Observer (Mystery Science Theater 3000)


Observer is a fictional character in the Mystery Science Theater 3000 television series. He is played by Bill Corbett, and appears in the eighth through eleventh seasons of the series.
Observer is a hyperintelligent, psychic alien from a planet of fellow aliens who confusingly all share the name "Observer". Supposedly, the Observers "evolved" beyond bodies into dark-green brains, contained in large Petri dishes. They are carried around by humanoid host bodies, rendering their abandonment of their original bodies rather pointless. Thus Observer is, technically, only the brain which is being carried by the host body, but for all intents and purposes, he is considered a humanoid with brain separated from body. Observer joins the mad scientists after his planet is accidentally destroyed by Mike Nelson.
Like his colleagues Professor Bobo and Pearl Forrester, Brain Guy is deeply :wikt:dysfunction|dysfunctional. Unlike Bobo and Pearl, Brain Guy apparently has a considerable social and sexual life once the Mads returns to Earth in Seasons 9 and 10. He is also said to have, as Professor Bobo put it, "B.O.". Observer denies this, claiming that he doesn't have a body, although eventually he gives himself a sniff and admits that he does, in fact, stink.
After Observer joins the Mads, he usually ends up being the one who sends the movies to the Satellite of Love via his psychic abilities.
Observer, like his fellow Observers, claims to be omnipotent and omniscient, much like Q and his people from ', but frequently fails to demonstrate these supposed abilities. In one of his early appearances, before his homeworld is accidentally destroyed by Mike Nelson, his fellow Observers test the rest of the cast to see if any of them deserve the right to become part of their kind. He is surprised when Tom Servo scores higher than him, leading to Observer being painfully punished.
Exposure to Pearl's autocratic manner appears to further degrade his powers over the course of the show, to the point that when Observer tries to punish Mike horribly, he only sends him a necktie. In the final episode, #1013,
', Pearl's playful dousing of his brain in Mountain Dew temporarily interferes with his speech and disables his gifts, allowing the Satellite of Love to crash to Earth.
As the Mads pack up their things before leaving Castle Forrester, the Forrester family's ancestral home, Observer initially agrees with Pearl that he must have "lots of stuff goin’ on" after they go their separate ways, but finally admits that he'll probably "have to take that position as the all-knowing eternal and universal consciousness over on Rylos 14".