Movie: (1977) A plesiosaur is discovered living in a lake near Mount Fuji, then volcanic activity awakens still more prehistoric creatures.
First shown: 5/28/89
Opening: The Mads come up with clues to support the “Joel is Dead” rumor they want to start. Joel is dubious
Host segment 1: Joel demonstrates the way special effects can be used to make a person look really small
Host segment 2: J&TB put on a sitcom, complete with laugh track, canned applause and pointless catchphrases
Host segment 3: Joel uses his model lizard, which breathes real fire, to demonstrate monster special effects
End: What are you going to do on hiatus?
(90 votes, average: 4.10 out of 5)
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• This was the final KTMA episode, though the last host segment makes it clear that the Brains expected to return to KTMA after a summer break. Fortunately for them (and us), they had a larger destiny in store for them.
• Host segments 1 and 3 were apparently aired in the wrong order: in host segment 1, Joel refers to their “earlier” segment … it’s pretty obvious he’s referring to host segment 3. Oops.
• The model in segment 3 would be re-used as an invention exchange in episode 103- MAD MONSTER.
• Segment 2 appears on the MST3K Scrapbook tape.
• It has been fascinating to watch these and to watch the concept of MST3K grow and coalese. But, as many of you have said, I doubt that I will come back to watch any of these episodes for pleasure.
• That said, as several folks said in the comments, the riffing in this one is pretty solid and pretty much as good as anything we’re about to get in season one coming up.
• For one thing, by this time they were routinely previewing the movie and pre-writing jokes, even though they weren’t willing to admit it yet. Example: At one point in this episode, Joel repeats a line of dialog along with a character in the movie. Tom (Josh apparently tweaking Joel for doing so) asks: “Have you seen this before, Joel?” Joel replies: “It’s something I learned in camp.”
• References.
• Callback: “The Two Eyes of Su-Maru.”
• It’s both depressing and somehow fitting that the final movie is yet another confusing Sandy Frank outing (and maybe the most disjointed one yet). It makes you wonder why they came back and did a lot of these movies again. That’s a lot of pain to take.
• This is one of the rougher tapes from the KTMA era, making the viewing experience even more exasperating.
• I want to note again, as I did earlier: Not once, not a SINGLE TIME in any of these episodes, did anybody EVER use the word “Gizmonic.” Joel once told me that, in the KTMA episodes, The Mads are transmitting from their lab in Gizmonic Institute. And that makes sense. After all, in the next episode, (the first of season one) we learn that The Mads have fled Gizmonic Institute to Deep 13. But now it’s pretty clear that’s a notion that came after the fact.
• All this time, we have listed this movie as “Legend of the Dinosaur,” when the title card actually reads “The ‘Legend of Dinosaurs’” (including those quotation marks). My DVD also calls it by the wrong name. The IMDB, on the other hand, gives its full title in English as “The Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds” (“Kyôryuu: Kaichô no densetsu” in Japanese).
• I wonder where that retouched “Abbey Road” album cover is. That would be a great collector’s item.
• The kid in segment 1 is listed in the credits as Ralph Smith. Wonder where he is now.
• The giant hand in that segment would be used again.
• One thing that was particular to the KTMA shows, I think, was that when something truly horrific happened on screen, Tom Servo would deliver his trademark phrase: “Oh, golly!”
• In segment 3, Joel handles a tiny replica of a Kentury Fried Chicken store. That little model would later be incorporated into the “Big G Burger” scene seen during commercial bumpers for several seasons.
• It was a cool evening in the Twin Cities on Memorial Day weekend: 74 degrees, 73 an hour later.
• At one point somebody says: “Watch out for overly sensitive producers!” Huh?
• There’s a very strange moment in the riffing, when Joel says, “Finish the job, man! Open the tank!” Then he seems to realize that he’s said something wrong. He tries to correct it. He gets as far as “I meant to say ‘Open the…’ ” before all three riffers collapse into laughter. Servo declares that Joel has “snapped a twig,” but I have no idea why.
• In this episode we get our first set of renaissance fair jokes, including a “huzzah!” They would return in season three’s “Pod People” and then become a running gag throughout the series.
