# MST3K is funny, even if I have no idea what's going on **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 30, 2009, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mst3k-is-funny-even-if-i-have-no-idea-whats-going-on/501440 "2009-06-30T02:53:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mst3k-is-funny-even-if-i-have-no-idea-whats-going-on/501440/21 "2009-06-30T15:31:18Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > I do want to register that I never found _Santa Claus vs the Martians_ that entertaining. It seems like the subject of the movie itself should be almost enough to carry the show, but it’s not. The riffs seem to me to trail off in level of humor for very long stretches. That’s sort of true. I find the movie entertaining enough on its own not to mind, though. And when the riffs do show up, they’re beautiful. Santa: “We’re going out this year like we always do.” Joel: “Guns a-blazin’!” ---
**Author:** ![want2know](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@want2know](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/want2know)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mst3k-is-funny-even-if-i-have-no-idea-whats-going-on/501440/22 "2009-06-30T16:19:11Z")
Another vote for _Laserblast_. It was the last Comedy Central ep, and I think they didn’t know if this was the end or not, so they pulled out all the stops and came up with one of their best shows ever. “Boy, if those pants give way, it’ll be like a piano exploding!” “Hey, I really like the way you painted those flames on…_ohhhhhhh_!” “Ah, those lovable Southern California crackers!” Also try: _The Magic Sword_ _War of the Colossal Beast_: “Glen passed a truck on the highway! No, I mean Glen _passed a truck_ on the highway!” _The Deadly Bees_: “Kathy Lee Gifford arrives to see the dog’s meat!” _The Beast of Yucca Flats_: “An airplane…maybe a helicopter…I don’t know…have I said ‘flag on the moon’ yet?” ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mst3k-is-funny-even-if-i-have-no-idea-whats-going-on/501440/23 "2009-06-30T16:25:32Z")
> [@randwill](#): > > “The Day the Earth Froze”. > > And I don’t think the movie is a bad as it seems. Out of curosity I rented the original and yeah, it’s a bit goofy as you might expect but it’s not el-cheapo awful-acting bad like a lot of MST3K picks. The MST3K of it is hilarious, pretty much my favorite. ---
**Author:** ![divemaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/divemaster/32/78_2.png) [@divemaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/divemaster)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mst3k-is-funny-even-if-i-have-no-idea-whats-going-on/501440/24 "2009-06-30T18:44:20Z")
> [@randwill](#): > > “The Day the Earth Froze”. > > And I don’t think the movie is a bad as it seems. > [@mack](#): > > Out of curosity I rented the original and yeah, it’s a bit goofy as you might expect but it’s not el-cheapo awful-acting bad like a lot of MST3K picks. The MST3K of it is hilarious, pretty much my favorite. This is my favorite also. The Sampo. The “he’s a loser, la la la” dance. “They’re roasting Bullwinkle!” This episode had me on the floor hardly able to breathe on numerous occasions. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mst3k-is-funny-even-if-i-have-no-idea-whats-going-on/501440/25 "2009-06-30T19:03:06Z")
A lot of great ones already mentioned, so I’ll just vote for these four favorites: _Side Hackers_ (“Only love…pads this fim…”), _Overdrawn at the Memory Bank_, _Jack Frost_, and _Merlin’s Shop of Mystical Wonders_ (“Remember kids, believe in magic or I’ll kill you!”). ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mst3k-is-funny-even-if-i-have-no-idea-whats-going-on/501440/26 "2009-06-30T19:05:18Z")
> [@pepperlandgirl](#): > > _Overdrawn at the Memory Bank_ Oh, god, yes! You get to watch a young Raul Julia tear up the scenery in what looks like a high-school-AV-club-produced PBS teleplay. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mst3k-is-funny-even-if-i-have-no-idea-whats-going-on/501440/27 "2009-06-30T19:08:49Z")
