Torgo
Moderator Emeritus
-segment with Crow?
Posts: 15,420
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Post by Torgo on Oct 22, 2016 15:56:47 GMT -5
That's unfortunate. My condolences for your loss.
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Post by kmorgan on Oct 30, 2016 19:59:44 GMT -5
Well, I'd better get back on track. Week 77...
First, a correction. "Voodoo Man" co-starred George Zucco, not Lionel Atwill. Still, they both looked similar, took on similar roles, and both played Moriarty opposite Basil Rathbone. Understandable mistake, I guess. "Voodoo Man" is basically the same movie as "The Corpse Vanishes", but with voodoo instead of surgery. It's better-looking than some of Lugosi's later "poverty row" movies, and Lugosi is good as always (though, oddly, he doesn't do the hand gestures during the hypnosis routine). However, the movie is still pretty bad. Zucco looks embarrassing in voodoo priestly garb (with face paint) and John Carradine is embarrassing as a dimwitted flunky, with arms that Seinfeld would later joke about. And, gosh all fishhooks, the rest is just average at best. The guys do a good job riffing, though. Personally, I think this'd be a good choice for a live show. It doesn't run too long, leaving room for a short, and there's lots of potential for new riffs.
As for "Time Chasers", I think the movie is pretty good. Yes, it's low-budget and the script could use work. Still, the filmmakers give it a good try, and the time paradox/butterfly effect plotlines make more sense than much of current "Doctor Who". (So, Nick can save Lisa, but the Doctor can't go back and visit the Brig? Come on!) One personal note: my brother Brian passed away suddenly a week ago Friday. Recently, he spent several months coaching lacrosse at Johnson State College in Johnson, VT. I once mentioned Castleton from TC to him, and he said, "We don't mention the C word." It seems Castleton is a bigger school, had better players, and routinely beat Johnson State. If he'd been able to continue there, who knows? Maybe there may have been an upset one day. Getting back to the ep, the riffing was good. And I liked the host segs with Eddie Nelson and the Two Crows. And it was nice to see Pearl in an agreeable mood.
I'd say things turned out OK, as far as this was concerned. So, week 78. For Halloween, I'm going outside of the rotation on the Outsiders for..."RT Live: Carnival of Souls"... - Yes, they showed this last Thursday, but it'll be repeated tomorrow, so it still fits, sort of. ...and the Originals selection is..."Pod People" (Show 303). - Trumpy, you can rip-off "E.T." and slasher movies!
We'll be right back...
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Post by kmorgan on Nov 6, 2016 21:45:14 GMT -5
Okay, week 78.
The live show of "Carnival of Souls" worked well, I thought. The movie is actually pretty good. It's got a creepy vibe at helps get us past the low budget and the plot twist we can all see coming. It's one of those movies that is both good-watchable and riff-watchable. The jokes from the guys were fine. And as for the shorts...hmmm. Washing strange witches in your home...bizarre masks made out of grass...the Seventies were a stranger time than I remembered, I guess.
"Pod People" is pretty jarring for me. The whole notion of the kid thinking his cute alien pal is brutally killing people is disturbing. Add in the ever-present fog and the annoying victims and you've got a pretty bad flick. The kitten was cute, though. As for the ep, the riffing was great. I thought the host segs were good, though I do have a question: why does Joel have such a negative view of Anthony Newley? And what is a "chataqua"? Anybody know?
On the whole, not too bad this time. So, let's move on to week 79. The Outsiders selection is..."RT: Wide World of Shorts (2nd half)"... - Haven't seen this one yet; what will I be learning? ...and the Originals selection is..."Daddy-O" (Show 307). - Hike up your pants, folks!
Stay tuned...
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Post by kmorgan on Nov 12, 2016 20:08:22 GMT -5
So, how'd week 79 go?
"Wide World of Shorts" was good, like the other shorts collections. The riffing was fine, and there's a good selection of subjects. They range from "Self Conscious Guy" (overcome shyness with...spotlights, I think), "As We Like It" (the patriotic glories of beer), "Toward Emotional Maturity" (cute puppies and sudden rages), "The Terrible Truth" (heroin addiction still leaves you attractive...somehow), and "Good Eating Habits" (don't eat too fast or eat junk foods, like yours truly does).
As for "Daddy-O", it's actually one of the better JD movies the series featured. It's fairly well-made and has a good jazz score, courtesy of John Williams, and they don't really push the obvious age issue to badly. And the songs are OK, as well. And I also liked the "Alphabet Antics" short; anything with cute cats scores with me. As for the episode, the host segments were good, including the great "Hike Up Your Pants" song and Mike's Hexfield appearance as the movie's flunky. And the riffing was, once again, great.
