| “ | (The title screen displays the title backwards)
Eht Numah Srotacilpud? |
” |
| - Crow |
The Movie
Synopsis
The Human Duplicators
In 1965, an alien in gold lame (Dr. Kolos, played by Richard "Eegah" Kiel) travels to Earth in a "Christmas ornament" to carry out his micromanaging bosses' "Galaxy Domination Program". He commandeers the aid of distinguished retired cybernetic physicist Professor Dornheimer (George Macready) and makes android duplicates of key scientists in the basement lab of Dornheimer's criminally overdecorated mansion, killing or imprisoning the originals.
A government physicist, Dr. Munson (Walter Abel), who is actually an android, walks into a secure government facility in broad daylight to steal ordinary off-the-shelf transistors for use as android components. In making his escape he is undeterred by four bullets in the back. Later, his corpse is found at the bottom of a cliff; cause of death: electrocution, some time before the robbery. The National Intelligence Agency sends agent Glenn Martin (George Nader) to investigate.
The Human Duplicators
Martin links "android" with "Dornheimer", whose house is nearby the site where Munson's body was discovered. He impersonates a magazine reporter and interviews the cyberneticist at his home. Unable to find out much, he breaks in at night and discovers the android operation before being caught, imprisoned and duplicated himself. The android Martin returns to NIA headquarters, arousing the suspicions of his nasal-voiced secretary/colleague/love interest, Gail (Barbara Nichols). She begins to follow him.
Kolos, meanwhile, develops tender feelings for the blind, piano-playing niece of the Professor, Lisa (Dolores Faith). He deviates from his strict bosses' project plan by failing to have her duplicated according to standard procedure.
The Human Duplicators
It turns out the androids have a design defect. They start defying Kolos and take him prisoner, although he doesn't put up much of a struggle. They seize Lisa and prepare to duplicate her, which, we infer, is an unpleasant experience for the subject. Martin, in the basement, is furiously working to saw through the bars of his cell with something like dental floss.
Will Agent Martin escape the cage where he and Dr. Dornheimer have been confined? Will the polychromatic aliens succeed in their "Galaxy Domination Program"? Will the androids rebellion pose a threat to Earth even worse than the aliens?
Information
- Curiously, the term "mechanical brain" is used a number of times. Somehow the scriptwriter could not make the leap to "electronic", although that is clearly what is meant. Don't miss one of the looniest fight scenes ever in the anticlimactic final clash between the androids (on one side) and Kolos and Martin.
- In addition to MST3K, The Human Duplicators was also featured on the original incarnation of the TV series Elvira's Movie Macabre, as well as Elvira's home video series for Thriller Video..
- The final film of Hugh Beaumont.
The Episode
Host Segments
William Conrad Fridge Alert
Prologue: The Bots make suggestions to Joel about ways they could be improved. Gypsy wants a cab forward design, Crow wants more capacity to love, and Tom has a few suggestions for himself.
Segment One (Invention Exchange): The Mads have the sillies because of their ridiculous invention, the William Conrad Fridge Alert. Joel demonstrates his awesome-looking beanie chopper, which unfortunately doesn't live up to expectations.
Tom addresses his duplicates
Segment Two: Joel asked the Bots to make spaceships from ordinary household items. Gypsy's shows her resourcefulness, Tom's shows a lack of initiative, and Crow's shows his workmanship. Joel makes one too, and Crow is insulted.
Segment Three: Tom Servo takes a cue from the movie and duplicates himself many times over. Things don't work out as planned when his duplicates refuse to do his bidding. Joel takes Tom away for a time-out when the duplicate Toms suddenly turn on a defenseless Crow.
Hugh Beaumont's suburban spaceship.
Segment Four: A grumpy Hugh Beaumont makes a return visit via the Hexfield Viewscreen.
Segment Five: Crow and Tom come out of the robot closet after reading through "Robot Nation". Joel is not surprised. A letter is read and William Conrad actually shows up in Deep 13.
Stinger: Two doppelgangers are laughing as they choke each other
Other Notes
Guest Stars
- Hugh Beaumont: Michael J. Nelson
- William Conrad: Kevin Murphy
Trivia
- Gypsy's model in Host Segment Two includes a leg from a Kenner Star Wars Imperial AT-AT Walker toy from The Empire Strikes Back.
