K17 Time of the Apes: Almost all of the Sandy Frank flicks riffed during this season would later be re-riffed during Mystery Science Theater 3000's epic 3rd season. And rightfully so. There where a lot of missed opportunities and a good chunk of Sandy Frank KTMA episodes wound up as being rather banal.
Oh me oh my Time of the Apes is a silly film. It's a kid friendly Japanese rip-off of Planet of the Apes. However, this one's message is weird and confusing, the plot has no idea what it's doing, and, par of the course the dubbing is hilarious. To me this was always one of the legendary strange MST3K flicks. It's up there With Incredibly Strange Creatures and Gamera VS Gurion.
Verdict: 3/4-Watchable! It's crazy, silly, and just plain Weird, which makes it oddly entertaining.
Now Joel is the one that's Missing! It looks like it's the bots that are running the show this time around! So, just how did Josh and Trace stack up without Joel? Surprisingly well. The ruffing starts out strong, and stays at a steady pace through-out most of the episode. However, near the end the riffing gets a bit sparser. I'd consider this to be some of the best theater segments that I've seen in the season so far. Compared to the usual KTMA episode that is.
Opener: The Mads try to get the Bots to tell them where Joel is, but the bots won't say.
Seg1: The bot's look for Joel. Eventually they find his jumpsuit and figure that he floating naked in space!
Seg2: Crow and Servo talk about whether or not they should let Joel back inside.
Seg3: Servo explains reality, with the help of Cambot.
End: With Joel floating in space, Tom and Crow talk about life without him.
Overall: I really liked this batch of segments. We get to see footage of K01 in Seg3, which got me a bit excited, I'll admit. I really liked seeing Servo and Crow have their chance to just hang out.
Verdict: 3/6-Fine! 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 4/6.
This is a weekly updated blog, wherein I (Asterisk Dan) post reviews of episodes from the cult hit Mystery Science Theater 3000 in chronological order. So, as Dr. Erhardt would say, Enjoy!
Sunday, October 14, 2012
K16 City On Fire
K16 City On Fire: We're not quite there yet, but I'm starting to notice that MST3K is starting to take shape. The riffing isn't AS sparse as it was in earlier episodes, the fan club is around, the host segments have a bit more thought behind them, the boys are settling into their characters nicely, and letters are read at the end of each episode.
City On Fire is yet another mad for TV movie full of washed-up stars. It's no SST Death flight, but COF is certainly better than "Superdome". There was actual effort put into the acting (well, for the most part), but oh boy is this a tuff flick to sit through. This has got to be THE most soul-suckingly depressing movie of the KTMA season. It has an extremely downbeat tone, and when you throw in heaping helpings of innocent people burning to death you've got 90 minuets of pure unledded depression.
Verdict: 1/4-Awful! I say this just because I have a very hard time with how depressing I find this flick.
I'll say this much, at least the boys are trying (and pretty hard, to add) to make this one funny. There are some pretty funny lines here or there and there was a couple of giggles to be had, but this movie, oh man this movie is also trying very hard. Trying very hard at depressing the audience that is! Sadly, not even Joel and the bots can make it very funny. Sorry boys, I guess that you'll have to try harder next time.
Opener: The mads have to change their licenses to being "mildly peeved researchers".
Seg1: The bots pull the old "black eye telescope" gag on Joel. Bad puns fallow.
Seg2: Joel's hell in a hand basket.
Seg3: Joel and the bots have a marching song, with Joel as the drill instructor.
End: Joel shows off fan club stuff.
Overall: The opener was really good. Seg 3 had a lot of charm to it and I found it pretty funny as well. The rest of the segments felt more like filler to me.
Verdict: 2/6-Meh! 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.
City On Fire is yet another mad for TV movie full of washed-up stars. It's no SST Death flight, but COF is certainly better than "Superdome". There was actual effort put into the acting (well, for the most part), but oh boy is this a tuff flick to sit through. This has got to be THE most soul-suckingly depressing movie of the KTMA season. It has an extremely downbeat tone, and when you throw in heaping helpings of innocent people burning to death you've got 90 minuets of pure unledded depression.
