“ | (Having taken several bullets, a bazooka round, and a blast from a flamethrower, Lon Chaney emerges from the sewer much the worse for wear)
Now I think he's just the incredibly resilient man. |
” |
- Tom Servo |
The Short[]
- Main article: Undersea Kingdom (serial)
Synopsis[]
For the first part, see episode 406.
Crash Corrigan and Billy manage to escape being blown up. The crew attempts to return to the submarine, but are captured by a group of Atlanteans who mistake them for agents of Unga Khan. Unga Khan sends his agents to take the crew away from the squad of Atlanteans.
The Movie[]
- Main article: The Indestructible Man (film)
Synopsis[]
An executed murderer is subjected to an experiment that makes him (virtually) indestructible. He then seeks revenge against those who wronged him. A police lieutenant investigates the murders and tried to stop the killer's rampage.
The Episode[]
Host Segments[]
Prologue: Crow, Tom, Gypsy and Magic Voice have traded voices and the result is quite surreal.
Segment One (Invention Exchange): The Bots explain their trick. The Mads are supposedly having a party and mention a secret invention that is apparently wearable and has lots of catchphrases. Joel and the Bots show their Cereal Novels.
Segment Two: The Satellite of Love Any-Excuse-For-A-Parade Parade features the Undersea Kingdom! The parade goes horribly awry when Gypsy sneezes, causing the Tom Servo balloon to explode.
Segment Three: Joel explains to the Bots how pain is good. They then discuss what they'd do if they were indestructible. Joel's suggestions are less than inspiring.
Segment Four: Joel mimics the Lon Chaney eye squint, and receives the ridicule from the Bots. When the Bots take over, Joel ponders what he has wrought on the world.
Segment Five: Joel and the Bots sign the "No Cops & Doughnuts Joke Accord". At the same time, police officers visit Deep 13 to issue a noise citation for the party.
Stinger: The somehow less-than-Indestructible Man struggles to move a manhole cover.
MST3K Cast[]
Regular Cast
- Joel Hodgson - Joel Robinson
- Trace Beaulieu - Crow T. Robot / Dr. Clayton Forrester / Tom Servo
- Kevin Murphy - Tom Servo / Crow T. Robot
- Frank Conniff - TV's Frank
- Jim Mallon - Gypsy / Magic Voice
- Alexandra Carr - Gypsy
Guest Cast
Trivia[]
- Joel's reference to Crow's "Little Billy" doll from Attack of the Giant Leeches hints at the impending Undersea Kingdom short.
- During the SOL's portion of the Invention Exchange, Crow describes the Bret Easton Ellis novel American Psycho as "...controversial, yet all-but-forgotten". The novel would return to the popular consciousness after being adapted into a successful film starring Christian Bale in the year 2000.
- Lon Chaney Jr. plays Hakur in the short "Undersea Kingdom" and stars in The Indestructible Man as Butcher Benton. This seems to be the only episode in which an actor appears in a prominent role in both the short and the feature.
- The Florida Institute of Marine Biology Marching Band that appears in the parade during Host Segment Two are all repainted Magneto action figures from Toy Biz's 1991 X-Men assortment.
Callbacks[]
- "You got me." (Catalina Caper)
- "Hi-keeba!" (Women of the Prehistoric Planet)
- "Want some?" (Daddy-O)
- Building Code Under Fire
- The routine Tom and Crow fall into at the end of segment 3 is from The Side Hackers.
Goofs[]
- In the first Host Segment, Dr. Forrester states that Indestructible Man "...stars Casey Adams of Catalina Caper fame." This is not accurate. Dr. F is most likely confusing Casey Adams (who played Lt. Chasen, and who had also worked under the name "Max Showalter") with Del Moore, who played the similarly WASP-ish Arthur Duval in Catalina Caper. To further muddy the waters, Duval's wife Anne was portrayed by Sue Casey.
Obscure References[]
- "Crazy...toys in the attic, he is crazy..."
- Crow (with Tom's voice) sings a line from "The Trial", the climactic song from Pink Floyd's album "The Wall."
- "It is Balloon!"
- Gypsy is referring to F-Troop, a western sitcom from the mid-1960s. In the episode "Bye Bye Balloon" this line is spoken by the Hekawi leader, Chief Wild Eagle.
- "Ooooh-ooooh, Monte Blue, that's a game for..."
- Joel is parodying the Ozark Mountain Daredevils song "Jackie Blue".
- "Unga Khan, Unga Khan, mad tyrant of Atlantis..."
- A parody of the rap from Chaka Khan's recording of "I Feel for You", a song by Prince.
