Chronicle of the Annoying Quest
Chronicle of the Annoying Quest is a Machinima series produced by Baka Savant Productions, and set in the World of Warcraft universe. It seems to have been inspired by Red vs. Blue. The story follows a novice Paladin, John Jacob Ellers, and his Warlock companion, Voliostromort Guy, as they seek out a Black Dragon. They need the dragon's head so that Ellers can prove his worth to the other Paladins so he can drink with them in their tavern (really it's just so they can get rid of him). Guy is forced along because the Paladins threaten to arrest him for his use of demonic magic. They are joined on their quest by Hana, a night elf Druid, and his human lover Kit, who also want a black dragon to create an aphrodisiac.
The series plays out like a long quest chain in the MMORPG it's based on. After finding someone who can tell them where to find a black dragon, they must lift a curse on his two brothers to get the information. The brothers, James and Eric, are trapped in swords. So the group sets off to find a way to lift the curse, meeting several amusing characters along the way, such as Hana's ex-girlfriend Flayme, a draenei hunter named Rora, and a gnome with the very odd name of Deuce Ex Machina (Not to be confused with Deus Ex Machina). Hilarity Ensues.
On the other side of things, there are the antagonists, led by the undead Warlock Dirim. His followers include his blood elf "girlfriend" and Valley Girl Stephie Ilumvari, the orc Warrior Orgrath Axeblade, the tauren Shaman Hawkwynd Bighooves, and the troll Rogue Jin'zul.
Guy and Ellers are both massive Otaku, and often exasperate their colleagues with their incessant discussions of Anime and other forms of Nerd/Geek culture. Flayme is in a Love Triangle with Kit and Hana, often resulting in catty words exchanged between the two women. Despite their generally keeping quiet (relatively speaking), Hana and Deuce have both exposed their geekiness as well. Perhaps they've been spending too much time with Guy and Ellers?
Unfortunately, the show hit a snag in season three, when Real Life interfered, and the crew was scattered (much like their characters in that season). Though it has been several years since their last update, they have said they have every intention of finishing the series when they are able.
You can view the series on Youtube as well as BSP's website.
- An Axe to Grind: Kit's Weapon of Choice.
- Art Shift: Though it's all done with World of Warcraft graphics and models, some episodes use the Model and Map Viewers instead of actual game footage.
- Author Appeal: Soooo much geek humor
- Bad Guy Bar: Looking for a guide, Guy checks out a bar, which is host to a furbolg, a treant, Akama, a doomguard, Tyrael, Emperor Vek'nilash, a gronn, an ogre, a kobold, a gnoll, a stone giant, Heigan the Unclean, a succubus, a bunch of murlocs and a guy in a murloc suit. Guy understandably backs away immediately.
- Berserk Button: Do not call Deuce "puny."
- Or lock Kit up and try to seduce her boyfriend.
- Butt Monkey: Guy seems to get the brunt of this treatment
- Captain Crash: Goliath, evidently, was driving the Exodar when it crashed into Azeroth.
- Click. "Hello.": Rora's first appearance was this
- Crystal Prison: Guy gets trapped in a Soul Shard for a while
- Deadpan Snarker: Kit and Guy both fit this trope.
- Dressing as the Enemy: Deuce suggests he polymorph the gang into Horde races so they can sneak through Warsong Gulch.
- Embarrassing First Name: Voliostromort is quite an unusual name for a human, so it's small wonder why Guy prefers to go by his last name. Though it sounds kinda cool for a warlock.
- Expy: The Alliance gang meets two old colleagues of Hana's, who sound an awful lot like Henchmen 21 and 24
- And then of course, there's "Doctor Whom"
- Fake Shemp: Kam Uraki (Guy) was a stand-in for Deuce (normally voiced by Ian Boyle) in episode 7. This resulted in a bit of Talking to Himself when the two enter the inn discussing the band Rush.
- Female Gaze: After a series of mishaps leave Guy in the body of a Forsaken, they head to Gadgetzan to fix him. The machine (which he has to be naked to use) initially turns him into a tauren...
Guy: Whoa! Check me out downstairs!
Kit: Ach! Mein gott! His schvanschtucher!
Rora: Woof.
Guy: Hey, try and get it to leave that the way it is.
