The Strangerhood

The Strangerhood is a comedy series created by Rooster Teeth Productions. The series is produced primarily by using the machinima technique of synchronizing video footage from computer and video games to pre-recorded dialogue and other audio. The animation is created using the computer game The Sims 2 as a parody of sitcoms and reality television. The series details the lives of eight "assorted stereotypes" who wake up living in a neighborhood called Strangerhood Lane, with no memory of who they are, where they are, or how they got there.

The Strangerhood is the second machinima series of four from Rooster Teeth Productions. It is preceded by Red vs. Blue: The Blood Gulch Chronicles and followed by PANICS. The series is a parody of popular culture, namely television shows such as Desperate Housewives, Lost, 24, and American Idol.

The episodes are released online at the Rooster Teeth and official The Sims 2 websites, and a DVD of the first season was released on May 5, 2006, available from GameStop stores in the United States and online worldwide.

Plot

One morning in the near future, a group of assorted stereotypes awake in a strange town with no memory of who they are or where they came from. Their only clues come from the assorted labels that hold their names (Wade's name badge and Sam's underwear) and a mysteriously creepy voice issuing from their televisions. Over the course of the season, they endure many trials including an unusual reality show kitchen task, a murder mystery among their group, a secret affair and of course their own strange personalities before they learn the horrifying truth behind the unusual events of the Strangerhood.

Strangerhood Studios

Strangerhood Studios is a series of shorts, each about one or three minutes long, featuring the characters of The Strangerhood. The story, however, departs from the main plot of The Strangerhood. For example, the characters are back in the outside world, not trapped on Strangerhood Lane. Strangerhood Studios was created when the Independent Film Channel asked Rooster Teeth Productions and machinima artist Paul Marino to create six shorts for television broadcast.

Characters


As with Red vs. Blue, The Strangerhood features a cast of diverse characters, each skewed in different ways and to varying degrees. Their natures are summed up by the Omnipotent Voice in episode 2 when it booms "Silence, assorted stereotypes!". There are nine main characters, and a small number of supporting characters.

Sam is the straight man of the series, often serious in comparison to the other residents; he often describes the situations the residents find themselves in as being ridiculous. Wade, Sam's housemate, is a stereotypical stoner, with bloodshot eyes and memory problems, and is frequently confused by events. Dr Chalmers is an elderly, curmudgeonly intellectual, frequently irritated by his fellow residents. Tovar is a confused ethnic minority, with a silly accent and a penchant for doing foolish things. Dutchmiller is a yuppie stereotype, enthusiastic about everything alternative. Catherine is a stereotypical dumb blonde, who uses other people to her own ends. Nikki is a teenager who is curious as to what is actually going on. Griggs is a stereotypical "tough guy" with camouflage facepaint and a highly aggressive attitude, and is Nikki's biological father in the present time.

Supporting Characters

The Omnipotent Voice:
A mysterious voice that can project itself through various devices and objects such as computers and newspapers and who orders the residents about.

Evil Tovar/Tobar: Tovar's evil twin, created by accident. He is "pure evil" while the other Tovar is "pure moron."

The Garden Gnome:
A garden gnome that follows Griggs around and talks to him in an unintelligible language.

Sam:
A man who lives in isolation underground throughout the series and is the real Omnipotent Voice. Strangerhood Sam stole his name along with his labeled underwear.

Other Characters

In Episode Six "Idol Desperation", Sam calls a number of characters on the telephone to tell them about Nikki. At first, it is the main characters, then moving onto other characters from the sim world, such as the Grim Reaper, the Social Bunny, and some objects such as the gnome and the pink flamingo.

Episode 0
Full title: "The Strangerhood Trailer"
Length: 0' 57"
Release date: September 28, 2004

The trailer of The Strangerhood, which introduces all of the main characters. The episode is set to a song written for the series, entitled "Crazy Zoo", performed by the band The Uggos (The Single On The Band's Soundtrack For The Strangerhood)

Episode 1
Full title: "Why Are You Here?"
Length: 5' 20"
Release date: October 18, 2004

A man awakens in a bed next to a stoner. After questioning the stoner without result, he is asked his name. To which the man responds he has no idea. A man with camo-paint on his face is seen walking through his kitchen. He makes his breakfast and sits down to eat. While eating he realizes that he is not in his own house, then apathetically keeps eating. An old black man sits at his couch contemplating who he is and why he is in a house that is not his. A business man walks along the sidewalk greeting everything from the mailbox to the living room. Catherine compliments herself in front of a mirror. A foreign man with a mustache is contemplating what he forgot to do as we see the stove catching fire behind him (he remembers that it is garbage day). A young girl shouts for someone wondering where she is and why she is talking to herself. The man and the stoner get together and contemplate their names. The man believes his name is Sam, since it is written all over his underwear. The stoner believes his name is Durnt. Sam points out the stoner's name tag says "My name is Wade" but Wade still swears his name is Durnt. While Wade is attempting to teach Sam how to say Durnt, the old black man strolls up to them. He quickly becomes frustrated with Sam and Wade and walks away. Sam calls out to him believing they should stick together.

