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in: MST3K Episodes, Season 8, Directed by Michael J. Nelson

MST3K 817 - The Horror of Party Beach

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“ "Dad's being smothered by a huge loaf of pepperoni-studded brown bread!" ”
- Tom Servo


The Movie[]

Main article: The Horror of Party Beach (film)

Mutated sea creatures wreak havoc in a beach community until a scientist and his dashing young assistant devise a way to track down the monsters and destroy them.

The Episode[]

Host Segments[]

Partybeach3

Observer and Callipygeas bond. Pearl and Flavia, not so much.

Prologue: While Mike tries to explain their present situation, Tom takes a leaf out the book of the Gyuto Monks of Tibet and attempts to harmonize his overtones with the fundamental.

Segment One: Mike marvels at Tom's multi-layered chanting, until he discovers the little robot has some pre-recorded assistance. Meanwhile down in Ancient Rome "Apearlo" and "Brainguyus" attempt to convince a delighted Callipygeas and a suspicious Flavia that they are in fact gods. They "prove" themselves when they communicate with the average-looking man-god, the golden spider duck, and the squat crimson pig living in the stars.

817

Mike's trunks are a bit too small

Segment Two: Crow and Tom are in costume for their manly beach dance, but the swimming trunks they've made for Mike to wear are a tad small, in the sense that he's effectively nude.

Segment Three: Pearl and Observer continue try and convince their hosts that they're gods, claiming that they bring the gift of music. They play a short medley of tunes that segues from "Seasons in the Sun" by Terry Jacks to a beef-themed hoedown.

Sodium

Sodium!

Segment Four: Impressed by the extremely up-to-date newspaper boy from the movie, Tom goes one better and offers copies of the S.O.L. Post with to the second updated headlines to Mike, covering his increasing annoyance at the skit.

Closing (Segment Five): Dressed as the Del-Aires, Mike and the Bots reach out to youth of today and sing of "Sodium!", while down in Rome as Brain Guy and Callipygeas increasingly bond, Pearl and Flavia increasingly trade insults.

Stinger: The semi-nude thin guy in full swing at the beach dance.

Obscure References[]

