Movie: (1983) In an dystopian future, a corporate drone discovers a way to project himself into his a favorite movie.
First shown: 12/6/97
Opening: Crow wants to cash in on his catchphrase: “You know you want me, baby!”
Intro: Mike tries to find himself a catchphrase, while Public Pearl TV begins its dubious pledge drive
Host segment 1: Crow and Tom order a monkey, which escapes and throws stuff
Host segment 2: While Mike continues to struggle with Henry the monkey, PPTV presents a preview of “Pearl! Pearl! Pearl! Pearl! Pearl!”
Host segment 3: Tom asks to be doppled to the nanite world, and soon regrets it
End: Bobo tries and fails to talk Henry down, so Mike takes deplorable action. Meanwhile, Pearl is counting her ill-gotten gain
Stinger: “Mom … ‘m I nuts?”
(307 votes, average: 4.62 out of 5)
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• And so season 8 comes to an end, and does so with a flourish. Another strange …er… movie, lots of great riffing and memorable host segments.
• Bill’s take this episode is here.
• This episode was included in Rhino’s The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection, Vol. 4
• References.
• The “You Know You Want Me, Baby” T-shirts hit the Info Club store very quickly after this show aired. The boxes we can see in the opening are probably real.
• This season started on the first of February and it was December when this last episode of the season aired. The first seven episodes were shown in seven weeks, an almost dizzying bounty of new MST3K. But after that we got exactly five episodes every three months. This would be the last new episode until season 9 began in mid-March of the following year.
• The “Public Pearl TV” pledge drive in the opening is inspired. And, of course, Ortega (that’s Paul under that mask) makes a return appearance. “The Nature of Bobo” bit-within-a-bit is great too.
• TV’s Frank is invoked twice, including an “eyukaeee!”
• Instantmonkeysonline.com actually exists (update: it STILL exists). It allows you to send a cute ascii picture of a monkey to a friend via e-mail. It wasn’t very instant when I tried it, though.
• Mary Jo and Bill managed to top the pledge drive sketch with the instant classic “When Loving Lovers Love.” The pair show a tremendous chemistry.
• The endless fat jokes might begin to seem unfair after a while, except, let’s face it, the movie itself keeps calling the character “The Fat Man.” That seems, to me, like permission to go nuts.
• Paul and Patrick are the voices of the hoodlum nanites. This is pretty much the one clunker segment in this episode.
• That’s Beez and then-recent BBI hire Peter Rudrud as the voices of the “Overdrawn at the Memory Bank Technical Support” team.
• By the way, the RiffTrax team actually did a very respectful, but still very funny riff of “Casablanca.”
• Cast and crew round up: Another brief one, since this was mostly done by Canadians. Costumer: Mary Jane McCarty also worked on “The Last Chase.”
• CreditsWatch: Produced and directed by Kevin. Fred Street, an audio guy who appeared in the credits in seasons 2 and 3 and then returned for season 8, falls off the regular credits after this episode, as does Post Audio Inc. (Both return one more time for special thanks in a season 10 episode.)
• Fave riff: “Thank you, Floyd the pervert.” Honorable mention: “Ah, the call to script rewrites.”
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I may have commented here once, or never, even though I’ve been reading Satellite News for a while. But I feel compelled to break my silence in defense of this episode. Not my favorite, but I always enjoy it.
Although I’m not a fan of fat jokes in general, my favorite riff is “I want more butter on my ham!!” I always break that one out when I’m having dinner with my mother, who is not fat but enjoys Paula-Deen-like-amounts of butter on her dinner rolls.
Droppo #50: It’s Sancho Panza.
Oh, by the way, this will be the last ep you will hear from me on, until April, at the soonest. My performance in the Fall/Winter 2009 semester was so crappy that this is one of the sites I will not be allowed to access during the Winter 2010 semester (which begins this coming Monday). I am not used to this college thing yet!! So, save some room for me on the boards for “Phantom Planet,” and “Hobgoblins,” and if you get to it before I’m back, on “Girl in Gold Boots.” Sorry I have to leave you guys for so long.
This episode has people split down the middle. Either it’s really good, or extremely bad.
I lump this show in with The Starfighters, Hamlet, Ring of Terror, and The Screaming Skull. It’s that bad. Why people would view this more than one sitting is beyond me.
