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Recap / Mystery Science Theater 3000 S04 E18: Attack of the Eye Creatures

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Did Mel Tillis write these titles or wah-huh?

Film watched: Attack of the The Eye Creatures

The Host Segments:

Prologue
  • Crow and Servo are going through their "best friends" phase, which doesn't last long.

Segment 1

  • The Mads present the Router Ouija Board, meant for contacting the spirits of dead woodworkers. Joel sends the Mads his invention, the Funny Gag Fax, which squirts water at Dr. Forrester.

Segment 2

  • Inspired by the teenage couples continously making out in the film, Servo wants to make out with someone. He first asks Crow, Gypsy, and Magic Voice, before Joel plants a slobbery kiss on him.

Segment 3

  • Joel and the Bots pay tribute to Earl Holliman, the man who "would have been William Shatner, had there not already been one."

Segment 4

  • Joel and the 'Bots become the Rip Taylor Trio, impersonating Mr. Taylor as they present their line of Eye Creature gags.

Segment 5

  • An incensed Joel and the 'Bots point out that with all of the poor special effects and lack of plot/character development, the crew of the movie just didn't care. The Mads try to show that the film's director Larry Buchanan did care, but it sadly turns out that he really doesn't.


The MST3K treatment of Attack of the The Eye Creatures, along with proving that they just didn't care, provides examples of:

  • Brain Bleach: The final scene with the Covert Pervert military Officers:
    Tom: Joel, I demand you take my head off.
  • Call-Back: The "Sessions presents...!" Running Gag from Tormented makes its return for another couple scenes of Padding.
  • Creator's Apathy: Invoked, and the original Trope Namer ("They Just Didn't Care"): the entire final segment is devoted to pointing out all the many ways in which the filmmakers just. Didn't. Care. Not least of all the "the the" error in the opening title.
  • Eye Poke: Forrester attempts an old-fashioned Stooges-style two-finger poke on Frank after losing patience with him, but forgets that Frank can turn his plastic face shield down and winds up only hurting his hand.
  • Hollywood Darkness: The movie does a less-than-stellar job with its day-for-night shooting.
    Tom: Sure is dark out there! I hope they don't get a moonburn!
  • I Always Wanted to Say That: Joel says this (nearly) word for word in Segment 2 after his "Take That!" Kiss.
  • Master of the Mixed Message: Joel makes the old man into one of these. Immediately after he promises to give the kids and their friends "a backside full of rock salt" if he catches them again on his land:
    Joel: [as Mr. Bailey] Wait, come back! I-I don't know how to love! I miss you already!
  • Not So Stoic: Joel ends up apologizing for the rest of the male sex, and later, actually loses his cool, berating one character:
    Joel: [angrily] You know what? You are one sick mamma-jamma.
  • Pun:
    • After inventing the Woodworker Ouija Board, the Mads announce that they'll invent "The Lathe of Heaven". When they ask the spirit of Ethan Allen to "Give them a sign," they receive a literal wooden sign that reads "BLESS THIS MESS."
    • Eye puns abound, of course.
  • Pungeon Master: Joel and the Bots for the duration of the film but cranked up to eleven when they channel standup comic Rip Taylor in Segment 4. The density of eye puns is terrifeyeing.
  • Rooting for the Empire:
    Crow: I don't know about you, but I'm rooting for the the Eye Creatures. [sic; the double-"the" is in the original quote, which becomes a Running Gag]
    • Crow actively roots for a gun-toting character to "kill all the characters" in the film.
  • Running Gag:
    • They of course take the "the the" mistake from the the title card and run with it.
    • Several jokes at the expense of Susan's peculiar beehive hairdo.
    • Smoochers! "Another carload a' them blasted smoochers on my property! I'll get the law after 'em!"
      Joel: [as the old man] Oh, oh! A single smoocher! The worst kind!
    • Because the Eye Creatures have perpetually gaped mouths, Joel and the Bots periodically make yawning noises.
  • The Scrappy: Invoked. Servo immediately pegs Culver as "instantly the most unappealing character in film history".
  • Sick and Wrong: Joel and the bots' reaction to the Air Force peepers' commander joining in on the peeping.
    Tom: Jeez, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer is not as sick as this.
    Joel: This is sick.
    Crow: Joel, I need a shower.
    Tom: Oh, I refuse to watch this.
  • Special Effects Failure: Invoked and discussed. The entire last segment is Joel and the Bots ripping into the movie's many poor effects with "They just didn't care!" highlighting each one.
    • Most prominent is how the movie was obviously shot mostly at daytime.
      Tom: In fact, you couldn't have picked a nicer day to film a night sequence! [...] Y'see, they just didn't care.
    • And, of course, there's the various People in Rubber Suits costumes of the eye creatures themselves, a race "unfortunate enough to have evolved with heavy-duty zippers running up their backs."
      Joel: Some eye creatures are born with scaly protective coverings. Others are born with hundreds of eyes protruding from fleshy knobs. Still others, like this whisper-thin fellow, are born with tight acrylic wool-blend turtleneck sweaters from Chess King. Folks, they just didn't care!
  • Squick: Joel says "Ewwwwwwwwww" more in this film than all of the previous experiments combined.
  • Stealth Pun: The "Rip Taylor Trio" host segment features a lot of "eye" jokes; some of these are sight gags.
  • "Take That!" Kiss: Tom wonders what it's like to kiss someone, and Joel unexpectedly complies.
  • Viewers Are Geniuses: Upon seeing the (the) movie title, Joel exclaims it's an anacoluthon. He's right: an anacoluthon is a syntactical inconsistency or incoherence within a sentence, like "Did you know that she-... I'm not sure."
  • Waxing Lyrical: The movie doing a close-up on a character resembling Rick Astley prompts Joel to belt out the appropriate song.
  • What Is This Thing You Call "Love"?: Parodied with Tom wanting to experience this thing called "making out" in the first skit. He asks Crow, who is horrified; Gypsy, who bursts out laughing; and Magic Voice, who of course doesn't have a body — yet making out is nothing new to her. Tom starts waxing philosophical about his many questions... until Joel shuts him up with a Bugs Bunny-esque "Take That!" Kiss.
    Joel: I've always wanted to do that!
    Servo: (Beat, then thoughtfully) Hmmmm.


Crow: The the end! Let's let's go!

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