Movie: (1957) A monstrous praying mantis is awakened from hibernation, and attacks the East Coast. Smug scientists are dispatched to stop it.
First shown: 2/22/97
Intro: Tom sets the rules for the SOL’s “business casual day”
Opening: The apes fix their mutant neighbors’ malfunctioning thermonuclear device; an alarmed Pearl skeedaddles
Host segment 1: The rumors of Pearl’s death are greatly exaggerated and she has a stowaway; Gypsy shakes her off their tail
Host segment 2: Mike searches for something good on the radio…and fails
Host segment 3: Tom hits something that really likes Crow!
End: Crow serves up juicy revenge, a letter from Dr. Peanut, a last word from Pearl
Stinger: The smarmy corporal out Donny Most-ing
(234 votes, average: 4.42 out of 5)
Loading...
• I love this one, largely because, after dopey rocketship movies, giant bug movies are my favorite kind of dumb ’50s sci-fi. I only wish MST3K had done more of them. But this one’s lots of fun. The riffing is also terrific and the promised “endless chase” premise finally kicks into gear, and does so with considerable flair.
• Mary Jo’s take on this episode is here.
• This episode was included in “Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection: Vol XXVII.”
• I think that’s Beez’ voice as the bomb recording, but it’s uncredited and we neglected to ask at the time, so now I’m sure they (including Beez) have probably forgotten.
• That’s Bill, Beez and Paul as the bomb worshippers. I believe this was the first time Bill face was actually shown on the show.
• The opening segment is LONG, at least compared to what we’re used to.
• Note that Mike does the patented Star Trek shirt tug (aka “the Picard maneuver”) before giving a command to engage.
• This marks the first appearance of the bridge steering wheel, which seems to materialize and dematerialize at will. It also marks the first appearance of The Widowmaker, Pearl’s VW astro-bus.
• Callbacks: Starfighters music, “Gamera!” “Shut up, Iris!” (The Beatniks) “Poopie suits” (Starfitghters) “Everyone’s legs are sticking out!” (reference to a line in MST3K The Movie) Also: “Your crank is turned to Frank,” during the host segment.
• After several episodes in which the Sci-Fi Channel logo, or “bug” was obscuring Crow in the theater, fans began to gently gripe online about it (mindful that their incessant griping seemed to piss off the LAST channel that ran the show). In response, going WAY out of their way, they arranged to move the bug to the left side of the screen — just for this one show (this apparently involved hacking some computer at the channel). By this episode, the bug had officially moved.
• Segment two features the voices of almost the entire cast as country music singers, radio announcers, etc.
• Crow’s voice really settles in with this episode. Compare to his voice in 801, it’s much more natural, with more less strain, much more like Bill’s real voice.
• Gypsy has a nice moment as the “Shirley Muldowney of deep space.” Note that she uses the phrase “Out out out!” just as Mike did to her in MST3K: The Movie.
• I love the riffs as the old scientist. “Marie died, ya know!”
• Then-current reference: “The final desperate hours of the Dole campaign,” (might as well be the Dewey campaign, now) “Kelsey, throw us the keys!” (referencing actor Kelsey Grammar’s run-ins with the law).
• That’s Patrick inside the big blue monster suit.
• Nice job on the digested version of Crow
• When Crow is doing the voice of the Mantis, he sounds just like Observer.
• Cast and crew roundup: producer William Alland also worked on “Revenge of the Creature,” “The Mole People.” “The Space Children” and “This Island Earth.” Scriptwriter Martin Berkeley also worked on “Revenge of the Creature.” Cinematographer Ellis Carter also worked on “Leech Woman” and “The Mole People.” Special effects guy Fred Knoth also worked in “This Island Earth.” Costumer Jay A. Morley Jr. also worked on “Revenge of the Creature” and “The Mole People. Makeup guy Bud Westmore did a whole slew of MSTed movies, as did art directors Alexander Golitzen and Robert Clatworthy and set designer Russell A. Gausman, sound person Leslie I. Carey and music supervisior Joseph Gershenson. Set designer Oliver Emert also worked on “Kitten with a Whip.” Score composer Irving Gertz also worked on “Leech Woman” and “Jungle Goddess.” Score composer Henry Mancini also worked on “This Island Earth,” “Revenge of the Creature,” “The Mole People” and “The Thing that Couldn’t Die.” In front of the camera, John Close was also in “Slime People” and “Beginning of the End.” David McMahon was also in “It Conquered the World.” Paul Frees can also be heard in “War of the Colossal Beast,” “The Sword and the Dragon” and “The Beatniks” (which he also produced and directed).
