"A salt on a queen!"
Film watched: Operation Double 007
The episode is available in the Gizmoplex here
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The Segments:
Prologue- Joel had his old home movies converted to videotape, and is treating the 'Bots to watch the memories of his youth. Servo enjoys them, Gypsy doesn't, and Crow has his own ideas in mind.
Segment 1/Invention Exchange
- As Joel asks how a bulk-eraser somehow deleted his home movies, Dr. Forrester asks that the crew go easy on Frank as he brings out the invention for the week: Lederhosen-Hosen, created solely so Frank could have an excuse to act Bavarian. Crow brings out his own take on the bobbing water bird toy: Sara the Bobbin' Buzzard, an adorable carrion-feeding toy who comes with a plate of entrails and a catchy theme song.
Segment 2
- Joel acts out the role of Beta from the film, wandering around on his "yacht" with the 'Bots as his "sexy" shiphands. His only answer to their concerns about what he's doing is a sly "I know..."
Segment 3
- Joel puts together a graph and presentation about the Connery brothers' lives. Neil is said to have lived a life of constant failure while Sean continued to succeed in his film career, until Highlander II: The Quickening was made, prompting Neil to be on top for once.
Segment 4
- While Joel tries to hypnotize the 'Bots like Neil, Dr. Forrester tries to humor Frank's Bavarian obsession by letting him put on a polka recital. Torgo suddenly returns to Deep 13 with the sodas from the Mads' pizza order... from nine months ago! And he also needs to use the restroom.
Segment 5
- Deciding to play a prank on Joel, Dr. Forrester uses his own magnetizer to leave the 'Bots, as well as several telecommunication satellites, stuck to the SOL. He also shows Frank exactly what he thinks of Bavarian culture as Torgo finishes up in the restroom.
The Mystery Science Theater 3000 presentation of Operation Double 007 contains these tropes:
- Big-Lipped Alligator Moment: The weird, abrupt, and disconnected nature of the "kitty cat brigade" setpiece is directly referenced by the crew.Crow: Am I TRIPPING, Joel?
Joel: (While raucous Dixieland jazz plays) It's Big Al Hirt and Pete Fountain, marchin' us ALL! OUTTA! THIS! SCENE!
Servo: (As Thanatos chairman after a jump cut) "...The hell was that?" - Brick Joke: Torgo finally comes back with the Mr. Pibb that he forgot to bring in with the pizza back in Manos: The Hands of Fate - eight episodes previously, at the end of the previous season.
- A shorter one; Torgo asks to use the restroom. After the episode, he can be heard flushing the toilet and thanking the Mads.
- Continuity Nod:
- Joel and the Bots sing "Hooray for Santy Claus" during the opening credits.
- "There was no Yachuko!"
- "Must be one of those airplanes I've heard them talk about so much lately."
- Credits Gag: The "haunting Torgo theme" from Manos: The Hands of Fate plays again over the credits as Torgo finishes up in the Mads' restroom.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Once Maya alerts her henchwomen Beta will kill them, their battle against his thugs atop the yacht (along with Neil taking on Beta & a few of his men inside) is pretty much one-sided, even before they switch from fisticuffs to gunplay.
- Disney Owns This Trope: Due to issues concerning the rights to the title, the DVD and streaming releases use the alternate title Operation Kid Brother on the packaging and listings. The episode itself is not altered.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: Pause when Maya & her villainesses finish camouflaging the vehicle. The text says "The Wild Pussy Club." If Joel & the 'Bots noticed it, it was presumably "too hot to riff."
- Good-Looking Privates: Joel and the bots are... appreciative of the hot girls in sailor suits during the opening credits.Joel: I'm suddenly hungry for Cracker Jack and I don't know why.
- Harsher in Hindsight: Crow mentions that Connery probably hypnotized Maya into liking him at the end of the movie. Turns out that, in a cut scene, Maya makes a similar comment to Neil, only much earlier.
- Keep Circulating the Tapes: Inverted: In order to put a stop to Joel's home movie viewings, Crow takes a bulk-eraser to them.Joel: Eh, no matter, I've got duplicates in my foot locker.
