Movie: (1975) A meteor crashes in Wisconsin, laden with the eggs of otherworldly spiders. Incompetent local officials try to respond.
First shown: 5/31/97
Opening: Tom shows spirit, but Mike and Crow only offer MRxL
Intro: The campers recall their trip, Tom portages and Pearl shares some pod-like “zucchini”
Host segment 1: Pod-Gypsy suggests sleep, but Mike is suspicious
Host segment 2: Mike and the bots try to stay awake, while Bobo is skeptical
Host segment 3: Pod-Servo seems convincing, until asked about his “collection”
End: Bobo saves the day, but Pearl declares movie sign … again!
Stinger: Pthpthpthp!
(325 votes, average: 4.75 out of 5)
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• At last. With this episode you can sense that the channel begins to trust BBI more, and the result is a memorable gem. We get the first color movie of the Sci-Fi Channel era, and what a movie! A real departure from the sameness of the film choices up to this point. The segments playfully take on another classic sci-fi trope and the riffing is top-of-the-line. All-in-all a landmark, breakthrough episode.
• Get Paul’s rather dyspeptic take here, which includes some mild satirical slander to which director Bill Rebane himself, in humorless email to us, took personal offense, causing us to add a disclaimer on that page.
• References.
• This episode was included in Rhino’s The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection, Vol. 10
• Callback: “Down and down…” (The Mole People), “Somebody tampered in God’s domain,” (Bride of the Monster), “Did you beef?” (I Was a Teenage Werewolf).
• During the intro, Tom gets even for getting clobbered during the very similar “board routine” in episode 614- San Francisco International.
• Of course, “Invasion of the Body Snatchers'” (and other pod-based horror movies) have their turn at being parodied.
• Bill Williams, who played bar owner Dutch, and Barbara Hale, who played scientist Jenny Langer, were real-life husband and wife, and their son is William Katt, best remembered for his starring role in TV’s “The Greatest American Hero.”
• Daleism: As the we see the dying girl’s hand: “He thought I was Dale!”
• When amped-up Crow is in the theater, a heart beating sound effect continues for several minutes.
• The giant spider sat on a Volkswagen chassis; a driver and another eight men were inside to control each leg. That must have been fun.
• Those who’d never seen “MST3K: The Movie” were probably baffled by the host segment reference to Tom Servo’s underwear collection.
• Of course, the cry “PACKERS!!!!” became an immediate catchphrase.
In fact in February of 2011, on the night the Packers DID, in fact, win the Super Bowl, I was retweeted hundreds of times after I tweeted this Youtube video.
• In 2013, what was left of the giant spider, a rusting metal frame, was stolen from a field in Merrill.
• Cast and crew roundup: Producer-Director Bill Rebane also did “Monster A Go-Go.” Assistant director/unit manager Barbara Rebane did the costumes for “Monster A Go-Go.” In front of the camera, Steve Brodie was also in “Wild World of Batwoman.” Alan Hale Jr. was also in “The Crawling Hand” and “Angels Revenge.” Robert Easton (who also got a screenwriter credit for this movie) did the voices in the British 1965 TV series “Stingray,” episodes of which were included in the the TV-movie that was featured in episode K01-INVADERS FROM THE DEEP. He was also in “The Touch Of Satan.”
• CreditsWatch: Jim is listed as producer for the last time in the series. Kevin is director. He is also associate producer for the last time. Interns Tamara Melloy and Randy Smith begin a four-episode stint.
• Fave riff: “I hate it when a movie kills off a beloved character … this is great, though!” Honorable mention: “His Hagar slacks have a waistband with repressed memories.” “Admit it! You felt something when I rolled on you!”
• Oh, and remember: honor the umlaut!
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The movie theater seen in the background of the big crowd sequence toward the end of the movie is the Cosmo Theatre in beautiful downtown Merrill, Wisconsin. I lived there for about 6 years. The theater is one of the best small town theaters you’ll ever want to go to. The big tub of popcorn is still only $3 and they use real coconut oil. My wife grew up in the area and wanted to be in the crowd scene (she would have been 9 at the time) but her parents wouldn’t let her.
Ah, the wonderful world of Color!
What’s that? Repeat everything you say to give exposition?
A very good episode, all around. Really like the host segments, the riffing was great, and did I mention that the film was in color? All 16 colors allowed in the 1970s, but color, none the less.
