Movie: (1988) The leaders of a space colony must fight back when their security chief plans to take over the ship.
First shown: 11/7/97
Opening: Crow and Tom think Mike’s encyclopedias are outdated
Intro: Mike has new encyclopedias; Pearl, Bobo and Observer are in prison
Host segment 1: Mike’s tea time is interrupted by the bots trashing some escape pods
Host segment 2: Crow’s a Bellerian…or is he?; Bobo’s escape plan fails
Host segment 3: Servo installs railings
End: Tom is buff, Crow less so. Meanwhile Pearl, Bobo and Observer escape, and a fire begins!
Stinger: Our hero bravely screams like a girl and bails out
(401 votes, average: 4.87 out of 5)
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• First of all, has everybody signed Sherri’s birthday card?
• For several episodes now, the show had been going very strong, but many fans point to this show as probably the zenith of season eight, where everything worked and they were firing on all cylinders. It’s good, okay, at least in terms of the riffing. Still, a geeky scandal plagues this episode and many of the segments are only so-so. I’m not sure the next two eps aren’t just as good.
• References.
• The many many names of Dave Ryder just got funnier and funnier—and one, “Big McHugelarge,” later became a bumper sticker BBI sold. Scarcely a week goes by that someone doesn’t tweet that video.
• Paul’s take on this episode is here.
• This episode was included in Rhino’s (and now Shout’s) “The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection, Vol. 4.”
• The big scandal about this episode was the “Battlestar Galactica” footage nobody at BBI recognized. I remember at the time that several online fans simply COULD NOT CONCEIVE of the POSSIBILITY that they would not recognize this footage. It seemed simply out of the realm of possibility to them. I said at the time that this lapse pointed up the painful lack of nerds on the Sci-Fi Channel-era writing staff. If Frank or Trace were still on the staff, I don’t think this would have been missed.
• The encyclopedia segment sort of predicts Wikipedia, which would launch a few years later.
• That’s Patrick and intern Dan Breyer as the Roman guards, and that’s Best Brains Controller Tim Johnson, hopelessly typecast as Mike Down, CPA.
• Classical music buffs: What is the piece Mike is listening to in segment 1?
• Movie observation: Reb Brown’s character is supposed to be a military officer, isn’t he? Then why the heck is he walking around in a wife-beater?
• Trivia: The Mitchell family infests this movie. In addition to Cameron Mitchell, his son Chip Mitchell portrayed mustachioed crew member Blake and his daughter Camile Mitchell provided the voice (but not the body) for Jennera.
• The rest of us may not enjoy Cisse Cameron’s portrayal as Lea (and btw I cannot BELIEVE they gave the female lead in a space action movie that name). But Reb Brown apparently liked what he saw. The two are now married and the set of this movie is where they first met.
• Callback from the old days: The line “Guard! Guard! Sick man!” is a bit from “Red Zone Cuba.”
• Of course, another classic moment in this movie is when the character we saw killed in the previous scene is quietly back at her station on the bridge.
• Mike does a very good impression of SCTV’s Ed Grimley at a couple of points.
• Segment 2 is another of those “Crow is not right in the head” segments. I think they work because Bill really commits to the concept.
• Crow is still wearing his Bellerian costume in the theater.
• Mike, channeling protective father figure Joel, covers the bots eyes during some suggestive moments.
• Segment 3 gives Mike a chance to do some nice physical comedy. He nails it.
• Servo thinks the movie is Canadian. Nope, South African.
• Another closing credits conversation.
• The final segment is not the first time the bots have bulked up. They also tried it in episode 410- HERCULES AGAINST THE MOON MEN.
• Cast and crew roundup: special effects guy Jerry Kitz also worked on “Soultaker.” Makeup person Debi Nichol worked on “Outlaw of Gor,” as did production designer/art director Geoff Hill. In front of the camera, John Phillip Law was also in “Danger: Diabolik” and Cameron Mitchell was in “Stranded in Space.”
• CreditsWatch: Produced & directed by Jim. This was intern Todd Severson’s first episode.
