110-Robot Holocaust

Film Year:  1987
Genre:  Science Fiction
Director:  Tim Kincaid
Starring:  Norris Culf, Nadine Hartstein, Joel Von Ornsteiner
MST Season:  1
Featured Short:  "Radar Men from the Moon:  Chapter Nine - Battle in the Stratosphere"

The Short

Commando Cody rescues his comrades from suffocation in space, and they take off for a thrilling BATTLE IN THE STRATOSPHERE!  Except we don’t get to see it because the film breaks.  Something tells me we didn’t miss much.

With this we say goodbye to Commando Cody.  We don’t get much closure on his storyline, or what passes for a storyline.  In addition to what we didn’t see in this short, there are three more chapters to this serial.  Maybe one day I’ll be curious enough to watch the rest, but that probably won’t be anytime soon.

The Movie

After the apocalypse, mankind is enslaved by machines.  A group of rebels follow their savior Neo to defeat the robot overlords and guide mankind into a new beginning.

Oh wait, sorry I must have been describing The Matrix.  What was Robot Holocaust about again?  ::rewatches movie::  Well, I’ll be damned.

Of course, choice differences between the two productions are present, as Robot Holocaust has nothing to do with virtual reality and The Matrix is, you know, GOOD.  Still, of all the things The Matrix is claimed to rip off (from The Terminator to Dark City), I didn’t expect this movie to be one.  But that’s of course assuming anybody saw it.

But not to stray too far from Robot Holocaust, because there is certainly a lot to say about this movie on it’s own.  Capably shot on a budget by a prolific gay porn director, this low budget dystopian crap is about as good as you’d expect.  Actually, it might even be more enjoyable.  There’s a lot to enjoy here, from the cheap look, the lousy choreography, and the hilarious acting.  I mean, c’mon, one of our villains both looks and talks pretty much exactly like Kelly Bundy from Married...With Children.

And it’s all meant to be taken seriously.  That’s the most important thing to take away from this movie.  Chances are that you’ll laugh until your sides hurt at the drama of it all.  Robot Holocaust may not be the bad movie masterpiece that Future War is, but it’s on that same trail.

The Episode

Robot Holocaust seems to be a popular first season episode among fans, though it’s never really been the first episode that pops into my mind when I think of that season.  I’ve always kind of overlooked this one, which I think is partially due to the fact that I think this movie is a missed opportunity.  During KTMA they riffed Japanese cheese and TV movies more than anything while so far in season one they’ve been given films that were more dated and silly than anything.  Robot Holocaust is more audaciously bad on multiple levels than they’re used to getting at this point, and it bums me out that this particular movie was wasted on the first season, when they would have done much better work with it later on.

To view this episode more objectively I need to watch it in a vacuum and erase all knowledge of what the show would become.  It’s difficult, but I suppose once it’s done Robot Holocaust grows a little bit more in stature.  I don’t particularly find the riffing very good, but maybe it’s a bit par for the course at this point in the game.  I give a lot of early episodes a pass when I find the movie somewhat amusing on its own.  KTMA coasts on this aspect, and I do genuinely enjoy a few films in this first season as well.  I find myself feeling the same way about Robot Holocaust, where the movie is so ridiculous that I can’t help but find myself drawn to the episode.

On the subject of the short, there’s not a lot you can say.  It only lasts a few minutes and the riffing is more workmanlike than anything.  They feel like they’re pushing through it with the desire to never watch Commando Cody again.  I guess they succeeded.

The Host Segments feature several where Joel and the Bots just play as characters in the movie, which sets the tone for a mellow time outside of the theater.  Also featured are a sitcom parody and a mediocre Invention Exchange featuring an expressive ski mask for criminals and a flaming pipe for racing events.

For the most part most of the amusement points on this one go to the movie they selected.  Judged as an episode of Mystery Science Theater the overall feeling is “it’s fine, could be better.”  But it’s hard to deny that laughter and amusement are there, so for that I might have to lean toward the positive on this one.

Good

The DVD

First up is an intro by Joel Hodgson.  Joel talks briefly about the movie choice but mostly seems interested in pointing out the Invention Exchange props are straight out of his act and being disappointed in the first season’s set.

Next up is Life After MST3K:  J. Elvis Weinstein, which is an interview with Josh about all the projects he has been involved with since leaving the show after the first season.  Since he left the series so early, he has more projects to direct attention to than most, including stints on TV shows like America’s Funniest Home Videos, Malcolm & Eddie, and Freaks and Geeks.  He talks about his friends in show business, and touches upon Cinematic Titanic.