First shown: 10/11/97
Opening: Tom and Crow worry about Mike’s eyelash mites.
Intro: The nanites take on the mites; The Mad Goth (Bobo) is getting more attention than goddess Apearlo
Host segment 1: Mike’s love of Noh theater causes confusion
Host segment 2: Tom comes down with Roji Panty complex; Pearl and Observer have no luck with Bobo
Host segment 3: M&TB are near despair, then Krankor visits
End: Crow has some suggestions, while a conk on the head from Pearl restores Bobo’s memory, with unfortunate consequences
Stinger: Little boy faw down
(118 votes, average: 4.09 out of 5)
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• First of all, a question: Has anybody seen my record?
• This is one of those movies. There are bad movies like, say, “Revenge of the Creature.” There are VERY bad movies, like, say, “Prince of Space.” And there are the dregs: “Manos,” “Fu Manchu,” “Red Zone Cuba” … and now this “little cockroach of a movie,” as Servo calls it in a fit of rage toward the end, joins that wretched roll call. The brilliance of segment three (besides Bill’s hilarious return as Krankor) is that it so piquantly makes the case that, as Servo noted many seasons ago, “every time I think I’ve seen the worst movie ever made, along comes the worst movie ever made.” The final 20 minutes or so, which features essentially the same four or five shots repeated again and again and again and again is easily one of the most punishing bits of film MST3K has ever subjected its viewers to. Because of that, there are going to be wide differences of opinions on this one. Some MSTies love these bottom-dwellers; others will retreat to the oft-used line: “even Mike and the bots couldn’t save it.”
With this viewing, I accidentally stumbled on a way to make the thing a little easier to take. Simply by necessity, I had to stop watching the episode just after segment three and had to wait a day or so before I could watch the final half hour. The break helped and the last punishing half hour didn’t seem quite so unbearable. Just a suggestion for the next time you give this one a try.
The riffing is really quite good, all things considered, and, as in the other recent eps, the SOL segments are funny and fun (the wonderful “Noh Theater” sketch, especially) while the “Roman Times” segments are unremarkable.
• Kevin’s take on this one is here.
• References.
• Info on eyelash mites (in case you didn’t think they were real).
• That’s Paul as first hapless nanite soldier, and again Paul, Beez and Patrick are “Roman day players.”
• Kudos to Beez or whoever created the tiny garbage around Mike’s eyes.
• Phys.com is again pitched with the door sequence behind it, and again there are no ads for it that I can see.
• Yes, that’s Shinichi “Sonny” Chiba as Space Chief. Chiba would go on to star in many martial arts movies, most notably as Terry Sugury in “The Street Fighter” series.
• Two words: Hitler Building. As Kevin says in his writeup: “Suffice it to say that the reprehensible nature of “Invasion of the Neptune Men” is embodied in the filmmaker’s choice to use actual WWII file footage in what is ostensibly a children’s film. To glibly summon the darkest shadows of our century because one has run out of models to blow up is to stoop to Schumacherian levels of banality.”
• All I can say about The Noh Theater bit is: Somewhere Abbott and Costello are smiling.
• This show had several complicated moments—note that both Tom Servo and Bobo are on camera at the same time, then Callipygeas and Bobo are on screen at the same time, as are Krankor and Crow later on. Patrick was probably running the puppets in both cases.
• Servo has a breakdown, contracting Roji Panty Complex. He sure does break down a lot.
• This show explicitly answered the question that has so often been asked by fans—why do Mike and the bots put up with these bad movies? In this show, Mike is so appalled he gets up to leave, only to realize that there is no air in the rest of the ship.
• Call back from the old days: Gooood morning!”
• Fave line: Our quick and pointless plot cul-de-sac is over!
It’s surprising that in their wish to help out Mike’s facial health TS and Crow fell victim to one of the classic military blunders.
). But even less well known is “never advocate a police action against eyelash mites when they are well ensconced in someone’s eyelashes (and are actually symbiotically useful)”.
The most famous is never get involved in a land war in Asia, and only slightly less well
known is this: “Never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line” (ha ha ha ha ha
(First fun fact) This week’s movie was so popular in Japan that there were efforts to make it into a kabuki play
but unfortunately NOH ONE liked it!
(Second fun fact) The Japanese like baseball but being, of course, from Japan their players have some strange names. For example, HU’s on First…..
(Okay, “Hu” is a Chinese surname J , but in
About.com Japanese language
===================================
Q. I was told “fu” was pronounced as “hu,” even for the words like Mount Fuji (Fuji-san). Is it true?
A. There are some Japanese words used as English words today, such as “Mt. Fuji,” “tofu” or “futon”. However, the Japanese “f” is slightly different from the English “f”. The Japanese don’t bite their lips when pronouncing it. It is more like blowing out a candle with your voice. ”
==========================================
Sometimes I run this one up only so I can see Bill as Krankor. Still makes me laugh.
Yes, wretched movie. But the Bill returning as Krankor bit makes it all worthwhile. Another ep where the experiment has them on the run, but they bounce back, like at the end of “Castle of Fu Manchu”. Krankor, you are a breath of fresh air. He would have been a fun returning character, if the show had existed long enough. I would have loved to see him at the next Thanksgiving dinner at Castle Forrester.
Let’s remake prince of space and take out of the goofiness in it. I like the host segments. i can’t imagine what the writing must been like trying to do this film.
Oops. Please ignore that “J” after “Chinese surname.” Wish there was a way I could find to edit posts.
Thank you, won’t you?
What times are it?
ok, the hitler building i can see as a metephore, ‘evil on earth is just as bad as evil from space’ or some crap like that. the kids i can see as evidence for the arguement that some kids SHOULD be locked in a cellar or closet for several years. and rogy panty complex…well that’s just stupid writing. but what’s the deal with the soldiers made up like KISS!?! and why did these bullet heads come to earth anyway!?! why does japan hate us? was it because of the A-bomb? i mean o.k. we’re sorry we had a couple lying around and we used them. it was that or save them for the garage sale, i mean c’mon japan what would you have done?
This is a very special episode for me… it’s the first full episode I ever saw, all the way back when it first aired. I was only 9 at the time, and it opened me up to the wonderful world of “MST3K”. I may be a little sentimental, but this is a personal favorite. The sketches are strong (especially Krankor’s reappearance) and the riffing is just perfect for such a pointless, overlong film (for instance, Crow finding gum under his seat and Mike just leaving the theater during the hours-long spaceship battles). And really, it’s hilarious to see that Sonny Chiba got his start in something this bad.
Watching this and “Prince of Space” one after another is an eye-opening experience. “Prince of Space” is “The Third Man” when compared to “Neptune Men”. “Prince of Space” has some semblance of a story, some motivation for the villain (even though it gets dropped about a third of the way through), some small little semblance of skill behind the camera, an acceptable pace, and hilariously bad set design… it fells like a movie, a bad movie, but a movie nonetheless. “Neptune Men” on the other hand is a turgid, bleak, endless exercise in bad taste. The aforementioned spaceship battles are so pointlessly long, the sound design so atonal and irritating, the action so choppy and slow, the cinematography so needlessly grim and muddled, that it’s a test of patience to sit through, even with Mike and the bots along for the ride. Looking back, I’m surprised I was able to make it through the whole episode at the age of 9. “MST3K” This is truly one of the worst movies they’ve ever done. In fact it might be THE worst. Strap yourselves in for a long-ish story…
When Monsters HD was still around, they showed the English-dubbed version of “Invasion of the Neptune Men” occasionally and I happened to catch around 30 minutes of it. It was damn near intolerable without Mike and the bots, but you could just laugh at how awful it was…until the bit in which the Neptunians disguise themselves as soldiers. There’s a scene where a group of human soldiers realize something’s up as the disguised Neputians walk past them and they order the Neptunians to halt. The Neptunians turn and shoot the soldiers and this is where the “MST3K” version cuts to another scene. The uncut version continues however… the human soldiers freeze, disappear, and their shadows are permanently burned into the wall behind them. For those of you who don’t know, this is exactly what happened to people during the atomic explosions in Hiroshima and Nagasaki… the light from the explosion was so intense that it burned people’s shadows permanently into whatever was behind them. Not only that, but the extreme heat of the atomic blast caused them to explode after this happened.
