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"What's this? He's forced his way into the announcer's booth. What's that in his hand? Oh no! Aah!"

(Joel or Servo makes gunshot noises)

- Crow (as announcer)


The Shorts[]

Synopsis[]

315s1

In Aquatic Wizards, many people water ski in slow motion throughout Cypress Gardens in Florida. From Rod Warren Productions.

Information[]

Synopsis[]

315s2

In Catching Trouble, an overly enthusiastic wildlife trapper torments snakes, wildcats and bear cubs while his silent guide watches.

Information[]

The Movie[]

Main article: Teenage Cave Man (film)

Synopsis[]

TEENAGECAVEMAN

Teenage Cave Man

A young cave dweller in a primitive society questions the laws that govern his people. He goes on a journey of discovery and eventually learns a grim secret about the nature of his planet.

The Episode[]

Host Segments[]

CavemanInvention

Rainy day ipecacs

Prologue: Joel and the Bots are bored out of their minds during a rainstorm.

Segment One (Invention Exchange): Rainy day ipecacs: Crow’s is chocolate milk + pickle juice, Tom’s is circus peanuts + warm strawberry Quik + a punch in the stomach, and Joel’s is Lucky Charms + cherry NyQuil. Dr. F and Frank have something really cool and evil as their invention, but we never find out what it is when they get into a fight to the death over who gets to present it.

CatchingRoss

"Catching Ross"

Segment Two: "Catching Ross" - Joel and the Bots produce their own version of Catching Trouble with Ross as the tormented prey.

Segment Three: Dr. F and Frank are still fighting while Joel shows the Bots a history of Technology. This bores them to sleep. Technology's greatest achievement? The Flying Nun.

Segment Four: Examining the pendulum of human development.

TeenageCavemanEnding

Crow and Tom Servo mimic the film's end

Segment Five: Crow and Tom Servo mimic the film's end. Joel reads a slimy letter and Dr. F and Frank patch things up with some General Foods International Coffee and a viewing of the Jack Lemmon film Dad

Stinger: The Teenage Caveman runs smack dab into a tree and conks his head.

MST3K Cast[]

Notes[]

  • Some of Joel's flashcards in Segment Three are re-used props from the "Funny or Not Funny When Floating" sketch from Experiment #201 Rocketship X-M.
  • The background music heard when Frank and Dr. Forrester are fighting is inspired by the fight music from the original Star Trek television series.
  • This episode aired eighth during Turkey Day '94.

Callbacks[]

Goofs[]

  • There are numerous riffs related to this movie supposedly taking place in the ancient past, like Servo's "Great Danes before Denmark" remark. It's not certain whether the guys are being a bit unfair or just trying to preserve the amazing secret of Teenage Cave Man: that the movie, of course, is set in a post-nuclear holocaust future. Since MST3K isn't usually shy about telegraphing movie plot points, these comments could be considered goofs.

Obscure References[]

  • "Oh, leave Phil out of this!"

On the 70's sitcom Maude, the eponymous main character (played by Bea Arthur) would occasionally refer to her brother Phil in this intonation.

  • "Do not bring your evil here!"

A quote from the Swamp Thing TV series.

  • "It's Emo Philips in a dress!"

Emo Philips is an American comedian. He is very thin, and has a signature pageboy haircut. He's also well known for his sing-songy voice, which Crow imitates.

  • "In the beginning, there was chaos." "Run by Bernie Kopell."

On the 1960s TV spy comedy Get Smart, actor Bernie Kopell had a recurring role as Siegfried, a high-ranking member of the criminal organization KAOS.

  • "Oh, this is Bonanza. They're showing us a Bonanza."

The opening credits of the TV western Bonanza start with a map catching fire from he center.

  • "Teenage Cave Man? We're all cave man!"

A play on the refrain from the rock song "Baba O'Riley" by The Who, which features the lyric "Teenage wasteland". Some listeners mistake "Teenage wasteland" as the title of the song, as depicted in an episode of Freaks and Geeks.

  • "Eh, what? Is he Terry-Thomas all of the sudden?"

Terry-Thomas was a British comic actor best known for his roles in such films as It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines. He also appeared in Diabolik as a pompous government official.

  • "To our children's children's children..."

A reference to the Moody Blues concept album To Our Children's Children's Children, which features a cave painting on its fanfold cover vaguely similar to the cave paintings in the opening credits.

  • "Stop. Wait. Come back."

Reference to Willy Wonka's half-hearted attempt to stop Mike Teevee from entering the WonkaVision machine in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. The actual quote is "Stop. Don't. Come Back."

  • "I prefer liberty."

Tom Servo says this in response to the female character saying "If you break the law again, the people will give you death." This could be a reference to the famous quote "Give me liberty, or give me death!" attributed to Patrick Henry, but there are many other instances in which "liberty or death" is used.

  • "Mr. Dillon! There's trouble up at the Long Branch!"

The elder on screen bears a resemblance to Dennis Weaver's character Chester Goode from the TV western Gunsmoke.

  • "She wore a yellow loincloth."

She Wore a Yellow Ribbon is a 1949 Oscar-winning film starring John Wayne.

  • "Mr. Snuffleupagus?"

A reference to the Sesame Street character, whose form is reminiscent of a wooly mammoth.

  • "If I were a Flintstone, yabba dabba dabba dabba dabba dabba dabba dabba doo..."

A reference to the animated franchise The Flintstones (in which lead character Fred Flintstone's catchphrase is "Yabba dabba doo!") and the song "If I Were A Rich Man" from the stage musical (and later film) Fiddler on the Roof.

Video Releases[]

MST3K Teenage Cave Man (DVD)

MST3K DVD Cover

Sources[]


MST3K_315_Promos

MST3K 315 Promos

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