MST3K Story: Joel and the Bots are hopeful that they won’t get another Gamera movie, but the Mads counter that turtles are going to be “big, really big”. Still, at first it seems like Joel will get his wish, since the Mads have run out of Gamera films. They briefly contemplate sending a good movie like Star Wars or Jaws, but Dr. Erhardt finds Gamera vs. Guiron at the last moment. At a break, Gypsy accidentally drops a piece of heavy equipment on Crow and he dreams that he is on Earth in the Mads’ control room and that the Mads are stuck on the “Satellite of Loathe”. In his dream, Crow has been sending them Planet Of The Apes Christmas over and over again. Joel wakes Crow up just as they go to commercial. This incident leads Joel and the Bots to an extended discussion on the nature of dreams. After singing a snippet of Satellite of Love with the Bots at the episode’s end, Joel announces that “Kent” is doing a survey back on Earth and that next week there won’t be another Gamera movie.
Gamera Vs. Guiron Story: Akio, a Japanese boy, spots a space ship through his telescope and observes it landing at the park. Akio, his friend Tom and sister Tomoko go out in search of the ship and find it. Akio and Tom climb aboard and the ship launches, carrying them into space. Gamera attempts to stop them, but the ship accelerates too fast. Back on Earth, Tomoko tries to get help, but none of the adults believe her story except one policeman. The boys eventually land on an alien planet where they witness a furious battle between a “Space-Gaos” and a monster whose razor-sharp snout slices the Space-Gaos to pieces. Running from the monster, Akio and Tom find themselves inside an alien city where they meet two female aliens, Belladonna and Flovera. They explain that they control the monster and that it is called Guiron. They also say they need to leave the planet and that they want to take the boys back to Earth with them. Their true intentions are revealed when they drug Akio and Tom and state that they will use the boys as food. Gamera finally arrives and is initially defeated by Guiron, falling onto his back on the bottom of the ocean. The boys find out about the aliens’ plan and eventually escape and revive Gamera. With the boys’ help, Gamera defeats Guiron in a battle that also leads to the aliens’ death. Gamera then takes the boys back to their families on Earth.
MST3K segments written by Joel Hodgson, Trace Beaulieu, Josh Weinstein, Jim Mallon & Kevin Murphy
MST3K segments directed by Vince Rodriguez
Gamera Vs. Guiron written by Nisan Takahashi (as Fumi Takahashi)
Gamera Vs. Guiron directed by Noriaki Yuasa
Gamera Vs. Guiron music by Shunsuke KikuchiMST3K Guest Cast: none
Gamera Vs. Guiron Cast: Nobuhiro Kazima (Akio), Miyuki Akiyama (Tomoko), Christopher Murphy (Tom), Yuko Hamada (Kuniko), Eiji Funakoshi (Dr. Shiga), Kon Omura (Officer Kondo), Reiko Kasahara (Flovera), Edith Hanson (Elsa, Tom’s mother)
LogBook entry by Philip R. Frey
Notes: This episode marks the first “switcheroo”, showing the Mads on the Satellite instead of Joel. It would be done again (but more elaborately) in episode #611 – Last of the Wild Horses and (with Pearl) in #913 – Quest of the Delta Knights.
Watching five Gamera movies in a row proved to be almost as torturous in real life as the experiments on the show were meant to be. When Best Brains re-did these films in season three, they were careful to space them out throughout the year.
This episode was rerun on KTMA with a new pre-opening introduction featuring Joel and the Bots.
Eiji Funakoshi also appeared in the film MSTied in episode #K05 – Gamera (re-used in #302).
Reiko Kasahara also appeared in the films MSTied in episodes #K06 – Gamera vs. Gaos and #K07 – Gamera vs. Zigra (re-used in #308 & 316, respectively).
Director Noriaki Yuasa directed all of the Gamera films used on MST3K except Gamera vs. Barugon.
Screenwriter Nisan Takahashi wrote all of the Gamera films used on MST3K.
Shunsuke Kikuchi’s music can also be heard in the film MSTied in episode #K07 – Gamera vs. Zigra (re-used in #316).
This film was re-used in #312 – Gamera vs. Guiron.
There were two classic Gamera films never riffed on MST3K: 1968’s Gamera vs. Viras and 1970’s Gamera vs. Giger.
Notable Riffs: “He cuts through a tin can and can still slice through Gaos like a knife through hot butter.”
“Sorry ma’am, but your son’s a hundred and eighty-three million miles away with his brains about to be eaten.”
Gamera Vs. Guiron original release date: 1969, as Gamera tai daiakuju Giron
