Vampire Until Ready
The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! live-action segment | |
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"Vampire Until Ready" | |
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Production number | 132 |
Airdate | October 17, 1989 |
Guest star(s) | Jim Ward |
Title reference | "Vamp till ready" |
Cartoon episode | "20,000 Koopas Under the Sea" |
Zelda preview | "Doppelganger" |
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"Vampire Until Ready" is the thirty-second live-action segment of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! The episode's name is a play on the musical term, "vamp till ready." Its corresponding animated episode is "20,000 Koopas Under the Sea."
Plot synopsis[edit]
In Mario Brothers Plumbing, as Mario swats at a bat flying around with rolled-up newspaper, Luigi, who is sitting at the table, with a napkin and his lunch, is asking Mario whether or not they are going to get rid of the bat; Luigi goes on to ask when the exterminator that was called to get rid of the bat will arrive. As he continues to try and hit the flying bat, Mario tells Luigi to not get worked up and, after saying that the exterminator told him he would arrive after dark, states that everything is just a matter of patience, discipline and manners. After Mario says this, the bat flies off and Luigi looks down at his plate, and notices his food is gone. Realizing that the bat has stolen his food, Luigi, enraged, stands up and throws his napkin to the floor, yelling that he will get the bat, if its the last thing he does.
As Luigi finishes yelling, the bat suddenly lands on his hat; seeing the bat on Luigi's hat, Mario grabs a wrench and tells Luigi that he is going to get the bat, an exclamation Luigi responds too by asking if Mario can get the bat with something softer. Hearing Luigi say this, Mario suddenly pretends that the bat has left Luigi's hat as he grabs Luigi's discarded napkin; confused by Mario's statement that the bat is gone, Luigi tells him it is still on his hat, only to be informed by Mario after saying this that he is just bluffing and pulling a Brooklyn joke. Realizing Mario's plan, Luigi, as well as Mario, begins to whistle nonchalantly, when Mario quickly throws the napkin over Luigi's head and the bat, accidentally knocking Luigi to the ground in the process.
Pulling the napkin off Luigi's head, Mario sees the bat is no longer on Luigi and believes he has captured it; just as Luigi gets off the ground, the doorbell of the apartment rings and a rather gaunt-looking man, who Mario identifies as the exterminator, enters the building. Saying he understands that Mario and Luigi have bats in their basement, the exterminator, after having a remark made by Luigi about his pale appearance, is told by Mario that he is too late and that the bat has already been caught. Shaking the napkin, Mario and Luigi are both surprised to find that there is no bat in the napkin. As Mario and Luigi wonders what has happened, the exterminator says that they shall soon find out, before letting out a sinister laugh and showing his abnormally pointed teeth.
Later, as they stand around the table, the exterminator tells Mario and Luigi that they have a serious problem and that he will give it extra special attention; after saying this, the exterminator decides to look around and rushes away. When the exterminator leaves, Mario and Luigi find themselves surprised when the bat returns and begins to fly around. Yelling and trying to tell the exterminator that the bat is nearby, Mario and Luigi, who was trying to get rid of the bat with a napkin, succeed in alerting the exterminator and scaring the bat away. Running up to Mario and Luigi, the exterminator asks them where the bat is, and, seeing nothing, begins to give Mario and Luigi a funny look, which Luigi interprets as meaning the exterminator thinks they are lying. Reassuring the exterminator that there really is a bat, Luigi tells him to keep an open mind, which the exterminator responds to by saying he will keep an open mind, if Luigi keeps an open collar, a statement which confuses Luigi.
After talking with Luigi and Mario, the exterminator excuses himself to the bathroom, which Luigi tells him is just behind a nearby door. As the exterminator leaves to go to the bathroom, the bat returns and, as Mario calls for the exterminator, Luigi begins trying to swat it with a napkin again. Eventually, the bat leaves and the exterminator returns, only to be told by Mario and Luigi that the bat is gone; Believing that there never was a bat and that no bat would hang-out in Mario and Luigi's dumpy apartment. Going up the stairs to the door of the apartment, the exterminator leaves. When the exterminator leaves, Luigi begins to think about how odd it is that whenever the bat is in the room, the exterminator is not and vice versa. Hearing Luigi say this, Mario, gaining a look of realization on his face, can only yell, "Uh-oh!"
Behind the bathtub garden, Mario and Luigi are waiting for the bat to reappear in the apartment, which has all its lights off. When the bat does appear, Mario and Luigi lunge forward and begin trying to hit it with a broom and plunger. Missing the bat several times, Luigi eventually manages to knock it to the floor with the plunger and stick it there. As Luigi claims he has got the bat, the apartment lights turn back on and, looking down, Mario and Luigi see the exterminator lying on the floor, with Luigi's plunger stuck to his face.
Managing to pull the plunger off his face, the exterminator, who Luigi claims was the bat, gets up and prepares to leave, believing himself to be unwanted. Before the exterminator leaves, Luigi and Mario asks him why he did all this, to which the exterminator replies to by saying he thought he could make friends by doing as he is a night person and, when he was awake, everyone else was asleep, so he never got to make friends. Feeling sorry for the exterminator, who has tried and failed to play games by himself at night, Mario and Luigi decide to be friends with him and suggest they go bowling. Before they go bowling, though, Luigi decides to take the exterminator and Mario to the blood bank, where he remembers seeing a nurse that is just the exterminator's type.
Names in other languages[edit]
Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
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German | Ein Vampir, wenn's fertig ist[1] | Vampire until ready | |
Italian | Pipistrelli molesti | Annoying bats | |
Portuguese | Exterminador de morcegos[2] | Bat exterminator | |
Spanish | El vampiro amistoso[3] | The friendly vampire |