Mystery Science Theater 3000 - General Discussion

[VCRTracking]

Just watched the 1969 Hamlet starring Nicol Williamson and it made me think of the one Mike and the Bots watched starring Maximilian Schell. As someone who knows the play so well I love all the jokes about it. Favorite is after the "Get thee to a nunnery" bit with Hamlet and Ophelia and Hamlet leaves Claudius and Polonius come out from hiding after having watched them, Tom goes "Thank you for cooperating with the Copenhagen police, you can take off the wire now."

Edited September 16, 2019 by VCRTracking

[Charlie Baker]

I've been a fan since the early Comedy Central days and had a chance to catch the current tour in Brooklyn, at the incredibly gorgeous restored Kings Theater. (As Joel said sardonically in his welcome speech, too beautiful for "our shitty little show." ) Saw No Retreat and I'd swear it was tailor made for the MST treatment.  If this tour is in fact Joel's swan song, I'm beyond happy to have seen it. 

[BetterButter]

Netflix Cancels ‘Mystery Science Theater 3000’ Reboot After Two Seasons

[azshadowwalker]

58 minutes ago, BetterButter said:

Netflix Cancels ‘Mystery Science Theater 3000’ Reboot After Two Seasons

To be honest, I am not broken up about this. Just never could get into the new one. I am fine with Rifftrax and old episodes of MST3K, Cinematic Titanic and The Film Crew. I generally prefer Mike, Bill and Kevin, anyway. 

[Lebanna]

This stinks!

But I thought this had to be it when we hadn’t heard anything for so long except more touring. But to do this almost on Thanksgiving? Come on. That’s just cruel.

Netflix never really did as much for the show as I had expected they would when they were picked up. I thought it would finally make MST3K an international phenomenon, but it’s still not even available in most markets, seemingly. And I don’t think they ever dubbed the show into any other languages.

So it makes sense as they can’t be making much international money from producing it.

I really hope Jonah and Co continue this somewhere else. They were really getting into the swing of it, and I think they would only get better. 

 Or that they just Kickstart a new season. I’m sure fans are still happy to keep on keeping on.

They tried to kill it with a forklift, but it was the brain that wouldn’t die.

[AnimeMania]

6 hours ago, BetterButter said:

Netflix Cancels ‘Mystery Science Theater 3000’ Reboot After Two Seasons

This doesn't make any sense, Netflix has so many bad movies that nobody ever watches. This could have caused people to watch the ones they lost money on acquiring. Netflix could have even had a contest where people look at all of their movies and decide which ones should be MST3Ked next.

[jcin617]

This makes me sad; if there's any hope though, only season two was paid for by Netflix, right?   Hopefully they can shop around or re-kickstart.

[Lebanna]

Don’t forget that MST3K Turkey Day is now live online. They’re currently showing ‘I Accuse My Parents’.

A Classic.

[starri]

1 hour ago, Lebanna said:

‘I Accuse My Parents’.

We have a title!

[Lebanna]

It’s (Where Oh) ‘Werewolf’ now.

[SVNBob]

On 11/27/2019 at 12:10 AM, Lebanna said:

I really hope Jonah and Co continue this somewhere else. They were really getting into the swing of it, and I think they would only get better. 

 Or that they just Kickstart a new season. I’m sure fans are still happy to keep on keeping on.

From the latest update from Joel to the original Kickstarter backers, where he talks about the Netflix deal for new episodes ending:

Quote

Now, I know you might have questions about the future of Mystery Science Theater, but as you've seen over the last four years, we are just as dedicated to keeping MST3K alive as ever. And I want to remind you that there are still lots of options for us to explore in the years to come. This isn’t our first rodeo! So, while this might be the end of the first chapter of bringing back MST3K, don't worry: it's not the last chapter.

