MST3K K02: Revenge of the Mysterons From Mars

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.

MST3K K01: Invaders from the Deep

A few prefatory remarks: I'm really really really excited that there will be new episodes of Mystery Science Theater 3000 any month now. I bought a crapload more DVDs from Shout Factory during their Thanksgiving sale, so I'll be watching all those DVDs up there, plus a select few additional episodes, while I count the minutes till new episodes. I haven't seen around half of these episodes before, and few of them in the last decade, so this should be a lot of fun. I've got 36 shows to watch, and plan to get through at least two a week. I hope to finish before the new season is available, though that's a piecrust promise if I ever made one.

My first episode was recently unearthed, and it's the first full-length MST3K ever, Invaders from the Deep.

The movie is four episodes of a Supermarionation TV show from 1964, cut together into a package film. The show was lost until just a few months ago, and Joel Hodgson was pleased to present it as a gift for his Kickstarter backers.

As the first real episode, this is rough. Like, rougher than you think. Whole minutes go by with just silence from Joel. I spent the first half hour counting comments, and got less than thirty. (I also counted ones that made me laugh, and only came up with six, though I feel like the laugh ratio increased later in the episode.)

I do love the original door sequence, which somehow I've never seen before. As far as production value, that one part seems to age better than anything else in this season. And the whole thing just feels right. Sure, it's early, but the aesthetic of the finished show is there, like early garage demos from your favorite band.

Joel's in the theater by himself for a long time. Finally, Crow (voiced by Josh!) shows up, and makes a few level-one robot jokes, though I did really enjoy his comment about Beernuts.

For the most part, I spent most of my time laughing at the movie, rather than Joel and Crow, since the movie is so obviously laughable. The puppets are technically impressive (for marionettes), but so unexpressive. And since they're so unexpressive, it's hilarious to hear the voice actors emote so highly. For no good reason, the sidekick's near-Gabby-Hayes voice made me laugh every time.

The plot of the movie is this: several nonhuman, undersea civilizations attack humanity. Each time, the WASPs (so appropriate) must fight to survive. The third time, they actively destroy an entire city, presumably murdering thousands of squareheads like that blue fella there. Some heroes.

I'm not sure how I feel about the full-on metajoke at the end of the episode, where Crow proposes his own puppethood and the nonexistence of the Satellite of Love. At the time, it was wildly ambitious for a local cowtown movie-host to do a joke like that, but I didn't think it was particularly funny. Maybe it's just too on-the-nose: the best thing about MST is that everything usually comes from an odd slant.

Joel has posted his extensive notes on the episode online, so if you MUST read more about it, feel free.

My favorite joke from this episode is as follows: The puppets are in a tight spot, and have had sweat applied to their foreheads to show it. Joel: "Are they sweating, or is that sap?"
A joke that hasn't exactly aged well: Crow's now-oblique Dukakis reference.
A joke I had to look up: "Isn't that Memphis Furniture?"

Odds I'll watch this one again: 1/10. It's so rough and so early, but I could conceivably do a whole series binge sometime in the next 50 years.
Overall, I rate this episode 3/10. There aren't enough jokes (and the ones there don't reach the complexity and quality of later years), but the movie is so loopy and a perfect target. (In his reminiscences above, Joel says they had a chance to remake this one later at Comedy Central, but decided against it, since it's too hard to slot in a lot of riffs. Too bad,)

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.