201: Rocketship X-M

201 Rocketship X-M: Well kids, here we are. While the KTMA season held some hidden gems (k21 is one of the most underrated episodes of all time if you ask me) and season one has a very nostalgic feel, season two was when the show started to really take shape. The past season looks like a totally different show when compared to this. Of course, there where a LOT of changes, so lets deal with the two elephants in the room. The original Tom Servo and MST3K goliath J. Elvis Weinstein sadly left the show after season 1 (duh). In the place of his most iconic role we have Kevin Murphy, who would go one to puppet the bot for the rest of the series. In the role of Dr. F's lackey, we have the now legendary TV's Frank. While the absence of Josh as Servo still kinda bugged me, the trade-off of Erhardt for Frank is VERY welcomed. Forrester and Frank would go on to become one of the best parts of the series if you ask me. MST3K was changing, and it wouldn't take long for things to get REALLY good...

I'm not gonna lie, I've seen so many movies JUST like Rocketship-XM that they are beginning to meld together in my head! The same garbage is all there, the manly hero, the icey woman who's cold heart can only be melted by the manly hero, the annoying comic relief, the anti war/science message, it's all the same garbage to me at this point. This movie is just bland and generic.
Verdict: 2/4-Bad! Your usual 50's cautionary tail about science.

The riffing style here more closely resembles the format that would be used for the rest of the series run. I was pretty excited to see how it worked out, but in this reviwer's oppion it's not exactly a comedy breakthrough. Sure, there where some funny lines, but it was more of a chuckle fest really.

Intro: Working on Servo, The SOL got an update
Inventions: Frank is introduced, and he copies Joel's invention, the BGC-1.9 drum set.
Seg1: The boys talk about the reporters from the movie.
Seg2: The boys discuss what is and isn't funny floating.
Seg3: Valeria visits via the hexfield
End: The boys get depressed thanks to the movie's ending.
Overall:Wow. The cast and the riffing sure weren't the only things that changed. The host segments have a lot more energy and they are far more elaborate than the mellow KTMA and Season 1 host segs. They where a whole lot of fun, particularly seg 1 and seg 2.

Verdict:  Big changes, but the riffing didn't exactly live up to the big changes.