Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Nov 13, 2017 16:16:39 GMT -5
1104-Avalanche
The Movie
Roger Corman’s attempt to cash in off of the 70’s disaster movie craze, Avalanche is about an AVALANCHE! Who’d have thought?
The film stars Rock Hudson as a rich jackass who builds a resort in a heavy avalanche area and insisting he was right to do so. So confident he is in everything he does he invites his ex-wife (Mia Farrow) to the resort in hopes to rekindle their love, only to have her fall for a photographer. And then...you know...AVALANCHE!
Not horrendously awful, though nothing noteworthy, Avalanche’s biggest crime is that it takes too long to get to its title set piece. Even when we do get there, it’s not well staged and it’s not worth slugging through the snow of a cliched love triangle. But even when the craziness happens, the movie’s dumbness takes full swing effect some nutty shenanigans that just kind of happen that the Avalanche had really nothing to do with (the greatest of all is the stinger for this very episode).
And yet, as goofy as the movie can be, it contradicts with an attempt at a bleak tone. The movie features so many innocents being hopelessly killed and trampling each other in a panic, including a blink and you’ll miss it shot of a child being crushed to death by ice, that I almost feel bad for laughing at it. Almost. Okay, I don’t feel bad at all.
Movie Rating: 5/10
The Episode
Avalanche might be my favorite of the relaunch season. The laughter is springboarded from how serious this movie is but also how brutally over the top it is. Jonah and the Bots seem intent on turning Avalanche into a cartoon, adding wacky sound effects where needed and just emphasizing how daffy the film doesn’t seem to realize it is. This proves to be the best approach to the film, because it needs its silliness brought to the surface when it’s trying to be serious, otherwise it’s not a very enjoyable watch.
On the host segment end, Kinga delivers the showstopper this time around with a song with her internet lover (played by Neil Patrick Harris) “So Close, and Yet So Far.” The lyrics of the song are brilliant, highlighting the alienation of online dating as hopeful lovers become incredibly infatuated without having met each other. It’s probably the best host segment of the season. I also quite enjoy the host segment where Jonah and the Bots create names for mash-up monsters/disasters. Other segments include a meh parody of Mad Men, the Bots looking up to Rock Hudson, and a lounge song by Gypsy. The Invention Exchange features a machine that creates movie titles out of simple phrases and the Mouth Vacuum, both of which are a lot of fun.
I might be a bit biased when it comes to Avalanche, because it features my name in the credits as a Kickstarter backer. But watching it again reinforces that it’s a really great episode with a lot of laughs. This movie could have overwhelmed them, much like an avalanche, but the crew glides safely to the bottom of the mountain.
Episode Rating: Classic
The DVD and Blu-Ray
Avalanche has yet to see a retail release, however backers of MATe's eleventh season Kickstarter campaign received Shout Factory's blu-ray box set of Season 11 (#WeBroughtBackMST3K Collector's Edition). The episode looks and sounds wonderful in high-definition, but contains no bonus features. It does however share a discs with the preceding episode, The Time Travelers.
Next Time: I am tool. Call me SnapOn.
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Torgo
Moderator Emeritus
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Posts: 15,420
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Post by Torgo on Nov 14, 2017 13:40:46 GMT -5
1004-Future War
The Movie
“I could point out that this isn’t the future and it’s not a war, but…you know me, I don’t like to complain.”
This unapologetic crapstserpiece is one of my FAVORITE movies ever featured on the show. Bad movie lovers will surely be in heaven with Future War with it’s shoddy production values, bad acting, and utterly ambitious storyline.
Daniel Bernhardt, best known for bit fight scenes in the Keanu Reeves movies John Wick and The Matrix Reloaded, plays the Runaway, a man bred in space by aliens as a slave. He steals a spaceship and lands on Earth where he meets a prostitute-turned-nun and the go on the run from the cyborgs and dinosaurs that are tracking him.
I get giddy just describing this movie!
The star of the show is the ineptitude of the production. Sure, films like Manos have absolutely nothing at their disposal and it shows, but Future War takes its lack of resources and gets creative. Can’t afford a camera for the movie’s news team? Nope, don’t bother dusting off camera two and using it in the shot (assuming this movie had a second camera), just scotch tape a cardboard box with a lens and PRETEND it’s a camera. No sets? Make paper backdrops on the fly and post them behind the actors. The audience will figure it out. I’m amazed that they actually had money to spend on force perspective puppets for the dinosaurs, let alone getting actors to star in this thing.
Future War had an immensely troubled production and it shows. But whether or not one appreciates the film one has to respect that it took sheer determination to see this thing through to the end. To an extent, that gives this movie more heart than most. It’s just not beating.
Movie Rating: 8/10
The Episode
I’ll admit to being biased with this one. The movie is so hilarious on it’s own that there is no way this episode wasn’t going to be funny. Mike and the Bots didn’t even have to say anything. Luckily the do, and it’s pretty solid material. The production values fuel a lot of their commentary, with many observations of sets and props leading to belly laughs a plenty. The fight choreography is also a gas, with more “YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” exclamations than even Bruce Lee would think was necessary. Going through the journey of Future War is a fun ride, and taking it with the SOL crew just makes it more enjoyable.
Host segments are mostly good. Pearl’s hallucinogen experiment on the bots is a favorite of mine, while how many “Times a lady” is Gypsy (and Mike) always makes me smile. More middling, Servo’s kickboxing segment is silly but cute, and “Thanks for not killing us” is a one-note gag decently executed. The host segments kinda dwindle for the final batch where Droppy the Water Droplet and Mike’s big chin fail to deliver.
Future War is worthwhile MST, with equal parts movie and riffing picking up the slack. Is it a classic? Maybe not in the strictest sense, but I find myself rewatching rust as much as my favorites.
Episode Rating: Good
The DVD
Future War was one of the lucky episodes presented by Shout Factory on the 20th Anniversary Edition DVD collection. Video quality was good, audio was great as well.
The centerpiece of the extras is the 20th Anniversary panel from Comic Con in 2008, hosted by future MST star (blissfully unaware) Patton Oswalt. Almost every notable name in MST lore (at the time) is present: Joel Hodgson, Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy, Trace Beaulieu, Frank Conniff, Bill Corbett, Mary Jo Pehl, J. Elvis Weinstein, Jim Mallon, Bridget (Jones) Nelson, and Paul Chaplin (and Patton, but we didn’t know that at the time). It’s a glorious piece, as the chemistry we love between these people is in full force. Discussions go in predictable routes, but almost everyone gets a chance to speak and mouth off. Surprisingly the one who doesn’t really say much is Bill, who gets a few laughs but mostly let’s everyone else do the talking.
Also featured is a trailer for the film, and all six iterations (at the time) of the theme song presented in order.
Next Time: It was after the apocalypse...Commando Cody lost the fight with the Radar Men and there was much rejoicing.
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Nov 15, 2017 15:21:29 GMT -5
110-Robot Holocaust (With Short: “Radar Men from the Moon: Chapter Nine - Battle in the Stratosphere”)
The Short
Commando Cody rescues his comrades from suffocation in space, and they take off for a thrilling BATTLE IN THE STRATOSPHERE! Except we don’t get to see it because the film breaks. Something tells me we didn’t miss much.
With this we say goodbye to Commando Cody. We don’t get much closure on his storyline, or what passes for a storyline. In addition to what we didn’t see in this short, there are three more chapters to this serial. Maybe one day I’ll be curious enough to watch the rest, but that probably won’t be anytime soon.
The Movie
After the apocalypse, mankind is enslaved by machines. A group of rebels follow their savior Neo to defeat the robot overlords and guide mankind into a new beginning.
Oh wait, sorry I must have been describing The Matrix. What was Robot Holocaust about again? ::rewatches movie:: Well, I’ll be damned.