Poor mixed-up Ev. Picked herself a winner, that’s for sure. So, was that farm Ev’s family farm, thus why the sister was there, too? Maybe why she pokes at her husband, about the farm not doing well, since he started running it.
Ah boy, talk about bad science! Lethal radiation levels at the site of impact, which also contains a black hole, but people, including the scientists who warn of the dangerous radiation levels, freely walk inches from the opening and handle the geodes found there. And their use of the Geiger counter really piddled out, didn’t it? They didn’t even think to use it at the site of the impact.
I question Cousin Billy’s credibility.
I guess women just can get enough of hillbillies in red long-john underwear.
The giant spider had almost no features or details at all. Legs, two red eyes (?) and a couple of spinnerets. The special effects guy really needed a lesson in making a movie monster. If you stuck a smile on that thing, he could host a kids show.
Want a piece of milk?
I must say, that panty-wearing sister just didn’t get enough screen time. Alan Hale got too much screen time. I would love to have seen Alan Hale hit the spider with his hat, and say Doop!
Crow’s Like A Rock bit always bothered me, because that was Chevy’s truck slogan for years, while the truck featured clearly shows Ford on the tailgate.
Oh, and Sampo, you talk about ‘amped-up Tom’, but it was Crow. SSSSSSSUUURRRRGGGGGEE!!
Now, if only the Incredible Melting Man had been in the area, we could have seen a great battle royale! Hmm Maybe that spider passed thru the rings of Saturn while looking at the sun?
You know, it’s true:I won’t soon forget when the thing they don’t know what it was was put into the helicopter by the guy they didn’t know.
This film hate us. Ramps us the repulsion. Lay off the booze. I always laugh when the drunk lady runs toward the cabin and they say help mr lincoln. Abe! Packers! won the super bowl. Surge! This is when they started the surge erefernce. i used top drink that soda. i liked it. Whatever happned to it? This is one fo those films that feels like what the making of this film was like.
Good story Revlillo, I’m also from Wisconsin and the “Go Packers, whooo!” cry always gets a laugh. Good episode, especially seeing Alan Hale play the town sherrif dressed extremely sloppy.
“Yer hittin’ the BOOZE agin!” And, I just have to say, the Menard’s riffs kill me every time. “It’s a giant spider invasion of savings at MENARDS!!”…et al. Is it true that we can no longer purchase the catchphrase t-shirts with that reference?
All I can say about this ep is…
I love tick-infested hounds, slaughterin’ deer, and beer.
Oh, this is a regular for me in the DVD player. Starts off with a great sketch. “Give me a P!” “What’s in it for us?” Then moves on to a wonderfully loathsome little film with plenty to hang its hook on. “Go, wattle-man.” “Brett Favre at home.” And the jokes on the spider (which, for those of you who didn’t know, is a VW minibus under all that foam and felt) are priceless.
Thanks to this episode I have occasionally tossed references to Menard’s to my midwestern-originated friends. Those who like the show understand why a person who’s never lived nearer Wisconsin than is Albany, New York, and who spent the better part of a decade in Singapore where Menards is just a dim notion (and a cosmetics shop) and MST3K itself barely appears in the DVD stores although it’s got fans still, might have any thoughts about Menards at all.
I finally actually saw a Menards visiting a friend back in June while on the way to Cedar Point, but we didn’t go in. No spiders of any size were noted.
The Un-MiSTed Giant Spider Invasion turns up on Turner Classic Movies’s “TCM Underground” Friday nights now and then, where it seems longer but nothing further seems to happen. I think they have more stuff about the plane crash where AOL tries to keep up.
Crow was amped-up up, not Tom.
They are throw pillows.
And now we start a solid stretch of “quality” episodes. Even Mike and the bots seems a bit stunned to see a color film in front of them. But as we know, color doesn’t mean that it will be better. The real trick is to see if it kicks the dreariness that infected many of the previous films.
