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Now Available from RiffTrax…121 Replies to “Now Available from RiffTrax…”Commenting at Satellite News
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To #50, why do they need time to improve? It’s the exact same concept and exact same people as MST, so theoretically, it should be just as good. But it’s not. It doesn’t have the same feel to it, and even their voices sound much different. They’re unnaturally happy and goofy sounding ALL the time, as if to make up for the lack of a joke.
Wow. What a wide range of opinions. Hey rifftrax it not for everybody. Love or hate it I think it will be around for awhile.
I’m in complete agreement with posts 25 and 30. I’ve seen almost every rifftrax. Mike, Kevin,and Bill are consummate professionals and the quality of the riffing has been right up there with MST(even better than MST’s early years IMHO).
I’d be willing to bet, like #25 said, the majority of the posters here spewing venom at Rifftrax have never listened to a full episode. I am always baffled by the number of people who can’t get past the movie choices and put all these restrictions on what they should be allowed to riff or not riff. For me, it’s always been about the riffing. Old movies, new movies, good movies, bad movies, it matters not. Just keep the riffing coming. And Rifftrax is doing that with style.
Wah wah wah bitch bitch bitch they profaned my awesome favorite movie.
Shaaaark in the waaaaater…..my leg was floatin byyyy.
P.S….Jawsome.
#53. true. i have never watched a complete rifftraxed film. I have watched a few of the shorts and they seem funny enough I guess. But they are uneven, and they are trying too hard.
I am not sure I even own a dvd of anything they’ve riffed. My daughter may have the Harry Potter films. Even if I did, why would I go to the trouble of setting up the desktop and the DVD player to kind of listen to them to riff a movie I liked well enough to own the dvd of in the first place. Riff Citizen Kane ? Go right ahead, but I will pass thank you. I have precious little time for watching movies as it is. Why would I throw away a viewing of a really good film ? ( unemployed shut-ins: feel free to disagree ).
It makes little sense to me from a personal why-would-I-do-this standpoint, and it makes little sense from a sustainable business model standpoint. But if they can make money at it, i guess that’s great.
As they say over at rifftrax : “we don’t care if you don’t like it, just shut up and buy.”
# 28 I’m not a medium, I’m a petite says: “or get real jobs.”
“ 46 I’m not a medium, I’m a petite says: “Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want them ( CT or Rifftrax ) to fail. We owe them too much for MST3K itself to wish them ill. If they can make a decent living doing whatever this is they do, that’s great.”
# 56 I’m not a medium, I’m a petite says: It makes little sense to me from a personal why-would-I-do-this standpoint, and it makes little sense from a sustainable business model standpoint. But if they can make money at it, i guess that’s great.
As they say over at rifftrax : “we don’t care if you don’t like it, just shut up and buy.”
Either someone is using your moniker, or you’re waffling all over the map. So do you like or hate Rifftrax? I’m confused. From what I can gather, you like the fact that someone can make money doing what they love, but you just don’t happen to like the end product?
Where’s the waffle ?
I like the people at rifftrax and CT, as people. I want them to do well. I respect them for the work they did at MST3k. But their current projects leave me cold, and I wish they did something else, but who cares what i think ?
I don’t watch rifftrax movies and I do not plan to. My opinion of the riffs themselves, for what it’s worth, is based on a few shorts that I’ve seen.
I do not think the rifftrax business model makes sense. I think it is flawed and unsustainable and some point they will have to do something else for a living. but again, what the hell do i know.
It all seems pretty simple. Is it too nuanced for you ? Am I not allowed to appreciate someone for the great work they’ve done in the past yet still critisize them for their current sub-par (IMHO) work ? Since I don’t dig rifftrax or CT am I required to hate the people responsable ? Steve Martin will have to make a LOT of Pink Panther movies to make me forget Let’s Get Small.
