The Official Mystery Science Theater 3000 Topic

[LSD Jellyfish]

I've watched episodes 1-6 so far.

Episode 1 had my favorite movie, but like people say they riff too much and there's no pausing. The later episodes, specifically Cry Wilderness and Avalanche nail the riffing. The StarCrash episode was particularly good, and all the interlude segments have kept things fresh.

Can I just say Cry Wilderness is probably one of the worst movies ever? Sure, some of the other movies were bad, but they at least worked as movies...

And yeah I'm looking forward to YONGARY

[HayesAJones]

Wrapped up yesterday. My overall impression? Good, but not as good as the original show. This is more of a personal nitpick, but it's a little weird that it's so self-aware. The show has never taken itself terribly serious, but it's also never leaned so much on the fourth wall. More significantly, I think it was too focused on recapturing the charm of the original. It was so busy making throw-back references and in-jokes that it didn't have the time to create many of its own.

I'm not disappointed, but I'm not blown away either. If there's a second season, I hope it stands on its own two feet more.

And that ending was... something.

Though at least THIS makes more sense now (because woo boy was it weird when it first happened):

Spoiler:

The next host?

[LSD Jellyfish]

Not clicking the spoiler because I'm 8 episodes in but I've noticed twice some references to memes, as well as spongebob. I don't mind it referencing contemporary stuff, as that's what the original was doing, but it's still weird. Some of the best jokes are definitely delivered by Crow.

[Stevo_1985]

I'm only 4 episodes in. I'm enjoying it. Not as good as the original with Joel or Mike at the helm though. A few gripes. Sometimes I feel the riffs are far too many in a short span. That and I'm having a hard time with Servos new voice.

[LegendZilla]

I am hoping that next season, they're-visit some of the movies done in the KTMA run.

[LamangoKaijura]

I saw someone say 'The riffing parts seem like they were prerecorded and the host segments are just shot on one single angle/camera, I'm sorry to have funded this.' I was... really tempted to call them out on how stupid they are...

My father and I have been fans of MST3K ever since he quit drinking to hang out with me. We have seen almost every box set DVDs, volume 9 still eludes me damn it, and we booted up Reptilicus. My dad instantly recognized Joel as the 'Dude in the hazmat suit'.

That and I'm having a hard time with Servos new voice.

Oh my god, yes. Servo's the most horrible thing so far. Especially now that it's stiff armed Servo who has working arms. Takes the charm out of it. Oh, and his puppetry and voice are seriously lacking. The dude who took over Crow is absolutely the highlight. Sounds like a perfect mix between Trace's Crow and Bill's attitude. Gypsy's redesign is amazing too. "She took up so much floor space".

I am hoping that next season, they're-visit som of the movies done in the KTMA run.

I'd love for a modern take on Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds and Green Slime.

[TitanoGoji16]

So, I finally finished this today. My thoughts:

Things I liked (essentially everything):
- One of the things I was worried about most, the cast, is great. I've come to really like Jonah, I absolutely love Kinga and Max. Hampton Yount and Baron Vaughn do a great job as Crow and Servo (though I ultimately prefer Hampton/Crow, who sounds like a younger Trace).
- It was great seeing Pearl, Bobo, and Brain Guy again as well.
- I actually liked Growler, and even kinda hope he sticks around. It'd be interesting to see a new Bot on the Satellite, interacting with the main three. We've gotten new hosts and Mads before, but never a new Bot. It could be an interesting dynamic. Heck, bring Waverly back, too. He could be the "Kenny" and be killed off by Servo and Crow every episode or so.
- The new Satellite is cool as are all the little details in the doorway sequence. It's a little too Robot Chicken-y for my tastes, but overall I like it.
- For a second I was worried about the new theme song: "Next Sunday A.D., there was a guy named Jonah, not too different from you and me, he worked at Gizmonic Institute, just another mug in a yellow jumpsuit"... I was worried they had just reused Joel's theme but replaced his name with Jonah's. I literally said "Oh thank you" out loud when I heard the "the distress call came in" section.
- I really like that this seems to be a mash up, in-universe-wise, of the Joel and Mike eras of the show. Jonah is an employee of Gizmonic Institute, but Pearl, Brain Guy, Bobo, and the Observers factor in heavily as well. It's a nice touch and really helps bring the universe together. I mean, I know it's only MST3K and all, but still.
- The Skeleton Crew playing old MST3K songs for the 'commercial breaks.' This is a really cool tip of the hat to the show's musical history.
- I like that most of the original show's old running gags and catchphrases were present: "Rat Patrol, in color!" "Hikeeba!" "Watch out for snakes!" "They tampered in God's domain." I think the only one that didn't get used was "I'm huge!" and I might even be mistaken about that.
- I love the name "Reptilicus Metallicus."
- I can't believe they ended on a cliffhanger my God you can't just do that how am I supposed to wait for Season 12?!

