Entertainment
 

Monster A-Go Go

From MST3K

421 - Monster A-Go Go
Air Date January 9, 1993
Movie Director Herschell Gordon Lewis
Year 1965
Cast June Travis
Short Circus on Ice
Preceded by 420 - The Human Duplicators
Followed by 422 - The Day the Earth Froze

Contents

The Short

Synopsis

The Toronto Skating Carnival proves that ice skating + circus = nightmare fuel.

If you enjoy seeing women in striped suits on leashes, if you think gunshots are exactly what the ice shows of today are missing, well this short is for you. Not since It Conquered the World has a wintertime short been this creepy.

Information

Jacqueline du Bief, who performs the solo piece as a dying fawn, won the ladies world figure-skating title in Paris in 1952, and earned a bronze medal at the Olympics in Oslo that same year. [1]

The Movie

Synopsis

An Army astronaut's capsule returns to earth, but he's not in it. However, there is a mutant monster wreaking havoc nearby. Could there be a connection? The "go-go" suffix is inexplicably appended, as the only scene that features dancers or music of that ilk attached to this yawner from the usually campy Lewis has no bearing on what passes for the movie's plot.[2]

Information

Director Herschell Gordon Lewis needed another movie to round out a double-feature. So he bought Bill Rebane’s unfinished "Terror at Halfday," added a couple of extra scenes, some new dialogue, some narration, and vi-ola: "Monster A Go-Go!"

The Episode

Host Segments

The host segments are unusual in the Joel era in that none of them have anything to do with the film or films during the show. The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Amazing Colossal Episode Guide entry explained that since the film was about nothing, the segments would be as well.

Prologue: The Bots have constructed a cheese factory aboard the SOL. They use Joel's sneakers to add a bit of extra flavor.

Segment One (Invention Exchange): The Mads and the SOL crew compete in an action figure contest. The Mads have Johnny Longtorso, whose body parts are each sold separately. Joel lets the bots show off their nonviolent, educational action figures: Tom's figure is Action Oxford, Gypsy's is Wilma Rudolph, and Crow's is a tapeworm (the doll is just a host organism). Impartial judge TV's Frank calls Deep 13 the winner.

Segment Two: Gypsy doesn’t get Crow. After trying to help her figure out why, she comes to the conclusion it's actually Tom she doesn't get.

Segment Three: Joel and Tom play "keep away" from Crow.

Segment Four: Joel tries to explain "The Pina Colada Song" to Crow and Tom. Nothing is resolved, except everyone agrees how much the song annoys them.

Segment Five: Joel crowns Happy King Servo and knights Sir Giggles von Laffsalot Crow, but they're so despondent over the movie that there's just no cheering them up.

Stinger: The "monster" shambles about awkwardly.

Obscure References

  • Oh, I though it was going to be Munster, Go Home!

Munster, Go Home! was a film based on the TV show.

  • ("What's it all about?") "Alfie!"

"What's it all about?" was the tagline for the film Alfie.

  • "Women are pulled apart like fresh bread."

An excerpt from Spalding Gray's Swimming to Cambodia.

  • "I'm going to spit on you... just a little spittle."

A reference to Baron Harkonnen's line in Dune.

  • "Hey, Bella Abzug!"

Bella Abzug was a notable Women's Rights advocate and Congresswoman from New York State.

  • ("A strange object had fallen to Earth.") "A Coke bottle!"

A reference to the cult film The Gods Must Be Crazy.

  • "MO UDALL!"

A reference to Mo Udall, a politician and ex-basketball player.

  • "How not to be seen..."

A popular Monty Python sketch.

  • "We wuz too late!"

Monty Python sketch, The Bishop.

  • "It's Sununu going to get a haircut!"

A reference to former White House Chief of Staff John H. Sununu's scandal over using government planes for personal purposes.

  • "Later, over lunch with Wally Shawn..."

A reference to My Dinner with Andre, starring Wallace Shawn.

  • "Five!" "Three, sir!"

A quote from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

  • "Oh, they decided to go to Shakey's!"

The Shakey's Pizza chain was popular in the United States during the 1960s and '70s, but its restaurants are now found mainly in Asia.

  • "Rock, rock, rock, rock, Rock 'n' Roll High School!"

Joel and the 'Bots are singing the theme song from Rock 'n' Roll High School, a 1979 movie featuring the Ramones.

  • "Django Reinhardt tunes up his guitar."

Django Reinhardt was a Belgian jazz guitarist.

  • "Here in my car, I feel safest of all..."

Tom is quoting the Gary Numan song "Cars".

  • "The Thin Blue Line!"

A reference to The Thin Blue Line, a 1988 documentary film about the murder of a Texas police officer.

  • Hey, good-lookin'. We'll be back to pick you up later!

A line from the original Mr. Microphone ad.

  • "Hey, its the musical stairs from the science museum."

The Science Museum of Minnesota has a staircase where each stair plays a different musical note when you step on it.

Video Release


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