An open thread for your thoughts on tonight’s RiffTrax Live show, so let’s take our verbal hiagra and get started.
To begin with, a little news broke at the show:
First: The NatGeo Channel takeover will be Tuesday, Dec. 16.
Second: Sean Thomason and Conor Lastowka will write the introduction to “The Complete Peanuts Vol. 23 (1995-1996)” in which several strips will be riffed. A sample of that riffing will can be downloaded from the goodies page.
My thoughts: At my theater outside Scranton we were about half full and people really seemed to be enjoying it. I laughed my ass off. It went a LITTLE long, but not Godzilla long, and the extra running time was worth it for the bizarro movie and the equally strange short.
As for the movie, I was stunned at the amazing clarity of the film. I also would love to go through that credit sequence slowly. I bet there are about two dozen people who need to be added to the MSTory database.
Obscure riff: Stanley Spudowski.
Fave riffs: The runners up were…
“Never get locked in a philosophical argument with a large burlap doll.” and
“You are testing the limits of my holly-jolliness, magic man.”
But the winner is definitely: “RIDE TO RUIN AND WORLD’S ENDING!! DEATH!!!!” And I love that most of the crowd in Nashville chimed in with a cheerful “DEATH!!!!”
Craig bless us, every one.
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IT WAS AWESOME! I am in my car outside Hollywood Theaters in Norman Oklahoma. We had a small turnout but what they lacked in size was made up for in energy. This is the first of these I’ve been able to make and I brought a friend and we both were laughing the whole time. The jokes were just non stop on target and there wasn’t a lot of dead air. The scenes that were cut just add to the WTFness of what was already a messed up movie to begin with. My only regret was missing more of these. I’ll wait until the west coast checks in before discussing further. All I know is I want to know when the next one is.
Who knew there was such an immaculate print of this movie?
Who knew that in the Rich Kid’s living room they had a giant statue of Bugs Bunny facing the wall? This was an honest revelation to me.
Wow. That first scene with Merlin that didn’t make it into the MST3K version had me laughing so hard it hurt. And everytime I thought the scene was wrapping up and I’d have a chance to breath, it continued!
Great show. Smaller crowd than I expected, but they were very enthusiastic. That complete print of the movie is chock full of crazy.
The live shows this year really did get better every time. In Coral Springs, our theater wasn’t too full and we lost audio for a minute or so, but it was back by the end of the opening animation. I’m always down for an ACI short and I hope the downloadable version gets posted soon. This might have been better than the MSTed version if only for all the new, timelier references.
So apparently the MST3K version edited a lot of stuff out. A LOT. This movie is padded to death! It takes forever for it to get going in the original version. I noticed though that scenes added at the end of the movie seem to make Pitch a little more threatening a villain. Emphasis on “a little”, because it’s still all one big goofy cartoon.
The riffing did the job well enough. You can’t really go wrong with riffing Santa Claus again, but ultimately I think whatever could’ve come after Anaconda, Santa Claus or not, would have been inferior by comparison. That was IMHO the live riff of the year and probably best live riff they’ve ever done.
Excellent show, it was nice and horrifying to finally see the entire Lupita’s Dream sequence.
Great show, but probably the lightest turnout I’ve seen at AMC Hamilton, NJ. I’m not even sure the theater was one-quarter full. Maybe it was too soon for another live show, but you wouldn’t know it from the first-rate material. You could tell they were having fun at the Belcourt.
It was terrific and so funny! Attended in Robinson Twp near Pittsburgh, PA and we had 2 theatres almost full. I think a lot of the attendees weren’t even alive when this show was actually on. And what an absolutely goofy movie! That Santa was scare me to death if I saw him in my house. Way to go, guys!
50 strong at Rave Cinema in Flint, MI. Seeing the ENTIRE movie was cool. Back at comment 8- Trilaan- the Lupita dream sequence was bizarre. Frankly, I LOVED it. But I like the trance brainwash sequence in The Incredibly Strange Creatures. Lots of laughs tonight. It was a real Rock Show. Can’t wait for the next one.
Keep Merlin away from those giant lips!
I liked it in Iowa City and the 31-year-old I was with laughed even more. I think he caught more of the references (I’m an old fart of 53). The chatter at the beginning could have been shortened. If I hadn’t seen this movie before on MST3K I don’t think I could have understood what the heck was going on in that lavish yet bizarre movie. I’m glad I went and we will go to another one!
There’s been a Blu-Ray out for three years – hopefully it doesn’t impede a VOD/disc release of this version sometime in 2015. And yeah, that sucker was mint-looking.
Curly shoes, everybody!
What was the contest winning joke this time?
That uncut film is seriously padded. That movie could be cut down to about 30 minutes.
