Line #94 Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S11E04Avalanche


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mst_ava.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:"Spoiler! Geez."]]
3
4	->'''Kinga Forrester:''' Your experiment today is ''Avalanche'', a disaster film in a very literal sense. Prepare to be buried under a mountain of bad acting and failed romantic chemistry.
5
6	Film Watched: ''Film/{{Avalanche}}''
7
8	!!The Segments:
9	[[AC:Prologue]]
10	* Crow and Tom Servo are workshopping their new TV drama, ''[[Series/MadMen Mad Bots]].''
11
12	[[AC:Segment 1]]
13	* Invention exchange time. Jonah and the bots invent an eco-friendly ''mouth-powered'' vacuum cleaner. Kinga "invents" Don La Font-aine 3000, a computer that takes any phrase and turns it into a cool movie logo.[[note]]Based on the line "Cool title, let's build a movie around it!" in ''The Time Travellers''.[[/note]]
14
15	[[AC:Segment 2]]
16	* Tom Servo and Crow attempt to emulate their new hero: David Shelby, Rock Hudson's character in the film. Jonah has to set them straight on why this is a bad idea.
17
18	[[AC:Segment 3]]
19	* Jonah and the bots are playing Marco Polo when Kinga gets a "visit" from her online boyfriend, Neville [=DeRoy=]. They sing a duet about how an internet relationship is so much better than a meatspace one. Meanwhile, Max pines for Kinga.
20
21	[[AC:Segment 4]]
22	* Jonah and the bots get serious for a moment and talk about a real problem: stupid-on-purpose, hybrid B-movies.
23
24	[[AC:Segment 5]]
25	* The Satellite of Love hosts "Aloha: an Evening of Songs and Stories with Florence Gypsy." Even the Mads are moved by Gypsy's performance.
26
27	----
28	!!Tropes in the [=MST3K=] presentation of ''Film/{{Avalanche}}'' include:
29
30	* ActorAllusion:
31	** Various jokes about Mia Farrow's paramours, Woody Allen and Frank Sinatra.
32	** [=McDade's=] actor, Steve Franken, was also in ''The Time Travelers'', so Jonah and the bots comment on it several times.
33	--->'''Crow:''' It's me, Danny from ''Time Travelers''!
34	** In one of the host segments, Creator/NeilPatrickHarris and Creator/FeliciaDay share a [[WebVideo/DoctorHorriblesSingAlongBlog romantic duet]].
35	* ActorRoleConfusion: Jonah and the bots almost exclusively refer to David and Caroline as Rock Hudson and Mia Farrow, respectively. Crow and Tom Servo even think that Rock Hudson acted like his character from this movie in real life.
36	* TheAlcoholic: Quite a few jokes about the elderly Florence's drinking.
37	-->'''Gypsy:''' Unfortunately, there's so much alcohol in her body, she's basically a human explosive.\
38	''[The car explodes.]''\
39	'''Crow:''' Yep. There she goes.\
40	'''Tom:''' Even the ''fire'' smells like gin.
41	* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: Tom Servo and Crow mistake David Shelby for the ultimate ladies' man, and think his complete disregard for the women around him is an essential part of his charm.
42	-->'''Servo:''' He doesn't know what women want, and he doesn't care. There's something magical about that.
43	* AllLoveIsUnrequited: Kinga has a LongDistanceRelationship with Neville, but he breaks it off when Kinga tries to meet him in person. And TV's Son of TV's Frank reveals his unrequited crush on Kinga.
44	* AnalogyBackfire:
45	-->'''Bruce Scott:''' I ski like I talk, or breathe, or make love.\
46	'''Servo:''' Unconvincingly?
47	* AscendedFanboy: Creator/NeilPatrickHarris is a longtime fan of [=MST3K=]. He previously recorded a Podcast/RiffTrax podcast with Mike Nelson, riffing on ''Film/WillyWonkaAndTheChocolateFactory''.
48	* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor:
49	-->'''Jonah:''' We ordered too many white cherry Icees! Aaaugh!\
50	'''Servo:''' Yeah, yeah. You asked for an avalanche of flavor, and now you got it, huh? Not enjoying it, are you?
