Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Thread Of Fate - Page 2

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Originally Posted by The Prankster 

Second episode was Eegah! which isn't as good, but features a truly hilarious moment in "...tequila..."

The Arch Hall Jr. jokes were my favorite. 'EEEWWW."

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Originally Posted by Jacob Singer 

Joel was recently on Seinfeld's Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee. If you haven't been watching these, you need to start.

Damn, I need to catch that one.  The Alec Baldwin ep is my favorite so far.

I had actually forgotten that my user name comes from a riff heard in this show.  Slide on down to 1:01:58 in this video for proof that immaculate timing can make a silly joke brilliant.  (Then go buy the crucial episode, commercially available in Volume XIV as well as on instant video!)

I love this show, it may be my all-time favorite.  I've always liked both Joel and Mike as they both bring different stuff to the mix, but Joel gets serious extra credit for being the creator.

The Final Sacrifice, between the teenager (who I just read on IMDB was in Hanna as the Head of Ops?!) and Zap Rowsdower, is crazily hypnotic to me. If I watch only a second of it, I must watch all of it. 

For me, Mitchell reigns supreme cuz it never fails to make me giggle uncontrollably. "Keep your eyeeee on the sammich."

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Originally Posted by Kyle Reese 

 

I'm about to go research online for some answer as to what the fuck is up with Robert Z'Dar's face. Hialriously botched plastic surgery? I almost Z'don't even want to know.
 

I always assumed it was acromegaly.

My absolute favorite type of joke is the one that 90 % of the room doesn't get, and the other 10 % of the room finds sidesplittingly hilarious. MST3K did this better than practically anyone else before or since. ("Community" is the only current show that does this with some consistency.) I actually have about 3/4 of the episodes (maybe more) on VHS in my basement, and I was part of the early "keep circulating the tapes" campaign in that many of my tapes I got from other viewers) I have flirted with pulling them out to watch for a while, but waiting for my daughter to get a bit older.

I always preferred the episodes in which the movies were entertaining in their badness, as some movies were just terribly dull.

I have a special warm memories for "Santa Claus", the Mexican concoction where Santa battles the Devil (well, Pitch) for the souls of children that's even more whacked out then it sounds. (This is not to be confused with "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians", which is a different form of bad.)

I think of "The Killer Shrews" as a favorite, for the fact that the filmakers chose to use dogs with carpets draped over them to represent those deadly creatures...and not even mean dogs, dogs that mostly looked like they wanted to play fetch.

Someone mentioned "Egahh!" (Eegah?) earlier, a quite terrible movie that I quote all the time with wierdly out of left field overdub "Watch out for snakes!" A term I use all the time. (I just googled "Watch out for Snakes" and was pleased to see the first 5 responses all had to do with MST3K.

God, you guys make me want to break into that bin in the basement!

Oh Z'No!  Much Z'ympathy for him.

I need to make a special mention of the Coleman Francis trilogy.  Skydivers, Red Zone Cuba, and Beast of Yucca Flats.  Rhino put them out separately, but one was on a set that was pulled for rights issues.   They're all on youtube. 

Perfect episodes, all of them.  I hope Shout! can do a box set with those three together, and do some bonus material.  Their bonus stuff has been great so far.

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Originally Posted by commodorejohn 

Oh man. Red Zone Cuba is just amazing in its prescience. Coleman Francis basically invented gritty nihilist anti-heroism and took it to its logical, extreme, and hideously bleak conclusion decades before it got to be considered "cool" in the mainstream. The painfully dull filmmaking really only adds to the effect.
I still haven't seen the other two. S'pose I ought to, sometime.

Indeed.  It's incredible how watchable The Brains made these three, you have to see the others.

Beast of Yucca Flats has Tor Johnson in it for goodness sake!  Coleman narrates that one, it's incredible.  Skydivers is probably my favorite though, it's almost a coherent movie, Coleman only has a cameo.

The episodes themselves are just perfect, the shorts alone are worth the price of admission.

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Originally Posted by commodorejohn 

Oh man. Red Zone Cuba is just amazing in its prescience. Coleman Francis basically invented gritty nihilist anti-heroism and took it to its logical, extreme, and hideously bleak conclusion decades before it got to be considered "cool" in the mainstream. The painfully dull filmmaking really only adds to the effect.
I still haven't seen the other two. S'pose I ought to, sometime.

Water.

Sick man.

Coffee.

You forgot 'flag on the moon'.

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Originally Posted by Judas Booth 

 The coolest guy by far was Kevin Murphy, who mainly does Tom Servo. I complimented him on his singing voice, and led us into a good ten minute conversation on general show topics. He couldn't have been a nicer guy.

This is very nice to hear as he's always been my favorite of the bunch, due in no small part to his infectious singing.

