Movie: (1973) Godzilla and size-changing robot Jet Jaguar defend Japan from Megalon and alien cyborg Gigan, who have been sent by underground civilization Seatopia.
First shown: 1/19/91
Opening: J&tB are in morning magazine show mode
Invention exchange: Both Joel and the Mads show off their easy-to-make Halloween costumes
Host segment 1: Crow and Tom argue over whose monster is more powerful
Host segment 2: Rex Dart, Eskimo spy!
Host segment 3: Crow and Tom pretend they’re a certain well-known popcorn magnate and his grandson
End: Joel gives Crow and Tom new arms, the Jet Jaguar fight song is translated, the Mads are playing video games
Stinger: Godzilla takes the plunge.
(210 votes, average: 4.56 out of 5)
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• A terrific episode, certainly one of the highlights of season two. Very strong host segments, very witty riffing and a reasonably watchable movie with plenty to riff on. It’s also our first taste of the many Japanese movies to come next season.
• Joel has donned the maroon jumpsuit, which he will stick with until well into season three.
• The rights to the movie in this episode were apparently not properly cleared by Rhino when it released it as part of its Vol. 10 DVD set, and Rhino was forced to withdraw the set. It later re-released the other three titles, along with the addition of episode 402- THE GIANT GILA MONSTER, in what it called “Volume 10.2.”
• References are here, but one they missed is a favorite of mine: “Everyone is to get from street!” a reference to the movie “The Russians are Coming, The Russians Are Coming!”
• The opening bit is hilarious. I always wondered what Wanda Vacale’s Whale of a Tale was all about, and why it would be of special interest to bachelors.
• The “explaining pain to Crow” bit is not new. Joel does the same thing to Gypsy in episode K03- STAR FORCE: FUGITIVE ALIEN 2 while trying to explain what taking drugs is like.
• The invention exchange is fun. Joel’s “easy-to-make Halloween costumes” are straight from his standup act.
• The button on the desk breaks when Movie Sign hits the first time.
Joel says “…before eating — uh, I mean after eating…” They keep going.
• Classic running gag: “These darn stairs…”
• Not really made clear in the host segment 1 is precisely what Tom and Crow are looking at that they don’t want Joel to see. Looks like Polaroids. Hmm… (In the ACEG, Mike says they are “naughty pictures.” )
• Host segment 2 is pretty random, but it’s fun.
• Two KTMA riffs pop up: “That monster does not know the meaning of ‘around’ ” and when somebody mentions evacuating, Joel says “sounds painful,” something Crow said often in the KTMA season.
• Host segment 3 is a brilliant piece of work, but is now somewhat dated with the passing (in 1995) of Orville Redenbacher and consequent end of the TV spots featuring him and his grandson Gary. Interestingly, it appears the sketch was somewhat prescient. With Orville’s death, the younger Redenbacher does indeed seem to have disappeared into the night. (He’s actually an attorney these days.)
• The final half hour of the show, with Tom and Crow as wrestling announcers, is great fun. “He’s got a tree!”
• At the end of the movie, Joel explores the space between Cambot and the seats a bit, for the first time since “the film broke” in season one.
• The end segment features the hilarious “English translation” of “Jet Jaguar Fight Song,” as well as another open flame on set.
• Ever wonder what the lyrics to the song REALLY are? Thanks to Marissa at the MST Discussion board, here they are:
Japanese:
Hito ga tsukutta robotto da kedo,
Jetto Jagaa, Jetto Jagaa,
Yatta, Jetto Jagaa
Yuke, yuke, heiwa o mamoru tame,
Minna mo odoroku yuuki wo miseru
Gojira to Jagaa de panchi, panchi, panchi
Nakuna, bokura mo ganbarou
English:
You’re a robot made by humans, but
Jet Jaguar, Jet Jaguar,
You did it, Jet Jaguar
Go, go to protect peace
We are all surprised at the courage you show
Godzilla and Jaguar punch, punch, punch
Don’t cry, let’s do our best
Don’t touch my bags if you please, Mr. Customs man. (Just kidding.)
• The final bit in Deep 13 demonstrates the passion for video and computer gaming that was growing at BBI.
• Cast and crew roundup: Director/screenplay writer Jun Fukuda also served those roles for “Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster.” Tomoyuki Tanaka also produced “Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster.” Story and lyric writer Shinichi Sekizawa likewise did the same for that movie and also for “Mighty Jack.” SFX director Teruyoshi Nakano was a special effects assistant director for “Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster.” In front of the camera, Robert Dunham is also in “The Green Slime.”