• Fave riff: “JUST STOP AND AIM, YOU IDIOTS!” Honorable mention: “She’s presenting like mandrill!”
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Classic 5 star episode. One of my favorites in the entire series. This is the beginning of an amazing finale for season 8.
For any youngsters here who are wondering why Mike and Bots shout “Oi!” when they show Captain “Sting” Devers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyNaUw9BYqE
“I don’t need this!”
Definitely one of the best episodes ever. I love all the stuff during the silly car chase on those little vehicles, but my favorite is “Quick, turn on the siren. Doo doo doodle oot do doo do!”
A classic episode if there ever was one! I’m not a fan of the Roman Times stuff, but the movie segements, wow. Honestly, I think a few earlier S8 episodes are a bit better (and I visit them more often than I do this ep), but that’s not to say 820 isn’t terrific, because it obviously is. Such an endearing mess of a movie: a hopelessly goofy hero, a non-existant budget, stolen special effects (part of that non-existant budget, y’see?), floor waxers, characters that won’t stay dead, a vaguely disturbing or incredibly forced (take your pick) romance*, and Cameron Mitchell as Santa. Add to that some incredibly strong riffing, including a string of Dave Ryder nicknames that have proven to be the definition of timeless, and you’ve got a keeper of an episode (to put it mildly). The Jacko and Ed Grimley riffs had me rolling, and are just the icing on the cake of an iconic episode. Oh, and our hero taking the time to scream like a girl before jumping off his floor waxer? One of great moments in the history of the cinema. Or rather, perhaps, in the history of mankind?
Anyone ever see the Miami Vice episode with Reb Brown? It’s season three’s “Viking Bikers From Hell.” By now, it’s impossible to separate ol’ Reb from this Space Mutiny role (no matter what he’s in), but even with that hanging over every viewing of the ep, he still manages to act genuinely Dave Ryder-ish. At one point, he and his motorcycle go sailing through the air, and the whole time he’s doing that girly scream. It’s pretty amazing stuff.
*I know Reb Brown and Cisse Cameron shared a real life romance and were/are married. I’m happy for ’em and all, but I still don’t really wanna see them getting all kissy face on-screen.
I’m going to have to call The Emperor Wears No Clothes on this one. I can not understand the fascination and praise this episode gets. It’s an average episode, at best. It’s merely one long callback joke to the Hercules episode where they created names like Allen Steel, in a typical 80’s sci-fi movie that’s worst crime was having a bad editor. This episode does have some goofy, funny moments, but it is nowhere near one of the greatest episodes ever of MST3K.
Oh, I’ve watched this one a lot. I think the best thing about it is that there aren’t really any slow spots. Not even towards the end, where most riffed movies seem to fall down.
But! The agism the crew displays has gotten pretty old, no pun intended. Even when the actress isn’t old in the least, they enjoy saying she is, like they do with the pale-haired “scat” singer in “Incredibly Strange Creatures” so I like to pretend Mike & company fear the concept that someday they will be old and infirm. :) Dudes, I hope you get there. I intend to leave this world as a terrible-looking withered corpse.
Even better than the shriek Ryder lets out on his Enforcer is the way his expression instantly relaxes before the jump. I have backed up that part quite a few times, it really makes me laugh.
“He swallowed a woman!”
I was a bigger fan of Joel having picked up on the show during their second season on Comedy Central. When this episode was released it did a lot to push me towards Mike fandom. I still have a special place in my heart for Joel, but I’ve made room for Mike in there too. So, now that I’ve explained why this is a special episode for me, I’m waiting for a complement for hiring back the dead girl.
Have you signed Sherri’s card?
Ahhhh, Space Mutiny. At one time this was one of my top 5 episodes and I’ve watched it dozens of times. Now, while I still really love it, it’s probably more realistically in my top 15, as there are many episodes that outrank it (a couple from Season 8 even). Space Mutiny, however, is a great episode, a classic even, because, I mean, c’mon…. it gives us Big McLargeHuge, one of the icons of the MST-Sci-Fi years. Also, it’s big, dumb, and 80s. Also, also: railings.
