# Annotated MST3k **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 22, 2015, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annotated-mst3k/713321 "2015-02-22T04:57:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2015, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annotated-mst3k/713321/1 "2015-02-22T04:57:06Z")
So being bored tonight I thought, I’d love to watch a movie. In the mood for a comedy I brought up the YouTube knowing that episodes of MST3K are on it. What I did not know however was that they have official episodes with annotations which explain each joke they make! It’s not only a lot of fun, but I never realized that they just pack these things full of obscure/esoteric trivia and facts. Thought I’d let everyone know because I’m having a ball with it ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2015, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annotated-mst3k/713321/2 "2015-02-22T05:19:42Z")
Awesome! I did not know that. Off to Youtube… Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2015, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annotated-mst3k/713321/3 "2015-02-22T05:24:15Z")
Well, there goes the rest of the night. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2015, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annotated-mst3k/713321/4 "2015-02-22T06:07:24Z")
> **[MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000](https://www.youtube.com/user/mst3kofficial/)** > > Calling all MST3K fans...the wait is over. Welcome to the official MST3K YouTube channel brought to you by Shout! Factory. On this channel you will find many of the best riffs and highlights from MST3K episodes, trailers from DVD box sets, bonus... > [@](#): > > Watch the annotated episodes explaining all the jokes, then lie to your friends about how knowledgeable you are! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2015, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annotated-mst3k/713321/5 "2015-02-22T14:01:20Z")
As someone who tends to prefer when the movies themselves are somewhat interesting, which would be the best for me to watch? I understand Manos, for example, is really hard to watch… ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2015, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annotated-mst3k/713321/6 "2015-02-22T14:08:12Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > As someone who tends to prefer when the movies themselves are somewhat interesting, which would be the best for me to watch? I understand Manos, for example, is really hard to watch… “The Magic Sword” is a reasonable one in its own right. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2015, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annotated-mst3k/713321/7 "2015-02-22T17:38:39Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > “The Magic Sword” is a reasonable one in its own right. That doesn’t appear to be one of the choices. I only see four full movies with annotations: Laserblast, Soultaker, Manos, and Mitchell. BTW, if none of them are all that interesting to watch, then the one with the most jokes (and thus the most annotations) would be the one I’d want. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2015, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annotated-mst3k/713321/8 "2015-02-22T17:42:32Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > That doesn’t appear to be one of the choices. I only see four full movies with annotations: Laserblast, Soultaker, Manos, and Mitchell. > > BTW, if none of them are all that interesting to watch, then the one with the most jokes (and thus the most annotations) would be the one I’d want. Oh, of the annotated choices. Hmm. I dunno. “Mitchell” was the first MST3K I’ve ever watched (and what hooked me on it), and, while a bad film, I didn’t find it completely unwatchable, but I don’t mind crappy 70s films for at least camp value. The whole premise of MST3K is that Mike or Joel & the Robots are forced to watch bad movies deliberately for the villains’ nefarious plans, so you’re not going to find any “good” movies in the mix. Their comedic riffing is a coping mechanism to keep their sanity after being forced to watch bad B-movie after bad B-movie. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2015, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annotated-mst3k/713321/9 "2015-02-22T17:53:23Z")
What you’re looking for is probably better satisfied by RiffTrax, but I don’t know of any annotated versions of those. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2015, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annotated-mst3k/713321/10 "2015-02-22T22:01:56Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Oh, of the annotated choices. Hmm. I dunno. “Mitchell” was the first MST3K I’ve ever watched (and what hooked me on it), and, while a bad film, I didn’t find it completely unwatchable, but I don’t mind crappy 70s films for at least camp value. The whole premise of MST3K is that Mike or Joel & the Robots are forced to watch bad movies deliberately for the villains’ nefarious plans, so you’re not going to find any “good” movies in the mix. Their comedic riffing is a coping mechanism to keep their sanity after being forced to watch bad B-movie after bad B-movie. I said “interesting” to watch, not “good.” What you’ve described of “Mitchel” sounds like what I’m looking for. I’ve seen other MST3K stuff. I just find that I like it better when what’s on screen is actually interesting, and I’m not relying the robots and Mike and Joel to hold my attention throughout–though granted a lot of that is because the jokes are too obscure, so maybe this will fix that. The ones I’ve loved off the top of my head are this one where the teenagers turn giant, one about some superhero that flies/falls diagonally, and something about Mrs. B-flat or something. And Santa Clause vs. the Martians. Those were all interesting enough on their own to hold my attention, with the bots just making it more enjoyable. ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2015, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annotated-mst3k/713321/11 "2015-02-22T23:40:11Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I said “interesting” to watch, not “good.” What you’ve described of “Mitchel” sounds like what I’m looking for. > > I’ve seen other MST3K stuff. I just find that I like it better when what’s on screen is actually interesting, and I’m not relying the robots and Mike and Joel to hold my attention throughout–though granted a lot of that is because the jokes are too obscure, so maybe this will fix that. > > The ones I’ve loved off the top of my head are this one where the teenagers turn giant, one about some superhero that flies/falls diagonally, and something about Mrs. B-flat or something. And Santa Clause vs. the Martians. Those were all interesting enough on their own to hold my attention, with the bots just making it more enjoyable. Sounds like “Village of the Giants”, “The Puma Man”, and “Mr. B Natural” ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2015, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annotated-mst3k/713321/12 "2015-02-23T00:34:15Z")
The channel seems to be really new, like within the last 2 weeks new. So I hit the subscribe button and I think that more and more videos will be updated as time goes on ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2015, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annotated-mst3k/713321/13 "2015-02-23T01:16:56Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I said “interesting” to watch, not “good.” It’s hard for me to gauge what someone might find interesting. I think “Soultaker” might be a good one, too. The basic plot centers around an angel of death chasing around some not-quite-dead teenagers after a car accident to take their souls to the afterlife or something (it’s not really well fleshed out and explained in the movie.) It could have been a decent movie if the screenplay was polished, edited, and more developed. ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2015, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annotated-mst3k/713321/14 "2015-02-23T14:40:08Z")
All four are good episodes, but Laserblast and Mitchell are both amongst my favorites.