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in: MST3K Episodes, Season 2, Episodes with shorts, Directed by Jim Mallon

MST3K 206 - Ring of Terror

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“ Aw, she's the ginchiest. Life does begin at 40. ”
- Joel


The Movie[]

Main article: Ring of Terror (film)

A medical student must face his greatest fear as part of a fraternity initiation.

The Short[]

Main article: The Phantom Creeps (serial)

Chapter Three: "Crashing Timbers" - Dr. Zorka plots to protect the secrets of his destructive powers.

The Episode[]

Host Segments[]

MoviesignNOT

"Movie Sign!" ... Not!

Prologue: The Bots trick Joel with a fake movie sign.

Frankoperation

Human Operation

Invention Exchange (Segment One): Dr. F turns Frank into a giant Human Operation game board, while Joel presents Pin-Bolus and turns his inner organs into a pinball game.

Segment Two: The SOL crew presents the Old School, a college for the elderly based on the old-looking "students" in the film.

Hoover autopsy

Hoover autopsy

Segment Three: Joel demonstrates robotic anatomy for his class by autopsying "Mr. Hoover". The Bots are disgusted.

Segment Four: Joel dispenses RAM chips for naming good things about the movie, and the crew expresses relief, only for the Mads to drop a short on them!

Frank sings

Frank sings!

Closing (Segment Five): The crew complains about the short and the idea that Dr. Zorka would tempt a chauffeur to help in his world domination plans, which inspires Frank to write a song about this idea: "If Chauffeurs Ruled the World".

Stinger: "Weird. Yeah, I guess that is the word for it. Weird."

Obscure References[]

