Movie: (1979) At a remote facility, clones are being bred to serve as a source of replacement organs for the wealthy and powerful.
First shown: 6/7/97
Opening: Mike has a mustache and the bots like it — sort of
Intro: Three runaway space children awaken the campers
Host segment 1: The campers are forced to play games with the kids
Host segment 2: M&tB help Pearl out by putting on a public TV show
Host segment 3: Pearl, Bobo and Observer have “that” talk with the kids
End: Crow has a nosejob, and Tom has written a poem for the kids
Stinger: “Sure!”
(270 votes, average: 4.56 out of 5)
Loading...
• This is a (comparatively) thought-provoking idea for a movie, even if it is hamfistedly written, acted and directed. Still, it’s in color, it’s in focus, and its budget was (compared to most other MSTed movies) pretty big, so it’s pretty easy to look at, which helps make it a very watchable episode. The riffing starts slowly, but builds, and by the time of the campfire love scene, they are really clicking. The segments —- featuring a new, brief, story arc with the temperamental and omnipotent space children —- are fun. Not sensational, but there are definitely some laughs there.
• Paul’s take on the episode is here.
• Rhino included this episode in its The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection, Vol. 12.
• References.
• In 2005, when DreamWorks released “The Island,” also about a colony that breeds clones to harvest organs for the elite, the makers of “clonus” filed suit, claiming copyright infringement. DreamWorks settled out of court.
• As you enjoy Peter Graves’ performance, remember that he HATED MST3K.
• Just to make a fool of me, the guys completely disregard what I’ve said in the past about them usually showing restraint when a popular TV actor shows up. The presence of Dick Sergeant prompts quite a large number (this time I counted about 10) of “Bewitched” jokes and references. There are plenty of “Biography” references as well.
• I enjoyed Mike’s use of the famous Belloq taunt from “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” I’ve used it myself a time or two since this episode aired. It does have a certain insouciance.
• Daleism: Shot of man’s hand on podium. Servo: “Hey it’s…oh, I thought it was Dale.”
• For those of you playing along at home, this movie was shot a year after Keenan Wynn did “Laserblast,” so pretty much the same Keenan-ey era.
• Speaking of Keenan, I always feel sorry for the Nobels. This complete stranger shows up on their doorstep and they pretty much do the right thing right down the line, and they get blown up as a reward. Sheesh.
• Nice use of Dorf-style camera trickery during the segments. It works especially well on Paul, for some reason. Mike and Bridget are the other two children, of course.
• As Dr. F learned when he asked M&tB for help with his bed and breakfast, NEVER ask M&tB for help! Pearl learns this in segment 2.
• They would actually do a movie called “The Space Children” next season, but I don’t think they are really making a direct reference to that movie here.
• There’s a residual Adam Duritz riff.
• Best host segment line: “Tanta Bobo has to go see Uncle Reconstructive Urologist.”
• Mary Jo is hilarious in the “facts of life” segment.
• Then-current reference: Tom’s cry of “50 free hours of AOL???” Which was an offer Americans were getting at every turn.
• Cast and crew roundup: special effects guy Steve Karkus also worked on “The Touch of Satan” as did makeup guy Joe Blasco (he also did special effects for “Track of the Moon Beast.”)
In front of the camera, Peter Graves, of course, was in “It Conquered the World,” “Beginning of the End,” “SST: Death Flight” and was a narrator for “Attack of the the Eye Creatures. Keenan Wynn, as noted, was also in “Laserblast.” Lurene Tuttle was also in “Untamed Youth.” Greg Brickman did some stunts in “Hangar 18.”
• CreditsWatch: Beginning with this episode, Jim gets an “executive producer” credit that continues through the end of season 10. Kevin gets the first of several “produced and directed by” credits this season. This is the last week Brad Keeley gets an “audio mix” credit. And this is the last week John Sims gets a “SFX/foley” credit (but he’ll be back).
• Fave riff: “She really WAS on top of old smokey, wasn’t she?” Honorable mention: “Just making sure he hates this…”
) to help our users cope with "trolls" and other commenters whom they find annoying. Go to our 
#99, Do you mean a LaserDisc? That would have been impossible for both the obvious reason (that they would spot him with it) and because recordable LaserDisc’s never existed. Plus, the video quality was too poor on that recording.
