{"id":1944,"date":"2009-01-01T09:57:11","date_gmt":"2009-01-01T14:57:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mst3kinfo.com\/?page_id=1944"},"modified":"2024-04-29T13:11:04","modified_gmt":"2024-04-29T17:11:04","slug":"1944-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.mst3kinfo.com\/?page_id=1944","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"

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MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000
\nTHE UNOFFICIAL EPISODE GUIDE<\/h2>\n
\n

SEASON FIVE: COMEDY CENTRAL, 1993-1994<\/h2>\n
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Episode guide: 501- Warrior of the Lost World<\/a><\/h2>\n

Last modified on 2016-04-01 07:58:21 GMT. 159 comments<\/a>. Top<\/a>. <\/small><\/p>\n

\"0501\"<\/a>
\nMovie:<\/strong> (1983) A nameless hero and his talking motorcycle fight an evil dictator in a post-apocalyptic world.<\/p>\n

First shown:<\/strong> 7\/24\/93
\nOpening:<\/strong> Servo attempts a formal welcome but Crow rattles him
\nInvention exchange:<\/strong> The Mads demonstrate the Square Master, J&tB show Bittersweet Hearts
\nHost segment 1:<\/strong> Joel retrofits the bots to be slot cars, but Tom still needs some work
\nHost segment 2:<\/strong> J&tB put on a sketch: The warrior tries to get a driving permit
\nHost segment 3:<\/strong> J&tB discuss things you could do after the apocalypse
\nEnd:<\/strong> J&tB get a phone call from Megaweapon, Joel reads a letter, the Mads enjoy an active lifestyle
\nStinger:<\/strong> The Paper Chase Guy checkin’ out Persis
\n

\u2022 This episode has its moments, I’ll give you that. The movie is all over the place, from the whiny, chipmunk-cheeked hero and his air-headed onboard computer, to the squeaky spiders, to guerrilla leader Jimmy Carter\/Ronnie Cox, to hapless Persis Khambata, to perhaps Donald Pleasance’s creepiest performance (and that’s saying something), to the “Road Warrior” rejects, to the raw star power that IS Megaweapon. The riffing is solid for the most part, and the host segments are decent. It doesn’t quite add up to a classic for me, but, yes, it has its moments.
\n\u2022 This episode is in included in Shout!Factory\u2019s \u201cMystery Science Theater 3000 Collection: Vol. XVI.\u201d
\n\u2022 The stretch between the end of season 4 and the beginning of season 5 was 168 days, the sixth-longest amount of time MSTies had to wait between episodes.
\n\u2022 That said, longtime fans will recall that, although this is episode 501, it is NOT the first episode shown in season 5. That honor went to episode 502- Hercules, which aired a week before this one. Why? They’ve never said, I don’t think, but my guess is that the Comedy Central suits decided the Hercules movie was a more marketable opener. In any case, as we\u2019ve done in the past, we go by episode number.
\n\u2022 I wonder who Dickie Schnable is.
\n\u2022 Joel’s bittersweet hearts invention has since come true. You can now buy little chalky hearts that say all sorts of weird things.
\n\u2022 Joel makes what I always thought was an astute observation: that the afterlife would be a little like Ellis Island. I’d never thought about it like that…
\n\u2022 Callback: “Ator? Tong?” (Cave Dwellers) “Old Time bus driver Billy Slater…” (Junior Rodeo Daredevils) Crow mentions “Hangar 18” “He hit Big Jake” (Sidehackers). \u201cI Accuse My Parents.\u201d
\n\u2022 How are they controlling the robots during the slot car host segment? Are puppeteers crouching under the track?
\n\u2022 Everyone loves that bit during the movie when Joel and Tom Servo get into a little dual-riff that is, I guess, a parody of Robitussin commercial–one I don’t remember ever seeing. Maybe that’s why I don’t find it as hilarious as everybody else seems to…
\n\u2022 It’s nice to see Tom Servo forthrightly admit that they never bothered to write an ending to bit in segment 2–having movie sign happen is a little like when Monty Python “drops the cow.”
\n\u2022 I believe this episode contains the very first reference to then newly elected President Bill Clinton.
\n\u2022 Do you think that the odd, pointless little comments of the onboard computer were the inspiration for the bittersweet hearts invention?
\n\u2022 Persis Khambatta’s character gets called Natasha and Nastasia, depending on who is addressing or referring to her.
\n\u2022 Then-topical: The “woo-woo-woo” thing audiences of the Arsenio Hall Show did.
\n\u2022 Probably my favorite moment of the episode is toward the end when the camera does that long pan of all the revolutionaries celebrating and Tom Servo has a celebrity name for every single one. Amazing and hilarious.
\n\u2022 That’s Mike, it hardly needs saying, providing the voice of Megaweapon. The raport all the actors have with one another at this point in the show is really remarkable.
\n\u2022 Cast & Crew roundup: Cinematographer Giancarlo Ferrando also worked on “Devil Fish.” Make up person Otello Fava also worked on “Danger: Diabolik” and production designer Massimo Antonello Geleng also worked on “Devil Fish.” In front of the camera, we’ll see Donald Pleasance again in “The Pumaman.”
\n\u2022 CreditsWatch: The writers list is now: Trace Beaulieu, Paul Chaplin, Frank Conniff, Joel Hodgson, Bridget Jones, Kevin Murphy and Mary Jo Pehl (Michael J. Nelson is still head writer). Contributing writers: Colleen Henjum, Jim Mallon. Host segments directed by: Trace Beaulieu. New credit–Utility Infielder: Patrick Brantseg (which I think means Patrick started getting paid for what he was already doing). Hair and make-up: Andrea J. DuCane (she will do it for all but five episodes this season). New interns: Stephanie Hynes, Peter Keffer, Michael J. Sheehan and E. Jane Shortt.
\n\u2022 Fave riff: “Heeeeyyeee, it’s the crazy Guggenheim museum!” Honorable mention: “They love it when he signals a left turn!”<\/p>\n

Episode guide: 502- Hercules<\/a><\/h2>\n

Last modified on 2015-11-21 01:06:34 GMT. 110 comments<\/a>. Top<\/a>. <\/small><\/p>\n

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Movie:<\/strong> (1957) Hercules helps Jason, the true king, wrest the throne away from pretender Pelias and his son Iphitus, while wooing the lovely Iole. <\/p>\n

First shown:<\/strong> 7\/17\/93
\nOpening:<\/strong> J&tB “wing it” with the intro
\nInvention exchange:<\/strong> The Mads demonstrate the cellular desk, J&tB demonstrate Instant Karma
\nHost segment 1:<\/strong> Tom has updated the constellations for the ’90s; Crow disapproves
\nHost segment 2:<\/strong> Crow and Tom want to know about Hamilton Joe Frank and Reynolds
\nHost segment 3:<\/strong> Crow valiantly performs a solo version if the ‘Match Game’
\nEnd:<\/strong> The bots discuss Amazons, then some visit on the Hexfield; Frank is now at the desk
\nStinger:<\/strong> “It’s like something out of a bad dream!”
\n

\u2022 Pardon if it seems like I\u2019m channeling Leonard Maltin, but I\u2019d give this one two-and-a-half stars. The host segments are fair at best, and the movie is so cut up that it\u2019s almost impossible to follow. It has its moments, but the episode is a bit frustrating.
\n\u2022 This episode was included in Shout!Factory\u2019s \u201cMystery Science Theater 3000: Vol. XXXII.\u201d
\n\u2022 References<\/a>.
\n\u2022 It\u2019s clear that the Brains chose to make most of their cuts at the commercial breaks, but the result is that half the time the characters are in the midst of one plot development before the commercial, and by the time we get back they\u2019re somewhere else entirely. Important plot information was apparently cut as well. Why does the floor make a sound when Jason crosses it? We\u2019re never told, but it seems an important point to everyone in the movie. How does Herc go from retrieving a discus to fighting a lion? No idea. How do Herc and his pals escape the Amazons? One minute they\u2019re being fed sleeping potions and watching dancers, after the commercial break they\u2019re back on the ship. You almost have to treat each of the eight movie segments separately. The riffing is good, and they have plenty of weird stuff to work with, but I\u2019m afraid this episode is less than the sum of its parts.
\n\u2022 This was a widescreen movie, but in this print we see about half of the screen at any moment. It’s not even pan-and-scan. It just sits in the same spot no matter what’s happening on the screen.
\n\u2022 Callbacks: “Where is the sampo??!” (Day the Earth Froze) “Hey, its’ Commando Cody!”
\n\u2022 As noted in the previous writeup, despite being episode 502, this was the first episode shown in season 5. In the previous writeup, I offered a guess as to why.
\n\u2022 During the invention exchange, the third \u201cinstant karma\u201d bag leaks. They keep going.
\n\u2022 Many of the riffs in this episode were used in that MST3K program for Windows 3.1 somebody created. For those who weren\u2019t computing then, it put shadowrama at the bottom of your screen and played one of only about 15 quick sound bites every so often. It got very old very fast and, worse, it turned out to be a very invasive program that was hard to remove. Anybody remember that?
\n\u2022 The first host segment is clever but creating modern constellations that make about as much sense as the old ones do is really not an original idea. That said, they put a great spin on it.
\n\u2022 Arcane reference: something is said to resemble a Jim Dine<\/a> sculpture.
\n\u2022 Tom Servo channels every naughty third-grader with: “Claude Balls, ladies and gentlemen…”
\n\u2022 Note the completely unremarked-upon box of Capt\u2019n Ron cereal sitting on the desk in the second segment.
\n\u2022 If you\u2019re wondering, they were a trio, Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds, composed of Dan Hamilton, Joe Frank Carollo and Tommy Reynolds.
\n\u2022 One I don\u2019t get: When the Amazons surround our heroes and raise their arrows, Crow says, in a very stilted voice, “even the archers are beautiful!” What the heck?
\n\u2022 The Match Game bit, while funny, is another one of those “huh?” sketches.
\n\u2022 One of the cleverest bits comes right at the end, as they sit through the closing credits and Tom explains what happened to the characters after the story. Pretty funny stuff, but why do they sit through the credits when large chunks of the film were excised?
\n\u2022 Mary Jo makes her first physical appearance on the show, and Bridget makes her first appearance since season three, as the Minnesota amazons.
\n\u2022 Cast and crew roundup: Many of the same people also worked on the sequel “Hercules Unchained,” including American executive producer Joseph E. Levine (who also brought you “Santa Claus Conquers the Martians”), director Mario Bava (who also directed “Diabolik”), director\/screenwriter Pietro Francisci, screenwriters Ennio De Concini and Gaio Frattini, editor Mario Serandrei and score composer Enzo Masetti. Executive assistant Massimo DeRita also worked on “Puma Man” and art director\/set designer Flavio Mogherini was the art director on “Diabolik.”
\nSimilarly in front of the camera, Steve Reeves, Sylva Koscina, Fabrizio Mioni, Mimmo Palmara (who also appears in “Hercules and the Captive Women), Gabriele Antonini, Andrea Fantasia, Aldo Fiorelli, Gino Mattera, Willy Colombini, Fulvio Carrara and Aldo Pini were all in “Hercules Unchained.” In addition, Ivo Garrani was also in Hercules and the Captive Women and Luciana Paoluzzi was also in “The Green Slime.”
\n\u2022 Creditswatch: Host segments directed by Kevin Murphy. Hair and makeup by Clayton James (one of only two times this season).
\n\u2022 Fave riff: “Stay away from their powerful hind legs!” Honorable mention: “It’s the Andrea Dworkin memorial cemetery!” “Do you have a reservation for Hercules? It might be under Heracles\u2026”<\/p>\n

Episode guide: 503- Swamp Diamonds (with short: ‘What to Do on a Date’)<\/a><\/h2>\n

Last modified on 2015-11-21 15:31:20 GMT. 108 comments<\/a>. Top<\/a>. <\/small><\/p>\n

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Short:<\/strong> (1951) Young Nick hopes to ask schoolmate Kay for a date, but can’t think of a venue.
\nMovie:<\/strong> (1956) Four women (including one undercover cop) break out of prison, with a plan to recover a cache of stolen diamonds. <\/p>\n

First shown:<\/strong> 7\/31\/93
\nOpening:<\/strong> Crow and Tom are obsessed with the ‘Spock in love’ episode of “Star Trek”
\nInvention exchange:<\/strong> The Mads present the U-view, J&tB demonstrate the Andrew Lloyd Webber grill
\nHost segment 1:<\/strong> Tom has decided that he wants to date Gypsy
\nHost segment 2:<\/strong> Tom calls Gypsy to ask for a date
\nHost segment 3:<\/strong> Tom and Gypsy go out on a date, briefly
\nEnd:<\/strong> Tom thought the date went well, Gypsy dumps him, Joel reads a letter that upsets Tom, Frank is still watching himself
\nStinger:<\/strong> “Ssssssssshut up!”
\n

\u2022 This is one of those episodes where the short pretty much overwhelms the movie that follows it. The same thing happened with \u201cWar of the Colossal Beast,\u201d which was almost completely swamped by \u201cMr. B.\u201d The short is just so precious and silly, and the movie is so slight and ephemeral (despite some very good riffing) that tail wags the dog, as it were.
\n\u2022 This episode appeared on Rhino’s \u201cMystery Science Theater 3000 Collection, Vol. 10\u201d (and 10.2).
\n\u2022 Callback: Shut up, Iris! (The Beatniks); “To be like the Cor-Man…” (Robot Monster)
\n\u2022 Watch carefully during the “U-View” bit: Both Frank and Dr. F reach about six feet to take things from each other. A great blink-and-you-missed-it, unremarked-upon sight gag.
\n\u2022 We spend that entire invention exchange looking at the back of an old-style CRT TV, dating the whole sketch.
\n\u2022 The ST:TOS episode Joel calls \u201cthe Elias Sandoval episode\u201d (and which we refer to in our episode guide as the \u201cSpock in Love” episode) was in fact called \u201cThis Side of Paradise.\u201d I\u2019m not going back, Jim!
\n\u2022 Mike \u201cTouch\u201d Connors was born Kreker Ohanian. So “Touch” doesn’t sound so bad after all.
\n\u2022 Naughty riff: “Beverly can handle a Johnson, can’t she?”
\n\u2022 The “Baywatch” bit during the \u201cU-View\u201d invention exchange is kind of an expansion of a throw-away gag Tom Servo did in the previous episode: \u201cDon\u2019t get drunk and swim under the dock.\u201d Doodly-doodly-doodly\u2026 \u201cI\u2019m drunk and swimming under the dock!\u201d
\n\u2022 The previous time around, I asked if anybody could identify the guitar Joel is playing in segment 1. A couple of people told me it was a copy of a Stratocaster, probably a Yamaha. The song he was singing was Neil Young\u2019s “Old Man.”
\n\u2022 Gypsy seems a little grumpy in this one. She\u2019s usually more easy-going.
\n\u2022 Then-current reference: \u201cThe Gun in Betty Lou’s Handbag\u201d (1992).
\n\u2022 I remember being bothered, the first time I saw this, about the “cutting off the legs of the pants” scene. I thought–“They’re in a mosquito\/tick-infested swamp and they want to expose MORE skin?? Are they crazy??” Then I saw them in shorts and I forgot about all that… :grin:
\n\u2022 Let\u2019s keep in mind: a snake was shot and killed \u2014 on camera \u2014 in the making of this movie.
\n\u2022 When BBI cleared out of the studio after the show was cancelled, they held an auction designed, mostly, to sell off office furniture and the like. But Barb says there was a bit of confusion that day, and among the things offered for bid were boxes of video tapes, most of which had unedited rough footage of host segments (sometimes three or four or five takes of the same segment, so you can see them trying different line readings) and a few aborted theater sequences where they got started and then stopped for some reason. One of the tapes included some stuff from this episode. BBI was a little embarrassed that these tapes made it into circulation. A lot of it was recovered, but some stuff has been copied and shared a bit<\/a>.
\n\u2022 Check out this list of Touch’s other possible names<\/a> from Ward E.
\n\u2022 Cast and crew wrapup: Director Roger Corman also gave us “It Conquered the World,” “Teenage Caveman,” “Viking Women,” “Gunslinger,” “The Undead” and was executive producer on “Attack of the Giant Leeches,” “High School Big Shot” and “Night of the Blood Beast.” Cinematographer Frederick West also worked on “It Conquered the World,” “Gunslinger” and “The She-Creature.” Editor Ronald Sinclair also worked on “Viking Women,” “The Sea Creature,” “The Amazing Colossal Man,” “Earth vs. the Spider” and “War of the Colossal Beast.” Makeup person Carlie Taylor also worked on “Daddy-O.” Production manager Bartlett Carre was production supervisor on “The She Creature.”
\nIn front of the camera, Beverly was, of course, also in “It Conquered the World” and “Gunslinger.” Lou Place was more often behind the camera: he directed “Daddy-O,” was assistant director on “The Undead” production manager on “It Conquered the World and “Agent for H.A.R.M.” Jonathan Haze was in “It Conquered the World,” “Teenage Caveman,” “Viking Women” and “Gunslinger”. Ed Nelson was in “Teenage Caveman, “Night of the Blood Beast,” “Riding with Death” and “Superdome.”
\n\u2022 CreditsWatch: Host segments directed by Joel Hodgson. And he’s not in the credits, but that’s Mike doing the “Baywatch” voices, of course.
\n\u2022 Fave riff from the short: \u201cKay has worked on the kill floor. She knows where to deliver the blow.\u201d Honorable mention: \u201cThe sensuous pagan ritual begins.\u201d
\n\u2022 Fave riff from the movie: “Let’s just stand here and jut some more.” Honorable mention: \u201cAs we left the clam flowage that day…\u201d<\/p>\n