The biggest laugh I had was the riff that cracked Bill up. (I think it was about Merlin and the lips machine.)
It took me a long time to realize that Merlin’s “ta tun ta tun” was actually Franz von Suppé’s Light Cavalry Overture.
Now that the spoiler warning is lifted, I can mention that there were a few parts where I laughed so much I almost passed out. One was near the end of the short where they put the… um, suggestively-shaped hat on the snowman ornament (you can tell the guys wanted to say something but also wanted to keep it family-friendly). Santa looking to the sky and shouting “Oy vey!” was another. Pitch whispering into someone’s ear “Eat gluten!” might be my favorite riff as I know quite a few gluten-free people. My favorite reference of the night was “You can barely tell that [Pitch] is being played by Ron Perlman”.
Oh, and Merlin was amazing. I was used to the “dah-ta-dah” thing from Santa’s Village of Madness, but he’s still the best character in the movie. And Vulcan was even more of a Big-Lipped Alligator Moment than I was expecting.
Sampo – Dec. 16 is not a Sunday. Is the NatGeo riff off on Sunday 12/14 or Tues 12/16?
I was in the Belcourt with my dad, and it was so much fun! Loved Bill’s North Pole Guy outfit. And the riffing was definitely on par with the 1993 version. Anybody else notice Lupita get whacked in the face by one of the dancing dolls?
I’m not sure if anyone noticed, but one of the gold lines going along the top of the set behind them started to peel off, and it dangled awkwardly for the remainder of the show. Couldn’t help but laugh at how nobody seemed to react to this.
I went dressed as Dr Who, complete with scarf. I went to check out the guy dressed as Pitch and the girl in the “JOIKE” sweater holding the Bots, and I was asked to join them! It was a thrill to stand that close to the Bots!
I saw the film at my usual Rifftrax Live theater of choice in Bowie, Maryland (with me wearing a “No, Lupita!” shirt that I ordered specifically for this showing). In terms of the the show, this was definitely one of the best ones yet, with me laughing throughout the entire show. Some of the choice highlights:
-The “racist” image of the African helpers (aka Gov. George Wallace’s Christmas);
-Rifftrax’s version of Santa replying to the letter from the boy wishing for a little brother for Christmas;
-The image of Santa losing weight from the waist down making it appear as if he was about to take a dump in his pants again (see Ice Cream Bunny to understand what I’m talking about);
-The helpers needing to keep Merlin away from the Teletalker;
-The “Psychic Lawn Dart” about how Lupita’s father is looking for a job at 4:00AM on Christmas Eve;
-The brick joke involving the Rifftrax crew mishearing Christ’s name aka “Thank you, Craig”.
I believe it was the joke that spoofed that song from A Chorus Line.
“I didn’t know Santa was a NATO signatory!”
I actually kind of liked this movie. Waaaay too long, but it has a very distinct (and sometimes beautiful) visual style. This print used on the MST ep was so cloudy that I never noticed how great it looked before. If only they had a screenwriter…and some time to sober up.
I know, right? I was constantly amazed at how crisp and clear the picture was! It might have been a goofy movie, but it looked amazing!
They said the Nat Geo night was 12/16.
I watched it in Tuscon at Park Place Mall. Like others have said, attendance was pretty light, but everyone was having a good time.
I’ve read reviews of the full movie so I knew about the Merlin and Vulcan scenes, but it was nice to see actually see them.
Dear lord, those “At Your Fingertips” shorts are just… bizarre.
*sigh* Wish this one was being shown in an encore. I wasn’t able to make it. Then again, I wasn’t able to make it to Godzilla or Anaconda either. Life doesn’t want me to go to Rifftrax anymore! I’ll just have to wait for this one to be available to download. Glad to hear it was good.
Went to see this one at the Rialto in Westfield, NJ. The theater was maybe half-full, but the reaction from the audience was great. Probably the riff that got the biggest laugh there was the one about keeping Merlin away from the lip machine. The short got a great reaction, too.
My favorite pre-show card was the quote from “Mockingjay, Part 1”: “By the way, Katniss, you were great in ‘Anaconda’.”
As for “Santa Claus”, one fan-fiction story I’ll never get around to writing is about how Santa, shaken by his near-disastrous foul-up, decides to retire and places the business in the capable hands of Pedro (for his clear thinking and organizational skill) and Lupita (for her moral sense and unshakable faith). They pension off Merlin and replace him with the Winter Warlock, send the kids home and bring back the elves, and use real magical reindeer instead of the toy ones. And, dissatisfied with Pitch only getting a soaking for his punishment, they get David Tennant to freeze him with liquid helium and toss him into the gravity well of the nearest black hole.