Episode 2
Full title: "The One With The Premise"
Length: 4' 44"
Release date: November 10, 2004

Each person, except Sam and Wade, finds notes telling him or her to go to the house that Wade and Sam are inhabiting. They are all vaguely informed about their situation by The Omnipotent Voice, who also tells them that cookies and Tang are forbidden and that someone in the room will die at the end of the transmission. A studio audience shows up partway through the episode, though they remain off-screen the entire time.

Episode 3
Full title: "We Have a Floater"
Length: 3' 40"
Release date: December 2, 2004

To replace the recently deceased goldfish, the house gets a new goldfish in addition to the ones remaining in the tank. Griggs manages to get rid of the studio audience by insulting them. Sam names the new fish, but Tovar objects, saying that it is an insult to humans and goldfish to give them a name. Chalmers agrees with Sam, but only because he thought that they needed names to indicate which one they wanted to eat in case of an emergency, since they cannot say, "I want to eat Anonymous."

Episode 4
Full title: "Sublimination Round"
Length: 4' 48"
Release date: February 5, 2005

The Omnipotent Voice orders Sam, Wade, and Tovar to compete against Catherine, Dr. Chalmers, and Dutchmiller in a contest to cook and eat grilled cheese sandwiches. Unaware of the names of the second team's members, the voice just calls them "Gold Digger", "Curmudgeon", and "Weirdo", respectively. Both teams lose: the first team's oven catches fire, and the second team has dietary restrictions or preferences that prevent them from eating cheese. Griggs becomes separated from the others and is stalked by a mysterious gnome or leprechaun.

Episode 5
Full title: "Things Misremembered"
Length: 4' 37"
Release date: March 31, 2005

Wade and Tovar report to Sam and Dr. Chalmers that Nikki was murdered while they were swimming in the pool. They recall various reasons for Nikki's death — such as electrocution, drowning in the pool, and drowning in the cement — until they remember that had not actually seen it: They had been playing Marco Polo, and both had their eyes closed. Sam then tells Wade and Tovar that only one person at a time is supposed to close their eyes in the game.

Episode 6
Full title: "Idol Desperation"
Length: 5' 08"
Release date: April 26, 2005

The episode begins with a narrative introduction by Nikki's voice-over, in a parody of Desperate Housewives. Wade and The Omnipotent Voice seem to be the only ones aware of her voice. Sam, Wade, and Chalmers then call everyone else to tell the news of Nikki's death. Wade "remembers" an incident in which he was performing in an American Idol parody, with Sam as Simon Cowell, Nikki as Paula Abdul, Chalmers as Randy Jackson, and Dutchmiller as Ryan Seacrest. Wade lost to the "fat guy".

Episode 7
Full title: "Star-Crossed Suckers"
Length: 4' 35"
Release date: October 21, 2005

Sam looks through his telescope and notices that the constellations are incorrect. He explains this to Wade; he first shows him the Big Dipper, but also other non-existent constellations such as one shaped like a plumbob (the crystal that appears above active sims in the game). There is another one shaped like a "laser dog", spoofing the one in the Strangerhood Studios shorts. Meanwhile, in Dutchmiller's house, Catherine claims that she and Dutch had been married in their previous lives, before they were all gathered in Strangerhood Lane. Her behavior in episode 2 suggests that this might not be true, but that she has an eye for Dutch and will do and say almost anything to get what she wants out of him. She argues that she had the tiara to remind her, but the tiara fails to remind Dutch of anything. The episode ends with the two having a "WooHoo".

