Recap / Mystery Science Theater 3000 S05 E23: Village of the Giants

Wow. You know, they don't look that big to me.

You know, as in tune as Bert I. Gordon was with The '50s, he just didn't get The '60s.
—Tom Servo

Film watched: Village of the Giants

The episode is available in the Gizmoplex here, and on the MST3k YouTube channel here.

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The Segments:

Prologue

• Mike and the 'Bots decide to take up exercising, though it's mostly Mike. The 'Bots are not fans of how he makes them get into it, specifically how he throws eggs and sausage into a juicer for a liquid breakfast.

Segment 1

• Dr. Forrester is doing some budget-shifts down in Deep 13 in order to make his enterprise more profitable, promptly firing TV's Frank for no good reason. Frank is left speechless at his sudden shift to unemployment, though he does get a parting gift and a last meal.

Segment 2

• As the now-jobless Frank loafs around Deep 13 like a slob, Torgo visits for a job interview with Dr. Forrester, and despite the doc's promises to Frank, the man-goat is immediately hired.

Segment 3

• Frank calls Mike and the 'Bots from the janitor's closet, asking if they can help him apply for unemployment. Wary about comitting fraud, the SOL crew takes the time to host a fake job interview with Frank, which ends when Dr. Forrester evicts him.

Segment 4

• Frank is packed and ready to leave, but the SOL crew try to cheer him up with a montage of his greatest moments, backed by a song that explains why he's truly "The Greatest Frank of All". Upon realizing how much of his soul and physical anatomy he's sacrificed for Dr. Forrester, Frank swears to get rehired.

Segment 5

• As Mike and the 'Bots read letters of support for Frank, the man himself puts an end to Torgo's career in Deep 13 with a little employee sabotage. Dr. F is so disgusted at Frank's treachery that he happily rehires him... before proceeding to kill him with a power auger.

The Mystery Science Theater 3000 presentation of Village of the Giants contains these tropes:

