Wednesday, August 13, 2014

314 - Mighty Jack

First Broadcast - 10 am Saturday, Sept 21 1991


Amazing Colossal Grade: For me, everything is a toy boat
Movie Pain: High - Filmed in "Confusso-Vision"!
Riffing: Solid, good humor
Skits: Wildly funny, very steady



A Japanese production about a toy submarine that battles a floating iceberg: The word of mouth on this episode wasn't positive. I'd read a few bad reviews and poor notices on message boards - So imagine my surprise when I finally watched it and found myself laughing out loud!

Sure this hip spy thriller has been so chopped up that it makes no sense, but the riffs which target the $5000 Pyramid, Mr. Rodgers, North by Northwest, and the Beatles, are pretty funny. Plus you get the good ship "Greasy Bastard" and the old guy who can't stop smoking that hippie lettuce! Heck, I even loved the host segments -Dog food commercial, the Bots try to blind Joel, "Slow the Plot Down" song- and rank them among my favorites of the series. Maybe I had lowered expectations, But the Jackster wasn't anywhere near as bad as I'd heard and I'm proud to wear this episode's title as my nickname.

It was difficult to get a clean, clear screencap, but Joel briefly dons the green jumpsuit for the first time since season 2, for the opening segment. It looks a little dark, but that could be the lighting, an image at Tom's Temple reveals it as the lighter, pastel green he wore from episodes 208 to 211. Joel would put on the dark green a final time, during the fashion show skit in ep 404.

Host Segments
Intro: Chaos aboard the SOL. Invention: The Mads offer the Formal Flipper. Joel shows the earmuffs that look like real ears. Segment 1: Mighty Jack dog food. Segment 2: The bots torture Joel but he's too smart for them. Segment 3: Joel plays with an aquarium. End: Singing, "Slow the Plot Down". Stinger: Fritz mounts a suitcase.


Notable Riffs
And make sure that Dr. Takebana doesn't commit suicide." - "Phht. Yeah, he's always pulling that." - Thug/Crow
"Eddie, Yuri, put on your diving suits and scout out the whole area. You, put on your diving suit and meet me in my cabin." - Atari/Servo
"Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came down from the stairwell... This book is awful" - Crow
"The anti-missiles are loaded, sir." - "Shhh! Later..." - Jerry/Crow
"They're using every toy in the box!" - Crow
"It's a Japanese Calvin and Hobbs!" - Servo
"You accelerate my molecules, doctor." - Servo as Girl in Yellow
"Looks like it's getting kinda low on baking soda" - Joel
"How are we on the "About This Big" meter!" - Servo
"Why is my internal voice different from my external voice..."? - Servo as old guy
"Uh, Oh...I was just daydreaming Doctor" - Joel (as female agent, after scene with pistons)
"Hear anything?" - "No, I've got wood-clamps on my ears!" - Pilot/Crow
"Cherry Cordials... What a thoughtful old man" - Joel as Atari
"Dr. I've got a terrible headache." - "Okay, climb in" - Whiny guy/Crow as Dr.
"You get an A!" - Crow as the Doctor
"Here's the receipt for your depends." - Joel
"We'll link up with Mighty Jack soon" - "What a weird sensation that'll be" - Pilot/Joel
"PIGEON YOURSELF!" - "Hey, watch your mouth." Jerry/Crow
"Oh my aching imperialistic dogs!" - Joel as girl in green
"One day, all my papers were gone." - "So I quit my route." - Takebana/Servo
"You, stunt left! You, slant deep! You, write 'Sound and the Fury'!" - Crow as Jerry.


Riffs Explained
"You know, the Tommy Bartlet show is really getting expensive" - Crow
If you've never been to the Wisconsin Dells, then this riff might have left you saying "Hu"? The "Tommy Bartlet Show" features water skiing daredevils performing stunts and whatnot. Check it out on your next vacation!

Stuff and Nonsense
Mighty Jack was the brainchild of famed "award-winning" Japanese FX master Eiji Tsuburaya. Pictured here with his best-known effort, the original "Godzilla". Eiji was also the special effects director for more serious films, such as Kurosawa's "Throne of Blood"

In the early 1960s, Tsuburaya started his own company and produced shows like "Ultra-Man" and "Mighty Jack". There were 13 hour-long episodes filmed for M.J in 1968, but the ratings were low. A follow-up titled -"Fight! Mighty Jack"- included monsters & aliens and received better ratings. There are 26 half-hour episodes of this version of the series.




Available on DVD: Volume 22


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