701-Night of the Blood Beast

Film Year:  1958
Genre:  Science Fiction, Horror
Director:  Bernard L. Kowalski
Starring:  Michael Emmet, Angela Greene, John Baer, Ed Nelson
MST Season:  7
Featured Short:  "Once Upon a Honeymoon"

The Short

Strange, strange, STRANGE short about a housewife constantly daydreaming of kitchen appliances and telephones while her husband is forced to postpone their honeymoon until he is done writing a song.  An angel pushes the plot along by sprinkling confetti all over the place.

Promotional shorts like this weren’t uncommon, but I’m not quite sure what this one is selling.  Maybe the kitchen appliances or the telephones, but let’s be honest, I wouldn’t be in a buying spirit after watching this because I don’t really know what it was trying to sell me.  The short feels as if it’s a bit too concerned with entertaining than selling.  If you like random breaking out into song and dance, this short will have your attention.

That’s kind of a pro in this short’s favor; that it almost has the flavor of an old MGM musical short from the 1930’s, only done much, much cheaper.  But it doesn’t have much of a narrative hook to engage its audience, and doesn’t effectively sell the product it’s showcasing.  That unfortunately makes Once Upon a Honeymoon useless.

The Movie

Corman produced cheapie (is there any other kind?) has an astronaut crashing back down to Earth impregnated by the spawn of an alien beast (because the Alien franchise had to get its ideas from somewhere).  When his comrades decide to destroy the creatures inside of him, they are thwarted by both the astronaut in question and the murderous creature from outer space that followed him.

Blood Beast has a lot of shortcomings, but to be brutally honest it’s quite a fun little movie.  It has a quite competent pace, acting isn’t too bad, and the premise is goofy but interesting.  Plus it’s just plain amusing watching our macho astronaut blunder around trying to save his alien lover and its babies.

The movie’s ending is fairly inept in a heavy-handed and clumsy commentary on the human condition and lack of enlightenment (or something like that).  The script doesn’t have the effort put into it to genuinely make a judgment like that, and really just kind of dwindles off into a knuckleheaded direction.  But it adds to the goofy fun of the piece, and it’s time well spent for B-movie lovers everywhere.

The Episode

Night of the Blood Beast was on two episodes of the show and, unlike other movies that were featured more than once, both episodes featured the exact same riffing.  Why exactly they decided to make two separate host segments, I’m not sure.  Maybe to make a “special” holiday episode whenever Thanksgiving comes around while keeping the episode in a regular rotation without giving it the holiday baggage.  In either case, the episode is a winner because the riffing is the unquestionable star.  Since I’ve already reviewed the Turkey Day version, this review is devoted to the regular episode.  Forgive me for recycling portions of it, but I feel I’ve said my piece about the theater segments, and there’s not much of a need to reword it.

We start off with an exquisite short, which Mike and the bots embrace for all its oddities.  After that rousing start, we’re given a goofy monster movie that has pretty much everything they could ask for and more.  Probably the most noteworthy aspect in the early movie segments is our latest running gag.  Now we all know that once the boys get a gag they can milk in their head it’s impossible to get them to stop.  Some are good ("Big McLargeHuge!"), and some…not so (“Chief?”  “McCloud!”).  In this case they start off on the idea that everybody in this movie is named “Steve.”  I have to admit, even though it’s clear in the movie that this isn’t the case in the movie, this bit cracks me up (“This is no ordinary Steve!”).  As the film goes on they start to have fun with the concept of a man impregnated by alien spawn, playing it up with common pregnancy symptoms.  Having lived with a pregnant woman for the better part of a year, I can safely say a lot of these riffs are really on target and hilarious.

In this version of the episode we’re given a rather standard set of host segments.  The big deal of this group is Pearl moving in with Dr. Forrester, making her the new Mad after the departure of TV’s Frank last season.  The dynamic is much different as instead of being oppressive Dr. F is suddenly submissive to the one person who he will yield to.  It’s not an entirely uninteresting change of pace, but it’s more enjoyable in small spread apart doses.  Pearl’s cameo in Bloodlust was outstanding because it stood alone, but making her harassment of our beloved villain a permanent staple in the series going forward?  I find myself thankful the seventh season was abbreviated due to this, even though it’s a bit rough knowing Dr. Forrester will leave the series on this note as well.  Even still, I love Pearl, though largely because of the character she evolved into once she took over.  The rest of the host segments are just movie related fillers, with a musical based on phones and Crow claiming he’s pregnant with the Blood Beast’s child.  There’s not a lot there to take in, though I’d be lying if I said I didn’t laugh.

