Rocketship X-M (Experiment #201)

Plot Summary: The film revolves around the maiden moon voyage of the Rocketship X-M or "Expedition Moon", an amusing collection of hamster tubes from Chuckie Cheese, oven clocks, and ham radio dials. The mission crew includes the fearless navigator (Lloyd Bridges). a concrete-jawed communications officer, token female physicist, a Texas-obsessed, well I'm not sure WHAT he did, and a male-chauvinist, closet-nazi scientist played by Hugh O'Brien.

Neverminding that the word Expedition begins with an E not an X, the ship blasts off in search of data and specimens from the moon. Midflight, the ship is barraged by a quick meteor shower, which looks suspiciously like a production assistant throwing caramel corn, and is thrown horribly off-course. As the ship hurtles through endless space (although the PACE of the movie would suggest more of a slow sashay), the X-M conveniently manages to park itself right above the planet Mars. The crew cheers at its good for fortune and reverses the stock footage to land on Mars' surface, which looks suspiciously like Tempe, Arizona.

Without the benefit of spacesuits (heck they didn't need 'em on the ship, why start now?), our fearless crew explores Tempe, I mean, Mars, only to discover the ruins of a once-great civilization crumbled to dust by warfare and radiation (MESSAGE, PEOPLE, MESSAGE). The cast is thinned-out a short time later by Captain Caveman-esque holocaust survivors who off a few crew members by crushing their skulls with Nerf rocks. The remaining crew struggles to the ship and blasts off. Alas, they soon discover that they do not have sufficient fuel for the return trip. A few heartfelt speeches later, KABLOOOIE, the ship explodes over Nova Scotia. Tears are shed and a RX-M 2 is foretold. God help us all.

Invention Exchange: The GCB-19-a must-have for modern rock bands, the GCB-19 allows even the drummer in the band to be a dynamic-frontman by housing all necessary instruments in a convenient little suit resembling the one used by Ripley in the movie Aliens.

Notable Notes:

• Rocketship X-M marks the debut of TV's Frank. Hooray!!!
• Listen for Crow's kick-ass Lloyd Bridges impersonation
• Don't miss the little "It's A Lloyd Bridges Movie" ditty at the very beginning of the movie
• The episode also heralds the new voice of Tom Servo (aka Kevin Murphy)

Joel & Servo: The Lloyd Bridges movie song (507k)
Ready - Here we go.
Don't get your hopes up too high,
cuz when it's all said and done it's a Lloyd Bridges movie
If you're looking for something good,
then an hour from now you're going to be weeping -- hummmm

Crow: (impersonating Lloyd Bridges) By this time my lungs were aching for air (57k)

Joel: Where do you want to be in two years? (39k)

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