The Many Heads of Tom Servo

Snack Dispensers

These cute little gadgets are the basis for all of Servo's heads.  Plus, they dispense snacks!!!

Despite long-standing rumors, these have not gone out of production, and are fairly easy to get hold of in specialty candy shops as well as online.

Some sources:

• Joe Crow's Botcave
• Ford Gum (aka Carousel)
• J. Sosnick and son

Be sure to shop around, and watch out for hideously overpriced eBay auctions.  You really shouldn't pay more than $20 or so for the current version.

Images from MST3k.org and Ford Gum

Dispenser parts in various stages of becoming Servo heads, from the workbench of master bot builder Joe Crow

These dispensers have come in many designs.  According to Joe Crow, who supplied the above images, you can see:

• Teal and Red - Smooth surface, stepped base.  An old model, very rare now.  The dome screwed on and off, which was the original reason for that section above the beak which held the dome - that's where the threads were inside.  This was used for some of season 1.

• Blue - Smooth surface, curved base.  Not as old, but still rare.   It's unclear how often this was used on MST3k, since it's difficult to distinguish between this and the next version on screen.

• White - Raised vertical lines on either side of the beak, curved base.  The presently available model, used as Tom throughout most of MST3k.

Not shown are the range of "sports" models commonly available now, which replace the round dome with various sports ball shapes.  Click here for a look at those.  (I find the football one upsetting, like "Tom Servo meets the Queen Alien.")

KTMA head

Seen in season 0 (KTMA)

Silver-painted version of the snack dispenser.  The hook was left on his beak.

The dome is not totally transparent, it's slightly painted or frosted.

The dispenser itself is painted with streaks of brighter silver highlights, giving the illusion that the surface is textured.

Images captured from a clear version of the titles, believed to be from the "MST3k Scrapbook" tape.

Images captured from episode K18

In the KTMA opening titles, Servo has a clothes pin stuck on his beak-hook.  This is from a lost sketch involving Joel raising flowers aboard the SOL, and isn't a permanent feature on the bot.

This is the only era of the show in which we could see through Servo's head in the theater.

Comedy Central 1

Seen in episodes 101 through 104.

The "normal" snack dispenser is introduced, and it's red.

Servo's beak is painted white outside and inside.  The hook is cut off the beak, and the remaining corners of hook are left black.

Due to the bright white color, the beak appears fatter.

Images from episode 101

Images from an unreleased master tape (DAP release S12)

Comedy Central 2

Seen in the rest of season 1

Tom's beak and hook remnants are now silver, and inside his mouth is black.  The "stepped-base" version of the dispenser is used. (see "snack dispensers" above)

Images from episode 107

Comedy Central 3

Seen in season 2, and all the Joel-era opening titles from here on.

Back to the curved-base dispenser.  Still no second lid, which means the dispenser actually dispenses as seen in the "robot roll call."

In the first couple of seasons, it seems that they sometimes used a plain red dispenser, without painting it deeper red to match the barrel.  That's evident in some of these photos.

Images from episode 201

To my knowledge, not counting the robot roll call, Tom never extended his neck like this again after episode 201.  Maybe he just got sick and tired of sticking his neck out.  (groan)

"Normal" Servo

Seen in season 2 onward, and in MST3k: The Movie.

This can be considered the "final" Servo head.

Servo finally gets an extra lid between his beak and dome.  There are multiple possible reasons for the mod.

One reason was, light coming in through the clear dome had sometimes been visible in Servo's open mouth, noticeable in some of the above entry's photos.  Blocking that light gives Servo somewhat more of a "solid" look.

Additionally, this modification makes Servo's dome swappable.  This probably made the bot much easier to maintain, as the entire head wouldn't need replacing if something happened to the fragile clear dome.

The dome is apparently no longer permanently glued in place, which lets it fall off from time to time.

Image from episode 416

Images from episode 612

Images from MST3k: The Movie

Images from episode 913

Publicity photo

"Robot Haircut"

Seen in episodes 205 and 206, and the Joel-era opening titles.

For a short time, the crew experimented with a cylindrical version of the dispenser.  This was explained by Joel giving Tom "the robot equivalent of a haircut" in episode 205.

BB may have simply painted the beak on an already-red dispenser, as Servo's head seems brighter red than the rest of Servo.