Actually, Appolonia has no clue what “cinemas” are at all, implying that yes, they’ve been restricted. Or she’s really dumb, as Mike’s follow-up quip implies. Then again, the Psychist also pauses then says “cinemas” with a definite uncertainty. And doesn’t only the Chairman have access to those files?
Though the giant mega-globa-corpo-mation IS pretty damn lenient about people watching these apparently salacious banned materials. Maybe Fingal’s not nuts… just a dick.
(Amusingly, I’m making this post on company time.)
“I lump this show in with The Starfighters, Hamlet, Ring of Terror, and The Screaming Skull. It’s that bad. Why people would view this more than one sitting is beyond me.”
Well, why you would lump Ring of Terror and more especially Screaming Skull together with the utterly numbing experiences that are Starfighters and Hamlet is beyond me . . . just further goes to show how incredibly diverse the opinions of this show’s fanbase are in regards to the very show itself. I can’t think of anything else like it.
I did used to have more diffiuclty with this one than I do now – the movie is indeed painful. But the riffing was too good to ignore, and over numerous viewings I’ve been desensitized. The movie is unforgivably dumb, but at least it’s not boring or hardcore depressing.
But for now, I just need some more butter for my ham.
“Public Pearl”!!! One of my favorites. When I first saw this one, I thought it was the result of a crap effects budget and made in the early 1990’s. Then I found out here it was made in the 80’s and was cutting edge for its time.
Well, I rewatched this one last night (well, 2/3rds of it) and my fresh impressions are this:
– the host segments are some of the funniest ever.
– this movie makes less sense than Creeping Terror, Manos and Monster A Go Go combined.
– there are so many plot holes it makes Hobgoblins look like Shakespeare.
– I’ve read some John Varley; John Varley is a writer of mine; you, movie, are no John Varley.
Before I knew that the PPTV music was from the MST3K hour, I thought it was perfect pledge drive music. Now that I know where it’s from, it’s still perfect pledge drive music.
This episode actually has two dead actor is in it. Pearl responds to Ortega’s comment about Jeremy Brett. He was in the excellent Sherlock Holmes series from the 1980s. To me, Jeremy Brett was the best Sherlock Holmes. I think he died in 1994.
The song host segment is great and is still relevant today. PBS is always lousy with music specials during the pledge drives. Here folks, we’ll interrupt the normal programming your money actually pays for and replace it with Sarah Brightman singing like a bird!
Boy the postings on this one are very interesting. While it seems fair to say that most really enjoyed the PUBLIC PEARL segments, if not all, the monkey/nanites segments are better than average but not home runs to most.
The movie is another matter all together. Many folks stated they did not like it and rarely view it. As many, maybe more, said they loved it. I agree with the “agressively stupid” description of the movie but because of the consistantly sharp riffing, I was able to sit through it and actually enjoy the movie. I do not agree that it stoops to the depressive, screeching buzzkill knowned as “The Screaming Skull”.
What amazes me (not being judgemental) is how some folks really got into the movie? I got a headache reading some of these as a salute to the analytical clarity exhibited by some posters. Also folks are very helpful and friendly. I really enjoy this blog!
Sampo might consider doing The Film Crew (regretably just four) after Year Three and specials and perhaps Cinema Titanic.
See, I think this movie is PERFECT for the show, because while it is aggressively bad, it is also aggressively EARNEST. It has that Ed Wood Jr feel to it, that the people involved thought with all their heart and soul that they were making a damn important piece of cinema that was really telling a message, and they were trying real hard, and they had a real star on-set in two major roles, and WOW!
That, to me, makes for the best riffable material. Partially because I’m sick and like the tragedy of it all.
I know this is a whole other thread, but “I didn’t want to bungle or bobble the Fingal dopple” is a catchphrase around our house whenever someone is attempting a difficult task (like, say, making a 3-point shot or making a quiche). Lot of great lines in this one, but that one got me the first time I heard it, and has stuck with me ever since.
Stupid anteaters.
Did anyone noticed during the final airings (reruns) on Sci-fi that they didn’t air the stinger at the end?
This is actually one movie I wouldn’t mind owning un-riffed.
The “filmed-on-video” look is what puts this one over the top for me. Shot on 16 (or even 35) millimeter film stock, O@tMB might have been less chintzy-looking; that it was likely committed with a stack of U-Matic or Beta tapes to keep it within a public TV budget is so almost Coleman Francis.
The Public Pearl bumpers are great – and “When Loving Lovers Love” is one of my all-time favorite MST songs.
