MST3K - 1206 - Ator: The Fighting Eagle

 

                                                             Tired of your crap, Peter Pan!

The Experiment (Spoiler Alert)

The idea of Jonah being the one who does the morale speech for them was a very good touch. Beyond that, the invention exchange was not especially memorable.

The favorite host segment of this episode has to be Crow as Griba. Their dialog in that one is totally made because of Crow's performance. Beyond that, the host segments are not great. Even their ending to this season wasn't all that great.

At the end, we see what Jonah had been doing this whole season as a plan to get back at the mads. I get the irony of locking Kinga and Max in a theater to watch terrible movies. It wasn't a terrible idea, but was it really worth ending the season on? Something like that seems more fit for the ending of a normal episode. The fact that they are preparing for the episode to be the last episode JUST IN CASE is probably a good idea, but at the same time, it seems like too much of an easy fix.

The ending felt a little hollow. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't deserving the time and dedication that it took in pulling it off. All of those hints and foreshadowing just did too much to hype it up with very little actual payoff. That's just my rant on the ending. The rest of the episode is a different story.

Ator: The Figthing Eagle

Ator wants to marry his sister. An evil warlord takes her as his prisoner for no reason. Ator fights to get her back.

What makes this movie bad?

Yet another stock fantasy movie for MST3K. Honestly, we can never get enough of these. This one is the movie that came before a movie called Cave Dwellers, which was given the riff treatment in episode 1 of season 3. It took them a few decades, but they got around to riffing the first movie.

Obviously, this movie was not made to set any records. It was a cash-in on the popularity of Conan The Barbarian at the time. The scenes were shot in one take, the story was nonsensical from the get-go, and they made some very weird choices. The fact that Ator fell in love with a girl who was supposed to be his sister. That was not a simple side note, that was very much focused on and given the treatment of "It's not blood relation, so it's okay!" Yeah, someone had a fetish that they couldn't outright say, but their writing was waving a large enough red flag.

Then there's the "chosen one" plotline and only he can defeat the villain, blah blah blah blah, he fights and kills things and people die. The end. Nothing special, nothing particularly painful, and this movie is vastly superior to Cave Dwellers. Here's hoping they get the riff rights to Ator 3.

The Riffs

The riffs are beautiful in this episode. Ator is a moron that acts without thinking and pretty much has luck handed to him on a silver platter. What's there not to riff about? His chance encounters are five minute puzzle trials of "how do I defeat this particular villain?" and then it just kind of happens and we move on. Jonah and the bots pick this apart with a fine pair of tweezers. The movie is silly enough to be funny, but riffable enough to be chiseled into gold by the crew of the SOL.

There are so many good gags and way too many targets to pinpoint a single one, it's a riff fest that works at a mile a minute and they keep up that pace all through to the end.

The Episode

A very solid episode. The fact that we have another Ator movie in the bag for MST3K is a reason to celebrate. While the episode could be considered something of a let down, at least it made a decent effort to draw the season to a close. It is an episode that is worth revisiting and is a vast improvement over the season finale of 11. It is a definite win in the MST3K category, now, where's season 13?!

MST3K - 1205 - Killer Fish

 

                                                             I'm setting this bomb to stun.

The Experiment

The invention exchange was pretty funny. Both of them are equally amusing.

The host segments are good, but nothing to write home about. They're good for a laugh here and there, but honestly, you'll be pretty hard pressed to remember them as a whole. We see J. Elvis Weinstein again, and he does not wear out his welcome, once again. However, the rerecording of Idiot Control Now was a bit of a cringe, if we're being honest here. The host segments were so-so overall.

Killer Fish

Some bandits make away with a lot of diamonds and hide it in a body of water. Somehow, that body of water becomes infested with piranha!

What makes this movie bad?

Your run-of-the-mill semi-horror movie straight out of the 70's. How bad is it? Not that bad, really. Even without contrast with the normal MST affair, this movie is watchable at the very least. Somehow, they roped Lee Majors in this film and he's good as he usually is. There's dumb characters who make dumb choices just like you'd normally see.

Overall, it's a forgettable movie and really not worth getting any kind of worked up about. The worst thing about it is that it's pretty boring. It has its moments of excitement, but it's 70's excitement that didn't age well by any stretch of the imagination. Pain level? A slight itch, I guess.

The Riffs

The gags are quite shiny in this episode. There is a lot of good material from not a lot of good riffable film. They more or less take a killer monster borefest and turn it into something much better with their jokes. The under water scenes with the fish are pretty priceless, and the stupidity of some of the people involved are well riffed.

