Oh, I don't know...
Film watched: Warrior of the Lost World
The episode is available in the Gizmoplex here
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The Segments:
Prologue- Joel allows Tom to take a stab at giving a formal, respectable introduction to the show. His intro drags on when Crow heckles him and steals his script, forcing Tom to retaliate by shoving said script down his fellow 'Bot's throat.
Segment 1/Invention Exchange
- The Mads' have invented a trendy new fitness tool dubbed the Square Master... which is just a mat you put on the floor, but it costs a cool $49.95note . Meanwhile, Joel has come up with Bittersweet Hearts, an awkward antacid alternative to Valentine's Day candy hearts for adults. Phrases include STILL MAD, I'M TESTED, and YOU'LL DO.
Segment 2
- Joel has converted Tom and Crow into a pair of slot cars, but Tom has trouble running the course. Joel admits he made some mistakes with him and drags Tom to the pit as Crow savors his victory.
Segment 3
- In a nod to Steve Allen, the crew perform a skit on what the movie would be like if the Warrior (Joel) didn't have his driver's license, forcing a humiliated and irritated Warrior to save the world from his mother's (Crow) backseat as he waits for her to pick out her new bra.
Segment 4
- The movie actually makes the apocalypse look pretty cozy, so the crew brainstorm ideas on how to spend it. Joel feels the need to remind the 'Bots to pack extra prescription glasses.
Segment 5
- Tom and Crow are bummed out by Megaweapon's death, so Joel calls him up to cheer up his little pals. The fan letter includes a photo of a birthday cake showing the crew watching Godzilla vs. Megalon. The Mads' lifestyle has become more active thanks to the Square Master, and they're off to play tennis and enjoy some dancing.
The Mystery Science Theater 3000 presentation of Warrior of the Lost World provides examples of:
- Alas, Poor Villain: Megaweapon is particularly beloved by Joel and the Bots, especially when it runs over and kills Einstein.
- And There Was Much Rejoicing:
- Einstein's death is cheered on by Joel and the bots.Servo: I can't tell you how deeply satisfying this is.
- Paper Chase Guy getting shot, as well as crashing Einstein into a cliffside earlier, also gets loud cheering.
- Einstein's death is cheered on by Joel and the bots.
- Bait-and-Switch: The middle host segment (with the Warrior riding around with his mother) ends with Joel, as the Warrior, shouting at everyone to "SHUT UP, ALL OF YOU! JUST SHUT UP!!" leading to a very long, uncomfortable pause. It looks like Joel lost his temper, but it turns out they just forgot to write an ending for the sketch.
- Banana in the Tailpipe: Referenced. When the Warrior is hanging on underneath Megaweapon to sabotage it, Joel muses that he's putting a potato in the exhaust pipe.
- Book Ends:
- The title of the film prompts Joel to say, "Oh, I dunno..." dismissively. When just the word "WARRIOR" concludes the film, Tom says, "Oh, I don't know..."
- Also, in regards the film's own use of the trope: As the Rider is approaching at the start of the film, Crow shouts "WHOOO AAARRREEE YOOOUUUU???" and at the end, as the Rider departs, "WHOOO WEERRRRREEE YOOOUUUU???"
- Call-Back: Frank motions to his side after working out, saying, "I can really feel it here", a reference to Ator's same comment in Cave Dwellers.
- When the Paper Chase Guy is receiving mystical medical treatment after his bike crash, Crow remarks on the similarity to Hangar 18.
- Call-Forward: When Kahmbatta points a gun at her father, Crow riffs, "I accuse my parents!" The crew wouldn't riff I Accuse My Parents for another six episodes.
- Celebrity Resemblance: Servo notes several dozen when they show a crowd shot near the end of the movie.
- Cozy Catastrophe: One of the sketches is devoted to lampshading the ample greenery and well-maintained roads of this post-apocalyptic future.Crow: You know, Joel, I have to say what with the lush, green countryside, the well-maintained roads and buildings, and the ready availability of transportation, food, and fuel, I'm kinda looking forward to the Apocalypse!
Servo: Yeah, provided that Paper Chase Guy doesn't survive!
Joel: Guys, that's a terrible thing to say - nobody's looking forward to the Apocalypse, though I do agree with you about the Paper Chase Guy.
Servo: Yeah, but — Look at it this way, Joel; factor out the unfathomable human loss, and a guy could really get a lot done! - Designated Hero: Joel and the 'bots spend the entire film generating a healthy amount of disdain and disgust for Ginty's character. By the time he viciously decks the Tina Turner-lookalike, Joel growls, "Now I hate his everliving guts."
