The thread this week, as they sometimes are, is inspired by this week’s episode guide entry, for the final episode of season six, and the departure of TV’s Frank.
It got me thinking: There were several departures of characters on the show, from Larry’s mysterious disappearance at the end of season one to M&tB’s catastrophic crash landing in the final episode of season 10.
What’s your favorite? Use any criteria you want, but show your work!
Me, I have to go with Dr. F’s departure at the end of season 7. Plenty of geeky references and strange surprises and a great final performance by Trace.
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Hmmm….
I’m going to go with Joel’s in “Mitchell”. I love the build-up, with Gypsy trying to find a way to rescue him, followed by his actual escape. And his “final” message to the ‘bots (and the explanation thereof) is kind of touching.
My least favorite would be Larry’s just being…gone, though there was a bit of a coda in “Earth vs. the Spider”.
Yeah, Joel’s escape was a really good episode. And it introduced Mike at the same time.
Also, the episode where Brain Guy was SUPPOSED to go back to his home planet with the other brain guys then turned them into Packer fans instead.
Does the destruction of the Ape Planet in “The Deadly Mantis” (show 804) count? The priests chanting that peppy version of “The Holy Bomb”, Dr. Peanut and Professor Bobo fixing the bomb (with a little help from Mike), etc. – that cracks me up.
When the last episode of the short season seven was shown, I had no idea the show was in danger. I just wasn’t paying attention. Then the crew took off as pure light and love into the unknown cosmos, and I… was confused. That really looked like an ending to me. And of course with Dr. Forester turning into a star child, there was no question that the show had come to a finish.
But what a way to go, spoofing several SF conventions and shows in so short a time, closing with an homage to what may be the greatest SF movie ever. Excellent.
Then the fan campaign began to revive the show. No one wanted it to be over.
I’m gonna go with Diabolik. It just came off the best for me. Maybe it was a simpler task to write the end to the series rather than how to remove just one character, but it left me feeling more satisfied, I guess. All bittersweet moments, though….
I’m gonna cheat and mimic # 2 with another almost departure, that being TV’s Frank not leaving in Village of the Giants. This is only due to the lovingly rendered “The Greatest Frank of All.” Ah, sweet, floppy Frank…sniff.
Or how about Joel’s reprise leaving of the SoL in Soultaker, where he explains why he won’t take Mike and TBs with him and how being in the SoL made a man of him.
“I love you, Crow!”
“I’m sort of fond of you, Servo!”
Not an actual farewell, but I’m feeling saucy today.
Has to be Mitchell. Joel left while the show was in its prime and delivered one of the all-time best episodes.
Plus, it set up the Mike era beautifully (what size jumpsuit do you wear?).
Joel’s goodbye was definitely the best. Even though I knew I was going to miss him it was like watching a good friend get something really good that they deserved very much (freedom from cheesy movies at last!). After that I would say the series finale seeing Mike and The ‘Bots living together watching TV. It made you feel good, and by then it was a nice feeling of “what a great run they had”. None of the other goodbyes actually felt good to me. Forester’s was just depressing to me as it meant the premature end of the show (well at that point at least) after a lackluster year (the movie getting the shaft by the studio, and only a few episodes in that season and no Frank. I wasn’t, and still am not much of a fan of the Pearl/Dr. F team though I did like Pearl and her two goofs a lot in the Sci-Fi years). I didn’t really like Frank’s exit much, and was severely disappointed by his leaving, so that definitely isn’t a farewell I’m too fond of either.
I have to go with the one that made me cry – which would be M&TB at the end of Diabolik. To this day, I still can’t watch the episode again because I get choked up. >_<;
Frank’s departure was the best for me, with Joel’s being second best. Forrester’s was a tough one because as Cronkite Moonshot noted it appeared to be the premature end of the show. I did like the series finale with Mike and the ‘Bots returning to Earth as it was a nice way to wrap things up, with them sitting in front of a TV in Mike’s apartment riffing on “The Crawling Eye”, which brought everything full circle.
I’ve gotta go with Diabolik. When I first watched it, I thought it was a clever way to end the show, and of course, very sad also. I always interpreted Mike, Tom & Crow voluntarily watching bad movies as a message from the writers/performers that they would have been content to keep the show alive for many more years. Given the heartless, clinical way in which the show was twice-cancelled, and the rise of Rifftrax and Cinematic Titanic, I think this a reasonable theory. I still consider the show’s ultimate cancellation to be very premature. Granted it had been on for many years, but with the cast changes (a la Law & Order) and the limitless potential for movies, I think it could have stayed strong for a long time.