• CreditsWatch: This Week’s Creative Pit Boss: Joel Hodgson. This is the last episode that has the “Creative Pit Boss” credit. “Villians” still misspelled. “Rex Dart Action Theme”: Michael J. Nelson. This was intern Tamara Lewis’ last episode.
• Favorite riff: “He’s got a tree! He’s got a tree! This isn’t the Godzilla we know!” Honorable mention: “I know I’m supposed to be scared and all, but all I can think of is sweaty Japanese guys.” “This watery manifestation of a vengeful, wrathful God couldn’t have come at a worse time.
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I’ll start off by saying that as a kid I loved Godzilla movies. Godzilla’s roar was one of my all time organic noises. That said these are silly movies and they don’t age well as one matures.
“If you’re like me and I know I am.” That is one of my two favorite Joelisms. I use it all the time and it will likely be the next catchphrase T-shirt I buy. (I already have two.)
So the Halloween costume inventions are from Joel’s stand up act right? Yet Frank dismisses them as stolen from some stand up act he saw in St. Louis. Is this some sort of meta joke? But if it is does that mean the comedy circuit extended from the Twin Cities to the Gateway city?
Yes I was one of those people who missed out on Volume 10 before it went out of print. I don’t remember what I paid to get it off of eBay anymore. It was north of $200.00. And if that wasn’t bad enough when I got the Giant Gila Monster disc I learned that I had to throw away the Godzilla disc. So that really makes me feel like I wasted my money.
Favorite Riffs:
Tom “Godzilla is back and somebody has got to pay!”
Joel “This is what happens when you go in the water less than a half hour before eating…I mean after eating.”
Crow: “I hope he doesn’t ruin Wayne Newton’s jacket.”
Roxann “I think they’ve been evacuated.” Joel “That sounds painful.” (As Sampo mentions it’s a KTMA callback. But if memory serves that was always Crow’s riff in KTMA times. Proof positive that sometimes the Brains assign lines they right to characters other than their own.)
Crow “I’ve come here to chew sushi and kick but. And I’m all out of sushi.”
A reasonably watchable movie? Are you nuts?? Have you seen this movie without Joel and the Bots?? I did (way before I ever knew about MST3K) and I will tell you I cannot watch Godzilla vs. Megalon without J&TB. This is one of my favorite episodes otherwise. Great riffing and host segments, especially Orville and his grandson. And I would like to say a big THANK YOU for the translated lyrics. I always wanted to know what they were really saying; however, I’ll take the MST3K version any day. :-D
Is the Orville Redenbacher sketch the darkest thing they did at that point?
Oh yeah, and Vol 10 is one of my two painful memories of second guessing myself. I had it in my hand but put it back as it was near my birthday and there was a really good chance someone would get it for me so I put it back. No on did and shortly later it was pulled. My other one was MST3k: The Movie, which I again had in my hand and put back,but that has been resolved with the re-release. That and I got the laserdisk.
We’re popcorn!
Hilarious. The entire popcorn skit. Nothing less than absolutely hilarious.
I think this is the episode they introduce “saaaaaaay” to the lexicon (despite what you say in your Daddy-O observations).
Proof (go to 3:57) [youtube.com]
Also, am I the only one who wonders how they transported that giant porpoise toy to the lake?
I grew up on Showa Godzilla movies and still love them to this day. Godzilla v. Megalon is my all-time favorite, and Jet Jaguar my most beloved character. This episode came out in my Junior year of High School and thrilled me to no end. Today, on my 11th Wedding Anniversary, I saw the tweet for this article and smiled. Looking up a my Adult Toy Shelf in my cubicle, Jet Jaguar smiled back.
Psst! Sampo:
Wally Karbo
I wish I could come up with a great dissenting opinion, but I can’t. I’ll just say that while I love most of the host segments, I didn’t really care for the movie parts. I can’t give a reason beyond the fact that the episode just irritated me. The part towards the end where Crow says, “You never gave up on anything in your life!” is one instance where I just wanted to punch the robots instead of laugh at them. I have the opposite reaction to the “wrestling announcers” than most, it seems.
One movie segment I did like was when the kid made an intelligible comment about some object, and the guys just mocked him. He was pretty annoying.
