Here’s mine, in episode order:
• The bearded town council debates the Sinbad problem–505- MAGIC VOYAGE OF SINBAD: Hilarious writing and a great performance. “He’s not Sinbad!”
• Subtle forms of hell–506- EEGAH: Wonderful writing, great satrical insights.
• J&TB reenact the night club scene from the movie–507- I ACCUSE MY PARENTS: observant and silly.
• Song: “What a Pleasant Journey”–509- GIRL IN LOVER’S LANE: one of those underrated numbers in an underrated episode.
• Crow and Tom debate the messy woman in the short–510- THE PAINTED HILLS: Plenty of witty social commentary.
• Tom demonstrates quantum linear super-position–511- GUNSLINGER: A riotous and at the same time very intellectual sketch.
• Joel is ejected into the escape pod, leaving behind a plaque and a final word; Dr. F. is furious…until Mike presents his time card.–512- MITCHELL: Couldn’t leave this one out; a pivotal moment in the series.
• Song: “I’m a Janitor;” Dr. F. cleans up after Frank–514- TEEN-AGE STRANGLER: Mike makes his mark as a host.
• The “guess Kathy’s emotions” game–516- ALIEN FROM L.A.: Another of those brilliant sketches that starts from a simple observation about the movie.
• Song: “Tubular Boobular Joy”–519- OUTLAW: One of the great songs of the series; smart and filthy at the same time–and that’s hard to do!
• An all-inclusive politically correct holiday song: “Merry Christmas…If That’s Okay”–521- SANTA CLAUS: One of the landmark moments of the series that has become a perennial holiday favorite.
• Song: “The Greatest Frank”–523- VILLAGE OF THE GIANTS: A little early for a tribute, but funny and fun.
Least favorite:
The Gypsy Express–511- GUNSLINGER: A lonnng walk down a short pier of a joke.
What’s yours?
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Such a great season for host segments! My favorites:
1. I’m starting off my list with a gigantic cheat: all of the segments from 503: Swamp Diamonds, in which Tom and Gypsy date. I especially love the end when a dumped Tom flounces back to his room in tears. “Is my mascara running?”
2. Joel’s Channel Puppet/Fish from 505: Sinbad, and Tom and Crow’s hysteria. Tom comes through in the end, though. “Well, the thing tried to jump me, so I had to kill it.” The invention exchanges in this episode were lots of fun as well.
3. The Cake and Shake dancer from 507: I Accuse My Parents. Filthy, brutal, and very, very funny. “You WHAT?! You baked a person in it?! An hour at 350?!”
4. Same episode, the Junk Drawer Organizer. I always loved Crow’s completely matter-of-fact delivery of the line, “How many times have you gone rooting through your junk drawer, muttering to yourself, ‘Where’d I put that gun?'”
5. All of the host segments from 512: Mitchell, of course. Especially Mike tricking Frank into giving up his keys by using that fiendishly brilliant scheme of asking for them.
6. Mike’s “I wet ’em” story from 513: The Brain That Wouldn’t Die. Reminds me of all the uncomfortable sharing that went on during late-night bull sessions in college. And the ‘bots are no help at all: “Don’t stand under him!” Poor, dumb Mike.
7. My Wild Irish Ireland from 515: Alien From LA. Tom in a wig, falsetto-ing away as Kathy Ireland kills me every time, and Mike makes it even better when he takes Tom’s impression a little too seriously.
8. Mary Jo visits the ship as the White Trash Lady in 517: Beginning of the End. I think this was Mary Jo’s funniest character performance and a great way to start off the episode. “Well, she did have a certain ‘je ne sais quois,’ about her, don’t you think?” “No!”
9. Toobular Boobular Joy from 519: Outlaw. My all-time favorite song in the series. If you can’t laugh during this song, then the show clearly isn’t for you.
10. Mike spilling hot cocoa all over everyone in 521: Santa Claus. It looks like it’ll be a great setup to yet another classic MST song, and it turns out to be a hysterical display of physical agony and horror. Poor Crow! “Ah, don’t worry Mike! With any luck, the burns will have healed by Labor Day!”
11. The Greatest Frank from 523: Village of the Giants. Such a sweet, goofy song for such a sweet goofy villain. “Endless Frank will always flow for all we know!”
12. Same episode: Torgo gets fired. I love what the Brains did to expand this character, and I really, really want to know what, exactly, Torgo did to Dr F to finally warrant the boot. Wait. Scratch that: no, I don’t.
Least favorite? Hmmm. Tom’s stand-up routine on grasshoppers in 517: Beginning of the End wasn’t all that funny, and it just seemed to set up the now badly dated reference to the short-lived Chevy Chase show.
So much great stuff to pick from- 12 slots is still not enough!
(504) Secret Agent Super Dragon: “I am the atomic powered robot! Please give my best wishes to everybody!”
(505) The Magic Voyage of Sinbad: Crow leaving the theater to go on a lifelong quest thingee, flies around randomly for a couple of minutes, then crashes back into the theater.
(507) I Accuse My Parents: The ‘bots draw their dream families. “He dispenses homespun wisdom and teaches solid Midwestern values while crushing all who block his path!”
(508) Operation Double 007: Torgo returns. Totally unexpected and a harbinger of things to come.
(509) The Girl in Lover’s Lane: I love this episode and all the host segments are gold… The best is either Crow trying to be Elam or the ‘bots re-writing the end of the movie… or the Mad’s invention exchange… (What, you gonna give kids poop?) Take your pick.
(511) Gunslinger: Tom demonstrates quantum linear super-position, a great sketch really show-casing the inventiveness that was a hallmark of the Joel era.