Episode 8
Full title: "WSI"
Length: 4' 44"
Release date: November 15, 2005

Sam and Dr. Chalmers speculate where Strangerhood Lane is located. For unfounded reasons, Dr. Chalmers believes that they are in Cleveland, Ohio. Wade appears wearing a police officer's uniform, saying that this is a sign that he should solve crimes. Dr. Chalmers believes that this is a good idea, while Sam does not. Wade offers Sam the position of sidekick; Chalmers and Wade discuss why Sam "fits the profile". Sam retorts that, if anyone should be the sidekick, it should be Wade. Wade disagrees, saying "Would a sidekick have his own opening credits montage?!" The opening credits for WSI: Wade Scene Investigation: Cleveland begin, obviously spoofing CSI: Crime Scene Investigation in the process. Wade asks Sam and Chalmers to commit some crimes so that he can solve them. Sam refuses to play the game, claiming that he had been cheated last time because Chalmers had said that jaywalking was not a crime. The group walks away as Chalmers rattles off the different crimes that he is going to commit. Griggs enters behind them and begins to ramble that the group never asks them to play their "felony game" and that he will get a high score at "nerd punching" to make them jealous.

Episode 9
Full title: "Detective Defective"
Length: 4' 55"
Release date: December 1, 2005

Wade gains the ability to do a narration voice-over without moving his lips. As Wade begins talking with himself in this manner, the scenery turns black and white, and remains that way for the duration of the episode. Wade sets to work, trying to find clues to solve Nikki's death. This results in run-ins with Sam, Tovar and Chalmers, all of whom object to Wade's arrogant voice-over comments about them. The episode ends with the implication that Griggs murdered Nikki, though Wade assumes it to be the work of a woman, and an inside job by the Mafia, despite Sam's objections that there is no Mafia in the Strangerhood.

Episode 10
Full title: "Devil May Care"
Length: 3' 05"
Release date: January 19, 2006

The episode begins with a suggestion that the garden gnome(s) may have framed Griggs, or directed him to murder Nikki and then erased his memory. It is also suggested that the gnome or gnomes have written a letter in his name, though his name on the note that Chalmers receives is misspelled. The note claims that Griggs was "involved", but not that he was actually the murderer. As Griggs realizes that he is a wanted man, he gets into a car that he finds. But, first, he stops to consider his options, unaware that a garden gnome is in the seat next to his. As Griggs struggles to make a decision, a devil version of himself appears on his right shoulder and tempts him to simply punch anyone who threatens him. An angel version of himself appears on his left shoulder and suggests that he "give flowers to everyone". The devil and angel versions of himself are both ill-tempered, and quickly begin to fight. Claiming that Wade is "too busy with his hobbies" to listen to him, Wade's angel appears on Griggs' shoulder, despite Griggs' objections. Chalmers' angel then appears, claiming he was exiled from Chalmers for suggesting that the latter abandon his fetish for stealing refrigerators. The angels of Dutchmiller and Tovar then appear, believing that the whole thing is just a party; Sam's angel appears at first to scold everyone about the neighborhood code, but later agrees to party with the rest of them. Griggs sits still nervously, waiting for the devil and angels to finish so that he can make a logical decision.

Episode 11
Full title: "Cell Block Duh"
Length: 3' 50"
Release date: February 2, 2006

The episode opens with Griggs in a prison cell. He is soon joined by Tovar, and eventually Dutchmiller, acting as Tovar's lawyer. Dutchmiller and Tovar eventually leave to chase an ambulance. The episode ends with the Omnipotent Voice and a Leprechaun in a room; The voice announces the next phases of its plan.

Episode 12
Full title: "Surprise Guest"
Length: 3' 51"
Release date: February 14, 2006

This episode is set entirely within a parody of the Late Night show, with Dutchmiller as the host. There aren't many revelations within this, aside from the fact that Catherine, on her comeback appearance since Episode 7, walks in and informs Dutchmiller that she is pregnant. Sam appears as a token audience member, Tovar as a comedian, Wade and Griggs playing chess, and Dr. Chalmers as a guest on the show.

Episode 13
Full title: "Double Indumbnity"
Length: 4' 16"
Release date: March 2, 2006

This episode is set entirely in a courtroom parodying the long-running TV drama Law & Order with the episode opening with the title "Lies & Disorder." Tovar is revealed to be a compulsive liar; blaming Sam for Nikki's murder, even though Sam and Catherine are the jury. However, Griggs is acquitted after Nikki makes her surprise comeback entrance since Episode 5, revealing that she wasn't really dead after all. Sam wins a bet against Catherine (who thought Griggs was guilty).

Episode 14
Full title: "Nikki's Alias"
Length: 3' 57"
Release date: March 16, 2006

This episode is also set in the courtroom from Episode 13. Nikki tells the others about what happened to her in flashback. It is a spoof on the show Alias. She claims to have seen Tovar acting strangely, and that there were two of them. She follows Tovar around, changing disguises at each new location, until she finds a strange room. She says that it is a secret room full of secret files, but she is cut off by Wade's wild theorizing. She then starts to say something about Griggs, but Wade cuts her off again.

