If you only knew what it's like being like this...
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| I don't think her insurance will cover this. |
The
Brain that Wouldn’t Die is fairly typical MST3K movie fodder. Dr. Bill is
on the way to his country cottage with fiance Jan when they get into a car
wreck and Jan’s head gets lopped off. But, Bill has been conducting experiments
at the cottage, and manages to keep Jan’s head alive in a pan filled with an
experimental serum. So, Jan spends her time wishing she were dead and
tormenting Bill’s disfigured assistant, while also trying to contact the thing
in the locked room the assistant and Bill created from their failed trials.
Bill, meanwhile, has the unenviable task of going around town, looking at hot
women in the hopes of finding a new, er, mode of transportation for Jan. It’s
ridiculous and drags and is surprisingly sleazy, and the movie’s main visual is
a woman’s head in a pan.
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| "This is a terrible Thanksgiving dinner centerpiece." |
What
isn’t typical is that series creator and star Joel Hodgson had left the show
the previous episode, right in the middle of the season and after five years in.
Enter Michael J. Nelson, Head Writer for the show (meaning he collected all the
jokes written during writing sessions) and occasional guest performer (most
famously Torgo in Manos: The Hands of Fate and Jack Perkins on the MST
Hour) as the new test case for Dr. Forrester and TV’s Frank’s experiment.
The question was, how would he do, replacing the show’s beloved creator? How
would his personality affect the tone of the show? Could he be funny? Did he
even speak English, or was he just miming it well? Could the show carry on?
No.
It was canceled after his one episode. The End.
Of
course he was fine!
Though the debate of who you prefer rages on today, Mike more than aptly filled
in Joel’s shoes. Having played bit parts off and on throughout the show’s run,
his performance as basically himself starts out with a strong sense of self, of
Mike the friendly Midwestern guy with the sharp wit. Mike would fine tune his
performance as the show went on, becoming the more sarcastic half of the coin
to Joel’s more goofy one. He’s a little “aw, shucks” here, and I still think
his voice sounds kinda off in his early episodes, like it’s too high pitched or
something, but really, he’s got it down from the start.
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| Prep time. |
What
takes a little while is his relationship with the Bots. Joel was the father
figure, someone Tom, Crow, and Gypsy looked up to, even when they would give
him grief. Mike on the other hand, would become the put-upon coworker, someone
the Bots would enjoy tormenting just because. And while that relationship isn’t
defined yet, there’s a hint of it as early as the intro segment, with Tom and
Crow training the new boy in movie riffing. They kind of look down on him, and
it’s something that’ll thankfully carry on through the rest of the series,
haha. To simplify and metaphor it more: with Joel, the show feels like a fun
family gathering; with Mike, it feels like a party with friends.
Oh
right, yeah, the movie. They watch movies on this show, and make fun of them. Like
I said, The Brain that Wouldn’t Die is pretty typical of 50s black and
white B-movies, though there’s an extra side of sleaze as Dr. Bill trolls
around town, ogling women and deciding which one has the best body and is the
easiest to dispatch, and there’s some gore near the end. It’s a weird mix of
like standard 50s schlock and a Tom Waits song. But, it’s about a woman’s head
being kept alive in a pan, so of course there’s a lot for them to run with! When
Jan and Bill’s assistant are bickering back and forth in the basement, Tom
says, “Boy, you have a chip on your shoulder!”, and then Crow follows up with,
“This operation’s gonna cost an arm and a leg! Oh, zing!” Tom also has fun
quoting Waits during a scene at a sleazy bar / diner, and then when skeevy sax
music plays as Dr. Bill drives around town looking at women, Tom imagines up,
“Morning...it’s a sleazy morning out there. You’re listening to KPORN,...”
There’s even references that are both smarty
pants and gross, like when the monster in the closet makes gruesome noises,
which Mike comments as, “Ew, Dylan Thomas’ last moments on earth.” And they
even get a chance to just be disgusted by Dr. Bill’s actions. The riffs are
constant and funny, and the mix of tones and subject matter make for a
hilarious episode.
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| Dr. Bill, somewhere in the middle of the D.E.N.N.I.S. System. |
The
show does take a while to transition more to Mike’s style, though. The
invention exchange and the prop hats they make for Jan in the Pan are very
Joel-ish. Not that they aren’t funny, just that there’s some small changes being
made as the show goes on. The Mads don’t miss a beat, though, Dr. F torturing
Frank like it’s just another day.
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| Mike trying on hats for the Bots. Helps he's the only one with a human shaped head. |
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| Fairly regular day in Deep 13. |
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| The beginning of an era. |
Episode
in a Riff:
As
Dr. Bill carries Jan’s head following the car crash: “He’s at the 20, he’s at
the 10, no one will catch him!” -Mike
Random
Asides:
-Joel
had produced 80+ episodes (not including the KTMA season) by the time he left
the show and Mike took over. Mike would go on to do another 80+ episodes.
Here’s hoping Jonah reaches those numbers.
-No,
Tom, The Beast of Yucca Flats is not as bad as this movie.
-Tom
also mentions Mike having trained on riffing Night of the Lepus. Man, I
hate they’ve never covered this movie! Thankfully, Rifftrax did!
-Mike
really helps establish his identity by refusing to immediately answer the Mads’
call. Not that he doesn’t, eventually.
-Mike’s
experiment isn’t bad, but it’s obvious why they stop doing inventions a few
episodes later, as Kevin Murphy explains in the ACEG on episode 519: “Joel was
the gizmocrat… And Mike? Well, let’s put it this way. Mike is not an inventor.
Creative, yes, artistic, sure. Innovative, clever, resourceful, all of these
and more. But the sight of a screwdriver puts him in a cold sweat...” It goes
on, and is a hilarious read.
-”Nothing’s
unbelievable if you have the will to experiment!” God, I love 50s movies’ science
talk
-Dr.
Bill looks, and even acts, a bit like Glen Howerton’s character Dennis Reynolds
from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and I shall run with that
anytime I see this episode again.
-I
like how Mike is digging through the ship, and Tom is sitting there with a cup
of coffee hanging out like a useless foreman
-”Guys,
thats not cheese! “
-Gypsy,
on Jan in the Pan: “I don’t know, I just have this feeling she’s really a shoes
person.”
-I
really blocked out a lot of Jan in the Pan and Assistant guy’s dialogue the
middle of the movie. Man was it overladen and boring
-This
movie makes me feel real, real sorry for women
-35
minutes in, the camera cuts to a shot of a needle, and Tom says, “Meanwhile at Kurt Cobain’s house!” He was
still alive at the time, and that line stings even more now.
-Mike
“So then the director’s whole point is, if I’m not mistaken, is in this often cold
and lonely world, don’t reach out for love and human understanding, or you’ll
only become part of a grisly lab experiment.”
Crow:
“I think you’re selling it short, Mike. There’s also the strong anti-women
message.”
Tom:
“But mostly, it is a celebration of betrayal.”
Crow:
“Oh, right, right.”
Tom:
“But, don’t lose hope!”
Crow:
“No, no no.”
Tom:
“But, you can trust us!”
Crow:
“Yeah!”
The
Bots proceed to pry an embarrassing story out of Mike and rip him for it. Thus,
their relationship begins.
-Mike
at the end of the episode: “Y’know guys,
whole situation, being stuck up here in space, being forced to watch cheesy movies,
interacting with other life forms...it kinda bites.”
Additional Links
Satellite News review
Satellite News review
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