The second of three Edgar Rice Burrough’s adaptations from Amicus Productions, At The Earth’s Core (1976) reteams Doug McClure and director Kevin Connor to drill for monsters and further box office. Peter Cushing, Caroline Munro, Cy Grant, the expense beats The Land That Time Forgot (1974) and the beasts impress yet it’s here anyway. Growler, Permanent Temporary Tattoos, The Rip Taylor Urn Cannon, Steampunk Bots, The Wedding. “Doug McClure? I forgot him like that land that time did!”, “Wow, this is one really long whiz”, “Eat more cow…” “When this battle station becomes fully-operational” or “The Dr. Who no one is tempted to cosplay”?
I’ve always liked this one. The last bit of this season always felt weak to me, as Wizards II, Carnival Magic, and Christmas That Almost Wasn’t all left me cold, but i thought this one had some great laughs at a watchable but doofy movie. Lots of fun in my book.
Peter Cushing! Caroline Munro! Uh, Doug McClure. A lost world ruled by goofy looking pterosaurs! It’s… it’s… kinda dull, actually. I remember the riffing helping it, but I can’t actually remember much of the episode itself. Bad memory, or did the dullness of the movie leech out?
I feel you. Swimming into Season 11 again, I much prefer the first 7 or so episodes. The concluding few weren’t as moving. Admitting that, Carnival Magic (1983) and The Christmas That Almost Wasn’t (1966) go the distance and age spectacularly on rewatch. I no longer rate them that much under the others. Christmas I grade near the top of the season.
You and I are reflections. At The Earth’s Core (1976) seemed tame and not as exciting. “The dullness of the movie” did leak out and the riffing couldn’t keep it at bay. The wedding plot dragged it down and this is my least favorite of Season 11.
Regarding this season, I’ll paraphrase another riffer and just say, That was extremely too much Doug McClure. Dude has little charisma, or chemistry with the women he plays opposite. I presume he got regular work mostly because he was reliable and didn’t demand a ton of money. Sort of like John Agar, and I grant you D.M. isn’t as stunningly annoying as he was.
Nothing personal against the man himself. From what I’ve heard, he’s aware that his movies have been on the show and he thinks that’s funny. But a little of him really does go a long, long way.
Word. The Land That Time Forgot (1974) fit the bill. No more was needed. “But to each their own.” The unplanned 14th show of the Kickstarter pressed Joel beyond what he intended. This was on Joel’s mind and he threw it in. It stands out because of that. No criticism. Just my observation. At the Earth’s Core (1976) exists owing to us raising money beyond Joel’s reckoning and us cashing in on a dare in the fading seconds of the Kickstarter. Given how 1114 isn’t as strong as preceding experiments in my eyes, perhaps “Sometimes less is more.”
P.S. HOWEVER having MST3K is preferred to not having it. EVERY TIME. 18 years without it proves that. In retrospect once the dust settled, this one as the unanticipated addition jumping off the Christmas Special is different. To me and I’m not alone. We all vary and I’m happy this is around. The out of the blue origin of its roots may be why it has a unique feel.
Note: An Edgar Rice Burroughs thread on the source material, 19th Century Literature of this type, and the inspirations behind Experiments 1107 and 1114 may be found here.
I’ve found that a lot of the Netflix era episodes need a few watches to really appreciate. I think those particular movies take a watch or two to absorb and classify.
I enjoy these ERB/Doug McClure movies generally because I used to watch them with my grandparents as a kid and I have happy memories of that. That said I was very pleased to see them riffed as it gave them some new life, and who else is going to watch these films with me besides Jonah and the bots?
I thought they did a good job at making At The Earth’s Core more fun, it does drag a bit anyway so the riffs helped to make it a little denser. Or meatier, if that’s possible.
I remember reading the original book several years ago. Perhaps I’m confusing details with the Barsoom stories, but IIRC the inhabitants of Pellucidar are nude. There was definitely a scene where upon arrival Perry and Innes are harassed by some monkey-like critters who shred their clothes and it’s implied that they’re as unclad as everyone else. The absence of Oh! Calcutta! costuming was probably for the best. Aside from the mental trauma of seeing Doug McClure and Peter Cushing nude, it would have also meant that Caroline Munro wouldn’t have participated. Recall that she refused the title role in Doctor Jekyll and Sister Hyde because of the planned onscreen nudity.
Don’t forget that we also got a Joel McHale host segment out of the deal!
There were lots of things I dug here. The introduction of Growler was one, because Growler is just the best.
Also, we got the return of Paul Chaplin, who served as the Observer Hive Mind Manager (was this supposed to be an entirely different Observer outside of the Observer he portrayed in Season 8?). More Paul Chaplin is always a good thing.
Loved the Muppet-based riffing humor, like “Kermit the Mahar.” And it’s great seeing Peter Cushing and Caroline Munro, even if that means that Doug McClure has to come along for the ride.
And of course, being an East Coaster, I was all about that Franklin Institute riff!
This struck me as a stronger effort than The Land That Time Forgot. It doesn’t hurt matters that the film is pretty neat to look at.
Well thanks for reminding me. The first time I saw Growler, I was like: “who da hek is dat”. I also said the same thing to Waverly as well. But after rewatching Season 12, he soon became my favorite bot!
