Please DO NOT post reactions in any other thread on this site.
I think you can guess what the Weekend Discussion Thread will be on Friday. :-)
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SPOILER SPACEThis thread is for comments on and reactions to the screening of episode 1101 that is available to Kickstarter backers today.
294 Replies to “SPOILER SPACE”Commenting at Satellite News
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Satellite News is a fan site for the Mystery Science Theater 3000 television and Netflix series. It is an independent publication written and compiled by Chris Cornell (msampo@aol.com) and Brian Henry (erhardt4@aol.com). Satellite of Love, LLC does not maintain this web site, nor is it responsible for this site's content.
All content posted on Satellite News is copyright © 2024 by Chris Cornell and Brian Henry, except where otherwise noted. This Date in MSTory is written and compiled by Steve Finley, Chris Cornell and Brian Henry. Copyright © 2024 All rights reserved. Please do not reproduce This Date in MSTory items in any form without express written permission from the authors. Items of MST3K news may be duplicated or reposted, as long as Satellite News is cited as the source. The views and opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of Satellite of Love, LLC. No warranty is expressed or implied that the information given herein is completely accurate, and in fact this information can and will change at any time. So there. Mystery Science Theater 3000, its characters and situations are copyrights and trademarks of Satellite of Love, LLC. Banner image created by Larry Lee Moniz. |
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Netflix has a 30 day free trial, so sign up Friday & enjoy 14 new episodes of MST3K! Then, just remember to cancel before the trial period is up.
JOEL DO NO WRONG. JOEL VERY GOOD. MIKE BAD! MIKE VERY BAD MAN! ALL JOEL LIKES IS GOOD THING! ME SMASH MIKE ON PUNY WEBSITE!
No, it’s easier to be territorial about riffing projects and think of oneself as old, stubborn and inflexible than do something like that.
Thank you.
Thanks to everyone here who posted to tell me about Netflix’s free trial.
You rock. :)
I remember when Hulu was free.
Hey! Fourtysomething is not old, you whippersnapper!
I’m not at all territorial about riffing projects.
Do a Google search of EW for the recent article on the MST3K reboot. I chatted with another MSTie about the reboot and the other projects of MST3K alums. I even tried to help another poster find CT DVDs.
Check me out–I’m Lavendare there, too.
I’m not stubborn or inflexible, either.
I plan to look into the Netflix offer as soon as I get enough time to sit for awhile on my keister, meester. :-p
This may sound like a weird request, but where was the link that was a supposed list from a couple of weeks ago of the movies MST3K was going to do this season? I want to see how many they got wrong.
Finally got a chance to see the preview, and The Boyz are Back!! I will try to keep this without too many spoilers, although we’re only two days away, so it may be academic.
Thought it was little too exposition happy at the beginning, but then, it has been a while since we’ve seen the SOL.
Loved [censored] – the movie was pathetic. But guys, you notice Elly May (she was gorgeous, by the way), but didn’t notice the reporter who kinda looked like Miss Hathaway? I know, I know, don’t overdo a joke, but with Jethro getting a shock (or whatever he was doing), we could have gone more into Hillbillies territory without too much over-emphasis.
I already like Kinga Forrester a lot more than I liked Pearl (sorry, Mary Jo – nothing personal; it was the character(s), not you – you were fantastic on CT). But Son of TV’s Frank needs more airtime.
I love the improvements to the bots – that should open up the SOL gang and allow for more games in the theater. Guess it finally occurred to someone to get rid of the grating between the pathway and the theater. Ha!
And, although I might be making assumptions here, it seems to suggest there may be greater interaction between the two sets (Moon 13 and the SOL). Should be fun.
The ‘bots were great, and Jonah’s coming off really well. I look forward to seeing their chemistry develop. The song killed; I have THAT earworm stuck in my head – thank you SO much, guys! :-)
Not bringing in any Joel/Mike comparisons, but I still hope with Joel’s contributions, the show’s vibe will be closer to early-MST rather than later-era. In the early years, as Joel always said, “the right people will get it.” Later, it was more of the joke for the joke’s sake. I want to have to say, “what did THAT mean,” and have the joy of looking it up.
