Camera
Dr. Forrester: Your experiment this week, Joel, is the first in the famous Gamera turtle movies. It's a love story about a giant turtle and downtown Tokyo.
Film watched: Gamera aka Giant Monster Gamera
This is one of the nine Sandy Frank Japanese films originally used for a KTMA episode that was riffed again a few years later on Comedy Central.
The Comedy Central episode is available in the Gizmoplex here
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The KTMA Segments:
Segment 1- Joel shows how Crow was frozen into the SOL's Christmas tree, and that they're doing another Gamera movie.
Segment 2
- Joel checks up at Servo, who compliments Crow as a Christmas tree. Joel then answers a message about his hair stylist, which leads him to roll credits up to the stylist's name.
Segment 3
- Joel answers some more messages, and asks Gypsy to do her Godzilla impression. Joel then asks the viewers about their opinions about colorization.
Segment 4
- More messages are answered, including members of the "Coalition of Friends for Giant Mutant Turtles" and the "Friends of the Coalition for Giant Slimy Lizards with Long Nasty Tongues". Cambot replays footage from Gamera and Barugon's bout, which Servo concludes that it was a fair fight.
Segment 5
- Joel thanks the viewers for their calls, and Cambot replays footage of Crow's freezing. Joel explains the Christmas and Hannukah to Gypsy, to which the two sing "O Tannenbaum" to Crow.
The KTMA version of Gamera provides examples of:
- Anachronic Order: The first Gamera film is the second one watched.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: When Gamera is sent to space.Joel: So they. Shot him. Into. Space. Kinda reminds me of me.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: Only aired episode where there are no bots in the theater.
- The Mads are still absent, as Joel picked out today's experiment on his own accord.
- Written-In Absence: Trace Beaulieu was not present during the episode's production, as he was visiting relatives. To explain this, Joel claimed Crow was cryogenically frozen into a Christmas tree.
The Comedy Central Segments:
During Comedy Central version of the episode, the Bots mock Gamera's attachment to Kenny, the journalist character is deemed to be in need of a restraining order, and turtles all around the world are pitied.Prologue
- Tom imposes a regimen of vocal excercises to prepare Joel and Crow for the experiment. He tries to drag Magic Voice into it, too.
Segment 1
- For the Invention Exchange, Joel shows a takeout box capable of holding much more salad than it appears, while the Mads present a vacuum for cleaning bird cages while leaving the bird alone. It accidentally sucks the bird in as well.
Segment 2
- Having been touched by Kenny's dedication to his pet turtle Tibby, Tom sings a sad love song to his own turtle.
Segment 3
- Crow and Tom try to use a voodoo doll to hurt Kenny, but at Joel's urging, they outline the reasons to their hatred of the character.
Segment 4
- Crow, Tom, and Gypsy's beauty session is interrupted by Gamera (played by Mike Nelson), who asks for some Cling-Free. The Bots use the opportunity to ask him a few question about his life as a giant turtle before Godzilla calls him, asking about their crossover.
Segment 5
- Tom gives the cast of the film a "Where Are They Now" montage.
The Comedy Central version of Gamera provides examples of:
- Call-Back: "No dancing! Not allowed!"
- Interspecies Romance: It's not hard to feel more for Servo than for Kenny as we're watching the boy search for the turtle.Crow: Do you realize a robot just sang a love song to a turtle?
- Lame Pun Reaction: Joel rips Crow's arm off because of a particularly bad pun during a scene where the military brings out the big guns.Crow: Oh, and that's the tanks I get?
- Lampshade Hanging:Tom: Oh! This is the universal 'unsuspecting drunkard about to have a brush with the supernatural'.
- Major Injury Underreaction: Crow getting his arm ripped off. Justified, as he's a robot.Crow: Hey! I need that.
- Scolding the Fourth-Wall Breaker: Joel rips Crow's other arm off for the latter comparing a scene in the movie where a rocket takes off into space to Joel's situation. Then when Servo starts singing the MST3K Theme Song, Joel hits him with Crow's arm.Crow: Hey, Joel—Remind you of anything?Servo: (Singing) In the not-too-distant future...
- Trust-Building Blunder: Crow uses this as a practical joke on Servo.
- Voodoo Doll: During one of the host segments, they use an Ernest (Jim Varney) doll, though without his hat.
- "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue: Servo narrates one for the cast and characters of the original Gamera film.
