Rating: 
Summary: the review below
Review: I second a release of "Prince of Space".Interesting side-note, the classic MST3K movie "Teenage Strangler" was filmed at my dad's high school in Huntington, WV. Well, I found it interesting :)
Rating:
Summary: It takes MST3K-sized cajones to take on Shakespeare
Review: I want to know why everyone seems so apathetic about the now infamous (in MST3K circles) version of Hamlet that was included in this box set. It could be that I'm an English Lit. major who's actually read and studied Hamlet, but I thought that our boys on the SOL did a wonderful job in this episode. Granted, they shot off about a few things that were related to other Shakespearian plays, but come on people; this isn't rocket science. Most of what they referred to should be common knowledge to anyone who's graduated from high school. I personally thought that it was incredibly brave of Mike and the 'bots to take on old Bill Shakespeare, even if they picked a production as bad as this version of one of his most popular plays. I applaud the effort put forth and can't wait to add this episode (not to mention the others included in this volume) to my ever-growing collection.
Rating:
Summary: Mom, my nuts!
Review: The four movies in this collection are some of the best of the sci-fi seasons. Space Mutiny: This horrendous, sci-fi movie features a group of space explorers on board the Southern Sun, a spaceship piloted by Santa, and featuring a concrete basement/warehouse, with heavy metal pipes brick wall. That's right the spaceship has brick walls and heavy metal pipes, consider that for a moment. The villian is the head of security who tries to take over the ship so that they can land somewhere. The ship is forbidden to do so under some vague treaty. I dunno the plan doesn't sound that evil. Our hero, big guy with the acting ability of a side of beef, (M&TB's nicknames for this alleged hero had me on the floor.) bails on a famous scientist killing him, than sets fire to a disabled bad guy. There are hazerdous safety railings, Ballarians(pointless female aliens), TWO golf cart chases, a killed crew member appearing in the VERY NEXT SCENE, and a special apperance by Sting. We also see recycled Battlestar Gallactica footage. Good episode. Favorite Line: "Is it a good idea to set off random explosions in a space ship?" (8.5/10) Hamlet- This is a [bad] German version of hamlet which is so dreary, it makes the orginal play look like a screwball comedy. A brief plot summary; Hamlet's uncle and mother kill Hamlet's father and then Hamlet tries to let the uncle and mother know that Hamlet knows about the murder. It is like I said a dreary , dreary film. The episode is good though, especially the "to be or not to be" monolouge wherein the actor appeared to have studied at the Shatner school of acting, it features Danish clowns, stilted dialouge and a whole depressing b&w feel, (though hamlet was a tragedy) the skits are some of the best parts of this episode, my favorite is the last SOL skit. All in all I liked it a lot. MSTies take note you may have to watch it three or more times to appreciate this episode that's what i had to do anyway. I think i's a very underrated episode. Favoite line:"Fraility thy name is Carl..."(7.5/10) Overdrawn at the memory bank-This film features the late great Raul Julia, as Aram Fingal, a bored data entry person in a kinda Orwellian future. He is caught watching cinemas, (movies), and is sent to madatory doppling rehab. He is doppled into a baboon named Daisy, and the film goes downhill from there. In the middle of it somehow Fingal puts hiself in the mainframe program, and starts to write his own life. Abalonia gives Fingal contrdictory orders, and the evil exec threatens to kill Fingal. At one point the movie tries to rip off Casablanca, with Rick and the fat man making appearances. Anyway other things to watch for are the perverted kid(who actually causes all the trouble), Abalonia Jane the heroine who seems so biboesque, crappy special effects, and the evil exec, who looks like TV's frank from the Comedy Central days. This movie hates anteaters for no good reason. The ending of this movie is so confusing that you think the writers just threw up their hands and said "i don't care.." Made for PBS so remember that next time they try and guilt you into pledging money. Favoite line: " I bet no one ever downloads this cinema" (9.0/10) Girl in gold boots-An awful 60's flick. The main charactars are Michelle, a waitress turned dancer who who has an alcoholic abusive father, Buzz a hooligan and nogoodnik, who promises to make Michelle a pro dancer, and Critter, a poetic beatnik-hippie sort who rides a motorcycle (named traveler) and plays the guitar.(I use the term plays loosely) Critter is also a draft-dodger to be. This threesome go to Los Angeles, where Buzz's sister Joanie, (who is a pro dancer and drug addict) takes Michelle under her wing, buzz becomes involved in Leo's (the dance club owner) drug empire and Critter becoming a custodian and song writer.After about an hour of vaguely sexy girls dancing, we get to a drug caper that goes south when Buzz kills a guy for no reason. I liked Joey the pusher, he was the hippest charactar in the film, what he is doing isn't so cool but he is. After Critter beats up Leo, Buzz and Leo's flunky Marty, he joins the Army and marries Michelle. By the way Critter is terrible at playing the guitar and Michelle is even worse at dancing. It has terrible editing. How bad? Buzz suddenly appears in a scene, he just appears doesn't walk on or anything, and there is random guy who gives Buzz and Michelle rides in a dune buggy. I swear I am not making this up. Good all-around episode here. Favorite Line: Okay here's a riddle which one of these two people is worse at their art form?"(9.5/10) This is money well-spent for any MSTIies.
