Rating: 
Summary: 3 times the laughs! 3 times the fun! 3 times the Crow!
Review: ...Volume 3 of flat out the best show ever created. This is a terrific collection featuring: "The Atomic Brain" - a very funny Season 5 Mike episode with a great short on Juvenile Deliquency. "The Unearthly" - a terrific Joel episode from Season 3 featuring two of the funniest shorts ever shown on MST3K: Posture Pals and Appreciating Your Parents. "The Sidehackers" - a very early Joel episode from Season 2 that features bikers...and not much else. Very funny. It's one of Frank's first episodes. "Shorts, Vol. 2" - a collection of some of MST's best shorts including the absolutely priceless "Last Clear Chance" ("why don't they look?") and "What to Do on a Date." It's a mix of Mike and Joel-era shorts and all of them are top notch. Rhino is doing a fantastic job! Any MST fan MUST buy this collection...
Rating: 
Summary: Bonus features! At last!
Review: At last, Rhino has added some worthwhile bonus features to the MST3K discs. Each of the 3 full episodes in this set come with bonus footage, of alternate takes and bloopers from the filming of the episode. Mind you, none of the bloopers are quite as funny as the ones in Poopie 1 or 2, but it's still neat. Again, the episodes aren't all wonderful this time out: Sidehackers is the best of the three: The Atomic Brain and The Unearthly have some memorable moments (mainly Tor's "Time For To Go To Bed" and the lady with a cat's brain) but neither of them measure up to Pod People or Cave Dwellers, from the previous set.
The volume of shorts included here has the classic "Last Clear Chance" and a couple of other neat shorts - not quite as amusing as volume one, but still pretty good. Still a essential addition to a Mstie's collection!
Rating:
Summary: News Flash!
Review: Before I get to my review, according to mst3kinfo.com, Rhino is releasing a SCI-FI era box set in November. The set is supposed to contain "Hamlet", "Space Mutiny", Overdrawn at the Memory Bank" and "The Girl in Gold Boots". Hopefully, they'll try to acquire more titles in the future!
Now to Volume 3. The shorts is of course the highlight of this set. Sidehackers is quite good and the Atomic Brian has some goofy moments. The only mediocre one is The Unearthly. If it weren't for Tor Johnson in his Don Johnson attire, the movie would be Unbearable (even with Joel & the bots).
Gotta Go or "Time for go to bed"
Rating:
Summary: News Flash!
Review: Before I get to my review, according to mst3kinfo.com, Rhino is releasing a SCI-FI era box set in November. The set is supposed to contain "Hamlet", "Space Mutiny", Overdrawn at the Memory Bank" and "The Girl in Gold Boots". Hopefully, they'll try to acquire more titles in the future!
Now to Volume 3. The shorts is of course the highlight of this set. Sidehackers is quite good and the Atomic Brian has some goofy moments. The only mediocre one is The Unearthly. If it weren't for Tor Johnson in his Don Johnson attire, the movie would be Unbearable (even with Joel & the bots).
Gotta Go or "Time for go to bed"
Rating:
Summary: A Must Have Collection...
Review: if you are reading this you must be a MST3K fan. digital transfers of any episode from any season are worth owning. get yours now and you'll be kicking yourself later when you're shelling out twice the price on eBay. i've enjoyed each volume to date and hope Rhino will release more new eps soon. the paperwork required to get an episode released must be a nightmare (rights issues is what prevents many of these shows from being released). BTW: Mr. B Natural was not in episode 309, The Amazing Man; this short was shown in War of the Colossal Beast 319, the sequel to ACM. *like the VHS release before it, The Atomic Brain 518 is missing the end stinger. for some reason it was distributed this way,; i'm still waiting for an explanation from Rhino about this problem... further, this set will be the last release of any MST3K episode on VHS or DVD for the remainder of 2003.
Rating:
Summary: Not the best Collection of MST3K, but great nonetheless!
