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Posted by Sampo, on September 17th, 2011 Alert reader DeeJay writes, thoughtfully…
So we all know that every episode of MST3K begins with a remind that “it’s just a show. I should really just relax.” But I think every fan out there has blatantly ignored that advice on multiple occasions. We are all obsessed with the show and thus cannot resist dissecting it in a fashion better fit for “Star Trek.” MST3K basically celebrates its lack of continuity, from casually joking about Servo’s arms not working to not even acknowledging Frank’s tendency to come back to life one week later without fanfare. Sometimes a shallow explanation is made, like citing the existence of an air duct on the way to Servo’s seat in the theater, but, most of the time, the poor continuity is just part of the humor. So I would like to dedicate a weekend discussion to “The Science of Mystery Science Theater.” What explanations have you come up with for aspects of the show that aren’t meant to be explained?
Okay, I’ll give you one I’ve conjectured on: Why was it called “The Satellite of Love?” Perhaps Gizmonic Institute was building the rocket to send couples into space and show them romantic movies to study their, um, reaction? Hmmm?
And how DOES he eat and breathe? What do you think?
Posted by Sampo, on September 16th, 2011
Posted by Sampo, on September 16th, 2011 Here’s the official press release for Vol. 22. Nothing in here you don’t already know (and I’ve deleted the boilerplate stuff at the bottom).
MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000: XXII IN STORES DECEMBER 6 FROM SHOUT! FACTORY
FEATURING TIME OF THE APES, MIGHTY JACK, THE VIOLENT YEARS, AND THE BRUTE MAN
Our long cultural nightmare is over. On December 6, Shout! Factory, in association with Best Brains Inc., will release Mystery Science Theater 3000: XXII, a 4-DVD set that includes “Time Of The Apes,” “Mighty Jack,” “The Violent Years,” “The Brute Man” and a cornucopia of extras worthy of the holiday season. All four episodes are previously unreleased on DVD, and “Time Of The Apes” and “Mighty Jack” are two of the most beloved and most requested episodes of the comedy phenomenon!
Disc 1 of Mystery Science Theater 3000: XXII features “Time Of The Apes,” which enjoys a mythical cult status among MSTies. Adapted (i.e., shredded and stitched into incoherence) from the 1974 Japanese series “Saru No Gundan,” “Time Of The Apes” follows the travails of a scientist and two small children who are accidentally frozen and thawed into a future ruled by apes. The plot may sound familiar, but the riffs are absolutely unique.
Over on Disc 2 we have the long-awaited “Mighty Jack,” one of the funniest episodes of one of the funniest TV series ever made. The Japanese apparently had a license to kill television when they handed this prized Tsuburaya production to Sandy Frank. Long before “junk bond” joined the English lexicon, the 007-ish exploits of Mighty Jack — a government organization created to defeat the notorious crime syndicate known as “Q” — took everything that was bad about cool and thrilling espionage movies and threw the rest out. Fortunately for us, Joel and the ’bots had a license to riff. And fortunately for you, Shout! Factory has a license to release it on DVD.
Next up, “The Violent Years” is a tale from 1956 of girls gone wild. Mike and the ’bots take on this low-budget black-and-white potboiler about a neglected rich girl and her hardened gang of babes who, thanks to inside information from her unwitting father, always manage to stay one step ahead of the police. In this delirious episode, we find the Mads “softening to reach a wider audience,” which includes performing their new theme song, “Living In Deep 13.” The DVD also includes the 1952 short film “A Young Man’s Fancy,” wherein a visiting young man prefers the household electrical appliances to the teenage daughter.
Last but not least, Mystery Science Theater 3000 presents “The Brute Man.” Rondo Hatton plays a disfigured man, a/k/a “The Creeper,” who hunts down and kills the people responsible for his deformity. During his downtime, he falls for a blind woman and engages in some light felony by stealing to pay for an operation to restore her sight. She may regret that. The DVD includes the 1948 short film The Chicken Of Tomorrow. Remember the stylish sequence in Casino that takes us through the mechanics of the operation? It’s like that, except with chicken farming and without the style.
Bonus Features Include:
New Introduction By Mary Jo Pehl
Origin Of The Creeper: Birth Of A B-Movie Icon
Introductions By August Ragone, author of Eiji Tsuburaya: Master of Monsters
The Making Of MST3K (1997)
Mystery Science Theater Hour Wraps
Ed-ucation: Archival Interviews with Delores Fuller & Kathy Wood
The DVD Menus of MST3K
4 Exclusive Mini-Posters By Artist Steve Vance
Posted by Sampo, on September 16th, 2011 A new season of live Cinematic Titanic shows begins this weekend in Minneapolis, and the pre-show press there has begun.
Joel and Trace were interviewed by “The AV Club” and Joel was interviewed by City Pages.
Joel and Mary Jo got interviewed for a piece in the University of Minnesota student newspaper.
CBS Minnesota does a nice long story and a two-part video interview with the entire cast!
UPDATE: The local Fox affiliate has a short text piece and a pretty good video piece. And there is a short little piece in the Strib suggesting you buy Christmas gifts for your MSTie pals at the meet-and-greet after the show, which is in the restaurant next door.
Posted by Sampo, on September 15th, 2011 The AV Club has a nice rundown on the show and which episode are most accessible to new comers. I mostly agree with their assessments.
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