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I Was Wrong About Borderlands 3

I really thought one thing, but then something else. There's a bunch more to it, but you'll have to read the article.
A Telltale Autopsy

What lessons can we learn from the abrupt demise of this once-impressive games studio?
Raytracing

Raytracing is coming. Slowly. Eventually. What is it and what will it mean for game development?
Programming Vexations

Here is a 13 part series where I talk about programming games, programming languages, and programming problems.
Netscape 1997

What did web browsers look like 20 years ago, and what kind of crazy features did they have?
L-o-t-Arrrrr, matey!
Early!
And wow thats a lame DM cop-out… definitely on a railroad.
I can’t see the comic, is anyone else having this issue?
Rawwwk! Pieces ‘o eight!
“Wait… isn’t this supposed to be a pirate ship? Where’s the booty?”
not this again…
Unfortunately neither me nor my dictionary know the word ‘Hoosegow’. Think it’s the main deck though, isn’t it?
good to be on our way again.
are there rocks ahead?
If there are, we’ll soon be dead
no more rhymes now, i mean it!
Anybody want a (decade-old) peanut?
Our DM has set a railroad,
he just takes us where he’s planned, just imagine what will happen if we stepped on dry land!
This is the first time I’ve been afflicted with the ‘can’t see the comic’ condition…
That poor parrot…
Hoosegow is b-western for jail.
Oh, the comic just finally loaded.
(Grin and groan.) I laughed over about six separate things in that last panel.
I can’t see the comic either
Ok, there it is. Enough refreshing will fix anything, apparently.
But man, that third pane just about killed me. Kudos.
the nice try line was quite funny…
Despite multiple refreshes, I still can’t see the comic as well.
I am finally able to see the comic. Whoo hoo!!!
When I got to the third panel, I could hear crickets, which cracked me up!!!
Finally got to see the comic on the third refresh, using mozilla under windows XP. First time I’ve had this problem.
Yay for refreshing! Sorry about the bandwidth.
And Hoosegow means prison/jail.
I just thought I’d provide to y’all something I found from Google:
Hoosegaw: Prison of jail (archaic)
And here’s the link:
http://dictionary.prisonwall.org/
Just call me Arrragorrn. :P
NeedstoHeal: Look at the site title. its really funny in context.
Ok, i absolutely cracked up on the parrot line. Bravo!
oh, and i also had to refresh the page a few times to see the comic. it’s never been a problem before. i wonder what’s different?
He needs to trade that landlubber sword in for a cutlass! Arrrrr!
Railroading, but the DM is right:
In Aragorn’s background there is a note about Thorongil, a mercenary captain of Gondor’s fleet, who burned a corsair fleet in Umbar. :)
You can read more for example in Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aragorn
I just hope that now they are under weigh they don’t run into that wily buch of scallywags, The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything.
Steve.
Who has never been to Boston in the fall either.
Everybody knows that the hoosegow is under the gazebo.
I think the image serving server is having some issues today. As far as can tell it is a separate server and there may be server or network issues separate from the site itself.
I was able to see the page eventually, it just took longer to load. The image I got was served from http://shamusyoung.mu.nu/images/comic_lotr117.jpg and rather than refresh the page repeatedly I just opened that link in a separate tab and let it take it’s sweet time.
Hope this helps and doesn’t serve to kill the image hosting server. But I felt less full page refreshes were probably good for the site.
“wow thats a lame DM cop-out…”
I’m not so sure. I mean, if a DM can say “your character is lawful-good. He wouldn’t do that”, can’t he also say “your character is smarter than you are. He wouldn’t do that”? But that touches on the problem I have with role-playing. I mean, if it’s fun for you, go for it, but a chracter’s success at negotiations shouldn’t depend on the players ability to sweet-talk any more than the outcome of a round of combat should depend on the player’s actual physical skill with a sword.
Yeah, but just saying “I roll a 12. Is he convinced?” Is just lame. I think the best solution is for the player to roleplay what he wants to say, then roll to see how well his character says it (with the DC dependant on exactly what the player is trying to convince the NPC of). After all, while you roll to see if a character succeeds on hitting an NPC in combat, the player still has to choose who to hit, and even how to hit them (which combat action or feat to use). Likewise, the player has to choose what to say, even if his character is able to say it more eloquently.
