The thread this week, as they sometimes are, is inspired by this week’s episode guide entry, for the final episode of season six, and the departure of TV’s Frank.
It got me thinking: There were several departures of characters on the show, from Larry’s mysterious disappearance at the end of season one to M&tB’s catastrophic crash landing in the final episode of season 10.
What’s your favorite? Use any criteria you want, but show your work!
Me, I have to go with Dr. F’s departure at the end of season 7. Plenty of geeky references and strange surprises and a great final performance by Trace.
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Thank you, Uncle Bill. At least bits of the truth emerged from the dim MSTs of my memory . . . I’ll go re-check that episode soon . . . :???:
Bobbled Dopple #45 – Hmmm, now that you mention it, yes, but I hardly think it was a blatant copycat. I think the Brains were simply bringing the show full circle and also pointing out that, even though Mike and the Bots were free, they had developed such a kinship doing something they were forced to do, they now actually enjoyed it. Also, with a creedo like “Keep Circulating the Tapes”, the Brains knew that the full-circle ending would fire fans up enough to want to watch the series over again by buying DVDs and whatnot (not that fans WOULDN’T buy DVDs).
(continued from #52) Even if the finale was a bit TOO much like the Seinfeld ending, you can excuse it as MST doing what it had done for ~10 years; being a pop-culture reference machine.
Hand count: After the finale, how many people’s next MST3K viewing was “Crawling Eye”? Just curious.
It’s a toss-up between Joel’s departure and the season 7 ending (having been there for all of these, not just the Sci-Fi ending).
I think Joel’s departure was more well-crafted, and certainly more bittersweet, but there are moments in 706 that are priceless – Mike deserved an Emmy for the Kate Mulgrew/Tina Turner bit.
The only moment that stands out for me in Frank’s departure is “Who Will I Kill”, which is fantastic, but the rest of it’s pretty forgettable – not quite sufficient for the departure of one of TV’s great characters.
In the vain of #26:
What if Larry was chased off/attacked by the destroy! Blue Robot from show #602 instead of clubbed?
Or what if it was revealed in the last segment that Mike and the Bots apartment neighbors were the Bizarro Mads from #611?
I’ve always been a bit of a romantic, but I really like them all. Granted the Brains didn’t put much thought into Dr. Larry’s send off, but I love ep. 113 THE BLACK SCORPION. Those mutated heads…Hilarious.
*I Like It Very Much!*
About the supposed “Seinfeld-esque” ending of the series . . . . I don’t think it was anything like that at all.
For one, a certain amount of time passes between the crash of the SOL and ending that we see.
Pearl sets out on her own, telling Mike, and us fans, to move on. Bobo gets a plush job at a zoo. Brain Guy becomes the supreme ruler of some planet.
Mike and the Bots settle into a mediocre existence in an apartment that is on the bus line. Apparently they are content with it and we can assume that is how they lived out the rest of their days.
What was the Seinfeld finale? A clip show and year in jail for the four of them.
My favorite farewell not yet mentioned was Star Force: Fugitive Alien 2. It was the last of the Japanese movies shown during Season 3, which had been bouncing back and forth between various American or Film Ventures International films and Sandy Frank Japanese imports, which was a perfect way to spread out their best season.
The Fugitive Alien song where they want to stick it to Sandy Frank is absolutely phenomenal. That whole episode is hilarious. And it was the last time they did a Japanese film until all the way in Season 8, where the films and the riffing became much more dark and drab.
Star Force: Fugitive Alien 2 was a perfect farewell for Sandy Frank.
dr. f at the end of laserblast. probably one of the best reference laden five minutes of the show ever. plus that episode is simply phenomenal, you could tell trace was really enjoying the end of his ride.
I’ve got to go with Mike and the bots at the end of the final episode it wasn’t a funny as say Forrester’s or as memorable as Joel’s but it left us all with a sense of everythings going to be ok with our favorite host and bots