“ | Where does Coily fit into God's plan for us? | ” |
- Crow T. Robot |
“ | "C'mon! No one's that southern!" | ” |
- Tom Servo |
Squirm is the 12th episode of the tenth season of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and the 196th episode overall. It premiered on August 1, 1999.
The Short[]
- Main article: A Case of Spring Fever (short)
Synopsis[]
A man faces the consequences of wishing away the existence of springs.
The Film[]
- Main article: Squirm (film)
Synopsis[]
A small town in Georgia is overrun by worms.
The Episode[]
Host Segments[]
Prologue: The annual safety check on the SOL reveals that it's completely unsafe, and suggests an alternative use for HAM radios.
Segment 1: Pearl is happy! She organizes a fair at Castle Forrester, modestly beginning her quest for worldwide fair domination. She's not impressed by the Bots' prize pig, but she is wowed by some other offbeat attractions. There seems to be a lot happening on the satellite that Mike isn't aware of.
Segment 2: Testing the short's hypothesis that a hellish imp exists for everything in the universe, Crow wishes to never see Mike again. Mikey the Mike Sprite visits and shows the Bots a world without Mike, but they are unfazed by Mikey's powers, only wishing for Mike back so Mikey will go away. As soon as Mike is back, Tom wishes that Mike's socks didn't exist, and they find themselves beset by Mikesocksy the Mike's Socks Sprite.
Segment 3: Servo has contracted an extreme case of Southern Belle-ness! It's up to Mike and Crow to Yankee him back to his senses.
Segment 4 : Mike replicates the electrical experiment from the movie on his pal Emmett the worm. With delicious results.
Segment 5: Crow tries to poke fun at the gangly younger sister in the movie by way of his really tall platform shoes. It's not long before he realizes the drawbacks of this plan. Back at the castle, Pearl appears to have seriously misunderstood the allure of bungee jumping. Come to the fair!
Stinger: "You gonna be dah worm-face!"
MST3K cast[]
- Michael J. Nelson - Mike Nelson
- Mary Jo Pehl - Pearl Forrester
- Bill Corbett - Crow T. Robot / Brain Guy
- Kevin Murphy - Tom Servo / Professor Bobo
- Patrick Brantseg - Gypsy (credit only)
Guest cast
- Patrick Brantseg - Mikey the Mike Sprite / Mike's Socksy the Mike's Socks Sprite
Trivia[]
- In the DVD intro of this episode, Joel Hodgson admits this is the only movie featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000 that he paid to see in a movie theater.
- The film's director, Jeff Lieberman, was so angered by this episode that he wrote an angry e-mail to Best Brains expressing his disapproval of them riffing his movie, even going as far as to call them idiots. His DVD commentary for Squirm (also included on the film's Blu-ray release) includes multiple criticisms of MST3K and their treatment of his film.
Callbacks[]
- "It belongs to a guy named Al P. Yorick." (Hamlet)
- "The monster called Gamera is destroying the city."
Obscure References[]
A Case of Spring Fever[]
- "My Tamagotchi seems okay!"
- The Tamagotchi ("egg watch") is a line of digital pets from Bandai that was popular in the late 1990s.
- "This Edgar Kennedy one-man show is going good."
- Edgar Kennedy was a popular comic actor during the 1920s and '30s.
- "Merry Christmas, you wonderful old couch!"
- Paraphrasing George Bailey's line from It's a Wonderful Life.
- "It's a Zero!"
- The Mitsubishi A6M Zero is a Japanese fighter plane, heavily used during World War II.
Squirm[]
- "I want to play but I can't..."
- Mimicking the voice of comedian Gilbert Gottfried.
- "Roger!" "Ramjet!"
- Roger Ramjet is a comedic 1960s Saturday-morning cartoon about a super-heroic fighter pilot.
- "Ford to Fly Creek: Drop dead"
- A reference to a famous front page headline from the NY Daily News, "FORD TO CITY: DROP DEAD", related to President Gerald Ford declining to offer New York financial assistance.
- "Most bizarre freak of nature... oh, broccoflower!"
- Broccoflower is a hybrid of broccoli and cauliflower, resulting from cross-pollination. Broccoli and cauliflower (as well as several other vegetables) are selectively bred variants of the same plant species, Brassica oleracea.
- "Uh-oh, he's gonna get Dave Barry all over his head!"
- Dave Barry is a Pulitzer Prize-winning humorist who had a widely syndicated newspaper column until 2004.
- "The Jim Varney Library!"
- Late comic actor Jim Varney was best known for playing the character Ernest P. Worrell.
- "He's actually lost in the Wooley Swamp.
- "The Legend of Wooley Swamp" is a horror-based song by Charlie Daniels that is set in a swamp in the deep South.
- "I'm switching it to the all-'Philadelphia Freedom' station."
- "Philadelphia Freedom" is an Elton John song recorded in 1975.
- "...and the yam that looks like Lyndon LaRouche!"