I’m happy that anyone can make an honest living. Espceially these days. Aren’t you ? As for using the final product, are you suggesting that if there is a product that YOU do not use, then you are required to despise everyone involved in it ? I don’t like, or even undertand, ballet but I do not think that its dancers should be put out of work. Do you ? I don’t speak Spainsh, so in your world i am required to hate the people that make their living producing spanish TV and newspapers ? is that your idea of logic ?
Oh and you may also want to have someone explain the concept of ‘joke’ to you.
I’m with you #44. I thought the sample clip was very funny. And, you are correct, they made fun of tragedy all the time in MST films. Why people are acting like this should suddenly be taboo is beyond me.
Kevin Mike and Bill ruined MST3k. The show was only good until season one ended. Bill was the last straw (I believe he’s single-handedly responsible for the cancelling of the show.)
Listening to them together is like watching a spleen operation with looping audio of Roseann singing the national anthem. We need to deport all three of them to a Mexican prison and then have Joel and crew take over rifftrax.
JUST KIDDING. I enjoy all former MST projects. Many of you guys sound like such fun people to be around.
I, for one, have really been turned off with Rifftrax as of late, and think there are several reasons for this. First, I feel that the quality has dropped off drastically since the Star Wars Christmas Special. Most of the Rifftrax this past year have felt “phoned-in”. Secondly, the whole “seperate mp3” thing has gotten to be a pain. Either I’m constantly pausing the movie to try and re-synch the tracks together, or I’m spending 3 days synching it on my mac to make a dvd. Neither of which is very fun and is nowhere as easy as CT’s model of clicking a button, waiting an hour and watching the movie. Third, while I understand that the buisness model they’ve set up for themselves has guaranteed that they will eventually only riff popular movies that people already own, that doesn’t mean I have to like it. One of the great things about MST3K, and to a lesser degree CT, is the feeling that the riffers are suffering watching terrible movies along with the viewers. It subconciously creates a bond between the viewer and the riffers and therefore makes the riffs themselves funnier. While riffing “good” movies actually creates a barrier between the viewer and the riffers because the viewer can’t imagine making fun of a good movie and there has to be “won over” by the riffers, which in my opinion rarely hapens when the Rifftrax guys do a “good” movie. It’s also interesting that Rifftrax changed their motto from “We don’t make movies, we make fun of them” to “We don’t make movies, we make them funny” right around the time they started riffing “good” movies almost exclusively as well as (IMHO) when the quality started to drop off. So there you have it. My opinion. Which I hope is at least more thoughtfull than “Rifftrax sux! FTW!”
Agreed, #61. I’ve always felt that Rifftrax can vary in quality (which is of course the same as MST3k and CT)but I’ve found that generally the movies that are “good” aren’t nearly as fun as those that aren’t. And I guess I don’t understand what the appeal of riffing on movies people already own is. Many weekends my wife and I go to the video store and rent movies and I’ll check the Rifftrax catalog to see what we might not have listened to yet. There’s a wealth of great bad movies you can rent very cheaply (Reign of Fire, Wicker Man) and then it’s an enjoyable experience and sometimes a neccesity to have the riffers along for the ride. Whereas with something like The Dark Knight or Star Wars (Episode 6, of course) it’s more distracting and only sporadically funny.
Also, the boys have been churning these puppies out a lot lately, as others have commented, and maybe if they took a little more time with the next rifftrax they could hone the writing a little more, as my guess s they aren’t taking that long to write these. Mike, Kevin and Bill are three of my comedy heroes, so know they have it in them. And all this is just my roundabout way of saying they should riff The Covenant.
Just listened to this. Funniest trax ever.
RIFFTRAX RULESSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This isn’t the rifftrax bashing page last I checked, was it? At least some of you are sticking to constructive critism.
one point i havent heard anyone make is that if this was an MST3K episode, that scene would be on the cutting room floor. MST3K could cut most boring and distatseful scenes out.rifftrax has to riff the entire movie. no skits,no mads.
think how much harder it is to riff two-plus hours of material compared to what,maybe sixty minutes of a movie if a short was included?
distasteful too
Okay — so just so I’m clear on this, why isn’t Connor (or someone in the know) explaining the whole “Hey, this is MST3K” mislabeling that is going on here?