Rating: 
Summary: Poor choice of titles but I bought it anyway
Review: All good episodes (especially SPACE MUTINY) but why a box set of shows that are still in reruns on Sci-Fi? I was looking forward to a truly eclectic set this time around; but all of these shows have been aired ad nauseum (GOLD BOOTS and OVERDRAWN ran again in November, HAMLET again in December, etc.) Yawn. Of course we all envision our "dream set": mine would be TIME OF THE APES, MAGIC VOYAGE OF SINBAD, DAY THE EARTH FROZE and MIGHTY JACK.
Rating:
Summary: Thank you, Rhino!
Review: Another great boxed set of painful theater by Rhino! Once again, the packaging is cute as hell, and I couldn't agree more with the movies featured in this pack. A new feature that MiSTies will enjoy is the commentary from Mike at the start of each DVD--it's a brief 10 seconds, but fun anyway. This time around, you'll be treated to cinematic disasters called: 1.)Girl in Gold Boots--a movie about a waitress who wants to become--AHEM--a dancer in L.A. She achieves this by hooking up with a young man (he's 43!) who promises that his sister can make her into a dancer. And there's Critter, the draft-dodging mop boy who's just loaded with money, if you happen to be in NEPAL. Other gems in the plot--though totally unrelated--are the bikers who bicker with Buzz, the inexplicable bath tub dune buggy ride, and my favorite, the bongo players who don't even seem to be in the same movie. "I'm an icky elf!" 2.) Space Mutiny--a futuristic spaceship with a HUGE boiler room. Captain Santa Claus's ship has been overtaken by Diabolik (for all you MiSTies out there), and the only man capable of saving the ship is Dave Ryder, a beefy, dense bodybuilder <Bolt Vanderhuge> who screams like a girl through half the film. Brace yourself for TONS of 80s aerobics wear and no shame at all. "Railing kill!" 3.)Overdrawn at the Memory Bank--not really a movie, but a series that ran on PBS, and once you watch it, you'll see why. Raul Julia plays Aram Fingal, a bored data entry clerk who is separated from his body through the rehabilitative process of doppling. He's assumed into the big machine and wreaks all sorts of havoc on Nirvana Village. A huge man with an obvious thyroid problem wanders around the film, makes a threatening presence, and sweats a lot. What the hell is this film about? WHO KNOWS!!! "I am interfaced! BFD!!!!!" 4.)Hamlet--a dreary, translated German version with Maximillian Schell that shouldn't be viewed by anyone alive. While it hurts to say this, this MST isn't that funny until you've seen it about 3 times. The first time I watched it, I wanted to stop it and put "Manos" on instead. IT IS THAT BAD. A very enjoyable set, one definitely worth the money. Thanks again, Rhino!!
Rating: 
Summary: 50 50 release....
Review: Overall any release of ANY MST episodes are worth it in my book. But alas this most recent one comes up a bit short.... Over all the chuckles and fall out of your seat fun is there. But the inclusion of Hamlet and Overdrawn at the Memory Bank leave this collection a little less than perfect. People have been dissing Girl in the Golden Boots, but hey....this movie brings out a LOT of the older MST fun that I used to enjoy to the extreme! In fact this is a Joel movie if ever I saw one. The best episode, I have to agree is Space Mutiny. Recycled Battlestar Galactica special effects and Baaaaaaaaaaaaaad continunity make this one a keeper. Well worth inclusion in a disc. Rhino if your listening MORE!!!!!! Keep em coming!!!!!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Somewhere in time and space...