Things I absolutely hate:
- Gypsy's new voice. I knew Rebecca Hanson was taking over as her and I had no problem with that - Crow and Servo were getting new voice actors, so clearly Gypsy would as well. But whereas Hampton and Baron are doing the voices of the characters Crow T. Robot and Tom Servo, Rebecca is doing the exact opposite as Gypsy. Gone is her iconic, dopey, "sad cow" voice and instead she is given the blandest, "white woman-est," "soccer mom-est", most uninteresting voice possible. Why couldn't Rebecca just do Gypsy's voice? This is really the only thing about the new season that I cannot stand whatsoever.

Things that need a little work:
- I like Gypsy's "ceiling mode," but I'd like it better if they alternated between that and regular standing Gypsy. She's supposed to be going around working on the ship, right? It'd make sense if sometimes she was down on the floor and sometimes she was up on the ceiling.
- Servo's arms. Look, if they want to have Servo's arms function and be able to move and hold things, that's great. But part of Servo's charm was his silly useless dangling Slinky arms. But now his arms are always those stiff, unmoving silver ones. Unless they're filming a scene that specifically requires Servo to use his arms, they should always just use the Slinky arms by default.
- All the A.D.D. shit going on in the theater. Look, I get it. MST has a budget now. But the original MST3K was hilarious and all they did was sit in the corner. Sure, every now and then there was the occasional sight gag - like the trio ducking if something shot towards the screen, or when Joel "grew" in Godzilla vs. Megalon, or that time Mike ran from the car in Final Justice - but those were few and far between and didn't happen twenty times per episode. Watching Servo fly around on screen, Gypsy come up and down with her basket, Crow climbing up on grape vines, and all the damn props Jonah and the Bots use, is just unfunny and distracting. I'm not here to watch shadow puppets, I'm here to listen to... puppets... in shadows... You know what I mean! The only time the "Servo flying around" thing was funny was when he pretended to lift the space rocket in Time Travelers. And while the drones in Avalanche were funny, it completely goes against Crow's and Servo's character - How many times while watching a movie did they wish for the main heroine to strip down? They'd hardly be the first ones in line to cover up female nudity.
- And what is with that damn basket Gypsy keeps bringing into and taking out of the theater?! It wasn't explained the first time she did it in Reptilicus and it isn't explained the last time she does it in At the Earth's Core. At first I thought it was part of her joke in Reptilicus, but then it kept happening in every episode. Does it serve a purpose? Why can't she come in without it? And why does she always have to appear at the start and end of the movie? Why can't she come in randomly at different times?
- Whenever Joel, Mike, and the Bots wore costumes for host segments, they would often keep them in the theater and wear them while watching the next section of movie. Sadly, this tradition is not kept for this season. It would've been fun to see Raccoon Crow and Servo or Steampunk Crow and Servo in the theater.
- The Robot Roll Call. I like what they were going for visually, but I miss the Bots' names popping out. Obviously they wouldn't want to use the same big foam words on strings as before, but I wish they'd display their names in some fashion, like cartoony graphics popping up on screen or something. Also, I'm sad that they broke tradition and didn't keep Joel's voice for the Roll Call.
- Now, as much as I love the Skeleton Crew playing old MST3K songs, they only play the same six songs: Livin' in Deep 13, Creepy Girl, To Earth!, United Servo Academy Men's Chorus Hymn, The Canada Song, and Sidehackin'. All great choices, but good lord, only a small sample of MST's classic tunes. Where was Tubular Boobular Joy, Sodium, Where O Werewolf?, The Greatest Frank of All, Happy Upbeat Song, Tribute to Pants, Who Will I Kill?, Stay!, Idiot Control Now, or, heck, even the main Love Theme. As much as I love the song, by Episode 5 I was sick of hearing Livin' in Deep 13. Also, it was disappointing that for The Christmas That Almost Wasn't they only played (Let's Have) A Patrick Swayze Christmas and not Merry Christmas If That's OK.
- Ardy reporting to Kinga that parts of the movies kept spilling out felt like it was building up to something and then it never did.
- I like the idea of Synthia but she needs to be used more.
- We get no explanation as to why the Bots are back in space. Did Kinga bot-nap them? Did she build her own versions? Did they get bored of Earth and send themselves back into space? We have no clue. "It's just a show, you should really just relax," you may be saying, but even the original show would explain it when characters had major things happen to them. Imagine if the show never told us how Joel left, or how Mike arrived, or how Mike and the Bots returned from the edge of the universe.

