#the only mst3k episode i remember so much about is pod people i love pod people so much

[duckulamoved]

other good urls i used to have jazzcombo

[thefloatingstone]

MST3K Recommendations for people who’ve never watched it

So if you’re somebody on the internet under the age of 22 there’s a chance you may have HEARD people talk about Mystery Science Theater 3000 or “MST3K” for short, and may even know exactly what it is, but you’ve not watched it and have no idea where to start. Or if you’ve never heard of it, this is me telling you you should probably watch it.

In the early to mid 2000s, when the only people on the internet where nerds and teenagers who were nerds (like literally. I have no idea how to explain to the Today’s Kids(tm) that the internet use to ONLY consist of nerdy people and fandoms. None of this “Influencer” shit.) Anyway, back when the internet was just nerds, before video was easily available, MST3K was still being talked about via audio clips, usually made by holding microphones right up to the TV, and when youtube launched in 2006, some of the very first videos were MST3K episodes cut up into 10 parts (because originally you couldn’t upload videos to youtube that were longer than 10 minutes and they had to be 240dp). And before google bought youtube, you could find full, complete episodes of MST3K on Google video.

It’s kind of a staple if you’re a nerdy internet person, and you’ll probably see it get referenced by fandom people and youtubers in their late 20s a LOT. Or use some of the things MST3K introduced in their own videos (like the Stinger after the credits for instance)

So MST3K is kind of essential viewing imo. And luckily, because of the nature of the show, unlike... basically EVERYTHING tv related, sharing links of MST3K is actually actively and honestly encouraged by the show creators.

The show ran from 1989 to 1999, changing from airing on one channel to another as it went (I’m not American so I never caught it on TV). And at the end of literally every single episode throughout its entire 10 year run, you would see this after the credits;

The show actively encouraged its audience to tape the episodes to video and share those videos with friends and family. This is because the show was never about “building a franchise” or becoming monetarily valuable for its creators, but it was about people actually watching the show. Even to this day, with copyright claims and “Subscribe to our streaming service to watch this show” running rampant, MST3K continues to be a show whose prime focus is to get people to watch it. (unless you want to buy it on DVD in which case the prime focus is for you to be rich to try and afford them because they’re like $70 for 4 episodes).

As such, some episodes are available for free on the MST3K official youtube channel completely for free. Some episodes you can buy from the Rifftrax website (which is where the show creators now work, doing basically the same thing as MST3K minus the puppets and host segments unfortunately) but I would be honestly shocked if ANY episode is unavailable online because sharing the episodes is.... just kind of the point of the show? I literally managed to find each and every one in 2008 (although that dark drive doesn’t want to work with my newer laptop so I might have to download all the episodes AGAIN. Thanks Technology...)

But if you’re somebody who has NO IDEA which episodes are “the good ones” or you just want to jump in and watch but you’re scared you’ll get a complete dud as your first experience and then not know what all the fuss is about, or you just want to know some good episodes to watch, I decided to throw together a list, along with links.

And with that VERY lengthy intro out of the way, here we go!

In no order

The Touch of Satan Year: 1971 S09E08 Host: Mike Mads: Pearl, Brain guy and Bobo

Despite the movie title there is no Satan in the film. A baffling movie where a good looking “All American Boy” named Jodie drives through a small town while road tripping from Texas to San Fransisco. There he meets a really pretty girl named Melissa who lives with who she claims is her mother and father on a walnut farm, as well as her insane grandmother. For seemingly nonsensical reasons (other than he’s attracted to Melissa) Jodie decides to spend the night at the farm. Eventually he gets pulled into the family curse and learn just who Melissa really is (It’s not Satan).

The movie is incredibly stupid and WOULD be pretty bland if not for the absolutely ridiculous dialogue, bizarre little details you can’t help but focus on (why a Walnut farm? Why is the father always so sweaty??) and just how.... 70s everything is.

Mike and the bots are super on point with their jokes, and it has a few of my favourite jokes and host segments in it.

https://youtu.be/ZebKhabJItE

Gamera Year: 1965 S03E02 Host: Joel Mads: Dr Forrester and TV’s Frank

Look. If you’re gonna watch MST3K you’re gonna have to watch a Gamera movie eventually. And since I could literally put ANY of the Gamera films here, I’m gonna start with the first one. Especially since the following Gamera movies the host and bots have running jokes and references to the first films.