• CreditsWatch: This time the show is produced by Jim, directed by Kevin. “Additional music” (the various performances on the space radio) by the “Best Brains Ad Hoc Radio Band.”
• Fave riff: “Get back in your little boat, Grandpa!” Honorable mention: “But ah got a mantis in mah pantis…”
• Great host segment line: “Foghat, Lawgiver?”
) to help our users cope with "trolls" and other commenters whom they find annoying. Go to our
Oh, come on, don’t be shy. Somebody has to say it….”I’ve got a mantis in my pantis.”
This is easily one of my top Sci-Fi episodes. I’ve watched my 11-year-old VHS recording of it dozens of times, and will continue to do so until it wears out.
Speaking of annoying commercials: season eight was the heyday, at least on my recordings, of an ad campaign featuring Diedrich Bader from The Drew Carey Show extolling the virtues of Xerox copiers.
They always ended with the tagline, “What’s digital? What’s paper? What’s the difference?” I think those ads got on my nerves because it seemed there was at least one in every episode.
Best lines (BESIDES “mantis in my pantis”):
“For every action” (Mike): “There is a Jackson.”
Tom: “So you’re a WOMAN?!”
Crow: “I think this guy knows the meaning of ‘dishonorable discharge.'”
I remember how this movie goes to great lengths to explain the DEW Line and all the rest of the U.S. northern radar set-up, which ultimately has really nothing to do with the movie.
And we get to see Mike’s first appearance as “Destroyer of Worlds”, complete with “Star Wars” reference.
And, in case I haven’t already suggested it, how about “Most Memorable and/or Annoying Commercials Shown During MST3K” as a discussion topic?
Woman! Woman! show us your female things. I hate that smug bastard.
I always lauigh at mike and bots rooting for the scientist to beat up the old guy. this is oen of my all time favorite episodes. i love the crank turned to frank reference, and the country songs they sing.
This begins the planet destroying arc which I love in this season. Giant monster movies are great fodder and this one doesn’t dissapoint. Love the Donny most references. Host segments really help this episode stand out though.
4 stars. I sooooo wanted to give this ep a 5, but couldn’t quite justify it.
There is a LOT of great material in this ep, riffs and host segs, but again the movie is kind of too low energy, or maybe it just doesn’t all hang together. i am not sure.
The Neighbors and the Bomb: great.
The Country Music Nightmare: great ( reminds me of the Fingertips section of tiny songs on They Might Be Giants’ Apollo 18 )
( do I aways love ) the Nanites: great. have yaself a cahp of cahffeh…
Sweet Corn & The Widowmaker: Great ( maybe too short )
Eating the Alien Road Kill Meatloaf: good but a little grating. He’s juicy, isn’t he.
Favorite riff: I got spurs that jingle jangle jingle.
Honorable mention: Ukrainians.
Overall very solid, and they seem to have really gotten all the parts in place for the season ( but IMHO it just isn’t quite 5 worthy for reasons i can’t quite verbalize ).
Marge went on to a long career as a Playboy and Playgirl photographer (drawing on her “experience” interning with The Sinister Urge movie maker). Cinemaphiles have often debated who’s films are the more erotic.
Maybe I had better take this time to explain. Except for “Chicken of Tomorrow,” I have not seen a frame of any MST episode from 623 through 810. So, you guys will not be getting any comments from me till “Clonus.” Just thought I would explain my absence.
See you in the 811 comment board!
Hey BobHoncho: If you are missing those episodes, you can find them at http://www.mst3kvideos.com
“When in the universe, be sure to visit the beautiful United States.”
At the time I saw this, I was surprised that the Ape Planet was going away. I felt at the time that the new premise of Pearl chasing M&tB was adventurous and interesting. I still do, but I guess the pressure of having to build new sets and come up with new worlds finally got to them by Season Nine.
A top episode for me. I love the old scientist riffs too. “Who are you men? Where’s my soup” was recited many times around our house. Another phrase which entered daily use was asking each other “Are you paleontololoyging?”