One of my all time faves, especially the “Roxanne” bits. Oh, and MST3K:The Movie can now be streamed at Netflix for folks who never got it or just want to see it.
There’s a rather humongous plot hole in this movie that Joel and the bots don’t seem to pick up on. The Oscar Wilde-looking guy says that after Seatopia sunk into the sea, its inhabitants eventually managed to create their own oxygen supply. And what, if I may ask, were they breathing the whole time they were working on that?
Of the two MSTed Godzilla movies, I like Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster a bit more, but this is still a phenomenal episode. The movie itself is hardly Godzilla at his best (he doesn’t actually do anything until, what, the last 20 minutes?), but the fight we do get results in some of the best riffing this season. Count me in as another fan of “He’s got a tree!”
I happen to like host segment three. ;-)
Thanks, Cubby. Now added. I tried googling him with “Carbo” last night and got a few hits so I figured I was on the right track…
Roxanne has my vote for the most annoyingly dubbed Japanese child ever. I’d like to hear the poor kid’s real voice, just to find out if I was less inclined to hope that Megalon would crush him. I did like his Snoopy sweatshirt.
How did the original Gojira morph into such a goofy monster? If I’d been a part of the target audience (I’m guessing Japanese children 7-10?), I’d have been deeply insulted by such ridiculous plot contrivances, and bored out of my mind by the looong fight sequence. (Heck, I still have a hard time staying awake for it, despite the strong riffing.)
I do love the host segments. Joel’s at his dadliest, humoring Crow and Servo, in the first, and the whole “Rex Dart, Eskimo Spy” works for me. And in the final segment, there’s the great Jet Jaguar theme song translation…now there’s an earworm!
Did anyone else think that Roxanne’s laugh was a lot like Ed’s from Cowboy Bebop? No? Just me, then.
“You do it, I’m bitter.”
I always thought that’s how you spelled it, Sampo.
But thanks to the predictive box at Google, it showed an alternate spelling (K) with a wiki entry. Plus, the AWA was carried by ESPN for a while, so it’s sorta more than local, but I’d defer to our resident wrestling expert (and G-Fan) for that decision.
(Plus, I always thought it was “Wanda McHale” and her Whale of a Tail. Either she was going to sing a sea shanty or she was some sort of stripper. Or it was Wanda McCahill – ala Tom McCahill. I don’t know.)
I have loved Godzilla movies since I was a small child. That said, I don’t think I’d seen this particular one till it appeared on MST3K. While the movie is hardly great, it was clearly intended as children’s entertainment as were many of the Godzilla movies made around that time period and it should be judged as children’s entertainment. From that standpoint, it’s goofy, innocent fun if a bit convoluted and ridiculous. Even as children’s entertainment it’s certainly not a great movie, but it is inoffensive entertaining fun for young kids that enjoy monster and SF movies. I don’t think the movie should be panned for failing to measure up to the standards of well-made SF films intended for adult audiences.
That said, I think MST3K did an excellent job with this rather silly children’s film. The movie is goofy and has a lot of action, making it somewhat entertaining on its own and the jokes, host segment sketches, everything MST3K did with it goes from funny to hilarious throughout. Some of the dubbed voices on the film seem as if they were chosen to be deliberately irritating, but that just provides more fodder for jokes.
Great invention exchange. The Rex Dart Eskimo Spy sketch, popcorn magnate sketch and the final host segment with the ‘Bots getting new arms are especially funny, as is of course the “translation” of the Jet Jaguar fight song. Some of the best work on MST3K to that date. Fantastic, joke dense riffing all throughout the film. This episode certainly deserves to be called a fan favorite.
I’m really glad I pre-ordered this set, the Rhino DVD of this episode is one that we’ve watched numerous times. The joke instructions on the Giant Gila Monster disc, which I bought separately later on, tell you to throw away the Godzilla Vs. Megalon disc. I wonder if anyone was actually naive enough (I’m being polite with my choice of words here) to actually do that.
5 stars all the way!
This is my favorite Joel episode. And because I’ve been a Godzilla fan all my life, this one (along with SEA MONSTER and the Gamera episodes) is the one that introduced me to MST (although it actually wasn’t the first I saw). On top of all that, MEGALON is a goofy movie, and say what you will, but it’s a fun movie made for children. Yeah, it’s cheaply made, but I love it.
