"So what's a Catalina Caper?"
"It's one of those little balls you find when you're eating peel-and-eat shrimp."
"It's one of those little balls you find when you're eating peel-and-eat shrimp."
Frank: Well, Joel, this week's movie is called Catalina Caper, and it is... delightful. It's a veritable feel-good movie, a lighthearted romp, a triumph of the human spirit! Thank you, Tommy Kirk, for making us laugh about love. Again. And it's got a great theme song, you're gonna love it. (badly singing "Never Steal Anything Wet")
Forrester: Frank! Incoming! (an explosion occurs behind Frank)
Forrester: Frank! Incoming! (an explosion occurs behind Frank)
Film watched: Catalina Caper
Catalina Caper holds the distinction of being the only full-fledged comedy film riffed on the show. There's a good reason, though, as explained below. It was also the first time the Brains would lose the rights to the movie being riffed, leading to it being left out of reruns.
Thankfully, the episode is available in the Gizmoplex here
.
The Segments:
Prologue- Before they go to bed, Joel prods Tom and Crow into saying their prayers. Naturally, they ask the powers that be to watch over other robots (yes, even Twiki).
Segment 1/Invention Exchange
- Joel tries to get the Bots to pray for the Mads, but they refuse. Dr. Forrester snarks that he wants to be prayed to, not for. For the Invention Exchange, the cast show their support for two kinds of warfare: the Mads put a dangerous and literal spin on beachwear with their new Tank Tops, while Joel's Tickle Bazooka is much safer and joy-producing.
Segment 2
- The 'Bots ask Joel what the 1960s were like. Despite having just been a kid at the time, Joel waxes disturbingly nostalgic for what life was like in those days. He might be suppressing...
Segment 3
- Tom weeps over his affection for "Creepy Girl" from the film and sings a haunting love ballad to her while Joel and Crow slow dance.
Segment 4
- Frank hosts a Tupperware party, with Gerry, Sylvia, and Dr. Forrester as his guests. It manages to go south when Dr. F gets his hands on a melon baller.
Segment 5
- Crow and Tom note how the movie was really confusing and they were completely unable to follow the plot. Joel created a chart of the film's timeline on his way back from the theater to help explain it, but it fails to do so, so he reads a letter to improve the mood; the writer got married because of the show!
The Mystery Science Theater 3000 presentation of Catalina Caper provides examples of:
- Abnormal Ammo: Joel's "tickle bazooka", which fires feathers.
- Accidental Misnaming: During the Tupperware party in Deep 13, Dr. Forrester addresses TV's Frank as "Fred". When Frank corrects him, he dismissively replies, "Whatever."
- This appears to have been an actual mistake on the part of Trace Beaulieu that Frank Conniff
successfully played off of to save the take.
- This appears to have been an actual mistake on the part of Trace Beaulieu that Frank Conniff
- Bait-and-Switch: At one point during the discussion on the Sixties, Tom asks "Tell us about the rabbits, Joel," which of course is in relation to the Playboy mansion.
- Continuity Nod:
- Twice during the riffing, Crow tries to say "By this time my lungs were aching for air", and twice Joel cuts him off before he can finish.
- A character's spasmodic dance moves prompt Tom Servo to shout, "HI-keeba!"
- "He saw Big Jake!", and later "She hit Big Jake!"
- Didn't Think This Through: The episode opens on Joel having Crow and Tom doing their prayers before bedtime... even though the episode just started.
- Eye Scream: After TV's Frank spills fruit salad on him, Dr. Forrester threatens Frank with a melon baller. Cue Scream Discretion Shot as it cuts to the Eye Catch. Watch for Dr. F's salad at the end.
- From Bad to Worse: In order to try and get Joel out of his tailspin over recounting his childhood, Tom and Crow try to get him to remember better aspects of The '60s... by unknowingly touching a nerve:Tom: Why can't you be like everyone else, and just remember the good things about the Sixties?Crow: Yeah, like Woodstock!Joel: (bitterly sarcastic) Oh, the Woodstock, great, okay, "No, Joel, you can't go to Woodstock, you're nine years old! We're going to the opening of the New Century store, oh yeah, on Echo Lane! Three days of peace, love and pizza rolls! We're gonna get you a shopping cart for your birthday-"Tom: (to the audience; talking over Joel) Uh, people? Joel's in a lot of pain. We'll be right back.
