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"Skips vs. Technology" is the fifteenth episode in Season 3 (and fifty-fifth episode overall) of Regular Show. It first aired on February 6, 2012.
Synopsis[]
Mordecai and Rigby accidentally infect the computer with an error 220. Meanwhile, Skips must learn how to use the computer so he can fix the virus.
Plot[]
Skips has, for quite a while, been helping with physical tasks at The Park grounds before it even became a park (it was a battlefield for the Revolutionary War back in the 1700s). However, when confronted with technical problems by a computer error, called an "Error 219" that appeared while Mordecai and Rigby were using the computer to design and print off something on there, Skips has no idea what to do and ends up making the error worse. Skips at first attempts to smash the computer with a construction hammer, as he senses that there's something evil inside it, but Mordecai and Rigby stop him and say that it's fine that he can't fix everything.
In an attempt to prove himself in front of Mordecai and Rigby that he can fix anything, Skips goes to the library, learns how to fix the error and returns. At first, the error appeared to have vanished, but it comes back and ends up creating more and more problems on the computer then there was before, as well as the printer, causing it to explode and shoot out sheets of paper, to the ire of Mordecai and Rigby. They then tell Skips, that while he was gone, the error became an "error 220" after they inadvertently messed it up and they got someone to help them. Still determined to fix it himself, Skips tells Mordecai and Rigby to stall him, so he can learn more about computers.
Skips goes to a Computer Help Zone, to learn about computers, but the place is run by rude and unhelpful youths, who give Skips little to no help or guidance. After being told to open the internet, Skips tries to do it, with great difficulty and ends up opening a bunch of programs, which slows the computer down, frustrating the youths. They decide to take their lunch break and tell Techmo (a cyborg who was originally a human named Samson, who Skips helped by fixing his prosthetic arm) to help Skips. After roughly 200 years, Techmo has replaced his wooden arm for a robotic one and landed a job as a computer expert (or otherwise known as a Technomancer). After some friendly talk, due to not seeing each other for a while, Techmo tries to tell Skips how to get rid of an Error 220, which Skips doesn't comprehend very well. Then, Techmo gets interrupted by a new job, appearing on a computer device, that he wears like a bracelet and suggests that Skips should watch Techmo fix a computer himself.
Techmo drives Skips over to his destination, in a technology based car, which then turns out to be the House, much to Skips' dismay. Mordecai and Rigby beckon Techmo over and after receiving threatening messages from the printer, he removes the computer's keyboard and puts a hi-tech keyboard in its place. It then deploys a hologram keyboard above it. Mordecai and Rigby watch in awe while Skips watches in confusion. After many failed attempts of getting rid of the virus (which forces Techmo to deploy more hologram keyboards), Techmo is left no choice but to connect himself to the computer and go into the system to find the virus and destroy it. Unfortunately, Techmo discovers that the Error 220 is in fact a powerful virus called Doom Ma Geddon, which proves Skips' earlier theory right. He then gets possessed by the virus and attacks by digitizing everything he touches into small cubes with his long tentacle-like wires. Skips then remembers that opening a bunch of programs would slow a computer down, to which he orders Mordecai and Rigby to do using Techmo's keyboard. When Doom Ma Geddon is unable to move, Skips then kills the virus by throwing his sledgehammer at the computer, destroying both it and Doom Ma Geddon.
After that, Techmo comes back to normal, thanking Skips for his help and saying he would make him a technomancer if he had the authority, then vanishing to take care of another job. To Skips' initial horror at first, the printer starts printing off something else, making him want to strike it. Mordecai and Rigby stop him, revealing it to be what they were trying to print, all this time. They present the printed sheet to Skips, which was a letter from Mordecai and Rigby expressing their appreciation towards Skips, as well as thanking him for all of his help around the park. Skips is flattered, but Mordecai and Rigby then worry about Benson seeing the damage that was done to the computer room. Skips tells them to leave it to him and starts fixing up the room, to Mordecai and Rigby's gratitude.
Characters[]
- Skips
- Mordecai
- Rigby
- Techmo
- Doom Ma Geddon
- Pops
- Benson
- Muscle Man
- Hi Five Ghost
- Store Employees
- Mr. Maellard
- Mrs. Maellard
- City Mayor
Locations[]
- Park
- Computer Help Zone
Trivia[]
- This is Techmo's first appearance in the show.
- He is also an old friend of Skips from the American Revolutionary War and went by the name of Samson.
- Skips is unfamiliar with computers.
- Skips has been working at the park since the 1700s.
- Mr. Maellard has been around since the 1800s and Pops has been around since the 1900s.
- The Park was once a battlefield for the American Revolutionary War.
Pop Culture References[]
- Yoshimoto is written on Techmo's robotic arm.
- When Techmo is driving with Skips and they "listen to his band", as techno remix of the popular song, Yankee Doodle plays, a song which was made during the Revolutionary War.
- The song that plays in the beginning and ending of the episode is called "I Get Around" by the Beach Boys.
- When Skips throws his sledgehammer at the computer, it is a reference to the 1984 Apple Super Bowl commercial.
- Techmo's car looks similar to the DeLorean from the Back to the Future Franchise.
Goofs[]
- On streaming services, Skips and Techmo are missing from one of the shots in the opening montage, and Mordecai, Rigby and Skips are all missing from a later scene.
- A historical error occurs in the beginning, though The Park was involved in the Revolutionary War, California hadn't become a state yet (until 1850), meaning it's impossible for The Park to be involved in the war.
- After Skips slows down the computer in the store, his eyes are white for one scene instead of yellow.
- When Skips smashes the computer, it is seen shattering in pieces, but in the next shot where everything is back to normal, it is in one piece.
- When Techmo reads the "threatening haiku", it has 5 syllables, then 7 and then 6. However, it isn't a proper haiku as proper haiku has 5 syllables, then 7 and then 5.
- Despite Skips not being able to use the internet in this episode, he is shown to be able to use it Season Two. (TV: Over the Top)
- He is also revealed to do The Park's taxes. (TV: Cube Bros)
- When Techmo pushed the computer's keyboard aside, there is no wire connected to the computer.
- In some versions, during the scene where Skips fails to click on the internet button, the giant mouse cursor appears at a slightly later point. This results in only one frame of the spinning hourglass being shown on-screen.