Movie: (1951) A military/science team searches for a downed rocket atop a remote, dinosaur-infested mountain.

First shown: 11/24/90
Opening: Coach Joel gives the bots a locker room pep talk
Invention exchange: The Mads unveil their exercise treadmill equipped with wheels, introduce the movie and give Joel movie sign against his will
Host segment 1: Hugh Beaumont, one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse, visits on the Hexfield with a message of unholy death
Host segment 2: J&tB’s preachy “The Explorers” sketch bogs down
Host segment 3: J&tB see The Cool Thing and announce a contest
End: J&tB analyze the movie, Joel reads a letter, Dr. F declares victory
Stinger: “Well, thanks for straightening the whole thing out…”
(160 votes, average: 4.16 out of 5)
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• Rock climbing, everybody. Rock climbing.
• Well this one is definitely a winner. Wacky movie, great riffing, decent host segments and, oh, did I mention…rock climbing? Rock climbing.
• Joel, still sporting a cheesy goatee, is now in a never-before-seen cyan jumpsuit.
This episode appears on Shout’s Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection: Vol. XVIII.
• A message at the beginning of the Shout DVD apologizes in advance for the tape artifacts in their product. Apparently the official BBI copy was damaged or not stored properly. Upsetting.
• References.
• This is the infamous episode featuring, as previously mentioned, the mind-bloating “rock climbing” sequence. A couple of years after this episode came out, the sequence so moved one usenet fan that he created a “rock climbing FAQ (frequently asked questions) file” that analyzed the “rock climbing” phenomenon within an inch of its life. And, as proof that nothing ever really disappears from internet, here it is.
• During this season, J&tB’s response to the movie was seen in a very black-and-white way–either Dr. F. “won” or Joel and the bots did. They never made this more explicit than in the opening segment here.
• However, Joel makes a little mistake in his pep talk: the episode two weeks ago was “Ring of Terror,” not “Rocket Attack USA.”
• I hope the Mads sued these guys.
• Frank twice addresses mole people, Jerry and Sylvia, who are apparently behind the camera in Deep 13.
• Joel never gets to do an invention exchange, but don’t worry, the one he’s holding, the sign language translator, will be used next week.
• Joel gets Movie Sign “against his will”–He refuses to enter the theater and appears to get an electrical shock to his tush. This is described as a “shock to the shammies” in episode 302- GAMERA, when Joel gets it again.
• Yes, the opening shot is the same shot used in “Rocket Ship XM.” Lippert was nothing if not thrifty.
• Callbacks: “We’re on our way!” (Rocket Ship XM) “Charbroiled hamburger sandwich and french fried potatoes!” (Jungle Goddess) “Thees will seemplify everything!” (Phantom Creeps) “Chili peppers, they burn my gut.” (Sidehackers) “That square bugs me! He really bugs me!” (Wild Rebels)
• That’s Mike, of course, as Hugh Beaumont (“Cryptodad” in the credits) in yet another Hexfield Viewscreen appearance, in segment 1, and he’s very funny, though the writing is excellent as well. This segment is a pretty good example of what is so wonderful about MST3K.
• Servo keeps asking “Ever fly one of these things?” He also said it a few episodes back. Is that from something?
• Obscure KTMA reference I never got before: Joel riffs, “Maybe there was hand soap in the hydraulic fluid.” A reference to a plot contrivance in the movie in episode K13- SST DEATH FLIGHT. Went right over my head in the past.
• Movie observation: Actors do things in movies that real people would never do (unless they are very stupid). A pristine example is the cop in “Plan 9” who scratches his temple with the barrel of his gun. There’s a moment like that in this movie: Would anyone really sit RIGHT on the edge of a cliff, with their legs dangling over the side, like they do in the movie?
• Host segment 2 is probably inspired by the brief “asking for directions from the native” scene in this movie, combined with all the “white male reality” stuff from “Jungle Goddess.” But here’s a question: Is this the first “We’re doing a sketch but it’s not going very well” sketch? They’ll do more sketches like it throughout the series.
• The “cool thing” bit in segment 3 is clearly inspired by the moment in the movie when the characters reach the top of the mountain, and everyone stands amazed at what they see, but they don’t show us for a long time. Some of the entries they got from viewers were shown in episode 213- GODZILLA VS. THE SEA MONSTER.
• Cast and crew roundup: Producer Sigmund Neufeld also produced “The Mad Monster.” Director Sam Newfield also directed “Radar Secret Service, “The Mad Monster” and “I Accuse My Parents.” Cinematographer Jack Greenhalgh also worked on “The Mad Monster and “Robot Monster.” Editor Philip Cahn also worked on “The Brute Man. Special effects guy Augie Lohman also worked on “The Rebel Set.” Special effects guy Ray Mercer also worked on “I Accuse My Parents,” “Radar Secret Service,” “Last of the Wild Horses,” “The Sinister Urge” and “The Beast of Yucca Flats.” Costume guy Alfred Berke also worked on “Last of the Wild Horses. Makeup guy Harry Ross also worked on “The Mad Monster and “Viking Women and the Sea Serpent.” Production manager Bert Sternbach also worked on “The Mad Monster.” Writer Orville H. Hampton also worked on “Rocket Ship XM.” Score composer Paul Dunlap also worked on “The Rebel Set” and “I Was a Teenage Werewolf.” In front of the camera, Whit Bissell was also in “I Was a Teenage Werewolf” and Murray Alper was also in “The Leech Woman.” Hugh Beaumont was in “The Human Duplicators” and “The Mole People.” He was also the narrator of the short “A Date with Your Family.” Sid Melton was also in “Radar Secret Service.” Chick Chandler was in the short “Once Upon a Honeymoon.”
• CreditsWatch: Trace and Frank are still “special guest villians” (misspelled). This week’s creative pit boss: Kevin Murphy. The “Explorers Action Theme” written and performed by Michael J. Nelson. This was intern James Smith’s last episode.
• Favorite riff: “Still talking to crap, monkey boy?” Honorable mention: “I never knew Mountain time was so slow!”