I continue to be amazed at the way the actors’ expressions match the dialog. Aragorn’s face in panel two is perfect for ‘Hands up, everyone who can sail a ship!”
I won’t say ‘I’ll never again see the LOTR movies the same way again’, but it’ll be more of a stretch.
Still want to see Frodo and Sam bumbling toward the Mountain of Doom. Maybe Gollum has a white-hat twin brother (Slinker and Stinker, remember…)
I’ve DM’ed too–a little wite-out on the original scenario works wonders!
No parrots; but you find several rats looking for the midnight buffet and singing “We sailed from the port of indecision…”
Steve,
I’ve never flung my mashed potatoes up against the wall, either.
Oh, and I don’t look good in leggings.
(For those of you missing the joke, google “The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything”. At least as funny as DMotR, actually, which is about the highest compliment I know how to give.)
“You just don’t get it.”
! But! But! But we never got to see Logolas shoot Peter Jackson – the equivalent of the DM! And Leggylass would have done it too, if just for Xtra XP.
…Makes me wonder what would happen if DMOTR met Pirate of the Caribbean…
Hi Jefe;
“Hoosegow” is an old slang term for a jail — usually of the Saturday night ‘let’s-sling-the-drunks-in-here” variety.
Yes, it’s too late yo get your animal “pet”, you pick that at lvl 1.
Nice try but I’m not quite desperate enough… one of the best so far. He’s gotten the hang of it though!
GMing Protip: Subtly remind the players that these ships are no doubt filled to the brim with provisions, weapons, armor, and miscellaneous other loot.
Yes! Can finally read the comic, was definitely worth the wait. Am I the only one who now has Pirates of Pinzance music stuck in my head?
What he really needs is an undead monkey named Jack.
-The Gneech
Aragorn: Alright then mateys, let’s get this thing cleaned up. Who wants to swab the poop deck?
(others): Ewwww, gross!
DM: Groan….
Yeah, kinda lame, but since nobody else put it there…!
I’m loving these latest strips….clueless-ness (sp?) is always funny, especially when someone (the DM) is trying to help and continues to fail.
pffffffBWAHAHAHA! As someone who has taught clueless people how to sail, I can say that that last panel is not too far off. Nice!
On the off-chance that there are readers here not familiar with the finer points of piraty celebrations. . .
Start preparing now for September 19th: International Talk Like a Pirate Day. (www.talklikeapirate.com (“Ask Cap’n Slappy” is particularly amusing.))
An mp3 of the anthem can be found here:
http://www.tomsmithonline.com/freestuff.htm
The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything is hi-larious and best heard rather than read, so look for an mp3 of it.
Another good pirate song is The Last Saskatchewan Pirate which can be downloaded here:
http://www.relaxism.com/artofrx.html
Not that I’m obsessed or anything
Bilge Rat: You most definitely are obsessed.
So, if Earendil was a mariner, does that make Aragorn the son of a son of the son of a son of the son of a son of a sailor?
Who want’s the parrot? I would initially believe that it is Aragorn, but wouldn’t that be a perfect line for Legolas, as well?
#44 – Scarlet Knight, that was well done, well done indeed! *applause*
I may be nitpicking, but I believe that Corsairs are the population of Umbar (and the crews of the ships), not the ships themselves. English is not my native, but I don’t think you can empty the crew :P
Anyways, I absolutely LOVE your strip. The way you get those faces to match every time is priceless, and the fact that you update so often… :D
You could empty the crew, but EWW!
Jophiel: see strip comments 2 back
You’d think that the DM would have given him some ranks in Profession: Sailor if his character knew how to sail a ship. That way, he wouldn’t have had to read his cumbersome backstory, and just look at the character sheet.
And, if his backstory said that he knew how to sail, but he had no ranks, I would expect this to mean that he once knew, but it has been so long since that part of the backstory occurred that he’s since forgotten.
Theno
So, when’s the Black Pearl show up? I can just picture Aragormless and Jack complaining about the lack of rum.
in the same pirate-y vein…
Legolas: You like pain? Try wearing a corset.
Deoxy Says:
Steve,
I've never flung my mashed potatoes up against the wall, either.
