Jersey Shore has always been a tubular adventure with two-dimensional heroes. But closer inspection proves it has several parallels to the original tubular adventurer, Super Mario (and all of his friends and foes). Join us as GTL goes NES.
DJ Pauly D -- Wario
Scheming smiles? Aggressive Italian pride? A penchant for clashy-colored apparel? DJ Pauly's N64 brother figure speaks for himself.
The Situation -- Koopa Troopa
The baby-turtle visage helps a lot, but both The Situation and Koopa Troopa share a passion for baring their taut abdominal creases.
Snooki -- Boshi
We could've gone with regular old Yoshi, but Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars doppelganger Boshi takes to sunglasses and sass with greater ease. Plus, I believe Snooki utters the line, "What're YOU lookin' at? If you wanna challenge me, you have to bring Cookies!" at least once an episode.
JWOWW -- Wart
The self-satisfied eyelids and cavalier sorcery connect JWOWW with Super Mario 2's grand villain Wart. Wart's diet may also consist of ham and water.
Ronnie -- Morton Koopa Jr.
Ronnie and Morton Koopa Jr. love to rumble. As one of the Bowser's bigger but younger Koopalings, Morton relates to Ronnie's sonic-boom emergence onto the dancefloor.
Vinny -- Toad
Look at that. Vinny's also the kind of guy who happily reports that the boss's daughter is in another castle -- his.
Sammi -- Wendy O. Koopa
Bowser's brattiest daughter is unamused with just about everything. Though their entitlement brings them power, they're truly the biggest grenades of all.
Angelina -- Birdo
Angelina, like Super Mario Bros. 2 nuisance Birdo, tries desperately to be a villain, but all she can do is spit up eggs of bile that are ultimately thrown back at her. Birdo and Angelina's attempts at cuteness always end up more grotesque than anything else on the show/game, amounting to nothing more than Muppet-ish mugging.