The ending also reminds me of a much earlier host segment. I believe it was in “Attack of the Giant Leeches” where Joel talks about a dream he has where they return to Earth and Crow & Tom share a duplex. I may be reaching, but I wonder if they had previously entertained ideas for how to end the show at a future date?
Gotta go with Frank’s leaving. Great movie for riffing, Sampson vs the Vampire Women, homage to Lord of the Rings (White Torgo!) Mike’s hilarious turn as Torgo, another frantic Dr. F performance (I will kill you!) and second bannana heaven? Great!
I’ve noticed that each time a cast member leaves it’s a great episode. Thankfully some talented people were able to step in and keep the show going.
“Diabolik” all the way. While I feel that the movie segments are really dull and largely unfunny, the host segments are fantastic. They really put it all together for the fans, with that great song (“To Earth”), and the actual sense of danger of the crash(well, sort of). The final scene of Mike and the ‘bots in their little apartment watching tv is funny and poignant at the same time. A classic ending to a classic show.
As someone who dreads seeing good things come to an end, I’ll have to go with “Mitchell” and Joel’s departure/Mike’s introduction. Rather than looking at it as the end of an era, you can interpret it as the torch being passed on; instead of harping on the show’s past, the focus was on the future and Mike as a host. Also, Joel’s last words make you laugh rather than cry.
However, with both Frank and Trace leaving, each character’s departure coincided with the possible end of the show, and a large amount of uncertainty that went with it. Of course, with Diabolik, we knew the end was at hand, and while they wrote the ending perfectly, it was still a sad day. (In fact, I don’t think I’ve watched it since it aired.) As crazy as it might seem, it’s almost like I lost a friend that day, and my mind just isn’t willing to revisit something that traumatic.
On a final note, I always felt Josh got abit of a shaft with his leaving. Granted, he did leave for personal reasons, but to have his face placed on a milk carton like some lost child….never mind, that was funny as hell! :lol: At least there was some reference to him in “Earth vs. Spider”.
Joel’s departure. Cut off mid-season in the prime of his life. His tenure ended on a high note on one of my favorite riffed episodes and a hilarious ending with the goofy mispronounced quote from the Seven Faces of Dr. Lao and the bots literally falling to pieces with Frank left speechless at the loss of Joel. The spoof of this scene in Final Justice was great as well.
Dr. Forrester’s departure is only a hair’s width away from being first on my list, but the theater scenes weren’t quite so funny (but they were up there). Frank’s departure was great and certainly the most sentimental with the song from Forrester, but the movie dragged on me.
Everybody else got to run out the end of their respective seasons in a more proper manner. Well, save for Dr Larry Earhardt, but he did last until the end of the season.
Dr, F’s departure into the realm of space babies is my fav. Who can forget the haunting image of the giant VHS cassette of the worst movie ever made. I have wanted to own that giant tape since the first time I saw it.
Whenever I hear “farewell” in relation to MST3k, I always think of that sappy final host segment from Pod People. Right after singing “Clown in the Sky”:
Joel: I love you, Tom Servo.
Tom (crying): I love you, Joel.
Joel: I love you, Crow.
Crow: You’re not my real father!
Joel: Whaddya think, sirs?
I know it’s not a real farewell, but it feels like one, and it’s executed beautifully.
“It Stinks!” :grin:
Joel Hodgson got the best departure episode by a mile- the movie segments are fantastic (‘Mitchell’ is probably my favourite MST3K in terms of riffing)and great host sgemntes- I love how the essentially dumb Gypsy jumps through hoops to get Joel off the SoL- all due to her misunderstanding the whole situation! Classic! The other reason why I like Joel’s departure is because he and Frank Conniff where the only ones to jump ship while the show was at it’s peak and got out while the going was good.
The other one which sticks out for me is Trace Beaulieu’s departure in ‘Laserblast,’ which for me the beginning of the end for the show. I’ve never enjoyed the Sci-Fi years as much. Dr Clayton Forrester is probably THE most integral character in the show- more so than either host- and without him it’s just not the same. Also, I much prefer Trace as Crow. I know we’re talking performers rather than characters here, but Crow underwent a complete personality change, for the worse as far as I’m concerened, when Trace left so for me the comparison stands.
