The episode starts with Joel introducing Trace, Josh, Mary Jo, and Frank and giving a bit of backstory about them, before launching into the riffing.

I don’t know quite how to sum up this movie. Weird monsters show up in a small town, along with a strange, mustachioed man (who is totally NOT an alien) who claims to have some inside info on the creatures. But not because he’s an alien.

The movie does have some OK creature effects, including a pretty cool stop motion monster. Unfortunately, it is incorporated terribly into the film. Also, no doubt inspired by Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon, director Don Dohler seemed determined to use only natural light. Even at night.

Release Date: Feb. 23, 2010.

The full episode can be streamed (officially) for free on Youtube.

Some favorite riffs:

Shortly before a monster attacks two necking “teens”: “In this movie, safe sex means rolling the windows up.” – Frank.

“The problem with our style of humor, the whole riffing thing, is sometimes people are just walking through the woods.” – Josh

As characters drive out of a wooden bridge: “The Bridges of Madison County. Somehow, an even worse movie.” An Iowa reference from Trace!

“Has there ever been a two-door cop car?” – Trace. The police drove some odd vehicles in this film, including a Volkswagen Beetle.

MST3K injoke: “The Torgo music doesn’t really work without Torgo.” – Mary Jo

Then current references: Frank references “The 10 O’Clock Leno Show.” Remember when Jay Leno sabotaged Conan on the Tonight Show? He really was terrible.

There were also a few references to Amy Winehouse’s drug use. It should be noted that this episode came out more than a year before her death from ‘Misadventure.” So those jokes don’t age especially well.

Predictive riffs: “And cut!. Cut!” -Josh, giving some directing advice to Don Dohler. Since Cinematic Titanic ended, Josh has gone on to direct two documentaries, I Need You to Kill and Michael Des Barres: Who Do You Want Me to Be. They both have better IMDB scores than The Alien Factor.

More timely than ever: While rewatching this episode, I realized that the main alien has been used for the “Burnt cheese” meme. Countless more people have seen this meme than have ever seen the film itself.

The movie’s Wikipedia page has the following tidbit:

Notice the complete lack of citations. There isn’t even a [citation needed] tag. I think I would like a source on this.

C’mon Frank, you knew this one: When a dim (and dimly lit) character is reading, Frank riffed “I wish they would invent the graphic novel. It would make reading a lot easier.” The Alien Factor came out the same year as Will Eisner’s A Contract With God, often (incorrectly) heralded as the first graphic novel.

Other riffing connections:

Don Dohler also directed Galaxy Invader, which was riffed by Rifftrax. But MST3K fans are mostly likely to know Galaxy Invader from footage being used in the opening of the classic episode “Pod People.” Film Ventures took the Spanish Film Extra Terrestrial Visitors, spliced in some of Dohler’s movie, and sold it to Americans TV stations.

Donald Leifert, who played Ben Zachary in The Alien Factor, also acted in Galaxy Invader. According to his obituary, a memorial scholarship was set up under his name at the high school where he taught theater. I wonder how many other actors in Z-grade movies can say that?

Towson High Students, Faculty Remember Beloved Teacher – Towson, MD Patch

Richard Dyszel, who played Mayor Wicker, was also in Galaxy Invader. But more notably he was the second Bozo the Clown in the state of Washington, taking over the role from Willard Scott. This isn’t the first riffed film to feature an actor who took over a clown role from Willard Scott. The MST3K (and The Mads are Back) riffed Teenagers from Outer Space featured King Moody (TORCHA!), who followed Scott in the role as Ronald McDonald.

And Mac & Me, riffed in season 12 of MST3K, featured an appearance by Squire Fridell as Ronald McDonald. Fridell took over the role from King Moody.

This means something. Is Willard Scott the glue that holds the Riff-a-verse together? I need to do more research on this theory.

Finally, composer Kenneth Walker also did “creature mechanics” on the MST3K-riffed film Robot Holocaust. After The Alien Factor, he went on to work on movies like Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (riffed by Rifftrax), Dogma, and even some work for the Jim Henson Workshop. Wow, Walker might have the most illustrious career of anyone in The Alien Factor. Oh, he also worked on Frankenhooker.

Interesting credits: In addition to future tour Crow/M. Waverly puppeteer Grant Baciocco being listed as a producer, special thanks go out to Dave (Gruber) Allen, Dana Gould, Josh’s podcast co-host (and voice of Mort on Bob’s Burgers) Andy Kindler, and Chris Hardwick. Are we OK with Chris Hardwick now? I can’t keep track.

After credits: There’s a post credit CT logo, with Josh saying “Cinematic Titanic, now in Flying Chrome!”

Next up: Danger on Tiki Island.