Anyone who has seen the “MST3K” version knows that this is a shallow, trivial and tasteless film to begin with, but this is imagery is so horrifying, offensive, and shockingly out of place that it caused me to turn the movie off in disgust. I sat in stunned silence for a full two minutes trying to comprehend what I just saw. A silly science fiction movie obviously tailored to children showed imagery that reflected one of the most grim and tragic events in history. Even though this scene wasn’t in the aired “MST3K” version, I think it easily qualifies as the most disgusting scene in anything “MST3K” ever made fun of. As sensitive as the Japanese are about any imagery having to do with the atomic bombings (not to mention World War II in general), it is simply stunning that this was ever even considered as a scene in the film. I’m also surprised that Kevin Murphy didn’t comment on this in the ACEG, especially since the Brains cut it out of the episode, presumably because it was so horrible.
Murphy did comment on the use of real stock footage of Tokyo being bombed, which only makes the proceedings even more disgusting. I really want to know who on the production team of “Neptune Men” thought these elements were a good idea, and I sincerely hope these wretched, heartless people never came within 20 miles of a film set ever again.
I *love* this one. Again, I think I’m drawn to the ones with inexplicable weirdness. The Hitler Building?! Roji panty complex?!
“Another four-pack please, Mike” “Servo, your body can only absorb so many panties at a time…”
A breakdancing task chair!
“I LOVE THIS MAN!!!”
Worst.Fight.Scenes.Ever. – On land, and air! Close hand-to-hand has never been lamer!
Space Chief’s car looks like it was designed backwards. It’s got the fins and tail lights on the front.
This one really ramps up the uber-clearance children. I like that, at one point, all the reporters are having to hang around outside, while the children stroll in and out, at will, to see what’s up.
So, the teacher… Space Chief? No? Yes? Sort of? If so, I like how he shows up, ‘fights’ with the aliens, then goes back to work, and doesn’t tip anyone off to the invasion, until the kids come to them, but even then, he basically blows them off, and it takes a reporter to get the ball rolling. He’s willing to cover his secret identity at the cost of the Earth’s safety. Nice going.
Bill was great as Krankor. I love how he’s all squinty the whole time.
Great riffs, throughout, but the movie is so, so awful. – 3.5 Stars.
>>>In this show, Mike is so appalled he gets up to leave, only to realize that there is no air in the rest of the ship.
Crow already knew that. When Mike gets up, Crow warns him “There’s no air out there!” If Crow knew that, wouldn’t he have already told Mike BEFORE this episode? I guess Mike was just that desperate…
Of course, lack of air wouldn’t affect Crow and Tom in the first place — it obviously doesn’t affect Gypsy and Cambot — so I guess they just stay out of friendship/camaraderie.
This is one of my favorite Sci-Fi era shows. Its certainly the lesser little brother of Prince of Space, but it still has a lot of that Japanese kids movie goofiness.
The most dominating characters in this movie are the kids. What is with those voices? Do they really have to run everywhere? And why does the Japanese government allow these kids access to all levels of power like in every one of these types of films? No security protocols whatsoever. The Neptune Men might have proven deadlier than the chicken men of Krankor, but they’re certainly a lesser foe. Much like the Neptune Men, Space Chief himself has just about zero screen presence. Mute heroes and villains are pretty much the worst type you could put in a movie of this type.
Its amazing that Sonny Chiba’s career survived this thing.
The riffing here is spot on. Other than the hatred directed at this movie that is coming up in my reply, they display some of MST3K’s greatest material here. The non-Roman Times host segments are good as well. Especially “Noh” theater and Krankor’s return visit.
The hate spewed at this movie by Mike and the ‘bots is the worst that I can remember. Truly a departure from earlier years and takes MST3K to a place I’m not sure all fans like. I’m okay with it, but the savaging the movie and the Japanese themselves take in this film is really the height of all the anger I’ve seen in the show. There is still some foreigner bashing to be seen in future episodes, but none hold quite the candle of hate that is directed at Neptune Men.
Great episode, but it certainly not as good as some other eps due to the poor quality of the film itself.
Do the Japanese practice just-in-time railroad repair…?
Whoawhoawhoa… I just read Kevin’s commentary. They used actual WWII footage in this?! And the Brains edited out aerial bombardment footage? What the..?
I think one of the best indications of how wretched this movie is, besides the interminable and mind-numbing air war, is the scene where the government meets (and “plays Racko”). The world map in the background is hideously rendered and disturbing. As might have been said in an early incarnation of MST, “they just didn’t care.”
The sound is bad; you can always hear dull and muted voices in the background. The music is a parade of canned marches and mazurkas, having nothing to do with what’s on screen. The dialogue veers off into the non-sequitur land quite often. And yet all that makes this film a jaw-dropping experience. Somebody actually spent time putting this together, thinking it would be entertaining for SOME Japanese children. Boy, were they hard up back then.
And yes, “Noh theater” is brilliant, though when I read about it in school, they actually spelled it “no.”
The “Noh theater” routine is brilliant, a classic sketch. I also love Mike’s response when Crow reminds him that there’s no air anywhere else in the ship, a sort of lifeless, fatalistic “I know…” that suggests that he’s really much happier with the thought of agonizing asphyxiation than watching one more loop of Space Chief shooting down an alien ship so that another can be launched.
Also, their stunned, bewildered recitation of, “Rojee-Panty Complex,” again and again as they try to parse the words with no luck at all, is absolute comedy gold. I really hope this one comes to DVD sooner rather than later (or God forbid, not at all.)
I used to think that “Prince of space” & “Neptune men” were essentially the same movie and were both equally good episodes, but on closer inspection “Neptune men” is a far worse film and not quite as funny as “Prince of space” Phantom of Krankor really does bring a lot to POS & his visit in the host segment is great.
The Roji Panty complex skit is the high point of this ep for me, and of course the stunned reaction of Mike & the Bots when the Hitler building is blown up!
3.7888 stars
Watching this and “Prince of Space” one after another is an eye-opening experience. “Prince of Space” is “The Third Man” when compared to “Neptune Men”. “Prince of Space” has some semblance of a story, some motivation for the villain (even though it gets dropped about a third of the way through), some small little semblance of skill behind the camera, an acceptable pace, and hilariously bad set design… it fells like a movie, a bad movie, but a movie nonetheless.
You’re right, although in a small way you’re wrong too. Invasion of the Neptune Men does actually manage, where The Prince of Space fails, to convey some idea that the alien invasion is actually a threat and that the scientists are doing everything they can to stop it. The aliens are almost menacing in a couple of scenes and the human characters do convey some illusion of competence. You can’t say either about The Prince of Space, which almost seems like a parody of Invasion of the Neptune Men although it was actually made first.
