Jan in the Pan

Jan in the Pan
Played by	Virginia Leith (film) Mary Jo Pehl (MST3K)
Firstappearance	513 - The Brain That Wouldn't Die
Latestappearance	616 - Racket Girls
Charactertype	Movie, Guest

Jan in the Pan is a former nurse who became a living disembodied head following a car accident.

History

Her story is dramatized in The Brain That Wouldn't Die, where she is portrayed by actress Virginia Leith. In the film, she is shown to be the fiancée of the semi-mad doctor/scientist, Dr. Bill Cortner. Following a car accident, Cortner spares her decapitated head from the wreckage. Taking it to his isolated laboratory, Cortner and his deformed assistant Kurt revive her using Cortner's "life-giving serum". She is left as a severed head, wrapped in gauze and surgical tape in a pan of the serum, attached to various scientific instruments.

When Jan revives, she is furious at Cortner for restoring her to life, demanind to be allowed to die. Meanwhile, Cortner begins to seek out a physically appealing woman so that he can give Jan a new body. At the lab, Jan argues ethics with Kurt and insults him. She learns to telepathically communicate with another captive, an earlier experiment of Cortner's who is locked in a dark room. When Cortner finds an appropriate body for Jan, she convinces the monster to break out of the locked room to kill both Kurt and Cortner. The hideous creature then leaves the burning laboratory with the unconscious girl, while Jan laughs maniacally as the laboratory is consumed by flames.

MST3K

Mary Jo Pehl as "Jan in the Pan"

The film was sent to newly-captured test subject Mike Nelson and the Bots as Experiment #513. After the movie, Jan appears to have a friendly conversation with Mike and the Bots. Unlike her depiction in the film, Jan is very friendly and personable, claiming her repeated pleas of "Let me die!" were nothing more than a phase she was going through. Jan now has a new found respect for life, a loving new husband, Jeffery, and a wonderful job as a door stop. She also has a sense of humor regarding her condition and is able to poke fun at herself. Crow and Servo continue to joke with Jan, until Mike unintentionally offends her.

Jan in the Pan makes another appearance along with many other visitors to the SOL during Experiment #614, where she laughs hysterically at Mike's impersonation of Urkel. She also performs as a stripper at Crow's bachelor party during Experiment #616.