- A God Am I: When Joel tries to get the Bots to include Dr. Forrester and TV's Frank in their bedtime prayers, Forrester chimes in with "I don't want you to pray for us, I want you to pray to us!"
- Hilariously Abusive Childhood: Joel reminiscing about the early 1960s turns into an unhinged rant of how his parents spanked him with a belt in front of company (his mom even forcing him to get the belt), made him take a bath in the front yard and gave him a shopping cart for his birthday.
- Hypocritical Humor: During a musical number, we get a shot of the Cascades sitting together, and the Bots start mocking them:Crow: Look at those stupid legs. They're stupid-lookin'. They're not real-lookin' at all.
Tom: They look like puppets.
Crow: Huh?
Tom: (*clears throat nervously*) - Impossible Hourglass Figure: The cartoon mermaid in the opening sequence.Joel: Nice measurements. 36-2-85.
- Interspecies Romance: Servo seems to have fallen pretty hard for "Creepy Girl." How hard? Hard enough to sing about it.
- Jerkass: Lyle Waggoner and Tommy Kirk, according to Servo's "Creepy Girl" song.
- Jerkass Has a Point: As part of his rant, Joel recalls how his parents forbade him from going to Woodstock, given how he was nine. (There were children younger than 9 at Woodstock, though.)
- Oh God, with the Verbing!: Running Gag whenever Fingers is doing slapstick on-screen.
- Redundant Parody: Catalina Caper is virtually the only straight-up comedy movie the show ever mocked.note There's a reason for this: The Brains found it difficult to riff on a comedy, since it's easier to mock a Comically Serious work than to wring laughs out of something that's trying to be funny but failing.
- Running Gag:
- Riffing on the overbearing whiteness of the film and its cast. Little Richard using an all-white backup band inspires a few jokes by itself. ("Ike Turner with The Cowsills — they'd all be in casts.") More than a few riffs invoke the Nazis.
- Numerous plays on the name "Lakopolous." ("He's so un-scropulous!")
- Crow repeatedly attempts to use the line "By this time, my lungs were aching for air" (a Sea Hunt reference), only to be stopped by Joel.
- Sincerity Mode: For as much as they joke about Little Richard being very clearly stoned while lip-syncing, Crow still makes a point to say "I like him!" and calls him "the only genuine talent in this film".note
- Shout-Out:
- In the opening host segment Crow and Servo say their nightly prayers for a number of famous sci-fi robots, including Data and Lal, R2-D2, Galaxina, and yes, even Twiki.
- During the animated credits sequence, Tom Servo reacts to an animated fish with "Sorry, Charlie! Only the best titles are kept..." in a reference to the Starkist Tuna mascot.
- "Who's afraid of Venita Wolf, anyway?"
- "You know how to whistle, don't ya?"
- "My Creepy Girl" sounds a lot like "Tears on My Pillow".
- When all the girls walk off the beach at once, Crow compares it to "A strange version of Lysistrata."
- One of the aforementioned plays on Lakopolous' name is also a reference to "Ghetto Defendant" by The Clash: "Do the worm on Acropolis, slamdance cosmopolis".
- Although it was in respect to the Playboy Bunnies, Tom asks Joel to "tell [them] about the rabbits".
- As noted under Running Gag, Crow's blocked attempts to reference Sea Hunt.
- A shot of random extras invokes this comment, "Hey, they grew up to be Jim and Tammy Bakker!".
- During the underwater sequence, Tom starts singing the Title Theme Tune of Colors.
- During one of the performances, the S.O.L. crew start doing the dog bark call from The Arsenio Hall Show.
- Spelling Song: During Servo's song "My Creepy Girl":Servo: "C" is for that feeling of uncertainty for not quite knowing what ethnic group you're from. "R" is for the gifts you give me every time you smile. The first "E" is for—uh, well, I don't really know. But the second "E" is really a grammatical thing 'cause otherwise it would be "Crepy Girl," and where would that leave us? The "P" is definitely not for "platonic." And "Y?" Because I love you!
- Take That!: While saying their nightly prayers, Joel forces Crow and Servo to include Twiki, even though neither want to.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: The crew note Waggoner is Playing Against Type during the film.
- Visual Pun: The "tank" tops that the Mads showcased.
- What the Hell Is That Accent?: In-Universe, Servo wonders what the "Creepy Girl's" accent is. For the record, Ulla Strömstedt is Swedish.