[Lantern7]

I got Season 11 on DVD from the library, but I haven’t gotten to it yet. Bright side: I don’t know when I’ll have to bring it back. Right now, the only exposure to the new stuff would be through the MST3K comic Dark Horse put out a while back. I know the guy who did the art on the “host” segments. He used to slip in references to the show in at least one of the comics he worked on.

If you’re the type that likes seeing stuff on a TV, IFC has been airing episodes late Friday/early Saturday. Yesterday, they aired the two Fugitive Alien “movies.” And now, I can’t get “ 🎶He trrrrrrrried to kill me with a forklift!🎵 “ out of my head.

Edited April 17, 2020 by Lantern7

[Lantern7]

I need to go to bed, so here’s my question: was it ever explained why the Hired! short was split into two parts? It’s not bugging me, but I had to go YouTube for the second part, complete with the old man swatting at imaginary elves.

I’m trying to get the gumption to watch Mr. B. Natural again. That was a horror show. Joel: “You know, I bet Oscar Wilde only wished he were that gay.”

[Lantern7]

Working my way through three episodes DVRed early this morning. Damnedest thing . . . before Bloodlust (Robert Reed and others deal with an asshole eccentric with a crossbow), there was a short on kids staying at their relatives’ farm for the summer. Anyway, there’s a bit where the gang square dances, where Crow fiddles, shouts orders and eventually loses it. As I saw the credits roll (compressed by IFC), I saw a familiar name. Turns out the fiddler was Maria Bamford. Bit of a mind-blow for me . . . she’s a comic that I identify with (quirky, bouts with depression, owns pugs), and I thought, “Well, she did come from Minnesota.”

Next up for me: The Creeping Terror and Zombie Nightmare (first time I heard Motörhead; I thought they were singing about “the ace of space.”) The Skydivers airs  at 4:30 a.m. tonight; The Violent Years airs at 3:30 late Sunday/early Monday.  One of the episodes airing next weekend: I Accuse My Parents. Good times. I wonder if the mobile of Jimmy’s consciousness is in someone’s collection.

Oh, and my iPad automatically put an umlaut in “Motörhead.” Funny, right?

ETA: As for the other two episodes:

The Creeping Terror: Hey, it's an ancestor of the Myrka from Doctor Who! I like to think it had a hidden power where people immediately forget how to run away from it. So stupid. Girls dancing in tight pants was nice . . . but man, that monster sucked.

Zombie Nightmare: You know, even if you take out Adam West and Tia Carrere, it's still an oddly compelling movie. Pity that the big guy ("Thor" something) couldn't do zombie stuff near the end, sub-contracting the gig out. Also: if you hit the guy that buff with your car, I'd expect the car to take more damage. Cue Tom Servo: "Don't worry! My area will protect me!" Basically, it's bad boys, girls that get killed for being with the bad boys, irritating police, and Adam West munching on scenery (and cigarettes) as the captain. Oh, and he kicks a dude in the face. Good times.

Edited April 26, 2020 by Lantern7

[Lebanna]

Guys! Guys! Guys! Guys! Guys!

Look!

https://news.avclub.com/exclusive-mystery-science-theater-3000-returns-for-soc-1843156549
 

May the third be with you.

[Lantern7]

FINALLY got around to starting on the Season 11 DVD. Well, it's just the first half.

Wait, so what's with the bone motif, especially with the band? At least we can see Gimzonic Institute existed after Joel left the SoL. The transition to Deep 13 wasn't jarring for me back then . . . just something I thought about. Also . . . a ska band? This is not a complaint. I'm just surprised.

Reptilicus was a good start for the reboot, though I have trouble with Jonah and the new voices of the bots. Apologies if this sounds shallow or mean, but I'm glad Gypsy got an upgrade. Tom Servo's newfound ability to float? That's a bit more jarring, as was Gypsy popping in, but I'm good with it. And shit, that Dutch comic relief guy really laid it on thick.

