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MST3K Episodes, Season 2, Episodes directed by Jim Mallon

MST3K 207 - Wild Rebels

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“ "Here comes the sermon on the Gran Torino." ”


The movie

Main article: Wild Rebels (film)

A former stock car racer is recruited by the police to infiltrate an outlaw biker gang.

The episode

Host segments

Gypsy is depressed

Prologue: Joel shuts down the higher functions of the Satellite of Love so that Gypsy can speak about why she is depressed.

Invention Exchange: Gypsy finishes her talk with Joel so he can breathe again, but he's a little out of it from the lack of oxygen. The Mads demonstrate their Hobby Hogs for children who look up to bikers. Joel creates 3-D Pizza, based on 3-D chess from Star Trek.

Segment Two: Joel and the Bots talk about the intellectuals who rode motorcycles and started gangs. The Algonquin Round Table was known as Satan's Sardonics.

Joel sings Gypsy a song

Segment Three: The SOL crew makes a commercial for Wild Rebels cereal.

Segment Four: Crow and Tom Servo talk about Gypsy's talents, and Joel sings a song to Gypsy in the style of the film... until the other Bots jump him.

Segment Five: Joel is surprisingly chipper after the movie's dour ending. He cheers the Bots up by helping them make more fun of the movie, resulting in a party. The Mads are confused until Frank figures it out.

Trivia

Obscure references

  • "What's the extra E for?" -Joel, after William Grefe's name comes up in the credits. "The extra E is for extra--" "Uh-mm, ixnay!"
There was an infamous TV ad campaign on New York City cable during the 1980s for a phone sex line featuring "watersports". The number was 970-PEEE; their slogan was "The extra 'E' is for extra PEE!"
  • "Would you believe mildly infatuated? How 'bout a schoolboy crush?"
Crow is mimicking Don Adams' spy character Maxwell Smart from the TV sitcom Get Smart. A recurring joke on the show involved Max making some elaborate claim that would be met with incredulity, to which Max would respond with "Would you believe..." followed by further claims of diminishing impressiveness.
  • "I WILL kill you!"
An often-quoted line delivered by the actor/musician Sting in the 1984 film adaptation of Dune.
  • "We liked your early, funny stuff."
In Woody Allen's film Stardust Memories this line was said to Allen's character, a filmmaker whose career path was analogous to his own in real-life.
  • "...our humble chateau." "Your hat?"
In French, "chateau" means "house" and "chapeau" means "hat".
  • "You rang?"
Tom is mimicking Lurch, the hulking butler from The Addams Family. At at the time of this episode's production, Lurch was most-commonly associated with having been portrayed by Ted Cassidy on the 60s TV sitcom incarnation.
  • "Silly rabbi. Kicks are for Trids!"
This phrase is the punchline to an old joke. There are a few different versions, all of which lead to a variation of the Trix cereal advertising slogan "Silly rabbit. Trix are for kids!"
  • "Why don't you let the shotgun sing a song?"
Paraphrases a lyric from the song "Won't Get Fooled Again" by The Who.
  • "They gotta go past the LaBianca place."
Leno and Rosemary LaBianca were murdered in their house by Charles Manson and his "family" on the second night of their infamous killing spree.
  • "Wango!" "Ze tango!"
This is the opening line from the Ted Nugent song "Wango Tango".
  • "Leaves of Grass" "Trump: The Art of the Deal" "Mein Kampf" "The Speeches of Pat Buchanan..."
Referring to the possible titles of the books on the shelves. Leaves of Grass is a collection of poetry by Walt Whitman. The Art of the Deal is a business book "written" by Donald Trump (who was known as a real estate mogul at the time). Mein Kampf is a memoir by Adolf Hitler in which he delineates his personal philosophy (the basis for Naziism). Pat Buchanan is an arch-conservative speechwriter, pundit, and politician. Referring to Buchanan AFTER Hitler is a joke about Buchanan's far-right views. The joke takes on an unintended additional meaning in the context of Donald Trump's later political life.
  • "How long you been workin' on the David Duke campaign, honey?"
David Duke is a former high-ranking member of the white supremacist group the Ku Klux Klan. Duke later ran for office and tried to distance himself from his previous affiliation with the Klan (with limited success). The joke (and the previous one) are apparently inspired by the prominent Nazi paraphernalia in the biker gang's shack.
  • "They say the neon lights are brighter on Broadway."
A slight paraphrase of a line from the song "On Broadway", popularized by The Drifters.
  • "Celebrate the moments of your life with General Foods International...Ripple."
"Celebrate the moments of your life" was the slogan for General Foods lines of "International" flavored coffees. Ripple is a brand of low-price fortified wine.
  • "What is this The McLaughlin Group?"
The McLaughlin Group was a nationally-syndicated public affairs TV program in the United States that ran from 1982 to 2016. It was hosted by John McLaughlin, who moderated a panel of four pundits who would often yell at or talk over each other.
  • "We're booking you for impersonating Trini Lopez."
Trini Lopez is a singer and guitarist; Rod vaguely resembles him.
  • "They call me Mr. Tibbs!"
Spoken by Sidney Poitier's character in the film In The Heat of the Night, this line would become the title of that film's sequel.
  • "It's Joe Namath!"
A famous commercial starring Joe Namath starts with a slow pan up his legs.
  • "It's Marcia Brady, back from college and all grown up!"
Marcia Brady (played by Maureen McCormick) was the oldest daughter on the TV sitcom The Brady Bunch. She had long, straight, blonde hair that she typically wore parted in the middle.
  • "And she's wearing her man's Van Heusen!"
Van Heusen is a popular brand of men's shirts.
A reference to a long-running ad in Variety.
  • "Boss hog!"
A double-meaning joke, since "boss" can be used to describe something that is cool or impressive and "hog" is another term for a type of motorcycle (see Invention Exchange above), while Boss Hogg was the name of the heavyset antagonist (played by Sorrell Booke) on the TV adventure show The Dukes of Hazzard.
  • "Very interesting." "Hogan!"
Refers to two 1960s-era shows featuring characters in a Nazi helmet: Laugh-In and Hogan's Heroes (though Colonel Klink, the character whose catchphrase was "Hogan!", did not wear a helmet).