Take it from me, the whole licking a sparkplug thing is overrated too.
I theenk you look like Cap’n Crunch.
Steve.
Bugsysservant Says:
Yes! Can finally read the comic, was definitely worth the wait. Am I the only one who now has Pirates of Pinzance music stuck in my head?
Penzance, you geography-deficient pasty-faced landlubber! See: England, Extreme South West, Cornwall, (know Cornwall very well; mother went to school there) Lizard Point and so forth.
Have you ever known what it is to be an orphan?
Steve.
h0ll0wone Says:
June 25th, 2007 at 11:10 am
are there rocks ahead?
If there are, we’ll all be dead!
Bilge Rat Says:
The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything is hi-larious and best heard rather than read, so look for an mp3 of it.
Arrrr! Belay that mp3 searching! The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything is best seen. Google for “Larry” “Silly Songs” and “Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything”, then buy the tape/disc/what have you.
If you get the right omnibus collection of Silly Songs you will also witness the existential angst of “Oh Where Is My Hairbrush?” and the sheer artistry of the Argentinian Sombrero Song, not to mention the now-legendary crisis engendered by “Everybody’s Got A Water Buffalo”, which caused the temporary banning of “Larry Sings A Silly Song” from Veggie Tales until a massive write-in campaign had it reinstated.
You guys with no kids miss out on all the good stuff.
Steve.
This DM… he certainly like to fuss
Have you ever known what it is to be an orphan?
Often! But I’ve never kissed a chipmunk.
The last panel is extremely quotable!
Heh. Great use of the still photos in this one. The expressions are perfect!
Heh, so now we have Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas on a ship attempting to sail it up a river. I know how such an endeavor SHOULD end, but I’m sure the DM has other plans, logic, sandbars, tides, current and sail handling be damned. He may as well have divine winds brewing.
Would it have been too much trouble to photoshop in some tiny figures leaping from the ships into the sea Shamus? Definitely an action-deficient installment, but hilarious as usual.
Even better than Googling the Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything, why not watch it on YouTube first! I myself have painted daisies on a big red rubber ball, but have only been to Boston in July.
Of course, we can’t leave the pirate-y theme without mentioning the Gay Pirate song by Ray Stevens…
“I want to sing and dance, I want to sing and dance
I want to be a pirate in the Pirates of Penzance
Wear me silver-buckled slippers and me tight shiny pants
I want to sing and dance”
And Roxysteve is right – the Veggie Tales are hysterical. Maybe not as funny as DMOTR, but still pretty funny.
Arrrr!
Hmm, I’m using Safari to view the page, and instead of the comic all I’m seeing is Shamus’s full name, address, SSN, DOB, and bank account information.
That can’t be right.
So, um, which was the lame DM cop out? Was it saying “Don’t burn the ships, you can use them yourselves” or saying “Your character knows how to sail a ship”? Because while the former may not be strictly legit DMing, he’s really only pointing out an option the players are ignoring and compared to some of his previous railroad attempts it doesn’t even raise the needle. The latter is apparently written in the backstory, which is at the very least SOPHISTICATED railroading, and not a lame cop-out.
i was talking about the prior… all he had to do was mention the value of the ships…
Dang. Now Everybody’s going to go look for the treasures I buried in St. Louis and St. Paul.
h0ll0wone: I think he likes to scream at us…
How surprising to me that your readers share your interest in D&D, LOTR, AND Veggie Tales (readers take note: Veggie Tales are quoted at Shamus’ house as often as MP- not necessarily by the kids).
h0ll0wone, dragonbane: No more rhymes now, I mean it.
Scarlet Knight: He certainly is a son of a… ; )
Is Aragorn actually looking at the DM in panel 4….?
Great work Shamus!
D!
“If you get the right omnibus collection of Silly Songs you will also witness the existential angst of “Oh Where Is My Hairbrush?” and the sheer artistry of the Argentinian Sombrero Song, not to mention the now-legendary crisis engendered by “Everybody's Got A Water Buffalo”, which caused the temporary banning of “Larry Sings A Silly Song” from Veggie Tales until a massive write-in campaign had it reinstated.
You guys with no kids miss out on all the good stuff.”