- Lyndon LaRouche was an American political activist and perennial third-party presidential candidate, known for his bizarre, conspiracy-obsessed worldview and the cult-like movement that has grown up around him.
- "The Ford station wagon: Unsmall at any speed."
- A reference to Unsafe at Any Speed, a book written by Ralph Nader that was released in 1965, in which Nader criticized automobile manufacturers for failing to include more and better safety features in their vehicles.
- "Lowly Worm's Worst Day Ever!"
- Lowly Worm is a character in Richard Scarry's Busytown children's books.
- "It's Chuck Wepner's skull!"
- Chuck Wepner is a retired boxer who challenged Muhammad Ali for the world heavyweight title in a 1975 bout that loosely inspired the first Rocky movie.
- "Please, I need to get back into Gary Hart's closet!"
- Former Colorado senator Gary Hart campaigned for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988, but dropped out of the race after a heavily publicized sex scandal tarnished his popularity.
- "...John Birch Society literature..."
- The John Birch Society is a right-wing American political organization.
- "It's the skull of Mortimer Snerd!"
- Mortimer Snerd is a ventriloquial figure used by Edgar Bergen. Snerd has a big nose and a weak chin.
- "Rerun? Dwayne? Deedee? Shirley? Mama?"
- Servo is listing characters from the 1970s sitcom What's Happening!!.
- "Jame Gumb rents this shack!"
- Jame Gumb, a.k.a. Buffalo Bill, is the skin-suit-wearing serial killer in the novel The Silence of the Lambs and its film adaptation.
- "Kevin McHale, Cross-dresser."
- Kevin McHale is a retired basketball player who played for the Boston Celtics during the 1980s and early '90s. He is tall, slender, Caucasian, and has dark hair.
- "Manute Bol's sister, Susan Bol!"
- Manute Bol was a Sudanese-born basketball player known for his imposing height of 7'7".
- "Letters to Der Weise Engel"
- Reference to the novel and film Marathon Man. Laurence Olivier's character, former head of a Nazi concentration camp, was dubbed "Der Weise Engel" (the White Angel) by his prisoners, and at one point is recognized by several Jewish citizens in New York who cry out his other name.
- "This is for Rudy Boschwitz!"
- Rudy Boschwitz is a former Republican United States Senator from Minnesota who was defeated by Democrat Paul Wellstone in 1990 and then again in 1996. Before becoming a Senator from Minnesota, he was the founder and chairman of a plywood and Home Improvement retailer, Plywood Minnesota (the riff comes when Roger throws a piece of plywood on Mick).
- "We're out of Billy Beer."
- Billy Beer is a brand of beer that was promoted in the late 1970s by President Jimmy Carter's brother Billy, who was known for his love of beer.
- "Thanks, Hank Hill's friend."
- A reference to Hank Hill's friend Boomhauer from the animated TV comedy King of the Hill . The repairman's Southern drawl resembles Boomhauer's rapid-fire mumbling.
Memorable Quotes[]
A Case of Spring Fever (short)[]
- [the title is shown]
- Servo: Me? I'd rather have a case of Bass Ale.
- Gilbert: I hope I never see another spring as long as I live!
- [Coily the Spring Sprite appears]
- Servo [as Coily]: I anticipated your complaint!
- Coily: So, you never want to see another spring, eh? Okay, mister, I'll fix it so you get that wish!
- Crow [as Coily]: ...In HELL!
- [After Gilbert, a rather rotund man, wishes there were no springs, Coily magically makes them disappear from the world.]
- Mike: So, one clod says one thing and the whole world pays???
- Crow [as Gilbert]: No springs? I don't care. There's still butter and meatloaf.
- Coily: No springs [laughs]
- Crow: Oh, and no redemption, by the way.
- [Gilbert proceeds to leave his house for the golf game. He closes the door, but due to the lack of springs in the door lock, it bounces back open.]
- Coily: Hey! The door!
- Servo [as Coily]: I own your ass, fatboy! Get back here!
- [After Gilbert discovers he can't even operate his car without springs, Coily appears.]
- Coily: Noooo springs! [laughs]
- Gilbert: Awww, gee, Coily, I didn't realize what I was wishing. I'm sorry for everything I said. Can't we call the whole thing off? Isn't there anything I can do? Please let me take back my wish.
- Coily: [rubs chin in thought] Wellll...
- Mike [as Coily]: NO!
- Coily: Okay! I'll do it, just this once! But next time, be careful! Don't ever make that wish again!
- . . .
- [With that, Coily makes all the springs reappear into existence.]
- Servo: So Coily waited all eternity for this moment and he backs down almost instantly?
- [Gilbert notices the couch is full of springs again, which he pushes his hand on to make sure they're there]
- Crow [as Gilbert]: Merry Christmas, you wonderful old couch!
- [After his experience with Coily, Gilbert turns his golf game with his friends into a massive filibuster about the greatness of springs.]
- Gilbert: [After a friend makes a bad shot in their game.] Too bad...