I knew about Kinga from the comic, as well as . . . .heh . . . TV's Son of TV's Frank. I mean, if you're going to have a character who's an obvious fanboy, emulates the original Frank AND gets played by Patton Oswalt, then you gotta go all out.

And seriously, read the comic miniseries. I know it's been collected as a trade paperback. Basically, the crew at Moon 13 forces the cast (and a few more robots I'll probably meet soon) into cheesy and dated comics. I kinda wished this happened when I originally watched the series.

[SVNBob]

4 minutes ago, Lantern7 said:

Wait, so what's with the bone motif,

What does the Satellite of Love look like?

[Lantern7]

24 minutes ago, SVNBob said:

What does the Satellite of Love look like?

I think it looks the same on the outside. I’ve only seen the main area from the interior. Moon 13 is a very happening place. Did I mention they had a band?

. . . and I just realize what you meant. 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️ And I did see a KTMA episode (I want to say Aztec Mummy vs, The Robot) where they got attacked by alien dogs because the SoL resembled a bone.

[peacheslatour]

I caught I Accuse My Parents over the weekend. Just hilarious. What a blast.

[Lantern7]

7 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

I caught I Accuse My Parents over the weekend. Just hilarious. What a blast.

Great from start to finish, right? Tom trying to become human through flesh-colored paint, Frank baking a male stripper into a cake, a peeved Dr. Forrester calling him "Duncan Hinder," the truck farming short, dumbass Jimmy the Essay Contest Winner With Drunk Parents, and a nice musical number. Good times.

ETA: I watched Star Crash today, and I only got two more movies left. Since the libraries aren't opening, I started wondering if I should get the full DVD set (I only borrowed the first four discs in the collection) and maybe Season 12. My best bet would be Amazon . . . but given that their workers aren't the top priority, and a lot of the ruckus came from the warehouse in my borough, I probably shouldn't. I mean, I got gift credit, but I'd feel guilty. Kinga would frown on me, and she's made Jonah reenact his own abduction at the start of every episode. Pearl and Clayton weren't that evil.

Edited May 7, 2020 by Lantern7

[SVNBob]

Do you not have Netflix?  The Return and the Gauntlet (seasons 11 and 12, respectively) are still available there.  But currently the only MST3K offerings they still have.

[azshadowwalker]

On 5/7/2020 at 11:11 PM, SVNBob said:

Do you not have Netflix?  The Return and the Gauntlet (seasons 11 and 12, respectively) are still available there.  But currently the only MST3K offerings they still have.

If you want MST3K, Rifftrax, Cinematic Titanic and the Film Crew, just go to Shout Factory. Pluto TV, Tubi, Amazon Prime and the Rifftrax site are all great places, too. I don't bother with Netflix, especially since the new crew never did much for me. 

As for "evil Amazon," whatever. That's how capitalism works. All of it. I would rather focus on the disease than the symptom. I don't believe that kind of virtue signaling fixes the problem. 

Edited May 11, 2020 by azshadowwalker

[SVNBob]

5 minutes ago, azshadowwalker said:

If you want MST3K, Rifftrax, Cinematic Titanic and the Film Crew, just go to Shout Factory. Pluto TV, Tubi, Amazon Prime and the Rifftrax site are all great places, too.

I know, and I endorse all of those options as well.  There's also some episodes available legally (and even more not-so-legally) on YouTube as well. 

But Lantern was specifically talking about Season 12, aka The Gauntlet.  That's why I asked about Netflix.

[mmecorday]

Quote

I caught I Accuse My Parents over the weekend. Just hilarious. What a blast.

My favorite episode of the Joel era and easily in my top 10 most viewed episodes. So many good riffs in that one.

[Lantern7]

I don't have Netflix. I'm thinking I should. Getting DVDs would be wasteful; I've got a lot of those on shelves that I only got to watch a few times.

Quick question in regard to the "Best of" list . . . has there ever been something similar for the shorts? Lots of good times there: Hired!, Catching Trouble, Mr. B. Natural, A Case of Spring Fever, Last Clear Chance, Days of Our Years . . .

