The Incredibly Strange Creatures That Stopped Living and Became Mixed up with the Starbarians (part II)

For the April Fools episode, see Episode 3 (April Fools).

The Incredibly Strange Creatures That Stopped Living and Became Mixed Up With The Starbarians (part II)
Episode title card.
Watch online	• Watch on Newgrounds • Watch on YouTube
Release date	19 January 2019
Length	7 minutes
Note(s)	• The second of a four-episode story arc • In development for six years
Credits	• Harry Partridge (writer, director, animator, voice actor) • Brian Sadler (musician) • Marianne Miller (voice actress for Zoa and the slave) • Joyce Oder (colour assistance, special thanks) • Benjamin Daniel (co-producer, special thanks) • Tom Fulp (special thanks)
Episode guide
Previous Episode 3 (April Fools) Next N/A

The Incredibly Strange Creatures That Stopped Living and Became Mixed up with the Starbarians (part II) is the third episode of Starbarians. It was uploaded to Newgrounds on 19 January 2019 and to YouTube a week later, on 26 January 2019.

The episode is the second part of a four-episode story arc. It should not be confused with the April Fools episode of the same name.

The episode had a very long development: part I was released in 2013 – six years prior – and this episode had missed several planned release dates despite half of the episode having been completed as of 16 August 2013. Partridge eventually affirmed his belief that the episode would be released in 2018, with only audio and lipsync left as of October 2018, but the latest preview before its ultimate 2019 release merely stated that the episode would be "coming eventually".

Development

See also: The Incredibly Strange Creatures That Stopped Living and Became Mixed up with the Starbarians (part I)#Development

Footage that may be from this episode has featured briefly in both "2013 Teaser" and "Motion Blur Test": the first of which shows Killgar and Hogstrong facing the Eternoid leader on the primitive planet at nighttime, and the latter which shows a work-in-progress mouth-less Hogstrong as Partridge experiments with motion blur.

On 5 April 2014, Partridge tweeted that following his work on "Back To Tamriel" and something else, he would return to Starbarians.

After uploading a photo of Killgar and Hogstrong action figures on 31 May 2014, Partridge explained that episode 4 was almost finished and it was episode 3 that wasn't.

Partridge produced a short live-action video for the French dub of "Episode 1.5" (released on 7 September 2014) featuring the action figures of Killgar and Hogstrong, where he stated that he was currently working on the next episode of Starbarians (presumably referring to this episode).

In an update video posted on YouTube on 1 October 2014, Partridge assured his audience that he was still active and again reiterated that episode 3 was still being worked on and episode 4 was almost completed. He stated that when episodes 2, 3, and 4 were all going to be one episode, he wrote the beginning and end first before deciding to divide it into multiple episodes, and he had been too busy with commissions to work on the middle part for much of the year.

Partridge again stated that he was continuing work on the episode on 23 November 2014 after finishing commissions for his followers on Twitter. He later stated on 27 November that he was "grinding [his] right hand in to dust animating Starbarians".

On 6 March 2015, Brian Sadler tweeted that he was composing music for the upcoming Starbarians and posted a screenshot.

The episode was then-expected to be completed within August 2015. Partridge expressed hope that further episodes will take significantly shorter to produce following a planned Patreon campaign.

On 18 March 2017, Partridge uploaded a still screenshot and an animated .gif showcasing line art of Killgar. When asked, he joked that the episode would be released in at least six years' time. In a more serious tone, he stated his intent to put more effort into Starbarians in 2017 and into "definitely bringing them back in some form." On 23 March he posted another .gif of Killgar.

Two videos were posted on 27 and 29 July 2017 which showcased the female seen with Killgar in part 1, voiced by Marianne Miller. A .gif showing lineart of the same woman in an off-screen thud was posted the following day.

On November 27, 2018, Partridge held a livestream on his main channel. Though the livestream wasn't saved, he announced that his part of the episode should be completed sometime during December of 2018. The stream was titled "Working on STARBARIANS (stream will not be saved)".

Previews

A short preview highlighting a battle between the Eternoids and natives of the primitive planet.

A thirty-five second preview of the episode, which sees Killgar and Hogstrong introducing themselves to the Eternoids on the primitive planet, was posted to YouTube on 24 April 2015. The video description stated, "Getting closer."

On 10 January 2016, when Benjamin Daniel (Benzaie) of Channel Awesome (who works on the French dub) asked Partridge on Twitter for any more news on the episode, Partridge answered that he "[couldn't] say when", saying that "[his] life is a huge mess right now". However, he did post three pictures and an animated .gif of the upcoming episode.

Another preview was shown on 23 February 2018; in his YouTube series Boundary Break, Shesez highlighted several easter eggs in Harry Partridge's animations and ended by showing a preview of this episode that was provided by Partridge himself.

Partridge has also livestreamed himself animating and shading the episode on YouTube throughout early 2018. In March 2018, Partridge revealed a design for the character Guldis Gravion. New footage, featuring a character called Hellwig fighting in Gladius, was shown on Partridge's Twitter on 10 July 2018.

