Like Invaders From The Deep, this is a compilation of 4 TV episodes edited into a feature. And like that one, this movie didn't try to disguise its episodic nature. Neither film has much in the way of dramatic structure, and they didn't even bother to cut out reused model shots. Also, the formulaic procedural elements of each episode repeat themselves throughout -- Tom points out that we have at least five "dramatic" countdowns in this 90-minute film.
This movie feels more serious and grown-up to me than Invaders From The Deep, with a lot more attention to the actual science of planetary motion and geography. I guess that credit goes to the writer, Tony Barwick, for putting some research into his scripts. (For example, we learn a little about Phobos, one of Mars' moons, including its orbital period.) The unseen Mysterons are a community on Mars, and in a flashback we see their first interaction with Earthlings -- as usual, the trigger-happy humans assume the Martian settlement is a threat, and blow it up almost immediately, causing a war that went on for 32 episodes, two film compilations, and even an aughties reboot. And that's an interesting, serious contemporary idea, though it's mostly ignored in this collection of episodes.
The puppets are also more realistically sculpted, though their motion is a lot less fluid. We'll call that a draw. (Plus, there are a few puppets of color included. A small step forward from last movie's WASPS.)
MST3K has always had a special relationship with Thanksgiving, and that started right here. Every single host segment hinges on the holiday (I especially love the one where Joel and all the bots make hand turkeys). Only one other episode would set itself at Thanksgiving officially (Season Seven's Night of the Blood Beast), though most of us have had a marathon on the last 26 Turkey Days, official or no.
There are a lot of other firsts in this episode. Tom shows up in a speaking role, and they put food in his head twice! Crow's first good joke in this episode is MST's earliest Python reference. ("It's only a model.") The riffing speed also picked up a lot, and it's nice to have all three of our main characters in the theater, all making jokes and interacting with each other.
The show is still pretty rough -- someone in the theater is still wearing their digital wristwatch, which we can hear beep three times (around six minutes, around 45 minutes, and around 1:12). Not exactly professional TV behavior, but they had no idea thousands of people would be watching this in the next century. (Was it Trace? We didn't hear that in the first episode, and he didn't get to work on that one. Of course, that's pretty circumstantial.) As with the previous episode, this was lost until earlier this year, and Joel has some thoughts he'd like to share.
My favorite joke in this episode is Tom's love for the repeated countdowns.
A joke I had to look up: "Looks like Carol Merrill."
A joke that didn't age well: "Dr. Breck, the shampoo genius." (Breck shampoo has been exclusively available at Dollar Tree stores for the last decade.)
Odds I'll watch this one again: 1/10. The movie is less silly than K01, but that actually makes the show less fun overall.
I rate this episode: 2/10. The joke speed picked up, though the quality isn't what we came to expect later on.
You can't buy this episode outright, though Kickstarter supporters should be able to watch it on vhx.tv. If you're late to the whole thing but still want to join in, you can spend $40 and get the two lost KTMA eps here.
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