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Maybe the real Things to Come were the Shapes we made along the way...
- Emily Connor


H.G. Wells' The Shape of Things to Come is the 10th episode of Season 13 of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and the 227th episode overall. It premiered on September 30, 2022.

The Movie[]

Main article: H.G. Wells' The Shape of Things to Come (film)

Synopsis[]

In the far-future, human colonists oppose a would-be dictator's plot to overthrow society.

The Episode[]

Host Segments[]

SparksRoast

Prologue: Growler and M. Waverly explore the moon in the Halftrax, a vehicle provided to them by Kinga. Emily supervises the robots' condiment taste test, but the 'Bots mock her for not realizing that they have no sense of taste.

Segment One (Invention Exchange): Max and Kinga struggle to assemble a piece of furniture. Emily presents the Roller Coaster, drink coasters on a track that take the beverages for a thrill ride. The Mads present their Corn Cob Turkey Holders, which enable the user to pick up and eat an entire turkey without touching it with their hands.

PodcastShapes

Segment Two: The SOL crew holds a roast for Sparks, the robot from the movie.

Segment Three: Emily hosts a true-crime podcast. Her guests are Tom and Crow, who also host their own podcasts (which are more concerned with current events and conspiracy theories).

Segment Four: Emily prepares to program the 'Bots to feel love. Tom and Crow are reluctant.

CrowPalance

Segment Five: Crow, mimicking Jack Palance, speaks slowly and with significant pauses. Kinga states her intention to copy the plans of the movie's villain, but she quickly becomes demoralized.

Stinger: A giant rotating holographic image of Omus addresses the heroes.

Obscure References[]

  • "Set course for 'I'm outta hee-eere...'."
"I'm outta hee-eere." is the catchphrase of Doug, a recurring sullen teenager character from the sketch comedy show The State featuring the comedy troupe of the same name.
  • "His glasses! He can't see without his glasses!"
A reference to a dramatic scene in the coming-of-age film My Girl, in which young Vada Sultenfuss disrupts the funeral of her dead friend because he is being buried without his eyeglasses.

Callbacks[]

Running Gags[]

  • Crow's "never had a dinner" joke construction during Host Segment Two is inspired by the comedian Red Buttons, who would use similar phrasing for his jokes at roasts and other events. Buttons appears in the film Viva Knievel, which later became a RiffTrax presentation.

Behind the Scenes[]

MST3K Cast[]

MST3K Crew[]

  • Associate Producers - Kelley Bard, Deanna Dolphin, Aaron Mastriani, Tim Posch, Ben Tobin, Robert Vashko
  • Line Producer - Clinton Trucks
  • Production Manager - Sarah Morisano
  • Consulting Producer - Elliot Kalan
  • Post Producer - Sevan Najarian
  • Editor - Wade Randolph
  • Assistant Editor - Chris Tenore
  • Director of Photography - Greg Gant
  • Production Designer - Gary Glover
  • Prop Masters - F. Woods Stevens, Anuardi Cantre
  • Costume Design / Fabrication - Caitlyn Carradine, Beez McKeever
  • Camera Tech - Nicholas Kramer
  • Lighting / Electrician / Board Op - Nate Sheffield
  • Lighting Director - David Thibodeau
  • Gaffer - Zach Van Heel
  • Grip - Matt Joffe
  • Teleprompter Operators - Raffi Berberian, Kevin Kearney
  • Audio - Brian Connor, Chris Cox
  • Set Costumer - Sarah Mitchell
  • Hair and Makeup - Prell Charusanti, Fre Howard Keck
  • Covid Compliance Officer - Teresa Beardsley
  • On-Set Covid Compliance Officers - Jennifer Belinsky, Christopher Cruz, Ramona Nicoletti
  • Lead Concept Artist - Mike Norton
  • Production Artwork - Jeff Delgado
  • Flatimation - Gary Glover
  • Puppet & Prop Fabrication - Monkey Boys Productions
  • Lead Fabricator - Dylan Pecora
  • Addt'l Puppet Fabrication - Puppet Garage, Russ Walko, Greg Ballora
  • Studio Managers - Tom Verdi (Rittenhouse), Marcus Irwin (Senovva)
  • Facilities - Robert Balmet, Gina Farina
  • Transfer Tech - Tom Van Sinden
  • EIC - Michael Rivas
  • Post Production Services by Midnight Kids Studios, Inc.
  • Post Production Coordinators - Tess Jackson, Penelope Orpe
  • Visual Effects Artists - Penelope Orpe, Chris Tenore
  • Post Production Assistant - Josh Olona
  • Post Production Picture Services - Lightwave Post
  • Colorist - Luke Cahill
  • Sound Mix - Madera Sound
  • Supervising Sound Editor - Hunter Curra
  • Re-Recording Mixer - Tom Boykin
  • Dialog Editor - Victoria Rose Sampson
  • Post Production Intern - Adam Thacker
  • Movie Time & Audio Editing - R Cubed Networks, Ryan Ritchey
  • End Title Coordination - Ican Askwith
  • End Titles by Endcrawl
  • Set PAs - Christina Delullo, Alfredo Samaniego, Emily Voelker
  • Art Sept. PA - Tim Weckerle
  • Prod. Office PAs - Melody Orellana, Josh Warner
  • Writers Film Formatting - Jonathan Dowdell
  • Transcription & Annotation - Diane Cooke
  • Script Formatting - Mario Weddell
  • Writing Room Transcriptionist - Louis Ryan
  • Opening Sequence Storyboards - Nick Diaz
  • Miniature & Flatimation Cinematography - Greg Gant
  • Additional Music Written, Arranged, and Recorded by Storm DiCostanzo and Paul Sabourin
  • Film Clearance - Shout! Factory Studios
  • The Original Mystery Science Theater 3000 Was Produced by Jim Mallon