An additional .gif was posted on 11 October 2018, featuring Zoa hiding from the Eternoids.

April Fools

Main article: Episode 3 (April Fools)

On 1 April 2017, Partridge released an episode of Starbarians initially titled "Episode 3", before the "(April Fools)" amendment, which pokes fun at this episode's long development time and uses it as an April Fools' Day joke.

Plot

As the Eternoids continue to ravage the primitive planet of Pangaia, Zoa escapes and sends a distress signal. The Eternoid leader, Lord Necrus, makes some more cryptic comments as he watches the carnage from atop his ship and awaits those who will answer the distess signal.

Meanwhile, the Starbarians Killgar and Hogstrong intercept the distress signal. Hogstrong decodes it and witnesses Zoa pleading for anyone to help. Despite the lack of a reward and Killgar's protestations, Hogstrong decides they will save the denizens of Pangaia rather than compete in Gladius' gladitorial arena. Killgar secretly sends a message with coordinates to Gladius, preparing to abandon Hogstrong in favour of the arena, even at the risk of Hogstrong's life.

Transcript

Recap

Narrator: So where the hell were we? Last time on Starbarians, when terrifying alien beings known as The Eternoids touch down on a primitive world, bloody fighting breaks out! Meanwhile, Killgar of Killgaria and his cohort, Hogstrong LeStrong, prepare to make a fortune as televised combatants on planet Gladius, but perhaps their plans are about to change...

Scene 1

Necrus: It's happening all over again... It never changes. Has the ship's core recharged?

Eternoid #1: Not yet, Lord Necrus!

Eternoid #2: Sire! Our sensors indicate a distress signal has left the planet. We should expect company.

Necrus: Ah, let them come!

Scene 2

TV: "Oh and it's another easy victory for Hellwig the Ultimate!"

Killgar: You know, you're gonna love being a gladiator, Hogstrong? Champions to those donwntrodden masses, heroes to the little people!

Slave: Ugh, Mr. Killgar? I'd like to request a raise.

Killgar: Oh! Right. Well, just hit that 'raise' button...

Slave: 'Raise' button?

Killgar: BA-HAA! Anyway, yeah... "heroes".

Hogstrong: I heard everything up until "little people", Killgar! You see, we got another mission come through but it's using a really primitive signal encrypted in pure sound that's meant emulating proxy enabler inputs for all of our decoding algorithms, requiring a re-sync patch on all multi-wave descrambler nodes to bypass the positronic matrix, which is -- blah, blah, blah, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, BLAAH! ...but I think I've finally got it. Aha!

Zoa: This is a plea, to any who will listen. My planet, Pangaia, has been attacked by a band of ....MONSTERS! They are killing all who stand up to them. We need your help.

Killgar: Ugh!

Zoa: Somebody. Anybody. Please.

Hogstrong: Killgar?

Killgar: What's the reward?

Hogstrong: I know you'll disagree...

Killgar: What's the REWARD?

Hogstrong: ...but I think we should...

Killgar: WHAT'S THE REWARD!?

Hogstrong: ...there's no reward listed, we'd be helping them for free!

Killgar: (LOUD SCREAMING)

Alien: Boy, it sure is loud in space!

Killgar: You want me to slaughter for no reward, are you nuts!?

Hogstrong: But you love slaughtering. You told me slaughtering is its own reward!

Killgar: I said "a reward is its own reward". What happens if the gladiator jobs get snatched up while we're on "Pa-googey"?

Hogstrong: What happened to being heroes of the little people?

Killgar: Uh, I meant ACTUAL little people...with money! WEALTHY DWARVES! We're not helping them for free. After all, we're barbarians!

Hogstrong: We're STAR-barians. ...And that's a silly team name we just kinda made up. It doesn't mean we're heroes, but does it mean we're BAD GUYS?

Killgar: It means two OTHER guys'll have to say "yes".

Other guys: No.
- No.
- No.
- No.
- No.
- No.

Killgar: YES! ...No, wait, I mean no. So I'm going to Gladius and no one's gonna convince me I'm a bad guy!

Slave: That's it. I quit! Ooh, the way you two treat people is despicable! You can drop me off at a starbay after your next job. You really are bad guys...

Hogstrong: Killgar! You need help, but right now, I need yours... because they need the Starbarians! Not EVERY mission has to be reward-for-slaughter.

Killgar: Well at least gimme ONE of the two!

Hogstrong: Open armory. One o' the two, huh? Well for your sake, Killgar... if we're not doing this one for glory... you can be damn sure it's about to get... GORY! Computer, lock on course to Pangaia! I'll be ready in five.

Killgar: Sounds great, Hogstrong... Right, that does it, we're going to Gladius. Computer, initiate "BETRAY HOGSTRONG PROCEDURE".

Computer: Procedure deleted.

Killgar: By who!?

Computer: Hogstrong.

Killgar: That TRAITOR!! Well, let's just send Gladius a message. If WE can't go to THEM... maybe THEM, can go to WE!

