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Episode guide: K14- Mighty Jack

Movie: (1968 TV series; 1987 compilation movie) A top secret organization, called Mighty Jack, makes use of a giant submarine, called Mighty Jack, to battle terrorist organization Q.

First shown: 2/26/89
Opening: Dr. E. thinks he and Dr. F need a change; Joel listens in
Host segment 1: As a joke, Servo, Crow and Gypsy weld themselves together
Host segment 2: Crow and Servo admit they have no idea what humans think is funny
Host segment 3: Crow bowls, but Crow and Servo don’t want to play games with Joel anymore
End: Viewer mail
1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (110 votes, average: 4.01 out of 5)

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References.
• As with some of the other Sandy Frank movies, we get to see lots of footage we didn’t get to see in the season 3 version, including a long segment before the credits. And I have to say that it helps. The season 3 “Mighty Jack” is a thick, almost impenetrable plot stew. It took many repeat viewings of it before I could figure out what the heck was going on. I was able to follow the plot, such as it was, much more easily watching this version.
• I was always aware that this is the first and last episodes of a TV series, but in the more complete version you can really see the dividing line. Clearly the end of the first episode comes when Atari is introduced as the team’s new commander and all the old grudges are smoothed over.
• In the theater, as the opening credits roll, Joel addresses the viewers and promises a fan club newsletter in two weeks. He does so again about half-way through the movie.
• I have been pleasantly surprised at the viewability of these DVDs. They ARE several-generation copies of VHS tapes of an over-the-air TV feed, after all. But I should mention that there are some pretty rough spots in this one, and I can’t tell if it’s just tape artifacts or if whoever was originally taping this just had their rabbit ears adjusted badly.
• During segment 1, Joel “accidentally” drops a pencil, then bends down (out of shot) to pick it up. For a moment, no one is in the frame … then Joel pops back up. That way the editors could cleanly cut the action.
• Host segment 2 is a little dark, what with the bots contemplating Joel’s death.
• One of the fan letters refers to the part of “SST Death Flight” in which Servo says “His eye needs some air.” This line was actually said by Crow, but no one corrects the viewer’s error.
• In Segment 2, as an example of what is clearly NOT funny, we see a little snippet of the TV series “Punky Brewster.” If you’re too young to remember it, don’t worry, you didn’t miss anything.
• Two odd comments in the theater: At one point, Servo says: “That’s the kind of entertainment Josh — this guy I know — really likes.” Weird. Even weirder, Crow says that one character “looks like Frank Conniff”!
• Watch Servo as J&tB leave the theater right before segment 3. As he exits, Josh lifts the puppet too high and it completely clears the theater seats. We can see the control rod, a little of Josh’s hand and we can also see that Servo doesn’t have the lower half of his body! Wow!
• Segment 3 was redone in episode 106- THE CRAWLING HAND.
• Toward the end of the movie, one of the characters yells “Launch!” and Joel riffs “I said lunch, not launch!” Somebody check for me, but I THINK that is a rare example of a riff that appears in both versions.
• Crow waves goodbye at the end of the episode. Ah, the days when Crow’s arms worked.
• CreditsWatch: Additional writing: Faye Burkholder. Additional puppet operation and voices: Alexandra Carr, Faye Burkholder. Alexandra, taking on even more work, is now also listed as fan club coordinator.
• Fave riff: “Ew. Get a mop.” Honorable mention: “”Hmmm… how to drive a boat.”

49 Replies to “Episode guide: K14- Mighty Jack”

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  1. I'm not a medium, I'm a petite
    Ignored
    says:

    Crazy me, I will give this a 3 on the wide open all mst3k spectrum scale.

    This was enjoyable on its own, it does not need the historical researchical crutch to make it so.

    I really don’t like this kind of subject film that much but this was watchable and there is some very good riffing. I can’t compare to the earlier K-eps ( haven’t seen them much ) but this seems like a ‘modern’ mst3k ep. Only piece missing is greater interaction with the mads.

    Randomly ordered notes….

    Riff of shame: “mathew blodelick” is beneath them.

    Fave riff: Paris in the the spring. I think I still have that time life book somewhere.

