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Weekend Discussion Thread: Least Memorable EpisodesAlert regular Jenny (a LONGtime MSTie) writes:
For me, it’s RADAR SECRET SERVICE. Classic short and the segment that goes with it, but the rest of it is all gray men in suits and hats who all look alike. How about you? 142 Replies to “Weekend Discussion Thread: Least Memorable Episodes”Commenting at Satellite News
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Fu Manchu puts me to sleep every time. I have never made it all the way thru so I don’t remember much at all. Hamlet is probably my least favorite episode ever.
Strangely, I enjoy ‘Radar Secret Service’ for exactly the “gray men in suits and hats who all look alike”.
It`s just so damn ludicrous that it takes itself SO SERIOUSLY, despite the outrageous capabilities that it endows “RADAR!!” with.
Perhaps I am just easily amused.
Anyway, my least memorable ep remains ‘HAMLET’…
It`s dark, drab, and worst of all…BORING.
A DUBBED-to-English German television production of Shakespeare ? … What were The Brains thnking ??
I’m really surprised at how so many MSTies don’t like Mighty Jack–it’s one of my favorite episodes!
As far as least memorable, I’m going to go with the first Gamera film. I don’t think I’ve ever made it all the way through. There’s some Eskimos (I think) and a stone depicting a turtle (sort of) and a nuclear bomb (wasn’t there?) and… Yeah, that’s it.
HAMLET – I can’t remember a single thing from it except for one line: “She’s trying to Section 8 her way out of the movie.” That is literally the only thing. Every time I watch it, the movie turns into such a black hole of blah-ness that I can’t remember a single thing that was said or done, be it in the film itself or the Brains.
The Screaming Skull was dullsville. I just remember the title with a giant skull coming at you. Nothing worth watching again besides the opening short.
My vote would be City Limits, I have no idea what’s going on and there is nothing visually distinctive enough to remember it by. Screaming Skull was on a lot in the SciFi channel re-run years, so that one I do remember. Sidehackers has sidehacking, which would seem to disqualify it from being unmemorable even if the plot makes no sense. I always thought Tormented was pretty memorable, even Joel says “this is one weird mamajama of a movie”.
wow… alot of them eps mentioned here i really like…
no accounting for taste…
one ep i can live without? easy. HAMLET!
Blood Waters of Dr. Z was unwatchable. I have taped every MST3K episode and this is the only one I have never rewatched. Horrid. Putrid. Acrid. Rancid.
Dog pile on Hamlet! It’s the only episode (save for the majority of Season 1 and KTMA) that I have never finished. And to not finish a Sci-Fi era episode feels pretty weird. There is something meh about Indestructible Man, too, which is odd since it has strippers and the Catalina Caper guy and Lon Chaney Jr. But it’s just so washed out and gray that the it never really takes hold, despite some ok riffing. Thankfully, I always seem to have amnesia about Hellcats but end up loving it by the end. I’m a sucker for the ’60s biker movies and wish they had done even more.
Of course, every episode will probably have a defender. I’m no exception…so:
I love Starfighters. One of the first episodes I ever saw, and I’ve seen it over & over. Ditto for the Season 8 Universal B&W’s….Leech Woman, She Creature, Thing That Wouldn’t Die…etc. And the British Season 8/9’s….Devil Doll, Projected Man. Love ’em all.
Coleman Francis, on the other hand, left no impression and no desire to see them again.
“and the Catalina Caper guy” #109
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It’s actually not him! The Brains had a brain fart, appropriately. Del Moore was in CC and Casey Adams aka Max Showalter was in the IM.
Monster A Go-Go for me. The movie is so incoherent I don’t think my brain could compute that it wasn’t several “smaller, plotless movies” I had occasionally opened my eyes to see while under sedation in some smoke-filled emergency room.
The only scene I can remember is the monster terrorizing some sunbathing bikini girls, but that’s because, Hey, Bikinis!
In many cases my least memorable episodes also don’t rate too high with me. Because if I enjoyed them, I’d remember them. Also, movies with strange elements to them tend to stick out in my mind.
For example: “Tormented” is not a favorite of mine, but I remember the lighthouse, the floating head, the main character trying to push the little girl off the lighthouse and Joel and the bots picking what musicians they’d drop from the lighthouse. So you won’t see it on this list.