Pretty good combination this time. So, let's move on to week 80. The Outsiders selection is..."Three Stooges in Color" (introduced by Mike, Kevin & Bill)... - I'm a victim of coicumstance! ...and the Originals selection is..."Rocket Attack U.S.A." (Show 205). - The feel-good movie of World War III!
What do you think, sirs?
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Post by kmorgan on Nov 20, 2016 22:57:50 GMT -5
So, let's look at week 80, shall we?
"Three Stooges in Color" features four public domain (I think) shorts, one with Curly ("Disorder in the Court") and three with Shemp ("Sing a Song of Six Pants", "Malice in the Palace" and "Brideless Groom"). While they're not the best the Stooges did (that's "You Nazty Spy"), all are pretty funny. I did notice that, in addition to color, they added the usual violin string pluck sound to Moe's eyepokes in "Disorder". (Does anyone else notice such things?) The Film Crew intros are also OK, though I don't share their disdain for Shemp. I think he could be very funny. (Now, Joe Besser, on the other hand...) The guys also address Moe's violent nature, and women's supposed hatred for the Stooges. I thought it turned out fine.
As for "Rocket Attack U.S.A.", it's a pretty depressing movie featuring inept secret agents, the utter failure of the U.S. nuclear deterrent, and the destruction of central NYC. And it's rather boring, too. I preferred the short; chapter two of "Phantom Creeps" was good, I thought, with Bela getting some brief moments of genuine pathos. The riffing was fine, especially the takeoff on the golf coverage narration. All three host segs were great, with an unusual political tone (or am I reading too much into this?). And I liked the guy's triple scolding of the Mads at the end. And, of course, the very first stinger.
A pretty good time, this week. So, let's move on to week 81. For the Outsiders, I'm going outside the rotation for..."Other Space" (episodes 3 & 4)... - Featuring Joel & Trace, and I haven't seen these shows yet. ...and the Originals selection is..."Star Force: Fugitive Alien 2" (Show 318). - Featuring the other Ken and no forklift.
Stay tuned...
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Post by kmorgan on Nov 23, 2016 8:03:22 GMT -5
Okay, I forgot something in my last post: Turkey Day. To be honest, with everything else going on these days (some far more serious than others), I just for got to set up my usual Turkey Day extra viewings. Now, I can't have an actual marathon, as I also have football, Charlie Brown, WKRP and visiting my family on the schedule. So, I'm adding a couple of extra episodes along with the aforementioned "Fugitive Alien 2". So, the first is from the rotation, and it's..."I Accuse My Parents" (Show 507)... - No, I'm not entering an essay contest, folks. ...and for the second, I'm going outside the rotation for..."Night of the Blood Beast (Show 701T)... - The T-Day edition, with bumpers.
I'll also find time to finally watch Joel's Turkey Day intros from last year's triumphant fund-raising marathon, and I'll catch what I can of this year's marathon.
Oh, and this week also includes the premiere anniversary of "Doctor Who" and I usually watch one of the RT versions of the Cushing Dalek movies. But I've already picked "Other Space", and I'm still ticked off over the show's lame season finale, so I'll give it a rest for a year.
What do you think, sirs?
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Post by kmorgan on Nov 29, 2016 21:06:37 GMT -5
Sorry I'm late. I've been off-track lately. Anyway, let's review week 81 & Turkey Day.
I had a bit of a problem with "Other Space". Not the show itself, but the actual watching thereof. I tried to see it on YahooTV, but the picture kept locking up on me. I thought I'd have to put the whole thing aside, but I found that somebody posted the series on YouTube. So, I did manage to watch episodes 3 & 4. I ran into another slight problem. It'd been so long since I'd seen episodes 1 & 2 that I forgot a fair amount of the series' premise. So, I figured I'd just go with it. Actually, I thought it was pretty funny; I know it's been compared favorably to "Red Dwarf", but I thought it reminded me a bit of "Quark". (Yes, I'm not exactly young, folks.) The cast did a good job as the rather dysfunctional crew, and the writing provided a good amount of laughs. I was biased, though; I thought Joel & Trace stole the show as, respectively, the somewhat loopy Zallian and his robotic cohort ART. I'll have to see the next couple of episodes pretty soon, and I promise I'll do the research first.