  • "Oh, another Afrikaner beach movie!"
Afrikaners are the descendants of early Dutch settlers in South Africa. Until 1994, they dominated South Africa politically and economically through the country's policy of apartheid.
  • "Sturgis: a city on the move."
A reference to the South Dakota city that holds the famous annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.
  • "Fear of intimacy, exciting and new..."
Sung to the tune of the theme from The Love Boat.
  • "Spandau Ballet goes on a fishing trip."
Spandau Ballet are a music group whose fame peaked in the 1980s. They are best known for their hit song "True".
  • "It's an Exxon training film."
Exxon is a chain of gas stations.
  • "The monster gets up and immediately puts on Metal Machine Music."
Metal Machine Music is an album by Lou Reed. It consists of 64 minutes of guitar feedback.
  • "Johnny Mathis and the Conan O'Brians."
Johnny Mathis is a singer. He is very tan and has thick black hair. Conan O'Brian is a talk show host and actor. He is tall, thin, and pale.
  • "Fanny Brice and Scott Hamilton make out."
Fanny Brice was a comedian, singer, and actress. Scott Hamilton is a retired American figure skater.
  • "Oh no! It's the Silkie children! They're attackin'!"
Selkies (also called Silkies) are mythological mermaid-like creatures that turn into humans when they appear on land.
  • "Look at me! I am so Twila Tharp!"
Twila Tharp is a New York choreographer and dancer who often uses pop music in her work.
  • "Do the Bruce Springsteen."
Bruce Springsteen is a singer and musician.
  • "I'd rather see Rose Marie and Morey Amsterdam do the Lambada."
Rose Marie was an actress, singer, comedian, and vaudeville performer. She co-starred on the TV sitcom The Dick Van Dyke Show with Morey Amsterdam, who had passed away the year before this episode was produced. The Lambada is a Brazilian dance that has a reputation for being especially salacious.
  • "Chances are I'll kick your scrawny ass..."
A parody of the song "Chances Are". Tom is mimicking the vocal style of singer Johnny Mathis.
  • "It just seems to me Lillian Gish could take this gang."
Lillian Gish was a silent film actress.
  • "I'm Marissa Tomei and I'm concerned."
Marissa Tomei is an actress. She is known for her thick dark hair and dark eyes.
  • "I'm Joan Kennedy and I'm concerned."
Joan Kennedy is a socialite who was the first wife of Senator Ted Kennedy.
  • "Fight direction by William Shatner."
A reference to the sometimes-awkward fight sequences in the original Star Trek TV series (starring William Shatner), which the fight sequence in this film heavily resemble.
  • "William Bendix to the rescue."
William Bendix was an actor known for playing rough, blue collar characters.
  • "She uses the Art Garfunkel hair care system."
A reference to musician Art Garfunkel and his curly hair.
  • "She swims like Luis Tiant."
Luis Tiant is a Cuban baseball player.
  • "Mark Harmon on drums."
Mark Harmon is an actor known for his role of Jethro Gibbs on NCIS. He has thick dark eyebrows and light eyes.
  • "Cool, it's the Rosetta Stone."
The Rosetta Stone is an Egyptian stele.
  • "A sexy Romulan girl."
A reference to the alien race from Star Trek. They typically have straight dark hair styled with bangs, and arched eyebrows.
  • "Lloyd Bridges has not aged well."
Lloyd Bridges starred in the TV series Sea Hunt as Mike Nelson, a freelance scuba diver and former Navy frogman. Sea Hunt is the source of the riff "By that time, my lungs were aching for air," which was frequently used on MST3K.
  • "I'm wearing Pull-Ups, mommy!"
A reference to the Huggies brand of diapers.
  • "All hail to Ra, the sun god!"
Ra is the Egyptian god of the sun.
  • "Cookie!"
The catchphrase of Cookie Monster from Sesame Street.
  • "Swimsuit by The Mike Douglas Show".
The Mike Douglas Show was a daytime talk show. It's set design included a floral motif.
  • "Offshore, the Normandy invasion force waits patiently."
A reference to the Battle of Normandy that took place during World War II, in which allied forces stormed a beach that was protected by Nazi fortifications.
  • "I want my Peter Allen albums back."
Peter Allen was a songwriter and performer who came out as gay following his divorce from Liza Minelli.
  • "It's Chris Farley in a thong!"
Chris Farley was a heavyset actor known for his roles on Saturday Night Live.
  • "Look out, Ted Kennedy's drivin' home!"
United States Senator Ted Kennedy (who had a reputation for drinking heavily) drove his car off a bridge on Martha's Vineyard, which resulted in the death of Mary Jo Kopechne, a passenger in his car. His actions immediately following the accident (such as making no attempt to rescue Ms. Kopechne, and wearing a neck brace at a press conference) were widely criticized for being self-serving and disingenuous. The incident was a continual source of controversy throughout Kennedy's long political career.
  • "Mother Angelica is on!"
Mother Mary Angelica was the founder of the Eternal Word Television Network, which broadcasts Catholic-themed programming. She hosted a talk show entitled Mother Angelica Live.
  • "Well, hit the siren, Shakey's lunch buffet awaits!"
A reference to the restaurant chain Shakey's Pizza.
  • "Daddy, I'm so upset about Hank!" "Hardware Hank?"
Hardware Hank is a dealer-owned hardware corporation in Minnesota.
  • "It's a human thing!" "You wouldn't understand."
A riff on a famous line ("It's a black thing; you wouldn't understand.") from the Spike Lee movie Do The Right Thing.
  • "Where are you?" "The actual summit of K2?"
K2 is the world's second highest mountain.
  • "Never invite Janice Ian to your slumber party."
Janice Ian is a singer-songwriter. Her work often includes strongly-feminist themes, sometimes to point of being strident.
  • "So they put The Second Sex to music."
The Second Sex was written by Simone de Beauvoir and is considered a major work of feminist literature. The "folk song" being sung here ("Oh hard is the fortune of all womenkind . . .") is "The Wagoner's Lad", a folk-song often sung a capella by Grateful Dead frontman Jerry Garcia.
  • "The Ipswich Women's Club presents Shirley Jackson's The Lottery."
The Lottery is a famous short story in which a woman is stoned to death. The Ispwich Woman's Club is an old English social club. Additionally, "The Batley Townswomens' Guild presents the Battle of Pearl Harbour" is a sketch from the 11th episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus in which a group of suburban ladies in a field batter each other with handbags in a melee that is meant to represent the air-sea Battle of Pearl Harbor.
