Ha! Every zombie nightmare I have, I'm naked at a hockey game!
"Okay, so he's mad that he's losing, but that's the way he likes it??"
— Servo
Featured work: Zombie Nightmare
Aboard the Satellite of Love, Mike and the Bots have fun with voodoo, hot tubs, and the Adam West version of Batman.
The episode is available in the Gizmoplex here
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The Segments:
Prologue- Crow and Servo are dressed as the Secret Service, and have Mike under around-the-clock protection in anticipation of assassins. Even though there's no assassins, they still practice tackling Mike to the ground.
Segment 1
- The Mads have taken up voodoo, which they claim to be "a safe, economical way to inflict evil on the world". They also send their new Deep 13 Voodoo Kit to the Satellite to test it out. The crew up there uses black magic to do some good deeds, plus a bit of childish fun on Dr. Forrester.
Segment 2
- Crow is enjoying a magazine and some chocolates. Servo drives through in his race car and runs him down, mimicking the suddenness of Tony's death.
Segment 3
- The 'Bots share some pleasure time in a hot tub on the bridge. Mike pops up from the water after spearing a fish for dinner, throwing his mechanical pals into a panic.
Segment 4
- Servo and Mike respectively dress as Batman and Robin after they find a Batman screenplay that Crow had written, offering to act it out despite their apprehensions. When he finds out about it, Crow laughs up a storm, since he hated that screenplay and threw it out a long time ago. He gets second thoughts and decides to act it out with them anyway, but the others aren't amused in the slightest. Servo also gets too into character thanks to his costume.
Segment 5
- Instead of fan mail from viewers, the SOL crew read their own letters to Adam West, where they ask him some rather scathing questions. The Mads' voodoo fad gets dangerous when Frank accidentally zombifies Dr. F.
The Mystery Science Theater 3000 presentation of Zombie Nightmare contains the following tropes:
- Affectionate Parody: The ill-fated Batman play.
- Bad Powers, Good People: Dr. F sends the crew a voodoo kit to share in his obsession. They use black magic to do nice things for people, then to mess with the evil Dr. F.
- Brother–Sister Incest: Apparently, it's okay in Canada.Waitress: I'm old enough to be your big sister.
Jim: Hey, that's cool, I always wanted to make it with my older sister!
Crow: Oh, so Canada has a South, too! - Does This Remind You of Anything?: Cokie Roberts of NPR got a scalp massage. Her "on-air" reaction (provided by Mary Jo) was "pleasurable".
- Embarrassing but Empowering Outfit: Invoked: Servo starts thinking his batsuit gives him special bat-powers. Mike (dressed as Robin) and Crow (whose idea the whole thing was in the first place, before he forgot) just think they look like dorks.
- Eskimos Aren't Real: Crow's crack about the "Park Harpell" on the baseball field's scoreboardnote is quickly deflated by Mike recognizing it as Canadian English,note causing the crew to realize the film was made in Canada.
- Dragged Off to Hell: Churchman's descent is commented on by the bots:Crow: (thoroughly impressed) WOW! So Hell's right there!
Servo: Yeah. That’s why you should call before you dig. - Felony Misdemeanor: When Jim is driving:Crow: He's such a rebel, look at him cross that center line.
- Gory Discretion Shot: Mike and the bots go into a host segment just as the blonde girl is about to be killed. Considering how graphic her death is, it's understandable.
- Jim's death is also censored, sadly.
- Hollywood Voodoo: The Mads are into voodoo which they claim is a safe economic way to inflict evil on the world... which actually has a strong emphasis on helping others. Although it's possibly justified because this is the evil and proud Dr. Forrester and TV's Frank we're talking about.
- M&TB used the Deep 13 Voodoo kit for some good by giving a (surprisingly sensual) scalp massage to NPR personality Cokie Roberts, combing the hair of some guy Mike went to school with, and giving Jimmy Carter a hug. Though they also can't resist the urge to use it to mess with Dr. Forrester.