Riffs… let’s see. I love all the attempts to rationalize the poor Hong Kong dubbing (keep in mind it’s been a while since I’ve seen it. Some riffs might not be word-for-word perfect):
“What the hell are they trying to do, blow us all up?” – Radio Announcer. “Morning DJs?!” – Joel.
“Hey, it would be funny if the earthquakes destroyed your robot.” – Jinkachin (the racecar driver). “It would be funny if the earthquakes killed your family.” – Joel (and yes, this one is a bit harsh in the wake of the recent tragedy in Japan, but we’re talking about a 20-year old episode of a TV show).
“I reckon they’ll try to kill us!” – Roku-chan. “‘Reckon’? You’re Japanese!” – Joel? Maybe Crow.
The riffs slow a bit during the monster battle (because there’s not much they can do there), but I personally think that’s entertaining enough.
Also Sampo, I’ll have to get Steve Ryfle’s “Japan’s Favorite Mon-Star” (the best Godzilla book out there), but I think some of the info on the Japanese movies you’ve listed is incorrect – but that’s all right, because there really is a lot of wrong info on them out there. “Sokei Tomioka” is actually “Teruyoshi Nakano”, who was often incorrectly billed as “Shokei Nakano”. And Hiroyuki Kawase, who also played the young boy in GODZILLA VS. THE SMOG MONSTER, might have been in TIME OF THE APES, but the Japanese TV show that Sandy Frank edited together to make that was filmed the next year (’74), not over a decade later. Frank’s movie version was only re-edited in the mid-80s.
“Hey, he stole Wayne Newton’s suit!”
I’ll be the contrarian this time… I just struggle to stay awake while watching the movie. I find the riffing to be only middling at best, which isn’t enough to overpower the deep hurting created by the film.
(BTW, thanks to these recaps, I’ve been watching MST3k in broadcast order, which I’d never done before. I’m finding that I really enjoyed the beginning of Season 2, but not so much the later episodes of that season. I’d never have noticed that if we weren’t running through the episode guide. So, thanks, Sampo!)
I never saw this episode until the DVD came out (again, contrarian, I seem to be one of the few who managed to get the original DVD box set by sheer dumb luck). The first thing I noticed is that the clip from this episode that they run in the opening credits is *not* taken from the broadcast version. Watch Joel. In the credit version, he’s gesturing with his hand and fingers as Godzilla, um, rides his tail towards Megalon. In the episode version, he’s motionless. I’m sad for noticing that, aren’t I?
One of the funniest moments for me is at the end when Frank and Dr. F are playing video games. I love Frank’s reaction to Dr. F telling him to just restart the level: “But what does it matter? He’s dead!!!”
…and don’t touch my baggage, please, Mr. Customs Man…
I think this is an example of a 5-star episode. Jet jaguar, Rex Dart, Oscar wilde, car chases, fist fights, and some of the craziest Godzilla monster choreography you’ll ever see. Plus the immortal, lilting, haunting, warbling, Jet Jaguar theme song. His mommy no love him.
One of a fave riffs is during the chase with the motorcycle and the tiny car going down the hill over the stairs, and IIRC they say Peter Bogdanivich directed this scene, a reference to the screwball comedy “What’s up Doc” with Barbra Streisand where there is a classic car chase up and down the extreme hills of San Francisco with ice cream carts, stairs, etc. I hate that movie for trying to titillate me with Streisand in a bathtub, but now after watching Megalon, I feel all better.
Johnny Ryde says:
The first thing I noticed is that the clip from this episode that they run in the opening credits is *not* taken from the broadcast version. I’m sad for noticing that, aren’t I?
I noticed that almost immediately as well. *sigh*
I managed to pick up the original version of volume 10 back when it was in stores, so I’m guarding this disc with my life.
There is something unsettling about seeing Godzilla, once the pissed-off personification of nuclear death and destruction, being reduced to antics like sliding on his tail to attack an enemy. How the mighty have fallen. I can totally understand why BBI decided to show it during the intro.
On the plus side, I got a kick out of J&TB singing the Japanese Speed Racer theme song (they don’t quite nail the pronunciation, but oh well).
swh1939:
I’d seen that clip for *years* before ever seeing the actual episode. And I think I’d always wondered what verbal quip was going along with the hand motion he was making. Turns out there wasn’t one…
Sampo, in the ACEG they confirmed that Crow and Tom were indeed looking at naughty photos.
