Rating: 
Summary: A Terrific Set
Review: Like all of the other MST3K boxed sets released by Rhino, this is an absolute must-have for any fans of the show.
"The Unearthly," starring John Carradine and Tor Johnson, is a ridiculous, slow-moving horror film, notable mostly because Tor reprises his "Lobo" role from Ed Wood's "Bride of the Monster." The MST3K version has an amusing "The Many Faces of Tor Johnson" intermission segment.
"Sidehackers" stars Ross Hagen from "The Hellcats," and is a relatively early MST3K episode. It's an utterly revolting biker movie that inspires some great wisecracks.
"Atomic Brain" is another revolting movie, about an old lady looking at lovely ladies to find a good enough body to put her brain in. The best riffing is usually about the old lady's poor posture.
The DVDs are all in their original 1.33:1 aspect ratio. The movie segments look fairly poor - as they always have - but the intermission scenes look bright and sharp. Some extra footage has been included as a special feature, but this is mostly just alternate takes of the intermission scenes.
Rating:
Summary: A real MST treat!
Review: Make some popcorn and get ready to laugh! John Carradine mailed in his horrible performance in "The Unearthly". Thor the wrestler (you might remember him from Plan 9 From Outer Space)outdid his role by actually having four lines in the whole movie!
"Sidehackers" is a real hoot! It's such a stinker it should come with a clothes pin for your nose. The bots are in rare form! I loved the "Shorts" the best. My stomach hurt from laughing so hard! Thanks for the fun guys!
Rating:
Summary: Can't stop laughing...
Review: MST3K is the best show on the TV today...Thank you Sci Fi...I have been watching this show whenever I get the chance and now that you can buy them on DVD is just great...Vol 3 is one of the better MST3K releases on DVD...The three movies are absolutely horrid but the hosts make you laugh so hard that you don't care anymore.."The Atomic Brain" is so mixed up with weird images and inept plot twists you can't help but shake your head and wonder how this ever got released..."The Unearthly" turns into a "Tor" celebration of sorts and Mr. Carradine just shines in this one..."Sidehackers" is pretty much a bomb after the opening credits... and the boys have a good time adding their comments to all three movies to our delight...I think the best of the disc set is the "Shorts"..."What To Do On a Date" and "A Day at the Fair" are pure hokey Americana in the 50's but Mike and the bots go the extra mile in making me laugh while watching these,they are a scream..."Last Clear Chance" is about car safety and trains, a cop bothers this farm family with advice to the new driver and it is very funny with Mike,Crow and Tom Servo ad libs...
A very good collection I thought,buy it today and laugh for a month...
Rating:
Summary: Great fare for all MSTies.
Review: On this dynamic 4 disc collection from our friends at Rhino we have The Sidehackers, which you would think is about people sidehacking(a type of motorcycle racing) but is really about a guy named Rommel (Ross Hagen) who runs into trouble with a psycho named JC. People are killed right and left but there wasn't enough sidehacking to be honest. the atomic brain- which features a dirty old woman who wants her brain transported to a young woman so she can live longer, this also features a great short about delinquency. The Unearthly- this film (the term is used lossely) features scientists looking for some kind of gland i think, the movie's so boring I frankly forgot, but it does feature posture pals and appreciating our parents 2 great shorts. Shorts 2- it gives us 6 slices of America in the 50's and 60's. We have Catching trouble in which an an animal hunter captures wild animals for the zoo. You'll be rooting for the animals within three seconds. What to do on a date- which features suggestions for dating like weenie roasts and scavenger sales. Last clear chance- In this awfully depressing short, a vaguely spooky state trooper warns of the dangers of ignoring traffic signs.(he spends a good amount of his time at a farm family's home, instead of patrolling the roads, oh, and the farm family doesn't seem to do any work on the farm) Anyway, this cop's advice in a nutshell is: Obey traffic signs or you'll die, unfortunatly one of the characters does not listen and, well, you can fill in the blanks. A day at the fair- a short following a farm family through a day at the fair. Propaganda for 4-H clubs. Keepiung clean and neat- a hygene short wherein you are instructed to be obsessive-compulsive about being clean and neat, oh, and your grooming ritual should last about six hours. The days of our years- A clergyman preaches against negligence on the job; be careful or you might end up like one of the people who are profiled. This is a good collection and should be on every MSTies list. It includes bloopers and outtakes from the show so you do get some good bonuses.
