Your movie today is called The Wild Wild World of Batwoman. And, for all I know, it features Robert Conrad and Ross Martin... but I doubt it.
— Dr. Forrester
Film watched: Cheating (short) and The Wild World of Batwoman
Cheating takes a look at high school student John Taylor, who cheats on a single test and is villified by the student body, to the point where he loses his position as a student council representative.
This episode was released on DVD by Rhino Entertainment.
The episode is available in the Gizmoplex here
.
The Segments:
Prologue- Mike and the 'Bots play some blackjack. Crow gets carried away calling out "Hit me!" for more cards.
Segment 1
- Frank has given Dr. Forrester a mushroom cloud-shaped perm with his new invention, the Atomic Hair Dryer, to mixed results. Mike shows off the Razorback, for dealing with unsightly backhair.
Segment 2
- With the short on their minds, Mike and the 'Bots debate on who was to blame for John's predicament. Crow would rather talk about Mitchell, since he wasn't paying attention.
Segment 3
- The 'Bots present their essays about cheating. Servo offers a long and verbose speech, Gypsy blurts out a simple statement of the obvious, and Crow is found to have copied Gypsy's essay verbatim. Servo promptly demands a violent punishment for Crow's cheating, but Movie Sign postpones it.
Segment 4
- Mike, Servo, and Gypsy call a meeting to discuss Crow's punishment for his cheating.
Segment 5
- Crow is brought before the others to argue his case. He's found guilty, but is cleared on his charges for being "a decent guy" and awarded with Hostess Sno-Balls. Dr. Forrester is enjoying his new hairstyle, even as he feels the radiation poisoning kicking in.
The MST3K treatment of Cheating has examples of:
- Brutal Honesty:John: Why don't they call?
Crow: Because they don't like you. - Deal with the Devil: When the teacher returns John's test:Servo (as Miss Grandy): This contract arrived for you from a "Mr. Elzebub."
- Delayed Reaction: When Johnny imagines Miss Granby's head floating in his room.Servo (as Johnny): Oh, hi Miss Granb... Ah — AAAAAHHH!! AAAAHHHGETITAWAY!!
- Disproportionate Retribution: Cheating is bad. note
- Driven to Suicide: Early in the short, right after John gets a phone call informing him he's been kicked off the student council, he wanders despondent into the next room and Tom supplies a gunshot sound.
- Epic Fail: Mike shows how bad John is at doing math homework.Mike (as Mary): (exasperated) John, this is geography!
- Hot for Student:Narrator: Was there a shadow of doubt in Ms. Granby's face as she looked at you?
Crow: Or was it lust? - Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: Joked about when Johnny gets caught cheating on a test.Servo: Fortunately, your mob ties will get you off, Johnny.
- Serious Business: Apparently, the high school student council is a cut-throat political machine:Servo: You've made some powerful enemies, son.
- What the Hell, Hero?: The riffers seem really upset when Mary gives in and helps John cheat.
The MST3K presentation of The Wild World of Batwoman has examples of:
- Brain Bleach:
- When one of the Batgirls instructs Tiger on how to dance, using his hips, Mike moans, "Oh, great. I was going to get through this whole movie without thinking about his hips, and now this!"
- Mike and the bots scream when Professor Neon gives Heathcliff a big kiss on the lips when handing him the bomb.
- Call-Forward: The movie includes snippets from The Mole People, which Servo recognizes but won't be used as a subject until the Sci-Fi Era.
- Comically Missing the Point:Tom: Oh, I don't think you'd wanna come to this meeting, it's about you.
Crow: Me?
Tom: That's right, it's about how you cheated and betrayed the confidence of a sweet, innocent robot. It's about how you made a mockery of everything that's good in this world. It's about how everything you touch... you destroy.Crow: So why can't I come? - Disproportionate Retribution: Servo, and later Gypsy, could be said to overreact a little when Crow cheats.Servo: We must immolate him! Get a match!
- Do Not Spoil This Ending: Parodied when Rat Fink is unmasked.Servo: (monotone) Please do not reveal the secret to The Wild, Wild World of Batwoman.
