#26 in Mighty Jack's Top 100
Amazing Colossal Grade: Tallish Richard Kiel is Glenn's favorite MST actor
Movie Pain: Low - Charming grade Z cheese
Riffing: Hilarious if for nothing else but the Kiel impressions
Skits: Wildly funny
Movie Pain: Low - Charming grade Z cheese
Riffing: Hilarious if for nothing else but the Kiel impressions
Skits: Wildly funny
Richard Kiel plays Kolos, an alien who comes from a race of "tallish" (as Joel calls 'em) beings. He is sent to Earth to create androids with ceramic heads in hopes that they'll do something, I dunno, "tallish" I guess. During his assignment, Kiel falls for blind Lisa (Dolores Faith, who he acted with in the MSTed movie, "Phantom Planet"). Lisa flutters about in strange clothing, plays the piano, and enchants our alien so much, that at the end she receives an impromptu shower from his enormous tears.
Standing between Kolos and his collection of duplicates is grumpy Hugh Beaumont (In his final film role). Gail (an annoying Judy Holiday wannabe) and "Robot Monsters" George Nader as Glen "call me Steve" Martin. Who does nothing but fail most of the time. His ultra slow prison break is a rib-tickler though.
The visual effects in this movie are a hoot, and the story lacks suspense as it fails to deliver any sense of danger -despite Kiel's very large presence- because the duplicate's noggins shatter so easily (and are filled with a few nuts and bolts).
While not 'Best in Show' spectacular, the riffing is a riot. They do use a few old jokes -and for some reason- there are a lot of cracks (he-he) about butts. On the plus side of the ledger, the gang mimicking Kolos' deep voice and Beaumont's hair-trigger temper is side-splitting funny. The scenes at the research center (which looks like a Motel) are laughable on their own, as is the one where a female android is created (but of course, the quips add to the fun).
The skits are well done: Joel's deadpan reaction to the bot's disappointment in his experiment would do Buster Keaton proud. The creepy duplicated Servo's are a gas, and Mike's turn as Hugh is just as great as it was in "Lost Continent".
Host Segments
Intro: Joel explores modifications for the bots. Invention: The mads are in a silly mood and offer up the Fridge Alert (keeps William Conrad out of your fridge). On the SOL Joel shows off the Beanie Copter, but the bots expect more. Segment 1: J&TB make space ships. Segment 2:Tom duplicates himself. Segment 3: Hugh Beaumont visits again, but the years have made him real touchy. End: The bots confess that they are bots. William Conrad breaks into the Mads fridge. Stinger: 2 androids fight one another and smile while they do it.
MST Hour Segments
Part 1: The host makes like a mad scientist, wearing gloves and holding a beaker full of bubbling fluid. In the second segment he tells us that while he has never been duplicated, he did have a rather unsettling out-of-body experience. During end credits, he kicks off his shoes and does a little dance. Part 2: Jack wears a Jack mask and gives a recap. Segment 2 – Perkins is convinced that all aliens are up to no good and as credits scroll down, he grabs a sword and chases a crewman.
* "Hey, let's ask this old guy taking a nap" - Joel as Cops looking at the dead body
* "It's a very Brady renaissance" - Joel
* "Gail, there's something weird going on out there but I can't put my finger on it" - "Well if you don't know what it is, don't put your finger on it" - Martin/Joel as Gail
* "Hey, it's a Tucks Medicated film" - Servo
* "Excuse me, where is the little giant's room? - Servo as Kolos
* "Stop in the name of Tom Bodette" - Joel
* "Space Research Corporation and Motor Lodge" - Crow
* "Suppose you tell me how a man who's been dead for several hours, can drive a car up a mountain road, get out and jump over a cliff?" - " He's Jesus?" - Hugh/Crow
* "This is my velvet underground. Like it?" - Servo as Lisa
* "Richard Kiel's got a butt collection" - Crow
* "He just took a hit off his own hair" - Servo
* "But never create a robot, that can outsmart you" - "Too late Joel" - Professor/Servo
* "Ouch, my GI Joe arm" - Joel
* "Hit 'em in the head, they got Hummel heads" - Joel
* "The boys did what? They duplicated Lumpy!" - Crow as Hugh
Riff Explained
"Pons and Fleishman, the early years" - Servo
In March 1989, Chemists, Pons, and Fleishman announced: "fusion in a jar" at a dramatic press conference. Afterward, the duo took some shots as their "Cold Fusion" findings were disputed by other scientists. For more info, here's the Wiki
"It's the Guthrie lab" - Servo
An offshoot of the historic Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, MN. The high-tech Guthrie Lab is an enormous black-box theater with most of its interior space underground. It can seat up to 500 people and is host to concerts and plays.
Stuff and Nonsense
The man who played Thor (the doorman) was John Indrisano. Johnny was a welterweight boxer from 1925 to 1934, who won 34 bouts (2 by KO) & lost 5. After boxing, John turned to Hollywood, where he acted as well as worked as a consultant on fight films, helping to make the action in the ring look as realistic as possible. Sadly, in 1968, at the age of 62, Indrisano hanged himself in his San Fernando Valley home.
Released on DVD: Volume 37 (XXXVII)
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