes become smaller than normal.
  • When King Koopa introduces "Rock Rock Baby", Luigi is depicted as Mario.
  • When Luigi asks how much the television sets cost, his eyes are blue like Mario's instead of green.
  • When Mario faints after looking at the bill, his sideburns briefly disappear.
  • After Mario suggests that Robby Rockwell's lips do not move because he has been watching too many cartoons, his mouth moves but his voice is not heard. Due to the context, however, this may have been an intentional joke.
  • When King Koopa gives Mario his Rock TV, the rim of his shell is colored dark-green instead of light-green.
  • When the Marios look at each other after Mario mentions that the Cave People are storming the castle, the stripes on Mario's gloves are the same color as his shirt.
  • When Luigi asks what show he and Mario will be in, their eyes are mostly closed.
    • In the same scene, the spikes on King Koopa's shell and shackles are colored white like his claws instead of orange.
  • Hop is depicted with black eyelids in this episode instead of his usual green ones.
  • When the green dinosaur wrestler sticks out its right hand, its shackle is on it instead of the other hand.
  • In one scene, Luigi has four fingers on each hand instead of five.
  • When the Tyrannosaurus Twins throw Mario and Luigi into each other, their clothes switch, but the letters on their caps remain the same.
  • When Luigi says that he is bruised everywhere, the shackle on the orange dinosaur wrestler is black with red spikes instead of green with black spikes.
  • When Princess Toadstool and Yoshi jump into the ring, the green dinosaur wrestler's sclerae are white instead of green.
  • In a couple of scenes, the stripe on the green dinosaur wrestler's horn disappears.
  • When Luigi gets off one of the wrestlers, he passes through them while their jaw is transparent.
  • When Yoshi spits out the second Koopa Wizard from Oogtar's Rock TV, as it runs away, its face is completely white.
  • When King Koopa urges Yoshi to stop eating the giant television, he is briefly layered in front of and behind the ring.
  • Mario's missing sideburns

    Mario's missing sideburns

  • King Koopa's miscolored spikes

    King Koopa's miscolored spikes

  • The orange dinosaur wrestler's miscolored shackle

    The orange dinosaur wrestler's miscolored shackle

Profiles[edit]

  • Koopa Kronicles DVD: King Koopa invents television! The people are crazy about it. He sells them sets to watch at home...but each TV contains a Koopa wizard that casts an evil spell over them! With the cave people under his control, Koopa puts the Marios on TV as the fall guys in Dinosaur Wrestling!
  • Koopa's Stone Age Quests DVD: King Koopa invents television! The cave people are crazy about it. He sells them TV sets to watch at home... but each TV contains a Koopa wizard that casts an evil spell over them! With the cave people under his control, Koopa puts the Marios on TV as the fall guys in Dinosaur Wrestling!

Dub edits[edit]

Names in other languages[edit]

Language Name Meaning Notes
French La télé réalité[1] Reality TV
German Die beste Show[?] The best Show
Italian La Tv rock della pietra[2] The Stone Rock TV/The rocking TV of the Stone Age
Korean 올스타 레슬링 대회[3]
Olseuta Reseulring Daehwe 		All-Star Wrestling Competition
Polish Rock TV[4] -
Portuguese Rock TV[5] -
Romanian Rock TV[6] -
Russian Рок ТВ[7]
Rok TV 		Rock TV
Spanish Roca Televisión[8] Rock Television
Spanish (NOE) La rocatele[9] Rock TV original dub

Trivia[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Super Mario World 009 La télé réalité
  2. ^ Le avventure di Super Mario - Episodio 10 - La TV rock della pietra
  3. ^ Super Mario World Cartoon (Rock TV) - Korean version
  4. ^ Kapitan N i nowe przygody braci Mario. Odc. 8 - Rock TV/Yoshi na boisku
  5. ^ Super Mario World - Rock TV (Dublado)
  6. ^ May 20, 2015. "Rock TV", dubbed in Romanian by KidsCo. Odnoklassniki (OK.ru). Retrieved January 4, 2016.
  7. ^ Мир супер Марио. 2 серия.
  8. ^ Super Mario World (Cap.10 - Roca Television) Español
  9. ^ Super Mario World - La rocatele (Doblaje castellano original)
[Edit]
Super Mario World (TV series)
Characters Protagonists Luigi • Mario • Oogtar • Princess Toadstool • Yoshi
Koopa family Big Mouth Koopa • Bully Koopa • Cheatsy Koopa • Hip Koopa • Hop Koopa • King Bowser Koopa • Kooky von Koopa • Kootie Pie Koopa
Bowser's Minions & obstacles Ball 'N' Chain • Big Boo • Big Steely • Blargg • Blurp • Bob-omb • Boo Buddy • Caterpillar • Dino-Rhino • Dino-Torch • Fire Plant • Fire Sumo • Flying Goomba • Goomba • Gopher • Koopa Football Player • Koopa Skeleton • Koopa Statue • Koopa Troopa • Koopa Wizard • Magnum Bill • Mechkoopa • Ninji • Piranha Plant • Porcupinefish • Rex • Rip Van Fish • Smell Bob-omb • Thwomp • Torpedo Ted • Unshelled Koopa • Urchin
Other Cave People • Chickadactyl • Dino Riders • Dolphin • Evil dinosaur • Mama Fireplant • Tyrannosaurus Twins • Wizenheimer
Locations Regions Dinosaur World • Dome City • Enchanted Forest • Ice Land • Lava Pits • Star Road
Landmarks Dome Castle • Ghost House • Tar Pit Milk Bar • Neon Castle
Items, objects, vehicles and misc. ? Block • Cape Feather • Egg Scoopa Koopa • Fire Flower • Fireball • Fishbone • Gold Coin • Jumping Board • Key • Keyhole • Koopasonic Rock TV • Koopa Clown Car • Magic Balloon • Magic Wings • Mega Mechanasaur • Revolving Door • Roulette Block • Skull Raft • Starman • Triangle Block • Warp Pipe
Episodes Episode 1: "Fire Sale" • Episode 2: "The Wheel Thing" • Episode 3: "Send in the Clown" • Episode 4: "Ghosts 'R' Us" • Episode 5: "The Night Before Cave Christmas" • Episode 6: "King Scoopa Koopa" • Episode 7: "Born to Ride" • Episode 8: "Party Line" • Episode 9: "Gopher Bash" • Episode 10: "Rock TV" • Episode 11: "The Yoshi Shuffle" • Episode 12: "A Little Learning" • Episode 13: "Mama Luigi"
Miscellaneous Quotes • Songs • Staff
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