Short: (1951) After Cody and his team escape, Retik sends his hired thugs on Earth to set up an ambush.
Movie: (1942) A series of brides die on their wedding days, then their bodies are stolen. A feisty lady reporter investigates.

First shown: 12/9/89 (unconfirmed)
Opening: None
Invention exchange: Dr. F has a gift for Larry, Joel demonstrates the chiro-gyro, the Mads show off the flame-throwing flower
Host segment 1: Crow and Tom are reading “Tiger Bot” magazine
Host segment 2: J&tB play tag
Host segment 3: Joel gets a haircut
End: Good thing/bad thing (Tom’s head explodes).
(157 votes, average: 3.97 out of 5)
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• The best way to describe this one is: They’re getting better. The presence of Bela saves this otherwise dopey movie, the riffing is getting stronger each week and the host segments are really coming along. Nowhere near where it’s going to be, but showing improvement.
• And we’re back to the early days, after last week’s flash-forward to the end of the season: There’s no opening segment after the theme song, no Bots are present during the invention exchange and possibly no buttons on the table (the table is not visible during movie sign, so we can’t be sure, but Joel slaps the right side [his left] of the table top, which is not the spot where the buttons eventually would be).
• Both this movie and “Mad Monster” were released in 1942, but this movie beat that one by a week–it opened in theaters a week before “Mad Monster.” But in any case, as mentioned already, “Undersea Kingdom,” made in 1936, beats them all.
• Shadowrama is green this week.
• References.
• This movie is part of the Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection: Vol. XVI.
• More Asimov references in the sketches, although technically the two shows where he’s mentioned were made seven episodes apart, so it’s not like they were intentionally piling on.
• The “chiro-gyro” and the “flame-throwing flower” were props from Joel’s standup act.
• Joel calls the Mads “The professors” as he walks in to the theater after the opening. Huh?
• Servo and Crow are in place in the theater when Joel arrives.
• Servo’s has had some alterations and is slowly evolving into the Servo we know: his weird fat white beak has changed to the familiar silver one. Also: Servo’s arms are working in segment 1.
• There are two mentions of driver’s ed jargon (“hands at 10 and 2 on the wheel, signal your intentions…” ) in this one. That’s what happens when you have a 17-year-old writer.
• Gypsy’s light is still off during segment 2 (which is a do-over of a segment from K11- HUMANOID WOMAN).
• At the end of segment 2, Joel runs down the doorway sequence and is run over by Cambot. This is the first time he’s done it in the national series, but he did it at least twice in KTMA episodes.
• The third host segment is another classic moment from season one, a re-think of a sketch originally done for episode K10- COSMIC PRINCESS. Great line: “They’re STILL pickin’ up clown noses!”
• In the theater, Joel produces a broom and proceeds to “clean up” the screen.
• Tom Servo’s head blows up for the first time in the final segment. It won’t be the last.
• Cast and crew roundup: producer Sam Katzman also did “Teen-Age Crime Wave.” Producer Jack Dietz also did “The Black Scorpion.” Associate producer Barney A. Sarecky produced “Radar Secret Service” and was production supervisor for “Undersea Kingdom.” Art director David Milton also worked on “The Rebel Set. Sound guy Glen Glenn also worked on “Hangar 18” and “Master Ninjas I and II. In front of the camera, Luana Walters also appeared in “The She-Creature.” Tristram Coffin also appeared in “Radar Secret Service;” “The Crawling Hand and “The Brute Man.” Angelo Rossitto also appeared in “The Magic Sword.” And, of course, Bela Lugosi also appeared in “The Phantom Creeps” and “Bride Of The Monster.”
• CreditsWatch: Melanie Hartley was an additional production assistant and Jim Erickson was additional production staff. Post production audio was handled by Rich Cook and (or of) Teleedit in Minneapolis.
• Stinger suggestion (by commenter CJBeiting): “The moment where the reporter is suddenly slapped in the face by Bela’s wife.”
• Fave riff from the short: “Nipple, nipple, tweak, tweak, fly! fly! fly!” Honorable mention: “Nice shot of me!”
• Fave riff from the movie: “Hey, lady, art exhibit in my nose!” Honorable mention: “Audience baffled by free-floating headlines.”