Movie: (1974) An astronomical event endows an ant colony in the Arizona desert with sentience. Two scientists are sent to investigate, but who’s testing whom?
First shown: 1/15/89
Opening: The Mads are running low on funding
Host segment 1: Joel discusses Isaac Asimov’s Laws of Robotics
Host segment 2: J&tB discuss the first thing they plan to do when they get to Earth
Host segment 3: A game of “I spy” becomes a performance of “Wipeout.”
End: Joel programs Crow and Gypsy to recite a new robotic law
(140 votes, average: 4.16 out of 5)
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• This episode is the first episode (not counting KTMA episodes 1-3) to feature a non-Gamera movie, and the first episode featuring a movie that would not be riffed on the show later. As such I will, with this entry, begin the “Cast and Crew Roundup” feature (I will do the Sandy Frank titles when they come back around in season 3).
• References.
• There’s lots going on in the opening. It’s the first time the show has started with The Mads instead of Joel. It’s also the first time we get a sense that there is somebody with authority over The Mads (btw, the nickname “Old Leadbottom” is from a ’60s TV show called “McHale’s Navy.” Look it up, kids!). We also get the first mention of “the madscientist-mobile,” which would come up again.
• Also this is the first time, as far as we know, that Joel did the “getting run down by Cambot” routine, which both he and Mike would do again in the future.
• One thing that has surprised me is: there’s been no explicit mention so far of Gizmonic Institute! Clearly The Mads are transmitting FROM Gizmonic Institute during KTMA (Joel once directly confirmed that to me). I guess he had not come up with the name yet?
• I saw this movie when it first came out. I thought it was a pretty good little sci-fi thriller and I still do. The ant photography, as well-done as it is, goes on a little long and slows the pace down too much, and the acting by the humans is pretty low-key, but it’s not really a “cheesy” movie.
• The Brains must have thought so too. They seem to get into it. Several times they say something like “uh-oh” when a plot development unfolds, a sure sign they are caught up.
• However, Josh never seems to quite get the premise of the movie. “Yes, because most ants have the power of reasoning…” he says sarcastically when the movie suggests that they do. Later he yells: “They’re ants!!” when a character suggests that there is an intelligence behind their actions. That’s the premise of the movie, Josh!
• A segment of riffing in the theater, starting at about 7 minutes into the episode (not counting commercials), was included on the pitch tape that was used to sell the show to the Comedy Channel. That tape was included included on the MST3K Scrapbook tape. Question: Was that really the most sparkling few minutes of riffing the whole season?
• Servo extends his head again in the theater.
• Another first in segment 2: The first time a bot mentions his “load pan.”
• Now-dated reference: When a high-pitched sound makes some glass break, Crow says “Ella!” That’s a reference to a then-popular Memorex commercial featuring jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald.
• Uh, could Segment 3 get any more random? It’s completely stream-of-consciousness. Were they are just killing time?
• At one point in the theater somebody drops something and it makes a rather large noise, so loud the performers feel they can’t ignore it, so they acknowledge that it happened. Then there is a strange scraping noise, which they don’t acknowledge. Was someone dragging whatever it was away?
• Movie observation: For a science lab that was just built, it sure has a lot of shelves full of spare parts laying around, like a warehouse that has been sitting there for years.
• Joel calls Gypsy Gipsum again.
• Cast and Crew Roundup: Screenwriter Mayo Simon also wrote “Space Travelers. Camera operator Jack Mills also worked on “Gorgo.” In front of the camera, Alan Gifford was also in “Devil Doll.”
• Fave riff: Meanwhile Grandma and Grandpa are patty melts out on the lawn. Honorable mention: Hope nobody’s eating rice at this point…
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Tom Servo said it best at the end of the film. “This made flying turtles look good.” I’ve seen this episode once before about a year ago when I first bought the KTMA season. I only watched this one once. I have to say of all the movies in the history of the show this is the one that really creeps me out. It blows away Squirm in my book. Squirm had enough camp to keep it at least somewhat on the lighter side. But not this film. I dare say it was also the best film they’ve ever done. It isn’t my kind of movie at all but I have to admit it was good. So good it legitimately creeped me out.
I also felt this one fell quite flat as an MST3K episode. Sure by KTMA standards they occasionally got a few good lines in. But on the whole they did nothing to distract me from what is a legitimately scary movie. This is one I wonder what they could have done with in their prime instead of their infancy.
Favorite Riffs
Tom: This isn’t a Gamera movie. Their mouths are moving with the words.
Joel: He’s making a puppet out of it.
Tom: What’s a puppet?
Joel: You wouldn’t want to know.