212- Godzilla Vs. Megalon
Host Segments
Opening: J&TB host a morning magazine show.
Invention exchange: Easy-to-make Halloween costumes.
Host segment 1: Crow and Tom describe their monsters.
Host segment 2: “Rex Dart, Eskimo Spy.”
Host segment 3: Dysfunctional popcorn commercial.
End: Joel gives Crow and Tom new arms, the Jet Jaguar fight song is translated, the Mads are playing video games.
Stinger: Godzilla takes the plunge.
Memorable Riffs:
Servo: “Technology advanced people? Give me a break They can make high-definition TV, but can’t make decent water toys?
Joel: “You don’t have to put on the red dress!”
Crow: “Damn Japanese buying up everything… oh.”
Roxanne: “I found some funny powder!”
Joel: “Uh, that’s mine, just leave it…. *sniff*”
*Jet Jeguar flies*
Joel: “Um, we’re cruising at 50,000 feet.”
Crow: “Gary Busey’s back on the bike! Gary Busey is not considered genius.”
Servo: “It’s amazing what they’re doing with H-O scale these days.
*army fires at Megalon*
Joel: “Hey, that tickles! Cut it out you guys!”
Crow: “They’re playing Chinese Chicken! Or is it Peking Duck?”
Servo: “You know what, kid? We’re gonna get you some pants!”
Crow: “Hey, he’s being paid scale!”
Servo: “Didn’t you do that last week?”
Crow: “Oh, I got the wrong script here.”
Fav. Riff
Servo: “Uh, guys? He’s very vulnerable right now. This is not a good time to attack him.”
Comments:
-Joel’s jumpsuit is back to red… or more specifically maroon or burgendy.
-By the way, great quote from Joel: “If you’re like me, and I know I am…”
-The running gag of Dr. F stealing Joel’s invention ideas would pretty much be gone by season 3. To say the least, it wasn’t a very funny running gag. It was good the first 3 times…
-Servo predicts when the opening credits will start. So the running gag of them forecasting movie events is still going.
-What kind of a name for a boy is “Roxanne”? That kid’s gonna get his ass kicked in middle school…
-When Jet Jaguar first appears, there’s a wastebasket (or whatever it is) that appears to have a picture of Mickey Mouse on it.
-I think segments 1 and 3 aired in the wrong order. Segment 1 has to do with monsters, but no monsters appeared in the movie yet, while segment 3 has virtually nothing to do with the movie, as when segment 1 aired, nothing was really going on with the plot yet. Who knows, maybe I’m just imagining things.
-Dated riff: Crow mentions The National Network (it’s now SpikeTV)
-At one point, Joel can be seen drinking a can of pop in the theater. The Bots don’t even seem to notice, or care.
Best Segment: None of the main host segments are very good, but I like the closing segment with the fake lyrics to the Jet Jaguar song. Also, like how a fan wrote that they want to have Crow’s baby. Crow responds, “I can’t have a baby, I don’t have a womb.” Also, it’s cute how Crow is trying to eat out of the bowl of popcorn.
Worst segment: Meh. The Rex Dart segment is kind stupid. I’d say it’s more inane than the Joey the Lemur sketch.
Overall: I love this episode. Fanstastic riffig throughout. My favorite of the two Godzilla episodes. ***1/2
Brandon–thanks for the catch on the naughty pix! :-)
Actually Crow mentions The NASHVILLE Network, which became TNN, which became The National Network, which became Spike.
I need someone to verify this. Or I did way too much happy smoke in my youth.
NBC showed G. vs M. in 1977 with John Belushi as host in a Godzilla costume.
Did this really happen?
Smirkboy, I remember G vs. M on NBC in 1977 (Friday night, if memory serves … though it probably doesn’t). But I don’t remember Belushi in a Godzilla costume, which isn’t to say it didn’t happen.
This was the episode quoted in an early TV Guide article that mentioned the show, which was how I first heard about it.
Johnny Ryde: In regards to the clip of this episode in the opening sequence; you think you’ve got no life? I actually figured out which episode they took the shadowrama from! It’s from “Viking Women and the Sea Serpent” – there’s a moment in “The Home Economics Story” where Joel makes a “come here” motion with his hand, and I instantly recognized it as being paired with the Godzilla clip from the opening.
At my suggestion, the library where I work picked up the original version of Vol. 10, then I later donated the single release of “Giant Gila Monster”. So, our patrons really lucked out.