Took me too long to recognize Erin Gray and Wil Wheaton. Geez, I’m old….
And I want the new version of the Love Theme for my ringtone.
All in all, we’re starting on strong, and I really look forward to more. I just wish I didn’t have to subscribe to Netflix to get my MST fix. Didn’t like Netflix before, and I dumped them when they dumped the more obscure movies (that’s why Blockbuster died, guys). And then they went streaming, charging extra for the service. Sigh…
LOL, I was just wondering the other day of the name of that Joel sycophant and lo and behold he’s quoted in the first post I read when I come back to check on the scuttlebutt here.
So glad folks seem to be enjoying what they’ve seen so far. Can’t wait until Friday so everyone can see. Thank you all who backed and thank you to those who could not but are still supporting the venture. Hope we did you proud.
One more thought: someone with the show needs to patent the invention in 1101. It’s such a good idea that it’ll be in stores within a couple of years.
Whoa ! Grant B ! No thank you sir, thank you!
I’m curious, has anyone received their moon key chain yet? They verified our addresses several weeks ago. I’m hoping they just haven’t sent them out yet! lol
Yes, I was a small potatoes contributor, but I am going to brandish that key chain like a medal of valor!
Comment about riffing pace. I’ve seen the first 3 episodes. It seems like they were still working on the right formula.
1101 was pretty good, with a mix of lulls and bursts of riffs.
1102 was just too darn manic, like everyone was on amphetamines. There was a nervousness in their delivery that just made me uncomfortable as a viewer. One of the best things to me about MST3K was it was somewhat relaxed and soothing. They gave the movie and the riffs a little bit of time to breathe. If the performers are on edge trying to cram every last bit of writing into what’s happening on the screen, the audience is more likely to be tense. It also had the problem as others have noted of the riff being spoken before the image is actually on the screen. It really does make it feel like they’re just reading a script instead of being a character. Oh, and the mid-point visit to Moon 13 in 1102 was a bit weird, mostly because the costumes/make-up weren’t quite right.
1103 was vastly superior as far as the pace of the riffs. The performers sounded more relaxed, and it made it far more enjoyable to watch. It felt more like a reaction to the events, and sounded much more in character. It felt more like a performance instead of just reading lines.
It’s understandable that they’re trying to find their sea legs, or space legs. I’m hoping they keep on this trajectory!
I’m not dead yet. I’m getting better!
Unfortunately because the way it was shot everything was compressed in the space of a few weeks. So for the first season it’ll probably be mostly like this, with perhaps some small bit of relaxing due more to the sheer exhaustion of cramming that much into a short period of time.
I do hope they listen to feedback though. I’ve only seen the first two episodes so far and I do like them. I agree 1102 was frenetic but it made me laugh a little more than 1101. They landed some good punches.
While I don’t want to denigrate RT in this thread, let me say that if Mike, Kevin and Bill ARE writing they are doing a terrible job at it (and trying to aim at a much younger crowd). I’m also sure they aren’t doing it in the same room (although apparently the same is true of The Return). I bought everything RT did up until about two years ago, when they clearly went south to the point where they don’t even seem to be trying anymore.
But… to the point of the writer who was saying The Return is aimed at Millenials, that’s where I strongly disagree. It’s sensibilities are squarely traditional MST3K (and that’s different from making current pop culture references — you can do that and still be aiming at a more mature crowd, just like you can make older references that a younger crowd is sure to get. The difference is more profound than that, it’s the whole depth of the riffing thing that you guys ALL know and understand or you wouldn’t like MST3K in the first place. The Film Crew had it, Cinema Titanic had it, and RT used to have it. The Return has it in spades).
Glad that that poster will be able to see them, though (and good for the possibilities of a second season if folks like him just sign up for the free trial for that express purpose).
