1205-Killer Fish

Film Year:  1979

Genre:  Horror, Thriller, Heist

Director:  Antonio Margheriti

Starring:  Lee Majors, James Franciscus, Karen Black, Margaux Hemingway, Marisa Berenson

MST Season:  12

The Movie

Lost in the slurry of killer critter (aquatic or otherwise) inspired by the success of Jaws, Killer Fish didn't even have the distinct honor of being the first film about man-eating piranha released in Jaws's wake.  That honor went to, in the surprise of the century, a film called Piranha, a low-budget film produced by Roger Corman and directed by a very young Joe Dante.  Killer Fish came in second place, over a year later.  For a moderately budgeted Italian knockoff film, Killer Fish actually may have had a bigger budget than Piranha, which is something that can't be said of many Italian knockoffs.  But Piranha was much more fun to watch.

That being said, I still think Killer Fish is kind of a hoot.  It doesn't have the gleeful creature feature vibe of Piranha, but for films of its type, it's not without its charms.  It actually manages to have a flavor unique to itself by combining the creature feature with a crime caper, as the primary premise of the film involves jewel thieves retrieving their stash from the bottom of piranha infested waters, only to find themselves adrift in the middle of it with no way out.  The movie is way more fun if you think of it as Catalina Caper but with little fish that will strip the flesh off of your bones.

The Six Million Dollar Man himself, Lee Majors, takes protagonist duties with a twinkle in his eye.  On the opposite end of the spectrum is Beneath the Planet of the Apes (and City on Fire, KTMA fans) star James Franciscus as our human antagonist, who wishes to have all those gems to his greedy, greedy self to the point he, of course, is eventually fish food.  There are very little surprises to the story, but to an extent that's part of the fun.  We know where Killer Fish is going, who is going to live and who is going to die.  Like an episode of a formulaic episode of the TV series you tune into every week, I find myself willing go through its familiarity with a smile on my face.

The Episode

We're in round five of Kinga's Gauntlet and Jonah and the Bots are showing no signs of fatigue.  And considering they've been given a fairly watchable movie for this bout, it's easy to see why they're in such good spirits.  Compared to the micro-budget genre fare that Kinga's been handing out so far in this marathon of hers, Killer Fish is mostly a refreshing change of pace.  In fact, it almost feels like a real movie.  The leisurely pace of the film never quite feels like a detraction, probably because of that fact.  The riffing feels very boisterous, as the tone of the theater keeps everything feeling like a party.  The gags can get goofy with the visual cues, such as Crow turning to a little fish to chase actresses or Growler entering the theater as if he is a tour guide at Universal Studios.  The riffing probably has a bit more gusto than I personally think would have matched this movie (I would have liked to have seen a more relaxed but aggressive Season 9 approach to it), but luckily there are some solid laughs at its stoic seriousness.

Controversially, the episode has a fairly unique scene in the theater where Gypsy, Growler, and Waverly join the riffing trio for a musical number while the movie is playing, which is a much more elaborate version of a similar but smaller musical scene in Starcrash last season.  I've heard some grumbling about this, but prepare for my hot take:  I fucking love it.  There is a subtle genius to the tune of the number they present, because there are riffs within the song that still correspond the movie as it unfolds in front of them, and it's vibrant and playful.  Is it worth interrupting the movie for?  Here's the thing, the sequence in which they write the musical number over is a lengthy scuba diving sequence with no dialogue.  Theoretically they could have riffed it like normal and everything probably would have been fine.  They instead took a swing to spice up a humdrum sequence of very little and tried to turn it into one of the most memorable moments of the episode.  I fell in love with it.  Others are entitled to disagree, but I don't see anything evident in the episode itself that makes it any sort of detraction whatsoever that doesn't come down to "personal pet peeve" status.  It works, and it's fun.  I don't want one for every episode, but if they find circumstances like this again where they can play around, I'm going to allow it.

The host segments are on the slight side.  They're primarily film related, as Jonah and the Bots speculate on what type of "killer fish" they're going to see in the movie (Crow guesses piranha right off the bat, so he wins) or coming up with a battle plan for getting the group off their sinking ship and onto land without becoming piranha chow.  Segments with the Mads are equally slight, as Kinga sends Synthia into the archives to find the Idiot Control Now song for Dr. Erhardt.  The concluding "liquid music" gag at the end of the episode is a little daffy for my tastes, and not really that funny.  I did, however, enjoy the Invention Exchange, which has the Alchemy Glue (you need to believe it works) and the fun prop comedy of the Time Travel Oven.