Of course, choice differences between the two productions are present, as Robot Holocaust has nothing to do with virtual reality and The Matrix is, you know, GOOD. Still, of all the things The Matrix is claimed to rip off (from The Terminator to Dark City), I didn’t expect this movie to be one. But that’s of course assuming anybody saw it.
But not to stray too far from Robot Holocaust, because there is certainly a lot to say about this movie on it’s own. Capably shot on a budget by a prolific gay porn director, this low budget dystopian crap is about as good as you’d expect. Actually, it might even be more enjoyable. There’s a lot to enjoy here, from the cheap look, the lousy choreography, and the hilarious acting. I mean, c’mon, one of our villains both looks and talks pretty much exactly like Kelly Bundy from Married...With Children.
And it’s all meant to be taken seriously. That’s the most important thing to take away from this movie. Chances are that you’ll laugh until your sides hurt at the drama of it all. Robot Holocaust may not be the bad movie masterpiece that Future War is, but it’s on that same trail.
Movie Rating: 4/10
The Episode
Robot Holocaust seems to be a popular first season episode among fans, though it’s never really been the first episode that pops into my mind when I think of that season. I’ve always kind of overlooked this one, which I think is partially due to the fact that I think this movie is a missed opportunity. During KTMA they riffed Japanese cheese and TV movies more than anything while so far in season one they’ve been given films that were more dated and silly than anything. Robot Holocaust is more audaciously bad on multiple levels than they’re used to getting at this point, and it bums me out that this particular movie was wasted on the first season, when they would have done much better work with it later on.
To view this episode more objectively I need to watch it in a vacuum and erase all knowledge of what the show would become. It’s difficult, but I suppose once it’s done Robot Holocaust grows a little bit more in stature. I don’t particularly find the riffing very good, but maybe it’s a bit par for the course at this point in the game. I give a lot of early episodes a pass when I find the movie somewhat amusing on its own. KTMA coasts on this aspect, and I do genuinely enjoy a few films in this first season as well. I find myself feeling the same way about Robot Holocaust, where the movie is so ridiculous that I can’t help but find myself drawn to the episode.
On the subject of the short, there’s not a lot you can say. It only lasts a few minutes and the riffing is more workmanlike than anything. They feel like they’re pushing through it with the desire to never watch Commando Cody again. I guess they succeeded.
The Host Segments feature several where Joel and the Bots just play as characters in the movie, which sets the tone for a mellow time outside of the theater. Also featured are a sitcom parody and a mediocre Invention Exchange featuring an expressive ski mask for criminals and a flaming pipe for racing events.
For the most part most of the amusement points on this one go to the movie they selected. Judged as an episode of Mystery Science Theater the overall feeling is “it’s fine, could be better.” But it’s hard to deny that laughter and amusement are there, so for that I might have to lean toward the positive on this one.
Episode Rating: Good
The DVD
First up is an intro by Joel Hodgson. Joel talks briefly about the movie choice but mostly seems interested in pointing out the Invention Exchange props are straight out of his act and being disappointed in the first season’s set.
Next up is Life After MST3K: J. Elvis Weinstein, which is an interview with Josh about all the projects he has been involved with since leaving the show after the first season. Since he left the series so early, he has more projects to direct attention to than most, including stints on TV shows like America’s Funniest Home Videos, Malcolm & Eddie, and Freaks and Geeks. He talks about his friends in show business, and touches upon Cinematic Titanic.
Next Time: New station, new voice, same crappy movies.
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Torgo
Moderator Emeritus
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Post by Torgo on Nov 16, 2017 15:40:33 GMT -5
801-Revenge of the Creature
The Movie
Well...THIS certainly is a step up from normal fare. In this debut episode on the Sci-Fi Channel we’re treated to...well, not a sci-fi classic but certainly a passable sequel to one.
Revenge of the Creature is the immediate sequel to Creature from the Black Lagoon which, despite the demise of the Gill Man in the previous film, sees a second expedition to the Amazon to seek out the dangerous half man/half fish. The expedition succeeds in capturing the Gill Man and brings him to America, where he is put on display in a marine park to publicly shame him. In true monster movie form, the Gill Man eventually escapes, stalks a beautiful blonde scientists, and kidnaps her to have his fishy way with her.
Growing up a monster movie fanatic, Creature from the Black Lagoon was a favorite of mine before I even knew of the show. I’m not sure if I ever saw Revenge before it appeared on the show, but seeing it on MST was a delight. While not a bad movie, Revenge is a gentle easing into the concept of cheesy movies featured on the show. It’s plot is fairly unoriginal, and maybe it’s a bit too casual with its pacing. That said, the premise is fun and the Gill Man is still a great monster. It’s the least of the three Creature movies, even though at times it’s concept doesn’t seem quite as silly as that of The Creature Walks Among Us. That third movie, however, had the novelty of going in a new direction. Revenge goes in the expected direction. Maybe that’s a problem, but those who want it get what they paid for.
Movie Rating: 8/10
The Episode
Switching networks for the second time, Mystery Science Theater proves itself to be a survivor...but at a cost. Trace Beaulieu is no longer with the series, choosing to venture off in a new direction. Still reeling from the loss of beloved Frank Conniff, losing such a show staple is devastating. Not only is Crow left without a voice, but we lose head honcho mad scientist Dr. Clayton Forrester, whose experiments were the basis of the entire series. Mike and Kevin Murphy’s Tom Servo help us anchor a new Crow, but on the Mads’ end we only have Pearl left, a character with seven episodes of development and isn’t entirely suited to take over the family business.
But the show must go on. Crow gets a new voice and Pearl is somewhat re-invented to help make the continuation work.
Meet Bill Corbett, a comedian/playwright who contributed some jokes during the end of the Comedy Central run. Bill is handed the Crow puppet and...I’m not going to lie, it’s hard to warm up to him. In interviews Bill would joke that his early Crow “had a stroke” to excuse his poor puppeteering, but it really looks as if he was just handed the thing minutes before filming started. He doesn’t try to imitate Trace, but it feels as if his Crow doesn’t quite have an identity yet. He bounces around with different concepts, eventually giving us a peek at the more agitated version of the bot that he would eventually give us, but this first episode can’t help but feel like a step down after all of Trace’s glorious work with the puppet. Having grown up with the Sci-Fi era, I’m quite fond of Bill’s Crow in the long run, just to give that some context.
We’re also introduced to the new concept of the series. Mike, Servo, and Gypsy rematerialize centuries after last season’s finale to find Crow already aboard the Satellite of Love, apparently having developed partial amnesia (at least as far as Mike is concerned). They find themselves in the year 2525, and apes have taken over the world, taking inspiration from the Planet of the Apes movie series. Here we are introduced to a new Mad: Kevin Murphy’s Professor Bobo, a mountain gorilla with great intellect that will gradually degrade as he becomes Pearl’s stooge. Also present is Peanut, an ape character played by Michael J. Nelson. Peanut makes little impression and is eventually written off the series in The Deadly Mantis. They send Mike and the Bots the movie by order of “The Lawgiver,” who turns out to be Pearl, who has apparently lived another lifetime raising star baby Clayton, is revitalized five hundred years in the future, and looks younger than ever! Pearl is a bit for aggressive and conniving in her new incarnation, much more invested in Mike’s plight even though in the past she seemed somewhat indifferent to it.
As of now, the “chase through time and space” storyline begins, even though they don’t leave Earth for another three episodes. This “story arc” (and I use the term loosely) was conceived after the Sci-Fi Channel insisted upon the show having one, even though it’s not really a story driven series. It’s easy to resent a network forcing notes on your favorite show, though personally I don’t mind there being a bit more stuff going on outside of the theater. It’s clear they were half-assing it mostly, because the storyline never really goes anywhere. Host segments in this episode are generally used to re-introduce the old characters and introduce the new ones along with the new concepts. The Nanites make their first appearance, as they’re microscopic nanobots that have infested the ship in the crew’s absence. Meanwhile a minor amnesia subplot is introduced for Crow, which mostly seems as if it was conceived to skirt around the fact that he’s played by a different person.