One of my favorite Sci-Fi episodes. “AGUA!!”
Okay, I correct myself, my response is to #100, although I’m pretty sure that when I was typing that response (#101), I was #100. What the heck happened?
#101bobhoncho – No, I don’t mean LaserDisc. In the late 70’s/early 80’s there were these big white plastic things called videodiscs. they had a very narrow reel of film inside and the players were about the size of an AMC Pacer. My uncle had one right alongside his double decker VCR, and they both had matching fake-wood panelling.
This was the first episode I ever saw on TV, so it holds a special nostalgic factor for me.
“Will you wipe me, clone daddy?”
@bobhoncho : I’ve seen that order/number of posts change too. Sometimes when I post, my message appears before messages that already existed when I posted mine (but with an earlier timestamp)… Odd…
One of the best episodes from season 8. I watch this one once a year. 5 Stars. :grin:
I tend to agree with most of what has already been said above.
My fave riff: Hey, didn’t you play Dick York on Bewitched? :lol:
Trashman- Me too! I think the first episode you see always holds a special place in your heart. I loved this one especially because at the time I really enjoyed watching Biography, so those jokes never get old for me! :)
I never liked the space kids, but I DO really enjoy the sketches with Pearl et al giving them the facts of life, and playing Candyland.
But I don’t care for the kids’ stupid magic words.
The children’s little chants seem to be a reference to the ST:TOS episode “Miri,” with possibly a dash of “And the Children Shall Lead” thrown in.
My favorite moment in the host segments for this episode is Mike’s Belloq impression. “Too bad… the Hovitos could have warned you–if only you spoke Hovitos.”
I agree that “Clonus” isn’t too bad of a movie, actually. Could’ve been better, yeah, but not unsalvagable.
As for the ep, the Xuxa-inspired kids’ show was a hoot, as was “the talk” and Mike’s Belloq callback. I’m a bit surprised no one has mentioned Mike’s positive/negative reinforcement talk to the kids to get them to not send the movie. Best doubletalk since Michael Palin in “The Rutles”.
Migel@#97: I can’t believe I forgot to mention, “It’s yummy hot-dog water, mmmmmmmmm…” As nauseating as everything in the previous ep was, that might just be my pick for the most disgusting riff they ever did. “Disgusting” being a very subjective term.
I felt this way even before Robot Chicken showed me where hot dog vendors use the facilities…
I can probably count on one hand the episodes of Bewitched I’ve seen, so I honestly can’t recall who was Darren in either of them. All this Dick Sergeant talk just makes me think of the issue of ‘Dork’ with the Devil Puppet strip claiming Bewitched had such a strong following in Japan that the Dick-to-Dick transition briefly sparked riots. Evan Dorkin seemed to use Devil Puppet to weave irrelevant historical facts and thought provoking fiction together, and since I don’t care enough to do homework on this, but do know that the first Gundam model kits caused a stampede that hospitalized eight customers in a Japanese department store, I choose to believe this actually happened.
Of couse, if any of you can prove that these events did not occur, please inform me and forgive my misquoting of Criswell.
Also, for me, the Biography jokes being run into the ground beforehand never detracts from the humor of their closing credits routine.
I love this whole episode so much.
“So life’s a constant, non-competitive track meet?”
#113-Stampedes over Gundam models is believable, people here actually got crushed to death because of “beanie babies”. Something about those things mad people insane. If you look them up on ebay, they’re not going for much. Trivia: Eileen Dietz had a small role in this-here’s she’s normal and good looking but in The Exorcist she was the very briefly glimpsed demon face during Father Karras’ nightmare. “Parts: The Visible Pantyline Horror” Will I watch this one again? SURE!
#100 / #101
Videdisc were a vinyl disc stored in a plastic caddy, which when inserted into the player, the disc was extracted by the player and the caddy removed set aside by the user. They then had to reinsert the caddy, pull it out, and reinsert and remove the caddy again to play side 2. The disc was read with a needle stylus, like a normal audio record. They were also pressed at a factory, like a vinyl record. I am not aware of this format ever being available as an end-user recordable format.
Laserdisc, on the other hand, was available in a recordable form – Recordable LaserVision was it’s commercial name. Just like a big CD-R. Once recorded, the discs would play in any normal Laserdisc player. They were great for frame-accurate recoding, when paired with an Amiga Video Toaster for capturing rendered Lightwave animations.