Then there comes the musical number from under the water, as sung by Gypsy herself. This is definitely the highlight of the whole episode and it is an absolute joy in how they pulled it off. Jonah and all of the bots join in and turn it into a fun time for all. If you don't watch any other part of this episode, that is definitely the part you need to key into.

The Episode

Not a spectacular episode all around, but not at all a loss. It's your normal experiment as far as MST3K goes, and that's always a win. The movie is old enough to be considered the proper time period for the episodes we know and love, but it's also handled in a new sort of way that we can appreciate as the current age of season 12. We'll go with "This episode was good." Then we'll call it a day.

MST3K - 1204 - The Day Time Ended

 

                                                                    So... This is Abstinthe?

The Experiment

In the beginning, the invention exchange is pretty amusing, as well as Arty's new dog with the gift of speech.

The middle BBQ sketch is pretty solid, they do a pretty good job of parodying the stupid scene from the movie that bares literally nothing on the plot other than Jenny finding the green relic that brings... something. It is especially prominent when the bikers show up.

The star of the show is the song number they do about the overall "plot" of this movie. It really plays well into explaining things about this film.

Honestly, the host segments are something of a highlight of this episode! Another milestone is reached when we see the return of J. Elvis Weinstein as a cameo. For once, the cameo serves a decent purpose and even brings about an interesting plot for the show itself.

The Day Time Ended

A family has a get together in their desert home. They are visited by a barrage of strange images and surrealistic happenings.

What makes this movie bad?

This film obviously relies on special effects. That's it. Without the use of different types of special effects, this movie would not exist. It almost make me wish that special effects did not exist so that no one would have to bare through this tedious series of events.

There is no plot to speak of. The creatures that show up have nothing to do with anything. They show up, do something weird, and then they are never seen again. All of the things that happen simply happen and the film just moves on to the next weird thing to overshadow the last weird thing, only to have another weird thing come along and overshadow other things. You can barely even remember any of the characters because they are practically invisible by comparison.

The song that the SOL crew sing in the middle of the episode explains it quite well.

The Riffs

The riffs in this episode start off very solid. However, given the nature of the film, they are not given a whole lot to work with as time goes on. It is really a shame too, because the riffs are hilarious on more than one occasion. The second half just dips in quality all around because there is really nothing more that can be said that hasn't already been blatantly obvious from the word go.

The worst part about it is that they do not actually miss any opportunities in their riffs, the opportunities just dry up as a result of the movie's quality. Even the running gag about the bikers still plays a heavy role for the episode's jokes in the latter half. It's just really hard to make really good riffs when the film is just throwing distractions at the screen all the way up until the very end.

The Episode

This could have been an awesome film. It is a shame that the saving grace for this episode could have been a short at the beginning to hype up some of its contents. The fact of the matter is that they just didn't pick a very good source to fuel the episode's quality. With all of the alien creatures and lighting effects, what are you supposed to do? Keep saying "Oh, there's a cheap effect. Oh, there's another cheap effect."? It's not a total miss of an episode, but it is definitely not up to par. Give it a watch, by all means. Just know that you need to be patient. The riffs are there, you just need to do some waiting.

MST3K - 1203 - Lords of the Deep

 

                                                                    Why did I do this...?

The Experiment

Not a whole lot going for this experiment in the ways of host segments. However, Kinga's invention for this one with the puppets was pretty funny overall. Beyond that, the final host segment with the animal keeper lady had to be a fitting and wonderful punchline to the whole episode.

The rest of this episode, however...

Lords of the Deep

Some scientists under the sea come in contact with an unknown species... yeah the same as 1000 other movies.

What makes this movie bad?

Everything. Everything is wrong with this movie. It is a Roger Corman production, for one thing. It has no real actors with any semblance of talent and it is so boring that it is a black hole of nothingness. It makes literally no sense.

Pretty much, the movie thought that it could go off of mystique. Some movies can do that, but obviously no one in the crew knew what they were doing. So then they decide to try and make it to where it's the head of the facility killing people on the crew and blaming the aliens. Why does that make sense? Oh, it doesn't. They try to come up with an excuse but it falls flat as nothing has led up to it. Then it tries to pull the "we're so deep" card by having the main lady protagonist hallucinate beautiful scenery. Well, that's just peachy. The end result is horrific, and not in a good way.

The Riffs

The riffs, unfortunately, are not good enough to save this episode. There are laughs to be had, of course, they do their job to an extent and they crack off some good zingers. However, the overall result is that of a very dull and very nondescript episode.

