The story of a brave pancake, starring Aunt Jemima and Flap the Wonder Dog.
Film Watched: Mighty Jack
This is one of the nine Sandy Frank Japanese films originally used for a KTMA episode that was riffed anew a few years later on Comedy Central.
The latter episode is available in the Gizmoplex here
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The KTMA Segments:
Segment 1- The Mads are arguing over whether they're really mad scientists or just angry.
Segment 2
- The 'Bots have welded themselves together after reading about a prank in Boys' Life. They're not sure how Joel's supposed to find it funny, so they ask him what would. He suggests women's clothing.
Segment 3
- Crow and Servo try to figure out how a sense of humor works.
They wonder if killing Joel would be funny.
Segment 4
- Joel wants to play some games, but the 'Bots don't want to as he always beats them. Joel makes a mental note to not add free will when making more robots.
Segment 5
- It's time for letters! Servo gets a compliment for a riff in the previous movie, then a second letter suggests making him less "empty-headed".
The Comedy Central Segments:
Prologue- Disaster has struck the Satellite of Love! Joel is dead! The 'Bots are wrecked! It's pandemonium!... No, wait, they're just fooling around.
Segment 1/Invention Exchange
- For secret agents who need to change out of their wetsuits and into their tuxes quickly, but don't have time to change footwear, the Mads present Formal Flippers, also available in a lady's model. Joel focuses on winter headwear and figures, since kids don't like hats and earmuffs, now they can wear earmuffs that look like actual ears, also available in Vulcan.
Segment 2
- Tom and Crow use Joel to test-market their new product: Mighty Jack dog food, with Gypsy as the dog. It comes in the flavors of regular, mailman, and cat.
Segment 3
- Mimicking the film, Servo (with Crow as his cat) traps Joel inside a torture box with lights to blind him. He decides to just close his eyes, thwarting his plans.
Segment 4
- Crow's Earth vs. Soup has been turning heads in Hollywood, so Joel puts an aquarium in front of Cambot to acts out some underwater sequences. The 'Bots are concerned about his state of mind.
Segment 5
- Joel and the 'Bots are salty sea dogs who sing the sea shanty "Slow the Plot Down". Frank gets inspired to join in the fun and dresses as a pirate while quoting Herman Melville, annoying Dr. Forrester
The KTMA version of Mighty Jack contains examples of:
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Deleted Scene: A prologue showing the Mighty Jack team assembling and launching that was cut out of the Comedy Central version is included here. Another deleted scene showed one of the Mighty Jack team trying to rescue Atari, and getting himself stupidly captured instead. - Humorless Aliens: During a host segment the bots try to understand what Joel finds funny.
The Comedy Central version of Mighty Jack contains examples of:
- Fake Kill Scare: The episode begins with the SOL apparently under attack by some kind of creature, alarms blaring, full of smoke and fire suppression foam, Joel dead on the desk... Psych, it's just the crew pranking the audience.Joel & The 'Bots: Faaaaace.
- IKEA Weaponry: Crow's frustrated with a long scene of a Mighty Jack agent assembling an extended barrel for his sidearm.Crow: What is that, a pool cue or a silencer?... Put that part on, that makes it loud again... Oh, and that attachment for the hard-to-reach assassinations! (How many silencers does he need?)
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: After the bots pitch their idea for Mighty Jack dog food, an unimpressed Joel points at the camera and suggests they watch some real commercials.Joel: I think we have very different views of advertising — let's see how the pros do it.
- Like You Would Really Do It: The joke of the Fake Kill Scare runs on MST3K being a Negative Continuity sci-fi spoof, not the kind of serious, serialized show that's going to start killing off main characters.
- Mr. Fanservice: Dr. Forrester in the ladies' Formal Flippers. The man has legs.
- Mythology Gag: It would seem that Crow and Tom finally figured out if killing Joel would be funny.
- Running Gag:
- Regarding the bad miniature effects: "Toy boat. Toy boat. Toy boat."
- Jokes about the Big Bad's Right-Hand Cat, even extending to the host segment advertising dog food.
- Complaining about the titular Cool Plane constantly making bank turns.
- Skewed Priorities: Crow's been blinded, Tom's lost his dome, the Satellite is still under fire, and what is Joel thinking about?Joel: Got five seconds to live...! Must... get... personal finances... in order...! (dies)
- Song Parody: Joel and the Bots sing a "plot shanty" (with Joel mime-playing a concertina) about all the Padding in the film, "Slow the Plot Down" (ie. "Blow the Man Down")Joel & The 'Bots: We'll make you a movie that's long and immense
Way hey, slow the plot down
Just give us a script that makes no friggin' sense —
We'll try so hard to slow the plot down - Spy-Tux Reveal: Frank wears a tuxedo and a scuba tank when the Mads reveal their new invention: the "Formal Flipper", dress shoes (or high-heels) with swim fins attached.
