The hottest Garfield episode ever!
Film watched: Kitten with a Whip
The episode is available on the MST3k YouTube channel here
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The Segments:
Prologue
- Crow is being greased up in preparation to be shot down the Umbilicus. His mission is to infiltrate Deep 13 and find the controls that will return the Satellite of Love to Earth.
Segment 1
- The mission is a go as Crow is sent down the Umbilicus and lands in Deep 13. He searches for the controls, but when Dr. Forrester catches him, he runs right back up the Umbilicus in panic. After having Frank set a giant mousetrap to prevent a repeat attempt, Dr. F sends the SOL crew their movie as punishment.
Segment 2
- Mike has added Bionic Man/Woman sound effects to Crow and Servo. The 'Bots quickly drive Mike to annoyance as they run around the SOL with their new noises.
Segment 3
- As Crow discovers that one of his Bionic sound effects is still around, a really unusual guest comes onto the Hexfield: a literal kitten with a whip. Whatever message he has for them is cut off by his feline instincts, and the SOL crew just hangs up when he tries coughing up a hairball.
Segment 4
- The SOL has just crossed the Equator, and Mike, anticipating the 'Bots trying to haze him, hazes himself before they can, humiliating himself in the process. It gets really awkward when the 'Bots admit that they weren't going to haze him to begin with.
Segment 5
- The crew unwinds with a piñata party, complete with a Dr. Forrester piñata to whack open. Insulted and angered that no measure was taken to prevent this, Dr. F turns Frank into a piñata and invites a bunch of candy-starved kids with baseball bats to clobber him.
The Mystery Science Theater 3000 presentation of Kitten with a Whip contains these tropes:
- Advertised Extra: In-universe, the guys get a LOT of mileage out of the inclusion of Doodles Weaver, while he's in the film itself for all of ten seconds playing the kids' show host "Salty Sam" and billed next-to-last in the credits.
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: Riffing on the title:Tom: Puppy with a num-chuck!
Crow: Dik-dik with brass knuckles!note
Mike: Yak with a Kentucky long rifle!
Crow: Hamster who writes a strong letter to the Times! - Backing Away Slowly: The bots do this when they get very uncomfortable with Mike's self-hazing.
- Berserk Button: "You turned off Doodles Weaver!"
- Fake Shemp:
- Crow gets into Deep 13 and runs into Dr. Forrester. But since the same actor plays both (which including puppeteering Crow), Forrester is only shown from the waist down so he could be played by a different actor.
- Lampshaded in the Poopie tape, with Trace popping his head into the shot, with the double, and says, "Hi, I'm not in this."
- Lame Pun Reaction: When Mike goes off-script and whispers an improvised joke ("there's the lattice for the salad bar"), Servo quietly chides him with "Boo!" and Crow mutters "I'll bite you", which causes Mike to chuckle even more.
- Lyrical Dissonance: When the characters visit a strip club, Servo adds lyrics to the background music:Servo: [in Louie Armstrong-esque voice] Jesus loves me, this I know / For the Bible tells me so!
- Mouse Trap: Dr. Forrester has Frank put a giant mousetrap down in front of the Umbilicus to deter future escape attempts. However, the Nutrageous candy bar he uses for bait ends up trapping Frank instead.
- Not-So-Harmless Villain: Dr. Forrester during the first segment where Crow escapes the Satellite of Love - with Mike's help — and attempts to find a way to break out Mike and Servo. Crow merely running into him is enough to send him crying in panic back to the SOL.
- Running Gag:
- Every time the name "Cathy" was mentioned, one of the guys would say "she just tried on a bathing suit and went 'ACK!'"
- The main character's stoic attitude quickly gets labeled as blandness.note Servo: Look at camera, pay no attention, stay bland, must stay bland!
- An actual kitten with a whip (Kevin in an anthropomorphic costume) shows up in Segment 3. He becomes a recurring character, showing up again in San Francisco International and the Turkey Day segments of Night of the Blood Beast.
- Shout-Out:
- Parody Displacement (in-universe) in action: "I always thought it was Ann-Margrock."
- "The hottest Garfield episode ever!"
- Baby Bop is mentioned.
- "One ring to rule them all and in the darkness bind them."
- When the Sexophone kicks in, Crow asks if Johnny Hodges is in the house.
- A trumpet solo over the final car chase invites a riff whether Dizzy Gillespie is chasing them.
- Much to Mike and the 'Bots' amusement, the Looney Tunes cartoon Canned Feud is seen on David's TV during the lengthy confrontation he has with Jody about why she broke out of reform school.
Mike: (as David) Oh, that's right. I rented the spare room to Elmer Fudd. - Suddenly Shouting: Servo does this when the bots see Mike's self-hazing and get creeped out by it.Servo: Hi. Say, on behalf of Gypsy, Crow & myself, I'd just like to ask you, What the hell's your deal?!
- Take That!:Stratton: "On second thought, it wasn't funny at all."
Crow: "Oh, Adam Sandler." - Wholesome Crossdresser: Mike self-hazes himself by dressing up in Rococo fashion, complete with a Pimped-Out Dress and a wig, much to Crow, Tom, and Gypsy's discomfort.
- They Killed Kenny Again: TV's Frank gets beaten to death by five-year-olds with Louisville sluggers while dressed up like a piñata.
- Visual Pun: Kevin Murphy is a literal Kitten with a Whip. (He reappears later during the special Thanksgiving episode of Night of the Blood Beast, and has a lot more funny things to do.)
- Also, Special Effects Failure, deliberately. Kevin's cat headpiece is in obvious danger of falling off.