Some favorite quotes:
“David Brenner!”
“He’s gonna run out of set.”
“Sorry, burped up a capon.”
“Never show a good movie in the middle of your crappy movie.”
I liked it for having such a great mix of a weird idea, overextending ambition, total incoherence, utter incompetence, and a real actor who’s really really trying his hardest to not make this the worst crap ever.
I agree with Fingal’s dislike of anteaters. They really are hideous animals.
Love the episode, sketches are great and the riffing is solid, but man, it’s painful to see such a good actor stuck in such dreck. I can forgive Mr. Julia for Street Fighter for three reasons: 1, as previously mentioned, his kids really wanted him to do it; 2, he already knew he was dying from cancer and wanted one more massive paycheck for his family; and 3, he absolutely steals the show in it. “The day I killed your father must have been the most horrible day of your life, but for me – it was just Tuesday.” He plays it so over-the-top that the sheer force of his personality outshines all the other crappy acting.
Anyway, my point was, I can’t really forgive him for this movie. It’s not like people didn’t know who he was by then; he’d already received several accolades for other work.
Oh, and count me among those who wonder why we’re supposed to picture Fingal as the hero when Novicorp is so accommodating to his unwillingness to work. Instead of canning him, they send him to rehab (basically a forced vacation), then when they lose his body and he starts screwing with the HX368, they offer him numerous opportunities to profit from just leaving stuff alone. I’m not going to try to figure it out because, like trying to understand anything else in this movie, it tends to cause tension headaches.
“I’m requesting program Movie Jump Up My Butt.”
So if the Chairman has restricted cinemas, is it simply so he can hog all the popcorn and butter-flavored topping? Ha he heh, because he’s fat, you see…
“And as we end Season 8 . . .”
Um, “Jack Frost”?
I can’t seem to find it under Season 8, either in numerical order, or just drifiting around.
Did I miss it somewhere??
I figured you would tack it on after “Memory Bank.”
“I agree with Fingal’s dislike of anteaters. They really are hideous animals.”
People for the Ethical Treatment of Anteaters will be holding a vigil outside your house soon.
I agree with the riffers . . . anteaters deserve better. I used to just think they were cool, but now on top of that I can’t see one without thinking of this episode.
Maybe that’s another weekend discussion idea: things that you never payed any attention to before, but now can’t think of without giggling because of MST3k.
Despite this being another episode in my top five, I’ll throw a bone to those who actively loathe it by saying that, if it weren’t for Raul Julia acting his ass off with such horrible material, this would rank much lower. Plus, I feel this was the sharpest era for riffing in the entire show, so Mike and the ‘bots keep up with it admirably. Then again, I’m one of those who can’t make it through Manos, so I guess it really is subjective.
Upon rewatching it, I have to ask: Why is it “Day 278,” according to Appalonia, when, as stated later, she’s worked for Nirvana Village for five years? Is she on Cube time or Fingle time or…
OK, here’s a question I had while watching this:
Why did the “comic relief lady” not notice that the kid changed the tag that was on Fingal’s hand? Is she just color-blind?
To #120: Use the search function on this website and enter “813 Jack Frost” – you’ll find the entry there.
“Despite this being another episode in my top five, . . . Then again, I’m one of those who can’t make it through Manos, so I guess it really is subjective.”
Huh. I can’t stand Manos either, yet this episode is awesome. Coincidence?
“Upon rewatching it, I have to ask: Why is it “Day 278,” according to Appalonia, when, as stated later, she’s worked for Nirvana Village for five years? Is she on Cube time or Fingle time or…”
I assume that’s the day of the year, being stated numerically in lieu of a month-oriented date system.
I’m really surprised some people don’t like this one. Then again, you can’t always get what you want. But if you try sometimes, you get what you need. I can’t even hear the Stones on the radio without thinking of Appolonia James… Anyway, this is a classic that never fails to crack me up, especially the coughing and wheezing when the chairman explains that they can’t find Fingal’s body. “Breathing knocks the wind out of this guy” If my brain is ever exposed in some corporate medical facility, PLEASE don’t let some warped little kids put mustard on it. Wampa Joe-About Day 278-it was probably just for that year, when they reach 365, they’d start over at Day 1, I guess, maybe. “I seem to have died, is that okay?”
