Film Year: 1960
Genre: Science Fiction
Director: Kurt Maetzig
Starring: Gunther Simon, Julius Ongewe, Yoko Tani
MST Season: 2
The Movie
Originally titled The Silent Star, First Spaceship on Venus is a German/Polish production with an international cast. The version seen here is an import to the US, heavily edited, dubbed, and full of stock music. The story involves scientists believing they've discovered evidence of life on Venus and put forth an expedition to the planet to make contact. There they discover evidence of hostile intent, but also with a dark turn of events that changed Venus beyond imagination. Can they escape the alien planet and make it back to Earth?
First Spaceship on Venus isn't without it's interesting qualities. The various twists and turns in the story are actually quite fascinating and worth a look for science fiction fans. I'd probably recommend seeking out the original version of the film, which is likely more of a complete film than this. And I imagine it has music that isn't from a hundred other film's that I haven't heard before.
On the down side First Spaceship on Venus gets very slow at its worst moments. It's very casual and very technical. If you stick with it you're rewarded with a special effects climax that ranges from being really neat to really cheesy, and a few of those interesting plot turns I mentioned. But the long road getting there is going to vary from viewer to viewer. In the history of other casual space travel films like 2001: A Space Odyssey and Marooned (AKA Space Travelers), I suppose it's fine.
First Spaceship on Venus isn't without it's interesting qualities. The various twists and turns in the story are actually quite fascinating and worth a look for science fiction fans. I'd probably recommend seeking out the original version of the film, which is likely more of a complete film than this. And I imagine it has music that isn't from a hundred other film's that I haven't heard before.
On the down side First Spaceship on Venus gets very slow at its worst moments. It's very casual and very technical. If you stick with it you're rewarded with a special effects climax that ranges from being really neat to really cheesy, and a few of those interesting plot turns I mentioned. But the long road getting there is going to vary from viewer to viewer. In the history of other casual space travel films like 2001: A Space Odyssey and Marooned (AKA Space Travelers), I suppose it's fine.
The Episode
With a movie as casually paced as First Spaceship to Venus you would think it would call for a snappy commentary that keeps a flow going. Instead this second season outing doubles down on casualness and just drifts with it. I think this episode has a cult following because of this, because the movie is at times neat to look at and the riffing just feels like watching a foreign sci-fi movie with some friends. I myself find myself on the opposite end more often than not, because when the movie isn't pretty it's washed out Technicolor can be an eyesore, while the riffing can make dull patches feel even duller somehow. It's not without its merits, when the film finally gets some Venus action do things begin to spice up, but First Spaceship on Venus isn't my first choice when it comes to episodes to watch. Sometimes it's close to last.
Interestingly enough, toward the end Crow does a "IT'S GODZILLA!" riff to close out the movie, then says "Wrong movie." He would only have one episode to wait.
The host segments are kicked off with a very amusing sequence in which Joel adjusts Tom Servo's sarcasm sensor a tad too much. One of the neatest aspects of this episode is that if you pay attention to Servo in the theater you can hear his sarcastic voice off and on as a running gag, before coming to an explosive conclusion in the letters segment. Other host segments are more cute than funny, with the most delightful being the commercial for Klack. We also have the Bots building they're own robot who speaks in foam and a rather weird visit by an alien gorilla, which is actually more amusing than I thought it would be. In the Invention Exchange is a Junk Drawer Starter Kit, while the Mads coincidentally lose their invention in their junk drawer.
I like patches of First Spaceship on Venus, which really saves it from being among the weakest of the series in my opinion. Nothing about the episode really stands out in particular, though I do find a few laughs when I do watch it. Some might like it more than others, but I find myself a bit bored with this one.
Average
The DVD
First Spaceship on Venus was the very first episode of Shout Factory's very first set of Mystery Science Theater 3000 releases, the celebratory 20th Anniversary Edition. Audio and video were both good. Special features kicked off with Part I of The History of MST3K, a thorough history of the series as told by it's various contributors. This first part covers KTMA and part of it's first season on Comedy Central. Also included is a theatrical trailer for First Spaceship on Venus.
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