Mystery Science Theater 3000: PARTS: THE CLONUS HORROR
August 10, 2017 12:46 AM - Season 8, Episode 11 - Subscribe

"The only thing they don't use... is the scream" We know a remote farm in California, where Dick Sargent lives. Every July, dweebs grow there. One day a particularly upity dweeb decides to go see this "America" he's been told is so great and discovers he's a clone raised by a secretive organization to provide transplant organs for powerful people, in his case an important senator. Really. It's a stupid fate for a stupid guy in the stupid world of a stupid movie. The movie has the advantage of a higher budget than the average MST film, but that's more than offset by the great ridiculousnesses of the plot. We're expected to see the campus of the Clonus Project as a terrifying dystopia akin to The Village, but most of the time it ends up looking more like a resort for chowderheads. BTW, it has both Peter Graves and Keenan Wynn in it! In subplot news, Pearl and company find a group of runaway omnipotent space children and have to play babysitter. Bobo takes quite a bit of abuse. Trailer - Promo - YouTube (1h32m) Premiered June 7, 1997.

Episode 811 PARTS: THE CLONUS HORROR
Satellite News - Mighty Jack's Episode Review - War of the Colossal Fan Guide - Annotated MST3K - TVTropes

The Amazing Colossal Episode Guide entry was again written by Paul Chaplin. His reflections (slightly edited):
During the end credits there's a delightful little joke wherein Mike impersonates Peter Graves promising an upcoming "Biography" on the life of Peter Graves. Then, lo and behold, not a week after we taped this episode, there it was in the real world: Peter Graves on "Biography." Damme!
Since the older clones (in the world of the film) are really getting on in years, some of them nearing forty and even fifty, evidently this top-secret project has been around since at least the 1930's. Unless I'm mistaken, science in the 1930's consisted almost entirely of spindly rockets rising twelve feet and crashing back to the ground.
So the movie's implausible, I guess is my point.
Another thing: the great majority of these clones would never get used! Most of us go through life and never need a transplant of any sort, so what you'd have is a bunch of really old clones, hanging around, expecting to be entertained and fed. Which would be okay, they seem fairly easy to keep happy, but what would be the point? I ask you.
Movie
Daddy-O's Drive-In Dirt
Rotten Tomatoes (Critics N/A, Viewers 21%) - Wikipedia - TVTropes
IMDB (1979, 3.4 stars)
"Politicians scheme to clone themselves, assuring immortal life."
Directed by Robert S. Fiveson. Written by Ron Smith, Bob Sullivan, Myrl A. Schreibman and Fiveson. Starring Peter Graves, Rick DiAngelo, Eugene Robert Glazer.

Notes
This is the movie the makers of which sued Michael Bay's The Island for ripping them off. Word is they settled out of course for an undisclosed sum (but reputed to be in the millions). I hope it was a lot of money; Bay deserves to be taken down a few notches. Wikipedia tells us the DVD release of the episode has an interview with director Robert Fiveson about the movie and the lawsuit. Any director who's a good enough sport to provide material for a DVD release of an MST episode about his film is okay by me!

Dick Sargent is in this movie, as Mike and the bots point out repeatedly. According to Daddy-O, he came out of the closet near the end of his life.

Keenan Wynn, one of those guys who just sort of turns up in weird roles, is also in Parts: The Clonus Horror. We last saw him in Laserblast; he was the guy who went on about Operation Saaaaanddust. He was also the villain Alonzo Hawk in a couple of Disney movies, Son of Flubber and Herbie Rides Again, and the eccentric railroad baron in Supertrain. His father was Ed Wynn!
posted by JHarris (9 comments total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
It's time for MST Club again! This week's show is, again, Thursday at 9 PM Easter/6 PM Pacific, at https://cytu.be/r/Metafilter_MST3KClub. As usual there will be fun stuff before it, and maybe after too, time allowing. I hope to see you there!
posted by JHarris at 12:48 AM on August 10, 2017


Yeah, I saw The Island, and yeah, the suit was not frivolous.
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 3:04 AM on August 10, 2017 [2 favorites]


Also, this movie was better.
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 3:21 AM on August 10, 2017 [1 favorite]


I gotta work tonight, but I'll be thinking about you guys!
posted by valkane at 4:17 AM on August 10, 2017 [1 favorite]


Oh god, the episode wasn't necessary. They could have just MSTed that trailer... Three minutes and they're out.
posted by Naberius at 10:51 AM on August 10, 2017


"I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna start a band called Air Supply."
posted by Chrysostom at 12:20 PM on August 10, 2017


This was my favorite episode of all time and I made everyone around me watch it multiple times. And I named my Metafilter self after it! My husband and I quote it all. The. Time.

"Have some sun, my little friends."
"Trot.. Trot for my life!"
"HQ, my hat looks like a muffin. Over."
"We brainstormed a lotta good biographies on this baby."
"What's a helmet?"
"It's fun when there are things!"
"it's the go-as-slow-as-you-can-without-tipping-over race!"
"Could you direct me to the natatorium, as I'm attending a swim meet?"

Etc.

We found out that it was partially filmed at Moorpark College in CA and road tripped out there for a self tour.

In conclusion, yes.
posted by TheClonusHorror at 10:53 AM on August 12, 2017 [2 favorites]


I can't believe you road tripped to Moorpark college. I'm dying laughing. That might be the perfect MST pilgrimage: you know Brandon Boyd AND Colbie Caillat both dropped out of Moorpark. And they have a zoo. And that's it.
posted by fshgrl at 1:12 AM on August 13, 2017


Here's the log from YouTube Potluck, which was mostly my own stuff this time (which explains all the Mr. Show and Exit 57):
Look Listen and Take Heed: Women Keep Your Virtue
Mr. Show: Bugged Drug Deal
Mr. Show: Lie Detector
Exit 57: Cobalt Film Strip
Exit 57: One Hand Clapping
Exit 57: Bottomless Lake
Late Show with Steven Colbert: BBC Presenter on Dog Surfing
Pismo the Goat Surfer

I don't mind supplying videos for everyone to watch, but I certainly don't mind it when other people contribute, so long as they're not too long (under 10 minutes) and not too cringe-causing.
posted by JHarris at 8:48 AM on August 13, 2017


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