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Post by BoB3K on Jan 15, 2008 11:56:40 GMT -5
(CAUTION: some spoilers)
This is being posted in a lot of reviews, but I wanted to make it its own thread, because to me (and from what I'm reading many other people), THE big minus to CT's first outing is--
Where's the premise? Where's the story? Heck, they don't even introduce themselves!
Joel keeps touting CT as being from the creator and orignal cast of MST3K. So, where are those cool wacky imaginations that brought us the SOL, Gizmonics Instutute, Deep 13, Tom Server and Crow, invention exchanges, the hexfield viewscreen, rocket number 9, pushing the button, and MOVIE SIGN!!!!!?
I gotta tell ya, reguardless of the movie riffing (which was fine, if a bit stiff), I couldn't help but be let down by this. I mean, we have riffing; we've had it all along--from the SciFi years, to Mike's Legend film commentaries, to RiffTrax, to The Film Crew. What I was really hoping for was riffing PLUS characters and skits, and some wrapping around the bad movie.
The in-theater pauses aren't bad, but when they're just for a quick sight-gag, I didn't care for them. The two skits where the group interacted had more promise--the battery acid discussion and Josh's theme song. But I felt those were a little week in their execution.
As others have stated, they really need to at least introduce themselves and the movie. They need to let viewers (old MSTies and the uninitiated) know just what the heck is going on, who they are, and why we're all here for the next hour and a half.
To reiterate, I like the riffing, it was good to hear them all back, but as a whole package, this was weak.
(I really hope this didn't sound too negative, but hey, it's how I feel, what can ya do.)
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Post by Bix Dugan on Jan 15, 2008 12:13:06 GMT -5
I know what you mean.
Maybe future releases will divulge the details that you seek, or not.
But for me, when that Time Tube began lowering down, accompanied by that "Bossa-Nova/Mission Completed" music, the presentation was complete. I don't need any more information. Maybe they'll just give small, weird hints at what's going on. Like on "Lost".
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Post by BathTub on Jan 15, 2008 12:44:41 GMT -5
I was pretty surprised that there is no real set up or premise especially after recalling this quote from Joel that Roz posted a month ago. Also, I agree with something Joel said recently about having story and characters: "...I knew it wouldn't work if you were just making fun or happened to be sarcastic. You had to have some reason -- like "The Prisoner" -- where you are forced to watch the movie. Because otherwise, why don't you leave if you don't like it?" Does anyone have link to that interview I am curious how old it is.
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Post by Diet Kolos on Jan 15, 2008 12:45:11 GMT -5
What? Joel and the gang are in a hatch watching bad movies on a mysterious island?
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Post by doctorz on Jan 15, 2008 13:04:56 GMT -5
Yep. I sit down with my popcorn and drink, quivering with anticipation, watching the countdown and......HUH? The silhouettes of 5 people I've come to know and love over the years riffing a bad movie. Fine. But I really wanted to see some back story. All sorts of things were running through my mind before this release: Did Trace flip out and decide that only he cared about these movies because they give true historic insight to how people lived and thought in the year they were made. (they most certainly do, by the way) He spends the family fortune getting a time capsule together and calls in all his friends who have a degree in SCIENCE to help him with this worthy project to see if the films are WORTHY! Oh man, I would have imploded with glee. Don't get me wrong. I liked it, but it could have been so much more!
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Post by Captain Hygiene on Jan 15, 2008 13:07:58 GMT -5
I'm not bothered by the lack of premise at all. I didn't even miss it until I read all the complaints about it.
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Post by Bix Dugan on Jan 15, 2008 13:28:49 GMT -5
The first instance of an "unseen guest riffer" (a well-known science guy, if you haven't seen it yet) made me think "there's more going here, almost like an all-powerful being is conducting an experiment."
Like Q from Star Trek, or a member of very pale race, known to always carry their brains around in Pyrex cookware.