Like a DVD-R, they looked bluish, or purple, but were in a caddy, like a Videodisc, but with a shutter-door which which the recorder unit opened to access the disc. They could be removed from the caddy once recording was complete, for loading into a normal Laserdisc player.
Ridiculously expensive (A Sony creation, I believe), but if you wanted the best quality video capture of your Lightwave animations, this was the format to have. Probably the ultimate frame-accurate recorder of the time.
I love Crow’s raspy, obnoxious “AGUAAA!” during the Spanish kids show spoof. Also as a gamer I appreciated all the Nintendo related digs at Mr. York’s assistant “Dr. Mario.” And it has Peter Graves which is a good excuse for some “Biography!” I just wish Bill would have tossed in just one University of Minnesota callback line.
Fave lines:
Tom: “Eh, go eat a mushroom, Mario!”
Mike: “I have Yoshi parked on the next floor.”
At the end when the girlfriend gives her goofy/creepy post-lobotomy smile and Tom does their trademark nasally “Hoiiiii!” lol
I NEVER thought “Parts:The Clonus Horror” was great or even decent. The funny thing here is it sucks just as bad and is EQUALLY depressing as other 1970’s Sci Fi shlock they riffed on like “Laserblast” and “The Incredible Melting Man.”
I MIGHT have preferred Joel riffing on this (I have to agree that I think he does better with 1970’s Sci Fi/Fantasy shlock but fwiw I think Mike does better with 1980’s Sci Fi/Fantasy shlock so go figure…) but I think Mike did VERY admirably considering the film he, Kevin & Bill were given.
When I read about the MST3K-on-The-Sci-Fi-Channel years I usually end up thinking something like “Why didn’t the Sci Fi channel give them better films to riff on? Did Mike, Kev & Bill just ask them for the worst flicks they had in the vault?” Sci Fi played a lot of bad or at least decent-but-still-bad Sci Fi/Fantasy films when they had MST (I remember them playing “Flash Gordon” and “Zardoz” back then and knew MST would have A LOT of fun with those flicks.)
I STILL can’t believe Sci Fi couldn’t give them better but just as depressing 70’s Sci Fi to riff on like “Soylent Green” or the 1978 remake of “Invasion Of The Body Snatchers” (maybe “Altered States” would’ve been too much to ask? What about “Quintet”?) Heck even
“Saturn 3” or “The Martian Chronicles” would’ve been FAR better than “Parts” or “The Incredible Melting Man.”
I was still hoping that Pearl would do a Dr. F type move and simply give them a 2 part TV episode as a “movie.” And you KNOW what fun they’d have with a 2 parter from let’s say “The Man From Atlantis”, “Buck Rogers In The 25th Century” or the 1970’s version of “Battlestar Galactica.”
Finally I mostly agree with the “Too much ‘on Biography'” riffing but I guess that was Graves’ most recent show and they just stuck with it. It’s still funny but they really shoudl’ve switched it up with Mission:Impossible jokes too.
NOTE: When I had taken the online survey for the Rifftrax-Do-Plan-9-Live Event I suggested that they riff on the 00’s version of “Battlestar Galactica.” I think they’d probably have as much with that as they would with the 1970’s version don’t you?
NOTE PT. 2: I’ve read somewhere that XUXA used to be a porn star before becoming a kid show host/goddess. Anybody if that’s true or not? Also how do you pronounce XUXA? Is it like “shoo-sha” or “zoo-za”?
I’m way too late for my normal lengthy review/movie quote list, so let me just add this one anti-“Just a show I should really just relax” observation:
Where were Tom and Crow during the time it took for Mike to grow the moustache?
Wow, two weeks ina row where the ep were discussing is on commercial dvd! (it will make three weeks on the following episode, for those fortuneate enough to have Volume 9). If nothing else, its nice to see these shows in high-quality rather than VHS.
I’m REALLY late on this post, so let me just say that this is one of those movies that I don’t go to very often yet enjoy every time I do. Very good riffs, great host segments (if you don’t mind a healthy dose of Pearl et al), and a movie that’s just bad enough to take swings at. Like Fiveson’s interview mentioned, the concept is actually intriguing, it’s just the follow through that’s messed up.
The line of the opening “I look like this and I don’t care.” would be my riff the episode if it occurred in the theater.