  • "Archibald Cox."
Archibald Cox was a prosecutor who served as US Solicitor General under President John F. Kennedy.
  • "This scene alone is better than the whole movie Newsies."
Newsies is a historical musical drama film by Disney about the New York City newsboys' strike of 1899.
  • "Well, golly!"
A catchphrase of Gomer Pyle from The Andy Griffith Show.
  • "You want your Dick Butkus collectible mug?"
Dick Butkus was a football linebacker who played for the Chicago Bears.
  • "Extra footage supplied by Zapruder."
A reference to the Zapruder film, a 1963 amateur movie that unexpectedly captured President John F. Kennedy's assassination.
  • "I hope we see Woody Allen while we're here in New York..."
Woody Allen is a filmmaker, actor, and comedian. Many of his films take place in and around New York City.
  • "I just saw Rent!"
Rent is a long-running stage musical about young people in New York City struggling with romance, sexuality, illness, and their finances.
  • "They're headed to the Laverne De Fazio convention."
Laverne De Fazio is the name of Penny Marshall's character from the TV sitcom Laverne & Shirley. She speaks with a heavy New York accent.
  • "It's my Oscar Gamble doll."
Oscar Gamble was a baseball player who played for the Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees.
  • "Al Gore?"
Al Gore is an American politician who was Vice President under Bill Clinton. He was known for his dark brown hair and stiff demeanor.
  • "She's got Dilbert's boss's hair."
A reference to the office-based comic strip Dilbert. Dilbert's unnamed boss has curly black hair that comes to points on the sides of his head.
  • "Beef: It's What's for Movie Sign."
This line and Observer's references to various beef dishes in Host Segment Three are inspired by a television commercial from the era that was sponsored by the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. It featured suggestions for various recipes that contain beef, and had a rustic-style score similar to the music that Observer and Pearl play. It concluded with the slogan "Beef. It's What's for Dinner".
  • "Tonight on Roar..."
Roar is a short-lived action/adventure series which aired in 1997 on Fox. It was created by TV producer (and former teen hearthrob) Shaun Cassidy as an attempt to capitalize on the popularity of the sword-and sorcery series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess. It stars Heath Ledger as a young Celtic chieftain fighting Roman invaders in Ancient Ireland.
  • "Margaret Chase Smith, running for Senate, I'd like your vote."
​Margaret Chase Smith was a Republican politician from Maine, and the first woman to serve in both the House and Senate.
  • "Baby Bop's a prowler."
Baby Bop is one of the secondary characters from the children's show Barney & Friends. She is a large green dinosaur.
  • "It's Steve Allen, don't get in!"
Steve Allen was an actor, comedian, musician, composer, and writer. He had wavy hair and typically wore horn-rimmed eyeglasses. He had a reputation for egotism.
  • "Monty Hall and Bruno Hoffman stopped by."
Monty Hall was a Canadian game show host.
  • "You got Chrysler on my Chevrolet!" "You got Chevrolet on my Chrysler!"
In the 1970s and 1980s, a series of commercials were run for Reese's Peanut Butter Cups featuring situations in which two people, one eating peanut butter and one eating chocolate, collided. One person would exclaim, "You got your peanut butter on my chocolate!" and the other would exclaim, "You got your chocolate in my peanut butter!" They would then sample the mixture and remark on the great taste, tying in with the slogan "Two great tastes that taste great together."
  • "Otis of Mayberry had a quiet dignity compared to these guys."
A reference to Otis, the town drunk of Mayberry, played by Hal Smith on the TV sitcom The Andy Griffith Show.
  • "Guy without a fa-ace... got no human gra-ace..."
Referencing Billy Idol's hit song "Eyes Without a Face".
  • "Oompa Loompa doopity doo, I've got another riddle for you..."
A reference to the song "Oompa Loompa" from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
  • "The birth of a media empire!" "Rusty Murdoch!"'
Suggesting that the newsboy could have been a young Rupert Murdoch, founder of News Corporation.
  • "The monsters win the pennant! The monsters win the pennant! The monsters win the pennant!"
On October 3, 1951, broadcaster Russ Hodges delivered the famous live description of Bobby Thomson's "Shot Heard 'Round the World" home run to win the National League pennant for the New York Giants: "There's a long drive... it's gonna be, I believe... THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT! THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT! THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT! THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT! Bobby Thomson hits into the lower deck of the left-field stands!"
  • "She's wearing her Eddie Bauer rugged hiking skirt."
Eddie Bauer is a clothing store chain.
  • "Bosco puts hustle in your muscle, Bosco puts whee in your knee..."
A reference to a jingle from Bosco Chocolate Syrup.
  • "My Richard Pryor impression!"
Richard Pryor is an actor and comedian. He accidentally set fire to a bed that he was laying in at one point in his life, apparently while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
  • "And oh how they danced/The little children of Stonehenge."
Lyrics from the song "Stonehenge" by the band Spinal Tap in the mockumentary movie This Is Spinal Tap.
  • "Is Dear Abby running 'Please, God, I'm only 17' again?"
“Dead at Seventeen” by John Berrio is a poem that was frequently reprinted in the syndicated newspaper advice column Dear Abby. It is written in the voice of a reckless teenage driver who has just suffered a fatal car crash. "Please, God, I'm only 17" is the last sentence.
  • "The music's coming from inside the radio!"
The babysitter and the man upstairs is an urban legend that dates back to the 1960s about a teenage girl babysitting children who is harassed by a series of anonymous telephone calls wherein she is told to "check the children." She eventually calls the police, and, after tracing the next call, they tell her, "The calls are coming from inside the house."

