Movie: (1962) A teen girl, her weird-faced boyfriend and her scientist dad discover a cave man living in the desert.

First shown: 8/28/93
Opening: Crow has been frozen to nearly absolute zero!
Invention exchange: Rebuilt Crow is just like new; J&tB presents the Pork-orina, while the Dr. F replaces Frank’s blood with antifreeze
Host segment 1: J&tB consider subtle forms of hell
Host segment 2: The bots alter Joel’s face to look like Arch Hall Jr.
Host segment 3: J&tB discuss why ’60s sitcoms are run by single dads
End: Washing the movie off the bots, Joel reads a letter, Frank gets a fluid change
Stinger: “Fake it.” “That’s what I’ve BEEN doing. Now I’m getting sick!”
(154 votes, average: 4.68 out of 5)
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• We’re in a very good stretch of episodes here. This is another winner, following close on the heels of last week’s gem. Great host segments, great inventions, great riffing. Shtemlo!
• This was one of the first episodes released on DVD by Rhino, in April of ’00.
• References.
• I always wondered what the “porkorina” instrument really was. Commenters informed me that it is a bass harmonica, aka a bass harp.
• Then-current reference: While doing his Cryptkeeper impression, Crow mentions the now-forgotten cable series “Dream On.”
• Callbacks: “Glen was 50 feet tall!” (War of the Colossal Beast), “The Torgo school of fondling,” “To live like the hu-man” (Robot Monster—also a mention of the Robot Monster set) “Durn smoochers!” (Attack of the the Eye Creatures) “He tampered in God’s domain” (Bride of the Monster), “Giant Gila Monster.”
• Segment one, is another pithy, brilliant sketch, one that assumes a certain level of sophistication on the part of its viewers. It’s classic MST3K.
• I hate to tell Joel, but maybe the reason he didn’t see anything in the papers about Charley Weaver dying is that Charley’s real name was Cliff Arquette.
• After having referenced “Last of the Mohicans” with the classic “Stay alive! Whatever may occur! I will find you!” line in the last episode, they go ahead and do it again…and then they do it again!
• The second segment, while not as witty, is a great example of the sort of Looney Tunes silliness they often did well.
• Crow is once again netless following the second segment, as he was in the previous episode.
• There is very little that needs to be said about this travesty of a movie, since it’s been thoroughly examined many times, but it’s worth saying again, as so many have before, that the scenes in the cave, with Roxy’s dad cheerfully suggesting she give in to Eegah’s romantic advances — particularly the horrifying shaving scene — are the very dictionary definition of the term ”icky.”
• This is an episode that launched so many catchphrases, from “Stop saying ‘whee!’ Nobody says ‘whee!’” to “My tires are filled with water!” to “Watch out for snakes!” to “Shtemlo!”
• “Wha happa!” is used twice.
• Joel again invokes Gregg Toland, the cinematographer for “Citizen Kane,” because a shot shows a ceiling.
• Arty reference: Keith Haring.
• Cast and crew roundup: associate producer/editor Don Schneider worked on “Incredibly Strange Creatures,” screenwriter Bob Wehling was an actor in “Revenge of the Creature,” cinematographer Ray Dennis Steckler directed “Incredibly Strange Creatures.” He also appears in the movie as the guy who gets thrown into the pool at the end. Sound recorder Sam Kopetzky also worked on “Girl in Gold Boots” and score composer Henri Price worked on “Incredibly Strange Creatures.” In front of the camera Richard Kiel was also in “The Human Duplicators” and “The Phantom Planet.” Carolyn Brandt was also in “Incredibly Strange Creatures.”
• CreditsWatch: Contributing writer Colleen Henjum becomes Colleen Henjum-Williams. Host segments directed by Joel Hodgson.
• Fave riff: “Sit down, pie face, it’s a long list.” Honorable mention: “That little satchel will be the death of him.” “Poor shovel. Didn’t ask to be in this movie.”