The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection, Vol. 10 (Godzilla vs. Megalon / Swamp Diamonds / Teen-Age Strangler / The Giant Spider Invasion) (1988) Review

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(More customer reviews)The latest MST3K 4-disc set contains a good variety of episodes from seasons 2, 5 and 8. Two episodes feature Joel Hodgson as host and two have Mike Nelson as host. Three episodes are from the Comedy Central years while one is from the first season on the Sci-Fi Channel. Here is a synopsis of each episode:
212- GODZILLA VS. MEGALON
This extremely silly Toho picture from 1973 is a blast whether you love or loathe Godzilla movies. Its original Japanese title is Gojira tai Megaro. It is simply goofy beyond belief! The people of Seatopia, who live under the ocean, decide that it's time they controlled the surface world as well, launching an all out assault on surface dwelling humans. Their main instrument of destruction is Megalon, a large monster with big spike-like arms and a star-shaped projection on his head. Godzilla comes to the rescue, assisted by a man-made robot named Jet Jaguar that can change its size to become gigantic. Together, Godzilla and Jet Jaguar teach Megalon and the Seatopians a lesson they'll not soon forget.
This is a GREAT episode and includes some of the BEST host segments ever, including the "Rex Dart, Eskimo Spy" sketch, the `Bots get new arms sketch, the `Bots argue over whose monster is the "coolest" sketch, and the HILARIOUS translation of the Jet Jaguar fight song during the final host segment. The scene of Godzilla dropkicking as if flying through the air during the opening titles in later seasons of the show comes from this episode. This is a must-see episode!
503- SWAMP DIAMONDS (plus short: WHAT TO DO ON A DATE)
This is a 1955 Roger Corman "classic" starring Beverly Garland and Mike "Touch" Connors before his fame with Mannix. Beverly Garland leads a gang of escaped female convicts to a cache of diamonds and they kidnap the innocent Mr. Connors and his girlfriend along the way. A policewoman goes undercover inside the gang hoping to recover the stolen diamonds. Beverly Garland turns in the usual good performance and looks great doing it in spite of the mediocre film quality.
Host segments in this episode focus on the dating short as Servo tries to get up the nerve to ask Gypsy for a date. There's also a hilarious bit based on the "This Side of Paradise" episode of the original Star Trek series.
514- TEEN-AGE STRANGLER (plus short: IS THIS LOVE?)
This is the second episode of MST3K to be hosted by Mike Nelson after the departure of show creator Joel Hodgson. The main feature is a small independent film made in 1968 West Virginia about a serial killer in a small town and it looks every bit the amateur film. Highlights in this episode include Mike Nelson transforming into Mikey from the movie and the hilarious "The Janitor Song." The short is also a winner with some of the oldest looking "young people" you're likely to see on film; this is really funny stuff!
810- THE GIANT SPIDER INVASION
This movie is a 1975 monster flick from Bill Rebane, the same man who brought you Monster A-Go Go! This film is ever so slightly more competently made than Monster A-Go Go and actually features a couple of well-known actors: Barbara Hale of Perry Mason fame and Alan Hale, Jr. who was The Skipper on Gilligan's Island and also the sheriff in the film The Crawling Hand which was featured in MST3K episode # 106. The movie is really goofy fun, with large spiders everywhere, sleazy and gross yokel-type characters less appealing than the spiders, and a small car dressed up as the biggest and cheesiest looking spider of them all. The scene where Barbara Hale's character does an odd tumble down a hill is worth seeing all by itself and there's plenty of other good material here as well for the MST3K writers. This is certainly one of the more fun episodes done after the show moved to the Sci-Fi Channel. The amusing host segments are based loosely on the classic SF film Invasion of the Body Snatchers rather than on the film featured in the episode.
This DVD set also contains the following extra features:
-MST3K Video Jukebox with 15 songs from the series
-Photo Gallery
-Outtakes consisting of about 15 minutes of the best moments from "Poopie 2"
This is a great set any MST3K fan, film buff or comedy aficionado would enjoy, with a wide variety of film genres and seasons of the show represented here. Join Us! Movie Sign!