While the riffing isn’t top-notch, this is a fun episode because the movie is pretty good. I actually wouldn’t mind finding the un-riffed film on DVD.
I really wish they had re-visited this one later in the show’s run.
I remember renting this movie from a local video store in the mid 80s. I also found it to be a pretty good movie. I thought the riffs were really starting to roll.
My copy of this episode includes KTMA commercials starring our beloved cast. First Kevin plays male lead in travel agentcy commercial followed by joel live at a local comedy club every Monday night. Finally we have the Mads as spokesmen for a pizza joint called Pizza & Pasta.
On the KTMA scale I’ll give it 3 stars.
That brought back fond memories when you said “Old Leadbottom”… I LOVED Capt. Binghamton, my favorite part of the original McHale’s Navy.
This is my favorite KTMA episode. The host segments and riffing are standard for that era, but the movie is the type of sci-fi I enjoy watching. Weird stuff from the ’70s always piques my interest.
Joel: When you’re out in the woods, you can’t beat “Off”.
First of all, this movie is incredibly well made. High-concept plot, well acted, gorgeously shot, and featuring a groovy organ-heavy score, reminiscent of early Tangerine Dream. But it’s also kinda slow and ponderous, which makes it an easy target. The riffing is at least consistent, if not always hilarious, bringing us closer towards the ideal MST episode. Again there are more annoying clacking robot puppet sounds in the theater (probably Crow).
This movie provides a prime example (Dr. Hubbs) of a mad scientist so in love with his studies that he disregards the welfare of his fellow humans.
Unfortunately, this is only a 2 star episode (KTMA scale) for me. Despite the movie being a fascinating snooze-fest, the riffing never reaches a boil. But the host segments are solid, and in the theater, Trace’s Crow is coming into his own, unleashing a stream of ant-based puns.
Joel: It doesn’t mean she likes you, she just doesn’t have parents.
Sorry, I forgot the ratings thingy again. It’s there now.
This is actually one of the better flicks MST3K have needled. I was checking Daddy-Os on this film and was shocked by the quality ‘pedigree’ of the folks involved in this production. As most know, Daddy-O provides technical background on who worked on the production and other films they have worked on. Instead of seeing the usual suspects of schlock films (which I love), I was blown away by the quality of films that the staff was involved with;
Educating Rita; A Clockwork Orange; The Rocky Horror Picture Show; Star Wars; Superman; Don’t Look Now; The Dirty Dozen; Chariots of Fire; Mysterious Island; The Looking Glass War; Psycho; Tommy; Victor/Victoria.
It appears to be my favorite British film list, more or less. Besides the micro filming of the ants, I thought the special effects were very effective for a limited budget. Ant obelisks with mouths was very creepy.
J&TB were pretty sophomoric riff wise as Critter & Sampo point out so I really enjoyed this one. For me it was a nice combination of watching a good film with occasional wise cracking. The Mads were great, I love Earhardt! Finally, Gamera is really neat but the riffs can only get stale running the same script repeatedly. To transition from 250 foot turtle to billions of ants near broke my neck.
I take it the “rice” riff was spoken over a shot of maggots.
Reminds me of the “Hey, I think this is rice…. oh, it’s not!” riff from Mitchell.
Also, I read Joe’s original comments for the host segments, and he mentions that the end credits roll while Gypsy and Crow are reciting their law. Would that make this the first MST3K to have an “unusual closing”?
I have a video review of this show here:
http://blip.tv/file/4003507
Graboidz-the film is available on DVD from Legend Films. I rented it from Netflix not too long ago. I found Phase IV to be one of the better “nature’s revenge” films that cluttered up theaters in the 70s.
Michael D. thanks for the heads up!! I pop it on my Netlix queue ASAP.
