MST3K 213 - Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster

213 - Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster
Air/Release Date	February 2, 1991
MST3K Director	Jim Mallon
Running Time	87 min.
Turkey Day(s)	November 28, 1991, 6pm
AKA	Ebirah, Horror of the Deep; Gojira--Ebira--Mosura: Nankai no Dai Ketto; Big Duel in the North; Big Duel in the North Sea; Ebirah, Terror of the Deep
Movie Director	Jun Fukuda
Year	1966
Cast	Akira Takarada Chôtarô Tôgin Haruo Nakajima Tôru Watanabe Akihiko Hirata Chieko Nakakita Peter Fernandez Hal Linden
Preceded by	212 - Godzilla vs. Megalon
Followed by	301 - Cave Dwellers

“	(Sea Monster rises from the water as a couple captured natives try to flee, James Bond- like music plays in background) James Bond is back as the spy with the biggest crab claw you've ever seen in your life! Double-O crab.	”
	- Servo

The Movie

Synopsis

File:GodzillaSea.PNG

Go Go Godzilla!

Some teenage boys and a bank robber on the lam end steal a yacht and shipwreck up on a mysterious south seas island where a totalitarian group has enslaved all of the natives. The teens summon Godzilla for help. Godzilla and Mothra (who have apparently signed a peace treaty) show up, and Godzilla battles the villains' giant crab monster Ebirah. After the villains' self-destruct device is triggered, Mothra runs an airlift to carry the natives away from the doomed island, and Godzilla jumps into the Sea before the island explodes in a nuclear blast.

Information

• This is the first film distributed by Film Ventures International to be riffed on the show. The entire opening sequence is even shown uncut as the SOL crew takes their time getting into the theater, reluctant to endure another Godzilla movie.
• Like most FVI films, the title sequence uses footage from a completely different movie as background. In this case the footage comes from the 1967 film Son of Godzilla.
• The dubbed voice of Ryota (the boat stealing teen) was provided by Peter Fernandez, the voice of Speed Racer, from the animated series and franchise of the same name.
• The script for this movie was originally written for King Kong called "Operation Robinson Crusoe", but Godzilla had to be substituted when rights to Kong weren’t available, which explains the uncharacteristic behavior of Godzilla's brief flirtation with Daiyo.
• This is one of the last Godzilla films to feature effects by original designer Eiji Tsuburaya.

The Episode

Host Segments

Joel reads to the Bots

Prologue: Joel reads the Velveteen Rabbit and does all the voices.

Invention Exchange (Segment One): Joel shows off his Mind Control Guitar (“All I gotta do is add the appropriate facial grimaces, wear spandex, and meet with the ladies after the show!”). The Mads play their squeaky Doggie Chew Toy Guitars

Segment Two: Joel explains the very fictional origins of Godzilla with the song “The Godzilla Genealogy Bop.”

Segment Three: Crow and Tom believe that Joel is suffering from space madness and was reportedly uttering Leonard Nimoy's name while listening to Nimoy's cover of the song "The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins." They think Joel’s models of famous earth structures made from found objects are further evidence of his mental decline. So they destroy the models for Joel’s own good.

Mothra visits the SOL

Segment Four: Despite Joel’s warning, Crow and Tom mock the Mothra twins, only to receive a visit from Mothra on the Hexfield Viewscreen! Fortunately, he’s a pretty mellow fellow. But later when the bots try to tell Joel about Mothra's visit, Joel won't believe them.

Closing (Segment Five): Joel teaches the bots about famous sayings that actors didn’t actually say. They look at some “Cool Thing” contest entries. The Mads briefly consider the possibility of reviewing policy and instituting a change to a less hostile posture toward the crew of the SOL, but it doesn’t go anywhere.

Stinger: The Mothra twins leads their followers in bowing down to their great insect god.

Guest Stars

• Gerry and Sylvia: Nathan Molstad and Robert Czech (uncredited)
• Mothra: Michael J. Nelson (voice)

Trivia

• The squeaky-toy guitar sound effects were provided by Mike Nelson, Jef Maynard and Alex Carr.
• Footage of Godzilla jumping off the island was reused later in Godzilla vs. Megalon which was featured before this one; Servo even appears to recognize the footage. (the scene was also used as the previous episode's Stinger)
• At the end of the Godzilla Genealogy Bop, Joel accidentally says Movie Sign (though he quickly corrects himself).