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Mystery Science Theater 3000 - The Beginning of the End (1957) Review

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(More customer reviews)One of my favorite MST3Ks: a great example of the mid 1950s "atomic monster" genre, with laughable special effects. Giant mutant grasshoppers attack the mountains and deserts of central "Illinois," before moving on to destroy Chicago by crawling up picture postcards of the Wrigley Building and being lured into Lake Michigan by electronic grasshopper mating calls made by a young Peter Graves ("Hi, I'm Peter Graves. Tonight on 'Biography'..."), ironically the nuclear scientist responsible for the whole giant-mutation thing, not to mention his deaf-mute assistant Frank's gruesome dismemberment and death at the chomping mandibles of one seriously big mother of a locust. America's finest fighting force (the Illinois National Guard) is powerless against this giant hopping threat. Another 1957 monster classic from infamous science fiction filmmaker Bert I. Gordon, the undisputed master of movies about giant animals attacking California cities masquerading as the midwest. Don't miss the riveting post-opening credits scene: an apparently endless car-approaching sequence (Mike: "Folks, we'll start the movie as soon as our ride gets here."), and the incessant, earsplitting, marching-band music soundtrack. An early Mike Nelson episode, it's a great example of classic MST3K: bad sci-fi flick, hilarious riffing on the film by Mike and the bots, including a *seriously* weird host segment where rubber grasshoppers attack postcards Mike just happens to have lying around. I actually saw this one week before I moved to Chicago, which is all-but-destroyed in the movie, and it seriously creeped me out for a while, though I've never been able to drive by Champaign-Urbana without looking over my shoulder for giant grasshoppers.

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Mystery Science Theater 3000 - I Accuse My Parents (1945) Review

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(More customer reviews)This DVD from Rhino offers up one the funniest -- and most charming -- episodes of the legendary TV show "Mystery Science Theater 3000," where they take on a 1944 drama/gangster movie/message flick called, "I Accuse My Parents." There are few episodes of the show I recommended higher for all-around quality.
For those of you unfamiliar with "Mystery Science Theater 3000," (MST3K for short) it is a ninety-minute show featuring a silhouette of a man and two robots (Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot) in movie theater seats projected in front of a bad movie. The hosts provide hysterical, satiric, and culturally-savvy wisecracks to accompany the movie. The episodes also includes sketches and songs and adds up to some of the most hilarious comedy you will ever see.
"I Accuse My Parents" is episode #507, from the last days of Joel Hodgson's run as host. Although the movie itself is actually not that bad, this episode comes at point in the show's development when the writers and performers were at the peak of the powers, and the result is one of the most hilarious episodes, and one that really grows on you with its sense of warm parody. It's a good episode for newcomers as well, since the film is average enough so that its awfulness doesn't distract from the wisecracks. (I've noticed that when I show an episode of the show to a friend who has never seen it before, the worse the movie being parodied is, the more my friend focuses on the movie instead of the hosts. This, therefore, is a good "training" episode.)
The camaraderie between the cast is quite wonderful here, and the warm, jocular style of the Joel years is at its strongest. After Mike Nelson took over as host (a few episodes later), the comedy style became more satiric and antagonistic toward the film. I love both hosts, but there is something rather magical and pleasant about the comedy of Joel's stint as host, and this episode displays that style perfectly. It is one of quintessential Joel Hodgson episodes.
The movie is a competently shot `B' programmer from low-budget studio PRC. Our hero is Jimmy, a really stupid high school graduate who has to get a job at a shoe store despite his skills at essay writing (he won an essay content and mentions it endlessly). While lying to impress a girl, Jimmy idiotically ends up getting into debt and having to go to work as a courier for a gangster, while he also romances the gangster's girl Kitty (played by actress Mary Beth Hughes, who also appears in another MST3K episode, "Last of the Wild Horses.") Well, pretty soon our poor fool is in trouble with the law and the mob and on the run. And when it all explodes in his face, whom does he accuse? Yep, the title gives it away: His Parents! And why? Because they drink and argue. See, it's all their fault.
What makes this episode so dang funny is not that the film is particularly rotten looking or the acting is awful, but because the film's premise and main character are so stupid. The hosts lance into the characters at every point: Jimmy's incessant lying ("I liberated France while you were out dancing"), Jimmy's constant bragging about winning an essay constant ("Welcome to the Annual Essay Awards Ceremony!") his alcoholic parents who keep throwing money at him ("I'm up here with the D.T.s, honey! Would you get the yellow lizard out of the bathroom?"), Jimmy's rank stupidity ("Sir, I just don't get the holy spirit. Is it a bird?"), and the extremely obvious gangster organization ("Organized crime, please hold...organized crime, please hold...). This is a very `character'-driven episode, and it's hilarious. There's also some great sketches between movie watching. In one sketch, Joel and the Robots psychoanalyze Jimmy to show that more than just `drunk folks' are behind his problems. (Crow, or course, determines that Jimmy is just stupid.)
This DVD is a laugh riot, and a quintessential Joel episode. It feels like plunking down on the couch and watching a film with your best buddies; I think that's the main charm of the Joel years of the show. Newcomers and old fans alike will want this classic. (There are absolutely no extras on the DVD, however, but the episode is such a gem, it doesn't matter.)

