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The Vice President's unimaginative campaign slogan.
- Mike


The Movie[]

GORGOMOVIE

Gorgo attacks in Gorgo

Main article: Gorgo (film)

Synopsis[]

A giant reptilian monster is discovered and put on display in the United Kingdom. Its mother arrives to free it and wreaks havoc.

The Episode[]

Host Segments[]

Maltin IMG 2348

Leonard Maltin guest stars as himself

Opening Scene: Crow's head becomes the nest for the rare Spix's macaw.

Segment One: Crow fights off weasels who want his eggs. Observer and Bobo arm wrestle, until a transmission from Pearl, on a trip to LA, interrupts. She has met Leonard Maltin, who recommends and introduces this week's movie. The eggs are taken away by Egg Protective Services when Crow makes an omelet in front of them.

Segment Two: Because one of the people in the movie looks like Samuel Beckett, the crew presents the play Waiting for Gorgo.

Waiting For Gorgo

"Waiting for Gorgo"

Segment Three: The crew plays Trivial Pursuit, William Sylvester Edition. Mike loves it and the 'bots don't.

Segment Four: The Nanites have a circus, which ends in tragedy when Mike pays for admission.

Segment Five: Mike helps Tom and Crow with their The Women of Gorgo calendar, financed by the mob. Pearl and Leonard make plans for future bad films.

Stinger: An Irish fisherman curses out our heroes.

MST3K cast[]

Regular cast

Guest cast

Trivia[]

  • The "William Sylvester" version of Trivial Pursuit was made from a Trivial Pursuit Master Game - The 1960s game that was painted gray with artwork added.
  • Gorgo is referenced in the RiffTrax commentary of 300, due to Leonidas's wife being named Gorgo.
  • Prior to the release of Volume XXVIII, this was widely regarded as something of a lost episode because it only showed twice. It first aired at 5 P.M. on July 18, 1998, and at 11 P.M. that same day before never being broadcast again due to the loss of rights.
  • In the final host segment, Pearl and Leonard Maltin contemplate the worst movie ever made. Leonard surmises that it would be something with Mickey Rourke, and Pearl suggests "cross-reference that with Eric Roberts". These two actors starred together in the 1984 film The Pope of Greenwich Village, which is generally well-regarded (and the source of the often-quoted line "Charlie! They took my thumb!"). They later both appeared in the 2010 film The Expendables and the 2015 film Skin Traffik.
  • This was the third episode featured during Turkey Day '15.
  • This episode marks the final appearance of The Nanites.

Callbacks[]

  • "We've got to go find Robert Denby!" (Riding with Death)
  • "Go play on Gamera’s back, kid. I'm not into it." (Gamera)

Production Errors[]

  • During the "Hey, Mike Nelson!" "Hey, Tom Servo!" exchange, Mike's microphone headset is visible in the silhouette when he turns his head towards Tom.
  • The end credits identify the Nanite barker voiced by Kevin Murphy as Ned the Nanite. Yet in all prior appearances, Ned was voiced by Paul Chaplin, while Kevin voiced Wade the Nanite.

Quotes & References[]

  • "Is it true that they're working on yet another remake of The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh?"
The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh is a 1979 movie starring basketball great Julius "Dr. J" Erving. It has never been remade.
  • "Good masonry work on the titles!" "Yeah, it was done by the guys at Mark VII Productions!"
Mark VII Productions, which produced TV series such as Dragnet, had a logo that depicted the words "MARK VII" being stamped into a stone block.
  • "Oh Gorgo boy... the Gorg, the Gorg is calling... From gorg to gorg..."
"Oh Danny Boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling/From glen to glen" is from "Danny Boy" a ballad written by English songwriter Frederic Weatherly in 1913 and set to the traditional Irish melody of "Londonderry Air".
  • "Down with the old folks at home..."
"Old Folks at Home" (aka "Swanee River" or variations thereof) is a traditional American minstrel song by composer Stephen Foster. As Servo subsequently points out, Mike is mimicking the vocal style of singer Paul Robeson.
  • "Hawaii Five-0 used to have really different credits!"
Set in Hawaii, the TV police drama Hawaii Five-0 features fast-paced shots of surfers and waves in its opening credits (as opposed to the more tranquil scene here).
  • "Poopdeck Pappy, the real story."
Poopdeck Pappy is a character featured in Popeye comic strips and other related media. Created by E. C. Segar in 1936, the character is Popeye's father, who is between the ages of 85 and 99.
  • "It's Robert Maxwell! He's alive!"
Robert Maxwell was a British media tycoon who died in 1991 after falling (or jumping or being pushed, according to some theories) off the deck of his yacht.
  • "Don't worry, sir. Turns out Shelley Winters is a very good swimmer."
In the 1972 film The Posideon Adventure, actress Shelley Winters, then in her fifties, performed a memorable underwater rescue scene.
  • "They got into port and everyone was okay, then went out for lunch and felt better!"
Sung to the tune of Gordon Lightfoot's "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald", which is about a shipping vessel that sank in Lake Superior, killing the entire crew.
  • "Hey, Mike Nelson!"
Mike Nelson is the name of Lloyd Bridges's character in Sea Hunt, who is a diver.
  • "Samuel Beckett!"
The harbor master bears a striking resemblance to Samuel Beckett, an Irish novelist and playwright whose famous plays Waiting for Godot and Krapp's Last Tape are referenced as well.
  • "Dave Foley."
Dave Foley is a Canadian actor and comedian who is best known as a member of the comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall. The kid spotlighted for a second during Gorgo's first attack resembles him.
  • "The beast?" "That's right, Ian Paisley!"
Ian Paisley was a highly controversial Northern Irish Protestant leader.
  • "Mr. Ryan!" "How's your Hope? And your Daughter?"
Reference to the 1970s–80s soap opera Ryan's Hope and the 1970 film Ryan's Daughter.
  • "We bought it from the government. It's called Fat Man or something."
Fat Man was the code name for the nuclear bomb that was detonated over the Japanese city of Nagasaki in 1945. The bathysphere being used in the movie is vaguely similar to the large egg-shaped metal shell of the bomb.
  • "I crush you, you get crushed!"
The children's television character Barney the dinosaur's signature song includes the lyrics "I love you, you love me..." It is sung to the tune of the children's song, counting, and nursery rhyme "This Old Man".
  • "Great, now Colonel Parker is managing his career."
Colonel Tom Parker was the controversial manager of Elvis Presley.
MST3K_909_Promo