Kevin Murphy is hilarious and a natural talent.  Prior to MST3K's arrival at KTMA (the local channel it started out on), Murphy was involved in some pretty interesting (and very, very unseen) experimental comedy programming at the zero-budget UHF station.  Check out this gem in what might be described as a kind of proto-Daily Show for the Twin Cities.

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Originally Posted by FatherDude 

Kevin Murphy is hilarious and a natural talent.  Prior to MST3K's arrival at KTMA (the local channel it started out on), Murphy was involved in some pretty interesting (and very, very unseen) experimental comedy programming at the zero-budget UHF station.  Check out this gem in what might be described as a kind of proto-Daily Show for the Twin Cities.

Thanks so much for this, Murphy is the man.

Murphy's book, A Year at the Movies, is well worth hunting down.

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Originally Posted by Hammerhead 

Murphy's book, A Year at the Movies, is well worth hunting down.

My Christmas list (yes, really - my mother insists, even though I'm a grown-ass man) is filled with Rifftrax/MST3K stuff. Both this and Mike Nelson's Movie Megacheese are on the list, along with a smattering of Rifftrax DVDs.

Movie Megacheese is so great.  His review of Batman and Robin starts off something like, "Many people say Batman and Robin is the worst movie ever made.  They're wrong.  It is the worst THING ever made by man."  Mind Over Matters is really good, too, and I had a lot of fun with Death Rat.  I also finally managed to get my hands on Kevin Murphy's book recently, and I can't wait to dive into that one.

Also, anyone ever read this?  It was a comic book written by Trace Beaulieu and published by Joe Quesada's and Jimmy Palmiotti's Event comics imprint.  It was pretty funny if I remember correctly, but I unloaded it with the rest of my floppies a while back, and haven't read it in a number if years.  I also need to check out Beaulieu's new book about fairy tales for belligerent kids or whatever it is.

Also, as a side note, I just followed up a viewing of The Room with the Werewolf episode of MST3K.  They go together surprisingly well, thanks to the weird accents of the leads.

I've watched The Room only once, the Rifftrax version. It was funny, as per usual, but the next three nights Tommy Wiseau was a constant presence in my dreams. It was a banal but talkative presence, but because of all his talking I think of those dreams as nightmares. That was a few years ago and to this day I'm gun-shy about rewatching it out of fear the dreams will return.  Alas, I've shared too much...

Jack Frost is probably my personal favorite episode at this point. The evil sister remains my favorite character to appear in any of the episodes, she's absolutely delightful!

Actually any of the Russian movies they did are probably my favorites.

This gets a mention in the Amazing Colossal Episode Guide, but it still gets me how lavishly the Russo-Finnish movies are produced.  The original troika of The Day the Earth Froze, Magic Voyage of Sinbad, and Sword and the Dragon all look incredible, Jack Frost a little less so, but still.  I'd love to see cleaned up prints of all four.

All hilarious too.  Sword and the Dragon doesn't get much mention, but it's worth it for the Wind Demon sequence alone.

Been a big fan since childhood, probably around 5 or 6. Regarding the Joel or Mike question, I find Mike to be a livelier, more enjoyable presence. But Joel is quite funny in his own way as well, especially when he consoles the bots after a particularly trying experience (Manos comes to mind).

Many of my favorites have already been listed ("ROWSDOWER!"), but no mention of Hobgoblins? For shame! It has the infamous rake fight, the film canister being unveiled like the Ark of the Covenant, and the ruthless mockery of the shitty puppets.
 

"It's the 80s!  Do a lot of coke and vote for Ronald Reagan!"  That riff from the Hobgoblins episode is one of my most oft-quoted lines when watching movies from that decade.

"Ugh, everybody throw up tonight" is another good one.

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Originally Posted by Chris Spider 

Been a big fan since childhood, probably around 5 or 6. Regarding the Joel or Mike question, I find Mike to be a livelier, more enjoyable presence. But Joel is quite funny in his own way as well, especially when he consoles the bots after a particularly trying experience (Manos comes to mind).

 

Many of my favorites have already been listed ("ROWSDOWER!"), but no mention of Hobgoblins? For shame! It has the infamous rake fight, the film canister being unveiled like the Ark of the Covenant, and the ruthless mockery of the shitty puppets.
 

"Why are we watching an insane woman?"

That's referring to the weird-ass subplot with the whiny hero's girlfriend wanting to become slutty, right? Hurray for 80s misogyny!

Checked out Warrior of the Lost World on Netflix last night.  I love when the guys just absolutely hate on someone like they do with "the Paper Chase guy" here.   And it really is probably the worst lead performance I ever saw; somehow utterly bland but still managing to be irritating.   

MEGAWEAPON!

I like to go on Youtube and watch the shorts. A favorite is A Date With Your Family,

Have they collected the shorts on dvd?

I'm also one of those that doesn't like any of the stuff outside the theater and fast forwards until they get to the movie.

The shorts are BEAUTIFUL. Some of my personal favorites:

Circus on Ice: "Shut up and watch the deer get slaughtered, it's fun!"

