Saturday, August 30, 2014

K17 - Time of the Apes

First Broadcast - 6 pm Sunday, April 2 1989

Joel is floating naked in space, sooo It's just the bots running the show and they don't do a bad job. The season 3 version of this experiment is a classic that could never be matched, but it's fun to compare. For example: When Johnny cries that he doesn't want to be killed by a monkey - The response in 306 is, "I'd rather die at my own hand", in K17 crows says, "No, I'd rather be killed by a tiger". In episode 306, Pepe is said to look like an owl. In K17 Tom calls her raccoon boy and ferret face. When Col Sanders Ape demands that Johnny observe monkey-eating customs, in 306 Joel says "First regurgitate then eat", in K17 Josh retorts, "First scratch your armpit then pat your head and say Oooo-Oooo-Ooo".

In addition, there are tons of puns... Servo noting a grumpy character as having "A chimp on his shoulder", Crow singing "Take the ape train", and wondering if our heroes are eating "Ape Nuts" for breakfast. I also loved the conversation about the Oscars. Tom mentions that Apes was the only film nominated for best picture... and it still didn't win.

Host Segments
Intro: The Mads want Joel but the Bots are pretty evasive when it comes to revealing his where-a-bouts. Segment 1: The Bots search for Joel but can only find his jumpsuit. Segment 2: Crow and Servo discover that Joel's locked out of the ship and debate whether or not they should let him back on board. Segment 3: Cambot tricks Crow into thinking Joel's back on the SOL (using a clip from show K101: Invaders from the Deep). Servo gives a lesson on reality. End: Joel floats in space. The bots talk about life without him. No Stinger: But if I chose one... Johnny cries, "No, I don't want to be killed by a monkey!"


Notable Riffs
"Your Excellency? He's mediocre at best" - Servo / "I wonder if this soundtracks available on 8-Track?" - Crow / "You wouldn't like me when I'm angry" - "Whoa, good angry!" - Servo as Catherine/Crow / "Oh good. Put everybody in the freezer" - Crow / "Kind of looks like Chaka from the Land of the Lost" - Servo on Pepe / "I've got a monkey on my crotch!" - Servo as Johnny / "I'm hungry" - "We can eat the transmission off this truck" - Johnny/Servo as Gordo / "At first I thought you were killed by one of those naked apes" - "So I rented your room" - Mother/Crow / "Here's the back door to the building..." "No, it's a little stick" - Pepe/Servo / "He's trying to peel him, he thinks he's a banana"- Servo

Riff Explained
While our trio is tied to a tree, and an ape threatens to club Johnny with the butt of his gun, Crow says... "Johnny, he's got your gun".  This probably references Dalton Trumbo's horrific novel, "Johnny Got His Gun" - Published in 1939, it tells of a soldier who has had his arms, legs, and face blown away and how he spends his days, trapped in a hospital bed, remembering his past. There is also an old song from 1880s titled Johnny Get Your Gun.

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