• Song: “Nummy Muffin Coocol Butter”–605- COLOSSUS AND THE HEADHUNTERS: Frank croons. A great performance.
• Square dancing–607- BLOODLUST: I like segments that end in Looney Toons-esque chaos. NO FYUCHA!
• The bots thinks Mike is too nice, then they see what it would be like if Mike wasn’t nice–608- CODE NAME: DIAMOND HEAD: Mike channels DeNiro in “A Boy’s Life” hilariously.
• Swing choir competition–609- THE SKY DIVERS: One of the show’s great moments. Too goofy for words.
• Servo’s new head!–610- THE VIOLENT YEARS: As you know, this is my favorite episode, and this starts it off with a bang; another moment of inspired madness.
• The Mads unveil their theme music, “Living in Deep 13”, and demand themes from M&TB. Tom is ready!–610- THE VIOLENT YEARS: Another classic moment: all the theme songs are brilliant.
• The Mirror-Mads sing “Joey the Lemur.” In our universe, Crow and Mike struggle with Mirror-Servo–611- LAST OF THE WILD HORSES: I could pretty much pick any of the segments from this episode, but this is my favorite, with it’s gentle ribbing of Joel.
• The United Servo Academy Men’s Chorus performs–612- THE STARFIGHTERS: A tour-de-force for Kevin.
• “A joke by Ingmar Bergman”–617- THE SWORD AND THE DRAGON: A You-Tube perennial, pompous art meets shlocky midwestern yucks.
• Crow offers a plea for film anti-preservation, but Mike disapproves–621- THE BEAST OF YUCCA FLATS: I’ve always said the Academy should have had them do this sketch at the Oscars in 1997, the year after the film came out. The audience would have loved it.
• At Auntie McFrank’s bed and breakfast, Dr. F. demands that M&TB provide some “local color”–and soon regrets it–623- THE AMAZING TRANSPARENT MAN: Another indelible gem. You people bring matches for Sampo?
• Song: “Who will I kill?”–624- SAMSON VS. THE VAMPIRE WOMEN: No list would be complete. Trace steals the show.
Least favorite:
It’s Urkel! Hahahahaha!–614- SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL: Feh.
What are yours?
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Totally agree about the Urkel segment. One of the few segments that I just fast-forward through every time. But hey, you can’t hit every pitch out of the park. Otherwise I regard Season Six as just about as perfect a MST3k season as any.
For favorites (in no order):
Voodoo! (Zombie Nightmare): “Mike, I think you should give Cokie Roberts a scalp massage. Oh, and look! All Things Considered is on!”
“A radio station called Frank?” “More Reba!” “Winonna.” (Violent Years)
Marriange (Racket Girls): “Where did it go?!” “He’s a sorcerer!”
Alright, I’m in for 12.
1) 601 – GIRLS TOWN: Dr. F unveils the Umbilicus. Dr. F’s speech hilariously goes on and on while his audience (Frank) dozes off. Then, finally, when history is about to be made, they’re missing a key adaptor. Fantastic.
2) 602 – INVASION USA: Mike builds a robot. “DESTROY! DESTROY! DESTROY!”
3) 606 – THE CREEPING TERROR: Mike sets up his stereo system to listen to the crummy dance music from the movie. I actually kinda like the repetitive music, and Mike’s audiophile behavior puts it over the top for me.
4) 607 – BLOODLUST: Murder Mystery Dinner Theater. “Is this whole pie for me?”
5) 611 – LAST OF THE WILD HORSES: Any of the segments would fit here, but I like the intro in Deep 13 that sets up the matter transference device. “Ah, Mike… I’ve got an experiment for you…” And then Evil Mike introduces the movie with Evil Crow. It looks like they had fun filming this one.
6) 612 – THE STARFIGHTERS: Cowboy Mike’s Red Hot Original Ricochet BBQ Sauce. “It’s bold!” was a catchphrase among my group of friends back in high school when this aired on Comedy Central. “Now available in new extr-y bold!”
7) 612 – THE STARFIGHTERS: The United Servo Academy Mens’ Choir. I love how the lyrics are lifted from other songs, yet still fit together in rhyme and meter. It’s a crime that this song was left off the Clowns In The Sky CDs.
#8 615 – KITTEN WITH A WHIP: Sending Crow on a secret mission to Deep 13. I admit it, I love when the characters appear outside of their element.
9) 616 – RACKET GIRLS: Security problems in Deep 13. “Have you been helped?”, Frank pretends Dr. F is at Clownburger, Mike and the ‘bots screw with Dr. F’s intercom. Rapid-fire hilarity.
10) 620 – DANGER! DEATH RAY!!: Crow’s line of womany Italian sunglasses for men. No, really, they’re for men.