• Cast and Crew Roundup: Other than Sandy Frank, nobody involved in this movie was involved in any other MSTed movie.
• CreditsWatch: Special Guests: Ralph Smith & Ralph’s Mom.
• Fave riff: Servo: “YBS?” Joel: “People seem to accept it!” Honorable mention: “We haven’t heard from her.”
Next week we will begin season one, and before anybody asks, we will, as always, being doing them in episode number order, meaning that episode 104 will be the fourth one we do, even though it was the last one produced that season. We’ll hash that out when we get there.
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I for one really enjoyed this (for me) second pass through the KTMA season. Again you have go into it with low expectations of the curiosity of witnessing history and a genesis rather than looking for comedy gold. When you do that it is an enjoyable experience. What really struck me on this second pass is the quantum amount of growth we witness as the show is fleshed out. There is no doubt you can’t point to another season of the show that gives us this level of growth.
So what’s the deal with the title of this film? The Cheepnis cover art lists “The Legend of the Dinosaur” but the movie’s title card gives the name “The Legend of Dinosaurs.” This can’t be a conscience renaming of the film for legal reasons. For one thing the name isn’t different enough if that was the goal. For another thing, they really didn’t concern themselves with things like legalities in the KTMA days anyway. So what is the deal with the title?
So what do I miss most about the KTMA season that didn’t survive into the national show? I really enjoy it when the riffers would crack each other up. Normally it was Joel who lost it. In a very primitive way this is what a live Cinematic Titanic presentation is like. Feedback for your jokes. I guess this is what it was like to be in the writing room during the national seasons.
Favorite Riffs:
Land of the Lost. I loved that show as a kid so that was one that just rang with me.
Screaming while showing construction machinery. Tom says “they struck girl.”
Floundering in the water. Crow: Adam and Eve on a raft. Wreck Em
Character: Are you all right?
Joel: Ask me when I’m done coughing up blood.
Tom: When are you done coughing up blood?
Joel: Usually by mid afternoon
Diver looks at his watch on dry land. Joel: We’re out of oxygen.
Dan in WI pretty much sums up my feelings as well. I really enjoyed the “McCarthy Myth” as applied to Joel. I wonder why they did not repeat this routine?
This was a silly movie and should have been upgraded in a later season.
I’m glad we went through this season!
The name issue is likely the result of an incorrect entry on an early episode guide that originated on Prodigy/AOL/CompuServe. Back in those days, we would trade episodes like lunatics and keeping track of what we had and didn’t have was paramount. We ALL had lists. Some of us were anal enough to write episode guides. The evolution of the best episode guides was therefore rather organic and Darwinian; the best guides survived and were passed along – flaws and all. Finally, once Sampo at Sat News codified the mistake into their listings, it became gospel. The fact that this was a KTMA ep (which Sampo hadn’t watched until now) and also that it was such a poor original copy probably lent itself to it never having been corrected. I doubt such an oversight would have lasted long for a Season 3 ep!
Thanks for doing a wonderful job on this Episode Guide, Sampo! I really look forward to your Season One entries!
Oh, it also looks like the “The” looked inserted into the title as an afterthought – perhaps why the mistake was made in the first place: “Legend of ^the^ Dinosaur”
I do not know when Trace, Joel and Josh realized that they had something with this show,
but it is obvious that by now they felt this was not some little hobby show on a local station.
With this episode, and “The Last Chase,” it is apparent that they knew this was something to invest in.
“The Legend of Dinosaurs” is as good as anything they would produce in the first year.
The finally had the confidence to realize that people were tuning it to hear them and
not watch a hosted movie on the local UHF station.
This episode, for example, has more riffs in the first ten minutes than GAMERA VS. BARUGON had
in its entirety. There are noticeably fewer dead zones and even the energy of the improvisational
comments are higher. They are trying to riff the movie. It more of an active event than a passive one.
I think that by now, what started as an idea for having some fun, was turning into an idea for a career.
This of course if another “Sandy Frank” film. Why he is so mad at the MST3K group is beyond me.
Yes, they said some not so nice things, but with the demise fo teh independent T.V. station,
in the late 1980s, when was the last time you even saw a “Sandy Frank” movie? Now he is a household name.
(at least in our household.)