#105: Actually, Appolonia has no clue what “cinemas” are at all, implying that yes, they’ve been restricted. Or she’s really dumb, as Mike’s follow-up quip implies. Then again, the Psychist also pauses then says “cinemas” with a definite uncertainty. And doesn’t only the Chairman have access to those files?
It’s that last detail which suggests that maybe they are forbidden somehow, but I think an equally valid explanation is that “cinemas” are simply things of the past, barely remembered and rarely seen, like 8-tracks or 8-mm movies are to use. The Chairman had a private collection, though, and Fingal decided to break into it.
I think, technically, the movie was a CBC production, rather than PBS. It’s a minor nit-pick, but why not blame Canada if we can? (cue the South Park music…)
Count me in with the John Varley fans who cringe at the treatment his work gets on screen. OatMB is pretty bad (Millenium is even worse, IMO). That said, OatMB is a pretty weak choice to make a movie from in the first place. It’s a “gadget story” that hinges on the scientific fact that computer time may be faster than real time. There’s some early cyber-punkish elements that were still kinda novel at the time, but not much else. This prompts the film makers into adding some evil, Orwellian company to create conflict. It’s also why the Casablanca elements were added, but why the producers thought that would be a good idea is still beyond me…
Anyway, back to MST3K, I’m happy they did this one, since I grew up watching hundreds alot of televised dramas on PBS, and many of them are MST-worthy. It’s too bad they never got to hack on a few old Blake’s 7 episodes.
Yep, the end credits show that it was made in Canada. I think the actress who plays Appollonia, Linda Griffiths, is Canadian.
Speaking of her, if you ever want to see her topless, watch the movie Lianna. It’s about a married woman who finds out that she’s a lesbian.
Thanks for the Jack Frost advice.
I could not find it either.
Why isn’t it in line with the others?
CMWaters #123: Why did the “comic relief lady” not notice that the kid changed the tag that was on Fingal’s hand? Is she just color-blind?
It’s because she’s the “comic relief lady”, and therefore a moron.
“Whoa huge slam on anteaters outta nowhere”…”We’re just gonna ban-saw the top of your head off”…”And why aren’t u puerto rican?”…”Is she on the ceiling?”…”In about an hour? I don’t think so”…”And the password is FINGAL”…”Let’s slip into something more virtual”…”Aka Gomez”…”Pork deliverys late”…”He’s discovered the formula for scrubbing bubbles”…”Mike its eerie watching Fingal create his own reality simulation around him”
>>CMWaters #123: Why did the “comic relief lady” not notice that the kid changed the tag that was on Fingal’s hand? Is she just color-blind?
It’s because she’s the “comic relief lady”, and therefore a moron.<<
It’s also the plot device(in Varley’s original story as well) that leads to Fingal’s body being lost(misplaced, actually), a key point in the story arc, and done in a manner where she was more worried about getting the kid out of her lab than noticing he swapped the tags. Honestly, you could nitpick just about every movie ever made for using silly, unbelievable plot devices to move the story along.
As for the episode itself, it’s one that’s grown to become a favorite for me, and I don’t really understand all the hatred and criticism for the actual movie itself. Other than a few points here and there, I didn’t see much trouble in following the film. By the way, if anyone cares or isn’t clear about it, the woman licking her watch, Djamilla, is obviously a LexiCorp corporate spy working for NoviCorp , and is reporting all signs of trouble when she’s licking her watch to Irving “Flying” Walenda, either the head or a higher-up for LexiCorp. Her reporting of the loss of Fingal’s identity while doppling causes the Great NoviCorp Stock Crash. God, I feel like a real geek now! The original Varley story was rather different from where they went with things(the Casablanca stuff, to name one), and he had nothing to do with the teleplay for the film. It was based on his story, with the teleplay credited to one Corrine Jacker(how that escaped a riff during the credits I’ll never know :).
Having read the original story, I actually think they did a pretty good job turning it into something that could watched on television. The Varley story had some cool ideas ahead of their time, but I found it rather dull. Of the ones I’ve read, others like ‘The Phantom of Kansas’, ‘In The Hall of the Martian Kings’, ‘Retrograde Summer’, ‘The Black Hole Passes’, and ‘The Persistence of Vision’ would have made much better film fodder.
