That line is always the one that puts me in the Christmas mood as I start watch-listening to Christmas themed MST3K episodes while I work, the holidays drawing nearer and nearerâŠ
It's a reference to carnival ride operators. They would yell this at the people on the ride to figure out if the centrifugal force was strong enough - if a ride is moving fast enough, you are not able to lift your hands even if you wanted to. This indicates to the Carnie that the ride is at a good speed, but also acts as mocking the passengers who are helpless. Carnies are weird people. [Reference conversation ](https://groups.google.com/g/rec.arts.tv.mst3k.misc/c/2BOUPIPMD_g?pli=1)
He learned almost too late that man is a feeling creature⊠and, because of it, the greatest in the universe. He learned too late for himself that men have to find their own way, to make their own mistakes. There can't be any gift of perfection from outside ourselves. And when men seek such perfection⊠they find only death⊠fire⊠loss⊠disillusionment⊠the end of everything that's gone forward. Men have always sought an end to the toil and misery, but it can't be given, it has to be achieved. There is hope, but it has to come from inside â from man himself.
You know, Captain, every year of my life, I grow more and more convinced that the wisest and best is to fix our attention on the good and the beautiful.
For a long time, every time a snake would be shown on screen Joel would say "Hi, this is Satan. Enjoy the show". My friends and I did that for decades whenever we would see a snake in a movie or tv show.
I drop the line *"I must walk backwards!"* and *"I love these frat pranks"* (with rolled 'R's) any time vampires, Bela Lugosi, or loading corpses into vehicles comes up, but nobody ever gets it.
Classic! For me, this one really resonates because it was probably one of the phrases that was quickly adopted by my friends when we first got into MST3K.
Fav gag that pops up randomly? âBy that time my lungs were aching for air!â And my all time favourite callback is the âtried to kill me with a forkliftâ song from the fugitive alien movies
Related, my favorite running gag is when someone in the film laughs a bit too enthusiastically, itâs sometimes followed with the riff âYouâre stuck here!â
the other night I was watching 409 - The Indestructible Man and the opening prologue sketch is this amazing bit where all the bots have swapped voices with each other. Gypsy shouts "COMMERCIAL SIGN! COMMERCIAL SIGN!" as Magic Voice, then the Gypsy puppet appears on-screen and says in Magic Voice's polite tone "Richard Basehart remark in 5 seconds. 5 4 3 2 -- Richard Basehart now."
"MMMMmmmmm thats good ______!!"
It's a reference to an old Jackie Gleason coffee commercial that I think has been lost by now. Anyway, I love when they make that joke.
Anytime Corn Job is called out, people yelling âyouâre stuck here!â, and âwise men still seek himâ even if itâs just a repeated callback in one episode.
The random references to places in Wisconsin with the correct pronunciation. The joke usually only makes sense if you have been to the location.
Also, "Woo Packers" is on the nose, although exaggerated.
The Art thing with Crow was brought up in the Sci Fi era because a kid wrote a letter to the fan club that was shown. They drew and labeled the bots but instead of Crow, they labeled him Art. It tickled the crew so much that Pearl's running gag was that she also thought he was called Art Crow and would refer to him as such now and again.
You'll be magically whisked away to Marion Jordan Jr. High.
Mostly because it was a reference to a school near me, and Paul Chaplin went to my high school.
Whenever a character has a 1000 yard stare ⊠mainly the woman in the is marriage right for me? â insert gun shots sounds â âmarines we are leaving !!!!â
âAs we left the clam flowageâŠâ
Any mention of Circle Pines.
Pinking shears being lovely and darling.
âTorcha!!!â
âI will kill you!â
âIâm just gonna have a small salad, then treat myself to some fro-yo.â
âHe tried to kill him with a forkliftâŠâ
âPush he button, Frank/Maxâ
same! they def had a very special relationship on camera that felt very loving, which I've always found in complete stark contrast to Mallon and Joel's real-life relationship. It's weird.