Gamera is a Japanese Kaiju movie franchise originally created to compete with Godzilla. And completely misses the point of Godzilla. Whereas Godzilla was originally intended to be a metaphor of Atomic weaponry and Japan’s national wound following the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki... Gamera is about a giant flying turtle monster who is friend to all children.

....and I friggen LOVE Gamera. It’s because of MST3K’s episodes that I ended up buying a DVD boxset of every single Gamera movie. It’s good stuff. Start with this episode and watch the others as you go.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rly_1NPCXAM

Pod People Year: 1983 S03E03 Host: Joel Mads: Dr Forrester and TV’s Frank

This is MANY people’s favourite episode in the whole show, and was my favourite as well until I couldn’t pick a favourite any more. However this is the only episode of the show where I had to pause it the first time I watched it at one part because I was laughing so hard.

Originally intended to be an alien slasher movie, the producers asked the director Juan Piquer Simon to include a subplot where a cute child makes friends with one of the aliens so that they could market the movie as an E.T. rip off (E.T. had come out the year before) If you think this would make the tone of the movie confusing where half the aliens are killing off teenagers and half the aliens are being friends with a small, badly dubbed child... you are absolutely right. But it’s the Host segments and jokes within the film that make this one of the top 5 best episodes in the whole show, if not top 3.

It is the episode that people will most commonly reference even 30 years later.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCl2ZNkfnS8

Jack Frost Year: 1964 S08E13 Host: Mike Mads: Pearl, Brain Guy and Bobo

One of the many badly Russian films that deserved much better than the shitty dub they got. I was THIS CLOSE to putting “The Day the Earth Froze” here instead, but I felt Jack Frost is the easier watch of the two (however I do recommend checking out The Day the Earth Froze as well).

Honestly, this film isn’t that bad at all. It’s shitty dub is a shame but even with the silly voices and calling Baba Yaga “The Hunchbacked Fairy” for reasons I will never understand, the film is actually pretty charming, and if I had it on video as a kid I probably would have really liked it.  It’s a classic fairy tale about a pretty and kind young girl who is treated badly by her stepmother and stepsister, but she finds true love in a handsome prince who had been turned into a bear until he could learn humility. Also Jack Frost is there (I have no idea who he’s suppose to be in the original language of the film and I doubt its Jack Frost). The movie is innocent and weird and overacted and the main character of Nastenka is so pretty and big eyed and innocent it’s an easy target for jokes on just how silly and whimsical everything is. The jokes are never outright mean spirited or nasty, just in line with the whole silly movie, and honestly this is a great episode to introduce your kids to the show as it’s not scary and doesn’t have any gore (like some of the other films showcased)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVpOaeBtr7w

The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies Year: 1964 S08E12 Host: Mike Mads: Pearl, Brain Guy, Bobo

Yes. That is the real title of the movie. And it is also the most exciting thing about it. This movie is..... incomprehensible, to say the least. I am only BARELY aware of what the fuck it’s even about. There’s a fortune teller on the amusement park wharf? And I remember a terrifying robot monkey asking people to buy tickets, and the main character (I use the term loosely) becomes evil? I’m sorry but this movie is so cut to ribbons in editing and has so little dialogue it’s barely even a movie. It’s held together by the thinnest threads of recurring images. However, unlike some of the other episodes in MST3K with the same problem of barely being movies, I find the jokes by the hosts land much better and they’re not in as agonizing pain as “The Beast of Yucca Flats” which I still consider the worst movie I have ever seen in my life.

I have no way to describe this movie. It’s not even crazy enough to garner enthusiastic “this movie is batshit insane” praise. Watch this one for the jokes by the hosts. And for the title so you can tell people “I watched a movie called The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jLGqN3XG-Q

Eegah Year: 1962 S05E06 Host: Joel Mads: Dr. Forrester and TV’s Frank

Ugh. This movie. Ok. “Starring” Arch Hall Jr. who was a sort of actor and one of those 60s “teen heart throb” singers before boy bands became a thing after the Beatles. He never made it super big, but it was considered a big selling point to films he was in (he went on to being an airline pilot and good for him). This movie is about him and his girlfriend his girlfriend’s father finding a giant caveman in the desert outside their town (in a cave which is NOT made of burlap sacks). The giant caveman falls in love with the girlfriend and follows them to the suburbs.