11) 623 – THE AMAZING TRANSPARENT MAN: Mike and the ‘bots show some local color. Crow’s llama scream always cracks me up, especially how his head is turned away from Mike but his eyes are glued to Mike’s hands.
12) 624 – SAMSON VS. THE VAMPIRE WOMEN: “Who will I kill?” Dr. F was my favorite character on the show, so to see him get to do something outside of his usual routine is great.
Least Favorites: The Urkel bits from 614, Nummy Muffin madness in 605, and Mike As from 608. All are examples where it’s as if, “Yes, I get the joke, can we move on now, please?”
I’ll second many of the ones already mentioned (like the “Mirror, Mirror” spoof and the alternate Mikes). I’d like to add some more:
-“A Date with Mike & the ‘bots” (“Invasion U.S.A.”): Neat skewering of the short, with polite conversation all ’round.
-Crow’s aborted “Batman” spoof (“Zombie Nightmare”), if only for Servo’s Adam West impersonation.
-The “Love, American Style” takeoff (“The Creeping Terror”): Having grown up on 1970’s TV, I can tell you they were very, very close to the original.
-“Supercalifragulisticexpialawacky!” (“Sword & the Dragon”): Both funny and relevant, even today.
I don’t have a great memory for the host segments, but the CD scene from Creeping Terror is my favorite host segment of all time.
Ahh, yet another great season, yet another great selection of episodes. To wit:
1. The Umbilicus from 601: Girls Town. What puppet show would be complete without a little homo-erotic humor? “Frank, these are both male connectors!” “So?”
2. Same episode, explaining the Honor System. I love all the extensive Catholic jokes in Girls Town, but this skit is one of the best. Mike painstakingly tries to philosophize the benefits -nay, the necessity – of honor, and Tom just eats his body weight in sugar and salt. I love it.
3. The Swing Choir competition from 609: The Skydivers. The primary motivator for Dr F’s vicious insanity, ladies and gentlemen? Rejection from high school swing choir. This is somehow totally plausible. And I love the commentary on his celebratory dance at the end: “Did Forrester’s dance make anyone else physically ill?” “I liked it!” “Well, you’re a freak.”
4. Servo’s new head from 610: The Violent Years. I love it when he accuses Mike of being jealous of his good looks – just before Mike pulls his head off and Servo runs away screaming. Oh, too much fun.
5. “Look! Enough with Joey the Lemur!” from episode 611: The Last of the Wild Horses. A great set of host segments overall, and Crow and Mike play evil especially well – I love Crow trying to stab Mike to death (“Die die die die DIE!”) in this particular scene. Also, ladies, let’s be honest: Mike looks great in a goatee.
6. The United Servo Academy Men’s Chorus from 612: The Starfighters. Gosh, what a great voice Kevin has, and this song showcases it perfectly. It must have taken forever to produce. A song that is brilliantly funny and well done.
7. Dr Forrester stopping Frank’s plan to blow up Deep 13 with potato cakes. So fitting and a great slap in the face to all of the idiotic ‘bad-guy-blowing-up-the-world-for-the-hell-of-it’ films that came out right around this time. (I think Blown Away was probably the most recent when this episode was shot.) Dr F strolling out of Deep 13 (still tied up, of course, with sticks of dynamite strapped to him) so he could purchase Frank’s weakness makes me laugh every time.
8. The Igmar Bergman “joke” from 617: The Sword and the Dragon. This thing was so perfectly shot and written and such great overall satire that it deserved an Emmy Award all on its own. Tom’s desolate scream as he falls off the pier is priceless.
9. Tom Servo becoming huge, stupid, and murderous in 618: High School Big Shot. “Servo kill?” A simple joke with great results.
10. Mike does his Fonz impression in 622: Angels’ Revenge and the ‘bots quickly and perfunctorily take care of him. Well done, gentlemen, well done.
11. Mike and the ‘bots providing local color for Auntie McFrank’s B&B in 623: The Amazing Transparent Man. The whole skit is hysterical (cold lo mein for breakfast? Mmmm, tasty.) but Mike absolutely kills me with his psychotic, menacing stare followed by that classic request for matches and an assault on the llama-Crow. I sometimes wonder if the writers were mildly insane. Not batsh!t crazy or dangerous or anything like that, but, you know…just off their medication a bit.
12. All of the host segments for 624: Sampson Vs. The Vampire Women. I loved TV’s Frank, and although it was very sad when he left, at least he’s happy in Second Banana Heaven.
Least Favorite: I’m jumping on the Urkel bandwagon here. Maybe the writers ran out of ideas that week, or this was one of their in-jokes that just didn’t translate all that well for the show.