  • "'A Funeral', by Henry Gibson."
Joel impersonates comic actor Henry Gibson, who was a recurring actor on the TV sketch comedy show Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In. A recurring feature on the show consisted of Gibson somberly reciting peculiar poetic works.
  • "Hey, check it out, Bob Dobson from the Church of the SubGenius!" "The Almighty Bob!"
A reference to the parody religion Church of the SubGenius, whose figurehead is named J. R. "Bob" Dobbs.
  • "I'd buy Polaroid."
Crow's wish references the 1989 bid to buy out Polaroid Corporation by Disney shadow entity Shamrock Holdings, an unsuccessful move that nonetheless was profitable[1].
  • "Hey, Hank Ketcham's buried there."
American cartoonist Hank Ketcham retired from writing and drawing his comic Dennis the Menace in 1994. He did not pass away until 2001.
  • "I'm calling Betty White!"
The late comedian Betty White was recognized several times in her life for her charitable work for animal welfare.
  • "...1955." "...if man is still alive."
Servo quotes the hit rock song "In the Year 2525" by American pop duo Zager and Evans.
  • "Mommy! Mommy! Don't ever look at me!"
Frank is imitating Dennis Hopper in Blue Velvet.
  • "Centerville, a real great place to raise your kids up."
This refers to a scene from Frank Zappa's 1971 film 200 Motels when the musicians are strolling through a town during a psychedelic trip.
  • "Look for...the Union Label..."
Referring to a jingle from a series of old commercials for the International Ladies Garment Workers Union. One such commercial appears in the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special, which became a RiffTrax presentation.
  • "Hey, Lyndon LaRouche's brother! He just bought drugs from the Queen of England!"
Lyndon LaRouche was an American political activist and perennial third-party presidential candidate, known for his bizarre, conspiracy-obsessed worldview (such as his claim that Queen Elizabeth II was involved in the international drug trade) and the cult-like movement that grew up around him.
  • "It's Joe Franklin!"
Joe Franklin was a talk show host who had a New York-based TV talk show that aired from 1951 to 1993.
  • "What's the name of the book?" "Tropic of Cancer..."
Tropic of Cancer is an erotic novel by Henry Miller, one of several that tested American laws on pornography in the 1960s.
  • "It's like there's two separate personalities trying to gain control!" "Glen AND Glenda!"
Glen or Glenda is a semi-autobiographical drama film about cross-dressing that was written and directed by Edward D. Wood Jr., who also co-starred.
  • "She looks like the model for Resusci-Annie!"
Resusci-Annie is a lifelike mannequin used to teach CPR. A version would later appear in Episode #404.
  • "My legs are old...my teeth are grey..."
Paraphrasing a line from Monty Python's Life of Brian spoken by a "feeble" old man who hides Brian and his fellow members of The People's Front of Judea from Roman soldiers.
  • "...he's getting better."
Servo references a scene in the comedy movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail in which a elderly man pretends to be getting healthier in order to avoid being added to a cart of corpses.
  • "Let's eat!"
References the syndicated radio program by American comedy group The Firesign Theatre.
  • "These are baked yams. A Miss Karen Finley sent them over!"
Karen Finley is a controversial performance artist who once produced a piece entitled "Yams Up My Grannie's Ass".
  • "Rattle rattle rattle thunder clatter boom boom boom..."
This comes from a jingle in ads for the Car-X chain of auto repair shops.
  • "That's Randolph Mantooth behind the wheel there."
Actor Randolph Mantooth played a paramedic/ambulance driver on the action-adventure medical drama TV series Emergency!.
  • "EEE-Yeeeeeeeeesssss?"
Professor Rayburn's slicked-back hair lends to his resemblance to actor Frank Nelson, prompting Crow to mimic the catchphrase of his un-named characters on The Jack Benny Program. The character was exceedingly unctuous and often rude to Jack Benny.
  • "Gene Rayburn. When Stanley grabs his tools, he - blanks!"
Servo imitates a typical set-up phrase provided for celebrity guests to fill-in-the-blank on American TV game show Match Game. Its longtime host was Gene Rayburn.
  • "Hey, Morrison Hall. Break on through, dudes." "There's the door of perception over there."
"Break on Through (To the Other Side)" is a song by American rock band The Doors. Singer Jim Morrison had stated that the band was named after Aldus Huxley's book "The Doors of Perception".
  • "We shall begin..." "...the Beguine!"
"Begin the Beguine" is a popular song written by Cole Porter.
  • "I got a Grateful Dead concert to get to."
The Grateful Dead is an American rock band which has long used skeletons as part of its band imagery.
  • "Tell em Brunhilda!"
Brunhilda is a shield-maiden/Valkyrie from Norse legend. She featured prominently in the Richard Wagner Opera The Ring of the Nibelung, usually portrayed by a very corpulent woman like Rag Doll in the film.
  • "It's Divine, the early years!"
Divine was the stage name of performer Harris Glenn Milstead, who was famous for his heavyset drag persona featured in John Waters films.
  • "Let's see...'Become Jack Weston'?...No problem!"
Jack Weston was an American actor who usually played comedic roles (similar to Tiny in the this film) due to his heavyset appearance.
  • "What are you trying to prove?" "Energy equals matter?".
Joel makes an oversimplified reference to the famous mass-energy equivalence equation popularly known as "E=MC2".
  • "Grover's Corners, after dark."
A reference to the fictional town of Grover's Corners in the 1938 Americana play Our Town by playwright Thornton Wilder.
  • "I'm Dickens, he's Fenster. We're cops."
References the comedic antics in the TV series I'm Dickens, He's Fenster starring the late actor Marty Ingels and John Astin.
  • "Popcorn, Professor Rayburn?" "Yes, it is actually."
Riffs a repeated gag on the TV comedy series Police Squad! in which Detective Frank Dreben presents an item such as a cigarette as an offer to another character, saying the word as a question. The character always answers deadpan: "Yes, I know."
  • "Should you or any member of your IM team be caught or killed..."
Lewis reads his fraternity hazing assignment, prompting a recitation of the concluding phrase of episodic assignments given in the American espionage series Mission: Impossible.
