"Eht Numah Srotacilpud!... oh."
"Let's all play the Family Feud!"
"Let's all play the Family Feud!"
Film watched: The Human Duplicators
The episode is available in the Gizmoplex here
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The Segments:
Prologue- Joel is taking suggestions from the Bots for new upgrades. Servo goes a bit overboard with his requests.
Segment 1/Invention Exchange
- Joel's invention for the week is a life-size Beanie-Chopper with an enlarged propeller, which disappoints Crow and Servo when it doesn't send him through the roof. Dr. Forrester and Frank, on the other hand, can't keep a straight face as they unveil their most ridiculous invention yet: a refrigerator alarm that only goes off when William Conrad steals the food.
Segment 2
- Joel and the 'Bots pause for arts and crafts time, attempting to make their own scale-model spaceships from everyday items. Joel's looks disturbingly familiar.
Segment 3
- Servo has been duplicating himself to the point where the clones have overrun the bridge. When Joel takes Servo away for a time out, the clones turn on an innocent Crow.
Segment 4
- The SOL gets a visit from Hugh Beaumont, who's been feeling incredibly stressed out over his life... especially after the last time the crew met him.
Segment 5
- Crow and Servo commend Richard Kiel for his ability to embrace his true android nature and share their own confidence in themselves to Joel. Back in Deep 13, Dr. F and Frank are still laughing over their useless invention... until William Conrad actually does raid their fridge.
The Mystery Science Theater 3000 presentation of The Human Duplicators provides examples of the following tropes:
- A.I. Is a Crapshoot: When the robot Dornheimer tells Kolos the dangers of creating a machine with more wisdom than yourself, Joel sighs, "There's a lesson to be learned there", as Servo and Crow make veiled threats.
- Anti-Climax: The bots express their disappointment that the Beanie Chopper didn't send Joel through the roof.
- Berserk Button: Hugh Beaumont in the fourth host segment. When Crow asks him how Beaver is doing, he explodes into a lengthy rant about how nobody ever asks him how HE'S doing.
- Call-Back:
- "S-A-N-T-A-C-L-A-U-S, hooray for Santy Claus!"
- When seeing the Director's credit for Hugo Grimaldi:Crow: I'm a Grimaldi warrior!
- "Knew your father, I did!"
- After riffing on how the secret lab looks like a music studio:Crow: It stinks!
- Coming-Out Story: The bots are happy Richard Kiel came out of the closet... as a robot. Then:Servo: (after Crow faints trying to tell Joel) Joel, we're robots and we want the world to know.
- Transparent Closet:Servo: How did you know?
Joel: Tom, it was more than a little obvious.
- Transparent Closet:
- Continuity Nod: Mike Nelson reprises his Hugh Beaumont character from the Lost Continent episode, and his job in that episode (member of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse) is mentioned.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: The final host segment. Servo and Crow come out to Joel as robots, and Joel tells them "it's more than a little obvious."
- Joel's spaceship model, but mostly because of the materials.
- Don't Explain the Joke: Parodied. Forrester and Frank's giggling about the William Conrad Fridge Alert
Crosses the Line Twice that it comes around to being funny.Frank: Who's gonna need this?! Maybe Quinn Martin, and he's dead! - Dude, Not Funny!: In-universe.Crow: Oh I get it! She's blind! That explains the decorating.
Servo: D'oh!- Then:Crow: You know, because two Wongs don't make a W—
Joel & Servo: CROW!
Crow: (sheepishly) I'm sorry, I'm sorry!
- Then:
- Hat of Flight: Joel's invention, the Beanie-Chopper, only looks like one of these, to the 'Bots' great disappointment.Crow: (dejectedly) I thought you were gonna go through the roof.
- Head-Turning Beauty: The trio who appear a few minutes into Lisa's introduction.
- Hey, That's My Line!: Uttered by Servo to one of his clones during the promo.Clone: Here, at Comedy Central!
Servo: Warning you for the last time — that's my line! - Hilarious in Hindsight: Crow's spaceship is a model of the Satellite of Love - the actual model used for exterior shots. He dismisses it as cheap and plans to put lighter fluid on it and burning it to a crisp - which is what happens to the model a few years later in an episode.
- Hugh Mann: Invoked after Glenn is duplicated:Welles: "Where in blazes have you been? Haven't you ever heard of a telephone?"
Crow: (robotic monotone) "Yes. I have heard of a telephone." - Joke and Receive: Crow tries to make an obvious joke in one riff. Alas, it's a tad too obvious.Secretary: Glen, did you hear me... well say something.
Crow: "Something"!
Glen [in movie]: Something.
Crow: D'oh! Got riffed back on that one! - Laughing at Your Own Jokes: TV's Frank and Dr. Forrester can't help guffawing at the concept of a refrigerator alarm that only sounds when William Conrad is stealing the food (based on Conrad's ads for First Alert). Most of the segment, they can't even explain the invention because they can't stop laughing in advance.Frank: Who's going to need this? Maybe Quinn Martin – and he's dead!
- Brick Joke: The final segment finds William Conrad himself setting off the alarm. The Mads are still laughing.Dr. F: Frank! It's the big one - literally!
Frank: Don't worry, Dr. F. He's not gonna get far.
- Brick Joke: The final segment finds William Conrad himself setting off the alarm. The Mads are still laughing.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: In the first break, Joel and the bots create model spaceships as an art project. The parts used for Joel's golden spaceship (a lacrosse mask, a bowling pin, food trays, and ping pong balls) look a tad familiar... Cue sudden realization, some coughing, and Commercial Sign.Gypsy: Wait a minute...
- Me's a Crowd: Servo orders a whole bunch of copies of himself about midway through the film. They end up sticking around for the rest of the series for jokes requiring additional Servos.
- Noodle Incident: "The boys did what?! THEY DUPLICATED LUMPY?!"
- Running Gag: Lots of Game Show-related jokes given the resemblance of the interior of Kolos' spaceship to the set of a TV game show.
- Sdrawkcab Name: Invoked by Crow because the film's title card is mirrored at first.Crow: Eht Namuh Srotacilpud! [title flips around to become legible] ...Oh.
- Shout-Out:
- "Calling Scott Tracy!"
- "You rang? Oh wait, I'm not Ted Cassidy."
- "I'm Billy Budd for Melville Buick. We're having a whale of a sale!"
- The android guy following the hero around is compared to Jack Palance and Henry Silva.
- "Wherever Doug and Tony are now, at least they're together."
- Took a Level in Jerkass: Hugh is really, really bitter since his appearance in Lost Continent.Hugh: (sexually frustrated) Think my wife greets me at the door in Saran Wrap and stiletto heels? No!
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: The S.O.L. crew still think he's a nice guy after Hugh gives a nice farewell after his bitter, sexually frustrated rant.
- Zerg Rush: Tom tries to order his clones to do this to Joel and Crow, but they ignore him. Then, after Joel takes Tom away, the copies do this to Crow anyway.