Episode guide: 504- Secret Agent Super Dragon<\/a><\/h2>\n

Last modified on 2016-04-21 14:19:18 GMT. 137 comments<\/a>. Top<\/a>. <\/small><\/p>\n

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Movie:<\/strong> (1966) A report of drugged chewing gum in Michigan sends a suave super agent to Amsterdam to investigate a sinister crime organization.<\/p>\n

First shown:<\/strong> 8\/7\/93
\nOpening:<\/strong> Crow and Tom build a robot, who soon becomes annoying
\nInvention exchange:<\/strong> Frank demonstrates virtual comedy until Dr. F. programs in a few hecklers, J&tB demonstrate micro-golf
\nHost segment 1:<\/strong> Joel, Crow and Tom are a jazz trio playing the “Secret Agent Super Dragon” theme
\nHost segment 2:<\/strong> J&tB read through Crow’s latest screenplay: “The Spy Who Hugged Me”
\nHost segment 3:<\/strong> J&tB discuss spy movie post-kill puns
\nEnd:<\/strong> Dr. F.’s holds a super-villain conference call
\nStinger:<\/strong> Jumping the Super Dragon, with xylophone accompaniment
\n

\u2022 I don’t watch this one often, but when I do, it always surprises me all over again. It’s really a solid episode. The host segments are clever and the riffing is very good. My biggest gripe is the awful awful condition of the print.
\n\u2022 This episode is on Rhino’s \u201cMystery Science Theater 3000, Vol. 12.\u201d
\n\u2022 References<\/a>.
\n\u2022 Minsky the robot is an actual vintage toy, and that is what it really says. BBI named him Minsky in honor of artificial intelligence guru Marvin Minksy.
\n\u2022 Tom invokes “WKRP in Cincinnati” with the mention of “Chy-chy Rodragweez.”
\n\u2022 Callbacks: “I killed that fat barkeep.” (The Beatniks) Also: “Any talent to declare?” (Warrior of the Lost World), a mention of Ward E (Stranded in Space), “…but there was no monster” (Monster A-Go-Go).
\n\u2022 Joel wears his glasses in segment 2, which tells me he’s actually reading his lines off that script.
\n\u2022 Then current: “Herb from Burger King<\/a>.” Also: “I ate the last Frusen Gladje<\/a>.”
\n\u2022 Naughty riff: “We’ll be covering you from behind.\u201d Crow: \u201cYou’ve been in prison too long.”
\n\u2022 Plot question–why did the bad guys choose a college town in Michigan to test their drug, when it’s fairly clear all their operations are in Europe? I don’t think the movie ever says.
\n\u2022 Frank is great in the ending segment, humming: ” \u2026I sing whenever I sing…” and doing the exact minimum required to assist Dr. F. \u201cEagerly.”
\n\u2022 A very small cast and crew roundup: Set designer Arrigo Equini also worked on “Danger! Death Ray.” In front of the camera, Marisa Mell was also in “Danger: Diabolik,” Carlo D’angelo was also in “Hercules Unchained” and Benito Stefanelli was also in “The Pumaman.”
\n\u2022 Creditswatch: Host segments directed by Trace Beaulieu. Clayton James does hair and makeup for the last time in season 5.
\n\u2022 Fave riff: “Emo, avec lute.” Honorable mention: “Remind your engineers to use coasters on me.”<\/p>\n

Episode guide: 505- Magic Voyage of Sinbad<\/a><\/h2>\n

Last modified on 2015-11-29 04:09:24 GMT. 110 comments<\/a>. Top<\/a>. <\/small><\/p>\n

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Movie:<\/strong> (1952) A sea-going adventurer sets sail to find the bluebird of happiness, which he believes will help his down-on-its-luck hometown.<\/p>\n

First shown:<\/strong> 8\/14\/93
\nOpening:<\/strong> J&tB are presenters and nominees at the SOL-tie awards
\nInvention exchange:<\/strong> The Mads present chin-derwear, while J&tB show off the rat pack chess set
\nHost segment 1:<\/strong> J&tB have a meeting of the Junior Jester Club
\nHost segment 2:<\/strong> J&tB are the bearded town council debating the Sinbad problem
\nHost segment 3:<\/strong> Crow’s lifelong quest thingy goes awry
\nEnd:<\/strong> The bots are amazed by Joel’s channel cat puppet, letter, Frank meets Mr. Fistie
\nStinger:<\/strong> Laughing horse
\n

\u2022 Oh my, oh my, oh my, what a wonderful episode. An all-time fave. Everything works, everything clicks. Great invention exchanges, great host segments, great riffing and a well-shot, expensive \u2014 albeit weird \u2014 movie. Despite my personal attachment to \u201cThe Day the Earth Froze,\u201d I have to say this is the best of the Russo-Finnish movie episodes.
\n\u2022 This episode was included in Shout! Factory’s “Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection: Vol XX.”
\n\u2022 You gotta assume the opening is perhaps a reflection on their \u201calways a nominee, never a winner<\/a>\u201d TV award history.
\n\u2022 Both inventions, chin-derwear and the Rat Pack chess set, are not just clever, they are downright witty.
\n\u2022 That\u2019s Mike, of course, attempting Frank Sinatra. He doesn’t sound much like ol\u2019 Blue Eyes, but he has the intonation down pretty good. In any case, as we approach the switch in hosts, Mike is seen and heard more and more.
\n\u2022 He’s not Sinbad, and director Aleksandr Ptushko never intended him to be. But when this Soviet-financed film was released to American audiences, the lead character was given the name “Sinbad” in hopes of fooling American moms and dads, who, the American importers knew, would never allow their kids to see a movie made by commies.
\n\u2022 Comedy Central used this episode for a contest: viewers were asked to write in and guess what the riff would be after Morgana (or whatever her name was) said “You seem troubled.” The correct answer was: “Have some Prozac.” The winner was a lady in New Jersey named Susan Schneider (she\u2019s at the beginning of this collection of \u201993 Turkey Day bumpers<\/a>) who was on, I forget, either Prodigy or AOL. The prize was one of those god-awful giant-screen rear-projection TVs that were unaccountably popular at the time (and five grand, which was pretty sweet, even if the ridiculous TV took up half the space in her rec room). She threw a party and invited some of the folks she knew on line for the weekend \u2014 a decision she came to regret, but that\u2019s another story for another day. I\u2019m sure that behemoth she won is moldering in a landfill somewhere now.
\n\u2022 Crow the jester is carrying the little mini Crow last seen in the possession of Sir Giggles Von Laughs-a-lot.
\n\u2022 Again, the writing in the Junior Jester Club sketch is off-handedly brilliant.
\n\u2022 J&tB are still wearing jester hats when they enter the theater after the first segment. Also, Crow has no net for a lot of the riffing.
\n\u2022 Arty reference: \u201cI can’t tell if that’s a Magritte or a hole in the wall.\u201d Did Magritte do many giant frescos?
\n\u2022 Odd riff: “…and a tetherball.” What\u2019s that about?
\n\u2022 Too-harsh riff?: “Jell-O tonight!”
\n\u2022 Did anybody else notice a similarity between the creepy laughing horse in this movie and the creepy laughing reindeer in “Santa Claus”?
\n\u2022 As if the segments up to this point haven\u2019t been great, the second sketch is a riot, maybe one of their best. It even has an ending! \u201cI wanna be the Labor MP from Brixton!\u201d
\n\u2022 Callback: “Tom Stewart killed me!” (Tormented), “Please give my best wishes to everybody!” (Minsky the robot in last week’s episode) “A sampo?” (Day the Earth Froze), “Hikeeba!” (Women of the Prehistoric Planet).
\n\u2022 This is one of those episodes with some theater business: First Joel and Crow drift off under the spell of the magic bird, then off goes Crow on his lifelong quest thingy. I love how Crow flies in from above upon his return. I guess Jef Maynard or somebody was up on a ladder next to the riffing chairs?
\n\u2022 Obscure reference: the infant of Prague<\/a>.
\n\u2022 The movie was already really strange, but in the last 15 minutes it really gets goofy.
\n\u2022 Gypsy seems a little hungry in the final segment.
\n\u2022 Firesign Theatre reference: \u201cThose eyes! Weird!\u201d
\n\u2022 There are not one but two uses of \u201cwha happa?\u201d in this episode.
\n\u2022 And just to finish things off, the appearance of an instant classic bit, Mr. Fistie!
\n\u2022 Cast and crew roundup: Some of the same folks worked on “The Sword and the Dragon,” including cinematographer Fyodor Provorov, costumer Olga Kruchinina, art director Yevgeni Kumankov and actors Sergei Stolyarov, Yelena Myshkova and Sovol (a.k.a. Sergei) Martinson. Actor Mikhail Troyanovsky was also in \u201cThe Day the Earth Froze.\u201d And of course Alfred Pusco a.k.a. Aleksandr Ptushko, also directed “The Day The Earth Froze” and “The Sword and the Dragon.”
\n\u2022 CreditsWatch: Andrea J. DuCane is back for a 14-episode run doing hair and makeup. Host segments directed by Kevin Murphy.
\n\u2022 Fave riff: “And stock up on socks! You know, you’re never gonna have this chance again!” Honorable mention: “Is this really the best away team he could have chosen?”<\/p>\n

Episode guide: 506- Eegah<\/a><\/h2>\n

Last modified on 2015-12-05 15:49:12 GMT. 148 comments<\/a>. Top<\/a>. <\/small><\/p>\n

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Movie:<\/strong> (1962) A teen girl, her weird-faced boyfriend and her scientist dad discover a cave man living in the desert.<\/p>\n

First shown:<\/strong> 8\/28\/93
\nOpening:<\/strong> Crow has been frozen to nearly absolute zero!
\nInvention exchange:<\/strong> Rebuilt Crow is just like new; J&tB presents the Pork-orina, while the Dr. F replaces Frank’s blood with antifreeze
\nHost segment 1:<\/strong> J&tB consider subtle forms of hell
\nHost segment 2:<\/strong> The bots alter Joel’s face to look like Arch Hall Jr.
\nHost segment 3:<\/strong> J&tB discuss why ’60s sitcoms are run by single dads
\nEnd:<\/strong> Washing the movie off the bots, Joel reads a letter, Frank gets a fluid change
\nStinger:<\/strong> “Fake it.” “That’s what I’ve BEEN doing. Now I’m getting sick!”
\n

\u2022 We\u2019re in a very good stretch of episodes here. This is another winner, following close on the heels of last week\u2019s gem. Great host segments, great inventions, great riffing. Shtemlo!
\n\u2022 This was one of the first episodes released on DVD by Rhino, in April of \u201900.
\n\u2022 References<\/a>.
\n\u2022 I always wondered what the “porkorina” instrument really was. Commenters informed me that it is a bass harmonica, aka a bass harp.
\n\u2022 Then-current reference: While doing his Cryptkeeper impression, Crow mentions the now-forgotten cable series “Dream On.”
\n\u2022 Callbacks: “Glen was 50 feet tall!” (War of the Colossal Beast), “The Torgo school of fondling,” “To live like the hu-man” (Robot Monster\u2014also a mention of the Robot Monster set) “Durn smoochers!” (Attack of the the Eye Creatures) \u201cHe tampered in God’s domain\u201d (Bride of the Monster), \u201cGiant Gila Monster.\u201d
\n\u2022 Segment one, is another pithy, brilliant sketch<\/a>, one that assumes a certain level of sophistication on the part of its viewers. It\u2019s classic MST3K.
\n\u2022 I hate to tell Joel, but maybe the reason he didn\u2019t see anything in the papers about Charley Weaver dying is that Charley\u2019s real name was Cliff Arquette.
\n\u2022 After having referenced \u201cLast of the Mohicans\u201d with the classic “Stay alive! Whatever may occur! I will find you!” line in the last episode, they go ahead and do it again\u2026and then they do it again!
\n\u2022 The second segment, while not as witty, is a great example<\/a> of the sort of Looney Tunes silliness they often did well.
\n\u2022 Crow is once again netless following the second segment, as he was in the previous episode.
\n\u2022 There is very little that needs to be said about this travesty of a movie, since it\u2019s been thoroughly examined many times, but it\u2019s worth saying again, as so many have before, that the scenes in the cave, with Roxy\u2019s dad cheerfully suggesting she give in to Eegah\u2019s romantic advances \u2014 particularly the horrifying shaving scene \u2014 are the very dictionary definition of the term \u201dicky.”
\n\u2022 This is an episode that launched so many catchphrases, from \u201cStop saying \u2018whee!\u2019 Nobody says \u2018whee!\u2019\u201d to \u201cMy tires are filled with water!\u201d to \u201cWatch out for snakes!\u201d to \u201cShtemlo!\u201d
\n\u2022 \u201cWha happa!\u201d is used twice.
\n\u2022 Joel again invokes Gregg Toland, the cinematographer for \u201cCitizen Kane,\u201d because a shot shows a ceiling.
\n\u2022 Arty reference: Keith Haring<\/a>.
\n\u2022 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.”
\n\u2022 CreditsWatch: Contributing writer Colleen Henjum becomes Colleen Henjum-Williams. Host segments directed by Joel Hodgson.
\n\u2022 Fave riff: “Sit down, pie face, it’s a long list.” Honorable mention: “That little satchel will be the death of him.” \u201cPoor shovel. Didn\u2019t ask to be in this movie.\u201d<\/p>\n

Episode guide: 507- I Accuse My Parents (with short: ‘The Truck Farmer’)<\/a><\/h2>\n

Last modified on 2015-12-06 15:00:37 GMT. 169 comments<\/a>. Top<\/a>. <\/small><\/p>\n

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Short:<\/strong> (1954) A look at the then-new techniques that enabled farmers to rush produce to market.
\nMovie:<\/strong> (1944) Ruined by — but in astonishing denial about — his boozy, carousing parents, a neglected essay-contest-winning young man gets involved with gangsters.<\/p>\n

First shown:<\/strong> 9\/4\/93
\nOpening:<\/strong> Tom Servo is naked!
\nInvention exchange:<\/strong> The Mads present cake ‘n’ shake, and Frank bakes the exotic dancer right into the recipe; J&tB demonstrate the junk drawer organizer
\nHost segment 1:<\/strong> Joel analyzes the bots’ art therapy projects
\nHost segment 2:<\/strong> J&tB reenact the night club scene from the movie
\nHost segment 3:<\/strong> J&tB analyze troubled Jimmy from the movie
\nEnd:<\/strong> The bots try to reenact the cafe scene from movie to scam a hamburger, Joel reads a letter, the Mads are digging out Rodney
\nStinger:<\/strong> “What? What’s so funny?”
\n