(512) Mitchell: The Brains really did “transition” episodes well (Samson Vs. The Vampire Women, Laserblast, Danger: Diabolik) and this was the first and best. All the parts with Mike and the Mads are great, and all the weird things Joel, Tom, and Crow are doing while Gypsy carries the plot of the episode.
(517) The Beginning of the End: Mike calling the Mads and getting an unexpected, disturbing glimpse into their private life.
(518) The Atomic Brain: “Our invention exchange is -YOU!” The Bots as The Mads is moist golden goodness, and the Mads trying to return fire is the icing on top.
(519) Outlaw: Dr. Forrester and Frank trying to convince Mike they had a time machine and it all falling apart, and then that weird dance number at the end. Runner up: Tubular Boobular Joy. Oh, and that great scene where Mike looks back at his community theater career!
(523) Village of the Giants: The ‘bots interviewing an instantly-desperate Frank for a position. Why didn’t they have Frank interact with the SOL via the hexfield more often?
Runners up: The Square Master, Things to Do After the Apocalypse, Hamilton Joe Frank and Reynolds, The U-View, The Spy Who Hugged Me, Channel Cat puppet, Junior Jester Club, Subtle Forms of Hell, Naked Tom Servo, The Sean & Neal Show: Parallel Lives, The Messy Woman vs. Clean Woman debate, Crow crushed into an ingot, Mike’s story about peening his pants, Mike “rapping” with the bots, Magic Voice’s solo sketch, Weather Servo 9, chin puppets, Palance on Palance, “Why Don’t They Look”, Buffalo Shots: Won’t You?, “Merry Christmas If That’s OK”, Doughy Guys, Mystos, Nuveena…
Worst: Dr. F’s Supervillain seminar.
That bit where they re-enact the dinner theater scene in 507: I Accuse my Parents, along with the discussion of the main characters psychological history (DRUNK FOLKS and ELABORATE LIES vs. SIMPLE UTILITARIAN LIES), is why I started watching this show more often. I am laughing just thinking about those two. (I hope to watch more and be able to have a long list soon!)
Gonna go in episodic order:
1.) Gypsy and Tom go to the Scavenger Sale together, and Crow immediately takes Gypsy aside and makes fun of Tom.
2.) Secret Agent Super Dragon Theme. I always loved Joel’s vapor lock here.
3.) Joel’s face being shoved in awkward ways in order to match that of Arch Hall Jr.’s is so disturbing, so fleshy, you almost laugh in terror.
4.) The Junk Drawer organizer from I Accuse My Parents. The funny thing is that Staples sells some really random drawer organizers now, and I’m using one with all kinds of nonsensically shaped slots at work. There’s one round slot on my organizer that would be perfect for pocket lint, but instead I slapped some rubber bands in there. Anyway, back to the episode: “Where’d I put that gun?” is my favorite invention exchange line ever.
5.) Joel with his harem of ladies from Double 007. “I know” this will be on everyone’s list.
6.) Tom illustrating quantum physics continues to go way over my head, and I’m quite happy about that. Hilarious bit.
7.) Mike and the wetting himself story from his first hosting episode.
8.) Mike being forced to act like Mikey is horribly cruel, and also horribly funny.
9.) The Re-Comfy bike is one of my favorite Mad’s Invention Exchanges. Seems totally useless, and Frank admitting that to Forrester makes me laugh every time.
10.) Mike wearing a sailor hat throughout the history of his acting career is completely disturbing. Mike got so good so quick.
11.) Trooper Tom Presents “Why Don’t They Look” still causes me to pick up any display model hotplate I see at Wal-Mart and press it against my face. Mike’s best bit of Season 5.
12.) Mystos: Sure, it was topical as all hell, but it still makes me laugh because Crow’s singing and Mike’s hamming-it-up transcend it all.
Least Favorite: “Who’s that supermodel?” from Alien from L.A. Usually I like the sketches that go nowhere (I even liked the Tupperware party sketch because of how awkward it was), but this one was pretty predictable to boot.
I just got 10. I’ve only seen 12 episodes of Season 5. So here it is:
1. Village of the Giants: The Greatest Frank. What else, really? In fact, I’d rate that entire episode’s Host Segments as the best ever.
2. Eegah: Deep Frozen Crow.
3. Eegah: Replacing Frank’s Blood (my cousin’s wife found this whole segment absurd, complaining about the amount, the color and how watery the blood looked. She complained that it wasn’t real blood).
4. I Accuse My Parents: J&TB reenact the cafe scene. “How would you boys like a hamburger?”.
5. Gunslinger: Funeral Talk
6. The Brain that Wouldn’t Die: That’s not Cheese.
7. Teen Age Strangler: Song I’m a Janitor!
8. Beginning of the End: Peter Graves Goes to the University of Minnesota
9. The Atmoic Brain: Weather Servo 9.
10. Santa Claus: Merry Christmas….If that’s OK.
Least Favorite: I don’t really have a least favorite. I guess I don’t especially love the host segments in Mitchell. Way too much Gypsy and no movie related segments.
The Greatest Frank – Costello to Dr. F’s Abbott.
Janitor Song would be my 2nd choice.
DRF was the Bud Abbott of this great duo, TVF the Costello (with some Stan Laurel in there as well); jumping the gun here but my all time fave segment is the William Conrad Fridge Alert from HUMAN DUPLICATORS.
501 – Warrior of the Lost World: Joel as the Warrior being driven by his mom, the once-again wigged Crow. Joel was the perfect whiny, mumbly adolescent Warrior, and Crow still looks great in a wig (this time a brunette!).
