Mystery Science Theater 3000: C/D, S/D.

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I guess if pressed I might suggest that MST3K's jests impressed because at best they blessed and meshed all cultures, from lowbrow to bliss.

― Eric H. (Eric H.), Friday, 19 March 2004 21:06 (twenty years ago) link

That's sort of why I put the "bad movie" in quotes. Because I think he was making a distinction between bad in the Douglas Sirk/Larry Cohen sense and bad in the Chipmunk Adventure sense.

― Eric H. (Eric H.), Friday, 19 March 2004 21:09 (twenty years ago) link

dude the plot of the show was that their CHARACTERS were being tortured by movies!! every episode they act as if the movies are the worst of their kind. its ACTING people!

― Pablo Cruise (chaki), Friday, 19 March 2004 21:12 (twenty years ago) link

As I said above about Fujiwara, his case falls down in part because of his querulous rant about 'why they didn't tackle the big budget horrors of recent times,' which ignores the lack of financing/ability to acquire the rights to same as well as the fact that they DID try and do numbers on them with their irregular Oscar and summer movie specials over the years. I regard Fujiwara as, frankly, an uninformed prig grasping at straws (and I sorta hope he googles himself and comes here to complain one of these days, to prove my point).

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 19 March 2004 21:18 (twenty years ago) link

Pablo honey, yes, but they also made similar comments in interviews, etc.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Friday, 19 March 2004 21:22 (twenty years ago) link

It is acting, true, but we have to remember the folks at Best Brains watched their movies in a way very different that you, I or Fujiwara might.

The process they used to develop riffs from movies -- watching movies and stopping them when they could think of something funny which somebody would then write down, then start the film again -- strikes me as really not conducive to wonderful aesthetic experiences. I doubt even my favorite films would still charm me after that kind of punishing microscopic analysis, and since we're talking about stuff, like Monster A-Go-Go or The Wild, Wild World of Batwomen, that sometimes really defies sense and reason, I think rage might a perfectly rational response.

But I bet they all eventually got somewhat desensitized to the process, and that most of the vitriol they poured onto most of their movies was merely exaggerated for comic effect.

IIRC, I think Mary Jo was eventually put in charge of screening films to see if they were MSTable, so she'd MSTed films even more times than the other BB people, and she said that they finished creating an episode out of a film, she would have already seen it a really mindbending number of times. (20? 50?!?)

― Michael Daddino (epicharmus), Friday, 19 March 2004 21:36 (twenty years ago) link

But I bet they all eventually got somewhat desensitized to the process, and that most of the vitriol they poured onto most of their movies was merely exaggerated for comic effect.

Thus Tom's legendary cry at the end of Wild World of Batwomen -- "END!!! ENNNNNDDD!!!"

Not only did Mary Jo see things a few times over first, she also had to screen those many movies which were considered and rejected for screening. Frank did that duty before her. They are perhaps the true stalwarts of the whole thing.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 19 March 2004 22:42 (twenty years ago) link

Search only Manos: Hands of Fate and POD PEOPLE, for the love of GOD, POD PEOPLE!

― roxymuzak (roxymuzak), Friday, 19 March 2004 23:41 (twenty years ago) link

McCLOUD!

Oh, and hear the engines roll now.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 19 March 2004 23:53 (twenty years ago) link

Penny in a Po' Boy?

― roxymuzak (roxymuzak), Saturday, 20 March 2004 04:46 (twenty years ago) link

one month passes...

In the 'hmmm' department, picked up the new colorized Reefer Madness disc (also presented in B&W for the purists) which among other things has Mike doing a commentary. It's...curious. Chaki was sorta down on it at ChakiFAP and I have to agree it's a bit subpar, sorta Mike does a solo MST turn on the movie, but the lack of interplay with someone else is especially missed. A couple of tropes from MST days recur ("NOT A REAL ACTOR!") and there are certainly moments of worth, but find it used (like I did) and/or get it with credit or a gift certificate (like I did) unless you have any interest in the movie straight up (like, uh, I did).

The REAL weird thing about the commentary, though, is Mike's voice -- it's him and all, but he's got this strange, prominent lisp that shows up. Either I've never noticed it before (which I find hard to doubt), he's gained one over time for reason (hadn't noticed it in the recent DVD interview snippets) or maybe they recorded him a day after some dental or mouth work.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 9 May 2004 15:30 (twenty years ago) link

(But I should note that an absolutely beautiful moment at ChakiFAP went like this:

Me: "So I picked up that Reefer Madness with Mike Nelson on it..."

Chaki: *takes out wallet to show that he's put the sticker from the DVD cover with Mike's face on it on top of his driver's license photo*)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 9 May 2004 15:33 (twenty years ago) link

one month passes...

A new update -- Mike, Bill and Kevin have a joint film review/essay site up called The Film Crew Online, which is apparently going to be both its own thing and the source of an upcoming film review book. Could be promising!

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 12 June 2004 18:14 (twenty years ago) link

Ah, and apparently an NPR series as well!

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 12 June 2004 18:15 (twenty years ago) link

Awesome, thanks Ned! I'm always glad to hear what those guys are doing.

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Saturday, 12 June 2004 19:12 (twenty years ago) link

I just saw Mr. B Natural for the first time. Holy shit.

― VengaDan Perry (Dan Perry), Saturday, 12 June 2004 19:16 (twenty years ago) link

HAHAHA

Do you feel the spirit of music inside you now?

"Just wait until he finds out how hard it really is!"

"Yes, very clever, MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM..."

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 12 June 2004 19:19 (twenty years ago) link

Dan, the file you downloaded did include the skit that comes afterwards, right?