The Host Segments are good-to-okay in this one, none of them stand-out but they all contain little moments and lines that make me laugh. In HS#1, Crow’s “You just ripped a hole in my torso….Weeeeeee!!!” and Mike’s physical comedy in HS#3 with all the railings (although that fall he took seems impossibly long) are both highlights. Once again the Roman Times segments (the opening and HS#2) are not good and kinda boring, but I did chuckle at Brain Guy’s exclamation of “He swallowed a woman!” when Bobo is pulling that wig out of his mouth. Also, the “send/bring Mike down” moment in the opening is pretty good too, worth a laugh or two.
I’ve never seen Battlestar Galactica in any form (I was born in 1980) so I didn’t know anything about the “controversy” over this episode until I (most likely) read about it here at Satellite News.
Reb Brown is the highlight of this one for me. The way he shrieks when he shoots a gun (any gun!) is something he also does in Howling II – Your Sister is a Werewolf (shameless plug: read my review of that movie right here: http://squealingtiresondirt.blogspot.com/2013/07/howling-ii-your-sister-is-werewolf.html )
YOR: The Hunter from the Future is another Reb Brown masterpiece and another of my fave bad/cheesy movies, also with lots of yelling.
I haven’t seen the 1979 Captain America in years and all I remember is the “rubber ears” and getting a real kick out of that…
–
RIFFS:
Mike: “Passed from editor to editor in a desperate attempt to save it.”
Mike: “In the future, geese will be rocket powered.”
Servo: “We switch live to Spencer Gifts.”
Crow: “Slab Bulkhead.”
Mike: “Oh he had a mouthful of Starburst.”
Crow: “So in the future there is absolutely no shame?”
Mike: “Punch Speedchunk.”
Crow: “I think it’s very nice of you to give that dead woman another chance.”
Crow: “Bulk VanDerHuge.”
Mike: “Why do you hate my groin so much?!”
Servo: “Why is he so impossible to hit? Why do they keep missing the slow giant white thing?”
Crow: “Still, it’s better than Days of Thunder.” ———-so true!!
Mike: “Roll Sizzlebeef.”
–
Space Mutiny, another MST classic.
NOW MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!!
–
5 out of 5 railing kills
Here’s a 2011 interview with Reb Brown and Cissie Cameron:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fyrzK6gP58
I watched Space Mutiny yesterday and the episode still holds up. I have to love any movie that has a riff about the New Monkees! (Master Ninja I also has one.)
It’s an admittedly arbitrary number, but I defy anyone to come up with a better 3 episode run in the entire history of the show than 820-822.
This episode is one of the finest comedic achievements I’ve ever known. Big McLargeHuge with his many aliases, Dr. Face-tucked Aerobic Instructor, Commander Santa Claus with Sting as his lieutenant, Kalgon with his pinched face and ham-fisted villainy, Lobster Boy, the Bellerians and their hatred of food, even bit players like the female crew member with an impressive batch, everyone is memorable in this gloriously awful sci-fi movie.
Don’t even ask me about the floor-buffer combat scene at the end. My fiancee and I keel over laughing, without fail, every time we see that scene.
“A lot of people compared this to the chariot race at the end of Ben-Hur.” “Really?” “Yeah, they’d say, ‘Ben-Hur was great! This movie totally sucks.'”
I love this episode, but every time I see it the plot holes in the movie bug me more and more. Where does Reb Brown come from? Why does Calgan not just go back there? If there are habitable planets close enough that the ship could be diverted to one by the mutineers why ddon’t they just settle on one of those in the first place?
Almost every movie about space has huge plotholes because almost no one in Hollywood (or any country’s film industry) has even a grade school understanding of space.
This was my absolute favorite episode for a long time. Now it’s Final Sacrifice, but this has got to be number 2.
@161:
Personally, I think every single episode of Season 9 was flawless, but, besides that, you’re probably right.
Just off the top of my head, 423, 424 and 501. But it’s all subject to Sampo’s Theorem. The important thing is we all love MST3K. Personally, I think 201-210 is the best run. Those are perfect.
Another run I thought of: 608-616, all perfect episodes.
