1st Annual Summer Blockbuster Review

1st Annual Summer Blockbuster Review
Air/Release Date	September 2, 1997
Running Time	23 min
Movie Director	various
Preceded by	Little Gold Statue Preview
Followed by	Academy of Robots' Choice Awards

“	"Pete Postlethwaite in shorts? This movie is for the ladies!"	”
	- Crow

The Special

The 1st Annual Mystery Science Theater Summer Blockbuster Review is a special produced by Best Brains, Inc. for The Sci-Fi Channel. It was first broadcast on September 2, 1997.

Synopsis

Mike and Crow are awakened in the middle of the night by loud explosions and other noises. Crow finds Tom Servo in the theater watching a clip of The Fifth Element and learns he is hosting a "Summer Blockbuster Review" with the help of his floor manager, Lyle. Tom kicks off the theme song, the "Blockbuster Review Uptown Toodle-oo", with Crow joining in. The song is sung over clips from various summer blockbusters including Men in Black, Batman & Robin, The Fifth Element, The Lost World, and Contact. Before going to the break, Tom reveals that he got the special from a "guy he knows" and introduces Crow to Lyle.

The first movie is The Fifth Element. The trailer for the film shows Korben Dallas (Bruce Willis), Leeloo (Milla Jovovich), and Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg (Gary Oldman) in scenes from the movie which confuse the bots. Tom then shows some behind-the-scenes footage of Willis and director Luc Besson. This is followed by a clip from the film between Korben and Leeloo.

Mike finally locates the bots, though Tom insists on referring to him as Jonathan Frakes. Tom prompts Crow to talk about director Steven Spielberg's The Lost World: Jurassic Park showing footage of Jeff Goldblum, Vince Vaughn, Richard Attenborough, Julianne Moore, Vanessa Lee Chester, Pete Postlethwaite and Arliss Howard. Despite Crow's lengthy description, Mike still wants to know what the story is. Crow explains that the story is really Steven Spielberg's "scenes of people looking". Behind-the-scenes footage is then shown of Spielberg and the stars of the film.

As Tom tries to introduce Men in Black, Professor Bobo blunders his way into the Mystery Science Theater, spilling snacks and sticky condiments as he goes. The trailer, constantly being interrupted by Bobo's noisy snacking, features Agent J (Will Smith), Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) and Chief Zed (Rip Torn). After insisting that Bobo leave, Tom introduces behind-the-scenes footage showing director Barry Sonnenfeld overseeing various aspects of production. Before the break, Tom announces the next film will be Contact and teases a look into "Chris O'Donnell, What the Hell is the Deal?"

Tom welcomes us back and introduces Contact, starring Jodie Foster. As the film is a bit more high-class than the rest, none of the SOL crew have seen it (Mike having opted for Gone Fishin' instead). Before Tom can show any footage, Brain Guy pops in. He hasn't seen the film, either, but uses his mental abilities to watch it instantly. He then reviews it for his "friends on Thinos Four" and then begins to explain the plot over the film's trailer. Before he gets far, Pearl Forrester shows up, annoyed that she can't find anyone, despite sending first Bobo and, then, Brain Guy.

After Tom explains about the special, Pearl asks if they have covered "her fiancé's film" yet. She explains that her fiancé is George Clooney, who had a movie that summer: George Clooney & Robin. Tom states that he planned to skip "the whole Batman thing", as he found it repulsive. He is in the middle of calling Clooney a "wooden, monotonous, head-bobbing little..." when Pearl grabs him and throws him out of the theater. She proceeds to narrate the trailer and a clip, which feature Batman/Bruce Wayne (Clooney), Robin/Dick Grayson (O'Donnell), Batgirl/Barbara Wilson (Alicia Silverstone), Mr. Freeze (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Alfred Pennyworth (Michael Gough). Behind-the-scenes footage shows director Joel Schumacher working with Silverstone, which traumatizes Mike and angers Pearl. When she demands Crow put "her boyfriend" back on, he shows clips of other men from the films shown, including Besson, Attenborough, Chris Tucker (from The Fifth Element) and several monsters from Men in Black. This causes Pearl to chase him and Mike from the theater, missing "Pat Hingle's towering performance as Commissioner Gordon".