    WTF riff: ( with Sampo here ) He looks like Frank Conniff !

    2nd fave riff: He’s in no condition for mints ( that’s my kind of gag )

    Missing riff : no George Steinbrenner riffs in the obvious places !?! And we needed more martin and Lewis Riffs.

    Again with the Sampster, Cheap pencil drop cut. VERY cheap.

    Fave host segment riff: I feel like Benny Hill.

    Does Joel say “why didn’t they GROUP KILL Gilligan “ ?

    Did they use the smell / murder ball / free will bit later on in the series ( or did I watch this one before a long time ago ? )

    In the first half, there is an older office staffer who is smoking a cigarette. Doesn’t he grow up to be a Bruce Lee villain, or a mad scientist in a mechagodzialla film or something like that ? Imagine with white hair and laughing hysterically.

    DAP copy was watchable but had some brief serious condition issues.

       2 likes

  2. Finnias 'Critter' Jones
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    says:

    Servo: “But does anybody really know what time it is?”
    As a fan of the early work of the band Chicago, I get a kick out of this riff (around the 04:30 mark), but most of this episode is sadly laugh-free.

    This one never fails to confound me. Even when I understand what’s happening I wonder why it matters. Why was this made? And why does our crew fail to find the funny in this? For me, MJ is a mighty fun fan-made website but a lackluster MST episode. The callbacks alluding to Crow’s freezing are interesting from a historical perspective, and Servo accidentally calling himself Josh is funny too. In the “film” itself, Mr. Atari is such a calm, cool, badass leader that his presence just makes this one bearable. The rest borders on the incomprehensible. 2 stars from me, maybe closer to a 1.

    Servo: “What we need is some plot-seeking missiles.” (43:17)

       2 likes

  3. Sitting Duck
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    says:

    If you thought Punky Brewster was bad, you should have seen the Saturday morning cartoon version (unless you value your sanity).

       1 likes

  4. Creepygirl
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    says:

    This is an enjoyable enough episode with some really good riff’s. MIGHTY JACK the season 3 version is my least favorite season 3 KTMA redux because I never really knew what was going on at all. This film version fixes that situation.

    I found this KTMA episode entertaining and give it 2 1/2 *.

    Maybe this weekend I’ll go back and watch the season 3 version. Come to think of it, it has been like three or four years. That sounds like a good idea. :cool:

       1 likes

  5. Brandon
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    says:

    Sampo, I don’t know if the “Launch/Lunch” riff was used in the Season 3 version, but Servo does say it during Santa Claus Concurs the Martians.

       0 likes

  6. Cubby
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    says:

    I’ve seen the cartoon “Punky” and my sanity is intact. Mostly.

    This was the first KTMA I ever sought out – just because I really enjoy 314. The riffs show the sharp contrast between the two versions.

    My fave riff is from Crow, “These guys all dress like the Duncan Yo-Yo champs!”

       1 likes

  7. LazlowTheMSTGuy
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    says:

    I don’t have a video review of this episode yet, but I finally finished my video review of last weeks movie, SST Death Flight.
    http://blip.tv/file/4184180

       1 likes

  8. bchat
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    says:

    I started watching this episode last night, hoping to get all the way through it but I got tired, so I have about half of the movie to watch yet. My favorite line so far was from Servo: “And I already used all the things in my Mighty Jacket”.

    I’ll admit that I hadn’t been a big fan of Josh for a long time, but I’m finally warming-up to his take on Servo and his character of Dr Ernhart (“My casserole!”). I guess I’m just too used to Kevin’s version of Servo & TV’s Frank.

    Did anyone else recognize the guy from Ultraman (Masanari Nihei)?

       1 likes

  9. TheDON3k
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    says:

    I’ve always hated MIGHTY JACK, since there’s a whole lot of “Who’s doing what? What’s going on?” the whole film. The good guys and the bad guys sort of blend together, until you get to the German guy. Hmm, I’m not seeing the half-Japanese part…

    That whole humping the briefcase explosion was pretty WTF.

    I wondered about the Frank riff, too.

    Also, I believe in one of the upcoming KTMA’s (next weeks?) Joel again talks about killing Gilligan.

