The MST3K Riff'erence Guide?

[Servo]

Howdy fellow MSTies,

Recently I have acquired the entire unreleased run of the show. Around this time I was also given as a gift the two Seinfeld DVD sets. On said sets is a feature called NOTES ABOUT NOTHING that pops up little facts about the show as the episode plays. While watching MST I gave pause to wonder how great it would be to have such a feature on the discs to explain the vast array of riffs and references. This got me thinking to a guide that fans could have with them as they watched their favorite episodes wondering just who the heck Lorene Green was or what is Crow talking about when he says: "Castaneda! I didn’t know this was going to be a musical.”

So, this gave birth to a project I began called The MST3K Riff'erence Guide. I began to break down the riffs by timecode on the discs, who spoke the riff and then a few sets of notes that would eventually be turned into larger explanations pertaining to the riff sighted.

I have now realized that this is a HUGE task for one person to do and at the rate I am going it'd take two years to complete. My goal is to have something out faster either in book form that the Brains might sell for the fanclub, a book to be published for fans or, finally, a website.

Yet, I got to thinking that this book should not be by one fan but should have the input of MANY fans. A book for the fans/by the fans. I, of course, would keep plowing away at episodes and would edit and peruse submissions by other fans. I'd like to keep the project organized and not have dozens of emails about a riff being from The Wizard of Oz.

In other words, I am looking for fans that might be interested in investing some time into this project or if anybody out there has already started such a project maybe we can combine our research and resources to create a Riff'erence guide for all fans of the show.

I can be emailed at [e-mail] or feel free to post ideas and such in this thread. I will check it periodically.

Cheers,

Andre

[Servo]

Here's an example of my initial breakdown of the riffs and such before the research begins to explain them in more detail:

MST3K Rifference Guide
101 – The Crawling Eye


Segment One
1:41: (CF): “Joely Polly pudding and pie”
2:00: (J,C,TS):”Amazing Grace”
2:14: (J,C,TS): Led Zepplin’s “Whole Lot of Love”
2:56: (CF): “Penal gland.”
3:15: (CF): “What’s this flower and who’s Rosanne?” (Tom Arnold’s tat)
3:19: (CF): “Sail on silver bird” ...S&G’s Bridge Over Troubled Water
4:03: (J): “...someday you’ll be ready for the Nobel Prize.” (TS) “Maybe for fiction.”
4:35: (CF) “Now we’re even closer to the atomic pile!”
5:05: (LE) “And worst of all it stars Forrest Tucker!”

Theater Segment One
5:34: (TS) “This must be a Paramount picture.” (mountain riff)
6:00: (TS) “...bad Cary Grant...”
6:36: (J) “Awww, he got that hat from Mike Nesmith” (Monkees riff)
7:17: (J)”...he’s from F-troop”
7:59: (TS) “Duncan, what a yo-yo!”
8:33: (TS) “Let’s see Gemini...Gemini...you’ll be attracted to a crawling eye. Leo’s figure prominently.” (Horoscope riff)
9:24: (J) “I am mount Svengali you will do as I say.”
9:47: (J) “Your Sergeant O’Rorke from F-Troop”
10:18: (TS) “It’s red dye #7” (spoken as actress drinks from flask Joel called “It’s only a prop”)
11:21: (J) “It’s Mr. Haney!” (Green Acres riff on actor Pat Buttram who resembles the actor on screen)
12:07: (J) “Hey look you guys they’re being followed by a movie.” (riff on rear projection to simulate driving)
13:25: (J) “What a lovely matte painting!”
17:48: (TS) “Hey, who’s the tomato!” (riff towards a 40s term for good looking women)
23:00: (J) “You could just get roller blinds.”

Segment Two
24:54: (C) “...more of a Julie Andrews quality.” (Sound of Music riff with the mountain in feature)
25:55: (TS) “Oh, maybe like Edna St Vincent Millay.”

Theater Segment Two
28:20: (J) “Hey it’s F-Troop.” (Tom whistles theme?)
30:12: (TS) “Meanwhile back at Danial Boone’s house.” (cabin in the shot riff)
33:59: (TS) “Rosebud” (reference to snow globe on the screen and Citizen Kane)
37:13: (J) “It was a bizarre dream and you were all there.” (Wizard of Oz Dorthey waking up)
37:17: (J) “Fannie Flagg and Groucho and Carl Sagan and it was a Dick Cavett PBS special.” Actors resembling the above listed.
38:05: (J) “He prescribed those for Elvis.” (riff on the pills)
39:59: (TS) “It’s Harpo.” (Actor resembles Groucho Marx)
41:39: (C) “Thumper, Fluffy, Bugs!” Crows rabbit refernece just before this (she’s chasing rabbits in her sleep...here’s some rabbits)
41:43: (TS) “Rico, Young Boy!” More rabbits?
41:56: (TS) “And Stasky” Tom says as the girl keeps saying the word “hut” as it sounds like Hutch.
41:58: (C) “Hut one. Hut two!” (army drill riff)
44:44: (C) “Two brothers will reach the senate. One will become president. Both will die.”