Rating: 
Summary: Rhino does what it can with what it has
Review: One fan asked 'why can't we have a boxed set with mike?' well first of all, mike IS the host for "the atomic brain" and several other rhino episodes available either individually or thru other box sets (brain that wouldn't die, wild world of batwoman, red zone cuba...) but the main thing is that rhino doesn't own any more rights! aside from "shorts v. 3" and "gunslinger," rhino has already released on dvd everything they own rights to. so i congratulate them on giving us digital mst3k. this box is especially cool because of the outtakes for each episode. personally, i wish they would have thrown in gunslinger instead of the shorts disc, but i guess most folks prefer shorts. as for the episodes themselves, this box is pretty significant:
sidehackers is one of the more popular early era eps and is arguably the first really strong episode in the chronology of the series (it was the 2nd ep of season 2) unearthly is one of the hundreds of dull gray sci-fi/horror films they've done, but it's made great (a.k.a. terrible) by the presence of tor johnson. the amazing colossol episode guide points out this film as one of the most torturous that the mst3k crew has ever done. atomic brain isn't really a stand out episode, but it is an early mike episode and the opening skit of crow and servo performing love letters is ridiculously funny. i don't like shorts because it's just recycled material...i've seen all of these on their original episodes, but it's good for a quick fix of mst3k maybe for newcomers. if you want to begin getting in to mst3k, i'd recommend this box, but first you should buy "manos the hands of fate" and "wild world of batwoman," both available on dvd!
Rating:
Summary: Rhino does what it can with what it has
Review: One fan asked 'why can't we have a boxed set with mike?' well first of all, mike IS the host for "the atomic brain" and several other rhino episodes available either individually or thru other box sets (brain that wouldn't die, wild world of batwoman, red zone cuba...) but the main thing is that rhino doesn't own any more rights! aside from "shorts v. 3" and "gunslinger," rhino has already released on dvd everything they own rights to. so i congratulate them on giving us digital mst3k. this box is especially cool because of the outtakes for each episode. personally, i wish they would have thrown in gunslinger instead of the shorts disc, but i guess most folks prefer shorts. as for the episodes themselves, this box is pretty significant:
sidehackers is one of the more popular early era eps and is arguably the first really strong episode in the chronology of the series (it was the 2nd ep of season 2) unearthly is one of the hundreds of dull gray sci-fi/horror films they've done, but it's made great (a.k.a. terrible) by the presence of tor johnson. the amazing colossol episode guide points out this film as one of the most torturous that the mst3k crew has ever done. atomic brain isn't really a stand out episode, but it is an early mike episode and the opening skit of crow and servo performing love letters is ridiculously funny. i don't like shorts because it's just recycled material...i've seen all of these on their original episodes, but it's good for a quick fix of mst3k maybe for newcomers. if you want to begin getting in to mst3k, i'd recommend this box, but first you should buy "manos the hands of fate" and "wild world of batwoman," both available on dvd!
Rating:
Summary: A Must Have
Review: Please Rhino, keep up the good work! Volume 3 is just as good as the other two! And I'll be counting the HOURS till volume 4! If only Rhino can get the rights to more episodes so these releases can last a lifetime! Please Rhino!
Rating:
Summary: Another Indispensible Collection from Rhino and Best Brains
Review: Rhino seems to be in somewhat of a hurry these days, releasing the latest MST3000 collection a scant two months after the release of the last collection. Usually they release new episodes at a leisurely pace, but who's complaining? Certainly not myself; I can't get enough of MST on DVD. This collection contains nothing that was not previously released on video. As there still remain a few video "stragglers" out there, such as "The Gunslinger" and Shorts, Vol. 3," I would expect these to be part of the next collection. Here is what you'll find in this volume:
* Episode 202- THE SIDEHACKERS (a really lousy motorcycle actioner, made watchable only through the presence of Joel and company.)
* Episode 320- THE UNEARTHLY (with shorts: Posture Pals and Appreciating Our Parents). John Carradine is an evil scientist. Tor Johnson is his helper. For all Tor Johnson fanatics everywhere. This contains Tor's memorable line, "Time for to go to bed."
• Episode 518- THE ATOMIC BRAIN (with short: What About Juvenile Delinquency?) Wonderful nonsense made even better by the MST crew. Imagine a mad scientist (no, not Dr. Forrester) placing the brain of a woman inside a cat. Has to bee sen to be fully appreciated.
•MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER: THE SHORTS, VOLUME 2 (featuring Catching Trouble, What To Do On A Date, Last Clear Chance, A Day At The Fair, Keeping Clean & Neat and The Days of Our Years). I always loved the shorts, as there was far more funny wise cracking - being that the shorts only lasted 10-15 minutes, not enough time to wear the gang down. These are also included in their own volume as a subtle remainder that you won't see the accompanying feature film in a future collection, mostly due to rights disputes. Check your handy MST Episode Guide to see what you'll be missing. Like the other collections, a bit pricey, but well worth it to avoid the agony when this goes out of print. I learneed my lesson when I didn't purchase "The Amazing Colossal Man." I could have gotten it when it contained "Mr. B Natural." Nope, I had to be cheap and wait around. I'll never make that mistake again, especially with something as valuable as this series.