Review: In case you're new to the world of "Mystery Science Theater 3000" (MST3K for short, that's what us fans -- "Misties" -- call it), this is the famous TV show where a silhouette of a man and two robots in theater seats provide running commentary for some of the worst movies ever made. The ninety-minute episodes are scattered with sketches and songs and amount to some of the smartest, most pop-culture savvy, side-splitting comedy ever made. This is Rhino's third MST3K collection of four DVDs. It's a bit weaker than the first two volumes (as well the next two), and probably not the greatest place to start if you're new to the show, but it's still hilarious stuff and worth four stars. It has three episodes from widely separated seasons, and a fourth disc that's a compilation of short subjects from various episodes. Two episodes feature Joel Hodgson as the host. The first one is from extremely early in the second season, when MST3K first started to air on Comedy Central and the writers and performers were still developing the show's style. The second Joel episode comes from the late days of the excellent third season. The third DVD features Mike Nelson as host, late in the fifth season soon after he replaced Joel; he's very fresh and still learning the ropes of being host. The Shorts on the last DVD are brief films that the MST3K boys would sometimes make fun of before the movie. Originally, they watched episodes of old movie serials, but when those became tiresome, they turned to educational, commercial, and industrial filmstrips (you know, those annoying things you had to watch at school assemblies in sixth grade?). They contain some of the funniest riffing in the series, and are favorites of the fans. Here's what's in this collection: THE ATOMIC BRAIN. Episode #518. Mike Nelson had only recently become host when this episode was shot, so the show is in the middle of a re-adjustment, but nonetheless, Mike gets into the swing of things pretty quickly, and the show is already developing the more sarcastic style of the later seasons. This cheap science-fiction movie has an old lady and a mad scientist capturing foreign beauties in their creepy mansion so they can transplant the old lady's brain into one their bodies. There's no atomic brain, but there are sick scenes of the old lady pawing her intended new bodies. The film is fairly sluggish, but the hosts have a load of fun with the "plink-plink-plink" music and the ludicrously fake accents of the leading ladies. There is also a very funny educational short before the movie, "What About Juvenile Delinquency?" which shows just how wimpy teen gangs were back in the 1950s. (THEY STEAL PENS!) A good, solid episode. THE UNEARTHLY. Episode #320. The Joel Hodgson years were in high gear when this episode was shot, and it's the best of the three full episodes in this set. "The Unearthly" has a lot in common with "The Atomic Brain," with a mad scientist capturing people in his lonely mansion so he can conduct experiments on them. But "The Unearthly" has real B-movie snap, with such stars as John Carradine (the world's greatest mad scientist), the incomprehensible Tor Johson (from Ed Wood's films), and smug Myron Healy. There's also a perky blonde and a wisecracking palooka, and a lot of scenes of people walking up and down stairs. Adding to the enjoyment are not one, but two hilarious 1950s education shorts shown before the film: "Posture Pals" (elementary school kids, STAND UP STRAIGHT OR ELSE!) and "Appreciating Our Parents" (elementary school kids, OBEY OBEY OBEY!). A great episode all around. THE SIDEHACKERS. Episode #202. This is only the second episode of the years that the show was on Comedy Central. Kevin Murphy had just taken over the role of Tom Servo, and the show was still a bit wobbly, but they were rapidly improving. This is one of the best episodes from this season, but isn't as sharp as anything from seasons three or four. The movie, however, is a wonderful stinker: a sleazy, icky 60s biker revenge flick centered on the odd sport of `sidehacking' (motorcycle racing with a man in a side car balancing out the bike on turns). This is an important episode for fans because it provided many of the show's running gags: "He Hit Big Jake!" , "Chili Peppers Burn My Gut!" and "That Was Number Nine!" Some good stuff here, and a promise of the terrific stuff to come. SHORTS, VOL. 2. These short films come from many seasons, and all are great. "Catching Trouble" (from episode #315) is a reprehensible documentary from the 30s about a wild game trapper who cruelly torments baby animals. The hosts are frankly disgusted by the whole thing, but this is a great episode for satiric humor. "What to Do on a Date" (from episode #503) teaches teens of the 50s how to save money on dates by showing how a loser named Nick lures Kay to a...gasp...scavenger sale for their first date. Kiss the second date goodbye, Nick! "Last Clear Chance" (from episode #520) is aimed at farm kids getting their drivers' licenses. A cruel cop explains the many ways a train can kill you, and despite his lectures, people die anyway. "A Day at the Fair" (from episode #608) is sponsored by the Four-H Club to tell you how much fun visiting the local fair can be. It all looks pretty bleak. "Keeping Neat and Clean" (from episode #613) explains to elementary school kids how to conform to 1950s beauty standards through relentless grooming. "The Days of Our Years" (from episode #623) is similar to "Last Clear Chance," only instead of a cop, it's the minister of a small railroad town who wonders why people keeping maiming and killing themselves around trains. This is a great short, with bitter and sharp commentary. Overall, the funniest disc in this collection! This is another fine collection from Rhino. There's more comedy in this package than you'll find in almost anything made in the last ten years, but first-time MST3K viewers should look at Volumes 1 and 2 first before picking up this one.
Rating:
Summary: Not the best Collection of MST3K, but great nonetheless!