Crow should write a parenting book. With advise like “be firm but fair, then offer them money” you can’t possibly go wrong.
Sampo comments how they drive the Sargent/Bewitched connection into the ground. But I’m not sure there aren’t more Graves/Biography riffs. I’m okay with both.
The image of Pearl in the classic poker look while playing Candyland really is priceless.
The educational show is an all time Sci-Fi channel great host segment. The parody level in the American style PBS show is off the charts and they pull it off so well. Then there is the Latin/Xuxa show. That is just plain disturbing. (Though not as disturbing as Mike’s Adam Duritz or Urkel.)
I also really loved the Biography riffs over the closing credits. Good stuff and I loved the way they traded off. I believe this is transcribed in Ward E and I think I’ll go review it right now. My favorite line: “Peter Graves. The underrated, underpaid incredibly handsome host of “Biography,” tonight on “Biography.”
The Walter Fiveson interview on the Rhino DVD is interesting. I can see how anyone might have the same initial reaction of hearing something you did will end up on MST. But if he’s honest about that thought lasting only five minutes then he really seems to have a healthy attitude about it.
As for The Island, I guess this movie is proof that there are some good ideas that appeared on MST. While Clonus is way too cheesy in its bad acting The Island was fun to watch. I’m not saying it too couldn’t be taken on by Rifftrax but it can stand on its own as a popcorn move. It is a shame The Island had no shame in attempting to rip off Clonus though. They probably would have got away with it if Clonus never appeared on MST.
Favorite Riffs:
The title card is on screen. Tom “Parts is Parts.”
Crow “Dick Sargent. Didn’t he play Dick York on Bewitched?”
Guys doing pushups Crow “its missionary position practice.”
Lena “Yeah I write my thoughts and my ideas.” Crow “I’ve already filled a Post-It note.”
Richard grabs his chest and Crow deadpans “I’m coming Elizabeth I’m coming.”
Mike as Richard having a revelation: “Now I get it. I don’t understand a thing.”
Keenan Wynn’s house explodes:
Crow “Forgot about those cookies. Sorry.”
Mike “Yeah, Grandma and Grandpa will be fine on their own.”
Tom “Brought to you by the greater nursing home council.”
Crow “Never store combustibles with your old people.”
The part of Anna Noble was played by Lurene Tuttle (remember the judge in “Untamed Youth”). She was born on August 20, 1907 in Pleasant Lake, Indiana, and died of cancer on May 28, 1986 in Encino, California. At age 15, the family relocated to Monrovia, California, and it was here that Tuttle began her career. She received dramatic training at the Pasadena Playhouse and appeared in many of their productions including “The Playboy of the Western World.” She subsequently became a troupe member of Murphy’s Comedians, a vaudeville company, and then eventually extended her range as a dramatic ingénue in stock shows. Although making it to Broadway somehow slipped through her fingers, Tuttle worked on stage consistently throughout the 1920s and 1930s. Known for her fine speaking voice and mastery of a wide range of dialects, she found a new avenue in radio during the Depression and became one of that medium’s most recognized voices playing both sweet and sour characters. Dubbed the “First Lady of Radio,” her best-remembered role came as Effie, the altruistic “Girl Friday,” on “The Adventures of Sam Spade” opposite Howard Duff’s cynical-edged gumshoe. Red Skelton also admired her versatility and used her frequently in a variety of parts on his radio show. Tuttle was a well-respected drama and diction coach for several decades. She began teaching radio technique in the 1940s and re-trained some prominent actors who were returning from extensive WWII duty. Following a lengthy departure in the 1950s due to TV commitments, she returned to teaching acting almost to the end. Some of her more famous students included Red Skelton, Orson Welles, Milton Berle, Steve Allen and Jayne Meadows. She lived out the rest of her life in Southern California and succumbed to cancer at age 78. In addition to her famous son-in-law (composer John Williams), she was survived by her three grandchildren: Jennifer Gruska, a story editor; Mark Towner Williams, a drummer; and Joseph Williams, a composer and singer.
Favorite Lines:
Hey, a supermodel factory…Julia Child’s secret freezer.
[biking] Le Tour de Van Nuys.
[Frank Ashmore/George] He looks like the monster from Rocky Horror [Picture Show]
[Tim Donnelly/Richard] He’s like a sensitive Steve Guttenberg. Yeah, I’m gonna start a band called Air Supply.