Well, actually, RoxySteve, the temporary banning of “Silly Songs With Larry” came in the wake of “The Song of the Cebu”, and caused it to be replaced for one episode with “Love Songs With Mr. Lunt”, as chronicled in The End Of Silliness? “The Water Buffalo Song” was in fact the very first Silly Song With Larry.
And you’re right – the folks without kids miss out on all the good stuff… :)
Now that Aragorn has a ghostly crew, can we call him the Dead Pirate Roberts? Ho ha! *chortle* Get it? Dead pirate…oh, never mind….
“…anybody want a peanut?”
and on a MP note
sailing away
its fun to charter an acountant
and sail the wide acountancy…
“Is it too late for me to choose my animal companion”
HAAHH! Oh, if I had a nickel…
Of course, technically, Legolas can sail as well. Hell apparently he’s even something of a shipwright.
Animal companion:
Parrot: way too common
Monkey: Sooo yesterday
Howsa bout a poodle? ‘m sure Legolas wouldn’t object…speaking of which, I must plea for an end to the references to other movies, simply because I DON’T want a persisting mental image of dear Leggy going “I’M THE KING OF THE WOORRRLD!!!”
Then again, I’m sure no one here really WATCHED Titanic, as no TRUE gaming enthusiast would go that far…
right? right?
(And no I certainly DIDN’T cry at the end)
Burn the ships? The players are missing something here.
1) Ships cost a LOT of money, therefor can be classed as loot.
2) Even if you can’t sell them, they can carry lots of loot.
3) Ships give you the option to go looking for pirate treasure.
I must confess I’ve never seen a player say “I can’t do that, I don’t have the skill”. Players think they should be able to do anything (sailing a ship is easy, right?) and it’s usually the nasty meanie of the DM who insists on the embarrassing details of whether or not your character actually knows how to do it!
Meanwhile, who could ever see Legolas as a pirate? Oh, hang on… :)
Pirate Larry rules. The whole “never been to Boston in the fall” is obviously a clue to where the real treasure is. Being a contractor on the Big Dig! Arrrrrr.
76 inq101 Says: June 26th, 2007 at 3:07 am
Burn the ships? The players are missing something here.
1) Ships cost a LOT of money, therefor can be classed as loot.
2) Even if you can't sell them, they can carry lots of loot.
3) Ships give you the option to go looking for pirate treasure.
You seem to be overly obsessed with “loot” and “treasure”. Don’t forget money, riches, gold, lucre, boodle, booty, dough (“mmm…I’m a dough-nut”), graft, goods, items, moolah, pilage, plunder, prizes, spoils, swag, and, of course, bling.
Am I the only one that misses when the term was “bling-bling”? Now it’s just one bling, and I think it’s lost something intangible there.
Oh, a pirate I was meant to be
Trim the sails and roam the sea!
We’ll fight you in the harbor.
We’ll battle you on land.
But when you meet singing pirates…
They’ll be more than you can stand?
What will he teach the parrot?
“Polly wants loot!”
Aw, nuts, I *live* in Boston, even in the fall.
I guess I can’t be a PWDDA. :(
May as well go kiss that chipmunk now…
Nice screen caps for Arrragorn, Shamus. :D
In the next comic, maybe Capt. Jack Sparrow could make an appearance? Hmmm, maybe throw some PotC in the mix… yeah. It’s niiiiice.
Uh huh. Backstory. This is what happens when the DM gives you a character rather than rolling your own. I mean, I have NEVER completely forgotten that I took some random skill by this far into a campaign. Never! Really! Just don’t ask my GMs about that….
“Sissa Says:What will he teach the parrot?”
What every good parrot learns:”Pieces of eight! Pieces of eight!”
Browncoat: Besides gold the ship is probably loaded with lots of loot that pirates have: wheat & barley & other grains, salt for your meat & cinnamon sweet, & RUM ! Rum ’til ye float!
(sorry for mixing songs, but piracy so so fertile, it’s hard to choose just one source!)
Deacon Blues Says:
[snippysnippysnipsnip]
The Water Buffalo Song” was in fact the very first Silly Song With Larry.
Only if you watched them in a sensible order. Who would do that?
You’re right about the Cebu thing, though Archibald actually wasn’t as obviously distressed by that one as “Water Buffalo” (which engendered a full-on attack upon the hapless cucumber).