At long last we get to the riffing. It’s easy to get off on the wrong foot with this episode since the first theater segment isn’t very good. Bill’s awkward delivery takes some getting used to and there’s too many “Tributary to the Amazon” riffs that are just filling up dead air. However if you bear with the episode you’ll find it picking up steam as soon as the Gill Man reaches the marine park. As soon as Servo spouts out one of my favorite quips “Help me, I’m a fresh water creature!” we are back in business. The episode has some workmanlike tendencies, possibly to ease Bill into the series, but it steadily gets funnier as it goes along.
For a while it seems as if the watchable movie is enough for the episode to coast on, but if you give everyone enough time to get back in the groove you’ll find this one to be quite a good episode worthy of being held with the better episodes of previous seasons. No matter what channel it’s on, MST shines.
Episode Rating: Good
The DVD
This landmark episode was released as a part of Volume XXV from Shout Factory. Picture and audio were spotless. It was also loaded with extras.
First up is an introduction by Mike Nelson, who talks less about the episode (those expecting him to rip the movie to pieces will be disappointed, as he doesn’t seem to think it’s that bad) and more about the move to the Sci-Fi Channel. He seems very pained by the idea of having been forced a storyline for the season and thinks it hurts the host segments of this particular episode. He also hated playing Peanut the ape (because of the long makeup process).
Next up is a documentary called Jack Arnold at Universal, which covers the films that Revenge of the Creature director Jack Arnold filmed at Universal Studios. As expected, most of the time is devoted to his genre work, not just Revenge, but its predecessor Creature from the Black Lagoon, It Came from Outer Space, Tarantula, the Incredible Shrinking Man, and Monster on Campus.
The final feature is Life After MST3K: Bill Corbett. In addition to Rifftrax and the Film Crew, a lot of his post-MST work involved web series and plays. He also talks a bit about his one sold Hollywood screenplay, which was turned into the Eddie Murphy critical and box office bomb Meet Dave. Not too fond of that experience.
Next Time: The thrilling prequel!
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Torgo
Moderator Emeritus
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Post by Torgo on Nov 17, 2017 12:06:42 GMT -5
706-Laserblast
The Movie
A teenager finds a laser gun in the outskirts of town left by aliens. He uses it to destroy those who have wronged him, as well as those who haven’t. So he really just kinda kills everyone. Basically this kid is a dick. The aliens eventually come to reclaim the weapon and hopefully stop his rampage.
Infamous among MSTies as the movie that Leonard Maltin gave two and a half stars (though, let’s be honest, this isn’t the only movie on the show Lenny gave a positive-ish review to). I’m not going to rib him too much for it. He likely was just in a good mood that day and I highly doubt he had seen this movie since (unless it was on MST3K).
But two and a half stars? Ehhhhhhhhhhhhh…
The movie has an amusing concept, but there isn’t a lot done with it. The main character has relatable problems but he doesn’t have a very welcoming personality for the audience. I never sympathize with him at all during the film. This might have been a purposeful choice for his character since the plot requires him to murder people, but it’s mildly ruined by the story development of the gun possessing him and turning him into some sort of alien creature. Is it him doing it or the beast? If it’s the former, then why make that plot development? If it’s the latter, then the tragedy of the story is a sham.
The stop motion aliens are pretty fun though. And it DOES have that high concept storyline going for it. And Roddy MacDowell is always a soothing presence. But overall Laserblast blows up in the filmmakers’ faces.
Movie Rating: 4/10
The Episode
There’s a lot about this episode to digest. First it was presented as a series finale before the series was picked up by the Sci-Fi Channel for three more years (and long before the Kickstarter relaunch gave the show another shot). While it isn’t quite the end of the road, there is a finality to it because the second thing to realize is that it’s Trace Beaulieu’s final episode. Helping the series since The Green Slime pilot and a regular on the series since Revenge of the Mysterians of Mars, Trace was the last of the original on-screen talent to make his final bow.
No more Dr. Forrester.
A revamped Crow.
After seven (or eight) seasons, this hurts a little. The series was fine in the long run, but our emotional attachment will continue to tether to him. Out of all the riffers, he had the second longest run, behind only Kevin Murphy. Alas Trace would eventually continue to riff in Cinematic Titanic and his current live show with Frank Conniff The Mads Are Back.
As a finale, I prefer Diabolik. The riffing is about the same level, though I find Diabolik’s a tad leaner. The riffs for Laserblast tend to rely on the “ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL?!” running gag far too much, which is funny the first time but gets to the point where I can’t help but go “oh just stop.” But once you get around it, the riffing has some wondrous highs. I especially love the riffs on the stop-motion aliens, as Mike and the Bots give them the characterization they need to make them the most memorable part of a forgettable movie.
I also lean toward Diabolik with the host segments as well. Laserblast’s are fine, but they don’t quite end the series on a strong note. Dr. Forrester’s funding has been cut and he sentences Mike and the Bots to death by cutting the Umbilicus and letting them burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere. The Satellite of Love manages to break free and drifts to the edge of the universe. In the meantime, we are treated to more than a few Star Trek parodies, as they are boarded by the robot from The Changeling and Mike eventually takes command under the guise of Captain Janeway. Eventually, Mike and the Bots turn themselves into pure energy and explore the galaxy. The episode ends with a bizarre parody of 2001: A Space Odyssey, which leaves me cold. But I don’t care for the movie, so that’s just me.
Mike and the Bots would eventually survive Laserblast, but even if they didn’t it’s a fine episode. Would it have been the best finale? Probably not. But as an episode in general it lives up to the standard of the fairly consistent seventh season, even if it is one of the weaker ones.
Episode Rating: Good
The DVD
Laserblast was brought to disc in Shout Factory’s 20th Anniversary Collection. Picture and audio were both exceptional.
Special features kick off with part two of The History of MST3K, which covers fairly well the switch from KTMA to the Comedy Channel/Comedy Central. The primary topics brushed upon are the writing process and working with a network, and also brought to light are the hiring of Mike Nelson and Paul Chaplin and the eventual resignation of Joel Hodgson and Josh Weinstein.
Also featured is a trailer for the movie.
Next Time: Way back in 1988 someone had the bright idea to TAPE this show!
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Torgo
Moderator Emeritus
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Post by Torgo on Nov 18, 2017 14:24:16 GMT -5
K04-Gamera vs. Barugon
The Movie
I’m a Godzilla fan, but the appeal of Gamera has pretty much eluded me. I saw the original film (Sandy Frank dub) at about age 12 and thought it was beyond lame (a turtle that turns into a flying saucer? Pfft). I saw the critically praised Guardian of the Universe a few months later, and wasn’t impressed with it either (special effects were good, but the story was as uninteresting as they come). Ultimately I guess I just don’t care for the turtle, I guess. I did love Revenge of Iris and enjoyed Gamera the Brave, though, so I’m not a total Grinch.
As far as Gamera movies go, Gamera vs. Barugon isn’t that bad. Of the ones featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000, I think it’s clearly the best (the only one of the early series I’d probably say I liked just as much was Gamera vs. Jiger). It has a more serious tone, and the main characters are actually adults instead of little children. The premise follows a group of treasure hunters who uncover a giant opal from a native island. Taking it back ashore, the opal turns out to be an egg that hatches into Barugon, a giant gecko with a killer rainbow and a freezing tongue.
Yeah, the anatomy behind these Gamera monsters is pretty stupid. This one at least looks kind of cool, even if it is a pretty stiff costume he’s wearing. Mankind’s only hope to save them from this threat is Gamera, a giant turtle they tried to shoot off into space for some reason. Since we watched this sequel before the original, we’re not all that familiar with Gamera yet. Speaking of, Gamera’s hardly in the movie, and his brawls with Barugon are very brief. I guess this bored the target audience of children, so all future productions brought in more turtle showboating.
