First shown: 3/12/89.
Opening: Servo talks the Mads into bringing the crew of the SoL back down to Earth; naturally, Crow ruins everything.
Host segment 1: A repeat of host segment 1, from episode K13- SST DEATH FLIGHT, in which Joel helps Servo experience pain.
Host segment 2: Joel turns into a tyrant, and rules the ship with an iron fist. The Bots retaliate by quoting lots of old movies. Crow and Gypsy re-enact the ending of "Casablanca," though Gypsy has no idea where Paris is.
Host segment 3: A tender montage of Servo's favorite moments aboard the SoL, as Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World" plays underneath.
End: With Tom in Sick Bay, Joel and Crow check out some artwork they got from a viewer.
Special Notes: This episode appears to be a tip-of-the-hat to "Family Ties" and similar shows, in which old clips were commonly used as "flashbacks." (See the entry for episode 209- THE HELLCATS in the Amazing Colossal Episode Guide.) Only one host segment was a true repeat, but the others were made to look like they were. The framing story: Servo is supposedly writing a letter to his uncle, describing all the crazy antics of the crew.
Joel smokes a cigarette during the second host segment. This is one of the few times we see a lit cigarette during the entire history of MST3K.
For as long as MSTies have been collecting episodes, the only known existing copy this one was missing the final host segment. That changed in October, 2004, when the missing final segment came to light. Longtime and devoted MSTies Lee Lovingood and Michael Slusher have managed to locate the missing segment in the possession of a Minnesota woman named Teresa Dietzinger. A fan of the show since those KTMA days, she was one of the first fan club members, and sent some artwork in to the show--which was then featured in that final host segment. She managed to tape the episode and held on to the tape for 16 years. Although her father long ago taped over the rest of the episode with family footage and such, the final host segment remained intact. You can check out screen shots and a transcription of the segment here.