\u2022 Another in a string of wonderful episodes. The movie is a little bland, but the riffing is great. And, you know, I begin to suspect that, for any given episode you can sort of tell whether the movie held their interest and sparked a lot of discussions and ideas or whether their minds were wandering, based on how much the host segments have to do with the movie. You can tell they were really following the movie this time. I watched this on a big screen (with Joel sitting next to me) a few years ago and the audience was simply roaring with laughter all the way through.
\n\u2022 Early versions of the Rhino packaging of this episode had a small goof. It lists the episode number as 424. It got fixed in later printings.
\n\u2022 Great line: \u201cHow many times have you gone rootin’ through your junk drawer muttering to yourself \u2018Where’d I put that gun?\u2019” Toward the end of the movie, our hero roots through the junk drawer in the hall table of his parents\u2019 house, looking for a gun. Think that moment may have been the inspiration for this host segment?
\n\u2022 Now, duck news! Here’s Hugh McQuacken! They do the \u201cquacking\u201d gag five times, and it gets funnier each time. For those who don\u2019t get it (and I remember that every time this show aired, a number of people would post questions online asking, \u201cWhy were they quacking?\u201d), look at the wall of the hallway outside the door.
\n\u2022 The short would be incredibly depressing if not for the riffing. As it is, it’s still a LITTLE depressing.
\n\u2022 Sam Newfield did NOT direct “Jungle Goddess” as Joel says when his credit appears. He DID, however, direct the movies in episodes 103- The Mad Monster, 208- Lost Continent and 520- Radar Secret Service. He also directed the infamous “Terror of the Tiny Town,” the all-midget Western. Again, this was the era when you couldn’t just look stuff up on the then-fledgling, Usenet-based IMDB. What could have led them to have made that mistake? I\u2019ll bet it has something to do with the use of the phrase \u201chamburger sammich with French-fried potatoes,\u201d which is used in this movie and in “Jungle Goddess.”
\n\u2022 In the previous episode Crow was shattered. This week Tom gets painted. They really started doing stuff to the bots in this period.
\n\u2022 Then somewhat current reference: Joe Bolster. Joel is an admirer.
\n\u2022 Host segment 1 is, um, quirky, and only vaguely movie-related. Peggy Cass is an odd element.
\n\u2022 Segment 2 is a riot, especially Joel’s takes to the camera. I think it works so well because it comes IMMEDIATELY after the actual movie sequence. Nice to see Gypsy was willing to go along. Also, listen for another “wha happa!”
\n\u2022 I love the PA announcements J&tB do during the second song. \u201cCheese fries are up!\u201d
\n\u2022 Another VERY movie-focused sketch in segment 3, and very funny.
\n\u2022 Obscure reference: the religious TV show “Insight.” I remember watching that a little, but to me they always felt like defanged \u201cTwilight Zone\u201d episodes.
\n\u2022 Some people wondered why Anne Blythe’s name is written on the tank. I suspect they\u2019re just trying for World War II authenticity.
\n\u2022 I remember that somebody in the AOL MSTie forum \u2013 or it might have been on RATMM \u2013 had an idea for a MSTie cookbook. My submission was a hamburger sammich with French-fried potato garnish, complete with handgun on the side and a required trip to church every Sunday.
\n\u2022 That’s Brad Keeley as Rodney in his first on-camera role.
\n\u2022 Cast and crew roundup: As noted above: director Sam Newfield also directed “Mad Monster,” “Lost Continent” and “Radar Secret Service.” Special effects (?!) guy Ray Mercer also worked on “Lost Continent,” “Radar Secret Service,” “Last of the Wild Horses,” “The Sinister Urge” and “The Beast of Yucca Flats. Art director Paul Palmentola also worked on “Teen-Age Crime Wave.” Set designer Harry Reif also worked on “Radar Secret Service.” “Women of the Prehistoric Planet” and “The She-Creature” and was assistant director of “Gunslinger.”
\nIn front of the camera, super-hottie Mary Beth Hughes was also in “Last of the Wild Horses.” Edward Earle was also in “The She-Creature.”
\n\u2022 CreditsWatch: Host segments directed by Trace Beaulieu.
\n\u2022 Fave riff from the short: “Texans!” Honorable mention: “A pre-teen is put to work; her beauty will soon fade.”
\n\u2022 Fave riff: How do ya like my swingin’ church, son? Honorable mention: o\/` I knew I’d go from rags to riches… o\/`<\/p>\n

Episode guide: 508- Operation Double 007<\/a><\/h2>\n

Last modified on 2015-12-12 15:44:54 GMT. 146 comments<\/a>. Top<\/a>. <\/small><\/p>\n

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Movie:<\/strong> (1967) A famed plastic surgeon\/hypnotist\/championship archer, whose brother is a “top agent,” is recruited to stop a villain and his scheme involving radioactive rugs.<\/p>\n

First shown:<\/strong> 9\/11\/93
\nOpening:<\/strong> Tom is enjoying Joel’s home movies; Crow is scared
\nInvention exchange:<\/strong> The Mads show off Frank’s Lederhosen-hosen, Crow has invented Sara, the bobbin’ buzzard
\nHost segment 1:<\/strong> Joel’s is an evil supervillian! “I know!”
\nHost segment 2:<\/strong> J&tB parallel the lives of Sean and Neil
\nHost segment 3:<\/strong> While Joel tries to hypnotize Tom, Torgo returns in Deep 13
\nEnd:<\/strong> Dr. F. uses his magnetizer, much to J&tB’s dismay
\nStinger:<\/strong> Mr. “Thunderball” pushes the button
\n

\u2022 When I converted my ancient VHS tapes to DVD, the one containing this episode was the only one that failed to function. A pal of mine (now, sadly, no longer with us) provided me with a fresh copy. Thanks, buddy. (The last time around, this item led to a discussion of my rickety computer set up. If you’re interested, I did eventually get that mac mini \u2014 which, about a year later, died one morning and I had to get a newer one, which is working splendidly, thank you \u2014 but I am still struggling with slow and spotty Verizon DSL.)
\n\u2022 This episode appears in Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection: Vol XXV, as “Operation Kid Brother.” They had to use the alternate title to get the rights.
\n\u2022 References<\/a>.
\n\u2022 This is episode is fun, and funny, but I don\u2019t love it quite as much as the previous couple of shows. The host segments are hit and miss, for one thing. But an even bigger problem for me is that I never understood the bad guy\u2019s plan. Or is it plans? The last time through I pointed to this site, which does a pretty good job of explaining what the heck is going on<\/a>, but even he gets confused.
\n\u2022 I previously claimed that this is the first mention of swing choir. A commenter proved me wrong.
\n\u2022 Frank really commits to the lederhosen bit. You have to wonder how they felt doing some of those bits, without any audience to tell them if it was hilarious or dreadful. In the absence of feedback, they just committed.
\n\u2022 The Bobbin\u2019 Buzzard is a lovely prop. Kudos to Jef Maynard or whoever was responsible.
\n\u2022 This movie may very well have the greatest theme song of any MSTed movie.
\n\u2022 Callbacks: “Hooray for Santy Claus!” (Santa Claus Conquers the Martians). Tom does the \u201cThat must be one of those [fill in noun here]s I\u2019ve heard them talk\u2026about\u2026so\u2026much\u2026lately\u2026\u201d bit twice (Gamera). “There WAS no Yashuko.” (Monster-A-Go-Go). \u201cTo see your land!\u201d (Magic Voyage of Sinbad).
\n\u2022 Obscure reference: \u201cMichael, I want all the episodes of Captain Nice<\/a> burned.\u201d
\n\u2022 If you think this was Neil’s one and only film role, you’re mistaken. He was also in \u201cThe Body Stealers\u201d in the 1970s, then he “retired” for a while, but ten years later he returned to movies and has been working intermittently since then. Once you get show bidness in the blood\u2026
\n\u2022 Literary riff: “She thinks she’s in Dresden during the war.”
\n\u2022 The Rodney King incident is still on the writers\u2019 minds.
\n\u2022 Joel makes a rare entrance through the “G” door in the first segment. This segment is a good example of what I call an \u201caren\u2019t they adorable\u201d sketch. It only works because, at this point, all Joel has to do is look at the camera and arch an eyebrow and we laugh. If you showed this sketch to somebody with no knowledge of the show or its performers, they\u2019d be probably be baffled as to what\u2019s funny about it. But fans who know and love the characters get it. I think it’s hilarious.
\n\u2022 Kevin really tapped into his Catholic upbringing during the nun scene.
\n\u2022 Crow does his Phyllis Diller impression twice, using the same line: \u201cI\u2019m looking for Fang!\u201d (Fang was an invention of Diller\u2019s from her standup days: a boorish husband she could mock. The reason he does it is because the lady’s wacky hat looks like something Diller might have worn in those days.)
\n\u2022 Segment two reminds me of one of those long, over-written, complicated sketches from season two. But you can sense Mike Nelson\u2019s influence: it makes reference to a cheese factory.
\n\u2022 During the weird hijacking scene, Tom notes that the melody in the score sounds very similar to the classic kids\u2019 hymn \u201cJesus Loves Me.\u201d But what\u2019s interesting is that this mockery displeases Joel, who makes him stop singing it.
\n\u2022 The last time around, I wondered why Beta wants to kill his own henchbabes. A commenter set me straight and this time I realized that Beta himself explains this during the party scene. I must have missed it in a previous viewing.
\n\u2022 Mike returns, eight episodes later, as Torgo. With the lag time these episodes had, I\u2019m guessing the Brains had only recently picked up on the rave reviews from fans about \u201cManos.\u201d
\n\u2022 Yet another \u201cwha-happa?\u201d \u201cWha happa\u201d is to season 5 what \u201cI thought you were Dale\u201d was to season 8.
\n\u2022 Dr. F. is nice and evil in the closing segment. Oh, and nice job of building the magnetizer, which looks a LOT like the one in the movie. This was one of those prop-heavy episodes Jef Maynard talked about in the documentary about the show.
\n\u2022 Cast and crew roundup: Director Alberto de Martino also directed \u201cThe Pumaman.\u201d Scriptwriter Frank Walker also wrote “Devil Fish.” Costumer Gaia Romanini also worked on “Hercules.” Score composer Ennio Morricone also provided music for “Diabolik.”
\nIn front of the camera, Adolfo Celi was also in “Diabolik.” Lois Maxwell did voice work for “Invaders from the Deep.” Guido Lollobrigida was also in “The Pumaman.”
\n\u2022 Host segments directed by Kevin Murphy. Manager of Business Affairs Heide A. LeClerc becomes Heide A. LeClerc-Becker. Alpine horn provided by: Josef Diethelm. (Diethelm was the front man for a Twin Cities polka band.)
\n\u2022 Fave riff: “Do I have enough time to beat up the band?” Honorable mention: \u201cOh, who\u2019s the sign for?\u201d<\/p>\n

Episode guide: 509- The Girl in Lovers Lane<\/a><\/h2>\n

Last modified on 2015-12-13 01:01:29 GMT. 129 comments<\/a>. Top<\/a>. <\/small><\/p>\n

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Movie:<\/strong> (1960) A whiny runaway is befriended by a world-weary drifter, but the duo’s arrival in a small town spells trouble for a local waitress.<\/p>\n

First shown:<\/strong> 9\/18\/93
\nOpening:<\/strong> Tom and Crow are retrofitting themselves with bellybuttons; Joel approves
\nInvention exchange:<\/strong> The Mads present evil baseball promotions, Joel presents “Don Martins”
\nHost segment 1:<\/strong> J&tB sing “What a Pleasant Journey”
\nHost segment 2:<\/strong> The bots want to reenact the pool hall scene
\nHost segment 3:<\/strong> Crow is Crow Elam
\nEnd:<\/strong> Furious about the ending of the movie, the bots devise new endings, Joel reads letters, Frank devises endings too
\nStinger:<\/strong> “Are you waiting for a bus?”
\n

\u2022 This is what I used to call a \u201clittle\u201d episode. The movie has a very narrow scope. The host segments are fun but nothing spectacular. The riffing is decent but workmanlike. It\u2019s good, not great. But, like practically every episode, it has its moments\u2026
\n\u2022 This episode is included on Shout’s Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection: Vol. XV.
\n\u2022 Once again they’re doing stuff to the bots in the opening segment. This time it\u2019s belly buttons. I do love the way Joel thinks it over and decides to go for it.
\n\u2022 Something I never noticed before: In the opener, when they turn on the electric drill, the lights dim a little for a second. A great subtle little touch.
\n\u2022 The baseball promotion invention exchange is as dark as Frank predicts it will be, at least for any baseball fan. I\u2019m old enough to remember when my dad took me and my two brothers to \u201cbat day\u201d at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia: every kid got an actual regulation wooden bat, and yet we behaved. I suspect there\u2019d be mayhem in the stands if they did that today.
\n\u2022 Why does Joel\u2019s jumpsuit come equipped with ONE kneepad?
\n\u2022 One of the best things about this episode is the songs. The song Tom makes up to go with the movie\u2019s theme during the credit sequence is just marvelous. Joel and Crow add a line or two, but of course it’s dominated by Tom.
\n\u2022 This episode also features the \u201cCamera three get off the tracks!! Arrgghhh!\u201d sequence, which was later used in promos for the show.
\n\u2022 The other great song: \u201cWhat a pleasant journey.\u201d What can you say? One of the funniest songs of the series. The impression they’re doing, by the way is sort of a vague Woody Guthrie.
\n\u2022 The Mary Jo influence: Mentions of Appleton and Circle Pines.
\n\u2022 Callbacks: o\/` “Leather coat…” o\/` (The Beatniks) “To live like the E-lam…” (Robot Monster) “You’re stuck here!” (Fugitive Alien)
\n\u2022 One I didn\u2019t get lat time around: Her neck looks like Randy Johnson’s. Commenters explained it to me.
\n\u2022 Elam does look like Garrison Keillor, which they point out at least twice.
\n\u2022 There are several references to the \u201cThis Side of Paradise\u201d Star Trek episode again.
\n\u2022 Crow notes that Jack Elam was a fine character actor, \u201cand for all I know he still is.\u201d He was indeed still alive when this episode first aired … not so much now, sadly. He passed in 2003.
\n\u2022 I lost count of the \u201cCarrie, you’re so very…\u201d riffs, which did NOT get funnier with each iteration. For those who have no idea what it\u2019s about: Check it out here<\/a>.
\n\u2022 Yes, the truck driver does look a little like Gene Kelly, if you squint. I counted SIX riffs to that effect.
\n\u2022 The bots are upset about the ending of the movie in the final sketch, and there is also some outrage expressed in the ACEG, but J&tB don’t seem that upset in the theater when Carrie\u2019s brutal and completely undeserved murder actually occurs.
\n\u2022 Cast and crew roundup: Art director Dan Haller also worked on “Attack of the Giant Leeches\u201d and “Night of the Blood Beast.\u201d Set designer John F. Burton also worked on “12 to the Moon” and “High School Big Shot.” Score composer Ronald Stein also worked on “It Conquered the World,” “Attack of the the Eye Creatures,” “Gunslinger,” “The Undead” and “The She-Creature.\u201d In front of the camera Brett Halsey is also in “Revenge of the Creature.” William Coontz is also in “Bloodlust,” and Patricia Dean” is also in “Beginning of the End.”
\n\u2022 CreditsWatch: Host segments directed by Joel. The music for “The Train Song” a.k.a. “What a Pleasant Journey” was by Michael J. Nelson; the lyrics are by Frank Conniff.
\n\u2022 Fave riff: “This is a great date. I always wanted to be nuzzled by a hobo.” Honorable mention: \u201cDid his head just turn into a big sucker?\u201d<\/p>\n

Episode guide: 510- The Painted Hills (with short: ‘Body Care & Grooming’)<\/a><\/h2>\n

Last modified on 2016-06-02 20:48:43 GMT. 123 comments<\/a>. Top<\/a>. <\/small><\/p>\n

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Short:<\/strong> (1947) College students are reminded that they need to bathe and wear clean clothes if they hope to get some.
\nMovie:<\/strong> (1951) In 1870s California, a loyal collie witnesses the murder of a gold prospector.<\/p>\n

First shown:<\/strong> 9\/26\/93
\nOpening:<\/strong> The bots are putting on their own version of \u201cThe Tonight Show\u201d
\nInvention exchange:<\/strong> Dr. F presents the cholester-do all, J&tB demonstrate back-talk
\nHost segment 1:<\/strong> Crow and Tom debate the messy woman in the short
\nHost segment 2:<\/strong> Reports on bearded guys include Crow’s paper on Rutherford B. Hayes
\nHost segment 3:<\/strong> Crow is crushed into an ingot
\nEnd:<\/strong> J&tB discuss is Lassie is guilty of murder, Dr. F. tries to revive Frank
\nStinger:<\/strong> Naughty girl goes into the shower
\n

