Eegah!

Rating:
Summary: Help Me Joel! I've Got EEGAH All Over ME!
Review: Episode 508 stands tall as one of MST3K's most unforgettable slimefests. What can be said about a movie so horrible that it got royally parioded by Joel and the Bots from Mystery Science Theater 3000. Lots, believe me when I say Eegah is one of the most stench-ladden gosh darn awful cinematic toxic waste bins in the history of the movies. The acting is nothing more than irrelevant comments streamed together for two hours of painful acting, Richard Kiel doing Pantomime, and the scarry image of Arch Hall Jr. Like Joel and Bots on the show, I screamed myself whenever the hideous image of Arch Hall Jr got a closeup. AHHHH! But what saves this torture chamber of a movie is Joel and the Bots of course. The riffing comes a mile a minute as the guys make fun of everything from the repulsive nature of Arch Hall Jr. and his singing (No Arch. No Arch Don't Sing), to the collection of Eegah's dead ancestors in his cave (I'm Milton Bearles. I'm Milton Bearles.), to the ghastly finale where the movie trys to make sense of the maddness by quoting the Bible (Awh, I bet it's not even in there.) In the end, the guys endure another stinkbomb by the mads, and all the Mysties are better for it. Can't wait to see the DVD version.

Rating:
Summary: another classic
Review: i honestly think that if i were to review EVERY single one of the 176 episodes of mst3k (oh how i wish there were all on dvd), i wouldn't give out a grade lower than four stars. eegah is one of the great ones, but there's a lot of great ones.

i'm an obsessive mst3k fan in that i seek to understand EVERY single inside joke and reference that mike or joel and the bots make. it's a daunting task. but if you get satisfaction from understanding an inside mst3k joke here and there, eegah has one of the most popular ones: "watch out for snakes." you'll hear this line shouted out by the crew of the satellite of love often during bad movies, and perhaps you've wondered where it came from. well look no farther than "eegah." eegah also features arch hall jr and richard "jaws" kiel, both subjects of frequent ridicule on mst3k.

in short, don't miss this dvd. the episode is satisfying and the movie is joyfully bad. watch out for snakes, indeed.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best episodes! WATCH OUT FOR SNAKES!
Review: This DVD from Rhino offers up one the most side-splitting, hilarious episodes of the legendary TV show "Mystery Science Theater 3000," in which they take on a 1962 caveman movie where an awful teen singer, his beehive hair-do girlfriend Roxy, and her fashion-impaired father go searching in the Palm Desert for a caveman named Eegah (played by 7'2" Richard Kiel, who would later plays Jaws in two James Bond films). The movie is horrible, but it'sm the perfect piece of stupidity for the MST3K writers and actors to take on, and the result is one of best episodes ever. This is the kind of episode that will make newcomers fall in love with this brilliant show.

And for those of you who are newcomers: "Mystery Science Theater 3000," (MST3K for short) it is a ninety-minute show featuring a silhouette of a man and two robots (Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot) in movie theater seats projected in front of a bad movie. The hosts provide hysterical, satiric, and culturally-savvy wisecracks to accompany the movie. The episodes also include sketches and songs and add up to some of the most hilarious comedy in television history.

"Eegah!" (what a title!) is from episode #506, during the last days of Joel Hodgson's run as the show's host (Mike Nelson took over in mid-season). The show was at the peak of its comedic genius, and "Eegah!" is one of the masterpieces of the Joel years. The film is utterly cheap, icky and gross, with some of the most repellent actors ever seen on screen...and Richard Kiel! (Bada-boom! Thank you, thank you, I'm here all week!) It ranks with "Manos: The Hands of Fate" for sheer unpleasantness. As Tom Servo says at one point: "I'm being punished for something, I know it. What did I do? I DIDN'T ASK TO SEE THIS MOVIE!"