    An OK episode, for a KTMA, that is…

       1 likes

  10. mataglap
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    says:

    I know I watched every season 3 episode a few years ago, but while the title is familiar I don’t remember a single frame of Mighty Jack from that version, not sure if I’d want to invest the time to watch it enough to where it started to make sense.

    Host segments show more advance planning this time, the casserole line and that whole opening bit with the Mads is hilarious, and “Next time, no free will” should be on a t-shirt if it isn’t already.

    What happened to showing the time and temperature on the screen during the movie? Is it only worth displaying when it drops to single digits?

       1 likes

  11. touches no one's life, then leaves
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    says:

    They never killed Gilligan because, without him, who’d do all the work on the island?

       4 likes

  12. My episode guide entry:

    http://www.thelogbook.com/logbook/mystery-science-theater-3000/experiment-k14-mighty-jack/

    A good one. Due to the ability to actually *follow* the plot of the movie, superior to the re-do.

    My favorite riff: “They’re playing games with Mr. Atari.”

       0 likes

  13. JCC
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    says:

    “Riff of shame: “mathew blodelick” is beneath them.” (#1)
    =====================================
    They did those kind of jokes all the time in the Season 3 remake’s and the Master Ninja episodes. And again with the Season 8 Japanese movie’s.

       1 likes

  14. Toyland Chairman
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    Only saw the later scripted version of the episode. I know it’s about secret agents and stuff, but the title always makes me think of a giant ape. :o

       1 likes

  15. MiqelDotCom
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    says:

    This one was unexpectedly hard for me to watch. I LOVE the season 3 version of Mighty Jack but had never realized how much their riffing adds to the movie. Without the nonstop riffing my attention kept drifting away from the film – until they mentioned Frank Coniff (gotta be the first mention of Frank on the show)!

    Anyway, I’d give this one a 2 on the KTMA scale – there were a couple of zingers, but overall the riffing wasn’t very funny. Seeing the additional cut scenes helped the plot a little. Wasn’t this one a TV series clipped into a feature movie, like Fugitive Alien?

    Fave riffs (already mentioned above):
    Servo: “What we need is some plot-seeking missiles”
    Servo: “I already used all the things in my Mighty Jacket”
    Crow(?): “They’re playing games with Mr. Atari”

    I think the next couple of weeks will be more fun, Superdome is ok and City On Fire is very funny!

       0 likes

  16. dad1153
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    Man, this was a PAINFUL experiment to subject myself to, especially after the cheerful breeze of fresh air that “SST Death Flight” felt like a week ago. Haven’t seen the Season 3 version of “Mighty Jack” yet but, even with a longer version of the ‘movie’ in this KTMA version, this thing doesn’t make a lick of sense. I’ve seen “Rocket Robin Hood” cartoons with plots more believable and coherent than “Mighty Jack.” This is a case where the Sandy Frank crew’s editing/dubbing have truly made sour lemons of what seems to be a decent “Gatchaman”-type live-action adventure show. Even giving the original TV show a complement though, does it make sense to make a submarine (for which you have to repeat the same stock footage shots over and over again) the star of your show? :roll: It’s weird that the “movie” constantly flirts between sci-fi fantasy and James Bond-type spy action without settling on either. The ‘Q’ villains were neither threatening nor amusing to watch, just stock baddies that the American actors made sound even more ridiculous than they already were. Only when the German guy shows up and some hilarious ‘German son of Japanese ancestry’ riffs pour out of nowhere does the humor quota spike, but then it flat-lines back into boredom soon after.

    I immediately recognized the third segment as the one The Brains recycled for Season One’s “The Crawling Hand” (for years the only S1 “MST3K” available on commercial home video, and my first exposure to Weinstein’s Earhardt/Servo). There are lots of dead spaces in which potentially hilarious movie scenes go unriffed (or Joel and the Bots deliver tepid-at-best riffs), and the middle of the second half (after Atari has introduced himself to the Mighty Jack team) is deathly dull. Even though it’s barely audible I was taken aback by an early riff in which Crow says (as the Mighty Jack team members run into the elevator door) ‘everybody runs into the Mystery Science Theater’ (or words to that effect). Between that meta riff, the jokes about Josh/F. Conniff and the couple of plugs for the newsletter this is one of the most ‘inside baseball’ fourth-wall breaking “MST3K” episodes I’ve ever seen. Shame that, humor wise, the guys came up snake eyes.