Callbacks

• “Rock climbing!” (Lost Continent)
• “You and your friends the only creeps in this place.” (Wild Rebels)

• “Linda!” (Women of the Prehistoric Planet)
• '"In 1971, a series of nuclear tests were done on Monster Island..." '(Godzilla Vs Megalon)
• "Is that the price, or is that your telephone number?!" (Ring of Terror)

Obscure References

• "A planet where apes evolved from man? I don't remember this place!"

Crow continually says this line and other plays on it as a failed attempt at parodying Planet of the Apes notable quotes before being hushed by Joel.

• "By the Power of Grayskull..."

A famous line spoken by Prince Adam as he becomes He-Man in the TV show He-Man and the Masters of the Universe

• "This must be for the seafood lover in us."

A parody of the advertising slogan for Red Lobster

• "You may find yourself living in a shogun shack!"

Joel is parodying a line from the Talking Heads song "Once in a Lifetime".

• "I'm hysterical... and I'm wet!"

A line spoken by Leo Bloom (played by Gene Wilder) in the film The Producers after having a cup of water thrown in his face.

• "I caught him kneeling in front a picture of Leonard Nimoy. He was burning incense and singing snatches of "The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins!"

Crow is referring to a very bizarre 60's ballad about Bilbo Baggins sung by Leonard Nimoy.

• "Hey! You got your backgammon in my money!" "You got your money in my backgammon!" -Joel and Crow

Joel and Crow parody the advertising slogan for Reese's Peanut Butter Cups .

• "It's a giant Video Toaster!"

The Video Toaster was a popular video-production computer system during the 1990s.

• "You want fame? Well, fame costs! And this is where you start payin'!"

Crow is quoting the 1980s Fame TV series.

• "Serpentine! Serpentine!"

A reference to the 1979 Cult Comedy The In-Laws

• "I'm Servotron, the destroyer of worlds!"

Servo is referencing J. Robert Oppenheimer , who is regarded as the "father of the atomic bomb". Oppenheimer remarked after the first atom bomb test at Los Alamos that it brought to mind words from the Bhagavad Gita: "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds." On the other end, "Servotron" may be a reference what Joel Hodgson named Tom after, which Joel claimed was a vending machine called Servotron

• "Love is like a butterfly."

A lyric from the theme of the UK TV show Butterflies, taken from Dolly Parton's 1974 number one country music song, "Love is Like a Butterfly ."

• "Jacques Plante; the early days."

Jacques Plante was a legendary ice hockey goalie, best known for winning 6 Stanley Cups with the Montreal Canadiens from 1953-1963 and for being the first goalie to wear a goaltender mask on a regular basis in regulation play. The joke is made when Ebirah (the titular Sea Monster) catches a thrown boulder in his claw, looking very much like a hockey goalie making a high, glove-side save.

• "Super, Super, Super City!"

A reference to the commercial jingle for Super City a failed construction set made by Ideal Toys in 1967. It's similar to Lego, but more oriented to buildings but proved too complex for children and small fingers and was removed from the market in 1968.

• "Let's do the Aqua Boogie!"

A reference to the Parliament song "Aqua Boogie".

• "Haven't we seen this before?"

Tom is referring to Godzilla jumping into the sea, which was reused (image-reversed) in Godzilla vs. Megalon. The scene was actually used as the stinger for the previous episode.

• "Sandwiches?" "Whatever did I give the wife?"

From a Monty Python sketch, where an incompetent police officer bursts into an apartment and attempts to frame the man inside by dropping a bag onto a table, and then pointing at it as evidence he has just "found". The man picks up the bag to see what is inside, and this exchange occurs.

preceded by: Season 1		MST3K Season 2					followed by: Season 3
		1990 - 1991
201	Rocketship X-M	1990-09-22	206	Ring of Terror	1990-11-03	211	First Spaceship on Venus	1990-12-29
202	The Side Hackers	1990-09-29	207	Wild Rebels	1990-11-17	212	Godzilla vs. Megalon	1991-01-19
203	Jungle Goddess	1990-10-06	208	Lost Continent	1990-11-24	213	Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster	1991-02-02
204	Catalina Caper	1990-10-13	209	The Hellcats	1990-12-08
205	Rocket Attack U.S.A.	1990-10-27	210	King Dinosaur	1990-12-22