Hey, it's a Giant Spider Invasion of savings at Menards!
Film watched: The Giant Spider Invasion
Mike Nelson and Kevin Murphy hosted a Bill Rebane Film Festival in 2005 mentioning that, while The Giant Spider Invasion is not a good movie, they can admire the director's ability to get it made.
During the crowd scenes in the MST3K version, Mike and the Bots cheer "Packers won the Super Bowl! WHOOOO!!" This led to a resurgence of interest in the episode among fans in 2011 when the Green Bay Packers beat The Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV.
The episode is included in the show's DVD box sets 10/10.2. It is also available in the Gizmoplex here
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The Segments:
Prologue- Servo's become a peppy cheerleader who wants Mike and Crow to show off their satellite spirit. Rather than giving Servo some spirit, the pair only give him an M, an R, a small x, and a single L. Servo is willing to accept the fact that they've got MRxL.
Segment 1
- On the Camping Planet, Pearl, Brain Guy, and Bobo continue to enjoy their camping trip by preparing their freshly caught fish, and mock Mike and his mechanical pals for their inability to go camping, prompting Servo to launch into a Stooge-esque demonstration of the term "portage" via a canoe on his head. A strangely lifeless Pearl and Brain Guy then show off some large, pod-like "zucchini things" the former found when they were collecting wildflowers, and sends some of the pods to the Satellite along with their movie, though Mike is suspicious.
Segment 2
- Mike, Crow, and Servo find that Gypsy has been assimilated by the pods. She lifelessly tries to convince them that nothing is wrong and they should take a nap, offering warm milk and a lullaby. The fact that her lullaby expicitly mentions an evil super-consciousness swallowing them whole makes Mike even more suscpicious.
Segment 3
- Mike and Servo down gourmet coffee to stay awake and keep themselves from being assimilated. Crow, meanwhile, stays awake through a huge cocktail of high caffeine content, making him immensely hyperactive (he remains wired in the theater, but eventually calms down). On the Camping Planet, Bobo is revealed to have remained unassimilated as the pod clones of Pearl and Brain Guy load the Widowmaker with more pods. When Mike confronts him with the knowledge of what the pods are trying to do, Bobo tries to take one of the pods away, prompting the clones to emit otherworldly screeching and tie him up.
Segment 4
- Servo freaks out over a clone of himself made by pods. Mike and Crow have difficulty in deciding which Servo is the real deal, but Servo proves he's the genuine article by rattling off the contents of his underwear collection, sending the clone screeching and running.
Segment 5
- With Crow and Servo assimilated, Mike and Bobo remain the only characters in control of their minds. Mike urges and inspires Bobo to break his bonds and find the Mother Pod. The invigorated ape throttles the Mother Pod to death with very little difficulty, letting the clones wither and die. When Pearl comes to and learns that she was absent for most of the experiment, she tells Brain Guy to send the movie again, much to Mike and the Bots' horror.
The MST3K treatment of The Giant Spider Invasion provides examples of:
- Actor Allusion: During one of the sheriff's phone calls:
- The crew chuckle at the obvious allusion with first line by Hale, when he greets Dan, "Hey, little buddy!"
- Mike gets made fun of a lot due to being from Wisconsin, where Michael J. Nelson indeed hails from.
- Bigfoot, Sasquatch, and Yeti: At one point, as a shadowy, human-sized figure passes in front of the camera in the woods at night, Mike exclaims, "Normalfoot!"
- Brain Bleach:
- The cast screams upon seeing filthy Wisconsin hick Dan Kester in his stained union suit.Tom: Don't turn on the light — NO!!!
Crow: He's lactating!
Mike: (utterly defeated) Oh my, what a... what a handsome man. - Making matters worse, Dan then chases his nubile sister-in-law around a table, threatening to spank her.Mike: ...And the movie ramps up the repulsion.
Crow: Yeah, this movie hates us, doesn't it? - In-Universe, the impostor Servo screams and flees upon learning his counterpart really does own an underwear collection.
- The cast screams upon seeing filthy Wisconsin hick Dan Kester in his stained union suit.
