The Rebel Set

A great episode from season 4. The movie was pretty interesting and there were a number of running jokes in the movie that I greatly enjoyed. Season 4 is definitely one of my favorite seasons, and this episode is yet another good one.

Short: Johnny at the Fair

“Olsen and Johnson: keeps babies soft”

“Prozac at work in society”

Tom: “Johnny feels dark hands pushing him onward; the voices in his head get meaner”

Crow: “It will be the first of many encounters with bouncers for Johnny”

THE REBEL SET

“They’re having a goatee staring contest”

“Oh, it’s a little late for acting lessons, they’ve started filming already”

Tom: “Hey guys, if this is what being ‘Beat’ was all about, I’d rather be a shallow Post-Boomer…like you” Joel:“…Hey!”

“A writer of some ability once remarked: a rose by any other name would still have thorns” Tom: “I think you’re misquoting”

“Congratulations on your association with me on this magnificent undertaking. It will not only be financially rewarding, but it might also bring us fame- anonymous of course” Crow: “Oh well that’s…huh?”

Joel: “It’s the Flying Nun!" Crow: "It’s Vertigo! Tom: "It’s Roman Holiday! And much much more!”

“Tonight’s episode: milk! Does a body DEAD”

“Ah, the Blue Ridge Mountains of Chicago!”

“The movie’s not over yet, and they’re striking the set”

“Hole, hole, hole, garage sale, hole, hole, hole”

Tom: “Hey, it’s a picnic casket!” Crow: “Maybe they think they are picking up Moses” Joel: “It’s more of a light, summer casket”

“And thus did Samson overcame the Philistine” Crow: “By hitting him over the head with a sitting stick and wearing a priest costume? I didn’t know that”

“Go in peace, sin no more, I am outta here!”

“Gangs of chain-wielding priests! Next, on Geraldo”

“We’ve taken her live son, and replaced it with this dead son”

And there were also some great skits: “Writing down the Tracks with Merritt Stone” and Tom Servo as Hercule Poirot ("Murder on the Dis-orient Express!") as Tom and the gang try to solve the age-old question...WHO IS MERRITT STONE!?!?

Mad Monster

So, I just watched Mad Monster, not a KTMA episode like I said previously that I would watch, but still an early episode, being the third in the first season of MST3K on the Comedy Channel. I was prepared for "slower" episode, but I was absolutely amazed with this one. First of all, I was so blown away with the acting talents of Trace Beaulieu- having seen only season 3 and later up to this point- and never realized how he really was so natural as Dr. Forrester and Crow, even early on. This was also my first Josh Weinstein episode (Dr. Laurence and Tom Servo) and, not to be mean, can see why he did not last on the show. His acting as Dr. Larry was a bit too forced, and it was very noticeable next to Trace the total difference in acting ability. Weinstein's performance as Servo, however, was very good- his line delivery was great and fairly natural. Overall, the episode was solid, and I am extremely glad I saw it. Below are a few of my favorite quotes, including the short "Radar Men from the Moon: Part Two":

Commander Cody: “Where’s that canister of nitrous oxide?” Man:“Right here” Crow: “Ok, who’s first?”

“Why do they have Groucho Marx mustaches on their helmets?”

“Let’s see, a four letter word that means ‘lunar’…planet? No, too many letters…”

“Rock-a-bye monster, on the little bed/When you wake up, some townsfolk will be dead”

“Abraham Lincoln! Isaac Asimov! An Amish farmer! The Quaker Oats man! Dr. Cornelius!”

“He just became he own best friend!”

“What’s grandma smoking?”

“I’ll have a Shirley Temple to go”

“What good can come from tampering with the normal laws of nature?” Joel: “Teflon?” Servo: “Microwave milkshakes?” Crow: “Room air fresheners?”