As an adult, however, the plot of this movie is pretty strong for its type. But Deiei’s shortcomings in the kaiju genre make it feel stiff and long. However, if I’m going to watch a Gamera movie unriffed, I’d more than likely watch this one.
Movie Rating: 4/10
The Episode
The earliest broadcast episode taped by fans, this episode benefits best while trying to look at it through the eyes of someone who had just watched the show for the first time in 1988. It seems like a very fun take on the old idea of horror hosts and such, and I for one would have stuck around for more.
Of course, I was 4 at the time, so it doesn’t really matter what I would have thought.
The riffing is still in its earliest stages of development. At this point it was improvised, so there’s more dead air than most MSTies would be comfortable with. The first movie segment in particular drags, but once the monsters show up, the comedy starts to pick up. As Barugon wags his tail while standing next to a giant building, Crow pipes up “Uh oh, he thinks it’s a fire hydrant!” I laughed. Reaching this point in my first viewing of a KTMA episode, I started to relax a little bit. Sure, it wasn’t the show I had grown up watching on the Sci-Fi Channel, but it was still my show. And that was what I needed.
The host segments cater to phone calls they had received for the previous week’s episode, Star Force: Fugitive Alien II. Two callers really loved it (I imagine the one who demanded “MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORE!” is the one that taped all of these KTMAs) and one caller hated it, even going so far to tell them that he hopes they get cancelled (this was back before changing the channel was invented, I assume). Another wants more “chapstick” on the show. Presumably he meant to say “slapstick,” but it’s true that he clearly says “chapstick.” How the hell do you make that mistake? The segments that accompany it are pretty clever, but with refinement it probably could have been funnier.
A lot has been stated about Servo’s original voice, which is much higher and more infantile. Yeah, it’s not very good. I think they were wise to change it. It doesn’t really lend itself well to the format of the show, and Josh seems uncomfortable talking in it.
Maybe I’m being generous, but I’m going to give this episode good marks. The movie was watchable and I got my chuckles. That’s all I can ask for.
Episode Rating: Good
Next Time: The worst movie ever made? The Master would not approve.
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Torgo
Moderator Emeritus
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Post by Torgo on Nov 19, 2017 14:53:13 GMT -5
424-”Manos” The Hands of Fate (With Short: “Hired!: Part II”)
The Short
In this thrilling conclusion to the Hired! saga, our not so friendly sales manager is put in his place by his father, who assures him his employees are working, but they need to be guided and not grunted at. He then returns to work with the attitude of leading his soldiers to victory.
Finally the short gets to the point (splitting it in two for MST didn’t really do it much favors) and the message of the short is actually a timely one. It’s a dated presentation, and hardly very in-depth, but it at least tries to be insightful.
The Movie
The burning question we MSTies have asked ourselves over the years: Is Manos the worst movie ever made? This seemed indisputable for a while, but as time goes one people seemed to have softened to the film, citing Monster A-Go-Go and Hobgoblins being worse. Personally I think the worst movie ever featured in a riffing project is Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny (which was a revelation on just how much pain I can endure in a film).
What exactly happened to Manos? Is it really not that bad?
Here’s the thing, I don’t think Manos is a better movie than we initially gave it credit for. What I think happened is that we just got used to it. We managed to learn more about what the movie is and how it came to be, which explained so much about what we saw. We found out it was made by a farmer on a bet, put together with very little money and limited resources, and couldn’t even afford sound. Suddenly we pointed to aspects of the production and said to ourselves “so THAT’S what they were going for.”
But here’s what lingers in the back of my mind: I can’t forget my first reaction to this movie. I sat there absolutely dumbfounded and bewildered by what was forming in front of me on screen. Everything was wrong, and if anything was right it was probably for the wrong reasons. I had a reaction of indifference to Monster A-Go-Go (save for the “Wait...what?” response to the ending) while I have seen enough movies like Hobgoblins to have not been phased by it. I have only had the “Manos reaction” to two movies since I saw this episode, and those were Birdemic: Shock and Terror and Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny (and maybe to a lesser extent The Room and The Happening). That tells me something about this movie.
What helps Manos is that is somewhat transcends badness into some sort of otherworldly experience with it’s presentation, and people have become fond of the film because of it. It became one of those special “so bad it’s good” midnight movies that people celebrate because it simply exists. This aspect actually enhances the premise of a satanic cult and hell. It looks like something we weren’t meant to see at every turn.
And of course there’s Torgo. Who doesn’t love Torgo?
Manos is a special movie that we’ve grown to “love,” but that doesn’t mean it’s less of a bad movie. There’s a lot to discuss and dissect about this movie and why it is the way it is. That might make it more interesting than a lot of other movies ever made, but it is what it is. And I can’t deny it.
Movie Rating: 1/10 (it can’t be anything else)
The Episode
But does the worst movie ever made translate to a funny episode?
Yes. Yes it does.
Here’s what I noticed about this movie on this viewing, there is a LOT of dead air. Of course, that’s obviously one of it’s flaws, but it is something of a virtue when it comes to this show. The question is does the film give them anything to work with in these moments? Fortunately they pinpoint the exact portion of each belabored to ride on more often than not. I’ve watched this episode quite a bit in my time, and watching it again just now I found myself laughing loud and often. To gain such familiarity and still keep itself strong after all these years is something that deserves celebration, because I can’t say that about all episodes.
It’s very clear that the movie is the star of the show this week, because the host segments are centering on it so much. They come up with monsters they think are scarier than Torgo, Joel pretends to be the Master, and there are more than a few breakdowns at the pain of this film. We even see Dr. Forrester and Frank apologize and root for Joel and the Bots to get through the experience. The invention exchange is passable, with the silly Chocolate Bunny Guillotine and the lacking visual payoff Cartuner.
Regardless of whether or not Manos is the worst movie ever made, this film and episode have a special place in our hearts. So much so that when Joel and Shout polled fans of the top six episodes of the series for the 2016 Turkey Day marathon this episode came out on top. Joel seems a tad bewildered by the popularity of this episode, and has gone on record saying he doesn’t think the riffs are very strong. Personally I disagree. You made this film watchable and hilarious, which is more than it probably deserved. I may not agree with Manos being the best episode of the series, but I understand why it thought to be.
Episode Rating: Classic (it can’t be anything else)
The DVD
The mother of all Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes has been released not once, not twice, but three goddamn times on DVD! That alone tells you how important it is. The first of which was a single disc released by Rhino Home Video. Audio and video were both nice, but the only bonus feature was a mildly amusing blooper reel called “Poopie!” The second release is the exact same disc, only repackaged and paired up with Santa Claus Conquers the Martians in a set called the Essentials, also released by Rhino.
Shout Factory then picked up the rights to the series, and I think they were a little bummed that they didn’t have the opportunity to get this episode first so they could cover this episode more thoroughly than Rhino did. Knowing fans wouldn’t want to see a space of an unreleased episode taken away from one of the sets (there was an uproar for Manos taking the spot on the Essentials set despite having already been released), Shout released the episode as a solo, with passable video and audio with a few unfortunate tape hits, for those who were willing to invest in it. And brother, did they go all out in a two-disc set that celebrates one of the most influential episodes of the entire series.
The first special feature is a retrospective on the film itself called Group Therapy staring Joel, Trace, Frank, and Mary Jo (I guess Rifftrax and Cinematic Titanic can’t mix, because Mike and Kevin aren’t here) and they talk about their own reactions to the film when they had seen it for the first time. It’s interesting because their feelings on the films are all over the place. They think it’s awful, but they also think it’s not bad. It’s as if they aren’t sure what to feel about it, and I totally get what they’re feeling, you know? Regardless of whether or not it’s the worst movie ever made, Manos is something that needs to be experienced, and if you haven’t then you haven’t lived.
