|
|
Post by foxtrax on Aug 13, 2013 7:34:58 GMT -5
Even if you've only seen three or so episodes of MST3K, you're bound to have been wondering as some points, "What the heck are they referencing there?" They tend to do shout-outs to really obscure things quite often, obviously. But which ones really baffled (or still baffle) you the most?
The all-time king, at least according to the ACEG, is "They stole my keyboard!" from late in Gamera vs. Guiron. (For those not in the know, it was an inside joke; a disgruntled girlfriend actually stole Mike's keyboard.)
My own entry would be a riff that I can't even transcribe, from the first Gamera. After this Japanese guy gives a press conference about the Gamera attacks, the movie cuts away to a shot of an airplane touching down. Tom Servo quips, and this is just a rough guess because I don't actually know what he said, "But forget that now! Let's run to Rio with Lady Kazaan!"
|
|
|
|
Post by Monophylos on Aug 13, 2013 8:47:19 GMT -5
It's "Lainie Kazan" in the second riff but otherwise I don't get it either. It must be a reference to some TV show or stage role of hers.
Any jokes referring to places in and around Minnesota would go right over my head; many of them still do although a road trip to Michigan some years ago helped with my confusion. At least I know what "The Dells" are now.
|
|
|
|
Post by foxtrax on Aug 13, 2013 15:27:32 GMT -5
DISREGARD THIS THREAD. I just found the Esoteric References thread. This one is redundant. Somebody lock it.
|
|
|
|
Post by Mike Flugennock on Aug 13, 2013 22:15:39 GMT -5
It's "Lainie Kazan" in the second riff but otherwise I don't get it either. It must be a reference to some TV show or stage role of hers. Any jokes referring to places in and around Minnesota would go right over my head; many of them still do although a road trip to Michigan some years ago helped with my confusion. At least I know what "The Dells" are now. Are you talking about the riff name-checking Lanie Kazan that Servo delivers in this kind of exaggerated English accent? Servo is imitating the delivery of a guy named Robin Leach, who used to host a really tacky TV show called Lifestyles Of The Rich And Famous in the 1980s. |
|
|
|
Post by Mr. Atari on Aug 14, 2013 0:58:55 GMT -5
DISREGARD THIS THREAD. I just found the Esoteric References thread. This one is redundant. Somebody lock it. I'm going to allow it. Telling stories of riffs that went over your head and then learning what they're about is good discussion; and slightly different than merely asking others on the board what they mean. This happens to me all the time when I'm watching episodes with Mrs. Atari in the room. She's ambivalent about MST, and will rarely watch a full episode with me. She is, however, a HUGE fan of musicals. So whenever there's a riff (usually from Servo or Mike) that is a reference to West Side Story or Oklahoma or some such, I'll miss it completely. Often, Mrs. A will overhear it and let out a chuckle. Also, she grew up in Wisconsin, and catches every local joke. While it's never enough to convince her to become a fan, at least it keeps me from filling up the Esoteric References thread with questions about The King and I or Stevens Point. |
|
|
|
Post by mrsphyllistorgo on Aug 14, 2013 14:37:16 GMT -5
In Angels Revenge during the final shootout by Peter's pool, Servo does the following quip: "Roscoe barked chow chow and I jump drilled his knickers."
I had NO IDEA what the hell that meant, until fellow board members told me it was a takeoff on hardboiled '30s detective fiction slang, but Tom did it in a cuddly, girly voice.
|
|
|
|
Post by vader on Aug 14, 2013 15:59:09 GMT -5
DISREGARD THIS THREAD. I just found the Esoteric References thread. This one is redundant. Somebody lock it. I'm going to allow it. Telling stories of riffs that went over your head and then learning what they're about is good discussion; and slightly different than merely asking others on the board what they mean. This happens to me all the time when I'm watching episodes with Mrs. Atari in the room. She's ambivalent about MST, and will rarely watch a full episode with me. She is, however, a HUGE fan of musicals. So whenever there's a riff (usually from Servo or Mike) that is a reference to West Side Story or Oklahoma or some such, I'll miss it completely. Often, Mrs. A will overhear it and let out a chuckle. Also, she grew up in Wisconsin, and catches every local joke. While it's never enough to convince her to become a fan, at least it keeps me from filling up the Esoteric References thread with questions about The King and I or Stevens Point. There are riff about Stevens Point? I've never heard them. I live in Point, so I would be sure to catch those. ALSO, Mrs. Vader just discovered a couple weeks ago that Joel was born here. I felt so smart since I already knew that. |
|
|
|
Post by Mike Flugennock on Aug 14, 2013 19:29:37 GMT -5
I was totally mystified -- as it were -- by the Fleet Farm jokes until I was in Minnesota for a few days for a friend's wedding. The post-rehearsal party was in a bar in Elk River, where the wedding was held, about an hour out of Minneapolis. My friend and I were hanging at the bar, knocking down some beers and watching a Twins game, when they went to a station break and a commercial for Fleet Farm -- a maker of utilitarian farm/work clothes -- came on. I had to fight my spontaneous giggling so the other folks at the bar wouldn't think I was weird or something.