But, yeah, The Prince of Space actually looks and feels like some effort and energy went into it whereas Invasion of the Neptune Men feels like it was made by people who just didn’t care.
The MST3K episode is hard going for me, which it usually is when the movie is devoid of entertainment value of its own. It’s got some of my favorite bits. Tom Servo melting down is always funny, but when he starts pretending that he’s really watching The Magnificent Ambersons (there’s the sleigh ride, ching ching ching!) only to realize, “It’s not The Magnficent Ambersons, I don’t even like The Magnificent Ambersons!” it’s a special moment.
It’s time for a return to Japan and the excitement that is Prince of Sp… wait a sec, who is this guy? Space Chief? Oh man… why am I suddenly afraid?
“Invasion of the Neptune Men” is another one of the episodes I hadn’t seen since the first airing. I was pretty excited about it too, because “Prince of Space” was such an entertaining episode. But all the problems “Prince of Space” (POS) had are magnified to hideous proportions in this “Invasion of the Neptune Men” (IONM). The kids in POS were kinda annoying, but the New York accents did a lot to make them amusing. The kids in IONM sound like they popped right out of the pits of hell, weaving between shrill to strangely deep. The minions of Krankor were goofy sure, but the Neptune Men are just plain boring. Who knew that the lack of actual faces and voices would render them such a bland menace. Then there is Space Chief who rarely makes an appearance and when he does appear, he’s got no personality. Prince of Space, as cardboard as he is at least had his “Your weapons have no effect on me” catchphrase and actually seemed to be spirited in his fight. The movie is dreadfully dull and lifeless. Anything that makes POS look like a rollercoaster ride is truly abominable.
That means that Mike and bots have got to step up and really let things go. And they really do try. Unfortunately the pain of the movie starts to take it’s toll and they go all Japan bashing on the movie. I don’t mind a little of this – but this stuff gets really mean spirited, and even oozes over into the host segments. But aside from that, the movie is truly inert, that makes things really difficult to riff on. The entire end battle scenes are so boring that they are reduced to leaving the theater in agony. It’s funny in a way, but still it leaves us with only one riffer in the theater and it is overwhelming. I still contend that Mike and the bots were usually excellent when they confronted inert films. I love “Skydivers”, “Red Zone Cuba”, “Starfighters” and “The Undead”. But this one just ends up being as deadly as “Monster A Go-go”. The riffing isn’t enough to stop it’s powerful suckage.
As a result the host segments end up being better than the riffing. The whole Noh vs. Kabuki skit was cute and silly. I also enjoyed the visit by the Phantom of Krankor. Bill nails that character and it was really funny. And of course the classic Rojin-panti complex. “More panties Mike.” But when it comes to Crow’s suggestion box, things get a little too mean for my tastes. It seems that Mike and Tom seem to agree with me. I did like that Bobo came back to the evil trio at the end. He really makes that group of characters click. And I have to put in that Bridget seems to be having a blast as Flavia. She’s really great in her scenes.
“Invasion of the Neptune Men” is really an invasion of pain. The last below average episode of the season, and in a way a disappointment, because I usually love the mocking of the Japanese films. I give it 2 and a half stars – and the half is only because of the valiant effort from our team.
BRUTAL movie! It deserves it’s place along side Manos, Red Zone Cuba and Fu Manchu. The host segments are gold, though. I love the Nanites and they were careful not to bring them in too often. I enjoyed Roman Times segments as well.
“Callipygeas and Bobo are on screen at the same time”
This means that someone else had to don the smelly monkey suit. Who had the courage? Bet it wasn’t one of the girls!
Put me in the hate group. This ep almost never makes it onto my TV. The dreary B&W, and unstoppable repetition negate almost any riffing for me. I remember recording this on VHS to watch later. Took me about five times, seriously, before I sat through all of it without dropping off to sleep. This is at the top of my Episodes to Dream By.
On a side note, I take offense to having this lumped in with RZC and Manos. Manos was trying to be a horror movie (which it ended up being, for all the wrong reasons) while RZC at least had a semi-historic storey to share (and you felt a little better watching the man responsible for it all get gunned down in the end). Fu Manchu is a new ep to me (don’t know why I never taped it), but I’ll let you know once I manage to sit through all of that.
And to appease, I’d still rather watch this ep than 90% of what’s on TV now. Just that there are a mountain of episodes I prefer to this.
Also a case of good timing, seeing as RT’s Prince of Space reference was probably the second biggest laugh of last night’s show. It all comes together now…
Have to agree with Jason:
Yes it’s Prince of Space with the coherent story line and likeable characters.
A very tough episode for me. Which begs the question: What will it take for an episode to get less than 4 stars around here! Thank you, won’t you?
Doh! Should be ‘without’ the coherent story line and likeable characters.
It hurts. IT HURTS!!!! I do like the break dancing task chair, though.
Who was the other Bobo fangirl in this episode, the one with the piled-up curly hair?
This movie is rough but I think the riffs are funny enough to make up for it. It kills me every time they make fun of the kids’ voices.
Random thoughts:
“Ah, there’s the click,” never fails to make me laugh. Thank you Mrs. Hunter, my high school english teacher, for having Cat on a Hot Tin Roof as part of your curriculum. Also Bill’s delivery of, “Well there you have it,” before creating the noose is fantastic.
I love that even though Bobo doesn’t know who he is, he’s essentially still Bobo.
Bobo: Who’s got it going on?
Crowd: We believe that you do!
and
Bobo: To the blonde what’s got it going on.
The writer for the dubbing of this movie must have been a geriatric lemur as evidenced by the kids yelling, “That’s Space Chief,” then running up to him and asking, “Who are ya, mister?” Then again if that’s the actual dialogue then it just adds to the utter incompitence of the movie. Amazing that such a large space ship could lanch from the surface of the earth and not leave a single scorch mark.
I love the voice Tom uses when he says, “That means lunch won’t be ’till yesterday.”
My brother and I will randomly do the Noh Theater bit.
Durring the repetative air “battle” I thoroughly enjoy when M&tB turn their attention to something under Crow’s seat. I especially like the way Tom exclaims, “Well don’t touch it!”
“Can’t get enough of Super Sugar Crisp!”
My dad has NEVER understood why the “Noh Theater” bit is funny. Even after so many times of trying to explain it to him, he just doesn’t get the joke. To him, it’s just a bunch of “nonsense talking”.
Aside from the annoying stock footage, the other thing I hate about this movie is the TERRIBLE music! Who’s idea was it to play pip organ music during a lame fight scene?
“That guy just fell down!”
Incidentally, I’m pretty sure that the Hitler Building bit is actually the most watched clip on YouTube.
“That great restaurant the Bunker! You sons of…”
“You blew it up!”
Side me in with “even Mike and the bots couldn’t save it.”
It does everything that PoS does, but nearly all of it worse. There’s no ringing endorsement possible from such terms.
‘Noh Theater’ is great because it lets Mike get one over the bots for a change (I also like the skit in another show where his most prized possession is a beer stein for the same reason).
But segement three is inspired, both because Bill is so dead-on as Krankor but also because it really does feel damn good to see the guy. After so much of the turgid drugery of IOTNM it’s genuinely good to see this chicken-beaked cackling idiot again with his Saturday morning cartoon villain scheming. It’s almost even touching to have M&TB cheer Krankor’s Grinch-like evil heart, and I was practically blubbing along with them when he was gone and they still had this dead weight of a movie to finish.