A shaken Servo returns to send off the show, begging Lyle to take the camera off of him. Bobo also returns and assaults Tom with a barrage of monkey and ape-based movie suggestions, including Mighty Joe Young, King Kong, King Kong Lives, Son of Kong, King Kong vs. Godzilla, Bedtime for Bonzo, Bonzo Goes to College, Blue Monkey, Gorilla at Large, Monkeys, Go Home!, Bride of the Gorilla, Time of the Apes, Bomba and the Jungle Girl, Jungle Captive, Jungle Woman, The Lost Jungle, all three versions of The Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Barefoot Executive, Bo-Ru, the Ape Boy and Monkey Shines.

Obscure References

• "Two-hundred-fifty years in the future. That's when they'll finish the Crazy Horse Monument."

The Crazy Horse Memorial is an under-construction monument to Crazy Horse, a Lakota war leader best remembered for his victory at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. If completed, the planned sculpture of "Lakota Warrior Crazy Horse upon his Steed" will be 563 feet high and 641 feet long. Work began in 1948 and so far only Crazy Horse's head has been completed.

• "Charlie Sheen's dearest fantasy."

Actor Charlie Sheen developed a reputation as a lothario, having a number of high-profile relationships with famous actresses from both the mainstream and adult entertainment. In 1995, Sheen had been identified as a client of the escort agency operated by Heidi Fleiss. It is unclear if the joke here is about Charlie Sheen wanting to have women delivered to his home, or if Crow is suggesting that Sheen has a preference for young (potentially underage) women, which is not something that Sheen has specifically been accused of.

• "Directed by Rob Lowe."

In 1988, a home video surfaced of movie star Rob Lowe appearing to engage in sexual activity with a young woman who was later identified as being 16 years old at the time that the video was made.

• "Uncle Alfred!" "We're so sorry, Uncle Alfred!"

A pastiche of a lyric from the song "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" by Paul and Linda McCartney.

Behind the Scenes

Cast

• Bill Corbett - Crow T. Robot / Brain Guy
• Michael J. Nelson - Mike Nelson
• Kevin Murphy - Tom Servo / Professor Bobo
• Mary Jo Pehl - Pearl Forrester

Crew

• Written by Michael J. Nelson (head writer), Paul Chaplin, Bill Corbett, Kevin Murphy, Mary Jo Pehl
• Production Manager - Jill Roozenboom
• Art Direction - Patrick Brantseg
• Director of Photography - Jeff Stonehouse
• Technical Supervisor - Bradley J. Keely
• Audio Post Production - Fred Street / Postaudio, Inc.
• Editor - Bradley J. Keely
• Prop Diva - Beez McKeever
• Hair and Make-up - Andrea Ducane
• Special Effect Make-up - Gizmo's Inc.
• Grip - Mike Parker
• Controller - Tim Johnson
• Info Club Poobah - Barbara Tebben
• Interns - Joseph Olson, Meshach Weber
• Executive Producer - Jim Mallon

Notes

• This is the first time the interior of the theater is shown in anything other than silhouette.
• This is the first time that Pearl appears in the Theater, and the only time that Bobo and Observer appear in the Theater.
• This special was first broadcast after Episode 816 and before 817. Episode 817 takes place mere seconds after the conclusion of Episode 816, so this special must take place in some unknown time and location.

Video Release

The special was released as part of the Mystery Science Theater 3000 Presents the 1st and 2nd Annual MST3K Summer Blockbuster Review bonus disc from Shout! Factory. It was a free gift to purchasers of Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume XXXVI directly from Shout!.