Movie: (1952) A sea-going adventurer sets sail to find the bluebird of happiness, which he believes will help his down-on-its-luck hometown.
First shown: 8/14/93
Opening: J&tB are presenters and nominees at the SOL-tie awards
Invention exchange: The Mads present chin-derwear, while J&tB show off the rat pack chess set
Host segment 1: J&tB have a meeting of the Junior Jester Club
Host segment 2: J&tB are the bearded town council debating the Sinbad problem
Host segment 3: Crow’s lifelong quest thingy goes awry
End: The bots are amazed by Joel’s channel cat puppet, letter, Frank meets Mr. Fistie
Stinger: Laughing horse
(152 votes, average: 4.55 out of 5)
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• Oh my, oh my, oh my, what a wonderful episode. An all-time fave. Everything works, everything clicks. Great invention exchanges, great host segments, great riffing and a well-shot, expensive — albeit weird — movie. Despite my personal attachment to “The Day the Earth Froze,” I have to say this is the best of the Russo-Finnish movie episodes.
• This episode was included in Shout! Factory’s “Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection: Vol XX.”
• You gotta assume the opening is perhaps a reflection on their “always a nominee, never a winner” TV award history.
• Both inventions, chin-derwear and the Rat Pack chess set, are not just clever, they are downright witty.
• That’s Mike, of course, attempting Frank Sinatra. He doesn’t sound much like ol’ Blue Eyes, but he has the intonation down pretty good. In any case, as we approach the switch in hosts, Mike is seen and heard more and more.
• He’s not Sinbad, and director Aleksandr Ptushko never intended him to be. But when this Soviet-financed film was released to American audiences, the lead character was given the name “Sinbad” in hopes of fooling American moms and dads, who, the American importers knew, would never allow their kids to see a movie made by commies.
• Comedy Central used this episode for a contest: viewers were asked to write in and guess what the riff would be after Morgana (or whatever her name was) said “You seem troubled.” The correct answer was: “Have some Prozac.” The winner was a lady in New Jersey named Susan Schneider (she’s at the beginning of this collection of ’93 Turkey Day bumpers) who was on, I forget, either Prodigy or AOL. The prize was one of those god-awful giant-screen rear-projection TVs that were unaccountably popular at the time (and five grand, which was pretty sweet, even if the ridiculous TV took up half the space in her rec room). She threw a party and invited some of the folks she knew on line for the weekend — a decision she came to regret, but that’s another story for another day. I’m sure that behemoth she won is moldering in a landfill somewhere now.
• Crow the jester is carrying the little mini Crow last seen in the possession of Sir Giggles Von Laughs-a-lot.
• Again, the writing in the Junior Jester Club sketch is off-handedly brilliant.
• J&tB are still wearing jester hats when they enter the theater after the first segment. Also, Crow has no net for a lot of the riffing.
• Arty reference: “I can’t tell if that’s a Magritte or a hole in the wall.” Did Magritte do many giant frescos?
• Odd riff: “…and a tetherball.” What’s that about?
• Too-harsh riff?: “Jell-O tonight!”
• Did anybody else notice a similarity between the creepy laughing horse in this movie and the creepy laughing reindeer in “Santa Claus”?
• As if the segments up to this point haven’t been great, the second sketch is a riot, maybe one of their best. It even has an ending! “I wanna be the Labor MP from Brixton!”
• Callback: “Tom Stewart killed me!” (Tormented), “Please give my best wishes to everybody!” (Minsky the robot in last week’s episode) “A sampo?” (Day the Earth Froze), “Hikeeba!” (Women of the Prehistoric Planet).
• This is one of those episodes with some theater business: First Joel and Crow drift off under the spell of the magic bird, then off goes Crow on his lifelong quest thingy. I love how Crow flies in from above upon his return. I guess Jef Maynard or somebody was up on a ladder next to the riffing chairs?
• Obscure reference: the infant of Prague.
• The movie was already really strange, but in the last 15 minutes it really gets goofy.
• Gypsy seems a little hungry in the final segment.
• Firesign Theatre reference: “Those eyes! Weird!”
• There are not one but two uses of “wha happa?” in this episode.
• And just to finish things off, the appearance of an instant classic bit, Mr. Fistie!