811-816 are pretty darn snazzy, riff-wise, too :)
Hmmm, I smell a weekend topic coming on……. ;-)
But you know what the real best run was? You know, the one nobody can dispute?
Easy.
K04-1013.
Every single one. Flawless in their own way.
Long live MST3K.
Aside from everything else, the scene where the co-conspirator leaves the engine room just to tell the other bad guy that he needed to get back to the engine room before anyone grew suspicious is an all time favorite completely pointless action taken in a film.
I’m surprised no one has stated the following yet.
When JJ Abrams’ adpatation of Star Trek debuted in 2009, a lot of fans made note of the fact a Bud brewery was used for a large number of the “engine room” shots. Upon reading this and then seeing it for myself (the pipeworks didn’t phase me as much as did the painted cinderblock stairwell within the Kelvin), I could not help but to be reminded of the riffing for “Space Mutiny” about the Southern Sun’s, ahem, “engine room”. If nothing else, at least “Space Mutiny” had the excuse of a frugal budget.
Sincerely,
Bill
@Travis: that’s just what i was thinking too. On it’s own, hard to say how well i’d think of this episode, but 820-822 as a trifecta of shows are pretty seamless.
155 – They cant win re: ageism/ugly/fat/Japan, Canada, Europe jokes and general cruelty, “post-Joel”. I’m bald-ish but do I let the bald jabs rankle me and color my views of the show’s creators? NO! I just laugh my A off and sob like a baby on the inside. STOP MAKING FUN OF ME, BEST BRAINS INC.
170. Hey, I’m sure not letting their humor color my views on them. I’m just riffing on their riffs.
146. That’s true, even Madonna did the grandma hair and makeup look for a few videos, prompting Beavis and Butthead to basically declare her a sexy senior citizen during one of their shows.
“Fetch me my warrior muumuu!” That line never fails to crack me up. I use variations of it all the time, like we’ll go to wash our car and I’ll puff out my chest and tell my wife in a haughty voice “Fetch me my Turtle Waxing muumuu!”
The first time I saw this (when it originally aired) I was very surprised – yet not angered – there were no BSG riffs. Watching it now I think “who cares, the episode is perfect as it is!” That there are people still upset by this is, frankly, just kind of sad.
Whenever I want to watch some MST3k and can’t decide what episode to watch, this is the one I grab. It’s also the one I use to introduce newbies to the show.
Five stars.
Sampson wrote, “I remember at the time that several online fans simply COULD NOT CONCEIVE of the POSSIBILITY that they would not recognize this footage. It seemed simply out of the realm of possibility to them. I said at the time that this lapse pointed up the painful lack of nerds on the Sci-Fi Channel-era writing staff.”
This. During the initial run, this was the episode where I stopped following the show on a regular basis – and I had started with the KTMA series. There wasn’t much left that resonated with me personally – and strangely enough the lack of any awareness of Battlestar Galactica in this episode was the straw that broke my camel’s back.
But that’s just my personal feeling toward the show – not an assessment of its absolute comedic value. The one or two times I’ve been able to sit through this episode, I have found parts of it to be quite funny.
Favorite episode. Way too many riffs to mention and most of my favorites are from Crow but Mike’s squeal always makes me laugh till it hurts.
Maybe a weekend topic could be “Lost BSG riffs” that could/should have been used. Like:
“The Cylons never could hit anything with that one eyeball bouncing across their face like a pinball”
“We can’t get cancelled or that kid will commit suicide”
When I am sad, this is the episode that cheers me up. I admit to skipping a few of the host segments, but I loved cheesy space movies like this as a kid, and this one really takes me back. I even own a copy of the non-MSTied version, which fills a couple of plot holes from the MST edit and adds a whole bunch more.
Hey, is everybody aware of how obsessed I am with this movie (not just the episode)? We good? OK.
As many times as I’ve watched it, I have to agree that the host segments are only OK. It’s mainly due to the Roman Times stuff.