609 – Swing Choir Competition
610 – Theme songs
610 – Radio station called Frank
611 – All of the Mirror-Mirror parody’s
612 – Cowboy Mike’s bold BBQ sauce
612 – United Servo Men’s Academy Chorus
617 – The Mads meet their new neighbors
617 – A Joke by Igmar Bergman
620 – Frank is a talent agent
621 – Film anti-preservation society
623 – Auntie McFrank’s/local color
624 – “Who Shall I Kill?”
Murder Mystery Dinner — one of my favorite host segments ever. Crow’s character is so well-defined by this time that the sketch only needs two lines to be hilarious.
Who Will I Kill — brilliant.
Swing Choir Competition — I’d never heard of Swing Choir before this. Must be a midwestern thing. I shudder to imagine less talented people doing this.
Crow’s womany sunglasses. (But they’re for men, right?)
Auntie McFrank’s bed and breakfast. (They’re partners.)
Mike institutes the honor system for candy, with disastrous results.
Frank’s talent agency.
I may be swimming against the tide here, but I didn’t think the “switcheroo” segments from Last of the Wild Horses were that funny. Maybe you have to be a Star Trek fan. Although it was neat to see Dr. F and Frank in the theater.
My least favorite segment from this season is Urkel, though.
This is the first season where the overall quality of the host segments declined from the season before, and it’s all downhill after this.
However, the last hurrah for Frank with Dr. F makes this season’s host segments worth watching.
602 – Invasion USA – Mike’s robot going on a rampage. Mike’s gesture as he walks away is perfect, and Crow’s scream as he flees at the end is priceless.
603 – The Dead Talk Back – Crow’s endless guitar solo; great stuff!
Also from 603, Dr. F interrogating Mike a la the detectives from the movie, and Frank breaking down. Dr. F’s expression is terrific.
604 – Zombie Nightmare – the bots protecting Mike by continually knocking him to the ground.
Also from 604, Mike & Tom in costumes for Crow’s Batman play.
606 – Creeping Terror – the extended music scene, esp when Mike says to Crow, “You disgust me!” The music may be lame & redundant, but it sounds great!
609 – Skydivers – the swing choir competition.
611 – Last of the Wild Horses – most of these are funny (and yes, growing up watching “Star Trek” helps) but I love Mike demanding Crow’s agonizer and Crow’s having misplaced it(“Agonizer…agonizer…”).
612 – Star Fighters – United Servo Academy Men’s Chorus.
622 – Angel’s Revenge – the Mads’ attempt to turn Mike & the bots into the cast of “Renegade”; short & sweet & very funny.
Also from 622, Crow’s screenplay, Chocolate Jones & the Temple of Funk. Wow.
623 – Amazing Transparent Man – the entire B&B sequence, with Mike’s scary portrayal, but most esp the way Auntie McFrank slaps Dr. F’s arm, and Dr. F’s reaction.
It must be said – this is my favorite season of MST3K (I think). Ok, here we go.
1) 603 – The Dead Talk Back – Segment 3: The Grateful Dead. Crow is Cap’n Trips, and his solo is one of the greatest things in the world. The fact that it continues throughout the rest of the show (into the credits) is just great.
2) 605 – Colossus and the Headhunters – Segment 2: Frank Croons. All the NummyMuffinCoocolButter stuff is great, but Frank’s song takes the cake. It’s almost beaten by the ending, with the Mads thoroughly in the spell of NMCB, but wins in the end.
3) 607 – Bloodlust – Segment 4: Murder Mystery Solved. Much like the Gameradammerung, a lot of quick set up for failure = hilarity!
4) 608 – Code Name: Diamond Head – Segments 2-4: Is Mike Too Nice? The three evil versions of Mike are just great. “I know a thing or two about a thing or two!”
5) 610 – The Violent Years – Segment 1: Theme Songs. Actually, I love most of the segments in this episode (Turn your Crank to Frank, Tom’s Scary Head, Frank listing names over the credits), but the great themes written in the first segment are pure gold. Who doesn’t love Tom’s epic triumphant tune?
6) 611 – Last Of The Wild Horses – ALL! And Joey The Lemur makes his triumphant television return!
7) 612 – The Starfighters – Segment 4: The United Servo Academy Men’s Chorus directed by United Servo Academy Men’s Choral director Vice Brigadier Sir Thomas “Bullhead” Servo. The title makes me laugh! If it wasn’t for this brilliant little song, Cowboy Mike’s Ricochet Barbecue Sacue (ITS BOLD!) would have been tops.
8)613 – The Sinister Urge – ALL (Again!) Frank’s demonic plot to blow up Deep 13 is all brilliance all around (Tsk tsk, Nelson… that’s not how the game is played!) And a huggy bear appears. And darling pinking shears!
