[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1004.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:"''Future Wax!''"\\
"...er... ''[='=]War[='=]''."\\
"Oh, yeah. Heh, sorry."]]

Film watched: ''Film/FutureWar''

->''"[[NonIndicativeName It's not the future, and there isn't a war]], but you know me, [[SarcasmMode I don't like to complain]]."''
-->-- '''[[Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000 Crow T. Robot]]'''

->''"There's a moment in this movie which is kind of heartbreaking. There's a brief scene where a television news reporter is doing a live remote stand- up. His cameraman is using a pretend card-board camera; its a taped-up box with a lens apparatus taped to it. That made us sad."''
-->-- '''Mary Jo Pehl''', ''The Amazing Colossal Episode Guide''

Interesting note of trivia: while ''Future War'' was produced and completed in 1994, it never saw a video release til 1999, the ''same year'' as the [=MST3K=] episode airing, technically making it the most recent experiment of the show's original run from a release date standpoint, beating out even ''Film/Werewolf1996''. The all-time record was broken by 2013's ''Film/AtlanticRim'' in the revival series, and is now held by 2019's ''Demon Squad'', riffed in 2022.

The episode is available in the Gizmoplex [[https://www.gizmoplex.com/mst3k/season:10/videos/mst3k-188-futurewar here]].

!!The Segments:
[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: Prologue ]]

* Crow has created a computer program that can determine how many times a lady someone is, based on Lionel Richie's song. Apparently, Mike is ''eight times'' a lady.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Segment 1 ]]

* Pearl's new assignment from the Institute of Mad Science is to study the effects of hallucinogenic drugs on the crew. Bobo and Brain Guy provide fitting psychedelic theme music as the crew freaks out in their own ways.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Segment 2 ]]

* Servo has built himself new legs and wants to demonstrate his kickboxing skills. Gypsy obliges him.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Segment 3 ]]

* The crew realizes that in spite of all the torment they endure, Pearl has never once tried to kill them. They call up Pearl to thank her for their continued existence, which forces her to cancel her planned missile strike on the SOL in mid-flight.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Segment 4 ]]

* Crow is Droppy the Water Droplet, national spokesbot for water. He regales Mike and Servo with all the wonderful uses for water, whether they want to hear it or not.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Segment 5 ]]

* Mike gives himself a big fake chin and shows it to the 'Bots, who consider his routine offensive to people with actual big fake chins. Bobo and Brain Guy announce their plans to leave Pearl and take their acid-rock band on the road, so Pearl gives them an explosive parting gift.

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!!The ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' treatment of ''Film/FutureWar'' contains examples of:

* AccidentalMisnaming: Servo reads the title as "Future Wax" before it appears entirely onscreen.
* AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever: While Mike is trying to demonstrate ForcedPerspective to the (unimpressed) bots, a ''real'' giant Tom Servo appears in the theater to frighten them away. (It's in fact the giant Servo puppet used in ''[[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S06E18HighSchoolBigShot High School Big Shot]]'', when Servo was fed a SuperSerum by Crow.)
* BlatantLies: Crow could point out that it [[NonIndicativeName isn't the future and there is no war]], but "You know me, I don't like to complain."
** Pearl denies having tried to kill Mike and the Bots in spite of the fact that she just fired a missile at the [=SoL=].
* BrickJoke: During Bernhardt's ShirtlessScene:
-->'''Servo:''' Ladies and gentlemen, '''''Fred Burroughs'''''.
* CallBack:
** [[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S08E10TheGiantSpiderInvasion "PAAAACKERRRRRRRS!!"]]
** A brief shot of a movie theater showing ''Film/{{Casablanca}}'' causes Crow to ask Mike to [[Film/OverdrawnAtTheMemoryBank doppel him into it]].
** During Mike's insistent examples of forced perspective, the bots wonder if it has anything to do with [[Film/{{Soultaker}} Joel's recent visit]].
** Late in the film, Crow starts singing [[Music/FleetwoodMac "Tusk"]] along to the movie's soundtrack, echoing the CreditsGag of ''Film/Werewolf1996.''
** Pearl asks Brain Guy to brain her report to the Institute of MadScience, but he and Bobo are leaving on tour with their new band [[PsychedelicRock Narcotic Casserole]]. He responds "[[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S06E14SanFranciscoInternational I don't follow you my friend. No way,]]" just like the made-for-TV hippie from ''[[Film/SanFranciscoInternationalAirport San Francisco International]]''.
* CaptivityHarmonica: "Well, I suppose one of us has to play harmonica."
* CharacterCheck: A meta example:
** Mike channels Comedy Central-era Joel's innocently whimsical prop comedy antics to try and teach the 'Bots about ForcedPerspective by holding toy dinosaurs up to the camera in the theater. Which is odd, since Mike wasn't around then, and Joel didn't act that way in ''[[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S10E01Soultaker Soultaker]]''.
--->'''Mike:''' Ohh, don't be so sardonic. It's neat.
** Mike's [[LanternJawOfJustice giant fake chin]] is a similar bit of prop comedy, a la Joel's [[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S03E18StarForceFugitiveAlienII Really]] [[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S03E19WarOfTheColossalBeast Really]] [[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S03E20TheUnearthly Big]] [[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S03E23TheCastleOfFuManchu Head]] or the Mads' [[GagNose big noses]] (also from ''Film/FugitiveAlien II'').
* ContinuityNod:
** Crow surmises Mike's [[CharacterCheck strange behavior]] during the end credits is due to [[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S10E01Soultaker Joel's recent visit]].
** The giant Servo notes that "Hell, I've got [[ExpendableClone at least a dozen of me]]."
* CultureEqualsCostume: Every time the beret-wearing character appears, Mike and the bots either sing something in French (e.g., 'Alouette'), or utter a phrase in French (such as "Vive la Résistance!").
* CurseCutShort: When Crow sees the credit for composer Arlan H. Boll, he responds "Yeah, Arlan H.''Bollshi--''" Mike cuts him off just in time.
* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: "Water: Nature's liquid."
* DynamicEntry: "It's Super Pope!"
* FakeBand: Bobo and Brain Guy's PsychedelicRock duo, Narcotic Casserole.
* ForcedPerspective: Mike uses Crow's toy plastic dinosaurs to explain how some of the effects in the movie were ([[SpecialEffectsFailure poorly]]) done.%%InUniverse
* FridgeHorror[=/=]FridgeLogic[=/=]HandWave: [[invoked]] Giant Servo evokes the first from Servo and Crow, the second for the viewer, and the third from Giant Servo himself.
** FridgeLogic also factors into a riff about the train scene: "Why are we on this train?"
* GoshDangItToHeck:
-->'''Tom Servo:''' It's Jean-Claude Van Damme!\\
'''Mike:''' Nah. He's more like Jean-Claude Gosh Darn.
* ImplausibleDeniability: When The Runaway obviously removes his own shirt during the final battle:
--> '''Servo''': "My shirt was knocked off. It ''was'' knocked off, I swear!"
* IntoxicationEnsues: As part of her Mad Science, Pearl doses [[MST3KMantra the]] ''[[MST3KMantra robots]]'' with hallucinogens, and Mike uses a screen to see what they see. Servo sees the same distorted, gibbering nightmare he sees every day and is basically unaffected, but Crow now sees Mike's Milky Way [[FauxHorrific as a Snickers bar]] and freaks way the hell out. Crow also sees Mike as a clown, and is surprised to learn that Mike ''isn't'' one.%%InUniverse
* JustForFun/IReadThatAs: In-universe:
** Before the final letter shows up, Servo reads the title as ''Future Wax''. Which makes about as much sense as the actual title, honestly.
** When Sister Ann is writing the [=ABCs=] on the chalkboard, Servo predicts she's trying to write the word "ass."
--->'''Servo:''' Ass-- asswi-- assho--\\