Verdict: 1/4-Awful! I say this just because I have a very hard time with how depressing I find this flick.
I'll say this much, at least the boys are trying (and pretty hard, to add) to make this one funny. There are some pretty funny lines here or there and there was a couple of giggles to be had, but this movie, oh man this movie is also trying very hard. Trying very hard at depressing the audience that is! Sadly, not even Joel and the bots can make it very funny. Sorry boys, I guess that you'll have to try harder next time.
Opener: The mads have to change their licenses to being "mildly peeved researchers".
Seg1: The bots pull the old "black eye telescope" gag on Joel. Bad puns fallow.
Seg2: Joel's hell in a hand basket.
Seg3: Joel and the bots have a marching song, with Joel as the drill instructor.
End: Joel shows off fan club stuff.
Overall: The opener was really good. Seg 3 had a lot of charm to it and I found it pretty funny as well. The rest of the segments felt more like filler to me.
Verdict: 2/6-Meh! 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.
K15 Superdome
K15 Superdome: I know that it might seem cruel to be reviewing this season and comparing it to the rest of the show. It's like walking up to a sixth grader and giving him a pop geometry quiz, and then comparing his scores to that of a college freshman. But, I do have a good reason. One of the reasons that I started doing this was to see for myself just what makes this show so amazing and a huge part of that is looking back at the history. I mean, in order to understand something properly, we have to know where it came from...
Superdome is a made of TV film about the superbowl...or I should say it's a made for TV movie about a figgin' TON of side plots that involve a series of murders (and Dick Butkus). Oh man, is this a slow, and very, very depressing. I didn't much care for this film. I could imagine that it was a bit tuff to poke fun at something this banal. It doesn't help much that all of the side plots make this this movie extremely confusing. The plots don't really start to come together until the end and by then my interests where lost.
Verdict: 1/4-Awful! Slow, depressing, and confusing.
I guess that I was right. It's pretty hard to make fun of a movie that's this boring and confused. The movie really fights back hard, especially early on. The first two theater segments are riddled with silence, and with this crap of a movie it's much less tolerated than usual. The final theater segment picks up alright, and there where just enough laughs sprinkled throughout to save it form being a snoozer...barely.
Opener: While writing a letter Tom remembers the time that he almost convinced the mads to bring the SOL crew down to earth, but then Crow blew it.
Seg1: Servo flashes back to getting shocked (see K13).
Seg2: Servo writes about what Joel is like off screen, with another flashback (a fake one, like in the opener) that shows Joel as a bossy jerk.
Seg3: Servo has a heartfelt flashback montage.
End: Joel has letters, fanart, and fan club info!
Overall: I really liked the host segments. They parody the old flashback episode troupe really well. I found seg2 to be possibly one of the best host seg so far. But, seg3 kinda tugged on my heartstrings, despite the fact that it was not the bit's intention. I think that it perfectly sums up how I think of the season. Yeah, it's not hilarious, but look at them! These are friends, having fun, and making memories.
Verdict: 2/6-Meh! Despite the solid host segments, the the movie drags this one down, and the silence in the theater doesn't help much.
Superdome is a made of TV film about the superbowl...or I should say it's a made for TV movie about a figgin' TON of side plots that involve a series of murders (and Dick Butkus). Oh man, is this a slow, and very, very depressing. I didn't much care for this film. I could imagine that it was a bit tuff to poke fun at something this banal. It doesn't help much that all of the side plots make this this movie extremely confusing. The plots don't really start to come together until the end and by then my interests where lost.
Verdict: 1/4-Awful! Slow, depressing, and confusing.
I guess that I was right. It's pretty hard to make fun of a movie that's this boring and confused. The movie really fights back hard, especially early on. The first two theater segments are riddled with silence, and with this crap of a movie it's much less tolerated than usual. The final theater segment picks up alright, and there where just enough laughs sprinkled throughout to save it form being a snoozer...barely.
Opener: While writing a letter Tom remembers the time that he almost convinced the mads to bring the SOL crew down to earth, but then Crow blew it.
