MST3K

[filkertom]

In a similar vein to the previous thread, except completely different:

1. What are your favorite episodes of MST3K? Try to keep it down to a dozen or so. Mine would be, in no particular order:
   • Manos, The Hands Of Fate
   • The Day The Earth Froze
   • King Dinosaur
   • Space Mutiny
   • Outlaw
   • Hobgoblins
   • Jack Frost
   • Gamera vs. Guiron
   • Puma Man
   • Twelve To The Moon
   • Santa Claus
   • The Magic Voyage of Sinbad
2. What are your favorite MST3K shorts?
   • X Marks the Spot
   • Mr. B Natural
   • Design for Dreaming
   • Hired, Part 2
   • Here Comes The Devi- er, Circus
3. What are your favorite MST3K songs? (I would effectively list them all here, but I have a special love for "Toobular Boobular Joy" and "The Greatest Frank of All", not to mention "When Loving Lovers Love")
4. What are your favorite MST3K spin-offs or pastiches?
   • I could name a bunch of Rifftrax, especially Casino Royale and Willy Wonka
   • Mystery Fandom Theater's Little Red Riding Hood
   • the new guys on the block, Incognito Cinema Warriors
   • the all-time best Mystery Usenet Theater story evar, riffing on "The Eye of Argon"

You?

ETA: For some reason, some of you apparently have never read "The Eye of Argon". For brave souls, here's the full text, and here is Adam Cadre's MSTing.

Comments

[ladysmith.livejournal.com]

My favorite episode is Viking Women vs The Sea Serpent. And I can't remember any of the shorts (well, except for one, but I don't know the name of it. Something about women going to college?)

I don't remember the songs at all, and the only pastiche I've seen is your Mystery Usenet Theater Magical Grapefruit of Love, which I printed out and brought to work to hurt people with. They were AMUSED.

[fredhuggins.livejournal.com]

1. My top dozen: Pod People, I Accuse My Parents, Space Mutiny, Manos The Hands Of Fate, Hobgoblins, Werewolf, Soultaker, The Creeping Terror, Monster A-Go-Go, Mitchell, The Brain That Wouldn't Die, Eegah.

2. Here Comes The Circus, Hired Pt. 2, Be Nice To Your Parents, the one about how food is grown (can't remember title), and the one about going to the farm.

3. "Let's Have A Patrick Swayze Christmas," "Slow The Plot Down" and "Waffles!"

4. EVERY Rifftrax, especially "Jurassic Park" with Weird Al, and "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone."

[gridlore.livejournal.com]

1.

Prince of Space

2.

Can't remember.

3.

"Wild Rebels"

4.

Dark Dungeons (http://www.fecundity.com/darkdung/index.html)

[huskiebear.livejournal.com]

Joey the lemur
The friend of mankind
A furry sort of monkey friend
He really does shine
Hey!


That is all.

L Is For Lemur. 'Nuff Said.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

That's never all. And I left that one unsung specifically so that you could sing it. :)

[annathepiper]

Oh geez, so many answers to this! :)

Favorite movies... Lost Continent, Bride of the Monster, Manos: The Hands of Fate, The Screaming Skull. ETA: Also, Godzilla vs. Megalon, on general principles. ^_^

Favorite shorts... definitely "Mr. B Natural", "Hired Part 2".

Songs... HAR. "I'm a Danger to Myself and Others", the PANTS! song, the entire "Hired" medley, and the performance by the United Tom Servo Men's Academy Chorus. ;)

And I'm growing fonder by the day of Cinematic Titanic, new episode due out on Thursday, huzzah!

[invader-tak-1.livejournal.com]

Without a Doubt, I'd have to say "Horror at Party Beach" I'm a Mike fan, but my fave song is "Only Love pads the film"

As for spinoffs, Rifftrax is fr funnier than Cinematic Titanic.

[morpheus0013.livejournal.com]

THE MOLE PEOPLE and REVENGE OF THE CREATURE.

/Founding Member, John Agar Appreciation Society
/thank goodness for castleforrester.com

[solarbird]

1: Rock climbing, Joel. Rock climbing. (Lost Continent.) Also, Manos (of course), Bride of the Monster, Prince of Space, It Conquered the World. This Island Earth ("NOW NOW WE MUST CONFOUND JERRY AT EVERY TURN!") Anything with an episode of Radar Men from the Moon. Anything with Gamera. (Am I dreaming that I thought Attack of the Crab Monsters got MSTed? It's not in the episode guide but I thought...!)