So what the heck IS this oddly named, nasty little crumb of cummy cinema? "Eegah" was shot in the Palm Desert by Arch W. Hall, Sr., under the pseudonym Nicholas Merriwether. He also plays Mr. Miller, the adult lead, under the name William Watters. He cast his son, Arch Hall Jr., as the romantic teen lead, one of the worst casting choices in history. Kiel may play a big ugly caveman (with an obviously false beard), but Arch Hall Jr. is a pudgy, sun-burnt, gross, greasy, bleached-bond little creep. (In one sketch, Tom and Crow turn Joel in Arch Hall Jr. by giving him the look of a sun-burnt baby, inhuman play-dough colored skin, and mumpy cheeks.) Arch also 'sings' a couple of awful tunes while strumming two chords on the guitar -- his dad apparently thought he was an up-and-coming rock star. When Eegah finally decks the kid, you'll cheer along with the MST3K boys as he hits the sand.

But there's so much else that's wonderful here (wonderfully bad, that is) that the hosts' wisecracks never let up: The sickening scene of Roxie shaving her father while singing, the generally wrong relationship between Roxy and her father (were they off-screen lovers?), Arch wandering through the desert endlessly screaming ROXIEEEEEEEE! ("Well, back to another day of whining,"), the dune buggy racing through the desert sands while Roxy screams "Wheeee!" (Tom's comment: "Stop saying 'wheee!' Nobody says 'wheee!'"), Eegah's minor rampage in Palm Springs, and the classic line that suddenly comes out of nowhere, with nobody on screen seeming to speak it: "Watch out for snakes!" This became an MST3K running gag in many later episodes.

This DVD is a laugh riot, and an essential Joel episode. Tom, Crow, and Joel have rarely been so funny and so sharp while watching a film. It's one of the classics, hysterical from beginning to end, with funny host segments as well. It feels like plunking down on the couch and watching a film with your best buddies; I think that's the main charm of the Joel years of the show.

The Un-cut, un-MST3Ked version of the film is available on the same side as the MST3K episode; I don't recommend watching the film without the MST3K boys -- you'll suffer brain damage. However, this DVD has an interesting extra that shows up on none of the other Rhino MST3K DVDs. You can switch on an option that makes an icon of Crow appear in the corner of the screen during the MST3K version to indicate a place where a scene was cut from the original. If you hit the ENTER key on the DVD remote when the icon is on screen, you'll be branched out to the cut scene, and then returned to the MST3K version when it's over. A very clever feature, and I wish Rhino had taken more creative approaches like this with their other MST3K DVDs.

So, "Watch out for Snakes"...and watch this episode! Newcomer, or old fan, you'll be on the floor laughing (when you aren't averting your eyes from the horror that IS... ARCH HALL JR.!)

Rating:
Summary: Richard Kiel and not much else
Review: I was a bit hesitant after reading a few negative reviews about this episode, but now I have no regrets. This has become overnight, my favorite episode.
Personally I love Joel and Mike equally as hosts, but Joel is really cool and funny on his episodes. And the bots are as hilarious and perhaps even more lovable than they are on the Scifi Channel episodes, but even on Scifi, they didn't lose much of their charm even if they did change a little. And I prefer Dr. Forrester and TV's Frank to Pearl Forrester, Bobo, and Brain Guy (although I do like the latter set of villains a lot).
But getting back to this particular episode, I can't see how anyone didn't enjoy this. From the absolutely brilliant segments including the hysterical invention exchange, a discussion about the subtlety of hell, single-parent familes in '60s sitcoms, and the most memorable of all being the one where the bots alter Joel's face so he looks like Arch Hall Jr. These are some of my favorite segments and are must-sees for any fan.
And of course the movie....a poor quality, laughably bad teen movie about a caveman named Eegah (Richard Kiel) still alive in the 1960s, who falls for a teenage girl named Roxy (Marilyn Manning) after taking her and her father (Arch Hall Sr.) captive and then follows them to the city after they escape with the help of Roxy's butt-ugly, dorky, annoying boyfriend Tom (Arch Hall Jr.)....is mind-numbingly cheesy, but quite fun.
It's made even more fun by the outrageous jokes cracked by Joel and the bots, particularly Crow, whose caveman impersonations highlight the movie (When Eegah is making passes at Roxy, Crow growls out, "Eegah like get caught in rain" and after being shaved by Roxy (eew!) he looks in her little makeup mirror admiring his shorn face, Crow points out, "Me look like Anthony Michael Hall" and a moment later, "Hmmmmm....No more like Sandra Bernhard" all in a deep caveman voice)
Perhaps the worst part of the movie are the songs sung by Arch Hall Jr, which are quite easy to end up stuck in your head causing further pain. Not only is he a terrible sight to look at (Servo describes him as "a Cabbage Patch Elvis", Joel points out that he resembles the bat from Ferngully and also shouts out "Sorry about my face!" during an early scene with Arch Hall Jr, and Crow speaks out Eegah's thoughts when the caveman first sees Roxy's boyfriend as, "Ooh, that face! I feel handsome in comparison!") and the songs are just plain awful. (Servo: "Come on, Eegah! Hurry up! Where's that club!?" All 3: "Eegah! Eegah! Bonk! Bonk! On the head!").
So all in all this movie on its own could cause either several laughs or long term pain, but thats where Joel, Tom Servo, and Crow come in. By all means, give this episode a try. It's a classic and a real treat. You'll be laughing out of the blue remembering lines several days afterwards. Enjoy yourself, and remember to "Watch out for snakes!"