There doesn't seem to be many people ranking Killer Fish very highly this season.  I think it's unfortunate, because I find the episode a lot of fun.  It enters the third act of the Gauntlet with a lot of energy and it spices up my interest in the six-part season long marathon.  And on its own it's just a really groovy episode.  I'd say it's well worth sailing these waters.

Good

The DVD and Blu-Ray

Shout Factory released this episode in their Season 12 DVD and blu-ray box sets, featuring great audio and video.  Like all relaunch episodes, it doesn't have any disc specific bonus features, but it shares a disc with the following episode, Ator, the Fighting Eagle.  My particular copy of this set is a Pledge Drive Edition, which was given out as a reward for participating in a fundraiser for the season.  The disc is identical to the normal release.

Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume XXVII DVD Retrospective

Release Date:  July 23, 2013

Buy it here!

Featured Episodes:

The Slime People

Rocket Attack U.S.A.

Village of the Giants

The Deadly Mantis

Also Included:

Serial Variety Pack

Don't touch that dial, because another volume of Mystery Science Theater is here for our enjoyment!  And enjoyment shall be had from myself, as it has not only one of my favorite episodes from the series, but also the episode that made me a fan!  For my money, The Deadly Mantis is the must own episode of the set and I couldn't hit the preorder button on this one fast enough!  Backing it up is the rock solid Rocket Attack U.S.A. and the mostly enjoyable Village of the Giants.  The Slime People closes out the set, and it's fine but no highlight.  This is also the last box set that featured a sampling of all four eras of the classic series, which is always an A+ in my book!

For those who ordered the set through Shout Factory's website received a bonus shorts disc titled the Serial Variety Pack.  This disc collected the non-Commando Cody series featured on thr show, including The Phantom Creeps and Undersea Kingdom, also with the segments of General Hospital thrown in because why not?  It's a pretty good pack of shorts, more consistent than Commando Cody at least.  Not too diverse though.

Average Rating (out of 4):  3

For the most part, audio and video is fair.  The most notable exception is unfortunately Deadly Mantis, which has some larger picture flaws and is even missing a commercial bumper at one point.  The centerpiece of the set is a documentary called Chasing Rosebud:  The Cinematic Life of William Alland, who was the producer on Deadly Mantis as well as a number of Universal International monster films of the 1950's.  Extras also include interviews with actresses Susan (Morton) Frasier and Joy Harmon, while Mary Jo does an introduction for The Deadly Mantis.  Also included is Life After MST3K:  Trace Beaulieu, which chronicles Trace's career.

The box art is the standard Shout Factory art, which features the MST logo in the upper left-hand corner and the theater seats at the bottom, while the roman numerals XXVII are painted in maroon in the center against a starry backdrop.  As always, the real treat are the disc cases with artwork by Steve Vance.  The Slime People features the image of Crow and Tom Servo being surrounded by the titular monsters.  Rocket Attack U.S.A. shows Crow and Servo looking in horror as a missile is being launched.  Village of the Giants features a large Crow holding a small Servo in his hand.  The Deadly Mantis has Crow and Servo looking up at the towing monster.  The bonus Serial disc case is just a generic starry backdrop with posters for each serial displayed, while the theater seats sit down at the bottom.  Disc art is the normal movie logos against a starry backdrop.

Moving on to the DVD menus, The Slime People features Crow and Servo entering a butcher shop ran by Slime People (and apparently humans are on the menu).  Rocket Attack U.S.A. has the Crow and Servo helping a blind man into a fallout shelter, only to get locked out in the process.  Village of the Giants shows Crow and Servo auditioning the dancing giants.  The Deadly Mantis features Servo communicating with fighter pilots Mike and Crow as they combat the giant mantis, which is climbing the Washington Monument.  The menu for the Serial Variety Pack just has the posters for each serial against a starry backdrop, leading to each collection of shorts.

It's hard for me to not recommend this set on the basis of just how great Deadly Mantis is on its own.  There are some good backup episodes, but none that live up to it.  While I'd consider the other episodes to be "mood episodes" more than anything, I'd guarantee at least a few laughs from picking this set up, so definitely check it out.

