“ | It IS light! | ” |
- Joel, confused by the film's postulates |
“ | "He is the son of our leader. The high court will pardon him!" "Oh yeah, he's a Kennedy!" | ” |
The Movie[]
- Main article: Teenagers from Outer Space (film)
Synopsis[]
A young member of an alien race forms a bond with a human and decides to prevents his people from colonizing Earth.
The Episode[]
Host Segments[]
Prologue: Joel conditions the Bots with electric shocks to stop them from making NBC Mystery Movie jokes every time they see a flashlight.
Segment One (Invention Exchange): Crow and Tom Servo did the invention this week, the Scratch-N-Sniff Report Card to take the edge off of bad grades by helping parents remember how rotten their days in school were; it comes in both public and private school versions. The Mads foresee ventriloquism as the wave of the future, and respond with the Resusci-Annie ventriloquist dummy, which works until Annie needs resuscitation.
Segment Two: The SOL crew does a "Reel to Real" segment comparing events in the movie to what would really happen in real life. Joel carries the concept a bit far.
Segment Three: The crew jettisons snacks into space to reenact the feature presentation trailer from General Cinemas.
Segment Four: Crow speculates on the nature of space while Joel and Tom play "Red or Black", until Crow spots a Skull Cruiser! Joel and Tom don't believe him until it crashes into the ship. Alas, the inhabitant turns out to be kind of lame. Tom's Tri-Star Pegasus logo turns out to be a cow, but Joel thinks it's okay anyway.
Segment Five: The gang presents a fashion pageant combining everyday wear with duct tape! Crow calls it off when his pictures get a little risque. Letters are read. In Deep 13, Dr. Forrester's date with Resusci-Annie is going well.
Stinger: "When we return to our planet, the high court may well sentence you to TORCHA!"
MST3K Cast[]
- Joel Hodgson - Joel Robinson
- Trace Beaulieu - Crow T. Robot / Dr. Clayton Forrester
- Kevin Murphy - Tom Servo
- Frank Conniff - TV's Frank
- Jim Mallon - Gypsy
- Alexandra Carr - Magic Voice
Production[]
- This was the first regular episode to feature the slate title card before the start of the Love Theme.
- Mary Jo Pehl joined the writing staff with this episode.
- Joel's season 2 teal jumpsuit makes its last non-opening credits appearance, modified with red duct tape as one of the outfits he wears in the fashion show.
- This episode aired eleventh during Turkey Day '92, and fourth during Turkey Day '15.
Callbacks[]
- "Hamburger sammich and some french fried potatoes.'" (Jungle Goddess)
- "This will seemplify everything!" (The Phantom Creeps)
- "The janitor was pretty dumb..." "...the guy with the thick glasses..." (Earth vs the Spider & Daddy-O)
Goofs[]
- If you watch carefully during the first movie sign, Crow's eyes appear to pop out.
Obscure References[]
- "Thank you, sir, may I have another?"
- A quote from the 1978 film Animal House. Kevin Bacon's character says this as he is being spanked with a paddle as initiation. It's derived from a tradition at strict boarding schools in which students receiving corporal punishment would be required to ask to be struck again, implying that they were grateful for being violently "corrected".
- "Dr. Skinner."
- B. F. Skinner was a famous psychologist who is referred to as the "Father of operant_conditioning", a type of associative learning process through which the strength of a behavior is modified by reinforcement or punishment.
- "It's a Devo hat!"
- Joel's referring to the distinctive red, terraced hats worn by the new wave band Devo, which are properly known as Energy Domes.
- "It's Audrey Hepburn's hat from Breakfast at Tiffany's."
- In the film adaptation of the novella Breakfast at Tiffany's, Audrey Hepburn plays Holly Golightly, a fashionable social climber. In some notable scenes, she wears an especially wide-brimmed hat.
- "Run, Toto, Run!" and "Auntie Em, Uncle Henry, and you were there..."
- References to the film The Wizard of Oz.
- "Bidi-bidi-bidi."
- Often said by the robot character Twiki in the TV series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.
- "I am the Eggman / Goo goo g'joob"
- A reference to the song "I Am the Walrus" by The Beatles.
- "Oh, now Michael Jackson will want to keep him."
- A reference to Michael Jackson's 1987 attempted purchase of the bones of Joseph Merrick, known as "The Elephant Man".
- "Ray Liotta?" "Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to be a spaceman."