51	* BookEnds: The movie's bookended by scenes of Caroline pulling up to the lodge in a taxi, prompting Crow to panic: "Oh, no, the movie's starting over!"
52	* BrokenPedestal: Tom Servo and Crow initially mistake Rock Hudson's character for a role model. By the movie's end, Crow is thoroughly disgusted at the character's nigh-KarmaHoudini status. When the movie hints at the possibility of Rock Hudson getting back together with his ex-wife:
53	-->'''Crow:''' If they get back together ''now,'' I'm gonna kill myself.
54	* ButNowIMustGo:
55	-->'''Jonah:''' ''(as Nick Thorne)'' Wherever there's a risk of natural disaster and photography, I'll be there. Perhaps some California town suffering wildfires needs some portraiture. Or a dusty, tornado-prone town in Oklahoma requires some still lifes. I'll be there.
56	* BystanderEffect: When the news crew starts filming an in-progress disaster, Jonah credits them with kickstarting the trend of bystanders recording disasters instead of helping.
57	* CallBack:
58	** The aforementioned ActorAllusion about how [=McDade=] also played Danny in the previous experiment, ''[[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S11E03TheTimeTravelers The Time Travelers]]''.
59	** [[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S10E07TrackOfTheMoonBeast "I want to hear 'California Lady'!"]]
60	** "Joe Don Baker!"
61	** Gypsy puts on another one-woman show. Her new ceiling-based setup allows her to hang a mannequin body from her neck (here she wears a purple dress), a gag which will will return in future episodes.
62	* TheCameo: Creator/NeilPatrickHarris as Neville, a magician whom Kinga is head over heels for.
63	* CannotConveySarcasm: After the lodge has been trashed by the avalanche:
64	-->'''Caroline:''' Nice view.\
65	'''Servo:''' ''(as Caroline)'' I'm being sarcastic, but you can't tell because my face is immobile.
66	* CaptainObvious: "Yep, it's snow, all right. Just as I suspected."
67	* CastingGag: Neil Patrick Harris is a gay actor playing a straight love interest, just like Rock Hudson in the film.
68	* TheChanteuse: "Florence" Gypsy, a washed-up [[TorchSong torch singer]] doing a comeback number of the kind you might see at an after-dinner show in a certain kind of tropical or ski resort from a certain era/for people of a certain age.
69	* ClicheStorm: [[invoked]]
70	-->'''Servo:''' "No time to lose"? What is this, the Cliche Squad?\
71	'''Crow:''' That's what I'm talking about.\
72	'''Jonah:''' Let's do this thing!\
73	'''Crow:''' A stitch in time saves-- Oh, forget it.
74	* ComedicSociopathy: "Nothing to do but sit back and enjoy ''America's Funniest Home Videos'' on ABC. Haha! He died!"
75	* DevelopingDoomedCharacters: The avalanche of the title doesn't happen until the last quarter of the movie, so we get way too much time developing way too many characters (only a handful of which turn out to be doomed). After a while, the bots get sick and tired of waiting for the avalanche to flatten everyone in the resort, so they break out cymbals in the hopes of triggering it themselves.
76	-->'''Crow:''' You know, not that I'm complaining, but by this point, Gene Hackman was already halfway through the ''[[Film/ThePoseidonAdventure Poseidon]]''.
77	* DiabolusExMachina: When further deaths happen after the avalanche just because of ''bad driving'', Jonah complains that they really can't blame those on the avalanche.
78	* DistantDuet: Kinga and Neville, separated by the vacuum of space, sing "Our Love Is on Wings (You Can't See)", a duet ''about'' their physical separation.
79	* DullSurprise:
80	-->'''Crow:''' It really says something that this avalanche has more emotional range than Mia Farrow.\
81	'''Servo:''' Yeah, why do you think the avalanche got top billing?