Serial Variety Pack (MST3K Special)

The sixth and final direct to video shorts compilation follows suit in the previous, compiling a bunch of multipart serials (and one TV show) into a whole shebang.  In quality, it's a step-up from the previous Commando Cody disc because the riffing on all of these chapters is much more assured, diverse, and rapid.  That's not to say the entire disc is a winner though, as each serial has at least one chapter that is a dud, usually capping off the series before they decide to end it.  The exception is General Hospital, who had it's lackluster segment in the middle.  Because of that, General Hospital is probably the most consistently funny group in the collection, while Phantom Creeps and Undersea Kingdom both peter out instead of staying strong.  Also not helping is the fact that none of these serials have a definitive ending featured on the series, as Mystery Science Theater never completed them.  General Hospital especially was a thankless scenario, because soap operas by nature never have a definitive ending.

Momentum in serials is tricky, because each serial tells a story that couldn't hold a feature film and breaks them into fifteen twenty-minute segments.  Phantom Creeps has a lot of zest in their Bela Lugosi mockery, but as its story starts to wear thin, the serial gets tired.  A more confident effort in season four, Undersea Kingdom starts wildly funny, but wears out its welcome even earlier.  What saves General Hospital is that I suspect that all the segments came from the same episode, but soap operas are slow and uneventful anyway, so it can wear out its welcome before it starts.  Joel and the Bots really need to keep humor flowing to make any of these watchable, and while that isn't maintained, the effort is there.

The Phantom Creeps:  Chapter One - The Menacing Power

Original Episode:  Jungle Goddess

The Phantom Creeps is actually a far different beast than Radar Men from the Moon.  This serial stars Bela Lugosi as a mad scientist seeking to sell his maniacal inventions to enemy countries.  Seeking to sneak his way out of the spotlight, he plots to fake his own death and kill his enemies.

Lugosi is always a fun and committed screen presence, and he makes Phantom Creeps a far more entertaining effort than it needs to be.  It also helps that this chapter has a more engaging storyline than the last serial, which was more or less an excuse to get Commando Cody fly from location to location and punch people.  This one is more character driven and is a bit more interesting.

But the only real question I have is how many episodes will it take for the guys at MST to abandon this one too?  Let's watch and find out!

The Phantom Creeps is obviously done so Joel and the Bots can break out a Bela Lugosi impression and they do so with enthusiasm.  Thick Hungarian accents are all over the place during this short, and the line delivery is killer.  This is a massive step up from Commando Cody riffing wise, but can they keep it up with more chapters?

The Phantom Creeps:  Chapter Two

Original Episode:  Rocket Attack U.S.A.

Our heroes manage to escape the sabotaged plane from last week’s installment, though Dr. Zorka’s wife is killed in the crash.  Blaming everyone but himself, Zorka returns to his lab to resupply himself with his invisible belt and other sciencey stuff.  The good guys show up, leading to a road chase with an invisible man.

There’s already so much more happening in two chapters of The Phantom Creeps than we saw in all eight segments of Commando Cody.  I actually wish more serials were like this, because this one is moderately entertaining.  There’s still not much to talk about, outside of low budget effects (this invisible man has nothing on the one Universal put in it’s main features).  Bela Lugosi continues to be a commanding presence that very few serials have.

I find the riffing continuing to maintain consistency (“Stunned?  He took six bullets!”).  Creeps so far is a far superior serial effort over Commando Cody.

The Phantom Creeps:  Chapter Three

Original Episode:  Ring of Terror

Paying off whatever the hell the previous cliffhanger was (it gets tiresome trying to keep track) in typical anti-climactic fashion, the latest chapter of The Phantom Creeps features Zorka rescuing his sidekick Monk from captivity.  Monk then double crosses Zorka and steals a formula from him, before being captured again.

GOOD ONE, MONK!

This fairly redundant chapter finds the lulls of serialized storytelling setting in on The Phantom Creeps.  While the serial is still far more compelling than Radar Men from the Moon was, the repetitive nature can only stay at bay so long.  It would seem that the crew of Mystery Science Theater would agree, as this was the last serial short they would do until Undersea Kingdom in the fourth season.

Riffing feels a tad bit zippy but it doesn't really close the serial with a bang.  Goodbye Phantom Creeps.  Let those Bela Lugosi impressions rest until Bride of the Monster.

Undersea Kingdom:  Chapter One - Beneath the Ocean Floor

Original Episode:  Attack of the Giant Leeches

This serial's about to get soggy!  It's the Undersea Kingdom!  Life under the sea has seemingly been discovered.  Is it the lost city of Atlantis?  A generic batch of gung-ho, rag-tag serial adventurers goes exploring, only to be attacked in the process.