\u2022 It was certainly a bold move, picking this movie, and westerns are always fun to riff, even westerns like this one, that do it doggy style. But I have to put this in the \u201cgood not great\u201d category, something like the previous episode. The movie\u2019s just a little too good (I actually got caught up in the story), while the riffing and segments are hit and miss.
\n\u2022 This episode was included in Shout\u2019s Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Turkey Day Collection (aka Vol. XXXI).
\n\u2022 Unlike practically all the other episodes, there are no free versions of this episode on YouTube, although you can rent it for $3.99. (Oops, since I wrote that, one appeared. Never mind.)
\n\u2022 References<\/a>.
\n\u2022 In the opening bit, I know Joel is just setting up Crow\u2019s last punchline, but you can’t get sued for making fun of Congress. Kinda ruined the joke for me.
\n\u2022 A Youtube clip of the opening bit was often linked to as a way to disparage Leno during the great Leno\/Coco wars. Leno hasn’t changed much.
\n\u2022 The actual prop Frank is wearing around his neck during the invention exchange is kinda cool. “Eee-kay-gee, does it work great!”
\n\u2022 Then-current reference: short-lived TV show “Delta.\u201d
\n\u2022 The short seems to be aimed at college students. Did they really show this sort of thing in COLLEGE? Did college kids in the 1950s really need to be told to shower occasionally?
\n\u2022 That moment in the short where the movie moves backwards and Tom does the backward talking–do you think that’s what sparked the “Back Talk” invention?
\n\u2022 Segment 1 is MST3K at its best, witty, wise and fun. Love the reference to “Scoop Jackson Democrats and Jacob Javitz Republicans.” Those are pretty much gone.
\n\u2022 “Pile-On Pete” was an instant sensation in the message boards following this episode. As was the line “Snausages!”
\n\u2022 This movie was a Lassie rarity. In most Lassie movies, Lassie is a female character that was generally played by male dogs. But in this case, the character of Shep, a female, is actually played by a female dog.
\n\u2022 Segment 2 goes on a little long, but there\u2019s some good stuff there. I like how you can hear Tom say “Rutherford B. Hays!” as Cambot is halfway down through the movie sign door.
\n\u2022 Callback: “Smoochers on mah property!” (Eye Creatures) “Sampo!” (Day The Earth Froze.)
\n\u2022 Segment 3: well, they\u2019re doin’ stuff to the bots again. Funny puppet, though.
\n\u2022 Crow says “Thank you for extruding me” (like a little kid thanking his grandma for an itchy sweater he’ll never wear) as they enter the theater…
\n\u2022 The ending bit in Deep 13 is great: I love the food popping out of Frank’s mouth as Dr. F gives him CPR.
\n\u2022 A rarity: the stinger is from the short, rather than the movie.
\n\u2022 Cast and crew roundup: This movie has very few connections to the other movies. Makeup guy William Tuttle also worked on “Girls Town.” In front of the camera, Ann Doran was also in “Kitten With A Whip.
\n\u2022 CreditsWatch: Host segments directed by Trace Beaulieu.
\n\u2022 Fave riff from short: \u201cAnd look at that sidewalk!\u201d Honorable mention: \u201cThose \u2026 nose!\u201d
\n\u2022 Fave riff from the movie: “First thing I’m gonna do is buy me a montage!” Honorable mention: “Oh for the want of a Frisbee!”<\/p>\n

Episode guide: 511- Gunslinger<\/a><\/h2>\n

Last modified on 2016-06-09 14:38:49 GMT. 93 comments<\/a>. Top<\/a>. <\/small><\/p>\n

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Movie:<\/strong> The widow of a murdered sheriff attempts to clean up the crime in her small town with help from the man hired to kill her.<\/p>\n

First shown:<\/strong> 10\/9\/93
\nOpening:<\/strong> Tom goes “Ka-Boom!”
\nInvention exchange:<\/strong> The Mads show off the scanner planner, J&tB demonstrate new whiffle items
\nHost segment 1:<\/strong> J&tB imagine their funerals
\nHost segment 2:<\/strong> The Gypsy Express
\nHost segment 3:<\/strong> Tom demonstrates quantum linear super-positioning
\nEnd:<\/strong> The ’70s: A pretty foul decade, Joel reads a deep-fried letter, Dr. F. scans Frank!
\nStinger:<\/strong> “What about our clothes?”
\n

\u2022 Well, here we go, the penultimate episode, the last regular episode before big changes occur. I generally like this one. Corman always brings out the best in them, and while it isn\u2019t a slam dunk, it\u2019s pretty consistently entertaining. Good not great.
\n\u2022 This episode is on Rhino’s Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection, Vol. 6.
\n\u2022 Did Gypsy mean to throw the dice onto the floor behind the desk or was that a goof?
\n\u2022 Jim blows a line in the opening bit. They keep going.
\n\u2022 The opening bit is downright hilarious, a brilliant melding of attitude and great prop building.
\n\u2022 I love how Frank does the classic Harpo Marx \u201cgookie\u201d when being “scanned.”
\n\u2022 Dr. F. says this is their first western. Doesn\u2019t \u201cThe Painted Hills\u201d count?
\n\u2022 Callback: “I’m a Grimault warrior!” (Viking Women)
\n\u2022 Segment 1 is great. It\u2019s kind of a funeral for the Joel years (at least it feels that way to me) and it\u2019s got great writing. However, is it my imagination or is everybody a little short with each other in this sketch? I may be imagining things.
\n\u2022 Segment two: meh. It goes on a little too long. Oh and: peanut butter and Dijonnaise?? Ew!
\n\u2022 This one has one of the season\u2019s funniest running gags: the riffs about the doors that open the wrong way. They just get funnier.
\n\u2022 Joel seems to lose patience with the movie about two thirds the way through. “Man, this movie is just sitting on my head and crushing it.”
\n\u2022 I forgot this episode has a “I thought you were Dale”!
\n\u2022 Crow wasn\u2019t far off when he said Corman did \u201cSwamp Diamonds\u201d on Tuesday and this on Friday. The movie actually had a seven-day shooting schedule. Among the problems on the set: John Ireland and Beverly Garland were attacked by red ants during their romantic tree-sitting scene, Beverly twisted her ankle and it became so swollen that her boot had to be cut off, and Allison Hayes broke her arm falling off a horse.
\n\u2022 Segment 3 is one of the best of season 5, witty and intelligent, but not too talky.
\n\u2022 We are entering the “Honey” period of this show\u2014the epoch when everyone was calling each other \u201choney\u201d constantly. There are at least four instances in this ep.
\n\u2022 I imagine they had a ton of letters to Joel laying around, that they wouldn\u2019t be able to use any more. Deep frying them seems like a nice bit of closure.
\n\u2022 Cast and crew roundup: Okay, it’s a Corman, and he loved to use the same people, so strap in. In addition to Roger, screenwriter Charles B. Griffith also worked on “It Conquered the World” and “The Undead.” Screenwriter Mark Hanna also worked on “The Undead,” “The Amazing Colossal Man and “Terror from the Year 5000.” Cinematographer Frederick West also worked on “It Conquered the World,” “Swamp Diamonds and “The She-Creature.” Editor Charles Gross also worked on “It Conquered the World.” Assistant director Harry Reif was a production designer for “Women of the Prehistoric Planet,” and a set designer for “The She-Creature,” “I Accuse My Parents” and “Radar Secret Service.” Score composer Ronald Stein also worked on “It Conquered the World,” “The Undead,” “The She-Creature, “Attack of the the Eye Creatures” and “The Girl in Lovers Lane.” Choreographer Chris Miller also worked on “The Undead.
\nIn front of the camera, Beverly Garland is also in “It Conquered the World” and “Swamp Diamonds.” Allison Hayes was also in “The Undead,\u201d “The Crawling Hand” and “The Unearthly.” Jonathan Haze was also in “It Conquered the World,” “Teenage Caveman,” “Viking Women and the Sea Serpent,” and “Swamp Diamonds.” Bruno VeSota was also in “Attack of the Giant Leeches,” “The Undead,\u201d “Daddy-O” and “The Wild, Wild World of Batwoman.” William Schallert was also in “Invasion USA” and “Hangar 18.” Dick Miller was also in “It Conquered the World” and “The Undead. Chris Miller was also in “The Undead.” Aaron Saxon was also in “The Undead.” Paul McGuire was also in “Radar Men from the Moon.”
\n\u2022 CreditsWatch: Host segments directed by Joel Hodgson, his last one. Additional writer: Timothy Scott.
\n\u2022 Fave riff: “Oh, rut like crazed weasel. You?” Honorable mentions: “Most people are morally ambiguous, which explains our random dyin’ patterns\u201d and \u201cCome out!\u201d<\/p>\n

Episode guide: 512- Mitchell<\/a><\/h2>\n

Last modified on 2016-06-16 14:18:18 GMT. 232 comments<\/a>. Top<\/a>. <\/small><\/p>\n

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Movie:<\/strong> (1975) A slovenly cop is determined to bring a mob kingpin to justice.<\/p>\n

First shown:<\/strong> 10\/23\/93
\nOpening:<\/strong> Joel’s unveils his toothpicky creation; the bots know what they have to do
\nInvention exchange:<\/strong> The Mads are being audited, so they’ve hired a temp by the name of Mike; J&tB present the Daktari stool
\nHost segment 1:<\/strong> Gypsy overhears the Mads plotting and thinks they’re talking about Joel
\nHost segment 2:<\/strong> A worried Gypsy tries to think of a way to get Joel off the SOL; Crow and Tom are no help
\nHost segment 3:<\/strong> Mike learns of a hidden escape pod, and gives Gypsy control
\nEnd:<\/strong> Joel is ejected into the escape pod, leaving behind a plaque and a final word; Dr. F. is furious … until Mike presents his time card
\nStinger:<\/strong> “Your lying through your teeth!” “Buzz off!” “No, you buzz off!” “I SAID BUZZ OFF, KID!”
\n

\u2022 It all starts so normally. Just another episode, right? Wrong. This is, of course, the most famous of the show\u2019s \u201ctransition\u201d episodes, and I\u2019ve seen it perhaps a dozen times now. What sticks out is how well the whole thing falls together. There\u2019s a lot going on here, but it\u2019s all accomplished in about 15 minutes. Tight scripting, tight performances, tight editing, it\u2019s a marvel of precision. It\u2019s sentimental, but it doesn\u2019t get mawkish. And it\u2019s very funny all the way through.
\n\u2022 This episode was first put out as a single-disk release on November of 2001.
\n\u2022 References<\/a>.
\n\u2022 You want a metaphor? How about Joel building an extremely fragile creation, certain in the knowledge that it will be destroyed? Now, that\u2019s a metaphor.
\n\u2022 Mike makes his first appearance as, well, Mike. Wow is he young. (Recently I saw a movie starring a young Tab Hunter, and I’d never noticed before how much a young Mike and young Tab vaguely resemble each other. Maybe it\u2019s the square heads.)
\n\u2022 The Daktari stool sat in the hallway of BBI for years. It was still there when I visited the set in 1999.
\n\u2022 What does Joel have against Harlan Ellison? Besides the obvious, of course…
\n\u2022 Segment 1 features a parody of the scene in \u201c2001: A Space Odyssey\u201d in which computer Hal reads the lips of the astronauts. Interesting that \u201c2001\u201d is again parodied in another transition episode at the end of season seven.
\n\u2022 Segment 1 is pretty much as close to Dr. F and Frank as most of us will ever get. I remember some female fans of Trace rather enjoyed it.
\n\u2022 Jim does a great job in segment 2. “Breathe through your nose”?
\n\u2022 I love the moment when Mitchell says: “Sh\u2014.\u201d and Joel finishes his line with: ‘…ugar?”
\n\u2022 Want a connection from this movie to the Robert Blake murder case? Sure, we all do! Gary McLarty and Ronald (Duffy) Hambleton, both of whom testified against Blake when he was accused of killing his wife, had small roles in this movie. McLarty played one of Mistretta\u2019s henchmen and Hambleton played mob boss Edmondo Bocca, who gets dropped by Mitchell just short of the green. Both testified that Blake explicitly discussed killing his wife. But, unfortunately for the prosecution, both of these guys had somewhat checkered pasts. Blake\u2019s defense team successfully undermined the credibility of both witnesses, introducing evidence of mental illness, drug addiction, etc. In the end, their testimony may have actually helped Blake get off.
\n\u2022 Not mentioned in the references list, because they only do references during the movie and not during the host segments, is the \u201cOPE\u201d thing Gypsy is muttering. It’s a reference to the movie “Dr. Strangelove.”
\n\u2022 The presence of that Christmas tree in John Saxon’s house — and pretty much no other references to it being Christmas — is one of the many odd things about this movie.
\n\u2022 Joel seems to lose it during the \u201cAdam Rich\u201d scene. (Actually, the kid is played by a Todd Bass, in his second and last role in show business, according to the IMDB. It would be fun to find Mr. Bass, who must be in his 40s by now, to see what he remembers of this shoot. By the way, according to Wikipedia the kid is supposed to be the son of Linda Evans’ character! Who knew?)
\n\u2022 Then current reference: the forgotten movie “Cop and a Half.”
\n\u2022 Hamdingers suddenly took over the MSTie consciousness after this episode, but it was funny how Gypsy and Mike (and, by extension, BBI) seemed very clear on what Hamdingers were \u2026 but nobody else seemed to be. It was hard to nail down just what they were, and descriptions seemed contradictory. Some said the Swift-Premium folks made them (I believe Kevin invoked Swift Premium during an online chat). Not true. At long last, I can point to this site<\/a>, which seems to solve the mystery at last. <\/p>\n

Hamdingers were a short-lived meat product produced by the Patrick Cudahy Co. out of Cudahy, WI, in the mid \u201870s … The product was sliced ham patties, about the size of a hamburger patty, and it came in a round can. Like Spam, it became a great meat to fry up with some eggs for breafast, but the great thing about Hamdingers is that it came in individually sliced portions, so you could grab a patty and fry it up for that perfect Hamdinger sandwich.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The entry doesn\u2019t mention that they were reportedly great fish bait as well.
\n\u2022 I love that DOS command Mike has to type in to the \u201ctechtronic panel\u201d (apparently this was the one and only time that the control panel in Deep 13 was called this).
\n\u2022 Movie comment: Toward the end of the movie, Mitchell inserts a portion of his handkerchief (there\u2019s a lesson, kids!: always remember to carry a handkerchief; you never know when you might want to blow up a drug dealer\u2019s car!), then screws the gas cap back on over it, so that the rest of the handkerchief is hanging down. He then drives to the meeting place and when the deal goes south he, all in a split second, whips out a lighter, lunges forward and holds the lighter to the handkerchief, which INSTANTANEOUSLY lights up. Now maybe, just maybe, the tank was very, very full and the handkerchief got nice and soaked with gasoline on the ride over. But the tank might also have been mostly empty, meaning the handkerchief could have been bone dry. That seems far more likely, doesn’t it? Which would mean it would have taken maybe ten seconds for Mitchell to light it, plenty of time to stop Mitchell. What I’m saying is that it seems unlikely that the handkerchief would immediately burst into flames in a fraction of a second like it does here. The whole thing is about as implausible as a young, sultry callgirl falling in love with Mitchell.
\n\u2022 Callbacks: Several references to “Eegah”; reference to rock climbing.
\n\u2022 Toward the end of the movie, we get Joel’s last bit of fatherly control during the bit where Tom and Crow get a bit dark and suggest Mitchell should turn the gun on himself.
\n\u2022 Naughty riff: “I’m huge.”
\n\u2022 I love the classic, low-tech use of confetti to simulate static in the Hexfield. Very Joel.
\n\u2022 When fans on the internet weren\u2019t obsessing about Hamdingers, they were arguing about the correct pronunciation of “Lao” as in \u201cDr. Lao.\u201d The consensus was that Joel blew it.
\n\u2022 Tom and Crow fall apart during the PANIC, but I think this may be one time it was on purpose.
\n\u2022 I love Mike’s expression as Dr. F and Frank laugh about his fate.
\n\u2022 Cast and crew roundup: Sound mixer Herman Lewis also worked on “Teenage Caveman,” “Viking Women and the Sea Serpent and “Night of the Blood Beast.” Score composer Jerry Styner also worked on “The Side Hackers.” In front of the camera, Buck Young also appears in “Stranded in Space,” Rayford Barnes also appears in “Beginning of the End,” Jim B. Smith also appeared “San Francisco International and Alan “Mustang hood” Gibbs did stunts for “Hangar 18.” And, of course, Joe Don Baker also stars in “Final Justice.”
\n\u2022 CreditsWatch: Host segments directed by Kevin Murphy. Jim Mallon is listed as a contributing writer for every episode in season 5 except this one, where he is listed as an “additional writer.”
\n\u2022 Fave riff: “We’re going to control the ghetto, you and I, young man.” Honorable mention: “BABY OIL??? NOOOO!!!!”<\/p>\n