Obscure References
- The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox are calling.
The Duchess and The Dirtwater Fox is a comedy western from 1976.
- Oh, George Nader...he's untalented at any speed."
Unsafe at Any Speed is a 1965 book written by Ralph Nader documenting automotive companies' reluctance to research or incorporate basic safety features and certain fatal design flaws in a number of popular specific car models.
- He must have read "Getting To Yes"
Getting to Yes was a best selling guide to business negotiation techniques.
- Calling Scott Tracy
The 1960s "Dick Tracy" cartoon would typically begin with a police dispatcher saying "Calling Dick Tracy..." It may also be a reference to Scott Tracy, a puppet character on the Gerry Anderson show Thunderbirds.
- Kevin McHale, no!
Kevin McHale was a professional basketball player who spent most of his career with the Boston Celtics. At 6'10" tall, he was almost as big as Richard Kiel.
- Hey, it's the Maytag Repairman!
The Maytag Repairman was the center of a long-running advertising campaign for Maytag appliances. The premise was that Maytag appliances were so well-made that the Repairman never received service calls, and was therefore often bored and lonely.
- I'm here for the Mr. Drysdale audition.
Mr. Drysdale was the exasperated banker played by Raymond Bailey in "The Beverly Hillbillies".
- It's the office of Daniel Ellsberg's electrician.
Daniel Ellsberg was a RAND corporation military analyst who leaked documents from the Pentagon (known as "The Pentagon Papers) in 1971 which proved that the Johnson administration's true estimates of the casualties, cost and length of the Vietnam war were several times greater than those released to the public. An effort was made to discredit Ellsberg, including an attempt to gain access to confidential records in his psychological therapist's office.
- Stop in the name of Tom Bodett!
Tom Bodett was the spokesman for the Motel 6 motel chain. He repeated their slogan "We'll leave the light on for ya" in every commercial.
- Doctor Munson Honeydew!
Dr. Bunson Honeydew was a scientist/inventor character on The Muppet Show.
- Knew your father, I did!
Referencing the MST3K mainstay Mr. B. Natural.
- Mr. Martin, Glenn Martin. Crow:...Glen Ross
A pun on the title of Glengarry Glen Ross, a 1984 drama by playwright David Mamet.
- I deny them my essence.
A quote from Gen. Jack Ripper in Dr. Strangelove. General Ripper is paranoid delusional, believing Russians have tainted his "essence" with fluoridated water and that women wish to steal his essence from him.
- 'Uh...I gotta go to the bathroom and get a gun out of the toilet.
A reference to the assassination plot in The Godfather.
- Timothy, Timothy, Hungry as hell, no food to eat.
Taken from the lyrics to "Timothy" by The Bouys. The song is about three men trapped in a collapsed mine who resort to cannibalism (though Joel would claim in Experiment #421 Monster A-Go Go that Timothy was a duck).
- Tube power? Must be McIntosh.
Not a reference to the MacIntosh computers made by Apple, but to the tube-powered amplifiers by McIntosh Laboratories (which pre-dated the MacIntosh computer, which is why Apple had to add the "a" to avoid trademark problems).
- Crow (quietly): It Stinks.
A line from the Season 3 experiment, Pod People.
- If you don't look good we don't look good
This is the old slogan of Vidal Sassoon hair care products.
- To think like a hu-man, to be the hu-man
Quoted from episode 107's movie Robot Monster.
- ...and when I say there was no cannibalism in the Navy, I mean there was some.
Quoted from a Monty Python's Flying Circus sketch in the episode "The War Against Pornography".
- Fresh from Kent State
In 1970 several members of the National Guard killed 4 unarmed civilians during an anti-war protest.
- It's the Android Sisters. It's true.
A reference to the Andrews Sisters, a popular vocal jazz trio in the 30's and 40's, their most famous song was "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy".
- "We serve fun at Shakey's!" "Also pizza!"
The Shakey's Pizza chain was popular in the United States during the 1960s and '70s, but its restaurants are now found mainly in Southern California and Asia.
MST3K 420 Promo
| 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 |