THIS. So much, this.
Oh, dear.
I think MST3K (both old and new), CT, Film Crew, and Rifftrax are appropriate (and fun) for people from 10 to 90.
It depends on certain people’s tastes. To use a daffy analogy, some people like 7UP, others like Sprite, others like Mountain Dew. Some people like a couple of them. Some like them all.
I love the classic MST3K and Rifftrax, I liked The Film Crew. I tried to get into CT, but they weren’t on Hulu (when it was free) for long.
I wish everyone involved with the MST3K reboot well.
I wish everyone on this board and this website well–except for Eric J., of course.
I plan to look into the Netflix offer as soon as I get enough time to sit for awhile.
In the meantime, let’s all try to get along well here. :)
Not yet, I think the next batch of stuff is going out in early May.
They were all right. It’s still up on the Rifftrax forum, maybe I can find it later.
MORE SPOILER-FREE TALK ABOUT THE REST OF SEASON 11:
I watched 1102 last night and half of 1103.
1102 – What a PERFECT movie for MST. My God, it’s the kind of movie that’s bad from concept to execution, top to bottom, in almost every conceivable way (though some nice scenery). And just. So. WEIRD. Lots of good riffs.
1103 – I’ve had this movie in my backlog for quite some time now, so it’s nice to see it in a riffed state. Without going into specifics, I’ll just say I’m quite happy with what I saw of it so far.
As I continue to watch more of season 11, I continue to feel happier and happier about it. I think they really nailed it, in the sense that it’s recognizably MST, but it’s also it’s own thing. I think that’s what the haters forget – each “version” of the show, if you will, is its own thing. You may not like everything about this or that version (there are aspects about each that I dislike), but that’s okay.
Just try not to be a Richard about it.
So you just kind of made up that they don’t write the riffs anymore for some reason? Cool, glad to know I don’t have to listen to anything you say again!
I decided to watch it before going to bed, and HOLY HELL. I enjoyed it as an MST3K episode (solid riffs, good host segments), but that movie is so bad it escapes analysis. I don’t even think you can blame it on drugs.
**No spoilers!**
One of the great things about many of the old MST3K movies is that, in their inanity or execution, they raise certain questions. Like, “Why do little children get to be involved in the highest-level, top-secret decision-making meetings about giant monsters?” Or, “Why does this spaceship have a huge, bottom-heavy basement?”
The good news is, the three episodes of season 11 I’ve seen so far are raising all kinds of new questions. I hope this trend continues, because one of the things we all enjoy about these bad movies is the bizarre questions they conjure.
Here are the questions I have so far from the episodes I’ve seen:
1101 – Since when did giant energy corporations become so adamant about the integrity of scientific discovery? ‘Nope, we can’t drill here anymore. Profits be damned!’ Answer: I guess it was sometime in the past, or maybe only in Europe.
1102 – So there’s a dead guy just sitting around in the woods on a log? What does he do all day? And how many animals were actually harmed in the making of this movie? Answer to the last one: Unfortunately, at least one raccoon.
1103 – Just how long will a scientist go on wearing his or her lab coat before they realize they’re no longer in a lab? Hours, days, weeks?
And from pretty much all of these movies: Why is there so much dubbing?
Can’t wait to get into the next few episodes and see what new questions I’ll have to ponder.
Two words: Space Pants
Too right. At first, when I noticed that the dad character was being dubbed quite a bit (more in his early scenes), I thought this was a film made by an Italian crew using mostly American actors, like what Joe D’Amato’s production company used to do back in the 1990s (e.g., Contamination .7). I assumed that maybe “foreignness” would account for the sheer inanity of the movie’s plot, structure, concept, characterization, EVERYTHING. But nope, from the looks of the credits, it seems domestic made.
So why WAS the dad dubbed? Were his lines inaudible? Was the sound guy high during those scenes? They just couldn’t reshoot? Why do we have to turn everything into a vague Alan Arkin film reference? Why why WHY?
