[[quoteright:351:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mst3k_incredible_melting_man.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:351:The George Hamilton story!]]

->''"The Incredible Melting Man -- he's Incredi-Meltable!"''
-->'''-- Mike'''

Film watched: ''Film/TheIncredibleMeltingMan''

!!The Segments:
[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: Prologue ]]

* It's time for some baseball on the Satellite of Love, but when Servo beans Mike at the plate, a fight breaks out.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Segment 1 ]]

* As Mike recovers from his injuries, Dr. Forrester and Pearl, taking the roles of bland and heartless studio executives, call up the SOL with shocking news: Hollywood has ''finally'' picked up Crow's very first screenplay, ''Earth vs. Soup'', and they want to make it into a movie. The Mads are going to be overseeing production, and though Crow doesn't want any changes to his work, he instantly listens to their ideas for changes. They originally give him $30 million for his budget, but he's left with only $800 after they take their "fair share". And they also want Creator/KevinBacon for the starring role.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Segment 2 ]]

* The Mads make a rare, and very expensive, in-person visit to the SOL to discuss the script for ''Earth vs. Soup''. The whole meeting is spent trying to figure out who's supposed to get which pages, while Crow heads out to get Pellegrinos. By the time he gets back, the Mads are gone.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Segment 3 ]]

* Shooting for ''Earth vs. Soup'' begins, with Mike playing Kevin Bacon's part. The crew can barely get through the first scene without director Crow's ego getting in the way. Crow also wraps up filming after getting two seconds of footage and claiming that they'll add dialogue in post. Servo explains that this is actually because Crow blew the last of the budget on his scarf.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Segment 4 ]]

* As Crow hyperventilates, Dr. Forrester screens ''Earth vs. Soup'' to a focus group in Deep 13. The reactions are... ''mixed'', to put it nicely.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Segment 5 ]]

* As Crow prepares for potential stardom, the Mads inform him that ''Earth vs. Soup'' is going to be released in theaters... as a trailer. What's worse, they also ask him to remove his name from the credits. Overcome with the fate of his dream project, Crow breaks down in hysterics, which the Mads don't care about.