9)614 – San Francisco International – Segments 2-4: Urkel! I loved it. So sue me. And getting every damn visitor they’ve ever had back was great. Torgo doesn’t care for Urkel.
10)617 – The Sword And The Dragon – Segment 1: A Date! Mike and the Bots put on the most brilliant send-up of the American bureaucracy, and Tom Servo gets panned at the end. Sad.
11)623 – The Amazing Transparent Man – Segment 1 – Auntie McFrank’s Bed’n’Breakfast. The local color is quite spooky. You don’t give no matches to Mikey!
12)624 – Samson VS The Vampire Women – ALL (Once More!) Frank’s ascension into Second Fiddle heaven is brilliant and beautiful, as is Forrester’s song and Gypsy’s loving tribute.
Honorable Mentions: Crow’s Commando Raid (615 – Kitten With a Whip), The Bouncy Upbeat Song (619 – Red Zone Cuba), Crow’s Death Ray Run-in (620 – Danger Death Ray), Is it 11:30? (621 – The Beast of Yucca Flats), Gentle Pressure (623 – The Amazing Transparent Man).
…it seems as though Crow is lit on fire, dismembered, and blow’d up a lot in this season and season 7. Great!
LEAST FAVORITE?
616 – Racket Girls – Segment 1: Have you Been Helped? The intercom stuff is funny, but why is that family there? IT TAKES FOREVER TO GO ANYWHERE!
? The unveiling of the umbilicus that connects them to the SOL from 601
? The Choir Swing Contest gets out of hand from 609
? The Star trek parody from 611
? The United Servo Men’s Academy of Servo Chorus from 612
? When Fran kidnaps Dr. F from 613
? When Mads are terrified of their new (female) neighbors from 617
? When Frank become a slick talent agent from 620
? When Torgo takes Frank to second banana heaven from 624
I’ve only seen a handful of season 6 episodes. I’ll just rattle off a few of my favorites:
1. The Starfighters. Crow and Servo “refueling” causes Crow to miss a phone call.
2. Angel’s Revenge. The shame-o-meter.
3. Beast of Yucca Flats. Is it 11:30 yet?
4. Bloodlust. Crow Ruins Mystery Murder Dinner Theater.
5. The Starfighters. “It’s Bold!” and “It’s Extr-y Bold!”
Least Favorite:
The Creeping Terror. Mike sets up his stereo system. Not funny and nothing happens…
This is the only season with episodes I haven’t seen yet (K00-03 excluded, of course), but I saw some of their segments on the Tom Servo’s Favorite… tapes.
Dr. F’s Interrogation (603): Frank’s tearful confessions sell this one. “I ate all the Fruzenglaje! I killed that fat barkeep!”
Love Satellite Style (606): I only ever saw a few episodes of the real show, but it’s the goofy enthusiasm of the performances (especially in vocalizing the theme) that wins me over.
Tom’s Planetarium Show (609): Totally immature, but Kevin plays it so well. And I have to admit, I always laugh at “Uranus is big and gassy, right?”
Theme Songs (610): I find myself singing the Deep 13 Theme a lot more than I probably should. I also enjoy Crow’s typically half-assed effort.
Joey the Lemur Redux (611): I love how the Brains were able to make fun of themselves by assigning to the Mirror Mads a couple of their less successful bits– both the infamous Joey the Lemur and the Chris Lemmon playing card.
Cowboy Mike’s Bold Barbecue Sauce! (612): Funny for the flying hats, and also as a skewering of content-less advertising buzzwords.
United Servo Academy Men’s Chorus (612): Because I first saw this one after the similar Thomas Neville-Servo sketch in 913, I have to keep reminding myself that that’s the one that’s the copy, not this one.
Lisa Loeb Invades Deep 13 (616): Bridget is hilarious and super-cute as Lisa. If I were Mike, I might have asked Bridget to keep the outfit. Also, I like Frank’s admission of weakness for the cigarettey, coffee-house type of girl.
A Joke by Ingmar Bergman (617): Perfectly timed not to get maximum comic tension, and not stretch the gag beyond the breaking point.
“Servo kill?” (618): Especially when they take it into the theater. “Movie bad!”
Tonight’s Lotto Numbers (619): What really sells this is the grunt Servo makes before ejecting each ball. Also, an honorable mention for “Dr. F lives, dies, etc.” I love the probably unplanned moment where, just as Dr. F says, “I’m dead” and falls back, his Deep 13 patch falls off.
“Who Will I Kill?” (624) Nice song, nicely staged, and weirdly touching. I think that, all in all, Frank got a better send-off than Joel, who was almost absent from his own swansong.
