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Post by Mighty Jack on Apr 19, 2021 12:22:38 GMT -5
Man I'm sailing through these, wasn't planning on doing that, it just happened. I also went back, put on the subtitles and wrote down a few riffs I liked, I wasn't going to do that either, but my memory was only working so well (old age and all) 1112 - Carnival MagicSpecial Guest: Mark Hammill as P.T. Mindslap, Matt McGinnis as Matt Claude Van Damme Carnival Magic is a gift from the Gods - while not the funniest episode of this era (that's still Avalanche IMHO), it is the experiment from recent seasons that I've revisited and watched the most. The movie itself is a beautiful disaster - with that unfunny chimp and the power of "Gus", it's just so terribly, awfully entertaining. The riffers do a wonderful job reacting to the weirdness, and adding to -or questioning- the dialogue, like when Markov speaks to how Alex got him through his wife's death, Jonah asks, "What stage of grief is Chimp-play?" The movie primarily circles around the same gimmick, but I never tired of it, or the guys mumbling chimp voices (and there are other characters and situations - the angry tiger trainer, a romance complicated by daddy issues... but yeah, talking monkey... right to the final act, with Alex on his deathbed, which was hilarious). Host segments weren't that special, and Kinga's running marriage gag never caught fire, though Max's jealousy got a chuckle or two. Best Riffs: "Is it just me or is this scene supposed to be like a hopeful autopsy?" - Jonah | "Now get in there and become a man, dad" - Jonah, as Ellen pushes Stoney into a trailer | "It's amazing how animals relate to you..." - "Two words, cattle prod" - Ellen/Crow | "The power of Gus compels me" - Jonah | "Stoney, what are you doing to yourself..." - "It's called peeing. Do you mind?" - Markov/Crow Best Host Segments: The parade at the end? Grade: 4.5 out of 5 (like fine wine, it only improves with age. Between the movie, the riffing, and the intangibles (its re-watchablility, and that weird vibe that puts me in an upbeat mood) - I think it's safe to call it my favorite Jonah era experiment at this point. A quick glimpse of Matt Claude Van Damme in the final segment... season 13 is going to have multiple hosts, but does this indicate that Kinga has been at this long before she kidnapped Jonah?
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Post by Mighty Jack on Apr 20, 2021 8:28:49 GMT -5
1113 - The Christmas That Almost Wasn'tSpecial Guests: Joel Hodgson as Santa Claus, Elliott Kalan as Mr. Whipple Several folks on the forum and elsewhere didn't care for this one back in 2017, so I came into it with lowered expectations, and was surprised when I laughed and laughed and... so now with expectations considerable higher, how would it hold up? Pretty well... it starts off solid, builds up a head of steam during Santa's song ("I'm barren don't rub it in"), and stays funny during the bits leading up to the children coming to see Santa in the store ("look, they created their own Thunderdome"), and after (Jonah, noticing Aubrey Plaza). And it doesn't lose a step when it shifts to Prune and Blossom's attempted sabotage of said event. Throughout the experiment, we were given pop references ("Omar coming"), high brow esoterics, and low brow innuendo (Servo's reaction to the movie line "We start from the bottom"), all of this material was funny as hell. And I like that it doesn't let up, there are no lulls, from the children's roll-call to the quips during the stills montage (man, that had me in stitches, that was about as brilliant as the Painted Hills montage). So to answer my opening question - this is still the gift that keeps on giving. Notes: The Info Club got the running 'baby man' gag wrong, it's not that Whipple LOOKs like a baby, the riff was that his Santa fanfic came true (in which he imagines himself the Clause's child. When Mrs. Claus baby's him, it was a dream come true). In that light, I thought it was funny, though overused. Also an interesting bit of trivia, Joel mentions this movie in a riff during The Day The Earth Froze Best Riffs: "I've been running away from children all my life... " - "As required by the court order" - Prune/Crow | "You can always tell when a building used to be an IHop.” - Jonah | “Wow this tea kicked in fast!” - Crow | “You sure you’re not confusing children with spiders?” - Jonah | "Elves love research" - Jonah | "And now we sue the store, my plan is working, see" - Servo as Mr. Whipple (a lawyer) | "You know, Milton Berle refused to steal this bit" - Crow | And the quips during Prune's song (and his chasing a child after that) Best Host Segments: Santa's visit (love Joel's voice and manner), reenacting the montage (especially from the Mads) Grade: 4.25 out of 5 A little clip from a riff reference they did.