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The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection, Vol. 8 (Hobgoblins / The Phantom Planet / Monster A-Go Go / The Dead Talk Back) (1965) Review

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(More customer reviews)MST3K Volume 8 contains two episodes from the Comedy Central years and two from the Sci-Fi Channel years. One stars Joel Hodgson and three star Mike Nelson as host. There is lots of sci-fi and horror fun in these four weird and wonderful episodes. Here's a synopsis of each of them:
Episode 421- MONSTER A-GO GO (with short: CIRCUS ON ICE)
The movie is a hilarious bit of b/w 1965 sci-fi made by Bill Rebane, the guy who later brought you The Giant Spider Invasion. The plot involves an astronaut returning to Earth as a radioactive "monster" and the efforts to catch him. The film has a surprise ending which I won't give away here in case there are any MST3K fans about to buy this set that haven't seen it. I will say that the surprise, if you can call it that, will make you groan, and Joel and the `Bots make some hilarious jokes at the film's expense when the so-called big surprise is revealed. The writers at MST3K were often at their best when the films were at their worst, and this episode is no exception. The low budget is readily apparent in everything about this film, like the poor sound quality, the acting, direction and props (or lack of them). For example, there's one especially funny scene wherein an actor is forced to make a ringing noise to simulate a telephone ringing instead of having an actual sound effect of a telephone ring! The short, Circus On Ice, is also a bit weird and takes a hilarious verbal pounding from the crew of the SOL. Wait till you see the skater playing a fawn getting shot! It's not your typical ice show or circus, that's for sure.

Episode 603- THE DEAD TALK BACK (with short: THE SELLING WIZARD).
This b/w feature was filmed in 1957, but never saw the light of day till it was released on video in 1993 and then appeared on Mystery Science Theater. An inventor is working on a machine that will allow him to speak to the dead. One of his fellow boarding house tenants is murdered, so they supposedly use his invention to have a séance and speak with the victim and reveal the murderer. There's lots of inaction in the middle before the climactic séance scene and (yes, another) surprise ending. Dull and dumb, but good for some laughs, especially with the crew of the SOL. The short, The Selling Wizard, is only slightly livelier, but is funny when the MST3K gang gives it the usual treatment. It's a classic bit of American advertising by the Anheuser-Busch Company that gets an amusing and merciless MST3K treatment.
Episode 902- PHANTOM PLANET
Any movie with Richard Kiel as a large grotesque monster can't be a total waste. An SF flick made in 1961 in black and white, it has everything you'd expect: stiff acting, rubber suit monsters, pretty girls in scanty attire, and cheesy special effects. The story involves an Earth astronaut finding his way onto a wandering "phantom planet" where the humanoid inhabitants are advanced and look just like earthlings, only extremely diminutive by comparison. The astronaut shrinks to their size when exposed to their atmosphere, after which love, jealousy, action and melodrama ensue. There's a really fruity optimistic speech made by one of the astronaut characters early in the picture, just before he dies a sudden death from a meteoroid strike; what message is the filmmaker trying to send with that? If you like old SF films, you will like this one a lot.
Episode 907- HOBGOBLINS
This 1987 rip-off of Gremlins directed by Rick Sloane is just about as bad as a movie can get. There is nothing amusing, entertaining, funny or scary about this movie and it fails to entertain on EVERY level. I've read that most of Mr. Sloane's movies are of a less reputable type (wink, wink) than bad SF, but no matter what your taste you won't want to see anything else by him after you've seen this garbage. If possible, it's less entertaining than Manos Hands of Fate! The seeming intentional humor in the film is about as funny as a train wreck, so it's not that easy for the MST3K writers to get humor out of it, however, it is goofy enough and poorly made enough to give them something to use and the end result is funny enough to be worth it for viewers. The MST3K writers must have really had to suppress their gag reflexes in order to make a funny episode out of this one, but we benefit from their sacrifice.
These four shows all represent a strong effort even if the films used in them do not. The variety of films used should prove interesting to most viewers and there's a little something for everyone. Everything in this set is still funnier and more original than nearly anything you'll find on TV before or since these aired, even if one or two of these are not on your favorites list. Monster A-Go Go is so hilarious that I'd recommend the set for that one alone. Now Rhino Video, how about Rocketship X-M, King Dinosaur, Lost Continent, Wild Rebels, Outlaw and Magic Voyage of Sinbad for the next few sets! Please publish more MST3K episodes soon!