- Breaking the Bonds: Bobo breaks free of his ropes after a quick pep-talk from Mike and goes apeshit on the pods.
- The British Invasion: Servo muses The Giant Spider Invasion was when all of the spider singers came to the US from Britain.
- Call-Back:
- At the destruction of the spider.
Langer: VaaaaaNNNNCeeee!
Crow: Yoko, no!
Servo!Vance: I guess somebody tampered in God's domain or something.- Servo's underwear collection was first seen in The Movie.
- Character Catchphrase: The pod people's idea of how to allay suspicion is to assure listeners that everything is "quality."
- Celebrity Resemblance: Dan's cousin Billy looks like Charles Manson, which leads to "Helter Skelter" and "Piggies" sung.
- "Look, R. Crumb is leading them!"
- Creepy Monotone: Those assimilated by the pods speak this way to sell the strangeness of the duplicates as hard as possible.
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Bobo actually saves the universe from the pods.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: The Mother Pod goes down quickly once Bobo finally gets around to fighting it.
- Dare to Be Badass: Mike does a Call-Back to Revenge of the Creature, telling Bobo, "You are a great mountain gorilla! You are Bobo, son of Koko!"Bobo: (breaking free from ropes) Yes! And heir to the lineage of Godo! Mogo! And Chim-Chim!!
- Despair Event Horizon: Played for Laughs with, "Movie sign! Again!" as Mike and the 'Bots begin crying when they're sent back into the theater.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: Invoked by Servo.Servo: Greasy guys carrying unconscious girls, comfortable 2PM beer buzz... you homesick yet, Mike?note
- Dude, Where's My Respect?: Bobo saves Pearl and Brain Guy (and the universe) from the pods, but they continue to treat him with their usual condescension.
- Fan Disservice: At Dan Kester's back brace.Mike: He's pink!
Servo: I don't know how, but I just became sterile! - Fantastic Racism: Bobo's indignant response to Pearl's "like ugly on ape" crack.
- Felony Misdemeanor: Sending the movie again is definite proof that Pearl is far more evil than her son ever was.
- Funny Background Event: About the same time Mike is giving Bobo a Rousing Speech Pod!Pearl is having trouble getting the Widowmaker started; Pod!Brain Guy sticks his head in the rocket booster.
- Genius Bonus: When Servo gasps, "Albert Camus!", he's referencing the fact that Camus died in a motorcycle accident.
- Here We Go Again!: After learning that while being controlled by the pods she missed the SOL crew watching the movie, Pearl gets Brain Guy to resend it."Movie sign! Again!"
- Informal Eulogy: When Crow T. Robot poses as Dan Kester:I'd like to say a few words. Uh, this guy's dead... uh, the end.
- Ironic Nursery Tune: What an assimilated Gypsy uses to try to lull the others into helplessness. "Let an evil superconsciousness / swallow you whole..."
- Klatchian Coffee: Crow whips one up to help him stay awake. He's shuddering and stuttering as he describes its ingredients, and he nearly has a heart attack. After that host segment, you can still hear his racing heartbeat in the theater for a few moments.
- Long List: Crow rattles one off of all the stimulants he's using to stay awake:Crow: I-I-I-I'm fine, Mike. I'm fine. I've got French roast, V-V-V-Vivarin, Mountain Dew, Water Joe, Jolt, S-S-S-S-Surge, chocolate-covered espresso beans, M&Ms and I'm listening to Nitzer Ebb and I'm FINE MIKE. Really, I'm fine. I'm fine.
- Also Servo's
CMOA as he lists the exact contents of his underwear collection. - At the movie's credits:
Servo: The film maker gratefully acknowledges the cooperation of the Gobbler, the G. Heilemann Brewing Company, the Doughboy Corporation, Fort Howard toilet paper, Hofmann's Mustard Company, The BoDeans, the American Dairy Association, and the Wisconsin chapter of Wisconsin Dairy Farmers. And the Violent Femmes. - Also Servo's
- Mind-Control Eyes: Pod Gypsy has a spiral in her eye as she tries to convince Mike, Tom and Crow to go to sleep.