Just like “Petite” (who as it so happens I usually agree with) I like the guys, wish they had made a fortune with MST3K, but ain’t gonna help them out with what is (for me — for me only, I am making no other judgment about it) not funny and very wrong-headed. I do buy their shorts (although, truth be told, they are nowhere near up to MST3K par) but I’m pretty obviously not their target audience, which appears to be the 20 somethings to whom a movie made in the 50’s is probably like a silent movie is to me.
But still… Using “MST3K” in their ads is very very wrong. I can’t say this enough. Mike and company really ought to stop this, and stop it now. They know far better, and it’s the kind of slimy sort of thing they’d be making serious fun of if done by others.
Otherwise — they are fair game to harsh and serious criticism by ANY of us (IOW, if you folks who like RT want us to stop saying bad things about their work, then you’ve got to get them to stop saying it’s the same as MST3K. It very obviously isn’t, not even half, and I will harp on it again and again and again and again and again… do you get the point?)
not much of a line between harping and whining. the reason myself and most people tire of just about every message board out there is because some people no matter what the topic,use it to “harp” on their same tired point.a good thread is humming along with funny comments and then here come the whiners.
if you dont like rifftrax, dont visit the site, dont post on rifftrax threads,just ignore them.
i thought TDK was the biggest letdown in years but i never once visited a TDK hate board.
IOW dont impose what your idea of funny is on me and i wont do the same….do you get the point?
When will everyone realize that every of these Rifftrax message boards on mst3kinfo will play out the very same? Someone likes it, someone doesn’t, someone yells at the person who doesn’t like it, rinse, repeat.
:lol:
When will everyone realize that every of these Rifftrax message boards on mst3kinfo will play out the very same? Someone likes it, someone doesn’t, someone yells at the person who doesn’t like it, rinse, repeat.
Howard Johnson is right!!
#67
Does this really upset you? It seems to me to be the easiest way to explain what the image is advertising: A MST3K style commentary track by people from MST3K to Jaws. Whenever I have to explain to people what I do, I usually ask them if they’ve heard of MST3K. I don’t think there’s any deception involved, I think it helps to clarify what you’re getting, just like a movie poster might advertise a movie as “Monty Python meets Platoon!” (I don’t know what that movie would be.)
It seems like a bit of a reach as far as something to get upset about.
I’d prefer not to argue about semantics on the internet though, as it always leaves me feeling cold and dirty.
Also, feel free to direct any inquiries to support@rifftrax.com If you feel strongly about the subject, or anything for that matter, it’s probably a better format for discussing it.
I’m not a medium, I’m a petite.
Thanks for setting me straight – I was misunderstanding you. I also misunderstand the way that you must belittle people when trying to enlighten them on your point of view. The tone of the text is downright condescending and unwarranted.
I have had it with the venom. I’m finished. Your attitude is also quite contagious because I find myself wanting to type that you’re a fraking asshole – oops there I did it. Ban me – I’m finished anyway prick.
#71– Not trying to be argumentative or belabor a point, but the difference is the people in this product were actually part of MST3K, so there is a likelihood of confusion of the brand among MSTies who might not frequent this site or know what Riff Trax is. The ads appear as though the *title*, not the description of the product is “Mystery Science Theater 3000 Meets Jaws”. That’s my beef. Cold and dirty as the argument might make one feel, the ad gives me the same feeling.
I noticed that on the rifftrax.com site the movie banners don’t display the MST3K “meets” or “takes” banner at the top of the image.
Are these ads only for this site?
Who cares what the heck the ad says? Isn’t the important thing the quality of the riff?
I liked this riff. I was just giving info to the people complaining about the banner in the ads.