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The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection, Vol. 9 (Women of the Prehistoric Planet / Wild Rebels / Sinister Urge / The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-up Zombies) (1966) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is the ninth 4-disc MST3K collection from Rhino Video. It features two shows hosted by creator Joel Hodgson and two hosted by head writer Mike Nelson. This wonderful collection plumbs the creative depths of the show from its first season all the way to season eight. Three episodes come from the Comedy Central years, while the fourth show is from the first season of the show produced for the Sci-Fi Channel. Here is a synopsis of each episode:
104- WOMEN OF THE PREHISTORIC PLANET
"Hi-keeba!" This is the episode from which the most popular MST3K catch phrase of all time originates! It's a 1966 color science fiction (SF) film wherein a spaceship crashes on a primordial planet inhabited by primitive savages. Time dilation while traveling faster than light causes the rescue crew to arrive eighteen years later. By then, all of the crash survivors are dead, but one of their offspring, a young man named Tang, survives. One member of the rescue crew, Linda, meets Tang and falls in love.
This disc has a brief extra feature, wherein Irene Tsu, who played Linda in the movie, provides a short introduction to the film.
This is one of the best episodes from MST3K season one. If you haven't seen a season one show before, be warned that the show's sets were much cheaper looking than in later seasons and Josh Weinstein voiced Tom Servo; Kevin Murphy was still working only behind the scenes at this time. However, the cleverness of the MST3K concept, talent of the performers and the quality of the writing came together well for this episode and the results are quite hilarious. Listen for the terrific running gag, "Tang, it's not just for breakfast anymore."
207- WILD REBELS
In this 1967 biker film, a small motorcycle gang plans a bank heist. When they attempt to enlist a stock car racer to be their getaway car driver, the police recruit the racer to infiltrate the gang and inform on them. This movie has some premise issues to say the least. There are many hilarious plot oversights and credibility stretches in this film for you to discover.
This was the first episode of MST3K I ever saw and it is a real winner and still one of my favorites. Dialogue like "You're so square you're like a box, baby," will amuse you throughout. The movie is lively and entertaining compared to some of the slower films used on the show. The host segments are all top-notch and hilarious, especially the "Wild Rebels Cereal" commercial. Watch this one repeatedly "for the kicks, baby."
613- THE SINISTER URGE (with short: KEEPING CLEAN AND NEAT)
Ed Wood, who also directed Plan 9 From Outer Space and Bride of the Monster, directed this 1961 crime drama about the "smut" industry. It is very tame by today's standards. A series of young women are murdered and the police suspect the crimes are related to the "smut" (i.e., naked photographs) industry. Gloria, the front woman for the smut racketeers, figures prominently as she and her henchman continue to lure gullible, innocent young women to their dirty business and get rid of those who threaten retaliation. Look for Harvey B. Dunn (who played Grandpa in Teenagers From Outer Space and Capt. Tom Robbins in Bride of the Monster) as Mr. Romaine.
Conrad Brooks, who played Connie in the film, provided a brief introduction as an extra feature.
This episode also contains the fun hygiene short, "Keeping Neat and Clean." Host segments, possibly out of a sense of good taste, eschew the film in favor of other elements. In this case, they center on some antics concerning TV's Frank.
812- THE INCREDIBLY STRANGE CREATURES WHO STOPPED LIVING AND BECAME MIXED-UP ZOMBIES
In this surprising surreal, slow low-budget picture from 1964, a young man named Jerry acquiesces to his girlfriend's request to visit the fortuneteller at a carnival. The fortuneteller gives him unhappy news, so he wanders off to see the fortuneteller's sister, who is an exotic dancer. During this visit Jerry is deliberately entranced into becoming an unwitting killer. Soon, Jerry's friends become suspicious and try to get to the bottom of the nefarious plot.
This film is legendary for it's "incredibly strange" and extremely long title. It used to make it onto UHF channel programming back when independent TV stations showed low-budget SF and horror movies to fill much of their airtime. Although at times dull, confusing, or both, there are a few elements of creativity in the film, mostly concerning the rich use of color and surreal imagery.
Host segments in this episode focus on the film, including a segment in which Crow and Tom try to read Mike's fortune.
In summary, there is GREAT comedy to be had in this set, with a wide variety of film genres and periods of MST3K being represented across four hilarious episodes. Don't be square; get it now "for the kicks!"

