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“Look at this shot. They should never have let Shatner direct!”


The Movie[]

Main article: The Castle of Fu Manchu (film)

The villainous Fu Manchu has abducted a scientist and forced him to produce a weapon that will give Fu Manchu control of the world. Nayland Smith must defeat Fu Manchu before the fiend's plan can be executed.

The Episode[]

Host Segments[]

Fuhost1

The SOL crew sings the Satellite of Love Marching Song

Prologue: The Satellite of Love crew sings the Satellite of Love Marching Song, a jaunty, cheerful, happy tune about their situation.

Segment One (Invention Exchange): The crew celebrates their successful performance, the Bots create a new Long-Distance Telephone Transducer when Joel forgets the invention and presents the "Big Head" again. The Mads create a Stinky Bomb that turns anyone into Joe Besser's obnoxious child character from The Abbott & Costello Show. They then present another stinky bomb... The movie.

Segment Two: Crow tries to present his sardonic editorial on the "Miss Saigon Syndrome", but the pain of the movie makes it very difficult. Crow cannot take the pain any longer and then he and Tom Servo both break down crying. The Mads are delighted with the data.

Fuhost2

TV's Frank as Joe Besser

Segment Three: The crew tries to do the "Shriner Flying Carpet" sketch, only for Servo to have another emotional breakdown. The Mads order out for a victory dinner.

Segment Four: Joel tries to cheer up the extremely depressed Bots by explaining who Fu Manchu really is via artist renderings, only for Joel to succumb to the horror of the film and have his own emotional breakdown. The Mads celebrate with pie.

Segment Five: The spirit of the SOL crew is utterly broken. In an attempt to read a fan letter, the pain is so overwhelming that Joel and the Bots have yet another emotional breakdown. In a show of power, the Mads toast to their triumph. Joel then challenges them to riff the film themselves, and the Mads fail miserably. The SOL crew claims victory.

Fuhost3

Crow reads his editorial

Stinger: A castle guard falls to ninja-like guys.

Obscure References[]

