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Weekend Discussion Thread: Favorite Host Segments–KTMA and Season 1

I was originally going to do just a general “Favorite host segment” thread, but then I realized that there are approximately 1,000 of them in total! Think of that: How many TV shows produced A THOUSAND sketches? “SNL”? “Mad TV” (I didn’t say they had to be funny…)? “Meet the Press”?

Anyway, I decided to break it down by season, so we can do this in bite-sized chunks. So: What are your top 3 host segments from season one. (And for a bonus, you KTMA fiends can mention any of your favorite segments from the mythical UHF season. I’ll pass, though.) We may get fewer responses this week: I suspect if there is any season non-completionist fans don’t have much of, it’s this one.

If you need a reminder, check the episode guide.

My choices, in no particular order:
• Joel gets a haircut from episode 105- THE CORPSE VANISHES. “They’re STILL picking up clown noses!”
• Tom hits on a blender from episode 103- MAD MONSTER. “What a lovely singing voice!”
• Crow and Tom take Commando Cody to reality court from episode 108- THE SLIME PEOPLE. “He’d be cartwheeling his butt off!”

What are yours?

46 Replies to “Weekend Discussion Thread: Favorite Host Segments–KTMA and Season 1”

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  1. outer space says:

    Crawling hands fun and games segment
    Robot holocausts joel and the bots play robot holocaust
    Robot monster’s a tribute to roman the robot

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  2. Prof. Spooner says:

    My favorite is when Servo is hitting on the Blender in the Humanoid Woman episode. He thinks the blender is a robot until Joel makes a smoothie with it. One of my faves!

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  3. Joe The Chosen says:

    1. Robot Vs. The Aztec Mummy – The Demon Dogs
    2. When they all do their Shatner impressions during the Crawling Hand
    3. When all the robots heads explode explaining reality vs Commando Cody in Robot Monster.

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  4. The Professor says:

    I do like the begining of Phase IV, where the Mads sell Joel’s car with the $30,000 in it. Makes me giggle.

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  5. jrb says:

    hands down–the demon dogs are my favorite.

    I also love the Isaac Asimov ‘literary doomsday device’ skits.

    Games of the future with “moonopoly” just because it oddly predicted all of the stupid monopoly spin offs. (was this “moon zero two” or “project moonbase”?)

    and finally, the surrealism skit from “Robot Monster.”

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  6. mantis9 says:

    Two favorite host segments (right off the top of my head) are:

    Overdrawn at the Memory Bank
    Host segment 2: While Mike continues to struggle with Henry the monkey, PPTV presents a preview of “Pearl! Pearl! Pearl! Pearl! Pearl!”

    and Hercules Unchained
    Host segment 1: Gypsy is the Helenistic ideal

    I can’t get enough of Gyps whacking her head against that harp. Toniiiiiight! Branggggg! Toniiiiiight!

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  7. tersegirl says:

    I know it’s wrong and cheap, and I feel a little ill for saying it, but my favorite host segment is from Outlaw–Host segment 2: Song: “Tubular Boobular Joy”.

    Close second goes to Time Chasers–Host segment 2: Crow succeeds and, returning to the SOL, finds Mike’s surly big brother Eddie in Mike’s place, and learns that Mike’s new future was worse than the old one

    Love Eddie’s description of Mike “cacking” on stage

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  8. Diamond Joe says:

    Can’t remember which episode it was, but one of my KTMA favorite was the one that ends with Joel saying, “All right, get my belt,” and Crow crying, “I hate you forever!” Maybe it’s just the contrast with the later episodes, where they wouldn’t even joke something like that.

    Another KTMA favorite is the surrealism sketch (K11), which just gets sillier and sillier until up to Joel’s final line, “My robots– I think I’ll crush grape jelly in my neck till the clocks come home.” (Or was this the cable re-do?)

