MST3K 904 - Werewolf

“	I don't know, you had him last!	”
	- Servo

904 - Werewolf
Air/Release Date	April 28, 1998
AKA	Arizona Werewolf
Movie Director	Tony Zarindast
Year	1996
Cast	Jorge Rivero (billed here as George Rivero), Richard Lynch, Federico Cavalli (billed here as Fred Cavalli), Adrianna Miles, Joe Estevez
Preceded by	903 - The Pumaman
Followed by	905 - The Deadly Bees

The Movie

Synopsis

A team of archaeologists unearth an animal skeleton at a dig in an Arizona quarry. During the discovery, a worker named Tommy is injured and contaminated by the specimen when Yuri, the ruthlessly ambitious, violent team leader shoves him to the ground. The Native Americans at the site instantly recognize the signs of a werewolf from tribal legend. Noel, the head of the project, seems to know quite a bit about the legend. The remains are taken to the lab.

Yuri sees an opportunity for personal gain when Tommy begins turning into a werewolf in full view of hospital personnel. He then conducts an experiment to infect a security guard (the director) to see whether he turns into a werewolf as well. (He does).

When a writer named Paul visit the lab in the company of the beautiful Natalie, a jealous Yuri assaults him with one of the skeleton's bones, and Paul is infected. During Paul's subsequent transformations, he goes around the city "doing things", such as crawling on the ground like a worm before chasing a woman through a puddle. Natalie, the love interest (who takes a freshly creative approach to each pronunciation of "werewolf" in the film) eventually comprehends what Yuri is doing and tries to save Paul.

Information

• This was the most recent movie to be spoofed by MST3K in terms of production, being filmed and released in 1996. The most recent movie in terms of release date was Future War, which was filmed in 1994 but wasn't released until 1997.
• Several scenes from Werewolf were shot on the campus of Glendale Community College in Glendale, California. The lab scenes took place in the old Physical Science building before it was refurbished in the early 2000s. The footbridge that crosses Verdugo Road, in front of the College, is seen in several nighttime shots.
• Director Tony Zarindast had purchased the stock shot of the car driving into the oil drums and exploding before shooting. He had his personal car painted to match the color of the car in the stock shots. This creates a notable mistake in the film: The original chase car is a Ford Taurus, but changes into a Plymouth Acclaim for the explosion sequence (which is later noted by Mike and the Bots).
• To help keep the film on schedule and on budget, actors Randall Oliver, R.C. Bates, Joe Estevez, and Richard Lynch performed their own stunts.
• The many colors of Yuri's (Jorge Rivero's) hair: Black, Orange, Brown, Blonde highlights, Black and parted like Hitler, Salt and pepper dry look and Gray skunk stripe. To be fair, Yuri's hair never really changes color - it appears to be due to the inconsistent lighting and various days that pass during both filming and the film itself.

The Episode

File:904-2.jpg

Were-Crow!

Host Segments

• Introduction: After a fall, Mike thinks that he's James Lipton and interviews Crow, thinking the latter is Ray Liotta and interviews him about his film career.
• Segment One: Crow hits Mike with a clown hammer, restoring him to his senses. Mike attempts to affect an escape, but accidentally lands in Castle Forrester. Mike decides to give up after Brain Guy produces a cannon and points it at him.
• Segment Two: Mike and the Bots speculate over whom they would cast in their werewolf movies, using famous celebrity relatives (including Spike Knotts and Chip Hitler) as characters. All Crow can come up with is Ray Liotta.
• Segment Three: Mike, Tom and Crow dress up as a '60s girl group and sing "Where, O Werewolf", about "Cindy" (Mike)'s doomed relationship with her werewolf boyfriend.
• Segment Four: Mike cuts himself on Crow's head and begins turning into a Werecrow. Servo is horrified, but Crow warms to the idea and tells Mike what to expect from his transformation.
• Segment Five: Mike is even further along in his transformation, but Servo comes up with an antidote. Unfortunately, Servo is now transforming into a Weremike. At Castle Forrester, Pearl attempts to create her own werewolf, but Bobo produces a cocker spaniel instead.

Stinger: Natalie's flat emotionless delivery of the line "This is absolutely fascinating."