DB’s very angryI hope he doesn’t catch meIt’s very hard to run withA sombreroOn my head.
Steve.
So, ‘br’ tags not recognised either.
Bah.
I have just read all 700 (well it feels like it) of these comic pages in the correct order and despite the serious, kidney-hurting laughs they have provided me you, dear wonderful writer, and the rest of you campaigners have persuaded me why I was right to turn down every invitation I have ever had to play this type of tabletop game. I would done a bad, bad thing and been incarcerated for 1st degree murder a long, long time ago. And that too would have been a bad, bad thing.
Keep the cartoons coming. I love them so much!
xxx
Pimp!
love this comic. read all of them, love all of them, big fan of the lotr films. the exdended editions even more so. : D
last! woo!
Oh my God….
I haven’t played D&D since ….1970. Damn. But even with that mere year or 2 of playing is like a freakin Berlitz to this site. Thanks for the “kidney hurting” laughs and look forward to many more panels. BTW, although I laughed, how dare Jaja besmirched this site with anything even remotely associated with Celine Dion
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FONt47Z0KZg
Keep it up.
BWA WA WA WA
superfluousk (#80)
We could all prevent scurvy if we could just find an orange.
(or something to that effect)
Great reference. :)
You know what I’m surprised I didn’t see?
Aragorn: Legolas, send a warning shot.
Legolas: A warning shot? Are you sure? I can hit them from here.
Aragorn: I know, but…
Legolas: We have a whole army of ghosts.
Aragorn: Just give the warning shot!
Legolas: Okay, okay!
DM: The arrow pierces the helmsman in the throat and he slips over dead.
Aragorn: LEGOLAS!!
Legolas: What? I rolled badly.
Aragorn: Now we’ll have to kill them all and we’ll never find where they buried the treasure.
Legolas: Gimili tripped me! It was an accident.
Gimili: Oh, aye, it’s the dwarf’s fault sure.
@ Matis (#91)–I have to claim “Bad Form” for linking Celine Dion on a geek culture page. Nevertheless, I did go to it. I managed to watch 40 seconds, and when I saw the percussionist, the thought came to my mind, “I need more cowbell!”
Now I have to wonder. . .what are Canadian geeks like, eh?
Matis: Am afraid the besmircher is guilty as charged! Will solemnly vow to refrain from mentioning *her*, i.e. C.D., and other similar blasphemous pop-star entities from this day on so as to protect the sanctity of the blessed geek culture! (At least here anyway…now where did i put my ‘Streisand’s Greatest Hits’ album?)
KIDDING!!!!! :)
Bilge Rat: thanks for “The Last Saskatchewan Pirate”. I was looking for a chance to download it. Now, if only Jimmy Buffet can learn it before his next Canadian show, I will be truly happy …
They need to read the Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pirates.
Arrragormless, you have a woman’s hands!!!
Pirates are so better than ninjas
Librain
“I’m not arrogant, I really am that good.”
Woot! 100th! (even if I did have to cheat a little to get it)
I truly fear Aragorm as a Pirate King, he will sneak up behind you and set fire to your children, slaughter your women, ravish your elves, pillage your goats, plunder your bilges and sink your village.
Viva la revolution! Gimli for king! With the lovely queen Leggylass by his side, he shall bring peace and prosperity!
Librain
“I’m not arrogant, I really am that good.”
This might have been asked 100times before, sorry if so – but is it possible to reverse the date order on the page at http://www.shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale/?cat=14 ?
Its just starting to get a little long :-)
Saruman Says:
Arrragormless, you have a woman's hands!!!
I’ll bet those hands have never felt the lash of the cat or a decent rope burn as they reef the mains’l in a hurricane and save the ship from a watery grave!
Or something along those lines.
Aye Aye, Cap’n Rum.
Steve.
eccles Says:
This might have been asked 100times before, sorry if so – but is it possible to reverse the date order on the page at http://www.shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale/?cat=14 ?
Its just starting to get a little long
I say “Nay!”
Top-quoting is for internet geeks and those who cannot muster the wherewithal to master the scroll bar or mouse wheel. Let the order stand for ever as a monument to the numerically inclined!
C’mon. It’s just about 100 entries, and due to peter out by 150 or so. Even I can find the latest one in seconds.
