Pearl Forrester
Encyclopedia
Pearl Forrester is a character on the Mystery Science Theater 3000
television
series, played by Mary Jo Pehl
. Forrester was the mother of Dr. Clayton Forrester (Trace Beaulieu
). Initially devised as a guest character, Pearl would take on an increasingly important role in the series, first as a replacement supporting character for Dr Forrester and subsequently replacing him as the lead mad scientist.
Pearl's first appearance was in episode 607, Bloodlust!
. Her character was featured in the opening and closing host segments when she paid a visit to Dr Forrester and his current assistant, TV's Frank
. It became apparent that Frank had become a firm friend of Pearl's through a long correspondence, and Pearl was much more interested in spending time with him than her own son. At the end of the sixth season, TV's Frank died (and was guided to 'Second Banana Heaven' by 'Torgo
The White', a reference to the reborn Gandalf the White from Lord of the Rings). Forrester moved in to help her son at the beginning of the seventh season, and became a regular cast member from that point until the end of the show's tenth and final season.
When Trace Beaulieu left at the end of the season, Pearl took over as the head Mad at the beginning of the eighth season. According to the backstory presented at that time, Pearl killed Dr. Forrester (after he had re-attained adulthood following his transformation into a 2001
-esque Space Baby), then vowed to "avenge his death" by continuing his experiments on Mike and the Bots; she had herself cryogenically frozen until the year 2525 (probably a reference to the 1960s song "In the Year 2525
") and became the leader of the Planet of the Apes
-like apes who now dominated Earth, at which point she (apparently) somehow drew the Satellite of Love
's crew back to the ship so that she could send them bad movies. In the episode "The Deadly Mantis
," the Earth was destroyed, when Professor Bobo
and Dr. Peanut helped their mutant neighbors
fix their thermonuclear device. From then until the end of the series, she was assisted by Professor Bobo, who often addressed her as "Lawgiver" (another Planet of the Apes reference), and Observer (aka Brain Guy). During the episode "Quest of the Delta Knights
" she becomes frustrated with a significant lack of progress in the experiment and decides to do some role-reversal to see firsthand what is wrong with the experiment, switching places with Mike in the Satellite of Love while Mike takes her place in Castle Forrester. During the movie, in lieu of a smoke, she decides to suck on a mint and shares with the bots. She is later referred to as "Mintgiver" by the bots.
When the Satellite of Love returned to the present, Pearl and her lackeys followed and took up residence at Castle Forrester, ancestral home of the Forrester family, where she found records of a long line of Forresters who had performed experiments similar to those she and Dr. Forrester conducted on Mike and the Bots. Oddly, Pearl claims to be descended from these Forresters, indicating that Dr. Forrester used his mother's original surname, rather than that of his father (whoever that might be), which might suggest that he was born out of wedlock, or that the strong-willed Pearl refused to change her surname on marriage and insisted on her children bearing her name, or possibly that his father died before he was born. Indeed, Pearl has been married several times, with all of her husbands meeting gruesome fates on their honeymoons (it is implied that she was responsible for all their deaths):
Which, if any, of these men was Dr. Forrester's father is unrevealed.
At the end of the series, Pearl accidentally used a new controller to send the Satellite of Love crashing back to Earth. She supposedly became the ruler of Qatar
, where she vowed that her first item of business would be to insert a "U" in the nation's name. She is last seen with her lair devoid of furnishings (it is evident that they are nearly moved out), attempting to dance and sing "It's a Long Way to Tipperary
" with her cronies by the light of a lone light bulb in a parody of the final episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show
. Her last words to Mike and the Bots before pulling the plug on Castle Forrester's observation equipment were, "Look, Nelson. Move on. I am."
Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced by Best Brains, Inc., that ran from 1988 to 1999....
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
series, played by Mary Jo Pehl
Mary Jo Pehl
Mary Joseph Pehl born February 27, 1960 in Circle Pines, Minnesota, is an American writer, actress and comedienne. She is best known for her various roles on the television series Mystery Science Theater 3000.-Mystery Science Theater 3000:...
. Forrester was the mother of Dr. Clayton Forrester (Trace Beaulieu
Trace Beaulieu
Trace Beaulieu is an American puppeteer, writer, and actor. He is best known for his roles on Mystery Science Theater 3000 .-Mystery Science Theater 3000:...
). Initially devised as a guest character, Pearl would take on an increasingly important role in the series, first as a replacement supporting character for Dr Forrester and subsequently replacing him as the lead mad scientist.
Pearl's first appearance was in episode 607, Bloodlust!
Bloodlust!
Bloodlust! is a horror/thriller film about a group of young adults who visit a tropical island only to become prey for a sadistic hunter. Filmed in 1959 and released in 1961, the feature was picked up for cinema release by Crown International Pictures...
. Her character was featured in the opening and closing host segments when she paid a visit to Dr Forrester and his current assistant, TV's Frank
TV's Frank
TV's Frank, played by Frank Conniff, is a fictional character, mad scientist Dr. Clayton Forrester's lab assistant in the television comedy series Mystery Science Theater 3000. He appears at the beginning of Season 2, with the departure of Forrester's earlier co-scientist Dr. Laurence Erhardt, and...
. It became apparent that Frank had become a firm friend of Pearl's through a long correspondence, and Pearl was much more interested in spending time with him than her own son. At the end of the sixth season, TV's Frank died (and was guided to 'Second Banana Heaven' by 'Torgo
Torgo
Torgo may refer to:*Torgo , a vampire in the Marvel Comics universe*Torgo , an alien robot in the Marvel Comics universe*Torgo, a character in the 1966 horror film Manos: The Hands of Fate...
