It would seem so. Corman fully milked his resources and often reused certain assets again and again in other films. It speaks to his success that acumen and his style.
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Speaking of "crossover"s. Here it is. The 2020 Emily Turkey Day Supermarket Short and the trimmings.
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AND it’s Henry Slinkman-approved. So ya’ KNOW it’s good for ya’ !! 
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The Undead is a fun episode, maybe the best episode in the first half of season 8. Movies that blatantly lie in their title and presentation always seem to be a bit more riff-able than their more honest competitors. The only undead in this movie are three women who materialize from out of their graves, dance around ineptly for about 30 seconds, and then disappear again. They have nothing at all to do with the plot, which is kind of about a past life regression, or something, but then it turns into this weird thing where hypnosis can be used like a Vulcan mind meld to enter someone else’s past life. Just don’t stay in there too long, or you will get vaporized. No wonder hypnotists don’t use that trick more often.
It is all ripe for the riffing, and it is a Roger Corman flick as well, so the movie can certainly stand alone as an entertaining experience. There are so many great quick riffs in this one, that one or two always get a chuckle out of me, no matter how often I watch it.
The host segments are very good as well. The Digger Smolkin bit is amusing, and Bridget nails the Lydia bit. Tom joining the Observers, and then making off with the silverware is a lot of fun. I even get a laugh out of Bobo’s attempt at fixing a midnight snack. All around, a great episode, just crowded out by some top notch episodes that came along later in the season.
7 Likes
The one episode that got me more peeved at the Observer-hijacked stingers than anything else.
You know and I know that “STAAAAAAAAAAY!” was more of a clear-cut case for stinger material than anything else there.
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Anywho, I love the hell out of Season 8, and The Undead is another strong argument for that season being one of the show’s best, if not THE overall best.
So much wall-to-wall riffing material, it’s ridiculous. I’m particularly keen on two favorite characters here, Meg-Maud (“You hire strippers?” quips Mike as she talks with innkeeper Scroop) and, of course, the infamous Digger Smolkin as portrayed by Mel Welles, prompting Mike to say that he “digs graves and plays with your mind!”
And you have to keep in mind that there’s WAY MORE riff fodder to get served up than those two. What a rich array of characters you have, like our doofy medieval hero (“Sir Gull of Ble”, sayeth Crow), Livia and her imp (Crow after the psychical researchiculator explains everything: “Bottom line: CAN WE KILL THE IMP?!”), a laughably laughable devil (“This guy was never in Heaven; he was cast out of community theater!”), and big bad Bruno VeSota as the doomed innkeeper.
This could have been a heavy-handed movie, but it’s so spectacularly goofy and cheap that it never feels like the riffing is weighed down in any way (unlike, say, The Girl in Lovers Lane or High School Big Shot).
The logic isn’t there, the budget certainly isn’t there, but its flaws all add up to a magical MST3K experience. It’s so thoroughly Roger Corman from the skin to the bones, to the point that we see those flying tortilla bat creature things that were recycled from It Conquered the World, and the gang capitalizes on it all beautifully.
Speaking of, Allison Hayes is every bit as awesome and badass here as she was in Gunslinger.
Also also…
… DICK MILLER IN THE HOUSE!
10 Likes
As for the host segments, holy hell, Kevin Murphy comes through BIG TIME, whether he’s giving Servo headstrong relish as he’s putting one over on the Observers (“Anyway, I’m no longer Servo, I’m now simply Observer, but you can call me… SERVO!”) or depicting Bobo having a great time - before that horrified moment of discovery - as he makes a sandwich with plenty of MAY-O-NAISE!!!
Yeah, that last host segment is as divisive as the day is long, but I will stand by it and champion that jazz all day long.
Servo’s petulant anger and tender breakdown as he forces Mike to go through with his Leonard Maltin apology? Also aces.
And we can’t forget that…
… CROW’S AN IMP! 
10 Likes
Oh how I love this episode! It’s an all time favorite! Definitely my favorite Corman! And it’s perfect for the Halloween season(other than Track of the Moon Beast). We’ve got Digger Smolken, Allison Hayes(Yes!), the devil, and STAY! Such a classic! This one ranks high in season 8 and that’s saying something!
5 Likes
Mmhmm! I think what helps here was that it was in a sweet spot. It was getting over the growing pains of Bill Corbett’s first few outings as Crow.
Which is not to say that that first handful of episodes didn’t bring it, not at all. It’s just that Corbett really polished things by that time, and when we got to The Undead, homeboy was just BLAZING it left and right.
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I agree Opti! The host segments here are awesome! Murphy carries the closing segment. Corbett is an Imp! They all contribute to this great episode!
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Better word to yell?
- STAY!!!
- SLEEP!
0 voters
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I love “STAAAAAAAAAAY!” but there’s something so utterly satisfying about a well-placed “SLEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!”
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I love either!
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Growing up during the Depression will do that to you.
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I always thought Satan saying “What is a month?” would be a great stinger!
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Good call! Any moment involving his goofy laughter would’ve worked well, too, I would think.
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This one reminded me of how much I hate pompous @$$hats who think they know it all. The way the one guy who puts her under goes on and on.
This one is definitely a slog where after awhile, I just forget what is going on (strange how I can stay awake through this, and yet First Spaceship to Venus puts me to sleep).
3 Likes
I remember seeing this for the first time in the Nineties and getting really irritated by Corman’s cheapness and the bizarre twists in logic (mentioned above). So when it showed up on the Twitch channel, I skipped it a few times. But once I bit the bullet and watched it again, its quality shone through. As an episode, it’s top-drawer.
One riff that stays with me — wait, no, STAY!!!s with me — is “I saw the Undead at Unalpine Unvalley.”
6 Likes
This episode includes my favorite and least-favorite shaggy dog jokes from MST3k.
I start chuckling when Kevin starts in on “Greensleeves”, and am busting by the time he hits “FILTH”.
As for the Bobo sandwich scene, I’m just glad it’s at the end of the episode so I don’t miss anything by skipping it.
2 Likes
I always forget that Mel Welles (Smolken) will join us again later for Wizards Of The Lost Kingdom 2, which is one of my top-ranked Netflix episodes no matter how The Founder feels about it. 
5 Likes