Seg1: Servo flashes back to getting shocked (see K13).
Seg2: Servo writes about what Joel is like off screen, with another flashback (a fake one, like in the opener) that shows Joel as a bossy jerk.
Seg3: Servo has a heartfelt flashback montage.
End: Joel has letters, fanart, and fan club info!
Overall: I really liked the host segments. They parody the old flashback episode troupe really well. I found seg2 to be possibly one of the best host seg so far. But, seg3 kinda tugged on my heartstrings, despite the fact that it was not the bit's intention. I think that it perfectly sums up how I think of the season. Yeah, it's not hilarious, but look at them! These are friends, having fun, and making memories.
Verdict: 2/6-Meh! Despite the solid host segments, the the movie drags this one down, and the silence in the theater doesn't help much.
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
K14 Mighty Jack
K14 Mighty Jack: Sandy Frank is this season's true villain, he was responsible for half of the movies riffed in this season after all. The little stooge was a weird producer who would get foreign films, edit the hell out of them, dub them (poorly) and gave them new titles. Sometimes he would go as far as to just stitch episodes from TV shows together (ie: Fugitive Alien)! Five of the films that he produced have been riffed on MST3K. Heck, most of them where re-riffed in season three!
Mighty Jack is another Sandy Frank flick. Oh joy. But, strangely enough, I found this to be one of the more enjoyable Sandy Frank flicks. This time, the dubbing is uber silly, so much so that I found myself laughing quite a bit at the flick alone, and man the editing has some REALLY moments!
Verdict: 3/4-Watchable! It's a silly Japanese flick with some of the funniest dubbing out there!
There is a reason that I'm glad that most of these Sandy frank flicks where later re-riffed. There is a lot of great riffing potential in this silly movie, but the boys REALLY dropped the ball this time around. There are moments in this that could have been made into pure comedy gold, but instead we get nothing but silence. I'm kinda disappointed with how weak the riffing was, even for a KTMA episode! I think that I chuckled all of five times during the theater segments. I'm just glad that they would give this flick a second chance.
Opener: Larry and Clay argue about weather they're mad, or just angry.
Seg1: The bots weld themselves together as a joke, but Joel is unimpressed, until they walk in wearing women's clothing.
Seg2: Crow and Servo talk about what humans think is funny.
Seg3:After a game of bowling Joel and the bots argue about playing murder ball and then rock , paper, scissors.
End: Letters are read. One praises Servo, one praises Crow, and another describes a chick named Amy (the magnificent pagan she-beast) and her crush on servo.
Overall: I found most the segments to be pretty weak. Seg 2 had potential, but, much like Joel in seg1, I was not impressed.
Verdict:1/6-Ack! This was an all-around weak episode. The Theater segments where dull and limp and the host segments didn't do much better.
Mighty Jack is another Sandy Frank flick. Oh joy. But, strangely enough, I found this to be one of the more enjoyable Sandy Frank flicks. This time, the dubbing is uber silly, so much so that I found myself laughing quite a bit at the flick alone, and man the editing has some REALLY moments!
Verdict: 3/4-Watchable! It's a silly Japanese flick with some of the funniest dubbing out there!
There is a reason that I'm glad that most of these Sandy frank flicks where later re-riffed. There is a lot of great riffing potential in this silly movie, but the boys REALLY dropped the ball this time around. There are moments in this that could have been made into pure comedy gold, but instead we get nothing but silence. I'm kinda disappointed with how weak the riffing was, even for a KTMA episode! I think that I chuckled all of five times during the theater segments. I'm just glad that they would give this flick a second chance.
Opener: Larry and Clay argue about weather they're mad, or just angry.
Seg1: The bots weld themselves together as a joke, but Joel is unimpressed, until they walk in wearing women's clothing.
Seg2: Crow and Servo talk about what humans think is funny.
Seg3:After a game of bowling Joel and the bots argue about playing murder ball and then rock , paper, scissors.
End: Letters are read. One praises Servo, one praises Crow, and another describes a chick named Amy (the magnificent pagan she-beast) and her crush on servo.