As for the Originals selections, "Fugitive Alien 2" was just as disjointed as "Fugitive Alien". I guess I'll have to find the original series to discover just what was going on. Add in VFX that ranged from just OK to pretty lousy, the obvious "Star Wars" ripoffs, and the attempts at Americanization ("tenperature"?), and you've got a movie worthy of MSTing. The riffing was great, though, and the host segments worked fine, especially Joel's waaaaay over the top work when reviving Servo. "I Accuse My Parents", while preachy, was a better movie. The songs were catchy and it at least held my interest. Sure, Jimmy was a dunce with a lousy home life, but he at least got the message by the end. Add to that the "Truck Farmer" short, another great item, featuring John Deere tractors. The riffing here was top notch, with great host segments, particularly Gypsy's rendition of "Are You Happy in Your Work". "Night of the Blood Beast" was a step downward, I thought. I kind of think NASA would have more people working on the space program. And the whole "pregnancy" idea was presented in a rather...yucky fashion, I thought. The whole "spare the murderous alien" thing was annoying, too. Still, at least Corman got more use out of the costume from "Teenage Caveman".
As for the T-Day bumpers, the ones leading up to and including "Blood Beast" worked pretty well, though it's a bit surprising Mike played Michael Feinstein without joking, as he did previously. Still, it was a pretty good reprise of the earlier Thanksgiving party bumpers, and it was a good way to reintroduce Pearl. The bumpers from last year's marathon with Joel worked OK, too, though I'd forgotten that the fundraising didn't finish on Turkey Day. Still, Joel had some nice segments with people from Kickstarter, and from a now-grown up girl who wrote to the show years earlier. They also featured material explaining the Kickstarter campaign and introducing some of the new cast.
I thought things worked out OK, and I had a nice Thanksgiving dinner with my Mom, my brother Pat, and my brother Bruce and his family. I really needed that. So, let's move to week 82. For the Outsider selection, I'm going outside the rotation for..."RT Live Double Feature: Santa Claus Conquers the Martians and Christmas Shorts-Stravaganza"... - There's no place like a nearby multiplex for the Holidays. ...and the Originals selection is..."Prince of Space" (Show 816). - I like it very much!
Don't touch that dial...
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Post by kmorgan on Dec 5, 2016 0:14:07 GMT -5
So, then, let's look at week 82.
The RT Live double feature turned out OK. I'd seen both shows when they were first broadcast, and hadn't gotten around to my DVDs of them in the rotation. Thus, I was happily reminded (or unhappily, as the case may be) of what I'd forgotten. SCCTM was good enough for a third go-round. Some of the jokes owed a bit to the MST version, but they were still funny. And the warm-up short, "Santa Claus and the Fairy Snow Queen", introduced us to Snoopy (Mr. B's younger cousin) and the spectacle that is Candy Lion. The shorts-only program was funny, as well, even though the pork infomercial and the aquatic show kind of stuck out. "Weird Al" was funny during his guest shot, and the riffing was good throughout. And, of course, the funniest bit was in the non-Rankin-Bass "Rudolph"; that one line from Santa still nearly had me on the floor.
Moving to "Prince of Space", it's one of the best, both of the TSNWSRN era and the show in general. Sure the movie is pretty lousy, with odd dubbing, low-grade visuals and a lousy plot. But it's still fun in ways "Invasion of the Neptune Men" never was. The riffing was perfect, and the wormhole-themed host segments were great. (And, yes, the Mike puppet is kind of cute.)
Good combination this time. So, moving on to week 83. The Outsider selection is..."The History of MST3K (Part III)"... - Well, history pre-Kickstarter, anyway. ...and the Originals selection is..."Danger!! Death Ray" (Show 620). - Bup badup ba dada, folks.
We'll be right back...
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Post by kmorgan on Dec 12, 2016 0:28:25 GMT -5
Aaaaaand, week 83.
Part III of "History of MST3K" is from a multi-part documentary included in the 20th Anniversary DVD set. This segment covers Mike's promotion to host, the network switch, making the movie, and the cancellation. It runs over 30 minutes, but it still only gives a general look. Still, pretty much all of the cast are there to comment, and they all talk fondly of making the show and movie, while hating the studio hassles. They also speak very well of the fans, including Sampo and Ehrhardt from "Satellite News". All in all, a pretty interesting segment (with part IV coming soon?).
As for "Danger!! Death Ray", it's not the best spy movie the show did. (That's "Operation Double 007", I figure.) But it's not the worst either. It's got lots of action, and I liked the jazzy score. (Actually, that one cue does sound a lot like "Watermelon Man".) On the other hand, Bart Fargo has very little charisma, the plot can get a bit confusing, and some of the visuals are quite low grade. (Toy sub! Toy chopper! Toy car!) It's OK, I suppose. The episode was good, too. The riffing was great, and the host segments were generally OK. I'm not sure about the "This is Your Life" spoof, but Crow's unplanned immolation was hilarious. And Mike was back in a sailor suit!
