My picks, in episode order:
• “Servo on Cinema” looks at Ray Kellogg’s “Leg Up” directorial style–402- THE GIANT GILA MONSTER: Funny and observant.
• Duct tape fashion statements, letters, Dr. F. dines with a friend–404- TEENAGERS FROM OUTER SPACE: The fashion show is hysterical, and the marvelous moment in Deep 13 is the cherry on top.
• Shutting off the holo-clowns–406- ATTACK OF THE GIANT LEECHES: Classic MST3K; dark and weird and off-the-wall.
• Song: “Pants!”–410- HERCULES AGAINST THE MOON MEN: A wonderful musical moment.
• Invention exchange: Big gulp berets, designer bio-hazard absorbent throw pillows–411- THE MAGIC SWORD: a brilliant invention exchange on both parts.
• A visit from Winkie on the Hexfield–413- MANHUNT IN SPACE: Mike is hilarious as Winky.
• Joel defeats Timmy in a battle to the death–416- FIRE MAIDENS OF OUTER SPACE: Joel goes all Sigourney on Timmy. Great stuff.
• Song: “The Gypsy Moons”–417- CRASH OF THE MOONS: Another fun and wacky musical number.
• Gypsy “doesn’t get” Crow (or is it Tom?)–421- MONSTER A-GO-GO: One of the great segments in the history of the show. Brilliant.
• “Hired!” the musical–423- BRIDE OF THE MONSTER: I laughed, I cried…
Least favorite:
Tribute to Earl Holliman!–418- ATTACK OF THE THE EYE CREATURES: A little TOO off the wall.
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I really liked the Earl Holliman sketch if just for having one of my favorite lines: “Earl Holliman! He would have been Shatner had there not already been one.”
Hmmm…
First, I’m leaving out invention exchanges; I consider them separately from the host segs.
-I concur with “Servo on Cinema”
-The reenactment of the “No Littering” short (with General Cinemas jingles) from “Teenagers from Outer Space”
-Joel vapor-locking as Will Rogers in “Killer Shrews”
-Tom as Tony Travis in “Beatniks” (“Everything he touched, he destroyed.”)
-“They just didn’t care” from “Attack of the the Eye Creatures”
-Servo & Frank ponder “WHO IS MERRIT STONE?!” in “The Rebel Set”
-Hugh Beaumont returns in “Human Duplicators”
-“Gypsy Rose Me” from “The Day the Earth Froze”
-I concur with “Hired!” from “Bride of the Monster”
-The Mads apologizing from “Manos”
And honorable mention to the duct tape fashions from “Teenagers from Outer Space”, since it inspired my costume at ConventioCon II.
In no particular order, I’d add
– Crow’s ode to Kim Cattrall (“You were in Mannequin, which was a pretty good movie…”) from 403, City Limits
– How to tell if you’re a beatnik or not from 415, The Beatniks
– this isn’t really a whole segment, but the Mads saying “Sannndstoooorm” from 410, Hercules Against the Moon Men
– Both what to do during a layover in Chicago and the Scott Baio acting lessons from 419, The Rebel Set
– also not really a whole segment, but Mike as Torgo in 424, Manos, the Hands of Fate
– “Joel, why these kinds of movies?” from 408, Hercules Unchained
– Joel as Will Rogers from 406, The Killer Shrews
Let’s not forget the monitoring of Crow’s dreams from Bride of the Monster. Or Hired! The Musical from same. Both of those were hilarious.
Least favorite was Gypsy’s one woman show from The Day the Earth Froze. Utterly without point. I always fast forward through it so that I can get back to the goofy presentation of the Kalevala.
Some of my favourites in Season Four:
-The “Tragic Moments” figurines from “Being From Another Planet”. The presentation Joel and the Bots’ reactions never fails to amuse me.
-Mike as Torgo in the final segment from “Manos”.
-Also, Mike as Morrissey from “City Limits”. I never get enough of that.
-Good-natured brawling!
-Duct-Tape fashions was a favourite of mine as well.
-“Hired! The Musical” is too funny in a good way. Growing up on musicals really made me appreciate this segment quite a bit.
-The “Pants” song: always a classic.
-Joel taking out Timmy in “Fire Maidens…” was fun to watch.