It is set in a dystopian future, where the general public are obviously little more than “bytes in a machine”, as Fingal himself describes. “Cinemas” are indeed banned, as is clearly obvious; the NoviCorp chairman is the only one allowed access, when Appolonia first accesses Fingal’s info a message pops up that notes “cinema” is “moving celluloid images that create an unhealthy imagination” or something along those lines, the citizens can do little more than work and spend the paltry credits they get(Fingal has only a mere 47 credits, remember), and a computer controls the entire world around them. As far as the seemingly out-of-place sexual plot devices and references, Varley’s stories are rife with sexuality and in his future, sex changes happen as often as we change socks. If you haven’t read any of his read, I suggest you do. Some of it is very good, and I’m not a huge sci-fi reader to begin with.
The episode itself is great, mixing both all-time great host segments and rip-roaring riffs. I feel the riffing itself stays pretty steady for the whole ride, whereas some feels it falls off over the second half. Public Pearl is probably the funniest set of host segments I’ve seen in any episode, and the riffs are great: “Wanda Cannon!? Now *that’s* a porno name if I’ve ever heard one!”, “Mom . . . my nuts?”, “Actually I”m size-doesn’t-matter Man”, and too many more to list.
Note for anyone interested: ‘Overdrawn’ was the third and final installment of a sci-fi series WNET(PBS New jersey station) was attempting to create before funding ran out. They previously did adaptations of ‘The Lathe of Heaven’ and ‘In Between Time and Timbuktu’. I think it’s clear that funding was indeed running out as they were making ‘Overdrawn’, and critical panning didn’t help.
If you think about the current state of television, with producers dredging up the worst boils on society’s ass with all these atrocious reality shows, I’d gladly watch programming like ‘Overdrawn’ any day.
Couldn’t agree with that last sentence more, Jimmy. Heck, I’d rather watch a straightforward, honest snuff film that reality TV any day. “UHF” will always be one of my favorite movies because it made you believe that local-station-produced content could somehow make a comeback, and make the world a better place. For that matter, that’s also a big part of MST3K’s appeal.
“Varley’s stories are rife with sexuality…”
Did he have anything else to write about? Not from what I can remember.
Possibly dirty note you might want to make: at the beginning of the episode, Servo describes the Chairman as “A chubby angel with chin blossoms”.
Did “chin blossom” mean the same thing in 1997 as urban dictionary claims it does now in 2010?
“Possibly dirty note you might want to make: at the beginning of the episode, Servo describes the Chairman as “A chubby angel with chin blossoms”.
Did “chin blossom” mean the same thing in 1997 as urban dictionary claims it does now in 2010?”
I’m pretty sure he said “gin blossoms,” which refers to a ruddy complexion brought on by habitual excess alcohol consumption.
Someone correct me if I’m wrong about that definition.
#137 – you’ve got it right. It specifically refers to the unnatural redness of the cheeks. Gin Blossoms is also the name of a terrible terrible band.
#137 & #138:
It is both right. It really goes back to classic comics, most noteably WC Fields. It was a big red nose and mad personality.
My bad. I just watched it again and it’s pretty clear it was gin blossoms. Whoops. Must have had chins on my mind when the Chairman sprouted onto the screen. :neutral:
Wow, I ended up being so busy on the day that this was originally posted that I completely forgot about this guide entry until I saw today’s for Assignment: Venezuela.
Movie:
* Despite first watching this one at 6 am, it definitely helped me wake up that day.
* It was fairly easy to be in sync with Mike and the bots on this one. I recall calling at least three riffs: “TV’s Frank!” “More 80s video technology.” and “Just gonna relax with my Gameboy here.”
* The movie was painful, but can you imagine how painful it would have been if it didn’t have Raul Julia?
* Even then, it’s so full of quotable riffs that it’s impossible to stay upright. This is a strong contender for one of my all-time favorite episodes. Definitely in the Top 3 for Season 8.
* Favorite Riffs:
“We’re just gonna bandsaw the top of your head off.” “This is how much pure cocaine you would need to enjoy this movie.” and “We demand that you set up a delicious buffet!” – Mike
“I seem to have died, is that okay?” “Bring out your dead!” and “Grandpa! Grandpa!” – Crow
*The distressed crying of the gal narrating the Connection video.* “Santa!” and “Hey, look! It’s Taz! GRRASHFSDGHBWLNL!” – Servo
Host Segments:
* These are where the episode kind of falls flat for me. I preferred the Public Pearl portions, but the rest mostly didn’t click (except for Nanite Servo).