Overall: I found most the segments to be pretty weak. Seg 2 had potential, but, much like Joel in seg1, I was not impressed.
Verdict:1/6-Ack! This was an all-around weak episode. The Theater segments where dull and limp and the host segments didn't do much better.
K13 SST Death Flight
K13 SST Death Flight: The bot's old designs where really strange, what with Tom's elongated hoverskirt/body (Tom Longtorso?), Cambot was just creepy (those eyes...), Gypsy had that weird googly eye and the waffle face, but Crow probably got it the worst in this department. He had the huge googly eyeballs the constantly extended arms, you could see the string that goes to his mouth as bright as day, and his bottom jaw never aligned with this upper jaw properly. And some people call season 1 cheap!
I have a question. What was this movie doing on this show? I mean the Gamera flicks I get, heck I even understand riffing "Phase IV" a bit, but this was actually a pretty well made movie. To be fair, that's due in most part to having An amazing cast. I mean you've got Robert Reed, Doug McClure, Gorge Mharis, Peter Graves (not the last we'd see of him on the show), and a slew of others. They all do a fantastic job, and make what could have been just another bland made-for-TV disaster flick, really engaging. Actually, the writing was pretty solid to. I mean characters in this movie actually have arks! This movie was pretty decent. Especially compared to the usual crap that the boys would have to suffer though over the years. And yes, you get to see Q (or Discord, depending on your fandom) yell at Peter Graves while Joel and the bots make fun of it. That my friends is why it's good to be alive.
Verdict: 4/4-Fun! A well written and well acted little made-for TV thriller. And come on! It's got Peter Graves!
I used to watch this episode all the time when I was 13, and I LOVED it. But that was some time again. How does it hold up? It certainly wasn't as great As I once thought it was. Now, it's not bad, the boys are a bit faster than they used to be and there where steady chuckles through out. I even hit a few full fledged laughs. However, it's kinda hard to pick on a good movie, and we end up with a few flat jokes, but not as much silence as past episodes.
Opener: Dr. F is back from Vegas, where he had a HUGE winning streak so, he decides to share the spoils with Larry.
Seg1: Joel teaches Tom what Pain is like, via shocking him.
Seg2: Gypsy recovers from a cold with a very sexy voice! Too bad it was just Gypsy and Tom joshing Joel.
Seg3: Limbo while Tom sings the banana boat song.
End:The boys read letters for the first time!
Overall: I got a bit of a kick out of the opener. It seems like the mads really stole the show whenever they where on back in the KTMA days. Seg two had me weeping with joy that I didn't have to hear Josh's gypsy voice for at least a little while. Seg 3 had a bit of charm, but it was really just filler. But the ending did have a landmark. Our first letters! Our little puppet show is beginning to take shape...
Verdict: 3/6-Fine! There are a lot of chuckles and if it had a bit more out loud laughs it would be a keeper.
I have a question. What was this movie doing on this show? I mean the Gamera flicks I get, heck I even understand riffing "Phase IV" a bit, but this was actually a pretty well made movie. To be fair, that's due in most part to having An amazing cast. I mean you've got Robert Reed, Doug McClure, Gorge Mharis, Peter Graves (not the last we'd see of him on the show), and a slew of others. They all do a fantastic job, and make what could have been just another bland made-for-TV disaster flick, really engaging. Actually, the writing was pretty solid to. I mean characters in this movie actually have arks! This movie was pretty decent. Especially compared to the usual crap that the boys would have to suffer though over the years. And yes, you get to see Q (or Discord, depending on your fandom) yell at Peter Graves while Joel and the bots make fun of it. That my friends is why it's good to be alive.
Verdict: 4/4-Fun! A well written and well acted little made-for TV thriller. And come on! It's got Peter Graves!
I used to watch this episode all the time when I was 13, and I LOVED it. But that was some time again. How does it hold up? It certainly wasn't as great As I once thought it was. Now, it's not bad, the boys are a bit faster than they used to be and there where steady chuckles through out. I even hit a few full fledged laughs. However, it's kinda hard to pick on a good movie, and we end up with a few flat jokes, but not as much silence as past episodes.
