Entertainment
 

War of the Colossal Beast

From MST3K



319 - War of the Colossal Beast
Air Date November 30, 1991
Movie Director Bert I. Gordon
Year 1958
Cast Sally Fraser, Roger Pace, Dean Parkin, Russ Bender
Short Mr. B Natural
Preceded by 318 - Star Force: Fugitive Alien II
Followed by 320 - The Unearthly


Contents

The Short

Synopsis

Mr. B. Natural, the sexually androgynous spirit of music, teaches Buzz Turner how to be cool.

Information

  • The most popular and well known MST3K short ever.
  • This film was sponsored by C.G. Conn, a maker of musical instruments, thus the importance of a brand expressed towards the end of the short.
  • The short was released on the appropriately titled Mr. B's Lost Shorts??!! by BBI on VHS and by Rhino Entertainment on DVD retitled as Mr. B's Lost Shorts, part of The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection: Volume 6

The Movie

Synopsis

A mysterious series of food-truck robberies makes government officials doubt that the 60-foot tall Colossal Man is dead. He is discovered in a desolate mountain range in Mexico, insane and horribly disfigured. The military drugs him and transports him back to America, where he promptly escapes and wreaks havoc on a city. [1]

Information

There's something notably odd about this sequel to Episode 309. In “The Amazing Colossal Man,” they make a big deal about Glenn’s fiancée being the only ‘family’ that he has. Now, out of nowhere, Glenn has a sister. By the way, contrary to popular belief, the fiancée and the sister are not played by the same actress. And the sister is not meant to be the same character as the fiancée. Even though they look very much alike.

This time, Glenn Manning is played by Duncan “Dean” Parkin. Glenn’s grunts and groans were performed by Paul Frees.

The Episode

Host Segments

Prologue: Joel and the Bots create new Mexican foods like Madison Avenue would.

Segment One (Invention Exchange): More new Mexican food, the Mads blast forth with the Breakfast Bazooka, and Joel turns a Twinkie into a grenade with the Between-Meal Mortar.

Segment Two: Crow T. Robot and Tom Servo with the ultimate debate: Mr. B Natural...man or woman?

Segment Three: Joel and the Bots sing with the big head when Glen drops by.

Segment Four: KTLA predicts the future! It's extremely random.

Segment Five: Joel and the Bots partake of drugged bread, a letter is read by Glen, and TV's Frank enjoys some thorazine waffles.

Stinger: Mr. B Natural prances around like a happy king.

Other Notes

Guest Stars

Obscure References

  • "Oh, Mr. Natural! I remember him from Zap Comix!"

Mr. Natural was a character from R. Crumb's underground comic book Zap Comix.

  • "Conn LTD and the New Power Generation!"

The New Power Generation was the name of Prince's backup band in the early 1990s.

  • "I gotta finish my letter to Jodie Foster."

A reference to John Hinckley, Jr., who attempted to assassinate then-President Ronald Reagan for reasons stemming from his own unhealthy obsession with actress Jodie Foster.

  • "Where did you come from?" "Bellevue!"

A reference to New York City's Bellevue Hospital Center, best known for its psychiatric ward.

  • "Extra value is what you get when you play the coronet!"

A play on an advertising jingle for Coronet toilet paper.

  • "They should carve Crazy Horse."

Reference to the Crazy Horse Memorial in the Black Hills of South Dakota, the project, started in 1948 still has not been completed.

  • "Third Base!"

Reference to Abbott and Costello's "Who's on First?" routine.

  • "KTLA Predicts!"

Reference to Criswell Predicts in Plan 9 From Outer Space. The Los Angeles TV station KTLA currently broadcasts as an affiliate of the CW Network.

  • "Peppermint soap!" "All-one!"

During KTLA Predicts, Joel references Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps (18-in-1 Hemp Peppermint Pure-Castile Liquid Soap), a brand of soap which claims to make you "ready to help teach the whole human race the moral ABC of All-One-God-Faith!" "Magic Soap to clean body-mind-soul-spirit instantly uniting One! All-One! Absolute cleanliness is Godliness."

  • "Mr. Utley."

During the debate, Servo is probably referencing Michael Utley, who has performed keyboards on and produced several Jimmy Buffett albums, and was namechecked in the song "Volcano."

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