And it’ll always be ‘eye-soaked oil-lahes’ to me.
I enjoy this one.
My two favorite lines are probably:
Crow, “Paul is a dead man. Miss him. Miss him.”
and
Tom, “…now you’re going to take a beating!”
I’ve been meaning to give this one a go for a while now. You have just sealed the deal. :3
Iggy #26: Bobo’s “arm candy” girls were Michelle Genlo and Katy O’Neil. Should have noted that; thanks for mentioning.
This is a good one. The movie’s brutal but still manageable. The Hitler building gets me every time for some reason. The segments are good as well, thoroughly enjoyable all around.
Just reading “…now you’re going to take a beating!” made me LOL.
Yeah, the movie was brutal but there were so many independent special moments that made this episode special to me. Many are previously mentioned-great host skits especially Krankor and Bridget, Hitler Dept store, simply irresistable makeup on the aliens as soldiers, annoying kids, loopy dubbing, “Special” effects and lamelamelame hero.
What was with Space Chiefs landing pattern whereby he does a “Z” flight pattern on landing? Is he just showing off?
One thing I have to say about this ep, other than the obvious, is that the whole eyelash mite bit is a good example of the way the ‘bots treated Mike as opposed to Joel. It seems that the whole thing was just an elaborate prank to get Mike. They would never have done anything like that to Joel because he created them and he could turn them off. Mike, on the other hand, was more genial and and got a lot of abuse from Tom and Crow. This was not the only time, too. They were the ones who blamed Mike for blowing up all the planets, and when Mike bumped into Crow and became a were-Crow in Werewolf, Crow said Mike ‘stupidly’ bumped into him, when it was clear that Crow stopped short and Mike couldn’t stop in time. Of course, I guess I should really just relax.
I’m going to say it, Space Chief is better than Prince of Space. Space Chief has got a cooler ship, a cooler costume and a better alter ego.
“To be dead. To be nothing. To watch Neptune Men no more.”
Yes, the movie is bad, and get’s horrible at the end with the constant bombing runs. Aside from that, it’s a better movie than Prince of Space. Prior to the bombing, the only repetitive thing in the movie is the children running, and even those lead to scenes that move the plot forward. Prince of Space gets tired from the start, with the Prince being invulnerable to Krankor’s weapons.
There’s also better scientists and science in this movie. The movie establishes a way for them to track the Neptune Men. The Rohji-Panty Complex helps them identify a way to create weapons against the aliens. Then there is the electro-barrier for defense of cities.
Even the maddening bombing runs at the end of the movie is perked up by “The Hitler Building.”
As for the riffing, it’s very good in a general way but not much stands out to me. The host segments on the SOL are great, though. The Noh Theater sketch is well done. It is the kind of thing that will always put MST3K above any current riffing project by the former MST3K cast. The Roman Times segments, however, are strictly utilitarian.
Movie: “Space Chief!”
Crow: Space Late!
Great episode that culminates in Krankor showing up to cheer up Mike and the Bots. I still wonder where peope will go to get their Hitler memorabilia!
Definitely my vote for most tedious movie to sit through in Season 8 and among the Top 3 worst movies of the Sci-Fi era (#1 in that department comes next season), but not among the worst of the worst over the run of the whole show. Thankfully, the riffing still makes it quite watchable for the majority.
Movie:
* I once did a presentation on how not to make convincing sci-fi movies in a writing class for college. This is the movie that inspired the whole idea and several other MST3K’d movies ended up being included.
* I hadn’t seen any of the Gamera movies prior to seeing this, but after seeing all of them I’m really surprised there were no references given that the “lead” child is renamed Kenny.
** On the other hand, “Space Chief’s off having a couple of supporos with Jet Jaguar and Princes of Space,” works nicely.
* Does anyone else think that just one person did all the voices for the children?
* This episode also seemed to have more Japan-bashing jokes than all of the other Japanese MST3K’d movies I’ve seen combined.
* Favorite Riffs:
“Space Chief is actually Racer X, Speed’s brother.” -Mike
“Hey, c’mon! I want to jump around while you fall down more!” -Crow
“Soldiers are popping up everywhere, asking if the war is over yet.” -Servo
And the classic from all three, “Ha ha ha ha ha! Your costume is ridiculous!”
Host segments:
* Bobo’s statue reminded me of “Hey, a chocolate gorilla foot!” from Gunslinger.
* I still haven’t figured out if Crow is calling Mike or Servo the idiot after Mike spells out N-O-H.
* I saw this before Prince of Space, but segment 3 really piqued my interest in seeing it. Sadly that didn’t happen until after Volume VII came out. It was worth the wait.
* Favorite line: “Uh… I got it too. Apply panties to me!”
Puuuure coincidence- my other machine (the mighty HP P-4) is encoding “Neptune” to XVid for enjoyment on my netbook. BTW in my mind this one is indistinguishable from “Prince of Space”.
I also get a big kick out of Bobo, when he’s signing the autographs; He’s speaking what he’s supposed to be writing, but each time, he’s slowing drawing a big X on each tablet.
Awful movie makes for a so-so episode. The riffs were pretty good, but the movie was just that soul-crushingly terrible (or as Crow said, “To be dead – to watch Neptune Men no more”).
Host segments were decent, though – especially the Return of Krankor (I love it when Krankor gets all emotional toward the end).
And the Roji-Panty complex segment is great. Any excuse to work panties into a segment, right? Or, as Bobo would say, “Panties, panties, panties, panties…”
Fart Bargo says:
What was with Space Chiefs landing pattern whereby he does a “Z” flight pattern on landing? Is he just showing off?
If it were a current movie, I’d say he was using a GPS. (Reference: the stories of people driving into lakes, going into underpasses to low for their vehicle, etc.)
Of course, with the many remakes/reimaginings (another Battlestar Galactica, as a movie, for instance) maybe IotNM will get remade!
That reminds me, does the fact that Crow tries to lie about having Rhoji-Panty Complex, which would require the administration of panties to him, make him a pervert?
I have bu tone thing to say: “AHAHAHAHA! YOUR COSTUME IS RIDICULOUS!!!”
Anyway here are my thoughts on this episode.
1: After reading the statement about what happened to the soldiers who were shot, and became victims of an atomic bom-like exposure to radiation, I am glad to hear that was left out of the movie’s summery on the episode guide let alone the actual episode.
2: I must have a higher pain ratio than most of you guys, as I was able to sit through this episode all at once in one sitting. Angel’s Revenge is the episode that made me almost consider suicide. That and Castle of Fu Manchu. The latter actually gave me a headache from the picture quality of the movie itself.
3: Roji Panty Complex. Need I say more?
4: The suggestion box segment, while a bit dicey (though not on the scale of Servo’s Canada song or Crow’s report on Malta) was great. Crow’s last statement considering Luxembourg was awesome. The jab at Anime can be understood by some folks, though it is based on Japanese traditional art as well as their own cultural beleifs. Plus one can tell the Brains enjoy anime because of a number of jokes throughout the series such as the Speed Racer jokes that go as far back as the Joel years, and then the fact that during the host segment in question, Mike mentions Sailor Moon. Servo also utters that series’ name at the start of the movie.
5: The Hitler Building makes one wonder if the Neptune Men were really as bad as people thought, seeing as how they blew the place up. In reality it was an advertisment for the douche’s book, Mein Kampf (which translated means My Struggle).
6: Krankor’s return was awesome, and Bill does an excellent job playing Krankor.Also, a bit of a tidbit for the gamers out there; doesn;t Krankor look kinda like Wario and Waluigi? Maybe it’s where Shigeru Miyamoto drew inspiration from or their character design.
