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in: MST3K Episodes, Season 4, Mystery Science Theater Hour Episodes, Directed by Kevin Murphy

MST3K 420 - The Human Duplicators

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“ What is this, a slow-motion drawing room comedy? ”
- Joel


The Movie[]

Main article: The Human Duplicators (film)

Synopsis[]

A secret agent investigates a mysterious visitor who is creating android duplicates of prominent scientists to prepare Earth to be invaded by hostile aliens.

The Episode[]

Host Segments[]

Human2

William Conrad Fridge Alert

Prologue: The Bots make suggestions to Joel about ways they could be improved. Gypsy wants a cab forward design, Crow wants more capacity to love, and Tom has a few grandiose suggestions for himself.

Segment One (Invention Exchange): The Mads are having difficulty containing their laughter over their ridiculous invention, the William Conrad Fridge Alert. Joel demonstrates his awesome-looking propeller beanie, which doesn't live up to Tom and Crow's expectations.

Human3

Tom addresses his duplicates

Segment Two: Joel asked the Bots to make model spaceships from ordinary household items. Gypsy's shows her resourcefulness, Tom's shows a lack of initiative, and Crow's shows his workmanship. Joel makes one too, and Crow derides his choice of materials.

Segment Three: Tom Servo takes a cue from the movie and duplicates himself many times over. Things don't work out as planned when his duplicates refuse to do his bidding. Joel takes Tom away for a time-out and the duplicate Toms suddenly turn on a defenseless Crow.

420-beaumont

Hugh Beaumont's suburban spaceship.

Segment Four: A grumpy "Hugh Beaumont" makes a return visit via the Hexfield Viewscreen.

Segment Five: Crow and Tom come out of the robot closet after reading through an issue of the magazine Robot Nation. Joel is not surprised. A letter is read and "William Conrad" actually shows up in Deep 13.

Stinger: Two doppelgangers are laughing as they choke each other.

Obscure References[]

