Starring Vanilla Ice, Ice Cube, Phoebe Snow, Ice T, Hank Snow!
Film watched: The Deadly Mantis
The Segments:
Prologue- Servo announces that it's Business Casual Day on the SOL. His bossy nature and increasing amount of restricting rules (mostly on Mike, as he's the only one who wears clothes) ironically makes things less productive. Or would if there was any actual productivity going on.
Segment 1
- Deep Ape is visited by their new neighbors: a trio of mutant cultists who want Bobo and Peanut to fix the "holy and everlasting" thermonuclear device they worship. The apes struggle at first, but an offhand suggestion from Mike sets them on the right track, upon which they activate the bomb. As the cultists rejoice, Pearl discovers the active warhead and tells Bobo to send Mike his next movie while she runs for her life. Also fearing for his and his friends' lives, Mike begs the Nanites to quickly repair the Satellite of Love. He finds that only one of them is one on duty today, and he refuses to fix anything without a work order. After some arguing, the nanite finds Mike's work order and converts the Satellite into a spaceship, complete with a control panel that springs up on the table. Before Movie Sign hits, Mike manages to steer the Satellite to a safe distance seconds before the bomb detonates, destroying the Earth.
Segment 2
- Believing that she is no more, Servo dresses as a minister and performs a eulogy for Pearl and the simian inhabitants of Earth. The service is interrupted when Pearl turns out to be alive, flying her own ship (a rocket van she calls the Widowmaker), and firing her revolver at the Satellite of Love. Pearl also discovers that Bobo stowed away on her ship and reluctantly hands him the gun, but the ape only manages to shoot himself in both feet. Gypsy takes control of the SOL and manages to evade Pearl by hiding behind an asteroid.
Segment 3
- As the SOL continues its journey through the cosmos, the crew starts dozing off at the wheel and nearly running into interstellar traffic. Mike and the 'Bots try to stay awake by turning on the radio, but the channels they pick up are only able play country/western music, much to everyone's annoyance. They try to get around this by switching to a public access station, but even this is not without country music.
Segment 4
- Servo takes a turn driving the SOL and accidentally hits a blue, blob-like, multi-eyed alien, much to his dismay. Crow goes to check on the creature and brings it inside, whereupon it starts eating him. After several failed rescue attempts, Mike gets the creature to vomit Crow back up via a makeshift ipecac, though he's partially digested in the process.
Segment 5
- The alien that ate Crow is gone, just as Crow prepares dinner in the form of a suspicious giant meatloaf. In the meantime, Gypsy delivers a letter from Dr. Peanut, who was thrown back in time to the year 2112 by the force of the bomb's explosion. An included postcard reveals that he's also met and started a relationship with Mike's future great-granddaughter, Ludmilla Nelson, no doubt kicking off the ape-ruled future. Meanwhile, Pearl and Bobo are back on Mike's trail, though Bobo keeps interrupting her villainous boasts on how she'll never stop her pursuit of him by wanting to stop for everything he sees.
The Mystery Science Theater 3000 presentation of The Deadly Mantis includes the following tropes:
- Agony of the Feet: When Pearl hands Bobo her gun, he claims apes are advanced in the use of weaponry. But he fumbles with the gun, and shoots both his big toes.
- Alas, Poor Villain: Servo ministers over an impromptu funeral for Pearl after Earth explodes.
- All Men Are Perverts: The entire Arctic base, especially one ensign whom Crow compares to Donny Most, suggesting a masturbation joke. "I've got a mantis in my pantis."
- Artistic License – Nuclear Physics: One thermal nuclear bomb is enough to destroy the whole Earth. In fairness, this was also the case in the film being referenced, Beneath the Planet of the Apes.note
- Attending Your Own Funeral: Pearl crashes her own eulogy when she starts taking potshots at the SOL with a revolver.
- Batman Can Breathe in Space: Pearl leans out the window of her van — you know, into space — as she shoots at the SOL. But it's just a show.
- Bread, Eggs, Breaded Eggs: The bomb cultists' song.Cultists: Oh wonderful bomb! Oh glorious bomb! Oh wonderful glorious bomb!
- Brick Joke: During the third host segment, after Mike keeps falling asleep at the wheel while driving the SOL, Tom demands to take the wheel, insisting he's an excellent driver. At the start of the next segment, when Mike and Crow walk in on Tom behind the wheel?Mike: Do you know how to drive?
Tom: That's exactly what I was wondering! - Butterfly of Doom: The narration at the start of the film attempts to invoke this trope after Stock Footage of a volcano erupting is used to explain the Mantis' awakening. This does not go un-riffed:Narrator: For every action...
Mike: ...there is a Jackson.
Narrator: ...there is an equal, and opposite, reaction.
Mike: (as the map on-screen pans north) We take you now to a coldwater flat in Brooklyn, where another volcano is erupting.
Servo: (when map pans to the North Pole) Because of volcanic activity, a creature named Santa Claus crawled out of the ice! - Call-Back:
- Ned the Nanite keeps asking if Mike's name is "Relson", a reference to the Running Gag in Deathstalker and the Warriors from Hell.
