DVD Review: Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume XVII

Mystery Science Theater 3000 enjoyed a 10 year run that spanned 3 stations and a major theatrical release that is still one of my personal favorite comedy movies (Shame on you Universal for not giving it a Blu Ray with Extra features!) From day one the crew has always encouraged fans to tape the shows and pass them around, which created a word of mouth campaign that was a fantastic precursor to today’s viral marketing. So here we are over 20 years later and the show still enjoys a huge fanbase, with most of the cast is still doing their thing through either Rifftrax or Cinematic Titanic. One of the best things to happen to Mystery Science Theater 3000 in recent history was the DVD rights going to Shout! Factory, who thus far have put a lot of care into their releases to insure they look great.

There are 4 discs in this box set, each one containing a movie, the movie’s original trailer and a bonus feature or two. First up is The Crawling Eye, a painful Sci-Fi B movie, rendered watchable only because of the MST3K track. Most notable about this episode is that it was the first episode to air nationally on Comedy Channel back in 1989. The Crawling Eye is the story of a creature that is beheading mountain climbers at a resort in Switzerland and the group of heros including F Troops Forest Tucker who band together to fight it. Sound exciting? Well it isn’t but the guys help pass the runtime with a pretty good riff. The jokes are a little more sparse than in later episodes, as everyone was still settling into the show.

The other Joel Robinson (Joel Hodgson) hosted episode is the black and white thriller (/sarcasm), The Beatniks. One of the more forgettable movies that the trio has riffed, The Beatniks is the story of Eddie Crane, a streetwise punk who’s chance encounter with a recording agent lands him a singing career. Held back by his gang of beatniks, Eddie is torn between starting a new life and staying loyal to his crew. This episode also features an ancient serial clip of General Hospital that the trio tear apart. I think that one of the things that makes for a good episode is a movie that watchably bad. The Beatniks is on the outer edge of watchably bad but I don’t think I would make it through more than 15 minutes of the movie without Joel, Crow and Tom Servo adding their unique commentary.

The third entry in the set is a cheezy monster movie that I would probably watch with or without the commentary just for the unintentionally funny running commentary by Dr. Z (Marshall Grauer himself. Inexplicably, somehow Dr. Z is short for Doctor Kurt Leopold. The Bloody Waters of Doctor Z episode lets Mike Nelson and the ‘bots have a field day with this low budget stinker about a deranged scientist with a plot to kill those who stood in the way of his life’s work. His life’s work by the way is a chemical called Zaat, that will combine humans and walking catfish into a mutated, super strong creature who can survive in or out of the water. With no funding, the only logical thing to do is to use the Zaat on yourself and go on a killing spree! The trio do a great job of bringing the funny to the movie, Crow takes up chewing tobacco and Brain Guy and Bobo get nude for the big finale.

I saved the best for last with this set. The fourth episode included in Mystery Science Theater 3000 Volume 17 is my favorite episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000′s 10 year run, The Final Sacrifice. This is one of the few home taped VHS tapes that I still own (well it’s in the trash now that I have the dvd…) and one that I have watched a lot. This said, the quality of the DVD was so much of an upgrade that it was a new fun experience for me. Basicall this Canadian low budget masterpiece is the story of Troy Mcgreggor (Christian Malcolm ), a young orphan who’s father was killed by a cult of black tanktop wearing masked Canadians from Alberta. After he finds a crudely drawn map that belonged to his father, Troy is pursued by the cult members and ends up in the back of a broken down pickup truck owned by alcoholic Zap Rowsdower (Bruce J. Mitchell). Since he has nothing else going on, Zap helps Troy try to evade the cult and find the secret city identified on the map. The episode starts out a little slow but about an hour into it the grizzled prospector like character Mike Pipper (Ron Anderson) is introduced for some of the funniest moments of all time. Once you add in Tom Servo’s musical ode to Canada and the contagious Hockey Hair outbreak, you have the perfect MST3K episode. The DVD of Final Sacrifice also includes an interview with Zap himself, actor Bruce Mitchell. Now if Shout! Factory will just include the Gorgo episode, which guest starred Leonard Maltin, in their next set…

I own a few sets of Mystery Science Theater from both Shout! Factory and Rhino and I have to say that hands down this is my favorite compilation to date. The extras are a little light but overall this is an excellent mixture of both Joel Hodgson and Michael Nelson episode, including the inaugeral Comedy Central episode, The Crawling Eye. If you are not familiar with Mystery Science Theater, this is a good set with which to start, just make sure you begin with The Final Sacrifice.

Bonus Features:

Introduction to The Crawling Eye by Joel Hodgson
Crow vs. Crow at Dragoncon ’09
Mystery Science Theater Hours: The Beatniks
Interview with Bruce Mitchell from Final Sacrifice
Blood Waters of Dr. Z photo gallery
4 Collectible Mini-posters of the cover art

This set is a must have for all MST3K fans. Buy It!

Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume XVII is available starting on March 16th, courtesy of Shout! Factory Entertainment.