    ONE-AND-A-HALF STAR (in the KTMA scale) for the “Mighty Jack” movie itself and TWO STARS for the “MST3K” experiment. Favorite riff: ‘Really Hot Flashes.’ :mrgreen:

       1 likes

  17. Twitterhitter
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    Why is everybody trying to make these KTMA episodes out to be something they are clearly not? You can see when they started doing this, you can tell when they started doing that. Come on people, these are unwatchable.

       3 likes

  18. Alex
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    says:

    “All this action and we haven’t even seen the credits yet!”

    “Sandy Frank is all you need to know.”

    XD

    This episode also isn’t that bad. Ironically, this is K14 and the repeat in Season 3 is 314. XD

       0 likes

  19. Larry
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    says:

    Haven’t seen the S3 version, but man, what a movie! Pretty painful. This ep has it’s moments, but I don’t think it’s as good as the few episodes preceding it (although I haven’t seen SST yet, though it is waiting for me upstairs – I guess I’m a week late :oops:! ), nor is it as good as the next few episodes. Just a tough, tough flick, they needed some seasoning before tackling it (I’m guessing the S3 version is HUGE improvement ;-) !).

    Looking forward to Superdome next week. Although it’s not quite the strongest KTMA, it’s my favorite.

       0 likes

  20. Larry
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    says:

    @ #12 – Ah, Rhindle! I remember you from Atariage! Should’ve known you’d like that riff! It’s actually one of the few I remember (I should mention it’s been a few years since I’ve seen this ep and I do NOT want to watch it again!)

       0 likes

  21. Finnias 'Critter' Jones
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    says:

    @#17: Never seen a Twit-hit here before so I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt that you’re not just a troll looking for a fix.
    The folks posting above are choosing to see the glass half-full in these early episodes. They are sketches, rough-drafts of what the show would eventually become. This particular iteration of “Mighty Jack” just happens to be a dud. And no, the KTMA’s are not ALL “unwatchable,” merely hard to watch without a bias towards loving-all-things-MST mindset. Few would claim these are “Essentials,” thus the repeated “rated on the KTMA scale” qualification. But I’ll agree that some folks are grading these way too high. Different strokes…

    @#8: “Did anyone else recognize the guy from Ultraman (Masanari Nihei)?”
    Yes, I did, immediately. Always liked that guy. His moment of realization that the douche he risked his life to save is actually his new boss is one of the best in the movie. ?

       3 likes

  22. Finnias 'Critter' Jones
    Ignored
    says:

    Edit: There shouldn’t be a “?” at the end of that (#21). Oh poopie.
    Sampo? Please allow registered users to edit posts. Or not. Sounds painful…

       0 likes

  23. JimmyBruce
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    says:

    I agree with #17. I’m just waiting for season 1 to start.

       1 likes

  24. Matt D.
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    says:

    Who I don’t agree with is Sampo. Punky Brewster was a fine show, with nice stories and Soleil Moon Frye, who grew up to be hot. The Saturday morning cartoon with that magic elf thing though…oof.

       0 likes

  25. Sampo
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    says:

    Finneas: let me look into it.

       1 likes

  26. Finnias 'Critter' Jones
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    says:

    Sounds painful…

    And I just recalled that I was the one who argued that the Brains should never have let the solo-Joel Gamera KTMA air, so I feel for those folks who consider these early shows either “unwatchable” or not worth the effort.

       0 likes

  27. Mighty Jack
    Ignored
    says:

    Watched “Last Chase” a while back and thought it was pretty decent and wondered why Joel and the gang were so hard on these episodes… today I watched Mighty Jack and understood completely. This isn’t, well, very good. And they seem kind of off to me. The delivery, timing, jokes – it just wasn’t clicking.

    For some reason I never caught that Frank Conniff line before. Very cool (I added the info to my website, giving credit where credit is due and a link).

