Rating: 
Summary: another great from rhino
Review: i'm a "glass is half full" guy. most mst3k fans can't help but wish that rhino owned the rights to more episodes than they do. however, let us be thankful that they DO own the rights to the absolutely ESSENTIAL episodes such as "manos", "red zone cuba", "eegah", and of course..."mitchell." now if they could only get "monster a go-go"...i still recommend manos over all other episodes, but mitchell is also a true joy. joe don baker is perhaps the most loathed actor ever to appear in an mst3k film, and joel and the bots show him no mercy (neither do mike and the bots in the much later episode "final justice"). mitchell also has historical importance in the history of the show because it is the last episode to feature joel. one of the reasons i don't recommend this over manos, especially for new people, is that some of the humor surrounding joel's departure, especially the ridiculously obscure "7 faces of doctor lu" reference is off-putting. but all that aside, the riffing in mitchell is hilarious, and the fact that it's a relatively modern movie for comedy central-era mst3k makes mitchell easy to digest, unlike the meal joe don scarfs down in the movie while merlin olsen plays butler. my recommendation for NEW fans (i figure most MSTies own this or know it by heart already): pick up manos, red zone cuba, wild world of batwoman, and then check out mitchell. don't worry, you'll end up buying them all eventually anyway...
Rating:
Summary: The funniest darn thing I've ever seen.
Review: I'm a huge fan of these guys. The team of writers for this show are so talented it's sick. I was a huge fan when MST3K was on TV, and I have a bunch of the episodes on tape. Of all of them, this is the one I return to most. The wonderful movie for Joel's farewell episode is Mitchell, some kind of lame cop-action-thing with a stupid plot revolving around drugs and prostitutes and Joe Don Baker's hideous acting. Perfect ammunition for Joel & co. to unleash one of the finest barrages of jokes in the entire series! You can tell the writers had fun with this movie. So much of it lends itself to insult: Joe Don Baker acting like he suffers from acute retardation; Mitchell's drinking problem; Mitchell's face; Mitchell's disturbing sexual relationship with his prostitute; Mitchell's big belly; Mitchell's driving skills; Mitchell's drinking problem; Mitchell shooting guns; Mitchell fighting; Mitchell's theme song; Mitchell trying to be tough...it goes on. This one will have you laughing yourself into a seizure every few seconds. The jokes come so fast that it's impossible to take it all in. I've seen this episode about a dozen times over the years but I still hear things I missed before. Buy it and smile.
Rating:
Summary: MITCHELL is fabulous!!!
Review: This was one of the first MST3K episodes I ever saw and it remains very dear to my heart and high on my list of all-time favorites. Joe Don Baker is a big fat turd in this movie and it's funny. That's pretty much how you sum it up. Highlights include the Mitchell theme song as sung by the robots, the "wockachicka" music, the 10 mph car chase, Mitchell's slutty girlfriend played by Linda Evans whom he beds and then throws in the slammer, and an endless string of fat jokes. Buy it!
Rating:
Summary: Ewwwwww!
Review: If you took Clint Eastwood's Harry Callahan and made him overweight, unhygienic, twice as rude, and only about two-thirds as good a cop, you'd have a pretty good approximation of Joe Don Baker's Mitchell, one of the most unattractive movie 'heroes' in all of MSTie-dom (and that's saying a lot). When life gives you lemonade, a film like 'Mitchell' is enough to turn it back into lemons again. Joel and The Bots (J&TB) do a great job giving this turkey the riffing it deserves, but the episode is bittersweet, since it's Joel's final appearance on the Satellite of Love (save for a cameo in one of the Sci-Fi Channel episodes). "Mitchell' and the episode that followed, 'The Brain that Wouldn't Die' are must-haves for MSTies because of their place in the history of the series. But this episode is also a great performance in its own right, and one you'll watch over and over again -- in spite of the unpleasantness surrounding Joe Don Baker and some baby oil.
Rating:
Summary: Joe Don Baker IS Mitchell
Review: A very sad day in the MSTie universe. This show marks the LAST appearance of Joel Hodgeson as "Joel" BUT does introduce us to Mike Nelson as "Mike" so all is not lost. Joel's departure from the SOL marks the saddest moment in T.V. history (apart from the last episode of "Little House on the Prairie" you know, the one where they blow up all the houses! Shocking! Really, it happened!) The movie itself can only be described as "White-trash-sploitation." Joe Don Baker is the ever un-cuddly Mitchell who has to stake out some heroin smugglers or investigate the murder of a Mexican thief or something and sleep with Linda Evans (BABY OIL!) and get in a heliocopter-aeroplane and hit a boat with a thing and drive an old-lady to someplace with a box and Andy Kaufman chases him with the gun and then the "Cop-and-a-Half" kid starts yelling and something else and it's all good. A must see! And don't forget, "Booze IS good food!" END
Rating:
Summary: THE QUINTESSENTIAL MST!
Review: NO FAN LIBRARY OF MST3K IS COMPLETE WITHOUT MITCHELL. This is the best of all Mystery Science Theatre 3000 episodes and is a great point to reach the mark. This was Joel Hodgson (creator)'s last episode and Michael Nelson (head writer)'s first episode as soon-to-be protagonist. Of course, this shuffle is nice but what makes MST work are the laughs. And boy does Mitchell pack them on (just like Joe Don Baker packs down the chow in the famous dinner sequence). "Pass that bone marrow." I've never seen the actual movie Mitchell but I have to say that I'm sure the MST3K writing crew do it a whole lot of justice in this version. Check it out and try and hold back your laughter as you ask yourself...How can Joe Don Baker, Linda Evans, John Saxon, Merlin Olsen, and Martin Balsom be trapped in this god forsaken film...OK well maybe not Joe Don. MITCHELL! It's 90 minutes of guaranteed laughter that even non-MST fans will enjoy. Now if only I can figure out all this talk about "Lastretta and Galano" (watch the movie and you'll get the joke). All I can say now is, "Where is the DVD version?"