Favorites riffs during the explanation about the northern radar set-up (though as it turned out, they should have been looking south): “The natural radar of pine.” “Canada, our enemy.”
Regarding that second one, did this episode air before or after Canadian Bacon was released?
Regarding the creature in the third host segment which must have been feeling humbled because it ate Crow. *rimshot* It struck me that looked vagely Lovecraftian. So I cracked open my copy of the Call of Cthulhu rulebook and have narrowed it down to either a Flying Polyp or a Dark Young of Shub Niggurath.
Crow always cracks me up, in Mantis, when our scientist hero(?) is holding the baseball-sized amber up to a bright florescent light, clearly displaying a 2 inch or larger insect, and you see the old scientist leaning-in to look, adjusting his glasses, to which Crow starts saying, in his old-man voice, “Where? Where?”
On another note; Every once in a while, there’s a scene in a MST3k experiment, where you can’t believe that a certain riff isn’t said, and this film is a prime example. During the visit to the remote station, where the mantis has destroyed the Quanza Hut, it was a perfect setup for a The Thing reference! The scene is almost perfectly mirrored. As the two men enter the remains of the hut, Mike should have said, “Hey, Swedes!” to which Tom could have replied, “They’re Norwegian, Mac.” Then once they exit, just before he leans down to scoop-out the mantis tracks, Mike could have said, Is that a man in there?
DON3K @14. Quanza Hut ?
Off topic: 50-year-old male in Stewartstown PA seeks girlfriend. Love of MST3K a must. Reply to: loran1958@hotmail.com
“I’ve got a mantis in my pantis.” – Truly, one of the top ten lines in MST3k lore, for me anyway.
More good stuff from the make-out scene:
“Present tongue!”
“She’s retracting her neck like a turtle.”
“Look what he’s doing with his jaw – it’s chilling.” It truly is, too. What the hell was that guy doing, anyway? Adjusting his dentures?
Oh, wonderful bomb
Oh, glorious bomb
Oh, wonderful, glorious bomb
One of my fave parts of this ep was the bomb worshippers. “The holy and almighty bomb.”
#15, you are correct. I could not seem to find the correct spelling, so I had to go with a common misspelling. It’s Quonset hut. If the comments offered editing, I would correct it.
This is a great episodes. Riff-wise, they regained their stride and it ranks with the best of the show.
I was a little taken aback by Pearl pulling out a gun and pointing it at the camera, Bobo, etc. Always seemed a little extreme for MST standards. But then Bobo shoots himself in the foot – twice – and thus he begins his Homer-like path towards utter stupidity.
I have annoying commercials, too. There the Sure ClearDry deodorant with the half-naked man writing “clear” and “dry” on his bathroom mirror.
An ad for the Alec Baldwin / Anthony Hopkins vehicle, “The Edge.”
And painful Kraft Cheese & Macaroni ad with The Four Tops reworking the words for “It’s Not the Same Old Song.” “Not the same… old side – it’s got the cream you want – you gotta try.”
Sad.
ABSOLUTELY one of my favorite episodes, definitely top 10, edging towards top 5 (I can never actually come up with a top 10 as I always forget like 4 films).
The host segment where Mike tries to find a decent radio station is one of my favorite host segments. Not only is it funny, I like the homey atmosphere of all the SOL inhabitants huddled together. Good scene.
As usual they tear up the hugely lengthy opening monologue. The movie has slower moments, but maintains a good pace throughout. Along with the insane jaw movements of the colonel, and the Mantis-Pantis line, their is also the “bus taken over by demons.” When the bus stops it looks like it was thrown from the abyss, the fog obscuring perspective making it slide to a halt from nowhere. Very weird shot. Along with that, I love the guys spouting off little bits of prayers periodically when the mantis appears.
Finally, there are times at work where I have to tell an employee something and they just find it weird, to which I will often respond, “Oh, and we’ve been invaded by Spain and mermaids are real.” The alternative would be a shrug and “Peanuts, Nostrils, Happy Clams.”
“Oh Lord . . . I’ve tried to be a good mantis . . . I . . . prayed . . .”
And very Finally, I’d like to see a Quanza hut, #14!
I can’t view this one objectively, since the praying mantis is my favorite of all arthropods, so all the movie had to do to win me over was make their prop look a bit more impressive than the Kamikaras in ‘Son of Godzilla’; Mission Accomplished.