- It doesn't help that he killed Megaweapon, the real hero of the film. (Fortunately, Megaweapon calls the S.O.L. to reassure the crew he's alright.)
- Dull Surprise: Not as obvious as with Alien from L.A., but Joel and the bots note that Ginty really undersells his reactions.
- Fridge Horror: In-Universe. During the credits, Crow has a realization:Crow: Uh, wait a minute, guys... Are these credits supposed to imply that there was a crew?
- Hope Spot: A brief one for Joel and the Bots regarding Megaweapon:Crow: "Oh, he seems fine..." (Megaweapon explodes) "Ah!"
- The Illegible: The contrast is so horrible on the opening scroll that none of the MST3K crew can make it out.Servo: The unclear war has been forgot?Joel: All the gummy mints have colitis?
- Kung-Foley: The MST3K treatment is the Trope Namer.
- Long List: Joel and the 'Bots provide a list of other actors who might have been chosen to play the Rider over the Paper Chase Guy.
- Towards the end of the movie, the camera pans over a cheering crowd, and Servo says "Look, it's (celebrity name)!" for every single person (Although, the list ends when Robert Ginty's seen & Servo's stymied.)Servo: Uh... I can't place him... Paper Chase guy?
- Towards the end of the movie, the camera pans over a cheering crowd, and Servo says "Look, it's (celebrity name)!" for every single person (Although, the list ends when Robert Ginty's seen & Servo's stymied.)
- Mean Character, Nice Actor: Toward the end of the episode, they call up Megaweapon (voiced by Michael J. Nelson) and have a pleasant chat with him. He's moved on from this film.
- Meaningful Name: Suggested when Donald Pleasance's credit comes up.Joel: Oh, he's nice, very reasonable fellow.
- Mundane Made Awesome: The Square Master is this, with Dr. Forrester mentioning utilizing inertia, mass and gravity, i.e. things that don't even involve the mat, to get fit; he even suggests upping your workout game by buying a second Square Master to make a rectangle. And apparently, the square shape is patented.
- My Beloved Smother: "What if the Paper Chase Guy hadn't gotten his license in time for the apocalypse? And then he had to have his mom drive him around in her Vista Cruiser station wagon? We think it would go something like this..."
- No Ending: They couldn't figure out a way to end the sketch, and even admit as such on the way back into the theater.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Robert Ginty is almost never called anything but "The Paper Chase Guy" by anyone on the show. Joel briefly calls him "the Ginty-est" during the opening credits, but that's literally it.
- Questionable Casting: In Serov's Long List Celebrity Resemblance gag, the camera pans past the white martial arts guy sitting in Lotus Position prompting "Patrick Swayze as Ghandi."
- Rooting for the Empire: Joel and the bots are BIG fans of the Omega's (nearly) invincible tank, Megaweapon. Most likely because its first act of villainy is to run over Einstein with extreme prejudice.Servo: Ooooh, yes... die, my darling, die!All: MEGAWEAPON! MEGAWEAPON! MEGAWEAPON!Crow: Make it last!Servo: Yes, make it slow!
- Running Gag
- Jokes about the Professor looking like Jimmy Carter (and/or Gary Busey)
- ANY FRUIT TO DECLARE?!
- Crow points out misspellings of the word "perimeter." By the third time it happens, he just shakes his head.
- The password was "motor". <ding!> And then it was "speech". <ding!> And finally, it was "circulatory". <ding.>
- The cycle's incomplete phrases are completed with Match Game Shout Outs.
- Shout-Out:
- This Is Gonna Suck: After Einstein sings, "BEEP... BEEP... BOP-A-LOOLA", Servo groans, "Oh, is it too early to kill myself?"
- To the bots, Einstein is basically Robotface humor.
- Visual Pun: When Paper Chase Guy slams a karate gang member into the yin-yang symbol on a van, Crow quips "Ooh, right in the yin-yang!"
- What the Hell, Hero?: From Joel and the Bots, chiefly due to the Rider's apparent misogyny. (For example, the first words out of his mouth when meeting Nastasia is: "What's a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?")Joel: (after Drifter decks the final female opponent) Now I hate his everliving guts.
- Wunza Plot: Declared when an odd grouping of La Résistance pass by.Servo: This Fall, on NBC: Black Nazis, White Ninjas, and the Beige Berets.
- Of the They Fight Crime! variety: After comparing two guys to Daniel Stern and Randy Quaid, Servo quietly tacks on "They're cops."