Steve.
Steve: Top-quoting is for internet geeks and those who cannot muster the wherewithal to master the scroll bar or mouse wheel.
*raises eyebrow* its not top quoting, that’s email. And unlike long content pages that might *gasp* require the scrollbar, I’d say the majority of people are only going to be interested in the newest entry…. so why make them scroll if its not necessary. Its not being lazy, its just good interface design to present the thing that most people are going to want straight off….
Anyway, it was just a thought :)
It this where Aragorn sings:
“I am the very model of a modern Numenorean,
I've information on the elves all through the Silmarillion,
I know the kings of Gondor, and I quote the fights historical
From Doriath to Gondolin, in order categorical;
I'm very well acquainted, too, with the Queen Galadriel,
I understand geneology, going back to Earendil,
About my weapons I'm carrying dear Anduril ““
Which is put together from the shattered pieces of ol' Narsil!”
If they did become pirates, would Lego-lass be Mister Prostitute?
Sail away where no ball and chain
Can keep us from the roarin’ waves
Together undivided but forever we’ll be free
So sail away aboard our rig
The moon is full and so are we
We’re seven drunken pirates
We’re the seven deadly sins
“Swab the hoosegow!”
Maybe it’s just because I like all piratemehearty jive, but this strip made me laugh like mad, even though english isn’t my first language and i’ll need to look for the meaning of those words. I envy the fun you angloreading natives would have enjoyed understanding it inmediately…
Actually, while I suspect the last panel may use real nautical terms it looks to me like it is in fact gibberish (although if there is in fact a way to, for example, ‘prime’ a sail I could be mistaken). Possibly Aragorn is doing his best to run the fleet aground (there presumably being no reefs on the Anduin), or trying to actually role play, or maybe he just got carried away with his new idiom. Everyone loves a pirate after all.
I totally forgot that Aragorn could actually sail a ship XD Proves how much I was paying attention… :P
MD is right – Aragorn is talking total gibberish, obviously in a well-meaning attempt to get into the swing of things. :)
“Swab the Hoosegow”
XD
“I mean, if it's fun for you, go for it, but a chracter's success at negotiations shouldn't depend on the players ability to sweet-talk any more than the outcome of a round of combat should depend on the player's actual physical skill with a sword.”
Except that what “should” occur if we’re 100% strict about roleplaying becomes boring and unfun. Yes, fair enough, if your party hates negotiation just make some rolls. But while a player should certainly get bonuses from their Charisma and their skills, and while a DM can certainly take that into account with giving advice about what to say or answering questions, the best campaigns are when someone really does use all their skills. So someone who really knows how to use a sword should, within the parameters of their character, be EXPECTED to describe the intricacies of their sword motion. And someone who can sweet talk should be EXPECTED to come up with a badass speech. Doing so encourages your players not to view their character as a pile of statistics but as a living person who they step into. The best player speeches grow the character as much as they bail the party out of jail ;) .
“I would expect this to mean that he once knew, but it has been so long since that part of the backstory occurred that he's since forgotten.”
Well, probably not “forgotten”, but “Has become so rusty as to only get a circumstance bonus”.
Way too late to make a difference now, I imagine, but ‘corsair’ actually means ‘pirate’. The corsairs would be the former occupants of the ships, not the ships themselves. They might be referred to that way, but it would be as shorthand for ‘corsair ship’. Same way something like “Captain, we’ve got pirates coming up to starboard!” means there’s a ship full of pirates approaching, not some pirates swimming after you.
The lines you give aragorn make me laugh every time. These are just too funny!!!!
The seven habits of highly effective pirates:
1. Decide what you’re going to steal.
2. Figure out how you’re going to steal it.
3. Write down your schedule.
4. Determine how everyone in the group will share the wealth.
5. Listen to everyone’s complaints, and then address them.
6. Use every else’s skills.
7. … Don’t got one for this :-).
(1 to 6 are serious pirate translations of the first 6 habits)
7. remember pillage THEN burn.
id bet as soon as the hugge battle finishes outside minas, hes gonna try and sell the ships. or set fire to them by accident.
the ghosts…..hollowed out the crew?
eww.
Almost a segue to the Parrot Sketch.