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Post by Mighty Jack on Apr 20, 2021 22:46:19 GMT -5
1114 - At the Earth's CoreSpecial Guests: Russ Walko as Growler, Mary Jo Pehl as Pearl Forrester, Kevin Murphy as Professor Bobo, Bill Corbett as Brain Guy, Joel McHale as Doug McClure, Matt McGuinness as Bonehead Cameraman, Paul Chaplin as Observer Hive Mind Manager And Observer wedding guests played by... Patricia Adams, Mike Aronow, Kyle Bacon, Jordan Brown, Andrew R. Brunner, Nick Carlson, John Cookson, Jason D'itri, Larry Dunn, Zachary A. Forsyth, Tony Goggin, Dave Goldblatt, Spencer Goldrich, Jonathan Gorbach, Laura Gorbach, Ike Haldan, Jason Kirk Harder, Larry Hastings, Jeff Hill, Adam King, Darcy Madi, Guillermo Martinez, Juan Martinez, Colin McRavey, Andrew M. Minoff, Amber Oliver, Paul Denver Reynolds IV, Kathryn Rice, Joe Sherman, Ben Tobin The return of Caroline Munro and Doug McClure... plus, Peter Cushing, making his MST3K debut? How could this be anything but glorious, especially with the hot streak they are on! Sadly, it's a ways from glorious. It's curious, how we can all love the same show, love the style of humor, and yet, our reactions to a particular experiment can vary wildly. Why wasn't this a laugh riot for me? Where does it go wrong? I could suggest that it doesn't engage the movie and characters as well as better eps, the jokes were not as crisp and on target, there were missed opportunities, expectations were not met (that's Peter 'freaking' Cushing in his first MSTed movie appearance, and you couldn't celebrate that with smarter quips? It's like you weren't even trying). And yet, for other viewers this was funny, it met expectations, checked all the comedy boxes, some folks laughed at that awful smelting song, for example, while I sat their cringing. Why is that? I could fumble for explanations, try to analyze the hell out of it, but honestly I don't know, it just is - you laugh or you don't. The Host Segments reeked - yeah, nice to see Paul Chaplin, but they didn't do anything special with him, the wedding thing was an unfunny idea to begin with, and it fizzles out terribly with this grand finale - there were a few funny lines, but the filming of it was awkward, and as poorly staged as one of those bad movies they watch (which killed the comedy). Thankfully It's not all dire, and it would be unfair not to acknowledge the cute n' clever (The Sid and Marty Croft death march, the prog rock enslavement riff), but man, so much of this was tired and gasping, they were running on fumes by the middle of the movie, and though it picked up a hair by the end, it wasn't the big explosion of laughs that Hollow Mountain provided. Best Riffs: "Edgar Rice Burroughs. They're really trying to spread the blame around." - Servo | "We now take you to the worlds quietest Gwar concert, already in progress" - Jonah | "How did that rock turn into an arrow?" - Crow | "hot, hot, hot, hot... this is a weird time to try fire walking!" - Servo Best Host Segments: You're kidding me, right? Grade: 2.5 out of 5
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Post by Mighty Jack on Apr 20, 2021 22:48:31 GMT -5
Summary of the season
I approached this as a kind of show diary, a recording of my personal thoughts at a particular moment in time, rather than a review page offering recommendations.
So, all told, it was a good season, but not one of the finest. There were no radical changes of opinion - a few episodes took baby steps backward, a couple, a few steps forward. Carnival Magic's climb to the top was not all that unexpected, as it was heading in that direction over the years. I've grown more comfortable with the cast and the way they riff, so that was not an issue this time out. Host segments were frequently the weakest part of the season, the riffing did the heavy lifting.