And I'm not surprised Manos: The Hands of Fate is at the top. It was also number one back when Comedy Central did a countdown (IIRC, Zombie Nightmare was at #2). Manos was a movie so bad, both Mads apologized to the guys for inflicting that on the. A movie so bad, Joel had to assure the Bots they weren't watching a snuff film. Torgo wound up popping up on MST3K a few times, and Mike got to manipulate "Manos" in the MST3K movie. Bonus: quick piano riff of Torgo's leitmotif. That stays with you, doesn't it?

[SVNBob]

Manos is the quintessential classic of MST3K.  And it always will be, because they managed to make that movie entertaining.  That's why there's now two different Manos riffs; the original MST version, and the Rifftrax version that was originally released as one of their live shows.  But ironically, it's not the best one to use as an introduction to MST3K. 

The film is so very bad that it's kind of a slog and a mood-killer if you're unfamiliar with the premise of the show.  It's so bad that it's hard to riff on as a stand-alone movie, as opposed to The Room, for example.  It takes professional jokes by comedy professionals in order to do any kind of decent riffing on Manos. 

Although, I do love the story about the original Manos premiere in El Paso.  They tried to make it a Hollywood-style red carpet event, but could only afford one limo.  So they had the driver stop at the theater to drop of a group of the "stars" then drive around the corner to pick more up, then drive around the block back to the theater to repeat the process.  That's actually really clever use of a budget, unlike the movie itself.

[Annber03]

Just watched The Sinister Urge earlier and I was laughing so hard I was wiping away tears. "She just decided to be dead" and "A duck's giving a statement in the next room" freaking killed me XD. 

I loved the little short film about personal hygiene beforehand, too. "Darrin Stevens haircut"-LOL. 

Edited May 16, 2020 by Annber03

[starri]

I've only seen Manos all the way through once.  That was enough.

I like seeing an inept auteur realize his vision, but at least things like The Room and Birdemic are watchable.

[ByTor]

On 4/25/2020 at 5:48 PM, Lantern7 said:

there was a short on kids staying at their relatives’ farm for the summer

One of my most watched shorts, I love it!!!  Other shorts I watch over & over include A Case of Spring Fever, Last Clear Chance, Days of our Years, A Date with Your Family, and What About Juvenile Delinquency.  Honorable mentions to Why Study Industrial Arts (I still call something I never heard of  an "extruded plastic dingus"), Money Talks, and Progress Island USA.

8 hours ago, SVNBob said:

Manos is the quintessential classic of MST3K. 

I loved Manos so much that I named my dog Torgo 🙂 

[Lantern7]

In regard to Red Zone Cuba . . . huh? Like, it's in Cuba, but then it's in America, and there's some Curly Howard-looking jackass, and this was just a mess. The story of Dr. F taking a whuppin' meant for Frank (who owed "fifty large" to certain people) was more compelling.

The Sinister Urge was better. At one point, I actually noticed a poster for The Violent Years in an office. Wait, so shouting out his own movies was Ed Wood's other fetish?

One of next week's episodes: Angels Revenge. I don't think I've seen the whole thing. Based off my memories and a "Best Of" abridgement, I can't wait.

[SVNBob]

Talk about coincidence.  I just found out about this on Reditt.

A half-hour documentary from 2004 called Hotel Torgo, all about Manos.  I haven't watched it yet, but it could be interesting.  However, there is a comment thread on Reditt that says it's not that accurate.

There's also apparently a Blu-Ray remaster of Manos, with a different documentary as a special feature.  And apparently also on the Blu-Ray is a filmed version of "Manos: the Hands of Felt", a musical puppet version of Manos.  (I'm thinking Manos meets Avenue Q.)