Well, that’s my idea, anyway…
I was at Reno for the show, which was 40 percent full. This was better than the MST version because it took a different approach and freshened up most of the riffs. It was great they took one from the 1993 version, where we thought we heard “Craig” instead of “Christ”. I can hardly wait until they have this available for digital download.
It was also great we saw the “deleted scenes”, and why the original MST version was better off without them. They could have kept the Dancing Dolls scene, but the ones with Merlin and the beefy blacksmith weren’t needed.
As for the riff contest, I thought the winner was “Choreographed by Beelze-Busby Berkeley” but if it was really lines from “I Hope I Get It”, that’s a winning riff, too.
Now on to the Total Riff Off in two weeks
D’OH! I was looking at November. Tuesday, now fixed.
Stanley Spudowski…OBSCURE?? Why, “Stanley`s PlayHouse” is right up there with “Captain Kangaroo”, as far as I am concerned…..
Is there no love for Weird Al`s `89 masterpiece; “UHF”..?
Hey, was ‘Stanley’ the break-out role for Michael Richards?
Ahhh,,,Fun.
It’s kind of weird. But before it got pointed out in last night’s riffing, I had never noticed that we didn’t see the English kids during the It’s a Small World sequence.
A Norman Christmas special would be depressing no matter what specific premise was used.
While I’m disappointed that my riff about Twyla Tharpe choreographing Damn Yankees wasn’t used, the Chorus Line riff was better.
Saw this at the AMC in Paramus NJ. Theater was about 3/4 full but they used a smaller sized cinema this times around. IMO one of the best of the bunch; audience couldn’t stop laughing. Surprised by the number of kids in attendance. One eight year old sitting behind me laughed non-stop through the entire screening:) Mother tried to calm her down a bit thinking it was annoying others…but I though it was very cute.
First, a shout out to my Robinson neighbor from Monaca, Pa…
Wow, I think this was the best show the guys did this year. It’s these old, cheesy flicks that seem to bring out the best in the Rifftrax crew.
I think there were a variety of good riffs spanning many generations. There were some flat moments, but I think that was due to the length of the film.
My favorite moment was probably the Ed Norton thing with Pitch getting ready to move the chimney and then Kevin’s next riff, which partly got drowned out by laughter. Of course, I picked that moment to take a sip of my water, which was unwise..
This movie always convinces me that I’m doing the right thing by not celebrating Christmas. I will happily worship Craig in a more biblically-sound manner without pentagrams and creepy reindeer :)
By the way, according the the TCM schedule, this very movie is supposed to air on Dec. 20th at 2:00 am EST, for those who want to see it un-riffed.
Half-way full theater at the Cinemark in Merriam, KS. FANTASTIC show! Definitely the best of the year.
One thing I recently noted, watching previous live shows, is that while Kevin & Bill will flub lines (to hilarious results), Mike never had that I’d seen. Until this one, that is.
When Bill first came out in his North Pole Guy costume, I said ‘Please let him be wearing curly shoes!’. And he was!
Good crowd in Edwardsville, IL. The theater had some serious audio issues which covered up the riffs during the short, but it was better for the movie. Why the hell couldn’t Merlin remember that damn urn?
Good crowd in Peoria, about 75% full. I thought the show was hilarious, the best I’ve seen this year. Loved all the jokes about “Craig”. Also loved the joke about Santa wanting Merlin kept away from the teletalker.
Also, not to be a spelling Nazi, but it’s “Stanley Spadowski” is how they spell his name in UHF.
Crowd was around 50% full in Biloxi, MS… and the show itself was easily their best work yet.
Perfect night, non-stop laughter, amazing short… what else could anyone ask for.
The print was beautiful and there seemed to be sound problems, as usual… but no one really cared.
Did anyone else happen to notice that the Satellite of Love was missing from the animated Rifftrax opening?
I assumed this had something to do with Jim Mallon so I tweeted to Rifftrax and my question was favorited,
but that is hardly an official confirmation.
Here is what I said:
“Did I just blink or something, or was the Satellite of Love missing from the @RiffTrax Santa Claus opening? Damn you Mallon, I mean Pitch!”
What do you guys think?
I enjoyed the show. But I do think the MST3K version is much better.
I don’t know what you are talking about the movie looking good. The coloring was awful, washed out, sometimes too dark, and everything other than red looked pasty. I doubt it was just our theater, because the color of the rest of the broadcast was perfect.
The movie is DEFINITELY padded!
I do agree, Bill’s line “Ride to ruin and the world’s end! DEATH! DEATH!” was the best!
I’d almost forgotten about the short! What the heck was that? Why would anyone waste all that perfectly good sugar to make garbage? Heck, one of those sugar-birds probably didn’t have half the sugar content of a single Peep, and it was made of sugar!