Exactly, Ukridge. The rifftrax bashers here seem to be determined to focus on everything except the riff itself……the ads, the sample clips…..As has been stated by others, most of them have not even seen an entire rifftrax.
Andre, my comments were more directed at #74 and the previous posts that complained about the ad.
Conor,
If that’s your attitude then you (and all the other children here who don’t like it) had better be prepared for us who DON’T like what RT does nowadays to say it loud and clear. It’s a bit like saying “Hey, my music is just like the Beatles, only for this century” and then expect people not to rag on you when the quality is no where near that.
I happen to think Mike was the better host, and I sure as heck think his job as headwriter was what gave MST3K the balance it needed, but he is phoning it in nowadays and that’s okay with me as long as he isn’t pretending to do otherwise. Calling this crap “MST3K” is *always* going to get a comment from me, regardless of how others might not want to hear it. Perhaps this will help explain it to you in terms you can understand — at the very least it’s intellectually lazy. Then again, that pretty well typifies all that RT is doing nowadays.
Oh, and for the others who say those of us who don’t like RT haven’t seen it — I’ve bought ALL of the shorts. They don’t compare to any of the shorts that MST3K did in any way shape or form and that gives me the right to express my opinion about this stuff (I’d give them at most a “C” compared to the consistently “A” material MST3K put out).
Given the shorts are so mediocre and the ads for the features are so bad, I don’t think it’s much of a stretch to assume the features themselves are of similar quality. Now, if you are telling me they are far superior to the work Mike and company is doing on the shorts I will stand corrected.
And, once again, I’ll shut up on this completely as soon as RT stops selling themselves as MST3K (not even “MST3K 2.0”, or “The New MST3K” but just “MST3K” as if they were never canceled and kept the same writing staff). It’s utterly ridiculous.
@Mike
I think I offered up a reasonable explanation of why I think it’s fair to describe a RiffTrax of Jaws as “MST3K meets Jaws”. I think it would be fair to describe something like RiffTrax in terms of the far more well known MST3K, even if it didn’t share people who worked on the show. Like I said in my above post, people will always use common reference points when describing something new to other people, be it movies, music, or a tv show. Saying “It’s like a mystery science theater commentary of jaws” is a lot more clear and concise than saying “There’s three guys and throughout the movie they will interject jokes, sometimes mocking the movie, sometimes assuming the voice of a character… Wait! Where are you going, come back!”
I would hate to think that something as minor as our advertising would cause you to become so disgusted that it would turn you off our comedy forever. I hope that my explanation of how I see the slogan would at least help you understand that we’re not coming from the negative place that you believe we are.
I’m with #76 – I could care less what the posters/banners/ads say or look like. I think Mike and the guys are still hilarious. As many have said before, your mileage may vary.
“And, once again, I’ll shut up on this completely as soon as RT stops selling themselves as MST3K (not even “MST3K 2.0?, or “The New MST3K” but just “MST3K” as if they were never canceled and kept the same writing staff). It’s utterly ridiculous.”
speaking for myself i’d rather you just hold your breath or some other such behavior because it will have the exact same result.
so instead you go to a board and announce that your going to be an idiot and ruin every rifftrax thread because your opinion of what is funny and whats not is above everyone elses.is that it? and when we dont agree we become “all the other children here who don’t like it” thank you, thank you, for setting us all straight on whats funny and whats not.how did we ever get along without you?
I love the argument that because someone dislikes Rifftrax, it’s somehow because they didn’t watch an entire movie given the Rifftrax treatment.
I have personally paid for several of the Rifftrax, each time hoping that they would shake off some of that ring rust in get back into fighting shape. Sadly, this is not the case. Instead, they are the former champ who refuses to admit that he’s past his prime, eschewing training in favor of sitting around watching TV while munching on box after box of doughnuts. Then, when he finally gets that call to step back into the ring, he decides to take on fighters he has no business getting involved with. Maybe it’s his pride. Maybe it’s the greed of knowing that his purse will be that much heavier by taking on bigger challenges. Each time he gets knocked down to the canvas he manages to rise up again, his speech a little more slurred, his mental acuity dulled to the point where fifth graders outwit him. In his own deluded mind (and those of his fans who remember his glory days), he is still the champ.