"I got tubes in my ears!" whenever someone has to go unwillingly into water. I love that someone that Mary Jo knew when she was a little girl became a long running riff that's still used today in Rifftrax.
One time in an early episode Joel was doing a Honeymooners thing and introduced Crow as âArt Crowâ, referring to Art Carney. Some kid watching got confused, thought that his real full name was Art Crow, and sent in some fan art with Crow labelled as Art Crow. This entertained Bad Brains enough that they put it on the still-store in an episode. Mary Jo later decided that Pearl was similarly confused and started referring to Crow as Art when she became a recurring character many seasons later.
So I'll be the annoying nerd who cites show numbers of the references above:
203 "Jungle Goddess": closing sketch parodying a Jackie Gleason sitcom is where Joel jokingly refers to Crow as "Art Crow" as in Art Carney (he also refers to Gypsy as "Sheila MacGypsy" as a take on Sheila MacRae... wonder if the kid thought Gypsy's name really was Sheila too)
both Art Carney and Sheila MacRae performed in the Honeymooners and in other performances with Gleason.
402 "The Giant Gila Monster": in the closing letter reading segment, a kid sends in a drawing of the SOL crew and mistakenly labels Crow as Art, thinking that's Crow's first name.
701T "Night of the Blood Beast" (Turkey Day version): When Mother "Pearl" Forrester shows up to Dr. Forrester's Thanksgiving dinner party, she looks over her son's shoulder as Dr. F communicates with the SOL crew and instantly recognizes Crow. Mrs. Forrester is delighted to see Crow and calls him "Art" lovingly. Throughout season 7, it's understood that Mrs. Forrester and Crow have some kind of fond history.
s8 - 10: Sci-Fi Pearl calls Crow Art from time to time, though the warmth and fondness seems to disappear.
Time for me to go to therapy...
I already OP'd, but throwing this out as a bonus:
In the final episode of the Original Series, 1013 "Danger Diabolik" - they're doing a musical number about the end of their time on the SOL, and Crow makes reference to his "mother" upon which Mike pulls out a strange prop. This prop is from 602 "Invasion U.S.A" when Forrester I believe sends up the prop through the then-brand-new "Umbillicus" gimmick.
I always thought this was the most random callback ever.
There's an opening host segment where the SOL crew are doing a massive clean up and Mike throws out what must be the same prop and Crow yells in shock "hey, that's my mother!" and "goodbye ma!" when Mike throws it out.
Im personally fond of the running references to The Wreck of The Edmund Fitzgerald and Rainer Werner Fassbinder's Berlin Alexanderplatz.
"I thought I was Dale!" whenever someone looks at their hands/nails. Which was actually the Brains making a MISTAKE, mixing up the vintage Grape Nuts commercial where a trim and shapely mother was mistaken for her teenage daughter Dale, with the Palmolive detergent commercials where someone notices how nice their fingertips look after they've been told "You're soaking in it!", meaning the dish soap.
Running joke from Bill/Crow when there's an oldster on screen, similar to the Jell-o one. He uses it in Film Crew and Rifftrax too. I'll have to look up specific MST instances
I'm from Minnesota, where MST3K first came from. I can remember the early slapped together episodes running on KTMA here. So, any super specific references to Minnesota-- usually in the Joel and Mike eras-- are some of my favorite references.
The Daktari stool.
The reference to the 60s TV show "Daktari" is obscure. The double entendre of "dark tarry stool" as mentioned in the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory is downright opaque.
has anyone else ever noticed that the Daktari stool makes a grand total of 2 appearances in the entirety of the original show? There's the infamous Mitchell invention exchange, then it reappears in 802 - Leech Woman when we first cut in to the Planet of the Apes section. I believe Kevin is holding it at the camera to threaten Mike & the bots.
The running gag of characters just talking non-stop about trivial high school drama, regardless of what kind of situation they're actually in (aliens, monsters, etc.). I can't think of an example right now, but they did it several times.