- Mike riffs "O little town of... DEATH-lehem!" as the mantis approaches the base.
- During a Fighter-Launching Sequence, Servo begins humming the jazzy Refuelling Theme from The Starfighters, and Crow makes mention of the (in)famous "poopie" suits.
- Another to The Starfighters: a Spinning Paper displays a sarcastic headline, and Mike quips, "Oh that Bob Dornan!"
- While the characters are investigating a train crash: "Why don't they look?"
- "Shut up, Iris."
- The crew reads a letter at the end of the show like in the Comedy Central seasons. Instead of fan-mail, however, they get a letter from Peanut about his new life in Earth's past. He also provides a photo for Cambot to put up on stillstore.
- Call-Forward: The future Turkey Volume Guessing Man enjoys the song about turkeys.
- Cassandra Truth: Lampshaded:Nedrick: They (the Army) found an old bone at the North Pole, and they want to know who it belongs to.
Servo: Oh, and we've been invaded by Spain and mermaids are real. - Comically Missing the Point: Crow, as usual:Mike: Oh my Lord, they're messing with a thermonuclear device!
Crow: Yeah! They're supposed to be sending us the movie! - Continuity Nod:
- One of the many deep-space radio stations the SOL picks up in "the Southern part of the galaxy" is FRANK, still broadcasting an all-country format despite the untimely rapture of its founder.
- Gypsy saying "Alright, baby, out! Out-out-out-out!" when she takes the wheel from Mike is actually a reference to Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie — it's exactly what Mike says to her in Segment 2 when he shoos her off the bridge and takes the helm (and breaks the Hubble).
- Cool Starship: The newly liberated SOL is now one of these, to say nothing of Pearl's rocket-powered Volkswagen microbus, the Widowmaker.
- Damned by Faint Praise: When Servo gives a eulogy for Pearl Forrester, who is believed to be dead, he tries to think of something good to say in remembrance:Tom Servo: What to say about a woman like Pearl? ...well she lived a life that was, uh... well, she managed to live a life that... well she was alive.
- Deep South: The radio stations the crew pick up makes Servo wonder if they're in the Southern portion of the Milky Way.
- Dirty Coward: One of the tribesmen abandoning another when the mantis attacks:Servo: Good luck!
- Dress Code: In the opening host segment, Servo announces it's "Business Casual Day" on the SOL and berates Mike for his alleged violations of the (non-existent) dress code.Servo: Let's review: no chaps without pants... Mike. Number two: no sheer camisoles... Mike. Number three: no toeless shoes or sandals or spike heels... Mike.
- Called back, of all things, in Touch of Satan, where Mike, while climbing a ladder, can indeed be clearly seen wearing toeless sandals. Hey, they're comfortable.
- Earth-Shattering Kaboom: Happens offscreen after Professor Bobo and Dr. Peanut help a Cult detonate a thermonuclear bomb.
- General Failure: "Sir, I just remembered you didn't tell us what your plan is or anything!"
- Hypercompetent Sidekick: Mike can't outmaneuver Pearl to save their lives (literally), so Gypsy takes over and pilots them into hiding in a convenient Asteroid Thicket. She even gets to indulge in some action-movie banter with the villain:Pearl: Ha, Nelson, you big sissy! Making that oversized purple shop vac do your driving for ya. HA!
Gypsy: [whiplash zoom-in close-up] Oh, yeah, sister? Well, you're going to be eating my space-dust!
Pearl: Dream on. I'm switching to my 9-iron, dead girl. [reaches for another gun] - I Ate WHAT?!: Crow takes great delight in telling a dismayed, disgusted Mike and Servo just what the well-marbled, piquant meat they're eating is: the huge space monster they accidentally ran over in the previous segment that ate most of Crow even as Mike and Servo cheered over its surprise recovery.
- I Just Shot Marvin in the Face: When Pearl hands Bobo her gun, he claims apes are advanced in the use of weaponry. But he fumbles with the gun, and shoots both his big toes.
- Interspecies Romance: At the end of the episode, Mike and the Bots receive a letter from Peanut (Bobo's assistant). It's revealed he survived Earth's destruction — getting blasted into 2112 Wisconsin and meeting "a nice girl" — a Nelson woman.Crow: It's certainly a joyous day for any Nelson woman when she meets the ape of her dreams.note
- Not only that, but it's hinted that this pairing paved the way for human-ape relationships becoming commonplace which eventually created the ape-dominated future.
- Joisey: The Army scrambles fighter jets to take down the Mantis:Army General: That'll put [the giant mantis] over Newark in a few minutes.
Servo: Great! We can solve two problems at once! - Last Disrespects: The SOL try to say a few words for their fallen Worthy Adversary Pearl after the planet explodes, but quickly get derailed.Servo: [dressed as a priest] ...Well, you get our drift, Lord, now that Pearl has gone over to the other side — or rather been hurled violently over to the other side, really, because of Mike's bottomless stupidity...
