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in: MST3K Episodes, Season 5, Dystopian Film,
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MST3K 501 - Warrior of the Lost World

Revision as of 08:44, 24 July 2015 by Bruce16 (Message Wall | contribs)
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“ "ANY FRUIT TO DECLARE!?!" ”
- Joel, Tom, Crow


“ "Oh, I don't know....we always just called him Paper Chase guy." ”
- Megaweapon


The Movie

Synopsis

In a post-apocalyptic (yet oddly lush and verdant) future, the Earth, or at least one nearly deserted but perfectly maintained rustic highway, is ruled by a despotic organization known as "The Omega", headed by Prossor (the late Donald Pleasence). who is, perhaps, a mashup of Doctors No, Evil and Strangelove. The Omega is an Orwellian outfit that plays hypnotic mind-control messages over the PA system at airports. You know, the way False News does today.

The Omega is resisted by a faction known as "The Outsiders." This latter group seems to consist of three people, and it meets exclusively in a rock quarry. Led by "Professor" McWayne (a toothy Harrison Muller), it is advised by a levitating, foggy, flashlight-wielding cadre of superannuated, toga-clad mystical healers.

McWayne has been captured by the Omega; the Outsiders must rescue him before he is executed.

File:MST3KWOTLW 017.jpg

Joel pretending to run during the film's opening scene.

When a sullen, whiny, unshaven, malodorous, frequently unintelligible and uniformly unappealing leather-jacketed anti-hero (the "Paper Chase" Guy played by the late Robert Ginty) and his talking, rocket-assisted, missile-launching doofus "supersonic speed cycle" "Einstein" (played by a screen saver) appear on the scene, the mystics identify him as "Chosen", and McWayne's daughter, the not-unattractive Nastasia (the late [[[Persis Khambatta]]) and commanding Henchman (Fred Williamson) must persuade him to help them rescue their leader. After arguments as to the nobility of their cause fail to sway him, Nastasia smilingly threatens the PCG with summary unmanning. He agrees to cooperate.

Nastasia and the PCG infiltrate the public execution of McWayne in the guise of invited witnesses. The two of them, under the watchful eyes of scores of burly, jack-booted Omega storm troopers toting automatic weapons and stationed at every possible vantage point in the area and assisted by plenty of flatulent analog-synthesizer-generated gunfire foley, manage to grab McWayne and get him to a conveniently waiting escape helicopter - which PCG knows how to fly. How do they do it, you ask? The PCG simply reaches out and, with a light tug, yanks a gun away from one of the six-foot tall two hundred pound guards, hands it to Nastasia, then she and PCG mow down scores of the rest, avoiding getting hit in the fusillade of lead. Out of the tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition fired at her, a lone bullet finally strikes Nastasia in the gel pack (knee). She doesn't make it back out, and Prosser immediately begins programming her to be his "mind slave".

McWayne immediately starts to assemble a rescue mission. To garner forces from the outlaw gangs in the area, he has the PCG engage in a public display of comedic stage-fighting with two dozen or so extras who are, apparently, on break from Fellini, John Waters and Russ Meyer movies being filmed nearby. By fighting dirty and absorbing plenty of good-natured simulated physical abuse with beery elan, the PCG implausibly inspires their near-instantaneous allegiance.

File:Warrior1.PNG

Megaweapon!

A three-pronged attack on The Omega is begun. The PCG leads the "Thunderdome*"-like motorized forces down the Omega-patrolled highway with air support supplied by Henchman to ultimately do mano-a-mano battle with "Megaweapon", a lethargic dump truck tarted up with an "Omega" logo, some bumper-mounted spikes and an asthmatic flame-thrower. Elsewhere, freshly-bathed gang members posing as Omega employees cleverly smuggle automatic weapons into the Omega "dairy" (they put them in a briefcase) and attack from inside, while outlaw gang ninjas and people with old military uniforms scale the unguarded back stairs into the Omega HQ.

Will Nastasia be snatched from doom before she is forever warped by the sadistic Prossor? If so, will she and the PCG "do the nasty"? And... are Prossor and Henchman really what they seem to be?

  • Can't we get beyond "Thunderdome"?

Information

  • Director David Worth claims he was hired, sent to Italy, and told to begin work on the film . . . before he ever even had a script. He was simply shown a ballyhoo poster and told to make a film that would go with it.
  • If you think this film seems a bit jerky and stuttering (and not just the main character) you aren't wrong. The film's framerate is slower than the standard 24 fps and varies slightly from scene to scene. It's like even the cameras were tired of filming this train wreck.
  • In 1998 Persis Khambatta died of a heart attack. She was only 49 years old.
  • On September 21, 2009 star Robert Ginty died of cancer at the age of 60.

The Episode

Host Segments

Prologue: Servo gets to do the formal welcome speech on behalf of the Satellite of Love crew, but Crow is bound and determined to ruin it.