  • The William Conrad Fridge Alert.
William Conrad was a heavyset actor best-known as the star of the TV series Cannon and Jake and the Fatman. During the 1970s and 80s, he was the spokesperson for First Alert, a brand of smoke detectors.
  • "Aleani 'Bambi' Hamilton? She's a wrestler! I know it!"
Joel is focusing on the name "Bambi" which was the stage name of female professional wrestler Selina Majors. The actress Aleani "Bambi" Hamilton herself was never a wrestler.
  • "You rang? Oh wait... I'm NOT Ted Cassidy."
Ted Cassidy was an uncommonly tall actor (6'8") who was best-known for playing Lurch on The Addams Family TV show.
  • "Marilyn, you've got another date!"
A reference to TV sitcom The Munsters. Marilyn was the conventionally-attractive blonde niece of Herman and Lily whom the family (including Marilyn herself) thought was odd-looking.
  • "Oh, Dream Weaver! Oh, Dennis Weaver!"
Dream Weaver is a pop song by Gary Wright, released in 1975. Dennis Weaver was an actor best-known for his roles in the Steven Spielberg film Duel and the TV series McCloud.
  • "The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox are calling."
The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox is a comedy western from 1976.
  • "Oh, George Nader... he's untalented at any speed."
Unsafe at Any Speed is a 1965 book written by Ralph Nader documenting automotive companies' reluctance to research or incorporate basic safety features in a number of specific popular car models. It also identifies and certain fatal design flaws in those vehicles.
  • "He must have read Getting to Yes..."
Getting to Yes is a best-selling guide to business negotiation techniques.
  • "Calling Scott Tracy."
Episodes of the 1961-62 animated TV cartoon The Dick Tracy Show typically begin with a police dispatcher saying "Calling Dick Tracy..." Scott Tracy is a member of the team from the Gerry and Sylvia Anderson puppet TV show Thunderbirds.
  • "Kevin McHale, no!"
Kevin McHale is a retired professional basketball player who spent most of his career with the Boston Celtics. At 6 feet 10 inches tall, he was closer in height to Richard Kiel (7'1") than Ted Cassidy (see above).
  • "Hey, it's the Maytag Repairman!"
The Maytag Repairman is the center of a long-running advertising campaign for Maytag appliances. The premise is that Maytag appliances were so well-made that the Repairman never receives service calls, and is therefore often bored and lonely.
  • "I'm here for the Mr. Drysdale audition."
Mr. Drysdale was the often-exasperated banker played by Raymond Bailey on The Beverly Hillbillies.
  • "It's the office of Daniel Ellsberg's electrician."
Daniel Ellsberg was a RAND corporation military analyst who leaked documents from the Pentagon (known as the "Pentagon Papers") in 1971 which proved that the Johnson administration's true estimates of the casualties, cost and length of the Vietnam War were several times greater than those released to the public. An effort was made to discredit Ellsberg, including an attempt to gain access to confidential records in his psychological therapist's office.
  • "Stop in the name of Tom Bodett!"
Tom Bodett was the spokesman for the Motel 6 motel chain. He repeated their slogan "We'll leave the light on for ya" in every commercial.
  • "Doctor Munson Honeydew!"
Dr. Bunsen Honeydew is a scientist/inventor character from The Muppets.
  • "Knew your father, I did!"
Referencing the MST3K mainstay Mr. B. Natural and the line spoken by Yoda to Luke Skywalker in The Empire Strikes Back about Luke's father before Luke discovers his father was Darth Vader.
  • "Mr. Martin, Glenn Martin." Crow: "...Glen Ross"
A pun on the title of Glengarry Glen Ross, a 1984 drama by playwright David Mamet.
  • "I deny them my essence."
A quote from Gen. Jack Ripper in the film Dr. Strangelove. General Ripper is paranoid delusional, believing that Russians have attempted to taint his "essence" with fluoridated water and that women wish to steal his essence from him.
  • "Uh... I gotta go to the bathroom and get a gun out of the toilet."
A reference to the assassination plot in The Godfather.
  • "Heads we do, tails we don't." "It's an Etruscan penny."
Some Etruscan coins had blank backs, so the options when flipping one are literally "heads or nothing." (Had he spun such a coin as seen in the movie, the weight distribution would have almost guaranteed it would fall heads down.)
  • "Timothy, Timothy, Hungry as hell, no food to eat."
Taken from the lyrics to Timothy by The Bouys. The song is about three men trapped in a collapsed mine who resort to cannibalism (though Joel would claim in Episode #421 that Timothy was a duck).
  • "I Sing the Body Pathetic."
A pun on the title "I Sing the Body Electric", which is both the title of a poem by Walt Whitman and a famous episode of The Twilight Zone (which featured Judee Morton).
  • "Tube power? Must be McIntosh."
Not a reference to the MacIntosh computers made by Apple, but to the tube-powered amplifiers by McIntosh Laboratories (which pre-dated the MacIntosh computer, prompting Apple to add the "a" to avoid trademark problems).
  • "If you don't look good, we don't look good."
Quotes an advertising slogan of Vidal Sassoon hair care products.
  • "...and when I say there was no cannibalism in the Navy, I mean there was some."
Refers to a Monty Python's Flying Circus sketch in the episode "The War Against Pornography".
  • "It's The World According to Garp!"
A car speeds away in the dark with its headlights off, similar to a pivotal scene in the 1982 film The World According to Garp.
  • "Dickweed!"
Yelled by Servo as a car careens into a by-standing vehicle, this may be a basic-cable-friendly reference to the repeated projection "Asshole!" shouted by the character Otto (played by Kevin Kline) as he drove recklessly in the 1988 film A Fish Called Wanda.
  • "Fresh from Kent State."
The Kent State shootings was a 1970 incident in which several members of the National Guard killed four unarmed civilians during an anti-war protest.
  • "It's the Android Sisters. It's true."
A reference to The Andrews Sisters, a popular vocal jazz trio in the 30's and 40's. Their most famous song was "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy".
  • "We serve fun at Shakey's!" "Also pizza!"
Slogan of Shakey's Pizza chain at the height of its popularity in the 1970s.
  • "...and Sparky Anderson."
The professor's duplicate has well-groomed grey hair and vaguely resembles the late American professional baseball player and coach Sparky Anderson.
  • "He's being attacked by the Jordanaires!"
The Jordanaires were an American vocal quartet famously known for backing Elvis Presley. They wore their hair slicked-back and performed in suits.
  • "Hello..." "...hello..." "...hello..." "Hello!"
Professor Dornheimer's duplicate and two duplicates of Thor peer around a corner, prompting a riff on the chorus catchphrase of The Three Stooges.
  • "Uh, hello? Hello?"
As two duplicated nurses search for access to a hidden passage, Servo mimics Flash Bazbo from The National Lampoon Radio Hour.
  • "I think it's Bosom Buddies. Looks like Tom Hanks."
Servo compares the robotic gait of the nurses to the cross-dressing disguise antics on the TV sitcom Bosom Buddies which stared actor Tom Hanks.
  • "Sailors said, Brandy, you're a fine girl..."
This is a lyric from the #1 hit song Brandy (You're a Fine Girl) by the pop rock band Looking Glass.
  • "The professor..." "...and Mary Ann!"
A reference to characters identified in the theme song on the TV sitcom Gilligan's Island.
  • "Stay alive! Whatever may occur! I will find you!"
As Lisa is dragged away, Servo quotes a dramatic scene from the 1992 film The Last of the Mohicans (which was also included in its commercials).
  • "Oh, the yellow rose of Texas, the only rose for me!"
The film's soundtrack is similar to the traditional folk song The Yellow Rose of Texas.
  • "Is this a filibuster?"
Crow mocks the villain's lengthy monologue as akin to a political filibuster speech, in which a person speaks at great length to delay the proceedings and prevent some legislative action.
  • "Wow, it’s Blaze and Lace from American Gladiators…not that I watch it."
Crow is referencing the TV series American Gladiators, which featured both male and female amateur athletes in competitions against the show's athletic "gladiators", professional athletes and actors who used pseudonyms. Blaze (Sha-Ri Pendleton) appeared on the show from 1989 to 1992. The name Lace was used by Marisa Pare (née Roebuck) from 1989 to 1992, when it was transferred to Natalie Lennox.
  • "I'm working up a Rondo thirst!"
Rondo was a citrus-flavored soft drink made in the late 1970s and early 1980s that relied heavily on catchy advertising slogans.
  • "Dying is easy. Comedy is...hard."
This is a frequently repeated quote[1] about show business. The basic sentiment is generally attributed to actor Edmund Gwenn (who had played Santa Claus in the original film Miracle on 34th Street).
  • (Lisa screaming) "No, higher. From the back of the throat."
This refers to the vocal coaching given by Sir Launcelot to Sir Bedevere while they attempt to understand the words carved on the cave wall before encountering The Black Beast in the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
  • "Stay away from him, you bitches."
Kolos struggles to protect Lisa from the duplicates of Thor, prompting a mis-quote of a line from the climax of the 1986 film Aliens.
  • *Star Trek fight theme (sung)
The struggle between Kolos and the duplicates of Thor prompts an imitation of the instrumental theme which accompanied many fights on the science-fiction TV series Star Trek, most notably the episode "Amok Time".
  • "Uh, Camera Two, clear the shot please."
The pulse laser beam cannon being wheeled into the fray resembles a television studio camera, which are typically assigned numbers so that the director can provide instructions to the individual camera operators.
  • *Axel F (sung)
Martin's duplicate runs up a terraced marble staircase to the villa, similar to the finale of the 1985 film Beverly Hills Cop, prompting Servo to imitate the instrumental theme song Axel F.
  • "Virginia Graham! Thank God, we're saved!"
Gale's hairdo and garb resemble that of the late American talk show host Virginia Graham.
  • "Ah! Sweet mystery of life, I've found you..."
At the parting of Kolos and Lisa, Servo sings the main theme from the operetta Naughty Marietta. This same lyric was notably used in the comedy film Young Frankenstein when the characters played by Madeline Kahn and Teri Garr were impressed with their lovers' anatomy.
  • "You can check out any time you like..."
An exterior shot of the villa is riffed as resembling the cover art for the #1 album Hotel California by rock band The Eagles.
  • "Mork, calling Orson, Mork calling Orson." "Na-Nu, Na-Nu!"
Kolos returns to his homeworld to report on his mission, prompting these references to the TV science-fiction sitcom Mork & Mindy. The humanoid alien Mork would end each episode by reporting to his unseen superior Orson. "Na-nu, na-nu" was a salutation among Mork's people.
  • "Ah-ah-ah-ah, stayin' alive!"
The interior of Kolos' spaceship has a spinning device with multicolored lights, akin to the discothèque scenes in the 1977 film Saturday Night Fever. The film's main theme song was the #1 hit Stayin' Alive by the Bee Gees.