Review: I was looking forward to this release from the moment it was announced. You see, the last three seasons of Mystery Science Theater 3000 felt like "my" years. It was only after the show jumped from Comedy Central to The Science Fiction Channel that I would be able to watch regularly on my cable provider. So, when I heard that the fourth DVD box set would be a selection from those years, I was pleased. And when the episodes themselves were listed, I was happy with the picks. These are good MST3k episodes. Here are some short comments on each of the four episodes included in the DVD box set: GIRL IN GOLD BOOTS -- A grumpy and moody drifter, an intellectual who randomly loses his beard halfway through the film, and a woman who looks like a frumpy Angelina Jolie travel to LA. Once there, they get involved in some drug-dealing scheme that makes little sense. The mocking that the film receives from the crew is a little run of the mill, but still makes for an entertaining episode. Also included on this disc is a melodramatic movie trailer for GIRL IN GOLD BOOTS and a fun, cheesy TV spot. HAMLET -- Yes, that Hamlet. I remember when this episode was first broadcast; early Internet rumors spoke of a German-produced Shakespeare play that had been translated, first from the original English into German, and then literally translated straight back into English without regard for the original. Unfortunately, those rumors turned out to be much more interesting than what we got. This German version of Hamlet is boring, and, well, boring. The MST3k crew does a decent job of mocking both Shakespeare ("I thought frailty's name was Carl...") and this production's rather stilted direction. One gets the feeling that the writers had been holding onto some of these riffs since High School English class. I liked this one, but I don't feel it was one of their strongest efforts. Still, it's nice to see them moving outside their established genre of movies. OVERDRAWN AT THE MEMORY BANK -- An awful mid-80s movie, with annoying mid-80s music, shot in a mid-80s office building on mid-80s videotape. This stars the talented Raul Julia who, as the cast informs us from time to time, usually turned in much better performances than this one. In any event, he gets lost inside a Virtual Reality computer where he creates a Virtual Reality Casablanca for himself. I wouldn't mind getting lost in a Virtual Reality Casablanca, but I would hope that I'd find myself a better script than this. Oh, and apparently in the future, the world is ruled by a bloated version of Doctor Who writer Terrance Dicks. This is one of the goofiest episodes of the show and also one of the most hilarious. I still cannot think of the film's climax with smirking, and the telephone call that Mike makes to the film's technical support line during the closing credits is one of the more original and amusing jokes that they did in the series. SPACE MUTINY -- In a giant spaceship resembling a warehouse, a space mutiny is taking place... but nobody cares. There are also some weird space babes jumping around a dark room, but after seeing the film three or four times, I still have no idea what they're supposed to be doing. This film rivals the previous movie for sheer goofiness. The mocking that it receives is one of the sharpest that I've seen. The bots' attempts to keep track of the films high number of "railing kills" are an absolute hoot. For this DVD box set, host Mike Nelson has recorded all-new introductions where he basically explains that the writers and producers of the show don't know what the deal was with any of these movies either. He sort of looks like they just woke him up. Perhaps he just went into shock at the thought of all the hours he spent watching these bad movies. In any case, this is another strong release from Rhino. The DVD box sets have generally been of great quality, as even where there is a less funny episode included it will have three top-notch companions to raise the average. This, the fourth release, continues the run of worthy packages, and is recommended to long-time fans or to anyone who still hasn't gotten into this great series.
Rating:
Summary: At long last! Rhino has put Sci Fi eps on DVD!
Review: As an avid MST3k aficianado, as I'm sure most anyone who's buying the DVD's and writing these reviews is, I was thrilled to see that Rhino has produced some of the Sci-Fi eps to DVD. These are the first to come from the Sci-Fi channel years as opposed to Comedy Central. Space Mutiny, with our hero "Buff Beefchest" all hopped up on 'roids, includes some great space battles, and a bad guy named Calgon. "Calgon, blow me away!" Overdrawn at the Memory Bank, filmed in Soap-Opera-Vision, is kind of an early Matrix, though they are aware of when they're in the matrix. Or are they? (Da-dah-dum-dum CRAP!) Girl in Gold Boots, one of the few Sci-Fi eps that were not science fiction related, was truly one of the most terrible movies I'd ever seen--it really rivaled Manos in its horridness! Hamlet. Not so good. Would've liked to have seen Giant Spider Invasion or Jack Frost in place of Hamlet. Not too sure who made the decision to include Hamlet, but I'd like to have a talk with this person. IN MY OPINION, and I know there are those who disagree, this show only got better with age. By the time they were on the Sci-Fi channel for the 8th, 9th, and 10th seasons, they had this self-invented art perfected. Many changes were made to the show throughout the years, every single one of which I feel was for the better. Joel left to be replaced by Mike Nelson, who was definitely funnier (again there are those who disagree, but look at what they did after hosting MST3k--Joel does a show that bombs, and for good reason, Mike goes on to write hilarious and successful novels). Trace Billieau (sp?) was great, but Bill Corbett is fantastic. And in response to those who think Mary Jo Pehl is ruining the host segments, I'd like to remind them that TV's Frank was simply embarrassing. Furthermore, I found myself laughing at the Sci-Fi eps A LOT more frequently and heartily than the older Comedy Central eps. And really, that's what matters, is it not?