!!The [=MST3K=] treatment of ''Film/TheIncredibleMeltingMan'' provides the following tropes:
* AllADream: Mike posits this after Melty kills the cops.
* {{Angrish}}: Crow's rant under HumiliationConga devolves into this.
* AssociationFallacy: Crow goes into a huff after Mike points out that he's blocking the camera, saying that Creator/JohnCassavetes played roles in his own movies all the time, so it's actually a mark of quality and consummate professionalism. He then names several other "great" directors who did the same -- [[NotHelpingYourCase Sylvester Stallone, Coleman Francis, and Hal Needham]].
* BaitAndSwitch: Given how the opening segment sees Mike and the bots playing ball indoors, it first seems like it's going to be [[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S03E06TimeOfTheApes a repeat of the last time this happened]]. But then Tom almost nails Mike with the ball, then ''actually'' nails him, causing him to storm the mound.
* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: Invoked by Servo during the elderly couple scene.
-->'''Servo:''' Did someone switch reels on us?!
* CallBack:
** "[[Film/MonsterAGoGo Dr. Ted Nelson was found alive and of normal size. There was no Melting Man.]]"
** Then:
--->'''Mike:''' It's [[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S07E02TheBruteMan the Brute Man]]!
--->'''Crow:''' ''[as Brute Man]'' Wassa matter? Donchoo like it?
** During the credits, when the gang is going over what they've learned from the movie, it's mentioned that they've [[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S07E01NightOfTheBloodBeast seen a movie where NASA appeared]] [[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S04E21MonsterAGoGo to have only a handful of employees]] before.
** Mike's appearance as "Kevin Bacon" is him wearing a nametag with Bacon's name on it, just like when he was "Creator/EdAsner" in the ''[[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000LittleGoldStatuePreviewSpecial Little Gold Statue Preview Special]]''.
* BudgetBustingElement: InUniverse. During the host segments of ''[[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S07E04TheIncredibleMeltingMan The Incredible Melting Man]]'', Crow's screenplay for ''Earth vs. Soup'' is bought by the Mads and greenlit. They land a budget of $30 million, but between bonuses for Pearl and Clayton and several fees such as insurance and a completion bond, Crow is only given $800 to work with. And they expect him to get Creator/KevinBacon to star. This is meant as a TakeThat to how the crew was treated when shooting [[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000TheMovie The MST3K Movie]].
* ContinuityNod:
** Crow's script, ''Earth vs. Soup'', mentioned many times in preceding seasons, finally gets made! [[YankTheDogsChain ...As a trailer.]]
** During the "script confab", Pearl accidentally takes the ''Peter Graves at the University of Minnesota'' script from ''[[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S05E17BeginningOfTheEnd Beginning of the End]]''.
* CreatorPreferredAdaptation: [[invoked]] The director/writer of the film, William Sachs, LOVED the [=MST3K=] parody of it. The reason being, when he wrote the film, he wrote it as a parody of the sci-fi/horror genre. But sadly ExecutiveMeddling happened, and the producers told him to "remove the funny stuff", resulting in a really disjointed film. [=MST3K=] in effect restored the "parody" elements of the film and made it funny the way the director originally intended.
* CurbStompBattle: The majority of it happens off-screen, but Tom and Mike's fight sees Mike get his clock rinsed.
* ExecutiveMeddling: In-universe with Dr. F and Pearl's treatment of Crow's script; see TakeThat below.
* FairForItsDay: [[invoked]] More than fair, really, especially for its day. Mary Jo Pehl pointed to, among other things, the complete aversion of MonochromeCasting in the film as one of its strong points.
-->'''Mary Jo Pehl:''' ...I thought this movie was really progressive, ahead of its time really, for several reasons: It featured an African-American doctor before television tokenism really took hold; the nurse is a person of size who is also a health professional and is not simply in the movie to be the butt of fat jokes (except ours). Never mind that she freaks out at the first sign of pus -- hey, big girls get upset and queasy too.... It also portrays elderly people having viable, amorous relationships. An unpleasant thought though it may be, the movie puts it out there.
* {{Fanservice}}: Forrester asks the focus group if they'd like to see Creator/JuliaOrmond naked. Half the group raises their hands ([[AllMenArePerverts the male half, natch]]).
* ForcedPerspective: An oddly framed shot of the Melting Man walking through a forest with a branch in the foreground while Dr. Ted Nelson calls for him. The riff:
-->'''Crow:''' ''[high-pitched]'' They shrunk me and trapped me on this huge log!
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: The whole episode is dedicated to mocking one of the goriest movies ever made, and yet it still managed a TV-14 rating.
-->'''Crow:''' This is a very ''moist'' movie.
* GretzkyHasTheBall: Crow seems to have no idea about anything in baseball.
-->'''Crow:''' ''[while Mike rushes Tom on the mound]'' ORDER IN THE COURT! ORDER IN THE COURT!
* HumiliationConga: Crow summarizes:
-->'''Crow:''' Let's see: I come to you with a movie, you supposedly get me $30 million to make it, you take 29.5 million for yourself, I get a lousy $800, I don't get any credit, and my movie's released as a trailer?!
* HypercompetentSidekick: While Crow turns into a PrimaDonnaDirector, his assistant, Servo (aka "Judy"), clearly knows more about what's going on and practically directs the film him (her?) self.
* IKnewIt: [[invoked]] [[InvertedTrope Saw that]] [[DidntSeeThatComing one coming.]]
-->'''Ted Nelson:''' ''[to cops]'' Don't shoot! I'm Dr. Ted Nelson!
-->'''Servo:''' '''BLAM! BLAM BLAM!'''
-->'''Ted Nelson:''' I'm Dr. Ted Nelson!
-->''[Cops open fire, hitting Ted Nelson and killing him]''
-->'''Servo:''' ''[amused]'' Wasn't far off.
* InsaneTrollLogic: The focus group that previewed ''Earth vs. Soup''.