“I am so glad that the Wolf Man is able to keep his sport coat buttoned through all this”

The SINGLE best thing about this episode, great as it was, were the skits. Oh.My.God. I LOVED the skit Tom Servo hit on a blender and also the skit when Joel switched the heads on Tom and Crow (Servo-Croatians). They were some of the best skits I have seen in the show PERIOD. I also like that Joel had trouble keeping a straight-face at times during these two skits- he rarely smiles in the show, which is something I guess I only just realized, because when he did smile during these skits it surprised me. Huh. His character is just so heavily sarcastic and he is mostly dead-pan, so I guess smiling is not really his thing. Sorry, personal revelation got me side-tracked =)

One more detail that I forgot to mention: unlike later episodes, the riffs were not a constant stream, and there were a few missed opportunities, but it actually worked, for me at least, because I was able to actually hear what was going on in the main movie, something that occasionally annoyed me in later episodes. I know, I know, they are making fun of these movies because they are bad and who cares if you miss a few lines here and there, especially in ultra-crappy movies like Manos, but a half-decent B-movie actually has some good elements and I would like to enjoy them every so often. My overall impression: great episode + funny short + HILARIOUS skits = moving onto personal favorite list...

Prince of Space

Decided to rewatch Prince of Space...great great episode. Here are some of my favorite quotes:

“A rare, Godzilla free day”

“We like it very much”

“I am the lemon zester of destruction!”

“I have no powers but I can skip reasonably well”

Business Boy: “He’s evil. Evil people always come out at night” Crow: “Although, when evil people are mating, they will appear at dawn”

Prince of Space: “I told you, your weapons have no affect on me!” Servo: “It is my considered advice that you discontinue use of said weapon”

“Empirical data suggests the accuracy of my earlier contention that your weapons against me are without merit”

“Allow me to reference my earlier comments on how your weapons are ineffective”

“You just opened up a whole can of jellied whoop-ass”

General:“Oh, Colonel Manicotta, come in please” Crow:“I understand you’re stuffed with cheese”

“How come you’re so old, Dad? Did you have me when you were like 60 or something?”

“Uh, sir, you left an egg on your chair”

“His power apparently lies in choosing incompetent enemies”

Crow: “Whoa, he knocked him slightly off balance! He must be reported to Amnesty International!” Mike: “Or the USDA”

“Chickens are a cruel people”

“He has defeated us numerous times! What makes him think he can do it again?”

Crow: “Seeing these guys, it’s hard to believe that human beings ever have sex”

“You know, this movie made me want to renounce my Toyota”

This episode is hilarious, with a few slightly over-the-top Japan bashing moments. Maybe I haven't seen enough episodes to hear them riff on many other countries, but the treatment of Japan seemed a little harsh sometimes. Well, they do like to pick on Italy too. I guess that those two countries supplied a lot of the movies the MST3K guys watched, what with the zillion Gamera movies or the bajillion Hercules movies. Not exactly a balanced sample.

Well, anyway, the comments about Japan did not seriously detract anything for me, still one of my favorite episodes ever. And if you like boot-blacking, this movie is for you. I, for one, like boot-blacking very much...

...the hell?

Alright, here are some of my favorite quotes. This list will probably expand over time...


“AHH! It’s the HOOCHie CHOOCHie fish!!”
Devil Fish

“Can you have a platonic relationship before Plato?”
Hercules against the Moon Men

“I’m a scientist! I don’t think, I observe”
Dr. F, forgot which episode...

Tom: “Member FDI- MURDER!” Crow:“Death guaranteed for up to 50,000 DIE!”
Hobgoblins

Tommy:"You can do MAGIC things!” Crow: “It’s called evil, kid”
Pod People

“I have no powers, but I can skip reasonably well!”
Prince of Space

“He’s either gonna win the Nobel Prize or the Heisman Trophy”
The Brain that Wouldn’t Die

“This is not a movie, this is an employment program”
Magic Sword

“DO SOMETHING! God!”
Manos, the Hands of Fate**

Cain: “Only the good die young” Crow: “The rest of us are morally ambiguous which explains our random dying patterns”
Gunslinger

“When threatened she gains the strength of a thousand trollops!”
Hobgoblins


**I love this part because Joel just loses it while watching the movie. He is just so obviously frustrated with this. I have posted the link below for the clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0_f5fkrCTA

Oh man. Gotta love this show.