The Episode

Pretty certain you see where this is going. This is a very forgettable episode. It's one that has the rotten luck of having a boring movie that's not nearly silly enough to work off of. It's worth the watch, but it is also a slow mover and it leaves something of a bad taste in your mouth. It is definitely the worst of the season.

MST3K - 1202 - Atlantic Rim

 

                                                                    Go Go Loser Rangers!

The Experiment

This is probably the first time we've ever seen anything actually attack Gizmonic Institute and cause several fires. It doesn't explain what happened in this scene, so we just move on.

This episode is also quite notable for having one of the nastiest invention exchanges ever made with Max's stories made into suppositories. So you can read while you-- I'm going to stop talking about that now.

There are some good host segments in this episode, and one of the biggest standouts was when they tried their best to reinvent the song they created for the first episode of the 11th season with naming off the big monsters from each country. The song is pretty damn funny, but mostly because it literally makes no sense. The idea of them improvising this song is actually pretty damn funny. Not to mention, Max's throwback to Pod People's "It Stinks" line is hilarious.

Beyond that, it's your normal awesome host segments. Good bunch of stuff here.

Atlantic Rim

There is unusual happenings out at sea when another oil rig is destroyed. Now there are strange lizard like giant creatures attacking. We need to fight them off with mechs.

What makes this movie bad?

This movie is bad, yes. That's obvious just from the first scene.What makes this movie notable is that it is the most recent movie MST3K has ever done and it is a mockbuster movie created by Asylum in the vain of Pacific Rim! No one really expected the SOL Crew to take on a movie of this type, but honestly, if they were to do it, it should be here in their second season of their new show.

This movie is awful. The fact that it is a knockoff of another movie made so that someone can pick it up, thinking it was an actual spinoff of Pacific Rim barely enters into the equation. The acting is atrocious to the point that their only star power Graham Greene still puts out the best performance, and he is so obviously not even trying! The special effects can be bested by the first season of Power Rangers. The plot never makes sense, not even once. If you've watched one Asylum movie, you're ahead of the game and you know what kind of quality to expect.

The Riffs

So, the real question is, how does the crew handle an Asylum knockoff movie? In an outstanding fashion, that's how! Their riffs are on point, and they treat it just like any other bad movie. The riffs fit in just fine and there are plenty of quotable material all through this whole episode.

By far, some of the greatest quality comes from the main character and his 10 year old fashion of telling stories. Then there was the man in the eye patch, he was pure gold!

The Episode

Another hit! Probably only bested by the first episode of the season. The stupidity of the Pacific Rim knockoff mixed with the genius of our favorite bots makes for good entertainment. Sure, it seems like more of a Rifftrax thing to do, given the recent movie release, however, they handle it with grace and triumphant wit! This is definitely a milestone in MST3K history for several reasons. Whether it's your cup of tea or not, there is no denying that it is one for the books.

MST3K - 1201 - Mac and Me

 

                                                        I can see why you inspired Pennywise...

The Experiment

The season begins as it should have, with the ending death scene of season 11 completely glanced over and the show picking up where it left off. Jonah announces the fact that he survived thanks to the space suit he was constructing throughout the season, and the bots couldn't care less. Well played. It also shows Cambot in his new form!

However, even if they did care, there is not anytime to celebrate! Schemes are afoot! This is the very first time anyone has ever attempted something of this caliber and it is just as horrific as it sounds. Both Kinga and Max have come up with a terrible plan to force Jonah and the Bots through what is known as The Gauntlet. It is a 6 movie marathon of pain and torture. None of the mads had ever even fathomed such horror, but Kinga has gone with the plan.

The host segments in this episode are great stuff. The one where the SOL crew and the mads communicate through whistles is golden. However, the real star of the show is McDonah, where Jonah is a makeshift Ronald McDonald and Gypsy is a terrifying Grimace. Laughs are common all through out these sketches!

Mac and Me

An alien is brought down to Earth and befriends a child in a wheelchair. Together they have to escape the government and get Mac back to his family.

What makes this movie bad?

When it comes to a whole marathon of bad movies, starting with Mac and Me is like starting with a straight kick to the genitals before a barrage of beatings. Mac and Me is a blatant ripoff of E.T. It does nothing to hide this fact. On top of that, it is an hour long commercial for McDonald's and Coca-cola. If you think that is an exaggeration, you are sorely and sourly mistaken.

