In the wake of the recent Shout Factory release of Vol. XV and announcement of contents for XVI, I want to know what people consider their favorite of the numerous DVD box sets.
Talking points could include:
• artwork/packaging
• bonus features (trailers, outtakes, interviews)
• episode choices (Joel/Mike ratios, favorites/non-favorites, thematic connections)
• Rhino vs. Shout FactoryThis topic could go in a few directions. Some people may choose to rank all the sets in order of preference and others may chose a single set as their “desert-island dvd”. Also, suggestions for which set a budding MSTie might purchase first.
Well, I’m afraid I’m biased. I have to pick the 20th Anniversary Set from Shout Factory because, well, I’m on it. :-)
What’s your pick?
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My favorite is DVD Set #5, because it has Time Chasers, Merlin’s Shop and Boggy Creek II, all three are among my all time favorites.
Yep, it’s #5 for me with 4 at a very close second. Those, to me, are the most consistantly hysterical. Time Chasers, Boggy Creek II, Overdrawn at the Memory Bank, and Space Mutiny are among my very favorites and the other four in those sets are fantastic as well.
I have to agree with #5. In terms of packaging, I’m not a fan of Shout Factory sets. The slim cases for each disk are a bit on the cheesy side with the comic book style art. Much prefer the Rhino style.
I doubt this will be a popular choice, but I’d probably have to go with Volume 2 as my favorite, for mostly nostalgic reasons. The first 2 episodes I ever saw were when someone gave me a tape with “Cave Dwellers” and “Pod People” back in the early ’90s. So I’ve always loved those two. I’ve always loved the shorts, too, so including a best-of-shorts disc really helps sweeten the deal. And “Angel’s Revenge” is so cheesy and breezy, it’s hard not to like that one, too.
Second place for me would probably go to the 20th Anniversary set, largely because of “Laserblast,” “Werewolf,” and the excellent interview/documentary extras.
The newly announced Volume 16 sounds pretty good, too!
I’d have to go with set 5 as well, the riffing in all of the movies was just top notch. The intros from Mike were a nice funny lead-in to the episode. It was also the first set I bought when I started purchasing all the sets.
I would have to go with MST3K: The Essentials. You can’t go wrong with “Manos: The Hands of Fate” (arguably the most popular episode). “Santa Claus Conquers the Martians,” a personal favorite of mine, since I saw this film when it was first released in 1964 (and even at the age of 9 or 10 thought: ‘What a crappy film!’). Finally, Shorts: Vol 3, again a personal favorite.
I do appreciate the fact that Shout Factory is releasing episodes from Season 1, which most of us never got to see and all the extras, which Rhino stopped doing towards the end.
But I do miss the the two-sided DVDs that Rhino released, featuring the full version of the films.
Glad to hear #5 and #4 as favorites–those are both my second-favorites, with 2-3 Mike-era episodes each that are classics. But i have to go with Dirk@4–#2 has two of my Joel-era faves (Pod People and Cave Dwellers) plus my fave from VHS/DVD watching, Angel’s Revenge!
Shout factory boxes are getting better (chapter breaks at the right times, eg) but i don’t think they’re an improvement over Rhino.
I base my favorite sets strictly by the episode content.
Volume 2 is my favorite set. It contains two of my all time favorite episodes: Cave Dwellers and Pod People.
Its rare enough that we even get season 3 material and two of my favorite eps ever are together in one package.
Runner-ups would be the Essentials collection for having Manos and Santa Claus Conquers the Martians and the upcoming Volume XVI for Warrior of the Lost World and Santa Claus.
I really liked the limited edition 20th Anniversary Edition set from Shout!Factory.
Everything about it was awesome: a Crow figurine, four lobby cards, fun movie poster art on the cases, nifty DVD menus, trailers, one good episode (First Spaceship on Venus) and three outstanding episodes.
And we can’t overlook the “History of MST3K” documentary or the Comic-Con panel.
I admit that I lean more towards the Mike episodes, so that probably factors into things a lot.
Outside of that, Rhino Sets #4 and #5 are great because I really enjoy the Sci-Fi years/Mike as the host and the episodes chosen here represent some of the series’ better moments.
We can’t forget Rhino Set #1, either – it’s just a powerhouse roundup of episodes (that I haven’t purchased on VHS at that point): Catalina Caper, The Creeping Terror, Bloodlust, and The Sky Divers.
While I don’t think any one set has ever completely nailed it for me, my favorites are as follow:
Content: Volume XV (love Racket Girls and Girl in Lover’s Lane). Also solid are Vol. 4 (Space Mutiny makes that set) and 7 (Prince of Space, Hercules movies). I also like the sets with the Shorts compilations, as the shorts often were my favorite things from an episode.
