Mystery Science Theater 3000/Recap/S07/E06 Laserblast

Film watched: Laserblast

Laserblast was featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000 in what would be the last episode of its final season on Comedy Central (before moving to the Sci-Fi Channel). As such, the episode itself was something of a series finale as the staff wasn't sure it would be saved from cancellation. It also marked the final appearance of Trace Beaulieu, who portrayed both longtime nemesis Dr. Forrester and the voice of Crow T. Robot.

The Mystery Science Theater 3000 presentation contains examples of:
"Mike: This is so Coleman Francis right now.
 * Aerith and Bob: "Good shooting, Xanthar!" "Thanks, Denise."
 * Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence: Mike and the 'bots become pure energy after reaching the end of the universe.
 * Continuity Nod: When some guys start chasing Billy in a small airplane:

Crow: "I'm Cherokee Jack!"

Servo: "Red Zone Cuba III: The Destruction Of Cherokee Jack"."

"Servo: "Leave the Bronx! You are ordered to leave the Bronx!""
 * Also:

"Mike: You can't do that! We've done everything you've ever asked! We watched every bad movie you sent up here!
 * In the opening scene, as the guy is wandering around the desert with the laser cannon, Mike calls, "Rox-eee!"
 * Cowboy Bebop at His Computer: The MST3K crew's summary of the episode claims that while shutting down operations on Deep 13, Dr. Forrester tells the SOL crew that the satellite will drift through space and probably fall into a black hole, while in the actual episode, he instead tells them that its orbit will decay in two hours, and Mike and the bots will die in a crash landing. Servo then makes the satellite drift into space himself, and that's the last the SOL crew hears from Forrester. The mistake is likely related to the staff having written the Season 7 summaries many years after the broadcast and trying to do them from memory, as opposed to the other summaries which were written during the show's production.
 * Expy: MONAD, a parody of Star Trek: The Original Series' NOMAD.
 * Fun with Acronyms: "Hey, Ford stands for Fix Or Repair Daily."
 * I Lied: After Forrester tells Mike and the 'bots he's going to cut the SOL loose, sending them to their deaths:

Forrester: Sorry. Buh-bye.

Crow: You said you'd let us get back to Earth!

Forrester: Did I say that? Hmmm. Well, maybe I did. What do you want? I'm evil!"

"Crow: "Tom... just back away slowly... very slowly... now RUN!!""
 * Logic Bomb: Subverted: Mike and the 'bots try to disable MONAD with one of these but it doesn't work. So they simply throw him out the airlock.
 * Mission Control: Mike takes on this role -- headset, coffee, cigarettes and all -- while walking the 'bots through changing a space baby's diaper.
 * Oral Fixation Fixation
 * Real Life Relative: Trace Beaulieu's father played the elderly Dr. Forrester.
 * Running Gag:
 * Based on the fat sherrif's resemblance to both Charlie Daniels and Hank Williams Jr., Mike and 'bots respond with a flurry of "Are you ready for some FOOTBALL?"s, and repeatedly singing bits of "The South's Gonna Do It".
 * Mike, in turn, tries to ask Servo just what the South is going to do again.
 * References to Leonard Maltin's 2½-star review of the movie, culminating in the 'bots spending the credits comparing the score to other movies in one of Maltin's books, coming to the conclusion that Maltin apparently considers Laserblast to be a better movie than Hannah and Her Sisters, Taxi Driver and Being There and as good as Unforgiven and Sophie's Choice.
 * Jokes at Eddie Deezen's expense, culminating in Mike and the 'bots urging for Billy to kill Deezen's character only to regret it when he finally does.
 * Jokes about Billy's unimpressive Seventies lifestyle and how familiar it must be for Mike.
 * Using Jim Carrey's catchphrases from The Mask when Billy turns green-faced and evil.
 * Sanity Slippage: Mike dressing as Capt. Janeway. Although s/he saves the S.O.L., s/he indulges herself with some "Proud Mary" afterward, Tina Turner-style.
 * Series Fauxnale: At this point, Comedy Central had canceled their run and they weren't sure about their future so they set this up to be a Series Finale. Fortunately, the Sci-Fi Network (now Sy Fy) rescued it from cancellation and gave it three more seasons.
 * Shout-Out: The final scenes with Dr. Forrester were a parody of 2001: A Space Odyssey
 * Road House
 * Star Trek: MONAD, Mike & the 'Bots falling into Trek mode when they take control of the Satellite of Love.
 * Star Trek: Voyager: Mike shows up in one sketch dressed as Captain Janeway. Things somehow drift into him singing "Proud Mary" in the style of Tina Turner.


 * A shot of a beach ball at a pool party leads to a joke about Rover.
 * Straw Critic
 * Styx
 * Thrown Out the Airlock: Happens to MONAD

"Faaaaar out!"