Bats in the Basement

"Bats in the Basement" is the eighth live-action segment of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!. Its corresponding animated episode is "Mario and the Beanstalk".

Plot synopsis
Mario and Luigi, after having gone out for a plumbing job, are in the midst of returning to their apartment in Mario Brothers Plumbing. Entering the apartment, Luigi mentions that he can't wait until the foreign exchange student they're going to be hosting arrives, who Mario mentions, is very smart. Asking how Mario knows that, Luigi gets the answer that the student sent his luggage ahead of him and motions towards a nearby, wooden box.

Seeing the rather fancy looking box, Luigi asks Mario when it arrived, to which Mario responds that it got to the apartment before Luigi awoke that morning. Inspecting the box, Luigi finds a note on it, which reads that the box is from Transylvania and to open as soon as possible, as it is "stuffy in here". Surprised by this note, Luigi tells Mario that the exchange student, Count Zoltan Dracula, must be inside the box.

Grabbing some nearby tools, Mario and Luigi commence trying to open the box, only to encounter problems in doing so. After some effort, Luigi manages to pry open the box with a crowbar, only to reveal an extremely pale, caped figure inside. Seeing the figure, Luigi quickly closes the box, thinking the person inside to be deceased. Soon after Luigi closes the box, it is opened by the person inside, who, after introducing himself to Mario and Luigi as Count Zoltan Dracula, quickly re-enters the box, or more precisely, a coffin, after calling the apartment "a dump".

After Count Zoltan closes his coffin lid, Luigi, somewhat suspicious of Count Zoltan, tries to tell Mario of the odd feeling he is getting from Count Zoltan, only for Mario not to understand.

A week after Count Zoltan had arrived, Luigi is still suspicious of him, telling Mario over lunch that Count Zoltan had told him he had been going to night school for three-hundred years. Mario, unsurprised, simply dismisses Luigi's remark, though he does say it's odd how Count Zoltan sleeps all day, only for Luigi to counter that so does Mario, unless an Inspector Gadget marathon is on. After saying this, Luigi, grabbing one of Count Zoltan's shirts, notices several red stains on it. Ignoring this, Luigi begins to look at all the bills they've received and sees that hosting Count Zoltan is costing them a fortune, with him constantly buying dental floss, eyewash and, oddly, blood from a blood bank.

Putting these bills away, Luigi hears a singing Count Zoltan approaching. It is only when he and Mario see the silhouette of a bat on a window do Luigi and Mario realize, to their horror, that Count Zoltan is a bloodsucking vampire.

Later, as Count Zoltan sleeps in his coffin, Mario and Luigi begin to quietly approach their couch with a book entitled "How to Get Rid of a Vampire" and begin to read, only to confuse a wooden steak for a piece of steak, as in meat. Reading further, Mario and Luigi only discover a tomato sauce recipe and instructions on sending the vampire to a grocery store to buy bread and then moving while they're gone.

As Mario and Luigi begin reading further, Count Zoltan suddenly appears behind them and asks them if they really want to now how to get rid of a vampire; asking how, Mario and Luigi get the response from Count Zoltan that they just need to ask him to leave, being happy to oblige.

Trivia

 * While Mario and Luigi discuss how odd Count Zoltan Dracula is at breakfast, a box of Nintendo Cereal System can be seen on Mario and Luigi's table.

Pipistrelli in Laboratorio