Well, it's nearing the end of 1991 and the Thanksgiving Day holiday is nearly upon us. After the premiere broadcast of this episode on Saturday November 16, 1991, a new episode will not be shown for two weeks. However, MSTies need not be concerned. The Comedy Central "Turkey Day Marathon" will be broadcast Thursday the 21st with original "bumpers" created by the cast and crew at BBI tying the episodes together. (This is a completely separate topic which I will address at another time). A brand new episode will air when the series returns on Saturday November 30, 1991. Meanwhile...
Let the experiment begin!
"Turn Down Your Lights (Where applicable)"
Experiment #318 ~ STAR FORCE - FUGITIVE ALIEN II (1986)
Original Air Date: November 16, 1991
Genre: SciFi
Studio: Tsuburaya Production, LTD
Starring: Tatsuya Azuma, Miyuki Tanigawa, Joe Shishido, Choei Takahashi, Tsutomu Yukawa, Hiro Tateyama
Directed By: Minoru Kanaya, Kiyozumi Kuzakawa
Theatrical Running Time: 75 Minutes
Tagline: N/A
Film Synopsis: After a brief recap of Fugitive Alien, (
Experiment #K12 and
Experiment #310), this is just another installment of the continuing adventures of Captain Joe, StarWolf Ken, Tammy, Rocky and the rest of the crew of Earth's oldest starship, Bacchus 3. Their new mission: to fly to planet Caesar (pronounce:
'say-Sar'), find the secret weapon that can annihilate the entire universe, and destroy it.
Intro: Tom Servo and Crow are having a spirited discussion about "The nature of puppets and their symbiotic relationship to man."
(
Crow): "So...Big Bird cannot be considered a puppet due to it's size and his/her/it's having feet." (
Tom): "Right! Once a puppet has feet it ceases being a puppet and becomes a costume." (
Crow): "But what about Topo Gigio? He had feet." (
Tom): "Oh, come on. When you get right down to it, Lamb Chop had feet."
(
Crow): "Okay, smart guy. What about H.R. Pufnstuf?" (
Tom): "Costume. Remember, feet plus inarticulated mouth equals costume."
(
Crow): "Well then, what about Yoda?" (
Tom): "Yoda was a humanly articulated floating armature creature using a series of radio controlled servos and air bladders..." (
Crow): "blah, blah, blah." (
Tom): "Okay, ya got me. I don't know!"
(
Crow): "What would you call Senor Wences, the ventriloquist who built a career out of talking to his hand." (
Tom): "I'd call that a cry for help."
Invention Exchange: The Mads slam straight into the invention exchange by presenting "Big Noses." Good for thousands of different uses.
(
Dr. F.): "Do I smell pie in the oven?" (
Frank): "Not in
this building!" (
Frank): Hey, now I can brown-nose myself!"
Joel counters by presenting the "Big Head." Joel is asked questions about his big head while Tom softly sings a catchy little ditty, "Who's that guy with the Biiig Head? Biiig Head. I'm talkin' Biiig Head."
Host Segments:
Host 1: Tom Servo is dead! Joel and Crow try to "bring our buddy back from the 'bone orchard'." (
Crow): "Hey Joel! Is the defibrillator the thing that looks like a vacuum cleaner, or the thing that looks like a battery charger?" Joel successfully resucitates Tom. (
Tom): "Joel! Crow! What the heck happened to me? Man, that was weird! I was walking down a long hallway. And at the end of it there was a bright light. And a kind man with a beard reaching his hand out to me, beckoning me. And he looked at me, and as I got closer he said... "Hey buddy! Can you spare some change? I wanna cup o' coffee!" Hoo,Hoo!" (
Crow): (shaking his head in disgust) "We should have let you die."
Host 2: "Hey, Kids!!! New, from the Star Force line of action figures it's Captain Joe! The boozing, brawling, bloated Bacchus 3 commander from the beloved Fugitive Alien series! Yes, he swaggers, he staggers and he even talks!"
Host 3: Joel, Tom, Crow and Gypsy sing a medley of their favorite songs from the Fugitive Alien series, which includes such standards as "They Tried to Kill Him With a Forklift" and "We Want to Stick It to Sandy Frank."
End: Joel and the Bots muse over the villian in today's experiment, which results in an exercise in designing the ultimate evil person. Joel reads two fan letters. Frank 'pushes the button' with his big nose.
Stinger: (
Ken): "Captain! I've got it fixed! It's all working again!"
Items of Note:
~ Joel wears the big head into the auditorium. When he drops it, you can see it kind of bounce and it doesn't make any noise when it hits the floor.
~ Joel forgets to carry Tom when they enter the auditorium after Host 2, but he goes back to get him.
~ In the End Segment, the Bots are reading 'Leonard Maltin's TV Movies and Video Guide'.
Personal Notes:
~ Crow and Tom look
good in their tuxedos for the Fugitive Alien musical medley.
~ Gypsy's 'Carmen Miranda'esque attire leaves something to be desired however.
~ I can't get the 'big head' jingle out of my mind!
~ I remember my friends and myself
sooooo looking forward to the 'Turkey Day Marathon'.
The 'Riffs':
~ (
Crow): "This is Sandy Frank. This is Sandy Frank on drugs. Any questions?"
~ (
Tom): "Uh-oh. Fugitive Alien II: Electric Bugaloo, The Heretic, Nerds in Paradise, On the Move, Citizens on Patrol..."
~ (
Joel): "Pink Floyd on the headphones. Set the controls to the heart of the Sun."
~ (
Ken): "Full thrust!" (
Tom): "No, not you! The engines!"
Pop culture references ranging from Rolf the Dog, Meow Meow Kitty, Kukla, Fran and Ollie, Spitting Image and D.C. Follies to Kid Power, Garrison's Gorrillas, Dave Clark 5 and Dino, Desi and Billy. A consistent but not superior effort. The 'Host' segments rule!
Rating: 2-1/2 "Kabuki looking Darth Vader type villians" out of 5.
"Keep Trading the Discs (and Tapes)"
The opinions expressed herein are those solely of the reviewer and do not necessarily reflect those of 'Jonja.net' nor it's owner. MST3K, it's characters and situations are copyrights and trademarks of Best Brains, Inc. and no infringement is intended.
We do reviews and updates of projects of Sci-Fi movies, television, and books. As well as Horror, Fantasy, Super Heroes, and Anime.
Please feel free to sign up and post your own comments. We would love to hear your opinions, and feel free to join in on our collection of over 1000 free flash games and compete with other users for the high score. We also have a great chess system that allows users to compete against one another online.