I like the opening skit with the idea of starting a rumor that Joel is dead. The idea of
stealing an idea from the Beatles, to try and build interest over the summer break
(whether or not this was an ACTUAL plan), was well presented.
Two observations,
If they were going on hiatus over the summer, why didn’t KTMA re-run the show?
(Obviously they didn’t or else we would have fan tapes of the first programs)
You would think that a small station would use this opportunity to line its coffers
with a show already in the can.
It is interesting that they are already making “Renaissance Fair” jokes (huzzah!),
but NOT “Sea Hunt” jokes. With all the underwather and diving shots in this film,
you would think they would be coming fast and furious.
Was this one of Mike’s contributions?
That “that kid in segment 1” BTW is Ralph Smith. He was there with his mom.
(end credits)
Dated comment at the end host segment. All the references to
the Exxon Valdez and the Ollie North Trial earlier that year.
(did anyone under 25 even get those references?)
Overall the best episode of the season in my opinion.
Finally, we can rid ourselves of these awful episodes. How some of you can waste hours at a time is remarkable. Bring on season 1.
Our long national nightmare is over…
Servo: One of my Robotic Laws is “Annoy at all costs.”
First time I saw this I was so perplexed by the movie I didn’t notice how solid the riffing was. Now I’m convinced this is one of KTMA’s best, but the film is so mean-spirited and joyless that it likely wouldn’t have worked in the later cable run of the series.
• The Mads’ “Joel/Paul is Dead” intro is great stuff for anyone familiar with the Beatles myth. We’ve heard some Fab Four references before this episode, but this is the most in-depth and obscure.
• I’ll blame Sandy Frank for this, but there’s some weird dubbing when the lead scientist shows up in his jeep asking about the “Fuji wind-hole” (around minute 14). Suddenly the voices have reverb added, even though the scene takes place outdoors.
• At 15:10 a gentle piano w/male vocal music cue starts. Joel riffs: “Nilsson ripoff song.” The song then builds into a power balled. This movie has a strange soundtrack – mostly some kind of porno jazz fusion by Masao Yagi. The main influence seems to be early ’70’s Miles Davis (my favorite period) with prominent bass clarinet/soprano sax lead lines snaking over slow funk grooves. But it never fits the mood of what is being shown on screen (as Joel repeatedly points out).
• “It’s a headless horse, man.” Couldn’t see it myself, my copy is too fuzzy. But combined with the Japanese girl shrieking, this is where the film turns dark and weird, more like a horror film than the kid-friendly monster movies MST usually features.
• Crow: “Country Eastern.” Our crew really pile on the cliched racial stereotype humor in this one. Most of it is not offensive to me, except when its not funny. The mispronunciations seem cheap, like “Arr you can eat.” But Waylon Springroll, Clint Far-Eastwood, and Yellow Broadcasting System are fine with me.
• In addition to repeating ideas from Jaws, the disastrous beach party here predicts this year’s Piranha 3D… without all the boobs and blood.
• (@ 48:10) Crow: “He’s no fun, he fell right over.” The first Firesign Theatre reference I’ve noticed in these KTMAs.
• Servo: It was mango-mania!
• The attack on the raft by the Plesiosaur is another grim sequence, as the creature toys with the screaming girl like a cat would with a captured mouse, while her yelping dog watches from onshore. Effective and horrifying, and made weirder by the soothing jazz flute score – Crow: “Music to munch by.” its just a bit hard for me to process the light-hearted riffing during a scene of what is essentially a monster raping a woman. Cognitive dissonance.
• Old man: You’re being a little premature predicting that without any evidence.
Crow: Well I got excited.
• After our “hero” slaps the woman (another WTF moment), Joel’s “Finish the job man… open the tank (laughs, etc.)” is a great antidote to the humorless mood the movie has settled into. My reading of the breakdown is that Joel thinks we might have thought he meant for the man to keep hitting the woman.
Actually, Servo’s initial responses to the slapping were pretty dark also:
“No, close her mouth before striking.”
Woman: “You’re terrible!”
“Why? I hit you both times.”
• Crow: Are those icicles? They look experimental. Like test-cicles.
