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11th Dec '12 10:15:38 PM erforce

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[[quoteright:325:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/this-island-earth1.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:325:He's not an alien!]]

''This Island Earth'' is a science fiction novel by Raymond F. Jones first published in 1952. It involves a group of aliens using Earth as a pawn in an intergalactic war by recruiting Earthlings into a group known as the “Peace Engineers”. The better known 1955 film adaptation was one of the first sci-fi films to be made in glorious Technicolor and was critically acclaimed for its special effects and storytelling.

Dr. Cal Meacham, nuclear physicist, dashing pilot, and media darling, is flying to his lab in his personal jet when a sudden engine failure sends him hurtling towards the ground, only for him to be saved at the last minute when a green glow surrounds the vessel and helps it land safely. The weirdness continues at his lab, when Meacham and his assistant Joe ponder over a strange electrical capacitor they received that is obviously more advanced than any human technology. Placing another order from the mysterious company that sent it results in a huge shipment of arcane doodads and a complex set of instructions. With the help of a [[HardWorkMontage montage]], the two successfully assemble an "interocitor," and receive a transmission from an orange-skinned, white-haired, [[RubberForeheadAlien dimple-foreheaded]], [[HughMann definitely-not-an-alien]] named Exeter. He congratulates Meacham -- apparently the interocitor is a test he and his colleagues use to recruit scientists for a special project -- and invites Meacham to join him.

After a brief ride on a windowless, unmanned plane, Meacham joins Exeter and a host of other scientists at a stately mansion, where Meacham is reunited with Dr. Ruth Adams, who doesn't seem to remember the romantic time the two spent together despite Meacham's insistence (a brief line of dialog a minute or so later hints that she was actually testing him to see if he's on the level, but it's hard to catch; a later scene confirms this). Eventually Ruth and Meacham, along with colleague Steve Carlson, grow suspicious about the weird white-haired fellows running the place, and of the fact that all the scientists there are specialists in extracting nuclear power, but not utilizing it. The three of them make a break for it, only for their hosts to blow up the mansion, abduct Meacham and Ruth in a {{flying saucer}}, and kill Steve, making him a bit character probably not worth mentioning in a summary of the movie.

The Earthlings' suspicions confirmed, Exeter calls for a truce as they are en route to his homeworld of Metaluna. He explains that their planet is under siege from hostile aliens and uses an energy field to remain safe, but said shield requires gigantic quantities of nuclear power to operate, thus prompting their interest in Earth. Once on Metaluna, Exeter brings Meacham and Ruth before the Monitor who runs Metalunan society, who ignores Exeter's protests and sentences the Earthlings to the Thought Transference Chamber to make them more willing partners. But Exeter rebels and helps the Earthlings escape, though he is grievously injured by a rogue Mutant worker creature. The three of them hijack a saucer to return to Earth, only to be confronted by the same Mutant, who [[MonsterMisogyny menaces Ruth]] for a bit before keeling over. Once back on Earth, a dying Exeter literally drops Meacham and Ruth off before sending his flaming saucer into the ocean.

''This Island Earth'' returned to the big screen 41 years later when it was riffed by the Satellite of Love crew in ''[[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000TheMovie Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie]]''. It was also one of the inspirations for The Coneheads on SaturdayNightLive as DanAykroyd and writer Tom Davis were fans of the movie and tickled by how nobody seemed to notice the enormous heads of Exeter and the other aliens. Music/WeirdAlYankovic paid homage as well with the Interocitor appearing in his "Dare To Be Stupid" video and mention of the device in his film ''Film/{{UHF}}''.

