Mystery Science Theater 3000 - General Discussion

[jcin617]

I was able to watch the first episode yesterday as well, and it was everything I could have hoped for.   I wanted to watch it again today, in fact, but forgot it was a 24-hour sneak peak.   I am excited for the new season!

[Lawgiver]

I also watched it. Tom Servo's and Crow's new voices work; I was afraid they were going to be so different that I wouldn't enjoy it. I'm glad my fears were unfounded! I won't say who they were, but I loved the special guest stars. 

[scowl]

Until the rest of us can see the new season, NetFlix added a lot of old episodes worth watching. I had not seen Sidehackers or Catalina Caper in a long time and they reminded me why I had started watching the show.

[jcin617]

Will we use this thread to talk about the new episodes once released, or have individual episode threads?   They released the whole season for backers yesterday, but I've been good and only watched episode 2 since I know watching them on Netflix is what will drive another season.   I can't wait to start talking about them!

[azshadowwalker]

I vote for just using this thread, at least to begin with. If there's enough traffic, we could revisit it. I just hate threads that have one or two posts; I would rather have one that has a lot of discussion. 

[Lawgiver]

I just rewatched Warrwilf and Zombie Nightmare. I'm going to try to get another classic in tomorrow. Space Mutiny always cracks me up, so that may be next on the list until the new eps are release.

Edited April 13, 2017 by Lawgiver

[azshadowwalker]

32 minutes ago, Lawgiver said:

I just rewatched Warrwilf and Zombie Nightmare. I'm going to try to get another classic in tomorrow. Space Mutiny always cracks me up, so that may be next on the list until the new eps are release.

I flew out to Berkeley to visit my brother this weekend. These were the three I downloaded to watch during the flight. I seem to notice extra scenes in them. Were they edited on the SciFi Channel? 

[okerry]

OK, please help: What is it that Gypsy lowers into the theater near the beginning each time? It looks like a bag or a briefcase, and she's holding it by the handle.

[roctavia]

6 minutes ago, okerry said:

OK, please help: What is it that Gypsy lowers into the theater near the beginning each time? It looks like a bag or a briefcase, and she's holding it by the handle.

I thought it looked like a picnic basket... but I don't get it? Not sure if it's supposed to mean something or if it's just a new quirky thing to have.

[scowl]

Didn't they say one had hotpockets? 

[SVNBob]

A small tidbit from a Q&A a couple of days ago.  Felicia Day was 6.5 months pregnant at the time when they shot the part of the opening sequence with Kinga on the moving platform.

[jcin617]

7 hours ago, roctavia said:

I thought it looked like a picnic basket... but I don't get it? Not sure if it's supposed to mean something or if it's just a new quirky thing to have.

On the live Q&A someone asked what she was doing and they seemed coy about it. Maybe it'll be revealed?

[okerry]

10 hours ago, roctavia said:

I thought it looked like a picnic basket... but I don't get it? Not sure if it's supposed to mean something or if it's just a new quirky thing to have.

I noticed during *Avalanche* that she took it out again at the end of the movie. I must know! It seems to be mostly an excuse to let Gypsy come in, make a joke, and then leave again, but I still want to know what it is!

[hincandenza]

On 4/14/2017 at 9:44 PM, okerry said:

OK, please help: What is it that Gypsy lowers into the theater near the beginning each time? It looks like a bag or a briefcase, and she's holding it by the handle.

 

On 4/14/2017 at 9:51 PM, roctavia said:

I thought it looked like a picnic basket... but I don't get it? Not sure if it's supposed to mean something or if it's just a new quirky thing to have.

 

On 4/15/2017 at 5:05 AM, jcin617 said:

On the live Q&A someone asked what she was doing and they seemed coy about it. Maybe it'll be revealed?

I'm through episode 6 and I've been wondering this too: it's been in every episode so far, and seems to have Gypsy leaving it and telling a joke, then later telling a joke and removing it.  I came here to see if I missed something (like it was a gimmick started in the Sci-Fi episodes, which I've never seen) or if it was leading up to a subtle season-long joke with unexpected punchline.  Sounds like it's the latter, and we'll see if they explain it by episode 14.

[starri]

Why weren't there any shorts?

[SVNBob]

They didn't need any filler for these movies.

That's what the shorts were originally for; padding an episode to get it up to the full 2 hour time slot (minus 32 minutes for ad breaks (8 minutes per half-hour...last I checked)).  But all the movies for this season were long enough to fill the "time slot."  Looking at all the episodes, they range from 1:26:08 (Loves of Hercules) to 1:34:23 (At the Earth's Core).  Or between 88 and 94 minutes.  That matches with the math above and with every previous episode, with or without shorts.