The beer can struggles upstream to spawn.
‘…does anyone have any questions?” Yeah, are you and Dick York friends?
‘…it was floating in the river…What is it?” It’s a Gambino, sir.
[slow biking] You’d get better exercise sitting on a couch.
[Paulette Breen/Lena] Parts: the visible panty-line horror. It looks like Henry Silva in a wig. She fell asleep on a dermabrasion wheel.
Only you can prevent groin fires. She really was on top of old smokey.
Convenient he happened into the department of backstory.
[escape] The bullet caused a kettle moraine. He walked right into the Golan Heights.
[James Mantell/Ricky & David Hooks/Richard Knight] Mark Spitz and Michael Caine at home.
[James Mantell/Ricky in speedo] Oh, we found it, this is the horror.
“You saw the tape? Yeah, it’s scary.” Adam Sandler’s in it.
Meat Loaf (Marvin Lee Aday) sweats less than this guy.
Clonus: the boys in the band horror.
[Lena lobotomized] Remember to duck when you go under a helicopter.
[old George Walker] Ted Turner…Senator Gravy Skin.
Was that a bad movie, or was I just in the wrong mood?
Final Thought: Mike’s silver shorts and sequined halter top was very disturbing. I give this one 3 out of 5 stars.
The public tv show skit is one of the best host segments of the Sci Fi era. Crow’s delivery of “agua” never fails to make me laugh. In fact, I can’t hear the word “agua” without thinking of the skit.
I liked this episode a lot. I love cheesy 70’s movies and the acting was so awful. I also liked that the premise was kind of intriguing.
I’m ashamed to admit that the end (spoiler alert!) when the love interest is lobotomized and smiling freaked me out. A lot.
Parts: The Clonus Horror fails the Bechdel Test. There is no instance of two female characters conversing.
That mustache Mike had was rather hideous.
They seemed to go a bit overboard with the Biography riffs in the scenes with Peter Graves.
Does anyone who knows Spanish (or maybe it’s Portuguese) have any idea what they said in HS2? Or is it actually gibberish?
Callback to Posture Pals: “And I’m the Posture Prince.”
adoptadog #21: Why on earth would a clone have a birthmark just like its original, but not have the same mental acuity?
If the potential mental acuity isn’t exercised, then it’ll atrophy itself into uselessness. It’s pretty clear that the cloning facility isn’t terribly interested in educating them (since it would be a waste considering their ultimate fate).
@ #31: Regarding Peter Graves, IIRC he’s sort of an anti-Don Knotts in that he dislikes doing comedy (if memory serves, Knotts has done only one non-comedy role in his entire career). So it’s not too surprising that he’s reportedly not amused by the Brains riffing movies he’s been in.
bad wolf #85: By the way, am I wrong or is there nudity here with the models in the clone-bags at the beginning? And is that the only MST3K nudity?
I have two phrases for you. “City Limits” and “Petticoat Junction”.
Favorite riffs:
Filmed at the Sydney Opera House High School.
“It’s good to know that I have all of you as friends.”
Except you.
“I like having you touch me.” “Me, too.”
I like to touch me, too.”
Sir, does he have to be nude for a simple hangnail operation?
Now don’t fill him with Smuckers like last time, doctor. That wasn’t funny.
Only you can prevent groin fires.
Des Moines Olympics are kind of a letdown.
He’s a nurse’s aide who doesn’t play by the rules.
Convenient he happened into the Department of Backstory.
They really have to rethink their eleven dollar security budget.
He jumped right into the Soylent Green factory.
You kids with your morals and your ethics and your eight-track tapes.
The Secret Service is out front having a smoke.
Never store combustibles with your old people.
When track coaches go bad.
Regarding that Secret Service riff mentioned in my last post. Perhaps it’s lost a bit of its humor thanks to the scandals from last year. Though I suppose some might say it boosts the humor value instead.
@104- We had a bunch of those donated to our library a few years ago. We put them in our book sale, and nobody knew what they were (and nobody had a player, anyway). We ended up dumping them on the local used bookstore. Probably still there…
@8 – I’m certain any politician, especially one looking towards the Presidency, could have their own families tortured and/or murdered and do a press conference 5 minutes later.
But I digress… Biography!