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The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection, Vol. 7 (The Killer Shrews / Hercules Against the Moon Men / Hercules Unchained / Prince of Space) Review

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(More customer reviews)MST3K Volume 7 has some truly terrific and hilarious episodes that are among some of my personal favorites. The movies themselves are some of the more entertaining ones used on the show. Each one is described in turn below. The first three are from the Comedy Central years and the last is from the Sci-Fi Channel episodes:
Episode 407- THE KILLER SHREWS (with short: JUNIOR RODEO DAREDEVILS)
Killer Shrews is a classic B-grade b/w SF film from 1959 with James Best (Dukes of Hazard) and Ken Curtis (Gunsmoke). The melodrama and the endless drinking and standing around punctuated by panic as the main characters are preyed upon by small dogs dressed up as "killer shrews" is hysterically funny all on it's own. Then, the MST3K crew raises the level of humor several notches more. The short, Junior Rodeo Daredevils, is a classic MST3K bit that is referred to in many later episodes of the show (e.g., "old timer Billy Slater" is mentioned for years after this episode was made). Don't miss this!
Episode 408- HERCULES UNCHAINED
The 1959 Italian classic sequel to Hercules, also with Steve Reeves, the first and in some ways best muscleman-turned-actor, opened the door for endless "sword and sandal" epics with his two Hercules films. This sequel is slower and inferior to the first Reeves film, but the crew of the SOL makes it a special treat. The host segment where the 'Bots try and get Joel to explain what Hercules and the "nice lady" do all day as if they were kids asking a parent about a sexual situation is drop-dead hilarious, yet as always it is handled so that kids can watch the show, enjoy it, and yet have no idea what they've missed in the way of adult-level jokes.
Episode 410- HERCULES AGAINST THE MOON MEN
This is one of the funniest episodes ever ("sandstorm!"). Comments like, "This movie is equipped with airbags." at the sight of a voluptuous woman in a low-cut dress will have you howling with laughter. "I hate movies where the men wear shorter skirts than the women." says Crow. "Sandstorm, saaannnndstoooorrrrmm..." say the Mad Scientists. This film is actually a "Maciste" movie, but like most of the Italian films starring that character, the name was changed to one more marketable in the USA.
This episode has always been an absolute favorite for me. The sheer goofiness of the story, the costumes, and the fun action in the first part of the film, which is inexplicably followed by an endless scene of people struggling through a sandstorm near what should be the big climax, render this film a bit messy but loads of fun to watch. Wait till you see "Woodsy Owl." "Why is he wearing oven mitts?" asks Crow. You won't care; you'll be laughing too hard.
Episode 816- PRINCE OF SPACE
This show from the Sci-Fi Channel years is a 1959 b/w Japanese children's story about a guy in tights who runs around saving the world from some really terrible actors, whoops I mean aliens, who are clad in equally silly outfits. The film, also known as Starman, is absolutely dreadful even if judged strictly as children's fare. It's slow, nonsensical, poorly dubbed, and offers little suspense even for junior members of the audience. Of course, these qualities make it great fodder for MST3K. You will "like it very much!"
One bonus feature in the set is the inclusion of a shorts collection previously only available on VHS directly from the MST3K Info Club. The most notable short in the collection is ASSIGNMENT: VENEZUELA, originally "MSTed" for a CD-ROM project that was never completed; it was never shown on television and until the tape was released, was never seen except at the second MST3K convention put on the by show's creators back in 1996. The collection also includes the shorts CENTURY 21 CALLING and A CASE OF SPRING FEVER.
Be sure to buy this set as soon as possible. You won't be disappointed. Everything in this set is worth watching many times over as the comedy is very dense and unending till the credits finish rolling. Rhino Video, thank you for this set and please keep them coming! How about Rocketship X-M, King Dinosaur, Lost Continent, Wild Rebels and Monster A-Go-Go for starters! Publish it and we'll buy it!