    Tom saying the name “Josh” sounds like a flub to me. He chuckles, then it sounds like he’s trying to cover the mistake by adding a hasty “…this guy I know”. I imagine he was supposed to be speaking of himself in the 3rd person but said his own name rather than the character he was playing.

       1 likes

  28. Bobby 23-Skidoo
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    says:

    Not that good, but at least if you watch this one before you try to watch the Season 3 one, you can ignore the lack of coherent plot in that version and concentrate on the riffing.

    Fave riff – This guy used to pilot the Titanic. “Just an iceberg”

       0 likes

  29. Twitterhitter
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    says:

    Hey “Clutter” Jones are you running to daddy and telling because you read something you didn’t like? Now whose the troll!
    And KTMA still sucks.

       0 likes

  30. Finnias 'Critter' Jones
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    says:

    @ #29: s/b “Now who’s the troll?”

    Thanks for that. Today I became a man: I’ve been insulted on the internet by someone I don’t even know. And I actually concur with you: KTMA (as a whole) does suck, but that doesn’t make it not worth watching or discussing, especially among fellow MSTies who are able to find some gold among the dross.

    As for “running to daddy”: In my comment # 22, I was merely referring to the oft-requested function of enabling the editing of one’s own posts here on Satellite News, especially when a typographical error occurs, which I admit is unlikely with the software they use to run these threads. Thus the “sounds painful” joke (which is itself a callback to the last few KTMA’s we’ve watched). This was NOT an attempt to ban or delete other folks’ opinions, least of all yours, who seems to say “the emperor has no clothes.” I appreciate that viewpoint; the more the merrier.

    If you have a specific critique of “Mighty Jack” itself, please share it with us. Myself, I hated it, so maybe we can agree to agree?

       4 likes

  31. Richard the Lion Footed
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    says:

    I must be either too old or just not paying attention, but I have always liked this episode and did not find the movie at all confusing. A cheesy movie yes, but 60s “spy shows” are always somewhat cheesy. Look at “the Man from U.N.C.L.E.” and compare that to this season’s “Undercovers.” Spy = Cheesy

    Speaking of “Man from U.N.C.L.E.,” I did like the opening to the K14 episode better than the fresh jump into cold water that 314 gave us. The idea of getting a call to action, then entering the secret door in the back of the little shop was EXPECTED in a spy show of that era. Though the plot exposition right after the opening credits gives you all you need to know.

    Not sure why Joel needs to announce the newsletter during the film. Isn’t that what the host segments were for?

    Don’t you think that ALL missions that require Mighty Jack would be dangerous ones? The boss reminds them of this in his taped message. Should he have had to do that?

    In the first host segment Crow suggests Gypsy use her hand to scratch him.
    Gypsy has hands?

    Why do all leaders of international organizations of evil have white cats? It is a licensing requirement or something?

    Fav Riffs:

    4:14 “I had this album”
    5:30 “Dept is very low on this movie”
    14:20 “Oh god, he’s going to dial ALL the numbers” A sure sign of a bad film, like having to show the cast leave their car and walk ALL fifty yards to the front door.
    16:40 “He holds the secret to synchronization.” Very important in a dubbed film.
    18:18 “Seems to have forgotten the pilot.”
    40:25 “What we need are some Plot seeking missiles.”
    53:17 Oh, its just an iceberg.” This guy use to pilot the Titanic.

    Two things I wondered.

    At 11:00 they set up the times. Is Moscow really only three hours behind Tokyo and a half our behind Saigon? They seem further apart on the map.

    At 53:43 they say “Launch missiles pronto!” Would the Japanese REALLY say “Pronto”?

    BTW (48:00) – “Punky Brewster” was suppose to be a “family friendly” show made specific to air after the Sunday football game. They were shot in 30 and 15 minute formats to fill the time needed between the end of the game and the start of 60 minutes.

       0 likes

  32. Twitterhitter
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    says:

    @30
    Now that I’m in your head lets get a few things straight. As far as new to this tread ,I’ve been leaving posts for 10 years or more. Changing my handle here or there because I just don’t care about “street cred”. Being such a “vet” to this sight as you act to be, lets not be all taken aback when you call someone a name (that you don’t even know) and they call you it back. We as posters and Sampo expect a little more from old pros like you , so check yourself. And while we are on that subject they have a preview button you can press to check your work. Now yes we can agree to agree.