Undersea Kingdom is more Commando Cody than Phantom Creeps.  And yet an attack from Atlantis seems a bit more colorful than a rocket man punching the space men over and over again.  I'm not entirely sure how Undersea Kingdom played out, because we saw a lot less of it than we did of Radar Men from the Moon, but this first chapter is daffy fun.  It won't win any converts into the serial fan club, but those who like them will enjoy this tasty spoonful.

It's apparent how much more confident Joel and the Bots are with this than the were with previous serials as they fire on all cylinders at such a rapid rate of funny that there are very few moments without a laugh.  However it must be said there is more event and less monotony in both the first and last chapters of just about any serial you can name, so the challenge of riffing such a thing has hardly presented itself.  The real hurdles would have been latter on, however they only riffed one more chapter before giving up on serials entirely.

Undersea Kingdom:  Chapter Two - The Undersea City

Original Episode:  Indestructable Man

The Atlanteans discover our heroes in their midst and chase the intruders.  Over and over.

Boy let me tell you, if you love watching people in silly costumes ride horses this is the serial for you.  You'll get more than your money's worth here.  There is little else of value in this final taste of serials that Mystery Science Theater has given us.  The fact that there is so little story in the second chapter of Undersea Kingdom does not bode well for future installments.  I don't blame the show for dumping it because I was getting tired of it too.  Maybe all of the running back and forth meant something in the long run, but I'm not too enthused to watch the entire thing to find out.

Occasionally Joel and the Bots will latch onto something and turn it into something fun, but this second chapter didn't seem like a worthwhile return to the Undersea Kingdom.  I'm pretty happy with traditional shorts from here on out, thank you.

General Hospital (Part 1)

Original Episode:  Manhunt in Space

Abandoning Undersea Kingdom, season four’s attempt at a serial comeback, MST tackles the enigma of their entire shorts lineup:  segments of the soap opera General Hospital.  I’m not entirely sure if anybody has ever spoken out on why General Hospital was considered for the short section.  Perhaps they were seeing that serials were too monotonous and trying to figure out something else that could be serialized to take their place.  Whatever the reason, General Hospital is here, and boy does it suck.

This particular segment features a doctor/nurse love octagon bubble ready to burst, as a nurse plans a party to ruin her crush-doctor’s delusion that he can be with a woman who is engaged to another man.  Meanwhile a patient gets bad-ish news.

When I was babysat as a tyke my cousin used to watch soap operas all the time.  I don’t think General Hospital was one of them (her shows were All My Children and Days of Our Lives), but I grew to have an intense loathing of them at a young age.  Cheap “entertainment” churned out at a pace so fast it was impossible to have any sort of bar for quality, these things were merely meant to be afternoon killers for stay-at-home moms with a case of the mopies and jobless dads who want to see easy cleavage.  Seeing this vintage piece from the 1960’s proves that they haven’t really changed much.

In theory soap opera’s are ideal for riffing.  They’re melodramatic, feature little humor, and hold large amounts of dead space for commentary to fill.  As such, the riffing on General Hospital is good, and they pin this thing to a wall and pretty much ribbing it senseless.  If I were to cite a problem with it it’s that little-to-nothing happens in the segment, leaving the audience a little mystified as to what the point of it was.

General Hospital (Part 2)

Original Episode:  The Beatniks

Continuing on from where the last General Hospital segment left off, the party is held complete with a lot of awkward tension between characters who want to bang each other.  The audience is just screaming "Start the orgy and be done with it!"

And there is cake.  Very slow cake cutting.  Very slow cake eating.

I want cake.

This segment is probably the least memorable of the General Hospital shorts on the show, because less happens than usual (and almost nothing happens at all in the entirety of the story presented in the three segments overall).  People glare at each other and just look pissy.  That's pretty much the entire thing.  And yet, there is one more of these things to deal with.  Ugh.

The riffing on the General Hospital short doesn't quite take off the way the other segments of General Hospital do.  It has a few chuckles, though the dry uneventful story weighs the riffing down.  There's a genuine effort to keep things lively, as they note the somber mood since the first moment.  Despite not being a laugh riot, they liven up this lifeless party.

General Hospital (Part 3)

Original Episode:  Crash of Moons

In the aftermath of the previous segment's party, lead General Hospital stud drives his engaged girlfriend-wannabe home and tries to convince her she's marrying the wrong man.  Meanwhile the nurse who has eyes for Dr. McStudmuffin throws a fit about him driving her home.