Whichever version you choose, Night of the Blood Beast is a winner of an episode that will never fail to make you laugh, though the Turkey Day episode is my version of preference.  But the movie is the main course and it delivers a daffy dish that delights so much that you may want to watch this episode twice anyway!

Classic

The DVD

Night of the Blood Beast was released on DVD by Shout Factory in their Volume XVI set.  Awesomely enough, Shout managed to squeeze both versions of the episode onto a single disc, so you can choose which one you like.  Picture was slightly flawed at minor points, but the episode itself remained intact fairly well.  Audio is exceptional.

Also included are the bumpers for the 1995 Turkey Day marathon that led up to the episodes debut.  They certainly come in handy in giving the Turkey Day version context (plus you can add in the missing episodes for your own marathon!).  These bumpers come with a brief intro by Kevin Murphy.  There’s also a trailer for the movie.

Once Upon a Honeymoon was released in Rhino's Shorts Volume 3 collection, an online exclusive disc with Rhino's Essentials set.

107-Robot Monster

Film Year:  1953
Genre:  Fantasy, Science Fiction
Director:  Phil Tucker
Starring:  George Nader, Claudia Barrett, George Barrows
MST Season:  1
Featured Shorts:  "Radar Men from the Moon:  Chapter Four - Flight to Destruction," "Radar Men from the Moon:  Chapter Five - Murder Car"

The Shorts

For the first time ever our show tackles two shorts in a single episode.  This rare practice would only be duplicated three more times, with Project Moon Base, Teenage Cave Man, and The Beast of Yucca Flats.

Jumping just in time from his car in footage that was conveniently left out of the previous chapter, Commando Cody lives!  However thugs working for the moon men kidnap his Girl Friday Joan, and take her for a plane ride.  Cody pursues only to have the pilot bail out…

INTERMISSION

Of course just like last time Cody gets Joan to bail out at the last minute.  But we trade in a murder plane for a MURDER CAR in this instalment.  The thugs execute another heist and make a getaway.  That’s pretty much all there is to this one.

Two Cody shorts is twice as hard to swallow as one.  Neither of these are exciting and both are padded beyond belief.  The first short however is clearly the better of the two because it at least has a “chase to save the girl” storyline and more action.  The second one is all road chase and not much else.

We really paid a nickel for each of these?  I could have saved that money for a soda instead.

The Movie

One of the most infamously bad movies of all time hits our favorite puppet show.  Robot Monster is the tale of Ro-Man, a member of the Ro-Man race of planet Ro-Man (this is way before the Smurfs started pulling this crap), coming down to Earth to destroy the human race before they can kill the Ro-Mans (Ro-Men?) even though we never heard of them.  His death ray hits our planet and kills all but eight people, who are immune to it.  Ro-Man seeks to kill the remaining humans however he can, yet learns to LOVE (but only the sexy young women, everyone else must die).  Mostly though he just kind of wanders around aimlessly and plays with a bubble machine.

I love bad movies, and while Robot Monster lives up to its reputation I feel it just might be a bit too hollow to fully embrace.  The movie is padded as all hell, with so much dead air scenes of Ro-Man walking around going nowhere in particular.

And yet, it's a charming film despite this.  Ro-Man of course is that infamous bad movie monster icon, the gorilla suit with a space helmet.  The logicless plot is delightfully stupid, as the surviving humans all just seem to reside right next to Ro-Man’s cave yet trying to move somewhere else doesn’t seem to be an option.  Ro-Man’s invasion, while you can’t argue with the results, seems rather aimless.  He doesn’t really have a plan, nor does he really seem to know what he’s doing.  The only efficient thing he does in the film is strangle a little girl to death.

And DA BUBBLES!

The film is also with interest value based on how audaciously bad it is.  There’s a definite attempt at an actual movie being made, it just doesn’t really seem to know how.  The movie tries to shock at some points by killing off children and Ro-Man’s curious sexual interest in a young woman, though it’s so silly that even at these points it’s hard to take seriously.  Robot Monster is pretty fun in the end, and is worth a look to anybody who likes films like Plan 9 from Outer Space and the like.