    Some of my Season 1 favorites:
    Hell in a Handbag (103), especially because of Joel’s shocked reaction when the fireball is apparently larger than he’d anticipated.
    Tom hits on a blender (103)
    Servo-Crow-ation (103)
    Clay and Lar’s Flesh Barn (104)
    Good Thing and Bad Thing (105) “A GOOD thing?! Uh… uh… Daisy, Dais–” BANG!
    The Ro-Man Pageant (107)
    It’s SPACOM! (109)

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  9. jerry says:

    I’ve only seen one Season 1 episode, so I only have one favorite Season 1 Host Segment: The Shatner Hand thing in the Crawling Hand.

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  10. Nancy says:

    I love the play they put on in “I Accuse My Parents,” acting out the restaurant/song scene. Awful!

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  11. Wack'd says:

    “I Accuse My Parents” was season 5…

    From KTMA, I’d have to say it’s when the Mads sell Joel’s car for an insane amount of money, only to find out he had that much in his glove compartment.

    From season 1, 104’s “Isaac Asimov Literary Doomsday Device” parts 2 & 3. “‘Glue Batman to CG detail omitted for clarity’?!” cracks me up every time.

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  12. fishbulb says:

    KTMA: Clay breaks the bank in Vegas, from “SST Death Flight”
    Season 1: Clay and Lar’s Flesh Barn

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  13. Black Rain says:

    KTMA
    Gamera vs. Gaos – Servo gets his mighty voice, Josh demonstrates his vocal talents
    Superdome – Servo imagines Joel as a tyrant, probably the only time Joel played an a-hole
    Hangar 18 – Purging Crow’s Memory, my favorite sketch from the KTMA era

    Season 1
    Robot vs Aztec Mummy – Servo vs. The Demon Dogs (“They disgraced themselves on me”)
    Robot Monster – Both the “Bumblebees can’t fly” (“Science has yet to explain the existence of Isaac Asimov’s sideburns”) and “Destroy the hu-man” (“He can drive a stick”) sketches
    Slime People – Trapped on a desert island (meta-MST reference)

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  14. Kenneth Morgan says:

    Hmmm…

    From the KTMAs I’ve seen, I’ll vote for Crow’s first memory from “Hanger 18”. If I remember correctly, Crow’s line is, “So my whole life has been a set-up for a punchline?”

    And from Season 1, there’s the Servo-Crow-ation sketch from “Mad Monster” (“Do you like walking in the rain, too?”) and the SPACOM commercial from “Project Moonbase” (I remember this actually getting a round of applause during a ConventioCon showing).

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  15. ern2150 says:

    Cybernetically Remotely Operated Woman
    Grape Jelly in my neck
    Mst3k Acoustic Theme

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  16. Jesus Thinks You're A Jerk says:

    ““I Accuse My Parents” was season 5…”

    I think it’s funny that you’ve chosen to single this person out and ignored the several others who posted before that mentioned episodes from seasons 2-10.

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  17. evilron says:

    From season one the best single segment has to be the Shatner thing in the Crawling Hand. Though the Comander Cody trial from the Slime People was pretty good too.
    And as several people have already bought up things from season eight I’ll add that I think that this season had the best overall host segments.

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  18. jfe says:

    Robot monster and jet jaguar also when tom becomes the killer granny from Touch of Satan. Then there is “No Mike” from Squirm. I can’t pick a favorite! Too many good ones.

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  19. Fred P says:

    Since many of you seem to be ignoring Sampo’s suggestion of season 1 and Ktma host segments I will as well. My favorite all time host segment is after the short “Catchig Trouble” When Joel and the bots are torchering Ross in the ways he tortured the animals in the short-hysterical. I also really loved the “Reel to Real” skit in “Teenagers from Outerspace” and Finally “Catalina Capers” The “Creepy Girl” song. Almost forgot The “It Stinks” skit from
    “Pod People” way too many getting overload!!!!!!

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  20. Brandon says:

    Segment 1 of 101, and Segment 3 of 106 are somewhat similar, where they discuss plotholes. I kinda liked those.

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  21. Anita says:

    I like the cummer-bubble-band invention from Robot Monster.

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  22. jfe says:

    :oops: I didn’t read it properly so I didn’t realize that it was for KTMA and season one. Never saw KTMA. So Robot Monster is the one I’d choose, the crawling hand, too.