Rating:
Summary: Hell works better when it's subtle
Review: As Joel Robinson points out in one of this episode's host segments, Hell is most insidious and destructive when its effects are sneaky and subtle. 'Eegah!' is a lot like that.

MSTed-movie veteran Richard Kiel returns as the eponymous caveman, who wanders into town in search of the lovely Roxy, whom he had previously kidnapped and briefly held hostage along with her boyfriend and father. Creepy romance is afoot (especially when you realize that Roxy's father and boyfriend are played by Arch Hall Senior and Junior, respectively), along with strange pool parties, strange dune-buggy races, and strange songs sung by Arch Junior. In all, it's just a strange, and kind of icky, movie.

Fortunately, Joel and The Bots are there to lead America back from the foaming mouth of the abyss. Thank you. Thank you. The host segments here are good ones (I've always liked the porkerina), but where J&TB really shine is in the theater, where they spare no effort to give this flick the riffing it deserves.

In all, this is a great addition to any MSTie's shelf.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best episodes! WATCH OUT FOR SNAKES!
Review: This DVD from Rhino offers up one the most side-splitting, hilarious episodes of the legendary TV show "Mystery Science Theater 3000," in which they take on a 1962 caveman movie where an awful teen singer, his beehive hair-do girlfriend Roxy, and her fashion-impaired father go searching in the Palm Desert for a caveman named Eegah (played by 7'2" Richard Kiel, who would later plays Jaws in two James Bond films). The movie is horrible, but it'sm the perfect piece of stupidity for the MST3K writers and actors to take on, and the result is one of best episodes ever. This is the kind of episode that will make newcomers fall in love with this brilliant show.

And for those of you who are newcomers: "Mystery Science Theater 3000," (MST3K for short) it is a ninety-minute show featuring a silhouette of a man and two robots (Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot) in movie theater seats projected in front of a bad movie. The hosts provide hysterical, satiric, and culturally-savvy wisecracks to accompany the movie. The episodes also include sketches and songs and add up to some of the most hilarious comedy in television history.

"Eegah!" (what a title!) is from episode #506, during the last days of Joel Hodgson's run as the show's host (Mike Nelson took over in mid-season). The show was at the peak of its comedic genius, and "Eegah!" is one of the masterpieces of the Joel years. The film is utterly cheap, icky and gross, with some of the most repellent actors ever seen on screen...and Richard Kiel! (Bada-boom! Thank you, thank you, I'm here all week!) It ranks with "Manos: The Hands of Fate" for sheer unpleasantness. As Tom Servo says at one point: "I'm being punished for something, I know it. What did I do? I DIDN'T ASK TO SEE THIS MOVIE!"

So what the heck IS this oddly named, nasty little crumb of cummy cinema? "Eegah" was shot in the Palm Desert by Arch W. Hall, Sr., under the pseudonym Nicholas Merriwether. He also plays Mr. Miller, the adult lead, under the name William Watters. He cast his son, Arch Hall Jr., as the romantic teen lead, one of the worst casting choices in history. Kiel may play a big ugly caveman (with an obviously false beard), but Arch Hall Jr. is a pudgy, sun-burnt, gross, greasy, bleached-bond little creep. (In one sketch, Tom and Crow turn Joel in Arch Hall Jr. by giving him the look of a sun-burnt baby, inhuman play-dough colored skin, and mumpy cheeks.) Arch also 'sings' a couple of awful tunes while strumming two chords on the guitar -- his dad apparently thought he was an up-and-coming rock star. When Eegah finally decks the kid, you'll cheer along with the MST3K boys as he hits the sand.