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The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection, Vol. 3 (The Atomic Brain / The Sidehackers / The Unearthly / Shorts, Vol. 2) (1988) Review

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(More customer reviews)They could have given MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER VOLUME 3 the subheading of "Shorts", as there are more short films on offer here than in any previous box set, and most likely any future releases simply won't contain as many as there are here. There are nine short features here, six from the Shorts Vol. 2 disc, and three more scattered throughout the other three discs. I love the heckling that the MST3k crew give to those short packets of hilarity. While some films are able to transcend their time, the short films are intrinsically tied to the sillier aspects of decades past.
Here are some quick comments on each of the discs:
THE ATOMIC BRAIN: This is a film from that era of bad science fiction films where filmmakers put the word "atomic" in front of any dubious sounding scientific technobabble, hoping that this would somehow make the whole endeavor appear to be more scientific. In this film, a mad atomic scientist attempts to harness the power of the atom to atomically put an old woman's atomic brain into the atomic body of a young, sassy, atomic blonde. Features the short film WHAT ABOUT JUVENILE DELINQUENCY?, which only provokes me to wonder, "Well, what about it?"
THE UNEARTHLY: More scientists here. This time they're trying to insert a new gland into human bodies so that people will live forever. Or something. If the back of the DVD box hadn't told me that this was a horror flick, I really wouldn't have noticed. Maybe someone forgot that "horror" and "boring" are different things. Also features the shorts, POSTURE PALS (teaches kids to mock the posture of their peers), and APPRECIATING OUR PARENTS (teaches kids to obey). Strangely, every film in this episode seemed to be filmed in Blue and White, rather than Black and White.
THE SIDEHACKERS: Truly hilarious fare here. Grown-up idiots decide to risk life and limb by attaching shopping carts to the sides of their motorbikes and run them around in circles. There are also some subplots involving jealous lovers and mentally unstable cyclists. No sidehackers were harmed during the making of this movie, unfortunately.
SHORTS, Vol. 2. Features the following short films: CATCHING TROUBLE (a 50's sadistic version of the Crocodile Hunter inflicts pain on helpless animals), WHAT TO DO ON A DATE (no, it's not what you think, and when you see who will be doing the dating, you'll be glad it's not what you think), LAST CLEAR CHANCE (teens + cars + moody cops = death), A DAY AT THE FAIR (old men like to show off their corn at the fair), KEEPING CLEAN & NEAT (teaches kids to clean their bedrooms by employing clever camera tricks; any kids without a film camera will remain unenlightened), and THE DAYS OF OUR YEARS (tells us why it's always the worker's fault when someone ends up dying on the job).
Unfortunately, the original, uncut films aren't available as extras on this box set. To make up for this, those folks at Best Brains Inc. have included raw unedited footage and bloopers from the various host segments that appear in these episodes.

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The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection, Vol. 6 (Attack of the Giant Leeches / Gunslinger / Teenagers from Outer Space / Mr. B's Lost Shorts) (1988) Review