  • "Billy, don't be a hero."
Betty protests Lewis going on a hazing assignment, leading to a quote from the hit song "Billy Don't Be a Hero".
  • "That's where Fred Mertz dropped dead."
References the late actor William Frawley, who played Fred Mertz on the TV sitcom I Love Lucy. He suffered a fatal heart attack in 1966 while walking along Hollywood Boulevard.
  • "Bus stop. Wet day. She's there. I say, "Please share my umbrella.""
Servo solemnly recites lyrics from the hit song "Bus Stop" by The Hollies.
  • "Kinch! LeBeau!"
Lewis scaling a wall at night prompts a reference to prisoner-of-war characters Ivan Kinchloe and Louis LeBeau on the American TV comedy series Hogan's Heros.
  • "Jimmy crack corn...and I don't care...(sob)..."
Lewis' growing apprehention while walking through a cemetery is riffed by a nervous quote from the lighthearted minstrel tune "Jimmy Crack Corn".
  • "Maybe Mister Lincoln can help."
The mausoleum's exterior is riffed as resembling the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.
  • "Cato? Where are you, my little yellow friend? Cato?"
Lewis' sneaking through doorways is compared to a running gag in The Pink Panther film series, where comic hero Inspector Clouseau instructs his Chinese manservant Cato to ambush him at all times as a training exercise.
  • "Reese's Pieces? E.T. must be on the premises."
Small pebbles vaguely resemble American candy Reese's Pieces, famously featured as bait for the titular alien character in the 1982 sci-fi film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
  • "S'awright?" "S'okay."
The opening of a coffin prompts a reference to the comic routines of the late Spanish ventriloquist Señor Wences.
  • "Listen you guys!....Alright! It's Procol Harum doing a sound check!"
Procol Harum is a British rock band known for experimental pop music and best known for their hit single "A Whiter Shade of Pale".
  • "Merv Griffin? What are YOU doing here?" and "Get that cat outta here!"
References to the comedy film The Man with Two Brains.
  • "Willis Cooper? That's Alice's dad, man." "No, that was Eddie Haskell."
Joel references an urban legend that actor Ken Osmond, who played character Eddie Haskell on TV sitcom Leave It to Beaver, had become a shock rock singer performing under the stage name Alice Cooper. Ken Osmond passed away in 2020.
  • "And Madonna has a new look! C'mon, vogue! There's nothing to it! Strike a pose!"
Character Jean Drew bears a resemblance to pop music icon Madonna, prompting a riff of her song "Vogue" in the voice of Bela Lugosi.
  • "Vandergrift Generator."
Crow pastiches a credit as referencing British prog rock band Van der Graaf Generator.
  • "...his scientific secrets. The Helsinki Formula."
Crow references a popular hair-loss treatment of the 1980s and 1990s, later found to be marketing false claims of its effectiveness in a suit brought by the FTC[2].
  • "Doctor Marley will be represented by the oboe."
The soundtrack is riffed as resembling the programmatic musical composition "Peter and the Wolf", whose narration includes keynotes of musical instruments representing story characters.
  • "It's a Necco wafer."
A spy disk is mocked as resembling a piece of Necco Wafers candy.
  • "Shakin' the bush, boss."
Zorka's movements while invisible are riffed by a reference to a pivotal scene in the 1967 prison drama Cool Hand Luke.
  • "That's Uncle Joe, he's a-moving kinda slow." "Here Stanley, take this."
A corpulent character is riffed as resembling both late actors Edgar Buchanan, who played Uncle Joe on the TV sitcom Petticoat Junction, and Oliver Hardy, whose famed comedic duo partner was Stan Laurel.
  • "It's Monk!" "It's one of the jazz murders!"
Joel references the serial killings attributed to the unidentified "Axeman of New Orleans", though late jazz legend Thelonius Monk himself had no obvious ties to New Orleans.
  • "...though whistleberries you must never taste."
Crow mimics Zorka, referencing a slang term for baked beans and the biblical story of "The Garden of Eden".
  • "I'll give you five dollars if you have a hard boiled egg in your purse."
References the many offers of payment for items randomly brought by would-be contestants on TV game show Let's Make a Deal.
  • "You think Monk's got it?" "Sure, he wrote "'Round Midnight", didn't he?"
Joel references the popularity of song "'Round Midnight" by late jazz legend Thelonius Monk.
  • "Don't smoke. Please don't smoke. I'm dead now."
The robot's domed head is riffed in the voice of Bela Lugosi for resembling the bald head of late actor Yul Brynner, who recorded a famous anti-smoking public service announcement to be aired following his death from lung cancer.
  • "Oil can. (muffled)"
Joel riffs the stiffly-moving robot by referencing a line spoken by character Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz.
  • "The Phantom Creep audiences are the greatest audiences in the world!"
Joel pastiches the episodic farewells by late actor Jackie Gleason to the live studio audiences who attended tapings of The Jackie Gleason Show in Miami Beach.

Callbacks[]

Behind the Scenes[]

Cast[]

Notes[]

  • Ring of Terror had several scenes trimmed in order to fit within the desired time slot. The end of the beauty contest (showing the two older judges voting for Alice Lund) has been cut, as well as a scene in which Tiny announces his vote for Rag Doll Milford (surprising the other judges).
  • This is the only episode of the series (to date) in which the short is presented after the movie.
  • This also the only national episode to begin with movie sign immediately after the theme song, though this is a prank by Tom and Crow. (See Episode #K19 for the non-national one.)
  • Servo still has his "haircut" from the previous episode. He's back to normal next episode without explanation.
  • At the end of Host Segment 3 Joel remains in character, calmly states "Movie Sign", and moves slowly out of shot.
  • Servo names two characters "Dumpy and Frumpy", then inexplicably says "Good one, Crow."
  • This episode was the first to air during Turkey Day '91.

Video Release[]

Ring of terror

External links[]


  1. ↑ https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-03-28-me-527-story.html
  2. ↑ "Court Order Brings to a Close FTC Lawsuit Against Makers of "Helsinki Formula" for its Baldness Cure Claims"
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