Things don’t start off promisingly, it’s a 70’s flick. If there was a decade that managed to be colorful and dreary at the same time, it was the 70’s. But my fears were put aside when I saw the name Alan Hale Jr. on the screen. Good ol Skipper is always good for some riffing. Right away it becomes very clear that this one inept film. Cutting between a falling object from space, a preacher yowling away and a cracker couple bickering – I was reminded of a red neck version of “Pod People”. This movie isn’t as incoherent, but it also lacks Trumpy. Quickly we are shown several repulsive humans (some of them I’m not sure are supposed to be repulsive), lame attempts at humor, and pant suits galore. When the giant spider finally appears it’s impressive bulk is hilarious, as are the scenes where it devours people. Clueless screechy scientists roll in the grass and Charlie Manson get’s eaten. The movie quickly spirals into riots, dark photography and an ending that still confuses the heck out of me. Then director Rebane seems to have some kind of stupid religious comment to make with the preacher, but it’s just as pointless as Arch Hall Sr.’s quote of the Bible in “Eegah”. At last – a truly horrible film with plenty of fodder to work with.
Mike and bots are ready and raring to go and they unleash on the film. The cracker couple provides plenty of laughs with one of the most loathsome characters ever to grace the screen. I think the back-brace wearing farmer would find good company with Torgo. Nearly all the comments made at his expense were hilarious. All the characters provide some kind of humor outlet, either in their clothing, acting, reactions or looks. There isn’t a bland performance in the bunch and it works just fine for the riffing, especially when the scientist get’s her screech going at the end. Of course, the spider scenes are a gold mine of comedy. Most of the spiders get the patented “gruff voice” which they reserve for giant creatures (used to great effect in “Giant Gila Monster”). And this episode gave us PACKERS!!!!, for which I am eternally grateful. I’ve used that riff on countless occasions – at work and at home. Try it, won’t you? The riffing is pretty constant in this one and nearly all of it is funny. Nothing was fall on the floor funny, but the ratio of laughs on this one is higher than it has been since “The Undead”.
The host segments work well too. I actually enjoy their take on the Body Snatchers more than last week’s Alien parody. Lots of silliness and of course Bobo saves the universe as only Bobo can. We get one of my favorite Crow moments where the poor bot is so high on caffeine that he’s vibrating, bug eyed and his heart is audibly pounding. SURRRGGGEEEE!!!! We also get a detailed inventory of Servo’s underpants collection, so that always key.
If I hadn’t stopped watching after “Terror from the Year 5000” I would have felt that this episode was the first one that felt like the old show. The movie is wretched, the riffing is solidly funny and host segments are entertaining. Not a full blown top notch episode, but I give “The Giant Spider Invasion” four solid gold stars found in this here geode.
Oh to see the Spider now, click here:
http://roberthood.net/blog/index.php/2008/09/01/giant-spider-graveyard/
“Monster-a-Go-Go,” of course, was the other Rebane film that MST 3K did, the difference being that “Monster” was taken away from Rebane by Herschell Gordon Lewis and recut with additionally filmed scenes that made it even more tedious and incomprehensible. Here, Rebane himself is entirely responsible for this fiasco. The similarities between the two films include:
1) The “Lucky Man” synthesizer whoop (I just love MST’s references to that song)
2) The helicopter pilot who talks like Charlie Brown’s parents
3) “But Mr. Rebane, you really can’t see anything!”
4) A scientist offering some incomprehensible and tedious solution to a crisis while unseeable “madness” goes on around them
5) Strange sets masquerading as laboratories — “Why are they in a laundromat?” in “Monster” and “Mrs. Herzberger’s third period bio class” in “Spider”
So this puts the lie to poor Tom’s exclamation at the end of “Monster” that “none of the people in this stinkburger ever went on to do anything else.”
Poor Alan Hale. Poor Barbara Hale. You can understand why, later in their careers, they preferred to do TV movies based on their classic shows.
Oh, and Gypsy’s lullaby is hilarious. We still sing it around our apartment sometimes. “Let an evil superconsciousness swallow you whole…”
this ep pretty much has it all.
you rolled on me!
There goes the last shred of dignity.
As I mentioned somewhere else, when Della Street and Steve brodie are rolling down the hill is anyone else waiting for Prince Humperdink to appear?
And who is a less likeable character
a) Robert Easton (Dan Kestor) or Boggy creek II’s suspender guy
b) Alan Hale, Jr. in this or in Angel’s Revenge? (And wouldn’t it have been easy to get rid of the spiders if he’s have had the Professor make a bomb out of coconuts?)
When shown in a movie theater I wonder if anyone was NOT cheering for the spider when it went after cousin Billy.
Oh yeah, and PACKERS, WOOOOO!!!