Actually, I had trouble viewing this one period, somehow missing the February and April airings and not catching it until 9/27, but that actually worked out for the best. See, I never saw ‘Beneath the Planet of the Apes’ until sometime in ’98, so the mutants worshipping the Alpha/Omega Bomb wouldn’t have made sense to me. However, I started college that fall, and my roommate had and MP3 of some song that featured a remix of the sermon of the high priest of The Bomb, and explained the premise of BTPOTA, and I saw this ep the very next weekend, not believing my perfect timing!
That was also my first weekend back home from college, which brings me to an even weirder coincidence: Amid all the ominous speculation about giant insects, I noticed something in the trees outside my living room window wasn’t quite right. It may have even been when the tip of TDM’s pincer is described as sharp as a needle that I noticed something equally round an bulbous protruding throught he leaves. Something that had no business being there! At the next commercial, I stepped out into my yard to find…well, nothing prehistoric, but a white-faced hornets’ nest the size of a basketball. Considering they built it less than 6 feet off the ground, and in late September, it was genuinely odd. Since it was kind of dangerous where it was, and they were likely doomed by their own bad timing anyway, we sprayed inside it, clipped off the branch and put it in a garbage bag, where it still lays in my parents’ pole barn.
(Look, I haven’t been able to relate any memories of when I saw a debut ep until now, so just bear with me)
I also started collecting Beast Wars figures that first year of college, one of the coolest being Manterror. I once walked around with him in my pocket all night just so that I could say that I, indeed, had a mantis in my pantis. I never actually said it, but you’d be amazed what knowing you honestly can does for your confidence.
And at the risk of running such a nice little quip into the ground, shortly after digging out my tapes of #804 and others to show a friend the first 9 SciFi eps in order earlier this year, I happened to hear a song on the radio for the first time in nearly 2 decades: ‘Monster in my Pants’ by the B-52s. My brain proceeded to compose a ditty that I would unwillingly replay in my head for weeks afterwards; their lead singer crooning:
There’s a deadly, deadly mantis,
In my deadly, deadly, pantis,
And he eats up all the ants-es…
Sorry if anyone desperately needed not to know that, but that’s what I associate with #804.
Oh, and does anyone know why the Eskimo scene was presented in 2X time? Did the producers realize the scene was so long and non-sequiter it threw off the flow of the movie, so they just sped it up to get it out of the way?
Unlike the rest of the UI offerings early on in season 8, I really like this episode. The host segments (esp with the bomb-worshipping mutants whose hymns never fail to crack me up and Crow being devoured while Mike and Servo look on and do nothing and Crow’s subsequent revenge) and the riffs in the theater (“If everybody had kyak…across the Bering Strait” “Typical human, bringing a gun to a car fight.”) this episode is awesome.
Definitely a great ep and one I rewatch quite often. Solid host segments all the way through and great riffing. My fave host segment is where they’re trying to find a good radio station. Hey just turn your crank to Frank!
Fave riffs:
“I peed you pants, I’m not sure how.”
“Did you enjoy meeting my privates? I mean the guys back at the base!”
“When’s Jello?”
One guy holds a model plane next to a pic of the mantis and they say “Separated at birth – you decide”
Mantis-pantis, of course :mrgreen:
I love it too when they hum the Oscar Mayer weiner theme music as the bus drives off into the fog. Cracks me up every time.
Love this episode. It still cracks me up when Gypsy just kind of stands there in the opening segment. “Can I leave now?” “Yeah you can knock off for the day.”
I like how Tom apologizes for saying bitch.
“Oh, and does anyone know why the Eskimo scene was presented in 2X time? Did the producers realize the scene was so long and non-sequiter it threw off the flow of the movie, so they just sped it up to get it out of the way?”
I’m guessing most of it is stock footage from the silent era (maybe from “Nanook of the North”?). Most silent films were around 16fps, so when the footage is cut into a 24fps sound film, it’s sped up by half.
This is my least favorite of the first-half of season 8 offerings, mainly because the movie is soooo dull. I just watched it last week and I can hardly remember anything about it.
However, the next episode, “The Thing That
DiedCouldn’t Die”, is great.IBPSP @26
Per IMDB, the Eskimo footage is from a Universal German / Americna co-production called S.O.S. Iceberg ( S.O.S. Eisberg ) from 1933 ( w. Leni Reifenstahl of all people ). But I think I agree with you in that it does look older than that, at least to my untrained eyes it LOOKS like a silent movie.