“Diabolik,” easily. As opposed to “Laserblast” (which was made at a time when the show’s future was still up in the air), there was a pleasant sense of closure with that episode.
And there’s a number of reasons why “Diabolik” stands out.
For one thing, it was a great sendoff for the villains. The packing up of Castle Forrester, the future plans of the bad guys (Brain Guy’s got LOTS of stuff going on), the nod to the Mary Tyler Moore Show, Pearl’s last words before pulling the plug… it was a fun way to see the SOL’s tormentors off.
For another thing, you got to see Crow’s mom again. GREAT callback.
The use of the piano music from “Who Will I Kill?” when the SOL crashed was a nice touch, too… and it created a moment of suspense/poignancy as well. Since the song is associated with the passing of TV’s Frank, I thought for a split second that everyone on the SOL got wiped out on impact. Because that wasn’t the case, the music seems like another nice nod to the Comedy Central era.
The “To Earth” song was fun, too… and it was a great way to tie up the show’s musical history. MST3K used many, many songs during its run, and “To Earth” brought that part of MST3K’s legacy to a fun close.
There’s that closing scene with Mike and the ‘Bots enjoying “The Crawling Eye,” an unexpected and enjoyable callback as well as a wonderfully ironic ending, that they would continue to watch bad movies by choice after all those years in captivity.
Most importantly, the whole thing came off as a satisfying conclusion. MST3K didn’t end on a sour note; it ended with a lot of laughs and gave us closure (even though we never wanted the series to end). The whole episode – the skits, the movie segments, everything – came off as a “thank you” to everyone who stuck with the show after all those years.
I’m partial to the Dr Peanuts death and very unexpected resurrection. Not only is he resurrected but he ends with Nelson DNA based babe. Very New Testament, apologies to our creationist fans.
I like the Season 7 farewell, if only for Mike’s turn as Capt. Janeway from Star Trek Voyager. As Mary Jo said in the episode guide, I think it was her, it’s wrong to see Mike in drag, as he is such a manly man. He does it well, though.
An honorable mention: Mike’s false departure at the end of Final Justice. “Joel got to leave after a really bad Joe Don Baker movie . . . .” I like his message on the plaque, from Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo.
Joel’s departure definitely made me misty-eyed, but the final ending of the series in season 10 is one of the more satisfying in the show.
And this may sound really weird, but a friend of mine writes really bad fanfics, so I’m always making fun of her by devising mock departures for Dr. Erdhardt between seasons 1 and 2. They usually involve him walking in on Dr Forrester with TVs Frank in some sort of embarrassing situation.
I have to second Mike’s false departure. It made me laugh the most.
Definitely the final episode, but I would have liked to see this happen;
After the end credits play, the live feed to Castle Forrester cuts back in. A few seconds later, an out of breath and dishelveled Dr. Larry Earhardt walks into view and starts to talk.
“Is this thing on? Oh thank God! Listen, I just got back and have I got a story to tell you guys! It will explain where I’ve been and what I’ve been doing for the last 9 years! You won’t believe it! It started when…”
Suddenly, someone off screen clubs Larry over the head and knocks him out. His body is dragged away by unseen hands. Then, someone unplugs the live feed again. THE END.
That would have been great because of J Elvis’ cameo right at the end and a mystery that would be discussed for years to come. What do you, the viewers think?
For me, it’s gotta’ be the very end. I only had cable for the SciFi years, so that’s the only one I was actually “there” for, and that makes Laserblast (which I didn’t see until the DVD) look more like it’s slingshotting the SOL crew into the epic space odyssey I so fondly remember following as I went from high school to college.
Though I use the term “space odyssey” ironically, since despite seeing “2001”, that’s something else I wasn’t entirely “there” for. That is to say, I can’t entirely get into the host segments in 706 because I just don’t get the space-baby concept. I know saying that around here is comparable to telling comic geeks that I don’t get what the big deal was about Jack Kirby, but I never have, and never will get what in the frickin’ multiverse a “space baby” is even supposed to mean. Having grown up in the ’80s, if I see some sort of infant impossibly floating around in space, I have to assume it’s the product of some poor Earth woman being raped to death by an inseminoid, and ask my pal SixShot to transform into blaster mode and aim for its head before it dooms us all. Robots who come from space, on the other hand, I know I can trust to protect humanity from disgusting, spacefaring organic menaces, because their toys are so cool. Jhiaxus and the Leige Maximo only want what’s best for our inferior species.
