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Post by vgaddict on Dec 18, 2018 10:53:01 GMT -5
I just realized that the new MST3K still hasn't had a short yet, or done a black and white movie. In the original show, shorts were like an appetizer to get you ready for the movie. And cheesy black and white sci-fi movies from the 50s-60s were the show's bread and butter. Why do you think they haven't done a short or an old B&W movie yet?
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Post by majorjoe23 on Dec 18, 2018 11:20:32 GMT -5
Joel has said that shorts were mostly used to fill time when they had a two hour block they needed to fill. They don't really need to do that anymore.
He also wants widescreen/high def films for the new seasons. Widescreen black and white films are kind of rare. But Attack of the 50-Foot Woman is one, and it's a more known movie. I keep hoping that might happen in a new season.
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Post by gorncaptain on Dec 18, 2018 14:24:28 GMT -5
Rifftrax doesn't have to do shorts either. How Joel can just dismiss something that was part and parcel of the original show is beyond me.
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Post by Troy's Dad on Dec 18, 2018 16:43:42 GMT -5
From reading the thread, I think lack of shorts and black and white is my main complaint. Joel doesn't seem to get that things he sees as drawbacks (4:3 black and white movies) or filler (shorts) are seen by fans as beloved elements of the series. I'd also like to see more of an effort to get Mike to cameo, and for a little explanation of how the bots got back to the SOL after season 10. I know it's "just a show", but season 12 was surprisingly deep in the lore, going all the way back to season 1.
I'd love to see a season 13 (titled Season Moon 13?) with one black and white movie at least, a short or a full episode of shorts and a cameo from Mike.
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Post by sotrain515 on Dec 27, 2018 2:43:39 GMT -5
My main complaint is with the jokes themselves. The timing is just wrong and they seem to biff like every tenth line or so. It’s so rushed in all the ways you can rush something, like cram in a million jokes, get the lines out as fast as possible and forget about second takes or doing rehearsal or whatever.
I thought the second season was an improvement, mac and me might actually be my favorite episode of either season (though a lot of that goodwill is probably because of how godawful that movie is). But still, the actors just don’t seem to have confidence in the material or something. I don’t know exactly how they make the show now but it seems like they’re telling the jokes without even having the movie on at the same time. It’s part of what makes the delivery so rushed/stumbly I think. Toms actor is most noticeable because he often tries to “save” a gag by slipping into a silly/hammy affect where he trails the last syllable and once I picked up on it so many of his lines sounded forced.
Somebody else mentioned it and I’d agree that there seems to be a “dumbing down” of the jokes, too. Or a broadening really. Like in the old one you either knew who Larry czonka was and laughed or you didn’t (but you probably still laughed). In the knew one it seems like they would intro that joke with something like “whoa look that guy looks just like 70s football man Larry czonka!” I just saw reptilicus again and when the doofy comic relief guy first shows up Jonah says “it’s al Capps lil Abner”. Clunky! Like, just say “lil abner” right? Either us dopey millennials know what that is or we don’t. Explaining a joke always kills it, they have to let them live or die on their own. As the Simpsons put it: brevity is ... wit.
Running gags too... yeah all those that were mentioned were pretty bad. Bang and capsule being particularly obnoxious. It seems like the old show used to take its runners from the dialogue of the movies themselves (“watch out for snakes” of course and I know I heard “I’m Cherokee jack” elsewhere). I hated the steak milk thing separately though because it’s so close to Charlie Kelly’s favorite meal: milksteak. I thought of that every time they said it and they never acknowledged it. Someone in that writers room must watch sunny right?
Anyway, tl;dr bullet points for Joel et al: Watch the movie when you’re saying the jokes Do a rehearsal pass of the whole movie (where you say all the jokes) Don’t write whole jokes, just write punchlines; the movie is supposed to provide the setups
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