Movie: (1957) A monstrous praying mantis is awakened from hibernation, and attacks the East Coast. Smug scientists are dispatched to stop it.

First shown: 2/22/97
Intro: Tom sets the rules for the SOL’s “business casual day”
Opening: The apes fix their mutant neighbors’ malfunctioning thermonuclear device; an alarmed Pearl skeedaddles
Host segment 1: The rumors of Pearl’s death are greatly exaggerated and she has a stowaway; Gypsy shakes her off their tail
Host segment 2: Mike searches for something good on the radio…and fails
Host segment 3: Tom hits something that really likes Crow!
End: Crow serves up juicy revenge, a letter from Dr. Peanut, a last word from Pearl
Stinger: The smarmy corporal out Donny Most-ing
(239 votes, average: 4.40 out of 5)
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• I love this one, largely because, after dopey rocketship movies, giant bug movies are my favorite kind of dumb ’50s sci-fi. I only wish MST3K had done more of them. But this one’s lots of fun. The riffing is also terrific and the promised “endless chase” premise finally kicks into gear, and does so with considerable flair.
• Mary Jo’s take on this episode is here.
• This episode was included in “Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection: Vol XXVII.”
• I think that’s Beez’ voice as the bomb recording, but it’s uncredited and we neglected to ask at the time, so now I’m sure they (including Beez) have probably forgotten.
• That’s Bill, Beez and Paul as the bomb worshippers. I believe this was the first time Bill face was actually shown on the show.
• The opening segment is LONG, at least compared to what we’re used to.
• Note that Mike does the patented Star Trek shirt tug (aka “the Picard maneuver”) before giving a command to engage.
• This marks the first appearance of the bridge steering wheel, which seems to materialize and dematerialize at will. It also marks the first appearance of The Widowmaker, Pearl’s VW astro-bus.
• Callbacks: Starfighters music, “Gamera!” “Shut up, Iris!” (The Beatniks) “Poopie suits” (Starfitghters) “Everyone’s legs are sticking out!” (reference to a line in MST3K The Movie) Also: “Your crank is turned to Frank,” during the host segment.
• After several episodes in which the Sci-Fi Channel logo, or “bug” was obscuring Crow in the theater, fans began to gently gripe online about it (mindful that their incessant griping seemed to piss off the LAST channel that ran the show). In response, going WAY out of their way, they arranged to move the bug to the left side of the screen — just for this one show (this apparently involved hacking some computer at the channel). By this episode, the bug had officially moved.
• Segment two features the voices of almost the entire cast as country music singers, radio announcers, etc.
• Crow’s voice really settles in with this episode. Compare to his voice in 801, it’s much more natural, with more less strain, much more like Bill’s real voice.
• Gypsy has a nice moment as the “Shirley Muldowney of deep space.” Note that she uses the phrase “Out out out!” just as Mike did to her in MST3K: The Movie.
• I love the riffs as the old scientist. “Marie died, ya know!”
• Then-current reference: “The final desperate hours of the Dole campaign,” (might as well be the Dewey campaign, now) “Kelsey, throw us the keys!” (referencing actor Kelsey Grammar’s run-ins with the law).
• That’s Patrick inside the big blue monster suit.
• Nice job on the digested version of Crow
• When Crow is doing the voice of the Mantis, he sounds just like Observer.
• Cast and crew roundup: producer William Alland also worked on “Revenge of the Creature,” “The Mole People.” “The Space Children” and “This Island Earth.” Scriptwriter Martin Berkeley also worked on “Revenge of the Creature.” Cinematographer Ellis Carter also worked on “Leech Woman” and “The Mole People.” Special effects guy Fred Knoth also worked in “This Island Earth.” Costumer Jay A. Morley Jr. also worked on “Revenge of the Creature” and “The Mole People. Makeup guy Bud Westmore did a whole slew of MSTed movies, as did art directors Alexander Golitzen and Robert Clatworthy and set designer Russell A. Gausman, sound person Leslie I. Carey and music supervisior Joseph Gershenson. Set designer Oliver Emert also worked on “Kitten with a Whip.” Score composer Irving Gertz also worked on “Leech Woman” and “Jungle Goddess.” Score composer Henry Mancini also worked on “This Island Earth,” “Revenge of the Creature,” “The Mole People” and “The Thing that Couldn’t Die.” In front of the camera, John Close was also in “Slime People” and “Beginning of the End.” David McMahon was also in “It Conquered the World.” Paul Frees can also be heard in “War of the Colossal Beast,” “The Sword and the Dragon” and “The Beatniks” (which he also produced and directed).
• CreditsWatch: This time the show is produced by Jim, directed by Kevin. “Additional music” (the various performances on the space radio) by the “Best Brains Ad Hoc Radio Band.”
• Fave riff: “Get back in your little boat, Grandpa!” Honorable mention: “But ah got a mantis in mah pantis…”
• Great host segment line: “Foghat, Lawgiver?”

Movie: (1956) Pompous archaeologists find a lost civilization underground.