Artwork/Packaging: Vol. 2, Vol. 1, and then all the rest of the Rhino covers. The Shout Factory artwork is just embarrassing. I do prefer the individual cases of Shout Factory, but I also hate the cheesy comic book cover art. One more thing: Rhino always put the episode number on the back cover, which I always found useful in understanding where the episode fit in the evolution of the series.
I’m a Mike fan, so I generally prefer the Mike episodes, though seasons 3-5 are classic and one can’t be fan without recognizing Joel’s outstanding body of work as a host and as the creator of the series.
I’m not much of a Season 1 fan, but as a completist I enjoy seeing the early episodes as historical artifacts (I’d like to see some of the KTMA stuff as well).
Although I have preferences, I’m just glad whenever there’s a new release to buy because we still have a long way to go to get the complete series on our shelves. I wish Shout Factory would pick up the pace on the releases.
I’m going to go with 10(.2). I might be a little biased since that was my first set, but I think it’s a great mix of Joel and Mike episodes with fun little extras (can’t go wrong with bloopers). It’s basically the set I advise people to go with first.
Very close second is the 20th Anniversary set. Extremely close second. Third, I’d go with 5, since that contained a lot of hidden gems for me.
I love the Shout packaging, because, well, I’m a fan of the cheesy comic book ye-olde-movie-poster stylings. XD But as a graphics dork, I really like the discs for volume 8. They were just…really cool.
I also have a small appearance on the 20th Anniversary Set: in the panel, I’m one of the people that shouts out “The Crawling Hand!” So I’ll pick that one as well!
On the basis of creative package design, I like Volume 12, with Crow, Servo and Gypsy in the art gallery. Plus the menu for Rebel Set has that great coffee shop theme; I’m a sucker for beatnik jazz.
My favorite feature of the DVDs is the menus. The Rhino collections all have such great menus, that it’s hard for me to pick on that basis. But I’ll narrow my mentions to three:
Space Mutiny: It makes the film look so serious, and then suddenly Bellarian-Crow pops up to demonstrate how absurd it all is.
Tormented: I love Tom falling off the lighthouse.
Monster A-Go-Go: Great theme song, suggestive of far more action than the movie is able to deliver.
For me, it’s Volume 4, strictly because it’s 100% Mike and has, in my opinion, some of the best episodes. The Girl in Gold Boots, Overdrawn at the Memory Bank, Space Mutiny, and Hamlet. Yes, I’m a Hamlet fan; maybe it was the mix of Shakespeare with sophomoric riffing, but it’s a great episode.
Volume 5 is a close second, of course.
For me, it’s easy. I was only able to regularly watch during the Sci-Fi era, so Mike episodes are usually better loved on my part.
Volumes 4 & 5 from Rhino tie for first for me. Pure fun, even dreary, starchy, pork-filled Hamlet.
There’s even a tie for second: Volumes 8 & 12. I love the Mike episodes and these sets also have some of the Joel episodes I really enjoy. Secret Agent Super Dragon has shot past Pod People to become my favorite Joel episode.
That’s really what it boils down to for me. I generally like Mike’s style over Joel’s and favor Mike-heavy sets. But I always give the Joel ones a try, because they’re fun too and its otherwise money wasted.
Also, I feel Rhino’s sets still have an edge due to the scene selection/chapter breaks.
The one thing I don’t like about the early Rhino sets was the packaging. All the cardboard tabs/metal buttons come close to ripping every time I put a set back on the shelf. Neat idea, but reminiscent of the Sticky Fingers album issue.
Saving the positive for last, I’ve definitely worn out #4, just for Space Mutiny. And usually while I’ve got it out, I’ll pop in Overdrawn as well. Hamlet kind of kills it, but what you gonna do?
The extra features on the Shout sets are great, but it was a bummer to see that the chapter breaks were all wrong, and there was no scene selection menu (the titles of the chapters were sometimes as funny as the movie). They’re getting there, though.
Also, I like the idea of the sets, but I sometimes wish they were still putting out individual DVDs, so I could organize them on my shelf chronologically.
I’m overthinking all this, aren’t I?
While I have purchased all the sets so far, I actually just got around to picking up volumes 1-5 recently. Some great episodes there, but I remember feeling kind of torked that Rhino was either rehashing all their tapes or bringing out episodes that were being shown repeatedly on tv anyhow. I think #6 was the first set to get me excited enough to get to the store right away.
I think for my favorite set, I’m going to go with Volume 10 (including 10.5), with Volume 8 right on it’s tail. I like volume 8 because all of the episodes are truly painful films. I definitely would NOT show any of these to someone unfamiliar to the show. Some tough pills to swallow. Volume 10 has what I think are some pretty upbeat flicks that always put me in a good mood. While Giant Gila Monster and Godzilla v. Megalon are good, Teenage Strangler really is the star of this set, for me at least. A real sleeper episode, it took a few viewings for me to get into it, but it’s now one of my very top faves. I feel the same way about The Dead Talk Back from vol. 8 too.