The Episode

Two Commando Cody shorts means we’re in for some hurting today.  And yet while I anticipated these to be more tiresome as they went on, I actually found that the riffing improved a lot in the second short over the first.  They start out with par for the course “we’ve seen this all before” riffs but it somewhat evolves into something more playful, like mistaking an ambulance for an ice cream truck or an amusing intro where the Bots try to escape the theater (which is repeated many years later in Hobgoblins).  I’d dare say that Murder Car might be the funniest of the Commando Cody shorts.

Given the iconic bad movie stature of Robot Monster, I would have hoped this movie would have churned out a better episode.  Even adjusting for first season expectations, this one doesn’t quite live up as there’s a lot of commenting on the film without wit or joke.  When they do riff the film it comes off as weak, such as Ro-Man’s lengthy walking scenes proving to be problematic as we find Joel just saying something attune to “dum-dee-doh-doh-doh” over and over again.  But like the second Commando Cody short there are a few bright spots, my favorite being Joel’s dub of the nonsensical pantomime love scene.

It seems the theme of the host segments this week is understanding the crazy things they’re watching, as we’re presented two segments devoted to dissecting both the serials and the movie.  They’re both pretty good, though I give the slight edge to trying to figure out the logistics of Commando Cody, though the surrealism discussion of Robot Monster is fun.  They also offer a Tribute to Ro-Man and Servo and Crow playing Robot Monster, while the Invention Exchange delights with a Self Inflating Methane Whoopie Cushion and the Cumber Bubble Bund.

“Champagne goes right through me!”

Robot Monster is considered something of a gem from the first season.  I’m inclined to disagree.  The riffing doesn’t even live up to first season standards and two Commando Codies can wear you down.  There are however good host segments and a handful of riffing highlights keeping it afloat, and the likeable goofy movie doesn’t hurt either.

Average

The DVD

This episode was brought to us hoo-mans by Shout Factory’s Volume XIX collection.  Video and audio were exceptional, and the episode features an intro by J. Elvis Weinstein.  Josh talks about reluctance to riffing movie, yet reaping the rewards of doing so.  He also discusses growing pains of the series as well as Tom Servo’s infamous sneeze in the theater.

Up next is an interview with filmmaker Larry Blamire called “Larry Blamire Geeks Out,” in which Larry gushes about his love for Robot Monster.  He defends some of the creative choices, arguing that whether they’re intentional or unintentional they add to the film, meanwhile picks apart logic flaws with glee.

Concluding this package is a trailer for the film that hilariously describes it as “baffling.”

310-Fugitive Alien

Film Year:  1987 (compiled from a 1978 TV series)
Genre:  Science Fiction, Adventure
Director:  Kiyosumi Kukazawa, Minoru Kanaya
Starring:  Jou Shishido, Tatsuya Azuma, Miyuki Tanigawa, Choei Takahashi, Tsutomu Yukawa, Hiro Tateyama
MST Season:  3

The Movie

Fugitive Alien is actually a cobbled together movie from episodes of a Japanese television series called Star Wolf.  Interestingly enough, the series is actually based on a trio of American novels from the 1960’s:  The Weapon from Beyond, The Closed Worlds, and World of the Starwolves.  I’m not sure how faithful this series is and would be curious to know just what was taken from these books.

The series was created by Eiji Tsuburaya, the man responsible for the special effects in the original Godzilla films as well as the Ultraman franchise (he was also responsible for the series that was turned into Time of the Apes and Mighty Jack).  As a film, Fugitive Alien is jumbled up and all over the place.  The primary storyline is of Ken, an alien raider called a Star Wolf who refuses to kill a child during an invasion of Earth and is deemed a traitor.  Ken takes refuge on a spaceship commanded by Earthling Captain Joe and his crew, consisting of pilot Rocky and professional love interest Tammy.  The crew begins to suspect Ken’s true nature but slowly learn to trust each other.  And all of this is told in random episodic form.

Considering how incoherent Time of the Apes and Mighty Jack become in this edited for direct to video form, I think Fugitive Alien comes off pretty well.  There is at the very least an arc through the episodes that can be followed and makes a tiny bit of sense.  Whether or not you can make heads or tails of the mythology of Star Wolf is probably the deciding factor on whether or not you enjoy this movie, but to me it’s no more silly than the likes of Battlestar Galactica so I don’t mind it (and I assure you that I like Galactica).

For me the Japanese special effects, while done on time constraints and low budget, always add charm to projects like this.  Fugitive Alien’s do admittedly look fake for the most part, but I really dig the aesthetic style Japanese genre program in offers.  Whether that makes me impartial enough to judge Fugitive Alien is anybody’s guess, but I dig it.