The first episode I ever caught. I had heard the hype and I finally stumbled across it. It was instant love.
What I love about this episode, and the rest of season 8, is the unlimited potential that’s opened up in the host segments. The “endless chase” transformed the host segments from a puppet show into an epic serialized sci-fi comedy that only happened to be starring puppets. I know the Brains didn’t care for it, and aborted the concept the first chance they got, but it’s still my favorite period for the show. Nanites, Observers, dozens of aliens, and telethons. God, I love it.
This episode has a very nice stretch in the middle where our Blowhard Universal Scientist (TM) is giving his deadly mantis theory and the guys are tearing him and his companions apart- including the extended old man rambling bit. That is an excellent stretch of comedy. The episode as a whole does not do much for me, though.
I will say that Bill’s second “where’s the outrage?” brings me down every time, though.
Solid episode. But you have to admit the parade of B&W movies is getting a tad dull by now. I think Giant Spider Invasion is the first dab of color during the Sci-Fi run, TEN episodes in. Was the B&W run a contractual thing, or just indicative of what movies BB could coax out of the vault for a nice shredding? Anyone know? Sampo, you probably have the scoop.
Randy
Love this episode too. But it’s one of those movies that features a CLASSIC bad science diatribe — all that stuff about “all animals” having bony skeletons (“In fact, even birds have bony skeletons” — aren’t they animals too, dingus?), and the huge stag beetle posing as a prehistoric ant.
The most unscientific thing this scientist says, BTW, is probably his notion (it’s not a theory, you guys, it’s a hypothesis, and a very shaky one at that) that the frozen mammoths might have been alive, if only the Siberians hadn’t cooked ’em before they thawed out. When the old guy says, “And you believe this?” our hero says something like, “Well I’m willing to go along with it until something better comes along.”
Huh. Genius.
#25: “Love this episode. It still cracks me up when Gypsy just kind of stands there in the opening segment. “Can I leave now?” “Yeah you can knock off for the day.””
Sort of ironic in that Gypsy gets more action time than average during this episode: She outdrives Pearl, then delivers the mail.
I liked how the bomb-worshipping mutants were just so purely happy over how their “god” was about to kill them, with Bobo and Peanut merrily swaying in time to their song.
I had seen “The Deadly Mantis” years before as a kid, so I was delighted to see MSTs take on it.
My favorite line; when the general says “Lets be reasonable gentlemen.” and Mike retorts with “Elves did this!”
Does anyone else think the big, purple, Crow eating monster looks a bit like “The Creeping Terror”? It appears to be made out of carpet too.
Nedrick Jackson, eh? I knew his brother – Jimothy.
This is an okay ep, not great. Love the songs when they’re trying to find something good on the radio – “When you killed me — I died…”
The warning lights should have went off in Mike’s, Servo’s and Gypsy’s heads that Crow was actually Timmy when he killed that critter and et ‘im. :wink:
“Welcome to Ventriloquist Island.”
The whole “Dew Line” spiel at the beginning is just so hilariously superfluous, and some of the most OBVIOUS padding I’ve ever seen…especially since it’s tacked onto the very start of the film. Plot-wise, it’s even MORE irrelevant than the whole “gesture professor” bit at the beginning of “Mole People”.
Of course, the best “song snippet” they come across on the radio has to be Mary Jo singing:
“Hangin’ around – with a rodeo clown – in the back of my GMC…”
That one makes me snort with laughter every time.
5 stars. I like the movie, the riffing and the host segments. My favorite host segment, in probably the whole Sci-Fi era, is in this episode. I’m talking about the one where Mike and ‘bots are driving through space and can’t find anything on the radio. I especially like “Nebular Public Radio” bit.
As I was watching this movie and it’s description of the radar system, I thought of a riff. “Geez, why not just tell the Russkies everything else while you’re at it.
Once the mantis got into the 48 states, the whole radar system described at the beginning of the movie really became useless.
This movie have had a lot of stock footage of jets, but at least they serve a purpose. This movie is what The Starfighters should have been.
This episode is the first time that Crow got trashed during the show’s Sci-Fi era.
A good one for me, but more for historical value. Great to finally get the endless chase on and better establishing the Bobo that we knew through the rest of the series. Can’t resist a Beneath The Planet of Apes reference either.