This movie is bad. Whether it is bad in a good or bad way is up to the beholder, but there is no argument that it is a cringefest of awful. The acting, plot points, motivation, pacing, characters, storyline-- oh who am I kidding. The movie is an abomination to human kind! It shouldn't be worth getting worked up over, but when you see how it blatantly rips off E.T. and crams Big Macs into your face, you can't help but be at least annoyed.

Of course there is some entertainment to be had with how atrocious this film is. However, the cringe vs the anti-charm is a steep difference.

The Riffs

The star of the show is definitely the amazing riffs! Say what you want about the quality of the movie, but it is hard to argue with how well it can be riffed with Jonah and the bots at the helm. It gives material that is so easily made fun of and leaves enough room for some creative ideas in doing so. The gags are vast and very diverse throughout.

The Episode

A perfect start to a brand new season! Even without seeing the other episodes, it is clear that this is going to be one of the star experiments! The movie and the riffing mesh so well, it's bound to hook you in and drive you to press the play button for the next episode right away, now let's get there next!

MST3K - The Comic #1 - A Different Experiment

 

The Issue

So, before we talk about the issue itself, it is important to understand what exactly is going on. Apparently, someone had the bright idea of making this long running TV show into a full blown comic book. Well, at first, that sounded like an iffy idea. As many should know, the risk of bringing one medium to another, even something so simple as making a movie into a show and vise versa, is risky at best. The dynamics for one medium is completely different from the other. Even books to movies have been a complete catastrophe more times than anyone can count. Bringing a live action TV show to a comic book is an extreme gamble. Now add the dynamic of having a TV show that relies on watching bad films and making fun of said films. Throw that into the mix, and you have an enormous bombshell lodged into the Earth, waiting to explode if you slip one finger out of line. The very idea that anyone thought of this and set it into motion is absurd.

Well, they did it. How does such a thing work, you might ask? Well, it's a long explanation, so I hope you brought your toothbrush. The basics of it are that Kinga has evolved her Kingachrome into something new, they call it the Bubulat-r and it has the ability to turn all of your characters in a TV show into comic book characters and put them inside of the comic itself. Obviously, this is what they did to Jonah and the bots, but it's a little more complicated than that. 

Jonah, Tom and Crow have been turned into comic book characters who are actually inside the story and directly involved with it. The ones actually riffing the comic are Gypsy, M. Waverly and Growler, who remain outside the bounds of the comic itself. It's a bit confusing, but not overly so. They do a better job of explaining it through the comic book itself. 

The high and low of it are that Tom is the main character in the old 60's style comic and while the comic is going on, obviously there are riff bubbles included with the dialogue bubbles of the comic. Now, the real question is, how does this hold up?

​

The Grading

Obviously, there are highs and lows in this. You don't take such a ridiculous concept such as this without getting a few knocks on your noggin along the way. First of all, the artwork is absolutely stunning. Not only are the issue's normal panels beautifully done, but the old 60's style comic looks exactly like the real deal. Yes, Johnny Jason Teen Reporter is a real comic, they are riffing on the second issue of the comic. However, Tom and the bots are perfectly melded with the background characters, and for some reason putting Tom's head on the main character's body has worked very well. It honestly shouldn't, but it does. The riffs are funny, and honestly made me laugh out loud a couple of times. However...

Some things about the comic didn't click very well. First off, sometimes they did a little too much in the ways of editing the comic itself. It wasn't really all that fashionably great to stick Kinga and Max in with the product placement for Totino's Pizza Rolls (©Totinos). That part got a little off the beaten path. Other than that, sometimes they over riff a few of the panels and fall a little short on the rule "less is more." 

Beyond all that, I will say that I loved the overall set up of the comic itself. They left off on the end of the actual comic, and we haven't even seen Jonah or Crow yet. Obviously, each riffed comic issue is going to be something like a story arc for an actual super hero comic. How they're going to handle host segments and the like is anyone's guess.

It was a complete success as far as I'm concerned. If they keep up this kind of quality in their work, it wouldn't be a surprise if they lasted a good long while with this. The best bet is if all of the MSTies banded together once again to help keep this series going. Just stop by your local comic book store and be sure to pick up a copy, see for yourself.  

MSt3K - 1114 - At the Earth's Core

 

                                              Look, being our prisoner is more of a suggestion

The Experiment

The final installment of season 11 deals a great bit with the last part of the original series in the form of the Observers. This is a big part of what is wrong with the new series. They feel that they need to bring back so much stuff when they could have easily left it along and went off on their own. The Observers look terrible! They look hastily put together, their brains are nothing more than rubber toys held in their hands and not brain pans! It's supposed to draw us more into the mythos of the show, but it only serves to do the opposite.