Why does it always end this way?
We MSTies are some chippy bastards, aren’t we?
I’ve liked about half of the Rifftrax shorts (and I’ve seen them all). I’ve seen about 10-12 Rifftrax movies and I’ve really only liked a few of them. I wish they would do more movies like OVER THE TOP, ROADHOUSE, and COCKTAIL.
Rifftrax is very uneven, but so is CT. Both projects have produced mostly C-C+ stuff. On the other hand, every MST3K episode wasn’t great either. We always magically forget about HAMLET, MONSTER A GO-GO, and THE CASTLE OF FU MANCHU. Some MST3K episodes sucked too.
As mediocre as Rifftrax and CT are, I prefer it to the dark days after MST3K was cancelled. No riffing for years, then CHEAP SEATS gave me some laughs, followed by THE FILM CREW, then RT and CT.
RT isn’t MST3K, but it’s funny-occasionally.
Wow. This thread is amazing. MyMyMyMyMitchell apparently leaves us forever, Conor @ Rifftrax joins into the argument and Jesus Think’s You’re A Jerk, who i believe was the last person to be ridiculed around here for having an unpopular opinion, returns. :shock:
Rifftrax updates. Always good for a huge argument.
and it really shouldnt be #87. it should be like minded people just havin some harmless fun trying to make each other laugh about a common interest. but as always, someone who doesnt like the product just cant walk on by, they must walk in and say. “it sux.”
like i said before im not a big fan of TDK but i dont cruise TDK message boards telling everyone im right and theyre wrong and,…….if christian bale doesnt do something about that crazy batman voice im going to keep coming back and annoy all the TDK fans.
some people dont care for rifftrax, we get it. now please walk on by. just because a person can be a jerk doesnt mean they have to.
#76 – I care what the ad says because in ostensibly titling itself “MST3K Meets Jaws”, a strong implication is made that this is in fact Mystery Science Theater, when it is just not. And yes, the quality of the riff and the overall product is *very* important, which is why I don’t like MST3K being attached to this by misattribution via title. It feels very dishonest, and that is my problem with this. I’m not a fan of their current product, but I like Mike and Co., and wouldn’t say a thing about it were it not for the misleading advertising. Riff Trax can live long and prosperous and seriously, more power to them, but to do it under the moniker of MST3K just plain feels wrong, and I feel compelled to say so.
I think it’s funny that either MTies don’t have the right to discuss their opinions on RT or that there can be no intelligent back and forth about what’s good and what isn’t about the product. Or that if I don’t like RT, then I must never have seen it, which is soooo wrong as I have watched at least 3/4ths of the riffs they’ve done and can visibly see that they’re going downhill. I just wish that we could have some intelligent discourse besides “They sux!” “They rule! You have no right whatsoever to say that at all. Ever.” As for the “MST3K meets…” thing, I’m of 2 minds about that. It really isn’t a big deal, and the ease of connecting MST3k to rifftrax is there. But, seeing as how I and others feel that if the RT boys are using “good” and “new” movies and just pumping out a product to make more money without putting the time or craft into it because it’s easier & more profitable than riffing older, crappier movies then it makes sense that they would try and mislead people into buying their product.
Hey…has anybody seen “Snakes on a Plane”?
What’s it about?
To cavegirl #89
I think Conor’s reasoning behind the ad in #71 and #82 makes perfect sense.
IMHO ‘Mst3k meets Jaws’ is an extremely reasonable way to present the product.
I can’t think of a better way to describe the product quickly and efficently, which is, as Connor points out, what an ad has to do. You can’t write an essay.
