MrsPepper said:
I've never actually heard of this show! Either not the right generation, or I don't get that channel.
You probably know about it but didn't know the show's title. (happens a lot) It's the show with the guy and the puppets' silhouettes int he corner of the screen where they watch really bad movies and make fun of them.
Sadly the show is no longer on the air. It started out as a show on a small UHF station called KTMA. It caught the eye of network executives from the then just starting out Comedy Channel (now called Comedy Central) and the idea was relaunched as a cable network show. Season 1-7 ran on Comedy Central then they stopped ordering new episodes so the show ended but a couple years later Sci-Fi Channel revived the show and it ran for three more seasons (though Sci-Fi did not air the old season due to rights issues) before they went the same route and stopped buying new episodes. (the guys who made the show wanted to keep going but couldn't get picked up) Some episodes have been released on video and DVD but because of legal rights with the movies they can't do season sets.
Now settle in while I break down the show's storyline for you.
In the not too distant future (Next Sunday A.D.) Joel Robinson worked at Gismonic Institute. Despite having a brilliant mind for inventing he was actually apparently the janitor. One day his boss Dr. Clayton Forester and his assistant Dr. Larry Earhart suddenly launch Joel into space on a ship called the Satellite of Love to use as the test subject in their latest mad experiment. They force him to watch the worst movies ever made in an attempt to destroy his sanity. (It's later made clear that once they find the absolute worst movie ever they will force everyone to watch it and thus take over the world)
But Joel fights back with mankind's greatest weapon; a sense of humor. He builds himself some robot companions, Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot who watch the movie with him, and Gypsy who runs the ship. There's also Cambot who is the silent cameraman who basically films the show and allows Joel and the Mads to communicate. And in the early seasons there was the mysterious Magic Voice who did little more than announce when it was time for a commercial break and eventually was faded out of the show. Unfortunately Joel apparently builds the bots out of parts that would've allowed him to control when the movies began and ended.
Joel and the Mads also do invention exchanges where they each show off their latest creations. Most of them are silly and/or useless but occasionally they have good ideas. In season two the guy who played Larry and did Tom's voice left the show so Tom got a new voice and Dr. Forrester got a new assistant, Frank. The character of Larry was declared missing in the season 2 premiere and was never thought of again.
Things continued in this way until halfway through season 5. Dr. F and Frank hired a temp worker Mike Nelson to help them get organized for and audit but planned to kill him when he finished the job. Gypsy overheard them talking and mistakingly thought they were planning to kill Joel. So with Mike's help she learns that there is a escape pod on board hidden in a box of Hamdingers ("No wonder we didn't find it No one likes Hamdingers!") and she sends Joel back to Earth in it. Dr. Forrester and Frank send Mike up to replace Joel. (Mike's not as inventive as Joel and the inventions exchanges stopped soon after)
Then at the end of Season 6 Frank gets absorbed into sidekick heaven by Torgo (from "Manos: the hands of fate- widely regarded as the worst movie they ever watched) Dr. Forester's mother Pearl comes to live with him and help him out but soon after (end of season 7)all of his funding runs out so he shuts everything down and sends the SOL to drift helplessly through space. Mike and the bots end up at the edge of the universe where they turn into energy beings and head out to explore. Back on Earth Dr. F grows old rapidly then turns into a space baby in a brilliant homage/parody of the end of 2001: a Space Odyssey that must be seen to be truly appreciated.
Now comes season 8 which has the most complex ongoing storyline of any season of the show. Mike and the bots return to the SOL and their normal bodies. Actually Crow had gone back a long time ago and has a new voice (he was origanlly voiced by Trace Belieu who also played Dr. F but has left the show) During his years alone he acquired some new inhabitants for the ship- the Nanites; microscopic robots designed for repair and construction. (He also forgot Mike but regained his memory a few episodes later) They find that the SOL has made its way back to Earth orbit but now it is the year 2525 and the world is ruled by apes. Though I wouldn't exactly say super intelligent ones.