The bonus feature that wraps up the first disc is segments of the MST Hour featuring Mike as Jack Perkins. It’s a little disappointing that they’re pretty workmanlike for such a landmark episode, but hindsight is 20/20.
Kicking off the second disc is the unriffed feature film itself! Picture is abysmal and the audio sounds as if it was poorly dubbed (which it was), but it all adds to the weird charm of the picture. Manos is Manos. Let’s embrace it.
Next up is an independent documentary called Hotel Torgo, which chronicles the making of the film to the best of its abilities. There’s a few incomplete aspects of it (there are several other surviving cast members other than the ones shown), but it’s thorough and enjoyable.
Next is Jam Handy to the Rescue! This is a Shout produced documentary about Jam Handy, which produced various shorts seen on the series, including Hired! The film is presented as a mock industrial film primarily showing a Stephen Colbert style interview with old footage of Jam Handy himself. It’s not one of the best docs Shout has made, but it’s good to have.
Under this Jam Handy submenu we find more features. One is bloopers from the documentary, which aren’t really that funny. Another is a rather wasteful phony TV spot for the phony interview. Finally we have Joel Hodgson, telling us about his history with these short films.
The final extra on this killer set is Hired parts 1 and 2 edited together with MST commentary. Something I’m sure we all wanted to see.
Next Time: Tusk!
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Nov 20, 2017 14:50:48 GMT -5
904-WerewolfThe MovieThis fan favorite woofer of a movie (no pun intended) is about archaeologists who discover the fossilized remains of a “yetiglanchi,” specifically a half-man, half-wolf. They soon discover that anybody who scratches themselves on the bones will become infected and turn into a werewolf. The heads of the dig then concoct a scheme to infect a man with the curse and capture him, leading to the discovery of the century. Whew boy. Where to begin on this dog? (okay, now the puns are definitely intentional) This direct to video trash from the mid-90s has some great concepts at its core. The idea of finding an ancient werewolf skeleton is actually novel, and the imagery of a human skeleton with a wolf head by itself seems compelling enough to develop a movie around. The movie that envelopes it however never does the visual concept justice. Werewolf lacks the common basics of competence. For one, the basic thing a werewolf movie needs is a solid werewolf at its core, both in visual image and character. The Wolf Man is a prime example of everything done right. In makeup, Werewolf executes its titular monster inconsistently. At various points in the film the wolf can be a normal guy with messed up hair, in others he will have Dracula fangs with hair glued on his face, in others a mildly impressive prosthetic face not unlike the Wolf Man, and in yet others a guy in a bear costume that they were hoping would pass as a wolf. At first it feels as if the film is trying to depict various stages of lycanthropy, but as the film goes on it’s clear that it is not the case. These makeup effects switch back and forth on a dime with little to no continuity from one look to the next, sometimes in the same scene. The film backs up with its poor effects with poor acting. In fact this is some of the finest bad acting on the show. There’s an eagerness to the performers, as if they have enthusiasm for the project, yet they slip in and out of accents, look lost from time to time, and just deliver things as stiffly as possible in the film’s most deadly serious moments. This is exemplified by the character of Natalie, who for my money is one of the greatest MST characters who ever lived. Everything about her character is wildly inconsistent: she’s supposed to be a brainy archeologist but comes of as a dizzy ditz, she is supposedly foreign but from god knows where because that accent is from nowhere on this Earth, and her mispronunciation of common words is hilarious. The only reason this actress seems to be here for is because of her bust size, which is substantial. Apparently the MST version of the film cut out a two-minute sex scene in which her talents were seen in their full glory, among other talents in other regions that she possessed. The film is directed by the late Tony Zarindast, who seems to be known in the business as “The Persian Ed Wood.” I haven’t seen any other films he has directed, but I’m curious to know if they’re all as gloriously silly as this film and if they are MST worthy as well. Even if they aren’t, then he will live in infamy for this film’s popularity among our fan base, and his Plan 9 has been discovered. Movie Rating: 3/10The EpisodeWerewolf will make you howl. (Oh yeah, now my puns are shameless) But seriously, this is a contender for best episode of the Sci-Fi era and even a contender for top ten episodes of the series. The movie gives them so much to work with and at every turn they’re finding something new to make fun of. My personal favorite is of course Natalie, who is hilarious on her own. Her stunted speech patterns bring many amusement to Mike and the Bots and riffs just kind of flow naturally when she is onscreen (“Pool, you is a warwilf!”). But even outside of Natalie Werewolf has no shortage of crazy characters, with the slimey Same the Keeper, the appearance changing villain Yuri, and our “hero” Paul. And that’s really where Werewolf shines: the character riffs. While other aspects of the production come other fire, it’s the characters that take most of the fire and are why we come back to this episode over and over again. The most fun host segments in this episode are a pair where Mike scratches himself on Crow and turns into “A WereCrow.” The wild WereCrow design is fabulous, and a huge shout-out needs to go to the props and design department for making this wonderful costume. Other highlights include a dazed Mike thinking he’s James Lipton, a failed escape attempt down a ladder, and the outstanding “girl group” song Where-Oh-Werewolf? The least of the segments is “Who Would You Want in Your Werewolf Movie?” which is a mildly amusing poke at co-star Joe Estevez, brother of Martin Sheen, but is a lengthy single joke segment that doesn’t really have a payoff. But that’s a slight blemish on a fantastic episode that just gets better and better on repeat viewings. Werewolf is an all-time crown jewel in the series. The DVDWerewolf was selected by Shout Factory for their first DVD set, the 20th Anniversary Edition. Audio and video were excellent. The primary bonus feature is part 3 of The History of MST3K, which chronicles Mike taking over hosting duties, the move to Sci-Fi, Trace leaving, Bill and Mary Jo taking over, and the fan base/legacy. Overall this three part documentary is pretty spectacular. Also included is a very direct to video-ish trailer for the film. Next Time: He triiiiiiiieeeeeed to kill me with a forklift…
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Nov 21, 2017 15:19:04 GMT -5
310-Fugitive Alien
The Movie
Fugitive Alien is actually a cobbled together movie from episodes of a Japanese television series called Star Wolf. Interestingly enough, the series is actually based on a trio of American novels from the 1960’s: The Weapon from Beyond, The Closed Worlds, and World of the Starwolves. I’m not sure how faithful this series is and would be curious to know just what was taken from these books.
The series was created by Eiji Tsuburaya, the man responsible for the special effects in the original Godzilla films as well as the Ultraman franchise (he was also responsible for the series that was turned into Time of the Apes and Mighty Jack). As a film, Fugitive Alien is jumbled up and all over the place. The primary storyline is of Ken, an alien raider called a Star Wolf who refuses to kill a child during an invasion of Earth and is deemed a traitor. Ken takes refuge on a spaceship commanded by Earthling Captain Joe and his crew, consisting of pilot Rocky and professional love interest Tammy. The crew begins to suspect Ken’s true nature but slowly learn to trust each other. And all of this is told in random episodic form.
Considering how incoherent Time of the Apes and Mighty Jack become in this edited for direct to video form, I think Fugitive Alien comes off pretty well. There is at the very least an arc through the episodes that can be followed and makes a tiny bit of sense. Whether or not you can make heads or tails of the mythology of Star Wolf is probably the deciding factor on whether or not you enjoy this movie, but to me it’s no more silly than the likes of Battlestar Galactica so I don’t mind it (and I assure you that I like Galactica).
For me the Japanese special effects, while done on time constraints and low budget, always add charm to projects like this. Fugitive Alien’s do admittedly look fake for the most part, but I really dig the aesthetic style Japanese genre program in offers. Whether that makes me impartial enough to judge Fugitive Alien is anybody’s guess, but I dig it.