- A reference to the film Goodfellas, starring Ray Liotta.
- "I will pet him and keep him and call him George."
- A line spoken by the Abominable Snowman in the 1961 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon The Abominable Snow Rabbit. The snowman's portrayal is based on the character of Lennie in John Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men.
- "I see you have a machine that goes 'Ping'!"
- A line from the film Monty Python's The Meaning of Life from a scene set in a hospital that is more interested in accumulating money than providing care.
- "'A Separate Peace!'"
- A reference to the novel by John Knowles.
- "Thrive, Captain, Thrive!"
- A parody of the song "Ride Captain Ride" by Blues Image.
- "Mort Sahl?"
- Mort Sahl (1927-2021) was a political stand-up comedian known for wearing a rumpled sweater and bringing a newspaper on stage.
- "I'm not dead yet, I'm getting better.", "Ah, Only a flesh wound!", and "What, behind the flying lobster?"
- References to the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
- "Paging Mister Herman."
- A reference to the film Pee Wee's Big Adventure, starring Paul Reubens.
- "Gee, Davey..."
- Spoken in the style of the large dog Goliath from the Christian-themed claymation TV series Davey and Goliath.
- "Excuse me, is that a Sansabelt jumpsuit?"
- A reference to advertisements for defunct clothing brand Bugle Boy Jeans and also a reference to Sansabelt pants ('sans', French for 'without' + 'a belt').
- "I'm looking for Sarah Connor."
- "A reference to the film The Terminator starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.
- "It's Vince Sutton! Sergeant Carter!"
- The actor Frank Sutton played the irascible Gunnery Sergeant Vince Carter on the TV series Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.. He had a crisp crew-cut hairstyle.
- "This looks like a nice place to raise your kids up."
- A reference to the Frank Zappa film 200 Motels.
- "Why do you look like Hoyt Axton?!"
- Hoyt Axton was a country singer and actor, best known to MiSTies for recording the theme song to Mitchell.
- "Xanadu! Stately home of Charles Foster Kane! Cost... no one can say!" and "I'm Charles Foster Kane!!"
- References to the film Citizen Kane, co-written, starring, produced and directed by Orson Welles.
- "It's the New Zoo Revue, comin' right at you..."
- The theme song from the 1970s children's TV show New Zoo Revue.
- "Earth girls are easy!"
- The title of a 1988 film starring Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, Jim Carrey and Julie Brown. It is based on Brown's song of the same name from her EP Goddess in Progress.
- "I like you Gramps, that's why I kill you last."
- A reference to the film Commando, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.
- "Uh, Miss Hathaway, Jethro wants to be a rock star."
- Spoken in the manner of the banker Mr. Drysdale from the TV series The Beverly Hillbillies. Miss Hathaway was a his assistant, and Jethro was the dim-witted nephew of his wealthiest client.
- "I'll be taking lunch, Hilga! I-hi-hi-hi!!"
- A reference to the ghoulish host of the TV series Tales from the Crypt, the Cryptkeeper.
- "Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!"
- A famous sketch from the TV series Monty Python's Flying Circus.
- "And that's the way it happened." "I'm Walter Cronkite."
- A reference to news anchor Walter Cronkite, who was known for saying "...and that's the way it is" at the end of reports.
- "Suddenly it's Carnival of Souls!"
- Carnival of Souls is a 1962 horror film. It later became a RiffTrax presentation.
- "Love is the drug for *him*!"
- A reference to the Roxy Music song "Love Is the Drug".
- "Row! Row! Row your boat! C'mon sing! Sing dammit!"
- Lines from Dirty Harry shouted to a group of children being menaced by the psychotic Scorpio as he hijacks a school bus.
- "Why do you seek the living among the dead?"
- Passage from the Bible in the Gospel of Luke spoken by the men who rolled away the stone to Jesus's tomb, only to find his body missing believing he had risen.[1]
- "Oh, Grover's in there."
- A reference to the Sesame Street character Grover.
- "Whenever there's a cop beatin' up a guy, I'll be there..."
- Part of a quote from the character Tom Joad in John Steinbeck's novel The Grapes of Wrath.
- "Ask not what your country can do for you..."
- Part of a famous quote from U.S. President John F. Kennedy's inauguration speech. It concludes with "...Ask what you can do for your country."
- "I want to meet Luke and Laura while I'm there."