• Abandoned Catch Phrase: Frank's weird mouth sound shows up in the song:
  Crow: Eyukkk-gheuuu from me to you
  Sweet floppy Frank
• Actor Allusion: invoked Plenty of references to Beau Bridges and his father Lloyd. Also many Opie and Willow jokes at Ron Howard's expense.
  Crow: I liked Willow!
• Bad Is Good and Good Is Bad: Dr. Forrester is furious at Frank for his underhanded tactics in getting rid of Torgo — which, naturally, means he's obviously the best fit for his old job, and Forrester is just so proud. But he's still going to have to kill him with a power auger.
  Frank: Fine? What do you think! (Everybody Laughs, Fade to Black — then, stuttering in pain) ...Th-ank you, Dr. Forrester!
  Dr. Forrester: No, thank YOU, TV's Frank.
• Call-Back:
  • Prolific B-director Bert I. Gordon returns with another movie about giants (he also did Beginning of the End, both Colossal Man movies, Earth vs. the Spider, and King Dinosaur), for what turns out to be the final time.
    Crow: Ah, pure I. Gordon.
  • The SOL recognizes Tommy Kirk and Jim Begg from Catalina Caper.
  • While the giant teenagers are dancing:
    Crow: "Why wasn't Glenn Manning this much fun?"
  • Likewise on the giant ducks:
    Crow: What sin could a duck commit in a single lifetime...?
  • As the giant spider creeps up on the teens in the basement: "Get off my land, ya dang smoochers!"
  • Giving boy genius Genius the voice of glasses-wearing goofy, doofy Mikey from Teen-Age Strangler: "And I didn't steal no bike, neither!"
• Continuity Nod: Awkward henchman/groundssatyr Torgo from Manos: The Hands of Fate briefly takes over Frank's job in Deep 13. During his job interview, he mentions running his own delivery business that had to shut down because of "sanitation problems". His "haunting Torgo theme" from Manos returns along with him, and the cheerful jazz background music from The Rebel Set plays during the interview.
• Credits Gag: A reprise of "The Greatest Frank of All" plays over the episode credits instead of the Love Theme, as part of the show's tribute to Frank Zappa.
• Dual-Meaning Chorus: While "The Greatest Frank of All" is ostensibly meant to refer to TV's Frank, the stinger reveals it was also meant as a loving tribute to Frank Zappa (see Trivia), who had passed away a month before this episode aired.
• End of an Era: The last movie by much-riffed B-movie director Bert I. Gordon the show would ever do.^note RiffTrax would eventually tackle Attack of the Puppet People. Gordon directed more movies featured on the show than anyone else — in addition to his various movies about giants, he was also responsible for The Magic Sword and Tormented.
• Even the Dog Is Ashamed: The movie uses the "bashful" type of this, with pet dog Wolf putting a paw over his face as Nancy and Mike make out. Crow, taking a different interpretation, almost quotes the trope verbatim:
  "Even the dog is grossed out!"
• Fridge Logic: Invoked: When the giants shrink back down to normal size, Mike and the bots wonder why they didn't explode from all the urine in their giant bodies.
• Funny Background Event: A funny non-event — Frank is on the couch in his underwear next to a pile of empty pizza boxes with a portable TV on his stomach during Torgo's job interview. He barely moves the entire time (other than a sarcastic "Oh, whoopee" when Torgo gets the job).
• Good-Times Montage: Parodied with a bittersweet Clip Show-style montage of all the times Frank got hurt, maimed, and killed during "The Greatest Frank of All".
• Hired on the Spot: Dr. F gives Torgo a very simple interview and immediately hires him to replace TV's Frank.
• Inherently Funny Words: Mike gets Crow to giggle a couple times by mocking Genius's funny-sounding chemical compounds, which mostly use "P" sounds.
• Mickey Mousing: The "Haunting Torgo Theme" gets sped up when Dr. F helps Torgo get to his seat to interview for Frank's job.
  Dr. F.: First rule: No theme music. (Haunting Torgo Theme stops abruptly)
  Torgo: What theme music? (walks away, theme restarts)
• Mondegreen Gag Invoked; when one of the women kisses a guy, she says "Please?", but it ends up sounding more like "Bees?" Mike runs with it: "Bees, yes."
• Noodle Incident: Frank tricks Torgo into doing something to Dr. F offscreen. We never know what it is but it's enough to get Forrester to throw Torgo out on his ear immediately.
• Parental Substitute: At one point, Servo excitedly starts calling the gumball machine in Genius's lab his mother. A few minutes later, he promptly disowns her after seeing her "get bought off for a nickel" when Fred stops to buy a gumball while stealing the Goo.
• Pet the Dog: Mike and the 'Bots are super nice to Frank after he gets fired. They get ready to send him a card and even give him a job interview for a position on the SOL (although they really just do this so he doesn't commit fraud while trying to apply for unemployment benefits).
• Running Gag:
  • Alluding to Ron Howard (Genius)'s career, mainly his early breakout role as the adorably precocious Opie Taylor on The Andy Griffith Show and one of his more notable "bombs" (relatively speaking) as a director, Willow.
    Crow: (defensively) Hey, I liked Willow!
  • The film supposedly being based (very loosely) on H. G. Wells' novel The Food of the Gods and How It Came to Earth.
  • Mike and the bots replying, "WHAT?!" to the hard-to-hear police officer.
• Shout-Out:
  • Countless riffs based on Frank Zappa songs. Zappa was a MSTie and the episode was dedicated in his memory.
  • Crow sings "Opie Opie Opie" to the tune of the Witch's/Miss Gulch's/the flying monkeys' theme from The Wizard of Oz as Genius rides up on his bike (like Miss Gulch).
  • One of the giant delinquents asks "What is happening?", causing Mike to break into the What's Happening!! theme song.
  • "Attack of the 50-Foot ABBA!"
• Special Effects Failure: Invoked. As per usual, Gordon's "special" effects consist of rear projection/mattes, camera angles, and not much else, and the story is once again about people and animals growing to gigantic size. As per usual, the SOL crew are not convinced.
  • Special note has to go to the attempt to tie a rope around Fred's giant legs.
  Mike: (as Fred) I get it—I think she meant to put this around my feet, not those mannequin legs down there!
• The Stinger: Rather than a clip from the movie, the credits end on an In Memoriaminvoked plate dedicating the episode to Frank Zappa, a fan of the show.
• Take That!: Crow might have liked Willow, but Mike and Tom decidedly did not.
  Mike: Oh, Kevin Pollak, you liked that?
  Crow: ...Point taken.
• They Killed Kenny Again: Frank is happy to take an offscreen ice auguring if it means he gets his job back. Also the Good-Times Montage of all the previous times Frank got killed during the song.
• Villainous BSoD: Frank becomes a sullen mess after being fired.
• With a Foot on the Bus: Frank is fired, but manages to get his job back from Torgo right before being evicted from Deep 13.

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"Please... please don't go."
"Bye bye, Frank. You were enjoyed."
(singing) "Nothin' but sweet lovin' Frank..."

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