"Oh, they want their little gold jacket back."
The architecturally rigid space children!
Films watched: Century 21 Calling (short) and The Space Children
Century 21 Calling follows a pair of happy-go-lucky teenagers travelling to Seattle to tour the 1962 World's Fair, specifically enjoying an exhibit by Bell Telephone to demonstrate the potential applications that the telephone of the future will provide to everyday life.
The Segments:
Prologue- Servo has opened a kissing booth on the bridge, planning to use the money he gets to start a chain of such booths. Mike pays $49.95 for a "dry, perfunctory grandma kiss", only to note that the kiss was more "aunt-like".
Segment 1
- As Servo "practices" his kissing technique on himself, Mike is caught off guard by an electrician named Lacks, who installs a new phone system both on the SOL and in Castle Forrester on Pearl's orders, intending for her and her fellow Mads to communicate with the SOL crew more efficiently through conference calls. The only thing that happens is that the numerous phones make everyone hard-to-hear and confused as to who is supposed to answer which line, and this leaves an indignant Pearl to send Mike and his robot friends a short (the first one they've gotten since Season 7) to show them what the phone of the future is supposed to be like, before braining her struggling lackeys with recievers.
Segment 2
- Mike imitates the peppy male teenager from the short, silently pointing and laughing at everything he sees as the short's soundtrack plays. The 'Bots, totally apathetic to this behavior, stop him as only they can: hitting him with a wrecking ball.
Segment 3
- The SOL crew builds a model rocket and prepares to launch it, but a miscommunication and a distracting call from Pearl results in the rocket literally blowing up in Mike's face. On Earth, Pearl has similarly bitten by the rocket science bug, having built a real rocket next to Castle Forrester. She's even starting her own space program to train Bobo into piloting it, starting by making him spin around in the centrifuge. Brain Guy discovers that the sharp pain in his side is the result of the safety pin that connects the centrifuge's passenger compartment to the engine stuck in his body. Predictably, the centrifuge breaks down and sends Bobo flying to the other side of the castle.
Segment 4
- Traumatized by all the scenes of Jackie Coogan in short shorts, Crow forces Mike and Servo, currently having lunch, to share his pain and anger by showing off his incredibly disturbing sketches for "Fashion Means Coogan", a line of increasingly skimpy outifts intended specifically for Mr. Coogan, despite their protests and immense disgust.
Segment 5
- The alien blob from the movie arrives on the SOL, persuading the crew to give up their nuclear bombs. Mike and Crow have no such bombs, but Servo confesses to keeping a neutron device in his room, having bought it at an estate sale in the event that the other two dare try anything. Down in the castle, Pearl and Brain Guy successfully launch their rocket, watching in smug satisfaction as it blasts off into space. Unfortunately, Pearl discovers that Bobo left the capsule to get a Three Musketeers bar and forgot to get back inside. Without its pilot, the rocket turns right back around and descends to Castle Forrester, exploding on impact.
The Mystery Science Theater 3000 presentation of Century 21 Calling has examples of:
- Berserk Button: At one point, Mike gets upset about the fees for touch-tone phone service.Mike: (as guide) In the future, there'll still be a two-dollar surcharge for this feature DESPITE THE TECHNOLOGY HAVING PROLIFERATED EVERYWHERE ON THE PLANET. (disgusted sigh)
- Punctuated! For! Emphasis!:Servo: PUSH BUTTON PHONING!
- Shout-Out:
- Some stock music from William Loose and Emil Cadkin plays during the short. Crow observes: "Ren and Stimpy music!"
- Crow sings a line from Hole's bleak anti-materialism hit "Doll Parts" to the tune of the short's jazzy musical finish:
Crow: (singing) Somedayyy you'll ache like I ache...! - X Called; They Want Their Y Back: On seeing the short's title, Mike remarks "They want their little gold jacket back."
The Mystery Science Theater 3000 presentation of The Space Children has examples of:
- Actor Allusion:
- Most of their jokes about Russell Johnson's character.Crow: He's gonna use his coconut-powered spanking machine on me!Mike: A three da-y biiinge.Crow: Whoa, imagine having your butt whooped by "And the Rest!"
