• 321- SANTA CLAUS CONQUERS THE MARTIANS–Christmas versions of the bots: Tom’s head is a snow globe, Crow’s nose is a festive red. A great touch to a perennial favorite episode.
• 510- THE PAINTED HILLS–ingot Crow: Hilarious bot building.
• 518- THE ATOMIC BRAIN–Weather Servo 9: It’s cooooold in space.
• 609- THE SKY DIVERS–Planetarium Tom: Let’s probe Uranus!
• 610- THE VIOLENT YEARS–Servo’s new head!: My all-time favorite. Riotous.
• 618- HIGH SCHOOL BIG SHOT–huge Tom Servo: Movie bad!
• 806- THE UNDEAD–imp Crow: Tee-hee!
• 814- RIDING WITH DEATH–Tom’s buttless truck driver body: “Hideous”–Mike Nelson.
• 912- THE SCREAMING SKULL–screaming skull Crow: hilarious build for a hilarious segment
• 1007- TRACK OF THE MOON BEAST–Blossomed Tom: looks tasty!
Honorable mention:
• 511- GUNSLINGER–“Kaboom” Tom: Pop him!
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Weekend Discussion Thread: Memorable ‘Bot AlterationsOkay, for this one, I am doing only structural changes to the bots themselves, not costumes, wigs, etc. There are many more than this. My favorites, in episode order:
61 Replies to “Weekend Discussion Thread: Memorable ‘Bot Alterations”Commenting at Satellite News
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Oh, Godzilla vs. Megalon has to be in there, if only for the subtle but sincere realization that no, they can’t turn off the flamethrower.
Tom Servo’s “haircut” in Season 2. “You’re next” says Joel to the audience. Hilarious.
Let us not forget about Time Chasers and Tom as the robot from Lost in Space.
Crow getting eaten by the monster in The Deadly Mantis.
Crow getting sliced in half during The Skydivers.
And we can’t forget Burned Crow when Servo uses his peaceful death ray…
“I’ll be in my trailer!”
I don’t think there are enough of these. I can’t think of any that haven’t already been mentioned. My faves are frozen Crow, burnt Crow, and ingot Crow. Also, the Christmas ones with Crow with the Rudolph nose, and Servo with snowglobe. How ’bout long tongue Crow from one of their takes on a rock group either “Heela” or “Spydor”. Does that count as an alteration or a costume? (custume, as they spelled in SCCM).
Gypsy with lips is good, though that might be a costume.
How ’bout the thing with two heads from Giant Gila Monster?
And headless (Joel Robinson killed us, Joel Robinson killed us).
I guess I did think of a couple.
Oh, yeah – didn’t Crow have a baseball mitt in one in place of his la crosse helmet? or hockey mask, whatever it is.
The many incarnations of Cambot.
Black Crow as “Timmy” with the little mouth coming out of his main mouth, like in Alien.
Servo’s head loaded with ping pong balls, or popcorn.
Servo’s, then Crow’s new voices!
Servo with lotto numbers popping up out of his head. (Red Zone Cuba).
Okay, I’m hogging the site here.
Servo-Crow-Ation (Mad Monster).
Crow and Servo’s heads are switched!
How about leggy toaster strudel Servo from “Devil Doll”?
I guess there ARE quite a few of these.
Crow’s contacts.
The star fighters! Crow connects with Tom’s hind quarters for refueling! Hilarious!
Crow as a horrifying hellbeast in “Manos: The Hands of Fate”
Tom as the beautiful butterfly, then later as the reindeer with Crow as the sheep in “The Screaming Skull”
Crow as the groom and Tom as the bride in “Racket Girls”
Tom as Batman in “Zombie Nightmare”
Tom with the alien facehugger in “I Was a Teenage Werewolf”
Tom as the WereMike in “Werewolf”
Evil!Gypsy and the zucchini throw pillows “The Giant Spider Invasion”
Crow’s truncated nose in “parts: the clonus horror”!
I always liked it when the ‘bots wore wigs, like when they got hockey hair in “The Final Sacrifice” or their Vadinho/Prince Valiant hair in “Pumaman.”
Crow’s Leno chin.
What about the Crow-Kabob invention from 316?
It’s a minor one, but I like the junk in Tom’s head when he’s stoned off of glue fumes (it’s in EEGAH, I think).