- Motor Mouth: Crow after his Klatchian Coffee, it continues in the theater for a couple minutes before he calms down.
- Mythology Gag:
- Most likely unintentional, but this isn't the first time Mike, Crow and Tom had to watch the same movie twice. Not to mention the films riffed in the KTMA era that were redone for the national series.
- Much like the first season, this is the first color film Mike and the 'Bots watch after several consecutive black-and-white movies, which Servo lampshades by saying "Hey, it's in color!", like he did back then.note
- Nausea Fuel: Invoked by Pearl when Bobo describes having to suck out rattlesnake poison "in a very embarrassing place".Pearl: I'll never eat again.
- Never Sleep Again: The host segments feature an extended parody of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, with Mike, Crow, and Tom Servo trying to stay awake to avoid being replaced by pod people.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Mike helps Bobo save Pearl, Observer, and the entire universe from an invasion by zucchini clones. And how does Pearl reward him? By making him and the Bots watch the movie again because she didn't get to see him watch it herself.
- Overly Narrow Superlative: Bill Rebane is described as "one of the finest directors ever to come out of north central Wisconsin".
- Plank Gag: The "portage" scene in the first skit, featuring Servo balancing a canoe on his head and smacking Crow and Mike with it whenever he looks in either direction. It would be his revenge for Mike smacking him around with the same gag back in San Francisco International. As for Crow, well he's a Butt-Monkey.
- Repeating So the Audience Can Hear: Crow calls out Alan Hale for doing exactly this, dropping the line "Repeat what you say to provide exposition?" into one of the pauses in his phone conversation.
- Rooting for the Empire: The spiders haven't even appeared on-screen yet, and Mike and the Bots turn on the characters.Crow: Go spiders! Go spiders, go, go, go!
- Rousing Speech: Mike inspires Bobo by appealing to his heroic lineage.
- Running Gag:
- "PACKERS! WHOOOO! PACKERS WON THE SUPER BOWL!"
- There are also numerous redneck/white trash jokes.
- Space phenomena compared to Linda Hunt.
- Vance either fantasizing about Langer or having really bad health, along with poking fun at both of their gravelly, cigarette-y voices.
- During the host segments, characters summing up the current situation before adding 'again" at the end.
- Dr. Langer's various pantsuits; often comparing her to Johnny Carson or an Elvis impersonator.
- Shout-Out: "I like you, Dottie. Like!"
- "(The spider) makes that shark look like a goldfish!" is one in the movie itself; a riff has another character say "A better movie!" in response.
- Numerous ones to Charlotte's Web.
- Right before the giant spider descends on the fair, a sign reads "Gleason Days". Servo quips: "How sweet it is!"
- When seeing the first large spider puppet, Mike quips "I'm a woozle, and my name is Peanut!" Keep in mind this was years before Jeff Dunham's career really took off.
- Song Parody: "The hills are alive with the stink of that guy / His back brace is smelly..."
- "I feel shaky, oh so trembly, I’ve had whiskey and vodka and gin!"
- Upon an establishing shot of the sheriff's office:
- And later, when a law enforcement official is battling one of the spiders:
Mike: I injected a paralyzing toxin into the sheriff, but I did not inject a paralyzing toxin into the deputy.- Early in the film, a song from Willie Tyler's act is parodied:
Mike: I love tick-infested hounds, / slaughterin' a deer, / and beer. - Special Effect Failure: As Crow puts it, "Giant Puppet Invasion!"
- The Giant Spider was also subject to much mockery, between the car jokes, comparing its legs to pipe cleaners and how the thing appears to eat its victims with its butt.Servo: Does it matter that the spider ate him with its butt?
Mike: I dunno, I think it's appropriate for this guy.
- The Giant Spider was also subject to much mockery, between the car jokes, comparing its legs to pipe cleaners and how the thing appears to eat its victims with its butt.
- Spider Tank: Referenced.Crow: Soon Hitler’s giant mechanical spiders had pushed past the Maginot Line.
