“ | What scares me is they don't have showers. | ” |
- Crow |
The Movie[]

Hercules Unchained
- Main article: Hercules Unchained (film)
Hercules is asked to intervene in the fight between two brothers over who will rule the kingdom of Thebes. Hercules is waylaid by the seductive queen Omphale and loses his memory. He eventually remembers who he is and resolves the conflicts.
The Episode[]
Host Segments[]
Steve-O-Meter
Prologue: It's Wash and Wax day on the Satellite of Love, a fate worse than death if Tom and Crow are to be believed.
Segment One: While Crow is slightly more worse for wear after his go in the wash and wax, down in Deep 13 Frank and Dr. F's invention of decorator cockroaches gets an unintended boost from the star of today's movie "Steve Reeves". Joel's invention is the Steve-O-meter, which can tell if something's already been thought of by Steve Allen.
Segment Two: Gypsy constructs a set to allow her to show her to be the Hellenistic ideal, but her ability in playing a harp brings this into question.
Michael J Nelson as Steve Reeves
Segment Three: After partaking of the Water of Forgetfulness, Joel & the Bots try other foodstuffs and drinks which trigger other mental and emotional states: the Carob Shake of Pretentiousness, the Blizzard of Loneliness, the Fruit-Striped Gum of Stability, and the Green Bean & French Onion Casserole of Happiness.
Segment Four: Tom and Crow try to get Joel to explain what Hercules and Queen Omphale are doing all day when they're cuddling and kissing, but he refuses to divulge.
Gypsy's set
Closing (Segment Five): The SOL crew attempt to discuss why the Hercules series and other fantasy films became popular and the meaning behind them. In Deep 13, Steve is unable to provide any insight. Frank continues to gush over Steve.
Stinger: When Queen Omphale remembers the good times with Hercules, her eyes get very big.
Obscure References[]
- "The board game Blow Your Own Horn!"
- Tom seems to be referring to the board game Ego Trip:[1] "The Game That Lets You Blow Your Own Horn".
- "Unchained Hercules? Oh Hercules, my darling..."
- The title reminds Tom Servo of the song "Unchained Melody", popularized by The Righteous Brothers.
- "It's just like Super Mario World!"
- A reference to the Super Nintendo game Super Mario World.
- "This week on Genesis II..."
- Genesis II is a sci-fi TV movie written and produced by Gene Roddenberry (creator of Star Trek) that aired on CBS in 1973. It stars Alex Cord and Mariette Hartley and was intended as a pilot for a new series, but was not picked up.
- "Have fun stormin' the castle!"
- A line spoken by Billy Crystal's character in the movie The Princess Bride as the heroes ride off to storm the castle.
- "Oh-ho the Wells Fargo wagon--- c'mon everybody!"
- "The Wells Fargo Wagon" is a song from the musical The Music Man.
- "I'm Ralph Richardson!"
- Ralph Richardson was a British actor.
- "...I'll send servants and provisions." "And lawyers, guns, and money."
- A reference to the Warren Zevon song "Lawyers, Guns, and Money".
- "Heh heh...Just playin' Narcissus here..."
- Narcissus is another figure from Greek mythology. He saw his reflection in a pool of water and was so hypnotized by his own good looks he was unable to ever look away.
- "Headin' out to Eden... yea, brother!"
- Tom and Crow sing the first lyric of one of Adam's songs in the Star Trek episode "The Way to Eden".
- "This place looks like a Maxfield Parrish painting."
- Maxfield Parrish was an American painter who employed a grandiose neo-classical style.
- "Oh, they're taking him to the Tiki Room!"
- Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room is a Polynesian-themed attraction at Disneyland and Walt Disney World with variations at other Disney parks.
- "The Mighty Pavog (sic)!"
- The Mighty Favog is a Muppet character from the first season of Saturday Night Live.
- "Hey! It's Ting!"
- Ting is a Jamaican soft drink.
- "Jesse! Now Jerome!"
- Lyrics from the song "Jungle Love" by The Time.
- "Oh cool, it's like a Thingmaker!"
- The Thingmaker is a toy first released in 1964 that enables children to create their own monster figures.
- "I'm Big Jim McLain!"
- Big Jim McLain is a 1952 movie starring John Wayne.
- "It's twue! It's twue!"