First shown: 2/15/97
Opening: Crow’s thinks his goofy eyes make him a “space child”
Intro: The space child is overthrown. While Bobo suffers through the 32nd Annual Lawgiver Daze, Tom offers baked goods and Crow takes a fall
Host segment 1: Mike tries an imitation of the gesture professor from the movie. It brings everyone down…down…down…
Host segment 2: Tom tries–and fails–to sing a ballad about his adventures in space
Host segment 3: Crow the archeologist, searching for evidence of a previous him, has a breakthrough
End: Crow believes there’s life beneath the floorboards…and he’s right. Meanwhile in Deep Ape, The Lawgiver is presented with a hunky gift
Stinger: “The Load” hits the wall
(256 votes, average: 4.30 out of 5)
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• We’ve had a number of examples where the riffing is good and the segments are good but the movie just drags everything down. Well, let’s also note when it’s other way around. I think this episode is a good one, but I think a lot of the credit goes to the wonderfully stupid movie. I mean, you got The Gesture Professor, Ward Cleaver, Alfred the Butler, John Agar and Nestor “The Load” Paiva. And you got ropes and asses, whipping the mole and all sorts of outlandish stuff. The segments are okay and the riffing is good, but I think it’s the movie itself that puts this one over the top.
• References here.
• Mike’s take on this episode can be found here.
• Pearl’s float is not very convincing — but, then, it’s pretty tough to approximate a full-scale parade in about 10 square feet of set space.
• The strange blue light still suffuses the set, and it’s especially strong in segment 2. Stonehouse was experimenting.
• The concept of “the sketch that never really gets started” is a long tradition on this show (see “The Emotional Scientist” or “The Life of Fu Manchu” or “Joel wants to be a soda jerk”). This episode has not one but TWO such segments—Mike’s attempt at being the gesture professor and Servo’s aborted folk song.
• Crow finally remembers who he is, and who Mike is. At last.
• Crow’s voice begins to settle down a bit in this episode.
• Robert Smith was the first actual guest star for the show.
• Ward E has a list of the pastries in the intro segment.
• That huge underground cavern and those Mole People should look familiar to you … they were briefly (and incongruously) seen in episode 515-THE WILD WILD WORLD OF BATWOMAN.
• It’s been widely reported that this movie’s original ending had Dr. Bentley and Adal happily strolling off together. The studio insisted that a new ending be shot two weeks after filming was completed, because there was reluctance to imply an inter-racial relationship. After all, Adal was a Sumerian. So she got clobbered with a column instead. Sheesh.
• By the way, Dr. Baxter, the gesture professor, was a University of Southern California professor of ENGLISH, not science.
• That’s Paul and Patrick, of course, as “pale day players.”
• Cast and crew roundup: Producer William Alland also worked on “Revenge of the Creature,” “The Deadly Mantis,” “The Space Children” and “This Island Earth.” Screenwriter Laszlo Gorog also worked on “Earth vs. The Spider.” Cinematographer Ellis Carter also worked on “The Deadly Mantis” and “The Leech Woman.” Editor Irving Birnbaum also worked on “The Phantom Creeps.” Special effects guy Clifford Stine also worked on “This Island Earth,” “The Creeping Terror” and “The Thing That Couldn’t Die.” Costumer Jay A. Morley Jr. also whipped up some gowns for “Revenge of the Creature” and “The Deadly Mantis.” Makeup guy: Bud Westmore worked on lots of MSTed movies. Hairdresser Joan St. Oegger also worked on “Revenge of the Creature,” “This Island Earth and “The Amazing Colossal Man.” Art Director Alexander Golitzen, set designer Russell A. Gausman, sound person Leslie I. Carey and music supervisor Joseph Gershenson worked on a bunch of MSTed movies too. Score composer Hans J. Salter also worked on “The Brute Man” and “This Island Earth. Score composer Herman Stein also worked on “Revenge of the Creature and “This Island Earth. Score composer Henry Mancini worked on “Revenge of the Creature,” “The Deadly Mantis,” “The Thing that Couldn’t Die” and “This Island Earth.”
In front of the camera: John Agar also appeared in “Revenge of the Creature and “Women of the Prehistoric Planet.” Hugh Beaumont also appeared in “Lost Continent” and “The Human Duplicators.” Nestor Paiva also appeared in “Revenge of the Creature.” Robin Hughes also appeared in “The Thing that Couldn’t Die.” Marc Hamilton also appeared in “This Island Earth.” Patrick Whyte also appeared in “Kitten with a Whip.” Eddie Parker also appeared in “This Island Earth,” “Bride of the Monster” and “Undersea Kingdom.” Regis Parton also appeared in “This Island Earth.” Ben Chapman was production manager for “The Giant Gila Monster” and appeared in “The Killer Shrews.” Robert Hoy also appeared in “Revenge of the Creature” and “Master Ninja II.” Bob Herron also appeared in “The Slime People.”
• CreditsWatch: Jim gets the “produced and directed by” credit this week and Kevin gets the “associate producer” credit. This is the last episode, for the duration of the show’s run. for which Jim gets a “contributing writer” credit.
• Fave line: “Disney’s Dominatrix World!” Honorable mention: “Why, thank you! Oh, you mean the flashlight.”