[602- Invasion USA]
the ‘A Date With Your Family’ inspired dinner party. this short is one of the best in the MST3K canon, larded with 1950’s ‘enforced blandness’ dogma. it conveys both the plenty and repression of that era. Mike and the ‘Bots abandon their attempt at controlled, civilized dining and give in to hunger, diving into their food like post-clubbing drunks scarfing at Jack-in-the-Box. I like watching Tom twirl himself back and forth across the plates and Gypsy bash herself down onto the table’s contents like a T-rex.
[605- Colossus and the Headhunters]
I’m sorry to say this, but- Nummy Muffin Coolcol Butter gives me the willies. I always expect it to explode into some feral state like a time bomb, and dig newly sprouted fangs into Mike. [it was created by Dr. Forrester, after all.] thankfully, it ends up being just a cute distraction. I love how sweet Mike is to this little creature, although he has, as was Dr. Forrester’s intention, become obsessed by its fuzzy cuteness. Frank’s song of longing to his distant furry pink friend is touching; it’s beautifully staged and performed. I miss TV’s Frank!
[606- The Creeping Terror]
one of my favorite episodes. I first saw it during a very sad time, and it lifted my spirits. still does. the laundry scene at the opening is fun; a glimpse at the domestic side of the Mads. Dr. Forrester pulling off his sock- ‘boogah-boogah HAH!’ is often echoed during sock removal. I love their puerile, slappy laundry fight.
oh, god- Love American Style. what a lame show that was! the SOL crew cleverly transmogrifies the trite, treacly ethos of this ridiculous TV series into mounds of super-fun while deftly skewering the original.
Mike’s uber-stereo. this is great, because I have known a few true audiophiles; their worlds do seem to revolve around their sound systems. I like when Mike, abandoned by the horrified ‘Bots, scrawls on a cd with a sharpie while the music drones. he seems momentarily distracted away from where he is. the expression on his face as he pops back into character is so cute.
[607- Bloodlust]
poor Crow shares some dark secrets with ‘analyst’ Tom Servo, who betrays his patient’s confidence agreement with glee. anyone in therapy may have felt the fear of this happening to them; a therapist who obviously doesn’t care, laughs at your problems, and then charges you a lot of money for the experience. becoming a therapist sometimes seems the ultimate scam; sit in a chair, listen to someone talk for 48 minutes, then charge them 150.00. [this is absolutely NOT true; good therapists are an invaluable help to society.] insightful stuff from the SOL crew. and it’s just plain funny.
the square dancing, which gleefully de-evolves into 1977 style churning punk rock madness, complete with Crow as dance caller shrieking ‘pretty vacant! NO FUTURE! NO FUTURE! ANARCHY, ANARCHY!’ then he pops up at the end with a cheerful ‘…now: promenade!’ I wonder if Johnny Rotten has ever seen MST3K? I think he would enjoy it. the show reflects many of punk’s values: always question authority, do it/make it yourself everything, embrace weirdness, and above all: keep your sense of humor, especially about yourself!
[608- Code Name: Diamondhead]
housework sucks. so it’s fun to see the SOL crew wallow in their own filth. and I know someone who is just as germ-obsessed as the Mads are in this episode. it ain’t pretty.
yes! be thankful for Mike! Magic Voice demonstrates to the upstart ‘Bots the hypothetical horrors of different caretakers. one is Satan’s baritone, Brad Roberts. run! uptight scout master Mike’s Minnesotan accent always kills me: ‘I know a thing or two about a thing or two, mister!’ and what would broth made from Crow’s net taste like, do you think? I’m guessing that we’d be tasting metal. [sorry]
[610- The Violent Years]
the sight of a grinning ventriloquist’s dummy head on Tom Servo makes me feel- you know- squishy. and not in a good way.
love the ‘Bada-bean/we’re Livin’ in Deep 13′ song. well written, well performed.
[611- Last of the Wild Horses]
it’s ‘Mirror Mirror’ time. MST3K both celebrates and pokes fun at this Star Trek episode, deflating its science fiction melodrama pompousness, yet paying homage by mining the original. Mike makes such a good ‘bad’ Mike, complete with Shatner style histrionics. I just wish he had worn as much black eyeliner as the Evil Kirk, back in the day. don’t forget the batteries for your Agonizer!
[617- The Sword and the Dragon]
the fanboy Mads obsess over comics and are made both equally uncomfortable and excited by the appearance of Bridget Jones and Mary-Jo Pehl [who are excellent ‘portraying’ themselves.] c’mon- we all know guys like this. enough said.
[618- High School Big Shot]
the Bread Guy! ahhh! Mike and the ‘Bots are in top form in their interpretations of this relentless retail demon.