- Several references to Jackie Coogan's most famous role as Uncle Fester.
- Most of their jokes about Russell Johnson's character.
- And There Was Much Rejoicing:All: (as crowd) Yaaay!
Crow: Are you sure he's dead, now?
Mike: (as paramedic): Oyah.
All: Yaaay! - Ash Face: Happens to Mike as the result of a botched model rocket launch.
- Brain Bleach: Mike and Servo's reactions to seeing Crow's increasingly-skimpy outfits for Jackie Coogan.
- Call-Back: The Reel Life vs Real Life Music pops up, but this time during the Jackie Coogan Summer ensemble showcase.
- Creepy Child: "We're the Children of the Damned you've heard so much about."
- Fan Disservice: Crow works out his trauma by hosting a Jackie Coogan fashion show, displaying sketches of the man in increasingly skimpier outfits.Mike: C'mon Crow! Okay, so Coogan wore some goofy outfits in this movie, but can't we leave him with a modicum of dignity?Crow: No! No we can't, Mike. I'm hurting, I've got to lash out, and we're going to see this thing through to the end! Next card! Here's the ultradignified Coogan getting a teensie bit naughty, in this French-cut thong singlet...
- Mind Rape: In the film.Crow: This is the exact moment he became Uncle Fester.
Servo: And lo, he put his head in a vise and slept on a bed of nails. - Mondegreen Gag: Dr. Wahrman is interpreted as "Dr. Woman" and paired off against Colonel Manley.
- Mike and the bots also hear "phone the depot" as "phone the Devil".
- Because the soldiers in the movie pronounce it DEH-po, which may be common in the military (and "devil" is about the closest-sounding word), but American civilians know it as DEE-po.
- One that immediately follows but isn't picked up by the riffers is the order to "Phone Eagle Point," sounds more like "Evil Point."
- Mike and the bots also hear "phone the depot" as "phone the Devil".
- Not Helping Your Case: A drunken Joe chases after his boy, adding in "I'll break your neck!" between his repeated demands for the kid to come back. Crow points out that this is really not much of an incentive for the kid to stop running.
- Parental Neglect: Several riffs exploit this, like when the kids insist they heard something.Ann Brewster: Children, will you just stop it?!
Crow: [as Ann] Stop trying to form a bond with us! We had you! Isn't that enough? - Poor Communication Kills: Mike and the 'bots build a model rocket, but it fails to launch. When Mike goes over to check on it:Mike: Now remember, don't turn it on until I say!Servo: (offscreen) What, turn it on?Mike: No, don't turn it on!Servo: (offscreen) Okay!(boom)
- Running Gag:
- Budweiser jokes off of Bud's name.
The best part is that, according to Mighty Jack's MST3K fan site, the kid who played Bud Brewster later married into the Heineken beer fortune. - Servo mentioning that the beach must be "where the children playeee-yay-yay-yay-yay!", in reference to Cat Stevens, along with Crow telling him to knock it off in various languages.
- The crew also get a lot of mileage from The Professor behaving like a drunken jerk.
- As a result of Pearl's disastrous attempt at conference calls, all of the riffing in this episode has a distinct echo to it.
- Diets of hot dogs.
- Budweiser jokes off of Bud's name.
- Shout-Out: The SOL crew recites the Three Stooges phone answer gag just before Movie Sign.Crow: (singing) Hello...Mike: (singing) Hello...Tom: (singing) Hello...
- Special Guest: The Blob From Heaven shows up on the SOL to convince Mike and the 'bots to get rid of their nuclear stockpiles. Turns out Servo kept a "neutron device" under his bed as a deterrent against "Uh... Well, you guys."
- Swiss-Cheese Security:Crow: Russian agents stealthily approach the checkpoint, see the "Stop" signs, and turn away defeated.
- Take That!: When we're shown the blank, lifeless look on Joe's face when his son finds him dead in his chairnote :(monotone) "...I JUST WATCHED GILLIGAN'S ISLAND."