7: On a final note, in regards to a joke made by Crow about one of the kid’s voices where he said “I dunno, Rocky”, it really does sound like Rocket J. Squirrel, AKA Rocky of Rocky and Bullinkle fame (who I beleive was played by June Foray) was the voice used for some of these kids.
I think Servo sums it up best toward the end of the movie, when he says he’s got a theme song for stock footage: Da-da-da-da-da-daah: EAT IT, MOVIE!
As Jason noted earlier in this thread, it’s like someone decided to re-shoot “Prince of Space” without the endearing goofiness.
Still, it does have its moments, and as usual for this season I enjoyed the host segments. This one isn’t as wonderfully bad as “Manos”, “Monster-a-Go-Go” or “Attack of the the Eye Creatures” (and yes, the double definite articles were intentional on my part).
As Sampo notes, it’s the final twenty minutes that make it really punishing to watch, but at least it’s not dark fare which is when the Brains appear to struggle for good material. 3.5 stars.
Re #43
Wow, I completely forgot about that! Nearly every day I listen to MST3K on my computer at work, having seen all of the episodes I can usually recall any visuals needed to get a joke. But it’s been so long since I’ve actually watched this ep that I entirely forgot about the giant X thing. More brilliance added to the Bobo still being Bobo.
@mikek #39:
“There’s also better scientists and science in this movie.”
NO. Better science is more in line with actual physics. This movie does have better plot consistency, but “sigma band”, the “electro-barrier”, and “roji-panty complex” are pure bunk, and, crucially, would be recognized as pure bunk by any respectable physicist of the time.
Whether this episode is better that Prince of Space, for me, comes down to whether “Have you seen my record?” is a better bit than “Your weapons are useless against me”.
I’ve watched them both, over and over again, and I’m still not sure. Ah, well, I guess I’ll have to watch them again…
I’m not the type of fan that will laud Manos or Red Zone Cuba, as I think there’s zero entertainment value to be found in those “films.” This one, however, actually works for me. Maybe it’s because the quirky cultural differences make it a bit more of an appealing trainwreck, or maybe it’s that the Brains threw everything they had at making this one bearable.
And I don’t know about you, but the phrase “whispy bachelor” is a regular part of my lexicon.
This episode left such an impression on me I was honestly astonished when I discovered it hadn’t been released on DVD yet! I was certain I’d just watched it a couple weeks ago or something… (And no, I wasn’t confusing it with PRINCE OF SPACE.)
“They blew up the Hitler Building!”
I kind of wonder if this film would SEEM better if we didn’t have Prince of Space to compare it to.
@ Servo has a breakdown, contracting Roji Panty Complex
Host segments were pretty uneven for me after Joel left the show, sometimes hilarious and sometimes a bit flat, but this one is one of the greats. It really cracks me up. Great job with a rather dull film.
Eh, I’m on this doesn’t work for me side of the Neptune equation…
The first twenty minutes or so are pretty funny and looks like it’s on its way to being at least close to the same ballpark as Prince of Space. Ugh, but, boy, does it slow. The final bits of Mike and the Bots battle with endless stock footage does get funny…some of the best lines have already been quoted, and it’s fun as hell to watch them break down, but can’t make up for the middle slog. Not one I turn to often.
C
The segment where Bobo is signing autographs is hilarious. “Hello, fine foxy lady. I’m gonna write down a room number here.”
And, of course, the Krankor bit. “I suppose that I am fine.” “YOU SCUM!”
When I first learned of the DAP, this was the first episode I got. One of my favorites, and I’d argue the second worst movie of the Sci-Fi era. Bill in particular really shines in this one, from Observer after the Bobo statue reveal (“How to explain this to the likes of you…Bobo ripples time itself, the Nabisco Company never comes into being, no more Chicken In A Biscuit”) to Crow having a boatload of great lines both in the first half of the movie (“Japan’s only stupid guy”) and in the Noh Theater sketch (“Mike, I’m gonna grab a stepladder so you can jump up my butt!”) and on to his tour-de-force as Krankor (“I have been working hard…I suppose you could say I am hardly working HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH”).
Whenever someone asks “What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever seen in a movie?” my first answer is always, bar none, the Hitler Building.
I love this episode, although of the two Prince of Space is definitely the more watchable. I remember that in college, near the point where SciFi stopped reruning the show altogether, they only had the rights to half a dozen episodes that they would show over and over, and this was one of them. I was always disappointed, though, because if I tuned in during the middle, I always thought (and hoped) that it was Prince of Space.
That being said, I’ve come around to the point where I enjoy this one, although I agree that this is one of the tough ones to watch. The skits are top-notch, and frankly this one is worth it for Servo’s stock footage song, which I have referenced many a time.
Seen some pretty weird stuff on the show but that hitler building is one that just never fails to make me go WTF?
“Whatever happened to Space Chef?”
“Space CHIEF.”….five minutes of dull reppetitive footage later…
“Cause this is a Space Chef vehicle right?”
“It’s Chief. And, yes.”
“Y’know, Space Chief should really try going into SPACE sometime!”
“He’s more like ‘Lower-Atmosphere Chief”
“Barely-off-the-stupid-ground Chief.”
And, of couse, Roji Panty Complex. My, I enjoy this episode, the third SciFi ep I ever saw. The Krankor bit didn’t click until I saw Prince of space almost a year later, but I love this episode from start to finish.
“What’s next, the Mussolini Mall?”
“Callipygeas and Bobo are on screen at the same time”
This means that someone else had to don the smelly monkey suit.
Never mind. I just watched it and noticed Callipygeas was never fully on camera. It was he that was played by someone else.
Oh yes, there’s also the fact that in this movie, Observer explains to Pearl the “butterfly effect” concept that she had already explained to him in “Prince of Space.” Sloppy writing there that was noticeable the first time I saw it. But I love them anyway!
Yeah, but, by this episode, the fear of losing the slot machine had faded, so Observer had to bring out the big guns: Chicken In A Biscuit.
“Not MediTechComCorp!”
I love how throughout the series the MST gang continually lampooned the banality of giant faceless corporations.
This is a good ep, although the last 3rd drags as Mike & The Bots begin to despair more. I think it would have helped if the movie had more colorful villains like the chicken men. The dubbing on the kids is hilarious. “My Barue Barockers really work!” Wow – that’s un-P.C.! Awesome.
Does anyone know what “We’re Unghoul (En Goule?)” means? They’ve used variations on this a few times in the show. I’ve tried spelling it out multiple ways but I can never find anything. Also sometimes they say “Serpentine!” when people are running, can anyone clear up these riffs for me?
“Mike mentions Sailor Moon. Servo also utters that series’ name at the start of the movie.” (47)
========================
I somehow doubt they watched it for their own entertainment. Keep in mind Sailor Moon became notorious in the media (briefly) over the lesbian under/overtones. Or maybe the writers kids watched the show.
“That reminds me, does the fact that Crow tries to lie about having Rhoji-Panty Complex, which would require the administration of panties to him, make him a pervert?” (46)
==============================
I just watched Radar Secret Service and Crow is portrayed as a panty freak with an underoo collection.
JCC @ #65:
“Does anyone know what “We’re Unghoul (En Goule?)” means? They’ve used variations on this a few times in the show. I’ve tried spelling it out multiple ways but I can never find anything. Also sometimes they say “Serpentine!” when people are running, can anyone clear up these riffs for me?”