• The final showdown between dinosaur and monster bird is pretty laughable, but made somewhat vicious with a gruesome eye-gouging. After a drawn-out sequence of our human leads hanging from a tree limb, the film abruptly ends.
Probably a 4, but I’m going to vote it 5 KTMA stars. Solid host segments raise this to a best of Season for me.
I dont think this film or the Gamera movies are that ‘painful’ compared to such films like Manos, Overdrawn at Memory Bank, Colossus and the Headhunters,Fire Maidens of Outer Space, etc
If nothing else the Gamera movies were a hoot to watch..ok the last couple of them Guiron and Zigra were pretty bad but the early ones get some positive love..
I guess Im referring to the early Gamera films not being that bad. Im glad they did the Sandy Franks again because the riffs were so much better the 2nd time around.
Too bad Rhino wasnt doing VHS or DVD releases when Best Brains had the rights to them…
I remember the Kid, Ralph came back years later to one MST3k con. He ask question I think was the sci fi 96 con. I remeber Paul asked how he was doing.
http://www.thelogbook.com/logbook/mystery-science-theater-3000/experiment-k21-the-legend-of-dinosaurs/
And we go out with a thud. While I generally like the KTMAs, this one plods along because the movie is so lousy. A high riff-rate (ultimately meaningless to me) doesn’t make the film more watchable, it just means I’m hearing jokes about an unwatchable movie. (This happens countless times in the National run – episodes I can’t watch because the movie gives me *nothing*).
Still, the end of an era and it is interesting to see they clearly meant to keep going even if their plans (unknown to the fans) hadn’t worked out. I get the sense they would have kept plodding away in some way, shape or form if the Comedy Channel deal had not happened. Good to know. The KTMAs are more than entertaining enough that if it had kept going locally it would still be worth watching.
If I have been struck by anything throughout this process (and this will surprise no one, I am sure), it is the lack of interest among some fans for these episodes. These are the shows that caught on with local fans and got the ball rolling. And, with the exception of a few at the beginning, are every bit as fully entertaining as any nantional episode as long as you don’t expect it to *look* like a national television show. I honestly feel sorry for any fan who can’t enjoy “Comsic Princess” or “City on Fire”. There’s great stuff there and I’d rather watch them than most Season 7 episodes, for instance.
I think it comes down to the fact that MST fandom is nowadays mostly made up of the “I’m in it for the riffing” kind of fan, while years ago there seemed to be an equal number of fans who enjoyed it for the characters and the “stories”, such as they were. I certainly enjoy the riffing, but counting the number of riffs per minute? As if quantity and speed somehow conveys quality? No, I’ll take a lazy, slow riffing of a watchable (but flawed) movie by people I like spending time with over zippy, mile-a-minute roasting of some utter trash or (even worse) a movie I really like on its own.
“But, as many of you have said, I doubt that I will come back to watch any of these episodes again any time soon.”
And I’ll continue to watch them as part of the regular rotation of every other episode. I kind of hoped you (as an obvious big fan) would see the sheer entertainment value of these episodes that captivated fans from the very beginning, but perhaps that’s asking too much. People want things as they know them and often can’t see value in something somewhat different. (Which, to be honest, is true with me as well. Rifftrax is just an extrapolation of the MST formula, but I’m not terribly interested. Little of the charm of Cinematic Titanic carries over for me to Cinematic Titanic Live.) Chalk it up to wanting more people to see what I see in them.
“it’s pretty clear that’s a notion that came after the fact.”
Or a notion that he always had, but never mentioned. Even when a show has an official “bible”, filled with every fact about every character, they don’t always mention everything. Why do you assume because the word “Gizmonic” isn’t used that Joel hadn’t thought of it that way already? You *may* be right, but there’s no way of actually *knowing*.
Finally, we can rid ourselves of these awful episodes. How some of you can waste hours at a time is remarkable. Bring on season 1.
What a wonderful way of putting it. Thank you. I’m rarely thought of a “remarkable”, so it warms my heart to know someone thinks of me that way. :heart:
Our long national nightmare is over…
True. We don’t have to listen to people endlessly complain about these episodes anymore… :)
Ironically, I’d just watched the unMSTed version of this a few days ago (checking the condition of various DVD’s, mostly homemade). It is listed with the full “and Giant Birds” on the DVD and the movie.
