Entertainment
 

Earth vs the Spider

From MST3K

313 - Earth vs the Spider
Air Date September 14, 1991
AKA Earth vs the Giant Spider
Movie Director Bert I. Gordon
Year 1958
Cast Ed Kemmer, June Kenney, Eugene Persson, Gene Roth
Preceded by 312 - Gamera vs Guiron
Followed by 314 - Mighty Jack


Contents

The Short

Synopsis

Professor E.C. Buehler tells us how to be effective speakers. He has a nifty wire rack to display his points on, and places an emphasis on being heard, understood, and especially "pleasing".

Information

  • This short was included on Shorts Vol 3, released by Rhino Entertainment on VHS in Janurary 2001, and on DVD in August 2004 as an limited time exclusive bonus for ordering MST3K: The Essentials from a specially created Rhino site.

The Movie

Synopsis

When a man doesn’t come home one night, his daughter and her boyfriend go out searching and encounter a giant spider in a cave near the man’s wrecked car. Coming back with the sheriff, the spider is seemingly killed by DDT spraying, and its body is then hauled for storage in the high school gymnasium. However, a loud dose of rock music by a teenage garage band revives the arachnid and sends it rampaging through the town. [1] Meanwhile, the girl and her boyfriend have gone back to the cave to look for a bracelet that she dropped (the birthday present from her father). The oversized arachnid then returns to its lair and the sheriff dynamites the cave entrance, unwittingly trapping the two teens inside with the spider. Rescuers open a small hole above the cave and send down a device that the teens use to electrocute the spider.

Information

Parts of the movie were filmed on location at Carlsbad Caverns. Parts of the movie were also filmed on a sound stage with matte effects to make it look like Carlsbad Caverns using a variety of scenic shots that you've seen before. On postcards sold in the gift shop at Carlsbad.

Laszlo Gorog also wrote The Mole People.

The Episode

Host Segments

Prologue: It's "Inside the Robot Mind" with host Crow T. Robot and special guest Tom Servo! They don't get past the introduction.

Segment One (Invention Exchange): TV's Frank steals the cheese phone from Joel. Joel presents the CD Blow Dryer to replace the In-Salon 8-Track and the Portable Dryer Cassette models.

Segment Two: Crow writes a screenplay, Earth vs. Soup. Joel and Servo are not impressed. This doesn't discourage Crow in the least.

Segment Three: The hot new rock group, Spidorr, is interrupted by a visit from the cranky Custodian of the 7th Galaxy.

Segment Four: Joel and the Bots lament the loss of cool, yet dangerous toys of the past, like Creepy Crawlers and Lawn Darts.

Segment Five: Tom and Crow write reports. Tom's report focuses on Bert I. Gordon's common themes. Crow's isn't finished yet. Frank has repercussions from consuming the entire cheese phone.

Stinger: A poor speaker from the short rambles on.

Other Notes

Guest Stars

Obscure References

  • "It's called Herbalife!"

Herbalife is a brand of personal health products sold via multi-level marketing.

  • "Dr. Erhardt! So that's what happened to him!"

Dr. Laurence Erhardt's demise, perhaps?

  • “Hey Joe!” – Mike Simpson “Where you goin’ with that gun in your hand?” –Tom Servo

Refers to the song Hey Joe by the Jimi Hendrix Experience.

  • Custodian of the Seventh Galaxy.

A likely reference to the seminal 70's jazz-fusion album "Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy" by Chick Corea and Return to Forever.


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