These were both foreign to me also, but other MSTies have explained them online. Maybe someone here has better definitions (?):
• “On gool” is a midwestern pronunciation of “goal” used in a kid’s game (like “tag”) meaning that you are safe or untouchable.
• “Serpentine!” is a quote from the 1979 movie “The In-Laws” (which I’ve not seen yet) featuring Alan Arkin and Peter Falk. Basically, it’s running in a wavy line so a sniper can’t hit you. Google it and you’ll find a clip on YouTube. And yes, this riff originated back in the Joel days.
#57: I can’t believe I forgot the stepladder line was in this one! That’s one of my favorite Crow lines ever! I am ashamed.
Both Crow and Servo were always a bit pervy, but Joel usually stifled those urges. Mike, being the older brother, let them run unchecked but usually just ignored them (as he did with Crow’s feigned-Roji Panty Complex).
As far as the movie itself, why did they evacuate the populace to the country after just establishing that the heat shield keeping the frigid temperatures at bay only extended to the city’s boundaries?
Steve K says:
December 17th, 2009 at 4:44 pm
NO. Better science is more in line with actual physics. This movie does have better plot consistency, but “sigma band”, the “electro-barrier”, and “roji-panty complex” are pure bunk, and, crucially, would be recognized as pure bunk by any respectable physicist of the time.
Whether this episode is better that Prince of Space, for me, comes down to whether “Have you seen my record?” is a better bit than “Your weapons are useless against me”.
I’ve watched them both, over and over again, and I’m still not sure. Ah, well, I guess I’ll have to watch them again…
What I mean is that Neptune Men has better BS science for the purposes of the movie. Those sigma waves, alpha electron rockets and what-not are far better than Dr. Makken’s assumption about why Krankor was attacking Earth.
@ 66
Keep in mind that was only really seen in the original, undubbed Japanese version of the show and the original magna. And while I’ve never really gotten into the series, I haven’t heard or seen much of those themes in the American version of the show, even though the censors were more lenient at the time.
Great dirty (?) riff — Bobo on the reveal of his statue:
“Could have used a little more marble here and there… but still a credible effort!”
A couple of years back, I caught this movie unriffed late one night on Cinema Insomniac (a Bay Area “creature feature” type show, complete with host and silly skits) and kept waiting for the Phantom Dictator of Krankor to appear. Huh? I knew I’d seen it before: a wispy bachelor, annoying kids in a natural setting witness to an inept space invasion… It’s a classic! But no, the comforting Phantom never appeared.
Dumbfounded, I spent a good 10 minutes perusing all my Rhino MST DVD sets for this episode. Seems I confused Neptune Men with Prince of Space. I’d seen them both in the final years of SciFi Channel repeats, probably never realizing they were different movies. (Hell, back then I didn’t even know what a “Joel” was.)
This is my long-winded way of saying “This movie sucks.” Mike and the ‘Bots tried their best to… oh wait, no they didn’t. Even THEY bailed on this movie near the end, even leaving the theater out of pure frustration (which is funny in itself). This is one of the few MST episodes where I’d say the host segments (SOL-only: nanite eyelash-mite war, Noh theater, Roji-Panty Complex, The Return of Krankor!) are funnier than the movie riffing itself.
In fact my favorite bit is mostly dialogue from the original dub of the movie, about 11 minutes into the episode as the kids are at “cram camp” with telescopes:
Kid 1 (Piggie): Look at those two — Lovers! (giggles)
Mike: Jeez, they’re all over each other…
Kid 2: No one looks DOWN for a satellite.
Kid 1 (Piggie): I got mixed up.
Kid 2: He’s very young.
Kid 3: Yeah…
P.S. Did Japanese film-makers of this era actually fantasize about the alien invasion of their homeland in response to the U.S. nuclear attacks which were ostensibly meant to avoid such prolonged land-based, urban civilian-targeted warfare?
For the longest time now, I’ve suspected that the Japanese have a desire to have a mighty, technologically advanced army once again. It may conscious in some Japanese and subconscious in other Japanese, but it’s there. It would explain all of the manga and anime that feature giant robots piloted by humans.
I don’t think it’s just a desire for a high-tech military, but a semi-conscious promise of mind-blowingly advanced technology all around in the future. This likely comes from a positive attitude they had to adopt after getting the bejezus bombed out of them in WWII: Having all your cities destroyed doesn’t matter, because you’ll just rebuild ‘em ten times better afterwards. Mecha are just the ultimate embodiment of technology.
This is why my most quoted quip from IOTNM is Tom’s great zinger from near the end: “Due to the apocalypse, cram-school will be delayed by 45 minutes” There’s soooooo much anime where Tokyo or whatever made-up besieged city gets damn-near leveled…and daily life just somehow resumes amidst the ruins IMMEDIATELY after the enemy is defeated, like they just suffered a few rolling blackouts. I most recently used it at the roughly 2/3 point in “GaoGaiGar”.
The best example of this idea is probably the original Macross (first third of Robotech), where refugees from a destroyed island have to keep rebuilding their city inside a giant salvaged alien spaceship as it’s ruined time and again not only by attacks from associates of the original owner, but their own ignorance for building stuff in areas where it’s crushed or sucked out into space when the ship occasionally transforms itself…and then the main Zentradi armada arrives and carpetbombs Earth, revealing that the plight of Macross City was the best thing that could’ve happened in the big picture, since it gave the inhabitants great practice for rebuilding all of human civilization later on.
The weirdest permutation of this idea I’ve seen wasn’t in anime, but “Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah” from the early ’90s, where humans from our future go back in time to replace the former monster with the latter, to ensure that our cities are even more thoroughly destroyed, because then they could show us how to rebuild even better (because, naturally…WHAT?!?!?!?) This film was briefly controversial for a WWII scene in which a young Gojira crushes American soldiers, accidentally saving a Japanese platoon, but should really be remembered for finally breaking both any remaining shred of continuity from 60s-70s Godzilla movies, as well as the longstanding tradition of dumb, forgettable human subplots bearing a contrived connection to the monster action, replacing it with a time-travel plot so convoluded that it reaches the epitome of deranged nonsense by the one hour mark.
Ah, but getting back to THIS movie…few experiments give you that great feeling of having endured something epically brutal. From TISCWSLABMUZ on, I saw Season 8 completely in order, and there is just no way it’s closing trilogy “…of the FUTURE!!!!!!!”, would have tasted as sweet without the satisfaction of having just survived the virtual Bataan Death March that was 819 (If that’s too offensive a metaphor, I blame Paul for putting it in my head in ACEG). Kind of like the satisfaction of finally finding one’s record…for the lone second one gets to savor it. I need this one on DVD, not DAP, ASAP.
First, let me say, Japan is just weird.
This movie is a prime example of the Brains ability to take a dog turd and turn it into a diamond. The worse the movie is, the better the riffing. The last quarter of the movie was Mike and the Bots finest hour, culminating in Servo’s epic “EAT IT MOVIE!” tirade.
The Hitler Building bombing, I believe, would qualify as a ‘Big Lipped Alligator Moment’ according to the Nostalgia Critic’s definition.
Theres so many great riffs that I couldn’t list them all. But, heres a few of my favorite.
“Soldiers are popping up everywhere asking if the war is over.”
“Well a look at traffic. It looks like its a straight shot in to your stiffling workplace. Later, going to the bar to avoid your family should be no problem.”
“We’ll call our friends the Russians! Er…no. The Koreans! Er…um, the Chinese! Er…”
“Its over 200 maaAAAAAS!”