The Episode

The movie is a wild ride of Japanese children’s programming, so keeping up with it is half the fun of the Mystery Science Theater episode.  The riffing finds a running gag early on in which a scene features two characters named Ken, which gives Joel and the Bots enough ammunition to do a play on every character being named Ken.  I might be easily amused but I love gags like these, though I feel they really mastered it later on in Night of the Blood Beast.  Of course they do acknowledge other character names, such as Rocky, which sparks Crow into a Rocket J. Squirrel imitation of “Again?” every time his name is mentioned.  And of course like all Japanese features the special effects, dubbing, and exaggerated body movements all come under fire to delightful results.

The host segments continue to play with the movie, with Joel doing an impression of Commander Joe and the crew trying to make sense of the story being the delights of the bunch.  Meanwhile Mike brings his Jack Perkins impression to the series for the first time, who we would later see in the Turkey Day segments of Night of the Blood Beast and as the host of the Mystery Science Theater Hour.  Incidentally an MST Hour of Fugitive Alien was made and Perkins even comments upon his own appearance!  The Invention Exchange hardly registers, with a musical chair and an eye-ear-nose-and-throat dropper.

It might be needless to say that Fugitive Alien is a favorite episode of mine, but I give positive rating to just about every Japanese feature episode.  I love these things just too much, though Fugitive Alien may be close to the top of the heap.  I think I like the sequel episode just a bit more, but we’ll get to that episode eventually.

Classic

The DVD

This classic episode was brought to us by Shout Factory in their Volume XXIV collection.  Picture and audio both shined, while the extras are highlighted by an introduction by Japanese pop culture historian August Ragone.  August is apologetic about the Star Wolf series but defends its virtues, claiming that the show used minimal recycled effects in an age where that was used to keep costs down.  Also featured are wraps from the Mystery Science Theater Hour.

904-Werewolf

Film Year:  1996
Genre:  Horror
Director:  Tony Zarrindast
Starring:  Jeorge Rivero, Adrianna Miles, Richard Lynch, Federico Cavalli, Joe Estevez Tony Zarrindast
MST Season:  9

The Movie

This fan favorite woofer of a movie (no pun intended) is about archaeologists who discover the fossilized remains of a “yetiglanchi,” specifically a half-man, half-wolf.  They soon discover that anybody who scratches themselves on the bones will become infected and turn into a werewolf.  The heads of the dig then concoct a scheme to infect a man with the curse and capture him, leading to the discovery of the century.

Whew boy.  Where to begin on this dog? (okay, now the puns are definitely intentional)

This direct to video trash from the mid-90s has some great concepts at its core.  The idea of finding an ancient werewolf skeleton is actually novel, and the imagery of a human skeleton with a wolf head by itself seems compelling enough to develop a movie around.  The movie that envelopes it however never does the visual concept justice.

Werewolf lacks the common basics of competence.  For one, the basic thing a werewolf movie needs is a solid werewolf at its core, both in visual image and character.  The Wolf Man is a prime example of everything done right.  In makeup, Werewolf executes its titular monster inconsistently.  At various points in the film the wolf can be a normal guy with messed up hair, in others he will have Dracula fangs with hair glued on his face, in others a mildly impressive prosthetic face not unlike the Wolf Man, and in yet others a guy in a bear costume that they were hoping would pass as a wolf.  At first it feels as if the film is trying to depict various stages of lycanthropy, but as the film goes on it’s clear that it is not the case.  These makeup effects switch back and forth on a dime with little to no continuity from one look to the next, sometimes in the same scene.

The film backs up its poor effects with poor acting.  In fact this is some of the finest bad acting on the show.  There’s an eagerness to the performers, as if they have enthusiasm for the project, yet they slip in and out of accents, look lost from time to time, and just deliver things as stiffly as possible in the film’s most deadly serious moments.  This is exemplified by the character of Natalie, who for my money is one of the greatest MST characters who ever lived.  Everything about her character is wildly inconsistent:  she’s supposed to be a brainy archeologist but comes of as a dizzy ditz, she is supposedly foreign but from god knows where because that accent is from nowhere on this Earth, and her mispronunciation of common words is hilarious.  The only reason this actress seems to be here for is because of her bust size, which is substantial.  Apparently the MST version of the film cut out a two-minute sex scene in which her talents were seen in their full glory, among other talents in other regions that she possessed.

