Movie Summary
So, there's a giant deadly mantis, but no one figures that out for a really long time. It's painfully obvious that the thing doing all the destruction in this film is a giant deadly mantis, but these people are kinda vague. But, moving on. There's this mantis, and....well, that's about it, now isn't it?
Host Segments
Prologue: It's Business Casual Day on the SOL. Tom has made a set of guidelines, even though the others don't think the day is neccessary. Mike refuses to participate.
Segment One: Crow is questioning the guidelines for Business Casual Day. The apes are trying to fix a thermonuclear device for their mutant neighbors who chant. Mike knows that Earth will be destroyed and tries to get the Nanites to fix the ship, but they have to find Mike's work order. The bomb is detonated and Earth is destroyed, but the SOL escapes.
Segment Two: Mike and the 'Bots are trying to hold a semi-sincere funeral for Pearl, but it's not going well. However, they discover that Pearl is following them in the Widowmaker. Bobo has stowed away. Gypsy steers the SOL to safety behind an asteroid.
Segment Three: Mike and the 'Bots are all asleep at the wheel. They decide to turn on the radio, but all they can get are country stations.
Segment Four: Servo's driving the SOL and he runs right into a giant blue alien. Crow brings him on board, and the alien promptly eats him. When Mike and Servo finally get the alien to regurgitate him, he's pretty much digested.
Segment Five: Crow had made a tasty meatloaf out of the blue alien. Gypsy brings some mail from Peanut the ape, who was hurled back in time and is now cross-breeding with Mike's decendants. Meanwhile, Pearl's trying to be creepy and foreboding, but Bobo keeps interferring.
Stinger: The guys are drooling over "woman."
My Thoughts
This was the very first MST3K I ever watched. All right, I take that back. I believe I caught a few bits of the show before, but this was the first episode I watched in its entirety. Therefore, I consider it my first episode. If not for this episode, I would not be a MSTie today.
This was a frightening movie. It had no plot whatsoever other than a bunch of radar thingies spinning around and around and around and around. Oh yeah, and then there was that mantis. Never quite understood that mantis. What was his deal, anyway?
I have two favorite host segments in this episode. The first is segment 3, where they're listening to the country radio stations. That just kills me. The other is segment 1, with the cult neighbors. "Oh holy and almighty bomb." That makes me laugh every time. If I had to choose a cult, that would be the one to choose.
