As I said in my comments on Thursday, I was watching episode 801, and in the movie there is a stock footage shot of an alligator jumping up out of the water and snagging a swamp bird sitting on a log. Crow responds by singing: “Egrets, I’ve had a few…”
Something clicked in me. Despite the loss of Trace, which was clearly a gut-punch to the show, I KNEW they were gonna be okay.
So, what was the moment (hopefully SOMEtime in Season 8) when you knew they were gonna be okay? I know some of you had a hard time with the long string of b&w Universal monster movies they started the season with, and really didn’t come around until almost mid-season with “Giant Spider Invasion.” Or maybe you didn’t come around at all. I know some folks felt that way.
So let’s hear it. What was your moment?
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@monoceros4 #100:
The movie choices were mostly based around rights issues. I assume SCI-FI also had a say this, since they wanted them to focus on science fiction movies.
monoceros:
“The fact that individual riffs may have been funny in early Sci-Fi era episodes doesn’t really mean much.”
uh, say what?
@89
I never really got that wrapped up in the whole plot of the show to really care about that. If you’re going to sweat over the reason that Mike and the bots are out in space you probably missed the theme song.
The riffing was great, and unfortunately due to the scifi required plot, many of the host segments blew. I can’t even watch many of the sketches in the Jack Frost episode, but that doesn’t change its status in my mind of one of the strongest episodes of the eighth season.
My family didn’t have the Sci-Fi Channel when MST3K was picked up over there, and was I bummed for the longest time. FINALLY we got a new cable package and the first Sci-Fi episode I saw was “Devil Fish”. The different Crow voice was a bit jarring, but the when he let loose with the quip “I tried to unclog my lawnmower with my feet!”, I nearly fell off the couch. And I stayed with them until the end. :mrgreen:
I preferred the B&W episodes over most of the color “junk”. And the Universal monster flics was icing on the cake.
“One good riff, though, or even a dozen of them in a row, isn’t enough to lighten up a movie that either puts you to sleep or makes you want to slash your wrists.”
That’s what. Did you get to that part of the paragraph?
I had few doubts but, as mentioned elsewhere above, when Prof. Bobo says “Your movie this week..” in Revenge of The Creature, any doubts I may have had would have been obliterated.
monoceros4 named some of my fave episodes for examples of “loathsome, unwatchable slogs through human misery and sickness”
that’s even better than “the worst we can find, la la la”
I’m getting the feeling that the opinions of The Leech Woman are going to be interesting on Thursday.
I have to agree with everyone who says something to the effect that “when they came back I knew we were all going to be okay”. I was just thrilled that my favorite TV show of all time was resurrected. Period. Riffing over bad movies is something timeless. It was really strange at first not having Deep 13 & Dr. F., but after a while, Mary Jo just took off–Pearl, Bobo & Brain Guy are a scream. Bill as Crow was less of an adjustment–it was still Crow. And a lot of the Sci Fi episodes are absolute classics: “The Giant Spider Invasion”/”Final Sacrifice”/”Space Mutiny”, etc. The biggest MST adjustment for me was when Frank left–a little bit of all of us died when Torgo the White led him away . . .
My better half and I were waiting anxiously for the show to return to the air on Sci-Fi… and we loved the new format immediately!
The bit that sealed the deal: in a word, Pearl.
We LOVE Pearl Forester, and she made us geeked-out fanboys in earnest. Val made a Pearl costume for a convention in St Louis, and had people ask if she was Mary Jo herself.
I’ve seen some online comments from fans who’ve been critical of the Sci-Fi seasons or of Mary Jo as Pearl and, dang, we just don’t get that thinking at all.
Even named our new hybrid “Pearl” in her honor!
And Frank seemed to be less then a dynamic success as a Soul taker. Wonder if he took Dr. F’s soul? :smile:
@ 103 (in regards to me post #89)
I never got too completely wrapped up in the plot either. But, there seemed to be more of a reason during seasons KTMA thru 7. Yes, I have heard the theme song for the Sci-Fi Channel. The whole thing during that stretch (Sci-Fi Channel) was absurd.
I really liked the idea of a continuing plot, especially in the SciFi years, that and the excellent rapport between Pearl, Bobo, and Brain Guy, plus the generally great movies selected for riffing, made the sciFi years considerably the best over earlier years.
It was the same line for me as it was for Sampo. After we were finished laughing ourselves sick, I looked at my mom and brother and we said, almost as one, “They’re BACK.”
BTW, this discussion made me want to rewatch “Revenge of the Creature”; man, how could anyone have doubted we’d be okay? The business with the new “I’m different!” Crow, of course, was–well, different, but once the movie started, the riffing hit on all cylinders and I couldn’t stop laughing! Then, at the end, Mary Jo hit the ball out of the park with her “improved” Pearl. No, it wasn’t going to be Deep 13, Frank and Clayton would be missed, but I knew at the time that this was going to be some funny stuff. In the end, most of the Brains were still in place, and the show had the same feel it always had.
Escape 2000….a facist government hunts down hapless victims at the hands of a prison warden, there’s lots of gunplay.
The Touch of Satan…About Witchcraft, a pretty girl, Deals w/Satan, and a group of radical townspeople whom try to burn the girl at the stake.
Deathstalker 3: A warrior that has to protect a jewel from a beautiful princess, you have an evil wizard who awakens the dead. The film is pretty mundane, but I like the swordfights and looks like a bigger budget movie MST has done.
Zombie Nightmare: could have been better, w/more gore in it. could have done away w/some of the characters, and made the teens more “badass”, plus the pieces just didn’t seem to fit together, especially the whole twist at the end.