2: RADAR MEN FROM THE MOON! Also Hired! (both parts really); A Case of Spring Fever ("NOOOO! springs"); Commando Cody. Keeping Clean and Neat. Century 21 Calling (sentimental favourite because of the Seattle World's Fair).

3: The United Servo Men's Academy Chorus's performance of United Servo Men's Academy Hymn; I'm A Danger To Myself and Others; Gameriiii, Gameraeaeaeaeae, Gamerraaaaa, GamerAH HA HA HA HA HA; the Hired! medly.

4: Cinematic Titanic; the fan MSTings of Star Trek V and Highlander II - and from that Star Trek V fan-MSTing, the song "Rocks."

[poltr1]

I came in late to the game, having not seen much of seasons 1-7. But mariasmom sat me down and made me watch Manos and "Mr B Natural".

1. Manos The Hands Of Fate, and a good chunk of the ones from Season 8.

2. Mr. B Natural, the Gumby cartoon with the robot that wouldn't shut off.

3. I'll pass.

4. Can't think of any.

[ldhenson.livejournal.com]

Favorite episode: Rocketship X-M (my first episode, and it was love at first sight), Pod People, Fugitive Alien I & II, Time of the Apes, Manos, Girl in Lover's Lane, Daddy-O, Wild Rebels...I'm sure more will come to me as soon as I hit "send"

Favorite shorts: there's no point me repeating your list :-)

MST3K songs: Patrick Swayze Christmas, Hired! the Musical, Servo Academy Medley, Idiot Control Now, Clown in the Sky, Fugitive Alien Medley

Spinoff/pastiche: various classic MSTings: Eye of Argon, the entire Ratliff series...why have you forsaken us, Website Number 9? Why? Why? WHY??

[emiofbrie.livejournal.com]

1) in no real order:
Manos (the Master approves of this choice)
Crash of Moons ("we are in a crappy film! o/~)
SST Death Flight ("please put your brain under the seat in front of you")
Soultaker ("let's play ring toss with YOUR SOUL!")
This Island Earth ("what kind of shithole planet is this?!?")
Million Eyes of Su-Muru ("good one, Frankie! WE'LL make fun of the movie if you don't mind!!")

2) in no real order:
Mr. B Natural ("forget music, I wanna DANCE!")
Design For Dreaming ("The Schick Electric Razorcar!")
Here Comes The Circus ("Oh no! They're doing it clown style! NOOOO!!!")
Last Clear Chance ("Why don't they look?!")

3) Tribute to Pants!!!!! (I even made a Stepmania stepfile of it)

4) Awww...no one remembers MSTA? :( (my "Luke Ski moment")

[cjfringe.livejournal.com]

I remember it.

And I'm a bit disappointed that there's no love for MST11 (http://www.mst11.com) either.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Well, we'll just have to go take a look and see if we love it, won't we? :)

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Anne and I were at the very first ConventioConExpoFestARama, which was beyond wonderful. The costume contest featured the Parade of Torgos, which will stay with us forever. I mention that now because one of the highlights was all of us taking schoolbuses downtown to see a live performance of This Island Earth.

Everybody was on that night. So many incredible moments -- Dr. Forrester's entrance, wearing a magnificent fur, which he shed from his shoulders like Marlene Dietrich... Frank in ballet tights, dancing to "The Greatest Frank Of All"... but the one that sticks with me most was a joke which didn't make it into the theatrical release of This Island Earth, for reasons which completely elude me. The title comes up, and Mike and the bots sing, "This Island Earth doesn't shine for me anymore...."

[ailsaek.livejournal.com]

Mr. B Natural and, um, the one with "Trumpy" in it.

[alverant.livejournal.com]

12 Favorite episodes (in no order)
Pumaman
Angel's Revenge
City on Fire
The Corpse Vanishes
Catalina Caper
Space Munity
Godzilla Vs. Megalon
City Limits
The Indestructible Man
The Day The Earth Froze
The Magic Voyage Of Sinbad
Beginning Of The End
Final Justice

Actually there's more, but these are the first 12 that came to mind.

