Manos: The Hands of Fate (1966) was a film that was very obscure until its airing on this series. Since then, the film has gained something of a cult following and is now often counted among the worst films ever made. Thus far there has been an Entertainment Weekly article about the film, numerous screenings for cult fans, and a documentary made about the films legacy entitled 'Hotel Torgo.'
Manos: The Hands of Fate (1966) is generally considered to be the worst film ever featured on the series. According to the writers of the show they found the film so ridiculously terrible that they were stunned into watching the film several times before finally writing the riffs for the episode. Every film featured on the series since would be compared to Manos.
Joel's Manos robe features big footprints rather than big handprints.
The character of Torgo would become a recurring character on the series, always accompanied by the weird Torgo theme music. Head writer and later host of MST3K Michael J. Nelson played Torgo on the show.
This episode is on "The Essentials" DVD collection of Mystery Science Theater 3000.