Now, since I realized I remembered NONE of the riffing (usually that’s because I’ve only watched the MST3K versions once or twice – some of the last two seasons – 9 & 10 – I’ve seen many times, because I had the VHS tapes of them before transferring to computer). So, it’s time to throw the occasional MST3K into the DVD player between ‘verifying’ other DVDs that are homemade.
J/P=?
This is my favorite KTMA episode (of the ones I have seen). They really seem to be getting the hang of riffing.
I actually saw this movie when I was a kid. Rented the Sandy Frank video from the local Mom n’ Pop video store. It weirded me out. I don’t think I had ever seen something this odd a dreamlike before – but I still watched it all-the-way through because I loved dinosaurs.
Actually, the two creatures in this movie are prehistoric reptiles, not dinosaurs.
@ #11
I’m part of the younger fanbase, and my friends and I enjoy the characters, skits, and stories as much as the riffing. It’s part of the total MST3k experience; we’re not jaded cynics who only like seeing movies ripped apart – we like the warmth, absurdity, wit, charm, and humanity of the host segments too, and reference them nearly as often as lines from the movie segments. We like Rifftrax and CT as well, but mainly because we’re so glad that there’s something more, new, and ongoing to be explored.
That being said, I can’t even enjoy Season 1 episodes, much less KTMA stuff. There’s a lot of subjective psychology going on here, and I can’t blame either the folks who want to enjoy the origins of the series or the folks who can’t stand these unpolished outings. I sympathize with both.
>>Why do you assume because the word “Gizmonic” isn’t used that Joel hadn’t thought of it that way already? You *may* be right, but there’s no way of actually *knowing*.<< Well, sure there is. I plan on ASKING him. :p
John Paradox–You’re saying that your DVD has a title card at the beginning of the movie that says “…and Giant Birds”? That could explain why the IMDB lists it that way: It’s going with the DVD edit, whereas KTMA probably had some different syndication edit.
I rewatched this about an hour ago and liked it very much. I too thought the end of the film dragged and just wanted the movie to end. The riffing is strong and the host segments are really funny.
I liked this trip down memory lane and enjoyed hearing other fan’s opinions on season Zero/KTMA.
Now it is on to Season 1 and with ready availability of the first seven episodes on DVD maybe we can get to triple digit replys instead of 30 to 40 per week.
>>Why do you assume because the word “Gizmonic” isn’t used that Joel hadn’t thought of it that way already? You *may* be right, but there’s no way of actually *knowing*.< <
Well, sure there is. I plan on ASKING him.
You’re assuming he’ll both remember *and* that you can trust his memory… ;)
The first half of this movie kinda phases in and out of almost having a coherent plot, but then the last 30 minutes degenerates into gratuitous nonstop monster fights, explosions and earthquakes (and inappropriate music). Also all of the womens screams seem to be voiced by the same actress, who has one of the most grating, annoying screams in movie history. Unusually gory for a Japanese giant monster flick.
This host segment with the giant kid is nicely random & funny!
4 Stars on the KTMA scale.
Scientist: “The reason father’s theory of a living dinosaur wasn’t accepted ..”
Joel: “because it wasn’t double-spaced”
Trace “It’s Weylon Springroll”
Josh “It’s Jimmy Buffet”
Bad pun:
Trace: “It’s a tree-horse”
Joel cracks HIMSELF up at one point .. but i don’t really get it.
he says “Finish the job man … open the tank. … I meant open the (laughter) .. oh man, i’m sorry.(more laughter)”
Josh “After 20 weeks, Joel Hodgson snapped a twig”
Climber: “Don’t you think it’s to rough to keep going on?”
Trace “The dialogue gets better down by end”
Trace “Are those real ice-cicles? They look experimental – like test-cicles”
Character “Are you alright?
Joel “ask me when i quit coughing up blood”
Josh “When DO you quit coughing up blood?”
Joel “Usually by mid-afternoon”
Sampo, when we begin Season 1 for discussion, are you just going to leave your current notes and comments as they are, or will you be adding additional ones?