> [@pepperlandgirl](#): > > A lot of great ones already mentioned, so I’ll just vote for these four favorites: _Side Hackers_ (“Only love…pads this fim…”), _Overdrawn at the Memory Bank_, _Jack Frost_, and _Merlin’s Shop of Mystical Wonders_ (“Remember kids, believe in magic or I’ll kill you!”). My all time favorite is “The Wild Wild World of Batwoman” ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mst3k-is-funny-even-if-i-have-no-idea-whats-going-on/501440/28 "2009-06-30T19:35:38Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Space Mutiny! > > “Slab Bulkhead! Splint Chesthair! Brick Hardmeat! Dirk Hardpec!” Bob Johnson! ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mst3k-is-funny-even-if-i-have-no-idea-whats-going-on/501440/29 "2009-06-30T20:58:43Z")
> [@MOIDALIZE](#): > > Bob Johnson! Flint Ironstag! Blast Hardcheese! Thick McRunfast! Every time I get a PPT bug about Normal View, I sing it to myself. “Norrrrmal VIEWWWWWW!!! **NORRRRRMAAALLLLL VIIIEWWWWWWWWWW!!** ” ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ad7895/32.png) [@Just\_Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mst3k-is-funny-even-if-i-have-no-idea-whats-going-on/501440/30 "2009-06-30T21:35:07Z")
Here’s the five episodes I think every MST3K fan needs to watch: 1. Manos - Yeah it’s a bad movie. A very bad movie. It can hold it’s own in a fight for the worst movie ever made. You’ll see these comments and scoff but those of us who have watched Manos and lived never lose the haunted look in our eyes. It’s infamous and for that reason alone it must be seen. 2. Mitchell - The last Joel episode makes it one not to miss; they chose something special for handing over the reins and now I’ll never be able to take Joe Don Baker seriously again. Not that I could in the first place but you get the idea. 3. Red Zone Cuba - This stands in as my favorite of the “Coleman Francis trilogy”; the other two episodes are Skydivers and The Beast of Yucca Flats. Francis is an exceptionally terrible director and I think he was worse when he thought he was making arty films (this one and Skydivers) rather than a monster pic where he lost the soundtrack (even if it “stars” everyone’s favorite Swede Tor Johnson). 4. _Gamera_ - You’ve got to have one badly dubbed Japanese monster flick! One of the few things I dislike about the show is they did just about all of the old Gamera movies except my personal favorite _Gamera Versus Monster X_. Still I think the Gamera episodes are better than the Godzilla episodes. Also, I have been informed that Gamera is really neat and made of turtle meat. 5. _Space Mutany_ - Picking out one SciFi Channel era episode for this and I think _Space Mutany_ is the “best” one. Not that MST3k got worse in that period; Hobgoblins, Soultaker, Werewolf, Pumaman, Squirm… well you get the idea. It’s just that Space Mutany is such a beautifully, aggressively bad movie that it cannot be missed. And don’t overlook the MST3k spin-off projects. There’s The Film Crew which are direct to DVD riffs of old movies, Rifftrax which are downloadable commentaries for popular stuff, and Cinematic Titanic which is the closest in format to the original. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mst3k-is-funny-even-if-i-have-no-idea-whats-going-on/501440/31 "2009-06-30T21:38:47Z")
I started watching the _Space Mutiny_ episode… and shortly thereafter my brother turned on the TV. When he’s done (and if my other brother doesn’t watch some show, and if they both don’t play their video games), I’ll get back to the MSTing. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mst3k-is-funny-even-if-i-have-no-idea-whats-going-on/501440/32 "2009-06-30T22:10:03Z")
> [@divemaster](#): > > This is my favorite also. The Sampo. The “he’s a loser, la la la” dance. “They’re roasting Bullwinkle!” This episode had me on the floor hardly able to breathe on numerous occasions. All of those Russo-Finnish movies are hilarious. **The Day The Earth Froze** , **The Sword and the Dragon** , **Jack Frost** , **The Magic Voyage of Sinbad** …all pure gold! ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mst3k-is-funny-even-if-i-have-no-idea-whats-going-on/501440/33 "2009-07-01T00:11:06Z")
[The Last of the Wild Horses](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVhgOquBh5U), an average, mundane Spaghetti Western, nothing special, however, the host segments elevate it to great, Best Brains play around with the “Mirror Universe” gag, and we end up with such memorable sequences as Evil Mike, Evil Crow, Evil Tom, Gypsy the Captain’s Woman, and most sublime of all, the Mads in the theater, riffing on the film Dr. F. and TV’s Frank sit on the opposite side of the theater seats and do their best to riff on the movie, while Evil Mike and Evil Crow are down in Deep 13 watching the experiment \ [Frank] Aren’t you going to carry me into the theater? [Dr. F] Frank, you’re getting a little big for that… [Frank] \ awww, but it’s my favorite part! ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mst3k-is-funny-even-if-i-have-no-idea-whats-going-on/501440/34 "2009-07-01T02:14:15Z")