Fun ep. One of those movies that has a great idea, but just can’t pull it off. Like ‘It Conquered The World’ (also with Peter Graves!), though this one did significantly better than it (and lacked carrot monsters).
Now, I think I left Yoshi parked on level 7…
I’m in a definite minority but I find this to be one of the weaker episodes of Season 8. This movie just did nothing for me and the riffing wasn’t enough to make it watchable.
The segments were okay and Kevin is great but Kevin is great in anything (the man is the Gene Hackman of MST3k).
But overall it’s not one that I care to watch much.
Then again I am one of the few that likes the first 9 episodes of the Black and White movies.
I have nothing to add that hasn’t already been said, so…
¡AGUA!
Also, The Island might just be Michael Bay’s best film, plot-wise. Too bad it didn’t have enough splosions to appeal to his usual audience. I’d like to have seen Robert Fiveson get a slice of a huge box office take. He seems like a swell guy.
Tim Donnelly (Richard) was a cast regular on the 60s Dragnet. He generally played losers. When I watch this, I think of the Crimson Crusader. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0565603/
Great episode!
go suck somebody else’s garbage.
GEorge: I gotta go pack!
Mike: And then I gotta get ready for America.
This one is always welcome in my VCR. I realize this isn’t as bad as the usual MST fare, but c’mon. This is not a good movie. This was a rip-off of COMA, when 70s conspiracy ran high and medical thrillers were selling. Plus an interesting assortment of good (Peter Graves, Tim donnelly) and really awful acting (‘Sure!’). For those of you who don’t know, that’s why the stinger is funny: how can you mess up a line read with just one word?
I gotta go, I feel a stirring in my little clonus.
Mike’s “raiders of lost ark” moment with the bots giggling henchmen style, and their ‘children’s show’ segment is some of the most BRILLIANT stuff the show ever did.
I actually like how in the movie, clone-Richard comes off as normal smart and shrewd compared with the other clones, but when he gets to the outside world he is Forrest Gump level intelligent. That was well written all things considered.
One thing that was impressive about the original was the casting, by which I mean the ‘Richard Knight’ guy looks just like an old version of Tim Donnelly.
in other news, I don’t make the ‘talky-talky’ motion with my wife anymore, for fear that the house will blow up.
Don’t ask me why, but I listened to an England Dan and John Ford Coley song this morning, then heard the riff about them in the movie; bizarre. Ive heard “Love is the answer” probly twice in 20 years.
AND also, “Your Advanced Tool-users” has become part of my evryday lexicon. It describes a lot of people I know pretty accurately.
AND, I enjoyed seeing Candyland make an appearance in this Ep. My 3-yr-old wants to play it ALL DAY, so I’m familiar with its many nuances. The scene with Observer is amost as good as when LarryBoy and Alfred the butler do a Candyland showdown in VeggieTales.
The movie portions are great, very very funny, and it harkens back to the glory days of MST.
My feelings towards the host segments in this episode: Pressure from the Sci-Fi channel results in “oh, you want a kids show? here’s a stupid kids show!” Kind of like the replacement sketches Kids In The Hall were forced into because CC wouldn’t play certain “risque” skits. The host segs in this episode, as painful and cringe inducing as they are, I think they are meant to be a thumbing of the nose to the Sci-Fi channel for forcing them to do the program a certain way. And for that reason, I can forgive and understand them.
So overall, one of the best of Season 8.
“Biography!” – always puts a smile on my face
Tim Donnelly was presumably a friend of Jack Webb’s or something, because he appeared in a lot of his shows. Dragnet as a guest start a lot, Chet on Emergency!, on Project UFO 3 times, on Adam-12.
While he was funny on Emergency!, I think the comic relief was the captain. Especially his descent into madness in the last season, always sure the fire chief was going to get him for something.
@124 Wouldn’t surprise me with Graves, his wife apparently had to convince him to do Airplane!, and a bunch of others had turned it down before him. Or maybe I’m thinking of Robert Stack…
‘MUCHACHOS!’
Great episode. Love the ‘TODAY!’ jokes, the Biography jokes, the Space Children (Bridget is especially adorable), and especially the manic Mexican kids show.
Is anyone else slightly creeped out when the tiny-nosed girlfriend gets lobotomized at the end? She reminds me of possessed Linda from ‘The Evil Dead,’ only without the demon.
