THIS AND THAT: A look at a few of the MST3K Special episodes that are available.
PSX Underground: The February 1998 issue of Sony Playstation Underground (Vol. 2, No 1) included a disk that had Mike, Tom and Crow riffing on Playstation games and videos. The source material isn't that great but the guys do a bang up job taking shots at it. In addition to the theater segments there's an opening skit and some interesting behind the scenes action at the end. The whole package lasts about 9 minutes and is pretty fun. Youtube used to have it, but it was pulled (Dang it!) so ask your local trader if they have a copy. B- This is MST3K: A half hour look at the show, created during the Joel era. The best stuff is the interviews with cast and crew. The worst is the narration by Penn Jillette (put down the Milk Duds and shut up!!). Full of clips from the show and comments from media types, fans and Doogie Howser. Kind of light and makes you long for more. C+ The Making of MST3K Made during the Sci-Fi era and provides a lot more insider info than "This is MST". We get the MST cam which offers us a look behind the scenes ( I love the writer room.Very cool) and more interviews with the cast. Lots of fun for those (like myself) who enjoy seeing how the production of this show comes about. A Poopie! This is the first of two videos which highlight the shows out-takes and flubs. It's not bad, though not every things a hoot. The show itself is so hysterical that the mistakes pale by comparison. Some cute moments earn this video, available from Rhino, a C+ Little Gold Statue Oscar Special Tom and Crow make their picks for the Oscars! They don't sit in the theater, just show clips and let fly with some comments on each. This hurts the special a bit but there are still a few good laughs. I enjoyed the Elton John segment and the Bots really luving the dreamy Robert Redford. Okay, but not one I'll revisit a lot C+ 1st Annual MST3K Summer Blockbuster Special Hysterical look at the summers blockbusters. Starts off with A+ riffing, tackling the "5th Element" and "Lost World". But then drops off when Bobo, Brain Guy and Pearl join in. It's not horrible, Bobo asking dumb questions and Crow teasing Pearl and her George Clooney obsession are funny moments. So all in all It equals out to a A- 2nd Annual MST3K Summer Blockbuster Special No Pearl etc this time, but it also doesn't have the strong start of the first one either. Movies like Armageddon (with funny digs at Ben Affleck), X-Files and a special presentation of "Goshzilla", are presented. Solid riffing all the way through. B+ 1998 Robot's Choice Award Special The crew targets the Oscar once again (this time by command of Vice President Gore!), and this version is much better. Aided by M&TB making their comments in the theater. "Good Will Hunting", "Titanic" etc, all get the msting treatment. Some of the funniest bits for me came with the riffing on the very serious flicks, "Amistad" and "Mrs. Brown". B+ MST Scrapbook Tape There's no narrator, just clips. Great big beautiful wonderful clips. Clean shiny excerpts from KTMA open the tape and they brought a huge smile to my face. There are clips from the pilot (with Beeper), the KTMA "Sales" tape, MST Live from 1989, the "Pitch" tape to Comedy Central, footage of the gang building the sets, the Turkey Day bumpers from '91, scenes from the conventions. If you're an MST geek like I am, this is an absolute must have. The only negative would be that I wanted more (how about ALL the host segments from KTMA's lost episodes?) but that doesn't tarnish the joy I felt watching this tape. A+ Last Dance Raw This tape covers the making of the final episode, which would have made a neat documentary. But that's NOT what this is, the operative word in the title is, "Raw"! What you get are clips of the host segments as they aired. Then we watch take after take after take as they film that segment. It's very tedious and the crew doesn't really say or do anything very interesting or funny. There's no sentimental reflection or tearful goodbye, it's like watching something your Uncle Carl made with his camcorder. Highlights? Well, we watch Murphy get made up as Bobo, but even that grows dull after a while. So, aside from getting to see the always cheerful prop diva, Beez McKeever, there's not much to recommend here. For obsessed MSTies only. D+ Assignment Venezuela A 25 minute short which was shown at the 1996 Conventio-Con but never broadcast on TV. Told mostly through letters, where our nerdy lead often describes everything as "Narrow". This short's about an American Oil Man who moves his family to Venezuela. A.V. still has a distracting time code and the sound quaility is bad (at times you can hardly hear the riffs, then sudddenly the voices boom out!) but the jokes are a delight. Coupled with "Centruy 21 Calling" and "A Case of Spring Fever". Well worth adding to the collection. A Of Note: This is now available as an extra on the Killer Shrews disc in box set #7 The Cheap Seats In March of 2005, Mike, Servo and Crow returned to the theater for one brief beautiful moment and riffed on the hosts of ESPNs Cheap Seats. CS, if you haven't seen it, is an MST type show where comedian/twin brothers Randy and Jason Sklar, make comments while watching wild sporting events, games and contests. I remember watching the Sklars stand up act many moons ago, and they stunk. Yet it seems they hung in there, honed their skills and have put together a decent show that's chock full O' genuine laughs. They are nowhere near the level of the masters. Their delivery is sometimes flat; plus (being siblings) they are very similar in voice and timing which doesn't allow for the joyous variety in style and character that we receive on the SOL. I got real annoyed -for example- with the... "Did he/she/they just..." lines which are delivered in the same nasal tone. But while the Sklars are good - M&tB are great! They are shown in three short bits where they make fun of Jason & Randy and the show. Not every joke hits the mark, but the interplay between these 3 distinct personalities are what separates the men from the boys. I don't want to spoil the fun by revealing the riffs, But I will say that when they nail a joke, it's the funniest thing heard on the show. It was so nice to see and hear these guys again and I hope somehow, in some way, we get more of them in the future. B+ overall * A for M&TB Home Page |