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Weekend Discussion Thread: Your Viewing RotationKeep those thread topics coming, but here’s one from me:
In the episode guide discussions, I often see people talking about how this episode or that episode is or is not in your regular viewing rotation, and wasn’t in that rotation before but eventually got to be in the regular rotation, or whatever. So: You’re in the mood for an episode. (We all know that feeling, don’t we?) How do you pick which episode to watch? 95 Replies to “Weekend Discussion Thread: Your Viewing Rotation”Commenting at Satellite News
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Lately I’ve been watching my episodes in DVD release order skipping over ones that I don’t care for.
I usually choose based on shorts and skits. When I get the MSTie urge, my first thoughts are whether there a specific preachy or ridiculous 50s educational short I haven’t seen in a while, and if not, whether I’m more interested in the antics of Choir Director Vice-Brigadier Sir Thomas “Bullhead” Servo or my son’s favorite glorious Golden Spider Duck.
I guess it all boils down to mood. Sometimes I want to watch the show but can’t give it my full attention (ex. bills, cleaning), so I choose and episode that isn’t one of my favorites, but has some good laughs(at least for me) like Sidehackers. I can glance over and chuckle here and there.
If I want to relax it’s the “Robot VS. the Aztec Mummy”. For some reason I rarely see the end because I’m asleep.
If I want to sit, watch and laugh my head off it’s something like “Prince of Space” or “Hobgoblins”.
Honestly, I have them all in a playlist in VLC (along with my CT, RT, and FC.) Set it on random and flip until one catches my eye.
Well…
I take out my finger reeel slow… and I point to an episode in my collection with my eyes closed.
That starts my rotation. I have to watch no matter(Mad Monster)what.
I can’t lose!
Like chinderwear model, I typically choose at random. Though if the mood strikes me, I will watch them in production order at the rate of one a day.
I choose mostly by genre. Sci-Fi, Horror and Spy movies are first on my preferences.
I’ll pop in any Sandy Frank movie, “PARTS: The Clonus Horror”, “Zombie Nightmare” or “DANGER: Death Ray!” before episodes like “The Girl on Lovers Lane” or “Kitten with a Whip” even see the light of day.
Also I’ll go for a DVD with good Bonus features like Convention Appearance footage or “Making of” documentaries.
I have all episodes (from Season 1 on) on tape, and a still-more-or-less-working VCR. So I watch ’em all in order–even the ones I’m not as fond of. When I reach the end, I go back to the beginning and start over.
Except for a few holiday ones SCCtM-because (Santa Claus is on Mars to kick ass and chew gum…and he’s fresh out of gum) I mostly do them in dvd accessible order (with the addition of viewing Ator on youtube since the dvd broke). Oh, and TFC 4 are in order after the last of Mike and the bots.
Of course, if I can’t decide and I’m having a crisis of decision—which happens a lot! I just sing a folk song to decide.
Quite often we’ll watch episodes with a particular theme in mind.
This being Fathers Day weekend we will watch films with an interesting or unusual father character: I Accuse My Parents, Earth vs. the Spider, High School Big Shot, The Space Children, The Slime People, etc.
For several years now I’ve had the standing rotation of watching the episodes I have on the anniversary date of when they were first aired/premiered, e.g. yesterday was “The Incredibly Strange Creatures…”, and today I think its “Pod People”. For other times when the impulse hits, I have several other lists, e.g. alphabetical order, season order (start with “The Crawling Eye” all the way through to “Diabolik”, very much like how Sampo has gone through reviewing the episodes on Thursdays. Yes, I have a slight case of OCD.
We’ve been watching them all in order, starting with Season 0’s Gamera vs. Barugon, one every Saturday morning (today it’s Wiiiild Rebels, crunchy munchy rebels!).
But if I’m having a bad day, or want to relax, I’ll go for one of my comfort episodes at any time: Daddy-O, Soultaker, Skydivers, Tormented, Creeping Terror, and about two dozen others.
Well, as soon as ALL of the episodes are out/released on DVD, I wanna watch them in original airing/chronological order.
But that’s gonna be a ways off from now.
I first started watching them in DVD set order. Now that I’ve seen what I have (all sets excluding volumes 8 & 9, and the original volume ’10’) multiple times each, I just go with which one I’m in the mood to watch.