-“They just didn’t care!” from “Attack of the the Eye Creatures”.
-Tom wanting to experience a kiss, also from “Attack of the the Eye Creatures”. I always found that segment rather cute for some odd reason.
As for least favourite, I don’t really have any in particular.
Favorites:
-Dr F’s “Tragic Moments Figurines” invention exchange from “Being From Another Planet.” My all time favorite invention from the show.
-All the “Timmy” segments from “Fire Maidens of Outer Space.” For a long time, this was my favorite episode (despite the movie just being a bunch of astronauts sitting around for a while).
-“Reel To Real” from “Teenagers From Outer Space.”
-“They Just Didn’t Care” from “Attack of the the Eye Creatures.”
-The Cartuner from “Manos: The Hands of Fate.” Along with the parts where Frank and Forrester each apologize for sending the movie.
-Dropping annoying pop acts off a lighthouse in “Tormented.”
I don’t really have a least favorite, though.
404 REEL to REAL
405 Stuff frank would like auction
406 Whats the deal with super villians
407 Killer shrew Super fun board game.
408 “Hey joelster Why these kinds of movies”
409 The satalite of loves any excusse to have a parade parade
410 Super freakout
411 dr foresters throw pillows
414 Which singers would you like to see fall to there death from a tall lighthouse?
421 Whats the deal with the pina colada song?
Least favorite: 421 This movies like, not that its a bad skit it just reminds me of my childhood waiting at my aunts house desparite to go home.
In Episodic Order:
404-Teenagers From Outer Space: Segment 5: Duct Tape Fashions. Anytime you can freeze frame on puppets in cute poses is gold in the comedy bank.
406-Attack of the Giant Leeches: Prologue: Dispatching the Clowns: A great way to start the episode. When Joel confesses that he’s been tasting metal, I lose it. “Joel Robinson, don’t you touch that wire!”
407-The Killer Shrews: Segment 2: Joel’s Will Rodgers routine. As we’ve all agreed, any time Joel vapor locks on a strange diatribe about nothing, it’s great.
411-The Magic Sword: Segment 4: Crow’s love for Estelle Winwood. This song, in my mind, outstrips the Kim Cattrall stuff by far. It’s just so much better, and Servo’s list of people better looking than Estelle is great.
412-Hercules and the Captive Women: Segment 2: Good natured brawling. The cuts back to astonished looks from Deep 13 seal the deal on this one.
413-Manhunt in Space: Segment 4: Winky Visits the SOL. Mike is fantastic as Winky, especially when he calls his mom a different name. Servo’s reaction is priceless. Poor Winky and his poor gay nightlife.
414-Tormented: Segment 5: Happy Thoughts song. It sounds just like what you’d sing to yourself as a deluded little kid. And Frank’s bit at the end is classic.
418-Attack of The “The” Eye Creatures: Segment 5: They Just Didn’t Care. Sneakers, kicky sweaters, light for dark. They didn’t care at all!
421-Monster A Go-Go: Segment 2: Gypsy Doesn’t Get Crow. Just some brilliant writing and a deeper insight into the madness of Crow. Plus, we get the great Tom line, “Nobody does, I’m the wind, baby!”
422-The Day The Earth Froze: Segments 2 and 3: Crow and Tom’s Dark Circus / What is a Sampo? I couldn’t do these separate because I love them both so much. Goodnight, and may God bless.
423-Bride of the Monster: Segment 2: Hired! The Musical! Just some great music and acting from the whole crew. COME ON AND HAVE SOME LEMONADE!?
Honorable Invention Exchange Mentions: I must make a separate section for these, because they’re just great: Tragic Moments Figurines (Dad’s Liquid Breakfast!), Jim Henson’s Edgar Winter Babies (coupled with Forrester and Frank’s ominous vow to “cleave in two this puny planet”),
Least favorite? A toss-up between:
404-Teenagers From Outer Space: Segment 4: The Skeletal Visitor. It goes nowhere and isn’t funny.
AND
423-Bride of the Monster: Segment 4: No Advertising. The only good thing is Crow’s still got the waffle get up, and it’s another chance to hear the Coily voice 7 years before we’d see it for realsies.
