MST3K SHORT 13.08 - Bicycling Visual Skills

13.08 - Bicycling Visual Skills
Air/Release Date	December 13, 2022
Running Time	11 minutes
Movie Director	Janelle Showalter
Year	Unknown
Preceded by	13.07 - Balance Beam for Girls
Followed by	13.09 - The Bicycle Driver

“	Oh, I'd best cheese it! It's the fuzz!	”
	- Crow

Bicycling Visual Skills is the 8th short released as part of Season 13. It was first shown during the Tribute to Santa Claus Conquers the Martians livestream event.

The Short

Main article: Bicycling Visual Skills (short)

Synopsis

A driving instructor shows a film to some young bicyclists to help them learn good safety practices.

The Episode

Pearl comments on the quality of the short before assigning it to Emily and he crew.

MST3K cast

Regular Cast

• Emily Marsh - Emily Connor
• Kelsey Ann Brady - Crow T. Robot
• Conor McGiffin - Tom Servo
• Mary Jo Pehl - Pearl Forrester
• Rebecca Hanson - Synthia

Trivia

• Emily is alone on the bridge when Movie Sign happens.
• Synthia does not appear, she only provides the introductory voice-over.

Quotes & References

• "Tonight, on a very special episode of Taxi..."

Taxi is a TV sitcom from the late 1970s and early 80s about taxi drivers in New York City. The opening and closing credits consist of a long shot of a taxi crossing a bridge as light jazz plays. A "very special episode" is a term applied to a TV show (usually a sitcom) that is more serious and typically deals with some social issue.

• "The Fast and the Furious: Toledo Drift."

The Fast and the Furious film franchise is about a group of street racers who sometimes operate outside the law. The third film in the franchise was called The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. Toledo is a city in Ohio.

• "Leave Pee-Wee's bike alone, Francis!"

In the film Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, the character Pee-Wee Herman has his beloved custom bicycle stolen by Francis, the spoiled son of a wealthy man.

• "Aw, at this rate, we'll NEVER escape to Witch Mountain..."

The family film Escape to Witch Mountain features a pair of blond siblings, a boy and a girl. In the original film and its first sequel, they were played by Kim Richards and Ike Eisenmann, who later starred in Devil Dog: The Hound of Hell.

• "All right, stop what you're doin', 'cause I'm about to ruin the way of ridin' bikes that you're used to."

A pastiche on the opening lyrics of the hip-hop song "The Humpty Dance" recorded by the group Digital Underground.

• "Then up-down-up-down-left-right-left-right-B-A-start and you'll have unlimited bikes."

This refers to a sequence of buttons to press on the controller for the Nintendo Entertainment System video game console to get 30 lives in the game Contra. The code can also be used in some other games, mostly by the developer Konami (resulting in it being referred to as the Konami Code in some circles).

• "So, which one of these kids is going to the Upside-Down?"

The Upside-Down is a mysterious alternate dimension that exists in the horror TV series Stranger Things.

• "Get a Clapper, old man!"

The Clapper is a sound-activated device that could be used to control appliances (e.g. lamps) remotely by clapping. It was advertised as a boon to the elderly.

• "Now put on Dark Side of the Moon."

Dark Side of the Moon is a prog rock album by the band Pink Floyd. Some fans believe that the music on the album syncs thematically with the film The Wizard of Oz (either coincidentally or by design).

• "I can't believe they're watching Easy Rider."

Easy Rider is a 1969 film about drug smugglers on a cross-country motorcycle trek. It would not be considered appropriate material to show schoolchildren by most adults.

• "Erik Estrada IS CHiP. Singular."

Erick Estrada was a breakout star of the TV adventure series CHiPs, about California Highway Patrol officers on motorcycles. His character typically had a partner.