    Now as far as 17 goes , are you even reading what is being posted. “I finally got through it…” “I made it …”as far as viewing goes. Not just Mighty Jack but many of these KTMA eps. A glass half full, is only a joke half funny.., which means its not funny.
    So lets be Frank about non Frank, if you were to name your top 10 eps would you even think of a KTMA ep? I wouldn’t ,and I respect the whole body of work. I love the Beatles, but they have 20 or songs I could do without.

       0 likes

  33. Twitterhitter
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    says:

    I should have used the “preview” button myself. HA!

       0 likes

  34. timesnow
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    says:

    What’s with all this negative hostility regarding the KTMA era you have got to look at this in a historical content, I mean this was the show in its genesis before it was molded into a fully formed compendium I find this early episode fascinating on that level, and besides some these early ones ain’t that bad really so take easy people.

       2 likes

  35. Watch-out-for-Snakes
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    says:

    My initial thoughts on this topic went right to Droppo and ol’ Watney.  Those two seem to be the overwhelming favorites.

    But I got to say, for totally annoying and “what where they thinking”-edness, you can’t get any better (?) than Richard Kind’s performance as Wamthool, evil David Warner’s magi in Quest of the Delta Knights.  

    Thankfully it is a brief scene, but Kind just hams it up with a performance more in place on an episode of Mad About You than in a movie that takes place in the Middle Ages. 

    He really throws the tone of the movie completely out of whack, and by the time we get to the guy who screams, “I’m coming!” there is no chance of recovery for any serious action or drama in this picture.

    Who decided Richard Kind should play his role like that?  Who decided he should play that role, period?  Whomever it was, bad choice…..

    Worst.  Comic Relief.  Ever.

    I seem to have lost my notes from my recent viewing of this, so I’ll have to go off memory.

    I first watched the Season 3 Mighty Jack last year, when I finally come through and scored big and plugged all the holes in my collection.  I know I watched it, but I have no memories of the movie or episode.  Zero.

    So I watched K14 and I still have no idea what is going on in this movie.  It’s all so choppy and . . . . boring.   I’m pretty sure I fell asleep.

    I know I was awake to see the host segments, but they were all pretty “meh” for me.  Nothing great.  

    The riffing in this one seems to take a serious dive from the build of the previous few KTMA’s.  Not a lot of “funny” here.

    This is the worst looking copy so far for my KTMA’s.  The tape transfer is horrible, lots of tape burps and hiccups.  Just adds to the charm…..

    I dunno, this is one of my least favorite of the KTMA’s, probably just ahead of K05 Gamera, the one where Joel watches the movie alone.
     

    Zzzzzzz…….wake me when we’re at Superdome.

     

       4 likes

  36. Watch-out-for-Snakes
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    says:

    Damn!

    Ignore that first part of my post above there, that belongs over in the Weekend discussion Thread.

    Watch Out For Copy-and-Paste errors!!

    Now, somebody wake me when we’re at Superdome. Thank you.

       3 likes

  37. PondosCP
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    says:

    I feel like Mighty Jack!

       0 likes

  38. Mirian Peil
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    Supurb service, was on time, charged me a reasonable rate I would recommend this service.

       3 likes

  39. Hiroshi Mishima
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    says:

    It’s been really interesting watching the KTMA era episodes. I had never even known about this “season zero”, as it were, despite growing up a fan of the series. Although I’m a fan of Japanese shows/movies, especially these older sort, I did find the movie very hard to follow at times. This was probably because of the huge jump from first to last episode, and the oh-so-polished method in which Sandy Frank localized these things.

    I will say it was nice to see Masahari, since I’d just finished watching all of Ultra Seven earlier this year for the first time thanks to that recent DVD release.

    Joel and the bots just didn’t seem as funny this time as they had in the previous Death Flight episode, but then again I was also finding myself watching the movie which I suspect they had been, as well. I ended up making a number of my own riffs while watching Mighty Jack, just to fill the silence or when jokes seemed obvious, though I admit to not having seen the season 3 version myself.