No Particular order, just went through the Episode Guide and picked out my ten favorite:
1. The Giant Leaches, A Danger to Myself and Others. Went to High School with a lot of guys like that.
2. Hercules Against the Moon Men: Song, Pants. I usually sing that song to myself for a week after hearing it whenever I’m putting on my pants.
3. Bride of the Monster: Hired! The Musical. I would pay to see the real musical Hired! if it’s anything like that.
4. Bride of the Monster: Joel and the Bots Re-edit the ending with the three of them playing the part of Bela Lugosi.
5. Manos, The Hands of Fate: Joel is the Master. He is.
6. Monster A Go-Go: Gypsy doesn’t get Crow.
7. The Giant Gila Monster: Servo on Cinema.
8. The Indestructible Man: What would you do if you were indestructible? Probably swim through the sun.
9. Tormented: Aunt Catherine Wheel.
10. Tormented: Throwing Pop Singers from a Lighthouse. (I call dibs on Destiny’s Child).
Least Favorite: I couldn’t think of any looking through the list until the I read the previous poster suggesting No Advertising from Bride of the Monster. Good pick.
Monster-a-Go-Go, 421, has two of my favorites: Gypsy not getting Crow…or is it Tom? And Joel trying to cheer up the bots at the end; just works for me.
423, Bride of the Monster, has the terrific “Hired! The Musical” which has been mentioned several times, but can’t receive enough praise.
Many of my other favorites have also been mentioned already, so I’ll just add a couple others that I really enjoy:
409, The Indestructible Man with the parade for the Undersea Kingdom (something about Servo bursting into flame, I guess).
415 The Beatniks – the slumber party skit, which sounds frighteningly like a bunch of teenage girls…scary!
Some favorites, in merely chronological order, until I run out of spaces:
Joel the Soda Jerk (402): An amusing meta-sketch, featuring Joel at perhaps his most petulant and sulky.
Morrissey in Deep 13 (403): I can’t remember offhand which of the Morrissey bits was funniest, but it was another great Mike Nelson performance. It’s almost too bad he became the host, because they (pretty much) lost their best character actor.
“NBC Mystery Movie” Behavior Modification (404): I always enjoy when what was almost certainly a writers’ room argument or an on-set comment gets incorporated into the show. (My favorite that way is “Ahh! You didn’t tell me there was an open flame in this sketch!” from 315’s “Catching Ross,” but I digress.) I also like Joel’s uncomplaining acceptance of the need to shock himself.
Resusci-Annie Ventriloquist Doll (404) if only for the “over the heads of young viewers” joke in which, after CPR’ing Annie, Dr. Forrester comments, “That’s an odd taste,” and Frank looks guilty in the background.
Patches the Leech/Insti-Adolescence Kit (406): “Saaay, this is the most action I’ve gotten since…” “FRANK!” And the Brains look back on their teenage years with a combination of ironic distance and lasting emotional scars.
A Danger to Ourselves and Others (406): A classic song, and you’ve got to love Joel’s performance.
Joel’s Will Rogers Vapor-Lock (407): I enjoy how they start out with at least Rogers-ish quotes, and then get further and further afield.
Something Different About the Bots (409): Kind of an obvious idea, carried off brilliantly, especially by Kevin. “Oh, NOOO, Joel… you’re CRAAAZY! (sings) Craa-zy! Toys in the attic, he’s crazy…”
Deep Hurting/Super Freak-Out (410): I don’t know if I should credit this sketch, per se, because the “Deep Hurting! Deeeeeeep Hurrrrrting!” bit gets funnier with each reiteration.
Singers from a Lighthouse (414): The sheer malicious glee of it is infectious, and makes you want to shout suggestions at the screen.
And since I only have the honorable mention slot left, I’ll skip ahead to Chocolate Bunny Guillotine/Cartuner (424). If only the Cartuner existed in real life. Also includes the aftermath of the “Bots Reprogrammed” opening: “Geez, Joel, did some small animal crawl inside your jumpsuit and die?” Plus, you’ve gotta love Frank’s false chest.
I suppose there are much worse actual sketches than this, but Re-editing the Conclusion (423) always perplexes me. Cambot’s version really isn’t markedly more lucid than the one in the film, and repeated shots of Joel (and the Bots) doing Bela Lugosi are pretty thin gruel.