- Joel is imitating Madeline Kahn's lisp in a scene from the film Blazing Saddles in which her character is delighted by the scale of her new lover's masculine equipment.
- "He's no fun, he fell right over!"
- Reference to a comedy album How Can You Be in Two Places at Once When You're Not Anywhere at All by The Firesign Theatre. The line "s/he's no fun, s/he fell right over" occurs on both sides of the record.
- "Peace on earth was all it said..."
- A reference to the 1969 song "One Tin Soldier" by The Original Caste. The song is probably best known as the theme to the Billy Jack film series.
- "Bend it! If you can't you'll convince me!" "If you can, you're Uri Geller."
- Uri Geller is a performer with reputed psychic and telekinetic powers, mostly demonstrated through the ability to bend spoons.
- "It's Madame Trousseaus!"
- Crow is mispronouncing the name of Madame Tussauds, the well-known wax museum located in London.
- "Hobbes, get off me!"
- Said while Hercules is wrestling tigers in an arena, this refers to the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes about a boy who imagines his stuffed tiger is alive.
- "It's the Smurfs vs the Skins."
- The Smurfs are a race of small blue creatures created by the Belgian artist Peyo. They have appeared in comics, TV shows and several films. The evil minions in the scene are wearing hats that resemble the Smurfs' signature headgear.
Callbacks[]
- "He hit big Jake!" (The Side Hackers)
- "He learned too late" speech from It Conquered the World.
- "Hi-keeba!" (Women of the Prehistoric Planet)
Behind-the-Scenes[]
MST3K Cast[]
Regular Cast
- Joel Hodgson - Joel Robinson
- Trace Beaulieu - Crow T. Robot / Dr. Clayton Forrester
- Kevin Murphy - Tom Servo
- Frank Conniff - TV's Frank
- Jim Mallon - Gypsy
- Alexandra Carr - Magic Voice
Guest Cast
MST3K Crew[]
TBD
- Here's where everyone else goes.
Notes[]
- This is reportedly Jim Mallon's favorite episode.
- Joel Hodgson has stated that his two favorite episodes are this one and Episode #507 - I Accuse My Parents.[2]
- This episode aired twelfth during Turkey Day '92 and 21st during the 1995 Midnight MST Summer Countdown, where it ranked 36th.
- The first episode of the The Mystery Science Theater Hour presentation has a longer take of Tom Servo crying at the end of the prologue (instead of the globe bumper), and a riff about the dancer's "webbed crotch" 44 minutes in, which was censored out of the common version.
Video Releases[]
- Re-released on DVD by Shout! Factory in February 2018 as part of Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume VII.
References[]
- ↑ Board Game Geek: Ego Trip
- ↑ "Cinematic Titanic Keeps MST3K Fans Afloat", Mondo Film + Video Guide
preceded by: Season 3 | MST3K Season 4 | followed by: Season 5 | ||||||
1992 - 1993 | ||||||||
401 | Space Travelers | 1992-06-06 | 409 | Indestructible Man | 1992-08-15 | 417 | Crash of Moons | 1992-11-28 |
402 | The Giant Gila Monster | 1992-06-13 | 410 | Hercules Against the Moon Men | 1992-08-22 | 418 | Attack of the the Eye Creatures | 1992-12-05 |
403 | City Limits | 1992-06-20 | 411 | The Magic Sword | 1992-08-29 | 419 | The Rebel Set | 1992-12-12 |
404 | Teenagers from Outer Space | 1992-06-27 | 412 | Hercules and the Captive Women | 1992-09-12 | 420 | The Human Duplicators | 1992-12-26 |
405 | Being from Another Planet | 1992-07-04 | 413 | Manhunt in Space | 1992-09-19 | 421 | Monster A-Go Go | 1993-01-09 |
406 | Attack of the Giant Leeches | 1992-07-18 | 414 | Tormented | 1992-09-26 | 422 | The Day the Earth Froze | 1993-01-16 |
407 | The Killer Shrews | 1992-07-25 | 415 | The Beatniks | 1992-11-25 | 423 | Bride of the Monster | 1993-01-23 |
408 | Hercules Unchained | 1992-08-01 | 416 | Fire Maidens of Outer Space | 1992-11-26 | 424 | "Manos" The Hands of Fate | 1993-01-30 |