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  23. Jake says:

    Mine would be the opening segment in “Gamera Vs. Zigra” when Crow is defrosted after being a christmas tree for a couple of weeks simply because that was my first exposure to MST3k. :)

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  24. Keith says:

    I too have only seen a handful of Season One, and I’m not exactly wild about most of the host segments. Though, I do enjoy the Invention Exchange from 106- The Crawling Hand. Joel’s faulty safety saw and the limb lengthener are both worth a chuckle at least. The “electric bagpipes” bit from 101 is a bit of a hard pill to swallow (more on that when we get to season 3…) but it’s worth it, I think, for “I love it… Larry’s cornea is bleeding!”
    Aside from that, I guess my number three would have to be the Invention from 108- The Slime People. Screaming cotton candy!

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  25. I’m not answering out of protest for the ongoing mistreatment of the KTMA season, as if it is some bastard child to be ignored or treated lightly.

    Sorry, but if you’re going to do a “season-by-season” question, don’t you think the original season deserves its due?

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  26. Astaroth says:

    I haven’t seen much of season 1 or any of KTMA but from what i have seen my top 3 would be:

    1. The Zero-G fight from Moon Zero Two
    2. SPACOM!
    3. Clay And Lar’s Flesh Barn

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  27. Jeff McM says:

    The ‘original’ season is for practical purposes a footnote since the episodes weren’t seen nationwide and are virtually impossible to find.

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  28. happy says:

    Season 1 – I did like the Crawling Eye segments
    Funny the KTMAs nothing really stands out, maybe the the telescope one where Joel gets a black eye
    The segments in Robot Monster were good too

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  29. Mark says:

    Not a lot of ones that really stand out from these two seasons…

    KTMA – “Joel is Dead” from K21

    Season 1 – Clay and Lar’s Flesh Barn from 104. This is actually one of my favorites from the entire series run. Josh’s greatest moment, IMO.

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  30. Stacey says:

    The Robot vs. The Aztec Mummy sticks out there for me even though I haven’t seen it in years but I just thought that was one of the funniest early ones for me. I knew I was in love when I saw it. :oops:

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  31. Diamond Joe says:

    ern2150: I can’t believe I forgot the acoustic theme in my list! I find myself singing it once in a while. Kind of Peter-Paul-and-Mary-ish.

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  32. Nutcase says:

    Oh man, I have several to go through:

    All the segments from Giant Spider Invasion. Especially Crow’s heart attack from consuming all that caffine and sugar as well as Servo’s underpants collection.

    The song from Attack of the Giant Leeches.

    (We’re a danger to ourselves and others, our cousins are as close as brothers, we stay out in the rain all the time!!!)

    Any time when Servo/Crow explodes.

    The Issac Assimov Literary Doomsday Device. (it was especially funny when the machine laughed at Joel when he cut the wrong wire)

    Servo: Literary Doomsday? Isn’t that when the fines for the book are more expensive than the book itself?

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  33. Edwin B says:

    1. The Crawling Hand, segment 3: Imitations of William Shatner. I’m always a sucker for Star Trek riffs.

    2. Moon Zero Two, segment 4. Mocking the low gravity fight from the movie.

    3. Untamed Youth, segment 2: Greg Brady, This is Your Life. I’m also a sucker for Brady Bunch riffs!

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  34. Sean74 says:

    I will respect Sampo’s request, and stick to the KTMA & Season 1 format, even though those episodes I have had the least amount of exposure to. In no particular order, my favs are:

    106-The Crawling Hand- Segment 3- where all three do William Shatner impersonations while being attacked by a crawling hand;

    102-Robot Vs. The Aztec Mummy- segment 3- where the Demon Dog King tells J&TB that they are there to worship “the giant dog bone” (the SOL), only to have Gypsy eat him;

    105-The Corpse Vanishes- Segment 4- where Crow is giving a haircut to Joel, and they talk about Jimmy Mason’s tragic accident in the family thrashing machine. I’m suprised Crow doesn’t try to go Sweeney Todd on Joel, but its still a funny bit.

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  35. Jesus Thinks You're A Jerk says:

    “I’m not answering out of protest for the ongoing mistreatment of the KTMA season, as if it is some bastard child to be ignored or treated lightly.