2021 Rankings: 4.5 - Avalanche, Carnival Magic 4.25 - The Christmas That Almost Wasn't 4.0 - Cry Wilderness, The Loves of Hercules 3.5 - The Time Travellers, The Land That Time Forgot, Yongary, Wizards of the Lost Kingdom 3.0 - Reptilicus, The Beast of Hollow Mountain, Starcrash 2.5 - Wizards of the Lost Kingdom II, At The Earth's Core
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Post by Mighty Jack on Apr 21, 2021 16:49:58 GMT -5
Welcome to the nightmare-fueled world of... season 12. Has the negativity I've built up in my mind over this season become myth rather than a reflection of reality? Looking back at the old threads from 2018 it was not so much loathing as a kind of "yeah, this was fine, this was okay". So let's see if that holds true today. 1201 - Mac and MeSpecial Guests: None, though Cambot gets some screen time What I said in 2018: "That was cute. Not amazeballs, but cute. I enjoyed it well enough. And I re-watched "All About Eve" a week ago, so when the mother said, "Buckle up" I was hoping for a Bette Davis impression and a finishing of the line... "It's going to a bumpy ride!" The Gauntlet was a fun gimmick, not that far removed from the Turkey Day Marathons of old. I didn't binge, just watched them at the pace I wanted, but I liked the idea of a running gag to connect each episode on the season. The set-up skit was funny - the gesture Kinga comes up with that Max tries to imitate, the way the two fight to be front and center for the announcement, and the bots startled reactions, very amusing. The Mads experiment (Algernon) explains how Synthia got smart (something we first saw in the comic book miniseries), and Spez was clever. I actually attempted to watch this one a few weeks back and wasn't feeling it, but maybe I'm in the groove after season 11, as I was more receptive with this try. The "pretty nice" gag wasn't really all that funny, and I wish they hadn't edited the flick, this ep was shorter than the norm, but the riffing was overall decent. I originally felt the spacing/timing was better this season, but I don't know, it's not that radically different and the references were really packed in there (The Crypt Keeper, Terminator, The Shining, and Rear Window, all wind up in one sequence). Not much else to say, It was, um, pretty nice? Best Riffs: "Finally our permanently shocked facial expressions pay off" - Crow | "Spider-Man me mom" - Crow | "Dammit nurse, this is a Pepsi. It doesn’t have the unique healing properties of Coke Classic." - Crow | "Featuring Drew Barryless as Debbie" - Servo | "Mom, I saw dad in heaven! He said you pushed him off a cliff!" - Crow Best Host Segments: The opening with experiments / Gyps made a scary/funny Grimace Grade: 3.5 out of 5
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Post by Mighty Jack on Apr 23, 2021 7:15:09 GMT -5
1202 - Atlantic RimSpecial Guest: Justin Roiland as the Gizmonic Institute Emergency Announcer What I said in 2018: Mostly responding to complaints, I wrote... "Movie was fine, the riffing was fine. I didn't have a problem with either. Solid episode" We have a cold open in this episode, as an unseen intruder causes havoc at Gizmonic Institute (the identity of this mysterious person will be revealed in the 4th episode). Once again, the opening skit and experiments were a laugh, Patton's a top-drawer comedic actor, a real asset these past seasons (btw Jonah's wife, Deanna Rooney, is the bonehead who assists Max with his supposit-stories experiment). Beyond that, yeah it's fine. The movie is full of bros, bullbutter, lava, and getting people on "horns", oh... and robots vs. monsters. The riffing, of course, zeroes in on this, the FX... or the lack thereof (when a character asks, “What happened down here?” and the response... "Whatever it is, don’t show us"), and especially the stupid clichés that act as our protagonists. I don't like that it's getting even busier in the theater, Tom's flying isn't fun or novel here, it's just tired, and now we have M. Waverly entering with the payload and popping off a riff. Best Riffs: "The whole world's about to find out about Project: Armada!" - "Featuring Herman Menderchuck!" - Hadley/Jonah | "It killed all our lab chimps so that means you guys are next, have fun" - Jonah | "Oh geez, that's weird, I wasn't sitting in a puddle before." - Jonah | "Oh, Baltimore has never looked better." - Crow | "He blew up Heaven!" - Crow Best Host Segments: The experiment again, host segs still a weakness, though the nonsensical song lyrics recall "Hideous Control" from Pod People, and that put a smile on my face. Grade: 3 out of 5
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Post by Mighty Jack on Apr 23, 2021 9:11:01 GMT -5
This isn't a review, but the other sub-forum is bumming me out (Joel just announced that if we hit our peak KS goal that he'd host 2 eps, why some are making sour faces instead of jumping for joy over that happy news is beyond me.) So I'm coming here to my cave to share a thought. You've probably noticed that the Gizmoplex logo looks familiar... I thought that was pretty cool. I think in tribute to the recently closed landmark, the Cinerama Dome (it's in the news, google it) Joel should house the Gizmoplex in a virtual version of said dome. Aside from that, I'll get back to my MST viewing diary soon, as I've just started watching Lords of the Deep. Also, I added a new photo to the Carnival Magic write-up (I forgot a guest, which was more a cameo) Later, gators.