The film is directed by the late Tony Zarrindast, who seems to be known in the business as “The Persian Ed Wood.”  I haven’t seen any other films he has directed, but I’m curious to know if they’re all as gloriously silly as this film and if they are MST worthy as well.  Even if they aren’t, then he will live in infamy for this film’s popularity among our fan base, and his Plan 9 has been discovered.

The Episode

Werewolf will make you howl.  (Oh yeah, now my puns are shameless)

But seriously, this is a contender for best episode of the Sci-Fi era and even a contender for top ten episodes of the series.  The movie gives them so much to work with and at every turn they’re finding something new to make fun of.  My personal favorite is of course Natalie, who is hilarious on her own.  Her stunted speech patterns bring many amusement to Mike and the Bots and riffs just kind of flow naturally when she is onscreen (“Pool, you is a warwilf!”).  But even outside of Natalie Werewolf has no shortage of crazy characters, with the slimey Same the Keeper, the appearance changing villain Yuri, and our “hero” Paul.  And that’s really where Werewolf shines:  the character riffs.  While other aspects of the production come under fire, it’s the characters that take most of the fire and are why we come back to this episode over and over again.

The most fun host segments in this episode are a pair where Mike scratches himself on Crow and turns into “A WereCrow.”  The wild WereCrow design is fabulous, and a huge shout-out needs to go to the props and design department for making this wonderful costume.  Other highlights include a dazed Mike thinking he’s James Lipton, a failed escape attempt down a ladder, and the outstanding “girl group” song Where-Oh-Werewolf?  The least of the segments is “Who Would You Want in Your Werewolf Movie?” which is a mildly amusing poke at co-star Joe Estevez, brother of Martin Sheen, but is a lengthy single joke segment that doesn’t really have a payoff.

But that’s a slight blemish on a fantastic episode that just gets better and better on repeat viewings.  Werewolf is an all-time crown jewel in the series.

Classic

The DVD

Werewolf was selected by Shout Factory for their first DVD set, the 20th Anniversary Edition.  Audio and video were excellent.  The primary bonus feature is part 3 of The History of MST3K, which chronicles Mike taking over hosting duties, the move to Sci-Fi, Trace leaving, Bill and Mary Jo taking over, and the fan base/legacy.  Overall this three part documentary is pretty spectacular.  Also included is a very direct to video-ish trailer for the film.

424-"Manos" The Hands of Fate

Film Year:  1966
Genre:  Horror
Director:  Hal P. Warren
Starring:  Hal P. Warren, John Reynolds, Tom Neyman, Diane Mahree, Jackey Neyman
MST Season:  4
Featured Short:  "Hired!" (Part II)

The Short

In this thrilling conclusion to the Hired! saga, our not so friendly sales manager is put in his place by his father, who assures him his employees are working, but they need to be guided and not grunted at.  He then returns to work with the attitude of leading his soldiers to victory.

Finally the short gets to the point (splitting it in two for MST didn’t really do it much favors) and the message of the short is actually a timely one.  It’s a dated presentation, and hardly very in-depth, but it at least tries to be insightful.

The Movie

The burning question we MSTies have asked ourselves over the years:  Is Manos the worst movie ever made?  This seemed indisputable for a while, but as time goes one people seemed to have softened to the film, citing Monster A-Go-Go and Hobgoblins being worse.  Personally I think the worst movie ever featured in a riffing project is Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny (which was a revelation on just how much pain I can endure in a film).

What exactly happened to Manos?  Is it really not that bad?

Here’s the thing, I don’t think Manos is a better movie than we initially gave it credit for.  What I think happened is that we just got used to it.  We managed to learn more about what the movie is and how it came to be, which explained so much about what we saw.  We found out it was made by a farmer on a bet, put together with very little money and limited resources, and couldn’t even afford sound.  Suddenly we pointed to aspects of the production and said to ourselves “so THAT’S what they were going for.”

But here’s what lingers in the back of my mind:  I can’t forget my first reaction to this movie.  I sat there absolutely dumbfounded and bewildered by what was forming in front of me on screen.  Everything was wrong, and if anything was right it was probably for the wrong reasons.  I had a reaction of indifference to Monster A-Go-Go (save for the “Wait...what?” response to the ending) while I have seen enough movies like Hobgoblins to have not been phased by it.  I have only had the “Manos reaction” to two movies since I saw this episode, and those were Birdemic:  Shock and Terror and Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny (and maybe to a lesser extent The Room and The Happening).  That tells me something about this movie.

