Sam & Max: Situation: Comedy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sam & Max: Situation: Comedy
Developer(s)	Telltale Games
Publisher(s)	Telltale Games GameTap
Designer(s)	Brendan Q. Ferguson David Grossman Steve Purcell Jeff Lester
Release date(s)	December 21, 2006 (GameTap) January 5, 2007 (Online)
Genre(s)	Adventure
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	ESRB: Teen
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows
Media	Download
System requirements	800 MHz processor, 256 MB of RAM, 3D card with 32MB of RAM.
Input	Keyboard, mouse

Situation: Comedy is the second episode of Season One of the Sam & Max game series created by Telltale Games and published by GameTap. Talk show hostess Myra Stump has gone beserk and is now holding her audience hostage. Sam&Max must save the day again!

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

After arriving at the studio, the director won't let Sam and Max in to the show to investigate, but will let them in if they can pass an audition by creating the last scenes from Old Yeller. In order to act as a rabid dog, Sam returns to Bosco's store to get some shaving cream. However, Bosco, now disguised as a British gentleman to hide from "them", is having problems with "skinbodies", rats who have taken to shaving off all their fur and stealing the shaving cream from Bosco's to do so. (After the events of the first episode, Bosco had constructed a device to protect the store from people bringing in dangerous goods, but had to scavenge the parts from the device that prevented people from shoplifting in the first place). Sam and Max are able to stop the rats from taking the last can of shaving cream, and with a little bit of Boscotech help, they are able to pass the audition and enter the studio.

First, however, the director wants them to complete an episode of the sitcom they have just tried out for -- "Midtown Cowboys", the tale of two ranchers trying to raise cattle in their city apartment while keeping the existence of their "herd" (consisting of a single cow) from the nosy and neurotic apartment manager, Mr. Featherly. Ad-libbing their way through the script, as it was eaten by the cow, and making sure to get the product placement within the show, they are able to then freely explore the rest of the studio.

They find that Myra won't even let them into her studio set until the Freelance Police have some famous aspect, including a clip from a TV show they were in, a recording contract, and news of a big scandal. The TV show is a shoo-in, but getting the other two may be tricky.

While on the sets, they meet Hugh Bliss, an eerily cheerful magician who is trying to sell books on "Emetics", his feel-good self-help system based on colors which allows him to turn his skin to any color at will. Knowing that Sybil (from the first episode, but now publishing a tabloid newspapers called "The Alien Love Triangle Times") is looking for a picture of a green alien getting romantic with someone, the two manage to make Hugh turn himself green, and then get a picture with him, which they give to Sybil to publish as proof of their "scandal", completing the second requirement for getting on Myra's show.

Another set has a taping of "Embarrassing Idol" (a parody of "American Idol"), with two of the Soda Poppers sitting in as judges and Max offered to stand in as the third, as Peepers is competing in the show. Sam competes to try to get the prize, a recording contract with "Bin Bottom Records", but has trouble with the two Popper judges; Specs doesn't think Sam's voice is good enough, while Whizzer refuses to not vote for his brother, since he was the only one to remember that it was his birthday. While some more Boscotech will help with convincing Specs to vote for Sam, Bosco will only sell it for a million dollars. Fortunately, a game show in the studio, "Who's Never Going to Be a Millionaire", offers the prize Sam needs. After rigging the questions, he easily acquires the necessary money (in the form of food stamps) to get the Boscotech "voice modulator". Sam then manages to give Whizzer a birthday cake covered with ketchup that doesn't sit well with Whizzer's digestive system, making him have to abandon his judging post and race off to the restroom. With the now unanimous decision of the remaining judges, Sam and Max have their recording contract and are able to make their way to Myra's show.

Unfortunately, Myra immediately confines them to the guest couch, where they can clearly see that a strange looking teddy bear on her desk appears to be hypnotizing her every few minutes. Noticing that Myra's microphone is sparking due to being used so heavily for the last three days, they manage to cause Myra to shock herself and electrocute the bear, breaking the hypnotic hold on her and solving the case. However, that bear apparently came from someone working with the "Toy Mafia", leaving the trail open on exactly who would do such a thing, and forming a neat segue to the next episode.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Trivia

Myra Stump is based on Oprah Winfrey and Myra keeping her viewers hostage and showering them with gifts is a parody of the time Oprah gave away free cars to members of her audience.