I also like when they switch out Gypsy’s eye for a movie camera in THE UNEARTHLY.
I like BIG TOM SERVO from “High School Big Shot”
“SERVO KILL?!”
Oh bite me! What about the thing with two heads from “The Giant Gila Monster”?? I liked that episode very much. Crow’s head was attached to Tom’s body, much to the consternation of Tom and Crow.
Crow “called” Ray Milland, making Tom Rosie Greer…. “A guy can do much worse than being a star lineman for the L.A. Rams–” “Who happens to be in touch with his feminine side” “Listen, pin beak, your mouthwash just ain’t cuttin’ it!”.
They were the Odd Couple 1999: “Crow’s body had thrown him out, requesting that he never return!” “Felix!” “Oscar! It’s not spaghetti– it’s linguini!”
“Oh, I don’t think so. We’ll be right back.”
can’t remember which episode (pretty sure it was from season 6 or 7, tough)… but the one where Crow gets calf implants… and ‘check out the new hinder implants!’
1) Santa Claus Conquers the Martians: Reindeer Crow and Snow Globe Servo. If there was an actual Servo like that for sale, I would buy one.
2) The Starfighters: Air Refueling Servo. Maybe it’s just me, but I see this is more of the subtle, vulgar humor from MST3K.
3) I Accuse My Parents: Tom Servo, Real Live Boy! It’s just some un-PC “flesh tone” paint, but it is still a physical alteration.
4) Puma Man: Overcompensation Servo. Servo gets lifts in his hover skirt, a result of “short man’s disease”.
5) The Skydivers: Split Personality Crow. The little moron managed to cut himself in half by accident. The result are two halves with distinct personalities.
6) Devil Doll: Leggy Toaster Strudel Servo. A hot filling up top and a hot can on the bottom.
7) High School Big Shot: Servo Hulk. I first saw this on a Shorts compilation. Naturally, I had to find out what they heck was going on. I then bought a DVD of the whole episode from Cheepnis.com.
8) The Screaming Skull: Tom “Beautiful Butterfly” Servo. I like this one for Mike’s repeated repulsion at the mention of “thin stream of liquid.”
9) Track of the Moonbeast: Blossomed Servo. I know it’s a repeat of the start of this discussion, but Servo’s head really does look tasty.
10) Riding With Death: Trucker Servo. I’d hate to see real truckers that look like that. (shudder)
Honorable Mention: Quest of the Delta Knights: AMC Crow. While it is pretty much Crow, I feel that the limited AI and knocking engine qualify this one for this list.
#18: Those were all costumes, except for the butterfly.
I can’t speak for your reality, but I find all those non-Prince of Space episodes where the small robot Mike is made to look like a big, chunky human very impressive.
I did like the refueling Crow in Starfighters (which I’m watching right now) and the Screaming Skull Crow. I’ll also add Tom’s turn as a crystal ball in Incredibly Strange Creatures; his tap-dancing moves were perfect, and he and Crow scammed fifty cents!
Has anyone mentioned the messed up Crow in the Timmy episode, where he had all those extra arms? (sorry if I missed it…)
Don’t know if this counts, and I can’t remember the episode (although I watched it recently), but the Loaner Crow they used while Crow was in the shop.
“How Are Things That Are Happening?”
“Jack Frost”: Crow comes up to Mike and Servo, covered with brown fur; when the stunned duo ask him what happened, he casually announces that he’s been turned into a bear (as happened to a character in the film). Not quite as idiotic as the “pop-up-mask practical joke” segment in “Track of the Moon Beast”, but good enough :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
619: Red Zone Cuba – Servo as a lotto machine.
524: 12 To the Moon – the modifications Nuveena made to turn the bots into household appliances. Blender Crow was absolutely hilarious.
I don’t know if this counts, since Crow was off screen, but stilted stripper-Crow in episode The Girl in Gold Boots. Then there’s camaflauge painted Crow from Mitchell.