I guess things went OK this time. So, on to week 84. The Outsiders selection is..."RT: Planet of Dinosaurs"... - Not featuring Sam Neil, Jeff Goldblum or the new guy. ...and the Originals selection is..."Marooned (a.k.a. "Space Travellers")" (Show 401). - Okay, who forgot to pack the oxygen?
Stay tuned...
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Post by kmorgan on Dec 19, 2016 8:05:17 GMT -5
Sorry I'm late; very busy weekend as I prepare for the Holidays. Anyway, week 84...
"RT: Planet of Dinosaurs" was a major slog. It ran soooooooooo slow, with lots of padding. Add in unattractive costumes, annoying characters (especially the traditional ill-tempered businessman), poor acting, low budget and plot difficulties. On the plus side, the riffing was OK, though I wish they didn't bash the Prequels so much, and the movie's stop-motion work looked good. There is one big problem with my review, though. The movie was so plodding that I actually dozed off. I could go back and watch what I missed, but I don't think it'll help. Oh, dear.
As for "Marooned", it also moves slow, but in a good way. They obviously made an effort to make the movie look NASA-realistic. The visuals worked OK, and the acting was pretty good. (Hackman, of course, was great; he always is.) I think the original novel (well, both versions of it) were better, but this one was fine. The riffing worked fine, highlighted by Crow's great Peck voice. The host segments were good, too, though I wonder how Deep 13 suddenly went Sensurround. I thought this one worked pretty well.
Split decision this week. And, let's move to week 85. The Outsiders selection is..."RT: Swing Parade (3-Riffer Version)"... - Let's hope the Stooges aren't behind the horses in the parade. ...and the Originals selection is..."Gamera vs. Gaos" (Show 308). - Um, which annoying kid is in this one? I can't remember.
We'll be right back...
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Post by kmorgan on Dec 24, 2016 16:13:19 GMT -5
So, how'd week 85 go?
As I'm sure I've previously posted, "Swing Parade" is a pretty good movie. It's a garden variety Forties programmer, with good songs, passable comedy and a standard romantic subplot. The main selling point is the presence of the Stooges, but they're not at their best. They're not the headliners, their roles could be filled by nearly any other comedy team of the era, and Curly, who was in poor health, is not up to his usual standard. In general, the movie is OK, but unremarkable. The riffing is OK, and I liked the way they noted how unbelievably expensive and well-staged the musical numbers are for the movie's nightclub setting.
As for "Gamera vs. Gaos", following the more serious "Gamera vs. Barugon", we're back to what would be the standard formula, with battling monsters and all-knowing annoying kids. Admittedly, Itchy isn't as psychotic as Kenny was in the original, but it's amazing that he's the only one who has any idea of what to do. Also, I think it's starting with this one that the violence gets pretty graphic on the monster side. In short, it's an OK Gamera movie, though not the best one. The riffing is top notch throughout. The host segments are good, though I'm surprised they didn't use the standard plate-spinning music for the Gaos the Great bit. And I wonder how many ideas they actually received for "ways to snuff Gaos".
Not too bad this time. So, week 86. As we're celebrating Christmas this weekend, I'm going to go outside the rotation. For the Outsiders, the selection is..."RT: Have a Mary Jo Christmas and a Bridget New Year!"... - Just as long as Droppo doesn't show up. ...and the Originals selection is..."Santa Claus Conquers the Martians" (Show 321). - I spoke too soon!
God bless us, everyone.
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Post by kmorgan on Dec 30, 2016 22:21:40 GMT -5
Well, I hope you're all having a nice and safe Holiday season, so far. And let's look at week 86.
The Christmas special with Bridget & Mary Jo was hilarious. It runs only about 30 minutes, but it features a horribly cut-down, home movue version of the otherwise great Alistair Sim version of "A Christmas Carol", an 80's Ford Taurus commercial, a Christmas segment from "The Dean Martin Show" and a Christmas short called "The Little Lamb". The riffing is great throughout, and they're clearly having a lot of fun. Actually, the high point is when they talk about their favorite Christmas gift. I've already gotten the special they did for this Christmas, and I'll watch it next Christmas.
As for "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians", what more can I say? Great fun!