Segment Three
47:31: (C) “I hate it when she gets diode rash.”
47:38: (J) “Oh, Tom Servo, I think you are scratching on the solar collector cable.”
48:20 (C) “Hey don’t open that door, McGee!”Crow is referencing the old time radio comedy, "Fibber McGee and Molly". One running gag on the show was Fibbers over-stuffed storage closet. Whenever he'd attempt to retrieve something from storage, Molly would issue a warning and then you'd hear the resounding crash of items that spilled from the closet and onto Fibber.

Theater Segment Three
50:06: (J) “The hills are alive and it’s getting scary...” Joel sings to Sound of Music song.
50:25: (T) “The plane! The plane!” Tattoo reference on Fantasy Island.
52:20: (J) “All right?” “Z’all right!” (Señor Wences. guy in box routine?)
53:17: (T) “This will never replace Nintendo.”
54:36: (T) “Bozo the cloud.” (Bozo the clown riff)
55:48: (T) “Sagan knows.” In reply to characters question of “Who knows what is happening millions of miles our in space?.”
56:43: (T) “Like IU.” (Indiana University)
57:40: (T) Tom is whistling the theme form the Good, the Bad and the Ugly as the actor appears through the doors like in a classic western.
59:13: (T) “429 matches exactly. 429.” “I’m an excellent driver.” (Rain Man)
61:21: (C) “I need a drink. Maybe some formaldehyde. Hope they serve the dead here.”
61:42: (J) “Looks like Popeye.” Servo then does the famed Popeye laugh and voice.
63:04: (T) “I’m Popeye the Sailor Man. I got a guys head in my hand.”
62:40: (J) “There’s Ward Cleaver.” From Leave it to Beaver. (Joel says after seeing a Cleaver on screen.)
63:11: (T) “Here’s Johnny!” (J) “Wendy, I’m home.” – the Shinning.
63:27: (J) “Heyyy lady!” Jerry Lewis.
64:31: (C) “Norman, I told you not to bother the guests.” – Psycho

Segment Four
70:38: (T) “I know what you mean. Once I got hassled but a gang of really tough patuatary glands and you know how immature they can be.”
71:42: (T) “Now here’s something you’ll really like.” Rocky and Bullwinkle.

Theater Segment Four
74:15: (J) “It’s Bob Hope.” (T) “Hey there. Join me this week with Brooke Shields and Eric Estrada.”
75:22: (T) “The Cetz encounter.”
75:28: (C) “Young love...first love...” he is singing a Lesley Gore song called Young Love.
78:59: (C) “Mine eyes have seen the gory.” Parody of gospel hymn “Mine eyes have seen the glory”
79:18: (T) “Shaken. Not stirred.”
80:00: (T) sings “Shave and a haircut”
82:30: (T) sings “Here I come to save the day” – Might Mouse
84:51: (J) “Tora! Tora! Tora!”
85:09: (C) “I bombed the ship Arizona. Where’s Major
85:20: (J) “So that’s what it sounds like when eyes cry” Doves cry riff.
86:16: (C) “Kingsford eyeballs...” charcoal brand/maker.
87:30: (J) sings “I can see clearly now the rain is gone...”

Segment 5
88:06: (J) “And afterwards a borium power flush!”
88:43: (TS) “Imagine, you sign up that day for Kelly Temps...”
80:36: (G) “Richard Basehart.”

[vanhagar3000]

There are already quite a few guides started on this, but none of them are even close to being completed. So I say good luck to you. Also a little advice, if you need help look at the Esoteric Riff thread at the top of the board.

[Servo]

Van said:

There are already quite a few guides started on this, but none of them are even close to being completed. So I say good luck to you. Also a little advice, if you need help look at the Esoteric Riff thread at the top of the board.

Yeah, when I started my research I found a few sites but they, as you said, they are not detailed and/or a complete guide to ALL shows and specials.

I realize it is a daunting task but with a little help in the matter I am sure I'd like to say it could be complete by the end of year.

Well, here's hoping!

[kayleigh]

That would be one great book.

[Servo]

I WANTED TO ADD:

*I am not expecting folks to go and research every riff. I am mainly looking for help LOGGING the riffs again via timecode, what was said and who said it using the example above with brief notes about it should you know it.