!!''This Island Earth'' provides examples of:
* AntiVillain: Exeter, at the worst, is this. He later performs a full HeelFaceTurn.
-->'''Exeter:''' What happened back there [the death of all the scientists] was beyond my control.\\
'''Meecham:''' What happened was mass murder!\\
'''Exeter:''' We're not all masters of our souls, Meecham.\\
'''Meecham:''' That's a nice phrase, coming from ''you''.\\
'''Exeter:''' I learned it on Earth.
* ArtisticLicensePhysics: Lots of it. Some examples:
** The laboratory cat is called Neutron "because he's so positive". These people are meant to be nuclear physicists and yet they can't tell the difference between a neutron, which has no electric charge, and a positively-charged proton.
** The Earth is surrounded by a "heat barrier" which causes the saucer's hull to glow red-hot.
** Magnetic clamps hold flesh and blood fast.
** The Zahgon planet used to be a comet.
** The planet [[spoiler:Metaluna]] is transformed into a sun by meteorite bombardment. Exeter claims that this new sun may warm other worlds some day, though it's not clear where he expects them to come from in defiance of the laws of orbital mechanics.
* AttackItsWeakPoint: The big-brained Mutants are unsurprisingly vulnerable to blunt trauma to the head.
* CataclysmClimax: Exeter and the humans escape Metaluna just in time to watch it go ker-blooey.
* ChewingTheScenery: Exeter's unnecessarily-dramatic commands to the Mutant. Possibly justified as this particular Mu-tant was malfunctioning.
-->'''Exeter''': ''Stand back!'' I command you, ''STAND BACK!''
* ColonyDrop: Metaluna's enemies direct a fierce bombardment of meteorites at it, eventually turning it into a "radioactive sun"...somehow.
* CoolChair: Averted and played straight. The captain has a cool chair that bears some resemblance to a tricked-out chrome toilet, but in other ways Metalunan furniture technology is light-years behind Earth's. The "chairs" Cal and Ruth use are basically upright slabs with arm rests and a small ledge for the butt.
** The lead actress revealed that their jumpsuits were so impossibly restricting that the chairs were the only way they could comfortably sit for extended periods.
* ComputerEqualsTapedrive: Completely [[JustifiedTrope justified]]. This was made in the 50's, remember.
* CrapsackWorld: Thanks to the constant bombardment of Metaluna.
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: During Cal's near-crash sequence, the camera shows a close view of the doctor frantically pulling on his [[DoubleEntendre joystick]].
* DragonInChief: Brack, due to Exeter's AntiVillain status.
* ForeheadOfDoom
* GreenRocks: Interocitors can be used as communication devices, viewscreens, autopilots, road-layers, and of course, {{death ray}}s.
* HardWorkMontage: When assembling the interocitor.
* HemisphereBias: North America is quite prominent as the interstellar travelers return home.
* HeroicSacrifice: Steve Carlson bought Cal and Ruth time by making the aliens think they blew up the car killing all three.
* HeyItsThatGuy: Steve Carlson is played by Russell Johnson, TheProfessor from ''Series/GilligansIsland'', while Creator/ColemanFrancis (!) makes an uncredited cameo as a deliveryman.
* HollywoodDarkness: Our heroes attempt to sneak away from the aliens "under cover of afternoon."
* {{Homage}}: ''This Island Earth'' has popped up in the background of works from ''[[Film/ETTheExtraTerrestrial E.T.]]'' to ''{{Watchmen}}'', while the interocitor makes cameos in works as diverse as ''Film/{{UHF}}'' and ''CiaphasCain''.
** The Mutant also appears in ''Film/LooneyTunesBackInAction'' and in the opening credits for ''ErnestScaredStupid''.
* HughMann: During dinner, Exeter refers to Mozart as "your composer".
* {{It Is Pronounced Tro-PAY}}: The big-brained bug people the Metalunans benevolently use as laborers aren't mutants, they're Mutants ("myu-TAHNT"). [[DontExplainTheJoke It's funny, in a way, because they have bug heads like ants and don't talk. Mute-Ants.]]
* {{Jerkass}}: Cal Meacham comes off as a bit of a smug jerk. He jokingly tells the reporters he "hopes you taxpayers don't mind" paying for his plane, says his lab assistant's wife would gain twenty pounds if she had access to the tools in the alien catalog, and keeps reminding LoveInterest Ruth about how much of a sissy she is.
* MindControl: The Thought Transformer is planned to be used when the Metalunans relocate to Earth.
* MonsterMisogyny: The Mutant's last appearance has it lumbering after Ruth while Cal and Exeter watch helplessly from The Tubes.
* MundaneMadeAwesome: The dramatic score accompanying the alien viewscreen returning to normal view.
* MyBrainIsBig: The oddly-skulled Metalunans probably qualify, as do the Mutants, whose heads are at least 50% exposed brains.
* NamesTheSame: Don't confuse Exeter with the English city, or Brack with [[WesternAnimation/TheBrakShow Brak]].
** Or indeed [[BarackObama Barack]]...
* NonActionGuy: Cal Meacham's most dramatic action is socking Exeter as they try to escape Metaluna. For the rest of the movie he's either being led around by aliens or trying to flee them.
* PlanetLooters: Initially, the Metalunans want our uranium so they can maintain the forcefield protecting their planet. But when their enemies attack before this is completed, they decide to [[AlienInvasion relocate]] to Earth.
* RubberForeheadAliens: Really obvious ones.
* SelectiveMagnetism: The grips used by those handles for The Tubes are magnetized to keep occupants still...
* SmallUniverseAfterAll: The book has the friendly aliens agreeing to pull their forces out of "this galaxy."
* SpaceIsAnOcean: At least when it comes to picking a title.
* VideoPhone: The interocitor.
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21st Oct '12 3:41:13 PM mlsmithca