Definitely a great episode, especially the “Orville Popcorn” sketch.
And while I don’t remember Belushi hosting the NBC airing of the movie, I do remember him as Godzilla being interviewed by Baba Wawa on “SNL”.
jjb3k wins … which in turn makes me feel better about myself.
From the IMDB Trivia Section on this movie:
Jet Jaguar was the earliest example of a fan-service in a Godzilla film, the result of a contest Toho had in mid-to-late 1972 for children to come up with a new hero for them to use (to capitalize on the many tokusatsu and anime superhero and super robot shows that were all the rage at the time). The winner of the contest was an elementary school student, who submitted the drawing of a robot called Red Arone, which superficially resembled both Ultraman and “Majingâ Zetto” (1972) (both of which were very popular at the time). The robot was renamed “Jet Jaguar” and was set to star in a film vehicle for him, titled “Jet Jaguar vs. Megalon,” which pitted him against Megalon (a previously unused Godzilla enemy design). However, Toho figured Jet Jaguar would not be able to carry the film on his own, either in screen appearance or marketing value (which was very important to Toho), so they shut the project down during pre-production after doing some tests and storyboards. Less than a month later, screenwriter Shinichi Sekizawa was called in to rewrite the script to add Godzilla and Gigan, providing more marquee value (especially since Godzilla was still very popular with children). After revised pre-production, shooting took a hasty three weeks to make up for lost production time. Due to this delay, the total production time, from planning to finish, was six months.
Fairly interesting stuff. :smirk:
5 stars all the way. The Redenbacher sketch is one of the funniest of the entire series and the riffing is top notch as well. I also loved the Mads’ invention since I still play some foosball even now and being a nerd, I liked the video game mention as well. Favorite lines not already mentioned:
“Sounds like your monster reads Frost.”
“Now that Twyla Tharp has joined the clan, Anna Kisselgoff should give them a good review.”
Definitely one of those “the right people will get it” riffs although you can kind of figure it out from the context. I didn’t really get this one until I was watching this a few years back and my wife told me who Tharp and Kisselgoff were (dancer/choreographer and New York Times dance critic respectively). Joel and Tom going “Huh/what?” to Crow right after this line is the icing on the cake, as Homer Simpson would say.
Five stars, easily. The highlight, for me, is the riffing during the big battle at the end. “Am I high or did I just get nailed by some giant gargoyle thing?” “All right, time for the headliner!” “Next time you say we go to Bolivia, we go to Bolivia.” So many memorable lines crammed into a single scene, and the whole faux wrestling/boxing match commentary thing just sings.
I love the rest of the episode, but I find the Orville Popcorn sketch to be very uncomfortable to watch. Not quite Klack from First Spaceship or even O Canada from Final Sacrafice level, but it seems overly mean spirited for MST3k.
JET JAGUAR! JET JAGUAR! HIS MOTHER NEVER LOVE HIM!
This is probably one of my favorite episodes of all time, even though I’ve never been a big fan of Godzilla movies. I don’t know why they didn’t just retitle this movie “Jet Jaguar” or something, Godzilla wasn’t even in it until 40 minutes.
The riffing on this is one of the best and the Orville Popcorn segment makes me laugh like a madman.
One of the best.
Though to complain: I’ve never understood the “They were evacuated” jokes.
Is it a poop related? I think it lasted through the entire series, every time evacuation was mentioned, someone would go “ewwww”
Maybe it’s regional.
This one for me is the best of Season Two, and ranks amongst the very best in the show’s history. A wonderfully goofy movie with a well-known (and dare I say, beloved) sci-fi character seemed to bring out the best in The Brains, resulting in snappy, hilarious riffing, with nary a dull moment throughout. All the host segments work well, even the now-dated spoof on those Redenbacher popcorn commercials. Yes, those folks who aren’t old enough to remember them might not enjoy them as much as those of us who remember them do, but that’s doesn’t detract from the overall enjoyment of this episode. Of course the best segments were “Rex Dart: Eskimo Spy” and the “Jet Jaguar Fight Song”, and the true highlight of the movie was the monster fight segment where Joel and the Bots act like wrestling commentators, especially the scene where Godzilla defies the laws of gravity and physics with his running double-kick on Megalon, where Joel and the ‘Bots momentarily break character and laugh out loud. This is one of the episodes I show whenever I want to turn a friend into a MSTie, and it hasn’t failed yet! Five stars!