Gumby's Robot Rumpus: "Pokey left a big surprise in your begonias!"

Both parts of the hilariously misguided Hired!: "You, swat at imaginary elves on the porch!"

And of course, Mr. B Natural: "Joel, I'm scared!"

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is gets a mention in the Amazing Colossal Episode Guide, but it still gets me how lavishly the Russo-Finnish movies are produced.  The original troika of The Day the Earth Froze, Magic Voyage of Sinbad, and Sword and the Dragon all look incredible, Jack Frost a little less so, but still.  I'd love to see cleaned up prints of all four.

 

I own a pretty wonderful Russian DVD of Ilya Muromets which is just the full cut of Sword of the Dragon.

It's actually a pretty wonderful film divorced of the MST3K treatment, lots of beautiful imagery that looks like an Ivan Bilibin painting come to life.

That sounds wonderful Lauren!  I'll have to track it down.

Hobgoblins.  Such a riseable film. "I don't trust a hero named Kevin who drives a prune-colored musclecar."  The director is still butthurt they made fun of him at the end.

The dearth of Shorts is my only big gripe about the Sci Fi years.  Be sure to watfch Assignment Venezuela.  It was intended for the never-produced MST3K CD-ROM (remember when those were a thing?) and made it out at a con, and one of the Rhino DVD's:

My favorite though, I didn't even see until a couple years back: A Young Man's Fancy. Slays me every time.  The entire episode.  Jam Handy was a genius, then it leads into one of Ed Wood's oddest fantasy's.

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Originally Posted by Cameron Hughes 

I like to go on Youtube and watch the shorts. A favorite is A Date With Your Family,

 

Have they collected the shorts on dvd?

 

I'm also one of those that doesn't like any of the stuff outside the theater and fast forwards until they get to the movie.

Rhino put out two or three shorts collections, mainly from episodes that were too expensive to license. Don't think Shout has done the same. (The county library system has a shitload of the older Rhino DVDs. They've been a godsend. Too bad my laptop is on its last legs, and I can't rip them.)

Honestly, Last Clear Chance isn't nearly as funny without the skit immediately following it.

I think he also suggested the movie to them as well totally unprepared for how much they'd actually hate it.

Hobgoblins is basically the Mike-era version of Manos, though I find it a lot more easier to sit through.

My favorite bit in Future War is when the hero screams, and his shirt just disappears.  Kills me every time.  And yeah, when I realized that was him in Matrix Reloaded, I had a hard time concentrating on the film from that point on.

We can't overlook Overdrawn at the Memory Bank.   Another sci-fi era gem.
 

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Originally Posted by LaurenOrtega 

 

I think he also suggested the movie to them as well totally unprepared for how much they'd actually hate it.

 

Hobgoblins is basically the Mike-era version of Manos, though I find it a lot more easier to sit through.

Hobgoblins is gross, but it's not horribly depressing.  The Club Scum MC, Road Rash, and Fantastia all have solid careers to this day.  IMDB just told me that hobgoblins was released with an R rating!  What the hell for?  Stupidity? 

The brains treatment of Manos makes me forget how dismal and depressing the movie is.  

The only epoisode I have a hard time getting through is Atomic Brain.  I own it, and barely watch it.  Great short, and fun host segments, but that movie makes me feel so icky, it's just dismal.

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Originally Posted by commodorejohn 


My God, that was gold. "So she's squishy and she's got 'the reds;' what the heck's goin' on around here!?"

The squishy jokes continue into the movie proper.  I love the nerd brother, and the "wow, she needs to meet a musician" line while Alexander Phipps is beguiling Squishy Judy with his knowledge of kitchen appliances.

Hobgoblins did give us this little slice of genius:

And then they used that song for the trailer for Hobgoblins 2.

No, really.

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Originally Posted by Chris Olson 

My favorite bit in Future War is when the hero screams, and his shirt just disappears.  Kills me every time.  And yeah, when I realized that was him in Matrix Reloaded, I had a hard time concentrating on the film from that point on.

YES! I got the matrix box set cheap and then I saw him fighting Morpheus on a fucking truck! I guess he was one of those kung fu guys that were trying to make it Van Damme style and then he found himself on the set of a huge franchise being a bad guy.

I'm still baffled at the fact that Kalgan is Diabolik is the angel dude from Barbarella.  Not to mention Sinbad.

"Come on skull..."

That's John Phillip Law you pleb!!

You guys, Godzilla vs. Megalon had me in stitches.

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Originally Posted by LaurenOrtega 

That's John Phillip Law you pleb!!

Kal....gan? 

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Originally Posted by Jmurdoch 

FutureWar was another good one (also featuring Robert Z'Dar). Although I cant watch Matrix Reloaded without focusing on Jean Claude Gosh Darn as an Agent.

I had no idea that was him till I read that, now I'm wondering how much better the Matrix sequels would have been with Neo fighting dinosaurs as well.