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25th Sep '12 10:39:33 PM NESBoy

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Dr. Cal Meacham, nuclear physicist, dashing pilot, and media darling, is flying to his lab in his personal jet when a sudden engine failure sends him hurtling towards the ground, only for him to be saved at the last minute when a green glow surrounds the vessel and helps it land safely. The weirdness continues at his lab, when Meacham and his assistant Joe ponder over a strange electrical capacitor they received that is obviously more advanced than any human technology. Placing another order from the mysterious company that sent it results in a huge shipment of arcane doodads and a complex set of instructions. With the help of a [[HardWorkMontage montage]], the two successfully assemble an "interocitor," and receive a transmission from an orange-skinned, white-haired, [[RubberForeheadAlien dimple-foreheaded]], [[MostDefinitelyNotAVillain definitely-not-an-alien]] named Exeter. He congratulates Meacham -- apparently the interocitor is a test he and his colleagues use to recruit scientists for a special project -- and invites Meacham to join him.

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16th Aug '12 2:57:30 PM MarkLungo

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1st Jul '12 10:09:28 AM TheBoxMonster

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1st Jul '12 10:09:15 AM TheBoxMonster

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13th Jun '12 7:39:27 AM FELH2

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da namespace thing!

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Dr. Cal Meacham, nuclear physicist, dashing pilot, and media darling, is flying to his lab in his personal jet when a sudden engine failure sends him hurtling towards the ground, only for him to be saved at the last minute when a green glow surrounds the vessel and helps it land safely. The weirdness continues at his lab, when Meacham and his assistant Joe ponder over a strange electrical capacitor they received that is obviously more advanced than any human technology. Placing another order from the mysterious company that sent it results in a huge shipment of arcane doodads and a complex set of instructions. With the help of a [[HardWorkMontage montage]], the two successfully assemble an "interocitor," and receive a transmission from an orange-skinned, white-haired, [[RubberForeheadAlien dimple-foreheaded]], [[MostDefinitelyNotAVillain definitely-not-an-alien]] named Exeter. He congratulates Meacham -- apparently the interocitor is a test he and his colleagues use to recruit scientists for a special project -- and invites Meacham to join him.

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Dr. Cal Meacham, nuclear physicist, dashing pilot, and media darling, is flying to his lab in his personal jet when a sudden engine failure sends him hurtling towards the ground, only for him to be saved at the last minute when a green glow surrounds the vessel and helps it land safely. The weirdness continues at his lab, when Meacham and his assistant Joe ponder over a strange electrical capacitor they received that is obviously more advanced than any human technology. Placing another order from the mysterious company that sent it results in a huge shipment of arcane doodads and a complex set of instructions. With the help of a [[HardWorkMontage montage]], the two successfully assemble an "interocitor," and receive a transmission from an orange-skinned, white-haired, [[RubberForeheadAlien dimple-foreheaded]], [[MostDefinitelyNotAVillain definitely-not-an-alien]] named Exeter. He congratulates Meacham -- apparently the interocitor is a test he and his colleagues use to recruit scientists for a special project -- and invites Meacham to join him.

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26th Apr '12 6:39:45 AM ShadowHog

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Fixing italics

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25th Apr '12 10:44:10 AM chico

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mst recap split

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Dr. Cal Meacham, nuclear physicist, dashing pilot, and media darling, is flying to his lab in his personal jet when a sudden engine failure sends him hurtling to
wards the ground, only for him to be saved at the last minute when a green glow surrounds the vessel and helps it land safely. The weirdness continues at his lab, when Meacham and his assistant Joe ponder over a strange electrical capacitor they received that is obviously more advanced than any human technology. Placing another order from the mysterious company that sent it results in a huge shipment of arcane doodads and a complex set of instructions. With the help of a [[HardWorkMontage montage]], the two successfully assemble an "interocitor," and receive a transmission from an orange-skinned, white-haired, [[RubberForeheadAlien dimple-foreheaded]], [[MostDefinitelyNotAVillain definitely-not-an-alien]] named Exeter. He congratulates Meacham -- apparently the interocitor is a test he and his colleagues use to recruit scientists for a special project -- and invites Meacham to join him.