Also, there weren’t nearly enough instances of Tom Servo floating with his hover-skirt. Thank goodness it’s in the movie…
I second Crow’s Girl in Gold Boots, and will add Crow as a Bolerian in Space Mutiny .. if that’s OK :)
@Mike K – Don’t forget that the AMC loaner crow in QDK also had a kickin’ stereo! I also like the Sir Thomas Neville Servo singers (especially Delta Maiden Servo ; ) from that episode, although I don’t know if the extra Servos qualify…
Wow, has no one mentioned the beefed up ‘bots from the end of Space Mutiny? Servo’s inflated arms and hoverskirt were hilarious (“Turns out I am quite susceptible to bulking up”), but I honestly didn’t see the tiny gold lump on Crow’s bicep until my 3rd viewing. Did they ever inflate the black parts of Crow’s limbs to simulate oversized muscles?
Speaking of which, I’ll also mention their unstable muscleman arms in Hercules against the Moon Men. Not nearly as funny as their Godzilla vs. Megalon arms, though.
And just because there are so few of these for Gypsy, does the time she got Servo stuck in her thoat in The Creeping Terror count? Not a costume, and she did have an enlarged section of hose.
I’ve still never seen Untamed Youth: Was Gypsy physically altered when they turned her into a cotton gin?
It wasn’t until Bolem that I saw my favorites, that is the Space Mutiny and Hercules Against The Moon Men versions of a beefy Tom Servo.
What about the weird distortions both bots experienced when “Timmy” hit the master control in “Fire Maidens of Outer Space”? Thats gotta be my favorite bot alteration whether it’s just a costume or not.
It’s not exactly an alteration, but I’ve gotta mention the segment where everyone’s showing off their spaceship models and Joel’s is made of Crow’s spare parts. The bots’ realizations are priceless.
Drunk Crow from Devil Doll.
“Debbie!!!!!” XD
How has no one mentioned (unless I somehow missed it) Crow as a Solarite from Phantom Planet? This is my favorite simply because of the conversation M&tB have about it where Crow realizes that he hates himself. :)
I liked when Crow got his nose job and also earlier on when he got a hair transplant and calf implants.
Jack Elam brings a warm tingle to my heart as well as huge Tom. “Servo Kill?”
It’s not minor, underwoc! That’s the best use of Tom’s dome ever! Barbie heads = light headed haha
I liked Tom’s head being used as a T-ball stand when it was baseball season on the SOL from Time Of The Apes especially since I was a little leaguer at the time.
I also like the miniature crow head for when Crow was Sir Giggles Von Laughsalot when Tom was a happy and cheerful king *toot toot toot toot toot toooooo*
Dang! Tom D beat me to the punch on Mike from Prince of Space.
Most of mine have been covered, but I am compelled to mention Crow’s “Billy” puppet from the “Undersea Kingdom” episodes. Granted, its a costume, but “Billy” does take on a life of its own after a while, so metaphysically it is an alteration of the robot.
what about Crow as the water dropplet?
Silk Organza frock’d Servo from Pumaman (not to mention Pearl and the moving mole)
Servo as a Flemish glass blower?
Mike and Crow as Boy Scouts from Parts: the CLonus horror
Mike as the Captain from the Star Trek Voyager in Lazerblast
Mike as James Lipton in a couple of episodes
Tom as an egg in The Brute Man
how about Joel Tom and Crow in Junior Jester-wear from Magic Voyage of Sinbad
Mike as Eddie in Time Chasers Does that count?
Mike as the guy with the half-fish bowl hats from the spaceship, Tom as a Mutant, and Crow in the tubes from MST3K the movie,
Crow as Jerry Garcia (ish) from The Dead Talk Back
I’m a little disappointed there’s no mention of Gypsy’s gradual becoming a scorpion (and subsequent attempt to consume Tom) from The Black Scorpion. It’s a skit I’ve always enjoyed, and embodies a flavor to MST3K that disappeared sadly fast… the robots’ ROBOTNESS.
I mean, Tom and Crow are having a discussion of the weird things Joel does, like shaving and peeing, unable to comprehend their functions… and Gypsy’s turning herself into a scorpion for some damn reason, then she tries to eat Tom.
And Crow continues the conversation by himself.
I’m not sure this was used in an episode (if so it didn’t seem obvious) but when Servo’s head was a Hot Coffee Decanter for Joel. It was used in one of those great promo photo shoots.
ANYtime really when the bots were creatively used as actual tools or machinery was cool. For instance Servo as a keg or air pump. And Crow and an egg beater or guitar.
Also…dunno if it counts since it wasn’t really Crow, but who didn’t love the miniature Jester Crow?