The Connections! (MST3K - Zappa - Skulls - Duckman - Groucho: Separated at Birth?)

What's the MST3K-Zappa connection all about?

I asked the Brains one time which of them were the big Frank Zappa fans. Trace and Kevin said they all were! (for proof, watch the closing credits and stinger to Episode 523) This connection explains my ability to create...

The Cheepnis List of MST3K Zappa References.

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Frank Zappa was also a big fan of MST3K and of cheesy monster movies in general. A transcript of his intro explanation and lyrics to his song Cheepnis can be seen here. It explains it all.

Another example of his love for sci-fi cheese can be found on the album The Man From Utopia, in the song lyrics of The Radio Is Broken.

How many MST episodes are referenced in these two songs? More than a few!

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Then there's this article from Total TV Online dated November 1, 1997:
 

"MST3K ... made the late Frank Zappa an instant convert when he channel surfed into "this guy wearing a clown nose and a beanie copter roasting a puppet over an open fire."

 The clown was now-departed (and much beloved) Founding Father Joel Hodgson; the roasted puppet was plucky Tom Servo; and Zappa was equally bemused by the cinematic turkeys being roasted for the main course. "He just loved crummy old science fiction movies," says writer and voice of Servo Kevin Murphy, who thought "Frank Zappa on line one" was a joke until he picked up the phone. And though Zappa died before fulfilling plans to collaborate with Best Brains on a giant spider movie "told from the spider's point of view," the Mothers of Invention mastermind would have had a field day digging through the moldy vaults now at MST's disposal."

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From my own vault of MST memorabilia comes a 1993 BBI memo which mentions a former Zappa band musician visiting to watch taping. See it here.

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If you wish to get even more obscure, witness that Simpson's creator Matt Groening is both a big MSTie and a Zappa fanatic. His homage to MST3K shows up on both The Simpsons "Who Shot Mr. Burns Part 1" and Futurama "Raging Bender". Aside from his often admitted love for Zappa's music, I have video tape of Matt showing up at Zappa's house on his 39th birthday in 1993. I'll try to post a screen-capture if I can find a frame with both of them together.

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For a far more subtle connection, consider that in the 1970s, Zappa sometimes introduced himself on stage as Rondo Hatton (star of episode #702 "The Brute Man") and there is even an FZ bootleg called "The Rondo Hatton Band".

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And finally, as FZ said in a 1981 interview, "I'm a monster movie fanatic."

Aren't we all?

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What's the Zappa-Duckman connection about?

Aside from Dweezil doing the voice of "Ajax", Frank's music is often featured inthe TV show Duckman as noted in this rather Obsessive List.

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What's with all the bones?

The genre of films that are riffed by the boys 'n' the 'bots are certainly filled with skulls and bones of all types. I have begun tracking the appearances of one of my favorite obsessions here.

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Ok, but Groucho?

Let's face it, Groucho has influenced everybody. His influence on Zappa and MST3K should need no furthur explanation. (Although an obsessive list of all Marx Brothers references appearing on MST3K would be great!)

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