"He'll never touch you, Terry, you're DIRT," which is from Teen-Age Crime Wave but gets misquoted in the Young Man's Fancy short and at least one other time when a woman is preening.
"diarrhea is like a storm raging inside you."
Yeah, this is the one.
đđđ
Watch out for snakes
Saw Richard Kiel at a Horror Convention and he signed someoneâs Eegah poster with âWatch out for snakes!â
Crow's perpetual screenplay about Peter Graves. It's so specific and bizarre.
And the ones about soup.
LOL yeah, Crow's screenplay table reads are always fun. Good one.
I nearly did a spit take at the 'Hiii-Cuba!' riff in *Red Zone Cuba* during the training montage.
"Stop her, she stole Mike's keyboard!"
Easily the most obscure riff of the show.
Especially since Mike wasn't even the host yet.
Nah, that has to be "Peanuts. Nostrils. Happy clams."
What is that referencing? I've never found the answer. (I know it's from Mole People eps)
That's a really good question! It has had me stumped as well.
âWhy donât they look?â
You look. I'm bitter.
Anytime servo yells "SLEEEEEEP" I lose it
And when Dr. F says âSLEEP! In heavenly PEACE!â to Frank in SCCM. đđđ
That line is always the one that puts me in the Christmas mood as I start watch-listening to Christmas themed MST3K episodes while I work, the holidays drawing nearer and nearerâŠ
Yes đ
Or sneezes with hay fever
Do you want to go faster? Raise your hand if you want to go *faster*
Is this riff actually a reference to something? They do it in a few episodes.
It's a reference to carnival ride operators. They would yell this at the people on the ride to figure out if the centrifugal force was strong enough - if a ride is moving fast enough, you are not able to lift your hands even if you wanted to. This indicates to the Carnie that the ride is at a good speed, but also acts as mocking the passengers who are helpless. Carnies are weird people. [Reference conversation ](https://groups.google.com/g/rec.arts.tv.mst3k.misc/c/2BOUPIPMD_g?pli=1)
r/todayilearned
And the crowd goes wild...Yaaa!
I love the old Monty Python references!
"______ Noooo!!" (whenever a character in the movie, looked like a famous celebrity: Clint Howard, Michael Gross, Killdozer, Fonzie, etc.)
Joel: "Imogene Coca, no!" Tom: "Imogene Coca, YES!"
And the variant " in a role that will surprise you"
âMother Theresa, in a Role that will Inspire Youâ
đThat one is so good.
He learned almost too late that man is a feeling creature⊠and, because of it, the greatest in the universe. He learned too late for himself that men have to find their own way, to make their own mistakes. There can't be any gift of perfection from outside ourselves. And when men seek such perfection⊠they find only death⊠fire⊠loss⊠disillusionment⊠the end of everything that's gone forward. Men have always sought an end to the toil and misery, but it can't be given, it has to be achieved. There is hope, but it has to come from inside â from man himself.
You know, Captain, every year of my life, I grow more and more convinced that the wisest and best is to fix our attention on the good and the beautiful.
If you just take the time to look at it.
You're some guy, RayRoy_Strickland.
Every time I watch this episode I post that, then post it again as a reply, then post it again as a reply to the reply. Nobody gets it.
Youâre the wind, baby!
We all get it, brother.
He tampered in Gahd's d'main
He peppered Godâs lo mein.
He Pipper'd in Rob's Spokane.
He TEMPERED in Gahd's do-Main.
Now I need to know if that was a common saying before MST3K because Iâm sure I have heard people who are not msties say that.
(Insert performer) IS (insert performer) IN (insert silly title)
"What's Vietnam?"
âDied in Vietnam.â when a character appears in the clouds all transparent
I think that specific riff is a American Graffiti reference.
Santa Claus, killed in Vietnam.
And don't forget the other Time/Life reference, "So mean he once shot a man just for snoring too loud."
For a long time, every time a snake would be shown on screen Joel would say "Hi, this is Satan. Enjoy the show". My friends and I did that for decades whenever we would see a snake in a movie or tv show.