The part where Pearl crashes the party with Bobo and Brainguy is probably the highlight of the whole thing. Though it would have been nice to have Brainguy converse with some of his own kind, as they are all in the same room as him.

Either way, I will not have any spoilers for the actual ending of the episode, all of that will be handled at a later time in a different blog.

Beyond that, there's Joel McHale... that's something.

At the Earth's Core

Two scientists go down into the Earth's core using a drilling machine only to find a completely different world. This new world is nothing like they expected and has creatures of a dangerous nature that take humans as prisoners and slaves. Now they must find their way out.

What makes this movie bad?

Even for back in 1976, this movie was an old and tired concept. Drilling into the Earth's core was in no way breaking any new ground nor was it pulled off any better than its many predecessors. Back in the early days of color films with sound, they simply didn't have the technology to pull off this concept. This movie didn't do a terrible job of it, but they also didn't do well enough to justify its creation.

This movie was decent at least. The creatures looked pretty good and the acting wasn't awful. Peter Cushing does a good job and Doug McClure is... there.

The Riffs

While the riffs are up to par, they just don't compensate for the lack of interest in the film itself. The film just isn't overly bad or interesting enough to make the riffing stand out in any way, shape or form. The creatures are pretty neat and they generate some good riffs. However, it would be pretty hard to do this episode any real justice.

The Episode

This episode is ripe with problems and is honestly a pretty bad way to end the season. The ending mixed with the execution of the wedding ceremony along with a bland film sequence just makes this an overall dismal experience. They could have ended on something of a high note in some way, but they took the low road in every sense. However, that is to say that it isn't a horrible episode. It has merit and it's still MST3K so it has that going for it. Overall, it's still watchable and you'll still laugh, so it's best to make the best of it as it is something of a required watch if you're wanting to finish the season.

MST3K - 1113 - The Christmas That Almost Wasn't

 

                                                     And every Santa comes with a warranty!

The Experiment

Joel promised us a Christmas episode, and he made good on his promise. Everyone is in the Christmas spirits, except for Kinga of course. All she cares about is planning her wedding with Jonah.

The host segments are good! They're all what you'd expect from a Christmas episode. They're heart warming, charming, and just good fun.

Joel plays Santa Claus and he is annoyed with having to take care of a childish man lawyer from the movie. It is truly a great moment when we see the founder of the feast back in action and in front of the camera where he belongs!

The Christmas that Almost Wasn't

A zillionaire has bought the North Pole, which includes Santa Claus's property. Now he finds himself owing money that he does not have to a man who wishes to ruin Christmas. Can Santa pay the rent?

What makes this movie bad?

It's not bad at all, in fact, I would go so far as to say it's a good movie. It's full of Christmas cheer and cheesy whimsy like it should be. The acting is what you'd expect and the atmosphere is so full of holiday goodness you could just burst!

That is to say, it has certain things about it that are a little irking to the brain. The idea that someone could possibly own the rights to the North Pole is especially dumb, since no one in their right mind could possibly buy it to begin with. No lawyer worth their weight would even touch this case with a ten foot pole. Then comes the thought of the nefarious villain in this flick pulling off his ill-thought up plans. This was a bit of a stretch in terms of plot points. Then there's the title. The Christmas that almost Wasn't is a bit of a spoiler, is it not?

The Riffs

The riffs are, once again, on point! Every single main and side character featured here are ripe for riffing in every glorious way. Though the movie's quality is not bad, the riffing still works so well because of the jolly, corny nature. The songs that they burst into throughout the film get ripped apart and it's wondrous!

The Episode

It's more or less your standard Christmas episode, and they're always good. Not only did we get a new Hercules movie, new Fantasy movie, new Sci-fi movie, now we get a whole new Christmas genre and it fits right in with the likes of Santa Claus Conquers the Martians and Santa Claus!

Joel gets his return, everyone gets presents, we get fantastic riffs and a good bit of whimsical, glorious cheer! A great episode for the tail end of a Christmas marathon watch!

MST3K - 1112 - Carnival Magic

 

                                                                Oh, look, he can breathe!

The Experiment

This episode is ripe for the gags and the crew of the SOL takes full advantage of this.

One very funny segment is one where Tom presents the talking chimp, Crow. It perfectly satirizes the movie as a whole and how lame the premise truly is. Then there comes the segment where Tom and Crow are sitting in their cop cars and making up stupid metaphors for nonsensical calls to dispatch. Both segments are vastly amusing.