The White', a reference to the reborn Gandalf the White from Lord of the Rings). Forrester moved in to help her son at the beginning of the seventh season, and became a regular cast member from that point until the end of the show's tenth and final season.
When Trace Beaulieu left at the end of the season, Pearl took over as the head Mad at the beginning of the eighth season. According to the backstory presented at that time, Pearl killed Dr. Forrester (after he had re-attained adulthood following his transformation into a 2001
2001: A Space Odyssey (film)
2001: A Space Odyssey is a 1968 epic science fiction film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, and co-written by Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke, partially inspired by Clarke's short story The Sentinel...
-esque Space Baby), then vowed to "avenge his death" by continuing his experiments on Mike and the Bots; she had herself cryogenically frozen until the year 2525 (probably a reference to the 1960s song "In the Year 2525
In the Year 2525
"In the Year 2525 " is a hit song from 1969 by American pop-rock duo Zager and Evans. It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for six weeks commencing July 12, 1969. The song was written by Rick Evans in 1964 and originally released on a small regional record label in 1968...
") and became the leader of the Planet of the Apes
Planet of the Apes (1968 film)
Planet of the Apes is a 1968 American science fiction film directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, based on the 1963 French novel La Planète des singes by Pierre Boulle. The film stars Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, James Whitmore, James Daly and Linda Harrison...
-like apes who now dominated Earth, at which point she (apparently) somehow drew the Satellite of Love
Satellite of Love (MST3K)
The Satellite of Love is the fictional main setting of the comedy television series Mystery Science Theater 3000. It is a giant bone-shaped spacecraft that Joel Robinson and his friends — robots Crow, Tom Servo, Gypsy, Cambot, and the noncorporeal Magic Voice — live in...
's crew back to the ship so that she could send them bad movies. In the episode "The Deadly Mantis
The Deadly Mantis
The Deadly Mantis is a 1957 science fiction film produced by William Alland for Universal-International Pictures. It was directed by Nathan Juran from a screenplay by Martin Berkeley, and starred Craig Stevens, William Hopper, Alix Talton, and Pat Conway...
," the Earth was destroyed, when Professor Bobo
Professor Bobo
Professor Bobo is a fictional character who appeared in the final three seasons of Mystery Science Theater 3000, a comedy television series that mocks B-movies...
and Dr. Peanut helped their mutant neighbors
Beneath the Planet of the Apes
Beneath the Planet of the Apes is a 1970 American science fiction film directed by Ted Post and written by Paul Dehn. It is the second of five films in the original Planet of the Apes series produced by Arthur P. Jacobs...
fix their thermonuclear device. From then until the end of the series, she was assisted by Professor Bobo, who often addressed her as "Lawgiver" (another Planet of the Apes reference), and Observer (aka Brain Guy). During the episode "Quest of the Delta Knights
Quest of the Delta Knights
Quest of the Delta Knights is a 1993 fantasy/adventure sword and sorcery film that was featured in a September 1998 episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000...
" she becomes frustrated with a significant lack of progress in the experiment and decides to do some role-reversal to see firsthand what is wrong with the experiment, switching places with Mike in the Satellite of Love while Mike takes her place in Castle Forrester. During the movie, in lieu of a smoke, she decides to suck on a mint and shares with the bots. She is later referred to as "Mintgiver" by the bots.
When the Satellite of Love returned to the present, Pearl and her lackeys followed and took up residence at Castle Forrester, ancestral home of the Forrester family, where she found records of a long line of Forresters who had performed experiments similar to those she and Dr. Forrester conducted on Mike and the Bots. Oddly, Pearl claims to be descended from these Forresters, indicating that Dr. Forrester used his mother's original surname, rather than that of his father (whoever that might be), which might suggest that he was born out of wedlock, or that the strong-willed Pearl refused to change her surname on marriage and insisted on her children bearing her name, or possibly that his father died before he was born. Indeed, Pearl has been married several times, with all of her husbands meeting gruesome fates on their honeymoons (it is implied that she was responsible for all their deaths):
- Chuck — became a prairie dog when he and Pearl visited a prairie dog colony in South Dakota; cause of death unrevealed
- Felipe — shot
- Maury — had hatpins shoved through his eyes right before the ceremony, presumably lingered long enough to in fact marry Pearl, then die on the honeymoon
- Wendell — shot
- Jerome — cause of death unrevealed (by her sinister tone of voice when she alludes to his death, it is implied he died in a particularly gruesome manner)
Which, if any, of these men was Dr. Forrester's father is unrevealed.
At the end of the series, Pearl accidentally used a new controller to send the Satellite of Love crashing back to Earth. She supposedly became the ruler of Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
, where she vowed that her first item of business would be to insert a "U" in the nation's name. She is last seen with her lair devoid of furnishings (it is evident that they are nearly moved out), attempting to dance and sing "It's a Long Way to Tipperary
It's a Long Way to Tipperary
It's a Long Way to Tipperary is a British music hall and marching song written by Jack Judge and co-credited to, but not co-written by, Henry James "Harry" Williams. It was allegedly written for a 5 shilling bet in Stalybridge on 30 January 1912 and performed the next night at the local music hall...
" with her cronies by the light of a lone light bulb in a parody of the final episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Mary Tyler Moore Show is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns that aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977...
. Her last words to Mike and the Bots before pulling the plug on Castle Forrester's observation equipment were, "Look, Nelson. Move on. I am."