It’s hard to think that at the end of the Series in Season 10, that the only people left who began it all there at KTMA was Kevin and Jim and only Kevin was still involved in the actual production of the shows.
Brandon–I will be including most of my original comments (unless I think something I wrote was really stuipd) and I will add more (if I can think of any)!
Sampo, I have another question about S1. Do you plan to do the episodes in production-number order or are you going to do 104 last (since it really was the last one they made for the season)?
Cody–I’ve thought about that, and I’ve decided to go in episode number order and try to iron out as much confusion as possible as we go.
This is a decent one. Not the strongest KTMA but a passable season ender. The host segments are pretty good and the movie is ok. I enjoy the KTMA episodes but there’s definite improvement when they get to Comedy Channel.
Very strange movie. Pretty decent episode. Overall, a pretty good KTMA episode.
Can’t wait to start up season 1. :D
Btw, does anyone know if the original Japanese version of this film is available on DVD in America?
Sampo, when you start going in episode/production order, can you put in a little “next time in MST3k Episode Guide, episode X” reminder? That’d be helpful to those of us who like to watch the episodes before the discussion starts… Thanks!
Pretty strong episode (along the lines of most of the latter-half of the KTMA season). Good riffing, and I loved host segment 2. The movie does take it’s toll, though. Usually Sandy Frank movies are awful, but in a goofy, good-natured way. But this one is, as #8 aptly put it, pretty joyless. Having grown up on these Japanese monster movies, I still have a bizarre attraction to it (especially since this is one of the more obscure films from the genre) but yikes, the overall darkness of the film is kinda off-putting.
Speaking of darkness, I’ve had two copies of this ep, from two different sellers, both on VHS, and both are very dark, as in the actual picture (I’d guess this was due to the reception when it was recorded?). My first one had very rough quality on top of the dark screen, so I got another copy when I discovered mst3kguy.com, and while the quality was much, MUCH better, it was still very dark. Even the version on Youtube is like this. I’m guessing there’s only one circulating version of this ep?
Anyway, I really liked this journey through the KTMAs. It’s a season I’ve always found very interesting. I didn’t always find them hilarious, but I was usually entertained. Even through the tougher eps (Barugon, Gamera, Mighty Jack), I always enjoyed watching. When I first entered the world of tape trading (although I was usually buying, not having much to trade), the KTMAs are where I headed first, simply because it’s such a historic, less well-known season that I had been interested in since I got the ACEG. It’s a season of MST3K, but it really stands apart from the rest of the series, and IMO it’s worth revisiting every once in awhile.
You know a movie’s bad when what the dog’s doing is more interesting than the actual scene. Anyone know the breed of the puppy in the movie? I suddenly want one.
finniasjones
“I’ll blame Sandy Frank for this, but there’s some weird dubbing” #8.
I have to agree with you on this.
In these types of films you always settle in to off dubbing and odd dialog, but this one seemed more out of sic than usual.
For example, after the lakeside concert the audience applauds and the the clapping and sound so obviously do not match up that it was almost riff worth unto itself. That is hard to do in crowd scene.
Again though, good riffs on a bad movie.
How soon did KTMA fold after this?
Did that have something to do with why they did not do re-runs over the summer?
I don’t understand the negativity towards the KTMA episodes. They obviously are not great episodes but they were important in creating the show it would become later. I think that they accomplished a lot with almost no budget, spray paint, plywood, a few very rough puppets and freetime in a tv studio. What a joy it is to have these episodes to watch at all. They all could have easily not been taped and then we would not be able to see the very core of the show grow into greatness.
Ah, the first KTMA I ever saw! This one is actually one of my favorite KTMAs(although I haven’t watched all of them yet). I’ve always been a sucker for dinosaur movies, even really cheesy ones.
I really don’t get all the hatred for these episodes, either. The show was slapped together in a hurry with duck tape each week with practically no budget, and the concept itself was evolving all the while. Obviously, some growing pains and lack of polish are to be expected. The show hadn’t “arrived” just yet, but it’s a lot of fun to watch it gestate. (And I still hold some of the KTMAs above many of the season 1 episodes.)