502 – Hercules: Amazon Moms. “Oh, no Mister, you knew you were going to need a ride. It’s nice out…you kids can walk!”
504 – Secret Agent Super Dragon: the jazz combo playing the movie theme.
Also 504 – Crow’s spec script.
506 – Eegah!: Turning Joel into Arch Hall Jr. Wow.
507 – I Accuse My Parents: The nightclub scene remake.
508 – Operation Double 007: Joel as the bad guy, “I know!”
517 – Beginning of the End: The very unexpected glimpse of the Mads’ home life. “Frank, I could NOT stop picking at those lemon bars!”
519 – Outlaw: Tubular Boobular Joy.
522 – Teenage Crime Wave: The extended ending with Frank as Doughy Man; something about Dr. F swinging by & spraying him makes me laugh every time. (I also liked the extra endings in Daddy-O; maybe I’m just easily amused.)
523 – Village of the Giants: As others have mentioned, all the segments are terrific, but I esp. love “The Greatest Frank of All.” I often find myself humming it (and if you’re going to have a song stuck in your head, it’s better to have this one than, say, “Bad Blood” or the theme from “Gilligan’s Isle”).
Also from 523 as a must-see is Frank in the utility closet, talking about applying for a job w/the SOL: “Guys, I’m at a real crossroad in my life…say, this burrito is really good!”
Season 5 might be the best season for host segments. Mine are, in no particular order:
1.) Analyzing Jimmy from 507 – “I Accuse My Parents.”
2.) Funeral discussion from 511 – “The Gunslinger”
3.) Mike’s childhood memory frmo 513 – “The Brain That Wouldn’t Die”
4.) All of the cheating segments from 515- “The Wild Wild World of Batwoman”
5.) A look at the Mads’ personal lives from 517 – “The Beginning of the End”
6.) Crow’s biopic of Peter Graves, also frmo 517 – “The Beginning of the End”
7.) M&TB dressing up like the Mads, and vice versa, from 518 “The Atomic Brain”
8.) Gift exchange from 521 – “Santa Claus”
9.) “Let Me Be Frank About Frank” from 523 – “Village of the Giants”
10.) The Dr. F roast from 524 – “12 to the Moon”
11.) “The Spy Who Hugged Me” from 504 – “Secret Agent Super Dragon”
12.) The bots’ perfect families from 507 – “I Accuse My Parents”
My least favorite is probably the “Hollywood couple” discussion from 514 – “Teen-age Strangler.” It kind of…goes nowhere.
Pork-orina/Replacing Frank’s Blood (506): A hilarious invention, and a great, characteristic moment from the Mads. Frank’s late for his ice-dancing lesson. Dr. F: “It’s SCIENCE, that’s why!”
Subtle Forms of Hell (506): The part contrasting Hitler and Styx is one of my favorite bits.
Why 60’s Sitcoms Are Run By Single Dads (506): One of those great pop-culture dissections that MST3K did so well. I love these “discussion” sketches… a genre that mostly dried up when Joel left.
Tom Servo Is Naked (507): My favorite part: the cheerful way Crow announces, “You’ll get beat up ’cause you’re a freak!”
Cake ‘n’ Shake/Junk Drawer Organizer (507): Kris mentioned the funny brutality of it, but not my favorite part: while everyone else is reacting in horror to the notion that someone may have died in that cake, Crow just quips, “Oh, so it’s a beefcake!”
Analyzing Jimmy (507): I love when they put far more thought into a movie than the filmmakers ever did. Obviously, the filmmakers meant to show parental neglect leading to a life of crime, but indeed, the main motivating factor is Jimmy’s stupidity. (One of my favorite riffs is the song bit, “I’m stupid, yes indeed, I’m stupid…”)
The Scanner Planner/New Whiffle Items (511): “You ever want to make people’s heads explode? Sure, we all do.” Frank’s mild offense at Dr. F trying to kill him. Wiffle underpants! Wiffle Claude Akins! A little historical interest in introducing a sound effect that will become very familiar in three years. Also a cute bit of anti-foreshadowing of Joel’s departure: Dr. F introduces the movie as “your first western,” unaware there will be no others. (I always have to wonder, though, why they had to artificially create a Swiss cheese, which kind of undermines the joke of it being “nature’s own Wiffle.”)
Quantum Linear Superposition (511): My all-time favorite sketch. Awesomely erudite and silly in equal measure. Favorite bit: “I can even bend space and time this way! Watch! Nnnnnn!” (doors close on them). I also love the bit at the end:
Joel: We’ll be right back.
Tom: No, THEY’LL be right back. WE’LL be… right here!
Joel: Honey, no.
Joel Escapes (512): I like that Joel attempts to read a letter amongst all the chaos. It’s wonderfully appropriate that Joel’s favorite movie is one the ‘Bots don’t respect. Sort of encapsulates the Joel attitude of having fun with bad movies, as opposed to the more cobative later attitude. Crow’s eyes and dish flying off in panic always gets me. And for some reason, I always get goosebumps from the post-button line, “Say, Mike, what size jumpsuit do you wear?”
Mike as Mikey (514): A great opportunity to let Nelson do one of his great imitations while being host. Also a good, early example of the new host/’Bots dynamic, where they see Mike as something of a new little brother to pick on.
I’m a Janitor (514): Another great MST3K song.
“Our Invention Exchange Is… You!” (518): Funny in itself, and on the meta level that Trace as Crow is imitating Trace as Dr. F, and vice-versa. “I’m Dr. Clayton Forrester, and I’ve got my head stuck WAY up my–” (movie sign)
And there are plenty more I could mention, but as usual, I’ve run out of slots first.