Shout! Studios[]

  • Creative Services for Shout! Studios - Karie Stouffer
  • Business Affairs for Shout! Studios - Steven Katz
  • Publicity for Shout! Studios - Sarah J. De Brun, Tom Chen
  • Assistant to Bob Emmer and Garson Foos - Beverly Lund
  • Production Accountant - Sarah Morisano
  • Payroll Accountant - Sarah Morisano
  • Legal Services Provided by Cowan, Debaets, Abrahams & Sheppard LLP
  • Production Counsel - Frederick P. Bimbler

The Gizmoplex[]

  • General Manager - Ivan Askwith
  • Virtual Theater Development - Askwith&Co, SpookyLabs.co
  • Virtual Theater Design - Ivan Askwith, Gary Glover, Joel Hodgson, Nancy Ly, Mike Norton
  • Gizmoplex Head Writer - Tim Ryder
  • Gizmoplex Co-Producer - Lesley Kinzel
  • Gizmoplex Post Coordinator - Tess Jackson
  • Gizmoplex Editors - Erik Drake, Tess Jackson
  • Gizmoplex Website + OTT Apps - Vimeo OTT

Kickstarter[]

  • Coordination & Strategy - Askwith&Co
  • Backer Support - Ivan Askwith, Kathy Callahan, Dayna Cramer, Lesley Kinzel, Alex Lupica
  • Community Engagement - Ivan Askwith, Lesley Kinzel, Tim Ryder

Production[]

  • Like all episodes of Season 13, a live-streamed Premiere Event was held for Episode #1310, including commercial interruptions for Madvertisements.

Edits[]

  • Some introductory text before the credits has been cut and the credits are shortened.
  • A number of establishing shots and model shots throughout the film have been cut.
  • A brief sequence showing the moon crew reacting to the damage in New Washington has been cut, as has a sequence showing repairs being initiated.
  • A scene in which Caball and Smedley discuss Omus' back-story and the disruption in the supply of the anti-radiation drug has been cut.
  • A scene in which the computer Lomax advises Caball and Smedley has been cut.
  • A scene with Caball talking to Jason about Omus has been cut.
  • A sequence showing Smedley consulting Lomax about Caball's attempt to steal the spaceship and Caball subsequently sneaking onto the ship has been cut.
  • The sequence of the Starstreak taking off has been shortened, as has the sequence of Niki infiltrating Omus' headquarters and her subsequent escape.
  • The scenes of Caball and his crew planning to land for repairs and the subsequent land sequence have been shortened.
  • The sequences of Jason and Kim exploring Earth and Charlie's shack have been shortened.
  • A scene of Caball sending Sparks to help Jason has been cut.
  • The sequence on Sparks and Jason driving to find Kim and approaching the children's settlement has been shortened.
  • A scene of Kim explaining to the children that she would return for them has been cut.
  • The sequences of the ship taking off from Earth and the subsequent journey have been shortened.
  • A scene of Niki and her group evading a robot patrol has been cut.
  • The sequence of the ship traveling through the time dilation field and arriving at Delta 3 has been shortened.
  • Scenes of Caball and Niki's groups meeting and fighting a robot patrol have been cut.
  • Scenes of Niki's group infiltrating the Citadel have been cut.
  • Caball's discussion with Omus has been shortened.
  • The sequence of the robots fighting the humans has been shortened.
  • The sequence of Jason, Kim, and Niki escaping the Citadel as it collapses around Omus has been shortened.

Goofs[]

  • Just before the Invention Exchange, Max asks to see the instructions for the piece of furniture that he is trying to assemble. The name he says does not match the name on the pamphlet that Kinga is holding (but it is close).

Video Releases[]

Gallery[]

References[]


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