Episode guide: 513- The Brain that Wouldn’t Die<\/a><\/h2>\n

Last modified on 2016-06-23 13:22:53 GMT. 174 comments<\/a>. Top<\/a>. <\/small><\/p>\n

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Movie:<\/strong> (1959) When a doctor’s fiancee is decapitated, he keeps her head alive in his laboratory and tries to find her a new body. <\/p>\n

First shown:<\/strong> 10\/30\/93
\nOpening:<\/strong> Mike’s been in training for his first movie
\nInvention exchange:<\/strong> Mike presents the gutter-bumber-shoot, The Mads demonstrate the dream buster
\nHost segment 1:<\/strong> Mike tries to get control of the SOL, but nothing doing (that’s not cheese!)
\nHost segment 2:<\/strong> M&tB first project together: designing hats for Jan in the pan
\nHost segment 3:<\/strong> Mike, Crow and Tom discuss the movie’s hateful message; Mike shares an embarrassing moment from his past
\nEnd:<\/strong> A visit from Jan on the Hexfield; Dr. F. is inspired!
\nStinger:<\/strong> “Who’s to tell me to blow if I don’t want to?”
\n

\u2022 A fair-to-good first show for Mike. Horrible movie, great riffing, but many many changes to the forumla.
\n\u2022 This was one of the two episodes that was first released as singles by Rhino, in April of 2000, their first two MST3K titles.
\n\u2022 References<\/a>.
\n\u2022 I spent most of October 30, 1993, in Edina, Minn., at the home of a very nice lady named Debbie Tobin, with a lot of oddly dressed people I\u2019d never met before. Thereby hangs a tale.
\nFor the previous two Thanksgivings, Comedy Central had paid Best Brains to create short film segments — called \u201cbumpers\u201d in showbiz lingo — that would link one episode to another in its annual \u201cturkey day\u201d marathon. But in 1993, for reasons that will never be understood, I guess, Comedy Central asked BBI to make the bumpers for free. BBI told CC to pound sand. So, CC was forced to look elsewhere for its bumpers.
\nNow, at the same time, Debbie, who was a regular poster at MST3K bulletin board on the Prodigy online service, had announced she was throwing a Halloween costume party on the day of Mike\u2019s first episode. Somebody at CC saw her posting and asked her if they could send a video crew to film it and make bumpers out of the footage. Debbie agreed, and was (wisely) told to keep it a secret, and most of the people who showed up had no idea the camera crew was going to be there.
\nThus on the appointed day I, and about 35 jolly people from all over the country<\/a>, were in Debbie\u2019s house, in costume. It was the first time Erhardt and I had met, and there were a couple of other people there who I\u2019m still good friends with all these years later.
\n(And let me just take time out from this story to say that if you were there at MSTieween, please drop me a line and let me know how your life is going.)
\nWe managed to finish up filming just before 5 p.m. local time, when this episode was to debut. Shouting \u201cmovie sign!!\u201d we rushed to the basement and the den, where TVs were set up so we could watch. And that\u2019s where I was when the Mike era began.
\n\u2022 There is a LOT to take in here, right off the bat. New theme song lyrics, a new theme song singer, a new robot roll call and a new door sequence, all in about two minutes. It was breathtaking at the time.
\n\u2022 One of the new doors in the door sequence looks vaguely like a pizza. This was a cute reference to the fact that many fans claimed that one of the Joel-era doors made a sound that sounded like somebody saying “pizza!”
\n\u2022 According to BBI, Gypsy says “I’m not ready!” It sounds to me like “Hi from me!”
\n\u2022 Crow and Tom have been \u201ctraining\u201d Mike using “The Beast of Yucca Flat” [sic]. I think this is only the second time they mention a movie that they would later riff \u2014 the other one being \u201cMarooned.\u201d There\u2019s also a mention of \u201cNight of the Lepus,\u201d a movie they SHOULD have riffed.
\n\u2022 Is Tom wearing a Temple University cap? Sure looks like their \u201cT.\u201d
\n\u2022 Right out of the box, Mike is intentionally different from Joel. In an interview that I did with Jim at about this time, he said (I\u2019m paraphrasing from memory here) \u201cI never quite understood why Joel\u2019s character is so polite and deferential to the Mads. They trapped him in space! Why is he being nice to them?\u201d Thus we have an immediately rebellious Mike, who scoffs at being expected to \u201chop to.\u201d Radical!
\n\u2022 I love the use of the \u201cFlint phone\u201d sound effect with Dr. F\u2019s invention. The world would later hear it in the Austin Powers movies too.
\n\u2022 Another great \u201cMike as newbie\u201d moment comes when moviesign arrives \u2014 and Mike has no idea what to do. He then fails to carry a humiliated Tom into the theater. Crow explicitly mentions the air grate.
\n\u2022 Segment 1 is our first real taste of interaction between Mike and bots. They seem to be getting along okay, but it\u2019s clear the bots have abandonment issues. Can bots have \u201cissues\u201d?
\n\u2022 I gotta say that this movie is pretty harsh for Mike\u2019s first experiment. It is easily the most misogynist movie they ever did (and that\u2019s saying something). The scene where our \u201chero\u201d goes trolling for bodies is particularly dark.
\n\u2022 Callback: \u201cBack to the \u2018Unearthly\u2019 set.\u201d “Mitchell!!”
\n\u2022 At one point, Tom says: \u201cNot with RADAR!\u201d Huh? We won\u2019t get \u201cRadar Secret Service\u201d for seven episodes. Is it a reference to that? Had the Brains already seen it as part of the selection process? Maybe that was a riff that came from Frank, the previewer.
\n\u2022 Segment 2 is fun, a bit a throwback to season 3, when Joel was forever giving the bots assignments and projects.
\n\u2022 Mike is still wearing the lazy susan hat when when they re-enter the theater.
\n\u2022 Tom does a little Flash Bazbo.
\n\u2022 Segment 3 seizes another opportunity have fun at the new guy\u2019s expense, but also has some wonderful assessments of the movie.
\n\u2022 Great running gag in this one: AHH! I’M IN ANOTHER DIMENSION!!
\n\u2022 Cast and crew roundup: Just one item this time: Makeup man George Fiala also worked on “Santa Claus Conquers the Martians.”
\n\u2022 CreditsWatch: Joel’s name comes off the “art direction” credit, leaving Trace and Jef. Skyline Displays Inc. (the company that offered them the space that would become their studio) comes out of the “Special Thanks” credit, as does the credit for Mark Gilbertson. The “Executive Producers: Jim Mallon, Joel Hodgson” credit comes out completely. David Sussman is added to the list of writers for the rest of the season. Host segments directed by Trace Beaulieu. For the rest of the season, the theme song credit says: lyrics: “The Brains.” Jim Mallon is back in the list of contributing writers (his name was removed in last week’s credits) and will be for the rest of the season. And of course that’s Mary Jo, hilariously depicting Jan in the pan.
\n\u2022 Fave riff: “Hahahaha…have you seen Frankenhooker?” Honorable mentions: “…with a Milwaukee Sawzall.” \u201cIf Jack Ruby owned a Denny\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n

Episode guide: 514- Teen-Age Strangler (with short: ‘Is This Love?’)<\/a><\/h2>\n

Last modified on 2016-05-31 09:02:45 GMT. 132 comments<\/a>. Top<\/a>. <\/small><\/p>\n

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Short:<\/strong> (1957) A college couple rushes into marriage, while another couple is taking their time.
\nMovie:<\/strong> (1964) In a West Virginia town, a newly arrived family is at the center of a series of murders.<\/p>\n

First shown:<\/strong> 11\/7\/93
\nOpening:<\/strong> Mike tries to phone his grandma
\nInvention exchange:<\/strong> Dr. F shows off the Frank-n-forcer, M&tB demonstrate the waiter-baiter
\nHost segment 1:<\/strong> M&tB ask: What is love?
\nHost segment 2:<\/strong> Crow and Tom want to rumble, but Mike intervenes
\nHost segment 3:<\/strong> Crow and Tom have a gadget that will make Mike act like Mikey
\nEnd:<\/strong> Song: “I’m a Janitor;” Dr. F. cleans up after Frank
\nStinger:<\/strong> “And he didn’t steal no bike neither … I did!”
\n

\u2022 And so the show tries to settle into a new routine, and largely succeeds. The movie is plenty riffable and the memorable riffs are plentiful. The host segments are still a little awkward, but the show ends on a real high note. It\u2019s a sign of good things to come.
\n\u2022 This episode is included in Rhino’s Vol. 10.
\n\u2022 Why is Mike calling his grandma? Not his parents? Not his brother Eddie?
\n\u2022 That’s Mary Jo as the voice of Mike’s grandma; that\u2019s Kevin as the voice of the waiter-baiter.
\n\u2022 Mike channels his TGIFridays days with the waiter-baiter invention.
\n\u2022 Once again we get a short apparently aimed not a grade-schoolers, or even high-schoolers, but college students. I wonder when, exactly, college students stopped listening to mental hygiene movies with 30-year-old Romulans playing the students. Still, the message of the short \u2014 take your time, let your parents give you a house \u2014 is a good one, perhaps even more so today.
\n\u2022 RiffTrax would later riff “How Much Affection?” which is plugged in the short’s closing credits.
\n\u2022 In the first segment, it\u2019s amazing how many of those celebrity romances are no more: almost all of them. I guess that was the point, but I\u2019m still impressed by their accuracy rate.
\n\u2022 What’s the deal with John Humphries, who plays Mikey? At the first Conventio-Con, he explained. He said was a complete novice to acting when the film was made, and that he took his acting cues from Jo Canterbury, the actress who played weepy girlfriend Betty, whom he knew was from New York and had some acting experience. Thus, as her performance became more teary and shrill, so did his.
\n\u2022 The movie was filmed in, and stars many of the residents of, Huntington, WV. The real sheriff even played the movie sheriff. As one reviewer put it, “The effect is of a small town putting on a high school play about a serial killer.”
\n\u2022 During the introduction to the immortal \u201cYipes Stripes\u201d number, M&TB try to come up with the dirtiest band names they could get away with, including The Cramps<\/a>, The Buzzcocks<\/a> and The Butthole Surfers<\/a>. I think at the time they were just looking for band names that were good punchlines, but all those bands are now considered pretty important.
\n\u2022 \u201cYipes Stripes\u201d is a real earworm. I\u2019ve been unwillingly humming it for days.
\n\u2022 We get a nice look at Crow’s legs in second segment, which is otherwise pretty forgettable.
\n\u2022 In this episode they began using something different from the traditional five-second shot of the spinning spaghetti ball when they went to commercial. The bits show closeups of Deep 13. In the first one, the camera focuses in on a datebook that gives the episode number and the name of the movie In the second, the camera pans along a workbench in Deep 13 and stops on a beaker labeled with that info. In the third, we see a blackboard with that info, then what looks to be a big spitball then hits the blackboard.
\n\u2022 In the theater, Servo whistles. Hmmm\u2026
\n\u2022 Segment three is fun, though it goes on a little too long\u2026and why “rime”?
\n\u2022 Mike and Tom are already in the theater after segment three, and Crow enters still wearing the Mikey glasses \u2014 and therefore talking like Mikey.
\n\u2022 Callbacks: “Cornjob!” (Gamera v. Guiron). “The Master wants you but he can’t have you.” (Manos) [Note: Mike does that one.] “You can flip any chick in the house.” (Brain That Wouldn’t Die) Also, references to \u201cEegah\u201d including \u201cWatch out for snakes!\u201d “Mr. B Natural is in one of those lockers!”
\n\u2022 One thing about Mike in these early episodes (and I think somebody in the comment thread last week mentioned this) is that he seems unwilling to actually yell when the line calls for yelling. Instead he sort of whisper-yells. He sort of simulates yelling, though he\u2019s not actually raising his voice. As he got more comfortable in the role, that kind of faded away, but it\u2019s pretty noticeable in these early ones.
\n\u2022 We get another “whu-happa?”.
\n\u2022 The show ends with Mike’s first song as host, and it’s a winner. Mike sang it in the live show at the first conventio-con as well.
\n\u2022 This movie was largely made by, and featured, people who had never made a movie before and would never make a movie again. Hence, no cast and crew roundup this week.
\n\u2022 CreditsWatch: Host segments directed by Kevin Murphy. “The Janitor Song”: Music by: Michael J. Nelson and David Sussman. Lyrics by: Frank Conniff.
\n\u2022 Fave riff from the short: “A big VISA bill!”
\n\u2022 Fave riff: “Fortunately, the Higgins Boys and Gruber were on the scene.” Honorable mention: “Looks like mom has won some dirt track trophies.”<\/p>\n

Episode guide: 515- The Wild Wild World of Batwoman (with short: ‘Cheating’)<\/a><\/h2>\n

Last modified on 2016-06-11 16:58:14 GMT. 199 comments<\/a>. Top<\/a>. <\/small><\/p>\n

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Short:<\/strong> (1951) A high school student is caught copying his test answers from another student.
\nMovie:<\/strong> (1966) Revealingly-clad crimefighter Batwoman is on the case after villains Ratfink and Professor Neon steal an atomic hearing aid. <\/p>\n

First shown:<\/strong> 11\/13\/93
\nOpening:<\/strong> Mike is the dealer, the game is blackjack
\nInvention exchange:<\/strong> Frank has invented an atomic-powered hair dryer, Mike shows off his razor-back
\nHost segment 1:<\/strong> Mike assigns essays to answer the questions raised by the short
\nHost segment 2:<\/strong> The bots write essays, but Crow cheats!
\nHost segment 3:<\/strong> Mike, Tom & Gypsy meet to decide what to do about Crow
\nEnd:<\/strong> Crow responds to the charges against him, Mike reads a letter, Dr. F. likes his new atomic hair style
\nStinger:<\/strong> A batgirl puts the bite on the wormy guy
\n

\u2022 This is one of those episodes where people tend to say \u201cnot even the riffing made it bearable.\u201d To them I say: Pah! Lightweights! :-) The movie IS crushingly horrible, though. Every scene is interminable, the s\u00e9ance scene in particular. The movie belongs in the top (or, rather, the bottom) five on the list of most awful movies. The pain is all the more unbearable because, like \u201cCatalina Caper\u201d and a few other experiments, there are moments when the movie wants to be funny. Ugh. Still, I think it brings out the best in the riffing. The segments are mostly one story line, but it leads up to a great finish, and a special moment for me.
\n\u2022 References<\/a>.
\n\u2022 This title was originally released by Rhino as a single; and the original packaging had a goof: On the back was a photo of Joel. It was more recently re-released as a single by Shout.
\n\u2022 I think you can mark this episode as the point where the invention exchange concept begins its inevitable decline. As explained in the FAQ, there is both an “on-screen” reason and an “off-screen” reason why this happened. On-screen: the invention exchange was a form of greeting between Gizmonic Institute employees. Since both Dr. F. and Joel were both former Gizmonic Institute employees, it was the first thing they did each episode. But Mike never worked for Gizmonic (he was a temp hired directly by Dr. F.) and so he knows nothing of Gizmonic’s corporate culture. Mike would therefore not understand what an invention exchange was about and Dr. F. would see no point in exchanging inventions with him. Off-screen: the invention exchanges were mostly Joel’s doing. He was the gizmo guy. When he left, all the air went out of the concept. In this episode, the Mads\u2019 invention is downright strange and Mike’s is only fair (although, to be fair, Joel had a lot of mediocre ones too).
\n\u2022 The short is a gem, SO serious and dark that it really brings out the riffing gold.
\n\u2022 Mike brings popcorn into the theater! I don\u2019t think he ever did again.
\n\u2022 \u201cYou\u2019re opening, Jeff\u2019s middling and I\u2019m the headliner,\u201d is a car conversation the writers probably had in their standup days.
\n\u2022 There\u2019s not much to say about the first segment, since it basically lays the groundwork for what\u2019s to come, or the second one, which advances the story.
\n\u2022 Callbacks: “He didn’t steal no bike, neither!” (Teenage Strangler) “I am the north wind…” (Day the Earth Froze)
\n\u2022 Crow\u2019s cheating causes some unusual meanness in the theater: Tom tells Crow to shut up a couple of times.
\n\u2022 I love all the Bob Hope-style jokes: \u201cToccata and WOW in D minor!\u201d
\n\u2022 Are those scenes really from “The Mole People”? Are they in the version shown in season 8? I forget.
\n\u2022 The third segment contains a moment that is very important to me. It’s the moment Mike won me over. At this point, I still was not entirely sure about Mike. He was growing on me, but, well, I just didn\u2019t know. But he does something in the third segment\u2014and I\u2019m not sure it\u2019s even intentional\u2014that just endeared him to me immediately. Watch Mike\u2019s expression as a disguised Crow arrives, bearing soup, in the midst of the discussion. Mike sees Crow and puts on a completely guileless smile, warm and delighted at the prospect of a nice mustachioed gentleman offering soup. It\u2019s just such a funny and genuine expression. It cracks me up every time I see it. It was at that moment that Mike completely won me over.
\n\u2022 Mike expresses a desire to hunt down Jerry Warren. Unfortunately, Jerry passed on in 1988.
\n\u2022 In the final segment, watch Mike sniff the Hostess Snowballs, make a face, and put them back on the plate.
\n\u2022 Cast and crew roundup: Cinematographer William Troiano also worked on “The Slime People.” In front of the camera, Steve Brodie is also in “Giant Spider Invasion.” And of course, the great Bruno VeSota is also in “Daddy-O,” “Gunslinger,” “Attack of the Giant Leeches” and “The Undead.”
\n\u2022 Creditswatch: Bridget Jones switches from writer to contributing writer for the next three episodes. Host segments directed by Jim Mallon.
\n\u2022 Fave riff from the short: “Oh, hi, Miss Granb–AHHHHHH!” Honorable mention: \u201cThat you, student counselor??\u201d
\n\u2022 Fave riff from the movie: o\/` “Yes, the devil made this movie for you.” o\/` Honorable mention: “Tethered to the mob!”<\/p>\n