My boyfriend was introduced to MST3K through my love for the series. He still hasn’t seen them all, but loves it, too.
I definitely go on binges….
For the longest time, my regular viewings were of Giant Spider Invasion, Overdrawn at the Memory Bank, and The Screaming Skull. There have been other lineups. I should also add that I often, if not CONSTANTLY, put a disc in my bedside DVD player, pop the headphones on, and hit “repeat – title” and play it all night while I sleep.
Lately, it has been Track of the Moon Beast, The Beatnicks, The Brute Man, and The Violent Years.
I just get really “comfortable” with an episode, and then find myself watching it on a regular basis until I am familiar with all of the riffs and references (thanks to Satellite News!). I also look up the movies on IMDB and often find interesting, and sometimes sad, info on all the stars and the production of the film.
I know, I’m a freak.
Neither of us remembers how it got started, but my wife and I haggle over episodes during dinner (when we have determined that we’re in the mood to watch an episode, which is fairly regularly). Typically we create a list of four episodes (usually two each), and then we go through a process of elimination (“please don’t say elimination”), which is to say we take turns removing an episode from the list. The entire process usually takes several hours, but eventually we find ourselves on our couch crying. (“How did we wind up with _this_?”) Then we start blaming each other for what we are watching. :-)
I should also point out that before we start naming episodes we usually quiz each other about our respective moods. “I’m feeling vulnerable, so nothing icky” (and by icky we both mean “Incredibly Strange Creatures”), or, “I’m in the mood for Japanese” (this after my wife has asked me if I want more squid eyes).
Ultimately it probably comes down to the phases of the moon, but one thing’s for sure: MST3K rules our lives!
Random. Totally at random. I actually have my own MST3K channel. I have all officially released and all DAP DVDs (only for the eps not on official DVD) encoded to DIVX, loaded into a list, and on random-play in VLC player. I have my TV as my second monitor so when I’m feeling MSTish, I switch over to RGB input and VOILA! I find it’s a good way to rediscover hidden MST3K treasures. I also mix in some specials, shorts, fave host segments. If I may geek out, I’m working on a program to create a viewing schedule. Perhaps “Shorts Sundays” or a Coleman Francis Marathon or 24-hours of Santa Claus on Christmas.
When either of us gets time we’re going to write each episode down on a slip of paper, and then simply pick one out of a hat; after all, original viewers of the show (O, how I envy you!) had no say over what they watched. (Imagine seeing Manos for the first time, not knowing that you were going to be seeing Manos. *Shudder*)
Interesting to see the divide between left-brainers who choose numerically and right-brainers who go by mood or season or just gut. Definitely a righty: for me it’s mood or season. If I crave a dose of sand and sun, for instance, it’s Eegah or Outlaw. If I want a little gloomy seaside ambiance it’s Tormented or Space Children of Sea Creature, etc. Of course SCCTM is a Christmas tradition. For me certain movies have very rich and evocative atmospheres that are addictive – including those I’ve mentioned here. Of course it’s nice that, thanks to the crew, they’re funny as hell too.
Long history here. Sit down Cindy, and let me tell you- When the show first was yanked off the air, I began watching it in chronological order, 2 per week. I did this 3 times, which took 6 years. Pretty obsessive. Had the whole man cave thing set up and my growing sons would join me. After they went off to college, and, I moved on to a new life (new woman) we pick at random, with themes. Sometimes I pair them up (both Mamies, both Ben Murphys, biker films, space films) or, watch a whole Rhino or Shout! set. The last month or so, I have been obsessed with season 8. I wonder why? Wandered from that last night when my beautiful woman mentioned how fond she was for Timmy. So we watched EP416. Today, we are singing Gamera songs, so, it appears to be a Turtle day.
I face the dilemma of which episode to watch regularly and have no set rotation. It boils down to whatever I’m in the mood for. If I’m feeling adventurous and don’t really care what I watch, I’ll try to dig out a disc that either I’ve never seen (yes, still have a few of those) or which I don’t remember since it’s been so long since I’ve seen it. Sometimes, though, I know I need some heavy-duty laughs and so I’ll pick one I know will deliver: Space Mutiny, Riding with Death, Prince of Space, Teenagers from Outer Space, The Giant Gila Monster (“I sing whenever I sing whenever I sing….”), and so on.
