"You gotta spend big to win big, dude. Ninja Pirate Robots will pay for this house ten times over... if the game makes thirty million dollars... and eight cents."
Stonervision is the third episode of the first season of Code Monkeys. It is preceded by E.T. and followed by Super Prison Breakout.
Plot[]
The episode starts with Dave and Jerry putting the finishing touches on their latest game, Ninja Robot Pirates (actually, it is Jerry finishing it, while Dave sings karaoke). Jerry remarks at how Larrity will get rich off the game, but they will see not one cent of it, which leads Dave to have a new idea: leave GameAVision with Jerry and form their own company, StonerVision, keeping all of the profits of the game for themselves. The threat of Larrity killing them in retaliation (with a gun) notwithstanding, Jerry warns that people will think they are selling drugs under that name, but Dave confirms that it's a "Phase 2". To Jerry's surprise, Dave has already found an investor and, after some persuasion, he agrees to leave GameAVision with him.
After the two say their goodbyes to the staff (Dave insulting and terrorizing the staff, with Jerry cleaning up Dave's messes), they move into their new office, which is set up in an old garage. Jerry remarks at how much money they are saving from starting there, but Dave has other ideas, revealing that the garage is connected to a huge mansion. Jerry is shocked that Dave has spent a ridiculous amount of money on unnecessary items, like a lemonade fountain, a cafeteria, and even a zoo, just to name a few. Dave insists that they have to spend big to win big, expecting the game's sales to pay off everything ten times over. Their investor, Tony Dakota, enters. Shown to be a stereotypical Mafia guy, which Dave does not seem to notice, he reminds them that he is to be paid the next time they meet.
Meanwhile, at GameAVision, Mr. Larrity announces the two replacements for Dave & Jerry's position. He takes a quick liking to them, and they get on the staff's good side (even Todd's). However, when they have Larrity alone in his office, they reveal that they are actually federal agents who want to arrest Larrity for tax evasion (ignoring every immoral deed he lists why they wanted to see him beforehand), but are willing to take a bribe for Larrity to get off the hook.
With Ninja Robot Pirates shipped, Dave and Jerry try to think of something new to make before visiting GameAVision. While they meet their replacements, they learn from Larrity that the sales of their game have tanked and Stonervision has become bankrupt (mostly due to Larrity "making some calls" and Benny looking through their trash for important information).
(It would be revealed in a scene transition that their game only sold two copies, compared to the two million copies of Belicovision's Hitler In Hell that same week.)
Delivering the bad news to Mr. Dakota, the investor gives them 24 hours to pay what they owe (a little over $300,000) or be killed later. Jerry deduces in horror that the "investor" is actually a drug lord, meaning that they can't possibly pay him back in full even after selling off everything Dave splurged on. They try various methods of getting the money, including donating (Jerry's) blood, betting on a crippled horse, and robbing a bank. Finally, they resort to begging Mr. Larrity for the money. At first, Larrity refuses, but after hearing that they have connections to the drug lord, he offers to help them by having the federal agents arrest Mr. Dakota instead of him. The drug gang and the agents are all killed in the resulting shoot-out, and Larrity hires Dave and Jerry back as Dean disposes of the corpses.
That's not to say they are out of the woods yet. In the final scene, they are forced to "make amends" with their coworkers. For starters, they are forced to play Dungeons & Dragons with Todd (who has somehow got himself kicked out of a related club), and dancing with each other while the staff looked on.
Video Game References[]
- In the arcade room of the Stonervision Mansion, there is a Ms. Pac-Man arcade console, but called "Cousin Pac-Man" by Dave.
- The Underwater room is looking same like the Water levels from Super Mario Games franchise.
- Mike is mentioning to Todd he's a big fan of his Game "Nacho Time" which is a spoof of the classic Game "Burger Time"
- When Jerry is trying to ask Mary out, he tries to give her a flower. This flower looks like the fire flower from the Mario series.
- A Koopa Troopa from the Mario series is moving around in the animal area of Stonervision.
References[]
- The entire episode was a reference to the Mafia. The drug lord that invested in Stonervision referenced how the Mafia would lend money to anyone, indiscriminately, using the borrower's life as collateral. The way the Federal agents wanted to arrest Larrity for tax evasion, despite all the other crimes that he confessed to, was a reference to how Al Capone was able to get acquitted for various crimes by manipulating the legal system, so the government was forced to use tax evasion as a consolation. Even the next-to-last scene was a reference to the climax of the movie The Godfather.
- Mr. Dakota in appearance, demeanor, accent, and even his name is a direct copy of Tony Montana from the movie Scarface.
- The scene where Dave and Jerry try to rob the bank is a parody of the movie Point Break.
- Dave wears the mask of Alexander Haig and Jerry the one of Henry Kissinger.
Notes[]
- When Dave and Jerry attempt to rob the bank, one of the people in the crowd is Dean's Fraternity Bro, Sneaks. He is the last one to leave when the FBI walks in.