What helps Manos is that is somewhat transcends badness into some sort of otherworldly experience with it’s presentation, and people have become fond of the film because of it.  It became one of those special “so bad it’s good” midnight movies that people celebrate because it simply exists.  This aspect actually enhances the premise of a satanic cult and hell.  It looks like something we weren’t meant to see at every turn.

And of course there’s Torgo.  Who doesn’t love Torgo?

Manos is a special movie that we’ve grown to “love,” but that doesn’t mean it’s less of a bad movie.  There’s a lot to discuss and dissect about this movie and why it is the way it is.  That might make it more interesting than a lot of other movies ever made, but it is what it is.  And I can’t deny it.

The Episode

But does the worst movie ever made translate to a funny episode?

Yes.  Yes it does.

Here’s what I noticed about this movie on this viewing, there is a LOT of dead air.  Of course, that’s obviously one of it’s flaws, but it is something of a virtue when it comes to this show.  The question is does the film give them anything to work with in these moments?  Fortunately they pinpoint the exact portion of each belabored to ride on more often than not.  I’ve watched this episode quite a bit in my time, and watching it again just now I found myself laughing loud and often.  To gain such familiarity and still keep itself strong after all these years is something that deserves celebration, because I can’t say that about all episodes.

It’s very clear that the movie is the star of the show this week, because the host segments are centering on it so much.  They come up with monsters they think are scarier than Torgo, Joel pretends to be the Master, and there are more than a few breakdowns at the pain of this film.  We even see Dr. Forrester and Frank apologize and root for Joel and the Bots to get through the experience.  The invention exchange is passable, with the silly Chocolate Bunny Guillotine and the lacking visual payoff Cartuner.

Regardless of whether or not Manos is the worst movie ever made, this film and episode have a special place in our hearts.  So much so that when Joel and Shout polled fans of the top six episodes of the series for the 2016 Turkey Day marathon this episode came out on top.  Joel seems a tad bewildered by the popularity of this episode, and has gone on record saying he doesn’t think the riffs are very strong.  Personally I disagree.  You made this film watchable and hilarious, which is more than it probably deserved.  I may not agree with Manos being the best episode of the series, but I understand why it thought to be.

Classic

It can't be anything else.

The DVD

The mother of all Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes has been released not once, not twice, but three goddamn times on DVD!  That alone tells you how important it is.  The first of which was a single disc released by Rhino Home Video.  Audio and video were both nice, but the only bonus feature was a mildly amusing blooper reel called “Poopie!”  The second release is the exact same disc, only repackaged and paired up with Santa Claus Conquers the Martians in a set called the Essentials, also released by Rhino.

Shout Factory then picked up the rights to the series, and I think they were a little bummed that they didn’t have the opportunity to get this episode first so they could cover this episode more thoroughly than Rhino did.  Knowing fans wouldn’t want to see a space of an unreleased episode taken away from one of the sets (there was an uproar for Manos taking the spot on the Essentials set despite having already been released), Shout released the episode as a solo, with passable video and audio with a few unfortunate tape hits, for those who were willing to invest in it.  And brother, did they go all out in a two-disc set that celebrates one of the most influential episodes of the entire series.

The first special feature is a retrospective on the film itself called Group Therapy staring Joel, Trace, Frank, and Mary Jo (I guess Rifftrax and Cinematic Titanic can’t mix, because Mike and Kevin aren’t here) and they talk about their own reactions to the film when they had seen it for the first time.  It’s interesting because their feelings on the films are all over the place.  They think it’s awful, but they also think it’s not bad.  It’s as if they aren’t sure what to feel about it, and I totally get what they’re feeling, you know?  Regardless of whether or not it’s the worst movie ever made, Manos is something that needs to be experienced, and if you haven’t then you haven’t lived.

The bonus feature that wraps up the first disc is segments of the MST Hour featuring Mike as Jack Perkins.  It’s a little disappointing that they’re pretty workmanlike for such a landmark episode, but hindsight is 20/20.

Kicking off the second disc is the unriffed feature film itself!  Picture is abysmal and the audio sounds as if it was poorly dubbed (which it was), but it all adds to the weird charm of the picture.  Manos is Manos.  Let’s embrace it.

Next up is an independent documentary called Hotel Torgo, which chronicles the making of the film to the best of its abilities.  There’s a few incomplete aspects of it (there are several other surviving cast members other than the ones shown), but it’s thorough and enjoyable.