'''Crow:''' It's not even ass, Servo!
* IWasQuiteAFashionVictim: Mike jokes that the first cyborg, with the clown white makeup and mullet, was Brain Guy in high school.
* IronicEchoCut: Taking a cue from the movie, Mike and the 'Bots call Pearl to thank her for not killing them, interrupting her attempt to shoot the ''[=SoL=]'' with a missile. They feel quite betrayed afterward.
* LamePunReaction: During the ContainerMaze scene.
-->'''Crow''': He's ''boxed'' in.
-->'''Mike''': Well, I'm card-''bored''.
-->'''Servo''': Shut up, you two.
* LanternJawOfJustice: Mike wears a big, fake chin mocking the cyborgs from the movie. [[EveryoneHasStandards Crow and Servo are unimpressed.]]
* LongList:
-->'''Crow:''' Hello, I'm Droppy The Water Droplet. Did you know that there are literally tens of thousands of uses for water? Here are just a ''few'' thousand...
-->'''Mike:''' Are these in any sort of order, or...
-->'''Crow:''' Sir, we have a lot of these to get through, so if you'll just [[{{Pun}} hold your water...]]
* MemeticBadass: InUniverse, Mike and the Bots seize on an off-hand reference to Fred Burroughs (Sister Ann's black friend from the halfway-house-for-huge-guys) as the basis for a RunningGag hyping him as a badass. This culminates in a dramatic scene of the Runaway working out in his jail cell, the camera [[MrFanservice slowly panning up his torso]], with Servo announcing, "Ladies and gentlemen... '''Fred Burroughs'''!"
* MST3KMantra: After the movie's credits, Mike, and eventually the 'Bots, are all chased out of the theater by a giant Servo... who then reminds the audience "Don't even ''bother'' to try and figure it out."%%InUniverse
* NoBudget: Invoked a few times by the cast, both in and out of character (see Mary Jo's page quote). The lack of stained glass in the storeroom-turned-"church" caused Crow to snark the district must have a real loser bishop to get stuck with such a crappy basilica.
-->'''Servo:''' ''(SarcasmMode)'' Hey, we got flashlights and a dark room: let's make a movie!
* NunsAreFunny: Much like ''Girl's Town,'' the crew gets a lot of mileage from Ann training to be a nun and the Catholic Church in general.
* ObliviousGuiltSlinging: Mike and the Bots decide to call up Pearl to thank her for not killing them...right as she's firing a missile at the Satellite of Love. Cue Pearl hissing at Observer to disarm the missile while telling the guys that there's really no need to thank her. Really.
* {{Retirony}}: After one of the dinosaurs is killed early in the movie.
-->'''Mike:''' He was three days from retirement! NOOO!
* RetroactiveRecognition: Inverted InUniverse as Mike responds to Mel Novak's SpecialGuest credit with, "It'd be more special if we knew who the hell he was!"[[note]]He's most well-known for his villainous roles in numerous martial arts action movies, including Bruce Lee's ''Game of Death''.[[/note]]
* RunningGag:
** "Fred Burroughs!"
** Ann's sizeable halfway house roommates prompt a lot of fat jokes.
** The beret-wearing guy, as mentioned above in CultureEqualsCostume.
* SayMyName: "FRED BURROUGHS!"
* ShoutOut:
** Crow's Droppy the Water Droplet is very similar to his Willy the Waffle (all based on Coily the Spring Sprite from ''A Case of Spring Fever''.)
** Brain Guy burns his guitar a la Music/JimiHendrix. Bobo takes advantage of the situation to roast some marshmallows over it.
** The robots mention a [[WesternAnimation/WoodyWoodpecker woodpecker]] who blows stuff up with dynamite.
** There's a quip about Creator/MandyPatinkin's concert venue when a bunch of cardboard boxes are shown.
** (about the currently shirtless Runaway) "Maybe he is Creator/TomOfFinland."
** Mike references the [[Series/SaturdayNightLive Wild and Crazy Guys]] in a riff about Daniel Bernhardt's accent.
* SuddenAnatomy: When Tom challenges Gypsy to a kickboxing contest, Gypsy manifests a foot (attached to a length of her usual black tubing) and sends him flying.
--> '''Servo:''' I thought you didn't have legs either! \\
'''Gypsy:''' Just made it today. Neat, huh?
* TakeThat:
** When a couple of kids are shown playing UsefulNotes/AssociationFootball, Mike comments that soccer is the only thing more boring than this film, and that the last thing he wanted to see was soccer '''in''' the film.
** The Bots' lady multiplier is said to have used Sen. Dianne Feinstein as its comparative baseline, since "she's exactly ''one'' time a lady."
* ThisIsGonnaSuck: (Opening credits: Robert Z'Dar) Oh Z'No!
* UnfortunateNames: Tom notes that K.Y Lim has unfortunate initials. K-Y is a brand of personal lubricant.
* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: The absurd amount of plaid and flannel in the actors' wardrobe and the technology firmly places Future War in the mid to late 1990's. Even Mike and the Bots call out the amount of plaid in the movie and the episode came out in 1999. %%InUniverse

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->''[[TheStinger [The Runaway headbutts the Head Cyborg and takes his shirt off.]]]''
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