Kevin Murphy's real life dog

Trivia

• The wolf in the last host segment was played by Kevin Murphy's dog, Humphrey. Humphrey had previously appeared in all of the author photos in the Amazing Colossal Episode Guide.
• The helmet prop that Mike wears during his ladder descent had previously appeared during Mike's spacewalk in Experiment #902 The Phantom Planet.
• Included in the 20th Anniversary Edition DVD set with First Spaceship on Venus, Laserblast, and Future War.
• Werewolf was one of the films used in the 2013 Turkey Day marathon, based on fans' recommendations to Joel Hodgson.
• This is one of iCarly actresses' Jennette Mccurdy's favorite episodes.

Obscure References

• "Right - King TImohoe here is going to drive himself home."

​King Timahoe was an Irish setter owned by President Nixon.

• "An American Werewolf in traffic!"
  

A quick reference to the film, An American Werewolf in London.

• "...a film called 'Operation Dumbo Drop'. Let's talk about that!"

Operation Dumbo Drop was a 1995 movie starring Danny Glover and Ray Liotta.

• "...Harold Robbins' 'The Lonely Lady'..."

The Lonely Lady was a 1983 movie based on a novel by Harold Robbins, starring Pia Zadora.

• ""Louis Leakey in 'Every Which Way But Loose'!"

Louis Leakey was a renowned archaeologist, naturalist, and paleoanthropologist. Every Which Way But Loose was a 1978 movie starring Clint Eastwood and a trained orangutan.

• "Awww, the poor thing has TMJ."

Temporomandibular joint dysfunction, a condition that affects the joint between the skull and the mandible.

• "It might just be the Bumpasses' dogs, we're not sure."

The Bumpasses were the family of "hillbilly neighbors" in A Christmas Story. Their noisy dogs were a constant source of annoyance to the father in the story, and the dogs eventually ruined the family's Christmas dinner.

• "They're establishing the hell out of this buliding here."

An establishing shot is used to show that the film is changing locations, or that time has passed between scenes.  It's usually not nearly as long as the shot in the film.

• "E-O eleven..."

From the theme song to the original version of Ocean's Eleven.

• "A silver bullet." "Is Coors Light in your gun?"

Coors Light beer is referred to as "The Silver Bullet" in a long-running ad campaign.

• "If it's Martin, shoot to kill. Then *I* can be in Spawn!"

In 1997, Martin Sheen appeared in the movie adaptation of the comic book Spawn. (Probably a double-joke because of Spawn 's reputation of being a terrible film.)

• "It's the actual skeleton of a 'Pushmepullyou."

The Pushmepullyou was a type of llama from Dr. Dolittle that had a head on both ends of its body.

• "Hey mighty brontosaurus, don't you have a lesson for us?!"

The drum beats heard on the movie's soundtrack prompts Tom Servo to sing an excerpt from Sting's 'Walking In Your Footsteps.'

• "Travis Bickle moved out to the suburbs!"

Travis Bickle was the title character in the 1976 film Taxi Driver. He was mentally unstable and eventually shaved his head into a mohawk and went on a killing spree.

• "I'll take a walk!" "Over to Kirk Douglas's house!"

Reference to the actor Kirk Douglas and his often angry/intense line delivery, whom Yuri seems to imitate.

• This is like the time I hit that reporter with Piltdown Man's thighbone.

Piltdown Man was a famous paleontological hoax of the 1920s, where the skull of a supposed "missing link" between man and ape was found. It was proven to be a hoax decades later.

• "C'mon, 'The Sheltering Sky' moved quicker than this movie!"

​The Sheltering Sky was a 1990 movie set in post-war North Africa revolving around two tourist couples. It is notoriously slow-moving.

• "Flagstaff. I can't believe I'm still in Flagstaff!"

A parody of the opening line from Apocalypse Now.

• "Oh, weasels ripped my flesh again."

A reference to a Frank Zappa album, famous for its cover art.

• "Word of advice, never have sex with Flo-Jo."

Track star Florence Griffith-Joyner was famous for having very long fingernails.

• "It's the Red Shoe Diaries all of a sudden!"

Red Shoe Diaries was a softcore porn (or "erotic drama") series that aired on Showtime in the 90's.