- Servo [as Gilbert]: ...but if you didn't hate springs so much, that wouldn't have happened!
- . . .
- Gilbert: You see all spring action depends on elasticity: the ability of material to return to it's original form after it's been forced out of shape...
- Mike [as Gilbert]: ...by anti-spring extremists.
- [After several jump cuts and the end of the game, Gilbert's lecture is still going on, much to the annoyance of his friends and the MST3K crew.]
- Gilbert: I never realised until lately that springs have such a universal use. Why, there's springs in mousetraps, guns, exercisers, hinges, pogo sticks...
- Mike [as friend]: Guns, huh?
- . . .
- Gilbert: Why, it's practically impossible to name anything in which a spring isn't an essential part in one way or another! [inexplicably looks into sky]
- Crow [as Gilbert]: Hey, look! God has a spring!
- [Gilbert finally finishes lecturing his friends on springs as he pulls up to Joe's house.]
- Gilbert: Hey, Joe! Wake up!
- Crow [as Gilbert]: It's Coily's army of darkness! Look!
- . . .
- Joe: You and your springs! I hope I never see another—
- Gilbert: Stop! Don't say it! Don't ever wish anything like that as long as you live!
- [Gilbert looks down to see Coily the Spring Sprite materialize on his car seat. Coily cackles.]
- Servo [as Coily]: You'll be the first to die!
- ["A Jam Handy Production" credit is shown.]
- Crow: Jam Handy, reminds you to keep your preserves in a convenient place!
Squirm (movie)[]
- [The title SQUIRM appears on the screen.]
- Mike: Well, I don't know why, but okay.
- [Mike, Crow, and Servo all squirm around in their seats.]
- [the preface ends with "This is the story..."]
- Mike: [dramatically] Of a man named Jed!
- Servo [as Granny Clampett]: JEDDDDD!!!
- [Roger emerges and threatens our hero; after having had worms burrow into his face earlier.]
- Roger: You gonna be da worm face!
- Mike: No, you gonna be da worm face!
- [Mama Sanders and Geri get into an argument over Geri's "gentleman caller."]
- Mama: Alright, alright, I'll stop butting in.
- Mike [as Geri]: Mom, you don't even have a butt.
- Mama: I just don't want you to be too disappointed if he doesn't come.
- Crow [as Geri]: Mother! That's private.
- Mama Sanders: [in her exaggerated Southern accent] I never saw such a storm...
- Crow [as Mama]: I do hope Ashley Wilkes can get through.
- [Geri introduces Mick to her family.]
- Geri: Mick got off the bus and fell in the swamp! He's soaked clean through, even his suitcases.
- Mama Sanders: Well... well, you can give him some of Daddy's old clothes. They're upstairs in the trunk in the storage room.
- Servo [as Mama Sanders]: ...along with Daddy.
- [Geri wants to help Nick fetch some plywood for the windows.]
- Mick: No, no, no — you stay here. Your mother looks like she's about to crack. I'll be back before it gets dark.
- Servo [as Geri]: Mom cracked in 1953.
- [Partially worm-eaten Roger spies on the Sanders' home from outside in the dark.]
- Servo [as Roger/Stevie Wonder]: Isn't she lovely?
- [Geri's car bounces quite violently on a pothole]
- Servo [as Coily]: Noooo springs!
- [Mick stares at a worried Geri being rowed away by Roger, then turns and leaves.]
- Crow [as Mick]: Save the girl or go antiquing? Hmm... Antiques, here I come!
- [The movie finally ends]
- Servo: Please, folks, remember to worm your dog.
- Mike: And if you do start a worm farm, do not raise flesh-eating intelligent millipedes by mistake.
- Crow: And if you have red hair, do not mate.
Video releases[]
- Commercially released on DVD by Shout! Factory in November 2014 as part of Volume XXXI, a 4-disc set along with Jungle Goddess, The Painted Hills, and The Screaming Skull.
- The DVD includes a Turkey Day-style intro, an interview with Don Scardino, and a theatrical trailer.
- Scream Factory, a branch of Shout! Factory, released a special edition standalone Blu Ray of Squirm one month before the release of the Turkey Day Collection.
preceded by: Season 9 | MST3K Season 10 | followed by: Season 11 | ||||||
1999 | ||||||||
1001 | Soultaker | 1999-04-11 | 1006 | Boggy Creek II | 1999-05-09 | 1011 | Horrors of Spider Island | 1999-07-25 |
1002 | Girl in Gold Boots | 1999-04-18 | 1007 | Track of the Moon Beast | 1999-06-13 | 1012 | Squirm | 1999-08-01 |
1003 | Merlin's Shop of Mystical Wonders | 1999-09-18 | 1008 | Final Justice | 1999-06-20 | 1013 | Diabolik | 1999-08-08 |
1004 | Future War | 1999-04-25 | 1009 | Hamlet | 1999-06-27 | |||
1005 | Blood Waters of Dr. Z | 1999-05-02 | 1010 | It Lives by Night | 1999-07-18 |