Callbacks[]

Behind-the-Scenes[]

MST3K Cast[]

Regular cast

Guest Cast

MST3K Crew[]

  • Production Manager - Jill Roozenboom
  • Set Design - Blue Thumb Scenic
    Patrick Brantseg
  • Art Direction - Patrick Brantseg
  • Director of Photography - Jeff Stonehouse
  • Technical Supervisor - Bradley J. Keely
  • Audio Post Production - Fred Street, Postaudio, Inc.
  • Editor - Bradley J. Keely
  • Prop Diva - Beth "Beez" McKeever
  • Hair and Make-up - Andrea DuCane, Jennifer Turner
  • Special Effect Make-up - Gizmo's, Inc.
  • Grip - Mike Parker
  • Boom Operator - John Sims
  • Controller - Tim Johnson
  • Info Club Poobah - Barbara Tebben
  • Interns - Joseph Olson, Mesach Weber

Songs[]

Notes[]

  • Michael J. Nelson once called this one of his favorite episodes of MST3K and that this was an especially enjoyable film to riff.
  • Patrick Brantseg is listed as the Set Designer for the first time in the credits. He'll retain that title for the reminder of the show's run on The Sci-Fi Channel.
  • In Host Segment Four, Tom's newspapers have the same two filler article titles which allude to the "New Petitions Against Tax" and "Building Code Under Fire" articles common in movie newspapers. One states "Letters of Support Pour in for New Tax" while the other says "Building Code Delayed by..." with the last word obscured.
  • This is the last episode in which "The Authors of the First Amendment" would be thanked at the end of the credits.
  • This experiment was the first used during the Mindless Summer series of livestream events. It was shown on August 6, 2021.

Video releases[]

Partybeachdvd

MST3K DVD Cover

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