It’s not the most remarkable movie MST3K ever did. It’s not the best movie they ever did nor is it the worst movie they ever did, but for some reason this film has a tendency to stick in people who watch MST3K’s minds. Maybe the jokes are just THAT quotable, but for whatever reason, it’s one of the staple episodes to watch. And hey, at least the movie is WATCHABLE. MST3K went on to reference things in this film for the rest of the show’s history.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvFBKsW3Aew

Santa Claus Year: 1959 S5E21 Host: Mike Mads: Dr. Forrester and TV’s Frank

A Mexican movie about Santa Claus and his friend Merlin who live on the moon and watch the children of Earth through a telescope to make sure they’re all being good. We focus on the devil Pitch who is sent by Satan to make children misbehave, most noteably a 4 year old girl named Lupita who is from a poor family and wishes she had a pretty doll to play with, and a rich little boy who wishes his parents would spend Christmas with him.

This movie is.... weird. In case the whole “Santa and Merlin are friends and live on the moon” thing didn’t already tip you off. The movie’s pretty harmless overall but it’s just WEIRD. Santa’s castle on the moon is full of children from all over the world wearing the most stereotypical clothes of all time (Japanese children in full kimono, American children all dressed as cowboys, African children dressed in tribal clothes etc etc) and they.... I think they make the toys? I’m not sure. Santa’s reindeer are terrifying wind up toys who laugh maniacally when they’re turned on. There’s a giant mouth on the wall that’s part of Santa’s computer? And an ear that can hear what all the children are saying on earth or something?

It’s just... it’s bizarre. And an excellent episode to watch for Christmas.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTWs3zvz1z4

War of the Colossal Beast Year: 1958 S03E19 Host: Joel Mads: Dr. Forrester and TV’s Frank

I am recommending this one not actually for the movie itself, but for the short which plays first, which is “Mr. B Natural” and which is easily the best and most referenced MST3K short in the whole show.

It follows a little boy who wishes he was cool. He’s visited by Mr. B Natural, the spirit of music. Mr. B Natural is played by Betty Luster and is a bizarre character in himself, being completely androgynous and using male pronouns while being played very obviously by a woman with a very obviously female voice. Mr. B is presented as a sort of pixie character and possibly meant to be like the stage version of Peter Pan which is also traditionally played by adult women. The episode of MST3K aired in 1991 LONG before the concept of Non-binary was even a thing. As such MST3K plays along with the weirdness that is Mr. B, using only male pronouns for him and addressing him as a man, while also commenting on how attractive he is.

Mr. B teaches our little boy main character that if he wants to be cool he needs to buy a trumpet and join the school’s band, and goes on to be one of the most beloved MST3K “characters” who they often keep making references to and who shows up in the host segments now and then as a cameo.

Oh. And then there’s a movie following the short that’s a sequel to another movie. It’s about a man who keeps growing larger and larger in size but the bigger he gets the more he loses his intelligence. It’s directed by the notorious “Bert I. Gordon” whose movies are always more vehicles for cheap special effects than story, plot or characters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRL8umsMe28

Squirm Year: 1976 S10E12 Host: Mike Mads: Pearl, Brian Guy and Bobo

I am a little biased towards Squirm because I’m pretty sure it was the very first MST3K episode I ever saw (not counting the short “Are you Ready for Marriage?” which was the first anything MST3K that I saw). But even if it wasn’t I think Squirm is still a great episode to check out, and it comes with the double whammy of having the short “a Case of Spring Fever” in front of the film which, if they had the short in an earlier season, would definitely have become a running joke throughout the show. Sadly They only aired it here in the 10th season, but even being in the last season, it’s one of the show’s most famous shorts they’ve done.

As for the film, it’s actually pretty great too. It takes place in Georgia and is SUPER southern to a point of coming across as a parody almost. Our main character is the boyfriend of a local girl, a “city boy” who she met antiquing (a hobby they both share and talk about a lot throughout the film). However, a powerful electrical storm struck the small town a few nights ago, and as a result, it has turned all the earthworms underground into blood thirsty, violent predators (without actually growing in size). The movie is a silly and ridiculous B-Movie, but honestly a LOT of the effects are pretty damn impressive. Before he made it big in Rocky, Sylvester Stallone really wanted a role in the film but didn’t get it. All the worms in the film are real, and bought from the bait and fishing industry. So many worms were used in this film that they completely used up the entire New England’s bait supplies for the whole year following the shooting of the film.

Erm... so don’t watch it if you’re squeemish about bugs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3msPmLpLTUM

Merlin’s Shop of Mystical Wonders Year: 1996 S10E03 Host: Mike Mads: Pearl, Brain Guy and Bobo

omfg this movie X’D this fucking movie.

