Original air date: January 6, 1990
Joel's invention is a type of ping pong paddle you can use to juggle water. The effect is easy enough to figure out, although it's still neat to see it work. The Mads counter with Insect-a-Sketch, a rather brilliantly evil way of combining an Etch-a-Sketch with an ant farm.
This week's experiment includes the movie Project Moon Base as well as two episodes of Radar Men from the Moon. I think Best Brains had started getting bored with writing for the Cody shorts, because they started going out of the box this episode. Joel's use of the Batman-style sound effect words is actually pretty clever. It's too bad they didn't use them again.
Watching the same credits over and over again gets old, so during Chapter 8, Joel and the Bots make up a rather weak theme song. I'm not sure why they didn't cut out the credits, unless they just needed to pad the episode a little. Tom Servo hears "Atlantic City" and starts on the "Slowy I turn" Vaudeville routine. The problem is that the original bit is about Niagara Falls, not Atlantic City. Cody and his gang go back to the moon. They use the same footage; Joel and the Bots use the same jokes. While I read somewhere that The Crawling Eye had a "by this time my lungs were aching for air" reference, I must have missed it. But I definitely noticed it here. This becomes a recurring quote starting next season.
In the first host segment, Tom Servo pretends to be Commando Cody; Joel flies him around the console room. Crow is dressed as Krog, but can't really get into the act. I know this isn't the best host segment, but Servo is freaking adorable in his helmet and rocket pack.
The movie is Project Moon Base, a 1953 black-and-white sci-fi film about the construction of a moon base 20 years in the future. From what I have read from several sources, this was apparently the pilot of a TB show called Ring Around the Moon that was scrapped and later reedited with extra footage and distributed as a movie. The original TV pilot was written by sci-fi legend Robert freakin Heinlein, but Heinlein later disavowed the work.
The movie opens with some sort of spy agency looking to sabotage America's space station. The agency's boss, Mr. Roundtree (Herb Jacobs) directs his section chiefs to find a spy that can double for a scientist who will be flying to the space station shortly. A spy (Larry Johns) is found who can double for a Dr. Wernher, who will be setting off on a mission to look for a place on the moon to establish a moon base. Roundtree and his men intercept Wernher in his hotel room and replace him with their spy. The spy is instructed to destroy the space station by either setting off a bomb on the station or by ramming his transport ship into the station.
As the fake Wernher is taken through security, Gen. Greene (Hayden Rorke of I Dream of Jeanie fame) talks with Major Bill Moore (Ross Ford), who will be piloting the ship around the moon. The General takes a telegram from the President, which informs him that Col. Briteis (Donna Martell -- what a cutie!) will be heading the mission instead. Briteis was the first astronaut to orbit the Earth and Major Moore is still ticked about this, because it was supposed to be his assignment. Briteis was smaller and they needed to lower the weight of the rocket. Moore is assigned as co-pilot, which he balks at, but is convinced otherwise by Gen. Greene. Also... shocker... Briteis is a girl! There's a sign of progress in the future! Although in private everyone calls her "Bright Eyes" instead of "Brite Ice", which irritates her. While Col. Briteis is very confrontational with the General, which just doesn't fly in the military, Greene is very unprofessional in retaliation. He even warns that he's going to spank her, which is either sexist or a pick up line (I'm not sure which). So much for that progress.
Host segment two is a fashion show of ties from the future, based on the fact that in the movie, everyone wears a short tie. Servo starts off the show in the "hexfield body tie" from the year 4000. Joel wears the anti-gravi-tie. Crow wears a tie from the year 9000 that can clean up after it's wearer. Servo returns in tie that can lengthen and shorten based on the whims of the fashion elite.
General Greene gives a interview to magazine journalist Polly Prattles (Barbara Morrison) and... wait a second. "Prattles"? "Briteis"? What horrible names. Heinlein or someone else on the production team really seems to hate women. Anyway, Greene is giving an interview, and as he describes the space station, it appears obvious based on his stop-and-start tone that he really doesn't understand what he's talking about. Joel holds up cue cards to help out. The film's writers do a good job of describing how orbit and weightlessness works, but uses the term "freefall" incorrectly.
