403. City Limits (1985)

Not sure if this is a hot take, but Mike as Morrissey is kinda hot.

6 Likes

Hotter than the piano player?

3 Likes

This riff did not age well at all.

5 Likes

This pretty much sums up how I feel about this one. It should be really fun, with all of the ridiculous post-apocalyptic trappings, but instead it’s just kind of… there. I’ve only watched it a couple of times, so maybe it still needs a chance to grow.

5 Likes

I always get this mixed up with Neon City which is a much more watchable film.

1 Like

It was true pre-Sex in the City (1998-2004). As this episode aired and even several years after, Dr. Forrester’s judgment was about right. What no one could imagine including Deep 13 is the random hand of fate revitalizing Kim Cattrall’s career. This does occur. Kim is one such example.

2 Likes

The same universe where the H.G. Wells acknowledgement at the end of Riding with Death is credible.

Any stinger featuring a guy screaming like a little girl is comedy gold.

4 Likes

At least that involved a guy who turned invisible and H.G. Wells wrote about a guy who turned invisible. In this case, they might as well have said it was based on American Psycho for all it has to do with any book.

2 Likes

Well, if you want to really dig into it…

We’ve got a young hotshot (D’artagnan) from the country who goes to the big city (Paris) to join up with a group of city protectors who largely goof around (the Musketeers) and ultimately becomes their de facto leader as they face off against a dictatorial leader (Cardinal Richelieu) trying to take over the city in the guise of a regional manager for a respectable institution (the church) that outwardly claims to bring order and enlightenment.

It’s been a long time since I read the book. I know there’s a part in the middle where they’re branded as traitors and driven out of town, with one of their own having been wounded.

It’s still quite a stretch, but if the writer says that his inspiration was post-apocalyptic Three Musketeers, I’d believe him. I can see how it might have provided the broad narrative structure. Even if the tone is nothing like it.

8 Likes

You break it down enough I sort of see it now.

2 Likes

The script was the ingredients to a Three Musketeer’s Bar. That’s why there’s so much high fructose corn syrup in it.

Her agent was and called her up, IIRC. But either way, it just occurred to me how unlikely it is that something like that would happen today. And it happened with Jackie/Manos, too!

I guess now someone would say “You were on the Gizmoplex!” And the other person would say “What the hell is that?” Hilarity would ensue.

5 Likes

The closest we’ve come is our friends from Demon Squad already being fans and getting surprised when they found out their movie was getting riffed.

7 Likes

@TheHippy Your bead on this post-apocalyptic movie? Pure 80s, James Earl Jones, but no Sci-Fi.

2 Likes

I love this episode, definitely a favorite for me, despite not having seen it as much as some of my other favorites. It hits a lot of sweet spots for me, but I have to admit I was one who found the plot nearly indecipherable. I have just always just gone along with the fun and not tried to piece things together, so thanks to @RocketJForklift for the synopsis. I may slot this in for a rewatch this week to see if I can pick up on those plot elements.

This movie is so in your face '80s, there is no other era that would dress a motorcycle gang like that, and it is awesome. I had the hots for Rae Dawn Chong back in the '80s, and Kim Cattrall is easy on the eyes as well (and not entirely covered by that umbrella). Throw in James Earl Jones as Darth Grandpa, and you just can’t miss with this movie. The riffs are great, “Can you get your dad to sign my Big Bamboo Album?”, the Simpson’s reference, Pink Floyd’s The Wall lyrics, it is like they riffed this movie just for me.

Some great host segments here for me as well. “Oh, Kim Cattrall” is a classic, but the Superheroes segment is one I reference often in conversation, as I have been known to sit around and talk comics with friends and family for hours on end, whether they like it or not. I tend to shamelessly rip-off Crow’s Man-Man, and Joel’s Really Deep Man hero ideas on these occasions. That segment is yet another reason why I think this episode was tailor made for me.

8 Likes

It is a great episode. And it’s one of those movies that’s weird and silly but not painful to watch, which is perfect for me.

You are correct. The umbrella doesn’t cover Kim at all. The girl in the cistern is only in that one scene. (I suspect she may have had another scene in the original movie that was cut for time in the MST3K version.) I think it’s maybe implied that she’s a hooker? They have casual sex, but there doesn’t seem to be any emotional attachment. He tells her he’s leaving to chase his dream of joining the gang in the big city, and they say a not at all tearful goodbye, and then we never see her again. Kim doesn’t come to the city (and the movie) until later.

But speaking of Kim…

As mentioned earlier in the thread, this was her introduction to the show. She was in her hotel room, turned the TV on, and found this gold robot singing her name. It was bizarre. She called her boyfriend over, and they watched for a bit. And then she called her agent to order flowers to deliver to Crow. Which is why she’s canonically Kinga’s mother.

So… I posted about this in Off Topic, but I’ll mention it here, too.

A couple of days ago, she tweeted out a selfie. I don’t follow her on Twitter, but the algorithm decided to randomly drop it into my TL anyway. I don’t think she’s ever shown up for me before. But I had to reply…

This made my day.

7 Likes

Thanks for the correction! My memory isn’t what it once was, maybe I should rewatch the episodes before commenting… nah, that wouldn’t be as much fun.

Very cool that Kim liked the Crow pic!

3 Likes

I think she may have also been the girl who helps out James Earl Jones with the RC Plane Wing of Doom, though I could be wrong.

2 Likes

No, that girl was one of the Clippers. The cistern lady was just in that little part of the movie.

2 Likes

Okay, so, watching through this time during the Turkey Day marathon, and it’s clearer. (Possibly surgical enhancement worked.)

James Earl Jones tells us that a virus swept through the world and killed off most of the adults. Most of the younger children died due to a lack of care. Leaving roving bands of teenagers to scavenge for themselves. He’s raised Leland in isolation, but now feels it’s time for the kid to seek adventure.

So Lee hits the road, seeking the legendary (LA) Clippers, a gang of teen scavengers.

On the way, he finds a girl with a horse-drawn wagon. The wagon is stuck. So he pulls in with his motorcycle and tows the wagon for her. (This is during the freeze-frame opening credits, so the “action” is a little stilted.) They’re teens without adult supervision or much company, and they kind of like each other. So, naturally, they go have sex in the water tower. Then he leaves, saying he’s going to find the Clippers. She says they don’t exist, but he’s set. He drives off and we never see her again.

Lost in the big city, he decides to follow some white trucks and almost gets trapped in bad guy HQ, where Kim is working.

He escapes into the territory of the DAs (a rival gang) and kills one of them, but escapes them with one of the Clippers. And that’s where the plot (such as it is) starts.

So… Yeah. Cistern lady was just in that one scene. The first stop on the road to adventure.

6 Likes

I knew district attorneys could be fierce, but YEESH.

So anywho, I just noticed the ending credits style shares a little something with our buddies the Pod People. What’s that about?

1 Like