- Five-Bad Band:
- Big Bad: Dirim
- The Dragon / Evil Genius: Jin'zul (He's the information gatherer in addition to being Dirim's most trusted minion)
- The Dark Chick: Stephie (though the "dark" is arguable)
- Evil Genius / The Dragon: Orgrath (He's generally leading things when Dirim isn't around)
- The Brute: Hawkwynd
- Five-Man Band:
- The Hero: Ellers, if only because he's the one who's given the quest initially.
- The Lancer: Guy, who's only along because he was forced to.
- The Smart Guy: Deuce, but also Hana.
- Hana also acts as Team Dad more often than not.
- The Big Guy: Kit, being a Warrior, has the most physical strength (and turns into The Berserker if you piss her off).
- The Chick: Flayme
- The Sixth Ranger: Rora
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: In episode 15: "Congratulations! You've found the hidden transition card. Thanks for having no life and looking for this kind of thing in videos. Way to go!"
- The Genie Knows Jack Nicholson: Considering it doesn't even take place on Earth, there sure are a lot of pop culture references...
- Good Is Dumb: Rora's uncle Goliath is not the brightest bulb...
- For that matter, neither is Ellers.
- Or James...
- For that matter, neither is Ellers.
- Like Is, Like, a Comma: to Stephie it is...
- Male Gaze: When the gang is wandering through the Shimmering Flats on their way to Gadgetzan, they, understandably, travel with very little clothing. Goliath can't help but stare at Kit and and Flayme. His wife was not amused.
- Meaningful Name: Flayme is Hana's... old flame!
- Minion with an F In Evil: Stephie, of course. One wonders why Dirim even keeps her around.
- Naughty Tentacles: While not actually seen, the group gives Guy grief for his apparent interest in the genre.
Guy: Oh gross, it's like something out of a bad tentacle hentai... Not that I've ever... I mean...
Ellers: Smooth.
Kit: Does that sort of thing actually turn you on?
Guy: Shut up...
Flayme: La Blue Girl?
Guy: Shut up.
Kit: Demon Beast Invasion?
Guy: Shut up.
Ellers: What about the one with the really long name, that's hard to pronounce?
Guy: Urotsukidouji. I mean, shut up.
- Not What It Looks Like: When Ellers get's mad at James, he starts beating the sword against a tree. The Darnassus Police were not thrilled by what appeared to be someone chopping down their trees, and James' silence afterward didn't help.
- Literary Allusion Title: Many, if not most of the episode titles are these.
- Queer People Are Funny: The series parodies this trope with the crew of The Butt Pirate (there was a miscommunication with the painters). Except for one off-screen Butch Lesbian (and possibly the captain), most of the crew is Camp Gay.
Captain Buck F. Pirate: You try getting a better crew with a ship named The Butt Pirate!
- Double Standard Rape (Male on Male)/Black Comedy Rape/Prison Rape: By a tauren no less...
- Rickroll: Goliath tries to introduce episode 24 with this. Vlada was not amused.
- Running Gag: "So wait, [Ellers] joined a celibate order... to get chicks?"
- Shapeshifter Mode Lock: Hana's specialty is "natural magic and healing" and so isn't very good at shapeshifting. He can get into cat form okay, but needs the help of an Archdruid to get out of it. At least until the Archdruid gives him a ring that lets him shift at will.
- Shout-Out: Too many to list. For example, when Deuce falls into an orc camp, they chase him to Yakety Sax a la Benny Hill. The same episode has Kit and Flayme duke it out to the Star Trek "fight theme." They make direct references to Doctor Who in at least two episodes, and to Red vs. Blue in the season two finale.
- Transformation Sequence: Kit gets one in Warsong Gulch. Guy and Ellers of course have to Lampshade it:
Guy: Would an "Over Nine-thousand" joke be appropriate here?
Ellers: Heh, she just went Super Saiyan!
- Wretched Hive: Hana quotes the Star Wars line (almost) word-for-word when they reach Gadgetzan. When everyone just stares at him, he says "What? Can't I have a funny line now and then?"
- Valley Girl: Stephie's favorite pastimes include shopping, annoying vocal patterns and being blonde. She sees herself as Dirim's girlfriend, but is oblivious to the fact that he hates her.