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He's Charlie Chaplin without the dexterity.
- Crow T. Robot


Il Natale Che Quasi Non Fu is the 13th episode of the eleventh season of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and the 210th episode overall. It premiered on April 14, 2017.

The Movie[]

Main article: Il Natale Che Quasi Non Fu (film)

Santa Claus asks an attorney to help him thwart the machinations of a cruel landowner who wants to ruin Christmas.

The Episode[]

Host segments[]

Prologue: It's Christmas on the SOL and Jonah's trying to spread some cheer to the Bots with Christmas carols.

Segment One: Kinga is still anticipating her marriage to Jonah. For the Invention Exchange, Jonah offers the "Re-Gifter", a box within a box for those who like to keep on giving. Kinga's "Humbug FM" takes the holiday love out of the airwaves by replacing Christmas music with excruciating noise.

Segment Two: Jonah and the Bots take a hard, critical look at Santa Claus's outdated toy-manufacturing methods.

Segment Three: Fearing that they'll come to life and attack them, the Bots get Jonah to confront the film's creepy-looking toys.

Segment Four: Jonah and the Bots are visited by Santa Claus, who has to deal with having custody of the infantile Mr. Whipple in addition to his usual holiday work.

Segment Five: Similar to the movie, Jonah, the Bots, and the Mads open their presents to incredibly-stilted frame-by-frame scene progression.

Stinger: Santa and Mr. Whipple enjoy a loud and hearty laugh as they practice for meeting kids in the department store. "Hey Sam! This is fun!"

Callbacks[]

Obscure References[]

  • "Hey, are his parents the Smith Brothers?"
A photo of a couple in the background is reminiscent of the logo for the Smith Brothers brand of cough suppressants.
  • "Say hello, Riff."
This is one of the standard audience callbacks when handyman Riff Raff first opens the castle door to greet Brad and Janet in The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
  • "Fun? We hit a goose. It exploded all over us."
While inaugurating a roller coaster in 1999, supermodel Fabio Lanzoni was struck in the face by a goose which covered him in blood and feathers.
  • " Thanks, Eddie Haskell."
Eddie Haskell was a significant character on the television show Leave It to Beaver, as well as several revivals. He is notable for being overly polite towards adults while being sneaky and manipulative within his peer group.
  • "Children!" ..."of the night!"
This is a line from Bram Stoker's Dracula and is frequently used in derivative works.
  • "Santa jumped into the prototype of one of the first platformers!"
A platformer is a type of video game that involves moving around an area mainly by running and jumping on platforms, similar to how Santa jumps from rooftop to rooftop during the opening cartoon sequence. The Super Mario Bros. and Sonic the Hedgehog series are well-known examples.
  • "Santa found the warp pipe to Level 9!"
Another reference to Super Mario Bros., where the characters could get to new areas and levels by entering giant pipes.
  • "Doctor Who!"
Doctor Who is a BBC-produced science fiction series that follows the adventures of the Doctor, a time traveler, and his companions. The Doctor is from a race of humanoid aliens who can "regenerate" when their current body becomes especially aged or injured, resulting in multiple performers having played the role. Tom Baker is the actor most associated with the role, having portrayed the character for the longest period of time 1975-1981. His most distinctive trait is the comically long scarf he wore almost everywhere.
  • "I will gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today."
Catchphrase of the comic strip character Popeye's hamburger-mooching friend, J. Wellington Wimpy.
  • "The Trulov! My, she was yar!"
Paraphrased dialogue from the movie The Philadelphia Story, where Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn's characters discuss a boat he bought her as a wedding present. "Yar" is a nautical term for a vessel that handles easily.
  • "On the right, we see Trumbo, the drowsy, blacklisted Dumbo."
Dalton Trumbo was a Hollywood screenwriter who was blacklisted for several years during the "Red Scare" of the 1950s.
  • "And next to him is Scottish millionaire fowl, Scudge McDunk."
Irascible Scottish miser Scrooge McDuck is the uncle of cartoon legend Donald Duck (his younger sister Hortense is Donald's mother). He appeared, often alongside his nephew, in numerous comic book stories and is one of the main characters of the two DuckTales cartoon series.
  • "Omar comin'!"
On the television show The Wire, feared gangster Omar Little would announce his presence by loudly whistling "The Farmer in the Dell."

Behind the Scenes[]

MST3K Cast[]

Regular Cast

Guest Cast

MST3K Crew[]

Notes[]

  • The English language title for this film, The Christmas That Almost Wasn't, is referred to by Joel during Episode #422.

Goofs[]

Video Releases[]


Gallery[]


References[]

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