Episode guide: 516- Alien from L.A.<\/a><\/h2>\n

Last modified on 2016-06-18 11:55:51 GMT. 149 comments<\/a>. Top<\/a>. <\/small><\/p>\n

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Movie:<\/strong> (1987) An airheaded Valley Girl follows her explorer father to the center of the Earth.<\/p>\n

First shown:<\/strong> 11\/20\/93
\nOpening:<\/strong> Boot camp at Fort Satellite O’ Love
\nInvention exchange:<\/strong> Dr. F demonstrates the vend-a-gut, M&tB have invented fridge udders (teats!)
\nHost segment 1:<\/strong> M&tB discuss that supermodel. What’s her name?
\nHost segment 2:<\/strong> M&tB sing: “My Wild Irish Ireland”
\nHost segment 3:<\/strong> M&tB introduce the “guess Kathy’s emotions” game
\nEnd:<\/strong> Nothing more to say about the movie, Mike reads a letter, in Deep 13, Frank still is dropping quarters
\nStinger:<\/strong> “Yuck!”
\n

\u2022 This is a wonderful episode. Great riffs, great segments and a real departure of a movie. Dull surprise!
\n\u2022 This episode is on the Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection, Vol. XXVI.
\n\u2022 References. http:\/\/www.annotatedmst.com\/episodes\/alienfromla\/index.htm
\n\u2022 Speaking of \u201cMike won me over\u201d moments (as we were last week), I had a good friend for whom Mike\u2019s deranged “Hello, Joker!” greeting did the trick.
\n\u2022 Let me just say it: Teats! For several days after this episode, online MSTiedom was full of people saying \u201cteats\u201d just because they could.
\n\u2022 The desk on the bridge magically vanishes so they can do the “fridge tipping” gag.
\n\u2022 Mike does a little Joel-esque climbing around on the movie in the theater.
\n\u2022 This week\u2019s non-spaghetti ball bumpers: pan across the lab to a beaker, pan down to the notebook, pan from globe to blackboard as roll of toilet paper flies by.
\n\u2022 I love the first segment, where the bots assume the personality of that out-of-it relative surely everybody has. Sounds just like my mother-in-law (God rest her soul). By the way, I think they were thinking of Paulina Porizkova.
\n\u2022 The bots are still wearing their outfits as they enter the theater after segment 2.
\n\u2022 Obscure reference not mentioned on the references page: Ballet Trockadero<\/a>.
\n\u2022 I don’t really get why they keep saying Kathy has “big bones” Is it because she’s tall (Kathy’s 5’10”)? Usually \u201cbig bones\u201d is a euphemism for \u201coverweight,\u201d which Kathy is not.
\n\u2022 The classic Dull Surprise sketch immediately launched a catchphrase.
\n\u2022 Mike reacts harshly to mention of “Captain Ron” and finds it necessary to lay down the law … justifiably, in my view.
\n\u2022 Callbacks: It’s Klandinctu! (Crash of the Moons) He’s the best! (Pod People). This to me is good TV. (Jack Perkins).
\n\u2022 Crow is very “helpful” (i.e. blathering inane factoids) quite a few times in the theater — causing Tom tell him to shut up repeatedly.
\n\u2022 As if there weren\u2019t already enough classic bits in this episode, the \u201cfemmy movies\u201d bit<\/a> at the end is great fun. Nice way to distract from a long credit sequence, but several times they mention something called a \u201cvideo store,\u201d whatever that is.
\n\u2022 Cast and crew round up: Not a big one this week. Executive producer Avi Lerner also worked on “Outlaw.” Production designer Pamela Warner was an assistant art director on “Being from Another Planet.” In front of the camera, Russel Savadier is also in “Outlaw.”
\n\u2022 CreditsWatch: Host segments directed by Trace Beaulieu. “My Wild Irish Ireland” written and arranged by: Kevin Murphy, Michael J. Nelson and David Sussman.
\n\u2022 Fave riff: “This whole room smells like my eyes!” Honorable mention: “Hey Count Chocula, clear the shot.”<\/p>\n

Episode guide: 517- Beginning of the End<\/a><\/h2>\n

Last modified on 2016-07-22 12:32:19 GMT. 162 comments<\/a>. Top<\/a>. <\/small><\/p>\n

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Movie:<\/strong> (1957) A swarm of giant grasshoppers, inadvertently created by a radioactive experiment, heads for Chicago.<\/p>\n

First shown:<\/strong> 11\/25\/93
\nOpening:<\/strong> During a group sing, M&tB get a wrong number
\nInvention exchange:<\/strong> The Mads present the re-comfy bike, M&tB show off their new playing cards
\nHost segment 1:<\/strong> Mike calls the Mads and catches them off guard
\nHost segment 2:<\/strong> Crow unveils his latest screenplay: “Just Plain Peter: The U of M Years”
\nHost segment 3:<\/strong> Tom’s standup routine is heavy on grasshopper jokes
\nEnd:<\/strong> The bots post-card, Bert I. Gordon special effects, Mads are boxing
\nStinger:<\/strong> “Alright, men. Into the woods!”
\n

\u2022 This one’s a bit of a change of pace, literally: Bert I. Gordon slows things down and grinds out the filler thoughout a drab, monster-free first half \u2014 but that just leaves plenty of room for the riffs. Once the grasshoppers and Peter Graves arrive, things really pick up. The host segments are fun, especially Crow’s newest screenplay.
\n\u2022 References<\/a>.
\n\u2022 Mary Jo is VERY good at playing those trailer trash gals. Maybe a little TOO good. That’s Paul yelling in the background.
\n\u2022 The playing cards bit, which I think even they realized was a little wifty, would be parodied in season six.
\n\u2022 Some grasshoppers were harmed in the making of this movie: According to reports, the grasshopper wranglers started with 200 of the little guys. During the filming, they began to cannibalize one another, and by the time the last shots were done, only a dozen were left.
\n\u2022 When we started doing the Mike episodes, somebody in the comments said it was the beginning of an era when the Mads became more effeminate, and yeah, I guess there was a bit of an upswing of that kind of comedy. Segment one is a good example.
\n\u2022 Rhino really screwed the pooch on the packaging for this one: Joel\u2019s picture is on the package and he is touted as the star. On the menus, you can hear Arch Hall Jr. croon “Vicky.” Bleah.
\n\u2022 Tom begins to sing a few bars of George Michael\u2019s \u201cFaith\u201d before Mike and Crow threaten him.
\n\u2022 Callbacks: What would Mitchell do? “\u2026sing whenever I sing…” (Giant Gila Monster) Trumpy! (Pod People)
\n\u2022 In the theater somebody who is not Mike coughs. I think it\u2019s Kevin.
\n\u2022 Cast and crew roundup: I’m not going to recite the whole Bert I. Gordon litany. Screenwriter Fred Freiberger was the producer for the “Space: 1999” episodes that appeared in “Cosmic Princess. Cinematographer Jack Marta also worked on “Earth Vs. The Spider” and “War of the Colossal Beast.” Editor Aaron Stell also worked on “The Giant Gila Monster” and “Killer Shrews.” Flora Gordon also helped with special effects on “Amazing Colossal Man,” “Earth Vs. The Spider,” “War of the Colossal Beast,” “Magic Sword” and “Village of the Giants. Special effects guy Dean Duncan Parkin was an actor in “War of the Colossal Beast. Production manager James Harris also worked on “Amazing Colossal Man.” Art director Walter Keller also worked on “Earth Vs. The Spider” and “War of the Colossal Beast.” Sound guy Dick Tyler Sr. also worked on “Radar Men from the Moon.” Our old pal score composer Albert Glasser did music for too many movies to name.
\nIn front of the camera, I’m not going to recite the Peter Graves litany again. Morris Ankrum was also in “Rocketship XM.” James Seay was also in “Amazing Colossal Man.” Hank Patterson was also in “Amazing Colossal Man” and “Earth vs. the Spider. John Close was also in “The Slime People” and “The Deadly Mantis.” Rayford Barnes was in “Mitchell.\u201d Don C. Harvey was also in “Revenge of the Creature.” Larry J. Blake was also in “Teen-Age Crime Wave.” Eileen Janssen was also in “The Space Children.” Patricia Dean was also in “The Girl in Lovers Lane.” Peggie Castle was also in “Invasion U.S.A.\u201d Pierre Watkin was also in “Radar Secret Service.”
\n\u2022 CreditsWatch: Host segments directed by Kevin Murphy. This was Stephanie Hynes last episode as an intern. There’s a special item at the end: “Shot entirely in Minneapolis, home of the University of Minnesota.”
\n\u2022 Fave riff: \u201cLook, we’ll move to the loop to Schaumburg!\u201d Honorable mention: “Yeah, terrible. Martinis?”<\/p>\n

Episode guide: 518- The Atomic Brain (with short: ‘What About Juvenile Delinquency’)<\/a><\/h2>\n

Last modified on 2016-07-03 21:45:49 GMT. 135 comments<\/a>. Top<\/a>. <\/small><\/p>\n

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Short:<\/strong> (1955) A teen gang member sours on his life of delinquency after his dad is mugged.
\nMovie:<\/strong> (1963) A rich, elderly woman wants her doctor to transplant her brain into the body of one of her young captives.<\/p>\n

First shown:<\/strong> 12\/4\/93
\nOpening:<\/strong> M&tB have their final dress rehearsal for “Love Letters”
\nInvention exchange:<\/strong> M&tB are The Mads, The Mads are Crow and Tom Servo
\nHost segment 1:<\/strong> Tom is Weather Servo 9
\nHost segment 2:<\/strong> Mike demonstrates chin puppetry
\nHost segment 3:<\/strong> Magic Voice chats with the film’s voice-over guy
\nEnd:<\/strong> Crow is Hank Kimball–The Fugitive, Mike reads letters, “Dr.” Frank “consults” with Dr. Fist
\nStinger:<\/strong> Spanish for “AAAAAAAH!”
\n

\u2022 Although the movie is icky, and slows to a crawl in places, there\u2019s plenty to like about this episode: solid riffing and fun host segments. I’m going with “good, not great.”
\n\u2022 The original title of this movie was “Monstrosity.”
\n\u2022 This episode was included in Rhino’s The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection, Vol. 3. In 2011 Shout! Factory re-released it as a single<\/a>.
\n\u2022 Bill wrote the ultimate sendup of \u201cLove Letters,\u201d called \u201cHate Mail.\u201d
\n\u2022 Mike, Trace and Kevin (and the rest of the staff for that matter) have surely spent a lot of time around pretentious theater people. They parody them beautifully in the opening.
\n\u2022 This is an inspired invention exchange, as the show almost folds in on itself with self-parody.
\n\u2022 One of the notable mistakes in the Amazing Colossal Episode Guide was in the listing of this episode, when they forgot to note that this episode has a short. And what a short it is!
\n\u2022 Incidentally, this short was riffed again by RiffTrax in 2009<\/a>, and I don’t think Mike and Kevin even realized they’d done it before. Maybe it’s just that forgettable.
\n\u2022 The scenes in the short that take place in the teen hangout are eerily similar to the teen hangout scenes in \u201cTeenage Strangler.\u201d
\n\u2022 The Rhino version only contains one non-spaghetti ball bumper: a pan to the blackboard which gets hit by giant spitball. Maybe there were more in the original episode?
\n\u2022 Segment 1 is the first time Servo’s been in space since the Demon Dog incident, isn\u2019t it? Note the nice sizzle sound effect as Mike touches Servo after he comes inside.
\n\u2022 There was a guy on a local kiddie show when I was growing up in the Philadelphia area that used to do a chin puppet routine, so I was familiar with the concept. Had anybody else encountered chin puppets before this?
\n\u2022 Returning to the theater from segment 2, Mike casually tosses Tom into his seat, much to his dismay. (I assume Kevin was on his back on the floor waiting to catch him.)
\n\u2022 The \u201cold\u201d jokes come fast and furious. My favorite: \u201cMaybe you can take a real long time to write a check somewhere!\u201d
\n\u2022 In segment 3, Magic Voice has her biggest part yet and her first commercial sign countdown in a while.
\n\u2022 Callbacks “So klandinctu!” (Crash of the Moons) Mike (hey how does HE know that?) says \u201dTrumpy you can do magic!” (Pod People) \u201cLooking for the ‘Manos’ set.\u201d
\n\u2022 At last we learn what the K in MST3K stands for.
\n\u2022 Dr. Fist, last seen in episode 505- MAGIC VOYAGE OF SINBAD, returns to punch Frank yet again.
\n\u2022 One of the biggest controversies between Rhino and the fans (and BBI) arose when this volume came out, without the stinger. Best Brains said they were certain that the master they sent to Rhino had the stinger. Rhino representatives were equally adamant that there was no stinger on the master. Somebody\u2019s lying. We may never know who. In any case, the recent Shout re-release has the stinger.
\n\u2022 Cast and crew round up: Producer Jack Pollexfen also produced “The Indestructible Man.” Associate prod\/screenwriter Vy Russell also worked on “The Indestructible Man, as did assoc producer\/screenwriter Sue Dwiggens. Score composer Gene Kauer also composed the scores for “Agent for H.A.R.M.” and “The Beast of Yucca Flats.” In front of the camera, Frank Gerstle was also in “San Francisco International. Director Joseph V. Mascelli was cinematographer for “The Incredibly Strange Creatures…”
\nCreditsWatch: After three eps as a contributing writer, Bridget Jones returns to the list of writers for the rest of the season. Host segments directed by Jim Mallon.
\n\u2022 Fave riff from the short: “And the Suez Canal incident!” Honorable mention: \u201cI\u2019m too noodly!\u201d and \u201cYou boys aren\u2019t movin\u2019 the stuff very well!\u201d
\n\u2022 Fave riff from the movie: \u201cThe Cat Suite from \u2018Carousel.\u2019” Honorable mention: “Well, so much for the ‘landing on your feet’ theory.”<\/p>\n

Episode guide: 519- Outlaw (of Gor)<\/a><\/h2>\n

Last modified on 2016-07-10 00:10:41 GMT. 163 comments<\/a>. Top<\/a>. <\/small><\/p>\n

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Movie:<\/strong> (1987) A hero returns to the primitive planet Gor, and is soon caught up in palace intrigue involving an evil sorcerer.<\/p>\n