Review: In case you're new to the world of "Mystery Science Theater 3000" (MST3K for short, that's what us fans -- "Misties" -- call it), this is the famous TV show where a silhouette of a man and two robots in theater seats provide running commentary for some of the worst movies ever made. The ninety-minute episodes are scattered with sketches and songs and amount to some of the smartest, most pop-culture savvy, side-splitting comedy ever made. This is Rhino's third MST3K collection of four DVDs. It's a bit weaker than the first two volumes (as well the next two), and probably not the greatest place to start if you're new to the show, but it's still hilarious stuff and worth four stars. It has three episodes from widely separated seasons, and a fourth disc that's a compilation of short subjects from various episodes. Two episodes feature Joel Hodgson as the host. The first one is from extremely early in the second season, when MST3K first started to air on Comedy Central and the writers and performers were still developing the show's style. The second Joel episode comes from the late days of the excellent third season. The third DVD features Mike Nelson as host, late in the fifth season soon after he replaced Joel; he's very fresh and still learning the ropes of being host. The Shorts on the last DVD are brief films that the MST3K boys would sometimes make fun of before the movie. Originally, they watched episodes of old movie serials, but when those became tiresome, they turned to educational, commercial, and industrial filmstrips (you know, those annoying things you had to watch at school assemblies in sixth grade?). They contain some of the funniest riffing in the series, and are favorites of the fans. Here's what's in this collection: THE ATOMIC BRAIN. Episode #518. Mike Nelson had only recently become host when this episode was shot, so the show is in the middle of a re-adjustment, but nonetheless, Mike gets into the swing of things pretty quickly, and the show is already developing the more sarcastic style of the later seasons. This cheap science-fiction movie has an old lady and a mad scientist capturing foreign beauties in their creepy mansion so they can transplant the old lady's brain into one their bodies. There's no atomic brain, but there are sick scenes of the old lady pawing her intended new bodies. The film is fairly sluggish, but the hosts have a load of fun with the "plink-plink-plink" music and the ludicrously fake accents of the leading ladies. There is also a very funny educational short before the movie, "What About Juvenile Delinquency?" which shows just how wimpy teen gangs were back in the 1950s. (THEY STEAL PENS!) A good, solid episode. THE UNEARTHLY. Episode #320. The Joel Hodgson years were in high gear when this episode was shot, and it's the best of the three full episodes in this set. "The Unearthly" has a lot in common with "The Atomic Brain," with a mad scientist capturing people in his lonely mansion so he can conduct experiments on them. But "The Unearthly" has real B-movie snap, with such stars as John Carradine (the world's greatest mad scientist), the incomprehensible Tor Johson (from Ed Wood's films), and smug Myron Healy. There's also a perky blonde and a wisecracking palooka, and a lot of scenes of people walking up and down stairs. Adding to the enjoyment are not one, but two hilarious 1950s education shorts shown before the film: "Posture Pals" (elementary school kids, STAND UP STRAIGHT OR ELSE!) and "Appreciating Our Parents" (elementary school kids, OBEY OBEY OBEY!). A great episode all around. THE SIDEHACKERS. Episode #202. This is only the second episode of the years that the show was on Comedy Central. Kevin Murphy had just taken over the role of Tom Servo, and the show was still a bit wobbly, but they were rapidly improving. This is one of the best episodes from this season, but isn't as sharp as anything from seasons three or four. The movie, however, is a wonderful stinker: a sleazy, icky 60s biker revenge flick centered on the odd sport of 'sidehacking' (motorcycle racing with a man in a side car balancing out the bike on turns). This is an important episode for fans because it provided many of the show's running gags: "He Hit Big Jake!" , "Chili Peppers Burn My Gut!" and "That Was Number Nine!" Some good stuff here, and a promise of the terrific stuff to come. SHORTS, VOL. 2. These short films come from many seasons, and all are great. "Catching Trouble" (from episode #315) is a reprehensible documentary from the 30s about a wild game trapper who cruelly torments baby animals. The hosts are frankly disgusted by the whole thing, but this is a great episode for satiric humor. "What to Do on a Date" (from episode #503) teaches teens of the 50s how to save money on dates by showing how a loser named Nick lures Kay to a...gasp...scavenger sale for their first date. Kiss the second date goodbye, Nick! "Last Clear Chance" (from episode #520) is aimed at farm kids getting their drivers' licenses. A cruel cop explains the many ways a train can kill you, and despite his lectures, people die anyway. "A Day at the Fair" (from episode #608) is sponsored by the Four-H Club to tell you how much fun visiting the local fair can be. It all looks pretty bleak. "Keeping Neat and Clean" (from episode #613) explains to elementary school kids how to conform to 1950s beauty standards through relentless grooming. "The Days of Our Years" (from episode #623) is similar to "Last Clear Chance," only instead of a cop, it's the minister of a small railroad town who wonders why people keeping maiming and killing themselves around trains. This is a great short, with bitter and sharp commentary. Overall, the funniest disc in this collection! This is another fine collection from Rhino. There's more comedy in this package than you'll find in almost anything made in the last ten years, but first-time MST3K viewers should look at Volumes 1 and 2 first before picking up this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Let's see a Collection with Mike Please!
