"My goodness, it's creeping! It's really creeping!"
"Mars, extending us a velcome!"
Dr. Forrester: Well, Joel, your movie this week is preceded by a little piece of tripe that's very close to my own heart, called The Phantom Creeps. And it stars our old friend Bela Lugosi as a lovable-but-fractured mad scientist. Bad print, bad sound, bad for you. Deal with it, joyless prole! (...) Well, as you know Joel, the torture never stops around here. That's what you get from hanging out with guys like us. One more bad film. No no no no no no! Don't pass out on me now! Go ahead, put in the tape, Frank. Taste my steel, pasty boy!
Films watched: The Phantom Creeps (Film Serial) Chapter 1 and Jungle Goddess
The episode is available in the Gizmoplex here
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The Segments:
Prologue- Joel and the 'Bots play hide-and-seek with the mysterious, unknowable forces controlling the universe. Crow wanted to play hopscotch with the concept of existence instead.
Segment 1/Invention Exchange
- In a bid to increase power tool safety (by being as far from the tool as possible), Joel builds a radio remote-control saw that accidentally sends him plummeting through the floor. Dr. Forrester, meanwhile, fuses his own head with the bell of a baritone saxophone.
Segment 2
- The SOL crew put on an infomercial to demonstrate phantom creeps, able to blow up anything, and just the products you need to stop them.
Segment 3
- Inspired by the binocular views in the movie, Joel demonstrates other kinds of camera mattes by placing them in front of Cambot. Crow and Tom provide colorful commentary relevant to each one, before they start going off the rails.
Segment 4
- A pair of imperalistic pilots not unlike the ones from the film stop by the SOL and demand various things from the crew, who they treat as backwards savages. But hey, they demonstrated their magic fire sticks in the process.
Segment 5
- The crew puts on a sitcom parody they call My White Goddess, wherein the titular jungle goddess starts to adapt to life back in civilization. At least Frank enjoys it.
The Mystery Science Theater 3000 presentation of The Phantom Creeps (Chapter 1: The Menacing Power) has examples of:
- Call-Forward: The riff "How fortunate! This vill simplify every-ting!" originates from this serial chapter.
The Mystery Science Theater 3000 presentation of Jungle Goddess has examples of:
- And Introducing: Apparently the screen acting debut of behind-the-scenes man Jim Mallon as fake Bob so they included an "and introducing" buried in the credits; Frank also gets one but he had at least a few episodes with that credit. Jerry the mole-man may piggyback on Mallon's introducing credit.
- Call-Forward: Several recurring riffs throughout the series get their start in this episode.
- "A char-broiled hamburger sandwich and some French-fried potatoes!", after Greta waxes nostalgic for the meal.
- This is also the episode where Crow picks up the nickname "Art", when Joel introduces him as "Art Crow" as a Shout-Out to Jackie Gleason's curtain calls on The Honeymooners.
- Circling Saw: Joel accidentally does this to himself when demonstrating his remote controlled circular saw. He distractedly has it circle him repeatedly and ends up in a waist-deep hole.
- Losing His Head: Dr. F, during the Invention Exchange, puts his head into a saxophone.
- Recycled: The Series: Invoked; in a scathing parody of the film's straight use of tropes like Mighty Whitey, Joel and the bots concoct The '50s-ish Sitcom "My White Goddess", in which the movie's leading lady still demands to be worshipped even after returning to civilization. Bob (played by Servo) returns from the dead as Mike and Greta's wacky, homicidal neighbor.
- Running Gag:
- The snake speaking to the audience. "Hi, I'm Satan."
- A few jabs at George Reeves' most famous role. Although downplayed in that it's not until nearly halfway into the film that they drop the first one.
- Take That!: During the scope host segment, Joel inserts an I Love Lucy scope in the shape of a heart. Crow does a Lucille Ball impression and says, "Turns out I was never funny."