We’re all Misties here, for good or ill, and we can’t even agree on the MST3K movies… one misty’s Hamlet is another misty’s Manos. Does it really suprise any of us ( it shouldn’t ) that we have even more divergent opinions on the post Misty projects ?
By the way, I really liked The Film Crew. 2 of the 4 were clearly MST class, the other 2 were weaker but still watchable.
( ByeByeByeByeM… )
oh and I might as well opine on the use of the MST3k brand to sell Rifftrax, everyone else is… I am neutral. I feel that the use of the MST3K brand to sell Rifftrax is completely consistent with the spirit of Rifftrax.
#92 – Based on the ad, what is the title of this product? Why isn’t it “Riff Trax Meets Jaws”? If they need to invoke MST, they can add “from the cast of MST” or something more accurate. You see, Jaws is Jaws, but Riff Trax is not MST3K. No one’s asking for an essay or even a description. A non-misleading title for the product would be nice, though.
@91- I’m not sure, but I know that’s it’s easily more riffable than Jaws. But marketing data shows that more people own the Jaws DVD, and therefore the a Jaws rifftrax will sell better than a Snakes on a Plane rifftrax. And the marketing is all that matters, not the product. Who cares if it’s not funny? Quality doesn’t matter. The paradigm that worked for 10 years and made millions of fans doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is getting the product into as many hands as possible.
You know, pork products are inherently funny. I wish one of the MST3K guys would tackle a project using pork products.
Pork ? I LIKE pork !
oh sorry this post belongs over at the current discussion of an actual MST3k episode on another part of this site. Imagine that.
“MST3K Meets Jaws”
People, people. This is a description not a title. How many times has someone (sometimes the people selling a product and sometimes a critic reviewing a product)used a common frame of reference to describe something you may not be familiar with? For example that new band Ruby Red (fictional name) sounds like like the Beatles meats Poison? Nobody is claiming Ruby Red is the Beatles or Posion. They are just using what is something you’ve more likely heard of to paint a picture. No more. No less. If you’ve never heard of Ruby Red what good would it do to say “The new release is just like their early club material with a twist of their newly discovered lead singers influence sprinkled in”?
And for those saying its misleading in that someone might mistake it for the actual MST3K, come on now. Who doesn’t know that it is long cancelled?
I appreciate your emailing me — I don’t visit the threads consistently so it is quite possible it would be some time before I saw the response.
I do understand perfectly what you are saying, and I hope you understand what *I* am saying which simply is that if you are going to advertise like that, comparing yourself to a known product, you then have to expect to suffer the slings and arrows of that comparison. The RT supporters (and, truth be told, I think they are your target audience anyway, the 20 somethings) will whine and complain about folks taking shots at RT and in general I’d agree EXCEPT that you can’t expect to hold yourself up to such a high standard and then figure you won’t get that response.
And I’ll state it again for the record — my response is not unreasoned, nor is it without substantial evidence. RT just can’t hold a candle to MST3K. And it’s sad, because there is no one who respects Mike and Co. more than I do. I don’t have to go any further than the work they did as “The Film Crew” to believe they were the reason I loved MST3K so much in the first place. But when you phone it in you phone it in, and it’s pretty clear that that’s what is happening nowadays. I don’t know if it’s simply intellectual laziness, or if they truly have peaked and their time has come and gone, but they just don’t have it anymore.
It happens to the best — and not only athletes like Jordan and Ali. I see it in comedians all the time, those who just haven’t got the chops anymore (Robin Williams is such a sad caricature of the brilliance he once had it’s painful to watch his standup now). But at least those who time passes by seldom say “Just as good as I was in my prime!” which is kind of what Mike seems to be saying with his ads.
So — bygones, and you go ahead and do what you want, but I’ll also do what I want, which is to consistently tell it like it is. I watched MST3K, I knew MST3K, MST3K was a friend of mine. RT is no MST3K.