I would agree that this was a pretty decent movie if not for the really lame ending. Sort of a “We ran out of time and/or budget, so here’s a ‘Monster-a-Go-Go-esque’ ending for you folks.” Was it just me or did the young male lead’s voice sound familiar? I think he was in “Being From Another Planet” from season four…
Have to agree with the consensus that, despite some goofy stuff (the overacting mad scientist looking like NY Times financial reporter Paul Krugman… the resemblance made me laugh!), this is an above-average imperfect movie with below-average riffing for the kind of goofy schlock MST3K came to be known for. I love those ambiguous 70’s era end-of-the-world disaster movies and this one, despite not coming together, is much better shot and coherent than stuff like “Beyond the Poseidon Adventure” or “Swarm.” I didn’t have a problem buying that the ants were capable of reasoning (the footage of the ants backed this claim up) so Servo’s exasperated ‘they’re just ants!’ shouts fell on unsympathetic ears with me. Some talented behind-the-scenes people (legendary designer Saul Bass directing, UK cinematographer Dick Bush, etc.) and good-for-the-budget effects (the exploding towers, the reflective solar panel things, fake and real insects causing mayhem, etc.) actually got and kept my attention on the flick’s narrative until that crappy ending that reminded me of the ‘interface’ finale of “Overdrawn at the Memory Bank.” Other than the many ‘ant’ puns and J&TB’s posing like the open-mouthed statuettes (allowing Servo to once again look freaky with his stretched neck) the real MiSTie treats are in the intro and host segments. I too have a DVD with commercials (is that Kevin announcing Joel’s stand-up act?) and Joel really looks more comfortable on-camera with every passing episode. Am I mistaken that this is the first experiment where Joel looks genuinely shocked at a movie ending badly? I don’t recall more than a shrug-and-carry-on attitude at the end of each ‘Gamera’ flick, but his ‘I can’t believe they did that!’ reaction when “Phase IV” ends is the first of many times he will be saying that over the next five years (most memorably to me in “Monster A Go-Go”).
Two-and-a-Half stars (in the KTMA scale) as an “MST3K” episode and Three Stars to the movie itself.
This, for my opinion, is one of the better KTMA episodes… at least from what I remember (I haven’t watched it in ages). I also had a copy of it with the commercials, but I gave it away since it was one of those typical bootleg copies.
If KTMA wasn’t off-limits, this would be one of the better choices. Infact, I think this film might be public domain… correct me if I’m wrong, though.
This is definitely a different style of film-making that you don’t see much anymore, without much dialog. The actors are actually semi-famous, you’ve seen them in other movies and just can’t place them. The girl is best known for marrying Peter Sellars and inheriting all of his money, but then she died a few years later of drugs and/or alcohol problems. She’s actually British and her accent creeps through once in a while.
What maybe was an argument for doing this movie was that all the long pauses allow for plenty of opportunities for riffing, although there still seem to be a number of times they step on the dialog (and still occasionally on each other’s lines). The host segments are longer than we’ve seen up til now, I think because the movie isn’t that long to begin with, these sometimes seem more improvised, rather than the stuff in the theater.
Good change of pace after the deluge of Gamera movies. Looking forward to Space 1999!
I really love this episode!
My favorite riff is “If you didn’t wanna play with the ants, why did you go over to their house?” In fact, my friend and I sometimes use it as a metaphor for people complaining about situations they got themselves into in the first place…
“There’s ant A”
“And ant B!” (Aunt Bee)
Apparently, the movie originally had a longer/different ending that was altered by the studio after test screenings, so we can’t necessarily blame the filmmakers for the lameness that derailed an otherwise creepy little movie.
Favorite part of this episode wasn’t even in the actual show; it was the wonderfully cheesy “Club Travel” commercial costarring Kevin. :smile:
Looking back – every KTMA Gamera episode failed me, although KTMA Gamera vs. Guiron had the best pacing and riffing of them. It’s kind of a shame that they didn’t do anything national Season 1 worthy with the Gamera episodes, but with K09 Phase IV, we have a tremendous first non-Gamera title since K03. Definately around Season 1 grade, but there were problems. Long intersections of silence from them, much of this occuring when something to say about the movie was OBVIOUS. A lame, even if it was short 3rd Segment. And overuse of the word “ant”, but all in all, it was a great first non-Gamera-in-a-while episode. Many strong jokes were made when ants weren’t on the screen, and the only painfully overused joke was Crow’s insisting they step on the ants with a boot. So, I’m giving this episode 5 stars, and I don’t do that idley…
I love this episode. One of my favorites of any season, not just KTMA. I regard the film as being a very ambitous, interesting, and spectacular failure. It makes no sense on so many levels (especially at the end), but you could use it’s mistakes to teach a lesson in a philosophy class.
I agree with Servo, Kendra (girl on horseback) is a total babe. Possibly the most attractive lady in any MST movie by my standards. Sweet, demure, innocent, giving to a fault, beautifull but approachable, I could go on and on.
So many of the riffs cracked me up so much I had a hard time believing it was unscripted. I also love Servo’s sardonic tone, even if he didn’t seem to get the movie completely. An unriffed version is available from netflix. Worth getting just to get an unfuzzy look at Kendra.
“Take me, ravage me”
I don’t know why, but this has always been a favorite episode of mine…especially a favorite of the KTMAs. I guess it’s because the movie itself is kind of fun to watch, in an odd sort of way, even if the jokes aren’t always that great.