After three segments General Hospital's tenure on Mystery Science Theater 3000 comes to an end.  I'm not going to miss it.  What more can I say about General Hospital?  The only reason it's not the lowest bar for television programming is that reality shows based on the Kardashians, "Real Housewives," and a bunch of idiots in Jersey Shore exist.  There's nothing really in General Hospital for me to comment on, so I won't even bother.

The melodrama and lackluster sexual tension is thicker than ever.  Like the other General Hospital segments I think the format sets itself up for riffing quite well and the riffing takes full advantage.  The three segments of this soap do blend in together after a while making it difficult to pick a favorite, but I do remember laughing a bit more at this one, with a killer pitch like "You don't love Ken!" and a perfect swing like "Like I love Ken!"  General Hospital in the long run seems to be an experiment on the show, and while it's not a fairly memorable one I'm glad it happened and I got some laughs out of it.

523-Village of the Giants

Film Year:  1965

Genre:  Comedy, Science Fiction

Director:  Bert I. Gordon

Starring:  Ron Howard, Tommy Kirk, Beau Bridges, Johnny Crawford, Joy Harmon, Robert Random, Tisha Sterling

MST Season:  5

The Movie

Bert I. Gordon directed more features that were on Mystery Science Theater 3000 than anyone else, with eight selections of his filmography being featured on the show.  Village of the Giants is both the most recent film he made that was featured and also, as of this writing, the last time we've seen a film from him on MST.  It's also a bit different than what we usually get from the auteur.  Oh, the fake-looking forced-perspective giant creatures are here, that is very much a Gordon trademark, but the tone is entirely different.  Gone is the stoic face of actors like Peter Graves, but replaced by a wild and comedic beach party vibe that was commonplace.  Maybe it's the natural progression of teen dominated sci-fi horror that we saw in Earth vs. the Spider, but it's almost difficult to believe this is the same filmmaker of Amazing Colossal Man.  Until the giants show up, that is.

Loosely based on the H.G. Wells novel The Food of the Gods and How It Came to Earth (the key word being "loosely"), Village of the Giants tells the tale of a boy genius named Genius (played by Ron Howard in the middle of his Andy Griffith Show run) who accidentally creates a chemical that can turn normal creatures into giants.  A group of rowdy rebellious teenagers with a resentment toward authority find out about the "goo" and eat it, growing giant size and take over the local town so they can dance in slow motion.

Personally I'd like to come at this movie from the perspective of someone who has read Food of the Gods, but unfortunately while I have read and enjoyed several of H.G. Wells books (The Time Machine is an all-time favorite), Food of the Gods is one I'm ignorant to.  From my understanding the only things in common with the source material is science experiments turning animals and youths into giants, while the vast majority of Village of the Giants is its own take on the premise.  Gordon and his team turn the story into a fantastical "What if...?" scenario aimed squarely at the "adults don't understand!" 60's teen market.  Those who love Go-Go, bikinis, and booty shaking will get plenty of it, because the free-wheeling lifestyle is on full display, and strangely fetishized while also villainized by the piece.  That's how you know the film was made by adults who want the 60's teen audience but clearly doesn't get them.

I'll admit that this movie isn't really my thing.  While each generation has their own brand of teenage rebellion from Rebel Without a Cause all the way to Footloose, the pure 60's vibe of abolishment of authority so we can be free to...lounge around and dance, I guess...is more than a little lost upon me.  The frequency of Village of the Giants is fight for your right to be a loafer.  I'm not sure that's a fight I side with, though I do enjoy the occasional sit down and sexual interaction as well.  I just don't think I need to be at war to screw around.

I don't know if Bert I. Gordon thought he did the novel a disservice, as he did a new adaptation, this one titled "Food of the Gods" after the novel, eleven years later as a straight sci-fi drama.  Apparently this movie was only loose adaptation as well, dropping the giant humans and rather being a horror flick with giant animals.  It might seem pointless to readapt a novel if you're just going to change it again, but remember this is Bert I. Gordon we're talking about here.  Doing stories with cheesy effects blowing creatures to giant size are his bag, and he probably couldn't resist tapping that well again.  That film and Village of the Giants might make one hell of a double feature.

The Episode

Every once in a while an episode comes along where you find your opinions of it are so complicated that it seems a disservice to try and describe it as either good or bad.  Its one of those episodes where if you love the movie, the experience increases in enjoyability tenfold.  I like things about the movie, but it's mostly not my bag.  For me, Village of the Giants is a mood episode, where I really need to jive with what this episode has to offer to appreciate it.