Ok. So what kind of movie do you expect with a title like that and if I tell you it starts off with a grandfather telling his grandson a story about how Merlin’s magic is real and has come to benefit mankind and help others?

You’re probably expecting some whimsical fantasy low budget Princess Bride knock off, right? This is exactly what the film THINKS it is, too. It THINKS it’s a magical child friendly story about magic and Merlin and him and his wife running a shop that sells magical items to better the lives of others.

So it’s kind of a fucking problem that the stories in this movie are based off of Stephen King horror Novellas!!!

And that’s basically all you need to know about why this movie is kind of a disaster. It thinks it’s an all ages magical romp when in reality it’s a horrifying double feature of pet deaths (warning for a dog dying in the second story) an abusive husband (warning for domestic abuse in the first story) and demonic powers.

Also, despite the film being made in 1996, the second story uses footage from the director’s earlier film “The Devil’s Gift” which was made in 1984. As a result, despite the 1996 release, the child in this part of the movie is playing with Star Wars toys and wearing an E.T. shirt through most of it.

This movie also has one of my favourite jokes by Mike right at the end of the film.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8Q-RuAx4V4

Ah crap that’s already 10 movies and I haven’t even mentioned “Werewolf” or “Puma Man”. dkfhskdhfks Go watch Puma Man and Werewolf!! They’re great!

and finally, special mention;

Manos: the hands of fate

Year: 1966 S04E24 Host: Joel Mads: Dr. Forrester and TV’s Frank

The great grandpappy of ALL the MST3K episodes. Of all the episodes they’ve ever done and all the movies and shorts they ever covered, Manos is the one that crawled under the skin of the hosts and the audience the most. Many people say it’s the very worst film they ever did EVER. As I said, I personally think the Beast of Yucca Flats is much worse if only because it’s painfully boring, but in terms of sheer “this is so fucking bad I can’t even process this”, I guess Manos wins. Being terrible because you’re boring is one thing. Being terrible because you’re completely batshit insane is another.

The story BEHIND the movie Manos is fascinating. Made when the creator of the film made a bet with a friend that he could make a movie despite never having done anything with film before, he went ahead and did it, with a screening and a premiere and everything. The actor playing Torgo was high on LSD the entire time of filming. The Camera used to shoot the film got so hot they could only film 30 seconds for each scene before they had to cut to a new one. The entire movie was filmed without sound and dubbed afterwards. The actor who was going to play the main character broke his leg before filming started and had to be replaced last second.

The movie is indescribable. It is PAIN and it is SUFFERING and it is BAFFLING and you should really build up a resistance to bad movies before attempting to watch this episode. I do NOT recommend starting your MST3K viewing with this one. But eventually, if you like MST3K, you’re gonna have to watch it. There’s just no escaping it.

The only way I can properly explain what Manos is like is to quote Crow who comments in the opening credits (which the film but forgot to put the actual credits over) “Every frame of this movie looks like someone’s last known photograph.”

And that’s it. That’s the whole movie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZ5baft7Kv0

I forgot to add my links!

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[mst3kproject]

816: Prince of Space

In a lot of ways this is one of the more daunting reviews I've taken on.  There are various reasons why I might not want to review a particular movie.  Maybe, as in Last of the Wild Horses, the movie just doesn't interest me.  Maybe, as in Hobgoblins, I just hate the movie that much.  Maybe, as in Swamp Diamonds, I have a hard time coming up with anything to say about it.  Prince of Space falls into none of those categories.  Instead, like Pod People or Manos: the Hands of Fate, this is one of the classic episodes, the ones that have been so thoroughly watched, discussed, and destroyed by the fandom at large that I'm not sure I can really contribute anything.

The goal of this blog is completeness, though, so here I go. Phantom, Dictator of Krankor, has come to Earth to steal the secret of Professor Maki's advanced rocket fuel (or Professor Macken, or Professor Marken... the dub actors cannot seem to agree). Fortunately, Earth has a secret weapon – the invulnerable Prince of Space!  Prince of Space steals the formula back from Phantom and chases him away, so Phantom falls back on Plan B.  He kidnaps the world's leading scientists and takes them to Planet Krankor so they can see just what a mighty empire they are up against.  Once again it's up to Prince of Space to save the day!