[619- Red Zone Cuba]
the gambling sequence at the beginning. the SOL crew is dressed for Baccarat in a Bond film; the game is bingo. the ‘Bots are oddly believable as English gentry out for an evening’s fun. Crow sports an eyepatch and a handsome magenta bow tie. it kills me when Tom appears as a rotund moneyed squire, complete with flapping cigarette holder and slight dyspepsia. and we get to see Mike in a tuxedo, in which he looks smashing.
traumatized by more dark gooey offal from the mind of Coleman Francis, Mike is driven to seek mental solace in the identity of Carol Channing. ‘I’m lunching with Angela Lansbury.’
the ‘Upbeat Song’ at the episode’s end is fun and makes me happy. ‘I check the toilet paper/and if we’re out/I buy- another– roll!’ ah- simple pleasures.
Frank gets a bit of his own back in this episode, as we watch Dr. Forrester’s mistakenly thug-beaten body abused in many creative ways. Frank’s ‘Gookie’ face, a la Harpo Marx, at the ending is superb. [have you ‘made your knee test’ today?]
[620- Danger! Death Ray]
poor Crow again. I feel so sorry for him with his tortured eyes, swimming in pain from his new contact lenses. Mike is sweet as he removes them and comforts our favorite little gold robot.
[621- The Beast of Yucca Flats]
Gypsy, I wholeheartedly agree. flowery wallpaper IS terrifying.
I like the ‘is it eleven thirty?’ sketch, even though it is a bit repetitive. I don’t know; it just makes me laugh every time. Trace makes Crow far more likable than a pesky human toddler, and Mike’s demonstration of tolerance tinged with affection indicates he must be an excellent father.
[622- Angel’s Revenge]
Mike and the ‘Bots as the cast of ‘Renegade’. I love their transformation.
maybe Mike isn’t terribly ‘funky’ as his Chocolate Jones and the Temple of Funk character, but he is funny. ‘Girl, don’t fink on soul brother.’ tasty white chocolate, baby!
when I first saw Aaron Spelling’s house in L.A., I thought it was a public library, prompting the carload of my Angeleno friends to laugh knowingly. yes- it really IS that big.
The opening segment on Bloodlust is one of my favorites, with Tom as the therapist and Crow as his patient.
Tom: Ah…interesting. Have you seen Cliffhanger?
Crow: No.
Tom: Hmmm. Tell me more about that.
Crow: I didn’t see Cliffhanger.
Tom: Well, this seems painful to you…
Crow: No.
Trace’s delivery makes it golden.
Oh! And the square dancing segment is also fantastic. Man…Bloodlust is a great episode.
My picks, in an order that has yet to be determined:
1. 601 Girls Town – The Honors System. Mike’s speech (and the flying wrappers) are amusing enough, but porky, chocolate covered Servo cracks me up.
2. 602 Invasion U.S.A. – Crow deciding which mother to choose, especially the food pouch on the Dr. F mom and Crow’s choice to nurse with the wire mom.
3. 604 Zombie Nightmare – Crow and Tom as secret service agents. “Down!” “Down!” “Head!” “AAAAA!”
4. 607 Bloodlust! – I wish square dancing were this interesting. “ANARCHY! ANARCHY!”
5. 609 The Sky Divers – Ah, memories. I used to work in a planetarium, and you have no clue how many smart alecks thought they were so damn original making Uranus jokes. Still, I guess it’s funnier when it’s not you.
6. 610 The Violent Years – “Turn your crank to Frank” was funny before, but it just got funnier when we got a radio station named Simon; it’s one of those random shuffle stations. Trend prediction is fun!
7. 611 The Last of the Wild Horses – Frankly, they’re all brilliant and my inner Trekkie rejoices.
8. 612 The Starfighters – Wow, so hard to choose on this one. The BBQ sauce is funny, and Crow’s efforts to get on the “information superhighway” uncomfortably if humorously mirror my experiences with Prodigy…but the United Servo Academy Men’s Chorus is just brilliant.
9. 615 Kitten With a Whip – Crow in Deep 13 is one of the best things ever. “The Eagle is wetting his pants!”
10. 620 Danger! Death Ray – Tom’s death ray is only for peaceful purposes. Oh, but here comes Crow…
11. 623 The Amazing Transparent Man The llama scene is one of those segments that was so creepy and dark, and yet one of the most dead-on funniest things they ever did. “You people bring matches for Mikey?”
12. 624 Samson vs. the Vampire Women “Who Will I Kill?” is the perfect tribute to Frank; funny, but disturbingly poigniant.
Worst segment: Oh Urkel, how I loathe thee. I’d rather have another flashback episode than that.