-->'''Pearl:''' Also, seventy four percent of the audience didn't like the character of [[WesternAnimation/OneHundredAndOneDalmatians Cruella de Vil]], and even though the character wasn't in the movie, we have to change those numbers!
* KarmaHoudini: Pearl and Dr. Forrester recieve no punishment for swiping the vast majority of Crow's budget, turning his masterpiece into a lousy parody trailer, and not even giving him any credit for it. Given that they're meant to be evil studio executives as a jab to Gramercy Pictures (continued below) and Crow goes full-on incompetent prima-donna during filming, it's somewhat justified.
* {{Leitmotif}}: The crew gives Ted a theme when he's tracking down Melty by the river: singing "Ted Nelson!" to the tune of the bombastic background music.
* LoopingLines: [[invoked]] Referenced during the filming of ''Earth vs. Soup''. Crow declares shooting over after recording ''one second'' of usable footage. When the others rightly point out that they didn't film any actual dialogue, Crow insists that they'll add the dialogue in post-production.
* MoodWhiplash: Mike's [[WithLyrics lyrics that he sings]] over the music when the kids go to play both [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] and plays the trope straight at the same time.
-->'''Mike:''' Oh, we're free, and it's fun, [[ChildrenAreInnocent and we're innocent]], and it'll be sad when we find the head!
* NeutralFemale
-->'''Servo:''' Yeah, Ted's lucky to have married a ''pistol'' like her!
* NoBudget: [[invoked]] The budget for ''Earth vs. Soup'' is $30 million. But somehow, after the studio (and Pearl and Clayton Forrester) take their share, only ''$800'' is left to actually make the movie. And then Crow blows most of ''that'' on a scarf.
* PaperThinDisguise: In order to get Kevin Bacon as the studio requests, Crow has Mike wear a name tag that says "Kevin Bacon" on it.
* PrimaDonnaDirector: Crow briefly acts like one as he directs his film. He speaks with a posh fake British accent, and acts like an all-around {{Jerkass}}.
* RageBreakingPoint: A fight breaks out between Tom and Mike after Mike gets clocked in the head with a baseball.
* RiddleForTheAges:
-->'''Crow:''' ''[amused]'' So, how many monster movies end with a janitor scooping the monster into a garbage can?
* RunningGag:
** Reusing Ted's cry of "[[{{Angrish}} Hotchka]]!".
** Speculating about the crackers that Ted's wife forgot to buy.
** Adding "Ted Nelson" [[WithLyrics as lyrics]] to the movie's score.
* ShoutOut:
-->'''Servo:''' ''[[Film/DasBoot Das Blecch]]''![[note]]Could double as a reference to ''Magazine/{{Mad}}''.[[/note]]
-->'''Servo:''' [[Recap/StarTrekS1E24ThisSideOfParadise I'm not going back, Jim!]]
-->'''Crow:''' [[WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994 Look harder, Simba!]]
** "Hal Needham once said, '[[Film/SmokeyAndTheBandit Give me a Firebird and a dilapidated building, and I'll give you drama.]]'"
* SpoofAesop: During the credits the gang goes over what they learned, such as: Don't shout 'I'm Doctor Ted Nelson' to security guards. Or: cats can get their own milk out of the fridge.
* SmallNameBigEgo: In spite of his aspirations of being an ''artiste'', Crow is completely incompetent as a director. He doesn't know the proper sequence of shooting, and ruins one take because he doesn't get off camera.
* TakeThat:
** The segments involving Crow's film are a not-so-subtle jab at the ExecutiveMeddling that Gramercy Pictures inflicted on ''Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie'', and the Deep Hurting that Best Brains endured in the process. Mary Jo Pehl later called these host segments "therapeutic".[[note]]Ironically, unbeknownst to the crew, ''Incredible Melting Man'' was also put through the wringer by its producers, and the director wound up loving the episode.[[/note]]
--->'''Mary Jo Pehl:''' I remember at one point, while the studio shepherds in charge of ''[[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000TheMovie MST3K: The Movie]]'' were in Minneapolis, it was during the height of the ubiquitous O.J. Simpson deal. The studio exec informed us over lunch that there was a big trial in Los Angeles with O.J. Simpson because he'd been accused of murdering his wife, and "had (we) heard anything about it out here?" It was like a hog-pile on our souls.
*** Specifically, Dr. Forrester's increasingly large bottles of water are a jab at the Gramercy executives' alleged tendency to carry little paper cups around with them ''everywhere.''
---->'''Dr. Forrester:''' ''[carrying a water cooler]'' Mother! I think I can get my whole head in here!
** During ''The Incredible Melting Man'':
---> "It's still better than ''Film/MrsDoubtfire''."\\
"Yes."
** At one point, Crow yells, "''There's'' your [[TechnologyMarchesOn Windows 95]][[invoked]]!" when the Melting Man kills a character who resembles Bill Gates.
* ValuesDissonance: [[InvokedTrope Invoked]], as Servo reacts to Ted giving his ''pregnant'' wife barbiturates to get her to sleep.
-->'''Servo:''' Ah, yes. Now her baby is enjoying the experience of ''goofballs''.
* WhatTheHellHero: Crow wraps production so quickly, Gypsy tells him, very annoyed, "I didn't get to say ''beans''!"
* WithLyrics:
** The very mundane, boring name of "Ted Nelson" starts to become an InherentlyFunnyWord as it's repeatedly sung over the movie's score.
** The ice-cream truck music that plays when the kids go to play is given lyrics, about how [[ChildrenAreInnocent sweet and innocent the kids are]] and how [[MoodWhiplash sad it will be]] when they find the decapitated head.
* YankTheDogsChain: Crow's script, his pride and joy, finally gets green-lit. Then the film gets screwed over at every step of the process (granted, sometimes through Crow's own incompetence), and the film finally gets released ''as a trailer''.
* YouHaveGotToBeKiddingMe: Mike utters this verbatim upon learning Crow's script for ''Earth vs. Soup'' got greenlit.

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[[TheStinger "Let's get the hell out of here!"]] ''[[TheStinger Man nods.]]''
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