About “Hired! The Musical”: I think it maybe goes on too long, but I always lose it when the quiet music suddenly leads into the ironically cheerfully sung
I suck at my job!
(No you don’t!) Yes I do!
All my salesmen are slobs!
(No they aren’t!) Yes they do! (Huh?)
My favorite has to be in 406 – Attack of the Giant Leeches. The segment where Joel gets rid of the Holoclowns is one of my top five favorite host segments and cracks me up every time. Mike Nelson stole the show.
Holoclown (to the other holoclown): “Shut up shut up! You think I like it being stuck in limbo with you???? No! Get on your orange and yellow knees and kiss my clown feet that I haven’t killed you!”
My other two favorites are when the bots hide in the ventilation duct in episode 414 and Host Segment 1 in Manos: The Hands of Fate. I haven’t seen a lot of Season 4 episodes, unfortunately.
In no particular order:
The Invention Exchange in 414- Tormented. Particularly, the mads’ drinking jacket. “That is one of the sickest things you’ve ever done..”
Tom and Crow pondering tough new names in 410- Hercules Against the Moon Men. Tom’s sad fate was unexpected and entirely delightful.
From 424- Manos: the Hands of Fate, the segment where Joel dons an evil poncho and sells himself as “the Master” with Crow as a hellbeast. “You will do whatever I command, without having to ask twice..!”
Two skits from 421: “Gypsy doesn’t get Crow,” and the skit where the bots contemplate “The Pina Colada Song. All the skits from this episode were good, though, and none even had to do with the movie. (Though I suppose there’s a good reason for that.)
Lastly, Tom tries to piece together the Merrit Stone mystery at the end of 419- The Rebel Set. Frank’s dilemma is somewhat more amusing to watch, though.
Hired! The Musical is one of the best things they ever did on the show.
My favorite is the duct tape fashion statements from “Teenagers from Outer Space”, especially when Crow’s photo is a little too risque for his comfort.
And, now that I’m thinking about it, I really like all the host segments from #404: Dr. F.’s ventriloquist act and later dinner, “Reel to Real”, the most bossest spaceship, and the stinger (which is a stretch of the host segment definition).
Considering how strong the fourth season is overall, maybe “Teenagers” isn’t the absolute best episode in terms of the movie matter or riffing. But, in my opinion, it’s one of the best in terms of its non-movie attributes.
Probably the toughest to sort yet, since season 4 was my fav of the show’s history. In the show’s numeric order, my choices are:
1) 402 – Giant Gila Monster – segment 2: Joel’s malt shop gone astray shows how the ‘bots and Joel weren’t always lovey-dovey.
2) 406 – Attack of the Giant Leeches – segment 4: “Danger to Myself and Others” is a masterpiece!
3) 409 – The Indestructible Man – segment 4: the simplicity of it, Joel with his Lon Chaney Jr. eye impersonation, with the ‘bots coming in and wrecking it with their nod to a “Sidehackers” scene, it’s so THIS show!
4) 410 – Hercules Vs. Moon Men – segment 4: “Ode to Pants” is in the vein of Monty Python, coupled with Frank and Forrester’s ominous “Deep Hurting” warning…great stuff!
5) 411 – The Magic Sword – segment 4: Crow’s tribute to Estelle Winwood, along with Tom’s chastising list of better looking people, far outdoes the “Kim Cattrall” ditty in “City Limits”
6) 412 – Hercules and Captive Women – segment 2: the good-natured brawling bit is funny in its over-the-top campiness.
7) 413 – Manhunt in Space – segment 4: Winky’s visit is to the SOL is hilarious.
8] 414 – Tormented – Segment 3: I can’t tell you the number of mainstream pop singers I’d like to see fall from the top of a lighthouse!
9) 417 – Crash of the Moons – segment 5: John Banner-gramming can be hazardous to your health, as Forrester will attest to.
10) 418 – Attack of the (the) Eye Creatures – segment 5: “they just didn’t care” is the battlecry of the day, and Mike Nelson’s impression of director Larry Buchanan couldn’t say it any better!
Honorable Mention: “Hired! The Musical!” is a great tribute to those cheesy musicals of yesteryear.