Rating:
Summary: More shorts than a Daisy Duke convention!
Review: There's no "better" MST host for me - Joel and Mike were just great in different ways. I do believe, however, there was a dramatic dropoff after the switch to the Sci-Fi Channel. Mrs. Forrester and the Brain Guys were cringingly bad (though Bobo was funny) and Sci-Fi Channels' blanket "only sci-fi films" rule made sure that many golden opportunities were missed. Among them the educational shorts, which were the true highlights of the series for many MSTies.
The good news is that this set is filled with shorts. Even the poorer eps feature good shorts segments: 1) Sidehackers: Bad 70s era film centers around "sidehacking", an odd two-man motorcycle race that (thankfully) never caught on. Sidehacking footage only pads the film - the true plot involves Ross Hagen avenging the death of his ladyfriend. For whatever reason, we never see a death scene or body - the ladyfriend just disappears, and Crow INFORMS us that the woman was killed. It's a sad film that gets MSTied, but it's a sadder film when the bots must explain vital plot points. 2) The Unearthly: A largely forgettable film (starring John Carradine) wherein a scientist's failed anti-aging experiments cause the patient to turn into a California Raisin. Luckily this includes two great shorts: "Posture Pals" and "Appreciating Our Parents" 3) The Atomic Brain: Yet ANOTHER scientist tries anti-aging experiments, this time by transplanting an older woman's brian into a newly-deceased twentysomething hottie. When the scientist realizes that only live bodies will work, wackiness ensues! Includes the fine short "Juvenile Delinquency". 4) Shorts Part 2: The first part of this is in MST3K Vol 2, and if you have the Shorts VHS, this will be nothing new. Still, it offers the DVD advantage - no fast-forwarding to your favorite short. It's nice to even have the Shorts released, but it'd be better to have all of these in the same DVD set. All-in-all a great DVD pack with some choice segments - great for Shorts lovers. It's not the absolute dream set for any MSTie, but Rhino's clearly going to release the comedy gems sparingly. The marketing department can be a harsh mistress.
Rating:
Summary: Giving Bad Movies What They Deserve
Review: They could have given MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER VOLUME 3 the subheading of "Shorts", as there are more short films on offer here than in any previous box set, and most likely any future releases simply won't contain as many as there are here. There are nine short features here, six from the Shorts Vol. 2 disc, and three more scattered throughout the other three discs. I love the heckling that the MST3k crew give to those short packets of hilarity. While some films are able to transcend their time, the short films are intrinsically tied to the sillier aspects of decades past. Here are some quick comments on each of the discs: THE ATOMIC BRAIN: This is a film from that era of bad science fiction films where filmmakers put the word "atomic" in front of any dubious sounding scientific technobabble, hoping that this would somehow make the whole endeavor appear to be more scientific. In this film, a mad atomic scientist attempts to harness the power of the atom to atomically put an old woman's atomic brain into the atomic body of a young, sassy, atomic blonde. Features the short film WHAT ABOUT JUVENILE DELINQUENCY?, which only provokes me to wonder, "Well, what about it?" THE UNEARTHLY: More scientists here. This time they're trying to insert a new gland into human bodies so that people will live forever. Or something. If the back of the DVD box hadn't told me that this was a horror flick, I really wouldn't have noticed. Maybe someone forgot that "horror" and "boring" are different things. Also features the shorts, POSTURE PALS (teaches kids to mock the posture of their peers), and APPRECIATING OUR PARENTS (teaches kids to obey). Strangely, every film in this episode seemed to be filmed in Blue and White, rather than Black and White. THE SIDEHACKERS: Truly hilarious fare here. Grown-up idiots decide to risk life and limb by attaching shopping carts to the sides of their motorbikes and run them around in circles. There are also some subplots involving jealous lovers and mentally unstable cyclists. No sidehackers were harmed during the making of this movie, unfortunately. SHORTS, Vol. 2. Features the following short films: CATCHING TROUBLE (a 50's sadistic version of the Crocodile Hunter inflicts pain on helpless animals), WHAT TO DO ON A DATE (no, it's not what you think, and when you see who will be doing the dating, you'll be glad it's not what you think), LAST CLEAR CHANCE (teens + cars + moody cops = death), A DAY AT THE FAIR (old men like to show off their corn at the fair), KEEPING CLEAN & NEAT (teaches kids to clean their bedrooms by employing clever camera tricks; any kids without a film camera will remain unenlightened), and THE DAYS OF OUR YEARS (tells us why it's always the worker's fault when someone ends up dying on the job). Unfortunately, the original, uncut films aren't available as extras on this box set. To make up for this, those folks at Best Brains Inc. have included raw unedited footage and bloopers from the various host segments that appear in these episodes.
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