Glad this episode is getting some love here. Some links I found online to celebrate this film:
CHUD.com (friends of Rifftrax) did a list of monster movies that featured this one and includes some screenshots (see the headless horse in full color!) and a link to Amazon for the DVD…
http://chud.com/articles/articles/13491/1/CHUD-LIST-TEN-GREAT-BAD-GIANT-MONSTER-MOVIES-DAY-ONE/Page1.html
And here’s an in-depth review of the movie & DVD at B-Movie Film Vault (their homepage features Hobgoblins!). It even includes a link to download the original soundtrack (17 tracks at 320kbps) for free. Listening to it now and it is groovy…
http://bmoviefilmvault.com/breviews/legend_of_dinosaurs_and_monster_birds.html
After reading the comments here, I want to say that watch this show to laugh (No duh, right) – More “quality” riffing = more laughter. So yeah, I love the characters and what not, but it’s the riffing that stirs the drink for me.
That’s why I like this episode, I laugh. I laugh more at this than I do some of the early season 1 eps, like Aztec Mummy. After rewatching these KTMA experiments, Last Chase and Dino jump to my top 2 for the season. I enjoyed my time with this episode. I wore a wide smile, I went “ha”, then I went “He” — that’s the point of it all, the happy stuff – and this made me happy.
That giant kid genuinely creeped me out…
This is the end. Wow. We made it. What a trip, man. I’m not gonna lie, there were some tough times (K05-Gamera) but overall, I would say it was worthwhile. It was more educational than entertaining, but I was surprised by how entertained I was by parts. As a fan who loves backstories on his favorite projects, seeing the low budget, rag tag production they started this endeavor with was worthwhile enough. So, YAY!, I finally watched the KTMA episodes, and I can say assuredly that I don’t have to do that again for awhile.
Looking forward to comparing these with Season One coming up. I’ve only watched that season once in it’s entirety some years ago, so this will be a nice little revisit for me.
Some comments on The “Legend of Dinosaurs” or whatever it’s called.
Another Sandy Frank film. We’ve come full circle. What a silly, lame movie, that is poorly dubbed with odd music choices (as Joel points out) that is really only slightly saved by the entertaining-for-KTMA-era-MST riffing. And not only that, the Host Segments are pretty good too. I particularly liked #2, with the TV simulator program. The opening with the Mads is good too, they seem to really be started to enjoy the roles.
And man, oh man, who out there totally wants to get a vinyl copy of Abbey Road now and glue some heads of Joel and the Bots on there?? I know I do.
They do a little SHAFT theme song riffing during the opening song during the credits. This could be construed as a callforward (the opposite of a callback) to MITCHELL. Just a theory. . . . .. .
They actually do a lot of singing in this episode. They must have been feeling very musical….
RIFFS and stuff:
Servo: “He’s flossing the mountain.”
Joel: “Takes a big man to floss a whole mountain.”
Crow: “Kinda like Gleaming the Cube.”
I just want to point out that that is the second reference to Gleaming the Cube (the other, K15-Superdome), Christian Slater’s 1989 skateboard movie. That was a current reference back then, which is now dated and obscure. Neat.
Crow: “This is what’s known in film lingo as filler.”
Another thing I like about the KTMA shows, they are decidedly un-PC at times and it is a nice glimpse/reminder of pre-political-correctness days that ended after the 80’s. Sure, there are lots of Asian jokes in this one, but what about this one from Josh Servo??
Servo, referring to a gathering of confused Asians: “I didn’t know you could be retarded in such a large group.” !!:O ! That kind of things wouldn’t fly today!
!
Joel, displaying his inventors wit, points at a scuba tank and says: “It’s a cappuccino machine that also takes pictures!”
I love that there is some riffing on renaissance fairs. The renaissance fair bits that they do in later seasons (especially the punching bag invention exchange, #402 The Giant Gila Monster) are some of my favorite bits. “HUZZAH!!”
There’s that part where Joel just loses it and they all crack up. Servo: “After 20 weeks, Joel Hodgson snaps a twig.”
Joel: “The music’s all wrong again.”
Servo: “This is not a tender moment.”
Joel: “Playing Jethro Tull…”
And finally, from Mr. Crow: “KITTY!!”
Overall, I would say K09-Phase IV, K13-SST Deathflight, and K20-The Last Chase were my favorite experiments, with my least favorites being those damn Gamera movies (K04-K08) and K14- Mighty~freaking~Jack.