I have to agree with Frank, “Stranded in Space” falls on the unmemorable list. I remember a guy in a turtlenekc and some driving and that’s pretty much it. Radar Secret Service” falls in the same boat. I remember a car with a dish, lots of grey people doing grey things… not much else. I’ve only seen either of those once, so maybe a repeat viewing might help, but neither one was that funny either.
“Indestructible Man” is along the same lines. I think that’s the one with the autopsy and the sketch related to it, but I really don’t remember anything else. I’ve watched it least three times but nothing sticks.
The “She Creature” I saw on it’s first airing and disliked it quite a bit. Jump forward to last year when we started reviewing Season 8 and I couldn’t remember a thing about it. Even the episode guide entry didn’t help. When I saw it again, it awakened dim memories and I still didn’t like it much. And now, I don’t remember a thing about it.
Last and maybe least is “Colossus and the Headhunters”. I usually enjoy the sword and sandle episodes. They usually offer plenty of goofy fun and lame dialogue to riff on. But this movie didn’t offer much at all. I know I saw it, but I don’t remember a thing about it other than a really bad eruption scene near the beginning. I don’t remember anything else.
There might be a few more, but if I don’t remember them, I can’t write about them.
And all this bashing on “Hamlet” is interesting. I think its one of the most entertaining episodes they tackled and it’s certainly unique. I can see how you might want to forget it, but I don’t know how you could. The set design (or lack of) alone makes it memorable. I’m very curious to see the comments when we get to that episode. Hopefully they will go beyond “It sucks! I hate it!” I honestly want to know why people don’t like this one…
I would include most of the KTMA episodes and all of the season 1 episodes except Untamed Youth (which I liked) and Women of the Prehistoric Planet (which I wish I could forget). I would also put on the least memorable list:
Stranded in Space
Fugitive Alien II
Master Ninja II
Castle of Fu Manchu
Space Travelers
Attach of the Eye Creatures (I can’t remember anything about this movie except the “Attack of the the Eye Creatures” title bit)
Monster a Go Go
Secret Agent Super Dragon
Skydivers
Red Zone Cuba (I found all the Coleman Francis episodes unwatchable, the movies are just too bad)
Beast of Yucca Flats
First 9 episodes of Season 8 kind of all blend together, just too many monster movies in a row
I have only seen a couple of episodes from season 9 and none from season 10 so I can’t comment on those. Like others, I am surprised at the hate for some of my favorite episodes like Radar Secret Service, Human Duplicators, Tormented and I Accuse My Parents.
I like a lot of the episodes people listed here, but there are some that just don’t stick with me, and I have no desire to watch them again:
Mad Monster
Painted Hills
Last of the Wild Horses
Horror of Spider Island
And I don’t really know why, apart from Mad Monster (boooooooring).
re 103. not saying I don’t like Mighty Jack, just can’t remember anything about it even after watching it. Don’t know why. Have to agree with It Lives By Night. I remember Dr. Groovy and that’s about it
Just a note that it was Jenny, not I, who cited “Blood Waters of Dr. Z.” That one’s coming up next in the episode guide and, as you’ll see on Thursday, I rather liked it, fish anus and all.
I guess it would be fairly predictable to have someone post how neat it is, that everyone has different “least memorable” episodes, and how many of them turn out to be someone else’s favorite episodes.
So I did it. And yet, it is true.
First Spaceship on Venus and Stranded in Space for the Joel era, and Last of the Wild Horses, 12 to the Moon and The Screaming Skull for the Mike era. Honestly, I could take a nice long nap during any of those and it wouldn’t make a difference to me. Not bad episodes per se, just ones that never grab my fancy.
How can anyone say Last of the Wild Horses is unmemorable? Maybe if Frank and Dr. F in the theater never happened, but I bet everyone remembers that part! Same with Colossus & the Head Hunters. Right now, I can’t even remember what the film looked like. But I definitely remember Nummy Muffin Coocol Butter.
Rocket Attack U.S.A (#205)
This is odd because a lot of Season 2 has my favorite episodes.
However, when I was going over my collection Sunday I could not remember one thing about this episode.
It was the one where they changed Tom’s head to make it more narrow.
I remember sing that later, but never remember the “hair cut” excuse.
This was just not a memorable episode for me one way or another.