Killgar: "Hey Gladius dorks! The name's Killgar, I'm a Killgarian; I like to kill, but I also like MONEY. My wuss partner wants to save some dumb aliens on some gay hippie planet for free... and not even GET PAID for it! So, meet me at the co-ordinates I'm sending and I'll ditch the little squirt, soon as you get there... even if it leaves him fighting an invasion by himself. EVEN IF IT KILLS HIM.

Video descriptions

Newgrounds

OH BOY....this took a while, huh?

Please enjoy this new STARBARIANS episode. It was far, far too long in the making, but I hope it entertains you for its all-too-short duration. While Episode 3 is just another small piece of the Starbarians story, during the long hiatus since Episode 2 I've animated a lot of episodes 4 & 5 as well. These episodes will complete the current story arc and I would simply love to be able to share with you THIS YEAR.

I've launched a PATREON to help make that happen. If you'd like to help me too, please check it out...

https://www.patreon.com/harrypartridge

YouTube

patreon - https://www.patreon.com/harrypartridge

twitter - https://twitter.com/happyharrytoons

Reception

As of 23 December 2019, "The Incredibly Strange Creatures That Stopped Living and Became Mixed up with the Starbarians (part II)" has over 1,673,000 views and 75,572 "likes" to 1,474 "dislikes" on YouTube, and over 134,000 views and an average rating of 4.76/5 stars on Newgrounds.

Trivia

• The title of the episode is a reference to The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies, a 1964 monster movie regarded by some critics to be one of the worst films ever made.
• The slave, who appeared in part I and was the subject of censorship, returns in part II with a speaking role (voiced by Marianne Miller). Her criticism of the two Starbarians provides the impetus for Hogstrong to save the Pangaians rather than compete at Gladius.

Hogstrong's headset resembles a Konami LaserScope for the NES.

• The headset that Hogstrong wears while decoding Zoa's message resembles the Konami LaserScope for the Nintendo Entertainment System, though it lacks the eyepiece.
• This episode would seem to indicate that the universe of Starbarians is separated into "sedecimants"; Pangaia is located in the Spectra Sedecimant while Gladius is located in the Viscera Sedecimant.
  • When Hogstrong locks on course to Pangaia, the on-screen computer graphic indicates that the planet has one moon.

Stylised podium girls in part I.		Podium girls seen in part II.

• The stylised graphic of podium girls seen in part I appear physically during part II.
• This episode explicitly names the primitive planet and Eternoid leader as Pangaia and Necrus, respectively; they both appeared unnamed in part I six years prior.
• The controversial algorithm used for YouTube Kids – under the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) – erroneously categorised this episode as "made for kids". Partridge commented that the opening shot of a native's head being crushed by an Eternoid was "more than the #coppa narcs bothered watching before deciding it was for kids".

Gallery

Click on any of the images in this gallery to view them at a larger resolution.

Screen capture from "2013 Teaser". Screen capture from "Motion Blur Test". Music composed by Brian Sadler. Hogstrong and Killgar in a preview posted on 10 January 2016. The Eternoids and natives battle on the primitive planet in a preview posted on 10 January 2016. Killgar and the unnamed woman also seen in the previous episode, in a preview posted on 10 January 2016. Early title card used in the preview in Boundary Break. Wildlife of Pangaia. Battle rages between the Eternoids and Pangaians. The Pangaians watch in horror as the battle unfolds. Zoa and her child escape to her house. Zoa records an emergency message pleading for help. Necrus watches the battle from his spaceship. An Eternoid notifies Necrus that a distress signal has been sent. Killgar prepares a hot dog. Killgar watches Hellwig battle on television while their slave cleans and Hogstrong attempts to decode Zoa's emergency message. Killgar admires Hellwig. Killgar casually steps on his slave. The slave requests a raise from the Starbarians. Killgar deceives her into jettisoning herself out of The DD Rex. Hogstrong attempts to decode the distress signal. Hogstrong successfully decodes the distress signal. Pangaia is located in the Spectra Sedecimant. Killgar and Hogstrong watch Zoa's emergency message. Exterior view of The DD Rex, with an alien travelling past. "No." "No." "No." "No." "No." "No." "Yes." Hogstrong quickly saves the slave as she bangs against the window. The slave is upset at the duo's actions. She proclaims that they "really are bad guys". Hogstrong accesses the armoury, intent on saving Pangaia. The course is locked on Pangaia. Gladius is located in the Viscera Sedecimant. Hellwig fights in the Gladius gladiator tournament. Hellwig, in the process of ripping apart his opponent. Hellwig successfully rips apart his opponent. Two podium girls offer Hellwig his money. Hellwig celebrates his victory. An interior office of Gladius, overlooking the arena. Killgar betrays Hogstrong.

Video

STARBARIANS - Episode 3

Starbarians episode 3: "The Incredibly Strange Creatures That Stopped Living and Became Mixed up with the Starbarians (part II)"

References

(view template) Episodes
Episodes	The Starbarians' Die • Episode 1.5 • The Incredibly Strange Creatures That Stopped Living and Became Mixed up with the Starbarians (part I • part II)
Miscellaneous	Space Opera • Animatic • Teaser • Episode 3 (April Fools) • Killgar's Kode