111 - Moon Zero Two

Let's Moon 'em

Season 1 is an interesting beast. It finds the show growing from its UHF roots into legitimate cable show, but not hitting its cult classic stride. That, and early writer and performer J. Elvis Weinstein is still on as both the original voice for Tom Servo and Mad Dr. Laurence Erhardt. And no matter how many Season 1 episodes I’ve seen, it’s still a little disconcerting, as Weinstein's Servo is a little less bubbly, a little more buttoned up, and Kevin Murphy was Servo for so long, as well as the longest running cast member on the show (so far; God wiling the revival lasts 20 years!) That said, in this episode, Weinstein’s Servo is a lot looser, funnier, and closer to the classic Tom we all know and love. And that’s really how Moon Zero Two feels as a whole; it’s not the show’s stride, but it’s getting there, albeit with some bumps.

Part of both the rockiness and the close-to-greatness are due to the movie itself. Moon Zero Two is a swinging 60s romp of a space heist/western flick, produce by Hammer Films and released three months to the day after the Apollo 11 landing, which is referenced with a statue marking the spot (in a scene added late in production). Bill Kemp is a man making his living salvaging space scrap and living on the Moon, in Moon City, where he docks at Moon International Airport and makes Moon Dollars, and yes that’s what they’re literally called in the movie. After bringing back a trashed Satellite, Kemp is approached by Moon Billionaire (not what he’s called in the movie, I’m just calling him that) Hundred Percent Hubbard, a duplicitous douchebag who offers Kemp an under-the-table job (not that kind, perv) to hijack an asteroid made entirely of sapphire and land it on the dark side of the moon. But things get complicated when Kimble meets-cute with blonde babe Clementine, who is looking for her missing moon miner brother. Are the two plots somehow connected? Are there lots of slow motion “space” scenes? Is the soundtrack smooth 60s jazz? Is this movie actually a ton of fun? Did I think A LOT about the moon-based Futurama episode The Series has Landed and make Crushinator jokes to myself? The answer to all of these is, “Yes”.  

River Tam is getting in a fight just behind them

Also a “yes” is that the movie being fast paced, witty, and watchable is mostly a help and also a little a hindrance. MST3K movies that are fast moving, goofy, but not painfully bad make for better episodes, and there’s some fun art direction, likeable performances, and witty banter in this. Unfortunately, this early in the show’s run, the Best Brains haven’t quite gotten the art of riffing nailed yet. Sometimes the jokes are just, "this is some bad music," or the delivery just doesn't have the punch it needs, like when Crow, upon seeing a mountain, says "Hey, it's the original Space Mountain!" It's like I said with Weinsten's performance as Servo; all of them are slowly loosening up, the writing and amount of jokes are improving, but aren't there yet.  That, and the first half of the episode is funnier than the second.  The host segments show growth is still needed as well, with only the “toys of the future” joke having a decent punchline as Joel makes Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots out of the Bots.

I haven’t revisited a lot of Season 1 episodes in my time as a fan of the show, for the reasons I’ve listed; hey, if I’m gonna rewatch my favorite show, why not rewatch it as its best? But as I’ve said before, every new MST3K episode is like discovering a whole new world, one of new sights to see, jokes to hear, and references to not get for a few years, and I still felt it here, though not as strongly as in later, better shows. But it says something that this is one episode I’ll have to give a second viewing to sometime in the future, although I’m not in quite a rush to.

Episode in a Riff

"Who decided freeform jazz was the right thing for the soundtrack?" -Servo

Random Asides

-The Amazing Colossal Episode Guide says the star, James Olson, has done more Harry O episodes than David Jensen. What and Who?

-Speaking of the Guide, in the write up for this episode, Mike Nelson said he and none of the other writers remember making this episode! Funny, since it's not a bad movie, but not super memorable either. That said, I love how he ends every sentence while describing the plot with “on the moon! In he future!!!” It's rather apt for how the actual movie names things.

-You can clearly see the separation on the cookie early on in the Invention Exchange. How they do the milk thing, though, I have no idea. And the vomiting celebrity head toothpaste dispensers are

-I miss the “thank you!” from the Mads. 

-I watched this episode on a a depressive day. Holy SHIT are times like this when I thank God for the show

-The poser and description for this movie say it's a space western, but with all the jazz music and the plot about stealing a giant sapphire asteroid, it feels way more like a heist flick. The only thing western about it are the western dancers at the Moon Bar and that the space miners are moon hicks (with British accents, because Hammer.)

-I really dug this movie. It's got a fun, carefree performance by James Olson, his Russian sidekick is cool, Catherine Schell is cute, and I really enjoyed the swinging soundtrack. There are also nice touches of actual science and realism, like the look of the spacesuits, and explosive dcompression when guns are used.

-There's a plaque memorializing all the people who've died for the Moon. It's in the men's room. Even the characters comment on this. 

There's a joke during the cartoon intro to the movie where a rich guy in a cartoon limo drives around and Joel says, "Hey, it's Donald Trump, chasing the good guys away. That doesn't make sense." Servo replied, "It makes perfect sense!" Unfortunately, that joke still works.

-Ah, 60s fight scenes. Karate chops and slow gut punches everywhere.

-Crows says a good thing and a bad thing about the movie is its groovy. Agreed.

6 Favorite Riffs

 

 

Additional Links

Satellite News review

Annotations

View the Full Episode HERE!