The Adventures of Sherlock Mario
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".
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, Princess Toadstool goes on to say that she hopes Herlock Solmes can help her free her kingdom from King Koopa. Hearing Princess Toadstool's 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 Princess Toadstool, 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 Princess Toadstool find a hat and magnifying glass in the middle of the street, which Princess Toadstool says belong to Herlock Solmes. As Toad stares at Herlock Solmes' hat and magnifying glass, he wonders where Herlock Solmes is; as Toad ponders, Mario surmises that Herlock Solmes was kidnapped and after being asked by Luigi who would want to kidnap Herlock Solmns, Mario says that he will find out and proceeds to switch his own hat with the hat of Herlock Solmns and refers to himself as Sherlock Mario.
Later, as the carriage of Mario, Luigi, Toad and Princess Toadstool travels down a street, down below, in a sewer, Professor Kooparity, Mouser, Tryclyde and Koopa Troopa are in the midst of taunting Herlock Solmes, who is tied to a chair. As Professor Kooparity taunts Herlock Solmes, Koopa Troopa laughs so hard that he bangs his head on a nearby pipe; ignoring Koopa Troopa, Professor Kooparity proceeds to ask Herlock Solmes what his next crime will be, with Professor Kooparity saying that there is no way Herlock Solmes can guess what it is. Professor Kooparity is left dumbstruck though, when Herlock Solmes correctly guesses that Professor Kooparity plans on breaking into the Tower of Victoria to steal the Retro Router. After staring blankly at Herlock Solmes for a few seconds, Professor Kooparity proceeds to turn to Mouser, Tryclyde and Koopa Troopa and demand who revealed his plans to Herlock Solmes; Professor Kooparity's accusations cause Mouser, Tryclyde and Koopa Troopa to begin fighting, with each one laying the blame on the other, with Tryclyde claiming Mouser was the culprit, Mouser accusing Koopa Troopa as the culprit and the Koopa Troopa saying Mouser revealed Professor Kooparity's plans.
As Mouser, Tryclyde and Koopa Troopa fight among themselves, Herlock Solmes tells Professor Kooparity that his plan to break into the Tower of Victory is just the sort of thing a Koopa like him would do. Professor Kooparity, enraged, proceeds to break-up Mouser, Tryclyde and Koopa Troopa's fight and grabs Mouser, Tryclyde and Koopa Troopa 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 Princess Toadstool that a good detective needs to use their head, just as he accidentally bangs his head on a nearby dresser. After Mario bangs his head on the dresser, the device on top of it, a dictating machine, which Luigi calls a dictator machine, begins to speak with Herlock Solmes's voice, saying that Professor Kooparity will steal the Retro Router from the Tower of Victoria; when the dictating machine stops speaking, Luigi expresses surprise at the mentioning of Professor Kooparity while Princess Toadstool says that she bets Professor Kooparity was the one who abducted Princess Toadstool. After Luigi and Princess Toadstool make these comments, Mario makes a vow to catch Professopr Kooparity and stop his nefarious plot to steal the Retro Router.
Elsewhere, in the Tower of Victoria, Professor Kooparity, Tryclyde, Mouser and Koopa Troopa are walking down a hallway, with Mouser saying that Professor Kooparity's idea to sneak into the Tower of Victoria dressed as guards was a great one. As Professor Kooparity agrees with Mouser compliments 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 Magic Potion, Professor Kooparity throws it at the bars which the Retro Router is behind; upon impact with these metal bars, the Magic Potion thrown by Professor Kooparity causes a door to appear in the bars. With the Retro Router almost in his grasp, Professor Kooparity begins to gloat aloud, saying he will flood all of Victoria with sewer water.
After Professor Kooparity finishes his gloating though, Mario, Luigi, Toad and Princess Toadstool, who are all wearing armoring, reveal themselves and claim that Professor Kooparity will never inact his plan. Angered by the appearance of Mario, Luigi, Toad and Princess Toadstool, Professor Kooparity, as well as Mouser and Koopa Troopa, grab some nearby weapons on a wall and charge forward, with Tryclyde slithering behind them. As Professor Kooparity and the Koopa Pack charge towards them, Mario, Luigi, Toad and Princess Toadstool raise several plungers as weapons and charge towards Professor Kooparity, Mouser, Tryclyde and Koopa Troopa as well.
