How It Happened (episode)

Vox Pop

*How it Happened* is the first 11 minute episode of the animated series, *Twipsy*.

## Synopsis

*While Nick Walker is playing on the computer there is a short-circuit and Nick finds himself catapulted into Cyberspace. All his sister Lissie and neighbour Albert can find are Nick's footprints - on the computer monitor. Nick meets the clever, friendly e-mail messenger Twipsy, a creature made of pure energy, who shows him the exciting world on the other side of the computer monitor.*

## Plot

**Spoiler Alert!**

This is a detailed explanation of the episode as it follows. *If you have not seen the episode as of yet, we advise you to tread carefully.*

The episode introduces us to the virtual world of cyberspace, as well as Twipsy's main role - a messenger in charge of transferring and carrying emails and packages around the web. During one of his shifts, where he has to carry an important package (containing top secret information), the Data Eater sneaks and pursues him, with intent to steal and eat the package. Frightened, Twipsy runs to escape through the tunnels, but he comes across a dead end - at the end of a broken tunnel is a black hole, where Twipsy loses his package, and faces either having to fight through the Data Eater, or risk falling into the black hole and not being able to leave ever.

Of course, while this is going on in cyberspace, at a household in the real world, parents Stan Walker and Dr. Walker leave to attend a company dinner, while their children Nick and Lissie are in their room with their friend and neighbour Albert - they are old enough to be at home temporarily without a babysitter, despite Stan Walker worrying about them (even suggesting they call off going out as "[their] baby's sick", and even jokingly mentioning an alien abduction.)

This was far from the case, Albert, the computer genius, has installed and programmed a new computer game on Nick's computer. Of course, Albert and Nick discover what appears to be a black hole portal on the computer screen, unaware they may have unlocked a gateway to a virtual world (until later). As Nick waits until the computer is free, he decides to play fetch with Champ (in which, due to her age, she is toothless and now stands a lot of time waiting.) As Nick shifts his attention and plays with the basketball, Albert is still investigating why the portal appeared on the computer screen.

During this time, Nick's sister, Lissie, enters the room, drink in hand, and asks if she can borrow the computer (as hers is broken). Of course, Nick mentions he's using it (apart from hiding it with dirty laundry), and cites that Lissie is too young to investigate what Albert had just found. An argument ensues, as Lissie takes hold of the computer keyboard, and both Albert and Nick start fighting over who should be on the computer next. With Lissie's suggestion to "sic em," family dog, Champ, after sleeping for a while, wakes up to see what sort of fuss is happening - she accidentally bumps into the electric socket plugs, startling the group - Lissie accidentally drops the drink on the keyboard, triggering a blackout in the house... by the time the lights return, Nick has mysteriously vanished for no reason, as Albert and Lissie realised.

However, as a result of the short, Nick somehow has been catapulted through the black hole, leading into the virtual environment of cyberspace. Finding himself in the middle of the main highways, Nick tries to regain his bearings. Of course, two cybermessengers - Draywell and Mort-Ray - come across him; Nick asks if they have a telephone to contact Lissie and Albert (a major shock, they don't, and they take it as a joke), and he even asks the duo if they even speak English. ("Goubish, actually," Mortray corrects.) Having never seen a human being in their environment before, the duo decide to bother him, by taking Nick's sneaker and throwing it around, before kicking it down a black hole off the highway.

Further away, Twipsy, already defeated with the loss of his package, appears interested in Nick, and decides to interact with the unlucky human visitor, now left with only one of his sneakers. From here, Twipsy tells Nick that he has stumbled upon cyberspace. Greetings aside, Twipsy takes him along on a tour throughout the highways of the Web, through the speed of light. Of course, much to Twipsy's surprise, Nick's sole sneaker has managed to net up some important data (portrayed in binary as 0's and 1's) during the fall, and from there Twipsy is able to make the important delivery, while showing Nick the many locales around Cyberspace.

Meanwhile, back in the real world, as both Albert and Lissie worry about Nick's sudden disappearance, one of Nick's sneakers has mysteriously appeared on the computer screen. It is from here that Albert makes an interesting discovery - the black hole is a portal to a virtual world, and that Nick has inadvertently ended up there. But before they can figure out how to get him out safely, the front door opens - the parents have come home, and panic ensues as they try to find a way to convince them that Nick is still home, somehow. Hatching a plan, Albert hides Champ inside Nick's wardrobe, as Lissie declares that she's gone to bed, and Nick has taken Champ out for a walk.

## Notable Quotes

What if alien beings kidnapped them?

Stan

They have the phone number at the restaurant, they can call us from the spaceship.

For your information, Data Eater, that was not lunch! That was top secret information I was supposed to deliver!

I don't know what's happening here, it looks like a whole other world!

Albert

I like the one I'm in, Thankyou!

Nick, my computer broke, can I-?

Lissie

Nope, using it.

Nick

To throw your dirty t-shirts on?

Where’s the weird creature? Let me see!

Champ, I know you're a hundred years old [figuratively], and can't even bark anymore, but... sic 'em!

Help! My arm! Champ bit me! I'm dying! Down, Champ, down, vicious dog!

Albert

*(the lights return, Champ is only asleep further away, and the desk drawer has got Albert's arm. Awkward silence, as Albert exclaims in shock.)*

Albert, you have more imagination than I thought.

This looks like that game of Albert's. Is this a trick?! My name is Nick Walker, and I'm lost! Do you have a telephone so I can call home?

Nick

Telephone?!

Draywell

Do you speak English?" *(overheard Draywell and Mortray's conversation)* "Why didn't I pay more attention in Spanish class? They probably speak in Spanish.

Nick

Goubish, actually.

You have your own world, what are you doing in ours?

You know, the Internet, email, the World Wide Web?! Where do you think you are, Kansas?

Wanna see me throw you down here so fast, you can travel the speed of light?

Twipsy

Maybe another time, I have track practice after school today

Nick

How fast can you move?

Twipsy

I clocked the six-minute twenty-two-second mile!

Nick

You call that fast?! Around here, we call that crawling!

Here's what I think happened... when I invented that computer game, it must have created a door to cyberspace, so then, when the lights went off, the gravitational field around the computer was somehow charged, in a way that separated the subatomic particles which pulled Nick into cyberspace!!

Albert

My brother will do anything to get out of doing homework!

I'm Twipsy, in case you were wondering [who I am].

Twipsy

I wasn't.

Nick

I'm made up of pure energy, which means I'm fast! And I never have to eat or sleep. I'm very strong.

## Observations

* Twipsy’s remark of “Where do you think you are, Kansas?” is likely a poke at a common Wizard of Oz quote from Dorothy: “Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.” In other languages, other place names were mentioned:
	+ “Pensas que estás onde, no Alentejo?”/“Where do you think you are, in Alentejo?” (European Portuguese)
	+ “Wo denkst du, sind wir hier in Tokio?”/“Where do you think we are here, in Tokyo?” (German)

## References

1. ↑ Amazon. 2015. Amazon.com: Twipsy - Season 1 Episode 1 "How it Happened" . [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LJC98QU/ref=dv\_dp\_ep1. [Accessed 10 April 2015].

**English**