Callbacks[]

Running Jokes[]

  • References to Hugh Beaumont's role as Ward Cleaver on Leave it to Beaver.
    • Crow:"The boys did what!? They duplicated Lumpy?"
    • Tom: "Yes June... I'm still at work...."
  • The bots snickering at Professor Dornheimer's name.
  • Joel and the bots imitating Richard's Keil's line deliveries.
  • Joel and the bots imitating Gale's nasally voice.
  • The occasional "blind joke" when Lisa sometimes appears.
  • "Mister Martin." "Please, it's Steve."

Memorable Quotes[]

  • "Eht Numah Srotacilpud?" - Crow
  • "You must never program a mechanical device with more wisdom than you yourself possess.” - Duplicate Dornheimer
"You know, there’s lesson to be learned here, you guys." - Joel "Too late, Joel." - Servo


Behind the Scenes[]

MST3K Cast[]

Regular Cast

Guest Cast

Notes[]

  • Gypsy's model in Host Segment Two includes a leg from a Kenner Star Wars Imperial AT-AT Walker toy from The Empire Strikes Back. The same toy was used to construct version 3 of Cambot.
  • This episode aired twelfth during Turkey Day '93.
  • Dr. Forrester used both Richard Kiel and Ted Cassidy's names to introduce Joel to the previous experiment, The Amazing Colossal Man.

Video Releases[]

Humanduplicatorsdvd

MST3K DVD Cover

  1. ↑ [1]"Dying is easy. Comedy is hard."
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