“Scientists labor around the clock to figure out what the hells the deal with Japan.”
“Oh no. I have trenchmouth. Wait, I’m okay now.”
“Space Feeb!”
“Space Dink!”
“Space Late!”
“Barely-Off-The-Stupid-Ground Chief.”
“I’m coming too! Wait for grampa rocket.”
“Suppository Man!”
“Suddenly ‘Independence Day’ is a richly nuanced movie.”
“Now we aim the rockets at San Francisco…I mean the Neptune Men! The Neptune Men.”
If MST3K had gone on a little longer, they could’ve done some of the Starman movies starring Ken Utusi. These were just as hilariously bad as “Prince of Space” and “Neptune Men” and the hero wears an even fruitier outfit. Some of the Starman movies include “Evil Brain From Outer Space” and “Attack From Space”.
As painful as it is to see Space Chef-er, Chief shooting down one crispix after another, I still consider this a decent episode. Not Pumaman enjoyable, but not Red Zone Cuba bad either. It’s not quoted often but one kid says at the end “I’ll make clothes that glow!” I’m surprised that strange line hasn’t been picked up much. I suffer from Roji Panty Complex so much I have to shop at Victoria’s Secret! I’m glad the employees never ask me if it’s for a girlfriend or wife… “He was trained by Bruce Le…bowitz.”
Oh, the humanity!
OH, THE JAPANITY!
One thing about Space Chief, it makes somewhat more sense for a scientist to own a flying vehicle than it does for a shoeshine guy to own a flying vehicle.
Off Topic, is there a “Jack Frost” review around here somewhere? I can’t find it.
After watching Neptune Men, one thing that really confuses me is how did Prince of Space, which, while completely cheesy and utterly formulaic, is in every respect a better movie, come out three years *before* Neptune Men. Perhaps it’s just the dubbing, but Neptune Men seems like the stumbling first attempt at making an effects film by a novice film-maker rather than the work of a studio that had been making films for over 10 years.
#51, I use “wispy bachelor” a lot too.
Has anyone figured out what the hell “Roji-Panty Complex” was actually supposed to mean?
>>>how did Prince of Space, which, while completely cheesy and utterly formulaic, is in every respect a better movie, come out three years *before* Neptune Men
That’s sort of like asking how did “Star Wars” come out before “Robot Holocaust.” Anything even a little good is inevitably followed by plenty of stuff that’s not-so-good.
Concur with Mr Hanna@76 relative to the Starman flicks. The alien council alone is worth viewing. These films are really out there. Special effects there is one scene where Starman throws this guy across a large room and you can actually see the pully system which resembled a backyard clothesline. Perhaps CT or RT would be so kind to consider the movies mentioned @76.
Reading about the WWII footage, and especially the effects of the invaders’ guns on the soldiers, really puts the whole movie into a brand new light.
I think the primary motivation for the film had nothing to do with copying the trendy action hero films and shows of the time and everything to do with the director publicly venting his feelings about WWII.
Where will get our Hitler memoralbilia?!?
Kouban: ‘I think the primary motivation for the film had nothing to do with copying the trendy action hero films and shows of the time and everything to do with the director publicly venting his feelings about WWII.’
…and that’s why I find it so hideous. It’s reactionary. It’s a knee-jerk bit of pandering on the filmmaker’s part. The use of the aerial bombardment footage seems like a potshot at the US’ bombing of Japan, but once again, in the context of this film, it’s dreadfully inappropriate. I would make some comment about it being propaganda, but I won’t give the movie that much credit.
Admittedly, a lot of Japanese movies at the time used metaphors for WWII. The 1954 “Godzilla” is the most notable, but keep in mind that it was taking itself seriously as an adult drama. You know what… everyone here needs to rent the Japanese version of the 1954 “Godzilla” (the version that doesn’t have Raymond Burr). Believe it or not, it’s a really strange and compelling science fiction movie that uses discomforting metaphor effectively, sort of an opposite to “Neptune Men”. In spite of the fakey effects, it’s one of the only good disaster movies out there.
How much WWII footage is in the movie? I was watching the battle at the end of the movie and all I saw was pretty good looking models being blown up? I guess some shots of crowds of people fleeing could be from WWII, but where’s the rest of it?
From a thread on IMDB:
“This is not true. Despite what IMDB’s trivia section says (it’s wrong), footage of destruction in “Neptune Men” was culled from the long-thought-to-be lost “The Final War” also produced by Toei in 1960 (and not to be confused with Toho’s “The Last War” from 1961).
The Hilter Building is footage from “The Final War” but it’s unknown what its context was in the original movie.”
When I first read this, I assumed that it was posted by someone who also frequents this site, so I’m surprised I was the first to post it. I think most people just assumed that actual bombing footage was the only logical explaination for ol’ Adolph’s cameo.
There’s just so much stock footage at the end that it could have come from multiple sources, but that’s just a guess on my part.
Re: The Bolem
Not all of the street-level footage in the finale is authentic (obviously), but there are a few shots the Brains left in that look like authentic bombing footage. It doesn’t surprise me that some of the more competent looking effects are from another film… back before VHS even big-budget movies would use stock footage from other films (look at “Meteor”). Now keep in mind, I didn’t see the whole of the dubbed “Neptune Men” so I’ve never actually seen the uncut finale.
I’ll see if I can find a copy of “The Last War”… reading the plot synopsis makes that Hitler building seem even more out of place (the film apparently takes place post-WWII). It apparently had a US release.
After all this time…still makes me laugh…
Aw nuts, I misspelled “Adolf”? Sheesh, and I minored in German too…
It’s also a tad odd to me that no one’s mentioned the stinger, which is easily in my top 5. The way “Piggy” falls on his butt from being startled looks quite unnatural, and the noise they dubbed in is almost exactly like the “m-ACHK-um” sound Jon Lovitz used in ‘The Critic’ whenever Jay Sherman chomped or gagged on something. It’s a strange little moment, overshadowed by far more inexplicable and scarring things later on, so it was perfect to rehash at the end.
Another thing I love about this episode is all the Beatles references they manage to cram in: The Hard Day’s Night riff, the Ringo-as-Thomas-The-Tank-Engine-Narrator gag, and the perennial favorite of “Paul is a dead man, miss him, miss him.”
Re #81 MC:
Yes, in fact: the original line is about identifying the metal used in the aliens’ spaceship. The scientist notices that it contains a roji-panti complex, presumably some alloy of made-up alien metal names which identify the invaders’ origins. It’s probably just an unfortunate coincidence that part of the name has a particular meaning in English.
They actually do another ‘Paul is dead’ gag when the scientists listen to the deep-voiced Neptunian’s message: Tom says “I buried Paul” during the dialogue. Great stuff.
@94
I thought Servo said “I married you” at that point?
@93:
That’s exactly what it is. At one point one of the scientists mention that “we have found rojium and pantium in the hull” or something of that sort, so the Roji-Panti Complex is likely some sort of alloy. Still, it’s kind of hard to believe no one picked up on that during the dubbing.