Our heroes find themselves once again subjected to bad movies courtesy of Professor Bobo and Dr. Peanut the gorillas. Bobo explains that they have to do this because the lawgiver demands it. The lawgiver turns out to be Pearl who had herself cryogenicly frozen after Dr. F died. (Pearl: "When I was through smothering him I vowed to avenge his death!") Not long after though some "neighbors" drop by the apes to get help fixing their "holy and everlasting bomb" Because the apes don't know what a thermonuclear device is (and Mike without thinking gives them a tip on how to fix it) the bomb is armed and Earth blows up.
Fortunately our heroes get the nanites to fix the ship just in time to rocket away from the planet. (CROW: "I feel a disturbance, as though a million monkeys cried out at once...") Unfortunately Pearl also escaped aboard her ship (a VW van with rockets strapped to the sides) to her surprise Bobo is also aboard. (he claims to have been thrown in by the blast but no one's convinced) Peanut it turns out was thrown back in time by the blast and wound up marring a cousin of Mike and thus started the whole ape uprising.
As Mike and the bots flee from Pearl though space they are suddenly pulled to another planet inhabited by The Observers. Bleach-white skinned guys who carry their brains in pans. The brain guys want to observe the "experiments" but when they decide to dissect Pearl and Bobo Pearl gets Mike to help them escape by promising to release them but of course she lied. Mike asks the nanites to do something to help them get away and they do. They blow up the planet. Of course Pearl and Bobo escape along with an Observer they initially took hostage but quickly ally with to keep our heroes from escaping.
While flying through space Bobo gets out to fix a flat tire (don't ask) and is pulled down to another planet. The villains decide to spend some time camping here despite run ins with body snatchers/pod people and super powerful/annoying space children. But then they are attacked by war robots and decide to leave. Pearl calls Mike for air support/a distraction so he drops a big vinegar and baking soda bomb. But he uses too much baking soda and it blows the whole planet up. (The villains escape again of course) Mike then finds himself put on galactic trial for destroying three planets and is found guilty (largely because he winds up with Pearl as prosecutor and Bobo as defense) but he is sentenced only to community service.
Again moving through space Bobo again gets out this time to relieve himself and is sucked through a wormhole. Pearl and Brain Guy follow dragging the SOL with them and find themselves on Earth in Roman times. Pretending to be gods they learn that Bobo has got amnesia and is now revered in Rome as the "Mad Goth" Pearl restores his memory by whacking him on the head with a stone tablet and he winds up blowing their cover. They manage to escape without blowing up the planet but Bobo knocks over a lantern starting the great Roman fire. Everyone heads back through the wormhole and that's the end of season 8. (Yes all that happens in one season!)
Season 9 has them emerging from the wormhole to find they are back at Earth in modern times. Pearl discovers her ancient family castle and learns that the Forresters have had a long tradition of trying to take over the world so she takes up the task and spends the whole season coming up with new plans. None of which come close to working. In Season 10 Pearl learns that apparently one must be a fully accredited mad scientist in order to try taking over the world so she spends the season running crazy experiments trying to earn her title. The last one proves disastrous for her (and the show) though. She runs the SOL's controls through a joystick and makes it go through crazy flips and spins but then the stick breaks sending the SOL into reentry.
With her plans in ruins Pearl packs it in. She takes a job as dictator of Qatar ("My first order of business will be to get these guys a U.") Bobo gets a position at the zoo. ("I thought I had blown the interview but it turns out they want me to start right away.. in fact they pursued me vigorously. I had to lightly maul one of my new coworkers to get home.") Brain Guy reluctantly takes a position as the all knowing being of a civilization. (Which apparently is actually a looser job) The SOL starts to break up on reentry and crashes but then it dissolves to show everyone all right. Gypsy has started her own successful business. She apparently offered to let the guys in on the deal but they foolishly turned her down. (CROW: "I made a fart noise, she only took it as a no.") So the guys have got an apartment together and settle down in front of the TV to enjoy their freedom and watch the afternoon movie... which turns out to be "The Crawling Eye" (The movie from the first episode) Hmmm. Maybe they're not so free after all.
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