- Kick the Dog:
- Twice during the Mads' half of the Invention Exchange:
- Despite Dr. Forrester telling Joel and the bots to go easy on him, once TV's Frank starts having an emotional breakdown over how awkward his Lederhosen-Hosen demonstration was, and he openly asks if it's wrong that he wanted to be Bavarian just once in his life, Dr. Forrester's method of soothing his woes is to tell him point blank that yes, it is.
- When TV's Frank starts blowing his horn when Dr. Forrester is announcing this week's movie, he promptly gets throttled:Dr. Forrester: [The movie]'s called Operation Double 007. (puts on fingerless gloves; gleefully) And now, I have to strangle Frank. (rushes over)TV's Frank: (pauses his tooting) Help! (gets throttled mid-tooting)
- By the end of the experiment, Dr. Forrester suddenly remembers he has his own magnetizer... and promptly uses it on the SOL. He takes particular delight over Crow and Tom getting stuck to the wall.
- Twice during the Mads' half of the Invention Exchange:
- Pet the Dog: The crew admits that they have no idea what Neil Connery was really up to, and probably was enjoying his life.Crow: And no matter what's gone wrong with his life, Neil can always look in the mirror and say to himself, "Well, at least I didn't do Zardoz."
- Plot Hole: Several are introduced due to having to cut the movie for time.
- The incident that leads Beta to want to kill Alpha (and how he actually does it).
- Neil and Beta's first meeting at the archery competition in Monte Carlo.
- The explanation behind the "Operation Double 00-Heehaw" joke.note
- Neil attempting to refuse to continue the mission after Yasuko is killed and how he ends up both in Tetuan and Beta's party.
- How Neil's archery buddies ended up being so readily available for the final battle.note
- How Neil and Maya find the Thanatos HQ by tracking the radioactive rugs with a long-range Geiger counter.
- Running Gag: "I know."
- Everyone Neil meets seems to want his brother's autograph.
- Jokes about Neil and his brother in general. (When the Commander realized Neil's flirting with Mildred) "May I just remind you that your name is Neil Connery? Get on the plane!"Maya: (To Neil) You've been reading too many novels by Fleming.
Crow: Jerry Fleming — Ian's brother!- The Minor Crime Reveals Major Plot moment:Commander: This is beginning to look serious...
Servo: (as Commander)... we'd better bring Sean in. - This one doubles as a Shout-Out during the final confrontation between Neil and Beta.
- The Minor Crime Reveals Major Plot moment:
- Beta's very burly, stoic henchmen (who nonetheless all wear berets and tight turtlenecks) inspire a few Gay Paree and Not Even Bothering with the Accent jokes.Joel: (as henchman, in his normal American accent) Sacré bleu. (beat) Sacré. Bleu.
Crow: (likewise) Huh? Oh, yeah, sacré bleu.
Joel: Eh, let's go lift. You're looking good.
Servo: (as henchman) Geez, I feel like Gauguin in friggin' Tahiti ovah here.
(later) Allons-y, everybody!
- Shout-Out:Dr. Neil Connery: Now Miss Yashuko has lost direct contact with time.
Servo: She thinks she's in Dresden during the war.- An extreme closeup as Neil uses his hypnotism on a mook during the fight scene at the plastic surgeon lecture, complete with a spooky musical sting, causes Joel to crack "Tales from the Darkside..."
- Over a shot of a single airplane passing overhead:
Crow: Tora! Just the one. - Special Effects Failure: In-Universe, Joel notes that the machine gun barrels inside Beta's cabin look more like licorice.
- Take That!: During the "Sean and Neil" segment, Neil is portrayed as a perpetual loser next to Sean until the one point where Sean is even worse off: agreeing to do Highlander II: The Quickening. Crow also takes a shot at Zardoz in the same sketch.
- Visual Pun: For the Invention Exchange, Frank has "Lederhosen-Hosen", which is really just a pair of Bavarian lederhosen with a gardening hose attached to it. He admits it's a stupid thing created because he just wanted to act Bavarian.
- Also a (possibly unintentional) Bilingual Bonus: Frank pronounces "leder" incorrectly—as "leider"—which would make his invention translate, roughly, into "unfortunate pants."