• Cast and crew roundup: Some of the same folks worked on “The Sword and the Dragon,” including cinematographer Fyodor Provorov, costumer Olga Kruchinina, art director Yevgeni Kumankov and actors Sergei Stolyarov, Yelena Myshkova and Sovol (a.k.a. Sergei) Martinson. Actor Mikhail Troyanovsky was also in “The Day the Earth Froze.” And of course Alfred Pusco a.k.a. Aleksandr Ptushko, also directed “The Day The Earth Froze” and “The Sword and the Dragon.”
• CreditsWatch: Andrea J. DuCane is back for a 14-episode run doing hair and makeup. Host segments directed by Kevin Murphy.
• Fave riff: “And stock up on socks! You know, you’re never gonna have this chance again!” Honorable mention: “Is this really the best away team he could have chosen?”
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Fave riff:
“Sinbad went to the woods and took a magic BM”
This episode is also notable because it provides one of my favorite Poopie! moments.
“That’s disgusting, Frank! Let me try.”
“That bear has hammer pants on!”
Sampo – Haven’t checked the RPMs? For shame! :wink: There’s definite Vroom-age going on. It fact, this ep ranks #8 all time. I just love “Day Earth Froze” so much that this ep just can’t beat it. Still excellent, though.
I believe “wha happa?” is a nod to a Bugs Bunny cartoon.
I believe the “tetherball” riff was just one of those times when Joel kept the line between “obscure riff” and “complete nonsense” very very thin.
Morgiana: …and I’ll be there bringing you my golden fish
Joel: Oh wow!
My full review is here.
When I saw the listing for this in the TV Guide, I told my Dad about it, because he’d always been a fan of the Ray Harryhausen Sinbad movies, and we assumed that this was a similar such Sinbad movie.
Wow. I think my Dad laughed his head off.
Even when you consider that Sadko was never meant to be Arabian, you still can’t help but giggle at how stiff, pretentious and melodramatic the retelling of a Russian folktale is. All the men wave their arms and scowl. Women move like they had taken a pound of Valium. And then the movie gets dubbed…
What’s funny about the three Ptushko films is they all seem to have been appropriated by different U.S. distributors, so the credits and dubbing style for each film look radically different. However, the cinematic style is clearly the same, particularly for “Sinbad/Sadko” and “The Sword and the Dragon/Ilya Mourometz”.
As for the sketches, the town council’s Sinbad hearing is the best (“Can I get some more water, please?”) though Tom seems to be taking it all seriously for some reason.
My favorite riff is one of the final ones. We cut to a two shot of Sinbad and Luberia, and Sinbad has this glazed, insane look in his eyes as he stares into the camera and says “Follow your heart to happiness!” Joel: STOP LOOKING INTO MY SOOOOOOULLL!!!!
Others include “Mr. Bad, the tenants downstairs are asking you to stop,” “You can kill them with a fork, but please, use a spoon!” and, regarding Sinbad’s “sacrifice,” “It works better when you go underwater!”
God I HATE this episode. :evil: The movie is so boring. Easily the worst MST episode of all time.
While I consider this to be the least of the Russo-Finnish fairy tales, The Magic Voyage of Sinbad has a special place in my heart for the localization-related goofiness. The movie’s filled with pale, fur-clad aryans who fight for the forcible distribution of wealth in a city of Kremlin-esque domes, and the distributors were hoping that no one would notice it was Russian? They could just as easily have renamed the title character King Arthur or George Washington or Winnie-the-Pooh for all the sense it would have made.
Favorite host segment moment: The ‘bots trying to figure out why the fish puppet has stopped moving after Joel takes it off.
Favorite riff: “They’ve also got a dog with the head of Alan Alda.”
“Ours is a society founded on ancient traditions!”
“Really? I thought we just sold each other fish.”
Fave riff: “Oh, and by the way, I left $10,000 in the blubblubblub.”
Also: “I’ve glued you all to the boat and put rods in your legs for a reason!”
And finally: The “He moved” song. “He mooooved, he mooooved, he just made a lit-tle moooove.”
When after many years and moving around a few times I finally, finally got a cable company with Comedy Central, this was the first episode I found. Unfortunately, it was on at the 2am Sunday night/Monday morning slot and so I had to go to bed before it was over, but I knew this show would be one of the loves of my life from then on.
I’m occupied today with, happily, another love of my life so haven’t time to comment further just yet. However, I would like to offer what is actually the best riff: as the movie shows seagulls flying over the ocean, Joel sings, “And I raa-aa–aaaan, I ran so far awaa-aaa-aaaay!”
