Stuff I dug: well, all the Biography jokes, for one. Peter Graves HATED MST3K, and heh, it’s easy to see why he had it out for them after watching this episode.
I’ll love this one forever for featuring a “Joe Bob Briggs, track coach” riff.
The Old Milwaukee can lent itself well to some fun material, as did the emphasis on America, leading to all the Neil Diamond jokes.
AND THE SUPER MARIO JOKES ABOUT THAT ONE DOCTOR TECH SCIENTIST GUY
C’mon. Crow’s “She really WAS on top of Ol’ Smokey” is an all-timer. Love the “Don’s Pinball Machine” observational riff about the woefully understocked arcade.
There’s a very 70s ooze to this episode, and that adds to flavor and fun of the gang’s riffs:
“I’m gonna do it! I’m gonna start a band called Air Supply!”
“Here at Up with People farms…”
You gotta let this one grow on you… but you’ll be glad that you did.
This is one of those experiments I don’t put on often, but when I do, I’m usually glad I did because this a strong episode.
The movie is actually rather compelling and deep. It can get easy to get into it a bit, but it’s also very 70s and the in-your-face bleakness makes this very cheesy and a fine riff target.
The Host Segments are very funny here and I have to give a shoutout the line: “Chocolate Lake. My own personal Hell”. Who else but Bill Corbett’s Observer could sell you that line as well making CandyLand such a source of mental anguish!
There’s a moment where Original Richard talks with his son about the Clonus Project. The son says that Clone Richard is a human being, which Original Richard emphatically denies, prompting an overhearing Clone Richard to say, “No! I’m just like you are!”
And it feels like… wow. Did we see a scene that was too headdy/heavy for MST3K?
It’s hard to follow the perfection that was The Giant Spider Invasion, but this episode actually did an okay job of it! I can’t say it’s a favorite of season 8(that’s a high bar) but it’s still pretty good! The host segments are good, especially Crow’s nose job. The riffing is also good. And let’s be honest, this was a good storyline with decent actors. The biggest problem with this movie was the budget. A solid episode and a watchable movie make for good Mst3K!
As a movie this one wasn’t actually that bad. It had a plot that could be followed and everything! It had the typical 70s post Watergate movie theme of the government, the rich, and/or corporations are out to get you and they can’t be trusted.
The one thing that never made any sense to me is when the clone was being “prepared” to be sent off having him wake up and freak out. That just seemed like them being cruel for the sake of being cruel.
Yep. I saw this one for the first time during Turkey Day this year and it’s…bleak. I liked the host segments and riffing, and I can’t even say I disliked the movie, but I doubt I’ll be rewatching it any time soon.
It’s been a while since I’ve seen this one, and it really bugs me that Peter Graves’ nephew thought the best way to help Richard was to…send him back to Clonus? The place that was gonna harvest his organs?
The credits riff was inspired though.
“A murderous organization is after this guy and wants to kill everyone who encounters him to keep their secret base and evil plans out of sight. The only logical thing to do is to send him back to the secret base.”
I honestly think this film is pretty good, especially for its darker moments. Most of the REALLY dark and scary stuff is left in the commercial breaks, like Richard finding the storage area of dead clones, having nightmares regarding his dead friends, and the explicit death of Richard Sr. in the pool with his son Ricky. Obviously someone thought that it deserved a bigger budget (shame they didn’t properly credit, but at least Fiveson got paid). I also appreciate that Fiveson initially didn’t care for the riffing until he took himself out of it and also realized it gave the film more exposure (I’m certainly glad for it). Plus, the host segments with the star children are hilarious (poor Bobo’s crotch).
Yeah: he needed a new eye. George the clone (the one we saw being processed) was killed so that he could get a new eye, and he’s pretty much wearing the eyepatch post-surgery. In fact, unlike the Richards, Frank Ashmore played both George the Clone and George Walker his progenitor in some honestly decent make-up; took me a long time to realize it’s the same actor.
I certainly didn’t realize it was the same actor, but I did think the makeup job was less than stellar. I didn’t understand the point of it. At least I do now, thanks.