Two good ones this time, and I really needed it, given all the emotional baggage I'm lugging around this time of year. (And that was before the sad passing of both Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds.) Anyway, now let's close out 2016 and start 2017 with week 87. For the Outsiders selection, I'm going outside the rotation for..."KTMA Melon Drop Special (1986)"... - I've been looking for this one for years! ...and the Originals selection is..."Legend of Dinosaurs" (Show K-21). - Are they in F-14's?
Happy New Year!
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Post by kmorgan on Jan 8, 2017 7:30:37 GMT -5
So, how'd your New Year's celebrations go? Anyway...
The 1986 Melon Drop special was a real treat. I was very interested in seeing more of what was going on at KTMA back before MST's advent. This parody of Holiday shows (and PBS pledge week shows, in a way) was very funny. It included what appears to be something of a preview of Jim & Kevin's "15 Minutes" show; more specifically, the Martian defense segment. I was very glad this turned up, thanks to CW 23 (the current incarnation of KTMA), who posted it on YouTube.
As for "Legend of Dinosaurs", from just a couple of years later, I understand this was the last KTMA show they did before the switch to TFNWSRN. The movie is an uncomfortable mix of the standard Japanese monster flicks and "Jaws". The plot is confusing, the VFX are rather poor, the characters aren't very interesting, and the musical score doesn't match up at all with the movie's tone. As for the ep, the riffing by this time had improved, though there are still dead spots here and there. They also throw in a few riffs that probably wouldn't be allowed these days, I suppose. The host segments are OK, including the "Joel is dead" bit. By the way, I wonder what they did do that summer...
Well, a nice little journey into the early days this time. So, onto week 88. For the Outsiders selection, this week it's..."The Cheap Seats" (guest-starring Mike, Kevin & Bill)... - Imitation is the sincest form of flattery. ...and the Originals selection is..."Quest of the Delta Knights" (Show 913). - It's David Warner and David Warner in "The Parent Trap"!
We'll be right back...
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Post by kmorgan on Jan 15, 2017 20:31:16 GMT -5
So, let's review...
I hadn't watched "The Cheap Seats" before our guys guested, so this was my first exposure to the show. The hosts did a pretty good job, both with the riffing and the host segments. It helped that the sports footage ("creative breaking" and K-1 fighting) was easily riffable. And the appearance of Mike & the 'bots riffing on the host segments was even funnier. I may just look up other episodes of the show.
As for "Quest of the Delta Knights", I had a problem with the Delta Knights. Beyond watching and trading messages, they don't do very much, do they? They just sort of stand back and let the bad guys do as they please. Not exactly the Jedi, I thought. Throw in the indeterminate time period and the low budget, plus the attempted Luke/Leia/Han-style triangle with the principals, and it doesn't really work. Still, David Warner does a pretty professional job (well, jobs). The riffing was fine, and it was a good touch the have Pearl in the theater, briefly. The host segments were also good, especially the second multi-Servo song.
A pretty good pairing this time. So, let's move on to week 89. The Outsiders selection is..."CT: Legacy of Blood"... - Featuring John Carradine, who doesn't sing the theme song. ...and the Originals selection is..."Stranded in Space" (Show 305). - All hail the Perfect Order!
Don't touch that dial...
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Post by kmorgan on Jan 23, 2017 0:58:44 GMT -5
Sorry, folks. I'm running late again. Anyway, week 89.
"Legacy of Blood" is one truly "yuck!" movie. It takes the usual "heirs spend the night in sort-of cursed house" and makes it really awful. All of the characters (except maybe the lawyer at the start and the dog) are so dysfunctional (and poorly acted) that you want them all to get killed. Add in a very sleazy tone, and a twist ending and closing theme that really grates on you, and you get a bad experience. Not even John Carradine can save it. The Titans did a good job riffing it, and the couple of host segments were good. We still don't know what a nanotated disc is, though.
By comparison, "Stranded in Space" is quite good. It's not real exciting, but its competently made and acted, and they do throw in some nice touches. (For example, the brief bits making villainous Benedict's devotion to the Perfect Order more understandable.) It can be a bit heavy-handed, and I don't know how it would've held up as a series, but it was generally OK. The riffing was good, and I liked the host segments, especially the one on deadly euphamisms. I even recognized all the shows they referred to.
I'm going to say split decision this time. So, on to week 90. And the Outsiders selection is..."Freaks & Geeks: Discos & Dragons" (featuring Joel & Trace)... - Am I allowed to feel old watching this one? ...and the Originals selection is..."The Phantom Planet" (Show 902). - You know, Captain...
We'll be right back...
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