Dr. Laurence Erhardt

Dr. Laurence Erhardt
Played by	Josh Weinstein
Firstappearance	K07 - Gamera vs Zigra
Latestappearance	Short 13.06 - Cavalcade
Location	Gizmonic Institute Deep 13 The Pretty Lady
Charactertype	Regular

Dr. Laurence "Larry" Erhardt is a scientist from the Gizmonic Institute who worked with Dr. Clayton Forrester at the beginning of the "Mystery Science Theater" project. He went missing a short time into the experiment (between Experiment #113 and Experiment #201), but was later revealed to have gone on a journey of self-discovery that had "worked out real nice" for him.

Appearance and personality

In his younger days, Dr. Erhardt spoke with a high, squeaky voice, had curly black hair teased high, and wore thick eyeglasses. While working with Dr. Forrester, he made a practice of cheerily proclaiming "Enjoy!" after describing a horrible movie's plot or some other dire scenario. He would also cheerily reply "Thank you!" with Clayton whenever Joel or the Bots would label their invention as particularly evil.

In his later years, Dr. Erhardt's voice had mellowed. He attributed this to his being "less mad".

History

Little is known of Erhardt's past, except that he became a "mad scientist" while working at a zoo. He went mad when, in his own words: "...they promised me students, but all I got were monkeys! Monkeys! Monkeys! So I took off my wetsuit, dropped that hedge clipper, and walked out of that zoo forever!"

Eventually finding employment at Gizmonic Institute, he worked with Dr. Forrester to initiate the Mystery Science Theater 3000 experiment. Dr. Forrester and Dr. Erhardt launched Gizmonic Institute janitor Joel Robinson into space, where the pair conducted a series of experiments wherein they sent Robinson "cheesy movies" and observed the effects. During this time, they also launched several money-making schemes, including Clay & Lar's Flesh Barn, a restaurant.

Dr. Erhardt grew close enough to Dr. Forrester to be familiar with his love life and relationship with Kim Cattrall. He knew Dr. Forrester and Cattrall's daughter, Kinga, when she was younger and was at least familiar with TV's Frank and his son, Max.

Dr. Erhardt's last known photo (at the time)

Dr. Erhardt left Gizmonic Institute and the MST3K experiment under mysterious circumstances. When meeting Dr. Forrester's newly-hired assistant Frank, Joel asked about Dr. Erhardt's whereabouts. Frank held up a milk carton with Erhardt's picture on it saying, "He's missing".

Dr. Erhardt contacting Moon 13.

Years after he left the "Mystery Science Theater 3000" experiment, Dr. Erhardt visited Moon 13 in Dr. Forrester's old spaceship The Pretty Lady. He was more calm and relaxed, and stated that he had been on a journey of self-discovery. He also revealed that he had acquired Dr. Forrester and TV Frank's physical remains from the Gizmonic Institute and intended to fulfill Clayton's wishes of having his ashes scattered on Mearth while the song "Idiot Control Now" was played.

Dr. Erhardt (lower right) riffs a short with Pearl

Dr. Erhardt remained in contact with Kinga when she relocated to Moon 1. He agreed to use The Pretty Lady to bring one of the old hosts of the show from out of time. He grabbed the first one he found, which turned out to be a version of the Satellite of Love from the year 3000, piloted by Joel Robinson. Dr. Erhardt had a cordial interaction with Robinson but his voice briefly reverted to its former high-pitched tone when he became agitated.

Dr. Erhardt found himself assigned to riff the short Cavalcade with Pearl Forrester. Erhardt expressed an attraction to Pearl, but she warned him to keep his distance from her. This was apparently not the first time they had met.

Behind-the-Scenes

• Dr. Erhardt is portrayed by original cast member and writer Josh Weinstein, who was also the original performer of Tom Servo and Gypsy.
• Weinstein has stated that he adopted Erhardt's high-pitched voice to differentiate it from Tom Servo's deep voice, as well as the deeper voice that Trace Beaulieu was using for Dr. Forrester.
• According to Weinstein, Dr. Erhardt's name was inspired by that of Werner Erhard, the founder of Erhard Seminars Training, as a subtle jab at some other members of the Minnesota stand-up comedy community who were members of EST.
• Dr. Forrester and Dr. Erhardt first appeared outside the opening credits in episode #K06, during the show's original season on KTMA TV23.
• Dr. Erhardt was referred to in Episode #313 when Joel identified one of the spider's victims as resembling Dr. Erhardt. He joked "So THAT'S what happened to him!"
• The more than 28-year gap between appearances is the longest for any Mystery Science Theater 3000 character to date.
• Weinstein returned as Dr. Erhardt in Season 13, which included Erhardt's first time riffing in the theater.
• Dr. Erhardt's silhouette seen during the short Cavalcade does not include his signature voluminous hairstyle. He states that his crash helmet has given him "hat hair".