That being said, what works in the episode's favor is surprisingly enough the comedic aspect of the film itself.  While riffing a comedy can be tricky, the thing that sets Village of the Giants apart is that it's a comedy of absurdity.  Unlike, say, Catalina Caper, the film gives them more to work with than just lame humor resulting in comments of "Lol, that's not funny."  There is a lot of craziness on display in Village of the Giants, and there is a lot to play up for commentary.  The film is a colorful pop with classically fake Bert I. Gordon special effects, and the riffing is less on the film's comedic tone but rather its whimsy.  And it definitely can be said that this is an episode that flows with the movie.

That being said, this movie's flow isn't always what I need to set sail.  The problem is that the movie's tone of 60's teens waging war on adults can grind my gears, and it's going to take more than calling Ron Howard "Opie" or dog-piling on the movie Willow to break me free of that.  At times when the movie grows tedious with it's endless go-go dancing, there isn't a whole lot that can be said to keep my attention.  Moneymakers being shaken helps, but only so much.

But whatever I'm feeling about the film, it's hard to deny that the host segments are a joy.  There is an overarching story about Dr. Forrester firing TV's Frank and hiring Torgo (from Manos) to be his replacement.  Frank's loss of purpose is played for great laughs, as he can't exactly leave because he lives in Deep 13, so he lounges around in his undergarments as Dr. F and Torgo continue about their business.  This leads up to a great song called "The Greatest Frank of All," which turned out to be a double entendre.  The film concludes with with this song as a tribute to musician Frank Zappa, who was not only a MSTie but was reportedly in contact with the fine folks at Best Brains Inc. about collaboration on a project when he passed away.  Whether this project was one of his own or just a cameo on MST, I'm not certain, but I'm sure the people on the series were flattered to have such a high profile admirer.

With a movie that's very much an acquired taste, the MST episode needs to be a home run for me to fully recommend the episode.  The riffing is good, so that's the good news.  However, whether I enjoy this episode largely depends on if I'm in the mood to tolerate the movie, which isn't as often as you would think.  There are days where I find the episode immensely enjoyable, and others where I find it the most obnoxious episode of the series.  Upon this viewing, I enjoyed the episode, so I'm more inclined to put it through a recommendation, but I can't get it out of the back of my head that the movie can really dog me during the worst moments.  The episode is what it is, and since it does incline a positive reaction half the time, I'll give it a pass.  But it's a tepid one.

Good

Normally I try not to get too personal on here, but I find myself needing to say something here.  I had intentions of posting this review six months ago, because I had initially watched the episode and had begun work on this write-up in November.  While I was working on this review I had received word that my father was in the hospital with COVID-19, though he was showing promising signs of improvement.  Soon after, his pre-existing conditions caused him to take a turn for the worse and we were informed that if he pulled through then he would have to live on a ventilator for the rest of his life.  He chose not to, and his family, myself included, agreed.  Before I finished writing this review, my father passed away as me and my family tried to comfort him over a Zoom call because we weren't allowed in the same room as him.  This experience left me pretty broken.

My father didn't really understand my love for this little puppet show, but he never discouraged me from enjoying what I loved.  He sat down and watched episodes with me, not entirely into it but just wanting to spend time with his son.  I thank him for that, as I spent time watching things he was interested in such as NASCAR, hunting shows, rodeos, and Cops so I could do the same.  He and I were very different, but we mutually loved each other.

It's been a long road back to working on my blog as I came to terms with his death.  As I watched this episode again to finish this review I realized just how much joy this show gave me and just how much strength it gave me during the hardest of days.  I need it now more than ever.  It has taken me a while to get back to work on this, and I thank all the people who read it for being patient with me over the last six months and thanks to all who reached out to comfort me during this difficult time.

But most of all, I want to take this time to say I love you, dad.  I miss you every day.  This review is for you, putting you right up there with Frank Zappa in my book.

The DVD

Shout Factory super-sized us with this BIG movie on their Volume XXVII collection.  Picture was spotty but audio was good.  The disc included an interview with Joy Harmon, who talks about her career, filming Village of the Giants, her professional relationship with Groucho Marx, and getting into baking.  She also talks about the only scene she's was uncomfortable filming, where her character grows to giant size and her shirt rips open.  She's not sure if anybody remembers that being in the movie, but I can assure you Miss Harmon, everyone remembers.

Also included is a trailer to the film.