Mystery Science Theater 3000/Recap/S10/E07 Track of the Moon Beast

"The scene in which Johnny names ingredients in his stew quickly became a running gag and one of the writers' favorite moments from the series. Writer Kevin Murphy stated that his world-weary sigh of "onions..." made Johnny Longbow one of the "best" characters they've ever encountered."

—Wikipedia on Track of the Moon Beast

Can Paul be cured? Can Longbow save the day? Do we really care? No, yes, and no, respectively, but Mike, Servo and Crow prove that the whole silly affair makes for great Snark Bait. And don't miss a special performance from The Band That Played California Lady -featuring the talents of The Fish-Lipped Guy, The Eskimo and The Friendly-Looking Backup Singer- playing their #-1 hit "California Lady." Or do; whatever's cool.

Note that, rather improbably, this is actually the third movie the show featured about a guy named Paul turning into a monster, preceded by The Projected Man and Werewolf. Shares many odd similarities with Werewolf, in fact - guy named Paul, Southwestern US, Native American folklore, ditzy girlfriend...

Tropes present in the Mystery Science Theater 3000 presentation:

Are You Pondering What I'm Pondering?: After Longbow's slideshow presentation of the lizard myth:

Longbow: "I know what you're thinking..."
Servo: "I'm boring and my slideshow eats."

Does This Remind You of Anything?, Double Entendre: All of the allusions about Johnny Longbow.
- "She gets off the ground saying 'What happened?' a lot."
Hey, It's That Guy!: Mike spots Waldo in the crowd watching The Band That Played California Lady play "California Lady."
Hoist by His Own Petard: "How do you light your own back on fire?"
Mondegreen: The gang loves calling him "Longbone", with plenty of Double Entendre jokes.
Running Gag: Johnny's Stew and "California Lady" both get mocked savagely throughout the movie.
Sanity Slippage: After the prank (like in the movie) goes wrong.
Where Are They Now? Epilogue: Mike gives us a complete summation of the meteoric rise and meteoric-er fall of The Band That Played California Lady in a sketch parodying VH-1's Behind the Music.
- Also counts as a Crowning Moment of Funny.
- For the record, the lead singer was Frank Larrabee.
Wunza Plot: "He's a cop. He's a rabbi. They're cops. Except for the rabbi."