With Short: The Phantom
Creeps part 2
First Broadcast - 7 pm Saturday, Oct 27th 1990
First Broadcast - 7 pm Saturday, Oct 27th 1990
Amazing Colossal Grade: Col Manning called it "da bomb!" and then was promptly sent to his tent without supper.
Movie Pain: High - A cheaply made downer
Riffing: Yo-yo's between fair to very good
Skits: Hilarious
One inept man with a
mission gets everyone killed: Experiment #205 Opens with another
"Phantom Creeps" short, which offers more of the same thing we
received in part 1. There are a few funny moments but the Bela imitations and such are already tiresome. By the time we get to part 3 next week, the gang will
have run completely out of riff steam and the series with be quickly retired.
The feature film is a cold
war drama that has our hero sneaking into the USSR to stop a missile launch.
While in Russia, he falls for his wooden contact (Tanya) then fails in his
mission and everybody dies. The end
This experiment gets off on
the right foot with a Buddy Holly reference then sputters between the okay
(Swipes at the entertainment in the Russian restaurant wasn't as funny as it
could have been) and the outstanding (Mocking the narrator is a laugh riot and
Tanya's relationship with the American spy and a "Tor-Lite" Russian
is a scream). There's also a funny scene with Johnny the spy, where Servo has
him saying, "Hey, there's a commercial behind this bush", before they
cut to a break.
The host segments are real
standouts. I got a kick out of the Water Polo table with mini Frank’s and
Forrester’s, and the "McCarthy" hearings feature some brilliant
comedic writing.
Of Note: In addition to the introduction of the
"Stinger" (shows us an odd moment with a Blind Man) we get also to
see Servo with a haircut.
Host Segments
Intro: Servo gets a hair cut and Joel starts selling him
hair care products. Invention: Gypsy ate Joel's "Mexican Jumping Beanbag
Chair", so he has to show the Candy Adding Machine instead. The Mads play
Water Polo Foosball. Segment 1: The Charlie
McCarthy hearings. Segment 2: Civil Defense
Quiz Bowl. Segment 3: This funny skit has
Joel meeting his Russian counterpart (played by Mike Nelson). End: The crew of the SOL are not happy about the
movie and let the Mads know it! Stinger:
Blind man sez, "Help Me"
Notable Riffs
Creeps Riffs
* "Is 'creep' a verb or a noun?" - "I
think it's a French pancake." - Joel/Crow
* "Plots out of order?" - Servo
* "Fresh delicious tree-ripened girl." -
Servo
* "Stunned!? He took 6 bullets!" - Crow
* "This is great! I can pick my nose and sing to
the radio and no one will see me!" - Servo as Bela
* "You know, for a robot, he's got a really flat
butt." - Crow
Rocket Riffs
* "Hmmm Crickets, I think I'll name my band
that." - Joel
* "The best man just had to do it." -
"The groom or the bridesmaids just wouldn't do."- Narrator/Crow
* "Hey, there's a commercial behind this
bush." - Servo as Johnny
* "What are your plans." - "Uh, you just
burned my plans."- Tanya/Servo as Johnny
* "You were being saved for the big one." -
"Me." - Johnny/Crow
* "What a set up" - "They are nice
aren't they." - Johnny/Joel as Tanya
* "Suddenly Ivan tells a salty joke involving an
elephant and a ladder, I can't repeat it but the punch line is... "what,
and give up show business?" - Servo as Narrator
* "Oh, You taste like a fat drunk Russian." -
Crow as Johnny
* "It must be a stealth missile, there's no
shadow." - Crow
* "Could you say that a little more
woodenly?" - Crow as Johnny
* "Why don't you and Helen take in a movie?"-
"Because Helen's my imaginary friend, she's not real..." -
Wadkins/Joel as Mrs. Wadkins
* "Give him this." - "It's raw pork.
He'll know what it means." Agent Steele/Crow
* "You sound like a manure salesman with a
mouthful of samples!" - Joel
* "Special agents are called in to slow the film
down and grind it to a screeching halt." - Servo
* "We've whipped the problem of skin friction on
the warhead..." "Uh, are we talking about the same thing here,
buddy?" - Government guy/Crow
* "Even Rod Steiger must die." - Joel (Steiger
won an Oscar for his role in a film called the "Pawnbroker". Note the
sign when Joel makes this comment)
Riffs Explained
"Schaper
always leaves you laughing, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha" - Servo
Tom says this when the
little spider bomb crawls on screen. This was heard in an old commercial for a
line of children’s games. One of them being "Cootie" (now
manufactured by Milton Bradly). Kids roll dice to see who will be the first to
build a (cootie) bug.
Stuff &
Nonsense
* Director Barry Mahon was a
war hero who flew 98 combat missions before being shot down and captured by the
Germans. He was the inspiration for Steve McQueen's character in "The
Great Escape". In 1972 Barry co-directed the infamous -"Santa and
the Ice Cream Bunny"- which was tackled by Rifftrax.
* "Just shakin' the Boss, Bu... I mean, Bush Boss".
Joel flubs this old riff (Taken from "Cool Hand Luke") and they don't
edit it out. Wise choice as an old line earns a fresh laugh.
Available on DVD: Volume 27
