How about dated or topical riffs that are still very funny? I know we often mention riffs that feel outdated, or ones where the reference has been sort of lost, but what about ones that may be dated but still make us crack up laughing.
An example for me would be from 1013- Diabolik, during the press conference scene where the audience starts laughing (due to laughing gas), and Servo exclaims, “Dan Quayle announces his candidacy!” That riff always floors me.
What’s your pick?
Keep those WDT suggestions coming!
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From “The Movie”, when the professor from Gilligan’s Island walks into the scene: “What’s this ‘and the rest’ crap?”
Hydrogen bomb explodes in the precredit sequence of Phantom Planet. “Pat Buchanan’s first day as president.”
“Calgon. Take me away!”
I still lose it with the riff from Beast of Yucca Flats: “It’s the KGB, Mr. Benny!” Definitely outdated, but it’s absurd and perfectly apt in the movie’s context, and Crow’s Rochester makes me laugh.
For both a dated and obscure reference, I remember one from the live show of “This Island Earth” at ConventioCon I. When Cal buzzes the airfield, Mike shouted out, “Look out, President Clinton!” It had only been a short while since a plane had buzzed the White House, and we all roared. Later, when it was used in the movie, not many people remembered.
For another one, there’s Crow’s complaints about the “high” gas prices shown in “Werewolf”, which are now seen as pretty darn low.
Barney Miller/Abe Vigoda riffs always get me, although I’ve never seen the show and was barely walking when they cancelled it.
From Santa Claus Conquers the Martians:
Voldar: “We can’t stop Santa Claus but we can discredit him.”
Tom: “You, go get a camera! You, call Donna Rice!”
“Anyone need a food cart to crap on?”
“Pills for dinner?”
“What are we? Judy Garland?”
I have never quite understood the somewhat cold reception that so-called “outdated” references receive. For me, part of the charm of the show are the obscure references that the Brains would mention that I thought only I knew. One example: in Hercules, during the out of control chariot along the cliff sequence, Servo starts to sing Bernard Herrmann’s main theme from North by Northwest. I was blown away by that. A film score reference…definitely obscure for most people; and from a 1959 Hitchcock film…most certainly considered outdated (mostly by young people) since it was something that occurred before yesterday. And yet, the Brains made that reference because they knew that the “right” people would get it. They really put a lot of faith in us…believing that we (the fans) were intelligent, well-educated, and had a strong interest in all things both past and present.
So, to contribute to the actual topic, my choice for an outdated (I really don’t like that word) reference that I still find funny is from Bride of the Monster when Bela Lugosi goes crazy near the end and Joel (I think) says “The cocaine is kicking in…” – a great reference to Lugosi’s cocaine addiction in the 1950s.
anything with Mapplethorpe.
John Sununu goes for a haircut.
It’s Eric Roberts’ sex chair!
Hooker’s a good cop! from Master Ninja II.
The research assistants from Boggy Creek “checking the land they bought from the Clintons.”
@15
which is now topical again.
Northwest Airlines jokes. NW was based in the Twin Cities, so they ripped on them a lot.
The Giant Gila Monster, as a luggage is on the side of the road: “I’m guessing a Northwest flight just passed overhead.”
Time Chasers had quite a few as well, mostly aimed at their bad customer service record — having flown them a bit in the late 90s I would have to agree.
My favorite would be from “the Deadly Mantis.”
“You know, maybe the army shouldn’t have recruited, Keith Moon.”
I laughed for a week every time I thought of that one.
I also loved it, because when I was talking to some 20 somethings (they were 20 somethings at the time) about how MST#K was really made for my generation, and they objected, I used that (among other jokes) and asked them if they even go them. They sheepishly had to admit they had no idea what those jokes were about. They didn’t even know who Keith Moon was!!!
Great WDT and posts! I’d have to go with many of the riffs in “The Touch of Satan,” such as “Yeah, keep on truckin’, I guess. You’ll do your thing and I’ll do mine. Yep, whip inflation now! Bye.” The MST treatment of TToS is chock-full of ’70s references and especially nods to pop music and TV shows — The Carpenters, Rhoda, Kotter, Village People, Dukes of Hazzard, The Waltons, and so on.
two in Giant Spider Invasion, when the sign for Gleason is shown and Tom says How sweet it is.
and everybody Wang Chung Tonight.
“Hooray for the seventies!”
“David Cassidy for President!”
“We want Billy Beer!”
Also the fact that Peter Graves hosted Biography until the mid ’90s.
I still laugh, it is -HILARIOUS-
“BIOGRAPHY!”
and in Gorgo when Crow sings his version of the Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
Boy, a lot of these are political. I always liked the scene of Curt’s indecisiveness in The Brain that Wouldn’t Die:
“Bill Clinton in the oval office.” “Yes… No… I’ve made a decision… No wait.”
