MST3K: Rocketship X-M

Episode Rating: 3 stars

Plot: Five astronauts (Lloyd Bridges, a cowardly astronomer, an ice queen, the Walt Disney look-alike leader, and a Texan with a neck so red it probably glows in the dark) take the first rocket to go to the moon. They screw up, fly to Mars instead, half of them die, and the rest perish when they run out of fuel and crash. Lloyd hits on the chick the entire trip.

Opening: Introducing the new look for the Satellite of Love. Crow: "I have a terrible toothache!"

Invention exchange: Tom's new voice: "Happy birthday!" TV's Frank nearly brings them back to Earth on his first day. "Uh-oh looks like the splukies about to hit the fan." Joel and Frank both create the BGC-19

Host segment 1: Salute to the reporters of Rocketship X-M

Host segment 2: Funny or not funny floating. "Gallagher, funny or not funny floating?" "Not funny." "Extremely un-funny."

Host segment 3: Deep thoughts, and Mike Nelson in drag. "You and your daughter are doomed!"

End: The horror of being locked in a capsule and being forced to watch a film about people dying in a capsule. Frank can't seem to push the button.

Stinger: None

Music: During the opening of the film, Servo leads in song.

Don't get your hopes up to high
'Cause when it's all said and dead it's a Llyod Bridge's movie
If you're looking for something good
Then an hour from now you're going to be weeping.

Zingers

"Stupid name by Ferde Grofe'."

"Does 'expedition' start with an 'x'?"

Dumbass Texan: I wish you fella's could've seen the look on her face when I said, in the strictest confidence of course, 'Honey, I'm going to the moon.'
Reporter: And what did she say to that?
Joel: Not tonight dear, I have a headache.

Scientist lady Lloyd wants to screw: How do we stand on fuel?
Crow: I'm for it!

"By this time my lungs were aching for air!"

Scientist lady talks to Lloyd: Would you do something for me please?
All: Shut - up!!!

Idiot Texan: Maybe somebody don't want us to get where we aim to get.
Joel: Yeah, the god of grammar.

Prof. Walt Disney: You know the consequences of a body moving with unchecked velocity in free space.
Crow: Uh, we're our own grandparents?

"You can't swing a dead cat without hitting one of his boring speeches."

"Yup, let's go kill somethin' we don't understand."

"Well the good news is we won't make a big explosion when we hit the Earth."

"Doomed spaceship to Earth. Doomed spaceship to Earth."

Latently homosexual commander: Repeat that again please, Dr. Van Horn.
Crow: I said, "HEEEEEELP!!!!"

Tom announces the doctor's death: Doornail. Daisies. Wormfood. Thrown up the sponge. How many feet under? Joined who?

"I thought wormfood was a bit strong, Lloyd."

Weepy commander: It has proven that inner space travel is not only possible, but practical.
Crow: And enjoyable for all members of the family. Oh there'll be carnage...

My Thoughts

On the film: Rocketship X-M is a bit pretensious, but it tried to be scientific. It didn't succeed, but it tried. At least, it used a lot of technobabble, and Star Trek has proven that that counts as science anyway. The male attitude towards the only female character made even me cringe, and I'm as far from being politically correct as you can get without having a picture of Hitler in your wallet.

Kevin Murphy takes over for Josh Weinstein as Tom Servo, although he doesn't quite have his voice settled in yet (Tom's opening line, if you don't get it, is Frosty the Snowman's first line when he comes to life). However, he does a pretty good job with the puppet compared to when Bill Corbet had to take over Crow.

In the first segment it looked like Joel forgot all his lines. He kind of stumbles through the entire segment.

Two references to Season One, both in the third segment. Tom says "Dames like this always got beer around," which is a line used by a character in The Crawling Hand. Mike Nelson plays Valeria from "Robot Holocaust."

Lastly, note that they've taken out the desk for the invention exchange, and you can't see the puppet pit. Don't know how they did that, but I don't think they ever did it again.

Still Store

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