@ #136 JeremyR: Yep, both Tim and his brother Dennis did a lot of work with Jack Webb; Tim in front of the camera, Dennis behind it. Click on my name to read an interview I did with Dennis back in June; we talked a bit about his work with Webb (I tried getting ahold of Tim, but no go as of yet. Dennis was supposed to give him my number, so Tim, give me a call man!). Dennis Donnelly is just about the nicest guy in the world, BTW. [Shameless plug over]
Anyway, this, THIS is the episode that truly turned me into a die-hard MSTie, and I haven’t looked back since. The Giant Spider Invasion got me genuinely interested after lots of casual watching, so I made a specific appointment to see this ep the following week, and the rest is history. I love love LOVE this episode! The riffing is spot-on, the movie isn’t too bad (IMO), and the host segments, well, I’m actually in the minority on those since they’re not really my favorites, but nevertheless, this is one of my top five favorite episodes. At one point, it was my absolute favorite, though Prince Of Space and The Horror Of Party Beach have since overtaken it and constantly battle it out for my #1 (which is my favorite? The last one I watched!).
The movie I really don’t think is too bad. In fact, I genuinely like it! Sure, it’s easy to point out the faults, but to me, I found/find the story thought provoking, and despite the overpowering 70’s depressiveness (is that a word? If not, it is now!), there’s something I find appealing about it that I can’t fully explain. Maybe it’s all the nice California weather. Actually, I liked the movie so much that it touched off a massive (for me at the time) search for an unedited VHS copy. I finally found a used copy at an online video store for the low, low price of $5! Naturally, my reaction was “Sure!”. Ah, the days before DVDs and whatnot were as widespread. Sure, it was often tougher to find certain flicks, but the rewards when you finally tracked them down were so much richer! I know it’s not for everyone, but I dig Parts: The Clonus Horror, with and without Mike & The Bots.
Also, Lena’s lobotomy face at the end freaked me out BIG time when I first saw it. Granted, I was 11 when I first saw this on MST3K, but it’s still pretty unsettling to me today.
“Have some sun, my little friend!”
This is another classic episode! Season 8 is starting to hum! And we haven’t even got to my favorites yet!
Parts: The Clonus Horror is a good idea for a movie that was executed in a very clunky kind of way. Still, it’s very watchable with plenty of oh-so-70s-goodness found throughout. I mean, c’mon, it has Dick Sargent, Peter Graves, AND Keenan Wynn! Mike and the bots really shine in their riffing and as a trio Mike, Kevin, and Bill are gelling real well at this point. The fun is contagious.
The Host Segments are pretty good in this one. In HS#1 I like Brain Guy’s assertion that the chocolate lake in Candyland is his “own personal hell.” HS#2 is kind of “meh” for me with Mike and the bots kids show. . . .until they go all viva fiesta style with it! Then it’s GREAT! Crow’s squelch of “Agua!” is hilarious and Mike’s tiny silver shorts are. . . well they’re horrifying. HS#3 is maybe the weakest, but is still passable.
When they introduce the space kids in the opening, you can totally see Paul’s actual leg behind his shortened legs.
Also, there is a couple instances of visible boom mikes in the shot during this movie, maybe most notably when Keenan Wynn shows up by the pool. I found it strange there was no comment from Mike and the bots, no “hey Keenan brought his own boom,” kind-of riff…
–
ACTUAL RIFFS (not duplicates):
Mike: “Bag your own people and save at SuperValue.”
Mike: “They’re raising a race of Becks.”
Servo: “I think you’re neat.”
Mike: “I like how keen you are.”
Crow: “Uh guys? This is supposed to be the 50 yard dash..”
Crow: “HQ. My hat looks like a muffin. Over.”
campfire smoke seemingly rises from his crotch,
Mike: “Gotta go a little easier next time.”
about Dick Sargent:
Crow: “He looks like an adult fetus.”
Servo: “(gunshot sounds) OW!” x12
Crow: “Stop it. No heaving, thrusting, or splaying.”
Mike: “Alright. THIS is the horror!”
Mike: “SAIL AWAY!”
house explodes,
Crow: “Forgot about those cookies! Sorry.”
–
This episode is a classic,
next up on BIOGRAPHY,
Dr. Super Mario tells all…
and
Sure,
5/5 clone-daddies agree….Clonus is great.