Revlillo, #31, thanks! That info makes the whole movie a lot more comprehensible to me. (Talk about pinpoint marketing!)
#36/Seth L
Did you ever think to look up “evacuate” in a dictionary?
I agree, this is one of the best of the series for sure. I feel lucky to have picked this set up the weekend before the release date (thanks Best Buy!) You can have my vol. 10 set…when you pry it out of my cold, dead fingers!
jjb3k says:
Excellent work!
Now if Joel is still lurking in the comments section this week, maybe he can tell Sampo when/why they did that… Assuming he isn’t just shaking his head and wiping away a small tear…
Best of season two, a watershed episode. I wasn’t alive for the 70’s NBC broadcast, but I’ve heard that it cut the film down to a 60 minute runtime (and you thought it was confusing HERE) and that this cut of the film was later proclaimed public domain, which is probably the reason that it was frequently available in VHS cheap bins for years and also may have caused Rhino to mistakenly release the episode (i.e., they thought they had the public domain cut). Personally, I loved the Orville Popcorn sketch. “Hold down A and push start.” Ah, so they were playing Super Mario Bros. (the first one) at the end of the episode (yes, it is sad that I know this). Favorite riffs:
“A rocket? Well, I guess a rocket IS standard picnicing equipment in Japan!”
“Well it’s about TIME Mr. Mark Spitz! Have a nice swim?”
In the Amazing Collosal Episode guide Trace wonders why the miniatures look so convincing while the rubber suits look so goofy. The answer is simple: the miniature buildings are stock footage lifted from 60’s Godzilla films (mostly from “Ghidrah, the Three-Headed Monster” I believe) which was back when these films had a budget and master F/X man Eiji Tsubaraya was in charge. He had passed away by the time this film was made and the decline of standards is obvious. BTW, the scene where Gigan knocks Godzilla down repeatedly is MORE stock footage, this time from “Godzilla vs. Gigan” (aka “Godzilla On Monster Island). You can see the visible difference in the appearance of the Godzilla suit.
#31
Excuse me but, Jet Jaguar as FANSERVICE?!
**cue immature giggling**
The ACEG has an interesting story about how they almost got sued for the Orville sketch.
re #1
in regard to “If you’re like me and I know I am.” I think this is another Firesign Theater reference. From the synthetic chinchilla sketch off of the Dear Friends album if memory serves me right. Another absolutely brilliant bit of funny from those guys.
This movie is generally considered the worst of the the Godzilla series by aficionados – what with the massive reliance on stock footage, child-oriented Godzilla design (his eyes are at their biggest to make him look “cuter”), and two weak, poorly developed supporting kaiju as newcomers. And I don’t think the episode measures up to the hype . . . but it is definitely one of the strongest from the early seasons, and both “Rex Dart!” and “I’M THE GOD, I’M THE GOD” are standard references in my MST3k lexicon. Quite a few other gems, too, of course.
I technically saw (parts of) this episode before I saw the movie unriffed, but this was back when I was in 3rd grade and MST3k was running in syndication. So I saw the original movie in full long before I could appreciate most of the riffs . . . but even from 3rd grade, I always remembered “Not Epcot Center!” from a scene where two domes are detonating. If that’s not my earliest memory of an MST3k joke, it’s the second-earliest.
Something about “dickie” and “size of a Toyota”…
Didn’t Joel approach Cambot during the last Commando Cody episode in Season One? When the film broke and he went over to see what the problem was?
I guess this episode will always be well-known for its Rhino vs Toho predicament. Too bad Rhino didn’t risk putting out GVTSM as well.
Sean–Dang! Good memory!
One of my top five episodes!
The whole show is top notch. The invention exchange, Rex Dart, and the popcorn sketch. Love them all.
And boy, is this episode naughty. And I love it. From Joel going “saaaayyy” when they scan the boy to Godzilla’s “tail” growing.
Also love the ongoing “Roxanne”, Oscar Wilde, and stair bits.
And I personally think the car chase scene is one of the funniest bits they did ever. Oh and the fight scene at the end. Awesome.
Too many favorite riffs to mention, I’ll just post a few.
“I can fly, I can fly…wait, I can swim!”
“he just created Jennifer Beals!”
“Gary Busey is back on the bike!”
“Someday Johnny Cash will write a song about that”