I did like Observer’s cries of “He swallowed a woman! He swallowed a woman!” And the first time I heard the reference to Roland Gift, I chuckled. Now I mainly skip the segments. Also, I tend to fall asleep a lot to this one (as I use it for comfort food when I’m sick or sad), so I’ve seen the intro a LOT more than the conclusion. It’s kinda weird.
This is the episode that finally made my 12 year-old a fan. All the Santa jokes really got to her. So it was nice to have someone to excitedly watch Season 13 with :)
One final note until it rolls around again in 4 years: I had a fan letter all penned and ready to send to John Philip Law’s website/webmaster whatever when the news broke that he had died. I’ll always wonder if he would have ever written back…
Five stars all the way. This is my #1 episode to watch with others since it’s a good one to introduce to newbies and is also a great one in general for group laughs. I have yet to meet anyone who doesn’t laugh at the floor waxer/Zamboni/sweeper/golf carts. I mostly skip the Roman Times segments in all episodes any more, but the actual riffing is nigh perfect: good timing, pace, and content. Now, sign Sherry’s birthday card, won’t you?
(No S8-9 comment here, folks. Still, he’s got a point, it looks Canadian.)
Yes, some are aware how much….a LOT of fans are “obsessed” with this episode. Not that that’s always a good thing.
It’s become known as the “More cowbells!” of MST3K, where an entire demographic generation of fans considers it the most brilliant, innovative, archival defining moment in TV of THEIR generation, and the longer-time fans just scratch their heads and wonder what they put into the water supply.
The dreaded Joel vs. Mike debates often seem to be fueled by the genuinely religious cries of “Sacrilege!” that any person might not dare consider this episode the greatest two hours of the show’s entire ten year run, only proving that Mike was an unappreciated demigod on earth, and that those who thought the CC era was funnier just can’t accept the future…
Me, I tried to sit down and watch it a couple times on Netflix (our provider didn’t bother with Sci-Fi Channel back in the original day, because, well, nobody did)–And while I didn’t hate it on a Mitchell level, thought the golf carts were funny the, ahem, first time, and thought the “Hardworking dead girl” riff was a funny film flub, I just sort of…sat there thinking, “What?? Somebody gimme a hint, what am I worshipping?”
It doesn’t seem to be as much a theory of what’s actually IN the episode, as what the particular demographic thinks they’re watching–You can almost draw an age line between the Worshippers and the baffled Agnostics, and that speaks a few volumes about what they think the show is “doing” and what “battles” in their own lives they think M&tB are “fighting” for them. Taking it point by point:
– “Oh man, if they ever cancel Battlestar Galactica…” – Yes, it’s 80’s. Musclebound action stars and spandex babes with big hair. Recycled Galactica footage from Universal’s cheap catalogue. (Okay, technically Galactica wasn’t “80’s” except for the 1980 series nobody remembers, but y’know, Kitschy Old Stuff.) If it had been a 1978 New World film, and recycled stock spaceship shots from Starcrash, would the joke still be as funny? Or do the 80’s just Have It Coming, for being our parents childhood of big hair, sitcoms and Duran Duran songs?
– “Brick Hardcheese!” – Okay, even Sampo admits the bit isn’t original–They’re recycling the “Alan Steele names” host segment from Hercules Vs. the Moon Men (just like they recycled the “Galactica fanboy” riffs from Fugitive Alien), just that it happened to catch a silly bit of theater improvisation throughout the movie. Usually happens when they’re isn’t very much IN the movie to riff, and the guys get distracted by some off-topic inspiration that broke each other up…Sort of like “Chief? McCloud?” in the early part of Pod People when nothing was happening, the “Robert Ludlum library” bit that kept breaking out in Being From Another Planet (“The Horshack Conspiracy! The Ming-mang Pating-tang!”) or the “Skinsnag!” chaos the Sinbad Town Council sketch devolved into. Well, nice to see they found something about the movie to keep them occupied.