This may very well be my all-time favorite episode, my go-to show when I’ve had a crappy day and need a pick-me-up. Totally weird, fun movie, great riffing, great host segments: it’s the perfect experiment.
“These people: any excuse to squat.”
One of my first Joel shows I ever saw, and it still holds up today. It’s just all around super-good. I love near the beginning when Crow is doing his Popeye voice of Sinbad.
Kiss my big beautiful butt, I won!
My favorite riff grows more obscure every day, but I still love it: “They’re having an intervention for Dan Haggerty!”
I need everyone’s opinion. When I was watching this yesterday, I noticed that one of the merchants bears a striking resemblance to Jack Frost from episode #813! When Sinbad crashes the party in the banquet hall, he’s the guy who says “Away with the troublemaker.” right after Joel riffs “Jerry, you always come up with the right line.”
Anyone?
In the Town Council sketch, one of the nameplates reads: “HON. ROSNIBON.”
Fave riff:
“You seem so gloomy.”
“Here, have some Prozac!”
Infant of prague is not obscure reference for
Roman Catholics of a certain age-
Statue of baby Jesus in Royal regalia quite popular icon back when
A few observations off the top of my head(need to watch this again):
I loved how the Frank Sinatra chess piece held up the crew before they left: “You dont got movie sign until I say you got movie sign, capice?”
Fave riffs: The descriptions of the bluebird of happiness: Joel, “It’s the penguin of giddiness!” Tom: “No, its the greckel of velschmirtz.”(sp?) Crow: “Ah, it’s the grebe of obstinance!”
Poor Joel never got his water, did he?
Gizmonic: I wouldn’t be surprised if the guy from Jack Frost appeared here. One of Sinbad’s men was one of Ilya’s brothers in The Sword and the Dragon. I think everyone is checking Daddy-O’s page to be sure.
Also loved how they confused Herman Hesse with Howard Hesseman. More later.
“Did you see that?”
“He’s carrying a horse!”
Just the delivery…
I’ve often wondered if Jim improvised that bit where Gypsy tries to eat Joel’s puppet. That entire skit with the Bots freaking out was hilarious.
It sounds like I’m in the minority, but I didn’t like the Rat Pack Chess Set. It seemed too much like a list of names. Everything else was great, though. Chinderwear has so many possibilities. The opening sketch may have to do specifically with the Cable ACEs, as I think those were the ones they got nominated for until the award was discontinued. Otherwise, everything else I thought of has already been covered.
My favorite episode. Everything works. I particularly adored the town council meeting.
every time i think of this one all i can hear is the reference to the other Sinbad: the orange-haired purple-pantalooned hack comic of the 80’s.
“Women be different than men!”
What Magritte did paint a lot were blue skies with fluffy clouds; he occasionally painted holes in walls as well.
I really loved the closing sketch, and how the bots were completely unable to understand the concept of puppetry.
This episode isn’t one of my favorites.
It’s okay, but I can think of 150 episodes that I liked better.
My favorite riff:
You’re worse than a hypocrite!
Joel: “You’re a hippopotamus!”
All I remember of this episode is Sinbad jokes like ‘Woman be different from men’ and ‘He’s not Sinbad!’ ‘Can I get get more water please!’
I don’t remember how much I liked it or not.
‘Skinbag!’ ‘Fizzbang!’ :razz:
I thought this was a fun episode, very goofy and lively most of the time, with great sketches and inventions. I love the Rat Pack Chess Set! It’s Rat Pack-tacular!
this is one of the best episodes. it is not the best but it is up there. my favorite line was the narrator says the rich get richer. crow: but yet they also looked like crap.
This ep is slow in spots, but overall, I loved it. There were two moments when I first saw it, I was cracking up at the utter stupidity of it. When (not)Sinbad started -er-singing? I couldn’t believe how BAD that part was. You can actually see Crow gaping in disbelief. Sinbad starts singing something about “is there a place where kindness dwells” and Crow says, “Is there a place where you can SHUT UP?”
Then a moment later, Joel says, “Uh, if you find a melody,Sinbad,– hop on.”
The other part that made me burst out laughing was when the movie REALLY broke the goofy meter and they were under water…”How come water isn’t WET under water?” (I think Tom said that). And that bird that Luberia sent LANDS ON SINBAD’S SHOULDER, and Joel says “Wait, how does THAT work?”
