Prank Callers

Prank Callers is the tenth episode of the first season of Regular Show. The episode attracted 2.088 million viewers, standing as the fifth-most viewed season one episode. Tim Curry guest stars as the voice of the Master Prank Caller (Curry has also guest-voiced the Evil Hot Dog Leader of Meat Your Maker).

Brief summary: The gang gets sent back to 1982 by the Master Prank Caller. The only way to return to the present is to prank him even harder.

Plot
Mordecai and Rigby are watching a funny video starring the Master Prank Caller on WooHoo, when they start to pick up the pace and become prank callers themselves. The victims are Pops, Skips, and Benson, always using the term "Joe Mama" on each call (from the MPC on WooHoo). They attempt to prank the Master Prank Caller himself, but Benson furiously storms in and destroys the phone as a "prank." They instantly decide to use Pops's phone. They find him ironing a shirt, but he is too busy actually taking a call with "Joe Mama." Pops allows them to use his 80s phones, but warns them of the possibilities of brain tumors.

Mordecai and Rigby each wrap tinfoil around their heads (to prevent tumors) and call the Master Prank Caller. Mordecai goes first to prank, joking that he had 50 pizzas that the MPC "ordered", but he had actually ordered 50 pizzas along with hot wings that he needed brought over. He quickly hangs up and Rigby goes next. He passes himself off under the psuedonym of "Stan", but ends up adding "Standinson" when he is asked for a surname. The MPC warns them to stop calling him, or they would pay. Mordecai and Rigby still attempt to prank him, but to no success. They finally get a call from the MPC, who tells them that he had warned the two, and says, "The 80's called! They want their cell phones back!" to which Mordecai and Rigby are sucked into the phone and transported back to the 80's.

When they are spit out of the phone, they think they are back at the park. Mordecai asks a nearby Pops to "tell Rigby everything's fine", to which he turns revealing his more younger face. Mordecai and Rigby are surprised at Pops's difference and his not knowing of them, and find a couple of B-boys dancing. Rigby tries asking them if they noticed anything strange, only for them to get "barfed out" and leave. It is then Rigby finds out they are in the 80s, more specifically, 1982. They try to call the MPC and apparently send him to the 60s, but the MPC escapes out of the phone (being a literal cell phone with arms and legs) and begins dialing himself. Mordecai and Rigby escape with a golf cart, with the MPC hot on their track. They are called again by the MPC, who says that the 80s still wanted their phones back, to which Mordecai and Rigby are instantly dressed in 80s apparel to their grave horror. They get a second call to which Rigby begs him to leave them alone, only to get dressed in heavier apparel along with Mordecai, whom desperately tells Rigby to call someone...

...who turns out to be Pops, Skips, and Benson in the present time. Rigby explains the situation to Pops, who passes it onto Benson, who hears about the problem. He thinks it's a prank, and from this, all three are transported to 1982 and reappear on the back seat of the golf cart. As they are driving they accidently hit a younger pops ( which probably explains why he is a scatter brain in the present.). The MPC appears right by the five in a limo, even attacking them by running into their side. Skips instructs Mordecai to hold the wheel steady, as he leaps onto the MPC's limo, and later on claims its utter destruction. The MPC breaks out still, as the five run directly into an electronics store. Mordecai hatches a plan using a tape recorder...

Everyone runs back and hides in the bushes as the MPC calls. Mordecai's recording plays, keeping on saying things like, "Hello?" as if no one was there. This angers the MPC, whom reappears and finds out he was pranked. While he cries out, he is ambushed by everyone. Despite his struggles, the MPC cannot break free. Mordecai finally instructs Rigby to hit the power button. Rigby scurries up the MPC and pushes the power button, and the MPC, powerless, falls to the ground. Moments after Mordecai and Rigby celebrate their title, a bright light protrudes from the MPC, which Mordecai claims is the way out.

The five find themselves in a long hallway full of doors leading to certain years. After a while of searching, Benson finally finds the door leading to the present time. The MPC gets their attention, being old and wrinkly. He pleads for Mordecai and Rigby to take him with them, which they accept to do.

In the end, all three prank Benson, transporting the chair he was sitting on back to the 70's.