– “She’s presenting like a mandrill!” – There’s nothing that brings out the purely, creepy, and heheh-back-away-slowly misogynist riffs in the Mike era like an episode full of Debbies. (Y’know, as in, “Gah, Debbie, don’t borrow my sweater!”, every time a good looking female bit player appears on screen.) And in this movie, we’re up to our eyeballs in ship Debbies, evil-cult Debbies, assorted set-decoration 80’s-hair Malibu Debbies, and one dead Sherri…No shortage of personal-issue riff material here. It’s something we all went through in high school when we Just Couldn’t Understand The Chicks. It’s also something a lot of folks never left behind in high school, and when you hear some of the core Mutinites thinking that Mike or Bill calling the heroine a “skank”–with the jolly enthusiasm of a Howard Stern bit–was one of the funniest milk-snorting riffs of the entire episode, we’re back in the more personally judgmental Why Are They Watching It theories.
– “Captain Santa!” – Again, funny the first time, in re why Cameron Mitchell will never be Lorne Greene, no matter how many fatherly wigs/beards you bury him under. Shouting “Captain Santa!” in every other RiffTrax movie Cameron “Never turn down a foreign low-budget paycheck” Mitchell appears in, not so much. That’s where the Cult monster starts raising its ugly world-devouring head again.
The episode seems to symbolize more than it actually is–as if “This is what every movie looked like back then, so let’s dogpile!”–which, guess, works in its favor, as the movie or the episode really isn’t that danged MUCH.
But for all the folks saying “Folks, can’t we bury the whole juvenile Mike vs. Joel thing, it’s ancient history!”, just watch the few comments that follow, against anyone daring to question The Mike-Era Episode That Everyone Must Like–Or indeed, like Big Brother, everyone Must Love. No one is to start throwing rocks yet, even if they do say “Jehovah”…
I’m gonna miss this old… wherever we are!
Well, I still enjoy this old chestnut every time I pull it out. Maybe it’s because I like it so much, but does anyone else feel like this episode just flies by? Some episodes, even the better ones, can drag in certain places but this one keeps up a dizzying pace it’s over when you feel like it just got going.
Fave unmentioned riffs
Santa’s playing FreeCell over here…
Y’know, without Metrocal this would NOT be possible!
This episode is a favorite of most MSTies for a very simple reason. They enjoyed watching it. After reading the above Original eight paragraph manifesto trying to persuade others that what they enjoy should not be enjoyed, knowing and stating in advance that the author expects the readers to disagree, perhaps such literary talent would be better employed in a discussion of how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. The angels will not be goaded into anger and another corner of the universe will remain tranquil.
It’s not my favorite episode- that honor still goes to “The Final Sacrifice”- but it’s definitely in my top ten. The second half of season 8 is really solid overall.
“She’s nude!”
I’ll spare everyone what would be a full page rant about this episode. Instead I’ll keep it short.
This is the worst episode of the entire series. The movie is not funny, it’s a terrible choice for MST3K. The host segments are bad, and the riffing is lazy.
I will never understand the appeal of this episode. That’s the most baffling thing about Space Mutiny to me, the adoration it receives. Are we even watching the same show?
Thankfully, we are now past it in the episode guide. While there’s still a handful of episodes to go I don’t care for, they are all better than this.
Like what you like, but really, better than all the brilliance that came before it? Really?
Delete your account.
It’s overrated IMO. The movie is PERFECT for the show. The movie is one of the few I could watch unriffed and still laugh my ass off. Mike and the Bots do a good job and the many names for the lead doofus are quite hilarious but don’t hold up as well on repeated viewings. The host segments are bad bad bad. The roman era host segments are unfunny and annoying and the others are forgettable and/or annoying. the ‘I’m a bellerian’ is a carbon copy of ‘I’m a bear’ from jack frost and less funny. I hate the long ‘mike has tea’ host segment with a passion. The host segments in this episode actually get me eye rolling and angry because they stink up what should be an all time classic. I remember showing this to a newbie and his comment was ‘I wish they just stayed in the theatre.’ I should have showed him something that featured great movie and great host segments.
So many classic riffs inspired by work culture. Signing Sherri’s card, meetings where something actually got done, etc.
Still it’s a 3.5 out of 4 for me because the movie riffing segments are that great.