:-)) :-)) :-)) :-)) :-))
Consider this quote from the War of the Colossal MST3K Fan Guide in their entry about this episode:
I worked a couple of years in South America, and on several different occasions managed to glimpse a Saturday morning abomination called Nubeluz that looked like… well, imagine Sesame Street on a Nickelodeon game show set with all the Muppets replaced by Vegas showgirls on speed. The Satellite crew’s hyperactive parody has been significantly dialed down from the real thing.
Gee, been nearly four years since this one was last on the guide and I still have yet to watch it again. Probably the only episode I first saw on youtube, bought the DVD copy along with Vol. 12, and still haven’t watched the DVD version.
I think there was the idea for a good movie in there somewhere but it wasn’t executed well to say the least. I love Peter Graves in MST3K episodes though and this is no exception. Hated the host segments which was a constant problem for me pretty much starting with season 6. They used to be some of the most brilliant moments of the show and I think they suffered the most after Joel left. I am not a complete hater though, there were some great segments with Mike but they were a lot sparser than in the old days.
If you want to find a story of clones being used for nefarious purposes that actually has depth, sensitivity, and true pathos, I recommend the recent-ish novel *Never Let Me Go* by Kazuo Ishiguro. (They also made a movie from it, but the book’s much, much better.)
@85 Yeah, I was surprised by the brief shot of female chestological region, did no one at Sigh-Fi ever notice?
Richard: what a dork. But another good episode.
Another take on clone breeding facilities for ethically dubious purposes occurs in Lois McMaster Bujold’s Vorkosigan Saga. Instead of being bred for spare parts, they get used for their entire body. So it’s like this movie crossed with The Atomic Brain.
Trust me, I’m Keenan Ivory Wynn.
This movie could’ve been good, but the premise wasn’t carried out to its full potential. As for the episode, great! Love it! Bridget, Paul, and Mike are great as the space children:
-Darlene:”Hey, Uncle Brain Guy? Why do you always carry that salad bowl with a wrinkled ball in it?”
Observer: “Because I don’t like you.”
(Darlene begins to cry)
-I just love how Scooter (Paul) continues to throw the ball at Bobo’s area and laughs.
Mike and the bots really get into teaching the children “A” and “3”. A bit too into it… Still, Mike could probably do a pretty good Mango impression (for those of you who watch Saturday Night Live).
“… it’s in color, it’s in focus, and its budget was (compared to most other MSTed movies) pretty big, so it’s pretty easy to look at …”
That’s one thing I regret about the show. The idea that because a movie is in color and has a larger budget automatically makes it a better movie. I resent the mindset that produces thoughts like “this movie’s in black and white, so it sucks.” “Dr. Strangelove,” a movie the Brains constantly reference, is in black and white, and it’s truly one of the greatest movies ever made; the same could be said of “A Christmas Story,” made in color, but on a relatively small budget. Fortunately, it’s an idea the Brains themselves put away after about the first season.
Another classic episode. They lost a little of the plot in the editing I think. I think to remember in the unedited movie the tape explains that most clones are exposed to a flu virus in vitro or something that makes them stupid, as a halfway measure to lobotomies. This being the reason that the main character and his girlfriend, being “control” clones who were not made dumb while fetuses, are the only ones with an inquisitive and assertive nature. Thus we get the two characters who are smart by clone standards, but inept in the outside world they were kept ignorant of.
Not a bad movie overall. Compared to a lot of MST fodder it has a lot going for it. Money clearly wasn’t one of those things. It’s also nice how the MST fans of the movie helped bring The Island to the director’s attention.
Tim Donnelly also played a useless detective in the original Toolbox Murders, the villain of which was none other than Cameron Mitchel.
Now let’s put out our groin fires, put on our noses, and enjoy the movie.
It’s a good thing for the people behind the clone project that all you need to live to be 200 and thwart most life threatening illnesses and injuries is organ transplants.
Re: Black and white vs. color:
Good black and white films, and by good I not only mean good content but good well preserved film stock, are just as good as the best color movies. But bad black and white film like that used in Coleman Francis movies and Monster A-Go-Go can end up looking like the inside of a damp dirty unlit fireplace. A bad color movie at least provides a minimal amount of visual stimulation that wet ashtray gray b/w movies don’t.