Episode 15
Full title: "Lost In Place"
Length: 3' 41"
Release date: March 31, 2006

This episode starts off yet again in the court room and Nikki finally gets to describe what really happened. She first mentions that Griggs is her father. She then explains that she tried to race back home but was then knocked unconscious, explaining why everyone thought she was dead. When she awoke, she couldn't remember anything. Whilst everyone thought she was dead, she used the time to find more clues. Whilst looking for clues, she finds out something more shocking. Just as she is about to announce the news, she is suddenly interrupted by a parody of the title sequence from Lost, with the word Lost replaced by "STRANGERHOOD". She then announces that Catherine is a spy and that she knows exactly what is happening. Catherine's tiara is actually an antenna, that she uses to control the gnome. The gnome used an experimental mind-control ray to talk to Griggs. Catherine and the Gnome also set up Griggs to make it appear he killed Nikki. Catherine then runs off, shouting that she "won't let the others take (her) baby" giving yet another reference to Lost. Nikki tries to explain what happens in more detail but is again cut off by the Lost title parody. Nikki takes the group to the secret room, with several more Lost references making an appearance. Then the eyes of an old man appear. He has been watching the group from his lab. He asks himself where the group have gotten to and realises they are behind him. He explains to them that by entering the lab, they have sent off a chain reaction that threatens to release the most terrifying event the world has ever seen. He gets cuts off by the final Lost title parody. The episode ends with Wade (in voice over) asking if the man will finish off the sentence.

Episode 16
Full title: "The Montage Exposition"
Length: 3' 50"
Release date: April 11, 2006

After scolding the mysterious man for being overly dramatic about the possibility of getting fired, the characters begin to question him. He reveals his name is Sam and that the Sam we know has been wearing the underwear of Elder Sam and that he has had to go commando for the last three months. Griggs quickly misunderstands the meaning of "going commando". Elder Sam reveals that nobody has actually guessed their correct name, with the exception of Nikki. He explains that 100 years ago the entertainment industry ran out of ideas. To compensate they kidnapped people from the past, when they were watching good television, erased their memories and isolated them for observation. They believed they might have been able to create a new type of entertainment program, based on their actions and conversations. Sam asks about a reality show, to which Elder Sam believes Sam could be a writer or a studio executive for. It was believed that the isolation would make their ideas fresh and original. Dutchmiller asks if it worked, it did not. Griggs asks about the "weird stuff that happened". Elder Sam reveals himself to be the one behind the omnipotent voice and that Catherine was planted to "jazz things up". The characters demand to be sent back to their own time. Elder Sam agrees and boots up the time machine, featuring a parody of The Sims 2 loading screen. Just as the time machine is ready, Catherine and Tobar appear to stop them.

Episode 17
Full title: "The Final Countdown"
Length: 6' 35"
Release date: April 27, 2006

Evil Tovar reveals that he is holding Catherine as a hostage, and announces that he will burn down the building and kill everyone if he is not released to his own time. He initially gives everyone 24 hours to make their decision, but soon drops it to 24 minutes and then 24 seconds. While this is happening, a timer counts down, and multiple camera shots are shown in a similar fashion to the television series 24. Despite the risk of space-time imploding, Elder Sam agrees to send him back at the last moment, to Wall Street, 1929, the year the stock market crashed. A computer terminal shows that the risked implosion is averted. Elder Sam then sends each character back to their respective times. Dutchmiller decides to stay behind with Catherine. When Sam notes that regular Tovar isn't being sent back, he is told that regular Tovar is "a time-space anomaly." and that the others will "probably liquify his DNA and drink it." Elder Sam comments that "genetic cannibalism" is acceptable in the future. However, once Sam is sent back, all the remaining characters decide to go play video games, realizing they have no ideas for new shows and movies due to the failure of the project. Sam wakes up on his couch in his apartment, thinking that his experiences were merely a dream. A montage is shown, explaining the fates of each character.

Seasons Greetings from The Strangerhood
Full title: "Seasons Greetings from The Strangerhood"
Length: 2' 08"
Release date: December 23, 2004

Although the eight residents have lost their memories and are unaware of the date, The Omnipotent Voice tells them in this episode that it is the holiday season, and orders them to celebrate the twenty days of Christmanukkah, combining the twelve days of Christmas with the eight of Hanukkah. Most of the residents like the idea, but Sam finds it to be one of the most ridiculous holidays ever.