*Bear in mind this will be time consuming as, generally, it takes me about 3 hours to log an episode.

*I am trying to record EVERY RIFF or what sounds like a riff, even the OBVIOUS. Names, places, products, quotes, songs...etc. EVERYTHING must be covered.

*People who want to help with the book must be aware of the above and not mind investing some time into the project. I'll do the bulk of the work and research but I need help with the logging of the riffs.

*Of course, ANYBODY who helps will be credited in full.

[Servo]

Anothe short example from Episode 102 or how I'm logging things:

Segment One
2:32: (CF) “Oh, great, get Ralph Nadar on the phone and then call Gary Busey” . . . after airbag helmet gag (accident maybe riff on the two?)
3:06: (CF) “Much like a chimpanzee scurrying across the plains of the Serangetti in fear.”

Theater Segment One
SHORT: Commando Cody and the Rocket Men from the Moon - 1
4:58: (TS) “Yeah, light oat...” (cereal riff)
4:60: (TS) “Hey look, it’s Pumpkin Boy!”
5:42: (J) “He’s the heavy. You can tell when the music swells up.” (heavy old Hollywood term for bad guy)
6:04: (TS) “Oklahoma 1934: the oil fields are a blaze.”
6:19: (J) “Hey look there’s a sale at Penny’s!” (riff on the store)
6:48: (J) “Who’s that guy mixing drinks?” (TS) “Professor Tom Collins.” (riff on drink)
9:35: (TS) “Nice shooting Lino!” (C) “Thanks Tyco.” (riff on maker of cheesy Toy Guns like the one used in the scene of men shooting at train)
11:21: (TS) “Jane, stop this crazy thing!”
11:40: (TS) “He was cleverly disguised as a Hersey’s Kiss.”
12:18: (TS) “All I need is a SparkMaster Play-set and I’m done.” (riff on toy maker of fake tools?)
14:14: (J) “And this is for Louis Pasture.” (inventor/doctor riff)
15:02: (C) “I didn’t know Jackie Gleason was in this.” Crow says while looking at a large shot of a very fake looking moon. This is a riff of the intro to the Honeymooners.
15:40: (TS) “He looks like Willard Scott.” Actor resembles.
16:26: (TS) “Yeah, and pretty soon I’ll be able to vote!” said after rather outdated remark made by woman on screen about “you’ll need somebody to cook your meals for you.”
16:32: (C) “Are the Dicks coming with us?” (riff on slang for detective/cops on screen)
18:23: (TS) “Hey triple word score! Is this a contraction? You can’t hyphenate!” (riff on Scrabble as it looks like the characters on screen are playing a board game)
18:49: (J) “Hope they have a HoJos.” (riff on old fashioned US eateries full name Howard Johnson’s)
19:31: (J) “Hey the moon looks just like Arizona you guys.” (riff on the rocky terrianne used in short to simulate the land on the moon)
20:04: (J) “One small step for man. One giant leap for iiiiieeeeeeeeeee!” (riff on famed moon landing lines)
20:15: (J) “Hey it’s either Ancient Greece or Vegas. Ceasear’s World.” (riff on the set that looks like Athens archetecture or a Casino in LV - collusium)
21:04: (C) “...ready to wear notions...: (a notion in this case has something to do with sewing and/or fabric/garments)
21:20: (J) “I am Orcon. This is my brother Zenon and my other brother Zenon.” (riff on character line from Newhart)
22:49: (J) “I wish we had one of them doomsday machines.” (riff on quote from Dr. Strangelove)

Segment Two
25:20: (C) “Crispy Critter time.” (riff on old failed 80s cereal)
25:36: (J) “Ahhhh, Lorene Green?” (riff on mighty voice?)
25:46: (J) “Ahh, the Clash?” (C) “Devo?”

