Movie: (compilation 1982; original episodes 1976) A re-edit of two “Space: 1999” TV episodes. The inhabitants of a space station encounter a hostile alien and his shapeshifting daughter. Later, her shapeshifting ability goes out of control and endangers the ship.
First shown: 1/22/89
Opening: It’s Superbowl Sunday! The Mads show off their “no-d” glasses
Host segment 1: Crow gives Joel a haircut
Host segment 2: Crow suggests Servo can learn to fly. It doesn’t go well
Host segment 3: The Bots help Joel with his taxes, and find out more than they wanted to know
End: Joel, Crow and Gypsy play football, and Gypsy and Joel sing “We Are the Champions”
(149 votes, average: 4.07 out of 5)
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• This episode originally aired on Superbowl Sunday 1989, which explains all the football stuff. Servo’s head comes off for the first time (that we know of) in this episode. This episode also marks the first time the show used a movie that was actually two TV show episodes loosely spliced together. The concept would later reappear “Master Ninja” “Mighty Jack” “Riding With Death” and more.
• References.
• Segment 1 was re-done in episode 105- THE CORPSE VANISHES; some of the football game during the end segment was featured in the MST3K Scrapbook Tape.
• Servo’s head extends again during the riffing.
• Joel says something silly and Crow turns to him and calmly asks: “What color is the sky in your world, Joel?” That one would come back later.
• During the transition period between episodes, Joel keeps saying “series” when he means “episode.”
• Servo just gets up and leaves at one point.
• The riff “there go the music lessons” is an early version of “There go the piano lessons” from the movie.
• About Servo’s head falling off: I think the first time it happens, after Crow has talked Tom Servo into base jumping off the desk, was on purpose. But when it falls off again later, I think that was an accident. They just kept going.
• Servo’s head is still off when they return to the theater. Joel reconnects it.
• Servo is still steamin’ mad at Crow after segment 2. They two almost come to blows!
• Movie stuff: So, I didn’t watch this show as a kid (I knew OF it, I just never watched it.) Was this sort of an attempt at a British “Star Trek”? (Some commenters agreed that it was, even though it was a decade later.) Landau seems to be trying to do Shatner in a couple of places.
• The episodes that were combined to make this “movie” were “The Metamorph” and “Space Warp.” The former was the debut episode of the show’s second season. The latter came 13 episodes later. Yet when the second half of the “movie” begins, alien Maya is again in sick bay, giving the impressions that she in sick bay for 14 episodes. Not true, the commenters said. She just ended up in Sick Bay a lot.
• Can I just note that this movie is mostly really really boring, although it is occasionally punctuated by some actual action? (It nearly put me to sleep.)
• Cast and crew roundup: Executive producer Gerry Anderson also did “Invaders from the Deep” and “Revenge of the Mysterons,” as did score composer Barry Gray. Production designer Keith Wilson also did “Revenge of the Mysterions.” Producer Fred Freiberger also did “Beginning of the End. In front of the camera, Catherine Schell was also in “Moon Zero Two.” Stuntman Peter Porteous also appeared in “Future War.” And Alf Joint was also in “The Projected Man.”
• Fave riff: The reference to the “Dennis Hopper segment of the film.” Honorable mention: Joel sings a few bars of the Banana Splits theme song as our heroes climb into the ridiculous moon buggy.