MST3K 909 Promo

  • "Talmud! Talmud! Talmud!"
The Talmud is a collection of Jewish expositions on the law. Torah is a Hebrew word meaning "law" or "instruction" and is the Jewish name for the first five books of the Bible. Mike is making a play on the names of Judaic religious-themed texts in a reference to Tora! Tora! Tora!, a 1970 epic war film that dramatizes the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.
  • "You treated Jerry Lee Lewis better than this!"
Ray Berry revealed Jerry Lee Lewis' marriage to his 13 year old cousin (once removed) shortly after he landed in Britain for a tour in 1958. The tour was canceled after only 3 shows due to public outcry.
  • "This is treating my bipolar disorder."
Shock therapy has been reported effective in treating bipolar disorder.
  • "Poor bastards appear every hundred years and get hit with a huge storm."
A reference to the Lerner & Loewe musical Brigadoon about an enchanted Scottish village that only becomes accessible to outsiders every hundred years.
  • "Quiet! I'm finishing a monologue for Billie Whitelaw!"
Billie Whitelaw was a British actress who worked closely with playwright Samuel Beckett for 25 years. She was considered was one of the foremost interpreters of his works.
  • "Let's go swipe the captain's strawberries. That's always funny.'
In the novel and film The Caine Mutiny, Lt. Cmdr Queeg (captain of the USS Caine) convinces the officers under him of his unfitness for command after his unhinged overreaction to some strawberries going missing from the officer's mess.[1]

Memorable Quotes[]

[Over the title screen]
Mike: The Vice President's unimaginative campaign slogan.
[A scuba diver is seen on screen.]
Servo: This new "Cool Ranch" flavored scuba air isn't very good.
[A ship is tossed terribly in a tremendous storm. The scene fades out.]
Mike: And...?
[Cut to the next day, as the ship calmly sits in the water.]
Mike: Oh, they're fine!
Crow[singing to "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald"]
They got into port and everyone was okay.
They went out for lunch and felt better...
[Sam and Joe enter an old-fashioned peasant village.]
Sam: Looks like they're pretty hard hit.
Mike: Poor dopes, they appear every hundred years and get hit by a huge storm.
[Sam and Joe call McCartin's bluff about permits. He sits down, thoughtfully.]
McCartin: After you load with water… you leave. Tonight!
Joe: The sooner, the better!
Servo [as Joe/Cheerleader]: The tighter the sweater! / The boys depend on us!
Crow [as Sam/Cheerleader]: Yay!
[Gorgo is seen terrorizing a small Irish village.]
Mike: Poor Irish—if they aren't being invaded by Cromwell or infested by leprechauns they've got this guy!
[A sailor sends a message back to England by Morse code.]
Crow [as sailor]: Am in Ireland, send real food.
[After breaking free of his nets Gorgo swings his tail at what looks like an elephant, which blows up.]
Crow: I didn't know elephants exploded on impact!
[Gorgo's mother Ogra begins rampaging through London.]
Servo: Maybe Mary Poppins flies in and kicks his ass?
MikeThat I'd pay to see.
[The Bots reminisce about the Dorkin's Circus scenes during the endless military vs. Gorgo battles.]
Servo: I wish they'd get back to Dorkin.
Crow: Yeah! There was a lot of Dorkin at the beginning of the movie. They should show that some more.
Servo: Sure! I mean, who wouldn't rather watch Dorkin than this stock footage?
Crow: Yeah. I— I'd just really, really like to watch people dorkin'.
Servo: D'oh!
Mike: Hey! Tha— that doesn't even work!
Crow[lewdly] Oh, it works, Mike. Heh heh heh.
Mike: That's enough, you two. Enough Dorkin! I—
[Mike throws his hands up in exasperation.]
Mike: You know what I mean. Stop it.
[After the latest attack by the British military on Gorgo's mom proves ineffective.]
Servo: Pacifist or not, Gandhi's gotta be chuckling right now.
[Sean watches Gorgo and his mother leave the blazing ruins of London and head back to the ocean]
Sean: She's going back now—back to the sea.
Servo [as Sean]: ...With the blood of many on her scales.
[Gorgo's mom and Gorgo continue back to the sea after demolishing London.]
Mike [As Gorgo's Mom]: C'mon son! As a treat, let's go crush France!
Servo [As Gorgo]: HOORAY!!

Video releases[]

Gorgomst3kdvd
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