Theater Segment Two
27:25: (C) “Castaneda! I didn’t know this was going to be a musical.” (riff on musical Diableroby Bill Graham on the writings of Carlos Castaneda.”
27:43: (TS) “Alfred Salazar, he’s a boxer isn’t he?”
27:58: (J) “I do think that Jose Li-Ho is the inventor of that cream sandwich though.”
28:14: (C) “This movie is the answer to Montezuma's Revenge.”
28:49: (C) “13 feet. Four inches. 1920 Olympics.”
28:55: (TS) “Toony! Ooo Oooo, Francis, ooo!”
29:19: (J) “Mexico, this is the city. My name is Friday. I carry a badge. I don’t need no stinking badge.” Dragnet and Treasure of the Seira Madre.
30:10: (TS) “Dr. Kildare Dr. Soles. Dr. Pepper.”
30:30: (J) “Isn’t that Floyd the barber?”
31:46: (TS) “...and the evil judge Robert Bork.”
32:08: (J) “Hey it’s Betsy Ross you guys.” Actress looks like.
33:23: (TS) “And then Zempire, master of the pan flute played.”
33:33: (J) “And then Ethel Merman opened with a song.”
34:32: (J) “Hey it’s a peruvian all-state representative.”
35:00: (J) “This must be one of the most boring rides at Disney Land...” (S) “Aztech’s of the Carraian?” Pirates riff.
25:27: (J) “Kinda’ looks like Dirtying Dancing, doesn’t it?”
25:29: (TS) “I’ve reached the end of my life and I’m waiting for the night to fall...” paradoy of Dirty Dancing hit.
35:38: (J) “Hey look it’s the jets.” (when native men on screen?)
35:48: (TS) “He’s saying live fast, die young and leave a good looking corpse. That was years before James Dean even existed.”

[Phantom Engineer]

One thing that helps get some riffs is just being an old guy. When I watch a lot of the Joel eps there are a lot of quick riffs that fly by that some of you "kids" might not get. The kind of things that if you don't know what they're talking about it might just seem like a random thing. Sometimes I feel like writing them down, as Servo has done, but it just ain't gonna happen. Too bad, some of you guys could benefit from my wisdom. And years.

[mightyjack]

I know this seems like a perfect project for me and this will sound funny coming from a guy who has esoteric references on his site and has generally analyzed many aspects of the comedy and its sources.

But I found the task almost of joy sapping in some ways. When watching an episode it's fun just to sit back and enjoy the ride. Discovering new jokes and meaning as you watch over the years.

I love our esoteric thread here, but I avoid sites like "Too Much Information". It's like my parents would say when I'd get something sweet and try to gobble it whole in excitement - "Slow down and savor it son"

So I'll take a pass, but hey, good luck on the project.

[GodoHell]

I often have this vision of MSTies turning into the likes of "Farenheit 451." Imagine a forestful of MSTies, wandering around, on first appearance looking like so many schizophrenics, but, upon closer inspection, reciting lines and riffs to themselves, each person being an expert on one particular episode, even going so far as to name themselves after said episode. "I am 'Time of the Apes.'" "I am 'Pod People.'" And, although I shudder at the thought of it, part of me also looks forward to the day it happens.

Today, I believe we have come one step closer to this reality.

Now, having had all my fun, I'll see if I can't help in some way. Don't do "Time of the Apes." I'll see if I can't grind something out on it. But don't count on me, either. If you don't see something in 3 months, it ain't gonna happen.

[Servo]

MightyJack said:

I know this seems like a perfect project for me and this will sound funny coming from a guy who has esoteric references on his site and has generally analyzed many aspects of the comedy and its sources.

But I found the task almost of joy sapping in some ways. When watching an episode it's fun just to sit back and enjoy the ride. Discovering new jokes and meaning as you watch over the years.

I love our esoteric thread here, but I avoid sites like "Too Much Information". It's like my parents would say when I'd get something sweet and try to gobble it whole in excitement - "Slow down and savor it son"

So I'll take a pass, but hey, good luck on the project.

I just like knowing everything like Phantom up there.

[Phantom Engineer]

GodoHell said:

If you don't see something in 3 months, it ain't gonna happen.

The anticipation is already killing me!

[Servo]

GodoHell said:

I often have this vision of MSTies turning into the likes of "Farenheit 451." Imagine a forestful of MSTies, wandering around, on first appearance looking like so many schizophrenics, but, upon closer inspection, reciting lines and riffs to themselves, each person being an expert on one particular episode, even going so far as to name themselves after said episode. "I am 'Time of the Apes.'" "I am 'Pod People.'" And, although I shudder at the thought of it, part of me also looks forward to the day it happens.

Today, I believe we have come one step closer to this reality.

Now, having had all my fun, I'll see if I can't help in some way. Don't do "Time of the Apes." I'll see if I can't grind something out on it. But don't count on me, either. If you don't see something in 3 months, it ain't gonna happen.

I'm basically preparing to gunning it on my own with anybody that wants to help being most welcome. Wanting help, really, was to speed things up and meet more fans etc. It's a hobby.

By the way: I am Manos: The Hands of Fate.

[GodoHell]

Servo said:

By the way: I am Manos: The Hands of Fate.

Do you have Torgo's theme going whenever you amble around?

[GodoHell]

phantomengineer said:

The anticipation is already killing me!

Ahhh, there's the Phantom, shinin' his love again...