Mike looked more like Drew Carrey than Urkel… Well, here’s my favorites in no particular order:
-Servo’s “Peace-loving death ray” from “Danger! Death Ray” (Crow’s scream as his head’s fire increases at the end is priceless”
-Cowboy Mike’s Red Hot Richochet Bar-B-Q sauce (now in new EXTR-ey BOLD!) from “Starfighters”
-Servo Kill? From “High School Big Shot”
– “The Dead Talk Back” radio call in show from “The Dead Talk Back.” Trace’s Churchill is great.
-Women of the Future from “Girlstown” (Cadillac’s patented Northstar system!)
-Auntie McFrank’s Bed and Breakfast (as you can see the “bed” is completely full) and M&TB as the local color (You people bring matches fer Mikey?) from “The Amazing Transparent Man.”
-And finally (I haven’t read anyone else with these, maybe it’s just me…) the Lisa Loeb/Security problems in Deep 13 from “Racket Girls.” Also the post-short host segment that contains the Cosmo Quiz and Dr. F introducing the film in a parody of the short (Where did it go? He’s a sorcerer!)
Least favorite: The Urkel stuff…although at least we got to see some old “guest stars” again (Torgo, Pitch, Santa, Jan-in-the-Pan, Huggy Bear, Rooster).
I haven’t seen too much of season six unfortunately, but I love the Upbeat Song from Red Zone Cuba way too much. I need to try to make a mp3 of it one of these days.
So everyone here thinks that sketches like the visit from the real Kitten with a Whip or the weird family intro from Racket Girls are funnier than a surreal Urkel bit?
Haven’t seen a lot of season six (got into the series during the Sci-Fi era), but from what I have seen.
603 – The Dead Talk Back: “The Dead Talk Back” radio talk show. Proving that even the historical greats watch Monday Night Football.
606 – The Creeping Terror: Laundry day, “once a year whether there’s a full load or not.”
607 – Bloodlust: Mystery murder dinner theater. “I did it!”
609 – The Skydivers: Crow saws himself in half.
613 – The Sinister Urge: “I stopped that bus and I saved them kids!” “All except one. The one you let drive!”
619 – Red Zone Cuba: Turning Tom Servo into a lotto ball shooter.
621 – The Beast of Yucca Flats: Film Anti-Preservatin Society (and its dirty acronym)
622 – Angel’s Revenge: The bots destroy Mike for his Fonz impression.
Looking back, it seems I haven’t seen as many season 6 episodes as I had thought. Still, my favorites are probably:
– “Nelson cigarettes, for the spirit of Nelson in all of us.” TV’s Frank always kills me in this, first disinterested, then gung-ho. (603, “The Dead Talk Back”)
– Also, the final segment from 603. Crow’s still Jerry Garcia, Mike tries to read a letter, another fire drill, just good old-fashioned insanity.
– “MST, American Style.” Unless I’m mistaken, this has nothing to do with the movie, which makes it even funnier to me. (606, “The Creeping Terror”)
– Swing choir competition. Sure, the inventions were swell, but without them it’s not like the mads got less goofy. (609, “The Skydivers”)
– Barbecue sauce. Is it…bold? (612, “The Starfighters)
My least favorite are probably all of the mob segments from 619, “Red Zone Cuba.” It’s obviously hard to write movie-centric segments for Coleman Francis movies (especially this one), but I’m not sure these segments contain any jokes.
Favorites:
Kevin Murphy as Ilya Mourometz in “The Sword and the Dragon.” “It is HAM that I seek! HAM!! HAM!!!”
Torgo the White taking Frank to his final destination. (“What about my voice?”)
Least favorite: Actually, there are two, and they’re both from “The Violent Years”. Tom Servo as Esther Hoffman Howard (whatever), and “My Own Private Idaho Potato.” Being winkingly self-aware that something isn’t funny doesn’t actually make it funny.
Rowsdower42 – You’re right. I change my vote. The Kitten with a Whip sketch was worse than Urkel. Now, if they had done the Kitten with a Whip sketch for every host segment, that would have taken it to another level.
I really do love the show, despite what this sounds like.
The Kitten with a Whip sketch wasn’t especially good, but it thankfully only lasted one host segment. Urkel dragging on for three skits was a bit much. That said, Torgo’s reaction and the subsequent dispersal of all the other characters was pretty amusing. It just took too long to get there. That’s my humble opinion, anyway.
Danger Death Ray: Crow gets fried by the ray created by Servo for “peaceful purposes”. Great sketch and when Crow really begins to shriek as his eyeballs burst into flame that’s when it goes from hilarious to hysterically funny.
