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New Short from RiffTrax…Does Batman win in the end? If only we had a clue…
17 Replies to “New Short from RiffTrax…”Commenting at Satellite News
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Would like to be able to download the whole series in one or
two steps.
Having them finish this up makes it even more reasonable to buy the whole series (I haven’t gotten the last two but I will now).
While at times it was a *bit* repetitive in terms of what jokes they could make, overall they did a masterful job at keeping interest in what was, essentially, the same exact plot told over and over again (kind of like how the original Steed/Emma series The Avengers, while very entertaining, was always the same story each week but with different characters). I’d love to see them do some other serials, perhaps Commander Cody (to finish what Joel and company couldn’t).
The plot holes in this serial are so big, you can see them from the International Space Station.
I don’t know if they’ll ever tackle something like this again. Having said that, I did think the riffing in this one was pretty good and the best part was hearing the near exasperation in Bill’s voice towards the end (nothing beats Bill being ticked off).
Of course, the true identity of the bad guy was something that I’m sure had the patrons who saw this in the theater leaving in their socks because they threw their shoes at the screen. Still, if they can find a goofier series (there are probably thousands out there), I’m in for another 15.
Ken
P.S. And NOT the first Batman serial from WWII, it was pretty racist to say the least.
Never thought they’d make it to the end! That they managed to keep the gags fresh & funny is pretty impressive. They even managed to come up with good gags for the opening credits right up to the end — that means they successfully riffed the same footage 15 times!
I’m using DVD converting/burning software to burn’em all to disc, 5 eppies to a disk. I wonder if they’ll actually release this as a 2 or 3 DVD set at some point?
Strangely, this last episode is not really one of their finer efforts. There are some missed opportunities for riffs, and there aren’t many big laugh moments. Clearly they’re a little exasperated after so many episodes of this stuff. It doesn’t help that the episode itself is even worse than the previous 14. In addition to the face-palm twist, there’s also the fact that Batman spends so much time waiting in Commissioner Gordon’s office.
Still, I’m glad they stuck through it all the way. It’s been a fun ride, at times pretty rough, but the guys made it through pretty well. The Rifftrax site tells me they released the first episode on June 16, 2013. That means we’ve waited about 15 months for these episodes to come out. That’s a pretty amazing long-term project, if you think about it.
@Gummo:
I’m doing the same thing, but really only to back up the files so I can free up space on my PC. As much as I’ve enjoyed this experiment I can’t imagine watching more than two or three chapters at a time. Five or more in a row and I’d end up in Markham Masylum.
Great job rifftrax! It was a wild ride! Wasn’t there an old Green Lantern serial they could tackle? I remember something from my childhood.
@Ptomreeves: Sadly, no. The best superhero serial is generally regarded to be The Adventures of Captain Marvel, while the arguably-worst (and most potentially riffable, nudge nudge) is the excremental Captain America.
There were also The Phantom, Spy Smasher, The Shadow, Green Hornet, The Vigilante, and Blackhawk. All comic-book, pulp or radio-based, but budgetary limitations usually favored simple “mystery men” over super-powered man-gods. The Superman serials don’t generate half the buzz the Batman serials do, probably because of their awful animated flying scenes (Supes is literally replaced by a cartoon when he takes off; Captain Marvel’s flight, accomplished with Tom Tyler in front of a rear-projection screen or a dummy on a wire, was far superior).
Commander Cody and Captain Video probably qualify as superheroes, but didn’t originate from the funny books or pulp novels. Unless I’m forgetting someone, none of the Justice Society superheroes made it to the silver screen back then. Maybe some fanboy could correct that? I think Wildcat or The Spectre or even Johnny Thunder would make a fine faux B&W chapter-play…
As for Batman Victorious…well, I bet you didn’t expect the thrilling climax to be a half-hearted scuffle in a drawing room. (SPOILER ALERT) “Ha! Ha!” the Wizard thought silently. “My alibi is perfect! They saw me shot dead on the floor, and yet here I am in front of them, alive! They won’t suspect a th…wait a minute…”
Glad that’s over.
Thanks Happenstance. Maybe I was thinking of the Green Lantern movie. Put that thing in Black and White and take away the budget and you’ve got a 1950’s serial. Ok, maybe that was just cruel ;)
It occurs to me that this is the first and only serial they’ve ever completed riffing. The Brains never even came close on MST3K. (Quite understandably.)
I’m imagining Mike, Kevin, and Bill in the medal awarding scene at the end of Star Wars. (Except Kevin/Chewie gets a medal, too. I guess that makes Conor and Sean 3P0 and R2?)
Vicki: “Could you please untie me?”
Batman: “Sorry, I don’t got time.”
:eek:
The way they were able to come up with new riffs for the same opening credits shows how far they’ve come since 1989. Back when they were doing the Commando Cody serials, it was plain that doing the same credit sequence over and over was something they struggled with. Of course, I imagine it also helped that, with the Batman serials, they were cranking them out at an average of once a month instead of once a week.
@ #13: Of the remaining two, who is Luke and who is Han? I’m guessing Mike as Luke and Bill as Han, but you might think differently.
The Brains said they all got sick of Commando Cody by Episode 3. :-)
Still would love to see Rifftrax tackle it, though. It should be interesting (and Episode 10 would give them a heart attack — it’s the recap episode).
But, if there’s one serial I’d really like to see riffed, it’s The Phantom Empire — Gene Autry uncovering an underground civilization, but always making sure there was time each episode for (a) sing a song, and (b) make it back to the studio every day to record his radio show. Goofy, isn’t it?
Goshzilla:
Well, we only watch one or two episodes at a time! There’s only so much pulse-pounding excitement a person can take before they start to doze off … I mean, before they can’t take it anymore!
And Happenstance, I LIKE the second Superman serial (Superman vs. Atom Man). First off, you have Lyle Talbot as the best Luthor in the history of cinema — with a bald cap on, he actually looks like the comic book villain. Also, I think the animated flying is a rather clever solution to budget limitations. And Kirk Alyn plays Superman as enjoying himself so much — at times his grin does look downright alien!