Worst: 421 – Monster A Go Go: segment 3: OK, so the movie is impossible to follow, but a game of catch?!?! a rare WTF moment in the show’s history.
-“Basil Rathbones” from The Magic Sword
-“Duct Tape Fashion Show” from Teenagers from Outer Space
-Tom as Tony Travis from The Beatniks
-The Slumber party from The Beatniks
-“What do do w/a four hour layover in Chicago?” from The Rebel Set
-“What’s a Sampo?” from “The Day the Earth Froze”
-“Hired! The musical” from Bridge of the Monster
My Top ten in episodic order
1. The “Danger To Ourselves and Others” song from “Attack of the Giant Leeches”
2. Mike Nielson as Winky from “Manhunt in Space”
3. Joel saves Servo from the evil Timmy from “Fire Maidens of Outer Space”
4. John Banner aggressively nice segment from “Crash of the Moons”
5. Nielson as the director who doesn’t really care from “Attack of the Eye Creatures”
6. The Writing like Merritt Stone and the four hour layover in Chicago sketches from “The Rebel Set”
7. Nielson as Hugh Beaumont from “The Human Duplicators”
8. Gypsy doesn’t “get” Crow or Tom from “Monster A-Go Go”
9. What’s a Sampo from “The Day the Earth Froze”
10. Torgo delivering the pizza from “Manos”
1. Torgo’s pizza
2. They just didn’t care
3. The Stupid jerk soda fountain in the pantry
4. The Leg up sketch
5. What’s a Sampo
6. Hired the musical
7. The road trip sketch from Manos
8. The Kim Catrell song
9. Danger to ourselves and others
10. are you happy with your work
Ah, season four. My second-favorite season overall, and my favorite for host segments!
1. 402 Giant Gila Monster – Here here on the “Servo on Cinema” segment. Along with the montage, Tom’s ranting at the end along with Joel and Crow’s reaction is priceless.
2. 406 Attack of the Giant Leeches – “A Danger to Ourselves and Others”. One of the show’s most brilliant musical moments, and yet uncomfortably close to some people I know here in the south.
3. 407 The Killer Shrews – Making the Killer Shrew drink. I always wanted to try this one out, but in retrospect it was probably a good thing I didn’t. I love Joel’s simple reaction and Frank’s annoying Dr. F.
4. 410 Hercules Against the Moonmen – “Pants!” is another great song, although I do enjoy the tough guy names segment, especially as it predats Space Mutiny by about five years.
5. 411 The Magic Sword – “Ode on Estelle” was great then, but it’s even better now that I’m older and actually know who more of those people Servo named actually are. A great example of how the show manages to age with its viewers.
6. 416 Fire Maidens of Outer Space – The Twin Screw Universal Controller demonstration. It was good enough for Frank Zappa, it’s good enough for me.
7. 418 Attack of the the Eye Creatures – Tom’s desire to make out and everyone’s reactions. Especially Crow’s and Joel’s.
8. 420 The Human Duplicators – Tom duplicating himself multiple times. I love the clones’ (non)reaction when he orders them to attack.
9. 421 Monster A-Go-Go – Gypsy doesn’t get Crow. Then she doesn’t get Tom. This leads to Tom’s best line in the entire series.
10. 423 Bride of the Monster – “Hired! The Muscial” is another outstanding musical moment. It’s quite disturbing how much like an amateur musical it actually sounds.
Least Favorite: Continuing the Fantastic 85 in City Limits. The first part was okay, but continuing the segment just made it feel like they ran out of ideas that week.
In episodic order:
Favorite bits:
#401 Space Travelers: “Find the Finder of Lost Loves” (which starred Tony Franciosa, whom J&TB confuse with James Franciscus, one of the film’s stars).
#404 Teen-agers from Outer Space: “TOHTCHA!” (not a segment but a movie riff)
#405 Being from Another Planet: “TV’s Frank Shopping Network”
#410 Hercules Against the Moon Men: Super Freak-out, Deep Hurting, Tough Guy Names (including Drake Tungsten and Ric Drywall).