Warriorhost1

The Square Master

Segment One (Invention Exchange): The Mads have created the Square Master, a special excercise mat which maximizes potential; Joel and the Bots have Bittersweet Hearts, candy hearts (which also function as easy-to-chew antacids) for adults. They feature phrases that can be difficult to communicate, like "Get Out", "You’ll Do", "Like A Brother" and "It’s Blue".

Segment Two: Joel turns Crow and Servo into a giant slot car set. Crow rules the road, but Servo has some major design flaws.

Segment Three: In a Steve Allen-inspired sketch, we see what the apocalypse would be like if the Warrior of the Lost World hadn't got his driving permit yet and was forced to save the world in the back of his mom's Vista Cruiser station wagon.

MST3k 501 host segment

Joel turns Crow and Tom into slot cars

Segment Four: Joel and the Bots discuss what outrageous things they'd do after the apocalypse.

Segment Five: The Bots lament the loss of Megaweapon, but a phone call from their hero puts them at ease. Joel reads a letter from a couple of kids whose dad "claims to have paid ‘good’ money to have seen many of the movies you ‘rip’ on." The Mads enjoy an active lifestyle thanks to the Square Master.

Stinger: The Paper Chase Guy checks out Persis Khambatta.

Other Notes

Guest Stars

Trivia

  • Despite Warrior of the Lost World being produced as the first episode of the season, Hercules was actually shown first.

Obscure References

  • "Yarbles and Yarlblockers!"

Quoted by the Geeks in the first 20 minutes of the movie; a terrible throwback to Stanley Kubrick's film adaptation of Anthony Burgess' iconic dystopian novel A Clockwork Orange.

  • "Music by Hawkwind!"

Hawkwind is a British progressive rock band.

  • "Warrior of the Lost World (much better than the) Finder of the Lost Loves..."

Sung to the tune of Owner of a Lonely Heart by progressive rock band Yes. The reference to Finder of Lost Loves is a callback to Space Travelers, where Crow constantly confused James Franciscus for Tony Franciosa.

  • "Tom Cruise! Days of Thunder!"

Days of Thunder was a 1990 movie in which Cruise starred as a NASCAR driver.

  • "The High Plains Loser!"

High Plains Drifter is a 1973 Western film starring Clint Eastwood.

  • "Hey, where you goin'?" "Nowhere in particular." "Man, I wish I was you."

A snippet of dialogue from Then Came Bronson, a very short-lived TV series from 1969-1970.

  • "It's on this straightaway that Fittipalldi should be able to gain some ground on the leaders."

Crow is imitating Jackie Stewart, famous for calling auto races on TV.

  • "Watch out for the squibs!"

A squib is a type of explosive charge used to simulate gunshots in movies.

  • "Mr. Busey, look out-"

Actor Gary Busey suffered severe head injuries in a motorcycle accident in the late 1980s.

  • "And now, Edie Sedgwick goes on the road!"

Edie Sedgwick, who appeared in several films directed by Andy Warhol, was severely burned in 1966 after falling asleep with a lit cigarette.

  • "Oh, no- cops!"

Joel is imitating the "Simpsons" character Snake.

  • "Retsyn?"

"Retsyn" was a sparkling ingredient mentioned in advertisements for Certs during the 1990s.

  • "Stiv Bators?!"

Stiv Bators was the lead singer of the punk band The Dead Boys.

  • "Richard Hell?!"

Richard Hell was also a punk pioneer.

  • "Coma, coma, coma, coma, coma Caligula!"

A parody of the Culture Club song "Karma Chameleon".

  • "It's Bicycle Repairman!"

"Bicycle Repairman" was a sketch from "Monty Python's Flying Circus" about a town where everyone dressed like Superman and the local superhero was a bicycle repairman.

  • "...and the new movie by Louis Malle."

Louis Malle was a French film director.

  • "Sure, we all do!"

A quote from International Correspondence Schools commercials featuring Sally Struthers, which was preceded by the line "Do you want to make more money?".

  • "Was the prop man Jim Stafford?" "I really don't like spiders and snakes!"

Country singer/actor Jim Stafford (who also appeared in Riding with Death) recorded the novelty song "Spiders and Snakes" in the mid-1970s.

  • "We're a rocker arm assembly, and we don't like dirt!"

Taken from the lyrics to the Mobil gas "Rocker Arm Assembly" song.

  • "It's no party." "It's no disco."

A play on the Talking Heads song "Life During Wartime".

  • "I'm the guy with the snake on my face!"

Quoted from Harry, The Guy With A Snake On My Face - an adult novelties store owner played by John Candy on "SCTV".

  • "This is like a really weird production of 'The Bacchae'."

The Bacchae is a Greek tragedy about the god Dionysus.

  • "Now they're in Cabrini Green!"

Cabrini Green was a (now-demolished) Chicago public housing project famous for crime, poverty and gang violence.

  • "It's the Forbin Project!"

A reference to the 1970 sci-fi movie Colossus: The Forbin Project.

  • "This is starting to look more and more like an Obsession ad."

A reference to commercials for Calvin Klein's fragrance Obsession, which were frequently mocked for their art film-like pretentiousness.