Least favorite: I think Mike’s Most Embarrassing Moment (513) is a long way to go for a fairly predictable ending. And although I like the bits of J&TB behavior “out of sketch” as they pass Gypsy’s path, the sketches in 512, for being Joel’s swansong, probably feature less Joel than any previous cable episode.
Last week, there were only ten slots and so many choices!! This week, at least there’s twelve slots and…even more choices!! In show chronological order, my choices are:
504: Secret Agent Super Dragon: Segment 2- J&TB playing the jazzy theme song, then Joel adding his own flavor. Simple but very cool!
505: Magic Voyage of Sinbad: Segments 2 & 3- the gadding about in jester outfits, and the Persian Finn get-ups playing town council members, helped make this episode a winner!
506: Eegah! Segment 3- the molding of Joel into Arch Hall Jr.’s face not looks painful and horrifying, it’s hilarious!
507: I Accuse My Parents Segment 3- Everyone recreating the “Are You Happy in Your Work?” scene leaves me in stitches every time.
508: Operation Double 007 Segment 3- comparisons of Sean and Neil Connery’s careers, funniest when Neil catapults ahead of Sean after “Highlander 2” comes out.
509: Girl in Lover’s Lane Segment 2- “What a Pleasant Journey” showcases clever lyrics for all who sing; Crow’s lyrics are particularly dark and funny all at once.
512: Mitchell all segments-with the exception of Gypsy’s annoying “HOW????!!!” yelps in segment 3, the Brains plotted Joel’s exit – and Mike’s entry – brilliantly.
513: Brain That Wouldn’t Die segment 4 – Mike’s first of many embarassing moments proves he’s the perfect fit for the show.
514: Teen-age Strangler segment 4 – “I didn’t steal no bike, neither!!” Mike (and Crow) as Mikey is pee-in-your-pants funny!
516: Alien from L.A. segments 3 & 5- “My Wild Irish Ireland” is a great song, and the many questions posed to M&TB is a rare funny moment provided by a letter.
519: Outlaw (of Gor) segemnts 3 & 4- “Toobular boobular Joy!” is awesome, and the Jack Palance readings are a riot!
520: Radar Secret Service segment 2- Tom Servo as the State Trooper, Crow as the “Why don’t they look?” conductor, and Mike as the repeated victim of not looking…you can’t make this stuff up!!
-Analyzing “true-Jimmy-level demetia” from 507-I Accuse My Parents.
-Trans-Linear-Superpositioning from 513-Gunslinger.
-Peter Graves at the University of Minnesota (Beginning of the End)
-New constellations (502-Hercules)
-The Spy Who Hugged Me (Secret Agent Super Dragon)
-The Kathy Ireland Acting Guessing Game by Hasbro-bro-bro! (Alien From L.A.)
Honorable Mentions: Fridge Udders/Vend-A-Gut (Alien From L.A.) and the Daktari Stool (512-Mitchell).
Least Favorite-The Greatest Frank…I know I’m going to get a lot of disagreement, but I just didn’t find it to be that funny.
SO many good ones already mentioned.
Toobular Boobular joy is worth mentioning again.
The one that I don’t think was mentioned before, but I love is Torgo’s interview. Hilarious! But the best part that catapults it to greatness is when Dr. F is rushing Torgo in frustration at his slow pace, and the theme music speeds up as well. Now THAT is genius!
I love this season because it brings in Mike as host, and still has Dr. Forrester. I still say Mike was a FAR better host than Joel, much more expressive and willing to do characters.
[506- Eegah] while watching TV shows like the Munsters and the Courtship of Eddie’s Father etc. I was also left wondering- where did all the moms go? are they all in storage in some government warehouse, like the Ark? Joel and the Bots, as always, x-ray this cultural issue with razor-sharp wit and keen insight. I firmly believe that, if a scientific study were done, the findings would prove that MST3K viewing stimulates the growth of neurons and dendrites in the human brain as much as any complex symphony does.
[507- I Accuse My Parents] Tom Servo! I implore you, do not turn into a ‘real, live’ human boy! there are millions of those, but only one magical, mystical Tom Servo! I love his Tin Man: ‘I can feel my haahht breaking…’
Joel’s impersonation of the gravelly voiced chef Al character is so perfect.
the art therapy sketch: why can’t kids want two moms, a dad that is Gigantor, and be watched over by Richard Basehart? seems healthy…
but my favorite is their rendition of the ‘Are You Happy in Your Work?’ song. this is such a brilliantly executed piece of theater! Gypsy lumbers around in her blonde wig and big black bow, somehow lip-syncing perfectly, Joel metamorphoses crudely into ‘different’ patrons. I always lose it when Tom pops up in the back in a chef’s hat and marches briskly off camera. brilliant. simply brilliant. when I first saw this segment, I must have rewound it five times at least!
[512 Mitchell] I love the very beginning as Joel stands matter-of-factly near his sculpture of Monticello rendered painstakingly in toothpicks. his deft use of ironic sarcasm and reverse psychology cause the ‘Bots to question their impulses to wreak the inevitable havoc on it. Joel is so brilliant here!
the literal unraveling of the ‘Bots as they realize their maker has left them forever is hysterical. what fun they must have had here behind the scenes!
[514 Teenage Strangler] Mike calling his grandmother. it took my elderly parents years to finally allow an answering machine in their house, and even then they were impossible to reach via this ‘mechanical wonder’… and they were fully in charge of their faculties. so I find this bit extra funny for that reason.