[Lantern7]

Man, Angels' Revenge* was indeed that bad. Lots of jokes landed . . . including the bit where the schoolteacher is fumbling through her purse (she did that A LOT), and one of the guys said she found a Velamint stuck on a tissue. Remember Velamints? Also, a lot of wanton badness all around. And fascists! Man, it's like they evolved from the three dinks from Wild Rebels. Those dudes couldn't spell "Nazi" if you gave them the consonants.

Deathstalker and the Warriors From Hell was also bad. This was Season 7 . . . was Pearl Forrester always a pain in the ass before the run on Sci Fi Channel, where she became as smart as her misguided son? I forgot. Also: swords and sorcery and a dope of a hero.

Next episodes of IFC this Saturday. It's the last of the Comedy Central run: Escape 2000 and Laserblast. Only thing from the latter that really stuck with me was Mike snapping and becoming Captain Janeway. Good times. "Proud Mary" cover FTW. The following weekend: The Giant Spider Invasion and Parts: The Clonus Horror.

*Is there supposed to be an apostrophe in there? If so, where? Bugs me a lot more than why Frank was trying and failing to play a convincing Tug McGraw. At least Dr. F had the Rollie Fingers mustache working.

Edited May 26, 2020 by Lantern7

[Annber03]

Seriously, what even was with those movies? 

I loved the bit in Angels' Revenge when one of the guys was like, "Yeah, she really needed her motorcycle to do that..." after one of the women rode one into a freaking pool to save her friend. And then when they mocked one of the women for putting the wrong emphasis on certain words :D. 

[starri]

My favorite thing about Angels Revenge--apart from their decision to not even pretend it's not a ripoff of Charlie's Angels--is that the woman are all billed below the men.

The cop and the high school girl are actually played by sisters, and they wrote about their experiences as Hollywood sex workers in a book called You'll Never Make Love in this Town Again.

Mary Jo Pehl and Bridget Nelson did a RiffTrax of the uncut version.

[Lantern7]

15 hours ago, starri said:

The cop and the high school girl are actually played by sisters, and they wrote about their experiences as Hollywood sex workers in a book called You'll Never Make Love in this Town Again.

Including the teen girl? That is fucking depressing. It might be funny if they regarded that work as an improvement from “starring” in a cheesecake-heavy Charlie's Angels knockoff pilot. Was it a pilot? That's the vibe I got.

15 hours ago, starri said:

My favorite thing about Angels Revenge--apart from their decision to not even pretend it's not a ripoff of Charlie's Angels--is that the woman are all billed below the men.

Yeah, because in order to bring people in, they needed the white-hot star power of TWO actors from Gilligan's Island. I'd also rank on Jack Palance, but I'm not familiar with his work beyond City Slickers. Would that be in the same area as James Earl Jones appearing in City Limits?

Edited May 26, 2020 by Lantern7

[Lantern7]

Damnedest thing: every now and then, I checked IFC's schedule to see if there would be episodes airing following next week's offerings. I think they might be stopping after The Giant Spider Invasion and Parts: The Clonus Horror. I just checked Spectrum cable, and nothing has come up yet . . . but they have several episodes of Season 11 On Demand. I figured some of you might have a similar situation with your providers if you don't go for streaming.

For me, it's listed under Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Return. There are five episodes: Starcrash, The Land That Time Forgot, The Loves of Hercules, Yongary and Wizards of the Lost Kingdom. That is episodes 6-10, I am hyped because I haven't seen the last two. I dunno if IFC will post the other episodes or air them on the network, but I thought you guys should know.

Today, IFC aired the last Comedy Central episodes. Escape 2000 was a horrific look fifteen years in the future, where the Bronx is a savage slum that is about to be unbelievably gentrified. Honestly, it's not as far removed from the actual year 2000 as I'd want. Shady corporations,  really ugly gang members, and one a-hole named Toblerone Dablone that won't stop laughing. Also: goons in protective grey suits using flamethrowers. I think this would be considered an adult movie for pyromaniacs.