Overall, despite a few hiccups that definitely need to be addressed, this is a very solid resurrection of everyone's favorite show about a man trapped in space with a bunch of robots making fun of cheesy movies. Here's hoping it's not too long before Season 12.

[LamangoKaijura]

I think Gypsy's bringing in and out the movie's 'deep hurting'

[NSZ]

- And what is with that damn basket Gypsy keeps bringing into and taking out of the theater?! It wasn't explained the first time she did it in Reptilicus and it isn't explained the last time she does it in At the Earth's Core. At first I thought it was part of her joke in Reptilicus, but then it kept happening in every episode. Does it serve a purpose? Why can't she come in without it? And why does she always have to appear at the start and end of the movie? Why can't she come in randomly at different times?

I think that the basket holds the props the guys use for their in-theater gags. Not 100% sure, though.

- Ardy reporting to Kinga that parts of the movies kept spilling out felt like it was building up to something and then it never did.

I have a pretty good feeling that may have just been their way of getting in a 'This movie has been edited' disclaimer, because I know that was a complaint during the original run.

[LegendZilla]

I just finished watching the new season. Is now the right time to include spoilers?

[UltramanGoji]

I agree wholeheartedly about the theater shadows. Distracting and stupid. I was hoping they'd go away with later episodes but that doesnt seem to be the case.

[LamangoKaijura]

I agree wholeheartedly about the theater shadows. Distracting and stupid. I was hoping they'd go away with later episodes but that doesnt seem to be the case.

Wait. You mean the stuff they do IN the theater and not the shadows themselves? Cause...they've been doing the theater shadows since 1989.

[UltramanGoji]

Yeah, the hovering Servo and things like that. Super distracting.

Believe me, I've been an MST3K fan for over a decade, I know about the shadows

[Kubo]

I just finished the Yongary episode a couple days ago, so I feel like I got a pretty good sense of the show at this point.

It's kept the spirit of the original series alive. While it feels like a bigger production, the show manages still to deliver the riffs and goofy skits. In fact, when Jonah and the bots are doing their invention exchanges and whatnot, I'd say they're on par with the best of Joel's outings. Unfortunately, the maniacal attitudes of Trace Beaulieu's Dr. Forester and TV's Frank are lost. Felicia Day can't even best Pearl, often seeming like she's trying too hard. The same goes to Oswalt's TV's Son of TV's Frank (brilliant name, I must say).

On the bright side, none of the skits last too long (save for Neil Patrick Harris's appearance, which is drawn out to the song's detriment), so you get back to the riffing and movies in just a couple minutes.

They've picked out some great movies for the season. Avalanche has been their peak in terms of riffs, with The Loves of Hercules being a worthy second place.

Hoping they get a second season.

[Tim85]

I love the new season! I've seen all of them and laughed through all of them. Admittedly there are some speed bumps but to me it wasn't enough to distract from my enjoyment. I got a kick out of the sight gags; especially in the Hercules movie when Tom flew up to touch Herc's pecs and he waves his hand in a motion that swatted Tom away. I lost it on that one!

[RandomDeinonychus]

Ardy reporting to Kinga that parts of the movies kept spilling out felt like it was building up to something and then it never did.

I have a pretty good feeling that may have just been their way of getting in a 'This movie has been edited' disclaimer, because I know that was a complaint during the original run.

I thought that gag in the Wizards of the Lost Kingdom II episode was pretty much perfect for two reasons:

1. "Actually, it's pretty cool, might have saved the movie. Oh, well."
2. From the description, I immediately knew it was stock footage from The Warrior and the Sorceress. And since WOTLK2 used as much of the David Carradine footage from that movie as they possibly could, I was proven right.

I also agree with several other people that the weakest part was probably that Max has an unrequited love for Kinga. It was just so predictable. However, I did find the payoff of that subplot darkly hilarious.

[Lain Of The Wired]

Finally got around to watching the new season
I was surprised by it, it's not that bad. Hope it gets more seasons

[TheSecondComing]

I've been sad about Adam West, but discovered a sweet treat here. I didn't know he hosted their Turkey Day marathon in 1994, nor that he and Mamie van Doren introduced Gamera vs. Zigra.

Thank you Mr. West.

[LegendZilla]

Any word on the second season to the revival?

*edit*

Never mind, it's been confirmed. http://www.denofgeek.com/us/tv/mst3k/26 ... by-netflix

[LegendZilla]

Forgive me for the double post, but the second season of the revival has been confirmed for this Thanksgiving : https://www.google.com/search?source=hp ... WrZ0TfT7kk