@ Michael (#9) I concur. It was most certainly Crow who was amped up on Jolt and Surge and whatnot. I distinctly remember the bloodshot ping pong ball eyes. :grin:
I’m going to be in the minority here, but I felt like, after a slight break in the previous episode from the deadly dull gray movies, we slipped right back into it with this one.
I can’t stay interested in the movie long enough to have any idea what’s going on, and the scenes with Alan Hale are almost too embarrassing to watch. (He does give it his all, though, despite the material.)
Normally, this would make a wonderful feast for M&tB to dive into, but I can’t get into this one.
The pod host segments are pretty amusing, though. Gypsy’s song is great.
Always had a soft spot for this one. Could be because much of my family are Packer fans and in a house with 5 teenagers, you can imagine how long this catchphrase lasted (hint: It’s still heard whenever two or more are gathered).
It could be just my youthfulness, but I never realized the “Hitting the BOOZE again” guy was an actual actor in quite a few things. He was the Maestro in Get Smart for the Don Rickles two-parter, as well as the Beverly Hillbillies (TV show and later movie) and Primary Colors. According to IMDB, he’s still working. Good to know.
I don’t know why, but Bobo waving the fish derisively at MaTB is one of my favorite quick visuals from the host segments of the Sci-Fi era.
Screenplay by Robert Easton?
For some reason, the interrelationship between the different characters cracks me up. The Hittin’ The Booze lady is calling Dutch for booze early in the movie. Dutch’s waitress is the part-time hooker for the Viking guy. The Viking tries to unload his tainted beef to Dutch.
“He’s pink!”
Dated joke: a young Bill and Hillary. Dated because we probably don’t remember that the anti-Clinton jokes at the time were based on them being white trash hillbillies from Arkanasas (and not them as snooty elitists).
Something struck me while watching this episode (falls under “should really just relax”). Since the SoL is orbiting the camping planet, several hundred years in our future… who is Mike saying “We’ll be right back” to when they go to commercial?
“He’s got a hatchet wound!”
“Snap, crackle, poop.” — Laughed uncontrollably when this episode first aired. Still laugh at it.
Still confused about what the meteoroid does. Cobwebs are popping up everywhere… Did the giant spider come to earth and activate the local spiders into a killing army? Or is the giant spider just a regular Earth spider that grew?
“Welcome to Hooters…” — Hah! Never noticed this the first million times I watched this episode.
“I made a ‘R’!”
Who misses Surge?
Who uses a blender to mix tomato juice and vodka? And if you look, she starts the day drinking beer, switches to straight vodka and then to a Bloody Mary and then a whiskey(?) before bed. Man, that would be one hell of a bad hangover…
Usually it doesn’t bother me, but I really got annoyed at how the movie’s timeline went. Day scenes / night scenes. There’s a school visiting a planetarium at seven in the morning? When the Viking guy goes to see Cousin Billy, does he stay in the town overnight, or was the hooker scene just dark for no reason?
“Good-BYE, Dave!”
“Audiences won’t soon forget when the thing we didn’t know what it was was put in the helicopter by the guy we didn’t know.” Man, how many times could they have used a variation of this riff in a bizarre, nonsensical scene?
Overall, one of my favorite episodes. Go Packers.
Love this one! What the hell kind of agent did Steve Brodie have that he was still doing this crap this many years after “The Wild, Wild World of Batwoman?”
The episode-length “Body Snatchers” parody is great- although seeing as it followed an episode-length “Alien” parody makes this not really a ‘breakthrough’ episode. A ton of great Bobo moments, though…
Bobo: I got bit by a rattle-snake in a very embarrassing place, had to suck the poison out myself…
Pearl: I’ll never eat again.
Bobo: No, it’s John Schuck on a bad hair day- Of course it’s me!
Bobo: Should we assimilate the monkey? No, the monkey’s got a red butt!
This episode marked a milestone in my life- The first time this episode aired, I was riffing along with the guys and when it got to the scene where Back brace Man takes the hot rocks to his cousin I said “Charles Manson: Jeweler”… about two minutes before Mike made the EXACT same joke! I felt pretty proud.
Anyhoo, on to the riffs!
THE GIANT SPIDER INVASION
Mike: Hey, it’s a giant spider invasion of savings at Menard’s!
Tom: Oh, this is when all those spider singers came over from Great Britain!
Crow: Oh, don’t act with your tongue, Alan!