Rating:
Summary: Hysterical episode, and an important piece of MST3K history
Review: "Mitchell" is a watershed episode in the history of the classic TV comedy, "Mystery Science Theater 3000." For those of you unfamiliar with this amazing program, it's a ninety-minute program featuring a silhouette of a man and two robots watching a really awful movie and providing wisecracking, culturally savvy, and bitingly satiric commentary. With sketches and songs inserted at movie breaks, "Mystery Science Theater 3000" (or MST3K for short) is one of the most delightful and hysterical comedy shows ever created. And "Mitchell," broadcast in the middle of the fifth season, is one of the big moments in the show's history; it marks the departure of the show's creator and host, Joel Robinson, and the introduction of Mike Nelson as the new host. When first watching the episode, it's easy to overlook the movie and commentary and concentrate on the running subplot in the host segments about Joel escaping the ship. I won't spoil anything about it, but it's both funny and touching. Joel's farewell is a heartfelt moment and has a special place in the hearts of many MST3K fans who felt the show was never the same without him. (I personally like Mike a lot too, but there was a wonderful, laid-back 'family' feeling to the Joel episodes). But even if this episode were not a turning point in the show's history, it would probably still be considered one of the great episodes. "Mitchell" has become a classic movie for MST3K fans: an icky, cheap-looking, boring, incomprehensible cop "thriller" released to theaters in 1975. (And yes, despite the made-for-TV look, it really was in cinemas. I found old ads for it in the New York Times!) The commentary from Joel and the 'Bots on this one is hilarious. This is a very 'character' driven episode, with Joel and the 'Bots dismantling the film's cast of unappealing personas, principally the title character, a zero-hero police detective played by Joe Don Baker. Mitchell is a smelly, stupid, boozy loser who the film tries to present as a loner hero against the system as he tries to take down a heroin ring and bust a trade-union lawyer who shot a burglar in the back (no, the two plots have nothing to do with one another). The story makes pretty much no sense at all, with long scenes of dialogue containing strings of similar sounding names that don't mean a thing to the audience (Gallano, Mistretta, Deaney). There's hardly any action; mostly Mitchell sits outside drug dealer Martin Balsam's house and occasionally has dinner with him and irritates his butler Merlin Olsen. There's a car chase, but according to Crow, "It makes 'Driving Miss Daisy' look like 'Bullitt'!" John Saxon is in the movie someplace, although I can't tell you for the life of me what he does. And through it all slouches the unbelievably unappealing Joe Don Baker. The love scene between him and Linda Evans will turn even the strongest stomach. And for some reason, Hoyt Axton sings the theme song. ("HOYT, HOW COULD YOU?") Yessir, this one's a classic: great wisecracking for a wonderfully awful film, and a important moment in the show's history. The DVD contains no extras except for the original theatrical trailer for "Mitchell" (did ANYONE really want to see this film when it came out?), but this is a must-have for MST3K fans. Non-fans may want to experience a few Joel episodes before seeing this so they have a frame of reference for the story, but it's unquestionably one of the definitive episodes of the show.
Rating:
Summary: another great from rhino
Review: i'm a "glass is half full" guy. most mst3k fans can't help but wish that rhino owned the rights to more episodes than they do. however, let us be thankful that they DO own the rights to the absolutely ESSENTIAL episodes such as "manos", "red zone cuba", "eegah", and of course..."mitchell." now if they could only get "monster a go-go"... i still recommend manos over all other episodes, but mitchell is also a true joy. joe don baker is perhaps the most loathed actor ever to appear in an mst3k film, and joel and the bots show him no mercy (neither do mike and the bots in the much later episode "final justice"). mitchell also has historical importance in the history of the show because it is the last episode to feature joel. one of the reasons i don't recommend this over manos, especially for new people, is that some of the humor surrounding joel's departure, especially the ridiculously obscure "7 faces of doctor lu" reference is off-putting. but all that aside, the riffing in mitchell is hilarious, and the fact that it's a relatively modern movie for comedy central-era mst3k makes mitchell easy to digest, unlike the meal joe don scarfs down in the movie while merlin olsen plays butler. my recommendation for NEW fans (i figure most MSTies own this or know it by heart already): pick up manos, red zone cuba, wild world of batwoman, and then check out mitchell. don't worry, you'll end up buying them all eventually anyway...
Rating:
Summary: BYE-BYE JOEL
Review: It seems they saved the best for last--for Joel Hodgson that is. MITCHELL is the ultimate in the bad made-for-tv movie that doubled as a pilot that thankfully never took off. All of which makes perfect fuel for Joel and the 'bots to tear into. It seems there is no end to the laughs and to the bad taste. Joe Don Baker is an absolute slob, and the fat jokes are deserved--the PC be damned! I also liked this episode for the spotlight on Gypsy's rescue of Joel in a crate of Hamdingers! My favorite moment is the horrific scene where Joe Don Baker's revolver slowly, unbearably rolls down the inside of his pants' leg, like some demonic sex organ or, worse, a product of incontinence. The screams from Joel and the 'bots are perfectly suited for the bad joke.
Rating:
Summary: The best MSTK3 episode ever!
Review: This is the episode that converted me over to MSTK3.They give poor Joe Don Baker hell but he deserves it for a funny turkey like this.Every time I need a laugh or feel bad this makes me laugh till i'm in tears. This is $20 bucks well spent. My only complaint with the DVD is that the original version of mitchell wasn't included. MMMIII-TTCHELL!
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