― Casuistry (Chris P), Saturday, 12 June 2004 20:11 (twenty years ago) link

Sadly it didn't. I'm mad about this.

― VengaDan Perry (Dan Perry), Saturday, 12 June 2004 21:30 (twenty years ago) link

You should be.

Recent Mike and Mary Jo interviews.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 12 June 2004 21:33 (twenty years ago) link

Heads-up, folks - this splendidly silly fillum is on UK terrestrial TV tonight (ITV I think) at the ungodly hour of 3am - if you haven't seen it, SET THE VIDEO!

― CharlieNo4 (Charlie), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 14:31 (twenty years ago) link

The film itself is an imperfect introduction to the whole shebang but it's still one way to start! As noted above, though, slsk is proving spectacularly handy for sharing episodes, and various recommendations are a-plenty on this thread -- and as Dan notes, "Mr. B Natural" is pretty essential.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 14:39 (twenty years ago) link

What's the one with "Professor Dorkin"? Seem to remember it causing much amusement to my friends cos I lived near Dorking at the time...oh the japes.

― CharlieNo4 (Charlie), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 15:06 (twenty years ago) link

Gorgo, with the famous Dorkin circus and the lovable Dorkin clowns.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 15:09 (twenty years ago) link

My faves are POD PEOPLE, Manos: the Hands of Fate, Mitchell and CAVE DWELLERSOMGWTF.

― roxymuzak (roxymuzak), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 15:51 (twenty years ago) link

"The exercise is working. I can feel it here."

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 16:01 (twenty years ago) link

Which one is it with the bees that the guy trains to kill people?

― Comment dits-on...eh... le NA? (Nick A.), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 16:03 (twenty years ago) link

The Killer Bees. It is very English.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 16:03 (twenty years ago) link

It's been ages, but I remember favorites are the Russo-Finnish one with the dwarf, Pod People, Santa Claus v. the Martians, and the truly bizarre Puma-man "Everybody was Aztec Fighting" one.

― Jocelyn (Jocelyn), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 17:43 (twenty years ago) link

I'm still disappointed that bits of This Island Earth got cut in the movie.

― jel -- (jel), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 17:45 (twenty years ago) link

They wanted to do the full movie but the battles between Best Brains and the studio were extremely bitter, and pretty much the studio kept trimming down the running time against the Brains' wishes.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 17:48 (twenty years ago) link

I finally watched "Girl With Golden Boots". It was all right.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 17:53 (twenty years ago) link

"I WANT MY PRETTY MIND BACK!"

― VengaDan Perry (Dan Perry), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 17:54 (twenty years ago) link

It was all right.

! FAINT PRAISE, sir.

"I'M BACK!"

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 17:55 (twenty years ago) link

"Hey, did you guys like how I teleported in here just a second ago?"

― VengaDan Perry (Dan Perry), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 17:56 (twenty years ago) link

There were like two really fantastic lines, both of which I'm forgetting. Also a Taliban joke, which surprised me.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 17:57 (twenty years ago) link

Well it's not like the Taliban were unknown before 2001...

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 17:58 (twenty years ago) link

I will admit that I love that one more for the movie than the riffing.

― VengaDan Perry (Dan Perry), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 17:59 (twenty years ago) link

Oh, it's the line quoted on the box: "When sexy becomes annoying". Which I liked because I'm all about "when annoying becomes sexy" myself, see.

xpost I know but since I stopped watching the show in, what, 1995? I always kinda forget that these last episodes are from 1998.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 18:01 (twenty years ago) link

Yeah, actually none of the Vol. 4 movies are all that great in the riffing department, but GiGB, Hamlet, and especially Overdrawn At The Memory Bank are worth watching for the bad movie action. I though Space Mutiny was kind of a yawn, though.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 18:03 (twenty years ago) link

1999 was the last year, actually. And the riffing was still good. BLEAH!

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 18:04 (twenty years ago) link

The riffing was OK, but not stellar, but that hardly matters since the riffing was never the reason to watch MST3K in the first place.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 18:41 (twenty years ago) link

This is the thread where I saw Pearl, Brain Guy and Bobo were all great characters with their own dynamic.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 18:43 (twenty years ago) link

Overdrawn at the Memory Bank is kind of staggering. Poor Raul Julia. The whole sequence with the voiceover on the footage of the monkey rolling down the hill is deeply, deeply, deeply embarrassing.

― VengaDan Perry (Dan Perry), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 18:44 (twenty years ago) link

Especially when he has to play a drunk monkey.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 18:47 (twenty years ago) link

How come no one has done something yet where you download a sound file of commentary to be played over your computer while you watch the DVD of whatever they're riffing on? Synchronization aside, I think it could be cool. And cheap.

― Vinnie (vprabhu), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 18:47 (twenty years ago) link

You are only just now seeing it?

This is true, especially since there is no "Mike and the bots" dynamic to speak of. Mostly, I think, because Mike and Crow spend all their time ACTING! whereas Bobo and Brain Guy are a bit more natural.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 18:51 (twenty years ago) link

I've seen DVD commentaries that you could download and play over the originals (the DVD commentaries for the first season of South Park are floating around out there, and require you to play them simultaneously with the episode).

― Casuistry (Chris P), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 18:52 (twenty years ago) link

Well, there's a long term twist seeing as how Mike first very clearly was still 'the boss' early on but as time changed his character turned far more feckless and incompetent. If you're into that.

The South Park thing was exactly what I first thought of re: Vinnie's question!

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 18:52 (twenty years ago) link

You are only just now seeing it?

I should have said 'say' rather than 'saw.'

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 18:53 (twenty years ago) link

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