82	* ElephantInTheLivingRoom: The fact that Rock Hudson was gay in RealLife. The CastingGag with Neil Patrick Harris is a subtle nod to it, but nobody ever overtly mentions it, and some of the ActorRoleConfusion jokes play out as if Jonah and the bots are completely unaware. The closest they come, during the nude scene, is asking (as Rock) "Is that the phone, or is my heterosexuality reaching dangerous levels?" Especially notable is the host segment where Servo and Crow wonder how many Hollywood starlets Rock Hudson romanced. Jonah sets them straight, not by pointing out that Rock Hudson was more interested in men, but by explaining how his character's behavior in the film was the product of a less enlightened time and not something they should emulate.
83	* EnsembleDarkhorse: InUniverse: After rejecting David's example, Jonah and the bots decide that the one character they can look to as a role model is ''[=McDade=]''.
84	* EpicFail: Jonah and the Bots are in total disbelief when the rescue teams [[DeathByAmbulance cause further disasters]] just ''driving to and from the avalanche scene.''
85	-->''[One rescue truck drops a first aid box.]''\
86	'''Crow:''' That wasn't even ''caused'' by the avalanche! They're just completely incompetent!\
87	'''Jonah:''' They should change the name of this movie from ''Avalanche'' to just ''General Catastrophe''.\
88	''[The police car wipes out, kills a pedestrian, and trashes a store.]''\
89	'''Tom:''' Oh, so now we're seeing collateral deaths from the ''idea'' of an avalanche?\
90	'''Crow:''' What's next, someone cutting their finger on the newspaper reading about it?!
91	* FailedASpotCheck: Creator/NeilPatrickHarris forgot to take off his wedding ring. (Or maybe Neville is more of a {{Jerkass}} than we thought.)
92	* FalseFlagOperation: The bots joke that the avalanche was an inside job, and David somehow profited off it.
93	* UsefulNotes/{{Fonts}}: Discussed. Kinga's invention, Don La Font-aine 3000, automatically turns any phrase into a movie logo--which Kinga erroneously refers to as a "cool movie font".
94	* FreezeFrameBonus: All the B-movie titles Jonah and the bots snatched up the rights for. The list scrolls by way too fast to read without pausing.
95	* HeyThatsMyLine:
96	-->'''Max:''' Enter the nightmare-fueled world that is ''Avalanche!''\
97	'''Kinga:''' Hey! I say that.\
98	'''Max:''' I thought we were taking turns on it?\
99	'''Kinga:''' ''Never.''
100	* IMeantToDoThat: Crow riffs this after Bruce outruns a small avalanche and ends up jumping into a tree.
101	* {{Irony}}:
102	** After the avalanche, David Shelby notices his award sitting in the wreckage. "Yeah, there's some irony for you. It's called the Avalanche Award, isn't it?"
103	** "Mother always took her drinks on ice. Believe me, that irony is not lost on me when reflecting on her untimely death."
104	* ItsAllAboutMe: Caroline is safe from the avalanche. When she finally notices it: "All these screams of torment and gigatons of sliding snow are making it really tough to focus on my morning meditation."
105	* IWantYouToMeetAnOldFriendOfMine: This episode reunites Creator/FeliciaDay with her ''WebVideo/DoctorHorriblesSingAlongBlog'' co-star, Creator/NeilPatrickHarris. Appropriately enough, they sing a duet.
106	* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: When there's a closeup on a spinning car-top light, Jonah declares, "Oh, it's Commercial Sign!" And then an actual AdBumper immediately follows.
107	* LongDistanceRelationship: Kinga and Neville dated over the internet and have yet to meet in person.
108	* TheMainCharactersDoEverything: "Get out of the way, strapping young man. Let me show you how a 4'11" figure skater can dig."
109	* ManicPixieDreamGirl: Servo calls Caroline this by name in the final scene.
110	* MisaimedFandom: InUniverse, Crow and Tom are quite interested in Rock Hudson's character, seeing him as the ultimate ladies' man and a role model to aspire to. Jonah has to tell them that, no, he isn't admirable at all.
111	* MonochromeCasting: As the snow comes tumbling down: "Just when you thought this movie couldn't get any whiter."
112	* MoodSwinger: David. "In high school, he was voted Most Likely to Have Sudden Mood Swings."