Laserblast had the crew go to the edge of the universe, where they ascended into pure light. Or bliss. Or other stuff. Eh, it didn't stick when Sci Fi brought back MST3K. Anyway, we had a punk kid winding up with an alien weapon, and he turns into a green-skinned freak that shoots shit up. The aliens are stop-motion and look like what would happen if you tore turtles from their shells.  We don't hear their speech turned into English, so they come better than the actual actors. Oh, and Leonard Maltin gave Laserblast 2 1/2 stars, and the crew pores through his book to find which movies were marginally better based on his rating system.

[libgirl2]

On 11/26/2019 at 11:17 PM, azshadowwalker said:

To be honest, I am not broken up about this. Just never could get into the new one. I am fine with Rifftrax and old episodes of MST3K, Cinematic Titanic and The Film Crew. I generally prefer Mike, Bill and Kevin, anyway. 

We watch Rifftrax at home all the time. 

On 5/16/2020 at 10:18 AM, ByTor said:

One of my most watched shorts, I love it!!!  Other shorts I watch over & over include A Case of Spring Fever, Last Clear Chance, Days of our Years, A Date with Your Family, and What About Juvenile Delinquency.  Honorable mentions to Why Study Industrial Arts (I still call something I never heard of  an "extruded plastic dingus"), Money Talks, and Progress Island USA.

I loved Manos so much that I named my dog Torgo 🙂 

When my sciatica is acting up and I have problems walking, I call myself Torgo. 

[Lantern7]

I almost forgot The Giant Spider Invasion runs tomorrow morning. I got that on DVR now. Also, I'm regretting not keeping Laserblast.

I'm surprised we didn't have a "Yongary Yonross" joke. The movie itself was pretty good . . . looks like South Korea stuck to the Japanese template for kaiju. Well, except for Yongary bleeding to death at the end.

Wizards of the Lost Kingdom was also lame. Did we ever find out the deal about that snow Wookie? Maybe it's covered in the follow-up movie? I think my fave part was Crow and Servo pressing hard on Crypt Keeper impressions, Jonah calling for a moratorium, them shouting "CREMATORIUM!" and then Jonah just whacking their heads together. I've been finding lots of clips of the original show . . . it was pretty rare for Joel or Mike and the bots to come to blows.

Edited June 5, 2020 by Lantern7

[Lantern7]

The Giant Spider Invasion: Redneck town in Wisconsin deals with increasingly large spiders from outer space. Lots of "Packers won the Super Bowl!" jokes from Mike and the bots upon watching mob scenes. Bear in mind that MST3K was made in Minnesota, and I'm guessing most of the people involved were butthurt Vikings fans. Lots of unappealing characters . . . to the point where Alan Hale's overweight sheriff doesn't come off that bad. Also: Pearl and Observer are possessed and foist familiar-looking "zucchini" on the crew. Great to see Crow with bloodshot eyes, jittery from caffeine.

Parts: The Clonus Horror: I think this was supposed to be a "deep" sci-fi film about the nature and ethics of cloning. Funny story: according to the TVTropes page for this episode, fans of the show tipped off its director about the way-too-similar-to-be-coincidental The Island, and he wound up getting a generous settlement. Parts? Yeah, that was unintentionally hilarious, with dim clones hoping for their shot to come to America ("TODAY!"), unaware they'd be harvested for their organs. In the other story, Pearl and her gang get hassled by annoying Space Children (one of them played by Mike Nelson; you'd think he'd stop playing bit roles after becoming the host), with one of them specializing in throwing baseballs at Bobo's crotch. Good times.

Catalina Caper: I think "Young People Dancing" would be an official sub-category for MST3K. Saw this On Demand; lots of madcap comedy, attractive people, and putz grown-ups. I decided t watch it on the "strength" of a performance from the late Little Richard (posted below). So many white people. So man.