Movie Rating: 8/10
The Episode
The movie is a wild ride of Japanese children’s programming, so keeping up with it is half the fun of the Mystery Science Theater episode. The riffing finds a running gag early on in which a scene features two characters named Ken, which gives Joel and the Bots enough ammunition to do a play on every character being named Ken. I might be easily amused but I love gags like these, though I feel they really mastered it later on in Night of the Blood Beast. Of course they do acknowledge other character names, such as Rocky, which sparks Crow into a Rocket J. Squirrel imitation of “Again?” every time his name is mentioned. And of course like all Japanese features the special effects, dubbing, and exaggerated body movements all come under fire to delightful results.
The host segments continue to play with the movie, with Joel doing an impression of Commander Joe and the crew trying to make sense of the story being the delights of the bunch. Meanwhile Mike brings his Jack Perkins impression to the series for the first time, who we would later see in the Turkey Day segments of Night of the Blood Beast and as the host of the Mystery Science Theater Hour. Incidentally an MST Hour of Fugitive Alien was made and Perkins even comments upon his own appearance! The Invention Exchange hardly registers, with a musical chair and an eye-ear-nose-and-throat dropper.
It might be needless to say that Fugitive Alien is a favorite episode of mine, but I give positive rating to just about every Japanese feature episode. I love these things just too much, though Fugitive Alien may be close to the top of the heap. I think I like the sequel episode just a bit more, but we’ll get to that episode eventually.
Episode Rating: Classic
The DVD
This classic episode was brought to us by Shout Factory in their Volume XXIV collection. Picture and audio both shined, while the extras are highlighted by an introduction by Japanese pop culture historian August Ragone. August is apologetic about the Star Wolf series but defends its virtues, claiming that the show used minimal recycled effects in an age where that was used to keep costs down. Also featured are wraps from the Mystery Science Theater Hour.
Next Time: To be like the hoo-man! To laugh, feel, WANT! Why are these things not in the plan?
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Nov 22, 2017 15:19:16 GMT -5
107-Robot Monster (With Shorts: “Radar Men from the Moon: Chapter Four - Flight to Destruction” and “Radar Men from the Moon: Chapter Five - Murder Car”)
The Shorts
For the first time ever our show tackles two shorts in a single episode. This rare practice would only be duplicated three more times, with Project Moon Base, Teenage Cave Man, and The Beast of Yucca Flats.
Jumping just in time from his car in footage that was conveniently left out of the previous chapter, Commando Cody lives! However thugs working for the moon men kidnap his Girl Friday Joan, and take her for a plane ride. Cody pursues only to have the pilot bail out…
INTERMISSION
Of course just like last time Cody gets Joan to bail out at the last minute. But we trade in a murder plane for a MURDER CAR in this instalment. The thugs execute another heist and make a getaway. That’s pretty much all there is to this one.
Two Cody shorts is twice as hard to swallow as one. Neither of these are exciting and both are padded beyond belief. The first short however is clearly the better of the two because it at least has a “chase to save the girl” storyline and more action. The second one is all road chase and not much else.
We really paid a nickel for each of these? I could have saved that money for a soda instead.
The Movie
One of the most infamously bad movies of all time hits our favorite puppet show. Robot Monster is the tale of Ro-Man, a member of the Ro-Man race of planet Ro-Man (this is way before the Smurfs started pulling this crap), coming down to Earth to destroy the human race before they can kill the Ro-Mans (Ro-Men?) even though we never heard of them. His death ray hits our planet and kills all but eight people, who are immune to it. Ro-Man seeks to kill the remaining humans however he can, yet learns to LOVE (but only the sexy young women, everyone else must die). Mostly though he just kind of wanders around aimlessly and plays with a bubble machine.
I love bad movies, and while Robot Monster lives up to its reputation I feel it just might be a bit too hollow to fully embrace. The movie is padded as all hell, with so much dead air scenes of Ro-Man walking around going nowhere in particular.
And yet, it's a charming film despite this. Ro-Man of course is that infamous bad movie monster icon, the gorilla suit with a space helmet. The logicless plot is delightfully stupid, as the surviving humans all just seem to reside right next to Ro-Man’s cave yet trying to move somewhere else doesn’t seem to be an option. Ro-Man’s invasion, while you can’t argue with the results, seems rather aimless. He doesn’t really have a plan, nor does he really seem to know what he’s doing. The only efficient thing he does in the film is strangle a little girl to death.
And DA BUBBLES!
The film is also with interest value based on how audaciously bad it is. There’s a definite attempt at an actual movie being made, it just doesn’t really seem to know how. The movie tries to shock at some points by killing off children and Ro-Man’s curious sexual interest in a young woman, though it’s so silly that even at these points it’s hard to take seriously. Robot Monster is pretty fun in the end, and is worth a look to anybody who likes films like Plan 9 from Outer Space and the like.
Movie Rating: 6/10
The Episode
Two Commando Cody shorts means we’re in for some hurting today. And yet while I anticipated these to be more tiresome as they went on, I actually found that the riffing improved a lot in the second short over the first. They start out with par for the course “we’ve seen this all before” riffs but it somewhat evolves into something more playful, like mistaking an ambulance for an ice cream truck or an amusing intro where the Bots try to escape the theater (which is repeated many years later in Hobgoblins). I’d dare say that Murder Car might be the funniest of the Commando Cody shorts.
Given the iconic bad movie stature of Robot Monster, I would have hoped this movie would have churned out a better episode. Even adjusting for first season expectations, this one doesn’t quite live up as there’s a lot of commenting on the film without wit or joke. When they do riff the film it comes off as weak, such as Ro-Man’s lengthy walking scenes proving to be problematic as we find Joel just saying something attune to “dum-dee-doh-doh-doh” over and over again. But like the second Commando Cody short there are a few bright spots, my favorite being Joel’s dub of the nonsensical pantomime love scene.
It seems the theme of the host segments this week is understanding the crazy things they’re watching, as we’re presented two segments devoted to dissecting both the serials and the movie. They’re both pretty good, though I give the slight edge to trying to figure out the logistics of Commando Cody, though the surrealism discussion of Robot Monster is fun. They also offer a Tribute to Ro-Man and Servo and Crow playing Robot Monster, while the Invention Exchange delights with a Self Inflating Methane Whoopie Cushion and the Cumber Bubble Bund.
“Champagne goes right through me!”
Robot Monster is considered something of a gem from the first season. I’m inclined to disagree. The riffing doesn’t even live up to first season standards and two Commando Codies can wear you down. There are however good host segments and a handful of riffing highlights keeping it afloat, and the likeable goofy movie doesn’t hurt either.
Episode Rating: Average
The DVD
This episode was brought to us hoo-mans by Shout Factory’s Volume XIX collection. Video and audio were exceptional, and the episode features an intro by J. Elvis Weinstein. Josh talks about reluctance to riffing movie, yet reaping the rewards of doing so. He also discusses growing pains of the series as well as Tom Servo’s infamous sneeze in the theater.
Up next is an interview with filmmaker Larry Blamire called “Larry Blamire Geeks Out,” in which Larry gushes about his love for Robot Monster. He defends some of the creative choices, arguing that whether they’re intentional or unintentional they add to the film, meanwhile picks apart logic flaws with glee.
Concluding this package is a trailer for the film that hilariously describes it as “baffling.”