However, this episode is also notable for being the episode featuring Mark Hamill as a carnival manager wanting to purchase Tom and Crow. Again, we see a great talent go to waste in this very mediocre scene. He plays his part well, but his part is tiny and meaningless while also not really getting any laughs. Still, Mark Hamill is very public about being a MSTie.

Carnival Magic

A failing carnival finds out that the magician in their show has a talking chimpanzee. The magician saves their show, but the chimp is stolen by scientists for testing.

What makes this movie bad?

This movie is a hard one. The acting is nonexistent all around, the storyline is paper-thin and the pacing snail-paced. It's honestly hard to explain. Things just seem to happen for no reason and sideplots that get started just taper off, never to be seen again.

Let's be honest, there is no explaining it. This movie is a very different kind of bad. It's not as bad as Manos or Castle Fu Manchu, but it is definitely not an enjoyable kind of bad. It's unique, but not the kind of unique that should be replicated, it is the kind of unique that is to be studied and thoroughly avoided.

The Riffs

Despite how bad it is, the riffs are quite good. They play to the stupidity very well and they rarely missed a beat when it came to calling the movie out on its BS. The riffs are good, but the movie is still very bad. The stupidity of the chimp and his owner's condescending nature are perfect riffing fodder. The carnival manager's loser nature is also a strong source of the gags, as he's quite the slob that even Freud would be hesitant to analyze.

The Episode

The host segments are fantastic and the riffing is something to behold. However, the horrific quality of the movie is very hard to overlook. It is a mixed bag of an episode. The cringe factor of the movie is overwhelming in well over half the scenes. The SOL crew do their best with it, and it shows, but you can't make gold out of dirt. It still deserves silver, though.

MST3K - 1111 - Wizards of the Lost Kingdom II

 

                                                        How much beer can I get for this?

The Experiment

Right off the bat, we see that it's raining in space, and raining on the moon, preventing Jonah and the bots from going outside. It's not only funny to note that it can't rain in space, but it's also a throwback to the times that it snowed in space in the earlier seasons and also the Satellite of Love was on fire... in space.

A host segment that shines bright among the rest is Jonah's video instructional video on Dark One's Renaissance Bar and Grille. His easy steps of killing patrons and stealing money from customers is an absolute joy. The Mads also have some amusing interviews to praise the bar and grille.

The host segment that shines for a different reason is another appearance from Pearl Forrester and her goons. This one handles a great deal better than the last scene with the former Mads. It's not only better, but it is something of a milestone for being the first episode where a Mad, Kinga Forrester decides to marry a test subject, Jonah Heston to boost their ratings. The fact that Pearl appreciates the depravity of Kinga's reasons is a serious point of hilarity.

Wizards of the Lost Kingdom II

An old, broken down wizard is charged with finding and training the chosen one in the ways of magic. Together, they must take down three warlords and recover three powerful artifacts in order to bring peace back to the land.

What makes this movie bad?

First of all, this movie has nothing to do with Wizards of the Lost Kingdom other than having the same name. Second of all, this movie is worse than the first.

If you thought Simon from the first movie was bad, this new kid is far worse. He is whiny, painfully stupid, a terrible actor and only shows bits of endearment when it calls for it in the story. Tyor is a textbook example of characters that should not have succeeded in any facet of their quest.

Every single scene has something to cringe at. Whether it be airheaded damsels in distress, laughable costumes or overacting side characters.

The only real redeeming quality of this movie is David Carradine in another B movie role to make up for the fact that his career tanked after he walked away from Kung Fu.

The Riffs

The riffs are fantastic in this movie. Our generous hosts bounce jokes off of this movie like a ball and it is glorious! It can be argued that this experiment is not as funny as the first Wizards of the Lost Kingdom riffing, but it is also no slouch. It is still hilarious and brings a great bunch of gags to the table.

Obviously, this movie was compared to the first one and even Jonah admitted that he would rather follow Simon and Kor. Despite that, they killed this movie with their jokes and it was all kinds of fun to watch.

The Episode

This episode is a joy! It succeeds in both host segments and riffing. The best thing about it is that it feels like a great continuation of the fantasy movie genre in the series. After the great win that Wizards of the Lost Kingdom was, this was definitely a great follow-up. This episode was definitely a level of gold!

MST3K - 1110 - Wizards of the Lost Kingdom

 

                                                            This is not what it looks like...