113	* MythologyGag: During one of the commercial bumpers, Max explains that the liquid remains of each experiment are stored on Moon 13 so that the episode can be preserved permanently "so you don't have to!" Which likely refers to how, in the original series, fans had to do [[KeepCirculatingTheTapes exactly that]] in order to keep the episodes around.
114	* NeverMyFault:
115	** "Well, it's been a really big day. A lot of property damage, a lot of lives lost. But as least I know none of it's my fault."
116	** At the end, David finally does admit his fault:
117	--->'''David:''' I caused all this. I am responsible.\
118	'''Caroline:''' You've never said that.\
119	'''Crow:''' ''(as David)'' Well, there's a good reason for that, because the other times I killed everyone, ''I was right''.
120	* NeverTrustATitle: Kinga's Don La Font-aine 3000 might need some recalibration, since it keeps making logos whose apparent genre doesn't match the title at all. ''I Wanna Do One'' is a "Ladies' weepie--unfulfilled dreams, repressed desires, you know, that sort of thing." And ''A Lighthearted Neil Simon Project'' is "a balls-to-the-walls action flick". And ''Okay, We Get It'' is apparently the next ''Star Wars'' film.
121	* NoodleIncident: When Caroline adjusts her scarf: "Make sure I don't get this caught in the revolving door ''again''."
122	* ObviousStuntDouble:
123	** In the scene where young Jason dangles from the damaged ski lift, Jonah notes that his stunt double is clearly a grown man.
124	** And Mia Farrow's stunt double is conspicuously larger than she is:
125	-->'''Servo:''' You can tell it's a stunt ''man'' because she has weight and dimension.
126	* OurElvesAreDifferent: Mia Farrow is a wood elf, according to Jonah and the bots. "It's not you. I'm a wood elf. We don't show affection through kissing. We exchange syrup."
127	* OwMyBodyPart: "My spleen and kidneys!" "My scapula!" "My everything else!"
128	* RootingForTheEmpire: Jonah and the bots try to trigger the avalanche early by crashing cymbals. When it finally does arrive, they cheer the avalanche on as it buries Bruce, the skeevy skier.
129	* RunningGag:
130	** After Rock Hudson's character promises lunch and fails to deliver, twice, Jonah and the bots get obsessed with finally eating the promised lunch.
131	** Nick Thorne is introduced criticizing the ongoing construction of David's chalet as unsafe, leading the guys to spend the rest of the movie characterizing him as obsessed with making sure everything is up to code.
132	* RussianReversal: "Up here, you don't head for mountains. The mountains head for you."
133	* SceneryCensor: Crow and Tom use a couple of drones to block full female nudity. They end up crashing them when it ends.
134	* TheSeventies: Lots of jokes about the decade. "[[GratuitousDiscoSequence Disco fever]] afflicted everybody back then."
135	-->'''Servo:''' Try to look on the bright side: it'll be TheEighties soon.
136	* ShipperOnDeck: Jonah and the Bots seem to really like the idea of Florence/[=McDade=].
137	* ShoutOut:
138	** The [[Creator/DonLaFontaine Don La Font-aine]] [[AdvancedTech2000 3000]] is a nod to the guy whose voice you used to ''hear'' saying these titles out loud. InAWorld%%...
139	** [[Music/TheB52s "Rock Hudson! Down, down..."]]
140	** "I think I just spotted a half-buried [[Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack Imperial Walker]] down there..."
141	** [[Music/TheClash "I fought the law, and the law won!"]]
142	** As a skier sets off down the slopes, Crow suddenly quips [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons "Feels like I'm wearing nothin' at all!]] ...[[StupidSexyFlanders nothin' at all!]] ...[[FloatingAdviceReminder nothin' at all!"]]
143	** [[Film/BetterOffDead "Go that way, really fast. If something gets in your way, turn."]]
144	** During the scene with the skier, Jonah and the Bots break out into the theme song from ''Series/FraggleRock''. "Let the music play ''clap clap'' Down at ''Avalanche''!"
145	** [[WesternAnimation/TheRenAndStimpyShow "It's Lo-og, Lo-og! It's big, it's heavy, it's wood!"]]
146	** "[[Music/TheRamones Joey Ramone]] leads the search expedition. Rock rock rock rok, [[Film/RockAndRollHighSchool Rock 'n' Roll Search Team]]!"