Er…maybe I should have saved that for the 706 discussion. Suffice to say, I’m not entirely sure Dr. F deserved his final fate, because I don’t get that one little part of the host segments.
Ah, but one thing I DID get about 1013, thanks to purchasing Rhino’s “World of Sid and Marty Kroft” box set earlier in the summer of ’99, was Mike’s reference to “Far-Out Space Nuts” in the final song. A few years later, when I learned from the book “Saturday Morning Fever” that the MST3K theme song was inspired by several Kroft puppet show intros that laid out bizarre premises through song, that really brought the ending of the show full circle for me, and somehow makes me feel like all is right in the universe. No matter how many evil inseminoids are out there, someday, somehow, some ‘bots will mercilessly mock every last one of ’em.
I’m gonna agree with the series finale. When Mike and the bots started watching “The Crawling Eye” and mentioned that it looked familiar, I IMMEDIATELY wanted to start watching my ENTIRE Mst3k library AGAIN!
As for showing my work, I never really liked Larry, Trace’s “2001” exit wasn’t my flavor, Frank’s was a close second to the finale, and Joel’s was just… weird, and VERY bittersweet.
I just read some of the above posts again and perhaps a good (and somewhat pointed) weekend discussion could concern if Mst3k ran long enough. Was 10 years good? Was it running out of steam or was another renaissance eminent? Who would have left the show next?
Definitely Joel’s departure in MITCHELL. It’s just perfect, especially the way they left the character himself blissfully unaware it was coming. Frank’s departure was a close #2. I love that last “push the button” moment/gag.
I have to agree with the above poster that even though it isn’t a real farewell moment in the sense of an era ending or a cast member leaving, “Clowns In the Sky” from Pod People always seems to me the perfect farewell scene for the whole show, even if it only plays out that way in my memory. If I were to be asked “What is MST3K’s legacy?” I would probably direct the inquirer to that skit…even though it wouldn’t literally answer the question by any means. Still, it has a wonderful song from Mike, and a wonderful, sentimental, funny and joyful performance from Joel, Crow, Tom, Frank and Dr. F.
For my money, if I had to pick a real farewell moment as best…probably Joel’s departure. I never caught any of the Mike episodes when they originally aired because, when I was but a lad of 5 or so and first watching the series, my family’s cable provider cut off our Comedy Central. It wasn’t until junior high in the early 2000s that I rediscovered the show and realized how much longer it lasted, and how many changes it went through, after I lost the privilege of watching it.
To be fair, I never caught the Mitchell episode when it first aired either (my memories of episodes back then are very fuzzy overall due to having been about 5-7 or so years old; I only remember the Godzilla episodes directly because I owned the un-MSTied versions of those movies and loved them). I’ve only first seen it in the past few years via the Rhino DVD.
Still, Joel’s swansong on the series is the closure that my childhood MSTie fandom needs. I remember being a sad, sad little kid when the show with the funny guy and puppets didn’t air on my TV anymore. Sad as it still may be, there’s some sort of satisfaction for me in seeing that guy get off the satellite (spaceship, as I understood it at the time) and move on to new adventures. The kid in me is pleased.
And don’t get me started on how much more satisfying seeing Cinematic Titanic live and getting autographs from the whole cast was!
The ending of season 10, I just wish they would have ended the series with a Roger Corman or Ed Wood film. Diabolik was not entertaining at all and I was hoping for one last cheesy monster to laugh at. But the last segment showing them living in Milwaukee in a tiny apartment getting ready to watch The Crawling Eye was a stroke of genius.
While not the intent of this thread, for
farewells how about Derek’s giant head at the end of Teenagers from Outer Space? Kind of reminds you of Big Brother watching over you, and the director who really threw his weight around in Overdrawn at the Memory Bank.
Oh, and for a future topic, what about favorite/best song by Joel, Mike, the bots, TV’s Frank and Dr. Forester, or Pearl, Brain Guy, and Bobo? It’s amazing how many good ones there are. Might make an interesting poll.
I’m not even sure “Sodium” makes my top 10.
John M. Hanna # 26 – I like it!
I absolutely love #21 and #26
Joel’s departure is my favorite.
End of season seven was very good.
