Update: Our pal Bruce Westbrook has a review as well.
Erich Asperschlager at DVD Verdct weighs in.
Jason Bailey at DVDTalk.com was among the first to post a review.
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Updated: Vol. XVIII ReviewsVolume XVIII comes out in a couple of weeks and the reviews are starting to roll in.
42 Replies to “Updated: Vol. XVIII Reviews”Commenting at Satellite News
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Great review! I love this set especially getting a pristine dvd of The Beast of Yucca flats….Can’t wait to wath the Jack Frost disc….it will be a blast!
Review was decent, although the reviewer says General Hospital is from the 1950’s (it debuted in 1963 on ABC) and said Jack Frost was from season 9.
A parenthetical aside from the review:
the Internet battle over which was the better frontman rages to this very day
Does it? I thought we’d all agreed-to-disagree (and moved on to the proxy war of Rifftrax vs. Cinematic Titanic).
Where on the internet is this battle still raging, anyway?
Prodigy?
Compuserve?
Drat. Another DVD with video errors. Another fan copy I have to keep just for my own completionist accuracy.
Found this one too – http://www.exclaim.ca/motionreviews/latestsub.aspx?csid1=115&csid2=871&fid1=47628
I have been very happy with all the Shout! packages.
They seem to have a solid feel for the show and its fans.
This was about what I expected. I was already planning on getting this one and looking forward to it and I still am. The review came out pretty good.
It’s a little disturbing that the official master tape of “Lost Continent” is in such bad condition. It sounds a lot like what happened with “The Dead Talk Back” only Shout has made the smart decision of putting a warning before the episode.
The reviewer thinks Jack Frost is a comedown after the other three movies? It’s by far the best movie in the set. The first two are boring and Yucca Flats is so bad even the talented crew at MST3K could barely make that one watchable. To each his own, I guess.
Yeah, I was a little puzzled as to why he didn’t sound like he cared for “Jack Frost” either, but as we all learned by now, to each is own. Sounds like a good set.
Wow…it’s almost like different people like different things??
Beast of Yucca Flats for the win…..
Jack Frost…meh…
Aside from Jack Frost it looks like a good set.
I love the Jack Frost episode.
Sampo, would Shout ever consider asking us fans to donate their old tapes if they could be used to help fix these damaged video masters?
I totally understand if it’s not in their budget to do the kind of full blown restoration old Doctor Who episodes have enjoyed. (Some of of which have benefited from the fact fans taped “lost” color episodes on Betamax in the ’70’s.) However, things like the audio glitch on “The Final Sacrifice” can be easily fixed. I was doing such fixes at a college tv station twenty years ago with crappy analog video equipment. Doing it digitally ought to be a snap!
And I can’t be the only MSTie who ever recorded episodes on “professional” gear. I dubbed off my 90’s S-VHS copy of “Lost Continent” to DVD last year, and was pleased with the results.
This guy at least “gets” the show, even if he isn’t up to speed on the Sandy Frank issue (as convoluted as it is). I actually think TBoYF is the least watchable of the CF trilogy, but again to each their own.
Look forward to getting this set, in any event!
I like Jack Frost and TBoYF+shorts about equally, so I guess I win out. If I get this set, which is not definite. It seems to me the glitches are really kinda inexcusable, especially across multiple releases. Okay, The Dead Talk Back was Rhino but still.
I’m with Gorn — given that it’s pretty easy to get a complete set of pristine DVDs for all seasons nowadays, why can’t Shout at least post a shout out (so to speak) to see if there are folks out there with better video?
If the review is accurate, there are only a few places on the video where it would need to be fixed, and as Gorn says, this is pretty trivial editing stuff nowadays (heck, I assembled my own collection from my reference quality video I made on broadcast machines anyway). At my age I don’t know that I want to go through and fix the Shout release when I get it (although I still may — most likely I’ll just keep my own in the rotation instead) but certainly the Shout techs should be able to do so.
This is very disappointing to say the least.