Movie’s good, always do well with that. Host segments are good as well. I always get a kick from Dr. Peanut’s letter and how everybody reacts to it.
I remember I was in the middle of a drink of Pepsi when Crow said “There’s a mantis in my pantis”; it took me 10 minutes to get it out of my sinuses and lungs. I thought Bill’s Crow really took off starting in this episode. The old man riffs still crack me up. “Where’s Jello?”
I forgot to mention in my first post,I like Pearl’s fancy twirl when she hands Bobo the gun. One of the qualities I look for in a woman.
This is one of my favorite episodes of the show…. ever. An episode I have watched many, many times.
Mike: Servo, why do we need a business casual day?
Servo: Yes, we do!
“But I got a mantis in my pantis!” (Obviously funny line but the delivery was great.)
So many funny riffs and the segments were fun. A groovy episode!
Aw, yes the episode that turned me into a fan. i had seen bits and pieces of MST3K while channel surfing (I’m sure since 1997), but I first saw this episode possibly in late 1998 (I’d have to check the broadcast archive to see the times this episode re-ran).
The segment where the monster eats Crow stuck in my mind, and I always thought the hidden joke was the monster was literally “eating crow”.
Wow, that’s a lot of CC episode references. You know, for a Sci Fi Channel episode.
I forgot to mention this earlier, but Ed Wood would have been embarrassed to have this much stock footage in one of his movies.
BTW, I think this is the last episode to use “Still-Store”. They use it when displaying Dr. Peanut’s farewell letter.
I (re)watched this episode just last weekend, and certainly did enjoy it, although perhaps my interest in the season slides off a little bit from here until “I Was A Teenage Werewolf” and “The Giant Spider Invasion.” One odd thought that I had while watching was that the DEW Line coverage at the beginning was just a bit like getting a “short” included in the sadly shorts-light Sci-Fi era, but I was also oddly interested in imagining some sort of competition between the palaeontologist and the colonel as to who was the “leading man” of the movie…
Once again I’m in agreement with Sampo. This episode is a lot of fun and I was happy to see the Brains returning to the absurdly giant creature movies with Sci-Fi as they’d done in the fine tradition of “Godzilla vs Megalon”, “Godzilla vs the Sea Monster”, “Earth vs the Spider” and of course the “Gamera” series.
Enjoyed the host segments, too, as their blowing up the Planet of the Apes was a clear indication they were heading in a different direction with the story arch involving the SOL tormentors. A good thing too since “Deep Ape” would’ve grown stale if they’d stuck with that for an entire season and drawn the inevitable comparisons with “Deep 13”.
And I loved the “country music nightmare” segment! I think there’s many of us who can relate to that one!
Four out of five stars.
I have a weird little requirement with this episode – I only watch it at night. For some reason, I’m able to immerse myself in the movie and the riffing a lot better when it’s dark outside. Maybe because so many scenes in the movie itself take place at night, I’m not sure.
In any case, this is one of my favorites from the SciFi era. Classic high-paced riffing that never lets up, and Bill really starts to settle into the Crow role here. The host segment where he gets eaten by the alien is very well-done (“Digestion is definitely happening at this point” feels like something Trace would have said). Mike trying to find a radio station always makes me laugh, due in no small part to those goofy country music snippets (“When you killed me, I died” is probably my favorite).
I too was surprised at the number of Comedy Central callbacks in this episode, especially considering that they seemed to be verboten in Season 8. I know there’s more in the next episode, too. I guess the Brains were starting to loosen up a bit with this episode, which is probably why the riffing is so good. “Who are you men and where’s my soup?”
Thanks to this episode, I may never be able to watch “Beneath the Planet of the Apes” again with a straight face!
I think the movie might have also inspired the Observers forcing Pearl and Bobo to fight each other in #807.
I used to work for a guy (and a pretty well respected guy at that) who used to answer every other question that I asked him with, “’cause I have a mantis in my pantis.” And then he would laugh uncontrollably.
The funny thing was that at the time, I had never seen this episode and didn’t even know that is was an MST reference. :shock: I just thought he was a wacky guy.
I am a big fan of 1950’s giant bug movies and Deadly Mantis was a favorite of mine even without the MST3K treatment. What made it even better was that I was getting burned out on the ‘Planet of the Apes’ bit and was really happy to see it end.