This one is going to make you work a little. And it’s going to hurt a little. Strap in.

Alert reader George asks:

Which episodes would you propose to be sacred, untouchable, and indispensable–the essential definition of “MST3K”? Pick 10 from the Joel era and 10 from the Mike era. And show your work–provide at least a one-line argument in support of each choice.

Ouch. Only 10 episodes for each era? That eliminates a lot of classics (but of course opens the door to a lot of discussion). But I did it. So can you.

BTW–here’s a quick and easy ep list that might help.

Here’s mine (with the caveat that I might very well pick an entirely different 20 episodes if asked on a different day):
Joel era
107- ROBOT MONSTER with shorts: COMMANDO CODY PTS 4 and 5 (I think by doing this classic bad movie they declared who they were and what they were doing to the national TV audience. Also the Commando Cody segments are golden.)
310- FUGITIVE ALIEN (One of those episodes that “grew in the riffing” to paraphrase Tolkien. It could have been a weird little Japanese throwaway like, oh, I don’t know, “Mighty Jack,” but somehow a weird synergy developed between the movie and the riffing that created something greater.)
311- IT CONQUERED THE WORLD with short: SNOW THRILLS (So much wonderful stuff here, including one of the first real shorts.)
321- SANTA CLAUS CONQUERS THE MARTIANS (You can’t escape this one, somehow. Though I have to say I have recently migrated to the Cinematic Titanic version.)
422- THE DAY THE EARTH FROZE with short: HERE COMES THE CIRCUS (perfect movie, perfect short, maybe everything an episode can be. Sampo!)
423- BRIDE OF THE MONSTER with short: HIRED! PT 1 (The quintessential Ed Wood movie, riffed to within an inch of its life, and, quite frankly, the funnier half of the short.)
505- MAGIC VOYAGE OF SINBAD (Another episode that works on several levels simultaneously. So much going on here it could be the basis of an academic paper. And gaspingly funny throughout).
506- EEGAH! (Another absolute gem, where the performers took the strange movie and just built on it.)
507- I ACCUSE MY PARENTS with short: THE TRUCK FARMER (Another near-perfect episode as Joel prepares to take his leave. Everything works.)
512- MITCHELL (THE pivotal episode, THE must see. Not a foot wrong.)

Mike era
515- WILD, WILD WORLD OF BATWOMAN with short: CHEATING (After improving steadily, Mike finds his footing and proves the show is going to be fine.)
519- OUTLAW (OF GOR) (The epitome of the really watchable — and utterly riffable — MST3k movie. The level of riffing reaches and perhaps surpasses Joel.)
521- SANTA CLAUS (Why do the Christmas episodes stand out so much? Brilliance.)
610- THE VIOLENT YEARS with short: YOUNG MAN’S FANCY (My desert island episode. Fires on all cylinders for the entire show.)
706- LASERBLAST (Trace departs with a big giant bang.)
810- THE GIANT SPIDER INVASION (The show is saved, yet again.)
814- RIDING WITH DEATH (Another ep that could have been a middle-of-the-road outing, but that transforms into something more under the riffing.)
816- PRINCE OF SPACE (The bad movie’s weapons are useless against a riffing team that has completely rejunenated.)
904- WEREWOLF (Probably the Sci-Fi Channel era’s finest hour. Everything works.)
1001- SOULTAKER (Again, I cannot be objective.)

What are your picks?