How is the new show?
Apr 26, 2019 14:41:21 GMT -5
via mobile
BoB3K, Diet Kolos, and 4 more like this
Post by Udvarnoky on Apr 26, 2019 14:41:21 GMT -5
I like the reboot, but I do think something important was broken with the choice to pre-record the riffs. For the sake of finely controlled audio mixing and the ability to do sight gags with the puppets, a certain immediacy is lost that I think is retrospectively way more important than those other advantages. The proof is in the live shows, which did not suffer from that sense of remove. You can just feel it in the studio version. The whole show is effectively ADR, which utterly kills that homey "hanging out" vibe that made MST3K so special.
I also think there is something strangely regressive about the camerwork in the host segments. The first time MST3K left its tiny warehouse and went HD, with the feature film, it is telling that the Brains embraced that freedom by exploring the SOL in the form of legit, three dimensional sets. While I respect Joel's choice to stick with the classic "backdrop" approach, which is more suited to the show's Svengoolie-like roots, there is something very wrong with the fact that the camera moves less than it did even in Eden Prairie. Everyone commented on how the SOL bridge scenes were bolted down in Season 11, and the "fix" for Season 12 is that...the camera consciously shakes more? Kind of a lateral move. There is no panning to other ends of the ship, which even Season 1 had, for cripes sake. It just seems visually flat.
So, yes, the revival is good, it's funny and it's improving. But the live shows have shown us the real potential of this team that the taped episodes have so far failed to live up to. If the old show was more ramshackle, it was also more authentic. If the new show is more polished, it's also more sterile. I hope they get some of the old mojo back, but it means getting out of their comfort zone and recording "live to tape" again. The fact that they were patting themselves on the back for recording in the same sound booth for Season 12 is a bad sign. The bar for this show should be much higher than Honest Trailers But Less Smug.
I also think there is something strangely regressive about the camerwork in the host segments. The first time MST3K left its tiny warehouse and went HD, with the feature film, it is telling that the Brains embraced that freedom by exploring the SOL in the form of legit, three dimensional sets. While I respect Joel's choice to stick with the classic "backdrop" approach, which is more suited to the show's Svengoolie-like roots, there is something very wrong with the fact that the camera moves less than it did even in Eden Prairie. Everyone commented on how the SOL bridge scenes were bolted down in Season 11, and the "fix" for Season 12 is that...the camera consciously shakes more? Kind of a lateral move. There is no panning to other ends of the ship, which even Season 1 had, for cripes sake. It just seems visually flat.
So, yes, the revival is good, it's funny and it's improving. But the live shows have shown us the real potential of this team that the taped episodes have so far failed to live up to. If the old show was more ramshackle, it was also more authentic. If the new show is more polished, it's also more sterile. I hope they get some of the old mojo back, but it means getting out of their comfort zone and recording "live to tape" again. The fact that they were patting themselves on the back for recording in the same sound booth for Season 12 is a bad sign. The bar for this show should be much higher than Honest Trailers But Less Smug.