When Joel created MST3K it was a whole new thing, a synthesis of elements, some may have existed before in different forms but never combined in such a way. When he left, MST3K became a sketch show. A great fun genre-defining sketch show, but Joel’s absence was felt. That may be why the Joel/Mike flame wars were so intense.
Now that Joel is back we can see the evolution, what MST3K would have become had it not gone silent in the interim and it’s just as wonderful and new as it was in 1988. For better or for worse. (But mostly better)
He’s done something that few creators can boast, what he’s always done, he’s recreated something new and wonderful from the old parts that he had lying around. For Joel the show *is* the invention exchange.
“What do you think, sirs?”
Agreed! I can’t even tell what their target audience was supposed to be. It starts out like a kids’ movie, turns into a crunchy-granola wilderness survival movie, and finally turns into an insane Jodorowskian vision quest before abruptly snapping back into a kids’ movie. Maybe it was an interesting initial script that got slowly and incompletely pummeled to death by producers who wanted it to be the next E.T. or Benji or something.
Also, this movie was made in 1986? I would have guessed late ’70s, maybe ’81-’82 tops. I lived through that era, and don’t remember movies looking quite like this, so it feels strangely out of time.
Here’s the initial leak, from October of last year. It’s hidden in a Edward J Grugg III post midway down this page:
http://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php?topic=32602.15
What feels especially dated are the haircuts. The bowl cuts on the son and dad MAYBE can be excused on the grounds that they are, as you say, crunchy granola types who presumably don’t stay abreast of the latest hair stylings. But that’s being generous for a movie that doesn’t deserve it.
Your summary of this movie’s neck-snapping changes of focus is spot-on, BTW.
Structurally, I want to know why the filmmakers thought it was a good idea to posit a backstory involving the kid and the, uh, crypto-critter? Why do that at all? Wouldn’t it make more sense for the kid to encounter the crypto-critter for the first time during the events of the movie? Wouldn’t that have injected, potentially, more mystery or interest for the audience? SO MANY QUESTIONS.
Yeah, it feels like the sequel to a better (if likely less interestingly bad) movie.
Also, I love how this whimsical tale decides to solve its problem with the antagonist by having a fishing eagle brutally blind him. Was it written by anyone involved with Merlin’s Shop of Mystical Wonders, by chance?
I’m through nine episodes, starting up 1110. Let me just say, this revival of MST3K is absolutely fantastic.
Your amount of free time, also absolutely fantastic. ;)
One teeny question (since this is a spoiler thread).
Is there any explanation about how (or why) Crow, Servo, and Gypsy are back on the SOL?
You don’t have to write what the explanation is, a simple “yes” or “no” will suffice. O:-)
yeah, 1102 is -soo- whacked (not ‘whack’… very UN-whack, that flick!), i fully expected servo to go into one of his “when i think i’ve seen the worst movie ever made, along comes the worst movie ever made!” tirades over the end credits… (though so early in this new run, it wouldn’t have made sense for him to.)
it wasn’t even like character motivations changed -scene-by-scene-… they changed SHOT-BY-SHOT! whups, change of camera-angle, and all the sudden, one (or most, or all of the) characters seem to have totally different immediate motivations/focus of attention. and i kept waiting for that pyscho character to suddenly snap and do something else totally ape-****e… i’m guessing peta wasn’t in on that production! (a new contestant in the “most deplorable character” thread!)
wow… it was such a thoroughly unenjoyable movie, i hate that it overshadowed the riffing and segments. i’m gonna have trouble trying to watch that one again!
1103 – excellent cheapo scifi! good “save” from 1102. (i was hoping though that once when they were showing the androids in those awful masks that the crew might start softly singing “we don’t need nooo, education…” ;0 unless they did and i missed it)
1104 – heh AWESOMELY awful 70s roger-corman-wannabeing-irwin-allen disaster flick. and lots of examples of awful dancing! one of my favorite parts of the “poseidon adventure” too… i wonder if zach g. saw this before he wrote “out cold”? ;0 had some similar vibes; i dunno…
Blockbuster died because it spent a decade systematically alienating its customers with excessive late fees so that they were ready to jump ship to the first convenient alternative that came along, because it took too long to compete with that alternative on its own ground, and because it mistakenly thought that its customers were more concerned with audiovisual fidelity than instantaneous accessibility (ie focusing on a cheap Blu-Ray-by-mail service instead of streaming video).