[starri]

Okay, but the shorts were often the funniest parts of the Comedy Central run.  That's one of the things that hurt the SyFy era, since they were originally required to do only sci-fi/fantasy movies and it took them a long time to find shorts that could fit into that formula.

Mike Nelson's repulsive politics keep me from giving RiffTrax much money, but I make an exception for their shorts, just because I do find them so funny.

[SVNBob]

13 hours ago, starri said:

Okay, but the shorts were often the funniest parts of the Comedy Central run.

Joel agrees that shorts are part of the MST3K milieu and he wants to do them again, but he doesn't know what form they'll take.

Here's a quote from an interview from Crave's B-Movies Podcast, reprinted on their website:
 

Quote

 

“We definitely want to do shorts,” Joel Hodgson explains, “[but] you know, the shorts were a necessity for certain films we got that weren’t long enough. That’s why we did that, to fill it out.”

“But it became such a big part of what we did that I definitely intend to do stuff with it,” Hodgson continued later. “I don’t know if it will necessarily be in the body of the show. It might be in another purpose, or another, other thing.”

There may be a downside though. Joel Hodgson adds, “But then what you do is if you drop in another short, most shorts are 20 minutes long, so you have to cut the short in half and then you have to cut your feature up. You’d have to cut even more into your feature so you’d have to make your feature shorter. So you kind of get not the best of either.”

 

Based on that, it seems like there could be some "mini"-episodes that are just one short, and those could be for promotional purposes, and posted on YouTube or presented at cons and the like, and not specifically Netflix exclusive.  Or there could be an episode in a future season that is a series of 4 or 5 shorts.  (Or combine the two: 5 mini-episodes compiled into a full length episode, or a full shorts episode broken down into multiple minis.)

Or there could be longer episodes in the future, since there's technically no upper limit for episode length on Netflix.

Sufficed to say, Joel's working on it.

[ulkis]

Does anyone know if there's a thread anywhere that already discusses rifftrax on ptv? Thanks.

[azshadowwalker]

On 6/2/2017 at 2:06 PM, ulkis said:

Does anyone know if there's a thread anywhere that already discusses rifftrax on ptv? Thanks.

I would like one, too. I much prefer Rifftrax to the new MST3K. Many of them stream on Amazon Prime now, and I have been watching those. Never have been able to get through a full episode of the new MST3K. Just isn't doing it for me. 

[ulkis]

32 minutes ago, azshadowwalker said:

Many of them stream on Amazon Prime now

Oh, they do? Thanks for the info!

[azshadowwalker]

On 6/14/2017 at 9:12 AM, ulkis said:

Oh, they do? Thanks for the info!

No problem. Most are included for free or download with Amazon Prime. A few cost extra. By the way, I did a search for Rifftrax on PTV. People talking about it in at least a half-dozen different forums, most unrelated to MST3K, so there's obviously an interest. Perhaps we could request a forum for it. Or maybe a thread in this forum. Not sure which would be better. 

[ulkis]

32 minutes ago, azshadowwalker said:

No problem. Most are included for free or download with Amazon Prime. A few cost extra. By the way, I did a search for Rifftrax on PTV. People talking about it in at least a half-dozen different forums, most unrelated to MST3K, so there's obviously an interest. Perhaps we could request a forum for it. Or maybe a thread in this forum. Not sure which would be better. 

I think a thread would do, I think if you did a thread for every rifftrax the conversation in each one would get a bit thin.

[azshadowwalker]

5 hours ago, ulkis said:

I think a thread would do, I think if you did a thread for every rifftrax the conversation in each one would get a bit thin.

Okay. I created one. It's called "Bots and Mads in Other Roles". Figured it could cover both Rifftrax and Cinematic Titanic. 

[ulkis]

Thanks!

[scowl]

If you're not getting enough MST3K or RiffTrax, the streaming service PlutoTV has MST3K and RiffTrax "channels" that stream episodes 24 hours a day for free. The catch is they have jarring long commercials that start with no hint or warning.

[VCRTracking]

I'm ashamed it took me so long to remember the recently departed Adam West rocking a 'stache as a police captain in the 1986 movie Zombie Nightmare riffed by Mike and the Bots in season 6:

Edited June 28, 2017 by VCRTracking

[starri]

Did Adam West show up to one of the Turkey Day marathons, or did I imagine that?