- Spot the Impostor: When Servo is faced with his pod-duplicate, Mike and Crow ask questions to see which one's real. The clone gets lucky on the first, Servo and the clone collaborate to answer the second, but the pod creature is outed when Mike asks about the contents of Servo's underwear collection.Crow: Frankly, I don't know why we need any Servo at all.
- State Rivalry: Minnesota and Wisconsin's rivalry is front and center for this episode.
- Stereo Fibbing: Pod-Pearl and Pod-Observer trying to convince Mike and the Bots that the pods were harmless...Pearl/Observer: Zucchini/Throw pillows.
Pearl/Observer: Throw pillows/Zucchini.
Pearl/Observer: Well, it's a kind of (Zucchini/throw pillow) that you can use as a (throw pillow/Zucchini).
Pearl: They're throw pillows -
Observer: Zucchi-
Pearl: (glares at Observer) They're throw pillows. - Take That!:
- The crew at Best Brains are fans of the Minnesota Vikings, and make it very clear (especially through the "PACKERS WON THE SUPERBOWL!" Running Gag) that they don't think too highly of Packers fans.
- The Packers had won the Super Bowl a few months before the episode aired, so wounds were fresh.
- However, Mike is from Wisconsin (though obviously not a Packers fan), which leads to a lot of jokes at his expense in this episode (see Does This Remind You Of Anything?).
- When the Packers won the Super Bowl in 2011, social media (specifically Twitter) exploded with links to a video of the '’Packers won the Super Bowl! WHOOOO!!’’ bit. Bill Corbett tweeted "My god, the Giant Spider Invasion prophecy just came true" (being from Brooklyn, Corbett has no hatred for the Packers) while a depressed Kevin Murphy tweeted, "I humbly submit: [ahem] Packers. [bows deeply, bangs forehead on pile of Schlitz Tall Boys]"
- At the revival:
Preacher: Hellfire and brimstone, that is what is in store for you!
Crow: Dennis Rodman, listening? - The crew at Best Brains are fans of the Minnesota Vikings, and make it very clear (especially through the "PACKERS WON THE SUPERBOWL!" Running Gag) that they don't think too highly of Packers fans.
- Technology Marches On: Invoked, when Dr. Langer is using a large adding machine.Crow: Divide by 10 in minutes! Add up to 3 columns in an hour!
- This Is Gonna Suck: "Movie sign! Again!"
- Unexpectedly Dark Episode: Even by the show's standards, this episode's host segments (other than the opening segment when Tom dresses as a cheerleader) are VERY dark and disturbing. Being assimilated by body snatchers aliens is NOT a pleasant way to die. In the end, you'll be thanking Bobo when he managed to save Pearl, Brain Guy, and all the bots' lives; Even if it led to Pearl forcing the SOL Crew to watch the movie again.
- Villainous Rescue: It was Bobo who saves not just Pearl and Brain Guy, but also Gypsy, Servo and Crow from the body snatcher aliens and turned them all back to normal. Regardless, it led to Pearl forcing the SOL crew to watch the movie again because she was unable to record their intial reactions.Bobo: I saved you and the whole galaxy! Aren't you proud?
Pearl: You mean they watched the movie, and I didn't get to watch them watching the movie? Bobo, get rid of my body, Brain Guy, send them the movie... again.
Mike and the Bots: Movie sign! Again! - Wham Line: "Brain Guy, send them the movie... again."
- Whole-Plot Reference: To Invasion of the Body Snatchers. While camping, Pearl, Brain Guy, and Bobo discover a bunch of body snatcher-like creatures, get duplicated, and inadvertently send a few up to the Satellite of Love to assimilate Mike and the Bots. Throughout the host segments the rest of the cast try to resist being assimilated, until only Mike and Bobo are left. Thankfully, Mike talks the ape into saving the day, but since Pearl didn't get to watch the others watching the movie, she sends it to them again.Mike and the Bots: Movie sign! Again!
VaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAaaaaNCE!
Cousin Billy: (blows raspberry, laughs)