Starfighters: The Servo “academy” chorus bit. Fun and funny.
Last of the Wild Horses: The whole Star Trek “Mirror, Mirror” bit is terrific. The host segments are by far the best part of this episode, ALL of them.
This, essentially, is where I came in, since Comcast didn’t offer CC in NE Philadelphia until the spring of ’95. BTW, something should be said about the “Little Gold Statue Preview” skits; that “Look What Love has Done” parody absolutely nailed interchangeable Oscar-bait movie songs.
Anyway, I’d begin with any segment from “The Violent Years,” the “Crow as Garcia” bits from “The Dead Talk Back” and that disturbing llama segment from “The Amazing Transparent Man.” Then I’d pick Frank inspired melding of the inspirational speech and a posture lesson in “Red Zone Cuba, a perfect summary of why I just loathe optimists. Finally, there’s the “Love, American Style” skewering in “The Creeping Terror,” with its pointless nostalgia for a show that, in my mind, was subtitled “Rainout Theatre.
As for least favorite, could someone explain the inspiration for the Thomas “Bullhead” Servo choir pieces? Nothing, aside from the animus against Linda Hunt, baffles me more about MST3K .
Favorites from Season 6 (NOTE: there may be more than 12 bits listed here):
#601 Girls Town: The Umbilicus
#604 Zombie Nightmare: The “Batman” bit and Frank turning Dr. F. into a zombie
#606 The Creeping Terror: Mike’s sooo into his stereo system
#609 The Skydivers: Tom Starshow; Swing Choir contest
#611 The Last of the Wild Horses: Star-trek inspired “switcheroo”
#612 The Starfighters: United Servo Academy Men’s Chorus; “Poopy Suit Anthem”
#617 The Sword and the Dragon: Mike and the Bots’ Ingemar Bergman-style dramatization of the Sven and Ole joke
#619 Red Zone Cuba: Lottery; High stakes bingo; Mike thinks he’s Carol Channing; Dr. F gets thrashed by the mob; The Bouncy Upbeat Song
#621 The Beast of Yucca Flats: Is it 11:30?
#624 Samson vs. the Vampire Women: Torgo the White takes Frank to Second Banana Heaven; “Who Will I Kill?”; Frank’s last visit to Dr. F
Least favorite: probably #602 Invasion USA: Mike’s new robot is mean.
Season six: the season Mike firmly established that he belonged on this show. I had stood up for him when my fellow friends of the show kept pining for the days of Joel, and many of the hijinks of this season backed my arguments. My second favorite season (after 4) had these great segments:
602- Invasion U.S.A. The first segment where Crow suckles the nipple of the wire mom is disturbingly funny.
606- Creeping Terror Mike listening to the movie’s dance music without expressing a single emotion is great comedy at its simplist!
607 Bloodlust Crow’s vegetable stand being run over by Servo driving his car is one that I laugh at but can’t explain why. It makes almost as much sense as Mike going off being Kenny G.
612 Starfighters United Servo Academy Men’s Chorus always brings a tear to my eye; maybe its from laughing too hard.
616 Racket Girls the second segment was that rare occurence in the Mike era where a skit’s central joke was taken almost verbatim from a short. Frank and Forrester looking for the rubber band always gets me!
617 The Sword and The Dragon The Ingmar Bergman joke, in ACTUAL black-and-white (refer to episode 208 Lost Continent for what I mean) is eye-catching, with the drawn-out joke and clever punch line making all of it worth the wait.
618 High School Big Shot Crow and Servo trying to break into Gypsy’s diary, only destroying themselves in the process: maybe its me, but I always liked any sketch involving explosions on the SOL.
620 Danger! Death Ray! At the end, a rare contribution by Cambot, who starts crying because of all the cameras being blown up in the movie. A shameless sight gag, granted, but how often is Cambot involved other than providing video?
621 Beast of Yucca Flats an under-the-radar gem in the show’s history, The Film Anti-Perservation Society is funny as hell and is something I wished existed for most of today’s films!
622 Angels Revenge The transformation into the show Renegade for the sake of ratings is humorous, and perhaps an inside dig at Comedy Central, who I’m sure were using such excuses to discontinue the show.
623 Amazing Transparent Man The Auntie McFrank b&b with M&TB providing local flavor is inspired; never has this show been both innocent and dark all at once!!
624 Samson Vs. The Vampire Women “Who Will I Kill?” is musical genius, and Frank’s goodbye to Forrester is a fitting end of an era that many MSTies would soon miss.
Worst: 610 Segment 3: I’m surprised nobody else has mentioned this…Servo’s take on A Star Is Born’s Esther Hoffman Howard is shrill and annoying. It’s the reason why the “mute” button was invented.