After a brief ride on a windowless, unmanned plane, Meacham joins Exeter and a host of other scientists at a stately mansion, where Meacham is reunited with Dr. Ruth Adams, who doesn't seem to remember the romantic time the two spent together despite Meacham's insistence (a brief line of dialog a minute or so later hints that she was actually testing him to see if he's on the level, but it's hard to catch; a later scene [excised from the MST3K cut, confirms this). Eventually Ruth and Meacham, along with colleague Steve Carlson, grow suspicious about the weird white-haired fellows running the place, and of the fact that all the scientists there are specialists in extracting nuclear power, but not utilizing it. The three of them make a break for it, only for their hosts to blow up the mansion, abduct Meacham and Ruth in a {{flying saucer}}, and kill Steve, making him a bit character probably not worth mentioning in a summary of the movie.

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Dr. Cal Meacham, nuclear physicist, dashing pilot, and media darling, is flying to his lab in his personal jet when a sudden engine failure sends him hurtling towards the ground, only for him to be saved at the last minute when a green glow surrounds the vessel and helps it land safely. The weirdness continues at his lab, when Meacham and his assistant Joe ponder over a strange electrical capacitor they received that is obviously more advanced than any human technology. Placing another order from the mysterious company that sent it results in a huge shipment of arcane doodads and a complex set of instructions. With the help of a [[HardWorkMontage montage]], the two successfully assemble an "interocitor," and receive a transmission from an orange-skinned, white-haired, [[RubberForeheadAlien dimple-foreheaded]], [[MostDefinitelyNotAVillain definitely-not-an-alien]] named Exeter. He congratulates Meacham -- apparently the interocitor is a test he and his colleagues use to recruit scientists for a special project -- and invites Meacham to join him.