Behind the scenes

MST3K cast

Regular cast

MST3K crew

Production

  • Tom Servo’s regular head returns. No explanation is given.
  • This episode is very Gypsy-centric, partly being Joel wanted to give her character more depth, as she came off as a useless sometimes even buffoonish type. Her being in control of the higher functions of the ship gave her more purpose and also made the series less of "a boys club".
  • Doctor Forrester's motorcycle helmet is topped with the skull from a Masters of the Universe "Battle Bones" toy, still painted orange from when it was previously part of a Demon Dog.
  • Joel twice calls the theater the "Mystery Science Theater" – the first and last time he would do that on the show.
  • Gypsy’s second appearance in the theater; about ten minutes into the movie when somebody mentions Voyage to the Bottom of Sea.
  • This episode was ranked #100 among backers of the Bring Back MST3K Kickstarter in the Top 100 Poll.
  • Joel wears his teal jumpsuit for the final time this episode, but it will return in a cameo in the final host segment of Experiment #404.
  • Joel sports a goatee starting in this episode, lasting through The Hellcats.

Callbacks

  • "The driver is either missing or he’s gone." (The Phantom Creeps)
  • "How fortunate! Thees will seemplify everything!" (The Phantom Creeps)
  • "Is this Catalina Caper all over again?"

Movie Edits

As with most of the riffed films, The Wild Rebels had several scenes trimmed in order to fit within the desired time slot. Footage removed from this film includes:

  • The film's cold open, including the actual crash which is the reason Rod wants to retire from racing.
  • A scene in which Rod performs a song with the band at Swinger's Paradise.
  • A scene where the gun shop owner begins to wake up while Banjo and Fats are stealing ammo, and they violently knock him out again before leaving.
  • About a minute and a half of the fight between Rod and Banjo, which was masked by a commercial break.

Goofs

  • During the post-film party, after Cambot cuts the music and everyone quiets down, a balloon unexpectedly popped off-screen as Joel began reading a fan letter. It took them a second to react to the sudden noise, with Joel saying, "Oh, excuse me" before continuing to read.

Video releases

WildRebels.jpg

  • Digitally available through Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Vudu, and VHX.

Gallery

References

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