Opener: Dr. F is back from Vegas, where he had a HUGE winning streak so, he decides to share the spoils with Larry.
Seg1: Joel teaches Tom what Pain is like, via shocking him.
Seg2: Gypsy recovers from a cold with a very sexy voice! Too bad it was just Gypsy and Tom joshing Joel.
Seg3: Limbo while Tom sings the banana boat song.
End:The boys read letters for the first time!
Overall: I got a bit of a kick out of the opener. It seems like the mads really stole the show whenever they where on back in the KTMA days. Seg two had me weeping with joy that I didn't have to hear Josh's gypsy voice for at least a little while. Seg 3 had a bit of charm, but it was really just filler. But the ending did have a landmark. Our first letters! Our little puppet show is beginning to take shape...
Verdict: 3/6-Fine! There are a lot of chuckles and if it had a bit more out loud laughs it would be a keeper.
K12 Fugitive Alien
K12 Fugitive Alien: It's a fact, the MST3k crew where/are a bunch of really good friends. It's incredibly obvious, especially in the KTMA days. Although, if you ask me most of the best examples are between Joel and Josh. These guys really know how to make each other laugh. When Trace is gone we get to see A LOT of this.
Oh, guess who dubbed and edited this movie. If you said anything other than Sandy Frank then what the heck are you doing here? This movie thinks that it's a noticed, thought provoking, space opera. It's wrong, but I'll damned if it doesn't want to pull it off. Again, we may just have Sandy Frank to thank for how silly this movie is. The silly dubbing and craptacular editing turn what could have been a cool little scifi flick into a confused and silly mess. However, unlike "Humanoid Woman" this movie is silly in a bit of a fun way.
Verdict: 3/4 Watchable! It's got goofy dubbing and crappy editing. It's worth a chuckle or two all by itself.
Trace is gone (yet again), so we're depending on just Joel and Josh to keep us giggling (this is a KTMA episode after all). Are they up to the task? Well duh. Admittedly , trace's presence is sorely missed, but Joel and Josh still have a ton of fun. I only laughed out loud a few times, but for me the actual riffing material didn't make the theater segments for me. I really got a kick just out of watching Joel and Josh interacting. There's no doubt about it, these guys where good friends. They make each other laugh constantly throughout, they join-in gags together, and they even share a few songs together (yes, they're not very good, but they are still having fun).
Intro: Larry talks to Dr, F, who's in Vegas. Joel sings the Fugitive Alien Theme.
Seg 1: Joel interrogates Tom about just where Crow is, until Gypsy pops in with Corw's head in her maw!
Seg2: Celebrities that are never seen together (the hell?)
Seg3: Joel and the bots have a dance off. Gypsy ends up winning.
End: Joel introduces the new fanclub!
Overall: Oh man, can you tell that these where all improved. Joel chokes a few lines (only to be saved by Josh) and the two manage to crack each other up. I loved the bit with Larry talking to an unheard Dr. F, and seg 3 was pretty cute.
Verdict: 3/6 Fine! 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.
Oh, guess who dubbed and edited this movie. If you said anything other than Sandy Frank then what the heck are you doing here? This movie thinks that it's a noticed, thought provoking, space opera. It's wrong, but I'll damned if it doesn't want to pull it off. Again, we may just have Sandy Frank to thank for how silly this movie is. The silly dubbing and craptacular editing turn what could have been a cool little scifi flick into a confused and silly mess. However, unlike "Humanoid Woman" this movie is silly in a bit of a fun way.
Verdict: 3/4 Watchable! It's got goofy dubbing and crappy editing. It's worth a chuckle or two all by itself.
Trace is gone (yet again), so we're depending on just Joel and Josh to keep us giggling (this is a KTMA episode after all). Are they up to the task? Well duh. Admittedly , trace's presence is sorely missed, but Joel and Josh still have a ton of fun. I only laughed out loud a few times, but for me the actual riffing material didn't make the theater segments for me. I really got a kick just out of watching Joel and Josh interacting. There's no doubt about it, these guys where good friends. They make each other laugh constantly throughout, they join-in gags together, and they even share a few songs together (yes, they're not very good, but they are still having fun).