    Sorry, but if you’re going to do a “season-by-season” question, don’t you think the original season deserves its due?”

    While you absolutely have a point about season 0 being included if you’re going to ask a season-by-season favorites question, the fact remains that the show was still exceptionally raw. The way I see it, the KTMA season is equal to a band’s demos. Sure, they may sound pretty good, but they didn’t have the budget to make a proper recording. Can you imagine if a band were to release demo versions of songs on all their releases? (ignoring the fact that some bands, after they’ve established themselves, might release said demos)

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  36. Anita says:

    Oh, I got a KTMA moment, and the only reason why I know about it is because I saw it on YouTube this Summer. I think its from the Superdome episode.

    Servo is “typing” out his journal about this one time Joel was a real asshole, and he yelled at Gypsy for leaving tools around I think, and Crow for not cleaning the load pans, and he slapped Crow as well. Oh, and Joel was smoking.

    Here it is:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eZcJ9GK9s0

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  37. Bob says:

    Anything making fun of Commando Cody. Seriously, that was killer stuff. The Radar Men from the Moon shorts were great material for the show and both the comments made during those shorts and the host segments based around them were just terrific.

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  38. Jeff B. says:

    1.) The Zero G fight from Moon Zero Two (great parody of a hilariously stupid film sequence)
    2.) The letter-reading final segment from, I believe, Untamed Youth where a reader gives Crow some gentle life advice.
    3.) The premise-questioning from The Slime People that turns into a robot mockery of Joel’s movie-watching plight, leaving Joel remarking that “the next time I get shot into space, I think I’ll just bring some books.”

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  39. The Bolem says:

    Still haven’t gotten around to watching the KTMA stuff on youtube, and Robot Monster is the only Season 1 I’ve seen that hasn’t been released from Rhino. I guess my favorite would have to be the one that ends with the bots heads exploding from the bumblebee/laws of physics paradox.

    Could that bit have possibly inspired: “Nice try, but MY brain is equipped with paradox-absorbing crumplezones!”

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  40. @ JTYAJ: “The way I see it, the KTMA season is equal to a band’s demos. Sure, they may sound pretty good, but they didn’t have the budget to make a proper recording. Can you imagine if a band were to release demo versions of songs on all their releases? (ignoring the fact that some bands, after they’ve established themselves, might release said demos)”

    I disagree with your analogy. If we’re going to talk bands, it’s more like having a discussion about each Journey album, but starting at “Infinity”. Sure, the band was raw and had not found its true voice yet in “Journey”, “Look into the Future” and “Next”, but they are actual, legitimate releases by the band and deserve attention on their own merits, even if it’s less due to a lower level of familiarity and interest.

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  41. RCFagnan says:

    I am not familiar with KTMA eps, so I’d go with the Isaac Asimov Literary Doomsday device skits from 104- “Women of the Prehistoric Planet” although “Clay and Lar’s Flesh Barn” Cracks me up as well…
    “You’ll say hi and he’ll say moo…”

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  42. Nancy says:

    Wack’d: I know, I think I read the post too quickly. I just saw the “favorite host segment” and got excited. Oh well! Lesson learned.

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  43. icyhot says:

    Either the Tom Servo/Face Hugger one (Space Mutiny?) or The “Drake Tungsten” one from Hercules against the Moon Men. Classics.

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  44. icyhot says:

    ooo-ooo! Forgot the “Dog and Bear” one… “I mean, what’s “too far” when your entrails are hangin’ out? Really!”

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  45. Clouseau says:

    The Legend of the Dinosaur segment where the mads plan on creating a Joel is dead hoax, as well as the KTMA segment (I don’t know what episode, its on the scrapbook tape) where they show the Russian cosmonaut rival comedian.

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  46. goodgollymissmollie says:

    I know mine isn’t from the KTMA or Season One days but I’ve seen very, very few of those episodes, so my apologies in advance. That being said, I have to go with Tom Servo’s Canada song/rant from “Final Sacrifice.” He looks so cute in that Mountie uniform, and I’m a sucker for a man (or puppet) in uniform.

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