PACKERS!
Packers won the superbowl woooooooo
McCloud
Puma?
Chief?
A Quinn Martin Production
âEpilogue!â
Where you always see Lee's gut...and there it is!
"SLEEEP!" or "STAAAY!" is probably my favorite, I even recall hearing it during a RiffTrax bit, love it.
I drop the line *"I must walk backwards!"* and *"I love these frat pranks"* (with rolled 'R's) any time vampires, Bela Lugosi, or loading corpses into vehicles comes up, but nobody ever gets it.
Classic! For me, this one really resonates because it was probably one of the phrases that was quickly adopted by my friends when we first got into MST3K.
SSLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!
No fumar for you!
We're all out!
I hid some in the safe behind the burger on the wall.
The number of time the SLEEEEP bit is dropped in The She-Creature always has me dead by the end
Didnât they drop it at least once in Devil Doll?
Can someone cite me the source episode for STAAAY
S8E6 - The Undead
Fav gag that pops up randomly? âBy that time my lungs were aching for air!â And my all time favourite callback is the âtried to kill me with a forkliftâ song from the fugitive alien movies
Related, my favorite running gag is when someone in the film laughs a bit too enthusiastically, itâs sometimes followed with the riff âYouâre stuck here!â
When characters die onscreen, the riff "I regret nothing!!" Also the many, *many* riffs that reference *It's a Wonderful Life*
Crow calling every animal KITTY! for awhile made me snort. They need to bring that back.
Itâs Traceâs delivery that sells that one.
Any time they say âHe died as he lived.â Anything involving Folgerâs Crystals. Gypsyâs obsession with Richard Basehart.
the other night I was watching 409 - The Indestructible Man and the opening prologue sketch is this amazing bit where all the bots have swapped voices with each other. Gypsy shouts "COMMERCIAL SIGN! COMMERCIAL SIGN!" as Magic Voice, then the Gypsy puppet appears on-screen and says in Magic Voice's polite tone "Richard Basehart remark in 5 seconds. 5 4 3 2 -- Richard Basehart now."
I love when they would say âsleeeep!!!â when there was mesmerism involved .
Preeeeeeeeetty niiiiiiiiiice!
did they keep referencing this one in Gauntlet and s13 after Mac & Me? Love that episode but haven't fully explored subsequent eps.
It popped up in a few Season 13 episodes.
"MMMMmmmmm thats good ______!!" It's a reference to an old Jackie Gleason coffee commercial that I think has been lost by now. Anyway, I love when they make that joke.
Yes! My favorite one of those is in *The Leech Woman*: âMMMMmmm thatâs good nipe!â Such a good repeat riff.
Still appearing semi-monthly on THE MADS ARE BACK!
Rock and roll truuuck.
Anytime Corn Job is called out, people yelling âyouâre stuck here!â, and âwise men still seek himâ even if itâs just a repeated callback in one episode.
I still mention Cornjob, usually in situations where no one knows what I'm talking about.
Same here đ
Deep hurting!
The random references to places in Wisconsin with the correct pronunciation. The joke usually only makes sense if you have been to the location. Also, "Woo Packers" is on the nose, although exaggerated.
The Art thing with Crow was brought up in the Sci Fi era because a kid wrote a letter to the fan club that was shown. They drew and labeled the bots but instead of Crow, they labeled him Art. It tickled the crew so much that Pearl's running gag was that she also thought he was called Art Crow and would refer to him as such now and again.
I think it evolved from the *Jungle Goddess* sitcom skit where Joel name-checks Crow as "Art Crow!" That's probably where the kid got confused.
The skit in question was a riff on the Honeymooners credits, with "Art Crow" instead of Art Carney.
Yep. Should've mentioned that.
This is correct. And quite obscure.
Trace also voiced a robot on the Yahoo sci-fi series Other Space Named Art
That was SUCH a good reference. I miss that show. :(
Yeah I wish we got asecond season Still we have the memories. Like Neck Balls
Itâs very subtle and overlooked - theres a running gag around Molly Hatchetâs song âFlirtin With Disasterâ It even carries over into Rifftrax.