Prince of Space was originally a TV show, Yūsei Ōji (Planet Prince), which was made to capitalize on the popular Super Giants film series – yeah, you read that right, Prince of Space is a ripoff of Star-Man!  The series proved popular enough in itself that two movies were made based on it, and it was these that were edited together into the Prince of Space we all know and love.  They did a surprisingly good job, actually. The resulting film feels only slightly bifurcated, mostly because the three children pretty much vanish for the second half, and I'm guessing the original Prince of Space movies were intended as 'part one' and 'part two' of the same story.  It's also the rare MST3K movie that remains entertaining even without Mike and the Bots at the bottom.

This is kind of surprising, because Prince of Space has basically the exact same plot as Invasion of the Neptune Men: a z-list superhero and a bunch of little kids try to stop an alien invasion too incompetent for even Godzilla to take notice.  But while Invasion of the Neptune Men was an unmitigated pain parade, Prince of Space is silly, over-the-top fun.  Why the difference?  Prince of Space still isn't what anybody would call a 'good' movie, but it gets right a great many of the things Invasion of the Neptune Men got wrong.

For starters, Prince of Space has characters in it. There are the three kids: scientist's son Johnny Maki, and Wally the Bootblack's two wards, Kimmy and Mickey.  They have names, lives, and interests – these are minimal, but they exist.  Johnny likes to watch boxing on TV and worries about getting in trouble.  Kimmy and Mickey are proud of their jobs as Wally's assistants.  They talk about the problems presented to them, instead of just pointing and running around like the kids in Invasion of the Neptune Men. Their familial connections to Dr. Maki and Wally mean there is an actual reason why they keep getting involved in these events.  

Similarly, Wally/Prince of Space is himself a character.  I'm not sure how a guy who makes his living shining shoes finds the time or money to be a superhero on the side, but his secret identity is actually relevant and in danger of discovery.  He, too, also has a bit of personality – he's the type of person who is kind to a fault, often to his own detriment.  He takes in the two orphans even though he really can't afford to.  He returns forgotten items to his customers even though it takes him away from his work.  Tips the kids earn shining shoes are explicitly stated to be theirs, not his, even though he could use the money.

The Neptune Men were nothing but singing humanoid buttplugs – faceless, nameless, and devoid of personality.  The Chicken-Men of Krankor have faces, which allows them to react to things, and Phantom at least has a distinctive look and personality, with his arrogant attitude and obnoxious laugh.  What's more, the aliens of Prince of Space have a goal.  While the Neptune Men seemed to just be throwing stuff at the Earth at random, Krankor is specifically after Professor Maki's rocket fuel and at first his attempt to conquer the world is focused on that.  Later, after Prince of Space thwarts him over and over, he becomes increasingly obsessed with destroying the hero by any means possible, whether it benefits his invasion plans or not.

There is one kind of cool idea in this, actually.  In one scene a reporter asks Dr. Maki why Phantom would be after his formula, when the technology of Krankor is so far advanced over Earth's.  Dr. Maki replies that Krankor is advanced in some ways but not in others, and they happen to be lagging behind Earth in the development of rocket fuel.  This is a neat concept.  We don't know, after all, what constitutes a 'level' of technological development because we have only one example of a technological civilization, and that's our own. Maybe somewhere out there are aliens who have made enormous strides in mathematics but still believe the body is composed of humours that must be balanced.  If that sounds unlikely, think again: it was the actual state of things in Europe when Newton and Liebniz invented calculus.  Or maybe the inverse is true: maybe the aliens are skilled doctors who can perform life-saving operations we wouldn't dare attempt, but they don't understand things like logarithms at all.

If this were a good movie, the stuff humans are good at and Chicken-Men not would be a key to their final defeat.  But this is Prince of Space.

The entertainment factor here is also upped by the fact that Prince of Space is not afraid to be ridiculous.  Invasion of the Neptune Men was often rather restrained.  Prince of Space has a big-eared, matronly giant who destroys Phantom's enemies with weaponized halitosis.  The Chicken-Men themselves are delightfully ridiculous, with their pointed noses and hoods that suggest their heads and chins are pointed too, and their spaceship looks like a roast turkey.  Prince of Space's own ship looks like a modified bumper car and he has a magic wand that deflects death rays.  It makes the movie enjoyable in a way Invasion of the Neptune Men never even approached.

Finally, it's always possible to tell what's going on in Prince of Space.  While there are endless shootout scenes, those are always connected with something in the story. Wally flees Chicken-Men through a graveyard after they discover his secret identity – will he be able to transform into Prince of Space before they catch him?  Laser fire is exchanged as Prince of Space leads the captive scientists through Phantom's fortress.  Will they make it to the ship to return to Earth?  Invasion of the Neptune Men had none of this, just spaceship models shooting at each other without even anything to tell us how far apart they were.  An action scene in which we really can't tell what's happening is dull. The director and editors of Prince of Space had at least some idea how to do it right.