I will say that episodes like this make the most out of the mike era’s disgust and disdain for the films they watch. I felt like Jonah and co were too nice to starcrash.
I can live with you saying that they did a bad job on the riffing but why is the movie itself terrible for the show?
And…. Sampo’s Theorem rides again. (“For every fan who believes that a given episode is their worst effort ever, there is another that believes it is their finest hour,” if you’re new to this site.)
Also helps with the Really Australian characters in “Alien From LA”, for those who might’ve also wondered.
Yes, as they’ve moved on to RT, I’ve noticed that MK&B frequently lapse into murderous, screaming, homicidal personal vendettas against some imaginary figure named Movie–Eg. “C’mon, Movie, gonna take all day?…Okay, Movie, you asked for it!!”
There’s just no abstract, seems like there’s no humor in it for them unless Movie was some actual tangible flesh-and-blood figure they could back into a dark alley with chains and broken bottles–or at least pants in the locker room and dump his books in the hallway–for all that he had done to them PERSONALLY.
And if merely being clever and silly for Clever and Silly’s Sake in the face of Starcrash’s strangeness was “too nice”, what would be “too mean”? And enlighten us, what would be “just right”?
The difference between the two philosophies seem to be one reason Mutiny has etched such a niche into the souls of the fans who first grew up watching a Sci-Fi series, and literally didn’t know a CC series ever existed–If Mutiny was the “funniest” episode of S8-10, it was therefore the funniest episode of THE SERIES, as Mike Is The Series and The Series Is Mike, And All The Revolution For Which He Stands.
And that getting them to watch a CC episode with “the Other Guy” was like Old People getting a high school kid to watch a B/W film because they can’t appreciate new ones, and telling him, don’t worry, it’s got sound in it, too.
To that one dude: (TLDR;SOS)
I’m not afraid to admit that I love this episode! It really is one of my favorites. I’m surprised that the disc still works with how many times I watched it. I haven’t watched it in quite a while since there have been so many volumes released since then, but it’s always one I can go to if I just want to sit and laugh.
It just feel wrong to me. It’s a self-aware sci-fi spoof that’s not inherently funny. Hence most of the riffs were either Jocko Energizer commercials, Santa, or Big McLargeHuge. It’s like Fu Manchu, we could have come up with better riffs, but the movie wasn’t very good.
And the storyline aspect. Just ugh. Roman times? You might as well put the crew on another ship instead of the SOL and replace the bots while you’re at it.
It just makes me sad that this episode is so lauded when it was from the era where the Brains were forced to change their show by a bunch of board room executives. Some enjoy the episodes where the Brains were under corporate thumb more than when they had complete creative freedom? I weep for the creative soul. That’s why I enjoy 9 and 10 immensely more, the Sci-Fi Channel backed off, and we get to return to a nice Mad Scientist domain sending movies to the SOL.
I’m sorry, I wasn’t going to rant, but here we are. Anyway, even the “worst” (IMO) episode is still somewhat entertaining. The movie is lightly goofy, but it’s no Red Zone Cuba. Which I bring up because not only did a character die and come back in Red Zone Cuba, they came back as a different character, and this was done on purpose! Space Mutiny is merely an editing error. Not nearly as amusing to me.
I think my favorite part of the episode is when Mike asks Servo if he made that beeping noise.
I feel like Pearl watching the Hobgoblins bit when I watch this episode. Others are loving it, but I’m like I don’t know, something’s a bit off.
Thank you for having a dialog with me. I adore MST3K, I just don’t like this one, and I tend to get labeled as a troll just because of that “impossible” opinion. So thank you, I appreciate the discourse.
How is this movie a self-aware sci-fi spoof?
Yes. This episode is highly entertaining. Time to time it is my go to. Has it all- fast paced, cheesy, ridiculous characters, and, a conclusion to Roman Times. To each his/her own- but, this episode is a wonderful, funny gift.
You think Space Mutiny is supposed to be a serious movie? Now that’s funny!
Even Reb and Cissie have said they were aware during filming they were making a goofy flick, and everyone was in on it.
The write up on this movie says the two lead characters met on the set of this movie and then got married… Other sources say they had been married since 1979. Which is it?