    I wanted to thank you all for this lovely site where I can go and look up information about the episodes. I enjoy reading the little rundowns Sampo does, along with everyone’s comments and discussion about the episode itself. I feel kinda like a kid again, watching my way through these and seeing how it all started. Sure was a lot rougher and less amusing, but at the same time I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t been laughing my butt off at least once per movie. Just not as consistently as I had during the later seasons.

       1 likes

  40. E
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    says:

    “Twitterhitter” was a real dickweed.

       8 likes

  41. Sitting Duck
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    says:

    Richard the Lion Footed #31: In the first host segment Crow suggests Gypsy use her hand to scratch him. Gypsy has hands?

    Maybe she has telekinetic hands like the characters in VeggieTales.

       3 likes

  42. Bruce Boxliker
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    says:

    For a 13 episode series from 1968 (and it’s 26 episode follow up series, Fight! Mighty Jack), Mighty Jack has actually retained a surprising fanbase. Every few years, I see a new die-cast Mighty Jack ship released in Japan.

    @31 – While I don’t know for certain what was said, I’m pretty certain the use of the word ‘pronto’ is just another sign of the poor translation team (person? stray dog?) that Sandy Frank dredged up for this. They likely said something about launching them quickly (ima sugu – immediately, perhaps), but it was quite common back then to completely change what a character was saying just so the words kind of fit the mouth movements (we all know how well that worked out…). Adding American terms like this was also an attempt to Americanize the movie/show, which is something that irritates me greatly. Even modern day US anime companies still do things like this (on both dubs AND subs!).

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  43. Professor Gunther
    Ignored
    says:

    This is tangential, but I just read that Mighty Jack will be shutting his site down. I’m sad about this; along with this site, it’s one of my favourites.

    Let’s all do another banked turn for Mighty Jack!

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  44. Captn Ross Hagen
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    says:

    I cant post on here.

       2 likes

  45. Captn Ross Hagen
    Ignored
    says:

    Okay I can, I had a hard time because our mail address changed.
    I’m old and a few weeks ago I posted something and then I was posting something else
    and got kicked off. I went into hiding and didn’t know what to do.
    Anyway all is well now. And I really liked Mighty Jack.

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  46. Cornjob
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    says:

    u

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  47. Cornjob
    Ignored
    says:

    My post got screwed up and couldn’t be deleted. Sorry.

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  48. jaybird3rd
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    says:

    “Mighty Jack” is probably my least-favorite of all the Sandy Frank imports, so it’s a bit of a slog for me in either incarnation. I agree with Sampo, though: the extra footage in the KTMA version helps to make the whole thing a bit more comprehensible, and there are some fun moments in the theater as well.

    My favorite from this episode (and one of my favorite KTMA moments of all) is when the movie spends an inordinate amount of time on Harold Atari’s breakfast order (toast, scrambled eggs, black coffee, oranges, etc). It’s almost like Johnny Longbow’s stew recipe in “Track of the Moon Beast”. J&TB have a good chuckle over it, and for the next few minutes they’re constantly making breakfast jokes: as the guys aboard Mighty Jack are turning dials and pulling levers, Joel says “Wow, all this just to make toast!”, and when the submersion begins, Crow says “Whoa, look at all that orange juice!” as the water comes flowing in. I also like Crow’s remark during the opening credits, when the fakey Mighty Jack models are shown swimming in the ocean: “I like thick, gloppy water!” No matter how detailed they are, water is always a dead giveaway with miniatures, especially if there’s a lot of splashing. They always end up looking like toy boats in a bathtub.

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  49. mnenoch
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    says:

    Some of these combined TV shows really work for MST viewings (Master Ninja being my favorite). However, Mighty Jack is just hard to watch even with understanding the plot better. With most of the other Japanese imports it’s a lot more wacky but this just is meh. They really didn’t understand that making a James Bond type film is about having one badass guy and not a whole crew.

    As for MST3K itself you can see it really starting to come together over this episode and SST Death Flight. My favorite riff is from Joel when they are bombing the island “Nothing appeases an island like having a couple of bombs being dropped on them.” Good stuff.

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