Then Neptune (?) I guess it is, and his ditzy wife start arguing about wheter or not Sinbad looks like her stupid cousin.
And fish and octopi start dancing to more of Sinbad’s “singing” and then he escapes on sea horses!!! (Joel: “It’s a team of prawns!”).
Couldn’t dream that up if I tried.
Koo-KOO.
If you must jest, don’t drink.
“I give up my hat now I’m the jerk!” — Sinbad
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this episode. Hi joke density with high quality joke writing throughout, even the “throwaway” riffs are hilarious. The host segments are top-notch on target making fun of the film. Can’t say enough good things about it.
Favorite jokes:
– The “magic BM” by the enchanted lake joke.
– Luberia, what an annoying name.
– The jokes near the end about trying to get rid of Sinbad and not being able to get him under the water fast enough.
– The massive quantity of jokes in town in the early part of the film when Sinbad is cheesing off the town elders and merchants trying to make things better. At the party, after one oddly delivered line in the movie, Servo says, “he just brought the level of discourse waaaay down.” Cracks me up every time!
One of the best episodes, ever!
“No, no, I’m Dutch; I don’t want any furs. …What am I doing here?”
“These people; any excuse to squat.”
“How come water isn’t wet underwater?”
And the incredibly bizarre manner in which Neptune bounces up and down on his throne in giddy delight is somewhat …obscene. Which makes it awesome.
Sinbad: “I’ve muddled my own plans”
Joel: “You’ve muddied your own pants????”
This is a tough one in some ways. Over-flowing with imagination, yet mind numbingly slow in pacing and general storytelling.
This movie could have been an all time classic, if the filmmakers hadn’t forgotten how to keep the audience involved. Too many dead spots and weird story shifts, that even SOL riffing can’t compensate for.
However the riffing is terrific, for the most part. The host segs are good, not overwhelming. Altogether, a good but not great episode.
Favorite riff:
GOOD BYE, SINBAD!: Joel, after Sinbad gives fourth or fifth “good-bye” speech before going to see King Neptune.
I never DID understand ‘ROSNIBON’
Favorite riff – During the storm scene some men are rowing a lifeboat and Crow says, “Stroke! Stroke! Stroke!” A big wave washes over the boat. “Drown! Drown!”
A great episode, though I always think of the scene where Sinbad is choosing his crew by having them drink booze from a helmet, and two of the now dated riffs that accompany it: “They’re test marketing Crystal Pepsi” and “This must be how they chose jurors for the Rodney King trial.”
Also: “It’s noon and he’s still filibustering!”
>> “I never DID understand ‘ROSNIBON’”
Assuming this comment from above is not facetious, ‘Rosnibon’ is an anagram of ‘Robinson’ as in Joel Robinson.
More terrific riffs from Episode 505:
“Fork you all!”
“It’s the guys from town, they changed outfits and ran around to the other side.”
and many more mentioned above by others, like the “rods in the legs” comment, the “carrying the horse” comment and more. Too many to mention them all.
The Junior Jesters Club sketch is a favorite of mine. Love the “Mr. B Natural practice” joke during that one.
I was in Prague and I actually saw the infant.
The most over-dressed baby doll I’ve ever seen. The Liberace of iconic figures…
I never have liked this ep much, so I’m going to give this one another chance and report back.
Fredrerick and Jay: I forgot about those riffs, wickedly funny. :twisted:
Great episode! Hysterically funny riffing, awesome invention exchanges, clever host segments, and an entertaining albeit weird movie to watch too!
I don’t know why, but I always loved those “LOOK TO THIS DAY, GRADUATE!” jokes they’d use whenever there was a close-up of a character looking off in the distance. The overdramatic delivery makes it work somehow.
gah i love this ep.the whole lake scene cracked me up,as did when neptune cries like a baby and tom goes”He pulled my tails
oh and i love rat pack chess(you dont got moview sign till i say you got movie sign capice)and evrytime i see chinderwear i expect dr f to say frank thats disgusting.let me try lol
Ah, yes, “The Norwegian Adventures of Sinbad”. Terrific episode from start to finish. Can’t disagree with Sampo’s review at all. Wonderful episode and one of the best from the Brains.