A good example is tom servo saying “that’s because this movie came out AFTER Star Wars.. If it came out before it would have been pretty cool.’ The riff is not funny and lets the film makers off the hook from the crap effects they are presenting us.. Star crash could have been a bit better with more anger in the riffing as opposed to them simply trying to leave the theater every 15 mins. I’m not knocking Jonah + new cast.. Overall I like their positive energy and find it kind of refreshingly counter culture in today’s times. Season 11 is my fav season overall.
Chime time!
I was turned on to MST by a co-worker when it was on hiatus between season seven and eight. Prior to that my only exposure to the show had been seeing the title in the TV Guide. (That’s a book that you used to purchase or have delivered directly to your house that listed television shows and the dates and times they were on. Crazy, right?) Anyway, by seeing the title of the show I assumed it was just another of the “Sir Graves Ghastly” or “The Ghoul” type shows I grew up on where a host would show cheesy horror/monster movies. I assumed and never watched the show at all.
Jump cut to the guy at work (S’up Greg?!?) circulating a tape to me. It was “Mitchell” and I laughed my ass off. Asking for more tapes I got to see “The Brain That Wouldn’t Die” “Sinbad” “Attack of the Eye Creatures” “Alien From L.A.” “Kitten With a Whip” (which was labeled as “Kitten in the Wind” so that’s how I still refer to it)
Suffice to say I knew immediately that Joel was the original and was later replaced by Mike. I enjoyed both hosts (and still do) but over time I leaned more toward Joel. Joel was just more my style.
So, that’s my story. I was a late comer but am now a rabid addict. Pity me.
I can totally understand EricJ’s take on the “Mike/Sci-Fi Era” I don’t agree with his assessment per se but he does make good points and I actually enjoy reading his posts. I would rather read a well thought out opposing view point than your basic, “This episode was funny and I laughed while watching it” posts.
So, rave on Mr. J! You can get awfully redundant in your dislike (I won’t say hatred because that’s a little harsh and I attribute that feeling to most of your detractors and not to yourself) of Mr. Nelson. But who do you know in life whose opinions don’t eventually get dull and redundant?
I have some pet peeves about some of the posters here. The “Bectdal(sp?) Test” really irritates me. I see that and immediately skip that post. I hate labeling of that fashion, but that’s just my opinion.
I also hate lists of riffs that leave out the context of the scene. That square kind of post bugs me, man!
And, please people, stop copying entire posts and then replying to them! Can’t you just reference the poster instead? Or just copy the sections that you are replying to? (Bring back the numbering system Sampo. It helps.)
I am not seething!!!!!!!
I also hate posts that don’t reference the actual movie until the end of their po- wait… (looks at self) Dammit!
Overall, I enjoy and read almost every post. (I said almost!!!!) Keep up the opposing view points. Just keep the vilification of other posters to a minimum. If we all had the same opinion we would all suck equally and that’s just not possible. At least I hope it’s not!!!
Okay, okay, I’m done chiming.
As for this episode? I LOVE it!!! And the next two following. Classic episodes for me. Sorry, Eric! :-)
PS: I tried to turn on an ex-girlfriend to MST using this episode. She hated it. Go figure. There’s just no accounting for taste. Right, Eric?
PPS: My all time favorite episode is “The Girl In Lover’s Lane.” Anyone with an opposing view point is wrong and stupid!!!
Peace, all.
I love the Bechdel Test posts and find them interesting. Keep ’em coming, Sitting Duck!
Would also like to have post numbering back if possible, and pleaseohplease fix the ignore button so that it sticks. Might be a lot less bitching on this site (including from yours truly) if it worked. Thank you.
Maybe it’s because I’m one of those folks who grew up with the Mike episodes and didn’t know about Comedy Central era until I got back into the show. (Like EricJ talks about) but some of these movies make me angry. So angry that I want the the guys on the SOL to share in that anger. Usually it’s an 80s turd fest…. And it’s awesome when Mike and the bots hate on it. I feel like Joel and the bots were too nice to Manos too. Hurts the episode.