Then again, sometimes I want a certain genre or time period. Maybe I feel like a “giant mutated bug” movie or a spy movie or something from the ’70s. And there are a few I refuse to watch again — The Starfighters comes to mind.
So my bottom line answer is: it depends.
I honestly don’t know how my process works – totally a mood thing, though I do consciously try to pick eps I haven’t watched recently. I’m the only one in the house that even cares for the show, so I don’t really have any outside pressure on the selections (although, now that I think about it, Sampo’s weekly episode discussions have influenced the choice on several occasions).
I just watch them in DVD release order. Then when I reach the most recent set, I simply restart with the single disk Rhino releases (Mitchell, Eegah, etc.)
I taped all of the episodes when they originally aired (except for the first season and a few random episodes here and there), but I almost never watched an episode more than once. I always had VCR’s that were a little iffy and was afraid I’d mangle a tape or two. However, when i converted all my episodes to DVD a couple of years ago, I started following the order that they’ve been featured on The Satellite News. It’s like rediscovering the series all over again. I just love all the info that Sampo publishes and really enjoy reading the discussion week by week. Thanks for this service!
Okay, this is a bit involved.
I started a routine back during the days of the Great Drought (between the time the show stopped running on The Second Network Which Shall Remain Nameless and the advent of the Film Crew & Rifftrax). I made a list of all the episodes I had, along with other projects from the cast. I wrote each one out on a small card and put them all in a good-sized popcorn can. Then, I’d pick one out and watch it on Sunday night, then mark down the date I watched it. And I’d add new items as I got them.
Once the Great Drought ended and we got a steady supply of riffing material, via video releases, RT and CT, I adjusted the routine. I now watch the Outside Projects (CT, RT and anything where the cast isn’t in character) on Saturday nights, with the Original Stuff (episodes and compilations) on Sundays. I depart from the routine on special occasions (like multiple shows for Turkey Day, or one of the Christmas episodes). Also, since I don’t have as many Outside Stuff selections as Original Stuff selections, I’ll allow myself one refusal in choosing (so I don’t have RT shorts every week). And I post my choices over on the old Even Deeper Blurting message board.
You know, I probably put more thought into this routine than I do when balancing my checkbook. Still, it works.
Oh, this week’s choices are “So Happy Together: A Look Back at MST3K and Gamera” on Saturday, and “Code Name: Diamond Head” on Sunday.
Like some here, my wife and I watch in episode order.
We also watch one per week, almost without fail (we have plenty of other stuff to watch so it’s not like we’re jonesing for our fix — if we feel we really need a riff and it’s not time for MST3K there is always a new Rifftrax to tide us over).
To me there is a certain rhythm in doing this, a bit of “we’re still watching MST3K and it’s still being broadcast every week” (even though during the actual broadcast many of the episodes were either out of order or not seen by us originally in order, and it certainly wasn’t on with a new show every week or even every week during its season).
The one and only exception to the order are the Christmas episodes (“Santa Claus” and “Martians”) that we try and “time” around the season or just skip until then (we are actually on target for one of them this coming Christmas).
Since the show went off the air we’ve been doing this and gotten through them a couple of times. Every year the quality gets better and better (with the new mint releases) although even prior to buying ANY of them we had broadcast quality on at least four or five seasons, and good to very good quality on all the rest (we don’t do Season 0 and only started Season 1 as part of our rotation this very last rotation — I’m still not a big fan of it but it’s interesting to see).
By spacing them out this way it takes about four years to get through them all. On that basis we seldom if ever get tired of any episode (but seeing an episode any more frequently would indeed wear out its welcome — that’s just us, and I realize a lot of folks can watch the same thing over and over again). For us it’s like visiting an old friend and reminiscing over the good times.
I truly believe the next time we start anew we will have every single episode released that will ever be released officially.
Just when I’d remember they were on, at first. then after all we had was what we all frantically recorded, I’d watch those in order. Sometime picking a favorite to watch over and over. But almost always getting back on track and watching what I had in order. After getting a lot of the series on Vhs from traders I’d watch only in order. Then when the DVDs started coming out (rhino) I’d watch those much more. then I finally got a dish and watch SciFi whatever they were showing. Then when I got all the episodes I only watched in order and continue that. I’ll never do anything other than watch in order…
Just got done with .. aaaAAAAAAAAAaaaaahhhhhh!!! AAAAAaaaaaaahHHHHHHHHHH! sorry to rush the Halloween season Paul!1 ha haaaa! …chicken, corn, green peppers, chili, …it’s an ooooold recipe! :p
that California Lady is actually an okay song, really. I’ll sing it to myself for a while. Wonder if there’s a karaoke track for it somewhere?
