Release Date: November 8, 2005
Re-Release Date: November 27, 2018
Episodes Featured
What goes through my mind when I think of the Volume 8 collection of Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes is just how aggressively bad the movies are. Hobgoblins, Monster A-Go Go, and The Dead Talk Back are among the more painful films MSTies have ever endured and here they are in a cluster, just begging for us to watch them again for some reason. Also a campy space movie. That one is at least cheesy fun. Because of this, I wouldn't recommend this set for newbies. Phantom Planet might be a decent episode for beginners, but the others...woof.
That being said, for seasoned veterans of the series who don't care how bad the movies are, Volume 8 is solid fun. The episodes feature some pretty good riffing, though one might admit that the set is very Mike-heavy (Monster A-Go Go is the only Joel episode here). For me, best episode of the set is a close race between Hobgoblins and Phantom Planet, but I'm going to give the slight advantage to Hobgoblins because it's more memorable. Monster A-Go Go holds the bronze, while Dead Talk Back gets a participation trophy.
Average Rating (out of 4): 3
Video is mostly good, with the exception of The Dead Talk Back, which gets a bit wonky. Audio is mostly solid. This set features no bonus features of any kind.
The box art is one of my favorites, which features a glowing MST3K logo rising above a garbage dump, where a garbage can full of film stock is seen with the words "Volume 8" spray-painted onto it. Opening the set finds interior art of an abandoned drive-in theater playing Hobgoblins. Disc art is very busy for this volume. Hobgoblins features a sewer lid with the words "Mystery Science Theater 3000 spray-painted on it, and a newspaper with the title of the episode laying on top. I'm not 100% sure what Phantom Planet's disc art is supposed to represent. It looks like a record with white tape stuck to it and a garbage sticker on it. Monster A-Go Go's looks like a film stock can with a bunch of stickers on top. The Dead Talk Back's appears to be the most movie related, as it replicates the look of a roll of recording tape.
Disc menus are basic Rhino design. Hobgoblins has the scene with the Hobgoblins highjacking a cart playing with floating images of the cast in bubbles, while Tom Servo hovers around as the Terminator. The Phantom Planet sees the titular planet floating by the viewscreen of a rocketship, while characters from the movie spin around on a wheel at the left hand side. Monster A-Go Go's features a window of a space capsule (while a smaller space capsule is seen outside it) where scenes from the movie plays, while Tom Servo bobs around in the theater seat below. The Dead Talk Back features the a chainlink fence and a bunch of gizmos from the movie, while a green line wiggles to funky music. All menus are accompanied by theater seats featuring Joel, Crow, and Servo (as usual for Rhino sets, Mike does not replace Joel on the Mike episode menus).
Volume 8 was eventually re-released by Shout Factory, with improved video for Dead Talks Back. This set also includes some bonus features, including interviews with Hobgoblins director Rick Sloane, Monster A-Go Go director Bill Rebane, and Dead Talk Back star Myron Natwick. Also featured are trailers for Hobgoblins, Phantom Planet, and Monster A-Go Go.
I don't recommend this volume for beginners. But if you're new to the show and you have this volume in front of you, I might suggest popping in Phantom Planet before the others, because it's the easiest to digest. If one wants to own this set, Shout's release is the better package. However the Rhino set is worth owning for it's beautiful box art. Either way, these are good episodes that are well worth watching for all of the show's enthusiasts.
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