Next Time: Irony, to celebrate Turkey Day with the non-Turkey Day version…
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Nov 23, 2017 14:10:00 GMT -5
701-Night of the Blood Beast (With Short: “Once Upon a Honeymoon”) The ShortStrange, strange, STRANGE short about a housewife constantly daydreaming of kitchen appliances and telephones while her husband is forced to postpone their honeymoon until he is done writing a song. An angel pushes the plot along by sprinkling confetti all over the place. Promotional shorts like this weren’t uncommon, but I’m not quite sure what this one is selling. Maybe the kitchen appliances or the telephones, but let’s be honest, I wouldn’t be in a buying spirit after watching this because I don’t really know what it was trying to sell me. The short feels as if it’s a bit too concerned with entertaining than selling. If you like random breaking out into song and dance, this short will have your attention. That’s kind of a pro in this short’s favor; that it almost has the flavor of an old MGM musical short from the 1930’s, only done much, much cheaper. But it doesn’t have much of a narrative hook to engage its audience, and doesn’t effectively sell the product it’s showcasing. That unfortunately makes Once Upon a Honeymoon useless. The MovieCorman produced cheapie (is there any other kind?) has an astronaut crashing back down to Earth impregnated by the spawn of an alien beast (because the Alien franchise had to get its ideas from somewhere). When his comrades decide to destroy the creatures inside of him, they are thwarted by both the astronaut in question and the murderous creature from outer space that followed him. Blood Beast has a lot of shortcomings, but to be brutally honest it’s quite a fun little movie. It has a quite competent pace, acting isn’t too bad, and the premise is goofy but interesting. Plus it’s just plain amusing watching our macho astronaut blunder around trying to save his alien lover and its babies. The movie’s ending is fairly inept in a heavy-handed and clumsy commentary on the human condition and lack of enlightenment (or something like that). The script doesn’t have the effort put into it to genuinely make a judgment like that, and really just kind of dwindles off into a knuckleheaded direction. But it adds to the goofy fun of the piece, and it’s time well spent for B-movie lovers everywhere. Movie Rating: 7/10The EpisodeNight of the Blood Beast was on two episodes of the show and, unlike other movies that were featured more than once, both episodes featured the exact same riffing. Why exactly they decided to make two separate host segments, I’m not sure. Maybe to make a “special” holiday episode whenever Thanksgiving comes around while keeping the episode in a regular rotation without giving it the holiday baggage. In either case, the episode is a winner because the riffing is the unquestionable star. Since I’ve already reviewed the Turkey Day version, this review is devoted to the regular episode. Forgive me for recycling portions of it, but I feel I’ve said my piece about the theater segments, and there’s not much of a need to reword it. We start off with an exquisite short, which Mike and the bots embrace for all its oddities. After that rousing start, we’re given a goofy monster movie that has pretty much everything they could ask for and more. Probably the most noteworthy aspect in the early movie segments is our latest running gag. Now we all know that once the boys get a gag they can milk in their head it’s impossible to get them to stop. Some are good ( "Big McLargeHuge!"), and some…not so (“Chief?” “McCloud!”). In this case they start off on the idea that everybody in this movie is named “Steve.” I have to admit, even though it’s clear in the movie that this isn’t the case in the movie, this bit cracks me up (“This is no ordinary Steve!”). As the film goes on they start to have fun with the concept of a man impregnated by alien spawn, playing it up with common pregnancy symptoms. Having lived with a pregnant woman for the better part of a year, I can safely say a lot of these riffs are really on target and hilarious. In this version of the episode we’re given a rather standard set of host segments. The big deal of this group is Pearl moving in with Dr. Forrester, making her the new Mad after the departure of TV’s Frank last season. The dynamic is much different as instead of being oppressive Dr. F is suddenly submissive to the one person who he will yield to. It’s not an entirely uninteresting change of pace, but it’s more enjoyable in small spread apart doses. Pearl’s cameo in Bloodlust was outstanding because it stood alone, but making her harassment of our beloved villain a permanent staple in the series going forward? I find myself thankful the seventh season was abbreviated due to this, even though it’s a bit rough knowing Dr. Forrester will leave the series on this note as well. Even still, I love Pearl, though largely because of the character she evolved into once she took over. The rest of the host segments are just movie related fillers, with a musical based on phones and Crow claiming he’s pregnant with the Blood Beast’s child. There’s not a lot there to take in, though I’d be lying if I said I didn’t laugh. Whichever version you choose, Night of the Blood Beast is a winner of an episode that will never fail to make you laugh, though the Turkey Day episode is my version of preference. But the movie is the main course and it delivers a daffy dish that delights so much that you may want to watch this episode twice anyway! Episode Rating: ClassicThe DVDNight of the Blood Beast was released on DVD by Shout Factory in their Volume XVI set. Awesomely enough, Shout managed to squeeze both versions of the episode onto a single disc, so you can choose which one you like. Picture was slightly flawed at minor points, but the episode itself remained intact fairly well. Audio is exceptional. Also included are the bumpers for the 1995 Turkey Day marathon that led up to the episodes debut. They certainly come in handy in giving the Turkey Day version context (plus you can add in the missing episodes for your own marathon!). These bumpers come with a brief intro by Kevin Murphy. There’s also a trailer for the movie. Once Upon a Honeymoon was released in Rhino's Shorts Volume 3 collection, an online exclusive disc with Rhino's Essentials set. Next Time: Special guest star Martin Van Buren, our nation’s eighth President! And two other guys.
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Nov 23, 2017 14:11:00 GMT -5
Happy Turkey Day! Bonus season retrospective coming up!
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Nov 23, 2017 14:13:56 GMT -5
Season 7 EpisodesNight of the Blood Beast (Turkey Day)Night of the Blood BeastThe Brute ManDeathstalker and the Warriors from HellThe Incredible Melting ManEscape 2000LaserblastFeatured in DVD Sets20th Anniversary Edition Volume XVI Volume XXII Volume XXXV Volume XXXVI Volume XXXVII The final season of MST’s Comedy Central run is unfortunately brief, cut short reportedly due to production on The Movie, and also partially due to shifting agendas at the network trying to phase the series out of its image. If you choose to include This Island Earth to beef this season up, I don’t blame you. Whatever the reason might be for the season being short, this might be the most consistent season. Is it the best season? Well that’s a tough one to address because it’s hard for it to contend with the others seeing how short stacked it is. While favorite episodes might be at a minimum and other seasons might have episodes that are more thought of, season seven doesn’t have a bad episode in the bunch. Movie selection starts out with some cheesy old timers, including The Brute Man, which is one of the oldest movies ever featured on the show. The season transitions to some low budget schlock from the 70’s and 80’s, which transition somewhat seamlessly into the Sci-Fi era of the show. On the host end, the show brings back Dr. Forrester’s mother Pearl as TV’s Frank’s replacement. As talented a performer as Mary Jo Pehl is, the loss of Frank Conniff hurts and it’s a huge gaping hole in the Mads’ dynamic. Dr. Forrester isn’t the same evil self anymore now that he’s submissive to his mother. The change is not for the better and definitely needed to change further by the time the Sci-Fi era rolled around. The season was close to being the last, with Laserblast offering a temporary season finale had the series not found another network. Luckily Sci-Fi gave the series a chance, and three more seasons came about. Season 7 would have been a high note to go out on, even though the finale in general is a bit lackluster. But it’s hard to dislike any of these episodes when they’re as damn funny as they are. Top EpisodeThe Brute Man Bottom EpisodeDeathstalker and the Warriors from Hell
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Nov 24, 2017 13:59:09 GMT -5
1001-Soultaker
The Movie
A group of teenagers find their souls flung from a car accident. As they try to piece together what happened and how to fix it, they discover a man dressed in black chasing after them. He is actually a grim reaper seeking to cross them over into the afterlife.
Inspired by star/screenplay writer Vivian Schilling’s near fatal car accident, Soultaker takes that personal experience and turns it into a crappy horror movie. To an extent I can almost picture this being turned into a really bad horror franchise, but all it needed was some more talented people guiding it. I mean think about it, this is almost the exact same storyline as the Final Destination series. But of course, that seemed to be successful without talent so why not this?
Ultimately the script feels lumped together without a real vision or direction. A story using Death as a character antagonist should work, but it loses bite when he’s a love sick puppy with a glow-ring. A Soultaker’s function should also be called into question, as death seems like it should relate to them but it never does. The finale is a race to prevent the female lead from having her body taken off of life support, but if she was and the Soultaker having never taken her soul, would she die? It appears so, because there is drama in the idea of her flatlining, but where would her soul go? The movie’s motivation for the Soultaker is “restoring the balance,” but what does that mean? Does it have to do with souls trapped on Earth without a body? Is that limbo? If collecting these souls is so important, why are they only sending one Soultaker when clearly there are many, who seem indifferent to the idea of these kids surviving?