Mike: I gotta go drain the Little Buddy…
Crow (on Alan Hale answering phone): Pork Vacuum- I mean, Sheriff!
Crow: Ooooh, he stood up, he’s gotta get hazard pay for that!
“I’m Jenny Langer.”
Crow: Smoker, Coffee Drinker.
Mike: The movie that takes the bold step of not including the audience!
“Man can’t have any peace in his own house!”
Mike: Well, Section 8 owns the house…
Crow: I love summer in Wisconsin, meat rotting in the fields…
“You’re so dumb you wouldn’t know rabbit turds from Rice Krispees!”
Crow: Snap Crackle Poop!
Mike: You know, they’re poor only in money… And spirit… And dignity, and moral fiber, and hygiene…
Mike: They saved a lot buying the old Gein place.
Crow: Well, guess I better move Grandma’s body out of the den…
Tom: Mork from Ork was rushed to St. Mary’s but pronounced dead on arrival.
“Well, frankly speaking, Doctor…”
Crow: I want to see that jumpsuit hit the floor!
Tom: I’m gonna pre-bury myself to save time after I die!
Crow: I’d like to say a few words- Uh, this guy’s dead, the end.
Mike: You know, in her defense, laying off the booze would mean seeing him sober…
“He’ll find the diamonds- and all that grass we’re growin’!”
Tom: Lawns are illegal in Wisconsin?
“It looks like you could use a drink.”
Tom: And a shower, and a job.
“I found another body.”
Mike: Well good, yours is getting pretty gross.
“Another cow?”
“A human body.”
Crow: It was walking down the street and I killed it.
Tom: Yeah, and Dutch will only give me 39 cents a pound.
“It was chewed up worse than them cows.”
Mike: Funny, I used to like things like that…
Crow: Uh-oh, his hair started a grease fire!
“It’s a geode. It’s not from around here.”
Crow: Let’s beat it up!
“Just how good are these diamonds?”
Tom: Are they worth two months of my welfare checks?
“Sheriff, if your stomach can handle it–”
Mike: I’d like to show you my vasectomy scar.
Crow: I hate it when a movie kills off a beloved character… This is great, though.
Mike: I can’t wait to tell my friends about this- Oh, wait, I’m a friendless drifter.
Tom: Oh, like he’d resist anything near his pants!
Mike: Johnny Crappleseed.
Crow: Paul Infected Bunion
Tom: Old MacDonald had a cyst…
“Well if it’s the same aunt as last night, she left a hickey on your neck.”
Tom: My aunt is kd lang, okay?
Crow: So, Leatherface been around here lately?
Tom: Ah, greasy guys carrying unconscious girls, comfortable 2pm beer buzz- you homesick yet, Mike?
Tom: Does it matter that the spider ate him with his butt?
Mike: No, I think it seems suitable for this guy.
Crow: You know, the carnies are the most respected citizens in this town…
Mike: Is this going to be another case of a scientist declaring martial law?
Crow: Where’s John Agar when you need him?
Tom: I’m gonna squash your shoe under ME!
Crow: Ride the vomit rainbow! Swirling fans of Technicolor yawn splayed across the sky!
Tom: Audiences won’t soon forget when the thing we didn’t know what it was was put in the helicopter by the guy we didn’t know!
I was mistaken- THIS episode, not “Teenage Werewolf”, has Pearl talking about Observer “harvesting wild mushrooms with his mind, we sat by a crystal blue stream having mind-fried rainbow trout. Aw, it was heaven.”
Wow. I’d give this 7 stars if I could. Dammit! I’m just going to anyway!! I never knew the emotional weight that could be attached to “PACKERS”. The rabid excitement of a cheese-fueled mob frenzy, to the frightened lilt of “PACKERS?” at the sight of seeing fellow cheeseheads cut down in the prime of life, to the somberness of “GO PACKERS.” at the end of the film, where you wonder if mankind can truly be saved.
Tons of great riffing in this one, also. Almost too much good stuff to mention. But here I go anyway:
“…and the movie ramps up the repulsion.”
“Charles Manson- jeweler.”
“My waddle needs 5 more minutes.”
“Yeah, you can borrow my shirt.”
“Not an actual joke, but an incredible simulation!”
Ah! Now this is the kind of movie that was made for the MST treatment. Just perfectly awful.