147	** During the scene with the gas leak in the kitchen, Jonah impersonates [[Series/TheMuppetShow the Swedish Chef]].
148	** When the rescue workers bomb a wall of snow, Jonah makes the ''[[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Zelda]]'' [[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda secret chime.]] "Doo-doo-doo-doo-doodoodoodoo!"
149	** Tom: "Doesn't this dramatic music call for [[Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey a monolith to rise from the ground and usher in the next stage of human evolution]] or something?"
150	* ShowerOfAngst: "I like to relax with a nice brisk, hot shower to feel cleansed after watching a creepy skeezy 70s nightclub scene."
151	* SloMoBigAir: "You know, it's technically illegal to film ski jumps at standard frame rates. See?"
152	* SlowMotionFall: "Oh, really? He fell in slow-motion and they ''still'' couldn't get the net under him in time?"
153	* SpecialEffectFailure: "Whoa, the grips are really chucking that snow out there. Especially the one on the right. It's coming down in intermittent handfuls."
154	-->'''Jonah:''' I didn't know snow was so combustible.\
155	'''Servo:''' It's not, but styrofoam is!
156	* StealingTheCredit: David stands back as the firefighters rescue young Jason. When Jason lands in their net, David picks him up and carries him away, at which point:
157	-->'''Servo:''' ''(as David)'' I did it. I saved the boy. You all saw me. Me!
158	* StealingTheHandicappedSpot: When David's ''helicopter'' lands: "Hey, that's a handicapped spot!"
159	* StealthInsult: Tom Servo, raving over Rock Hudson, includes how he's "not afraid to wear yellow flannel! And ''nobody'' looks good in yellow!" Jonah, standing next to Tom, is wearing a yellow jumpsuit.
160	* StockScream: When Mark gets electrocuted and falls, Crow notes that it's a missed opportunity for a [[https://youtu.be/9FHw2aItRlw Wilhelm Scream]]. At Jonah's suggestion, Crow supplies the scream himself, but it comes out sounding more like a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyuOmVtKLq8 Howie Long Scream]].
161	* StrangledByTheRedString: After Caroline has her awkward first conversation with Nick Thorne: "Wow. She has even less on-screen chemistry with this guy than she did with Rock Hudson."
162	* TakeThat:
163	** During the "Don La-Font-aine" skit, the phrase "Okay, we get it" prompts the machine to display it in the Franchise/StarWars font.
164	** "Jeannette? So many new characters. It's like the third season of ''Series/{{Lost}}''."
165	** The skit with the LongList of "stupid-on-purpose hybrid B-movie" titles pokes fun at movies like ''Film/{{Birdemic}}'' and ''Film/{{Sharknado}}''.
166	* TalkingTheMonsterToDeath: As a skier tries to outrun the avalanche, Crow tells him to "Turn around and try to reason with it!"
167	* ThisIsGonnaSuck:
168	-->'''Caroline:''' ''(to hotel desk clerk)'' I have a reservation.\
169	'''Jonah, Servo, and Crow:''' ''So do we!''
170	* ToiletHumor:
171	-->'''David:''' This is the big one!\
172	'''Crow:''' ''[farting noise]''\
173	...\
174	'''Servo:''' Thank God these snow pants are watertight. I'll have to go easy on the bumps on the way down. Poop joke! See ya!
175	* TranslationYes:
176	-->'''Caroline:''' ''Vive le roi.''\
177	'''Jonah:''' That's French for "Thanks for inviting me to your terrible resort, ignoring me all day, killing your mom, and still being alive at the end of it all."
178	* TheWorldIsNotReady: Jonah and the bots buy up the rights to as many hybrid B-movie titles as they can, to prevent cynical film studios from ''actually'' making any of them.
179	* WouldRatherSuffer: "Try and kiss me, and [[TakingYouWithMe I'll drop us both into your mother's burning remains]]. I am serious."
180
181	----
182	-->''[[TheStinger A police car wrecks and crashes into a store, knocking a person through the window.]]''

Context Recap / MysteryScienceTheater3000S11E04Avalanche