Still for me , season 10 ..ep 10.. Diabolik. End of an era. Can hardly watch my bootleg dvd, sad. Except .that I got as gift,from ebay, the afghan, that is used on the couch.where Mike and the bots are sitting..aprop from the last scene of the last episode…):
The first time I saw Joel’s departure, I was gobsmacked. I couldn’t believe he was leaving. To me, he was the show. Sure, the ‘bots were cool, but Joel had always been there, was always gonna be there, and now, there was a new guy. What would he be like? Would he be as funny?
Now of course I love Mike and know what a riot he is, but I still feel a little MSTie-eyed (he heh) whenever I see the end of ‘Mitchell’. Not just because it’s an end, but also because it’s a beginning.
Joel’s..The Wizard of Oz ref just makes it os much better..it was quirky,it was understated,but sweet,like Joel.and it introduced us to Hamdingers.
As for other departures,Frank’s was pretty cool.Every thing is cool with Torgo
Joel leaving was the saddest moment, although I think Frank’s signaled that the show was changing again. His was more difficult for me because it meant that Trace was next, and with that everyone on screen (save Gypsy, for awhile at least) had been replaced. Replaced with funny people, no doubt, but replaced nonetheless.
To me, the amusing re-departure of Joel seemed to mark the first time since he left that the bots and Mike openly talked about him.
much like Stickboy #4 i was unaware of MST3K going off the air. for good this time. so when i flipped over and saw the original airing of Diabolik i was confused at first and then thought somehow Mike or Crow would mess up their going back to earth and theyd keep going. there were too many movies left unmolested out there. i was wrong and shed more than a tear or two that night. :sad: thanks to all the brains past and present for one crazy ride!
I watched “Mitchell” last night, which was a classic episode. I always wondered why the Brains chose “Diabolik” instead of “Final Justice” to be the final MST3K episode. It was a good way to finish the show, compared to that overhyped tub o’ goo that was the final Seinfeld.
Topic suggestion: Merchandising! MST3K Products that Should Exist.
Did anyone else think the Diabolik ending was a little too like the Seinfeld finale? The Seinfeld finale had the characters sitting around and one of them starts talking about shirt buttons which was a topic of discussion in the very first episode. Someone then says something like “Haven’t we talked about this before?”
I guess they were a year removed from each other, but I remember my first reaction when seeing them hunker down to watch The Crawling Eye and then make the “Haven’t we seen this before” comment was “Huh, the Seinfeld ending…”
I guess I was rooting for Tom and Crow to wake up next to Suzanne Pleshette.
All the departures were very nicely handled. Even Dr. Earhardt’s on “Rocketship X-M”: Dr. F refuses to answer one of the ‘bots who asks him where Dr. E. is, and then Frank shows up with a “Hi, My Name Is . . . ” sticker on his shirt! :lol: Having Joel and Frank return on “Soultaker” was a scream; and the apt. in Milwaukee at the end of Season 10 was an absolute classic. The only thing I didn’t like in all this was “Diabolik”, which I thought was a pretty wanky vehicle for the end of an era. Here’s another topic suggestion: movies that should have appeared on MST3K but didn’t. My vote would be: “From Hell It Came”.
For me, the saddest was always the long, long, long, long goodbye of Santa Claus after not-really conquering the Martians.
Trumpy’s being abandoned at the end of Pod People with the solemn music.
It stinks!
I’d say Joel’s departure is the best episode, and Dr. F’s is the cleverest (although that one was written to work as a series ender also).
I’d say my favorite in retrospect is Dr. Erhardt’s. It is a violation of all of the rules of television- no closure, no explaination, nothing. I love it!
“Bye”
@mando3B #46… Actually the way it happened in Rocketship XM was that Frank was there by himself when they were called (with the name tag and acting as if he were a trainee at a fast food drive through), and when Joel and the bots asked where Dr. F and Larry were he told them Dr. F was there, and Larry was “missing” and held up a milk carton with his picture on it. Then Dr. F came out and introduced Frank and they carried on from there with the invention exchange where Frank totally rips off Joels invention, a walking robot suit/drum set (that looks like the cargo loader suit from Aliens).
@Max Keller#47… Santa totally conquered Martian ass! He didn’t just go in and beat the crap out of them or anything, but rather he did it the smart way. He went in and won them over, completely subverted their existing system and set up a new one in which Droppo watches over Mars in his stead as a proxy Santa Claus. But Santa totally rules Mars now.