Well yeah, it was faded and DNR’d to oblivion, but the source material seemed almost bizarrely spotless considering its age and the fact that it was once on MST3K. I can think of much more celebrated and recent movies that don’t look anywhere near as good.
I noticed that as well, but thought I might have just missed it. Maybe Jim & Joel asked them to take it out since they plan on rebooting.
Rather offtopic, but how do you think the upcoming Doctor Who Santa Claus will compare to the two Mystys?
And could he be riffable?
The visual representation of male aging…
Can’t remember the exact wording, but the image of Santa’s the descending sack accompanied by that riff was massive at my theater.
I have been taking my nephew (12) to the Marcus theater in Oakdale, MN for the last 3 shows. This time, the power went out in the theater a few minutes before 9 pm local time. The screen blacked out shortly after Lupita got her doll, right before she was standing at the window that looked like prison bars with the doll.
The biggest laughs had JUST happened, with dad wondering how much he could sell the doll for.. So on the MST version we only missed about a minute of the movie.
We waited about 10 minutes. The crowd was amiable, making riffs at the blackout. The theater people were still trying to revive the live feed. I had to drive a ways to get my nephew home and he had school the next day. I asked him if he wanted to leave, and we did. The theater offered us passes to another movie or a full refund. I usually go to matinees which are 5-6 bucks here. Two passes to Santa Claus were $25. I took the full refund…
I feel bad, because we didn’t really miss any of the movie/show. My Christmas wish is that the movie theater takes the hit. I preordered the tickets for the show online. I really want the Rifftrax guys to get their cut!
As an aside, the Marcus Oakdale has “dreamloungers” which are pretty awesome. It’s like your own lazyboy. It even reclines. And they had it in one of their Bistro theaters, so people were able to order pizza/restaurant food AND a full bar and have it delivered to their seats.
Nice.
“Santa Claus” was the first MST3K episode I ever saw, thus 1.5 hours of TV that changed my sense of humor forevermore. I carried a lot of my affection for that episode into last night’s show, and had the time of my life. This was RiffTrax banging on all cylinders — a goofy, affable movie; rapid-fire quips and updated references; some adorable line flubs; and several moments of the riffers making each other laugh heartily. What a great time. Two non-MSTie friends joined me for the showing and both laughed consistently throughout.
Our theater in Union Square, NY listed the show as sold out, but we still had some empty seats in the balcony. The crowd was lively and everyone left the theater in festive spirits.
Ugh, that scene with dancing dolls was creepy. Now, like Debbie from Manos, I hope the little actress that played Lupita wasn’t emotionally scarred from the experience.
It was funny show, and I think the short before the movie was even funnier than the movie itself. My girlfriend had only seen one episode of MST3K prior to this Rifftrax show. She enjoyed it, but Santa’s mechanical reindeer freaked her out. As for me, I think I’ll stick watching the MST3K version on TV. There was far too much huge Santa face on the big screen. He made me root for Pitch.
Great show! Saw it in Chicago in a nearly packed house. Unfortunatly, as novel as the idea of assigned movie theater seating is (which this theater employed), it falls apart if you are sat next to a girl who cackles at every joke and goes into a coughing fit every few minutes. She made the short next to impossible to enjoy, hell she was even laughing at things that weren’t jokes. Anyway, I moved way down front to an empty seat and enjoyed the rest of the show.
Great riffing, one of my favorite live shows next to Birdemic! Now if only they would release the yearly Christmas DVD I can use the coupon code – I was really thinking we’d see the Rifftrax Live DVD of Santa Conquers the Martians this month. Maybe they are waiting for this years live event to conclude before announcing last year’s DVD so there is no confusion between the two Santa Claus movies?
I can see the Doctor complaining, “Those aren’t Martians! I’ve seen Martians, and they don’t look anything like that pudding-brain Droppo! And it’s not Santa Claus, it’s Father Christmas! And he doesn’t exist anyway, any more than Robin Hood exis-….um, forget I said that. Hey, look, Daleks!”
(Doctor runs into TARDIS and disappears.)
Hello everyone (#37 & #41 specifically), the version of the animation that the production company has is the earliest ‘final’ version of the animation – before the SOL and the treasure chest stuff was added. We just have to get them the updated version. That’s all. No conspiracies. :)
BTW did all attendees remember to email RiffTrax Santa? Be sure you do wink wink nudge nudge…you won’t be sorry!
I too thought this was easily the best live show yet. And who knew the whole movie was even more bizarre than the mst episode? I was expecting the print to be trashy (sort of like manos) but it was a nice hd print. Later on in the movie it had some scenes that were clearly shot out of focus or poorly edited. General lack of dust and scratches was impressive. I will buy this on dvd immediately