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Post by Mighty Jack on Apr 23, 2021 19:47:38 GMT -5
1203 - Lords of the DeepNew Recurring Character: Deanna Rooney as Dr. Donna St. Phibes (she made her first appearance in the 30th Anniversary tour) What I said in 2018: Nothing specific to the episode, only that so far these were all mid-range episodes, no real knock-outs yet And not a real knockout watching again. I wonder why the shows are getting shorter and shorter by the week? (this one runs 78-minutes, 44 seconds). The movie was riffable, but the riffs were pretty standard fare. There are plenty of pop references, as usual, and the characters are infinitely teasable, but most of it gave me smiles and chuckles. This week's running gag was, "now streaming on..." (m'eh). On the other hand, the line about how the current climate on the surface has ruined golf was a hoot, probably because I golf (public courses, no elitist club memberships for me, lol). The experiment exchange was a high point. I dug those Max and Kinga dolls (hey, there's something you can offer on the Kickstarter campaign!) and the whole urinal cake thing on the SOL was beautifully acted and funny. In the final skit, Dr. Phibes was likeable. Best Riffs: "Gah, I think I just blinded myself with science" - Crow | “You’re not gonna “Shape of Water” with it, are ya?” - Crow | "She’s like if God didn’t finish creating Michelle Pfieffer." - Crow | "Well at least he died doing what he loved, yelling at fish" - Jonah Best Host Segments: Experiment exchange Grade: 2.5 out of 5, my ratings are slowly dropping... dropping...
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Post by Mighty Jack on Apr 24, 2021 8:48:48 GMT -5
1204 - The Day Time EndedSpecial Guests: Ivan Askwith as Bonesy, J. Elvis Weinstein as Dr. Laurence Erhardt What I said in 2018: "Though it kind of tailed off at the end, this was another decent experiment. The movie was fine, if only for tiny elf alien and Jenny, who inspired some hilarious quips." "Ah my eyes, it's too zesty!" - Max, after getting an eyeful of experiment (Spray-On Mustard Gas) - so after that funny start we get to the movie, which to this point, is my favorite of the season. Just a perfect bad little gem, with characters and such (noted above) that made it enjoyable all on its own. As with the last episode, we get a dumb pun (it's suddenly Svengoolie in here), and a few clever art quips (in #1203 it was neo-dadaist Robert Rauschenberg, this time it's 'brutalism' and Dali). References include the expected Star Wars, Close Encounters, and Buck Rogers stuff, as well as the Great Gazoo, Evil Cambot, and the Brady Bunch. The episode ebbs and flows... there are spots where the laughter dries up, then all of a sudden, "Ba-Boom!" they hit me, rapid-fire, one funny after the other. Host segments? The ‘Concepts’ song is a classic, not only the best tune from seasons 11 & 12, but one of the finest from the entire series. And the surprise guest was a joy -- seeing Josh made me stupidly happy. Best Riffs: "That window is like catnip to this family" - Jonah | “Don’t talk to the Lovecraftian obelisk, dear!” - Servo | "Your doll?" - "Yeah, Salvadore Dolly" - Beth/Crow as Jenny | "Grant - it's Steven..." - "and he's *gasp* acting!" - Anna/Crow | "Grab the Tilda Swinton bust, I'll push the Brutalist credenza" - Crow | "The beings here are made of ice cream and you can eat their heads!" - Gypsy as Jenny Best Host Segments: Concepts, and a visit from Dr. Erhardt Grade: 3 out of 5
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Post by Mighty Jack on Apr 25, 2021 23:52:49 GMT -5
1205 - Killer FishSpecial Guests: The singing voice of Joel Robinson (by Joel Hodgson) is heard What I said in 2018: "First dud of the season. Not many laughs in this one for me." And that initial opinion still stands, I thought the movie was a good choice, but the riffing, it's almost like the gauntlet has finally worn them out... punching down with a fat joke, and mocking Margaux Hemingway's lisp *sigh*. Ah well, at the least the "Hi, I’m a gun. I’ll see you in the third act." was clever (see Chekhov's gun). And I'm repeating myself but I dislike how busy it's become in the theater - Tom's flying of course, but bots enter the theater willy-nilly - three bots arrive to sing a song, Growler annoyingly keeps popping in, M. Waverly and a killer fish stop by, cripes, there's no room to breathe. Oddly, during its initial streaming - at the end when Gypsy picks up the payload - her mouth was moving but there was no sound. I had to put on subtitles to see what she said. The DVD release fixed that. Best Riffs: "That guy makes a terrible kite" - Jonah | "Now I have to fight a helicopter?" - "Oh my God, it's being flown by piranhas!" - Crow & Servo Best Host Segments: None Grade: 2 out of 5
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Post by Mighty Jack on Apr 26, 2021 14:26:51 GMT -5