But there's so much else that's wonderful here (wonderfully bad, that is) that the hosts' wisecracks never let up: The sickening scene of Roxie shaving her father while singing, the generally wrong relationship between Roxy and her father (were they off-screen lovers?), Arch wandering through the desert endlessly screaming ROXIEEEEEEEE! ("Well, back to another day of whining,"), the dune buggy racing through the desert sands while Roxy screams "Wheeee!" (Tom's comment: "Stop saying 'wheee!' Nobody says 'wheee!'"), Eegah's minor rampage in Palm Springs, and the classic line that suddenly comes out of nowhere, with nobody on screen seeming to speak it: "Watch out for snakes!" This became an MST3K running gag in many later episodes.

This DVD is a laugh riot, and an essential Joel episode. Tom, Crow, and Joel have rarely been so funny and so sharp while watching a film. It's one of the classics, hysterical from beginning to end, with funny host segments as well. It feels like plunking down on the couch and watching a film with your best buddies; I think that's the main charm of the Joel years of the show.

The Un-cut, un-MST3Ked version of the film is available on the same side as the MST3K episode; I don't recommend watching the film without the MST3K boys -- you'll suffer brain damage. However, this DVD has an interesting extra that shows up on none of the other Rhino MST3K DVDs. You can switch on an option that makes an icon of Crow appear in the corner of the screen during the MST3K version to indicate a place where a scene was cut from the original. If you hit the ENTER key on the DVD remote when the icon is on screen, you'll be branched out to the cut scene, and then returned to the MST3K version when it's over. A very clever feature, and I wish Rhino had taken more creative approaches like this with their other MST3K DVDs.

So, "Watch out for Snakes"...and watch this episode! Newcomer, or old fan, you'll be on the floor laughing (when you aren't averting your eyes from the horror that IS... ARCH HALL JR.!)

Rating:
Summary: Hey Roxy!
Review: Oh my, my, my. This movie... what can a person say about a movie this bad. Plenty, if you're Joel, Crooooow, and Tom Servo! Our hero (and I'm using this term very loosely) Eegah, a man out of time, takes a liking to the beautiful but strangely coiffed heroine Roxy, much to the dismay of her "cabbage patch elvis" main squeeze, Arch Hall Jr. Buy this and you, too, can enjoy the many delights of Arch's singing, Roxy shaving her father's beard off and Eegah eating the shaving cream, the incredible bashing that Joel & Co give poor Arch (can he really help it that he looks like that?), Arch's "really swingin" band, and last but not least--the snakes. (watch it and they will come)

Rating:
Summary: One of the best episodes
Review: Looking more like a student film, "Eegah" was perfect fodder for Joel and the 'bots, and they did not disappoint. From the opening sequence to the swimming pool fiasco, there is not a minute that goes by without a laugh. Richard Kiel is perfectly cast for his looks, but his acting is wide open to attack. And Arch Hall, Jr. as the lovelorn teenager is a hoot--unintentionally. My favorite moment comes when he sings for his beloved Roxy, and Joel and 'bots chant "Eegah! Do bonk-bonk on head!"

Rating:
Summary: A great start
Review: Eegah is my first trip into the world of Mystery Science Theatre. I'd previously only seen the end credits of MST the Movie on late night TV, but that was enough to peak my interest. I will admit that a lot of the US cultural references are lost on me but even so, this movie was hilarious and had me in tears.
There are just too many funny scenes in this movie to mention but a few of them are, meeting Eegah's family, shaving dad, the pool and singing scenes, searching for Eagah (my tires are filled with water), searching for Roxy (Roxyyyyyyyyy), escaping from Eegah (your supposed to be driving away from him stupid) etc. etc. I liked it so much I ordered MST3K volume 2 straight away and plan on getting the rest of whats available.

Rating:
Summary: They have an oven in their living room
Review: This movie(and commentary by Joel and the 'bots) starts out slow, really slow and gets funny mid way through. In the end it is great. Arch Hall Jr. provides most of the laughs. The MST3K shorts are better though.