I know when Genesis re-released all their CDs a couple of years ago that they included bonus DVDs of each one with all sorts of lost video performances. These lost videos by and large came from fan collections as the ’70s masters had been lost, were in bad condition, etc. so there is certainly precedent for Shout to fix things up with fan videos. It mystifies me when official releases are lower quality than unofficial releases, that should never happen.
I prefer it if Shout! Factory worked off of broadcast master tapes than a fan’s recording off of TV.
Seems like Shout puts more time and effort into the toys than descent copies of the episodes. Typical.
Hey now, don’t be so hard on Shout Factory. Let’s place the blame on the true culprits – the ravages of time and Jim Mallon. ;)
By the way, I love a tall cool Asperschlager on a hot summer evening.
So I guess this is a decent place to ask a question about the last set: beyond the audio glitch in Final Sacrifice, did anyone have problems with their Beatniks DVD? When I first got the set, I tried to make a personal copy of it (which i’ve done for all the dvds) but it froze up at the second song and told me it had copy right protection on it. That’s all fine and dandy but when I tried to watch the DVD in my PS2 last night, it froze up at the same spot. I’ve yet to play in any other DVD players because I’m not at home right now but did anyone else have that problem?
Also, i’m all for Shout using fan copies if they need to. The audio glitch in Final Sacrifice is so bad that I’ll never watch that copy again (and it’s looking that way for The Beatniks too). Wha happa Shout? :|
Obviously things such as audio glitches and bad frames of video can be easily fixed with “fan copies” or other sources — but it then takes more money (for an editor) and I’m guessing that’s where the real problem is. Even trying to get better sources takes money (just the overhead of administration alone) and I’m sure Shout is trying to cut costs to the bone (as everyone and every business is nowadays with good reason).
Still, it annoys me no end that my own copies of at least three Shout releases are better than what they are selling — It means I have to review things carefully to make sure I don’t replace one of my better episodes with one of theirs, as well as having to pay for a show in a set that I don’t need/want. I guess the quest for having the perfect set of MST3K episodes never really ends .
What’s wrong with “Final Sacrifice?” I don’t remember any audio glitch.
Somewhere there is a Shout executive wondering why they spend any money trying to produce products for a fanbase that thinks they have better versions of everything beforehand…
Oh, and Sampo, please feel free to post your Amazon store link again!
They don’t just think they have better versions of everything, it is true in some of the above mentioned cases. If they know a master has a problem, they should try to get a fan copy to fix it instead of just letting it go. Or just put a different episode in the set.
People inside the cable and broadcast industry were taping stuff straight off the satellite feeds for personal use for years. As were the people with those giant dishes in their backyards before the industry woke up and started scrambling everything. Just as some people have professional audio recording gear in their home, some people have pro video gear too.
Some of the “fan copies” of SciFi episodes are digital captures of a digital satellite signal. We’re not talking fuzzy VHS copies here.
I’m buying the set anyway. I’ve bought them all. Shout just should consider availing themselves of a fanbase that may be able to help improve their product.
Gorn, you’re absolutely correct. I was in the broadcast industry and my equipment is as good as it gets. When I say my stuff as good or better than what’s commercially released, I am not blowing smoke. Ask anyone who’s bought from me and they’ll attest to the quality.
And, yes, I will buy all the Shout stuff as well. I’ve done it since Rhino, and continued to buy even though at the best of times it only incrementally improves what I have. I believe in the whole idea of having commercially released copies (and some of the extras are worth the price of admission alone).
But I do wish they wouldn’t settle — there are at least a few of us out here who have the wherewithal to provide whatever they need.
I don’t recall any audio glitch on final sacrifice, what scene? That’s ironic the copy I taped off of the channel formerly spelled as sci-fi has a huge section (60 seconds when troy is escaping via rosdower-mobile )where the audio almost disappears completely.
The quality of the shout box sets has been impressive, blood waters of dr. z looked so clean and bright in comparison to old VHS tapes. Fan copies are subject to age too.
