Let's dance the Batusi, because Adam West is in the kitchen this year! 1994's Turkey Day decides to bypass Best Brains yet again, but at least Comedy Central puts decent effort into it, unlike last year's "Let's film a bunch of nerds in the wild and see what happens" approach. Getting a host is a solid start to the experience, and Adam West is an absolute delight. And he's even relevant too, as he's the star of Zombie Nightmare, which debuted in this marathon! Also a nice touch is that the Turkey Day logo this year is shaped like the Batman logo, in a cute little wink and a nod.
And that's really what the segments are this year, a celebration of the turkeys that make Turkey Day so special. Not only does Adam West introduce each delectable douse of tryptophan, but he brings in other stars from MSTed movies to help him out. Robert Vaughn is here to introduce Teenage Cave Man, Beverly Garland is here for a triple feature of It Conquered the World, Swamp Diamonds and Gunslinger, and even every MSTie's favorite womanly figure, Mamie Van Doren is here to show off her curves in Girls Town. The presentation of each of the segments wasn't entirely different from the 2016 Turkey Day, where a new dish is made based around the movie itself.
The episode course this year features fourteen turkeys, eleven Joel and three Mike, including two episode premieres that bookend it. And the two premieres are pretty good, including marathon highlight Zombie Nightmare. Zombie Nightmare was actually filmed much earlier in the season, but it was held off because Comedy Central used it promotionally in an event they called the Fresh Cheese Tour, where they toured episodes of their original programing and played them at college campuses, with Zombie Nightmare being MST's representative (great choice, BTW. If this episode doesn't turn someone into a MSTie, nothing will). Also debuting is Kitten With a Whip, which isn't as good as Zombie Nightmare, but is a pretty quality episode on its own. The only Mike rerun featured is Girls Town, which is also pretty great. Mike's episodes are pretty solid here.
This is also the first Turkey Day to feature repeated episodes, which is not a huge deal when the Turkeys are as delicious as these. Mitchell and Gila Monster continue the marathon with grace, though Killer Shrews is a potential appetite spoiler. The Day the Earth Froze gets us back on track and we mostly stay consistent until Teenage Cave Man, which is slightly undercooked. Then we get a straight streak of Turkey Day deliciousness with the Beverly Garland/Roger Corman trilogy and Girls Town, before getting a slightly spoiled Gamera vs. Zigra, and finally, the delicious desert of Zombie Nightmare. Episodes mostly average to be good, with a few greats sprinkled in.
Mitchell (2nd Turkey Day)
The Giant Gila Monster (2nd Turkey Day)
The Killer Shrews
The Day the Earth Froze (2nd Turkey Day)
Time of the Apes (2nd Turkey Day)
Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (2nd Turkey Day)
Teenage Cave Man
It Conquered the World (2nd Turkey Day)
Swamp Diamonds
Gunslinger
Girls Town
Gamera vs. Zigra
Zombie Nightmare (Episode Premiere)
Average Rating (out of 4): 3
The episodes this year don't average out as great as they did last year, but this Turkey Day is worth it because it celebrates the films themselves with some stellar cameos by our favorite stars knowingly winking at the fans and playing with the joke. If we can't have the comedians from our favorite show celebrating the holiday with us, this is the next best thing. That makes this one hell of a Turkey Day.
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