1206 - Ator, the Fighting EagleSpecial Guests: J. Elvis Weinstein - Dr. Laurence Erhardt & Kiog - Joel Hodgson as Joel Robinson (voice only) What I said in 2018: "The finale gets the show back on point. Especially the first half - Lots of big laughs here. The response to the line about the seven Siamese sisters… “Very difficult delivery.” had me in stitches. Also liked the sibling quips. (Blonde enters the scene, Ator asks... “Hey um, you looking for a brother?”) But there are still some goodies in the final reel. I like the line about the female warrior having to do everything Ator does, but backward and in high heels… this was something said about Ginger Rogers, and I'm a Ginger Rogers fan." So yeah, that sums it up well. The Gauntlet ends on a high note, with its best feature - a movie that takes us back to a classic episode (Cave Dwellers) and beloved character (Ator) - and with its spider lovin' baddie and a brother/sister betrothal ("Our sick twisted fantasy come true!" - Crow), it's about as close to MST-Heaven as you can get. My favorite style of riffing is one that really engages the goofiness of a movie, it's not (always) in attack mode, but is having fun with the fun. I think some non-MSTies have the idea that MST is mean-spirited, or full of insults - and while there are examples of that (they really go after Arch Hall Jr. in the hilarious Eegah for example) and there are woeful or nasty movies that are asking for it... conversely, there are many experiments that are upbeat and silly. Ator is one of those. The sloppiness? As with the last episode, there's a lost riff, only this time it wasn't fixed for the DVD. At the 0:22:35 mark, Jonah says "That was fun, you guys wanna crash that bris?" - you can't hear but if you put on captioning, you can read it. Best Riffs: “Very hard to ignore that man outside being killed by an elephant.” - Jonah | "Woah, this baby parties!" - Jonah (baby has white powder on it) | "I feel like I just binge-watched paint dry" - Jonah | "Oh, this is before they had endoscopes and the doctor would just send in really tiny barbarians with swords." - Servo | And the scene where Roon makes her first appearance offers one big laugh after another. Best Host Segments: The Mads hoisted on their own petard, the song during the end credits Grade: Probably a 3.5, but I'm giving a 4 out of 5 because I had such a good time with it.
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Post by Mighty Jack on Apr 26, 2021 14:29:58 GMT -5
So that wraps up this marathon. All told, the Gauntlet was a pretty average season, I felt it was a step backwards from 11.
My grade scale? 5 is a masterpiece, 4 is very good (or, if you tent your fingers... "excellent"), 3 is good, 2.5 is a shoulder shrug "yeah that's fine, but not much lit a fire under me", 2 and under are different levels of hell.
2021 Rankings for Season 12: 4.0 - Ator, the Fighting Eagle 3.5 - Mac and Me 3.0 - Atlantic Rim, The Day Time Ended 2.5 - Lords of the Deep 2.0 - Killer Fish
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Post by Mighty Jack on Apr 26, 2021 21:38:42 GMT -5
It was a gas to watch Hobgoblins with the cast tonight. This has always been just an ok episode for me, but their laughter got me laughing right along with them, and made it all better. Reminds me how much I miss watching MST with my family. The Livestream was a ton o' fun - interesting to hear their comments too, and this was Joel's first viewing of Hobgoblins and he was very impressed with Bill, he loved his voice. I liked the Q&A beforehand, the ? about how Joel met the live troupe sends them off on some wonderful stories. These folks really have a great rapport, even more so than the studio group. They are doing this again Friday with Mary Jo... yipee.
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Torgo
Moderator Emeritus
-segment with Crow?
Posts: 15,420
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Post by Torgo on Apr 27, 2021 0:08:23 GMT -5
That question about them meeting was one that I brought up, though I imagine other people might have asked it, I know for a fact Emily saw my tweet because she liked it almost instantly, so when she got all enthusiastic about it and wanted to answer it immediately and they did such a great roundtable on it...made me feel pretty happy.
I didn't get to watch the whole stream, but I love this watchalong idea. Joel said he had never seen this or Delta Knights and it was fun seeing his reactions to Hobgoblins, so I'm hoping Knights will be a treat too.
But I'm curious about that little tangent at the end of the stream about Howard the Duck. Was that an accidental slip? Were they looking at Howard for season 13? Or am I reading too much into that?
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Post by Mighty Jack on Apr 27, 2021 7:23:26 GMT -5
That's cool, yeah Emily seemed real happy about the question.
I thought the Howard talk was in relation to the skit where Bobo confesses love for someone not of his species (where Crow thinks he's talking about Pearl).
And Joel's enthusiasm for the puppets was cute (it's certainly his thing). And later, learning that he knows the puppet maker - Too bad he (Joel) couldn't find his number to call him during the show, what a bonus... the maker of the actual Hobgoblins joining in the conversation.
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