* I do have to wonder how many takes it took to get through “When Loving Lovers Love.” If I was Bill, I’d have been cracking up after every other line each time.
* Favorite line: “You’re right, this is the answer! Hey, gimme that microwave!”
This one never hurts as much as I remember from the last viewing. In fact, there are some pretty funny bits. It’s just that I HATE this movie more than any other msted movie…I don’t mean it’s the worst movie they ever did…I just hate it. I would rather watch Manos twenty times than Overdrawn once. It’s just so repulsive…like standing in a shopping mall in 1982 waiting for your mom to finish getting her haircut in Hairstylers, and you don’t have even a quarter for the arcade and you see the evil kid at school who beats up on you all the time so you duck into the sardine can multi-plex and the only thing you can get tickets to is Smokey and the Bandit–PART TWO!
I hate this movie.
Still, some good riffs at times…
But really movie hell.
Who ever said Raul Julia is a good actor? He’s awful in this or anything else. He can’t even do a passable Bogart.
What is this movie about anyway?
Did James Cameron rip this off for Avatar the way he did Harlan Ellison?
If, I’m not seeing Avatar.
B (just for making the movie bearable and making me laugh pretty often…)
I first saw this film back in the early 1990s, on British television here in Britain which is where I am. The Radio Times advertised it as an arty sci-fi film from Canada, and gave it a favourable review. I watched it expecting some nudity, because it was advertised as an art film, but apart from one tiny brief moment of hope near the beginning this was not to be. I assumed that the videotaped look and generally low-budget, glowy, shopping centre ambiance was a consequence of it being an art film and so I didn’t think to criticise it, because it was an art film. From Canada, land of the art film.
Back then, Channel 4 and BBC2 used to show a random mixture of sci-fi, fantasy, foreign, arty films late at night, and “Overdrawn” was slotted in between stuff like Tetsuo, Closely Observed Trains, Outland, Eastern European animation and so forth. Perhaps because I this I had always assumed that it was a cult favourite for the ages, on a par with e.g. Sins of the Fleshapoids…
…until I discovered MST3K, at which point I realised that I was right all along, and that it simply wasn’t very good. It’s one of those films that suffered from ambition beyond its abilities, which is a common thread throughout MST3K, but whereas e.g. The Creeping Terror aspired to be a cheap horror film – and failed – this aspired to be something of great import, and failed. Nowadays it reminds me of Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace, but sci-fi rather than horror. Also, the synth music! From the days when there was still such a thing as “synth music”. It sounds like one man sitting in front of his Ensoniq ESQ-1, flipping through the presets.
I maintain that if the production had been shot on film, with dimmer lights, 1940s music throughout, and they had chopped out half of the syntha-food and compu-disc and digi-credits nonsense, and just said “food” and “disc” and “money”, the film would have been safely and peacefully forgotten by now without being immortalised in the annals of badness. Also, Raul Julia’s performance is terrible. I’m sure he was a wonderful actor in general, but I don’t think he got the right handle for this one. I feel very sorry for poor Linda Griffiths, the lady who plays Apollonia.
As for the MST3K treatment, I mentally peg it as a solid but not exceptional late-period episode. I’m watching it right now, as I type these words, and although it passes the time it doesn’t really stand out. “I’ll be a better zombie!”, that was good. I find it hard to remember anything about it, even though I’m actually watching it. Miniature Tom Servo in the land of the Nanites had potential, but went nowhere, and I’m surprised they didn’t reference Tron more often.
I thought this was a great episode to end Season 8. The riffing is strong, the movie crazy and stilted, and the host segments perfectly framed why I hate PBS so much! :razz: Someone mentioned this being the last of The Future Trilogy on MST…I never put together the common theme of the last three episodes were all future-related, but that’s a perfect way to describe them. As well as the fact that the show ended it’s season on a major high note, due to all three being excellent!
I think that you could categorize this movie as “funny all on its own”, since there’s so much techno-jargon and future-babble, and several of the characters are over-the-top. Plus the technology used to depict “the future” seems so outdated by today’s standards. It’s the kind of movie you’d come across on a Saturday afternoon, channel-surfing, and decide to mock because there’s nothing else on.
Fav riff: As Casablanca is playing on Fingal’s screen, Servo says: “Never show a good movie in the middle of your crappy movie!”
“WHY DON’T YOU RECONS YOUR FLAV-O-FIVES!!!”