  • "Kinda like a Corvair, huh?"
The Chevrolet Corvair significanty declined in popularity after Ralph Nader singled it out for criticism in his book Unsafe at Any Speed.
  • "Big wheel keep on turning."
Lyrics from the song "Proud Mary" written by John Fogarty of Creedence Clearwater Revival. Ike & Tina Turner recorded a popular cover as well.
  • "Now it's Adventures in Paradise."
Adventures in Paradise is a TV series which ran from 1959 until 1962. The program stars Gardner McKay as Adam Troy, the captain of the schooner Tiki III, which sailed the South Pacific looking for passengers and adventure.
  • "Oh, he's Kool Fu Moe Gee!"
A reference to old-school rapper Kool Moe Dee.
  • "Castle of Fu Manchu, where you eat square hamburgers with chopsticks!"
The fast food chain White Castle specializes in small, square hamburgers.
  • "Titles by Peter Max!"
Peter Max was a commercially successful pop artist during the 1960s.
  • "I'm here for the Old Gringo audition!"
Old Gringo is a 1989 film about the Mexican Revolution, featuring Gregory Peck in one of his last roles.
  • "It kinda looks like a NOVA special on conception, doesn't it?"
Nova is a science documentary series broadcast on PBS.
  • "Istanbul was Constantinople..."
Quoted from the novelty song "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)", which was re-popularized by They Might Be Giants.
  • "We're two ships passing in the, uh, day."
A reference to to the well-known phrase "two ships that pass in the night".
  • "All we are is dust in the wind, man."
A reference to the song "Dust in the Wind" by the rock band Kansas. The line is delivered in much the same manner as it appears in the film Bill & Ted's Exellent Adventure as delivered by Keanu Reeves.
  • "'Scuse me while I kiss the sky."
Lyrics from the 1967 song "Purple Haze" by Jimi Hendrix.
  • "I have often walked down this street before."
Lyrics from "On the Street Where You Live" from the 1956 Broadway musical My Fair Lady.
  • "Boy! Could you tell me what day it is?" "Why it's Christmas day, sir."
A reference to lines from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens ("What’s to-day, my fine fellow?" said Scrooge. "To-day!" replied the boy. "Why, Christmas Day.")
  • "Oh, Mrs. Peel, we're needed!"
John Steed's catchphrase from the 1960s British TV series The Avengers.
  • "Bob Hope IS The Mechanic!"
The Mechanic is a 1972 thriller film starring Charles Bronson as a hit man.
  • "Anatolia!" "East of Java!"
A play on the movie Krakatoa, East of Java. Anatolia, present day Turkey, is located West of Java, present day Indonesia.
  • "Would you like one of our Watchtowers?"
The Watchtower is a magazine published by the Jehovah's Witnesses.
  • "Only YOU can prevent desk fires."
"Remember... Only YOU can prevent forest fires" is a slogan used by Smokey Bear from 1947–2001 for the Wildfire Prevention Campaign.
  • "Miss Jane Pittman!"
The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman is a 1971 novel by Ernest J. Gaines in which a 110-year-old African-American woman recounts the events of her life. It was made into an acclaimed made-for-TV movie in 1974.
  • "David Bowie! From The Hunger!"
The Hunger is a 1983 erotic horror film in which rock musician David Bowie played a vampire.
  • "What is this? Kirlian photography?"
Kirlian photography is a photographic technique that some people believe constitutes proof of the existence of auras.
  • "You must kill Kurtz. Terminate with extreme prejudice."
The order given to Martin Sheen's character in the film Apocalypse Now.
  • "Frank Booth."
The name of Dennis Hopper's character in the movie Blue Velvet.
  • "They're snipe hunting!"
A snipe hunt is a type of practical joke that often involves sending the person on the receiving end to "find" a nonexistent animal or object.
  • "Like the ninja version of Days of Heaven!"
Days of Heaven is a 1978 romantic period drama film directed by Terrence Malick.
  • "Yes, dear! I'm doing it, dear!"
An imitation of Basil Fawlty (John Cleese) from the TV comedy Fawlty Towers in one of his exasperated moments.
  • "Don't smoke."
In a posthumously-aired, anti-smoking PSA that actor Yul Brynner filmed shortly before his death from lung cancer, he said, "Now that I'm gone, I tell you... don't smoke." One of Brynner's notable physical characteristics was his completely bald head, like the man on screen.
  • "This is the trickle-down theory of plots!"
A reference to trickle-down economics, a derogatory term for supply-side economics as utilized by the fiscal policies of Ronald Reagan.
  • "Fu Manchu will be back in Sweet Sweet..., oh, who the hell cares?"
A reference to the "James Bond will return in..." taglines that frequently appear during the closing credits of James Bond movies, and to the blaxploitation film Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song.
  • "It's Audrey Hepburn in Charade."
Charad is a 1963 movie starring Audrey Hepburn. It later became a RiffTrax presentation.
  • "Women, children, spacemen, Indians, and sort of idealized representations of 16th century Flemish merchants first."
A reference to a Monty Python sketch wherein the crew of a sinking ship don whatever costumes they can find in an attempt to sneak onto the lifeboats, forcing the captain to constantly revise the list of who is allowed to board first.
  • "Not the fish, the flash!"
In the Marx Brothers comedy Animal Crackers, Chico Marx asks Harpo Marx for a flashlight (or "flash") but Harpo keeps giving him different things that sound like "flash".
  • "Auntie Em! Auntie Em!"
Dr. Forrester yells this famous phrase from The Wizard of Oz.

Callbacks[]

Behind the Scenes[]

MST3K Cast[]

MST3K Crew[]

  • Associate Producer - Kevin Murphy
  • Production Manager - Alexandra B. Carr
  • Technical Supervisor - Timothy Scott
  • Production Coordinator - Jann L. Johnson
  • Toolmaster - Jef Maynard
  • Manager of Business Affairs - Heide A. LeClerc
  • Post Production Facilities - IVL Post
  • Video Provided by Fournelle Production Services
  • Audio - Brian Wright
  • On-Line Editor - Tim Paulson
  • Audio Editor - Timothy Scott
  • Post Production Supervision - Timothy Scott
  • Post Production Coordination - Alexandra B. Carr, Jann L. Johnson
  • Art Direction - Trace Beaulieu, Joel Hodgson
  • Set Design - Trace Beaulieu, Joel Hodgson, Jef Maynard
  • Lighting - Ken Fournelle, Kevin Murphy
  • Hair and Make-Up - Clayton Jones
  • Interns - Cindy Hansen, Cyn Eells, Christopher Wurst
  • Mastered at Blue Light Music
  • Special Thanks to Bryan Beaulieu, Skyline Displays, Inc, Teachers of America, Bill W.
  • Executive Producers - Jim Mallon, Joel Hodgson

Songs[]

Production[]

  • This is the fourth and final appearance of the Big Head. It previously appeared in three consecutive episodes: Experiment #318 as Joel's Invention Exchange, Experiment #319 during segment 3, and Experiment #320 during segment 1 (as part of the mess flashback, where it wasn't actually worn).
  • After Frank wonders about "the guy in the big head", Dr. Forrester tells him "Cork, it, Larry." This is likely a reference to Dr. Forrester's former partner in the experiment, Dr. Laurence Erhardt.
  • This episode shows the host and the Bots in the most severe and prolonged state of emotional distress caused by any of the films they were sent by the Mads.

Video Releases[]

CastleFuMan

MST3K DVD Cover

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