Wow! This is a tough one, because there are certain eps I watch over and over again, but those aren’t all on the same sets.
For me – and I could be the only one to vote for this volume – I’ll have to say Volume 7. I enjoy all four eps: “The Killer Shrews” was one of the first eps I ever watched, so it has sentimental appeal, I liked all of the Hercules movies, and “Prince of Space” is among their best during the Sy-Fy era. The extras, with two shorts from the later years along with “Assignment: Venezuela”, also help make this a frequent choice.
A very close second would be Volume 4. Looking at this, I even suprise myself here, since I’ve always maintained that I like the Joel era abit more than Mike. In spite of the inclusion of “Hamlet”, the trio of “Girl in Gold Boots”, “Overdrawn at the Memory Bank”, and “Space Mutiny” make it a very strong set. I alos enjoyed the brief intros Mike did for both Volumes 4 & 5, and wish Rhino had kept up doing things of that nature.
My honorable mention would be Volume 10. Again, sentimentality plays a role, as my whole family pitched in to buy this for me two Christmases ago, well after it was pulled from shelves and therefore too expensive for one person to buy. One of the two Godzilla movies from Season 2, two Season 5 gems (“Swamp Diamonds” and “Teenage Strangler”), and a better-than-average Season 8 ep (“The Giant Spider Invasion”) all make my relatives’ investment worth it!
Vol. 4 great episodes, also it was the first set I bought, I still remember the ad I saw on TV for it
I have to go with XVI. Warrior of the Lost World and Night of the Blood Beast are in my top ten list of favorite episodes.
But, if I had to choose a set already released, my choice would be IX, due to the inclusion of The Sinister Urge and Women of the Prehistoric Planet – two of my favorites.
By the way, isn’t Vol IX one of the sets that is out-of-print due to rights issues?
#20 – Indeed it is. The only way I’ve found to get it is from individual sellers on Amazon and eBay. Prices usually start near $200…and go up from there.
Kilroy – Do you know what the specific problem was with vol 9?
I’m going to have to go with the 20th Anniversary set on this one. I’m not saying I think less of episodes on other sets. (The Shorts collections discs, Monster A Go-Go, the rare Godzilla vs. Megalon and The Essentials are personal favs) But the collectible tin and the Crow figure put me over the edge. Personally I can’t wait for the XVI set, Santa Claus is one of my all time favorites. Not just that, my Crow is kinda lonely without Tom Servo.
———Vol. 10——–
To have “Godzilla vs. Megalon” on dvd is priceless!
:wink:
The rights to Women of the Prehistoric Planet were not properly aquired, I believe. Thats why vol. 9 is discontinued.
My favorite one was Number 12, because it had my favorite ep(Rebel Set) and three other great ones(Super Dragon, Starfighters and Parts). I think this was the best lineup of episodes that Rhino put out. Makes you wonder what would have happened if Rhino was still doing it, though I do like what Shout Factory has done so far.
Number 12 if for no other reason than the interview with (I believe) Robert Fiveson. He was very well spoken and grounded in reality. Plus it was all VERY insightful.
And the cover humorously has Crow staring at a guy’s package.
Volume 4 (?) The one with Overdrawn at The Memory Bank and Space Mutiny. That particular era (sci-fi) of the show isn’t my favorite, but those episodes are.
The episode selection is really the only thing I care about (I don’t watch the box), but I much prefer Shout Factory’s design over Rhino’s. Favorites are Vol. 1, 2, 3, 6, and 15. Not one Sci-Fi era episode on there.
#22 – I honestly have no idea, Loran. I looked around, on Wikipedia no less, and apparently they lost the rights to some of the movies after the set was released (I don’t know exactly which). If someone else has more detail on it, feel free to correct me.
Man, that must’ve felt a bit embarassing, having to pull two sets in a row like that.
I really like all the packaging that Rhino did w/thier sets, very nice…not a fan of the slim cases.
I like the box art on volumes 1 and 2
the inner artwork is nice on 8 and 9 and so are the artwork on the disks.
I’d have to agree w/volumes 4 and 5 being the best episodes released, however w/the release of zombie nightmare(my fav) I found girl in lover’s lane pretty good.
Shout Factory is pretty good on the bonus features side of the spectrum especially the 20th anniversary.
One thing about Shout is that they seem to release a season 1 ep. in just about every release, I just can’t seem to get into season 1 very much, no matter how hard I try.
…guess I’d have to go w/Volume 5…good choice of episodes, nice artwork, I like the one liners they sample from each movie and put it on the box, next to a pic from the movie
More discussion–and a poll–on this subject here:
http://forrestcrow.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=mstchat&action=display&thread=16762
(It only goes through the 20th Anniversary set, but still…)
#5 is the runaway favorite on the poll. That’s my second favorite, just behind #12. You can read my explanation at the link (I’m the first post.)
