They're using his body for a breeding ground!
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| A movie about progressive unions. |
You can eat turkey about any day of the year. Same goes with mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, gravy, and various casserole dishes. But, what makes them so special when they’re served on Thanksgiving? Is it the preponderance of goodness? Is it the people we have it with? I think, like a great MST3K episode, it’s a combination of deliciousness served with some of your favorite people. And, like a fine Thanksgiving dish, Night of the Blood Beast offers up a fine turkey of a film to be carved up with friends and family and served with delicious hilarity.
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| Ancient Flash animation. |
As Mike says in Satellite News’ Episode Guide, “like 78% of the films shown on MST, this one starts with a rocket crash.” Astronaut John has something make contact with his spacecraft while he’s up in the poorly animated heavens which sends him crashing back to earth, seemingly killing him. The rest of what I guess is the local branch of NASA (consisting of four people, an open top jeep, and the kind of truck the Joad family used) show up to take his body back. Once there, they discover he’s in a form of suspended animation and is, for lack of a better word, impregnated with shrimp-like alien fetuses. During the night, one of the scientists gets his head bitten off off-screen, and John wakes up, confused but seemingly alive. This is because of the titular Blood Beast which takes a rather inopportune time to introduce itself by bashing through a door. John defends the alien, saying it’s trying its best to communicate by ingesting the scientist’s brain to learn about humans and is only trying to save its kind. The rest of his coworkers, including his girlfriend, aren’t too thrilled. Things end with a confrontation in regular sci-fi filming location Bronson Canyon, where impregnated astronaut John realizes the alien will overrun humanity and insists his coworkers immolate him and his alien baby daddy. They do, not a little bit reluctantly. Brought to you by Roger Corman.
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| "You've got a serious infection of seafood appetizer." |
Again, as Mike says, “Like 84% of films produced by Roger Corman, this quickly turns to one featuring gray men talking flatly in a gray office.” I’d also add its occasionally interspersed with a monster attack or two. Like, literally two. Suffice to say, this is about as typical riffing fodder as a movie for this show gets; it’s a goofy black-and-white science fiction fable that tries to be serious, is low-budget, filled with padding, and has a cheesy monster in it. But what makes this episode stand out so much?
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| John is ignoring some serious red flags about his partner. |
First is the riffing. Fresh off what the cast and crew often describe as the life-draining experience of making MST3K The Movie, according to Mike they were more than happy to be back writing and in control of their own work. And their passion for what they’re doing shines through. Nearly opportunity for a joke, no matter how small, is taken. When two of the scientists approach infected/impregnated John, Mike says, “Hey weirdo, hey freak how are the shrimps?” As not-NASA shows up with an old truck to retrieve the dead astronaut, Tom says, “Great how they can run the space program and sell corn from their flatbed truck.” Just showing a stream of water prompts a classy reference as Crow says, “George said if I ever got in trouble to come back to the place by the crik.” Even when a character does something as simple as walk up to another, they get in a joke like Tom saying, “Hey, come in here and help me shake the candy machine.” The episode is littered with little goofs like that that just pile up the funny like a mountain of stuffing. The riffs come so fast and frequently it can make the modern seasons seems low and quiet! And boy does it pay off.
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| A fine cast of Steves. |
Then there’s the excellent running gags. Thanks to some confusing edits, it seems like everyone at the farm-to-table space program is named Steve, including the women, so that when things spiral out of control and two scientists plot what to do about John, Crow says, “Hard to trust a guy not named Steve.” Then there’s Mike and the Bots absolutely pouncing on the idea that Steve and the alien have a tawdry love affair and shotgun wedding thanks to it knocking him up. When all the characters show up to confront John who has run away with the Blood Beast, Mike asks, “Okay, bride side, or Blood Beast side?” It all even culminates in Tom singing “Steves don’t preach, I’m in trouble deep.” Now THAT’S a development of a gag!
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| Nothing fancies up a movie like landline connections. |
That’s not even mentioning the short! Once Upon a Honeymoon is an absolutely bizarre piece of mid-century corporate commercialism. An angel named Wilbur is tasked with helping songwriter Jeff and his wife Mary go on their honeymoon which has been derailed by a primadonna singer. So, Wilbur has to help Jeff get an idea for a new song. How does he do this? By helping the wife fantasize about redecorating their home, primarily with phones! Of course! Because this is by Bell Telephone, seemingly with the purpose of selling phones as home décor, but really coming across as an LSD trip home decorating musical with angels.
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| I... how do I even make a joke about this image? |
Yeah, Mike and the Bots have a lot of fun with it. As Jeff sits down to try to write a song, Mike says, “What would Liberace Do? Uh, better not do that.” Servo makes great use of the woman singing into the phone, begging her in a muffled voice that, “There’s been a horrible accident… get to the hospital… nuclear reactor exploded…” Oh and then there’s him constantly giving the angel Charles Nelson Reilly’s voice. “Ah, there’s a frisbee in the gutter, ho ho!” he says as Wilber watches from atop the couple’s house. It’s fantastic, and a top 10, maybe top 5, short.