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Post by GersonK on Jan 15, 2008 13:30:38 GMT -5
I know what you mean. But for me, when that Time Tube began lowering down, accompanied by that "Bossa-Nova/Mission Completed" music, the presentation was complete. I don't need any more information. Maybe they'll just give small, weird hints at what's going on. Like on "Lost". Heh. I posted this over at my blog earlier today: Seriously though, I think the premise is even shallower than the Film Crew's - five former mst3k cast members have gotten together to preserve riffing for future generations. Though it sure would be nice if they whisprered that thin premise in the show.
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Post by Reptilian Samurai on Jan 15, 2008 14:29:42 GMT -5
I was pretty surprised that there is no real set up or premise especially after recalling this quote from Joel that Roz posted a month ago. Also, I agree with something Joel said recently about having story and characters: "...I knew it wouldn't work if you were just making fun or happened to be sarcastic. You had to have some reason -- like "The Prisoner" -- where you are forced to watch the movie. Because otherwise, why don't you leave if you don't like it?" Does anyone have link to that interview I am curious how old it is. Agreed, I thought Joel was the main force in setting up a premise for MST. So I was definitely surprised that he didn't do that here.
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Post by Reptilian Samurai on Jan 15, 2008 14:31:45 GMT -5
Yep. I sit down with my popcorn and drink, quivering with anticipation, watching the countdown and......HUH? The silhouettes of 5 people I've come to know and love over the years riffing a bad movie. Fine. But I really wanted to see some back story. All sorts of things were running through my mind before this release: Did Trace flip out and decide that only he cared about these movies because they give true historic insight to how people lived and thought in the year they were made. (they most certainly do, by the way) He spends the family fortune getting a time capsule together and calls in all his friends who have a degree in SCIENCE to help him with this worthy project to see if the films are WORTHY! Oh man, I would have imploded with glee. Don't get me wrong. I liked it, but it could have been so much more! Five people we know and love came in to riff movies... but what about for the uninitiated? To them these are just 5 random people, and they have no idea why they should care about them. Which is why, if anything else, they should AT LEAST have an introduction. Heck, they use their names back and forth, and I think it would be confusing to new viewers that don't actually know these performers on a first name basis...
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Post by pablum on Jan 15, 2008 14:33:20 GMT -5
Watching the first episode of Cinematic Titanic was like watching Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back or Return of the Jedi. A movie start with no character introductions and events happening that would be confusing to anybody who didn't see the original film. The Star Wars films did give you an opening text crawl, but we weren't even given that here.
The show so far literally requires you to be a MST3K fan who visits websites like this to understand more of what is being presented to you on screen. While I understand this and the show is being directed at me, its still not what I would consider a complete show. I would like some basic introductions, some explanation as to why riffing is going on, and why there was a guy sticking a disc into a long descending pole at the end of the movie (I know its Joel (or maybe Trace) and the Time Tube).
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Post by pslowner on Jan 15, 2008 14:38:24 GMT -5
Personally, I really dont care about back story or skits...... I know who they are.
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Post by Reptilian Samurai on Jan 15, 2008 14:52:17 GMT -5
Watching the first episode of Cinematic Titanic was like watching Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back or Return of the Jedi. A movie start with no character introductions and events happening that would be confusing to anybody who didn't see the original film. The Star Wars films did give you an opening text crawl, but we weren't even given that here. The show so far literally requires you to be a MST3K fan who visits websites like this to understand more of what is being presented to you on screen. While I understand this and the show is being directed at me, its still not what I would consider a complete show. I would like some basic introductions, some explanation as to why riffing is going on, and why there was a guy sticking a disc into a long descending pole at the end of the movie (I know its Joel (or maybe Trace) and the Time Tube). Agreed. The package is incomplete without it. I want this to potentially grow beyond the hard-core internet MSTie fanbase, and it needs to be slightly more accessible for that to work. Also, when I show it to people (ie I showed the beginning to my dad) I don't want to have to go on explaining who everyone is. Which I had to do. That shouldn't even be necessary!
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Post by BoB3K on Jan 15, 2008 14:54:10 GMT -5
While I understand this and the show is being directed at me, its still not what I would consider a complete show. That's a good way of putting it.
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Post by wedestroymyths on Jan 15, 2008 15:25:02 GMT -5
What? Joel and the gang are in a hatch watching bad movies on a mysterious island? "Don't push the [play] button. The [play] button is bad."
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