Mike: [petulantly] Why do you blame my bottomless stupidity for everything? It isn't alw— [sound of shots ricocheting] hey!
Pearl: Your Reports of My Death Were Greatly Exaggerated, you crapheads! - Let's Get Dangerous!: Gypsy when she pilots the SOL to safety from Pearl.Gypsy: [to Mike] Alright, baby, out! Out-out-out-out! [shoves Mike aside, takes the ship's helm with her mouth]
Crow: Get it, Gyps! - Mike Nelson, Destroyer of Worlds: Mike's reign of terror begins when he inadvertently helps Bobo and Peanut detonate the thermonuclear bomb. While Mike later tries to protest that they'd have blown themselves up anyway, odds are that Pearl would have seen what Bobo and Peanut were doing and stopped them, if not for Mike happening to throw in a suggestion on how to activate the bomb.Servo: Good one, Nelson!
- Never My Fault: Servo blames Mike for hitting the space creature. Even though Servo was driving and Mike warned him about the creature. Mike agrees as both of them sob into each other's arms.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: How Mike Nelson helps Bobo and Peanut detonate said bomb:Mike: (offhand) Well, why don't you just use a pair of locking pliers and a spanner?
- Oh, Crap!: The Bots reaction to Mike's above suggestion, and Pearl and the SOL crew's reaction to its results.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: In the tunnel, Servo suggests the mantis tries to disguise itself as a highway worker but is given away by his giant ovipositor.
- Reports of My Death Were Greatly Exaggerated: Pearl, word for word, after crashing the SOL's impromptu funeral for her.
- The Peeping Tom: Approaching the office where the protagonists are, the mantis looks through the window.Crow: It's a peeping mantis.
- Repetitive Name: Mike notices a "Leon Leon" in the opening credits; Crow remarks on how lazy and uncreative his parents must have been.
- Running Gag:
- Pointing out how stately the mantis looks when he's flying.
- The crew actually having the mantis praying while it attacks.Crow: (as the mantis) Bless us, O Lord, and these thy gifts — GET IT?! (attacks)
Servo: (as the mantis) "Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini,"note heh heh...
- Sapient Eat Sapient: During a host segment, the SOL runs into a hulking, adorable (according to Servo and Mike) space creature. Bringing it aboard, it takes a liking to Crow — meaning it immediately starts eating him. By the time Mike pulls him out, he's a half-digested wreck.
- In the last host segment, Crow reveals that he cooked it and served it up as meatloaf in retaliation.
- Saying Sound Effects Out Loud: Since space has no noise, Servo supplies the sound of cars driving during the host segments.Servo: Watch, I'll downshift now! Rrr-EEEERRRR...
(Tom Servo hums)
Crow: What's that?
Servo: I'm idling. - Shout-Out:
- The bomb worshipers and the subsequent planetary destruction by said bomb is a clear reference to Beneath the Planet of the Apes, right down to subbing out reference to "God" with "bomb". And then there's Crow's reaction to it happening:
- Peanut getting blasted into the past references the sequel to Beneath, Escape from the Planet of the Apes.
- The year in which he ends up is 2112.
- "Keep watching the ground!"
- Mike lapses into Shatner speak while trying to outfly Pearl:Mike: She's got that space van souped up to heck and back! She's outmaneuvering me! At! Every! Turn!
- "Inuit Baywatch."
- "She has a temp job at Baskerville Castle." "She's a waitress at the International House of Usher." (Both books feature a lot of Ominous Fog.)
- Skewed Priorities: Crow's main concern about Bobo and Peanut helping the religious cult detonate the "holy and everlasting Bomb" is that they're doing that instead of providing the Satellite of Love with this week's movie.
- Stable Time Loop: Peanut is sent back in time by the bomb's explosion, where he marries into Mike's family, helping to cause the eventual Ape uprising... which eventually leads to Peanut's own birth and being sent back in time. Yeah, this is one of those occasions where the MST3K Mantra helps.
- Stern Chase: So begins Pearl's pursuit of the SOL through time and space, as spoiled by the theme song from the first episode of the season.
- Story Arc: Pearl's pursuit of the SOL finally kicks off in earnest with the destruction of the Ape Planet/future Earth, and will continue until episode one of the next season.
- Take That!:
- "Hopefully John Madden was on that bus."
- "Maybe the army shouldn't have recruited Keith Moon..."
- "Still, that was sadder than Terms of Endearment."
- Too Dumb to Live: Invoked with Bobo:
- He read the bomb's manual, which makes clear it will explode and kill people, and still helps fix it. He even asks the SOL crew what a thermonuclear device is after the bomb's armed.
- He shoots his own toe off within seconds of Pearl handing him a gun. Twice.
- Took a Level in Dumbass: Surviving the Earth-Shattering Kaboom made Professor Bobo dumber.
- Uncanny Family Resemblance: Mike's great-granddaughter Ludmilla is basically Mike in a wig.
- We Can Rule Together: Parodied.Crow: (as the mantis) We're very alike, you and I, Colonel. Join me. No? You care too much, don't you? (laughs)