- Luke and Laura are a famous fictional couple who have a tumultuous romance on the daytime TV soap opera General Hospital.
- "This is the most unsuccessful prison transfer since Dallas '63."
- A reference to the assassination of Lee Harvey Oswald, who was shot and killed during a prisoner transfer.
- "Jack Lalanne, everybody." "Where's Elaine?"
- Jack Lalanne was a fitness expert who hosted a long-running TV exercise program with his wife Elaine Lalanne. He remained fit and active into his later years and appeared in infomercials selling juicers and exercise equipment.
- "I'd like to sing 'Rhinestone Cowboy'."
- "Rhinestone Cowboy" is a popular light rock/country song by Glen Campbell.
- "What is this? A Bergman film all of a sudden?"
- The shot is similar to several in Wild Strawberries, a classic film directed by Ingmar Bergman.
- "Ustu der hirdufund. De Düva...De Düva..."
- Tom mutters this after Crow's "Bergman Film" line. The Dove is a 1968 satirical short done in Ingmar Bergman's stark and placid late 50's to early 60's style. All of the dialogue was performed in fake Swedish with enough English sounding words for the viewer to get the gist of the film.
- "This call is coming from inside the house!"
- The babysitter and the man upstairs is an urban legend that dates back to the 1960s about a teenage girl babysitting children who is harassed by a series of anonymous telephone calls wherein she is told to "check the children." She eventually calls the police, and, after tracing the next call, they tell her, "The calls are coming from inside the house."
- "It must be that nice Adam Rich boy, calling for his prescription again!"
- Adam Rich (1968-2023) was an American actor and was the youngest cast member from the TV series Eight Is Enough. He was a frequent resident at drug rehab centers, having been through treatment on five occasions by 1991.[2]
- "Moses... Moses?"
- A reference to the Burning bush in the 1956 film The Ten Commandments.
- "Tom, is that you making that noise?"
- Crow refers to the fact that in the original KTMA pilot, Tom Servo's position on the show was filled by Beeper, who communicated through electronic beeps.
- Crow's racy photo of himself sprawled on a bearskin rug is based on a picture of Burt Reynolds that appeared in Cosmopolitan magazine in 1972 in which he posed naked on a bearskin rug with his arm strategically placed to cover his genitals.
- "It's Mae 'the Super Nurse' Osborne!"
- A reference to Super Dave Osborne, a humorously accident-prone daredevil, played by comedian Bob Einstein.
- Lyrics from the random songs Joel and the bots sing at various points in the movie.
- "Shannon is gone....She's drifting out..." - "Shannon", 1976 song by Henry Gross.
- "It's a nice day for a White Wedding....A good day to start again...." - "White Wedding" by Billy Idol.
- "She was a fast machine....she kept her motor clean...." - "You Shook Me All Night Long" by AC/DC.
- "Hot child in the city...looking good and feeling pretty..." - Slightly misquoting "Hot Child in the City" by Nick Gilder.
- "Hot blooded...check it and see..." - "Hot Blooded" by Foreigner.
- "Cause I'm a sex shooter...shootin' love in your direction..." - "Sex Shooter" written by Prince for his protégé group Apollonia 6.
- "Snot is running down her nose..." - "Aqualung" by Jethro Tull.
- "Picture yourself on a train in a station...rocking horse people eat marshmellow pies..." - "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" by The Beatles.
- "Don't ask me...don't give a damn...next stop is Vietnam" - "Feel Like I'm Fixin' to Die" by Country Joe and the Fish.
- Betty: "They're coming" Tom Servo: "To take me away. Ha! Ha!" - "They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!" by Napoleon XIV.
- "Well, if you go carryin' pictures of Chairman Mao, you're not gonna make it with anyone anyhow." - "Revolution" by The Beatles.
- "The papers want to know whose shirts you wear." - "Space Oddity" by David Bowie.
Video Release[]
- Commercially released on DVD by Rhino in October 2004 as part of The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection, Volume 6, a 4-DVD set with Attack of the Giant Leeches, Gunslinger, and Mr. B's Lost Shorts.
- Re-released on DVD by Shout! Factory in October 2017 as part of Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume VI.
- The Mystery Science Theater Hour wraps for this episode were not included.
- Re-released on DVD by Shout! Factory in October 2017 as part of Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume VI.
- Available for purchase on the Gizmoplex, Amazon Prime Video and other streaming services.
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 |