#412 Hercules and the Captive Women: Good-natured brawling
#415 The Beatniks: “You’re probably not a beatnik if…”
#417 Crash of Moons: “Banner-grams”
#421 Monster A-Go-Go: “The Pina Colada Question”
#423 Bride of the Monster: “Hired! The Musical”
#424 Manos: Motor tour sketch collapses, Monster body parts, Mads apologize, Torgo delivers a pizza
Least favorite? Hmmm…probably #418 Attack of the the Eye Creatures: “The Rip Taylor Trio” (you can only carry a Rip Taylor bit so far)
Again, in no particular order:
I’m amazed that I appear to be only the second person to mention the “What sort of monster?” sketch from ‘Manos’. “Nipples. Many shapes, many sizes–some on my back!” It’s a perfectly-written stream of consciousness bit.
Along the same lines, the “What’s a sampo?” sketch is equally awesome.
The Will Rogers bit…so many people have mentioned it, it’s so great. “Yep, yep. We will bury you.” Truly inspired.
From the same episode, the board game. “Nobody moves. In fact, nobody moves at all for the first forty-five minutes of the movie!”
From the same episode (this one had great sketches), the drink. “No wax lips. You’re thinking of the Vulcan Mind Probe.”
Everyone’s picking it, but that’s just because it’s awesome: PANTS!
The saga of Hercules’ son, Hymus, from ‘Herc and the Captive Women’. It just does that thing the best MST3K sketches do, take a premise that isn’t funny into a really dark place in a way that just cracks you the heck up.
The sketch that started a running gag for the rest of the series: Servo duplicates himself.
“Nobody gets me. I’m the wind, baby.” Quite possibly the finest line in the whole series.
And last but not least, what is up with the Pina Colada song? And when was cannibalism popular?
Honorable Mention: “What would you do in Chicago?”, from ‘The Rebel Set’. It goes on a bit too long, and the bits are told in the wrong order for true comedy, but Servo’s is gold. “And yes, I would start tossing out bodies!”
Worst: All the ones from ‘Teenagers From Outer Space’ were bad, some downright terrible. I’m going to assume the writers were all on vacation that week and asked the interns to fill in. :)
Seaons Four had some terrific stuff. Here’s my list of some favorite Season Four host segments:
408 Hercules Unchained – What does Hercules do all day with the nice lady?
407 Killer Shrews – The board game of the movie.
409 Indestructible Man – What would you do if you were indestructible?
421 Monster A-Go Go – The Johnny Longtorso action figure sales pitch by the Mads.
424 Manos Hands of Fate – Torgo delivers pizza to Deep 13
410 Hercules Against the Moon Men – Super Freak Out and Deep Hurting
410 Hercules Against the Moon Men – The ‘Bots try out their new arms and new tough sounding names
404 Teeanagers From Outer Space – The duct tape fashion show
402 Giant Gila Monster – Servo On Cinema
411 Magic Sword – Crow’s song about Estelle
ten favorite season 4 host seggies (or just ten random good ones since this entire season is phenomenal) :
(402) Tom and Crow are The Thing With Two Heads
(404) Reel to Real
(405) Tragic Figurines invention
(413) Mike as Winky
(416) All the Timmy stuff
(418) Tom and Crow’s “best friends” stage
(420) Servo duplicates himself
(421) The mad vs. sol action figure invention exchange
(422) The ‘bots come up with clown act ideas
(424) The Mads apologizing for the movie
least favorite: maybe the booby trap sketch from “Hercules Against the Moonmen”?
the making of the Killer Shrew cocktail in ‘Killer Shrews’. recalls when I first became a hostess armed with alcohol, and the unctuous mixtures I served my buddies. ewww. poor TV’s Frank!
the scenic motor tour scene in ‘Manos: the Hands of Fate.’ I love it when the SOL crew breaks out in Minnasotan dialect. ‘and a field! and- another field!’ also brings back memories of my first Greyhound trip out of San Francisco, when I had a breakdown in Bend, Oregon. I had never seen so much NOTHING, and so much of it! sweet Joel in his cape with the big black feet on it is great too- his attempts to be diabolical shot down by Servo. and I have always HATED those cutesy figurines, and every time the Tragic ones come on the screen- especially the ones looking at the burning house- I’m on the floor again.
and now I won’t be able to get this out of my head for the rest of the day:
‘Killer Shrew/Killer Shrew/k-i double-ell/e-r/Shrew/he comes out at night/to give you a fright/don’t look now, but he’s gonna take a bite/duh duh duh duh dum dum da’
I’ll just give in, and pop in the episode!
