Crow T. Robot
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Image:MST3kJoelAndtheBots.JPG Crow T. Robot is one of the two main fictional wise-cracking robots — the spindly golden one — from the Peabody Award-winning series Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K).
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Role
According to the MST3K storyline, Crow, like his fellow robots Tom Servo, Gypsy, and Cambot, were built by Joel Robinson, who created them to help him withstand the torment of watching bad movies on the Satellite of Love, where Joel was trapped by mad scientist Dr. Clayton Forrester and his assistants.
The T. in "Crow T. Robot" stands for "The". In Hangar 18 (episode K19), Joel said "CROW" was an acronym for "Cybernetic Remotely Operated Woman", but then claimed he built Crow merely to play this joke on him. Crow is also occasionally called "Art", mostly by late-series antagonist Pearl Forrester, possibly arising from a young fan's mistaken drawing labelling him as "Art" (The Giant Gila Monster, episode 402), which itself may have been a passing reference to him as "Art Crow" (a la Art Carney) in a Honeymooners spoof sketch (Jungle Goddess, episode 203). Crow appeared to be close friends with Pearl during season 7, but during the Sci-Fi Channel seasons, he was more often treated as just another "test subject" of the movie-watching experiment. In episode 908 (The Touch of Satan), "babysitter" Steffi calls him "Cow".
Originally, Crow was more adolescent than Tom Servo, although their relative maturity occasionally changed to suit the host segments; both robots regarded Joel as a father figure, while Mike was more of an older brother type. Crow, who had been voiced by Trace Beaulieu from the beginning of the series, was then voiced by Bill Corbett from the eighth season until the end of the show. Corbett's Crow was noticeably more irritable, bitter, and impatient with the movies than Beaulieu's Crow had been.
Crow's accomplishments during the show's run include:
- Writing several screenplays, including "Earth vs. Soup" (his seminal work), "Peter Graves at the University of Minnesota," "The Spy Who Hugged Me," and "Chocolate Jones and the Temple of Funk."
- Being an avid member of the Kim Cattrall fan club
- Writing a musical called "Supercalifragilisticexpiali-wacky!"
During Fire Maidens of Outer Space (episode 416), he also acquired a theater double named "Timmy" who the trio quickly took a liking to; however, the double begain playing tricks on Tom Servo and Joel, who blamed Crow for the actions. He eventually joined them in the theater during the movie and attacked Tom, cocooning him in a matter identical to the Xenomorph, forcing Joel and Crow to stuff him into an airlock and blast him out of the ship and into space.
Crow is more likely to blurt out Riffs related to the quality but not the content of the movie. example: "Jump up my butt, movie!"
Crow holds the distinction of being the only SOL crew member who ever visited Deep 13 (although Tom Servo and Gypsy once visited the alternate-earth version). In "Kitten with a Whip," he slid down the umbilicus in an attempt to bring the SOL back to Earth, only to be frightened back up by Dr. Forrester (who then had Frank put a giant mousetrap beneath the umbilicus). In the "Turkey Day" version of #701 "Night of the Blood Beast," Crow attended the Forrester Thanksgiving dinner alongside such guests as Mr. B. Natural, Pitch the Devil, and others.
Behind the scenes
Crow is a gold-colored puppet composed of, among other things, a split bowling pin mouth (Empire Bowling Pin), an ice hockey mask head (Cooper XL7 FG), and a Tupperware (Floralier) body. During the KTMA season, he only had one Tupperware tray, and his eyes did not include a separate movement mechanism, leaving them with a bulgier appearance.
Trace Beaulieu operated Crow in the initial KTMA season and throughout the Comedy Channel/Comedy Central years of seasons 1-7, as well as in Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie. During KTMA and season 1, Trace slowly refined Crow's voice. Originally it was somewhat babyish (this is most pronounced in the flashback to Crow being frozen in episode K05 "Gamera" - although, during the filming of this KTMA-era episode, Trace Beaulieu was out of town on business, and Servo's then-puppeteer Josh Weinstein actually handled Crow's one line in Beaulieu's absence). By season two Crow's voice had become more sharp. Upon Trace's departure, Bill Corbett took over Crow's operation. Crow's consequent voice change, though never explicitly explained within the storyline, presumably developed during his 500+ years of solitude on the Satellite of Love while Mike Nelson and the other SOL inhabitants played at the edge of the universe as pure essences. The show's writers later made a joke of the change in Werewolf (episode 904) by suggesting that Crow's inherent characteristics included a change of voice every seven years. When Joel Robinson (Joel Hodgson) returned for a guest spot in Soultaker (episode 1001), he offhandedly suggests an explanation for Crow's new voice change: "Oh, you changed your bowling pin — smart."
Many first time viewers of the series are confused by Crow's appearance during the movie segments. Only the outline of his head can be seen, and (due to multistable perception) it can appear as if Crow is facing towards the viewer.
Crow Syndrome
Crow Syndrome, as it's called by MSTing authors, refers to the cliché wherein one of the robots (usually Crow) chimes in with an off-topic and/or excessively lewd comment and the other two reprimand him, as in the following excerpt from Riding with Death (episode 814):
- [Truckers Sam and "Buffalo Bill" attempt a dangerous tandem braking maneuver.]
- Sam: Alrighty, I'm coming up on your mudflaps at 67.
- Crow: "Coming up on your mudflaps." People have such cute names for sex.
- Mike [as Sam]: Ma' well-oiled chassis is comin' up on yer backside, now.
- Servo [as Sam]: My rigid grill structure is bearin' down on yer unprotected cargo door.
- Crow [as Sam]: My oft-complimented Peterbilt is rhythmically nudging that sweet honey pot of yours—
- Mike, Servo: Crow!
Crow Syndrome can also be applied to MSTings without Joel/Mike and the 'bots.
External links
- Wikiquote: Crow Syndrome example from Fire Maidens of Outer Space