I also watched The Sidehackers, but that didn't register on me. The concept of "sidehack" racing seemed interesting, and it apparently still exists today, but we get too removed from that. Meh.

Nothing new On Demand from IFC in regard to the classic or revival. I can watch full episodes or clips on YouTube (a lot of them on the official MST3K account), but I'm old-fashioned in wanting to see it on an actual television.

 

Edited June 9, 2020 by Lantern7

[SVNBob]

41 minutes ago, Lantern7 said:

I also watched The Sidehackers, but that didn't register on me. The concept of "sidehack" racing seemed interesting, and it apparently still exists today, but we get too removed from that. Meh.

Funny you should use that word in talking about Sidehackers.  That movie is notable for the graphic rape/murder sequence that Best Brains were unaware of when they agreed to riff the movie.  Obviously, the majority of that sequence got removed for the show.  But you can tell where it was based on a line from Crow, and all the subsequent riffs having a darker edge.

It also made for a policy change.  After that, all movies had to be screened entirely before they could be on the show.  They didn't want to go through that again.

[starri]

On 6/9/2020 at 2:49 AM, Lantern7 said:

Parts: The Clonus Horror: I think this was supposed to be a "deep" sci-fi film about the nature and ethics of cloning. Funny story: according to the TVTropes page for this episode, fans of the show tipped off its director about the way-too-similar-to-be-coincidental The Island, and he wound up getting a generous settlement.

Not that this is saying much, but The Island is one of Michael Bay's better movies.  Which I suppose shows that in a lot of MST films, there are seeds of good ideas.

On 6/9/2020 at 2:49 AM, Lantern7 said:

Catalina Caper: I think "Young People Dancing" would be an official sub-category for MST3K. Saw this On Demand; lots of madcap comedy, attractive people, and putz grown-ups. I decided t watch it on the "strength" of a performance from the late Little Richard (posted below). So many white people. So man.

Catalina Caper may be my all-time favorite episode.  It's a stupid little movie, but it's watchable on its own merits.  And the opening theme is really an earworm.

[Lantern7]

On 6/9/2020 at 4:01 AM, SVNBob said:

Funny you should use that word in talking about Sidehackers.  That movie is notable for the graphic rape/murder sequence that Best Brains were unaware of when they agreed to riff the movie.  Obviously, the majority of that sequence got removed for the show.  But you can tell where it was based on a line from Crow, and all the subsequent riffs having a darker edge.

It also made for a policy change.  After that, all movies had to be screened entirely before they could be on the show.  They didn't want to go through that again.

I read that on the episode's page on TVTropes.com. I also know that the alternate title was Five The Hard Way (like the opening song), and maybe it was changed to The Sidehackers to make it look like a sports flick. And then audiences got unpleasant characters they'd forget immediately after watching.

Nothing new On Demand. Maybe I should want for the start of July for possible episodes? And I still got four Season 11 episodes left to watch.

[Lantern7]

IFC is broadcasting an ep late Sunday/early Monday, June 29: The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!? I've seen a "best-of" compilation on YouTube, but I'll still watch.

Nothing changing On Demand. FTR, these are the episodes that are currently available on the IFC site and on my Spectrum:

Season 1: The Crawling Eye, The Robot vs. The Aztec Mummy, Women of the Prehistoric Planet, The Corpse Vanishes, The Crawling Hand, The Slime People, Project Moonbase

Season 2: The Sidehackers, Catalina Caper, The Wild Rebels, The Lost Continent, The Hellcats

Season 3: Stranded in Space, Time of the Apes, Fugitive Alien

I know, I need a subscription service. I'm just generally old-fashioned about watching shows.

[Lantern7]

I asked IFC about future MST3K airings via their website. These episodes just popped up on the schedule. Probably a coincidence.

Monday: The Gunslinger, Invasion of the Neptune Men (starting at 6:45 a.m.)

Tuesday: The Corpse Vanishes, The Crawling Hand (1 a.m.)

