“ | (Gamera's beady eyes watch Kenny as he flees from the rocky sea cliff)
"Those kids at school — they tease you, Kenny. Because they've] never tasted hell. Today, we turn the tables!" |
” |
- Crow (as Gamera) |
The Movie
Synopsis
The movie opens as a mysterious jet is flying over the Arctic, so a general orders fighters to shoot it down. Unfortunately, the jet was carrying a nuclear bomb and the atomic blast from its crash awakens a prehistoric monster, the giant flying turtle named Gamera.
Gamera first destroys an ice-cutting model research ship and then immediately heads to Japan to destroy more things. In Japan, a short-shorts-wearing, turtle-obsessed boy named Kenny is saved by Gamera – after Gamera first almost kills him – marking the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Kenny is allowed into the inner circle of power in Japan due to his association with Gamera and tries to interfere with any plans to destroy his giant turtle friend.
Finally, the scientists come up with the "Z Plan," in which Gamera is to be imprisoned in a giant rocket and launched to Mars. [1]
Information
See Episode K05.
- A sequence with Gamera attacking two strippers in a nightclub was shot, but cut from the final finished version of the film.
- This is the only film in the Gamera series that was filmed in black and white.
- This is the only film in the series in which Gamera does not fight another monster.
- This was the final kaiju movie to be filmed in black & white.
- This is the only film in the series with Gamera as the antagonist.
The Episode
Host Segments
Prologue: The gang goes through a spoken warm-up to prepare for the experiment.
Invention Exchange (Segment One): Joel presents a container that holds an infinite amount of salad, while Frank creates a vacuum that is supposed to clean up birdcages without removing the bird. It fails.
Segment Two: Tom sings the haunting ballad, "Tibby, Oh Tibby".
Segment Three: Crow and Tom take out their rage on Kenny; Joel tries to get them to take a more positive outlook on Kenny. It doesn't work.
Segment Four: The Bots play beauty salon, and Gamera drops in for a visit.
Segment Five: Tom introduces the cast of "Gamera", a letter is read, and Joel gets a shock to the shammies.
Stinger: An Eskimo mutters a disturbed, "Bye..."
Other Notes
Guest Stars
Miscellaneous
- While Joel and the Bots are bickering in the theater, Joel gets fed up and rips off Crow's left arm and it flings away (twice!).
Callbacks
- “No!” (Cave Dwellers).
- “No dancing, not allowed” (The Crawling Hand).
Obscure References
- "Mercy!! Rrrrooww!"
A reference to the song "Oh, Pretty Woman" and how the Japanese man in shades looks a bit like singer, Roy Orbison.
- "The New York Times says God is dead, and the war's begun, and Alvin Tostig has a son today."
Joel is paraphrasing the lyrics from the Elton John song "Levon".
- "Man, they've been in that plane for 48 hours!" "Luckily the in-flight film was Berlin Alexanderplatz."
Berlin Alexanderplatz (1980) was a 15 1/2 hour film directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder.
- (Kenny's mother looking for him.) "Damien!? Damien!?"
Referring to equally bratty pipsqueak Damien Thorn of The Omen, who is in reality the 'Son of the Devil.'
- "Phenomena!...Bah dee dee dee!...Phenomena!"
Referring to the ditty Mah Na Mah Na made popular by The Muppets.
- "You know, he didn't start the fire - It was always burning, since the world's been turning."
Joel is referencing the chorus to the popular Billy Joel song We Didn't Start the Fire.
- "Live the good life in the off-world colonies!"
A reference to the film Blade Runner.
- "Kenny, join me! Together we will rule the Uni-... Oh." "Heh. Darth Turtle?"
A reference to The Empire Strikes Back.
Video Release
- Commercially released on DVD by Shout Factory in August 2011 as part of The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection: MST3K vs Gamera box sex, a 5-DVD set with Gamera vs Barugon, Gamera vs Gaos, Gamera vs Guiron, and Gamera vs Zigra.
- The DVD includes So Happy Together: A Look Back at MST3K and Gamera, a documentary which included Interviews with the original crew covering the entire Gamera experience from the KTMA days to the Comedy Central redoes.
- The DVD also includes the Gamera bumpers from the The Mystery Science Theater Hour.
- As of now, Shout! Factory lost the rights to the gamera episodes, so the MST3K Vs Gamera box set is out-of-print
preceded by: Season 2 | MST3K Season 3 | followed by: Season 4 | ||||||
1991 - 1992 | ||||||||
301 | Cave Dwellers | 1991-06-01 | 309 | The Amazing Colossal Man | 1991-08-03 | 317 | The Saga of the Viking Women... | 1991-10-26 |
302 | Gamera | 1991-06-08 | 310 | Fugitive Alien | 1991-08-17 | 318 | Star Force: Fugitive Alien II | 1991-11-16 |
303 | Pod People | 1991-06-15 | 311 | It Conquered the World | 1991-08-24 | 319 | War of the Colossal Beast | 1991-11-30 |
304 | Gamera vs Barugon | 1991-06-22 | 312 | Gamera vs Guiron | 1991-09-07 | 320 | The Unearthly | 1991-12-14 |
305 | Stranded in Space | 1991-06-29 | 313 | Earth vs the Spider | 1991-09-14 | 321 | Santa Claus Conquers the Martians | 1991-12-21 |
306 | Time of the Apes | 1991-07-13 | 314 | Mighty Jack | 1991-09-21 | 322 | Master Ninja I | 1992-01-11 |
307 | Daddy-O | 1991-07-20 | 315 | Teenage Cave Man | 1991-11-09 | 323 | The Castle of Fu Manchu | 1992-01-18 |
308 | Gamera vs Gaos | 1991-07-27 | 316 | Gamera vs Zigra | 1991-10-19 | 324 | Master Ninja II | 1992-01-25 |