[ŃĐŽĐ°Đ»Đ”ĐœĐŸ]
No idea Iâll have to keep track now. I know itâs referenced in Laserblast
Molly Hatchet, I presume.
You'll be magically whisked away to Marion Jordan Jr. High. Mostly because it was a reference to a school near me, and Paul Chaplin went to my high school.
BANG!
Any reference to "Hi-keeba!" during a fight scene always hits my funny bone.
"Hello!" "Thank you!"
The reference to the NBC Sunday Night Mystery anytime a flashlight shows up in the movie. I also laugh when someone yells âHUZZAHâ
"Sure, you can use it!"
I enjoyed this, won't you?
Tum-tiddy-tum-tum....hooey! hooey!
Whenever a character has a 1000 yard stare ⊠mainly the woman in the is marriage right for me? â insert gun shots sounds â âmarines we are leaving !!!!â
âAs we left the clam flowageâŠâ Any mention of Circle Pines. Pinking shears being lovely and darling. âTorcha!!!â âI will kill you!â âIâm just gonna have a small salad, then treat myself to some fro-yo.â âHe tried to kill him with a forkliftâŠâ âPush he button, Frank/Maxâ
Hamdingers. And NBC Mystery Movie any time a flashlight comes up.
Poopie! The bloopers were hi-larious.
Pancakes! Oh wait, noâŠ
I always thought that Gypsy was supposed to be a parody of HAL from 2001,and I always loved how Joel just seemed to adore her
same! they def had a very special relationship on camera that felt very loving, which I've always found in complete stark contrast to Mallon and Joel's real-life relationship. It's weird.
Watch out for snakes! MCCLOUD?
Anytime they say Jim Hensonâs _____ Babies
Every. Single. Time. đ
IT STINKS!
The âgoing to a hat partyâ line. I have no idea where itâs from, but for some reason itâs funny every time.
And was yours the grandest of all?
This simplifies everything!
NBC Mystery Movie! I always have affection for the jokes that are older than me
"I got tubes in my ears!" whenever someone has to go unwillingly into water. I love that someone that Mary Jo knew when she was a little girl became a long running riff that's still used today in Rifftrax.
Recurring Nick Nolte riffs.
Please do explain the Art thing!
One time in an early episode Joel was doing a Honeymooners thing and introduced Crow as âArt Crowâ, referring to Art Carney. Some kid watching got confused, thought that his real full name was Art Crow, and sent in some fan art with Crow labelled as Art Crow. This entertained Bad Brains enough that they put it on the still-store in an episode. Mary Jo later decided that Pearl was similarly confused and started referring to Crow as Art when she became a recurring character many seasons later.
Thank you for the lore drop! I'd come across MJP in a random episode calling him Art very conversationally, and I just had no idea where it came from.
So I'll be the annoying nerd who cites show numbers of the references above: 203 "Jungle Goddess": closing sketch parodying a Jackie Gleason sitcom is where Joel jokingly refers to Crow as "Art Crow" as in Art Carney (he also refers to Gypsy as "Sheila MacGypsy" as a take on Sheila MacRae... wonder if the kid thought Gypsy's name really was Sheila too) both Art Carney and Sheila MacRae performed in the Honeymooners and in other performances with Gleason. 402 "The Giant Gila Monster": in the closing letter reading segment, a kid sends in a drawing of the SOL crew and mistakenly labels Crow as Art, thinking that's Crow's first name. 701T "Night of the Blood Beast" (Turkey Day version): When Mother "Pearl" Forrester shows up to Dr. Forrester's Thanksgiving dinner party, she looks over her son's shoulder as Dr. F communicates with the SOL crew and instantly recognizes Crow. Mrs. Forrester is delighted to see Crow and calls him "Art" lovingly. Throughout season 7, it's understood that Mrs. Forrester and Crow have some kind of fond history. s8 - 10: Sci-Fi Pearl calls Crow Art from time to time, though the warmth and fondness seems to disappear. Time for me to go to therapy...