• "Ziggy played...GUITAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRR"

Yuri's haristyle at that moment in the movie sort of looks like David Bowie's during the Ziggy Stardust period of his career.

• "Can't you see what I'm trying to tell you - I love you!

Groucho Marx said this line in the film Duck Soup

• "PBR me ASAP!"

Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer used this phrase in an advertising campaign for their beer.

• I was playing Miss Havisham in the school play when I got attacked by a werewolf!

Miss Havisham is a character in Charles Dickens's novel Great Expectations. She wore an elaborate wedding dress that had deteriorated with age.

• "You know what I really want to do?" "Is baby be friends with you."

Lyrics from Bob Dylan's song All I Really Want to Do

• Frederic Remington's Guernica."

Frederic Remington was an American artist famous for his depictions of American history, particularly the Old West. Guernica was a famous painting by Pablo Picasso depicting the Fascist bombing of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War.

• Basquiat is in danger!

Jean-Michel Basquiat was a New York artist.

• Leland Sklar, survivalist

Leland Sklar is a musician noted for his facial hair.

• Live from New York, it's Saturday night!

This is the famous lead-in line to Saturday Night Live. In the long-running sketch show's first season, the line was typically delivered by actor Chevy Chase after he made some kind of dangerous fall.

• It's a Maurice Sendak creature.

Maurice Sendak wrote and illustrated numerous children's books, although the reference is probably mainly to Where the Wild Things Are.

• The death of Oliver Sacks.

Oliver Sacks is a prominent British neurologist and author of the book Awakenings.

• She learned English from the wild and crazy guys.

A series of sketches from Saturday Night Live in the 70's, where Steve Martin and Dan Aykroyd played a pair of Czech brothers with heavy accents who are constantly trying to pick up women.

• "So, basically, werewolves are Jackson Browne."

Jackson Browne was alleged to have been physically abusive to his girlfriend Darryl Hannah, though no actual charges were ever brought.

• "And Congress enacted the Pop Rocks labelling law."

A reference to the urban legend taht eating the carbonated candy Pop Rocks at the same time that you drank a carbonated beverage like Coca-Cola would kill you by causing your stomach to explode.  Though this isn't true, it's still not recommended.

Actress Adrianna Miles doesn't find this specimen to be all that "fascinating."

A list of songs sung by Mike and the bots during the closing credits:

• Pow Wow the Indian Boy: theme song from a cartoon featured on the Captain Kangaroo show.
• We Will Rock You: by Queen
• Tusk: by Fleetwood Mac
• The Battle of New Orleans: by Johnnie Horton
• Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves: by Cher
• The Lonely Goatherd: from The Sound of Music
• Here Comes Santa Claus: by Gene Autry
• Give It Away: by Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Brand New Key: by Melanie
• Admiral Halsey/Uncle Albert: by Paul and Linda McCartney
• Cat's in the Cradle: by Harry Chapin
• Easter Parade: by Irving Berlin
• One Night in Bangkok: from Chess
• Surrey With a Fringe on Top: from Oklahoma!
• The Freshmen: by Verve Pipe
• Oh! Susanna: by Stephen Foster

Gags/Continuity Errors

An interesting thing to notice is that Tom Servo, who normally required the assistance of Mike or Joel to enter the theater, is shown entering the movie theater all by himself in the beginning of the movie, as Mike was not on the SOL when the movie started. Since Servo's hovering abilities were just as exaggerated as Crow's rarely seen feet and MST3K is a show that encourages viewers to "just relax", this was never explained.

preceded by: Season 8			MST3K Season 9			followed by: Season 10
			1998
901	The Projected Man	1998-03-14	906	The Space Children	1998-06-13	911	Devil Fish	1998-08-15
902	The Phantom Planet	1998-03-21	907	Hobgoblins	1998-06-27	912	The Screaming Skull	1998-08-29
903	The Pumaman	1998-04-04	908	The Touch of Satan	1998-07-11	913	Quest of the Delta Knights	1998-09-26
904	Werewolf	1998-04-18	909	Gorgo	1998-07-18
905	The Deadly Bees	1998-05-09	910	The Final Sacrifice	1998-07-25