Next is Jam Handy to the Rescue!  This is a Shout produced documentary about Jam Handy, which produced various shorts seen on the series, including Hired!  The film is presented as a mock industrial film primarily showing a Stephen Colbert style interview with old footage of Jam Handy himself.  It’s not one of the best docs Shout has made, but it’s good to have.

Under this Jam Handy submenu we find more features.  One is bloopers from the documentary, which aren’t really that funny.  Another is a rather wasteful phony TV spot for the phony interview.  Finally we have Joel Hodgson, telling us about his history with these short films.

The final extra on this killer set is Hired parts 1 and 2 edited together with MST commentary.  Something I’m sure we all wanted to see.

K04-Gamers vs. Barugon

Film Year:  1966
Genre:  Kaiju, Adventure
Director:  Shigeo Tanaka
Starring:  Kyoko Enami, Kojiro Hongo, Akira Natsuki
MST Season:  KTMA

The Movie

*I HAVE SURVIVED WATCHING THIS MOVIE UNRIFFED!*

I’m a Godzilla fan, but the appeal of Gamera has pretty much eluded me.  I saw the original film (Sandy Frank dub) at about age 12 and thought it was beyond lame (a turtle that turns into a flying saucer?  Pfft).  I saw the critically praised Guardian of the Universe a few months later, and wasn’t impressed with it either (special effects were good, but the story was as uninteresting as they come).  Ultimately I guess I just don’t care for the turtle.  I did love Revenge of Iris and enjoyed Gamera the Brave though, so I’m not a total Grinch.

As far as Gamera movies go, Gamera vs. Barugon isn’t that bad.  Of the ones featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000, I think it’s clearly the best (the only one of the early series I’d probably say I liked just as much was Gamera vs. Jiger).  It has a more serious tone, and the main characters are actually adults instead of little children.  The premise follows a group of treasure hunters who uncover a giant opal from a native island.  Taking it back ashore, the opal turns out to be an egg that hatches into Barugon, a giant gecko with a killer rainbow and a freezing tongue.

Yeah, the anatomy behind these Gamera monsters is pretty stupid.  This one at least looks kind of cool, even if it is a pretty stiff costume he’s wearing.  Mankind’s only hope to save them from this threat is Gamera, a giant turtle they tried to shoot off into space for some reason.  Since we watched this sequel before the original, we’re not all that familiar with Gamera yet.  Speaking of, Gamera’s hardly in the movie, and his brawls with Barugon are very brief.  I guess this bored the target audience of children, so all future productions brought in more turtle showboating.

As an adult, however, the plot of this movie is pretty strong for its type.  But Deiei’s shortcomings in the kaiju genre make it feel stiff and long.  However, if I’m going to watch a Gamera movie unriffed, I’d more than likely watch this one.

The Episode

The earliest broadcast episode taped by fans, this episode benefits best while trying to look at it through the eyes of someone who had just watched the show for the first time in 1988.  It seems like a very fun take on the old idea of horror hosts and such, and I for one would have stuck around for more.

Of course, I was 4 at the time, so it doesn’t really matter what I would have thought.

The riffing is still in its earliest stages of development.  At this point it was improvised, so there’s more dead air than most MSTies would be comfortable with.  The first movie segment in particular drags, but once the monsters show up, the comedy starts to pick up.  As Barugon wags his tail while standing next to a giant building, Crow pipes up “Uh oh, he thinks it’s a fire hydrant!”  I laughed.  Reaching this point in my first viewing of a KTMA episode, I started to relax a little bit.  Sure, it wasn’t the show I had grown up watching on the Sci-Fi Channel, but it was still my show.  And that was what I needed.

The host segments cater to phone calls they had received for the previous week’s episode, Star Force:  Fugitive Alien II.  Two callers really loved it (I imagine the one who demanded “MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORE!” is the one that taped all of these KTMAs) and one caller hated it, even going so far to tell them that he hopes they get cancelled (this was back before changing the channel was invented, I assume).  Another wants more “chapstick” on the show.  Presumably he meant to say “slapstick,” but it’s true that he clearly says “chapstick.”  How the hell do you make that mistake?  The segments that accompany it are pretty clever, but with refinement it probably could have been funnier.

A lot has been stated about Servo’s original voice, which is much higher and more infantile.  Yeah, it’s not very good.  I think they were wise to change it.  It doesn’t really lend itself well to the format of the show, and Josh seems uncomfortable talking in it.