The Experiment

The experiment opens with Max writing in his journal about his deep love for Kinga Forrester. This is concluded with him discovering something of a mechanical monstrosity that he now controls thanks to a giant key he found. Obviously, this pertains to a large plot point in the 11th season.

As host segments go, this episode does not disappoint. There are some gems to be found through and through. Most of these are having to do with the child star from the movie, Simon. Tom Servo does a spectacular job playing a parody of the young wizard in two different segments.

The first segment Tom plays the whiny little pest, he raises his own undead army (which is just a line of undead Crows) and is not happy with the results. Jonah comes in playing Kor and sings a song satirizing magical powers as a form of puberty. The segment is very well done as it shows a comical relationship between Jonah and Tom to great effect.

The second host segments with Tom playing Simon is Jonah's suicide cavern as more of a theme park attraction. Servo's whiny reactions are pretty damn funny when he finds trouble.

Wizards of the Lost Kingdom

An evil warlord attacks and conquers a Kingdom, killing the king and the head wizard. Before his death, the wizard sends his son, Simon away to find his own path to fight and avenge his lost home. He teams up with his furry white bestial friend and Kor the Conqueror, a middle aged warrior to find his way back.

What makes this movie bad?

This movie is one of those cheap, stock fantasy movies in the vain of Deathstalker and the Warriors from Hell. The storyline is directionless, the characters are generic tropes and the fights are laughably awful with no choreography to speak of. Speaking of Deathstalker, we see the return of the villainous Thom Christopher (who sadly does not have the same beats from his last antagonist role) plays the same exact part.

The movie is filled with padding in the form of their journey and stock villains. The fights end before they even begin and there is even a brief, useless sideplot involving a cyclops which is resolved in five minutes.

The whole thing makes no sense, the villainous underlings can be killed by a pillow and the story is so short-sighted that you can't help but laugh at its ineptitude.

The Riffs

Out of all of the season 11 experiments, Wizards of the Lost Kingdom boasts some of the best overall. The movie is so easy to make fun of, and Jonah and the bots take full advantage, touching on pretty much every point to amazing effect. It is a laugh riot and not a scene goes by that there isn't at least five high caliber riffs going with it.

It is a great set of riffs and arguably the funniest of season 11.

The Episode

This is a must-see. It is the best of the season, and arguably one of the best of the MST fantasy genre. The host segments are fantastic, the movie is a perfect storm of terrible and the riffing does not slouch in the least. Do not wait, go watch this episode as fast as you possibly can and find out how amazing a stock movie swords and sorcery romp can be.

MST3K - 1109 - Yongary: Monster from the Deep

 

                                                Now, what shall I grind to make my bread?

The Experiment

The experiment itself is quite unremarkable, to be completely frank. Other than the fact that the Mads, Kinga and Max, created the invention of Hitler Coffee, which gave them Hitler mustaches once they drank it. Not an especially funny joke, but it was enough to stand out in the episode.

Yongary: Monster of the Deep

After a journey out into space, there are earthquakes happening in Seoul, Korea that turn out to be a giant dinosaur-like creature that rampages through the city. A scientist, teamed up with the leaders of the country attempt to stop this menace using the power of friendship.

What makes this movie bad?

Though, we normally get Japanese movies when it comes to Asian films, this episode is quite a good departure. It's got the normal cheese that comes with the genre, bad lip syncing, strange children, giant reptilian monsters, and toy tanks for the monster to step on. Despite the movie being Korean, it shares a great deal with the Japanese monster genre, and is an obvious knockoff of Godzilla.

Some people love this genre, and some people avoid it like the plague. If you are a fan of the Godzilla and Gamera MST films, then this will be a breath of fresh air for you.

The Riffs

As "good" as the movie is, the riffs are good, but not especially up there as far as the standard goes. It definitely has its own running gag with "CAPSULE!" and the riffs on the monster and the annoying kid are thoroughly amusing. However, that's about all it has going for it.

The overall riffing is pretty strong, but as far as putting you in hysterics, it could do that, but it could also be categorized as rather generic.

The Episode

It's good to have another giant monster flick to add to the roster. For those of you MSTies who love the Asian films, this one will not disappoint, but there are several more memorable experiments in the same group. Definitely give it a watch as it will tickle your fancy, but don't expect too much.

MST3K - 1108 - The Loves of Hercules

 

                                             Actually, don't cut me loose, this is quite relaxing.

The Experiment

There are three standout host segments in this episode. Two are hilarious, while the third is absolutely grating. The host segments are normally not especially memorable in this show, but sometimes they are so unique that many people will think about them before they even think of what happened during the movie viewing itself. This is one of those episodes.