I actually really wish this movie were in colour.  According to the posters, Prince of Space's costume was red, green, and white, while the Chicken-Men of Krankor wore pink and purple.  I'd love to see what colours were on the walls of the Great Hall, or that the giant was dressed in.  It must have looked gloriously ridiculous.

Remember Invaders from Space, in which the bad guys were Kappa-People?  Well, Prince of Space is less explicit about it, but I think the Chicken-Men are supposed to be Tengu-People.  The Tengu is a birdlike demon in Japanese folklore who is supposed to be a harbinger of war.  They are often depicted with unnaturally long, sometimes beaklike noses.  Such noses are also featured in Japanese caricatures of white people.  Hmm... they come promising peace and prosperity and then they blow your shit up.  Sounds about right.

Wikipedia doesn't have an antique woodcut of anybody farting on a Tengu, but this watercolour of one getting yelled at by a monk is kind of fun.

This is another movie that is difficult to analyze, because it doesn't really have any higher ambitions.  The original goal of the Yūsei Ōji TV show was to make money off Star Man fans, and the movies were intended to make money off fans of the TV show. Fortunately, enough effort and good fun were put into the result that it stands on its own.  Of all the Japanese-Superhero-Versus-Stupid-Aliens movies I've seen, Prince of Space is undoubtedly my favourite... and the fact that I can talk about those as a genre is... well, it's sadder than talking about the Nazi Zombie genre, but not as sad as talking about the Bela Lugosi vs Gorilla Suit genre.  So there's that.

The other wonderful thing we got out of Prince of Space is the 'temporally displaced chicken puppet' sketch, which is probably the funniest single skit in the entire Sci-Fi Channel era. Gypsy's burrito makes me laugh every single time.

[theromanticrationalist]

MST3K The Return: My Review

Well, I’ve officially finished all the episodes to the new season, and I wanted to share my final thoughts and opinions on the show. I was one of the Kickstarter Backers, and so have been with this show from the very beginning. My thoughts in a nutshell? Money. Well. Spent.

I’ve only recently become a huge fan of MST3K. Most fans have been with the show over the years, but it really hasn’t been the case for me. I was introduced to the show when I was a teenager, and thought it was cool, but just when I wanted to start watching it - it was taken off the air! What?! That was annoying. So, I didn’t really have many opportunities to continue watching it on any regular basis. It was mostly just a few episodes that I rewatched over and over again on VHS (Mitchel, Pod People, Cave Dwellers), so didn’t really get into it too much, although I loved the episodes I had seen.

It wasn’t until the last year or so that I decided I wanted to binge all the seasons of MST3K. (I skipped S1, because reasons). With their availability on the internet, I could pretty watch almost every single episode. I think I have around 10 episodes left to watch from Seasons 2 - 10, but I accomplished my goal. So, I became a die hard fan in a matter of a crazy binge watching marathon over several months, and was super stoked when Joel Hodgson announced his intention to revive the show. I was like, SO MUCH YES.

I have to say that Joel is the sweetest human being alive. Seriously, he is so polite, kind, and incredibly genuine. I think that is why I love the show so much, because it just comes from an honest place of creativity and wanting to make people laugh and happy. I think the line “Repeat to yourself it’s just a show you should really just relax” says everything about Joel and his intentions for MST3K.

However, for me nothing is really just a show, so I’m going to be rebellious and give a more critical review of my thoughts! (Sorry, Joel!)

Cons:

- Tom Servo’s new voice. Okay, so this is my biggest complaint about it. This doesn’t reflect badly on the talent of Baron Vaughn, because he’s a great guy, great voice actor, and really funny. He has some great lines/riffs and I think he does a pretty good job considering the role he is trying to fill, but it just isn’t the same. I think there is a lot more flexibility with Crow’s personality. You can change voice actors, but it is easier to capture him. However, Tom Servo IS Kevin Murphy, and Kevin Murphy IS Tom Servo. Everything that makes up Tom Servo came straight from Kevin Murphy’s personality and talent. He made him very distinct, and it is something you can’t just change the voice of and not have any effect. Tom Servo had such a big personality for a little bot, and now that Vaughn plays him, it feels so off. 