- Driven to Suicide: By the end of the film all three viewers are begging for the sweet release of death.Tom and Mike: [singing] Kill me, kill me, kill me, kill me right now.
- Driving a Desk: After the Batgirl wakes up after being kidnapped in the first scene.Mike (as Batgirl): What am I doing in a fake car on a sound stage?!
- Dude, Not Funny!: Invoked in Mike and the 'Bots' reaction to the "Chinese" spirit in the seance scene.Servo: [deadpan] You know, that may not really be Chinese...
Mike: To every Asian, and EVERY HUMAN BEING, we apologize for that last scene. - Early-Bird Cameo:Servo: HEY! It's The Mole People! These two films have crashed!
Crow: You got Mole People in my Batwoman!
Servo: You got Batwoman in my Mole People! - Ending Fatigue: In-universe, this is how the hosts felt by the end of the movie. Tom put it best.Servo: [inhales loudly] EENNND!!! EEEEEEEENNNND!!!
- Flat "What": Servo is genuinely baffled by the "Synthetic Vampires" scene in the opening.Servo: It's like we're smart, but we're not!
- Mood-Swinger: On a shot of some teenagers dancing to beach rock music:Servo: The sad thing is, they're trying to tap dance! Ha ha kill me.
Servo a minute later: Is this any way to run an airline? You bet it is! Please kill me. - Noodle Implements: When Rat Fink threatens to pour Cobalt 40 onto the atomic hearing aid to trigger an explosion:Servo: [as Rat Fink] Ha ha! I've got a pencil sharpener and a bowl of sugar, and I'll use them!
- Nude-Colored Clothes: The black and white print makes one girl's dress the same tone as her skin except for a stripe around the chest, leading Crow to observe bemusedly that she's wearing "a gownless evening strap".
- Only Sane Man: Mike's the only one who tries to think of a proper punishment for Crow's cheating while Tom and later Gypsy, act like they want to kill Crow.
- Pass the Popcorn: Mike leaves the theater in the opening scene to get snacks, as if he were watching a movie rather than being tortured. The 'Bots question if this sort of thing is allowed.
- Plagiarism in Fiction: Since Mike and the Bots watched the short film "Cheating", all of the host segments (except with tone with the crew playing Blackjack) are based on the short, with the robots writing essays based on the short, which led to Crow plagiarizing Gypsy's essay.
- Running Gag: Crow and Servo begging Mike to kill them.
- Sanity Slippage:
- As the movie just drags itself to the end, showing off another pool party with the Batgirls, Tom just loses it: Tom: END!! EEEENNNNNNDD!
- Mike loses it a bit earlier.Mike: What about the hearing aid? Am I crazy? WASN'T THAT THE ENTIRE PLOT?!
- As the movie just drags itself to the end, showing off another pool party with the Batgirls, Tom just loses it:
- Serious Business: All of the host segments were based on the Cheating short (except for a brief reference to the drugged soup scene), featuring overly dramatic responses to Crow plagiarizing Gypsy's essay on the short film.Gypsy: The quality of mercy is not strained; It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven Upon the place beneath.
Servo: Gypsy, he stole from YOUR essay.
Gypsy: Really?... FRY HIM!!! FRY HIM!!! I want his family DEAD!!! I want his house BURNED TO THE GROUND!!!Mike: Gypsy, calm down. This isn't getting us anywhere. - Shout-Out:
- Batman-themed riffs are plentiful, as expected in a film about a shameless rip-off.
- “It’s like a party in my mouth, and everyone’s invited.
- "There's a man on the wing of the plane!"
- "You know a movie is bad, bad, bad when it makes The Monkees look good!"
- "You keep your eyes on the road and your hands upon the wheel..."
- "Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends."
- “It’s that one Kid in the Hall.”note
- Stating the Simple Solution:Batwoman: Free the others! Use your magnetic electron device!
Crow (as a Batgirl): Why don't I just unhook 'em? - Where Are They Now: Servo identifies one of the thugs in the opening scene as a thirty-years older Johnny from the short.
Bruno: (laughs while brunette Batgirl bites his hand) OOOOOWWWW!!!