Thursday: The Robot vs. the Aztec Mummy (7:25 a.m.)

June 29: The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!? (3:30 a.m.)

July 1: Women of the Prehistoric Planet (3 a.m.)

ETA: I saw The Corpse Vanishes. First season is so weird for me to watch. Stupid horror movie with Bela Lugosi that inserts too many comedic beats near the end.

Edited June 21, 2020 by Lantern7

[Lantern7]

. . . and now I have no idea what is on when, save for . . . Zombies. I managed to DVR and watch Gunslinger and Invasion of the Neptune Men, but the rest has been taken off the schedule on IFC.com.

I need to go to bed. I'll cover the Lady Marshal and the destruction of the Hitler Building some other time.

[Lantern7]

I DVRed and watched The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!? Just a giant pile of WTF. It's like there's supposed to be a borderline arthouse zombie movie, but it got padded out by weird dance routines that were supposed to be sexy. Or, as Mike puts it during one of the numbers, "You know, the fourteen-year olds who snuck in with fake IDs, they've gotta be feeling profoundly ripped-off at this point." Oh, and the lead guy looked like Nicolas Cage long before his spiral into madness.

Schedule from IFC.com:

Wednesday, 3 a.m.: Women of the Prehistoric Planet

Friday, 3:15 a.m: The Sidehackers

Saturday, 5:30 a.m.: Catalina Caper

July 7, 6:45 a.m.: The Wild Rebels

July 11, 7:15 am.: Prince of Space ("Why We Love It" bit from the YouTube site)

July 15, 7 a.m.: Space Mutiny ("Why We Love It")

July 16, 7 a.m. Time Chasers ("Why We Love It") and Overdrawn at the Memory Bank (I haven't found a "best of" clip for this one, so I'm looking forward to it)

No change with the On Demand choices. Nothing "new" in regard to the reboot either.

Edited June 30, 2020 by Lantern7

[SVNBob]

1 hour ago, Lantern7 said:

Overdrawn at the Memory Bank (I haven't found a "best of" clip for this one, so I'm looking forward to it)

There's a reason for that: the whole thing is good.  It's a great slice of Raul Julia cheese, even before the well-aged Addams Family and Street Fighter varieties came out.

[Lantern7]

I’m watching The Great Debate, Baron Vaughan is hosting and Jonah Ray is a panelist, I do an obligatory check of MST3K on the cable schedule . . . and the last four episodes of S11 are On Demand, at least on Spectrum.

[Lantern7]

I'm down to two episodes. Carnival Magic was painful to watch. Lots of padding around a J. Peterman-looking carny mystic and his talking chimp. Actually, Alex just grunts out a few words at a time. But he can do basic chores . . . gotta love Jonah and the bots going apeshit (pun intended) about that and chanting "USA! USA!" Also: Mark Hamil popping up between reels playing an unscrupulous ringmaster. Took me a minute to place his voice.

Wizards of the Lost Kingdom 2 was also bad. I'm not sure whether it tanked as hard as the original, or why there were two movies under the same banner. I think the MVPs of that episode were the production people who took Jeff Foxworthy's "You Might Be A Redneck" bit and made a pop-up book mocking the movie's bumbling wizard. I mean, there could have been mere pictures, and it still would have been funny. The bit used as the stinger . . . I immediately thought of "Armthony" from Rick and Morty. And kudos to the crew for not bringing up David Carradine's suicide. The bit with him in a black robe with a red streak getting dubbed "Samurai Manos" made me laugh harder than it should have.

[VCRTracking]

On 6/29/2020 at 10:01 PM, SVNBob said:

There's a reason for that: the whole thing is good.  It's a great slice of Raul Julia cheese, even before the well-aged Addams Family and Street Fighter varieties came out.

Is it the only one they did that was shot on video? I think that's why I can forgive a lot of badness that I otherwise wouldn't if it was on film.