Maybe it’s just because the rest of the movie is so bad, but one bit of actual cleverness amuses me. That’s when the jeweler dismisses the diamonds as industrial quality, then facetiously goes on, “If you had a bucket full of these… a BARREL full of these… you might be rich.” Of course, he doesn’t know that Kester probably does have that many.
It’s like, you watch the film charge its stupid way along, and then suddenly, it’s, “Hey, did the screenwriters just employ irony?!”
As an MST episode, I really enjoy it, because it moves pretty well, and has a lot of colorful grotesquerie for M&TB to riff on. Coming up in a couple of weeks, by contrast, is one of my least favorite, which… just… moves… so… slowly.
This has always been a favorite for me, and the riffs are timeless and spot on, in a 70’s sort of way.
If you can track down an original copy, you’ll soon see why the Brains cleaned it up here and there and why “Good people, salt of the earth!” makes so much sense.
Great episode indeed. Movie’s fun, host segments are good, they’re in a good groove.
BTW, TCM aired the original movie as part of their cult programming. I’ve had it on my DVR for months, but still haven’t managed to get past the first ten or so minutes…
Hm, Sampo I’m curious about the e-mail Rebane sent you. Are you sure he wasn’t just joking? I vaguely rmeember Bill Rebane saying in an interview years ago, that he liked what MST3K did for his films.
Or maybe he just hates Paul for some reason.
love Love LOVE this episode.
And yeah, we taped & watched the uncut Spider Invasion from TCM. Once.
IIRC, there was one flash of booby and more pointless plot.
There are a lot of movies MST has done that I can watch uncut with no problem, and even some actual pleasure, but some — like this one — practically cry out for the riffs.
I’ve seen the whole original movie, and I suppose you should be glad you only got in 10 minutes. Those additional scenes with Cousin Billy = Ick!
Whoah, step back everybody because it seems that what i’m about to say may blow your collective minds. I’ve seen this episode a good five or six times and i’ve never really thought it was that good. In fact, i think it’s rather medicore. :???:
For my viewing for this week’s discussion, i thought i’d watch this one with a friend who has seen a good number of episodes but hadn’t seen this one. Both of us found the episode lacking. There are some good riffs scattered around the show but most of them fell flat for us (though I do have a soft spot for the “PACKERS!” riffs). The host segments didn’t do much either. I’d probably give this a 2.5 if I could but i’ll give a 3 instead. Not their best but the season REALLY takes off in a few episodes.
Ok, a couple of other things. When the name Leslie Parrish came up in the opening credits, M&tBs didn’t know who she was. Didn’t they remember she was in one of the eps of Star Trek:TOS? And she was Daisy Mae in the Lil’Abner movie. Now for something disturbing…when her character is ordering more BOOZE! over the phone (“that’s not the purpose of 911, ma’am”), doesn’t she say something like, “you’ll find me very appreciative when you get here”. Does that mean what I think it means? Or maybe I just don’t know the correct tip for an emergency BOOZE! delivery in crackerville. 15% or 20?
In a fun little twist, the booze lady is cheating on the Viking guy with Dutch while the Viking guy is cheating on the booze lady with Dutch’s waitress.
Say, just thought of something. They make fun of the shack by saying “Brett Favre at home” (formerly of Wisconsin). Then they make fun of the owner of the shack by saying “Our proud Viking heritage”. And just this year, Brett Favre became a Minnesota Viking. Coincidence? I think not.
#32: Doesn’t she say something like, “you’ll find me very appreciative when you get here” Does that mean what I think it means?
Well, consider she expressed a desire to “jump the bones” of a sixteen year old kid, I would say it does. I didn’t miss that either, especially on later viewings when I discovered who Dutch was.
Even though you’re probably supposed to feel a modicum of sympathy for Ev, she’s really a horrible person, just as shallow and greedy as her loathesome husband. Rebane had a magic touch, all right; it’s really amazing when you can make even the Skipper profoundly unlikable.
And speaking of the Skipper, here’s another odd moment: When Alan Hale has conversation with Dutch about “the limburger cheese smile” and “one of the loggers”… am I mistaken or did he just accuse Dutch of having a gay affair, especially since it’s on the heels of accusing Helga of dating one of said loggers? It’s a really peculiar exchange, which Mike and the bots seem too glad to attribute to “just random words.”