For spinnoffs, I did an MST3K edition of an anime El-Hazard the Wanderers, but it's not fair to list my own creation. So instead I'll list the MST3K script for Transformers the Movie

[briansiano.livejournal.com]

Can't pick a favorite show or short. But favorite song might be "When I Held your Brain in my Arms," sung by the Observers in a very good Ink Spots parody.

[selenesue.livejournal.com]

"The Eye of Argon" was a party game in Fandom before Usenet. Early 1970's at a guess. It would get passed around at parties and each player would read aloud until he cracked up, at which time he had to pass it to the next player. Nobody is quite sure where it came from but who would admit to writing it?

Good times.

Also, I have been observed singing the Gamera song during times of stress. Nobody knows why.

We know where it came from.

[zeekar.livejournal.com]

"The Eye of Argon" was written by the late Jim Theiss, who was 16 at the time of authorship (ca 1970) and once did a radio interview in which he expressed how hurt he was that his teenage work was being so cruelly mocked. Since I learned the backstory I've come to regard Theiss is sort of a literary Star Wars Kid, which makes the mockery seem mean-spirited. I mean, I'm not sure I'd want any of my age-16 masterworks to see the light of day on the Internet...

OTOH, the whole reason it turned into a game is that it's physically difficult not to laugh when reading it. Who was it who called Theiss a genius of malaprop? Something like "a miraculous ability to choose the wrong word . . . and then misapply it.". I'm sure the quote is in the Wikipedia article...

Re: We know where it came from.

[amazingadrian.livejournal.com]

ORLY? I've never heard of this before. What happened to the guy?

Re: We know where it came from.

[zeekar.livejournal.com]

Theis's name is no secret - read the MSTing, they refer to him by name all over the place - though some thought it was a pseudonym for a group of jokers who made the story deliberately bad. Not so, apparently.
As to what happened to him, he reportedly never wrote any more fiction, became a journalist, and died young, of what I don't know.
Just been rereading the story. Man, it doesn't get better. I'd forgotten about the "scarlet emerald". ("Does he mean 'ruby'?" "Let's not jump to conclusions.")

"I appear to have died...is that okay?"

[fmh.livejournal.com]

"Overdrawn at the Memory Bank" with Raoul Julia still cracks me up.

Re: "I appear to have died...is that okay?"

[popefelix.livejournal.com]

You know, I tried watching that one, but only could ever make it about halfway through. Maybe I'll try again - I've got it from the DAP.

[popefelix.livejournal.com]

My favorite ep is Gamera vs. Barugon, because it's the first Gamera flick I ever saw as a kid, closely followed Deathstalker and the Warriors from Hell, because I have a thing for David Warner. In a similar vein, my favorite song is the Gamera theme, "Gamera is really neat! He is full of turtle meat! We're all eating Gamera!"

Shorts are all pretty much wonderful, but I have a particular fondness for "Design for Dreaming" and "Last Clear Chance" ("why don't they look?"). And as for spin-offs, anything RiffTrax does. :)

[amazingadrian.livejournal.com]

I once read a MSTING of a poorly written Sailor Moon lemon that was fsking hilarious! XD

I can't remember the website, or the name of the lemon, but oh my God...I'm not even into the Sailor Moon fandom, and I was laughing so hard...

[jcw-da-dmg.livejournal.com]

My answer to #4 has to be Cartoon Dump. Wow. Just wow. And #3? "He TRIED to kill me with a forklift . . ."

[arensb.livejournal.com]

Shorts: Mr. B Natural is best by a country mile, with Johnny at the Fair second.

Songs: Without a doubt, the Jet Jaguar song comes in first, with various versions of the Gamera song in second through nth place. And Sodium! is a simple enough ditty, but good.

Spin-offs: The MUT3K version of Stephen Ratliff's Marrissa series. Boy, was that ever FSM-awful.

Damn you, Tom

[capplor.livejournal.com]

I had a raft load of errands to run today & I spent most of the day reading the MST3k Argon.

I laughed myself out of the chair on several occasions, but I still got not much useful done.

You should be amused ashamed of yourself.

[sarekofvulcan.livejournal.com]

Tom, if the ELE has any doubts about your application, you can point out that you actually _linked_ to the Eye of Argon, which should easily qualify you. :-)