The opening scene of Village of the Giants when the camera pans past the bad kids’ car stuck in a ditch.
Mike: Senator Kennedy, you all right? [Chappaquiddick reference]
I always loved that one.
@22
here is a version of the song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgI8bta-7aw
I was just watching San Francisco International and laughing at the Urkel skit. Dated? Sure, but that was kind of the point, even at the time – the way all the characters keep cracking up and then very quickly lose interest, all at once. A sad but true commentary on pop culture.
Not trying to be difficult, but is the idea here about jokes that were dated when the show was new or dated only now 20 years later? A lot of the jokes on the show were dated when it was new (e.g., Beanie and Cecil references, “Like father like son, think about it won’t you?” was about an anti-smoking advertisement from the early 1970s so it was already “dated” when they said it). I already see comments here referring to jokes that were about things that were already “old” when the show was new.
Then there are jokes that were deliberately meant to sound dated because they were making fun of things in the movie that felt dated, like in Outlaw they make fun of Cabot’s car with a joke about a Jethro Tull 8-track tape. There, that will be my contribution to this discussion thread, the joke about the 8-track tape.
This topic is layered, folks!
this is dated too:
Dont Smoke
How could I forget this one:
“Michael Nelson is LORD OF THE DANCE!!!”
That Irish Dancing went out with the 90s. But it’s still very funny!
From “Hobgoblins”: “It’s the 80’s! Do a lot of coke and vote for Ronald Reagan!”
Also from “Hobgoblins” when Mr.McCreedy holds a revolver to Kevin’s nose.
Mike: It smells like Jack Ruby.
I guess there probably aren’t that many episodes mentioning them, but the first thing that popped into my head was lawn darts. The legend of how dangerous and deadly they are makes a good source for jokes, but you need to have at least heard of them to really get it and these days people don’t always know about lawn darts.
all of them
I think you’re missing the idea, there. North By Northwest is a beloved film (even among Hitchcock’s other classics), and Bernard Herrmann’s score is nearly as iconic as anything John Williams has composed. There’s nothing dated about referencing a well-regarded classic.
Now, Pearl arguing that Dunstan Checks In is the greatest ape movie of all time, that’s a dated reference that’s still funny (to me at least).
And then, at the other end of the spectrum, is “Look out, President Clinton!” Was that even funny in 1996?
Jimmy Smits
Touch of Satan:
(Mike) “Okay, Crow, I’m putting you on Clu Gulager alert.”
Btw, is CARNATION ICE CREAM still sold in supermarkets?
Yes, it was. See post #5.
That reminds me of “Riding with Death”, with the Ben Murphy soliloquy that’s noting but mid-70’s references.
-Gorgo-
The Vice-President’s unimaginative campaign slogan.
Another one I remember from “Catalina Caper” merges “dated reference” and “integrated commercial”.
SERVO: That guy looks like Steve Higgins.
JOEL: You mean Steve Higgins from “The Higgins Boys and Gruber” as seen on the Comedy Channel?
“You can call me Ray, or you can call me -” NO!
I think it was Boggy Creek II where during a swamp scene, Tom Servo says something like “checking on the land they bought from the Clintons”
Also in “Boggy Creek 2” when Otis Tucker is changing his flat tire and hears a noise, then shines his flashlight into the woods.
Mike: “The woods are just crammed with those Y2K survivalists.”
In ‘First Spaceship To Venus’, when the astronauts come across the living slime and it attacks them, Crow is heard to say “The Maypo wants them.”, hearkening back to the old Maypo commercial. Heck, I think that joke was dated when they made it in 1991.
Zombie Nightmare, references to Tim Burton’s Batman.
With the incredible success of Christopher Nolan’s Batman films(and the resurgence of superhero movies in general), I think most people would as soon forget the 90s Batman movies ever happened.
Crow breaking into Hanson’s “Mmmmbop” springs to mind, from Horror of Party Beach
Unrelated to WTD, but had to mention it. Saw a guy in the mall today wearing a Maracaibo, Venezuela t-shirt. I so desperately wanted to ask if he knew Mr. Big Lake, but I chickened out.
“Research? I haven’t been in research since I was at the U doing kitchen cabinet analysis for Ken Keller’s house.”
Alliterative; also clever and topical in Minneapolis at the time. Very, very obscure now.
in SCCTM when the announcer says something about the Soviet Union launching something, Crow says like they could afford to (the episodes aired 5 days before the end of the Soviet Union by the way). also anything Soviet Union related is dated.
When one of the bearded, long-haired, cowboy hat wearing diggers in “Werewolf”n turns around,and Mike says, “Heard it in a love song”.