Wow, just looked this up. She was Lt. Palamas in “Who Mourns for Adonais?”. Yooowsa, she cleans up nice. Never would have spotted that without help.
VAAAAANCE!!!!!!
The scene where Vance rolls on top of Dr. Langer is hilarious, and the Brains give it the right treatment.
Overall, this is one of those episodes that is delightful to watch, despite the overall loathsomeness of the movie. The whole Invasion of the Body Snatchers thing they did in the jost segments was hilarious (Zucchini! Throw Pillows!), and Alan Hale as the sloppy unfunny sherriff is an easy target.
I immediately recognized Robert Easton from old episodes of the Beverly Hillbllies and the Munsters. He played slow talking hicks in both shows. He wasn’t anywhere near as disgusting in those shows as he was in this movie.
Great goofy movie without MST treatment and the gang were hitting on all cylinders when they did this one. The only thing missing was Bridget doing a skank parody! Robert Easten has to be the Sir Ian McKellen for loathsome hillbillies roles. I have to give ck @ 15 props though for his observation. Virtually every character is loathsome, greasy, moronic, skanky, bumbling, slovenly, parasitic, predatory, greedy, loutish, slattern, besotted or incompetent. Great direction!? Great casting!? An incredible Geshtalt!?
Loved David taking pot shots at the giant spider with his BB gun from a quater mile to save muscrat love! The rolling scientist scene was classic. Kestor and Cousin Billy are molester poster boys. Last, but not least, ‘yer hittin da BOOZE agin Ev!’
I have to give this one 4.75.
Ah, it’s been a while but this is an episode I can finally offer a full commentary on since the start of the season.
Movie:
* This is an episode I didn’t like very much to begin with, but grew with subsequent viewings.
* I saw The Touch of Satan before this and was actually excited to see Robert Easton again. I’m familiar with his career as a dialect coach and think he does a decent job as an actor.
* Given that most of my Sci-Fi episodes were obtained in out-of-order re-runs, it took a fair degree of research to figure out why Servo was excited to see this one in color.
* This marks Alan Hale’s third MST3K appearance and the second one where he’s placed in a dopey comic relief position. He actually has a very serious role in The Crawling Hand and, while still hammy, does a much more respectable job.
* On a related note, I also like Steve Brodie quite a bit (and he was also in Wild Wild World of Batwoman) mainly because he does a great job as Director Lucky Striker in The Wizard of Speed and Time, one of my all-time favorite movies.
* Has anyone ever figured out exactly who the “twin brother of Dutch” is at the end? He literally comes out of nowhere.
* Favorite riffs- Servo providing plenty:
Mike: “Then add the ribs-”
Crow: “I hate when a movie kills off a beloved character… This is great though!”
Servo: “A young Bill and Hilary struggle to make it!”
“I’m gonna pre-bury myself to save time after I die.”
“C’mon, moo! MOO, DAMMIT!”
Host Segments:
* Servo’s cheerleading routine has certainly discouraged me from ever asking Mike or Crow to do anything charitable.
* It must’ve been a nightmare for Kevin to get the portage board gag right while keeping the canoe balanced on Servo’s head. Poopie II confirms it.
* I wonder how many takes it took for Mary Jo and Bill to get the zucchini/throw pillow argument right too.
* Who played the mother pod? My guess is Paul.
* Favorite line: Gypsy’s lullaby.
#28 Brandon:
Mr. Rebane took issue, mostly, with Paul’s dismissive remarks about Barbara Hale. He was basically defending her honor. He also expressed irritation at Paul’s comments about Wisconsonites.
While he may have said some positive things about the episode, has has also attempted, in vain, to have it pulled, claiming he never gave permission for MST3K to use it. My sources tell me Rhino did in fact secure the rights to the movie properly.
Thank you, pearliemae (#32), for bringing up the oddness of M&TB failing to recognize Leslie Parrish — I remember feeling very sad about this because Trace, first-class STAR TREK fan that he is, would certainly have remembered her… to me it was just an added twist of the knife, a reminder that my favorite Brain had left the show. Why didn’t Mike remember her from THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE? Why didn’t Kevin remember her as Daisy Mae in LI’L ABNER? Ah well… Shows how ephemeral fame really is…
#34 Thomas:
That reminds me. In the scene where Brodie and Barbara sit down with the skipper and the kid reporter in the restuarant, at one point the skipper calls the kid away for little private sidebar. We never find out what this was about, do we? Or did it get cut by the Brains?
