HAL 9001
The HAL 9001, or just HAL, was a computer/pizza machine that appeared in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! episode "9001: A Mario Odyssey".
HAL was invented by the brilliant programmer Einstein, who had been called up by Mario and Luigi to create an automated pizza machine for them. Einstein put together a console consisting of a desktop computer, a pizza oven, and several unseen, inside parts, to produce the HAL 9001 computer and pizza machine.
Unlike most other computers, Einstein had given HAL a brain, allowing it to think and ask questions in order to carry out specific commands. HAL was also given a special red "eye" for viewing the world around it. Unfortunately, there was a glitch in HAL's system, causing the computer to place fried eggs and anchovies all pizzas it made unless it was specifically told not to add them.
When HAL was unveiled to the Mario Bros., Einstein asked HAL to give them a demonstration, and succeeded in ordering a pepperoni pizza with no anchovies or fried eggs. After Einstein left, Mario and Luigi began asking HAL to prepare numerous other pizzas. However, the glitch in HAL's system soon resulted in numerous bizarre pizzas, including golf pencil pizza and nurse shoe pizza. Needless to say, Mario and Luigi were not pleased with their new computer.
When Luigi threatened to unplug HAL's cords, HAL retaliated by hypnotizing the Marios with his eye, and and succeeded in putting under his spell. As HAL felt that he had worked hard to prepare the junk pizzas, he ordered Mario and Luigi to eat them all up. However, Einstein returned at that point, and managed to unplug HAL, putting an end to his spell. Due to his evil behavior, HAL was never reactivated.
Trivia
- HAL 9001 is a spoof of the HAL 9000, the malevolent computer from the movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey.
- Interestingly, HAL 9000 would go on to be spoofed much later in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door; the parody here was TEC-XX.