I know Mamie Van Doren did.

[scowl]

On 7/9/2017 at 9:59 AM, starri said:

Did Adam West show up to one of the Turkey Day marathons, or did I imagine that?

I know Mamie Van Doren did.

That's right. Best Brains couldn't come to an agreement with Comedy Central that year, so they opted not to do a Turkey Day for the network. Comedy Central simply produced their own Turkey Day bumpers with West and Van Doren without any help from Best Brains. 

[azshadowwalker]

I just watched The Incredible Melting Man. I can't believe that I had never seen it before. Kevin, Mike and Trace are on the top of their game. I actually preferred Bill as Crow, but this one made me appreciate Trace a lot more than I used to. 

Edited August 30, 2017 by azshadowwalker

[VCRTracking]

On 8/29/2017 at 6:47 PM, azshadowwalker said:

I just watched The Incredible Melting Man. I can't believe that I had never seen it before. Kevin, Mike and Trace are on the top of their game. I actually preferred Bill as Crow, but this one made me appreciate Trace a lot more than I used to. 

My favorite Trace is his Gregory Peck impersonation(his "Killer Peck" as Joel calls it) in Space Travelers. I love both but I still laugh just thinking about Bill's Crow's "Get a box!" from The Screaming Skull and "I have seem to have died, is that okay?" from Overdrawn at the Memory Bank.

Speaking of the latter, rewatching it recently it is I'm amazed how much Raul Julia is committing in this cheap PBS movie shot on video. He's easily one of the top charismatic leads of any MST3K movie. Looking it up, Linda Griffiths(Apollonia) died three years ago.

[mmecorday]

I did not get Comedy Central until about 15 years ago, so a lot of the Joel and early Mike episodes are new to me. I think "Danger! Death Ray" is fast becoming a solid top 10 episode for me, mostly because you can tell they were having a blast riffing that movie. And it is a fun episode to watch. The groovy music helps too and I love how excited Mike and the bots get whenever the buh buh buh buh buh dah theme is played. Bing!

[VCRTracking]

I think Kitten With A Whip is one of the movies I would have watched even without the MST3K commentary. Not just because young Ann-Margaret's in it and she gives a crazy performance. It really is an escalating nightmare for John Forsythe's character.  I was genuinely riveted like "Man, how is he going to get out of this situation?"

[starri]

I always thought that there's a kernel of a good movie in Soultaker.  I think if someone with actual scriptwriting experience had taken a pass on Vivian Schilling's story and with a better cast (she's pretty good, but the rest...), you'd have had a decent made-for-TV movie.

[VCRTracking]

On 1/27/2018 at 6:55 AM, starri said:

I always thought that there's a kernel of a good movie in Soultaker.  I think if someone with actual scriptwriting experience had taken a pass on Vivian Schilling's story and with a better cast (she's pretty good, but the rest...), you'd have had a decent made-for-TV movie.

I'd still hope they keep the line "Led Zeppelin was wrong. There is no 'Stairway to Heaven'." So I could yell back at the screen "Shut up! Zep is never wrong! Is Sabbath wrong too, man?"

Edited February 18, 2018 by VCRTracking

[mmecorday]

"Girls Town" is not a bad movie, it's just the casting that makes it a head scratcher. Mel Torme was way too old to be playing a teenager and one who was supposedly one of the cool kids. Paul Anka's acting is so wooden, he needs to be signed up for a termite inspection.

[starri]

8 hours ago, mmecorday said:

Paul Anka's acting is so wooden, he needs to be signed up for a termite inspection.

He's just a lonely boy...

[starri]

Should we do individual threads for the new movies?

[jcin617]

I’d prefer that to avoid spoilage/cross-talk.

[Lebanna]

Yes, I hope we get threads because it's a lot easier to keep track of what we are talking about.

Especially as people will be watching these in different orders and probably not watching the whole of an episode at once.

[Rai]

I'm curious. What are your top five favorite episodes that aren't one of the more well known/beloved? (Manos, Space Mutiny, Pod People, etc.)

Here's my list:

1. The Thing That Couldn't Die -- such great riffs! The introduction of the Brain Guy! 
2. Sampson vs. the Vampire Women -- because of EL SANTO!
3. The Violent Years -- mainly because it's an Ed Wood film and because the original film is sampled in one of my fave Ministry songs.
4. The first Gamera -- because Gamera. And because of Joel's one riff to a doofy-looking guy: "And you look like a Who from Whoville." It's just the way he says it.
5. Gunslinger -- incredibly great riffs and the discussion of funerals in the host segment.