  • "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to get through this thing called life."

From the spoken-word intro to the Prince song "Let's Go Crazy".

  • "Jimmy Carter: Missing in Action!"

Missing in Action was a 1984 action movie starring Chuck Norris.

  • "Jimmy Carter IS The Enforcer!"

The Enforcer, released in 1976, was the third film in the Dirty Harry series, starring Clint Eastwood.

  • "Here are TWO unsuccessful insurance salesmen."

A reference to a skit from "Monty Python's Flying Circus" in which two unsuccessful encyclopedia salesmen are thrown from a tall building.

  • "Jerry Mahoney! Knucklehead Smiff! Oh the ventriloquy!"

In reference to the two dummies falling from the tower: Jerry Mahoney and Knucklehead Smiff were two famous dummies used by ventriloquist Paul Winchell in the 50s and 60s. 'Oh the ventriloquy!' is most likely a riff on the famous 'Oh the humanity!' line uttered by radio journalist Herbert Morrison during his eyewitness broadcast of the crash of the Hindenburg zeppelin in 1937.

  • "Kill da wabbit..."

A line sung by Elmer Fudd to the tune of Richard Wagner's 'Ride of the Valkyries' in the 1957 cartoon What's Opera, Doc?. Its use in the helicopter chase scene is a nod to Apocalypse Now in which a fleet of helicopters plays 'Ride of the Valkyries' on loudspeaker while attacking.

A term formed from a combination of the words "stagnation" and "inflation", often used to describe the US's economic situation during the Carter administration.

  • "Looks kinda like 'Any Which Way But Loose'." "Or 'Any Which Way You Can'."

A reference to Every Which Way But Loose and its sequel Any Which Way You Can, two comedy films starring Clint Eastwood. At the end of Every Which Way But Loose, Eastwood fights another man in a sequence shot with similarly jerky hand-held camera cinematography. Warrior of the Lost World director David Worth was also the Director of Photography for Any Which Way You Can. 

  • "It's Ike and Tina!"

Ike and Tina Turner were an R&B duo in the 60s and 70s. They were married and were known for vicious domestic violence incidents. The woman in the fight scene has wild hair resembling Tina's.

  • "Don't you have to get to the 'Under the Rainbow' set?"

Under the Rainbow was a 1981 movie that involved Munchkin auditions for The Wizard of Oz.

  • "He's beating up Julian Bond!"

Julian Bond is a veteran civil-rights activist who has served as chairman of the NAACP since 1998.

  • "Cleopatra Jones!"

Cleopatra Jones was a 1973 blaxploitation movie.

  • "Got some Divine on me!"

A comment on an extra's resemblance to the late female impersonator Divine.

  • "Here at DeVry Institute..."

DeVry University, formerly known as the DeVry Institute, is a nationwide chain of adult-education centers.

  • "Oh sick, he's turning her into Charlie Callas!"

Charlie Callas was a popular comedian during the 1970s, and was known for nervously chattering and making odd noises as part of his act.

  • "What are we fighting for?" "Don't tell me, I don't give a damn, next stop is Vietnam"i

Lines fromt he song "I Feel Like I'm Fixin' To Die Rag" by Country Joe and the Fish .

  • "That guy's buying lunch at the Automat."

The Automat was a type of self-service restaurant that was popular during the first half of the 20th century.

  • "That always happens at the Bus Rodeo, with old time bus driver, Billy Slater."

A callback to Junior Rodeo Daredevils.

  • "Benazir Bhutto!"

Benazir Bhutto was the first female prime minister of Pakistan.

  • "My friends call me Tania!"

"Tania" was the name Patty Hearst was given by the Symbionese Liberation Army.

  • Shot Your Father, I did

Callback to Mr. B Natural. "Knew your father, I did," is one of many creepy lines uttered by Mr. B.

  • "Sprockets!"

"Sprockets" was a Saturday Night Live sketch in which Mike Myers played an eccentric German talk show host.

  • "Have you ever worked with Killdozer?"

Killdozer is a short story by Theodore Sturgeon about a bulldozer that develops a violent mind of its own. In 1974, it was adapted as a made-for-TV movie.

  • "Oh, man, he's just been shot by the Split Enz!"

Split Enz were a pop/new-wave band from New Zealand, perhaps best known in the USA for their song/video I Got You. The band wore colorful goofy outfits, and 'artsy' hair and makeup. Lead singer Tim Finn is also mentioned in passing in The She-Creature.

  • "That Girl forever. Marlo! Marlo! Oh Donald!"

That Girl was a 1960s sitcom starring Marlo Thomas, she frequently exclaimed "Oh Donald!".

  • Crow briefly references the title I Accuse My Parents despite it not having yet aired at the time.
  • "Any fruit to declare?" "ANY FRUIT TO DECLARE?!"

At the time the episode aired, California was in the middle of another medfly crisis, leading to forceful quarantines of fruit out of infected areas.

Video Release

Warrior of the lost world dvd

MST3K DVD Cover

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