As much as I loved this show, I stopped watching when Joel and Trace left… Pearl and her cohorts could never match the comedic hysteria of these early episodes. This one was my hands-down favorite. The “Marry me Sinbad” parade of beauties and Joel’s response of, “Aw, I don’t want to marry the Infant of Prague!” literally shot my cornflakes and milk up through my nostrils and across the living room floor! I have never laughed so hard in my LIFE!!! As a good Catholic girl, I was surrounded by sainted Italian aunts who all had Infant of Prague statues in their homes, but yet no one could explain what or who it was. NOW I KNOW! Leave it to one of the good Catholic writers on the MST3K crew who obviously have done some serious genuflecting at 12:00 Mass sometime in their childhood…I guess that’s what makes them just a little more twisted than the later writers! I tried so hard to explain this particular episode to my brothers and husband, but words simply cannot do justice…hopefully someone caught this episode on tape and will be releasing it soon on DVD, as it’s the best, no doubt about it! Come back, Joel!
My favorite riff was in answer to
“Know ye of the Bluebird of Happiness?”
“No, but we’ve got a really friendly chicken…”
Is it just me or was that risque?
First a request: Could I please get some more water here?
This site has debated dated reference v then current reference before. Either way Trace proves the concept in his introduction when he admits he doesn’t remember some of the obscure names they threw out there are the time.
Best performance by a red gumball machine looking robot in a funny situation are:
This opening sketch has everything. The god awful banter of a real awards show, nominated category that would do Trace’s future employer AFHV proud, and the irony of Tom not winning. I love this sketch.
I can’t add a lot to the invention exchange discussion that wasn’t said four years ago. But I love when Frank scratches himself through the chinderwear and the Frank Sinatra as the Chairman of the CHESS Board was cute too. For my money this was the first great invention exchange of the fifth season.
The film opens with a series of fishing riffs. Tom finishes off with “the fishing sketch ladies and gentlemen.” This is a type of riff that I always associate with Bill. But this obviously predates Bill.
Favorite Riffs:
Sinbad auditions people to join him with the wine and punch test. Tom “The SAT’s were different back then.”
Tom “You know guys this doesn’t seem like Persia and that’s probably not even Sinbad.”
Am I correct in recalling that CC did a “Supply the Riff” contest using this movie?
And the opening reminds me of those days when people actually thought “Dream On” was a better show than MST3K. One can only hope those people have realized the error of their ways.
‘he’s not Sinbad…’ there i said it. i always get a kick out of Crow’s magical soul journey. i want to go on record as saying Neptune’s got a realllly wierd scene going on undah da sea. and finally, am i the only one who thinks Sinbad’s girl is more scary than attractive? if some NHL team needs someone to mind the nets. Luberia is on call.
When I was watching this episode once, my mom commented that if chinderwear is suppose to conceal your chin butt, then aren’t Dr. F and Frank wearing them backwards?
In Trace’s intro on the DVD, he remarks to the effect that they may as well made the lead character Popeye for all the sense it made. That may well be true. But from the viewpoint of the localization team, Sinbad has the advantage of being public domain.
The reason for the Rimsky-Korsakov music is because the film was adapted from an opera composed by him. Apparently the original film had a lot more songs.
Kenneth Morgan: Yes that is correct. Thanks for reminding me.
Roger Corman got his hands on this Russo-Finnish production from 1953 and added his “touch of magic” to it. It was dubbed (badly), and released in the U.S. by his Filmgroup Company. I must give him a little credit, as few were clever enough to engage with the Russian (Soviet) film industry at that time capitalizing (no pun intended) on very good production values and special effects (for that time) with very little up-front money. Despite all that, I must say that this is not one of my favorites (yes, I know, YMMV).
Favorite lines:
Sinbad, the resentful sailor.
She’s a tall drink of water.
Ah, if you find a melody Sinbad, hop on.
[fighting bear] The bear’s having an intervention with Dan Haggerty.
[burp] and that golden fish isn’t agreeing with me at all.
Sinbad tested, God approved.
You can kill them with a fork, but please use a spoon.
You boys put grandma’s knick-knacks down this instant.
[bluebird] Hey, she fell asleep on her cherry Sucret.
You know, that ceiling octopus really helps with the circulation.
“I know all about your Luberia.” Hey, that cleared up!
[Neptune & wife] Boy they started [drinking] early today.
Final Thought: None really. I give this one 2 out of 5 stars.