The round dome quietly returned in episode 207.  After that, haircut Servo was only seen briefly in Joel's opening titles.

The top lid of the haircut head was later made into a fez, which Servo wore on his normal head from time to time.  It was also used to make the "tee-ball" head in the next entry.

You can reportedly still find sports-branded versions of these today.   They have sports logos printed on the cap, but are otherwise unmarked and ready for repainting.

Images from episode 205

Some unfinished "haircut-style" dispensers courtesy of botmaster Joe Crow

The haircut dispenser's cap, used as Servo's fez in episode 301

Why the mod?  Fans had speculated all sorts of reasons, such as Comedy Central wanting the bots to block less of the movie in the theater segments, or a shortage of the round domes.  The actual, true, real, unexciting explanation, according to Paul Chaplin in the MST3k Guide, is as follows:

"Servo's head was redesigned because it was possible to do so.   It was never considered as a permanent change."

Tee-ball

Seen in episode 306, Time of the Apes.

It's baseball season on the SOL, and Servo puts the "tee" in "tee-ball."

"Tee-ball is the triumph of the human spirit!"

Joel knocks one out of the stadium, breaking a window and causing explosive decompression.  Later, he knocks the tee off Servo's head as well, and for some reason replaces it with his coffee mug.  It stays that way through the first theater segment.

Images from episode 306

That appears to be the "haircut" cap holding the tee.  Useful little gadget!

Snow Globe

Seen in episode 321, Santa Claus Conquers the Martians.

Tom's bubble is replaced with a festive snow globe for the holiday.

Images from episode 321

Pincushion

Seen in episode 506, Eegah.

While discussing the nature of evil, Joel is sewing a shirt.  He uses Crow as a tailor's dummy, and Tom Servo as the cute strawberry pincushion.

Images from episode 506

The Tom Starshow

Seen in episode 609, The Skydivers.

Tom builds himself into a planetarium projector, calling himself the "Tom Starshow."  His educational space show keeps getting interrupted by Crow's barrage of loaded "Uranus" questions.

"Uranus is big and gassy, isn't it?"

Images from episode 609

"Tom Starshow" was actually the black version of the Servo puppet used in the theater segments.  His dome was rigged with lights, and "stars" were scratched into the black paint.

Ventriloquist's Dummy

Seen in episode 610, The Violent Years.

At the peak of his season 6 body-mod phase, Servo outfits himself with a truly horrifying ventriloquist's dummy head.

Servo is very proud of his new look.  It's very upsetting to everyone else.  Mike does what must be done.

Images from episode 610

This head comes from Danny O'Day, dummy sidekick to reknowned ventriloquist Jimmy Nelson beginning in the 1950s.  Nelson's dummies are perhaps best remembered for singing the "Nestle's chocolate" jingle in TV ads of the time.

Danny O'Day was often reproduced in toy versions over the years, one of which nobly gave its life so Servo could terrify.

Click here for a brief history of Danny O'Day, click here if you actually want to buy one.

Big Tom Servo

Seen in episode 618, High School Big Shot, as well as the season 7 opening titles.

After drinking a random concoction from Mike's new chemistry set, Tom gets really big, and really dumb.

"Servo kill?"

He gets better during the next theater segment.

Images from episode 618

I would absolutely love to know how they built Big Servo.  I would guess the parts were mostly custom-built, as I don't think Carousel makes snack dispensers in that size.   Anyone have more info?

Crystal ball

Seen in episode 812, The Incredibly Strange Creatures Which Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies.

Inspired by the fortune-teller in the movie, Crow promises to read Mike's fortune, using Tom's glowing disembodied head as a crystal ball.

Images from episode 812

Lost In Space Robot

Seen in episode 821, Time Chasers.

After Servo goes to quite a lot of trouble to trick Mike into saying the phrase "Lost in Space," Crow launches into a full-steam Doctor Smith impression while Servo echoes the flailing Lost In Space robot's "Warning!  Danger!" catchphrase.

Images from episode 821

Doppel Servo

Seen in episode 822, Overdrawn at the Memory Bank.

Impressed by the doppel machine in the movie, Tom hacks one into his own brain, which is visible in his opened dome.  His resulting trip to the nanite world doesn't go as he had planned.

Images from episode 822