Radar Secret Service-I can barely remember 2 or 3 riffs, can’t think of a single character’s name or actor’s name. The Amazing Transparent Man-besides the guy called Faust and some bank robbery maybe, I don’t remember much at all.
#109 #111
Well, learn something every day! I thought they were
the same too. :o
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From a site “Torgo the White”
Casey Adams a.k.a. Max Showalter
CHESTER, CT–Max Showalter, better known to MSTies under his 1950s stage name of Casey Adams and who played dogged detective Lt. Dick Chasen in episode 409- THE INDESTRUCTIBLE MAN, died of cancer here July 30, 2000, at the age of 83. His career on stage, screen and television spanned five decades and in the process he found himself costarring with leading ladies from Marilyn Monroe (in 1953’s “Niagara”) to Bo Derek (in 1979’s “10”).
Some fans will recall that Dr. Forrester refers to “Casey Adams of Catalina Caper fame” in his introduction to the movie in episode 409; Dr. F. was in error and was confusing Showalter with similar-looking actor Del Moore, who played the con-man father in “Catalina Caper.”
The Indestructible Man. Before double-checking my Volume 11 box I was pretty sure I’d never seen it. But I know I’ve seen every episode I own on DVD. I just have no memory of this one whatsoever.
Most episodes from the First season. Riffings are infrequent between scenes (which almost prone me to make one in my mind while watching one of them) and the MST3K crews weren’t used to their roles in the show yet, rendering them slightly less memorable than the ones in subsequent seasons.
I agree with #113, when we discuss Hamlet I’ll be curious as how anyone would like that episode, not dislike it.
Has there been a discussion of the episodes that put you to sleep the fastest? Because there are some good tranq-ep’s here…and it’s not necessarily a bad thing in my opinion. MST is a comforting thing to watch/listen to as I fall asleep.
RE: Roman Martel says:
“….all this bashing on “Hamlet” is interesting. I think its one of the most entertaining episodes they tackled and it’s certainly unique. I can see how you might want to forget it, but I don’t know how you could. The set design (or lack of) alone makes it memorable. I’m very curious to see the comments when we get to that episode. Hopefully they will go beyond “It sucks! I hate it!” I honestly want to know why people don’t like this one…”
….Okay, here`s The Thing;
Every fan has their own idea of What Makes A Prime MST Target (which would not be a bad Subject For Discussion, if it hasn`t been tackled before…or lately).
For Myself; it`s shlock Sci-Fi, Fantasy, or B & C Grade Action/Adventure and Vintage ‘Message’ Movies … The ‘Teen’movies, the ‘Biker/Crime’ flicks, etc…. They can be from virtually any decade of film.
MST`s greatest successes have been found within those genre.
The Problem with ‘Hamlet’ is that it fits none of those categories, and there is very little to work with in terms of visual interest. Note that I said ‘visual interest’, or ‘eye candy’ if you will. There is not a lot in ‘Hamlet’ to catch the eye and hold your interest. As for the riffing, it`s sharp–but you may as well be listening to it on the radio for the utter lack of visual appeal.
Further, it`s SHAKESPEARE…The Bard`s comedic sense, whilst keen enow; doth not lendeth well to Modern Times, much less the rabid ramblings of our favorite robotic rapscallions.
Or at least, it`s hardly the fertile ground that their Wit has blossomed in from the beginning, anyway.
I`ve wondered if The Brains did not choose this German TV ‘Hamlet’ as some sort of personal challenge or as a sort of cliche` ‘Actor`s Goal’ to ‘Play The Bard’ ….
Forsooth… It doth boggle my pate to ponder the cruel fate found within outrageous fortune.
So rather than simply ‘bashing’ MST`s ‘Hamlet’, I would just state that it is a far-out-of-left-field choice for them and it has none of the aspects that previously resulted in such rich rewards in satire and parody.
In other words, Hamlet sucked.
Thank you PALADIN. That’s exactly the kind of arguement I was looking for. I don’t agree, but I wanted to see the reasoning behind the unleashed hatred for the episode (although you don’t seem to hate it as much as think it’s not that funny).
JimmyBruce, when we get to the episode I’ll give you my reasons for enjoying it. It’s one of my favorites from Season 10.
And thank you ducksoup for allowing us to laugh about love again.
I can’t sit through Eegah despite the classic MST lines, because the shaving scene is just too disturbing and creepy.