We get our second saucy joke of the episode when Joel starts imitating porn guitar as the ship docks with the space station. The special effects in this movie really aren't that bad. Split screen is used when people in the space station are walking on the floor and ceiling at the same time. The effect is obvious (at least in 2014), but it's at least nicely accomplished.
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| Once upon a time, she was falling in love. Now she's only falling apart. |
The third host segment is a first season classic - SPACOM! Use it for everything from rust removal to a afternoon snack. The color change affect is kind of cheesy, but the bit in general is priceless.
Due to the spy attempting to take over the ship, they must make an emergency landing on the lunar surface. They land successfully, but do not have the necessary fuel to return to the space station. During this part of the movie, there are a lot of sound effects involving puffs of air escaping (from somewhere). Joel and the Bots milk it for all it's worth with fart jokes. I know it's lowbrow, but I laughed because I have the the sense of humor of a 12 year old boy.
Since they landed on the dark side of the moon, Major Moore and the spy (who turns over a new leaf) head out of the ship in order to set up a radio relay to be able to contact the space station. Moore sets up the relay and on the way back down a small hill, the spy falls and is killed. I'm not sure I buy this -- it's wasn't very high up and the Moon is only 1/6th the gravity of Earth.
Moore barely makes it back to the ship before running out of air. He lies unconscious for five hours will Briteis attempts to make radio contact with SPACOM. When Moore awakens, he tells Briteis to switch to channel three, which works. Not sure why she didn't try that herself, but, whatever. Briteis informs SPACOM of their situation, which is quite a surprise. General Greene calls back, and informs Moore and Briteis that they are now a moon base. They need to ration their food for 10 days until they more supplies can be brought in. General Greene orders Briteis to leave the room, and suggests to Moore that he should propose to Briteis. The President thinks it seems unseemly to have the two of them living together on the makeshift base by themselves for weeks if not months. Fortunately, Moore has had feelings for Briteis this whole time. Seriously, that's the plan. They should get married. Remember that "progress" I talked about earlier? Yeah, never mind that.
Briteis hears the whole conversation and apparently likes the idea, but Moore chickens out (the wuss!). SPACOM sends a drone rocket with materials to Moore and Briteis. They make the "It's a V2, he could have had a V8" joke for the second time this season.
At some point off screen, Moore does propose to Briteis. They are married by General Greene and are then contacted by the President, who is also a woman. Okay, maybe there has been some progress. Moore is promoted to Brigadier General and put in charge of the base. This makes Moore now a higher rank than his wife, Briteis (\Moore? Moore-Briteis?), and that's how the movie ends. Joel and the Bots actually boo because the ending was such a let down.
Joel and the Bots read some letters, including a Christmas card. They must produce episodes rather close to the air date if they are reading cards and letters that would be about a month old at the most. Joel asks when they would be getting some color movies and Dr. Forrester scoffs.
A so-so episode. Not bad for season one. The SPACOM host segment was funny, and the riffs were OK. You can tell their are starting to get tired of Commando Cody (I know I am).
The film was release by "Lippert Pictures". Robert L. Lippert produced Rocketship X-M and Lost Continent, both of which are shown during season two.
Favorite Riffs: "Hey, that guy wrenched is back.", "He really socketted that guy.", "Ooo, he bench-pressed him.", "He hasn't been able to lift heavy bombs since his hernia.", "It's his radio flyer.", "They've got homicide doors on that thing.", "Spacom! Woodfill and meat substitute.", "She's absolutely ballistic!", "Look, the Grande Tetons." (that's the third saucy line this episode!), "That's one small step for special effects, one giant leap for our imagination.", "WMOON TV has canceled its broadcast day. We will resume programming at 7 a.m. And now, our national anthem.", "The President thinks, that's something new!", "How about an air mattress slathered in butter?" (Servo, you're a pervert!), "I love the smell of SPACOM in the morning. It smells like chicory."
This episode was included in the Vol 20 DVD set, and is also available on Amazon Instant Video, YouTube, Metacafe, and the Digital Archive Project.
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