Still, I don't quite get the jokes about some kind of afternoon movie on a local (Chicago?) TV station where they sing the theme music. There's also that one host segment bit in Teenagers From Outer Space where they eject the snacks into space; the candy bars drift towards a big waste can while a couple of big pieces of popcorn dance in space while J&TB sing this dramatic music and Crow says "...there is no smoking in this auditorium...!" Was that a pre-movie "bumper" for a Midwestern local theater chain...? The bit's really hilarious, but the reference just kind of blows right by me.
|
|
|
|
Post by Mr. Atari on Aug 14, 2013 22:13:21 GMT -5
There are riff about Stevens Point? I've never heard them. I live in Point, so I would be sure to catch those. ALSO, Mrs. Vader just discovered a couple weeks ago that Joel was born here. I felt so smart since I already knew that. I just pulled a random Wisconsin city out of thin air, I'm not sure if there are any Stevens Point riffs. However, one of my favorite obscure Wisconsin city riffs comes from City Limits. Joel, noticing the post-apocalyptic setting, declares, ""Filmed on location at the new Mazomanie High School gym". We drive through the tiny town of Mazomanie every time we visit the in-laws. |
|
|
|
Post by Space Teens on Aug 15, 2013 19:53:57 GMT -5
There's also that one host segment bit in Teenagers From Outer Space where they eject the snacks into space; the candy bars drift towards a big waste can while a couple of big pieces of popcorn dance in space while J&TB sing this dramatic music and Crow says "...there is no smoking in this auditorium...!" Was that a pre-movie "bumper" for a Midwestern local theater chain...? The bit's really hilarious, but the reference just kind of blows right by me. That was the bumper for one of the big movie theater chains of the 70's and 80's. I forget which one though. It wasn't specifically in the midwest though, we had it in Seattle too. Every time you saw a movie at that theater during the 80's you got to see the candy flying through the air and that theme song playing telling you to deposit your trash. More than anything it is really just an old forgotten relic of the 80's. |
|
|
|
Post by Mr. Atari on Aug 15, 2013 23:40:54 GMT -5
It’s not a riff, but I would be very grateful if someone could explain the line “Is that stud coming?” from “Danger: Diabolik.” I’ve never understood it. There is no character named Stud listed in the credits on IMDB.com. To have riffs explained, please take it over to the Esoteric References thread. |
|
|
|
Post by crowschmo on Aug 16, 2013 21:53:55 GMT -5
I think the bumper was for Showcase Cinemas. I used to see it all the time when I went to the movies, back in the day.
|
|
|
|
Post by Who Let Servo Drive on Aug 19, 2013 13:29:09 GMT -5
There were plenty of riffs that most of us weren't expected to understand -- local references, references to the private lives of people who worked behind the scenes on the show, and other fun stuff. The thing about life is, you don't always understand everything, and you're not really supposed to.
My favorite local reference they did was the theme music to the afternoon movie that must have been shown when they were kids or teens in (I'm assuming) a local TV station in the Minneapolis/St. Paul ADI. Many of you are probably too young to remember this, but movies were less of a commodity when the MST guys (and I) were growing up. There was the movie theater, a movie once or twice a week during prime time, then reruns of older movies, usually in the afternoon and late at night on independent TV stations. Movies were more of a treat back then. I still remember the music to the local stations' afternoon and late night movies were I grew up, in New York City, like the Big Apple Movie on Channel 5 (WNEW-TV -- now sadly a FOX station), and it's always fun to hear them do that music, because it reminds me how nostalgic I am myself for those old days.
The movie would come on, your family would gather round the TV with chinese food. There was no pausing or rewinding -- if you had to go to the bathroom, you had to wait for the commercial! This might be your one and only chance to see this movie for years.... That's what that one mysterious riff reminds me of!
|
|