Mike as Mikey- so, so funny. he is so good as he morphs instantly from mild-mannered, wise Midwesterner into the frantic bespectacled Mikey. ‘rime?’
Mike’s ‘hip’ guidance counselor rap with the naughty ‘Bots. I think we’ve all known someone like this who undermined any wisdom and authority they may actually have by their condescending attempt to ‘relate’ to you, man.
and I love the Frank n’ Forcer. I am not over-fond of children. enough said.
[515 Wild Wild World of Batwoman] the opener again- Tom’s weird hysteria in the blackjack game always tickles me. ‘NO- I STICK, I STICK!!’
when Crow is caught for ‘Cheating’, copying Gypsy’s seven word essay verbatim, Mike and the others debate his fate. Crow shows up as one of the disguised doctor-types from the film. perhaps he’s hoping to dose the others into forgetting his crime. ‘would you like- some soup?’ he asks in dialect, his giant mustache swaying. funny.
[517 The Beginning of the End] Mary-Jo Pehl is simply amazing as the white trash gal in the hexfield. when her character appears, I can smell burnt bacon, Pabst Blue Ribbon, and despair.
[519 Outlaw] who can resist the winsome sight of Michael J. Nelson in a sailor suit?
[520 Radar Secret Service] the ‘whyyyy don’t they look?’ sequence. silly, but funny.
[521 Santa Claus] the appearance of the deep-dish stoic and creepy not Mike’s ‘Nelson’ family. eerie!
[522 Teenage Crime Wave] ‘Doughy Guys’ of course.
These are in the order they appeared as eps. I can’t choose favorites today. I just drank a gallon of Defrost-eez since it’s spring.
1.Frank gets his blood replaced…sick and fun! (Eegah)
2.Gypsy singing “Are you happy in your work?” Delightful pitch perfect parody. (I Accuse my Parents)
3.Torgo’s visit and Dr. F in his Bavarian get up. Weird and slightly disturbing. Yum. (Operation Kid Bruder)
4.Crow as Jack Elam. Just damn funny (Girl in Lover’s Lane)
5.Joel gets away. Mike punches in. Pivotal, yes, but well-executed as well. (Mitch-hell)
6.Mary Jo as Jan the pan (one of her best appearences because it’s just so…um…dead pan…heh, heh)combined with Frank getting his head cut off…dark, saucy, sassy and tummy tickling funny.
7.The bots reading their “cheating” essays…you gotta love this if you’re a teacher. (Wild Welt of Badwoman)
8.”Venda-gut invention. Both a gutsy and somewhat heartless–a gut-wrenching harvest segment. (Alien from LA)
9.Demonstration of the special effects in the movie with postcards. Also love the peak into Frank and Dr. F’s personal life. The lunacy! (Beginning of the End)
10.
Buffalo collage of shots from the film. Sickening but funny. I love when they do something with clips from the film and wish they’d done it as a regular thing. (Outlaw)
11. Pretty much every host segment in Santa Claus. But esp. the gift giving and the Xmas song. Actually quite touching. Gives me a little chill. Really..I’m a sentimental little booger.
(Santa Klaus)
12. “Sweet loving Frank” song…I’ve gotta show this one to my girlfriend. She loves Frank Zappa and MST (am I a lucky guy or what?)
All of the sketches from warriors of the lost world Esspecially “What would that warrior guy do if he never got his liscence?” Classic
Whys does jimmy feel the need to blame his parents? 507
and
I’m a janitor 514
-Mike telling a humiliating story about himself involving McDonalds, ice cream, and shyness from The Brain that Wouldn’t Die
-Crow being Jack Elam from The Girl in Lover’s Lane
-Mike transforming into Mikey from Teenage Strangler
-Mike’s screapbook full of sailor suits from Outlaw
-Gypsy receiving underwear in a candy cane from Santa Claus
-The Town Hall Meeting in Sinbad
-“I know” from Operation Double 007.
Haven’t seen very many episodes from this season again, sadly, but here are my picks (chronological, as usual):
1) “The Spy Who Hugged Me” from Secret Agent Super Dragon (504). Great satire all around.
2) “Subtle forms of Hell” from Eegah! (506). One of the best pieces of social satire ever seen on the show.
3) Altering Joel to look like Arch Hall Jr. from Eegah!. They definitely manage to make him look terrifying enough.
4) “Why 60s Sitcoms are run by single dads” from Eegah! again. You have to admit, it is kind of odd.
5) Analyzing Jimmy from I Accuse My Parents (507). Oh what a tangled mess poor Jimmy’s psyche is.
6) The Bots’ art-therapy projects from I Accuse My Parents. Great for Tom’s Parent Trap syndrome and Joel admitting that even he didn’t know why he was attempting to psychoanalyze robots.
7) Tom demonstrating quantum-linear superposition from Gunslinger (511). Takes a good observation about the movie and makes it into something absolutely ridiculous.
8.) Turning Mike into Mikey from Teen-Age Strangler (514). Mike did have a knack for doing good characters.
9) Catching the Mads off-guard in The Beginning of the End (517). A simple joke, probably, but it’s executed well.
10) “Peter Graves Goes to the University of Minnesota” from The Beginning of the End. I don’t know why I laugh at this sketch so much, but I do.
Honorable Mention: Re-enacting the cafe bit at the end of I Accuse My Parents. “I accuse YOU, Joel!”
Worst sketch: Mike’s embarassing story from The Brain that Wouldn’t Die. Lame story, predictable punchline, and serves as an early warning sign as to how the host segments slowly decreased in quality in my opinion.