Character Appearances

 * Mordecai
 * Rigby
 * Benson
 * Pops
 * Skips
 * Master Prank Caller (Antagonist)
 * Old Lady (computer picture)
 * Telephone Store Employee

Quotes

 * "Hello?" - Old Lady
 * "Ah yes, this is Imasure." - Master Prank Caller
 * "Imasure who?" - Old Lady
 * "Imasure glad I ain't Joe Mama! Oh yeah, you just got pranked by the Master Prank Caller!"
 * The Master Prank Caller is the funniest thing on the internet." - Rigby
 * "Yeah, I guess he's pretty funny." - Mordecai
 * "Hello?" - Pops
 * "Hello Pops." - Rigby
 * "Please hold for a collect call from... *snickers* Joe Mama!"
 * "Oh Mordecai, we are the best prank callers aren't we?" - Rigby
 * "Yeah, second best". - Mordecai
 * "What? Did you not hear what we just did? We were hillarious!" - Rigby
 * "Yeah, we are. But not number one, until we do this." - Mordecai
 * "Who you calling?" - Rigby
 * "The Master Prank Caller." - Mordecai
 * "Holy crap." - Rigby
 * "You thinks you're little pranks are funny? You think they're funny? Well here's mine Ring, Ring. Hello? What's that? Morecai and Rigby are banned from the house phone?" "Okay!" (tears the phone off the wall and smashes it) "GOOD LUCK MAKING YOUR PRANK CALLS NOW!!" - Benson
 * "Hello?" - Master Prank Caller
 * "Uh yeah, this is the pizza delivery guy. I have 50 pizzas that you ordered." - Mordecai
 * "Sounds great, bring 'em over." - M.P.C
 * "Uh, you ordered 50 pizzas?"
 * "Yeah, and hot wings. Get here quick, okay? Your mom's, like, totally starving." - M.P.C
 * "Yeah, uh, okay, I gotta go."
 * "The 1980's called, they wan't your cell phone's back!" - Master Prank Caller
 * "The 80's called, they still wancha!" - M.P.C
 * "Ooh, telephone! Hello?" - Pops
 * "Pops, you need to help us, we're stuck in the 80's!" - Mordecai
 * "Who are you talking to?" - Benson
 * "Why it's Mordecai and Rigby, they're stuck in the 1980's." - Pops
 * "Oh really?" *grabs phone* "Hello?" - Benson
 * "Benson! You gotta help us, we're stuck in 1982!" - Mordecai
 * "Oh wow, that's really something Mordecai" - Benson
 * "Crap, he thinks we're pranking him!" - Mordecai
 * "Give me that! The 80's called! They want their cell phones back!" - Rigby
 * "Hello?" - Mordecai
 * "This is the Master Prank Caller telling you — " - M.P.C.
 * "Hello?" - Mordecai
 * "I said this is the Master Prank —" - M.P.C.
 * "Hello? Uh, I'm sorry I can't hear you." - Mordecai
 * "I said this is the Master Prank Caller!" - M.P.C.
 * "Hello? Hello? Are you there?" - Mordecai
 * [Roars] "I said —" - M.P.C.
 * [Laughs] "Just kidding. You just got pranked, loser!" [80s fax telephone beeps] - Mordecai
 * Nooooooooooooo!!! - M.P.C.
 * "1, 2, 3, the 70's called, they want their chair back!" - M.P.C, Mordecai, and Rigby

Trivia/Goofs

 * This is the first time that Mordecai uses the word "crap"
 * Goof: When Benson ripped the phone out of the wall, he was beating up the voicebox with the phone handle. You can see the phone handle not broken, but when Benson's done beating up the phone, the handle is broken and ripped.
 * A picture of a human with white hair is seen in Skips' house, which may be Skips when he was supposebly a human.
 * WooHoo (the site Mordecai and Rigby watch the MPC on at the beginning) seems to be a parody of the site, YouTube.
 * This is Tim Curry's second appearance as a voice actor for a character, let alone an antagonist. The first time was in Meat Your Maker as The Evil Hot Dog Leader.
 * Creator of the show, J.G. Quintel, claims this is his favorite episode of the series so far.
 * This episode is focused on prank calling which is based on two popular prank callers:
 * The first one is The Jerky Boys which are a comedy duo that do prank telephone calls and other related skits.
 * The second one is Tube Bar which is a series of recordings of prank calls from the 1970s which was inspired by Matt Groening for the running gag of The Simpsons.
 * Also, Mordecai and Rigby were sent to the 1980s which is also one of the years where The Jerky Boys and Tube Bar prank calls can be heard.
 * By getting hit with the golf cart in the past explains Pops's weird behavior, though another cause would be from using his '80's phones, which cause brain tumors.
 * Mordecai and Rigby are sent back to 1982, which is the year J.G. Quintel was born.
 * One of the 1982 themed costumes Rigby wore looks like the oufit Michael Jackson wore in the music video of Thriller, but when Rigby wears it, there are a few changes.
 * Tim Curry voices The Master Prank Caller while Mordecai and Rigby are pranking him, but when he is shown for real, Sam Marin voices him.
 * When Mordecai says "Uh, both.", the area behind his eyes is white instead of blue. This can also be spotted in Appreciation Day.
 * Running Gag - Mordecai and Rigby doing prank calls.