- "He actually looks like Jimmy Carl Black, doesn't he?" "The Indian of the group."
- Jimmy Carl Black was the drummer for Frank Zappa's band The Mothers of Invention, and routinely introduced himself as "the Indian of the group" in reference to his Cheyenne heritage.
- "It's The Bishop!"
- "The Bishop" was a sketch from episode 17 of Monty Python's Flying Circus. The Bishop was depicted as a violent man of action, whose name was used as an exclamation by his surprised targets.
- "Known for his anthologies!"
- A reference to the "Norton Anthologies" published by W. W. Norton & Company.
- "It's Averell Harriman!"
- William Averell Harriman (D) was an American businessman, diplomat, and served as Governor of New York.
- "Billy looks like William Frawley!"
- Bald, heavyset actor William Frawley is best remembered for playing Fred Mertz on I Love Lucy and Bub on My Three Sons.
- "Regular Nina Totenberg, isn't she?"
- Nina Totenberg is a correspondent for National Public Radio.
- "It's Jim Henson's Birth of a Nation babies."
- D.W. Griffith's silent film The Birth of a Nation is remembered for its innovative camera use, and its overt racism (the Ku Klux Klan are celebrated as heroes in the post-Reconstruction South). Jim Henson's Muppet Babies is an animated series that features infant versions of the popular Muppets characters.
- "Ben Hecht!"
- Ben Hecht was a prolific Hollywood screenwriter beginning in the 1920s.
- "Any relationship to Dick Cheney?"
- Dick Cheney served as the United States Secretary of Defense at the time this episode aired. He later became Vice President under George W. Bush.
- "...Absorbine Jr...."
- Absorbine Jr. is a popular liniment used to soothe sore and tired muscles. The "junior" appellation comes from he fact that the initial Absorbine liniment was developed for horses.
- "...And my co-host down on the parade route is Mary Frann."
- The late Mary Frann was a co-star on the popular 1980s sit-com Newhart. She played Joanna Louden, wife of Dick Louden (played by Bob Newhart).
- "...And the operator says, forty cents more..."
- A line from the Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show song "Sylvia's Mother".
- "Inspector Henderson and Captain Binghamton! Working together for your future!"
- The two scientists who reanimate the Butcher had roles in two popular TV series - The Adventures of Superman and McHale's Navy.
- "The Silent Scream!"
- A reference to a 1984 anti-abortion film, most notorious for showing ultrasound footage of an actual abortion in which the fetus is described as "recoiling in pain".
- "Would you come here, please? Gadding about like a crazy person!"
- Crow is mimicking comedian Kevin Meany, whose act often consisted of imitating his mother (who would scold him for acting like a "crazy person").
Video Release[]
- Commercially released on DVD by Rhino Entertainment in June 2007. It was released as Volume 11 along with the episodes Ring of Terror, Tormented, and Horrors of Spider Island.
- The set was re-released in June 2019 by Shout! Factory.
- This set features the special features of the Shock & Awe: Making Indestructible Man featurette and a theatrical trailer.
- The set was re-released in June 2019 by Shout! Factory.
preceded by: Season 3 | MST3K Season 4 | followed by: Season 5 | ||||||
1992 - 1993 | ||||||||
401 | Space Travelers | 1992-06-06 | 409 | Indestructible Man | 1992-08-15 | 417 | Crash of Moons | 1992-11-28 |
402 | The Giant Gila Monster | 1992-06-13 | 410 | Hercules Against the Moon Men | 1992-08-22 | 418 | Attack of the the Eye Creatures | 1992-12-05 |
403 | City Limits | 1992-06-20 | 411 | The Magic Sword | 1992-08-29 | 419 | The Rebel Set | 1992-12-12 |
404 | Teenagers from Outer Space | 1992-06-27 | 412 | Hercules and the Captive Women | 1992-09-12 | 420 | The Human Duplicators | 1992-12-26 |
405 | Being from Another Planet | 1992-07-04 | 413 | Manhunt in Space | 1992-09-19 | 421 | Monster A-Go Go | 1993-01-09 |
406 | Attack of the Giant Leeches | 1992-07-18 | 414 | Tormented | 1992-09-26 | 422 | The Day the Earth Froze | 1993-01-16 |
407 | The Killer Shrews | 1992-07-25 | 415 | The Beatniks | 1992-11-25 | 423 | Bride of the Monster | 1993-01-23 |
408 | Hercules Unchained | 1992-08-01 | 416 | Fire Maidens of Outer Space | 1992-11-26 | 424 | Manos: The Hands of Fate | 1993-01-30 |