Also, Red Zone Cuba is really really boring.
So clearly, even by the monosyllabic bashing of Hamlet,
it is anything but a “Least Memorable” episode, and on
that basis alone was a good choice of The Brains. ;-)
I’ll have to go with I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF. I honestly don’t remember ANYTHING about it and was astonished when I discovered they’d done that movie.
I seriously wonder if some of the hardcore bashers of Hamlet have actually WATCHED the episode and aren’t just bagging on it because they think it’s the cool/hip thing to do or as a way of being “accepted”?
I’ll save my thoughts on the ep when the thread comes. I find it more “meh” than “awful”.
Yeah, just about every episode mentioned here I vividly remember and also I love most of them too.
When I see someone say “dull” or “boring” about an episode’s riffing, I immediately think they must be much younger than the best brains staff and therefore don’t actually “Get” most of the riffs. I bet I’m right as rain on that. I’m the same age as Mike and I understand 99% of the riffs from every episode.
I’m not saying there aren’t dull, boring and unmemorable movies. The Screaming Skull is so dull & boring it may as well not even exist, you could stare at a tv screen thats turned off and get the same effect. But the riffing & host segs) are hilarious. Same goes for Blood Waters, Future War, Last of the Wild Horses, and many others. I think I might have watched some movies well over 10 times and still didn’t have much of a clue as to what was going on or what it was about.
Manny Sanguillen @ 135
what he said.
Ahh, the least memorable. Those that you take one look at the title and say, “I know I’ve seen it, but what was it about?”
Space Mutiny – I can’t follow this movie. I can’t pay attention to it, I don’t know what it’s about, and I’ve watched it at least ten times.
All Hercules – Funny, but they always leave a void in my memory. Nothing stands out (except Mike as Steve Reeves)
Others I have little or no memory of:
Indestructible Man –
Manhunt In Space –
Crash of the Moons –
Secret Agent Super Dragon –
Operation Double 007 –
12 to the Moon – No memory other than Nuveena
Bloodlust!, Starfighters, Amazing Transparent Man, Brute Man, and Horror of Party Beach.
The nice thing about this is, it’s like watching an episode for the first time again! For example, I had seen Merlin’s Shop many times, and one day it finally clicked for me, and now I can follow the movie!
I decided to go through the episode list over at DAP to see what jumped out at me that fell through the memory hole. The only one that I honestly can’t remember a thing about is King Dinosaur. Some kind of Japanese monster flick maybe? I’m drawing an utter blank. With most episodes I can remember at least one scene or riff.
Manny Sanguillen says:
“When I see someone say “dull” or “boring” about an episode’s riffing, I immediately think they must be much younger than the best brains staff and therefore don’t actually “Get” most of the riffs. I bet I’m right as rain on that. I’m the same age as Mike and I understand 99% of the riffs from every episode.”
— I was about to simply post that Joel and I are the same age…then it struck me that we are both 50 !
It seems strange to think of Joel as being Fifty Years Old…Oddly, it`s even stranger than thinking of MYSELF as being Fifty Years Old.
Where the hell does the Time go ?
(That`s another Topic…’Average Age Of MST Fans.’)
Anyway; I too, ‘get’ 99% of the riffs…
But that does not keep ‘Hamlet’ from being one of those rare MST eps that I readily -and easily- engage in other activities while it`s playing.
Generally, unless I am pulled away by circumstance, when I watch MST; I WATCH MST. I`m glued to the episode. Every episode other than ‘Hamlet’ has offered something of visual appeal; be it crappy FX, poor –or outrageous– over-acting, etc.
Further, I worked for The Colorado Shakespeare Festival back in 1985, and I can honestly state that there really is NOTHING MEMORABLE about this particular production.
To reiterate; there is just not much on the screen to hold the eye. This could practically be a pilot program for MST: The Radio Show …
( ‘A Satellite Home Companion’)
I don’t know, no matter how bad the episodes are, I seem to remember at least ONE good riff or host segment from them. *sigh* Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm…
I think “Dead Talk Back” makes a good candidate. The only riff I can remember from it is “You gonna finish that?”
While I’ve even started to enjoy watching Monster-A-Go-Go, I can hardly remember anything about it. Just a tiny capsule, a dark figure scaring some pasty bikini women, and the lamest ending ever. Oh, and a bald Dr. Logan.