Im just glad someones releasing episodes at all, my only other alternative is downloading from youtube and burning to DVD. it works but the quality, well it’s watchable, its free, so you get what you pay for.
“ma, my nuts?”
Once I get back home, I’ll check on where exactly the Final Sacrifice audio glitch happens. Now that I think about it, that audio glitch happens right around the same time in the episode that my Beatniks DVD freezes up. Strange…
With all the concern about the quality of Lost Continent, I thought I should weigh in. I called out the minor flaws in my review because it’s my job to point out things like that. No, the transfer isn’t perfect, but it’s far from unwatchable, or even distracting. Unless you absolutely demand perfection from 20 year old basic cable TV shows, you won’t care. Do NOT lose sleep over it. Do NOT deprive yourself the joy of picking up Vol XVIII on day one. It is an awesome set, and Lost Continent is as funny now as it was back when Joel had his goatee.
And Sharktopus, I love a tall glass of me on a hot evening, too.
The audio glitches on Final Sacrifice occur at 26:06 and at 26:37, and they are really loud. I checked against my Castle Forrester copy and my own tape, and they don’t have the glitch. Someone who responded to my LJ post at the time the set came out said the Netflix instant viewing version had it too.
I’ve often wondered, does an institution like the Museum of Broadcast Communications have all the episodes preserved in their archives?
“..the last third of the movie has a subtle tracking line running across the top of the screen.” Using a good encoder program, one can create a black border to easily hide that tracking line.
#32…the museum of broadcasting (now called the Paley Center for Media)shows 3 listings for MST: 1. mst excerpts
and 2. a date with your family/invasion u.s.a.
and 3. panel discussion taped march 1995 in L.A.
Yeah – go Invasion U.S.A.! One of my favorite episodes. (Re: Post #34)
just ordered my set and can’t wait to break in my new game/tv room in with it! I do wish that Shout! Factory would use commerical signs as dvd chapter breaks like Rhino used to. Aside from that, I couldn’t be happier with the direction that Shout! has been taking us!
seriously, i can be pretty hardcore when it comes to collecting and condition and what not, but the flaws on any commercially released episodes of MST are insignificant (except for Rhino’s Killer Shrews incident…).
I showed Final Sacrifice to a group of MST fan friends and not one of them even noticed the sound issue. As long as the funny isn’t impeded, it really shouldn’t be a big deal. It’s not like the “aura” of mass produced DVD’s is any different based on small glitches.
Maybe I have sensitive hearing or something, but I found those audio glitches painful, even on tv speakers. Your mileage (and friends) may vary…
For what it’s worth, the audio pops on Final Sacrifice scared the hell out of me the first time – I’d read about them, but wasn’t anticipating them – but they don’t impede on my enjoyment of the episode at all.
Bottom line: We’re lucky to have a dedicated company like Shout Factory handling our beloved show. Let’s not look the gift horse in the mouth too much.
I knda hate to bring it up, but does anyone else have glitches in the newly-produced supplements on the BEAST OF YUCCA FLATS disc? For wont of a better term, it looks like fluctuating video (most noticably the upper left). It’s quite noticeable when it happens, and I’m surprised that no review (that I know of) has mentioned it. I picked the set up last week, along with Shout’s DEATH RACE 2000 disc – which also has glitches in the newly-produced supplements.
My DVD set just shipped from Amazon.com. Apparently vol. XVIII is being released on July 13th.
I don’t regret getting the last one with Final Sacifice, but that loud audio scratch when troy is running away from the cult members was objectively loud and unusual. I just hope that doesn’t get repeated. It’s not like the issue with The Dead Talk Back disc, either my disc didn’t have the problem or it just wasn’t very noticeable. For that matter, there’s a moment in the Hobgoblins disc, some horizontal distortion line VERY BRIEFLY runs over the top of the frame when Daphne is standing outside the house, shortly after the creatures escape from the studio. That distortion isn’t on my tape copies.