Review: Joel fans have had 3 collections - now it's time to cater to Mike J.Nelson fans.
When are we going to see such classic episodes as 'Riding With Death' and 'The Devil Doll'?
Very soon I hope....
Rating: 
Summary: Rhino Misses Mark on Volume 3
Review: Last year I made a discovery... MST3K. Well, not really, I'd been watching the episodes for years. I only became VERY interested last year because I discovered Rhino had started issuing the MST episodes on DVD and including the original unedited films on the flip-side of the disks. The first four episodes Rhino put on DVD, I Accuse My Parents, Red Zone Cuba, Mitchell and Manos had lacked this feature and I had not been interested in getting those. As a collector of odd-ball films I own a ton (many of them are Rhino tapes), but when Rhino started putting out double-sided DVD disks I became a died-in-wool MST collector too because for me the MSTied versions are like really, really good commentary tracks added to the disks. They are the kind of commentary tracks that all good DVD commentary tracks should aspire to be! But now I discovered beginning with MST3K - Collection Volume 2, Rhino has reverted to the old practice of only one-sided disks!! Shame!! Tragedy!! On top of that, they've left the retail price in the same ballpark as the first collection which contained both versions of each film! Oh yeah, I've read posts from others, "Rhino doesn't need to put the un-MSTied versions on the disks, those films are not worth viewing anyway! TRUE MST fans only want the MST episodes, blah, blah, blah…" Well, here is one person who is really saddened that Rhino has lowered the value of their disks (and not lowered the price!) Shame! Who was the marketing genius at Rhino who dreamed this one up? I think there are other folks like me who enjoyed having the original films on the disks. I thought Rhino staff were people who (like me) who had a genuine love for off-beat cinema! Maybe Rhino has marketing-types running the show at company headquarters now instead of people who have a love for the product. Here's the short version: Rhino won me over by putting out MST WITH the uncut films. Yes I'm still a big MST fan, but when allocating scarce dollars I will think twice about what gets purchased first. You know what? I don't own any of the single-sided disks. Rhino can sit on 'em! I'll buy them when they show up in the $5 cut-out bins. Pisstified in S.F., Bob Burns
Rating:
Summary: Rhino Misses Mark on Volume 3
Review: Last year I made a discovery... MST3K. Well, not really, I'd been watching the episodes for years. I only became VERY interested last year because I discovered Rhino had started issuing the MST episodes on DVD and including the original unedited films on the flip-side of the disks. The first four episodes Rhino put on DVD, I Accuse My Parents, Red Zone Cuba, Mitchell and Manos had lacked this feature and I had not been interested in getting those. As a collector of odd-ball films I own a ton (many of them are Rhino tapes), but when Rhino started putting out double-sided DVD disks I became a died-in-wool MST collector too because for me the MSTied versions are like really, really good commentary tracks added to the disks. They are the kind of commentary tracks that all good DVD commentary tracks should aspire to be! But now I discovered beginning with MST3K - Collection Volume 2, Rhino has reverted to the old practice of only one-sided disks!! Shame!! Tragedy!! On top of that, they've left the retail price in the same ballpark as the first collection which contained both versions of each film! Oh yeah, I've read posts from others, "Rhino doesn't need to put the un-MSTied versions on the disks, those films are not worth viewing anyway! TRUE MST fans only want the MST episodes, blah, blah, blah…" Well, here is one person who is really saddened that Rhino has lowered the value of their disks (and not lowered the price!) Shame! Who was the marketing genius at Rhino who dreamed this one up? I think there are other folks like me who enjoyed having the original films on the disks. I thought Rhino staff were people who (like me) who had a genuine love for off-beat cinema! Maybe Rhino has marketing-types running the show at company headquarters now instead of people who have a love for the product. Here's the short version: Rhino won me over by putting out MST WITH the uncut films. Yes I'm still a big MST fan, but when allocating scarce dollars I will think twice about what gets purchased first. You know what? I don't own any of the single-sided disks. Rhino can sit on 'em! I'll buy them when they show up in the $5 cut-out bins. Pisstified in S.F., Bob Burns
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