As Mario deuls Professor Kooparity, Princess Toadstool battles Tryclyde and Toad fights Mouser, 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, Professor Kooparity pulls a nearby lever on a wall, which activates a giant magnet suspended from the ceiling; turning on, this giant magnet pulls Mario, Luigi, Toad and Princess Toadstool to the ceiling, where they bacome stuck to the giant magnet. With Mario, Luigi, Toad and Princess Toadstool effectively trapped, Professor Kooparity, Mouser, Tryclyde and Koopa Troopa taunt them.
Later, after Professor Kooparity has tied Mario, Luigi, Toad and Princess Toadstool, he begins to taunt them as Princess Toadstool demands Professor Kooparity set them free. Ignoring Princess Toadstool, Professor Kooparity pulls a nearby lever which causes a swinging ax to begin to lower from the ceiling above Mario, Luigi, Toad and Princess Toadstool. Giving one last glare to Mario, Luigi, Toad and Princess Toadstool, Professor Kooparity leaves the room, with Mouser, Tryclyde and Koopa Troopa, who are carrying the Retro Router, leaving with him.
After Professor Kooparity 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 ax 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 meatball sandwich, Mario's stomach expands to such a length that it snaps the ropes holding Mario; once free from his restraints, Mario tears away the ropes keeping Luigi captive. Right before the swinging ax 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 Princess Toadstool and Toad, Mario tells them that they need to catch Professor Kooparity.
In his sewer headquarters, Professor Kooparity is watching as Mouser, Tryclyde and Koopa Troopa prepare the Retro Router; as he works, Mouser tells Professor Kooparity that the Retro Router is almost complete. After being informed of this by Mouser, Professor Kooparity 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 Solmes what he thinks of him now; answering Professor Kooparity's question, Herlock Solmes begins to list several of Professor Kooparity's secrets, all of which are embarrassing. Enraged at all the revelations Herlock Solmes has made about him, Professor Kooparity 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 Kooparity. 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 Mario surmises belongs to Professor Kooparity. After showing Luigi, Toad and Princess Toadstool, who drop to the ground, Professor Kooparity's clawprints, Mario begins to follow them, with Luigi, Toad and Princess Toadstool following him. Following Professor Kooparity's claw prints, Mario, Luigi, Toad and Princess Toadstool 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, where Professor Kooparity's clawprints stop at, Luigi pulls the manhole cover off the manhole, which he, Mario, Toad and Princess Toadstool drop down into.
Down below in Professor Kooparity's headquarters, Professor Kooparity is informed by Koopa Troopa that the Retro Router is in full working order. Moving over to the Retro Router, Professor Kooparity prepares to pull a lever on it, only for Mario, Luigi, Toad and Princess Toadstool to fall from the ceiling into Professor Kooparity's headquaters. Despite Mario, Luigi, Toad and Princess Toadstool appearing and threatening to stop him, Professor Kooparity, unfazed, simply taunts Mario, Luigi, Toad and Princess Toadstool 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, Professor Kooparity 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. Professor Kooparity is eventually defeated when Mario, after swinging from some pipes on the ceiling, flings himself towards Professor Kooparity, 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 of Victoria. With the Retro Router destroyed and the Koopa Pack defeated, Professor Kooparity, before he can be arrested by the freed Herlock Solmes, uses a Magic Potion to open a portal into a Warp Zone.
At Herlock Solmes house on Bonkers Street, Herlock Solmes is in the middle of thanking Luigi, Toad and Princess Toadstool for vanquishing Professor Kooparity from Victoria, as Mario looks around Herlock Solmes 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 doesn't find food, instead, he is bitten by the Killer Kitty of the Caskervilles, which Herlock Solmes, Mario, Luigi, Toad and Princess Toadstool begin to desperately try to yank off of Mario's hand.
Trivia
- This episode is a clear parody of the Sherlock Holmes series of books by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, with Herlock Solmes being a parody of the series' titular character Sherlock Holmes and King Koopa's guise of Professor Kooparity being a reference to Sherlock Holmes' archenemy, Professor Moriarty.
- This episode appears as a bonus feature on the single-disc DVD release "Mario's Greatest Movie Moments" as a reward for finishing the DVD's trivia game. However, due to a glitch, the episode restarts right after the commercial break midway through the second act, with speaking sounds accidentally shifted to one of the sides. It is then followed by the second half of the live-action segment (the first half is absent).
- It seems odd that Professor Kooparity could leave claw prints throughout the streets of Victoria, as he is wearing shoes, effectively making it impossible for Professor Kooparity to leave an imprint of his claws on the ground. Also, official summaries of this episode refer to Professor Kooparity as Professor Koopa-arity.