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(More customer reviews)This release from Rhino Video goes back to the "classic" Comedy Central years and some of the best MST3K. Episodes include:
Teenagers From Outer Space: One of the funniest episodes ever, it's a 1959 low-budget b/w science fiction movie about an alien invasion from a planet with a totalitarian regime and the struggle of one sensitive alien teenager to escape and live free as an individual here on Earth. An evil and sadistic alien teenager charged with bringing him back to their spaceship dead or alive hunts him through the picture, while the teenage hero finds love and friendship in small town America. Filled with ray guns, flying saucers, alien monsters that look suspiciously like lobsters, jump suit "space suits" and more low-budget fun, Joel and the `Bots have an easy time milking this one for continuous laughs throughout.
Attack of the Giant Leeches: Another b/w low-budget 1959 picture, this one is "sci-fi/horror" about some really over-sized leeches capturing rural townsfolk and keeping them around as food stock in their underwater cave. The subplot leading into all the leech-infested fun involves a devoted if unexciting husband (Bruno Ve Sota) trying in vain to keep his young wife (Yvette Vickers) happy. Seems she is steamier than the swamp and looking for someone to cheat and run away with about every 10 seconds. Anyway, there is lots of drama and cheesy horror for the MST3K crew to hurl jokes at, making this one a lot of fun.
Gunslinger: This Roger Corman "classic" stars John Ireland and Beverly Garland. Garland is the strong-willed widow of the last sheriff and she is determined to clean up the town, while Ireland is the hired gun sent to kill her who ends up falling for her charms. The good cast make this a better than average Corman picture, and the western setting gives the MST3K crew a nice change of genre on which to launch their humor.
Mr. B's Lost Shorts??!!: The shorts on this disc, previously available on VHS directly from Best Brains, are not to be missed! They are all winners, and the first one in the collection, Mr. B Natural, is legendary among MST3K fans as one of the funniest things ever done on the show. You simply have to see it to believe it and if you've seen it before then you know how much fun this one is to watch again and again. Other shorts include the hilarious, "X Marks The Spot", "Hired!-Part 1", "Design for Dreaming" , "Johnny At The Fair" and "Are You Ready for Marriage? ". These all amply demonstrate the terrific wit of the writers and performers of MST3K as well as anything they ever did. This is truly top-notch material. The only sad thing about having the shorts separated from the episodes in which they originally appeared is that one doesn't then get to see the hilarious host segments based on those same shorts, which followed them in the full episode. For example, Mr. B Natural was followed by a host segment in which the `Bots debate whether Mr. B is a man or a woman; it was an INCREDIBLY FUNNY and terrific follow-up to some of the best humor ever done on MST3K, making the experience even funnier. Nevertheless, don't let that stop you from enjoying this collection because you definitely will.
I will be buying this 4-disc set as soon as it's available and highly recommend it. Movie Sign!

Click Here to see more reviews about: The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection, Vol. 6 (Attack of the Giant Leeches / Gunslinger / Teenagers from Outer Space / Mr. B's Lost Shorts) (1988)

Join Joel, Mike, and their "robot friends" as they endure the worst movies ever made, all for the pleasure of an evil scientist. To survive and maintain their sanity, these crazy captives make stinging quips and hilarious jokes at the expense of these torturous cinematic stinkers.

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Click here for more information about The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection, Vol. 6 (Attack of the Giant Leeches / Gunslinger / Teenagers from Outer Space / Mr. B's Lost Shorts) (1988)

