BAM’s Top 5 MST3K episodes
The cult TV series “Mystery Science Theater 3000″ is celebrating the big 2-0 with the release of the “Mystery Science Theater 3000 20th Anniversary Edition.
In honor of the big occcasion, check out the list of my favorite MST3K episodes:
1. “The Leech Woman”(No. 802): “Hmm, that’s good pineal!” This movie tells the tale of a woman despised by her husband for not being 20, who turns to copious amounts of booze to drown her sorrows. But she finds a potential fountain of youth from an aged African woman who advises her that the secret of smooth-skinned longevity is to stab men in the pineal gland and ingest their juices, which are apparently about as tasty as all the hooch she gulps down.
Besides all the witty one-liners at the movie’s expense, the episodes features Crow’s crusade to rid the Satellite of Love of its prairie dog infestation before the “beefaloes” get their legs stuck in the holes, Pearl’s emergence as the Lawgiver of the sentient apes, and a nanite labor dispute that erupts in civil war.
2. “MST3K: The Movie”: Yes, I know it’s not really an episode of the TV series, but the feature film still is one of my favorite MST3K efforts.
If you watch interviews with the cast, especially Mike Nelson, it’s noted that reporters on the publicity tour for the film were offended at the choice of “This Island Earth,” claiming it was too good for riffing.
The movie actually is just cheap and cheesy enough to get in lots of riffs on it. But it isn’t as horribly, painfully low-quality as many of the films covered in the series, so it’s easier to watch. That brings us to …
3. “Manos: The Hands of Fate”(No. 424): MST3K managed to make this repugnant film a cult classic, so it’s difficult to imagine a Top 5 list without “Manos.” The movie, created on virtually no budget on a bet, is just ripe for riffing, and Dr. Forrester and TV’s Frank actually famously apologize to Joel and the ’bots for the badness of the movie.
4. “Killer Shrews”(No. 407): James Best, better known as Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane of “Dukes of Hazzard,” and others are terrorized by giant shrews, also known as small dogs with carpet remnants glued to them. At least Joel and the ‘bots get a catchy song out of it.
5. “Laser Blast”(No. 706): You gotta love this episode, the last on Comedy Central. Mike takes on the persona of Capt. Janeway of “Star Trek: Voyager” (Kate Mulgrew) to save the SOL from getting sucked into a black hole.
Honorable mentions: “Hercules Unchained,” “Daddy-O,” “Diabolik.”
So, fellow MSTies, Feel free to share your favorite MST3K episodes, moments, random quips, etc.
-BAM
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My top five Mike episodes:
1) Revenge of the Creature–Sentimental favorite because it marked the return of MST3K from its cancellation
2) Prince of Space–My all time favorite series of host segments as they go through the wormhole. The bit with the chicken puppet is absolute genius
3) Werewolf—Bad accents, bad wigs, bad effects, bad puns (Servo: Oh, I ate too much; I am a FULL moon.)…The epitome of an MST3K viewing
4) Danger! Death Ray—Simply for the “Bah, Bah, Da, Bah, Da, Dah’s” and “Watermelon Man.” Boy, did they invest in those bits.
5) Horrors of Spider Island—If only to see Servo overcome by the sight of so many girl fights (My alternate for this was TISCWSLABMUZ where Servo freaks out from the nightmare sequence)
Honorable mentions: The Blood Waters of Doctor Z for containing my favorite quip, Hobgoblins where Mike has to wrangle the bots into staying in the theater, Santa Claus I always watch around Christmas, and Diabolik because it was the finale.
My top five Joel episodes:
1) Mitchell–Once again a sentimental choice since it was Joel’s last
2) Hercules vs. the Moon Men—Deep Hurting! and an ode to pants…what’s not to love?
3) Manos—Come on, you knew it would be on here
4) The Viking Women vs. the Sea Serpent—Because of my deep abiding love for Waffles
5) Operation Double 007—Joel’s strutting around saying “I know” cracks me up no matter how many times I see it. (My alternate for this was Secret Agent Super Dragon for Joel’s class on spy puns)
Honorable mentions: War of the Colossal Beast for giving us Mr. B. Natural, Hercules Unchained for the bots asking about the weird lady telling secrets, Santa Claus Conquers the Martians is bold holiday fare, and Killer Shrews has adorable monsters.