- The riffing doesn’t seem *as* natural and organic as it did. The show has gotten a little too self-aware. I don’t mean the meta jokes/riffs. Those are funny, but I’m talking about how Jonah and the Bots riff knowing that they are on an incredibly iconic show about riffing bad movies. It seems a little forced, as if they are trying too hard. This is probably because of how much pressure the show was under to match up to the original run. All us fans trusted Joel with our money, and so I can only imagine how intense the pressure was under that responsibility. (Not to mention how ugly things can get out there with fan criticism...but I digress) So, that was a little off putting.

I will say that it did seem to even out more as the episodes progressed. I think this problem will dissipate and correct itself because it has done really well and people love it, so much easier to be more natural and relaxed from here on out. 

Although, I will say that I think Mike Nelson’s writing really had a huge impact on the excellence of MST3K. I believe Nelson is a superior comedic writer and I do miss his voice in the material. 

- In relation to the above criticisms, I think this effects a little the relationship between Jonah and the Bots. I didn’t feel the connection as strongly between them as much as I did with Joel or Mike. As I’ll mention later, this too evolved as the episodes progressed, but not too much. See, I started watching MST3K because of the riffs, but I stayed for Joel/Mike and the bots. At the beginning I didn’t really care much for the skits in between the movie, but then over time I LOVED the skits and actually wanted to see them more than movie at times! It was because of all their fun personalities, and how they would interact, being adorable, cute, and funny together! I loved seeing how different Joel was with the bots vs how Mike behaved with them. Joel’s fatherly dynamic, where he would reprimand or comfort them, was so sweet. In contrast, Mike’s more brotherly relationship with them, where he was usually on the receiving end of jokes, pranks, and ridicule, although they had their sweet moments as well! It was distinct, and you grew attached to the characters through these interactions. Each of them also had certain riff types that they would do, like Crow calling everything “A Kitty!” or Tom Servo falling in love with various females/turtles or how he would love to show off his singing. So, while I did praise Mike Nelson’s superior writing, I’m not a RiffTrax fan for this very reason - it isn’t just the riffing, but the characters and their relationships! I missed this in the new season.

- Some of the riffing came really fast and all at once! Overall, I thought the pacing of the show picked up a lot of speed. I was like Ah! Hold on! I can’t keep track of everything happening! However, this also became a little more relaxed over the course of the episodes. (Maybe I just acclimated, who knows). This isn’t a huge problem, but I just wish things weren’t so fast paced now a days. I know attention spans a pretty much nonexistent, but I prefer if we try to slow down and let things breath. 

Pros:

Okay, now that the negative part is over with, I shall go in my list of AWESOMENESS! Yay!

- JONAH HESTON. Okay, so despite my above criticisms of the relationship aspects, I think Jonah Ray is so, so perfect!

He really jumped into the role with all the enthusiasm and hilarity that it calls for! He is so sweet and adorable, but also wacky and bizarre. I love the oddball quality of his humor. He makes these off the wall, aside comments about himself, and it’s like what are you even going on about, Jonah? Even the bots, who are crazy themselves, were incredulous at some of things Jonah likes to do in his spare time. His comic delivery is very earnest and smooth, and he says everything as if it is just self-evident and normal, even when what he is saying is totally not. What came to my mind when thinking about Jonah’s style, is Alice in Wonderland. That seems really random, but if any of you have ever read Lewis Carroll’s work, will notice how his characters talk as if they are absolutely sane and logical, but they actually say the most absurd, nonsensical things. Jonah reminds me a Lewis Carroll character in that way. 

Another aspect to Jonah, which I believe is intentional, is how self-assured he is and opinionated on many things. Many of his skits seem to be satirical in regards to the “Millennial” generation, how we act and talk, especially on the internet. It’s pretty much genius. Yet I also love how he is “Mr. Perfect”, good at everything! Immediately on Episode 1 he wood carves, invents, raps, and riffs like no one’s business. Then, of course, the reason he got captured in the first place was because he had to go rescue someone all heroically. Aww! He’s just too good and so charming! An absolute weirdo, though, and that’s why he’s my favorite! 

Servo: “Sooooooo what did you say in this message?”

Jonah: “Help! I’m trapped with four robot companions being forced to watch bad movies unlike the rest of society who choose to watch bad movies on a weekly basis!”

Jonah: ヽ(^。^)丿

Crow: …

Crow: ”So you’re saying you really don’t care if we get rescued or not.”

