I hope he's in network.
Film watched: Doctor Mordrid
The Segments:
Prologue- Roller derby season is here and Emily and her crew are struggling to find violent-sounding derby names that aren't already taken. Dr. Kabahl arrives to give the Mads another suggestion for the Gizmoplex: use his Timebag device to bring back a host from the past so he can riff MST3K in the future. Kabahl can't go, so Kinga and Max will have to take the trip themselves, or at least get somebody to do it for them.
Segment 1/Invention Exchange
- Emily's Gilbert and Sulli-Phone skirts the issue of royalties for ringtones by pulling from the public domain works of the famous musical duo. The Mads' Palm Greaser takes the term a little too literally by offering greasy dollar bills for bribery purposes.
Segment 2
- Servo puts on an imitation of Mordrid's seminar which shifts into a moon-themed stand-up comedy act. He struggles to maintain his audience, but manages to go out on a strong finish.
Segment 3
- As both sorcerer of light and landlord of the apartment complex, Doctor Emily Mordrid's duty to protect the Earth is constantly interrupted by complaints from her tenants Crow and Servo.
Post-Intermission
- Emily's crystal orb from the prior sketch is actually a bowling ball, so she tells the 'Bots some facts about the sport. Crow panics when Emily and Servo try to take his beak for a bowling pin.
Segment 4
- With a handkerchief in his hands like Mordrid, Crow tells a tale of two young and promising robots, one (specifically himself) superior to the other in everything. GPC-2 then tries to one-up them both with her own "shimmy-hypnotizing" story.
Segment 5
- The 'Bots put together their own league of rip-off superheroes, The Arrangers, and Emily is cast as their nemesis Dr. Cuttlefish. The Mads get in touch with Dr. Erhardt, who volunteers to go into the Timebag and bring back one of the original hosts.
The Mystery Science Theater 3000 presentation of Doctor Mordrid has examples of:
- Actor Allusion: As Doctor Mordrid uses a mastodon skeleton to battle Kabal's T-Rex skeleton, Crow comments "Finally, I've been waiting all movie for him to reanimate something."
- Adaptation-Induced Plot Hole: Nude scenes of Adrian's girlfriend Irene being killed by Kabal were cut from the film for MST3K, causing her to simply vanish with no explanation. Photos of a body are later discussed, but the implication that it's her body is just that.
- Crazy-Prepared: Because of how many times Emily has had the "Is Die Hard a Christmas movie?" discussion, she has memorized the exact date it came out.Crow: Well, what if [a movie] takes place at Christmas, and has a Christmas tree in it?Tom: Like Die Hard!Emily: (patiently) Okay, it doesn't matter, look at the release date. Die Hard came out July 15th, 1988. It was a summer blockbuster, not a Christmas movie.Emily: (bluntly) I've had this discussion a lot.
- Drunk on Milk: Kinga apparently gets tipsy just from drinking soda.
- Insane Troll Logic: "So, according to Newton's Third Law of Motion, any movie that comes out in the Christmas season is a Christmas movie?"
- Lame Pun Reaction: Emily and Tom moan at Crow's riff, "This movie's really dragon."
- Major General Song: Servo lists the features of the Gilbert and Sulli-Phone by singing about them to this tune. He is unable to continue to a second verse due to too many notes being involved.
- Mythology Gag: Crow sees Mordrid's VHS shelf: "Hey, those tapes should be circulating!"
- Oh, Crap!: Crow's reaction when Emily and Servo look over at him after the latter asks where they can find a bowling pin in the Post-Intermission sketch.
- Running Gag:
- Books having the habit of suddenly catching on fire.
- Everything is a door or a box; sorcerers love opening things.
- Samantha's garbage disposal problem.
- Calling Kindergarten "Kid-ney-garten".
- Seinfeldian Conversation: Over the film's credits. After the epilogue where Mordrid and Samantha agree to drink eggnog and watch a Christmas movie, Crow is mildly amazed that Doctor Mordrid was a Christmas Movie the whole time. Emily objects, and soon argues that even films set during Christmas, even with Christmas trees in them, aren't necessarily Christmas Movies. Her second example is Die Hard — because it was released in July of 1988, it was a summer blockbuster, instead. (Emily's had this discussion a lot.) She pursues her logic to the point of arguing that It's a Wonderful Life is actually a New Year's film about the evils of forgetfulness because it was released in January. When Crow counters by saying that Titanic would then be a Christmas film, Emily agrees, and firmly states that "she'll die on this hill, and if the hill comes out in late December, I'll call it a Christmas hill!"
- Shout-Out:
- Dr. Kabahl quotes Plan 9 from Outer Space to Kinga: "The future is where you and I will spend the rest of our lives." Kinga replies with an annoyed "Thanks, Criswell."
- "Oh hai, Mark."
- "Ten million years will give you such a crick in the neck!"
- "To infinity, but not beyond because that would be mathematically impossible!"
- "Anything you still can't cope with is therefore your own problem."