Vas ist das “rotation”? I just do what disk episodes are for: I pull out an episode that’s running through my head–like watching Monster a Go-Go when old Circus on Ice lines start flashing back–and then find myself watching the rest of the respective Rhino/Shout box out of compulsive completion.
As luck will have it, the same box will end up having Hobgoblins and The Dead Talk Back on it, so one thing just chain reactions to another…
I’m basically with underwoc. I’m also the only one in my household who cares about the show and I choose whatever fits my fancy for that moment. Sometimes I gravitate toward sci-fi (which, in my opinion, are the cream of MST3K), or maybe just an episode I’ve forgotten about and chill out for 90 minutes. :-)
Or, sometimes I start thinking about a particular host segment and start wondering “What episode was that again?” and go find that particular episode based on a host segment that pops into my head.
About two years ago I was unemployed for 6 months after the company I worked for for 7 years moved across the country. At that time, partially out of comfort and partially to keep sane, I watched A LOT of MST and at that time watched them all in order (with a few gaps where I could not find the episode either in my DVDs, on Netflix or on YouTube). Nowadays I consult the very handy Satellite News episode guide (thank you Sampo!) and scroll through until something strikes my fancy for that particular moment. :-)
Every night I plug my laptop into my tv, select play all and shuffle and watch whatever pops up. Last night it was Pod People when I woke up at one point it was Hellcats(blagh) and this morning when I woke up it was Warrior of the Lost World.
The joys of having every episode on your hard drive.
The better half and I are MSTie get-a-lifers; we watch at least part of an episode every night. Yes. Whenever a new set comes out we watch each one, in part to make sure our copies are not defective but also just to celebrate the release. We don’t watch any of the extras until we’ve watched the ep– and then we devour them all. Whenever an MST personage dies and it’s announced on Sat News (thanks, guys!) we watch that person’s ep as a send-off. There are also ones we return to again and again… and then we often just throw a curveball and pick something we haven’t seen in forever.
So, you know… MANOS! Pretty much.
briizilla #30 – Right on, brother/sister! Just curious, but do you have your EPs encoded or do you just have raw DVD dumps? I squash mine down to 350kbps Divx AVI which is a nice ~280mb per EP. Yes, that is a major quality sacrifice, but portability my goal!
every christmas time i watch santa claus conquers the martians (both mst3k and now since i got it for christmas last year, cinematic titanic).
#32 DVD transfers of everything that was available up until a year ago, everything else is DAP or whatever I could find online. It’s all pretty high quality and commercial free and I’ve happily sacrificed 2/3 of my hd space for it.
Currently I am watching the show in chronological order, something I have never done before. I’m watching one episode a week on Wednesday afternoons or evenings (MST Wednesdays!), in preparation for Thursday’s new Episode Guide Entry here on mst3kinfo.com. I started this little endeavor back in July of 2010 and I guess we’ll finish up Season 10 in early 2014….
Before this little project, I was a random episode guy. I’d watch whatever whenever, some months I’d watch a dozen eps, some months maybe only 2. Usually the choice came down between watching one I was very familiar with (Warrior of Lost World, Pod People, Eegah!, Girl in Lovers’ Lane) and one that I wasn’t so familiar with (the Gameras, lots of Season 1). That seemed to work okay for me.
After I finish watching the show in sequential order, I’m not sure what I’m going to do. I’m tempted to restart the whole endeavor, and I just might, as I see there are some episodes in the Episode Guide here that I didn’t comment on from the KTMA days… *sigh*, but just thinking about watching those eps again makes me…*sigh.*
I don’t really know what I’ll do after #1013 is over. . . , guess I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.
Oh yeah,
speaking of my MST Wednesdays, I also post a MST related picture (usually related to that weeks episode) on Instagram every week too, celebrating MST Wednesdays. Find and follow me over on Instagram under theycallhim__west (that’s with two underscores). :yes:
Eeny-meeny-minie-moe is my current system.
There is a place for me in Ward E in my viewing patterns. Often, on Sunday nights around 6PM I celebrate with a KTMA episode and imagine what it would have been like to see the original broadcast back in the Twin Cities.