First shown:<\/strong> 12\/11\/93
\nOpening:<\/strong> M&tB are roughhousing, and it doesn’t go well for Tom
\nInvention exchange:<\/strong> The Mads present their “really real” time machine, while M&tB show off their Fabio kit
\nHost segment 1:<\/strong> The bots find Mike’s theater scrapbook, and the photos all have something in common
\nHost segment 2:<\/strong> M&tB sing: “Tubular Boobular Joy”
\nHost segment 3:<\/strong> M&tB read relevant passages from “Palance on Palance”
\nEnd:<\/strong> Cambot puts together a compilation of buffalo shots!, while the Mads dance through the years
\nStinger:<\/strong> “Get out of here, you disGUSting WOORRRRRM!”
\n

\u2022 I love-love-LOVE this episode. Great riffing, great segments, seriously wacky but very watchable movie. It\u2019s also a great gateway episode for newbies. For a while it was my all-time favorite Mike episode.
\n\u2022 This episode was the one that was submitted to the Peabody Award people, and won them the award.
\n\u2022 This episode was released as a part of Shout’s Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection Vol. XXX.
\n\u2022 It\u2019s hard to imagine Joel “roughhousing” with the bots the way Mike does here. Maybe that\u2019s the point.
\n\u2022 Slightly irritating thing in the Mads’ invention exchange: the little signs say “60’s” and “50’s” and “40’s.” Those apostrophes are grammatically incorrect.
\n\u2022 Remember when Fabio mattered? Neither do I. Best line: \u201cEven Janis Ian kneels at his altar.\u201d
\n\u2022 Gypsy singing “I sing whenever I sing…” is the first of a boatload of callbacks in this episode. Others include: o\/` \u201cHarry Alan Towerrrrrs!\u201d o\/` (Fu Manchu), \u201cMah-mah-mah-mah-Mitchell (Mitchell), \u201cThey’re on the ‘Moon Zero Two’ set!\u201d \u201cWatch out for snakes!\u201d (Eegah), a reference to the Warrior of the Lost World set, “Sampo…Sampo…” and “Want some?” \u201cThanks Daddy O.\u201d
\n\u2022 Note that when Dr. F is in his caveman outfit, his Deep 13 patch is attached to his skin.
\n\u2022 Servo says, in a stupid voice, \u201cCan we listen to Z-Rock?\u201d I assume this is a local Minneapolis reference?
\n\u2022 Anybody ever play that Cabot drinking game? Did you live through it?
\n\u2022 I’ve eaten at the Perkins on 494.
\n\u2022 Non-spaghetti-ball bumpers: pan to beaker, pan to notebook, close up on film canister, focus on blackboard as what looks like beach ball goes by.
\n\u2022 The debut showing of this episode took place during one of those theme weekends Comedy Central used to have. This one was called \u201cRadio Active TV\u201d and they got radio DJs from around the country to do little bumper bits. For this episode, the DJs were Dave Rickards and Cookie “Chainsaw” Randolph from a station in San Diego. (In a past go-round, I noted that, “astonishingly for an industry where a run of a year or two on any one station is amazing, those two are STILL doing the morning show there 15 years later.” Since I posted that, they were abruptly — or, more accurately, typically, since all radio firings are abrupt — fired. Fans complained, the station held firm. They were out of work for a few months, then they got hired at a competing station in San Diego, where, amazingly, they STILL are.) For some reason, also present in the bits was actor Marc Price, who played Skippy in the \u201980s sitcom \u201cFamily Ties.\u201d His presence was never explained. And, for some reason, Rickards and Randolph were under the impression that the movie being watched was the Howard Hughes classic film, \u201cOutlaw.\u201d It made them seem pretty clueless.
\n\u2022 Segment 1 is probably the least funny, but even that one is very clever. Mike does look good in a sailor suit.
\n\u2022 First Firesign Theatre reference in a while: \u201cDon’t crush that dwarf! Hand me the pliers!\u201d Maybe Joel was the main Firesign guy?
\n\u2022 Everybody gets to do their Palance impressions to death. Hope their throats were okay at the end of the day.
\n\u2022 Segment 2 was an instant classic, also sung on the live show at the first convention in 1994. The first time I heard the phrase “hung like a horsical” I did a beer spit-take.
\n\u2022 What song are Crow and Tom singing during the scene where the slavers are chasing the slaves around? They don\u2019t seem to know the words.
\n\u2022 M&tB suspect that’s Italy at the end. Actually, despite a mostly Italian film crew, a lot of this was shot in South Africa. That could be Johannesburg.
\n\u2022 The USA Network movie sketch<\/a>, hard on the heels of the womany movie sketch a couple of episodes ago, means another great credit sequence.
\n\u2022 This ep marks the third mention of Chris Lemmon in three episodes! Somebody really didn\u2019t like him!
\n\u2022 Terrific editing of the buffalo shot compendium. Cambot gets the credit but I assume it was really Brad Keeley.
\n\u2022 Somebody named Kristin Land choreographed the dance number at the end. Great stuff.
\n\u2022 “Kathy Lee had her baby.” They’re referring to the birth of KLG’s second child, Cassidy Erin, who’s now an aspiring actress in her 20s.
\n\u2022 Cast and crew roundup: Producer Avi Lerner was the executive producer of “Alien From L.A.” Producer\/screenwriter Harry Alan Towers, of course, also produced “Castle of Fu Manchu” and \u201cMillion Eyes of Su-Muru.” Makeup lady Debbi Nichol also worked on “Space Mutiny,” as did art director Geoffrey Hill. In front of the camera Russel Savadier was also in “Alien from L.A.” and, of course, Jack Palance was also in “Angels’ Revenge.”
\n\u2022 CreditsWatch: Crist Ballast takes over hair and makeup for the next three episodes. Host segments directed by Trace Beaulieu. “Tubular Boobular Joy” written and arranged by Michael J. Nelson and Kevin Murphy.
\n\u2022 Fave riff: “You see, freedom is–what the–P-P-PLEASURE???!!!” Honorable mention: “I brought the wrong bowl.” Also: “Please invent the battery!”<\/p>\n

Episode guide: 520- Radar Secret Service (with short: Last Clear Chance)<\/a><\/h2>\n

Last modified on 2016-07-17 20:29:12 GMT. 113 comments<\/a>. Top<\/a>. <\/small><\/p>\n

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Short:<\/strong> (1959) Union Pacific scare film aiming to teach drivers to pay better attention at railroad crossings.
\nMovie:<\/strong> (1950) Government agents use the incredible power of radar to track down some crooks dealing in black market atomic “material.”<\/p>\n

First shown:<\/strong> 12\/18\/93
\nOpening:<\/strong> Mike performs Crow’s maintenance checkup, but has no idea what he’s doing
\nInvention exchange\/Intro: Mike has an escape plan, The Mads have created Hypno-helio-static-stasis
\nHost segment 1:<\/strong> Trooper Tom presents: “Why Don’t They Look?”
\nHost segment 2:<\/strong> The bots simulate Mike’s 10-year high school reunion
\nHost segment 3:<\/strong> Driven mad by the movie, Mike and Crow build the Quinn Martin Nature Preserve
\nEnd:<\/strong> The Mads are beaten by Ecstato-euphoro-fun (with patented Hinder 90)
\nStinger:<\/strong> Hysterical maid
\n

\u2022 Very good short, very dull movie. This one is reminiscent of episode 319- WAR OF THE COLOSSAL BEAST, where the short tail wags the movie dog, as it were. As the Brains note, the gray, dull, men in gray or black suits and gray or black hats are almost indistinguishable (except for Sid Melton), and for long stretches the movie just lays there. (Each side even has a guy with a mustache!) The Brains try their best — in fact they do a pretty good job, and there are some great riffs — but this is a middling episode at best.
\n\u2022 This episode is included in Shout\u2019s Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection Vol. XXXII.
\n\u2022 More differentiation between Joel and Mike in the opening, as Mike attempts something Joel did easily, and fails miserably. Crow is hilarious. “Help me!”
\n\u2022 I like how Gypsy just kind of nibbles on Crow to fix him.
\n\u2022 Crow’s sensible slacks make a re-appearance.
\n\u2022 The Poopie tape has a very funny outtake of the Hypno Helio Static Stasis sketch: The entire wall behind Frank falls over and Frank and Trace just go with it.
\n\u2022 It’s in this episode that the invention exchange kind of fades away and becomes a general intro. Hypno-helio-static-stasis is sort of an invention, but nobody calls it that. And Mike is just busy trying to escape.
\n\u2022 Crow still has panties on his head when he enters the theater after the opening. Mike quickly removes them. (I like the way Trace improvs a spitting noise when one gets caught in his beak.)
\n\u2022 The short is one of the show’s finest hours. They showed this one at the Museum of TV and Film event in Los Angeles, on a big screen, and the audience was just roaring with laughter. It was, I think the only time I saw people literally, not figuratively, falling out of their theater seats with laughter. It really reminded me how much more fun watching the show is with a group.
\n\u2022 Segment 1 is one of those great short-followup sketches. It’s too bad that BBI never thought to release a tape of shorts that also included their follow-up sketches.
\n\u2022 As of this episode Best Brains was STILL under the mistaken impression that Sam Newfield directed \u201cJungle Goddess,\u201d something they also said in “I Accuse My Parents.” I wonder if there was some error in the edition of Maltin’s movie guide that they were using.
\n\u2022 Then-current references: the now-defunct Nashville Network and long-forgotten series “Powers That Be.”
\n\u2022 Callbacks: Dr. F references “Rock climbing” (Lost Continent) and “Deep hurting” (Hercules Against the Moon Men) and Frank refers to “Fire Maidens.” “Send up some gas juice! You know, laugh water!” (The Beatniks), “No waffles!”, Servo sings a little of “Are You Happy in Your Work” (I Accuse My Parents), “But there was no monster” (Monster A-Go-Go).
\n\u2022 Non-spaghetti ball bumpers: pan to blackboard as something that looks like a catcher’s mitt flies by; pan down to the notebook; pan to beaker.
\n\u2022 Mike mentions “The Nagely capers” during a shot of highway. Anybody know what that is? I asked Mike on Twitter. He doesn’t remember.
\n\u2022 In addition to all the similar-looking men, Crow seems to have trouble keeping the two women in the plot straight. When they finally appear in the same scene, he is dumbfounded.
\n\u2022 Ward E has a list of all the things they call that radar ball thingy<\/a> on top of the car.
\n\u2022 Cast and crew roundup: I will not go through the Lippert litany again. Producer Barney A. Sarecky was associate producer for “The Corpse Vanishes” and production supervisor for “Undersea Kingdom.” Sam Newfield also directed “Lost Continent,” “Mad Monster” and “I Accuse My Parents” but NOT “Jungle Goddess,\u201d as noted above. Special effects guy Ray Mercer also worked on “Lost Continent,” “I Accuse My Parents,” “The Sinister Urge” and “The Beast of Yucca Flats.” Art director Fred Preble also worked on “Mad Monster.” Set designer Harry Reif also worked on “I Accuse My Parents,” “Women of the Prehistoric Planet” and “The She-Creature\u201d and was assistant director on “Gunslinger.” In front of the camera, Sid Melton was also in “Lost Continent.” Ralph Byrd WAS actually in “Jungle Goddess.” Robert Kent was also in “The Phantom Creeps.” Pierre Watkin was also in “Beginning of the End.” Tristram Coffin was also in “The Corpse Vanishes,” “The Crawling Hand” and “The Brute Man.” Tom Neal was also in “The Brute Man.”
\n\u2022 CreditsWatch: Host segments directed by Kevin Murphy. Charles A. Zimmermann joins the staff as editor. He will continue through the rest of the season and for the first 10 episodes of season six.
\n\u2022 Fave riff from the short: “I’m the impish officer of death.” Honorable mention: \u201c\u2026spilled my youth like cheap gin\u2026anyway!\u201d
\n\u2022 Fave riff from the movie: “It’s not the radar, it’s size of the amplitude, if you know what I mean!” Honorable mention: “Not in a strictly Cartesian sense…” <\/p>\n

HOUSEKEEPING NOTE:<\/strong>
\nAs we do every time we get to this point, we will skip the next episode, 521- SANTA CLAUS, and save it for the holiday season. Next week we will move on to 522- TEENAGE CRIME WAVE.<\/p>\n

Episode guide: 521- Santa Claus<\/a><\/h2>\n

Last modified on 2016-12-11 18:01:48 GMT. 174 comments<\/a>. Top<\/a>. <\/small><\/p>\n

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Movie:<\/strong> (1959) Pitch the devil attempts to hinder Santa on Christmas Eve.<\/p>\n

First shown:<\/strong> 12\/24\/93
\nOpening:<\/strong> A caroling attempt ends in disaster
\nIntro:<\/strong> Inappropriate gifts are exchanged
\nHost segment 1:<\/strong> On the SOL, the rock band Santa Klaws performs
\nHost segment 2:<\/strong> The bots arrange a Nelson family reunion
\nHost segment 3:<\/strong> An all-inclusive politically correct holiday song: “Merry Christmas…If That’s Okay”
\nEnd:<\/strong> On the SOL, it’s a snow day! In Deep 13, Pitch and Santa fight it out
\nStinger:<\/strong> Laughing mechanical reindeer
\n

\u2022 This one, of course, is a perennial favorite, and now that it is on DVD, it can truly be a holiday regular. It’s one of those episodes I’ve seen so many times I can practically recite it, but it’s still entertains me every time. The movie is SO odd (it is a very weird reflection on Mexican culture), the riffing is very strong and the segments are generally pretty good. It doesn’t feel like Christmas until I’ve seen it.
\n\u2022 This one can be found on Shout’s “Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection: Vol. XVI.”
\n\u2022 The gift exchange segment may seem a bit dry, even baffling, to our eyes today, but remember that Mike had joined the SOL crew less than ten episodes previous. The point of the segment is that they still barely know each other, so their attempts to give gifts are forced and uncomfortable. But if you didn’t know the context, you could hardly be blamed for not getting the joke.
\n\u2022 The first 15 or so minutes of the movie, when we get a slew of ethnic\/national jokes, as Santa’s international cadre of “helpers” are introduced, are great fun. Every four years, when I watch the parade of nations at the Olympic opening ceremonies, I reuse those riffs.
\n\u2022 Does anybody else feel that if Crow had used that “Carmen Miranda rights” joke with Joel, Joel would have ripped at least one arm out?
\n\u2022 Non-spaghetti ball bumpers: pan to beaker; closeup on film canister; pan down to notebook.
\n\u2022 I’ve never been a big fan of the “Whispering Christmas Warrior” segment. It feels a little too restrained. I would have like to see them go more Ozzie Osbourne on the thing. I do like the reaction shots of Frank and Dr. F., though.
\n\u2022 One memorable set of riffs comes when each of them gives notable literary opening line. “I was born in the house my father built” is from Richard Nixon’s then-current autobiography, “The minute Yosarian…” is from “Catch-22.” “Call me Ishmael” is, of course, from “Moby Dick.”
\n\u2022 That’s Pat Brantseg, Mary Jo and Tim Scott as “Mike’s family.”
\n\u2022 One of my favorite moments from this episode is when Santa is preparing to leave his castle to deliver the presents, and as he makes his little benediction, he looks up for no particular reason and M&tB respond by looking confusedly around, as if to see what he might be looking at. It cracks me up every time.
\n\u2022 The Brains seem to think the name “Kringle” is funny. They use it a lot.
\n\u2022 As Santa is putting out presents, Crow has him mumbling: “CableAce award…no, that’s no good…” A little bitterness there.
\n\u2022 On the other hand, the “Merry Christmas…If That’s Okay” song is a holiday classic, right up there with “Patrick Swayze Christmas.” Commenting on PC attitudes about Christmas was not a particularly original comedic idea, but they gave it an original spin.
\n\u2022 Then-current reference: “At home with Carl Rowan.” Rowan was a nationally syndicated columnist and prominent supporter of gun control who became a national punchline in 1988 when he shot a teenage intruder with his unregistered .22. He passed away in 2000. Honorable mention: “A scud!” Scuds<\/a> are no longer the fearsome terror weapon they were considered back then.
\n\u2022 RiffTrax did an entire re-riff of this movie, with all new jokes and an astonishingly bright and clean print of this movie.
\n\u2022 Memorable host segment line: “More pie, man-goat?” They really did a great job on Paul’s costume\/make up. And of course that’s Kevin as Santa, though the credits don’t say so.
\n\u2022 Cast and crew roundup: producer Guillermo Calderon also worked on “The Robot Vs. The Aztec Mummy.” Importer K. Gordon Murray also brought “Robot Vs. the Aztec Mummy” and “Samson Vs. the Vampire Women to American audiences. Score composer Anthony Diaz Conde also worked on “The Robot Vs. The Aztec Mummy.”
\n\u2022 CreditsWatch: Host segments directed by Jim Mallon.
\n\u2022 Fave riff: “Suddenly Santa corkscrews into Ypsilanti, Michigan!” Honorable mention: “Well, that’s not strictly true either\u2026”
\n——————–
\nNext week we will return to regular order with episode 616- RACKET GIRLS.<\/p>\n