Runners-up: Hercules vs. the Moon Men. For DEEEEEEEEP HURRRRRTING. Outlaw of Gor -- I hate the Gor concept, so a terrible movie that mocks it plus Jack Palance is gold. The set diary of Jack Palance host segment -- I die every time. Touch of Satan -- it's almost a workable movie. Also when the devil intones, "Hold up your hand," and someone riffs, "So it can be stamped."

My wish for the next season of MST3K (Netflix and backers willing) is another juvenile delinquent movie. I just love those! Or a black-and-white monster movie for old time's sake.

Edited January 8, 2019 by Rai
Wanted to update my list.

[funky-rat]

On ‎1‎/‎8‎/‎2019 at 10:01 AM, Rai said:

My wish for the next season of MST3K (Netflix and backers willing) is another juvenile delinquent movie. I just love those! Or a black-and-white monster movie for old time's sake.

I would love to see their take on either Over The Edge, or The Warriors.  Both are beloved cult classics, but both - The Warriors in particular - are ridiculous at times.

[Rai]

19 hours ago, funky-rat said:

I would love to see their take on either Over The Edge, or The Warriors.  Both are beloved cult classics, but both - The Warriors in particular - are ridiculous at times.

At first, I thought you meant Over the Top, the Sylvester Stallone movie about a trucker who also arm-wrestles semi-professionally. But young Matt Dillon sounds good too!

[funky-rat]

12 minutes ago, Rai said:

At first, I thought you meant Over the Top, the Sylvester Stallone movie about a trucker who also arm-wrestles semi-professionally. But young Matt Dillon sounds good too!

Heh - Over The Top is incredibly snark-worthy, as is No Holds Barred, which is about professional wrestling.

Over The Edge was somewhat loosely based on a true story.  It was one of those 80's HBO staples.  I liked it - especially when I was younger - but some part of it are just rife for riffing (Matt Dillon's line "A kid who snitches on another kid is a dead kid" sticks out in particular.

I also liked The Warriors, but you gotta admit that the baseball gang alone would be worthy of some major snark.

[starri]

8 hours ago, funky-rat said:

Heh - Over The Top is incredibly snark-worthy, as is No Holds Barred, which is about professional wrestling.

I have to wonder if How Did This Get Made would render MSTing those two redundant.

[funky-rat]

On ‎1‎/‎11‎/‎2019 at 9:12 PM, starri said:

I have to wonder if How Did This Get Made would render MSTing those two redundant.

Probably.  No Holds Barred came out when WWF was on fire in the 80's, so I got that, despite the movie being horrible.  Over The Top still baffles me.

[Rai]

Nothing's redundant! If MST3K and Rifftrax can each do a Manos riff, then anything goes!

[starri]

They announced a new tour for the fall.

Interestingly, their New York show is in Brooklyn, so I guess they're hipsters now.  I look forward to Crow's handlebar mustache.

[SVNBob]

On 6/3/2019 at 6:12 AM, starri said:

They announced a new tour for the fall.

That was the main subject of the latest Backer update from the beginning of the month.  (My bad for not bringing this up sooner.  With the single thread, I kinda forgot I was doing these.)

Joel also said that this tour would be his last.  Not the last tour, just his.  Jonah is likely to continue with the Live show after this tour, but he's only writing and producing on this one.

Joel also promised something else with this tour.  Weekly BTS updates of the crew preparing for the tour; building sets and props, robot wrangling, etc.  First update came out last week on the new website for the tour, so the second will likely be out within 24 hours of this post.

While there was a lot of news about the tour, Joel also said that there  are still discussions going on about future seasons of the show.  No news yet on that front, mainly due to them focusing on the tour right now.  But Joel has promised that when there is news to share, he'll do so...and so will I.

[funky-rat]

We had tix for stop one on the tour.  I went last year with my husband, but this year with the friend who turned me on to the show in the late 80's, when we were in high school.

I was a little bummed that Jonah wasn't there, as I enjoyed he and Joel riffing off each other at the last show.  I won't spoil it for anyone who has tix, but it was VERY different from last year's show.  I didn't see the 2017 tour, so I can't comment.

We saw "No Retreat, No Surrender", and that was a stinker if I ever saw one.  We just bought tickets to go back in March for "Circus Of Horror" at another venue.  It will be one of the last shows on the tour.