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Edgar Rice Burroughs. They're really trying to spread the blame around.
- Tom Servo


At the Earth's Core is the 14th episode of the eleventh season of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and the 212th episode overall. It premiered on April 14, 2017.

The Movie[]

Main article: At the Earth's Core (film)

Abner Perry (Peter Cushing) - a British explorer - and David Innes (Doug McClure) - his dashing American patron - accidentally stumble across a subterranean world ruled by telepathic monsters. The travelers unite the disparate primitive inhabitants and help them secure their freedom.

The Episode[]

Host Segments[]

Prologue: The day of Jonah's marriage to Kinga has arrived! Tom and Crow give him their support, but it vanishes when Jonah introduces Growler, his new piano-playing robot.

Segment One: The Bots make their hatred for Growler very clear, as does Kinga for how no one is RSVPing to her wedding. The Invention Exchange features Jonah's "Permanent Temporary Tattoos", but Kinga stops Max from firing his "Rip Taylor Urn Cannon" under suspicion that he's actually trying to ruin the wedding.

Segment Two: The Victorian technology of the movie inspires Jonah to redesign the Bots in the style of Steampunk.

Segment Three: Crow dresses up as one of the telepathic monsters and tries to command Jonah to obey him. The result isn't quite what he expects.

Segment Four: Kinga is getting preparations in order for the wedding and leaves Max in charge. As Max frets over his torment of losing Kinga to Jonah, "Doug McClure" arrives to try and help Max with his misguided love advice to "be the alpha male". To this end, Max remembers the key to the creature's chamber he had found four episodes ago...

Segment Five: The wedding is moments away. Observers are filling the seats and even Grandma Pearl has somehow forced herself to attend out of what little affection she has for Kinga. All that remains is for bride and groom to say "I do". Before Jonah can stammer a reply, Max unlocks the chamber releasing Reptilicus Metallicus who seems to eat Jonah (to Kinga's great annoyance). Up in the SOL, after witnessing Jonah being eaten, the Bots apologize to Growler for their prior hostility (it's what Jonah would have wanted), and he takes it in stride. Back at Moon 13, Max sneaks out of the room, pushing the button to end the episode himself.

Unusual Credits: The closing credits feature a shot of an unknown humanoid figure (wearing what looks like the spacesuit Jonah was working on all season) walking slowly on the outside of The Satellite of Love. Additionally, some of the music played over the credits is solo piano (presumably Growler) rather than the usual Skeleton Crew music.

Stinger: A dinosaur is set on fire and falls off a cliff, landing in a big explosion.

Callbacks[]

Obscure References[]

  • "We really were hoping for more of a combination of Joel and Mike, which I think would be a lot like T.J. Miller."
Joel and Mike were the hosts of the earlier incarnations of Mystery Science Theater 3000. T.J. Miller is an actor and comedian. His on-stage persona might well be described as a boisterous slacker type. He's had roles in the films Yogi Bear, Our Idiot Brother, Deadpool (and its sequel), and was the voice of Fred in Big Hero Six. He co-starred on the HBO TV series Silicon Valley.
  • "The Doctor Who no one is tempted to cosplay."
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. In the mid-1960s, two feature films were produced starring Peter Cushing as a human version of the Doctor, Dr. Who and the Daleks in 1965 and Daleks – Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D. in 1966. Both films are considered to be non-canonical, and have become RiffTrax presentations.
Cosplay is a hobby whose practitioners attempt to recreate the appearance of a character from popular culture through costume, props, and make-up, as well as the character's behavior and mannerisms.
  • "I wonder if the conductor is Ringo Starr or George Carlin."
A reference to the PBS show Shining Time Station, which centered around the titular railroad station. A recurring character was the miniscule Mr. Conductor, who had magical powers used to tell stories to the children who hung around the station. He was originally played by Ringo Starr of the Beatles, but was later replaced by comedian George Carlin.
  • "Does this film have socially redeeming value?"
In The Muppet Movie, Sam the Eagle (who bears some resemblance to the creature Perry and Innes encounter) poses this question to Kermit the Frog during the prologue.
  • "It's Rocksteady! You want to shred em, boss?"
Said of a monster with a curved horn on its nose. Rocksteady is the name of a rhinoceros-human hybrid villain from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise. He usually works as a henchman for the turtles' archenemy, the Shredder, hence the reference in the second line.
  • "He's developing a silly walk."
Reference to the Monty Python sketch "Ministry of Silly Walks." A man meets with a government official to apply for a grant to create an absurd style of walking.
  • "Football practice!"
"Football practice!" comes from the horror movie Shocker
  • "It’s the Church of Castle Grayskull and Latter-Day Saints!"
Castle Grayskull is a location in the Masters of the Universe media franchise. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the formal name of the Christian denomination more colloquially known as Mormonism.
  • "I hope I get it!" ... "How many people does he need? How many boys? How many girls?"
Lyrics from the song "I Hope I Get It" from the hit musical A Chorus Line.

Behind the Scenes[]

MST3K Cast[]

Regular Cast

Guest Cast

Wedding Guests (Observers)

  • Patricia Adams, Mike Aronow, Kyle Bacon, Jordan Brown, Andrew R. Brunner, Nick Carlson, John Cookson, Jason D'itri, Larry Dunn, Zachary A. Forsyth, Tony Goggin, Dave Goldblatt, Spencer Goldrich, Jonathan Gorbach, Laura Gorbach, Ike Haldan, Jason Kirk Harder, Larry Hastings, Jeff Hill, Adam King, Darcy Madi, Guillermo Martinez, Juan Martinez, Colin McRavey, Andrew M. Minoff, Amber Oliver, Paul Denver Reynolds IV, Kathryn Rice, Joe Sherman, Ben Tobin

MST3K Crew[]

Main article: List of MST3K Crew#Season 11

Production[]

Goofs[]

Video Releases[]


Gallery[]


References[]

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