I’m usually not season-aware enough to participate in these, but I’ve just got to jump in with the Eegah discussion of single-parent TV shows.
Sure, it’s a quiet, calm, talky sketch, but I love it for no clearly identifiable reason!
. . . Maybe it’s the jiffy-pop.
The invention exchange in 507: “How many times have you gone rooting through your junk drawer muttering to yourself: ‘Where did I put that gun?'”
And the homelife of the Mads in 517: “Let’s call the Mads.” “We can do that?”
The Cheating host segments from WWWoBW are a favorite of mine as well.
Same for Weather Servo Nine from The Atomic Brain. Another one I don’t recall seeing yet from the same episode was where Magic Voice is sexually harassed by the movie’s narrator.
Least favorite is the “invention exchange” from The Atomic Brain. Mostly it highlighted how, with Joel gone, they had run out of ideas for inventions.
My favorite segments from Season 5 are the entirety of 522 – “Teenage Crime Wave”!!
“We masterminded our own escape! Listen up, nobody owns Mike Nelson you got that? Nobody!”
“Oh, Nelson… so close and yet so not.” This was bittersweet because this episode effectively marked the end of the Invention Exchange.
The “Doughy Guys” song was brilliant. And the Mads with the multiple “mace mousse” ending still makes me laugh to this day.
This was (arguably) the shows best season for host segments, and might I add probably the weirdest. My 0wn personal favorites in no particular order.
Dr. F replaces Frank’s blood with antifreeze (talk about weird) from “Eegah!”
J&TB lay lying in caskets and planning their funerals and Toms freaking out Joel and Crow by appearing and disappearing form “Gunslinger”
The visit from Nuveena, woman of the future from “12 to the Moon”
J&TB try to rewrite the ending of the film from “he Girl in Lovers’ Lane”
The “Let Me Be Frank about Frank” song from “Village of the Giants”
The rat pack chess set and the bots are flabbergasted by Joel’s fish puppet from “The Magic Voyage of Sinbad”
Gypsy reading the lips of the Mads planning to kill Mike and think they are talking about Joel from “Mitchell”
Tom and Gypsy go on a date from” Swamp Diamonds”
Servo as the Trooper (Why Don’t They Look?) from “Radar Secret Service”
Crow’s screenplay on Peter Graves from and “The Beginning of the End”
Crow defends and forgives himself while dressed in military garb from” The Wild World of Batwoman”.
Crow’s one man show, “Match Game” from “Hercules”
The bots create a machine that causes Mike to behave like the nerdy Mikey form “Teen-Age Strangler”.
The Megaweapon visit from “Warrior of the Lost World”
J&TB reproduce the goofy scene the introduces the bad guy from “Operation Double 007”
The “Are you happy” song from “I Accuse My Parents”
The” Secret Agent Super Dragon” song from” Secret Agent Super Dragon”
I do love the special glimpse into the Mads’ personal lives in Beginning of the End. I especially enjoyed Tom and Crow’s initial reluctance to call them in the first place, suggesting that they had perhaps seen something like this before and were wary of being traumatized yet again. :)
The Tubular Boobular Joy song is my all time favorite musical number….comic genius. I don’t have the patience to list twelve host segments. :???:
Ah, my favorite season…
1. 501 Warrior of the Lost World – The Hot Slot Bots. Poor Crow really never did get a cool present like Tom’s little red car. This makes up for that car’s (and Tom’s) abuse.
2. 503 Swamp Diamonds – The whole setup and date was funny, but the ending was the perfect cap on the whole thing. “Hi, it’s Tom!” “Who?”
3. 505 The Magic Voyage of Sinbad – Crow’s Lifelong Quest Thingy, which lasts for all of three minutes. My sister and I will still add the phrase “Ham in fridge” to notes at random.
4. 506 Eegah! – The sit-and-chat segments aren’t usually among my favorites, but the discussion on 60’s sitcom dads made some disturbingly good points, plus Tom’s cry of, “We’re latchkey Bots!”
5. 507 I Accuse My Parents – Reinacting the cafe scene at the end. Guns don’t work, so the next solution: a tank!
6. 508 Operation Double 007 – Joel’s supervilliany, and the Bots reaction, especially Tom’s line about feeling like a total fem.
7. 509 The Girl in Lover’s Lane – “What a Pleasent Journey”. The first verse: cute. The second verse: amusing. The third verse: wonderfully, deliciously dark.
8. 510 The Painted Hills – Crow’s report on “Ruffiford B. Hayes” is full of wonderful double-talk, puns, and mentions Taft’s underwear.
9. 516 Alien From L.A. – For someone who supposidly couldn’t do invention exchanges, the Vend-a-Gut and the Fridge Udders were greatly amusing.
10. 519 Outlaw – “Tubular Boobular Joy” is just amazingly well-written.
11. 520 Radar Secret Service – The crew’s take on “Last Clear Chance”. Dryer lint has never been so dangerous.
12. 521 Santa Claus – A hard choice for this episode, but the carolling at the beginning just makes me laugh so hard for some reason.
Worst segment: The chin puppet from The Atomic Brain. Yeah, they were making fun of them, but I am firmly with the Bots on how damn creepy they look.
