Torgo
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- For the Marvel Comics character, see Torgo (comics).
Torgo is a fictional character in the 1966 movie Manos: The Hands of Fate, played by John Reynolds. The quaver-voiced, maladroit satyr[1] servant of "The Master", Torgo is charged with looking after the lodge while the Master is away. Torgo rose to pop culture notability following the Mystery Science Theater 3000 airing of Manos on January 30, 1993, following which he was featured on the television series as a recurring character.
Torgo has wild, unkempt hair and a beard. He wears an old tattered suit, intended to look like a Confederate uniform from the American Civil War. Torgo has huge misshapen knees and cloven feet, the latter of which are never clearly visible onscreen in the Mystery Science Theater 3000 version of Manos. He aids himself in his unsteady gait by a walking staff topped by a hand. At various times when Torgo appears in the film, a repetitive four-note leitmotif plays, dubbed "the haunting 'Torgo Theme'" by Crow in the Mystery Science Theater 3000 version.
His bizarre speech patterns, such as saying words in a staccato, stilted, and halting manner, putting stress on unstressed syllables, and stating a sentence, then a second sentence, then repeating the first and randomly changing his voice's pitch, have become "trademarks" of his. Reynolds, however, did not supply Torgo's voice for the film.
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[edit] History
| Torgo | |
|---|---|
| Mystery Science Theater 3000 character | |
| First appearance | 424 - Manos: The Hands of Fate |
| Last appearance | 624 - Samson vs. The Vampire Woman |
| Created by | Hal Warren |
| Portrayed by | John Reynolds (in the film Manos: The Hands of Fate) Michael J. Nelson (MST3K) |
| Information | |
| Species | Satyr |
| Gender | male |
| Occupation | Servant/pizza delivery man/former mad scientist assistant/Second Banana Heaven representative |
The role of Torgo would be John Reynolds' first and last in a film (he had prior experience in local community theatre). He committed suicide the month before the film's November 1966 release following emotional problems and drug abuse. As Reynolds never saw the finished film, his suicide was not, as has been rumored, in shame over the film's reception.
Reynolds and Tom Neyman (who played "The Master" and was also the film's propmaster) developed Torgo's leg prosthetics and the odd gait that became Torgo's trademarks. Had they been worn correctly, they would have had the effect of making Torgo's knees appear to bend backwards like those of a goat. Instead, according to Neyman, Reynolds wore the leg appliances reversed, causing considerable pain. Director Hal Warren had already shot some scenes with Torgo's backwards knees featured prominently and didn't want to reshoot them.
All the voices in the movie were dubbed in by Hal Warren and three others. It is unknown whether Torgo's strange voice mannerisms were part of Reynolds' original performance.
After the film turned out to be a flop, Torgo faded into obscurity until the early 1990s, when Manos was showcased on Mystery Science Theater 3000 in 1993. Due to the popularity of this MST3K episode (experiment #424, the Season 4 finale), Torgo developed a cult following. In the episode in which Manos was featured, "Torgo" (played by Michael J. Nelson) appeared at the end of the last host segment as a pizza delivery man. He delivered the pizza, but forgot the drinks. In a subsequent episode (experiment #508, Operation Double 007), "Torgo" returned with the drinks, which TV's Frank rejected. Torgo proved to be such a popular character that at the 1994 MST3K ConventioConExpoFestARama Costume Contest, the costume category for "Best Human" was split into "Torgo" and "Non-Torgo" categories. Nearly three dozen people dressed as Torgo for the event. In a later episode (experiment #624, Samson vs. The Vampire Women, the Season 6 finale) he became "Torgo the White" (an apparent reference to J. R. R. Tolkien's character Gandalf the White) and escorted TV's Frank to "Second Banana Heaven", where henchmen could live in peace without fear of reprisal from their vengeful bosses. "Torgo" also made appearances in Deep 13 as Frank's latest acting talent (ex. #620) and Frank's layoff replacement (ex. #523), and during the experiment San Francisco International, expressing disdain for Urkel, whom Mike was impersonating. During the Sci-Fi Channel years of the show, the similar character of Ortega from The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!? would appear in his place.
[edit] Homages
- Torg, one of the main characters in Sluggy Freelance, is named in honor of Torgo[citation needed].
- In Wing Commander, a star system is named Torgo. The system thus named is a regional headquarters for the Confederation military.
- In Escape Velocity, a planet called "Torgo Prime" has a description which alludes to the character's slurred speech and prosthetic knee joints.
- A documentary made in 2004 entitled Hotel Torgo detailed the making of the film.
- The comic book series Young Justice contained several hidden references to MST3K, including a pizza box labelled "Torgo's Pizza".
- One of the former co-hosts of the nationally syndicated talk radio program Free Talk Live goes by the name Torgo.
- An indie-rock band from Middletown CT circa 1994-1997 called themselves Torgo.
- The band Daughters uses Torgo's theme in their song "Nurse, Would You Please Prepare The Patient For The Sexual Doctor."
- The movie Scary Movie 2 employed the Torgo leitmotif in the wheelchair section of the basketball scene.
- The Mega64 episode Eyes of Skull Has A Secret uses an animated GIF of Torgo.
- In connection with promoting their live Manos: The Rock Opera of Fate scheduled to run September 28 through November 3, 2007, the New Millennium Theatre Company of Chicago produced a satiric video for the fictitious "Save the Torgos" foundation.
- The character Marion in the 2003 zombie comedy film Undead closely resembles Torgo, and even has a few Torgo-esque lines.
- The movie Futurama: Bender's Big Score featured the imaginary product "Torgo's Executive Powder."
[edit] Quotes
- "I am Torgo. I take care of the place while the Master is away."
- "The Master would not approve."
- (referring to The Master) "He is dead but not as you know it. He is with us always."
- "Very well. The Master will be greatly disturbed."
- "There is no way out of here. It'll be dark soon. There is no way out of here!"
[edit] References
- ^ "The Hand that Time Forgot": an interview with the director of cinematography and stunt coordinator
[edit] External links
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