This spring, I have started episodes around midnight on weekends and enjoyed the blanket of the wee hours with my episode, which take on a new life when viewing at this time. MST is versatile enough that it made both a Saturday morning kid show, and, great late night entertainment. Generally, any season 2-10 will do for this ritual. I save season one for naps, well, not always- but Mad Monster has an Ambien effect on me.
Over the years, I have taken comfort in loved ones falling asleep on the couch while I indulge myself in the show. I pick shows that I think will make them laugh. Tonight, I am busting our Terror from the Year 5000.
I’m a relatively young MSTie (I was born the year the show ended), so I didn’t see the episodes when they came on and I can’t buy my own DVDs whenever I want. Thank heaven for Youtube!
I’ve seen a little over half of the episodes and will typically choose the one I watch next (about one each weekend) based on reviews I read or host segments I hear about and want to see. Or I’ll just choose one at random that sounds interesting. There’s no real order. I rewatch my favorites all the time by myself or with friends and family, choices for the latter based on who I’m with and what they like.
Also, how does one submit discussion thread topics?
At the moment, I’ll admit I’m just waiting for the official DVD collections to come out, whereupon I watch all four episodes in them and then take a break from the show… although I did recently complete watching all the episodes, posting comments about each of them to an online journal. My selection process there fell more towards the “mood” side, I suppose, although there were times when I’d watch “the first episode of each season,” or “the second episode” and so on. I did enjoy connecting episodes based on what I saw their movies as “ripping off.”
#38
good for you to start watching mst3k at a young age. the show didn’t die in vain.
I generally go by genre. I prefer the sci-fi and horror episodes. So, tonight, (my usual MST3K viewing night) I will randomly scan my collection and select the first science fiction or horror based ep that strikes my fancy.
I usually just go with whatever my neighbors’ dog suggests. Scruffles hasn’t steered me wrong yet!
For me, a favorite way to pick an episode is to look through the box sets and find the title that conjures the least amount of memories. That way I might find an under-watched gem. Alternately I just pick Giant Spider Invasion again.
At first when I had them on VHS I watched them in the order I had taped them off of TV and slowly as I got the DVD’s I kept it in the same order but when I got them all on DVD I watch them in numerical order. Starting with KTMA episodes all the way to episode 1013 Diabolic then Rifftrax and and Cinema Titanic mixed and when I get to the end I start over
I have several runs going. My work run consists of my ipod full of a handful of K’s, various bonus features, and seasons 1-7. That goes in a perpetual loop.
At home, I have the episode guide entry of the week, which I usually take in anywhere from Wednesday to Saturday night.
And finally, I have my weekend runs, which consist of what CC was showing 20 years ago this weekend. This weekend’s episodes were Gamera vs. Guiron and Wild Rebels.
I find that this balance removes me having to decide which to watch while at the same time shuffles the episodes up enough that I don’t end up seeing the same ones to many times in a row.
I tend to watch Joel episodes like Manos, Girl in Lover’s Lane, among others when I’m bummed out or in a bad mood.
I watch Mike episodes when I want to be entertained like Horror of Party Beach, Screaming Skull, or Parts: Clonus Horror.
If it were to be a Joel, I’d probably pick “Eegah.”
As for Mike, a tie between “Violent Years” and “Zombie Nightmare.”
I tend to take an episode and burn through it, watching it over and over.
Right now I’m working on “Track of the Moon Beast”.
What I find is when I haven’t visited an episode in a long time, I’ve forgotten the riffing and it’s hilarious all over again.
Hey Sampo, another question: What time of day do you usually watch? And if you do have different times, do you have different lists?
Because I started in the Sci-Fi years, Season’s 8-10 are a natural for me on a Saturday morning if I have the time.
As seen in the link on my screenanme, I am the editor of MST3K over at TV.com. When I watch, I also add content to that episode’s page on the site. Therefore, I go via the experiment number. The only exception to this is when I get new DVDs, then I watch them first and place them in order via experiment number. I guess that is a bit anal, but hey, whatever works.
After I found this site I used the episode guide to help fill in the episodes I missed the first time around, going season by season. That was great.
Mostly I just get some host segment bit or joke stuck in my head and hunt down the episode it’s from (again, with the help of this site’s excellent episode guide).