304 - Gamera vs. Barugon

First Broadcast - 10 am Saturday, June 22 1991

Amazing Colossal Grade: Who would win in a fight, Barugon or Gene Simmons?
Movie Pain: Medium - A little dry for a giant turtle flick.
Riffing: Decent, good humor
Skits: Wildly funny, very steady

A harrowing tale of greed, redemption, and a turtle who never says die: According to Joel, this film was directed by the giant turtle himself, which would explain why he doesn't have much in the way of screen time. One plus, this monster movie has NO kids in shorts! What it offers instead is the dog-like Barugon whose weapons include a "Death Ray Rainbow" and a battering ram tongue (a rich source of comedy). Also features a spooky chick who sucks blood -Mmm-mmm-good!

While the crew does well in the theater, it's the host segments that sparkle. The 5,000 piece fighting men and monster set is an absolute classic. Tom's voiceover reminded me of SNLs "Happy Fun Ball", with the funny disclaimers -"Not responsible for nerve damage"- I also enjoyed TGI Fridays Tokyo (Though Servo's 'old lady' mask was creepy), Barugon's book on tape and Joel's look at the stars of the film, all are wonderfully, weirdly fun. In addition, I chuckled at the clever little jab Stephen King receives at the end.

Of Note: Gamera must have a violent effect on Joel. As in the last Gams flick, Mr. Robinson pulls off Crow's arm... twice. Once during a skit and again after a bad pun!

Host Segments
Intro: The bots argue about interfaces. Invention: The audio-animatronic soda can is presented on the SOL. On Deep 13 the Cumber Bubble Bund is back, modified for disco. Segment 1: The 5,000 piece fighting men and monster set. Segment 2: Crow and Servo visit TGI Tokyo. Segment 3: Stars of the Gamera movies. End: Joel shows the bots some monster related books. Frank brings Dr. F the uncut version of the "Stand". Stinger: A very happy opal hunter vs a scorpion.

"What, do they got radios in the kids heads?" - Crow

Notable Riffs
* "Hey, I think I see my laundry!" - Crow
* "Hi, I'm dangerous to myself and others." - Joel
* "Seen it!" - "hated it!" - "taped it!" - Servo/Joel/Crow
* "That's it. We're licked!" - Crow
* "Hey it's the DJ from De-Lite" - Joel
* "Well at least he died a millionaire" - Joel
* "Oh, it's a bridge over troubled models" - Joel
* "Gamera loves flame..." "But they go right to his hips" - Narrator/Crow
* "We'll never get a guide from them." - "So we'll have to call Kelly Girl" - Creep/Crow
* "Dad, Dad! He said opal to me I think we're gonna be married!" - Joel as the spooky chick
* "You are one spooky chick. Do you... mind if I don't call you again" - Joel as our hero
* "The monster can destroy everything with its tongue." - "You try saying that without laughing." - Japanese General/Crow
* "They just watched a man get tongued to death." - Joel
* "Hey, Didn't George Harrison write this song?" - "Yeah, My Sweet Warlord" - Joel/Crow
* "I never knew a cheese cutter could sound this good" - Servo
* "I'll uh, shoot myself to prove we're friendly" - Joel
* "Its a boy, congratulations" - Servo on man dying from a Scorpion sting.

Our Hero - "It's our punishment for wanting so much wealth"
Servo - "So what's going to happen to Donald Trump?"

Riffs Explained 
Barugon causes the sea to churn and Joel says "Help Police, there's a man in the bathtub" to which Crow responds, "Stop grandma, it's me!"
These lines come from an old Mr. Bubble commercial. In it, a boy makes himself a bubble bath beard and granny understandably (?) doesn't recognize him

Stuff & Nonsense
Did you know that Gamera actually didn't spin when he flew? SFX director Noriaki Yuasa said that with this film, they developed a device that hung from piano wire which spun the camera while our hero remained still. In the previous movie, animation was used for these sequences.

Available on DVD: Volume 21

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