Season five had some great stuff. Some of my favorite host segments:
505 Magic Voyage of Sinbad: Town council sketch with the hilarious names for Sinbad!
519 Outlaw: Tubular Boobular Joy
502 Hercules: Constellations for modern times
505 Magic Voyage of Sinbad: Junior Jesters Club
513 Brain That Wouldn’t Die: Getting Mike ready to watch his first experiment (‘Now I know why they call it “V”‘ really cracks me up)
516 Alien From LA: The song “My Wild Irish Ireland”
504 Secret Agent Super Dragon: Discussing post-kill puns in spy movies
516 Alien From LA: Guess Kathy Ireland’s emotions
1. 505: The Magic Voyage of Sinbad. Chin-derwear! This probably my favorite invention exchange, as both sides have good ones. Joel’s Rat Pack Chess Set is great. The Mads, however, really strike gold with chin-derwear. It’s also has one of those quiet, dirty jokes that MST3K did so well. I just hope TV’s Frank doesn’t go blind.
507: I Accuse My Parents.
2. Cake n Shake.
3. Joel’s analysis of the bots.
4. “Are You Happy in Your Work” performance.
514: Teenage Strangler.
5. Hollywood romance.
6. The Janitor Song.
516: Alien from L.A.
7. My Wild Irish Ireland. (Mike gets really spaced out and is turned on by Servo. Icky and hilarious.)
519: Outlaw.
8. Toobular, Boobular Joy.
9. Excerpts from Jack Palance’s autobiography.
521: Santa Claus.
10. Santa Klaws! A sort of hair-metal type song, which should have been included on the Musical History of MST3K CD.
11. Foretelling the PCing of Christmas with the All-inclusive Christmas Carol.
522: Teenage Crime Wave.
12. Mystos! The freshmaker!
Least favorite: 515: The Wild World of Batwoman. While it’s pretty tolerable, I just can’t stand that they used the short on cheating as a story through all of the host segments.
>>Least favorite is the “invention exchange” from The Atomic Brain. Mostly it highlighted how, with Joel gone, they had run out of ideas for inventions<<
Oh I forgot that should’ve been on my favorite list — just because of the Traveler’s Insurance mention. My lifelong crush works there.
The whole season was great, but the Wild World of Batwoman skits (all of them) on Cheating were absolutely hilarious. It wouldn’t be until Agent for H.A.R.M. would there be a running gag through all the skits that made me laugh so hard.
The best line was in the last one, during Crow’s apology
“I have Cheated, and when you Cheat, you make an ‘Eat’ out of ‘C’ and ‘H’.”
The best host segment EVER in my opinion is Tom Servo’s explanation of Quantum Superposition in Gunslinger. It’s funny and it’s a total mindf**k at the same time.
Since my list of greats above listed less than ten, I’ll add one more to it. As someone pointed out above, the segments in Wild World of Batwoman that tie into the short on cheating were great. I especially like the one where Crow’s cheating is discussed and he won’t own up to it and Gypsy blows her top and yells at him, “you stole my fri**in’ paper!” Great stuff!
504 – Secret Agent Super Dragon – Segment 2 – SASD Jazz Combo – For some reason this always makes me laugh out loud. If you’ve ever heard a live jazz combo that clearly is just starting out, it sounds a lot like this. And then, of course, Joel freaks out. WITH BOATS!
505 – The Magic Voyage of Sinbad – Segment 3 – City Council Against Sinbad – Skinbag? Zigzag? Whizbang? Move to end sketch!
507 – I Accuse My Parents – Segment 4 – Roots Of Jimmy’s Illness – There’s stupid, really big! I’ve personally used this sketch to analyze my friends. A special shout-out to segment 3, however, with the remake of the song. Joel’s pencil-thin ‘stache is gold.
508 – Operation Double 007 – Segment 2 – “I Know.” – Joel cracks me up endlessly here, pissing off every one of his robot pals with his smug, cigar-eating ways. Time for my daily backrub!
509 – The Girl In Lovers’ Lane – TIE – Segments 4 and 5 – I prefer the sketch rewriting the miserable movie, very cathartic, and Frank’s rewrite is even better. But Crow’s Jack Elam look is unbelievably funny. A puppet with crossed eyes? Fantastic.
512 – Mitchell – Segment 5 – Joel’s Goodbye – Hilarious and touching all in one. Hamdingers? Check. Stupid/heartfelt plaque quote? Panicked robots? Check!
514 – Teen-age Strangler – Segment 4 – Mike Didn’t Steal No Bike, Neither. ‘Nuff said.
516 – Alien From L.A. – Segment 2 – Which Model? A sketch that really shows the new dynamic created when Joel is replaced by someone the ‘bots can royally screw with. Clara Peller? Really?
519 – Outlaw – Segment 3 – Toobular Boobular Joy! I love all the sketches in this episode – who doesn’t want to be Fabio? But the brilliance of this song trumps Mike’s many sailor suits.
521 – Santa Claus – Segment 2 – Santa Klaws – I’m one of the few people that loves this song more than Merry Christmas, If That’s Ok. They’re both great songs, but the phrase Vixen Let’s Explode gets me every time.
522 – Teen-age Crime Wave – Segment 4 – Mystos! Take that, Mentos! You got burned and bad! “Youth is better, old is stupid…” Barely beats out the tribute to the Doughy Guys.
523 – Village of the Giants – Segment 4 – Let Me Be Frank About Frank – The greatest song the show every wrote? Yes. Yes yes Y-E-S.
Honorable Mention: 501 – Warrior Of The Lost World – Segment 5 – Calling Megaweapon. I loved Megaweapon so much that anything they could have done would have been great. But so much more could have been done, too.
Least Favorite sketch?
514 – Teen-Age Strangler – Segment 2 – Hollywood Romances – Just goes nowhere. They should have just sang more of Yipe Stripes.