- Frank has accidentally turned Dr. F into a zombie by the end of the episode.
- I Don't Like the Sound of That Place: "I think I'll take a stroll down 'Certain Doom Lane'."
- It's Quiet… Too Quiet: Parodied:Crow: A little ominous in here.Mike: A little too ominous in here.Crow: Lotta cars in here.Mike: A little too a lotta cars in here.
- Kick the Dog: Even though they clearly don't want to, Mike and Tom get into costume so they can act out Crow's play about Batman. So, naturally, they aren't too pleased when Crow walks in, having forgotten to inform them he decided against running it.
- Lost in Character: Servo becomes a little too enamored of his Batman costume and Becomes the Mask, taking on Adam West's Batmannerisms.Mike: (exasperated) God, we gotta cut you out of that thing. Let's—
Servo: Hang in there, old chum! Alfred! (to Mike) Don't touch me! I'm Batman! Aunt Harriet! Aunt Harriet! I need cookies! Cookies! - Nausea Fuel: Invoked. In a scene where Peter and Susie head for the hot tub to make out, Mike and the bots are audibly grossed out when Peter strips down to his briefs. They get particularly repulsed when his package goes right by the camera when he checks on a noise.
- "Not Wearing Pants" Dream: Discussed; during the movie's opening credits, Crow quips "Every Zombie Nightmare I have, I'm naked at a hockey game!"
- Rape as Drama: The abuse heaped on the victim by the police is commented on.Waitress: I told you, he wasn't my boyfriend! I didn't even like him!
Frank: Then why did you go into the alley with him?
Mike (just a tad bit irritated with Frank's attitude): Oh, right, blame the victim.
Servo: Captain Sensitive on the job here. - Running Gag:
- Repeated shout outs to Adam West and Batman, naturally.
- In particular, West is still upset about not getting a cameo in Tim Burton's 1989 Batman film. "Let's make a Batman movie and not call Adam West!"note
- Mocking the trying-too-hard hard rock soundtrack, especially Jon Mikl Thor (Tony)'s band Thor.
- When Captain Churchman yells "HEY!" at subordinate Detective Sorrell as he leaves, Mike and the bots repeatedly say "HEY!" in unrelated situations for the next minute.
- In one scene, Jim throws some leftover spaghetti at his mom before leaving the house. This causes Mike and the bots to bring it up a couple more times, such as, "Threw some meat loaf at my mom this morning."
- Shout-Out:
- "Is this the little girl I carried..."
- "Put de lime in de coconut..."
- They go heavy on the riffing on/roasting of Adam West and Batman:
- The moment West's character Churchman is introduced, Servo quips, "What's THIS?"
- Mike and the bots repeatedly snicker at the medical examiner's odd accent, saying he sounds like Burgess Meredith's take on The Penguin. "*waughwaughwaughwaugh*"
- Mike and Servo are dressed in embarrassing Robin and Batman costumes (respectively) for the Batman playlet Crow's not doing anymore in Segment 4. Crow does Frank Gorshin's Riddler: "Riddle me this, Batman! Hoohoohoohoo!"
- "(sniff) You were the bestest Batman ever... Goodbye Cesar Romero!"
- The 'Bots' letters to West at the end of the episode: "Do you feel pretty crappy now that Danger Theatre and Last Precinct has been canceled?" and "I heard Lady Chatterley's Lover II was pretty good, although I'm not allowed to see it."
- When Churchman is introduced, Mike hums, "Dah-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah..."
- Two Words: I Can't Count: After Dr. Forrester sends Mike and the Bots a "voodoo kit", he tells them "In two words, en-joy!"
- Warm Water Whiz: As mentioned above, Mike and the Bots use a voodoo doll to mess with Dr. F. It culminates when they stick the doll's hand in a bowl of water, causing Forrester to wet himself when he's in the middle of introducing the film.
[Voodoo chanting followed by] "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR"!