P.S. I left out some of the running joke quotes (Rowsdower, Watch out for Snakes, Hi-Keeba, etc) to just focus on some of my personal, and somewhat less famous, favorites.

Night of the Blood Beast

A pretty damn good episode- though not enough to be added to my favorite list. Solid riffs, watchable movie plotline. Here are some highlights, imho:

“I couldn’t bring the Jaws of Life, so I brought Cindy”

“This is back when NASA was family owned and operated”

“Steve?” “Not everyone is Steve!”

“Steve 1, you go that way, Steve 2, you come with me”

“This has Steve written all over it”
“Wait, let me go get the costumes. You guys be the Yankees and we’ll be the Nazis”
“That guy, right there, that one time zygote that manifested itself into the something I call my son…Oh Art, what happened?”
“Julie, he alone stood at the threshold of our future”..“And he peed it down his leg”
“Wow, he’s loaded with shrimp!”…”You know, I think I get hush puppies & cole slaw with these”
“So, Julie, guess he wasn’t getting enough at home, huh?”
“Boy, imagine how much lower we’d be if we were down there”
“Oh baby, I was misnamed, I am really the Looove-Beast”
“Hey! It’s one of those guns that goes BANG!”
“Hard to trust a guy not named Steve”

A good episode for the newer MST3K fan- before you tackle bigger fish like Manos or some of the more obscure episodes. Some episodes need to be eased into in order to fully enjoy. Here are a few good starter episodes to help convert a few friends:

Prince of Space
Space Mutiny
Hercules Against the Moon Men (<3)
Eegah!

I am sure there are more, but these immediately come to mind. I should sit down and make a more comprehensive list, but that is for another time...

Quotes

Ah- forgot my favorite quotes...meh, too lazy for now- but I will add this video (very familiar to fans of the show). Enjoy!

Space Mutiny- The Many Names of David Ryder

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFHlJ2voJHY

Best. Show. Ever. MST3K.

Hey all! I just wanted to put down somewhere the MST3k episodes that I have seen, my favorites, and my favorite quotes.

Seen:
Prince of Space
Space Mutiny
Manos: The Hands of Fate
Samson vs the Vampire Women
Werewolf
First Spaceship on Venus
Future War
Laserblast
Hercules Unchained
Hercules against the Moon Men
Killer Shrews
Mitchell
Pod People
Santa Claus Conquers the Martians
Teenagers from Outer Space
The Magic Sword (this episode has some great skits)
Monster A-Go Go
Eegah
The Girl in Lovers Lane
Gunslinger
The Brain that Wouldn't Die
The Wild World of Batwoman
Zombie Nightmare
Racket Girls
This Island Earth (The MST3K movie)
The Incredibly Strange Creatures who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies (what a title!)
The Horror of Party Beach
Devil Doll
Hobgoblins
The Touch of Satan
The Final Sacrifice
Devil Fish
Soultaker

My Favorites:
Hercules against the Moon Men
Prince of Space
Space Mutiny
Devil Fish
Hobgoblins
Zombie Nightmare

I (and this is going against a lot of public opinion) did not think that Manos was a good episode- it is more of a badge of honor to say that you saw it. Don't get me wrong, the riffing was good, but I don't considered it the "best episode ever". Just my thing. My all-time favorite has to be Hercules against the Moon Men, what with "DEEP HURTING" and Alan Steel. It also has my favorite cast together (Joel, Dr. F, Frank + the bots) although I am a fan of ALL of the cast members I have seen/heard on the show, and Mike, Pearl, Brain Guy, and Bobo all had some FANTASTIC episodes.

On my "in-the-near-future" to-do list: Night of the Blood Beast and watching some of the KTMA episodes/early episodes. Ultimately, I would like to see all that I can. But that is not going to happen soon unless I drop out of school completely (tempting, very tempting)