…and that’s why I need to watch it again, so I can learn the song correctly!
Here’s one I don’t think was mentioned above and I’m a bit surprised by that fact: The anaylisis of the Pina Colada song from (I believe) Monster A-Go-Go. It’s just pure gold the was the bots work themselves into a lather over this absolutely obsurd song. I’ll reread the transcript on this site when I’m having a bad day at work and need to put a quick smile on my face.
I looooooove that song ‘A danger to myself and others’ from Attack of the Giant Leeches!!! It’s one of my favs.
And the Killer Shrew theme. And the Killer Shrew drink. So funny at the end when Joel tastes it.
The fantasy layovers was in the Rebel Set, right? Cause I love that.
And every host segment in Hands of Fate.
Yeah, that Pina Colada song sketch is fantastic. I love the sketches where Joel, Crow, and Servo would just sit at the desk and pick a subject and riff on it for minutes, like more monstrous body parts than big knees, conquering the world, what would you do if you were indestructible, Ward E, dream funerals, etc…
I’ve seen quite a few episodes (though not all) from Season 4, so here’s my picks (chronological order again).
1) The soda shop sketch from Giant Gila Monster (402). It’s a goofy enough premise as-is, but the bots refusing to play along makes it even better since this is one of the few times we actually see Joel snap.
2) “Reel to Real” from Teenagers from Outer Space (404). It’s a witty enough short, but the ending is really what makes it with Joel getting increasingly lame. “My hip hurts! Why?”
3) “A Danger to Myself and Others” from Attack of the Giant Leeches (406). Probably one of the funniest songs in the history of the series.
4) Joel vapor-locking during his Will Rogers routine from Killer Shrews (407). Just another classic vapor-lock moment, but I love all the misquoting.
5) The Killer Shrews board game from Killer Shrews (407). Seeing the bots freak out is always fun, plus it really summarizes the movie pretty well.
6) The Water of Forgetfulness from Hercules Unchained (408). A simple premise but they do some funny stuff with it, especially the macaroni salad of pure joy or however it went again.
7) Throwing pop singers from a lighthouse in Tormented (414). Just some great, mean-spirited fun (though I personally wouldn’t throw Donovan from the lighthouse)
8) “Who is Merritt Stone?” from The Rebel Set (419). Not much to say about this one.
9) Happy King Servo and Sir Giggles von Laffsalot Crow from Monster A-Go-Go (421). Simultaneously hilarious, humiliating, and perfectly sums up my feelings about that awful movie.
10) The botched driving sketch from Manos: The Hands of Fate (424). It’s the first indication that the movie is going to be one rough, horrible ride, and it mirrors that perfectly. And it’s funny, of course.
Honorable Mentions include:
“Servo on Cinema” from Giant Gila Monster (402). Mostly amusing for all the leg-up shots and, of course, Joel and Crow both doing the leg-up position at the end while Tom goes crazy. Almost considered “different kinds of funny drunks” as an honorable mention too.
The “Killer Shrew” cocktail from Killer Shrews (404). Funny primarily because it just looks so disgusting. Has anyone ever tried one of these?
“What are Hercules and the nice lady doing?” from Hercules Unchained (408) just due to how uncomfortable Joel gets.
The amazing BOOBIE!!! trap illusion from Hercules Against the Moon Men (410). It’s a great joke about a joke, and I have to admit that I started laughing at Crow and Tom’s completely immature repetitions of the word “boobie” at the beginning of it.
“Pants!” from Hercules Against the Moon Men (410). It’s a pretty funny song, but not as funny as some of the others. I mostly enjoy the Poopie! reel bloopers for this sketch.
Deconstructing “The Pina Colada Song” from Monster A-Go-Go (421). Oh how bizarre our pop culture can be.
Discussing what makes Torgo a monster from Manos: The Hands of Fate (424). They certainly have a good imagination.
Worst sketch (since I didn’t list one for season three) is probably Joel and Servo playing keep-away from Crow from Monster A-Go-Go. It just plain isn’t funny and feels like the writers were just killing time.