I’m disappointed by Netflix’s dwindling library too, but it’s not all Netflix’s fault; we’re increasingly seeing studios silo their material into their own individual services, on the cockamamie theory that if people can only get something on DVD or CBS All Access, then that means that they’ll buy the DVD or subscribe to CBS All Access, instead of that they just won’t pay to watch it at all. The studios think they don’t get enough money from Netflix, and their solution is to pursue avenues that are going to make even less money.
was there any swearing in the episode?
(That’s my secret–I’m always angry. :) )
Also because studios see Netflix as “the enemy” of their dreams of Digital Purchase’s total domination of the home-video market (ie. their never having to make all those expensive Blu-ray disks ever again), and when they–duh–didn’t see those Digital Purchase numbers coming in, blamed the easy one-monthly-price accessibility of subscription Netflix and Amazon for it. They’re also RIGHT, although that’s not 100% the reason.
So, studios have been “starving” Netflix, Amazon and Hulu for 20th-cty. mainstream content, hoping we’ll all run to Digital VOD instead, although they still parcel out one full care-package of Iconic Studio Franchises (eg. all seven Superman movies, all four Jaws movies, etc.) to the Big Three every month, so we won’t completely forget about the studios. Noblesse oblige, you know, and (Trump voice: ) we’re not “starving” them, because we LOVE our subscription services, don’t we, people, we do it with love, there’s room for everybody in this business!
Blockbuster had already been crushed by Netflix-by-mail–remember when you just didn’t see a reason to go into their stores anymore, even when you actually did, out of habit?–and BB’s attempts to try and copy the mail service and the new streaming service was just throwing good money after unnecessary.
Nowadays, if there’s an actual specific classic movie I want to look up, I’m in walking distance of the library….It was always about the disks.
And while I’m now two days away with the rest of us po’-folk, the “good” reviews here have made me SO want to watch Cry…er, 1102. I was rather wondering from the description why they got it, and now I have a little reassurance. :)
no swearing detected. They did use silhouettes to block nudity in 1104
It’s not any percent the reason.
People aren’t buying the studios’ VOD offerings because they’re overpriced and inconvenient. Removing Netflix from the equation wouldn’t make them any less overpriced or inconvenient, or any more appealing. I expect that the numbers are going to bear me out on this; the studios that have pulled out of Netflix aren’t going to make up the money on Ultraviolet or whatever other nonsense they’re trying to peddle.
Netflix isn’t the cause of their problem, it’s the solution to it. It is legal, convenient, and extremely popular. But, as is often the case, the studios’ beliefs of what constitutes a fair price for watching their movies are worth are wildly out of step with consumers’. So, as usual, instead of taking the option that will give them less money than they’d hoped for, they’re taking the option that’s going to give them even less than that. And when it doesn’t work, they’ll blame it on pirates, jack up their prices again, add more onerous DRM and proprietary apps, and then repeat the process.
Way late to the party commenting on this. Watched Reptilicus with some friends Sunday and had a BLAST. Riffing, skits and songs are all on point so far. Jonah, Baron, Hampton, Felicia and Patton are all hitting it out of the park. Reptilicus is such a goofy monster, just his googly appearance made for some great lines and loved Petersen, the bizarre and inexplicable Danish “comic relief.” As a JRPG gamer I also loved this riff during the fight with the army: “Don’t leave the battlefield before he dies so we don’t lose all the XP!” lol
Since then for early access I’ve watched Star Crash (Star Wars rip off starring Hasselhoff? Can’t believe I didn’t know this existed) and half of Yongery.