Intro: Larry talks to Dr, F, who's in Vegas. Joel sings the Fugitive Alien Theme.
Seg 1: Joel interrogates Tom about just where Crow is, until Gypsy pops in with Corw's head in her maw!
Seg2: Celebrities that are never seen together (the hell?)
Seg3: Joel and the bots have a dance off. Gypsy ends up winning.
End: Joel introduces the new fanclub!
Overall: Oh man, can you tell that these where all improved. Joel chokes a few lines (only to be saved by Josh) and the two manage to crack each other up. I loved the bit with Larry talking to an unheard Dr. F, and seg 3 was pretty cute.
Verdict: 3/6 Fine! 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.
K11 Humaniod Woman
K11 Humanoid Woman: While it's true that these KTMA episodes have grown on me, I'm beginning to miss MST3K's glory days. It's not like most of these episodes are painful, their mostly just mediocre. Sure, "Gamera VS Gurion" was pretty funny, but the other 10 episodes that I've seen so far where just Meh(!) or Fine(!). Yeah, there are some laughs to be had, but nothing too impressive. Let's hope that there is a diamond in the rough with these last 13 episodes.
Oh, how awesome, yet ANOTHER Sandy Frank movie and Hey guess what? It's poorly dubbed and confusingly edited. At first I didn't mind this movie very much...but, from the moment I first heard the weird beeping noise that signals Humanoid Woman's flashbacks (and other weird stuff) I grew tired of this movie. Soon, I got a very good reason. This movie seems to make crap up as it goes along. Now, to be fair it could just be the magical editing of Sandy Frank, but still it makes the flick seem annoying and really, really stupid.
Verdict: 1/4-Awful It's annoying, stupid and all kinds of confusing.
This episode starts out strong (for a KTMA episode), but, sadly it slows after a while and soon returns to the KTMA status quo: There are a lot of giggles, a few out-loud-laughs, and some missed opportunities. I'll say this though, there where a lot less dead spots in this than the last episodes, so there is some improvement. Not too much though.
Opener: The mads are pretty peeved at Joel for the good ratings.
seg1: Joel and the bots play tag.
seg2: Tom hits on Joel's blender.
seg3: The boys discuss surrealism.
End: Joel and the bots talk about the village people.
Overall: I liked the opener, the mads are always a welcome source for a good chuckle. I consider seg 2 to be a classic and it left me in stitches. Strangely enough, segs 1,2, and 3 where all repeated in season one.
Verdict: 3/6-Fine! 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 4/6.
Oh, how awesome, yet ANOTHER Sandy Frank movie and Hey guess what? It's poorly dubbed and confusingly edited. At first I didn't mind this movie very much...but, from the moment I first heard the weird beeping noise that signals Humanoid Woman's flashbacks (and other weird stuff) I grew tired of this movie. Soon, I got a very good reason. This movie seems to make crap up as it goes along. Now, to be fair it could just be the magical editing of Sandy Frank, but still it makes the flick seem annoying and really, really stupid.
Verdict: 1/4-Awful It's annoying, stupid and all kinds of confusing.
This episode starts out strong (for a KTMA episode), but, sadly it slows after a while and soon returns to the KTMA status quo: There are a lot of giggles, a few out-loud-laughs, and some missed opportunities. I'll say this though, there where a lot less dead spots in this than the last episodes, so there is some improvement. Not too much though.
Opener: The mads are pretty peeved at Joel for the good ratings.
seg1: Joel and the bots play tag.
seg2: Tom hits on Joel's blender.
seg3: The boys discuss surrealism.
End: Joel and the bots talk about the village people.
Overall: I liked the opener, the mads are always a welcome source for a good chuckle. I consider seg 2 to be a classic and it left me in stitches. Strangely enough, segs 1,2, and 3 where all repeated in season one.
Verdict: 3/6-Fine! 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 4/6.
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