Rating:
Summary: Where are the jokes? (3.5/5)
Review: I don't think I've ever been disappointed over any of the MST3K releases so far. Even The Crawling Hand has it's moments. Unforunately I don't have cable TV. So far I've just had to live off the Rhino releases. For some reason this release just hasn't given me as good an impression as the others. There is a definite difference with the SciFi episodes. It really feels like the cast is holding back. There were so many moments when an obvious or perfect comment were definitely needed and the cast just sits there with their mouths shut. The worst offender is Hamlet. What were they thinking? They make timid little remarks about every couple minutes. And there was plenty to make fun of. Were they trying to be respectful to the play? Most of the jokes have to do with Shakespeare's actual words rather than how crappy the interpretation is. Couldn't they have mocked the German-ness at least a little bit?? Instead they make cornball 'great dane' jokes. Girl in the Gold Boots is pretty funny at times and mediocre at others. Once again, it really felt like they were holding back their insults. At least Overdrawn at the Memory Bank and Space Mutiny redeem this collection. The cheesy 80s special effects bring the outrageousness that is missing in Hamlet and to a lesser degree Girl in Gold Boots. I love MST3K as much as anyone, but I'm not going to turn a blind eye to how boring some of these episodes are. You can definitely tell that a vital ingredient to the show was lost after Trace and Frank left.
Rating:
Summary: Yay for MST3K!
Review: It's true that all of these movies are from the Sci-Fi channel era. And it's true that they've all been on recently. However, wouldn't you rater have clean, crisp DVD versions instead of grainy videotaped versions in which you have to fast-forward through the commercials? I know that I would. Plus, all of these selections have a 30-45 second introduction by Mike Nelson, and the trailers for "Girl in Gold Boots." Let's break it down: "Hamlet" - I know, I know - it would seem very tedious to sit through Hamlet, but Mike and the Bots do a great job of riffing on this poorly dubbed, over (and under) acted, moody German version of Hamlet. B+ "Girl in Gold Boots" - Think "Showgirls" only worse (!). A waitress from the sticks leaves her abusive father and heads to L.A. with a shady character and a guitar playing hippie named Critter to become a dancer. But nobody bothered to tell her that she kind of sucks as a dancer. She becomes involved in a tailspin of bad music, bad outfits, and marijuana. Check out the bizarre over-acting of the lead dancer. A- "Overdrawn at the Memory Bank" - This ranks right up there with "Manos: The Hands of Fate" as the worst movie I've ever seen on MST3K. Raul Julia "stars" in this PBS movie as a man in the future who's brain gets trapped in a computer during a botched procedure which was supposed to insert his brain into a monkey. Or something. Very confusing, very boring, and very 80s special effects. Be warned - this is an AWFUL mess of a movie. At times I found it hard to sit through, but it's worth watching. C+ "Space Mutiny" - the best of the bunch. It's in space, and there's a mutiny, but for the life of me, I can't figure out what goes on. Be prepared for excitement as our beefy hero indulges in a futruistic golf cart chase, and relaxes at a futuristic disco where hula hoops seem to be all the rage. This is a must-see, especially for the names Mike and the bots come up with for our hero ("Gristle McThornbody!" "Big McLargehuge!"). A I know that a lot of people wish for more Comedy Central episodes, but it's very hard to get licensing for these films. Especially now that MST3K is more popular and the company has realized that these films are essentially being made fun of. But beggars can't be choosers. I'll be happy with anything Best Brains, Inc. releases on DVD.
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