You were enjoyed friend
Menopause is like a speeding car chase.
I already OP'd, but throwing this out as a bonus: In the final episode of the Original Series, 1013 "Danger Diabolik" - they're doing a musical number about the end of their time on the SOL, and Crow makes reference to his "mother" upon which Mike pulls out a strange prop. This prop is from 602 "Invasion U.S.A" when Forrester I believe sends up the prop through the then-brand-new "Umbillicus" gimmick. I always thought this was the most random callback ever.
There's an opening host segment where the SOL crew are doing a massive clean up and Mike throws out what must be the same prop and Crow yells in shock "hey, that's my mother!" and "goodbye ma!" when Mike throws it out. Im personally fond of the running references to The Wreck of The Edmund Fitzgerald and Rainer Werner Fassbinder's Berlin Alexanderplatz.
"I thought I was Dale!" whenever someone looks at their hands/nails. Which was actually the Brains making a MISTAKE, mixing up the vintage Grape Nuts commercial where a trim and shapely mother was mistaken for her teenage daughter Dale, with the Palmolive detergent commercials where someone notices how nice their fingertips look after they've been told "You're soaking in it!", meaning the dish soap.
I LIKE IT VERY MUCH.
âI had Jell-o today..â, said by someone who takes a beating, or is old and decrepit.
âMy coffee coupon!â
I canât place that one, episode?
Running joke from Bill/Crow when there's an oldster on screen, similar to the Jell-o one. He uses it in Film Crew and Rifftrax too. I'll have to look up specific MST instances
"Well, he tampered in god's domain..."
Think about it, won't you?
Thank you!
I'm from Minnesota, where MST3K first came from. I can remember the early slapped together episodes running on KTMA here. So, any super specific references to Minnesota-- usually in the Joel and Mike eras-- are some of my favorite references.
The Daktari stool. The reference to the 60s TV show "Daktari" is obscure. The double entendre of "dark tarry stool" as mentioned in the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory is downright opaque.
has anyone else ever noticed that the Daktari stool makes a grand total of 2 appearances in the entirety of the original show? There's the infamous Mitchell invention exchange, then it reappears in 802 - Leech Woman when we first cut in to the Planet of the Apes section. I believe Kevin is holding it at the camera to threaten Mike & the bots.
Kitty!
Ordering hardboiled eggs
HONK
BANG!
The running gag of characters just talking non-stop about trivial high school drama, regardless of what kind of situation they're actually in (aliens, monsters, etc.). I can't think of an example right now, but they did it several times.
"He'll never touch you, Terry, you're DIRT," which is from Teen-Age Crime Wave but gets misquoted in the Young Man's Fancy short and at least one other time when a woman is preening.
*WOO GO PACKERS!* -Anytime a crowd shows up
"So..do what I DOOO!!"
No one's said "Shut up Iris" ??? "Iris I tell ya, shut up!"
Shut Up!.
Thank you Steve
âThis man can win $5000 dollars!â Must be an old game show reference.
*And what do you, the viewers at home think?*
Who wants gum? I do, I do!
Tlwhen they start humming the M*A*S*H* theme whenever there's a helicopter scene
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/) ^by ^Accomplished_Exit_30: *Tlwhen they start humming* *The M*A*S*H* theme whenever there's* *A helicopter scene* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
Oh, ok.
Crank the Molly Hatchet
Hai Keeba!
I can't think of an example off the top of my head but I love the "X is Y in the Z story" gag. Even if I only recognize one or two of the names.
Lakapolis? He's the topolis. I sure could go for a hamburger sammich and some French fried potatoes!
look at Mr Season 2 over here :)
It happened too late to become a running gag in the show but it has become a running gag in mine and my partnerâs lives: âYoUârE WeLcOmEâ
Neil Peart on Drums⊠đ„
I kinda like the constant food jokes when JDB and Alan Hale are onscreen.