#21- the woman who played Kendra (Lynne Frederick) was married at one time to Peter Sellers and David Frost. She died at age 39. Sad, really. I agree she was stunning and would put her near the top of the babes of MST.
Oh, she wasn’t married to both of them at the same time :lol:
As the first non-Gamera KTMA that we’ve seen in full, it does okay. They’ve done better in KTMA for sure but I enjoy the movie and the host segments are decent as well.
@ Graboidz
And if you’re really interested in the DVD, I can almost promise you your local Best Buy has a few copies on the shelf. A few around here (Denver) actually were promoting it on endcaps!
Really enjoyed this ep, I think it’s the sudden change from Gameras to a semi-decent movie. I think it helps that the quality of my copy is really pretty good. Good times had by all here.
Sorry, but I think this is one boring, boring movie. I hadn’t re-visited it in years, and hoped my opinion of the movie would improve, but no. The sharper writing in the next couple of seasons would have helped add energy to this movie, I think.
As for the episode, there are a lot of firsts, and we see them getting their sea legs. Enjoyed the host segments, didn’t enjoy the movie. I’m looking forward to the upcoming TV-movies, especially SST Death Flight.
So far, this is the only KTMA episode I’ve seen. I decided to watch it because of the film. It’s a pretty funny one.
I feel this is one of the funnier KTMA episodes. Among the riffs that got me laughing….
“Antstock. They tried to have Woodstock but the termites came.” – Servo
“…because it happened to such a small and insignificant form of life.” – “Salesmen.” – Lesko/Crow
“…doing things ants don’t do; communicating…” – “Square Dancing.” – Lesko/Servo
“We’ll just come back stronger, with ear muffs.” – Crow
Regarding the ending- the original ending had the ants merging the two survivors into a faceless, andrognyous humanoid with ant characteristics(?). This was apparently the next step for humanity in an ant-controlled world.
The 9 minutes of footage that comprised the original ending was removed against the director’s wishes and is now believed lost. However, a few seconds were used for the trailer, which is available here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4fOsL-KYVQ
The novelization was written using the original screenplay as a basis and I bought a copy, hoping for some clarification like Arthur C. Clarke’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. But it was just incomprehensible run-on sentences and sentence fragments. Oh, well. I only paid a few dollars for it.
But you have to admit that they don’t make movies like this anymore. The photography is impressive and I can’t imagine how complicated it was to set up certain scenes with the ants, particularly the ant “graveyard”. It’s light-years from grasshoppers climbing on photos of buildings.
Major bummer about the Kendra actress. If her own personality was anything like her Kendra persona she must have been a nice person.
On a lighter note, here’s something from my work on the MST3K faction of a facebook game:
Hobbs:
Villain
Admires, envies, and wants to humiliate insects. With Ahab like determination he set out to show some ants who was boss. He failed miserably, got eaten, and doomed the human race to be enslaved by a bunch of bugs. Good one.
Just watched the trailer. Ick. I can see why it was dropped. I respect how ambitious the movie is, and it’s certainly intersting and makes you think, won’t you?
My episode guide entry here:
http://www.thelogbook.com/logbook/mystery-science-theater-3000/experiment-k09-phase-iv/
This was the first KTMA I ever saw (took a week to download it from the eDonkey server from the DAP – ah, memories).
Anyway, watching it for the first time, I was enthralled. My deep, abiding love of the KTMAs began here. The movie, so unlike anything they did on the cable run, is interesting and engaging, the jokes are on target and the host segments are zany. Everything I could have hoped for. In fact, watching this episode, I immediately recognized how off-base the comments about the KTMAs not being entertaining were. Sure, it’s not slick and they hadn’t worked out a rat-a-tat riffing pattern. But, for me, the show was never about something as simplistic as the riffing. This episode shows *character*, both in the form of Joel, the bots and the Mads, but also their interactions. It shows that they are more than just constructs designed as a “riffing vehicle”, they are already fully formed creations. Without them, it’s just guys talking over movies and *that* would never have gotten out of Minnesota.
Five stars.
Have to agree with everyone that is is actually a pretty decent movie. Pretty good host segments too; their rendition of “Wipeout” really cracked me up! :lol:
Phase IV was a really cool weird-as-hell movie. And now that I’ve seen the trailer I really want to see that original ending.
No love for the “Carpenter Ant” line? :twisted:
@36
Yeah, that was a good one! Joel doesn’t laugh and then Josh says
“he’s Ant-o-rexic” & Crow says “See, Tom gets it”
Plenty of good ant wordplay in the riffing!
Fairly good 70s scifi, but I agree with Joel & the Bots – the ending sucks.