I love the slim cases for ease of use, and I prefer the the bot-related SHOUT artwork to the ham & eggs and dinosaurs and various random images that RHINO was using by their end, but my favorite set so far is probably Volume 3. Behind the scenes footage is dvd extra gold.
As a latter-day MSTie, I have to go with Volume 1. It was a great way to start filling in the early years and each episode is an absolute gem, with The Skydivers as my fave. Also, the deluxe packaging was a nice touch.
I’m going to join Toblerone Effect and vote for volume 7. It’s a bit lopsided with three episodes from season 4, but The two Hercules movies were the best of the Hercules-or-similar movies they did. Prince of Space is a classic. I go back and forth on how much I like “Killer Shrews” (the movie really drags), but the short from that episode, “Junior Rodeo Daredevils,” is really great. Plus, as TE mentioned, the set has three extra shorts including the immortal “A Case of Spring Fever.”
I got bored and went back to do some math (that should tell you how bored I am as I hate math). Including single releases, recalled sets, and the upcoming Volume XVI, it’s pretty interesting what seasons got the most representation so far. It broke down like this:
Season KTMA – N/A
Season 01 – 5/13, 38%
Season 02 – 7/13, 54%
Season 03 – 5/13*, 38%
Season 04 – 12/24, 50%
Season 05 – 14/24, 58%
Season 06 – 10/24, 42%
Season 07 – 2/7, 29%
Season 08 – 7/22, 38%
Season 09 – 4/13, 31%
Season 10 – 8/13, 62%
I should point out that I included “The Amazing Colossal Man” for Season 3, but it was only ever released on VHS.
So, in order of most releases:
– 10
– 05
– 02
– 04
– 06
– 01, 03, 08
– 09
– 07
Although, that ends up being a bit deceptive thanks to differing season lengths. Season 5 has the most total releases, but season 10 ends up ahead thanks to a smaller season.
Now let’s all quickly move on before the sad implications of me having the time to figure all that up become too noticeable.
This is easy, Set #5. The underrated Time Chasers (a bonus higlight being Mike and Crow’s visit to Pearl). And there’s the immortal Krenshaw + the frightening vision of Merlin and Mrs. Merlin’s getting it on. Kind of irritating how they had to tone down Venus’s appearance in OatMB, though. :mrgreen:
But 4for4 in that set.
To be honest I’m happy with any MST3K episodes on DVD. Rhino may not have done as good of a job on the DVD’s as Shout but they tried their best to give us what they could.
I wouldn’t mind if Shout could try to give us the original un-cut films along with the MST3K versions.
Universal needs to get off their butts and give us a decent edition of MST3K: The Movie.
About the only other thing I would love for Shout Factory or Best Brains to brings is a MST3K action figure line.
Oh, and a big shoutout to the Citizens and Officals of Rutland, Vermont for helping in TC’s filming.
>>36
Season 3 has 24 episodes and I believe is the most underrepresented on home video. Season 7 held that title until last year.
Oops! I see I made an error above. Touch of Satan was in Volune 5, not the remake of Casablanca.
Any episode released is my favorite.
I’d probably go with Volume 1. BLOODLUST episode really knocked me on my feet.
>>40
Son of a…looks like you’re right. It was supposed to be 5/24, making it 21%.
Can I still blame Wikipedia?
well I would love any of the monster movies like
Godzilla v. Megalon that one I loved I wish I had it on dvd.
#10 (or 10.2): All good episodes with a great mix of Mike/Joel and different MST3K eras
I’m going to have to go with the original Vol. 1. I loved the episodes, I love the presentation on the package and I will always love the inclusions of the un-mistied movies.
While I respect Shout’s work in bringing more MST3K episodes on DVD and really like the artwork on the individual cases, I do not agree with the exclusion of the Scene Selection menu. The guy practically said that he wanted to spend money on getting bonus features on the set than spend money on scene selection. What the heck? Just make a standard scene selection menu like Rhino did, copy and paste and that’s that. You don’t even have to make it animated or include any pictures. One guy doesn’t like scene selection and the whole world suffers? Pspsps.
I really like the ones that have MST episodes on them.
Because I am a fan of Mystery Science Theater 3000. I am not a fan of packaging. Nor should any sapient entity.
# 10. Great selection, Godzilla vs. Megalon / Swamp Diamonds / Teen-Age Strangler / The Giant Spider Invasion. Then when Godzilla vs Megalon was pulled they put another of my favorites in, Giant Gila Monster, and added a new Dr. F and TVs Frank skit.
Please don’t ask me to decide. I love all my DVD sets equally.