Mystery Science Theater 3000/Headscratchers: Difference between revisions

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* How does he eat and breathe?

*** The show's writers deliberately ignored the fact that, in the gap between seasons seven and eight, the crew had apparently travelled ''five hundred years into the future'', to 2525, a time when apes had become the dominant species on Earth.

** As mentioned in episode 1012, there was a silo and a feedlot on the satellite, though Mike never noticed them.

*** Farmwork was probably part of the "higher functions" that Gypsy performed.

*** I should really just shut the fuck up.

**** For Mystery Science Theater... THREE-THOUSAND!

* Why is "how he eats and breathes" even a question? When that bit's being sung (in Mike-era?), we actually see Mike ordering pizza (or something?) which is presumably the answer. Is the question supposed to be rhetorical?

** The questions predate Mike's intro, and they're just samples of the many things which you're far better off not worrying about. Also, he's [[That Just Raises Further Questions|ordering a pizza in space]].

** The mads were probably too lazy to cannibalize a VCR player to make a movie player that didn't have fast-forwarding. It would just be easier to shock Joel if he pull something like that.

** Alternatively, it was a cruel joke by the Mads: "Hey, they forgot that I can just fast-forward the mov- ahhhhhhhhhh!"

* Why doesn't Gypsy get to watch the movies? All the other three bots can watch, but she doesn't. Sexism?

** Hardly, it's by choice. Gypsy is responsible for all the higher functions and maintenance of the Satellite of Love, leaving her with little time to watch the movies (which, after all is a torture). However, she does watch the movie in Episode 412: ''Hercules and the Captive Women'', and leaves once she realizes how bad the movie is.

*** In this tropers opinion it got "better" lit, although perhaps more darkly, it was better lighting from a production POV.

*** The SOL got dimmer a little bit after Joel left and Mike took his place. My guess is that in-universe Joel may have been doing some minor maintenance around the SOL often, and since Mike isn't as great with this sort of thing, the lights stopped working mid-season 6.

* Why did the lovely Gypsy disappear in the later seasons? She was ''awesome.''

** She didn't. Gypsy was never a major character to begin with, and once the show became more plot-oriented there was less time for her.

** Maybe the SOL is bone-shaped as a [[Shout-Out]] to ''2001''?

*** [[Completely Missing the Point|But the satellite in 2001 isn't bone-shaped at all!]]

** [[Don't Explain the Joke|Although I probably shouldn't do this,]] I'll clarify the above: SOL = "Shit Outta Luck." Similarly, the ship being bone-shaped could be a reference to the crew's being, as [[Futurama|another show]] would say, "boned."

** According to a draft of [[The Movie]], Dr. Forrester explained that the original name was 'Satellite Orbital Laboratory', but Joel changed it just to annoy him. Way to stick it to the Mads, Joel.

* This one thing has always confused me: Drs. Forrester and Erhardt rocketed Joel into space in a massive satellite filled with conveniences, show him one bad movie per week (and give him the power to start/stop the film), and ''expect him to go insane.'' Anyone else see the problem with this?

***** But he was granted the ability to. It's not the Mads fault he didn't use it.

****** If he had used them they would have just forced him to resume like they do in several episodes when he puts off going in to the theater. There may be legitimate reasons for him to start/stop like commercial sign and bathroom breaks but now it's outta his hands...

** Plus, if he has other conveniences, then if he does go insane, they'll know it was the film that did it. It's a control, in other words.

* What's with all the subtle and non-subtle homosexual subtext within the show? I can't be the only person who sees it, as other people have remarked on it too.

** I'm not quite sure how the shadowrama (or whatever it was called) thing works but I suspect they used something similar to blue screen (I'll probably check later), thus if we could see through Tom's head we woudln't see a transparant ball we would just see the bit on the top of his head floating in mid air as the transparent ball would have the blue or whatever colour would be removed showing through it and thus the ball would go with it (I've seen this happen in other shows that used early blue screen or CSO such as the Tomrorow People), so I believe to avoid this they made a separate and completely black Servo puppet for the theatre (and I think I saw some earlier episodes where you could see through his head and it ''had'' disappeared, not entirely sure about that though).

** Ahem. To quote the episode guide:

** Both Servo and Crow were played by all-black copies in the theater segments of virtually all episodes. In a few earlier ones, however, Servo had a clear dome in the theater. It really didn't work that well; pure silhouettes are more effective and less distracting.