Soul logic never quite makes sense in the context of the film, as nobody can see or hear these teens yet they can touch, push, and pick up anything in sight. They spend most of their time communicating verbally with the living world, when logically they could communicate visually by creating a message with what they can touch. Also one of Soultaker’s ways of catching his prey is to choke them and/or snap their necks, leaving a corpse behind. “He’s dead!” a character screams. But is he? Can you really “kill” a soul? Especially if it can’t pass on without the Soultaker’s glowy ring.
And as stupid as the directions this movie takes its concept are, there’s something oddly charming about it. As far as trashy late-80’s/early-90’s filmography goes, Soultaker might be the most enjoyable one featured on Mystery Science Theater. That doesn’t make it a good movie, but it at the very least has a heart. It just didn’t have skill backing it up.
Movie Rating: 4/10
The Episode
It’s the tenth season of our favorite series, and to help celebrate fan favorites Joel and Frank are here to party with us! Their cameos are regulated to about two host segments each, and Joel doesn’t even get to enter the theater for a riffing reunion, but it is good to see their faces again. If only we had Trace and Josh to make it perfect.
Soultaker will forever go down as the episode where they made their grand cameo, but is it really a great episode aside from that? I can honestly speak as a fan who grew up during the Sci-Fi era who had no clue who either were when this aired, which I point out to say that I can view this episode’s merits objectively outside of the gimmick. And I can definitively say yes, Soultaker is an amazing episode.
So why are Joel and Frank here? Well, the storyline of the episode has the Satellite of Love malfunctioning after Dr. Forrester implanted an auto self destruct after ten years (neveryoumind that the ship is technically thousands of years old due to the “time and space” storyline in season 8). Joel hitches a ride in the escape pod from Mitchell and plans to fix all that ails them. Meanwhile, in a movie related twist, the long since deceased Frank has come back as a Soultaker and is way below his quota.
Personally, even though I enjoy these segments, Joel and Frank aren’t even in my favorite host segment of the episode, which has Mike “take command” of their malfunctioning ship and make things worse. I love how Mike tries to take influence from various Star Trek shows, yet Servo and Crow constantly have to correct him that the SOL doesn’t work like a Starship.
“Shields up!” “Shields?”
But what about the movie segments? The host segments could easily overwhelm any episode, but the theater work in this episode is a mad powerhouse that holds its own. The movie is dumb but watchable, while the riffing just enhances the films simplistic likability. They tend to just roll with the movie, flowing into its ineptitude instead of merely pointing it out. By the film’s padded climax they get a bit frustrated with it, and it’s hard to blame them, because it has gone far too cuckoo to make any logical sense out of. But they seem to love the flavor of the 80s and they play it up to the max (“Zeppelin was wrong, man!” “SHUT UP!” “There is no stairway to heaven!” “ZEPPELIN’S NEVER WRONG, MAN!”). They do lose a tiny bit of leeway since technically this movie is a 90’s film, but most everything about the style of the film is trapped in the decade that preceded it so I’ll give them a pass on that.
But the fact is that Soultaker is a rousing success both in and out of the theater. This is one worthy of popping in anytime, and definitely should be apart of any MSTie’s collection. And if you haven’t checked it out, I recommend doing so immediately. OR I’LL TAKE YOUR SOUL!
Episode Rating: Classic
The DVD
Soultaker sucked our souls out through Shout Factory’s Volume XIV release, which featured great audio and video. The only special feature was an interview with star Joe Estevez, who loves the movie they made as well as the MST version. He shares some set stories, gushes about Robert Z’Dar, and discusses what he finds interesting about the role. He briefly mentions being in Werewolf but doesn’t go into any specifics.
Next Time: The epic first chapter of the Mystery Science Theater 3000 Cinematic Universe!
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Torgo
Moderator Emeritus
-segment with Crow?
Posts: 15,420
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Post by Torgo on Nov 24, 2017 14:07:51 GMT -5
Mystery Science Theater 3000 Volume XIV Buy here!Features the following episodes: The Mad MonsterManhunt in SpaceSoultakerFinal JusticeRelease Date: March 16, 2010 Shout sets a determination to be an equal opportunity episode releaser almost from the get go. Outside of The Crawling Hand and Women of the Prehistoric Planet, Rhino seemed too timid to tap the first season well, and probably rightfully so. While I enjoy all eras of MST, there are more than a few who outright refuse to watch early episodes or the series. These people are wrong and deserved to be shamed. SHAAAAAAAAME! Even still, those who don’t lament the fact that a first season episode is on this set might lament the fact that of all the first season episodes they chose to release, they chose Mad Monster, which from what I gather is considered one of the worst episodes of the series. I have an opposing viewpoint on that, as every time I pop this episode in I enjoy it thoroughly. This skews my appreciation for this box set a bit more than most, though regardless of how you feel about Mad Monster I’d say the other episodes are worth having. Soultaker is a must own bar none, and while Mad Monster might be the least funny episode by default a part of me enjoys the episode on the same level as Final Justice personally. Torgo’s Average Rating (scale of 1 to 4): 3.25 The good news is that no matter which episodes you enjoy, the video presentation is pretty great across the board. Special features are a bit light, especially by comparison to the fully loaded 20th Anniversary Edition set that preceded it. However we are given brief interviews with Soultaker star Joe Estevez and Final Justice director Greydon Clark, which are worth a look. We also get clips from Mike, Kevin, and Bill’s small MST cameo on the television show Cheap Seats, though we’re not given the full episode. Having seen the full episode, it wasn’t a huge loss. Cheap Seats was fine, but it wasn’t anything special. Concluding content is a trailer for Mad Monster. Volume XIV set the standard for the MST box sets that Shout put out package wise. The cardboard case is mostly a star backdrop with the theater seats at the bottom, and the MST logo in the top left corner. Dead center is the Roman numeral “XIV” painted in green. Get used to this image folks, because it’s not getting much different from here. I don’t hate the covers, and I thought it was okay when I first saw it. The repetition of it as a stock cover for the series grew a bit tiring. Regardless of whether or not you liked Rhino’s sets, one can’t deny their covers were more creative. They weren’t always show related, but they were pretty to look at. But as always the real beauty of thewe Shout sets lies inward. Presenting the discs are four thin plastic clam cases, each with their own distinct artwork by Steve Vance, each featuring Servo and Crow “in” the movie. Mad Monster features the duo hiding behind a tree from the titular beast. Manhunt in Space has them sitting in an open command center gazing up at a rocketship. Soultaker is my favorite of the bunch, showcasing a giant hand stealing their souls. Final Justice features Servo as Sheriff Geronimo in a Maltese dungeon searching for Crow, who is sneaking up on him with a double barrel shotgun. And in case you want to hang these on your wall, four mini posters are included as well. Disc art is standard for Shout. It’s a starfield with an episode logo. But the disc menus still amuse, featuring 3D animations of Servo and Crow wandering around various movie scenes. Mad Monster finds them locked up in the mad scientist’s basement with a wolf in a cage, meanwhile the title beast scurries around in shadow and howls occasionally. Manhunt in Space offers them gazing out a string held spaceship window. Soultaker steals the show again, featuring Crow stealing the soul from a comatose Servo in a hospital, making it the most visually appealing menu on the set. Final Justice has then hanging around an alleyway in Malta watching a squealing car drive by and occasionally ducking shots fired. Despite light special features and an episode that seems disliked by most everyone (except myself), I think this set is a must-own. Unfortunately it’s currently out of print, due to lapsing rights to Soultaker. But hopefully MSTies everywhere got while they had the chance. If not, hopefully you have a few hundred dollars to spend, because no MST collection is complete without Soultaker.
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