Best line ever, has me rolling everytime. And I’m pretty surprised after 146 comments, nobody mentioned that Dooby guy, what was that about?
“Ralph Malph here!”
“Surely this will cure him of his love for cinemas.”
“Oh please, I can see your little fingal.”
Gotta love the spam, hm? Anyway, yeah, great ep. Lots to work with. The original story isn’t bad, but this really added a lot, I think.
Am I nuts?
I actually like this episode. It has an interesting plotline (what’s the
varley story it’s based on?). While there are some plot problems (I agree they
should have smacked the movie silly after Fingol reversed the access code!)
it is interesting. Perhaps a bit overambitious for PBS, analagous to a Coleman
Francis movie being too ambitious for execution.
Oh, and Lernbach isn’t nuts. It’s just the chicken soup repeating.
Repeated “geez this movie is so #%#$+ bad” type riffs have never really done it for me; a few are inevitable in almost any episode, but after a while it just gets annoying. C’mon, it’s not the MOVIE’S fault that YOU picked it out of however many umpteen other potential candidates to watch. Nobody forced you to watch the movie IN REAL LIFE, did they? If it’s THAT bad, just throw it back and get another one. Sheesh.
Obviously, this occasionally happened during the Comedy Central years, too, but it being more common during the Sci-Fi Channel years just serves as part of the general “we don’t really want to be doing this all that much so you and your devotion to our show can go to hell” mood conveyed (to me, anyway) during said years. Then again, what did they expect when they re-did the bridge in Early Borg? Heck, I get depressed just LOOKING at it, imagine BEING in it for hours at a time. Didn’t they know anything about the importance of workplace environment? And I’ll stop now.
Why did I not comment on this ep last go-around?
Oh how I love this stupid, stupid, stupid movie. The “exciting” and “tense” climax, in which Raul and Fat Guy stare at each other, is a textbook case of “we haven’t given the audience enough information with which to process why this exchange is tense and exciting.”
I just realized that the spam messages above must have been sent by Aram Fingal. He’s not happy so many people are taking a dump on his life story.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank passes the Bechdel Test. While the bulk of female conversation is between Apollonia and Djamilla about Fingal, there is a point where the field trip chaperone and one of the girl students discuss the latter’s lack of post-meal hygiene.
Nothing against Trace, but I don’t think he could have delivered, “You know you want me baby!” quite as well as Bill.
I’m surprised that blonde hasn’t slapped Fingal with a sexual harrassment suit.
I don’t understand the dislike of HS3. I personally thought it was hilarious, even if it was a bit obvious.
You’ll pardon me for noting that you’re a bit sloppy with the credits here. The two Nanites were voiced by Paul (Mookie) and Patrick (Slicer). Plus it was Kevin and not Jim who directed.
As many others have noted, the main problem with the film is that Fingal is a self-absorbed jerk with no redeeming traits.
Personally, I think Fingal yelling, “I’ve interfaced!” would have been a better stinger.
@ #28: You might want to go over to the Episode Guide entry for Hamlet. Now that one was divisive.
Favorite riffs
Wanda Cannon? Now that’s a porno name if I’ve ever heard one. Not that I’ve ever heard one. You know, I don’t subscribe to lots of publications or anything.
Old guys becoming pandas. That’s the future.
Please, I can see your Fingal.
We were going to call it Strudelganger, but…
The Comic Relief Lady is making me very tense.
Is it Children of the Damned Day at the Brain Institute here?
I’m as clumsy as a stupid, repulsive anteater.
Must be Christmas on the Borg ship.
You know, I bet no one ever scrolls up this cinema.
In about an hour? I don’t think so!
All I can eat? The joke’s on them.
[as the blonde starts getting horny] Look familiar Mike? Oh, probably not.
[as we arrive post-coitus] Man, kids are tuning in right now to watch Barney.
“I’m trying to do the right thing, Fingal. But I’m not sure what that is.”
Slapping him seemed like a good start.
That’s poison oak on your naughty bits, ma’am.
“So you’re going out crying?”
Yes, and wetting, actually.
“Where was he?”
He was in the food service freezer. They were going to chip him and cream him and serve him over toast ’til someone noticed.
Winston Churchill’s mobbed-up brother Vito.
[as they barricade the door] Well that’ll stop the four hundred pound guy who smells pancakes.
Well then, I guess PBS means Public Boinking System.
But I hate this movie. It’s on AMC every week.