Anyways, I don’t know what else to say right now other than by summing it up in the words of that crazed fan who left the voicemail in the KTMA days, “More, more, morrrre!!!”
Quick question, for anyone who has watched all of the episodes, does Mary Jo participate in any of the skits with Felicia and Patton?
Whoa, don’t fight me while you’re agreeing with me: I’m not defending Netflix or digital at all, in fact I’m probably one of the most active front-line warriors against the studios’ self-serving revisionist love affair with Ultraviolet & Other Nonsense–
Want numbers? Try these from last spring: http://www.gfk.com/fileadmin/user_upload/dyna_content/US/documents/GfK_Physical-Digital_Video_Report_2016_Infographic.pdf
(They can’t even be bothered to use their free disk codes, fer cryin’!–How unpopular can Digital BE?)
It pretty much confirms what I’ve heard from talking to average folk about it–Namely that the reason I’d said it “isn’t 100%” is that it’s currently split 30-70 between those who do think Digital’s kinda-neat-and-convenient but don’t want to pay for every single thing they want to watch (ie. just once a month, like they used to with cable), and those who don’t want Digital–which is a lot of people–who either can’t see what it’s for, or just don’t blamed trust studios enough to hand over their Blu-ray disks without a fight…But still want to turn on the TV and watch something pot-luck once in a while without cable.
It’s NOT WORKING, but stingy and neurotically-paranoid Warner (who has a horse in the race owning part of Flixster) wishfully wants it to work, and they won’t stop until they get what they want. And if they can’t blame imaginary “pirates”, they’ll blame Netflix, but truth is, there are a lot more Netflix watchers out there who want to watch real movies on the system once in a while than there are imaginary hacker pirates.
(And then…you get the kids who don’t remember there ever being real movies on Netflix at all and think it’s the Binge Channel.)
Thank you so much, Marjorjoe23!
Now, all I need is a nice new Aston Martin Vulcan to go with my MST3K key chain!
Anybody else feeling yongary for some beebimbop?
Ok, just finished 1102. Does it seem to anyone else that Paul was the cause of the danger to his father and not his protector? Loved the episode, actually more than 1101. This movie deserved what it got.
Delusional looks good on you.
Could be that there was just no microphone on the set at all, like Manos and Beast of Yucca Flats. The dub is slightly more competent than those, but only just.
The father and Joe sounded a lot, lot worse than the others. I didn’t think the kid, the teacher, or the Indian ghost guy were dubbed. Or Morgan for that matter, but my memories of him are weakening a bit.
This was just a bizarrely plotted movie, as though it was a sequel for a film that didn’t exist. Why not tell the more interesting story of the kid, his Coke cans, and his transistor radio, *then* film this movie with the profits that would have inevitably piled up from that?
By the hidden, but still beating biomechanical heart of H.R. Giger, guarded by the Great god Camazotz, you did it.
A hearty and sincere congratulations to you and everyone else – both on and off camera – who poured their blood, sweat, and tears into Mystery Science Theater 3000, Season 11.
What an uncommon and beautiful thing.
I vote for a separate spoiler discussion page for each episode. But I’ll survive a spoiler or two.
Maybe I’m biased in favor of both Joel and Mike due to starting watching maybe in season four a bit but not in earnest until season five or six so my adolescent memories are of both hosts in almost equal amounts. Perhaps one of the biggest takeaways I have is that what Joel annnnnd Trace, Jim, Josh and Kevin created and Mike and Frank furthered then Paul, Mary Jo, Bridget and Bill and so many others continued to shepherd seems to work with a variety of people involved. That is a thing of beauty. To have created something that works without the original or most recent performers. I think Joel did it right, I think Mike, or Trace, or Jim or even one of us would have also done it right had they or we made a season 11, it would have looked different than what we are seeing now but as long as it’s done by caring hands, and that is evident in the first 3 episodes, it would be worth our time and money.
The new theme song is great, I do wonder if Man or Astroman? was considered?