UPDATES WILL NOT BE WEEKLY (for now)

Yeah, ol' *Dan has been pretty busy lately, so the blog is going to have to take a back seat for a while. I'll still get reviews done, but much less frequently than I would hope so. After things slow down, the blog will return to it's normal format.

204: Catalina Caper

204: Catalina Caper

A bunch of rich white kids have a good time at the beach. Treasure is involved. Antics ensue. Bad music is blared. I need an Aspirin.
Verdict: 2/4-Bad! I hate these shallow, annoying, unimaginative  beach movies.

This episode used to one of my most frequently watched and stayed on my usual rounds for about a year. Coming back to it...well, Let's just say that I was not very impressed. Sure, there where some pretty decent riffs in the theater, but for the most part it's rather dull. The main problem lies within the film itself, it is nearly impossible to make comedy out of something that is already trying to be a comedy. The boys try their damnedest, but they don't quite hit the mark.

Opener: Tom and Crow pray
Inventions: The Mad's Tank Tops and Joel's Tickle Bazooka.
Seg1: Joel and the 60's
Seg2: Tom sings about the Creepy Girl
seg3: Frank's tupperware party
End: Joel makes a chart out of the film's plot.
Overall: A fine batch of host segs if you ask me! Seg 1 and 2 are probably some of my favorite moments from the season. Seg 3 was the only unimpressive one.

Verdict:  I hate to do this to an episode that I have such nostalgia for, but the theater segments are nothing short of blah.

203 Jungle Goddess & Phantom Creeps part 1

203 Jungle Goddess & Phantom Creeps part 1

It's funny, Sidehackers barely bothered me yet Jungle Goddess made groan out-loud more than once. Probably because it's all about unsympathetic white people with superiority complexes and a horribly offensive stereotype African tribe. Yeah, that's probably it.
Verdict: 2/4-Bad! It's bland and offensive.

I LOVED the riff of the short! I was laughing out loud almost all the way through (we got to hear Joel do his Bela impression again, yay)! The film however, was a different story. While there where laughs to be had, but there wasn't enough to prove the experience very impressive.

Opener: Hide and seek with the universe.
Inventions: Joel's Remote controlled saw and Dr. F is a human sax!
Seg1: The boys' Phantom Creep infomercial.
Seg2: Joel shows off some Gobo matte effects.
Seg3: The 'heroes' from the movie stop by on the hexfield.
End: the boy's sitcom, "My White Goddess"
Overall: Seg1, seg3. and the ending segments where all hilarious. I especially loved the hexfield visit.

Verdict: A great short and some fantastic host segments save this episode, even if the feature riff wasn't very impressive.

202 Sidehackers

202 Sidehackers:

Oh my. This film was a surprise! I was not expecting to  find a nasty exploitation film this early on. At first, it seems like this movie is about "sidehacking", which is one of the stupidest 'extreme' sport ideas that I have ever seen (it's right up there with noodling). But soon the film takes a swift turn into "Death Wish" territory! It's a nasty little exploitation yarn with one of the most over-the-top villains to date!
Verdict: 3/4-Watchable! If your into the exploitation scene, then this movie should give you a kick or two.

This seems to be one of those episodes that people either love or hate. Of course the fact that the movie is so unpleasant tends to be one of their biggest reasons. Personally, I really enjoyed the riffing. There where some really good lines and the boys managed to keep me interested and giggling like mad.

Opener: Bedtime on the SOL
Inventions: Joel's Pet slinky, Dr. F's slinky body
Seg1: The boys sing the Sidehacking song
Seg2: Joel and the bots come up with some sidehacking terminology
Seg3: JC and Cooch on the hexfield
End: Only Love Pads the Film
Overall: The host segments from this experiment have to be some of my favorites of the season. There are a couple of fun songs (Only Love Pads the Film would go on to become one of the series' most famous), and the terminalogy bit had my in stitches!

Verdict:  Despite the nasty film, the boys managed to keep me laughing all the way.

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.

Top 5 KMA Episodes

Top 5 KTMA Episodes:

1. K21 The Legend of Dinosaurs: B

2. K20 The Last Chase: B-

3. K08 Gamera vs Gurion: B-

4. K19 Hangar 18: C

5. K12 Fugitive Alien: C

KTMA Season Summary

                                                                 KTMA

K04 Gamera vs Barugon Verdict: The silence in the first half was a bit awkward, but once it picked up it was pretty decent.

K05 GameraVerdict: There is a huge amount of silence in theater, with a VERY annoying movie. Tom and Crow's absence means that we only have 1 third of the usual horse power and in the end I'm just relived to have been done with it.

K06 Gamera vs Gaos: The host segments where okay, but the theater segments left something to be desired.

K07 Gamera vs ZigeraVerdict: There where some giggles to be had, but that's about it.

K08 Gamera vs Gurion: This is proof that the KTMA era can produce some actually decent episodes . The riffing was pretty good, the host segments where original, and come on, "A Planet of the Apes Christmas"!

K09 Phase IV: There where some pretty funny moments, but the dead spots kept it from being really funny.

K10 Cosmic Princess: A bunch of giggles, some blank moments, and a couple of laughs. It's nothing to write home about.

K11 Humaniod Woman: The standard KTMA venture. But I would love to point out that there where a few good laughs to be had (namely in host seg 2). It juust falls short of a C.

K12 Fugitive Alien:  I didn't laugh too many times and there where a couple of dead spots. But I really liked seeing Joel and Josh having fun. This episode is just like watching the two of them hang out and have fun just being a couple of buddies. Because of that I found myself really enjoying it. It's not hilarious, but I loved just seeing a couple of friends being friends.

K13 SST Death Flight:  There are a lot of chuckles and if it had a bit more out loud laughs it would be a keeper.

K14 Mighty Jack:  This was an all-around weak episode. The Theater segments where dull and limp and the host segments didn't do much better.

K15 Superdome:  Despite the solid host segments, the the movie drags this one down, and the silence in the theater doesn't help much.

K16 City On Fire:  Two good host segs and a few good lines in the theater save this episode from an Ack. The movie just sucks the life out of this ep.

K17 Time of the Apes:  I'm a bit reluctant to give this episode such a low rating. I had a lot of fun with the host segments, and there was some fun to be has in the theater. It Just falls short of being a true C.

K18 The Million Eyes of Su-Maru:  I got few giggles, but after Servo left it stared to tank.

K19 Hangar 18:  This was another tuff call. It pushes the line between C and B-, but in the end, a few slow parts land this right at the halfway point.

K20 The Last Chase:  Strong laughs at a steady pace.

K21 The Legend of Dinosaurs:  While the host segments are just a bit meh, the boys rocked the theater. This is defiantly KTMA's magnum opus.