#41 Sampo: Actually it’s Steve Brodie who calls him away (“yeah, you can borrow my shirt”), and no, we never really know why Vance calls him away, because there’s no reason to suspect David knows anything more about the crisis than the goofy sheriff, especially since Vance just met him. When David and Vance come back, David’s next line is “I wonder if what happened to me and Terri had anything to do with this,” which really doesn’t follow.
It’s a upward climb for Season 8 from this episode onward–eh, well, there’s Devil Doll but even the smoothest uphill road sometimes has a pothole in it. That being said, I’m not a huge fan of this episode; I’ve seen it a few times but nothing really stands out except the host segments. Gypsy’s lullaby and Crow’s caffeine overdose are particularly funny moments. Otherwise it’s solid but not superb entertainment.
Oh, it did teach me one thing: if the people of backwoods Wisconsin weren’t drunken leches they wouldn’t have anything else to do–not until spiders from space came along, anyway.
Robert Easton is not only a well-known Hollywood dialect coach (check out his credits as such on the IMDB!), his most suprising credit – well, to me — is that he plays the Klingon Judge at the trial of Kirk and McCoy in Star Trek VI !
And since he’s credited with the screenplay for Giant Spider Invasion, I guess we have to assume that its elevated and spiritual view of humanity comes from him….
I love this one. I watched it with by Brother-in-law (who’s from Wisconsin) and he cackled and explained many of the local Wisconsin riffs. It was hysterical before that though.
Well…while I usually keep this kind of stuff to myself…here goes…
I can certainly see why there’s a disclaimer at the top of the episode guide page featuring Paul’s comments, and why Mr. Rebane would have cause to be (at least slightly) upset. Paul DOES seem to get a little too venomous in his blanket over-view of small town residents in general…and particularly Wisconsonites. (Being from a more or less “small town” in Oklahoma, I even find MYSELF slightly offended by some of his remarks.) And granted, while this movie role may not have exactly been the crown jewel in Barbara Hale’s career, he DID come across as just a little bit too personal and mean-spirited in his comments regarding her.
I know that Paul’s a really smart guy and all, but I think this was one instance where he failed to temper his intelligence with any sort of basic common sense, and like it or not, it tends to lower my opinion of him a wee bit. It’s one thing to be an intellectual…but quite another thing altogether to be an intellectual snob, which is how he comes across, at least in this instance.
That said…
I find that I enjoy this episode more every time I see it. SO many goofy elements for M&TB to grab hold of, it’s almost an embarassment of riches.
What’s that you say? Repeat what you say to provide exposition?
Oh Giant Spider Invasion, my love for thee runs high. As boxset 10.2 was the first I purchased within a week of MSTiedom, this one holds a close place in my heart. And, as my dad is from Wisconsin and I’ve taken only ten billions trips up there, the riffs run high.
So much so that this past Super Bowl, my dad and I hoveled in the basement and watched this episode, much to his delight. Then I loaned the boxset to my brother and his wife and this is their favorite as well. It’s a family affair, really.
A running gag in my tech club became the “Look! I made a ‘r’!” riff, since we would carve and write things on the back of stage flats. And let’s not forget “PACKERRRS!”, which has become a rallying cry between me and my friends.
Overall an awesomely awesome episode with one of my favorite sets of host segments.
“Snap, crackle, poop!”
I saw this movie (unriffed) one Saturday afternoon, many many years ago. Very little stood out for me, except for the scene with Easton’s character getting eaten…I remember it as being simultaneously gross and really stupid. Kind of sums up the whole movie, for me.
Thought the movie overall was greatly improved by the riffing, and enjoyed the host segments. What else can I say?
“PACKERS!”
This one ranks among my top ten favorite episodes of all time, and as Sampo aptly noted this begins a long stretch of terrific episodes, which in my opinion makes Season 8 amongst the very best in the show’s history.
Terrific host episodes spoofing the Invasion of the Body Snatchers, with my favorite being Crow digesting every caffeinated product he can to stay awake to the point where you can hear his heart beating loudly.
The riffing is outstanding throughout as Mike and the ‘Bots knock out one classic gem after another, many which have already been noted in earlier comments so I won’t waste space repeating them. Just a wonderfully funny episode.
Oh, and “PACKERS!!! WOOOOOOO!!!!”