*** For the record: the theater Crow also "plays" Timmy in ''Fire Maidens of Outer Space'' and the theater Tom appears as planetarium Tom in opening host segment of ''The Skydivers''.

*** I like Tom Servo's response to that exact question in one episode: "It's because of ''physics''."

** Look at most of the questions above you...it might not bug you, but it will obviously bug ''someone''.

*** I'm not sure if it's bugged anyone,actually. The above questions are probably just riffing on the theme song itself.

* If Gypsy runs the higher functions and steering and whatnot on the SOL, what ran them before Joel made her? Was she made out of the parts that ran them, with Joel adding a personality? Was Joel supposed to take care of it all himself (which would admittedly be a bit easier if he was able to pause the movies)? Were the higher functions not supposed to be done at all, presumably killing Joel within a few days of his arrival on the SOL?

** And furthermore, if Gypsy has to steer the ship, she could easily fly them back to Earth? I mean, the Mads would find out, and landing would be tough, but still... and by the way, doesn't [[MST3K Mantra]] make this entire page null and void? Ah, fuck it, it's fun.

*** I always assumed Joel would have to regulate that sort of thing himself--that, or, put basically, the theme song doesn't say ''all'' his robot friends were made out of the start-stop thingy. Cambot, at least, would have to be pre-existing for Joel to contact the Mads.

*** Mike landed the SOL on Earth during ''The Horrors of Spider Island''. Twice.

**** He ''crashed'' the Satellite, as part of the "being in an airplane crash makes women helpless, sex-starved and murmur a lot" experiment.

* [[MST3K Mantra]] aside, how could you make what's basically a remote control out of the scraps the Bots were made of?

** It's established when Joel returns to fix the ship that he didn't build Gypsy. Notice she seems to be the only one of the 'bots malfunctioning when the ship starts going haywire. Also, the SOL ''is'' a satillite, so it probably doesn't have the ability to land.

** Forrester and Erhardt, like Joel, were fanatical inventors. It's not hard to see them making an overly complex remote with enough parts for two-to-four robots.

** Joel cannibalised the electronics from the movie control equipment (which probably did more than just start/stop the movie) for the robots brains and used other parts in their construction. Cambot was already on board, and Gypsy was built from the parts that were already controling the higher functions of the SOL.

** This demands [[Dark Fic]]. Make it happen, internet.

* Joel used the movie-controlling parts of the SOL to build the Bots. Wonderful, except how exactly did a Floralier flowerpot set, bowling pin, gumball machine, etc. allow the Mads to start and stop the movies?

*** So all the other stuff was just lying around? Or did the Mads take pity on Joel and allow him a shipment of miscellaneous crap with which to invent things?

*** IIRC, The Gizmonics Institute has an official policy of invention. The invention exchange isn't just something Joel and the Mads made up, it's an official (or at least traditional) part of working for the institute that all employees are expected to take part in, so the mads must've sent him some stuff up to use in inventions (which explains where he got all the stuff for his *other* inventions) that he used to make the bots.

* In "The Killer Shrews", why doesn't Cambot get a present?

** Perhaps he was feeling shy that day and turned himself off before he received his gift.

* One thing that's gotten on my mind lately; why couldn't Joel and Mike just worked together? I mean it'd be understandable if Joel had other commitments, but [[What Could Have Been|think about what could have happened.]] I even wrote a theme new theme song for the ocasion. What do you think?

 

''None too different from you or me.'' }}

 

''But their bosses didn't like them so they shot 'em into space.'' }}

 

 

''And we'll monitor their minds (La la la.)'' }}

 

''To make their robot friends.'' }}

 

''Croooow! (Servo stole my line.)'' }}

 

''[[MST3K Mantra|Just repeat to yourself: "It's just a show,"]]''<br />

''[[MST3K Mantra|I should really just relax.]]'' }}

 

''TWAAAAAANNNNG.'' }}

** Because if Joel hadn't left, Mike wouldn't have become host. Joel didn't leave due to a dispute with Mike, who he worked really well with--in fact, Joel even stated when he left that he felt Mike should have the hosting job. Joel and Jim Mallon, the show's owner/producer, had a dispute with regards to Joel's place in a potential [[Mystery Science Theater 3000]] film franchise in combination with Joel's desire to do other things and his discomfort with being in the spotlight.

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[[Category:Live Action TV/Headscratchers]]

[[Category:Headscratchers]]

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