Release Date: March 29, 2016
We've got a sizable helping of Roger Corman on this set of Mystery Science Theater. Two movies he produced and one movie he directed! The one he directed winds up being the more watchable one, so miracles can happen. Also 12 to the Moon, which has nothing to do with Corman but is cheap and laughable just the same.
12 to the Moon is actually the highlight of the set, with a great short and excellent commentary all around. That episode is the whole package and easily one of the best of the series. Both Mike episodes on this set are pretty great, with Deathstalker being the lesser of the two by a good mile but an absolute delight. Joel's episodes are a bit more disappointing, as both are rather dry affairs that aren't really that funny. Teenage Cave Man does offer up a couple of banger shorts which might give it a little bit of an edge over Being from Another Planet, but the race is pretty neck and neck between the two.
Average Rating (out of 4): 2.75
Audio and video are pretty good throughout the set, while bonus features offer up an unedited film. Shout Factory brings us Time Walker, which is the original cut of Being from Another Planet, as a supplement. Parents be warned though that the uncut film features nudity, so if you don't want the kids to see boobies then you'll want to remove them from the room. Featurettes are film related this time around. We have interviews with Teenage Cave Man star Robert Vaughn, Being from Another Planet composer Richard Band, Deathstalker and the Warriors from Hell star Thom Christopher, and filmmaker Jeff Burr (who discusses the history of 12 to the Moon). Also featured is a trailer for Time Walker/Being from Another Planet.
Box art is per usual the standard stock art for Shout Factory. The MST logo resides in the upper left hand corner as the theater silhouettes reside at the bottom gazing upon the roman numerals XXXV painted in pink against a starry backdrop. Also as usual, the star of the show is the interior case art by Steve Vance. Teenage Cave Man features Tom Servo as a teenage cave man and Crow as a teenage cave gal fending off from the mutant beast that haunts them. Being from Another Planet features Servo and Crow in a corridor looking up at the alien mummy, who is illuminated by the moonlight above the logo. 12 to the Moon sees the two bots suit up as astronauts on the moon being swallowed by moon quicksand. Deathstalker features Crow as the title character squaring off against undead soldiers and Servo as the evil wizard Troxartas.
Disc art is also basic logos against a starry backdrop, while the menus continue creating little skits with mini-puppets and episode audio. These are slighter menus than normal but they're okay. Teenage Cave Man has Joel, Tom Servo, and Crow on the Satellite of Love bridge in cave man getup where they stumble upon Ross from Catching Trouble and decide to provoke him. Being from Another Planet sees Servo and Crow popping out a sarcophagus in Egyptian garb only to see the alien mummy walk in with his family jewels. 12 to the Moon sees Servo and Crow launching the Satellite of Love to the moon only to be antagonized by Mike, Gypsy, and Mr. B Natural. Deathstalker is definitely the weirdest (and probably the weirdest menu of the entire series), which just has Mike, Servo, and Crow dressed as characters from the movie dancing to the theme, only to have Gypsy call Mike into a tent and swat him with a paddle (?).
The bottom line of this set is that the two Mike episodes are absolutely worth owning and it's likely no respectable MST collection is full without them. The two Joel episodes aren't bad but they aren't playing ball at the same level, which mutes this set slightly more than it probably should. But let's be honest, if you've collected thirty-four previous volumes the you're going to want this one as well, two ho-hum episodes aside. But XXXV absolutely deserves its space for the all-star that is 12 to the Moon by itself.
No comments:
Post a Comment