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!!The ''[=MST3K=]'' version provides examples of:
* ActorAllusion: Steve Carlson is played by Russell Johnson, so a few jokes center around his role on ''Series/GilligansIsland'' and the use of BambooTechnology.
* ExecutiveMeddling: According to Best Brains Inc., the film was horribly mangled by the distributors, Grammercy Pictures: amongst other things they insisted a movie with substantially more quality than the average ''[=MST3K=]'' fare (probably the only point in which Grammercy and Best Brains agreed, though this movie wasn't the latter's first choice), a shorter running time and less obscure riffs to make the movie [[ViewersAreMorons more accessible]]. They also threw in some random profanity to [[AvoidTheDreadedGRating just so the movie could be rated PG-13]]. Best Brains considered the movie to be the least satisfying project they have worked on and even included not-so-subtle {{Take That}}s at Grammercy in the host segments of ''TheIncredibleMeltingMan'' episode. The distributors had a choice of which film to put their full support behind: this one, or ''BarbWire''. They chose the latter, leaving this film to barely make it into theaters. They also insisted the movie have something of an overarching plot. The film begins with Crow trying to tunnel his way out, he picks up a chainsaw in the next scene, and then the ending was going to have him try to tunnel out of the Satellite of Love again with the chainsaw. The ending bit with Crow trying to escape with the chainsaw was cut because the original ending was much longer, and focus groups complained that the movie was too long, so the ending was changed to a shorter one, and many parts of ''This Island Earth'' cut out. The focus group consisted of people who'd ''never heard of the show'', and didn't understand it!
* FailedASpotCheck: Of course parodied, when Crow breached the hull he asked for the blueprints to his plan. The paper flies into his face and he reads it over. "Oh look at that, 'Breach Hull, all die!' I even had it ''underlined!''"
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: When Tom Servo blocks the hull breach with his hoverskirt, he starts cooing in delight as the vacuum of space sucks at him from underneath, declaring, "I'm experiencing a sensation altogether new to me and frankly, '''''I love it!'''''" When Mike removes him, he growls, "Aw, darn!" 
* {{Homage}}: The movie's opening credits play over Mike jogging along the inside of a circular track, similar to ''[[{{ptitleh3elkyxdypyw}} 2001: A Space Odyssey]]''...but Mike's in a human-sized hamster wheel.
** Complete with hanging water bottle.
* IKnowMortalKombat: Mike's revelation that he's an instrument-rated pilot in ''Microsoft Flight Simulator'' prompts Crow and Servo to dare him to take the controls of the ''Satellite of Love''. Five seconds later, [[MikeNelsonDestroyerOfWorlds the Hubble telescope is destroyed]]. Notably, he complains when they make the dare that piloting a satellite is nothing like piloting a plane.
* HilariousInHindsight: During a scene where Brack communicates via interocitor, Tom sings a fictional theme song that goes, "It's the Brack show, starring me - and Brack! It's the Brack show, and I've got lots of good guests..." Four years later, TheBrakShow would come into existence (which was preceded by two specials, both entitled [[DepartmentOfREdundancyDepartment Brak Presents the Brak Show Starring Brak]], the second of which was a variety show that - indeed - had guests).
* IfMyCalculationsAreCorrect: Crow plans to escape the ''Satellite of Love'' by tunneling out of it. "Hey, I calculated the odds this would succeed versus the odds I was doing something incredibly stupid, and... I went ahead anyway."
** "Wow, look at that! 'Breach Hull, All Die!' Even had it underlined!"
* MediumAwareness: Averted for a change. Tom doesn't know why their credits would involve puppeteers.
** There's an odd reversal from the show, which had the SOL crew aware of the audience while the Mads weren't. Here, Dr. Forrester talks directly to us to set up the premise, while the crew ignore us.
* MemeticBadass: In-universe; during the credits, we get the AMAZING RANDO!
* TheMovie: There are some legitimate complaints that ExecutiveMeddling [[ViewersAreMorons dumbed-down the riffing]] to broaden the appeal and that ''This Island Earth'' may not deserve such treatment, but for the most part ''[=MST3K:TM=]'' was well-received. For an example of how the riffs were dumbed down: when the insect monster first appears, the original riff was going to be: "Bootsy Collins!" instead of "Leona Helmsley!" The executives didn't know who Bootsy Collins was, so it was changed. The brazillian dub changed it to Tina Turner.
* PrecisionFStrike: Even if it was ExecutiveMeddling, they made good use out of it:
-->'''Tom:''' ''(On first seeing Metaluna)'' What kind of shithole planet ''is'' this?!?
* RoomFullOfCrazy: We finally get a good look at the room of Tom Servo, which contains a race car-shaped bed, a chainsaw, his massive underwear collection, and an interocitor.
* RunningGag: As one example, there's "The Amazing Rando!" from the credits.
* ShoutOut[=/=]MythologyGag: One of the theater doors has a cast of TV's Frank's face on it. The "hard copy of the status report" that Gypsy gives Mike is actually an old ''Satellite News'' from the ''[=MST3K=]'' Info Club. The "Manipulator Arm" Mike uses to delicately pry the Hubble off the ''[=SOL=]'''s hull is labeled "[[ManosTheHandsOfFate Manos]]" and is accompanied by a brief snippet of Torgo's {{leitmotif}}. Many, many references to ''[[{{ptitleh3elkyxdypyw}} 2001: A Space Odyssey]]'', especially during the opening credits.
* SpaceIsAnOcean: The controls of the ''Satellite Of Love'' are almost identical to a boat's helm. To the point Gypsy (whose major duty in-series is running the satellite) drives it while wearing a captain's hat and singing "What Do You Do with a Drunken Sailor".
* WhatCouldHaveBeen: A few years ago, Joel Hodgson stated in interviews that the real reason he left was because of CreativeDifferences with Jim Mallon over this project. Joel admitted he was afraid of splitting BBI as a result (he didn't want anyone taking sides against each other), which would all damaged the show itself, so he left. One wonders how the history of ''[=MST3K=]'' would have been ''very'' different had the movie never been made. Paramount head Brandon Tartikoff was interested in producing a movie circa-1993, but he wanted an OriginsIssue about how Joel got onto the SOL and built the Bots, with far less movie riffing than expected. Joel turned him down and was backed up by the entire BBI crew.
* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotAwesome: The "hallway to the theater" transitions are accompanied by a ridiculously majestic score (especially the first one). It's probably safe to assume that this was deliberate.
* YourHeadASplode: Servo's dome seems to be a magnet for interocitor beams.
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22nd Apr '12 5:48:36 PM RetsofNoraa

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