Anita : I think you might be transposing Atomic Brain and Brain that Wouldn’t Die. Invention exchange for Brain that Wouldn’t Die is the Gutter Bumbershoot, thence the Travellers comment. Invention Exchange for Atomic Brain is M&tB the Mads. The self-referential nature of which is perhaps what Sitting Duck is lamenting.
“Why don’t they look?” – one of my favorite host segments ever.
The “messy girl” vs. “starched and pressed girl” debate.
Joel escapes.
Tubular Boobular Joy.
The Greatest Frank, if only for Mike’s Paul Williams impression.
Mike calls the Mads and realizes he shouldn’t have.
Mystos!
The Nuveena segments – Bridget was excellent in those.
Joel is tied down and turned into Arch Hall, Jr.
The Square Master.
Weather Servo 9, just for the name.
New constellations. “It’s a pencil. The eraser’s almost gone.”
>>Anita : I think you might be transposing Atomic Brain and Brain that Wouldn’t Die. Invention exchange for Brain that Wouldn’t Die is the Gutter Bumbershoot, thence the Travellers comment.<<
Oh ok. Two movies with the title “Brain” in it screw me up.
But I have another one that I love so much from season 5 and I forgot to mention it earier. “Hamilton, Joe Frank, and Reynolds” from Hercules.
Yeah, I’m not going to go through 12 of them. I just wanted to say how great it was for me that Joel said goodbye by quoting from “7 Faces of Dr. Lao”. I was very young when I first saw that movie and it really left an impression on me. Now that I am (much) older, the seduction scene of the widow (Barbera Eden) greatly enhances my appreciation of her acting skills and beauty.
Hamilton Joe Frank ‘n’ Reynolds !!!!
Are they a quartet? H,J,F & R
Are they a trio? H-J,F & R or H,J-F & R
Are they a duet? H-J-F & R ?
Just one guy ? H.J. Franken Reynolds ? ( ok, I made that last one up :)
what fun.. they also got the Sessions treatment on Tormented if I’m not mistaken.
…if you do that think that maybe i’ll just lay me down, cry for a hundred years.
Here’s my top ten list of episodes with story line-themed sketches:
10: The Robot VS The Aztec Mummy- The Demon Dog story was very funny, especially when poor Servo got used as a fire hydrant and when Gypsy tries to eat Enoch the Demon Dog king lol.
9: Women of the Prehistoric Planet- The Issac Assimov Literary Doomsday Machine was a stroke of pure genius, especially due to Mike’s role as the doomsday satilite’s voice. Servo really made the bit a classic when he said, “Literary Doomsday? Isn’t that when the late fees exceed the price of the book?”
8: Fire Maidens of Outer Space- A legendary moment due to the evil Timmy. Best lines include “Kill me…. Kill me….” and “Get away from him you bitch!”
7: Mitchell- Since this was a pivitol moment in the series, it must be mentioned. I loved Gypsy’s blank look when the mads were discussing Mike’s elemenation before coming to the conclusion they were going to kill Joel. Mike’s moment later in the show when he tricks Frank was brilliant as well, lol.
6: Village of the Giants- Frank fired!? NOOOOO!!! Best moment was the song made in honor of Frank Zappa, which also became the tribute song for TV’s Frank.
5: I was a Teenage Werewolf- Alien Parody! Servo gets attacked by a face hugger, everyone eats alien egg omelettes, and Mike scares the crap out of the Alien queen trying to break into the SOL. Best moment (IMO); When Servo enters the theater after being left in the air ducts, he says, “Thanks a lot, you knobs!”
4: Samson VS The Vampire Women- TV’s Frank is assumed into 2nd Banana Heaven by Torgo the White. The intro sketch with the “moment of scilence” was funny, and I loved the Three Stooges bit done during the first host segment.
3: Soultaker- Another pivitol episode, this one bringing back the likes of Joel and Frank as they interact with the present day MST3K cast. I also loved how uncharacteristically mean Gypsy was, talk about unexpected mood swings!
2: Last of the Wild Horses- Awesome Star Trek parody. Servo: I ORDER YOOOOOOUUUU!!!!!!!!! LET ME GO, you traitorous PIGS!!!
1: Giant Spider Invasion- The sketches in this episode, combined with the movie make this episode easily the best one in the series (IMO). The evil pods take Gypsy into their corrupt hive mind, and make her sing about “eil superconciousnesses swallowing us whole”, while Crow gets high on caffine and sugar and Tom Servo talks about his underpants collection.
My top 12, not in order.
502: Crow’s Match Game – not so much hilarious as it is brilliant. Maybe Trace’s finest moment.
505: Chinder-ware/Rat Pack chess set – best invention exchange ever, not even close.
505: Town council meeting – Silly and clever and surreal at the same time.
506: Subtle forms of hell – Just so smart and well written.
507: J&TB’s dicuss their perfect families – I always love it when Crow takes a charming little skit off the rails.
510: Tom and Crow debate the messy girl – This one works on so many levels.
512: Mads being audited – if only for the great “You guys watch Joe Don Baker movies” line
517: Mike calls the Mads – another genius bit from Frank and Trace
519: Palance on Palance – Love how it takes the dark turn at the end. Their Jack Palance impressions always slayed me.
523: Torgo’s interview/checking up on Frank – one of my favorite Torgo appearances
523: “Endless Frank” – Let us all be Frank about Frank
524: Frank roasts Dr. F – I always love it when Frank just takes it too far
Least Favorite: “Merry Christmas…If That’s OK” – WAY to preachy and cute, without any real humor. Decent concept, but it’s the kind of thing I’d expect to see on SNL, not MST.