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The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection, Vol. 2 (Angels' Revenge / Cave Dwellers / Pod People / Shorts, Vol. 1) (1988) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is Rhino's second DVD collection of four episodes of "Mystery Science Theater 3000," and it's excellent. It has three great episodes from various seasons, and a fourth disc of hilarious short subjects. And it comes in a nifty package with moving parts!
In case you're new to the world of "Mystery Science Theater 3000" (MST3K for short, that's what us fans -- "Misties" -- call it), this is the famous TV show where a silhouette of a man and two robots in theater seats provide running commentary for some of the worst movies ever made. The ninety-minute episodes are scattered with sketches and songs and amount to some of the smartest, most pop-culture savvy, side-splitting comedy ever made.
This DVD contains three episodes, plus a compilation of short subjects from different episodes. The episodes cover a wide spectrum: two are from early in season three, when Joel Hodgson was the host and the show was just kicking into high gear. The third is from late in the sixth season, when the show had developed a much more slick and sarcastic approach with host Mike Nelson. People new to the show will get a good chance to compare the styles of the show. Personally, I love both, but they are quite different. The Shorts are brief films that the host would sometimes make fun of before the movie. Originally, they watched episodes of old movie serials, but when those quickly became tiresome, they turned to educational, commercial, and industrial filmstrips (you know, those annoying things you had to watch at school assemblies in sixth grade?). They contain some of the funniest riffing in the series, and are favorites of the fans.
Here's what's on this collection:
ANGEL'S REVENGE. Episode #622. A 1978 film originally titled "Angel's Brigade," this is an hysterically awful rip-off of the TV show "Charlie's Angels," only it's worse, if you can imagine that! A group of attractive and not-so-attractive women decide to wage war on L.A.'s drug dealers by dressing in white jump suits. The female leads (including Playboy Playmate Susan Lynn Kiger) are horrendous actresses, but what's really embarrassing is the presence of well-known guest stars slumming at the pits of their careers: Jack Palance, Jim Backus, Pat Butrum, Alan Hale, and in a depressing performance, Peter Lawford. Poor Peter appears to have been drunk for the entire filming. Mike and the `Bots have an absolute field day making fun of the relentless 70s style ("Entertaining was a lot easier in the 70s!") and the poor, unfortunate guest stars ("Do you think Peter knows where he is?"). This is one of my favorite Mike Nelson episodes, and it's the best disc in this package.
CAVE DWELLERS. Episode #301. This film was originally released in 1984 as "Ator the Invincible" and then as "Blade Master" on video. It's a sequel to "Ator the Fighting Eagle," and is one of many cheap-o copycats of "Conan the Barbarian." This stinker stars Miles O'Keefe as beefy warrior Ator, who also knows lots of sciencey stuff (like how to manufacture a hang-glider in two minutes with just sticks). Ator travels to the Ends of the Earth to stop some John Saxon-like villain from obtaining some vague object with a funny name that might do something really bad. Or whatever -- the film is just fantasy of the worst kind. It's so cheap there are no special effects, and the only monster is an immobile velour snake. This is first episode of season three, and this is really when the show entered its golden phase. Joel and the `Bots have some good times here, especially at the outlandish finale, and there's a hilarious parody of the movie's opening credits. A good episode, and the start of great things.
POD PEOPLE. Episode #303. The poor dubbing in this film automatically marks it as foreign, but since it's obviously trying to pass itself off American, it's tricky to figure out where it was really shot. Mystery over: this is a 1983 Spanish film called "Los Nuevos Extraterrestres," released in America as "The Unearthling." It's an awful attempt to copy "E.T." and combine it with a horror film. Aliens that resemble miniature two-legged versions of Snuffleupuggus from "Sesame Street" invade the mountains. A high-pitched little kid befriend one of the aliens, Trumpy, while the rest start killing people for no reason. There's an awful pop band on a trip (their performance in a recording studio is one of the highlights of the episode), some poachers, and a dysfunctional family up in a cabin. None of it fits together, but Joel and `Bots create some classic running gags. It's the perfect kind of film for the MST3K treatment. You'll love their re-creation of the incomprehensible "song" performed by the band in the move. ("It stinks!")
SHORTS, VOL. 1. These come from many seasons, and all are great. Tom Servo does a joking intro for each one. "The Home Economics Story" (from episode #317) is a 1950s film for high school girls that encourages them to study home economics in college, implying that they aren't destined for anything other than being housewives. "Junior Rodeo Daredevils" (from episode #407) tells how a group of kids in a tiny town set up their own rodeo, and then broke all their limbs and snapped their spinal chords -- all in good fun! "Body Care & Grooming" (from episode #510) informs college students how to spend all their time grooming their hair and skin, because people will only like them if they're pretty! "Cheating" (from episode #515) tells the tragic story of Johnny, who cheated and rose to power, and then fell into the pits of despair not unlike a Kafka novel. "A Date with Your Family" (from episode #602) is the best of the bunch: a nightmare about the perfect 50s family having a perfectly repressed 50s dinner. The riffing here is as sharp and satiric as anything ever done on the show. "Why Study Industrial Arts" (from episode #609) is the reverse of "The Home Economics Story," encouraging young men to risk sawing off their limbs in shop class. And finally, "The Chicken of Tomorrow" (from episode #702) explains breeding techniques to create meatier chickens. It's very depressing.
(In a bit of a mistake, two of the shorts are already available on other DVDs: episode #609, "The Skydivers" is on the first Rhino DVD collection, and Episode #515, "The Wild World of Batwoman," is available as a single DVD, so you might have already seen two of these shorts.)
This is another awesome collection from Rhino. There's more laughs here than you'll find in a year's worth of Hollywood comedies. A must for MST3K fans and newcomers alike!

Click Here to see more reviews about: The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection, Vol. 2 (Angels' Revenge / Cave Dwellers / Pod People / Shorts, Vol. 1) (1988)

Item Name: The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection, Vol. 2 (Angels' Revenge / Cave Dwellers / Pod People / Shorts, Vol. 1); Studio:Rhino Theatrical

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