The first notable segment comes in the form of the "catapulting torture" where Jonah is tied up and forced to have random things thrown at him by a tiny flinging mechanism. He is prosecuted for several random acts of annoyance and the execution of this gag is actually thoroughly entertaining to watch.

Next comes the gossiping Greek robot women in the form of Tom, Crow and Gypsy. It's a very funny bit, but what really shows it up among all of the other segments is the introduction and very quick exit of a new bot named M. Waverly. He comes in and attempts to flirt with the other bots, only to be met with aggression and a beating.

Then there is the not so great segment; the segment that they seemingly ran out of ideas for what to do. The final host segment after the credits roll on the movie, everyone sings at a high octave. They sing at a high octave, and that's it. They do this until the credits roll on the episode and it's grating. They obviously weren't trying to actually sing, they were just trying to go for being funny. This segment is definitely the worst host segment so far in the season.

The Loves of Hercules

The wife of Hercules is killed by a King, who is then killed by Licos so that he can succeed the king. As Hercules seeks his revenge, he finds himself in the middle of a devious plot to gain the throne and he falls in love with the current heir, Queen Deianera. In an effort to snare her love, Hercules must go through trials and battles to save the land from those who would usurp its control.

What makes this movie bad?

This movie is another example of pure cheesy joy and finds itself among the former MSTed Hercules movies, as they have become something of an MST genre all themselves. The plot is wonky and kind of hard to follow, taking stupid twists and turns that are simply there to pad out its time. However, it is entertaining, and not as boring as one would expect.

One especially comical exert from the movie comes in the form of the hydra scene. Hercules must fight an especially fake looking monster and try to kill it without laughing his ass off at the pathetically cheap, giant prop. It's just a ton of stupid fun by and by.

The Riffs

The greatest riffs, as with most of the Herculean films, comes from the title character. His nipples are tiny, he is very soft spoken, and his moral compass is so bent out of shape that his actions can be compared to that of a bipolar sociopath.

The riffs as a whole are fantastic. They only dip in quality here and there, but they pick up very quickly and quite often invoke a great deal of guffaws. These are not the greatest bunch of riffs ever seen, but the tone matches the pallet for a great result.

The Episode

A fantastic return to the Herculean Genre for the MST3K crew! Just when we thought that we saw the last Hercules movie on the show, here we see that they picked it right back up in their first returning season! This episode is great through and through, despite the sour ending segment. This is a proud addition to the Hercules collection and a definite recommendation to watch and laugh.

MST3K - 1107 - The Land That Time Forgot

 

                                                 And you're sure this is where you saw the bee?

The Experiment

The experiment itself is nothing to write home about. However, one interesting note about this episode is that it brings to light how Kinga gets her invention ideas. Apparently, the reason she did not have an invention in the first episode was because she was waiting to steal ideas from the experiments. She used riffs from the previous movie they viewed to gain "inspiration" for her next episode's invention. Crow is the one who calls her out on this, and she does not even attempt to deny it, in fact she seems rather proud of this fact.

Other than the cleverly gagged fast food that Kinga and Max come up with, this episode doesn't really have all that many standout host segments. They come and go, and none of them are bad, they simply don't leave much of an impression.

The Land That Time Forgot

A Uboat crashes, and the survivors find themselves on a prehistoric island where dinosaurs still roam. They struggle to fight off cavemen, deadly monsters and an unforgiving wild terrain.

What makes this movie bad?

I'm sorry, what? Oh, I'm sorry, this movie was so boring, I forgot I was writing a review. Where was I?

Yeah, it's that bad. After watching this movie, you will probably be hard pressed to recall any actual details or characters. It's all so bland and boring with a generic plot that you quickly forget about it soon after a viewing. You've seen this movie seven thousand times before, and while it is not especially awful, it is especially... Zzzzzz

The Riffs

Sadly, this movie was not helped a great deal by Jonah and the bots. As the host segments were somewhat forgettable, so too was the jokes. There are some funny ones, don't get me wrong, it's not without its merits, it simply doesn't shine in any way shape or form. You'll get some great riffs and the laughs come and go. Just don't expect the revisit this one very often.

The Episode

Obviously, this episode does not impress. It is not a bad episode, but it certainly isn't considered good either. The movie isn't annoying enough to be painful to watch, but the riffs are not remarkable enough to stop your breathing for any amount of time. It's worth a watch, but at best, it's worth revisiting to try and recap anything about it.