To me, this is the first episode where Joel and the cast gets the idea of what the show is really about.
This episode is as good as anything they did in Season 1 and could even be seen as Season 2 quality.
They are doing more riffs, it is a bit tighter, and it is looking like a national show, not a “public access” one.
I saw this film when it was first show on TV (gad, I’m old)and liked it then. However, as the show has demonstrated over the years, they do no just make fun of movies you hate. They also go after the ones you loved growing up.
This is the first “real” MST3K of the series, in my opinion.
This is a strong “3” for me, as others have said it seems to be the first one that follows the main theme of the show as we now know it. From Crow’s “best thing is after you are done with the cast, you just step on them” to Joel’s “when you’re out in the woods….”, this one had me laughing!
Have we allready done a “best
MSTed movie” topic yet? Phase 4 is at the top of my list. Followed by the KTMA disaster movies, then Space Travellers.
I really enjoyed the “I’m tripping” moments with Joel during this one. This movie is psychedelic and far-out, man.
Also, a good filmatism comment from Joel, “Wouldn’t seem so frantic if we could calm down that cameraman”.
And to show Joel can go lowbrow, “When you’re out in the woods, you can’t beat Off!”
This experiment shows great promise. Things start clicking as a whole, but the Josh/Joel chemistry still feels off. I really enjoyed the “Wipeout” song they slap out, though.
I like that Dr. F’s pet names for Joel were an early character development.
Joel seems more confident in front of the camera.
During the “I spy” game, Cambot nods when Joel says his/her/its name; is this episode the first mention of Cambot?
#41> Cambot was named numerous times when they did the phone calls during the Gamera episodes.
A little late to the party, but figured I would mention that this may be the only episode of MST3k where a Riff makes reference to the Theme Song.
When they first show the science lab, Crow says, “Their switches sure are clean” (something to that effect) to which Joel replies, “That’s because their space station is new.” or something along those lines. I recall it being odd, not just because of the reference to Joel polishing switches, but also Joel refers to their lab as a space station, or something like that.
Sorry I don’t have the specifics, since I watched this one a couple of weeks ago.
Anyone notice when the scientists come upon a dead animal and Crow yells “Kitty!”
Joel starts cracking-up and is like “no, it’s a goat.”
Anyway, later on in the show there would be many instances where Trace’s Crow would say “Kitty” in that cutesy-kid voice. Is this episode where it all started?
>>>btw, the nickname “Old Leadbottom” is from a ’60s TV show called “McHale’s Navy.”
It’s also from from a February 1960 episode of The Twilight Zone (which is where I remember it from). You can look that up, too. ;-)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Flight_(The_Twilight_Zone)
To me, the riffing seems a little low-key compared to the Gamera movies, due I’m sure to the lack of Gamera’s happy fun feeling. I like a scientist-based movie just as much as the next guy, but the pacing in this movie was just so slow. As mentioned before though, the movie did a fantastic job with the ant visuals.
I think in either the next episode &/or the one after it there’s another loud thump during a theater segment, and Servo/Josh blames it on Gypsy.
This ep contains what I think is the first of many, many “pull my finger” riffs. It’s still a staple on Rifftrax, and it still makes me laugh when they nail the timing. I admit my mind tends to wander in these early shows, but is this one of the first riffs where they put words into a character’s mouth rather than just comment on the action?
I can see why they chose this ep for the demo tape. The riffing is surprisingly consistent for the KTMA days. It even got a few chuckles out of me.
Until now, I had been watching these episodes on Youtube, but this is one of the few that are not available on Youtube. Where else can I view it? Do I need to go back to trading tapes? :)
@Thom, you can buy unreleased eps here: http://cheesyflix.com/store/
I forgot to comment the “Pizza and Pasta” ad. (Do they get their ingredients from a place called “Ingredients”?) Trace and Josh have fun with the ad-libs. I wonder if anyone noticed that Josh used Campbell Soups’ probably trademarked slogan “Mmm Mmm Good”. Food for thought… (get it?)
This is one of the few KTMAs I put on even when I’m not marathoning the whole series from start to finish. The riffing is decent for this era, and even though the movie is claustrophobic and creepy, at least it gives us the lovely Lynne Fredericks, who’s quite easy on the eyes in that loose 1970s sort of way. Shame she had to get absorbed by the ant collective at the end there.
There’s a scientist named Hobbs in this movie, and as far as I know, there’s not a single Calvin and Hobbes reference made anywhere in the riffing. Missed opportunities like that abound in the days when the show was unscripted.
Josh may not get the premise of the movie, but the way he shouts “They’re ANTS!” makes me laugh anyway.