- Segueing from this to one aspect I noticed and I hope gets developed, is that I did sense a camaraderie happening between Jonah and Crow. As I said above, I didn’t really feel the relationships with the bots, but I saw the potential for them to build upon it for the next seasons! Crow is my favorite bot (although it is really hard to choose), and I observed that he and Jonah seem to be building a rapport! I think they get along so well because they both are pretty much insane. Jonah seems to have innate understanding of Crow-speak, and I thought it was really cute how Crow ingratiates himself with him at times. Even though the bots do enjoy tormenting him from time to time. (It’s what they do.) Here are some examples of Jonah and Crow:

Jonah: “Most don’t even pack anything, just the “Whoo whoo!” song from Blur.”

Crow: “Awesome! I mean, do you like it?”

Jonah: “Well, again its too on the nose. Every space jockey going up into the sky with the rockets taking off - you involuntarily go “Whoo whoo!” It’s just not me.”

Crow: “Nor me! I just want to do what you want to do!”

-

Crow: “I knew it! Patopitate Ammonia! Jonah! I told you earlier they were going to use Participate Belonnia!”

Jonah: “I don’t remember that.”

Crow: “No, you remember, I said Potatopaste Pottagonnia!”

Jonah: “Oh, now I remember!”

P.S. I’ve officially warmed up to Hampton Yount’s Crow, and commend him for being able to capture all the caustic, zany goodness of my favorite golden bot! 

- Felicia Day! I love Kinga Forrester! She’s so awesome. She and Max are hands down my favorite Mads. I already enjoy Felicia Day as an actress/comedian actress, but she really captured the essence of her character so well. She goes from evil crazy psycho to sweet manic pixie girl flawlessly. She balances just the right mix of goofball and sweetheart in her humor style, and I think it works exceptionally well. I was very happy when Joel announced her as being part of the cast, and my expectations were well met! All hail, Kinga Forrester, the meglomaniacal Iron Lady!

- Patton Oswalt! TV’s Son of TV’s Frank, or Max as Kinga so insensitively reminds him, is hilarious and the sweetest thing! (I use that word a lot, I know). I was also excited when I heard he was cast for the show because I really liked his role in Agents of SHIELD, and I thought he was pretty much tailor made to be the bumbling, but well-meaning evil sidekick. He too didn’t disappoint. I was even surprised by the little unrequited love storyline going on between him and Kinga. MST3K giving me an OTP?! My Tumblr fangirl heart says yes! He and Felicia worked well off each other, having the perfect Mads chemistry that is so reminiscent of Clayton and TV’s Frank, accept Max is pretty much a precious cinnamon roll incarnate!

- My favorite episodes: Cry Wilderness, Avalanche, Wizards of the Lost Kingdom 1 & 2, Yonguary, and The Christmas That Almost Wasn’t. I especially loved the Wizards movies. I was dying, literally laughing out loud at those episodes, they were so funny. The Christmas That Almost Wasn’t was like another Santa Claus Conquers the Martians or Santa Claus, and yet somehow creepier than both, which is saying something. It was just as funny, though. So, overall, I think the riffs were great! Clever, zany, and satirical, very much in the same vein of what we love about this show. I enjoy the more modern references too, especially social media riffs, and I think it is awesome to have MST3K for a new generation! 

- All the shiny new designs! Okay, so one of my favorite things about getting Kickstarter updates from Joel was finding all about the new design work that was going into the show. As an aspiring concept artist, I was all over this, and I was really impressed by the end result. The show is undeniably more produced than it was, but it still maintains the campy creativity of its predecessor, just more shiny! I love all the color schemes, the rich purples and blues and how Jonah Heston’s yellow suit pops out really well against it. I love all the little details within the corridor to the theater, stuff that Jonah and the bots would use for every day living on the space station. The attention to the aesthetic details of the sets showed, in my opinion, a great love and passion for the work. I commend their artists for an excellent job! 

Honorable Mention:

-  Rebecca Hanson as Gypsy. I was never really attached to Gypsy as a character, but I thought she was a pretty funny aspect of the show and made a great foil for Crow and Tom. This revisioning of her was strange at first, just because it was different. Gypsy is now a sassy, sharp-shooting personality, and I can dig it. Rebecca Hanson did a good job, and I like what she brings to the character. 

Also, I guess there is like this huge mystery of what Gypsy is exactly carrying in the payload moments of the theater? So, that’s interesting.

Well, those are my thoughts! I hope that was helpful/enjoyable in some way. In either case, I hope Netflix announces a Season 2 soon, because I already need MOAR. Great job to Joel Hodgson and Co!