There’s a moment in here that really crystallizes why I prefer the Sci-Fi riffing crew to the Comedy Central ones (and, as a result, Rifftrax to CT). When they first show the “prefab Lutheran church” there’s a little acoustic guitar riff that doesn’t fit in context at all, and if you listen you can hear Bill chuckle under his breath and say “What’s with the guitar?” like he’s whispering it to the other guys. Little things like that always made it feel more like I was just hanging out with my buddies watching a movie and making fun of it, and those moments seemed to be a lot rarer in the Comedy Central era (especially while Joel was there). To me, it’s proof that Mike, Kevin, and Bill were a lot more comfortable with one another than any of the other riffing lineups, and it still shows today. Rifftrax feels more to me like you’re hanging with your friends, whereas CT feels more like you’re watching performance art. That’s not a knock on any of the other guys, it’s just a statement of personal preference.
I always thought they said “Rho G/Pannium complex”–rho, as in the greek letter, and pannium being some sciencey-sounding metal. My God, why did I even devote any brainpower to this?
Watching crappy sci-fi movies like this one sometimes make me wonder how today’s crappy sci-fi (e.g., 2012, Transformers) will be regarded 50 years from now.
Another interesting bit in the riffing is how M&TB’s attitude toward the children slowly changed over the course of the movie. When the Neptune Men first appear and surround them, and the scene is genuinely horrifying for a few seconds, it’s a sarcastic: “So they came to Earth to strangle little kids – Thank you Japan!” But near the end, as they cower in front of the Untouchables’ ride, it’s: “Gee, I hope that car doesn’t LURCH FORWARD! CRUSH THEM! END IT NOW!” A gradual tonal shift like that must have been a bit hard to nail just right after 10 consecutive viewings.
And there were at least 2 references to “caning” them in the middle. Everyone remembers that incident where a dumbass American youth learned the hard way not to tag cars in Singapore, right?
And having Sonny Chiba play Space Chef was kind of a waste. He didn’t really even get to show off any martial arts ability since his opponents in the only hand-to-hand scene couldn’t react in real-time. Sure he’s more impressive than Prince of Space who just shot at everyone, but watching him bounce around without knowing who was under that Protoman getup, I wasn’t sure if he was a martial artist or some sort of acrobat. (Not that I could jump half as well, but still…)
And for the sake of being nitpicky, he actually looks a lot more like Speed Racer villian Snake Oiler of the Car Acrobatic Team. Still, “SpaceChiefisactuallyRacerX, Speed’sbrother”, is one of the best riffs.
Wasn’t there some debate as to whether his actual name in Japanese was IronSharp, since IMDB seems to indicate that IronSharp was a different character than Space Chief? Possibly the Neptunian leader? Did we ever resolve that?
And my favorite riff, which I don’t think has been mentioned here despite being quoted a lot in other threads, is of course when our hero arrives nearly an hour too late to save half of Tokyo, and Servo sings along with his heroic entrance music:
“Space Chieeeeeef,
failed mis-rablyyyyyy,
and tried to cooo-verrr-up
his shaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaame!”
I still say I love this episode precisely because it seems to be consciously trying to kill anyone foolish enough to sit all the way through it, and that’s exactly the type of movie MST3K was created to tackle!
Here is a movie that is refreshingly unashamed to blatantly hate the audiance. It didn’t help that those us watching it’s premier had just seen this movie a few weeks ago. It was called Prince of Space,and it was a lot better. The story and elements are almost identical. It’s like someone watched Prince, and thought, “I can tell this same story, but a whole lot worse.”
The cildren were straight off the Japanese Lord of the Flies island. Each one was individually more annoying than all the other japanese monster children, including the near psychotic Kenny from the first Gamera movie.
I’ve seen Sonny Chiba in the Street Fighter movies, and connecting that actor with the spastic dork in tights called Space Chief involves too much cognitive dissonance. I can’t do it. Sorry.
And Dorko the Gay Blade is facing off against a bunch of mute stumbling garbage cans that can be defeated by a strong breeze, who invade earth with no particular plan, and no special abilities to carry it out with, aside from making a record play backwards.
And I can’t think of worse padding in any movie besides the endless loop of indestructable wheat thins attacking each other in null-space. The rock climbing in Lost Continent wan’t half as painfull to watch. How can a starship fight be rendered so boring and inert.
And of course, no comment on Neptune Men would be complete without some mention of (drumroll) The Hitler Building. I’m not sure there is a greater WTF! moment in MST history. All I can speculate is that the director thought blowing up a big image of Hitler would be a gesture of rejection of fascism, and by implication japanese militerism, as a gesture of goodwill to western audiances. Instead of making us all wonder why on earth there would be a hitler building in postwar Japan (or anywhere for that matter), and what other monuments to fascist dictaters were in the area.
The director was either the biggeset screw-up in film history, or he hated the human race and wanted us all to suffer. What did we ever do to him?
And about the first two host segments: In Leech Woman, we saw that the nanites have tanks, which they used for union-busting. Wouldn’t those have been pretty useful in the war with the eyelash mites? Of course, if the terrain of Mike’s eyelids really is that much like Vietnam’s, that would mean airlifting…
*ahem* All I mean is that the eyelash war sequence was just so neat that seeing those tank props recycled and blown to smithereens is the only thing that could’ve made it even better.
And for the record, I’ve always liked all the Roman Times segments. They made the whole Endless Chase eclectic enough to be a true Space Odyssey.
Ah, the Nanite segments were always good. It’s another thing that makes me appreciate the Sci-Fi era so much. Whatever trouble the Brains had with the network is nullified by the success from making MST3K more “sci-fi”.
#96:
Yeah, I agree. Something really changed in the show’s dynamic when Bill came into the theater. Everyone started to legitimately crack each other up, coupled with making what seemed like off-the-cuff side remarks to each other. It’s why I’ll always prefer these later years (although still loving and treasuring what came before, obviously). It felt a lot more relaxed and natural, and it doesn’t surprise me that Mike, Kevin, and Bill are still together to this day.
@ everyone re: Roji-Panty Complex
It’s pretty clearly one of the Brains’ deliberate mishearing gags. When the scientists mention the two metals, I’ve never heard them as anything other than “rogium” and “pannium,” and the complex as “rogi-panni complex.” As to what either of them could be, I’ve tried Googling several variations on the spelling, and haven’t found anything that seems significant, so they seem to be made-up elements.
The first one is Rhodium. It is a precious metal. As for the other, it might be a variant or old name for something else, maybe platinum. Or maybe that one really is made up.
IotNM is an exercise in banality squared. At no time should you expect a ray of sunshine to penetrate the inky cloud of blithering nonsense in which this movie was filmed.
The end sequence especially shows the director’s contempt for humanity. Any film that recycles Nazi footage is strictly in it for inducing as much pain as possible in 90 minutes.
Servo’s ending rant shows incredible restraint compared to the NC-17 cuss fest I would have written.
Randy
Don’t look now but it appears the Hitler building has been rebuilt.
http://failblog.org/2010/01/22/dance-club-fail/#comment-763148
“Soldiers are popping up everywhere, asking if the war is over yet.” I think this have something to do with Japanese holdouts after WWII.
#106 –
I was about to post a link to that, but you beat me to it.
Judging by some of the characters visible, I believe that may be in Korea.
I’d still love to know exactly what the deal was with the Hitler building.
This one is hard for me to rewatch, moreso because I think the riffing isn’t that good – certainly not as good as Prince of Space – and it doesn’t help to know that footage of WWII was used at one point. The last third is indeed one giant pain parade, kinda like the Bataan (sp?) Death march put to a children’s film. If this ever sees the light of dvd this may be the rare disc that I skip watching for the rest of my life, and I don’t say that lightly about ANY MST episode, because the show to me is like blood, I need it to go on with my life.
But thankfully things only get better from here, and Season 8 ends on a tremendous high-note.