Maybe I’m being generous, but I’m going to give this episode good marks.  The movie was watchable and I got my chuckles.  That’s all I can ask for.

Good

706-Laserblast

Film Year:  1978
Genre:  Science Fiction
Director:  Michael Rae
Starring:  Kim Milford, Cheryl Smith, Gianni Russo, Roddy McDowell, Keenan Wynn
MST Season:  7

The Movie

A teenager finds a laser gun in the outskirts of town left by aliens.  He uses it to destroy those who have wronged him, as well as those who haven’t.  So he really just kinda kills everyone.  Basically this kid is a dick.  The aliens eventually come to reclaim the weapon and hopefully stop his rampage.

Infamous among MSTies as the movie that Leonard Maltin gave two and a half stars (though, let’s be honest, this isn’t the only movie on the show Lenny gave a positive-ish review to).  I’m not going to rib him too much for it.  He likely was just in a good mood that day and I highly doubt he had seen this movie since (unless it was on MST3K).

But two and a half stars?  Ehhhhhhhhhhhhh…

The movie has an amusing concept, but there isn’t a lot done with it.  The main character has relatable problems but he doesn’t have a very welcoming personality for the audience.  I never sympathize with him at all during the film.  This might have been a purposeful choice for his character since the plot requires him to murder people, but it’s mildly ruined by the story development of the gun [i]possessing[/i] him and turning him into some sort of alien creature.  Is it him doing it or the beast?  If it’s the former, then why make that plot development?  If it’s the latter, then the tragedy of the story is a sham.

The stop motion aliens are pretty fun though.  And it DOES have that high concept storyline going for it.  And Roddy MacDowell is always a soothing presence.  But overall Laserblast blows up in the filmmakers’ faces.

The Episode

There’s a lot about this episode to digest.  First it was presented as a series finale before the series was picked up by the Sci-Fi Channel for three more years (and long before the Kickstarter relaunch gave the show another shot).  While it isn’t quite the end of the road, there is a finality to it because the second thing to realize is that it’s Trace Beaulieu’s final episode.  Helping the series since The Green Slime pilot and a regular on the series since Revenge of the Mysterians of Mars, Trace was the last of the original on-screen talent to make his final bow.

No more Dr. Forrester.

A revamped Crow.

After seven (or eight) seasons, this hurts a little.  The series was fine in the long run, but our emotional attachment will continue to tether to him.  Out of all the riffers, he had the second longest run, behind only Kevin Murphy.  Alas Trace would eventually continue to riff in Cinematic Titanic and his current live show with Frank Conniff The Mads Are Back.

As a finale, I prefer Diabolik.  The riffing is about the same level, though I find Diabolik’s a tad leaner.  The riffs for Laserblast tend to rely on the “ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL?!” running gag far too much, which is funny the first time but gets to the point where I can’t help but go “oh just stop.”  But once you get around it, the riffing has some wondrous highs.  I especially love the riffs on the stop-motion aliens, as Mike and the Bots give them the characterization they need to make them the most memorable part of a forgettable movie.

I also lean toward Diabolik with the host segments as well.  Laserblast’s are fine, but they don’t quite end the series on a strong note.  Dr. Forrester’s funding has been cut and he sentences Mike and the Bots to death by cutting the Umbilicus and letting them burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere. The Satellite of Love manages to break free and drifts to the edge of the universe.  In the meantime, we are treated to more than a few Star Trek parodies, as they are boarded by the robot from The Changeling and Mike eventually takes command under the guise of Captain Janeway.  Eventually, Mike and the Bots turn themselves into pure energy and explore the galaxy.  The episode ends with a bizarre parody of 2001:  A Space Odyssey, which leaves me cold.  But I don’t care for the movie, so that’s just me.

Mike and the Bots would eventually survive Laserblast, but even if they didn’t it’s a fine episode.  Would it have been the best finale?  Probably not.  But as an episode in general it lives up to the standard of the fairly consistent seventh season, even if it is one of the weaker ones.

Good

The DVD

Laserblast was brought to disc in Shout Factory’s 20th Anniversary Collection.  Picture and audio were both exceptional.

Special features kick off with part two of The History of MST3K, which covers fairly well the switch from KTMA to the Comedy Channel/Comedy Central.  The primary topics brushed upon are the writing process and working with a network, and also brought to light are the hiring of Mike Nelson and Paul Chaplin and the eventual resignation of Joel Hodgson and Josh Weinstein.

Also featured is a trailer for the movie.