It’s been a fun ride, see ya’ll next week for #101. Until then, I’ll be at Six Flag over Ten-to-the-Twelfth-power.
!
Johnny Ryde:
>>Sampo, when you start going in episode/production order, can you put in a little “next time in MST3k Episode Guide, episode X” reminder? That’d be helpful to those of us who like to watch the episodes before the discussion starts… Thanks!<< I'm sorry if I was not clear. I am going to do season one in normal numerical order, which means I will do 104- WOMEN OF THE PREHISTORIC PLANET fourth, even though it was the last one produced that season. We'll just talk about that when we get to it. The reason I've decided to do it that way is because it's the only way I can be consistent. It's quite likely that other episodes were shot in a different order than the production number suggests, but I don't have any sort of production order list for the whole series, so it doesn't make sense to change things just in this one case where we happen to know things are out of order. Anyway, if you ever want to know what episode is next, just consult the current episode guide or this list: https://www.mst3kinfo.com/mstfaq/episodes.html
How about doing the Film Crew movies some time?
Granted, there are only four of them.
ck–i would also like to see the Film Crew movies, as the next logical step; then maybe the Cinematic Titanic movies, and Rifftrax–perhaps the DVD releases, and/or the live shows. Of course, that would have made more sense after Season 10.
This anthropological expedition may be fun for some viewers (or maybe just the very outspoken ones above) but more interest and support for ongoing and recent releases should be of more interest to a wider viewership than the KTMA episodes, none of which even has an official release. (Maybe they’re abandonware, but that still doesn’t put money in anyone’s pocket, and none of the MST3K crew look like they’ve hit the jackpot.) In other words, you dismiss the ongoing things these performers are doing right now to focus on something twenty years old, and without ongoing support, maybe that’s all there is.
#34 finniasjones
Thank you, thank you, thank you for pointing out where to find the Legend of Dinosaurs OST. It’s far and away the best part about this film. Truly groovy stuff.
@34 – finniasjones
HOLY SH*T!!! Thank you so much for the link to the OST. I’ve been searching for that for MANY moons. A few years ago I read on a forum somewhere about an OST to “Time of the Apes” and the poster said he wasn’t aware of an OST to “Legend of Dinosaurs.” I’m eternally grateful to you for alerting me to this link!
I always enjoy this episode even though I have the darndest time remembering anything from it after. The goofy country concert and a struggle to get out of a volcano arre all that stanf out.
I’ve always enjoyed the KTMA eps on the whole, and some of them – especially this one, SST Death Flight and The Last Chase – I enjoy more than most Season 1 eps.
As for the people who don’t like the KTMAs, no one’s forcing you to watch them (or talk about them).
Sampo, I second Johnny Ryde’s suggestion. If it wouldn’t be too much trouble, would you please mention what next week’s episode would be at the end of your review. Next week – Geriatric rodeo! Thank you, won’t you.
( ummmm don’t people use the episode guide ? )
#40 Sampo gives plenty of support and coverage to the other post MST projects near as I can tell. The episode guide isn’t sole focus of this website.
I wouldn’t mind seeing some coverage of the fan made episodes down the line. The MFT3K ones are amazing!
Well said, #47. I can’t speak for the Sampmeister, but I suspect that once the MST episodes get fully fleshed out, he’ll turn his attention to creating episode guides for both CT and RT. One project at a time, folks. What’s your hurry? Got a train to catch?
The best part is when Joel breaks down laughing. “After 20 weeks, Joel Hodgson snapped a twig!”
#40 I like Rifftrax, Film Crew, and Cinematic Titanic, but I don’t think weekly episode guide entries need to be posted about those projects on the official fan page for Mystery Science Theater 3000. I think Rifftrax and Cinematic Titanic get enough attention on this site as it is. This is a news site and since both projects are still alive and kicking, they provide us with plenty of things to talk about. The nice thing about these weekly MST3K episode postings is that they generate discussions which relate directly to the show, not just it’s current spinoffs. Since reruns of the show stopped airing six years ago, it’s nice that we have an excuse to watch certain episodes “together” every week.