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| Someone should let the Blood Beast know Crow is playing the "fake pregnancy" card. |
The other special thing about this one? There are two versions of it. Oh, the movie riffing is the same in both. But, one is the typical MST3K episode, with some fun host segments, mainly featuring introducing Pearl to the world of Deep 13, such as when she makes Dr F perform a hilariously bad trombone recital, or when Mike and the bots sing magically about phones. The phone skit really helps sell the unreality of the short, and the rest of the skits are fine, but that’s not what I’m talking about.
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| Something to be thankful for. |
I’m talking about the original version that aired a the end of one of MST3K’s many Turkey Day Thanksgiving marathons on Comedy Central. Each classic episode featured original shorts with Deep 13 being invaded by recurring guest characters like Pitch and Mr. B Natural, all leading up to the Turkey Day version of the episode itself, featuring different host segments all focusing on America’s favorite food and family related holiday (all of which are conveniently on the DVD release.) The Turkey Day segments are a holiday hoot, from Mike and the Bots talking about “The Game” which Gypsy wonders is either football, soccer, or baseball, to a bitter argument over whether stuffing or potatoes are the best side. But the best segments are in Deep 13 as Dr. F deals with all the unwanted visitors invited by the recently-departed TV’s Frank. Watching Mike as Jack Perkins drunkenly hit on Bridget Jones’ Mr. B Natural while Pitch the devil sips wine is… pretty accurate to at least the tone of most Thanksgiving. This does have the effect that the movie segments never really reference the host segments, but it’s a small quibble over so much holiday-themed fun.
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| A nice rogue's gallery for the holiday. |
Ever since MST3K started doing their Turkey Day marathons in the early 90s, the show has been synonymous with Thanksgiving for many fans. And episodes like Night of the Blood Beast are why: it’s about loved ones gathering together to chow down on something good, be it turkey or a turkey of a movie. And for that, I and other MSTies can only say, “Thanks for MST3K.”
Short in a Riff:
This would be a good companion film with Eraserhead. -Crow
Movie in a Riff:
At least this is better than Junior. -Servo
Random Asides:
-For coming in at such a weird point in the show’s history, when Frank had just left and making the Movie had so drained them, this episode and season in general sure turned out great.
-The Game! skit is how us non-sportsball people feel about sports. Thanks Gypsy. Yes, even some of us Texans don’t watch the Cowboys on Thanksgiving.
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| "Did you see that ludicrous display?" |
-Pearl calls Crow “Art” again, and not for the last time.
-I love that Pearl just carries around a bad movie reel in her purse.
-In the battle between Stuffing and Potatoes: ”Stuffing, the combination of nature’s 4 earth elements: fire, water, sky and crumbs.” ; “Potatoes watch helplessly as man is beaten to death.”
-The “dumb Donna” jokes border on being mean, but they’ve made fun of guys for being dumb before, so I think they’re fine.
-Early Pearl is kinda mid western goofy sweet, but has some of the meanness that S8 and up would perfect
-They really thrive off the small setting and tiny cast; like goofing on an outward bound work excursion. A secluded location with a small cast of dopey characters and a cheesy monster just makes for solid MST3K.
-I like pearl saying ‘let’s all go around the table and each give thanks to God, no offense satan” Pitch: “None taken”
-Dr Forrester is thankful for, “...My mom, my evilness, my pending world domination, thank you. Oh, and for my friends, who will be leaving immediately after the meal!”
-Pitch is thankful for, among other things, Pat Buchanan.
- I love the awkward thanksgiving dinner at Deep 13, passive aggressive family, drunk relatives, randos, etc.
-So I actually watched and took notes for this one way back in ‘17 and never finished the review. My lazy ass’s bad! But I had plenty of notes to go off of and got to rewatch this one again, so works for me!
-According
to SoL-Mates, Once Upon a Honeymoon is directed
by Gower Champion,who directed Bye
Bye Birdie
and Hello,
Dolly!
Woah!
-Crow’s advice to Pearl about her parental woes with Clayton: “Kill him. That’s what I’d do.”
-Parental pearls of Pearl: “A mother has to support her son, no matter what a loser he is.”
-I love that Tom’s mincemeat pie costume bit devolves into random Tom Waits lyrics.
-”I have lain with the Blood Beast and I am pregnant!” Crow, trying to leech off pregnancy sympathy. He also has it against babies.
-I kinda feel bad for the kid who’s letter Crow interrupted with his selfish whining.
-I like what Beth on It's Just a Show has to say about mid-century design. And no, Adam, the 16 episodes you recorded from the '91 Turkey Day marathon are NOT enough for your entire life.
-Steve?
Additional Links
Episode Guide entry by Mike and Bridget.
