Recap / Mystery Science Theater 3000 S05 E17: Beginning of the End

Film watched: Beginning of the End

The episode is available in the Gizmoplex here, and on Shout! Factory here.

The Segments:

• Mike, Crow and Servo sing some old standards, but are interrupted by a lady calling from the Hexfield. Mike tries to clarify, but she still thinks that "Arnie" is there.

Segment 1

• Mike stealthily hangs up on the lady, much to Servo's amusement. For this week's Invention Exchange, the Mads present the re-comfy bike, a cozy recumbent bike, which Frank sleeps in. Mike, Servo and Crow show off their new playing cards, the Eight of Chris Lemmon, Todd and the Crow of Diamonds.

Segment 2

• Despite Crow and Servo's objections, Mike calls up the Mads. Dr. Forrester and Frank, when they aren't terrorizing the SOL with bad movies, act like a married couple. This gets Mike and the Bots really uncomfortable really fast.

Segment 3

• Crow shows off his new screenplay, Peter Graves at the University of Minnesota. Mike and Servo then get annoyed from Crow's redundancies.

Segment 4

• Servo shows off his locust themed stand up routine, but Crow and Mike are unimpressed.

Segment 5

• Mike and the Bots read some letters, including a postcard from members of the Kim Cattrall Fan Club. This leads to other postcards used with a plastic grasshopper as in Bert I. Gordon special effects. Meanwhile, The Mads duke it out with some manly boxing.

The MST3K presentation provides examples of:

• Absurdly Ineffective Barricade: Crow's assessment of a wooden sawhorse blocking the road.
  Crow: That wouldn't stop a kid on a big wheel!
• Ambiguously Gay: Forrester and TV's Frank when they don't realize the S.O.L. is on the line.
• Brain Bleach: After seeing Forrester and TV's Frank in disturbingly domestic bliss:
  Mike: (weirded out) So I guess we can call the Mads, then... but you know what? I don't think I'm going to do that for a while.
• Brutal Honesty: Crow's reaction to Tom's overly-cerebral locust stand-up routine.
  Mike: Wow, Tom, that... that really, really, uh...
  Crow: Sucked!
• Continuity Nod
  • When the Army initially encounters the locusts,
    Servo: What would Mitchell do right now?
  • "New Petition Against Tax again?!"
  • "I sing whenever I sing whenever I sing."
  • When Wainwright and Major Everett don gas masks after throwing the smoke bomb, Crow calls out, "Trumpy!"
  • During the fan mail segment, one viewer references Crow's love of Kim Cattrall.
• Department of Redundancy Department: Crow's screenplay about Peter Graves. Fifteen acts were devoted to reminding people that Graves went to the University of Minnesota.
  Servo: Crow, I'm not criticizing here, but were you worried about the redundancy factor or not or--?
  Crow: Well, I thought my point was important enough to risk that.

• Have I Mentioned I Am Heterosexual Today?: The Mads overcompensate a little, boxing and proclaiming it's the sport of MEN!!!
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: Mike and the Bots discover The Mads are these, resulting in a bit of Brain Bleach all round.
• Idiot Ball:
  Servo: Hey, Diane Arbus, why don't you take a picture?! You've got a camera...
• Inherently Funny Words: Tom gets a chuckle out of "Wacker Drive".
• Jaw Drop: Crow's reaction when Mike and the Bots interrupt The Mads' "Us Day". Mike helps Crow out and lifts his jaw back.
• Karma Houdini:
  Servo: Hey, this guy caused the whole thing! He should be doing time in Joliet!
  Crow: Nah, the grasshoppers ate Joliet.
• Kick Them While They Are Down: Frank does this to Forrester during their boxing match after the movie ends.
• The Mountains of Illinois: The MST3K episode is the Trope Namer.
• Nausea Fuelinvoked: Crow finds the bizarre transition effects in the credits to be this. Mike doesn't really help.
  Mike: Honey, do you think you could keep down some 7-Up and soda crackers?
  Crow: (gag) No...
  Mike: Some lukewarm pork?
  Crow: ...Blurgh!
  Mike: I'm sorry, I'm sorry...
• Noodle Implements: As the general asks what Wainwright needs for his proposed locust trap:
  Tom: A tennis ball, an accordion and a picture of Don Ameche!
• Officer O'Hara: Invoked by Servo during the riffing.
• Oh, Crap!: Forrester realizing the S.O.L. is peeping on him and Frank watching daytime TV and discussing weight loss.
  Forrester: Oh my God — Frank, switch on the game! SWITCH ON THE GAME!
• Overly-Long Gag: Crow being nauseated by the credits. By the end, Tom yells "One more time!"
• Parental Sexuality Squick: Mike, regarding the couple making out in the Cold Open of the film.
  Mike: You know, it might be sexy, until you think: It might be my parents! Oh my God!
• Running Gag:
  • "Yellow?"
  • Frank's signing.
  • "I'm Peter Graves."
  • "I'm Paul Frees''. And, later, "I'm still Paul Frees."
• Shout-Out:
  • Many towards the Chicagoland area.
  • Servo points out Norman Taggert's resemblance to Frank Nelson by letting out a "Yyyyyyeeeeesss?"
  • Mike refers to the Mads as "Benny & Joon".
  • As one of the locusts chows down on a hapless soldier:
    Servo: (evilly) "When you wish upon a star..." Heh heh heh!
  • "I know what you're thinking, grasshopper. Did I fire six shots, or--?"
• Soundtrack Dissonance: This is Albert Glasser, after all. "bum-bum-bum-BAAAAAAAAH-DAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!"
  Mike: She's got her car radio tuned to the Marching Band Station.
  Servo: Heheh. "All Sousa, All The Time."
• Stylistic Suck:
  • Servo's standup act is truly unfunny, scientific fun facts about the difference between grasshoppers and locusts done in the style of a stale White Dude, Black Dude bit.
  • Crow's Peter Graves at the University of Minnesota similarly sucks, too.
• Take That!:
  • When there is a news story about the giant locusts:
    Newsreader: The screech increases in intensity, until it reaches ear-shattering proportions.
    Crow: Sounds like Mariah Carey.
  • When they test the high frequency sound on a captured locust, one of them compares it to "a long Kathleen Battle aria".
  • When the high frequency weapon is deployed at scale:
    Servo: When Brian Eno ruled Chicago.
  • When the film cuts to a screaming crowd (because it's Chicago):
    Mike: The Cubs don't win the pennant! The Cubs don't win the pennant!
  • When Peter Graves assesses damage made by the giant locusts:
    Crow: Savages, worse than British soccer fans!
  • Then, as the characters consider nuking the swarm:
    Crow: "Hmm, no Chicago... well, why not?"
  • When Tom tries to get the others on board with doing his standup on late-night talk shows they try to talk him out of The Tonight Show and The Late Show with David Letterman. When he suggests the ill-fated show hosted by Chevy Chase, they're all for it.
• Technology Marches On: invoked Tom makes a reference to the Radio Shack computer, the Tandy.
• Too Dumb to Live: Invoked by Servo, when Audrey encounters giant locusts.
  Servo: HEY, DIANE ARBUS, WHY NOT TAKE A PICTURE? YOU HAVE A CAMERA!
• White Dude, Black Dude: Servo's standup is this to grasshoppers and locusts.
• Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?: Servo after Graves easily guns down one of the locusts: "Hey, I got it; we could just shoot 'em!"
• You Have to Believe Me!: Peter Graves invokes this at one point, prompting Servo to immediately follow up with a stream of panicked gibberish about "giant crickets".