Episode guide: 522- Teen-Age Crime Wave<\/a><\/h2>\n

Last modified on 2016-08-18 15:10:18 GMT. 120 comments<\/a>. Top<\/a>. <\/small><\/p>\n

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Movie:<\/strong> (1955) Delinquent teens on the run hold a farm family hostage.<\/p>\n

First shown:<\/strong> 1\/15\/94
\nOpening:<\/strong> M&tB are escaping
\nIntro:<\/strong> Dr. has invented mace mousse, the escape plan fails
\nHost segment 1:<\/strong> M&tB salute the golden age of the “doughy guy”
\nHost segment 2:<\/strong> M&tB create the first deli in space
\nHost segment 3:<\/strong> M&tB present a commercial for Mystos
\nEnd:<\/strong> Tom delivers some letters; Frank is “Doughy Man” but Dr. F. sprays him again, again and again…
\nStinger:<\/strong> “TURN IT OFF!”
\n

\u2022 For those who missed the note last week, I am skipping episode 521- SANTA CLAUS for the time being. I will get to it around Christmas. (One alert reader noted that THIS episode is also a holiday movie — the events happen on Thanksgiving!)
\n\u2022 This episode is included in the Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection, Vol. XXXIII.
\n\u2022 This movie has a great opening half hour and pretty exciting last 20 minutes. Unfortunately, it also has a deadly 40 minutes in the middle. The segments are hit and miss, with a wonderful finish. All in all, it’s in the fair-to-good range.
\n\u2022 Mike’s jumpsuit, which has been green since he became host, is suddenly tan in the opening segment, then reverts to green for the rest of the episode.
\n\u2022 Invention exchange fadeaway watch: The mace mousse seems to be a genuine invention. Frank is hilarious, by the way. Mike’s still busy escaping–though he does CALL it an invention!
\n\u2022 Non-spaghetti ball bumpers: pan to beaker; closeup on datebook.
\n\u2022 As the opening begins, Mike is pulling something off the wall that he says “we’re gonna need.”
\n\u2022 Movie observations: Why doesn’t Jane save herself and rat out the guys? She HATES them! They tricked her! What loyalty does she owe them? I don’t get it. Also, an example of stupid script writing: The matron asks the feuding inmates: “Who started this?” What real matron would bother? Has that EVER worked?
\n\u2022 Segment 1 was an instant hit and within hours the MSTie internet was bursting with tributes to doughy guys. And as a doughy guy myself, I enjoyed it. Mike really belts out his part.
\n\u2022 Segment 3, of course, riffs on Mentos commercials that had become a regular feature of the episodes of late. By the way, Trace, who famously has trouble carrying a tune, does pretty well singing the Mystos song.
\n\u2022 Callbacks: “Mitchell!” Of course, there are too many callbacks to count in segment 2. “Want some?” (Daddy-O) And “Thank God we have Radar!” and “Why don’t they look?” has already joined the rotation.
\n\u2022 Mike carries Servo by the neck when they enter the theater after segment 2. He doesn’t seem to mind.
\n\u2022 Of course this episode also gave us the classic line: “He’ll never touch you, Terry, you’re dirt.” The Brains apparently really liked because it was used many times thereafter.
\n\u2022 Somebody emailed me about this the last time around and I have still not been able to get a satisfactory answer. There is a quick shot of Ben and Jane sitting on the basement steps, and Mike’s riff is: “I like Wade, he’s just not a dancer.” What’s that from?
\n\u2022 The movie shows an obelisk and Mike (I think) says “The Roddy McDowall monument!” Um, huh? If they’d said “The Milton Berle monument” I’d get it. Was Roddy known for his, um, endowment? (Last time around, several commenters confirmed that he was.)
\n\u2022 Just like in 319- WAR OF THE COLOSSAL BEAST, this movie’s climax happens at L.A.’s Griffith Observatory — quite a remarkable jump, considering that the rest of the film supposedly takes place in the Midwest.
\n\u2022 The mace mousse bit at the end just gets funnier and funnier. It’s very reminiscent to the “Daddy-O” ending.
\n\u2022 Cast and crew roundup: Producer Sam Katzman also produced “The Corpse Vanishes.” In front of the camera: Sydney Mason was in “Revenge of the Creature.\u201d Larry Blake was in “Beginning of the End.\u201d Robert Bice was also in “Invasion USA,” George “doughy guy” Cisar is also in “Attack of the Giant Leeches” and Sydney Mason was also in “Revenge of the Creature.”
\n\u2022 Creditswatch: Host segments directed by Trace Beaulieu. Andrea DuCane returns to do hair and makeup for the final three eps of the season. The title of “Manager of Business Affairs,” which appeared on the credits at the beginning of the season, appears for the last time in this episode, along with the person who held the title, Heide A. LeClerc-Becker.
\n\u2022 Fave riff: “You’re gonna have to get in line. Couple o’ cows ahead of you.” Honorable mention: “I will not be ignored, Ben. Hold please.”<\/p>\n

Episode guide: 523- Village of the Giants<\/a><\/h2>\n

Last modified on 2016-07-31 16:40:13 GMT. 117 comments<\/a>. Top<\/a>. <\/small><\/p>\n

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Movie:<\/strong> (1965) A boy genius invents a growth formula, which is consumed by some trouble-making teens.<\/p>\n

First shown:<\/strong> 1\/22\/94
\nOpening:<\/strong> M&tB are doing their quarterly workout
\nIntro:<\/strong> While Mike juices, Dr. F. downsizes TV’s Frank!
\nHost segment 1:<\/strong> Dr. F. interviews Torgo
\nHost segment 2:<\/strong> M&tB interview rough-looking Frank
\nHost segment 3:<\/strong> M&tB sing: “The Greatest Frank”
\nEnd:<\/strong> A letter to Frank, Frank gets his job back
\nStinger:<\/strong> Tribute to Frank Zappa
\n

\u2022 This is just a great episode all the way around: Great segments, a fun and very riffable movie, great riffing, a great song, everything you can ask for.
\n\u2022 This episode is included in Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection: Vol. XXVI.
\n\u2022 If you want to know more about this movie — a LOT more — check out villageofthegiants.net<\/a>. Some amazing stuff there.
\n\u2022 References<\/a>.
\n\u2022 The song Tom is singing in the opening segment is “Chicken Fat<\/a>” sung by Robert Preston in the original song. I have vivid memories of being forced to do calisthenics to it in elementary school gym class.
\n\u2022 The segments are essentially one story, but each sketch is also a little bit of brilliant free-standing satire on the inanities of the working world. Having been canned myself, the opening resonates.
\n\u2022 Of course, one feature of this movie is an appearance by The Beau Brummels<\/a>. I had never heard of them when I saw this for the first time, but they have their admirers, apparently.
\n\u2022 Non-spaghetti ball bumpers; close up film canister; pan down to notebook; shot of blackboard–a big bone hits it
\n\u2022 Callbacks: “Coruba!” (Outlaw) “What sin could a duck commit in a single lifetime?” (Amazing Colossal Man) “I didn’t steal no bike, neither.” (Teenage Strangler) “Dang smoochers!” (The the Eye Creatures) “I’m gonna moon you, man!” (The Beatniks).
\n\u2022 Segment 1 is another gem. The line “Well, I work too hard…hahaha” never fails to slay me.
\n\u2022 See something familiar in those exterior shots? That\u2019s the back lot. Some of those houses were also used for TV’s “Bewitched” and “I Dream of Jeannie.”
\n\u2022 Segment 2 is yet another classic. I always have a hard time not using Frank’s lines when being interviewed.
\n\u2022 “Let Me Be Frank about Frank” is great stuff. The Paul Williams impressions are particularly funny. It was performed at the live shows in 1994, and featured a lovely interpretive dance by a leotard-clad Frank (video of which was included on the “Scrapbook” tape). The segment also features a great montage: Again, Cambot gets the credit, but the real artist is probably Brad Keeley. The song was created by the songwriting duo of Michael J. Nelson (music) and Bridget Jones (lyrics).
\n\u2022 In the credits, we get a reprise of the song and we think it’s all fun and then the whole thing becomes poignant. In the ACEG, I believe it was Kevin who noted that Zappa had contacted the Brains shortly before his death with the idea of doing something together, but time ran out, alas.
\n\u2022 Cast and crew roundup: Again, I am not going re-recite the Bert I. litany. Suffice to say we know him well. Some guy named H.G. Wells also wrote stuff that “Riding with Death” was very loosely based on. Cinematographer Paul C. Vogel, special effects guy Herman Townsley and art director Franz Bachelin all worked on “Tormented.” Photo process guy Farciot Edouart, sound recorder Charles Grenzbach and make-up man Wally Westmore all worked on “The Space Children.” Sound effects guy Jack Cornall worked on “King Dinosaur.” Editor John Bushelman also worked on “King Dinosaur” and “Tormented.”
\nIn front of the camera, Tommy Kirk and Jim Begg were both in “Catalina Caper.” Johnny Crawford was also in “Space Children.” Bob Random was also in “Being From Another Planet.” Joseph Turkel was also in “Tormented.”
\n\u2022 Creditswatch: Host segments directed by Kevin Murphy. Also, with this episode the “Manager of Business Affairs” credit vanishes, and in its place is a “Director of Operations” title, held by one Jeffrey P. Young. He lasted a grand total of five episodes. I bet there’s a story there.
\n\u2022 Fave riff: “This is Tommy Kirk REALLY acting!” Honorable mention: “A buffalo shot that covers three states.”<\/p>\n

Episode guide: 524- 12 to the Moon (with short: ‘Design for Dreaming’)<\/a><\/h2>\n

Last modified on 2016-09-01 12:39:24 GMT. 111 comments<\/a>. Top<\/a>. <\/small><\/p>\n

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Short:<\/strong> (1956) Surrealistic fantasy trip to the future, which includes a visit to the General Motors “motorama.”
\nMovie:<\/strong> (1960) A multinational team of astronauts embarks on a moon mission.<\/p>\n

First shown:<\/strong> 2\/5\/94
\nOpening:<\/strong> While Crow & Tom play tennis, Gypsy has trapped Mike at a tea party
\nIntro:<\/strong> While Frank roasts Dr. F., Tom has a tennis tantrum
\nHost segment 1:<\/strong> Nuveena, lady of the future, pops into the SOL and invites M&tB to come back with her
\nHost segment 2:<\/strong> M&tB prepare to leave with Nuveena
\nHost segment 3:<\/strong> Nuveena makes the bots into appliances, Mike disapproves, so she pops out
\nEnd:<\/strong> Letters, Nuveena pops into and out of Deep 13
\nStinger:<\/strong> “Ahh, ridiculous!”
\n

\u2022 For some, I suspect this is another case where the short kind of takes over the episode. “Design for Dreaming” has become an iconic bit of off-kilter fun, and since it’s in public domain, you see snippets of it all the time. The riffing of it is nothing short of brilliant. In contrast, the feature is in black and white, and has some pretty static stretches. But, me, I love these old rocketship movies (they are my favorite kind of MST3k fodder, with the giant bug movies coming in a close second) and this one’s a hoot. It’s reminiscent, in some respects, of “FIRST SPACESHIP ON VENUS,” what with the conscientiously international crew and all. And the characters and situations are so strange, there’s plenty for the riffers to work with, and they do a great job. And, of course, there’s the Nuveena story arc in the host segments.
\n\u2022 This episode is included in Shout! Factory\u2019s Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection: Vol. XXXV.
\n\u2022 I’d completely forgotten about the “invisible” face shields on the astronauts helmets! A brilliant, albeit cheesy, solution to the problem of not being able to see or hear an actor in a space helmet.
\n\u2022 Everybody knows the bots arms don’t work, but that doesn’t stop the Brains from suggesting that the bots play tennis. In the “then-current” reference department, the sketches refer to a couple of pro tennis incidents that I suspect are largely forgotten by most people (i.e. non-tennis fans.)
\n\u2022 I love Dr. F’s Milton Berle-esque giant cigar during the celebrity roast. The premise of the sketch itself (speaker at roast just viciously attacks the honoree without any semblance of the warmth and humor that is supposed to be part of the format) has been done before, but Frank carries it off well, as always.
\n\u2022 What does “Just call me Bobo” mean? (Update: A commenter says it’s a reference to the movie “The Grifters.”)
\n\u2022 Callbacks: “It’s a salute to Mr. B Natural!” “It’s a sampo!” (Day the Earth Froze).
\n\u2022 Non-spaghetti ball bumpers: Shot of blackboard–a stuffed animal that might be Grover from “Sesame Street” hits it; pan to beaker.
\n\u2022 Tom Servo says “Humphrey!” when he sees the dog. Kevin had a cocker spaniel named Humphrey for many years–he appeared in the ACEG and in episode 904- WEREWOLF. Sadly, Humphrey has since, ahem, gone to live at a farm in the country.
\n\u2022 In what seems to be a warmup for SPACE MUTINY, the hunky American astronaut is similarly called many brawny-guy names. A full list is in Ward E<\/a>.
\n\u2022 Bridget is terrific \u2014 it is maybe her finest hour on the show \u2014 as Nuveena. After the show aired, she was an immediate sensation on the MSTie internet. Male MSTies declared their love, and quite a few female MSTies immediately adopted the moniker or variations on it. It was also the first time any human female was on the bridge of the SOL, for whatever that\u2019s worth.
\n\u2022 Obscure reference: “Everybody to get from street!” a reference to a throwaway line in a now-seldom-seen Cold War comedy called “The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming!” (Some commenters took exception to me calling the movie \u201clargely forgotten,\u201d so I\u2019ve changed the wording.)
\n\u2022 Cast and crew roundup: Producer and story writer Fred Gebhardt also worked in “The Phantom Planet.” Special effects guy Howard A. Anderson (also worked on “Women of the Prehistoric Planet,” “King Dinosaur,” “The Amazing Transparent Man” and “It Lives By Night.” Set designer John Burton also worked on “The Girl in Lovers Lane” and “High School Big Shot.”
\nIn front of the camera, Ken Clark also appeared in “Attack of the Giant Leeches.” Anthony Dexter also appeared in “The Phantom Planet” and “Fire Maidens of Outer Space.” Richard Weber also appeared in “The Phantom Planet.” Tom Conway also appeared in “The She Creature.” Francis X. Bushman also appeared in “The Phantom Planet.”
\n\u2022 CreditsWatch: Host segments directed by Jim Mallon.
\n\u2022 Fave riff from the short: “This is a rebuttal to ‘Roger & Me.\u2019\u201d Honorable mention: \u201cHolly-Go-Weirdly!\u201d
\n\u2022 Fave riff from the movie: “You know you can only apply one-sixth the tongue on the moon?” Honorable mention: \u201cHey, go stink up your own area!\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Season “Zero” (KTMA)<\/strong><\/span><\/a> |\u00a0Season One<\/a> | Season Two<\/a> | Season Three<\/a> | Season Four<\/a> | Season Five | Season Six<\/a> | Season Seven<\/a> | Season Eight<\/a> | Season Nine<\/a> | Season Ten<\/a> | Season Eleven<\/a> | Season Twelve<\/a> | Season 13<\/a> | The Shorts<\/a> | The TV Specials<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 THE UNOFFICIAL EPISODE GUIDE SEASON FIVE: COMEDY CENTRAL, 1993-1994 Episode guide: 501- Warrior of the Lost World <\/p>\n

Last modified on 2016-04-01 07:58:21 GMT. 159 comments. Top. <\/p>\n

Movie: (1983) A nameless hero and his talking motorcycle fight an evil dictator in a post-apocalyptic world.<\/p>\n

First shown: 7\/24\/93 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1944","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","odd"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mst3kinfo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1944","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mst3kinfo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mst3kinfo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mst3kinfo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mst3kinfo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1944"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.mst3kinfo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1944\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34988,"href":"https:\/\/www.mst3kinfo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1944\/revisions\/34988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mst3kinfo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1944"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}