Is it just me, or does the guy who plays Kalgan bear a striking resemblance to Peter Jackson’s Elrond? Next episode on my list- either Hobgoblins or Plan 9. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mst3k-is-funny-even-if-i-have-no-idea-whats-going-on/501440/35 "2009-07-01T02:31:12Z")
_Jack Frost_ was the first one I ever saw. Comedy GOLD. “It’s her bucket of Rogaine!” “It’s like having Andrea Dworkin make you over!” Apparently, Joe Don Baker hates them with a passion for _Mitchell_. So, later on in the last series, they did another one of his films: _Final Justice_. Holy SHIT, the riffs were NASTY. (Oh, and I named one of my [cats](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v220/Guinastasia/Kitties/gypsy2.jpg) after Gypsy) ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mst3k-is-funny-even-if-i-have-no-idea-whats-going-on/501440/36 "2009-07-01T13:09:53Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > Is it just me, or does the guy who plays Kalgan bear a striking resemblance to Peter Jackson’s Elrond? > > Next episode on my list- either Hobgoblins or Plan 9. They have the same high forehead. Kalgon makes a reappearance as the title character in the last ever episode, **Diabolik**. Go with **Hobgoblins** for the next one. ---
**Author:** ![Bacon\_Salt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/65b543/32.png) [@Bacon\_Salt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bacon_Salt)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mst3k-is-funny-even-if-i-have-no-idea-whats-going-on/501440/37 "2009-07-01T21:52:45Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > “Slab Bulkhead! Splint Chesthair! Brick Hardmeat! Dirk Hardpec!” > [@MOIDALIZE](#): > > Bob Johnson! > [@Morbo](#): > > Flint Ironstag! Blast Hardcheese! Thick McRunfast! [[URL=“[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFHlJ2voJHY](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFHlJ2voJHY)”]The many names of David Ryder](The many names of David Ryder) For me, it’s a tie between _Manos_ and _This Island Earth_. “It’s the haunting Torgo theme.” “Torgo, you’re the laziest man on Mars!” “If you’d like to contact Harold P. Warren, look in the Yellow Pages for the Fertilizer Corporation of Texas.” (Well, except for the fact that he was dead already) “See big men sticking screw drivers into things - turning them - AND ADJUSTING THEM!” “Now place your hands above the rail. They’re magnetized.” “And if your hands were metal, that would mean something.” “Eastman… he came from the east to do battle with the amazing RANDOOOOOOO!” ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mst3k-is-funny-even-if-i-have-no-idea-whats-going-on/501440/38 "2009-07-01T23:08:00Z")
I’ve heard Invasion of the Neptune Men is a good one, at least lines from it are parroted a lot, like: > **[THEY TOOK OUT THE HITLER BUILDING!](https://hitlerbuilding.ytmnd.com/)** > > Mike and the bots show the folly of using WWII stock footage to depict 1960's Japan. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2009, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mst3k-is-funny-even-if-i-have-no-idea-whats-going-on/501440/39 "2009-07-02T01:41:16Z")
Uhh, guys? Someone asked above for a link to all of this MST3K goodness. I don’t think directions to a short on youtube was quite what he had in mind. Unless that’s how everybody watched MST3K on the internet. Is it? 'Cos I’m not certain that I’m up to doing the shows in twelve-minute segments. Is it on Hulu? Is there a site dedicated to online viewings of MST3K? ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2009, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mst3k-is-funny-even-if-i-have-no-idea-whats-going-on/501440/40 "2009-07-02T01:50:23Z")
Google is your friend. I present to you, in its entirety : [Mitchell!](http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2667241501139414571) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mst3k-is-funny-even-if-i-have-no-idea-whats-going-on/501440.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mst3k-is-funny-even-if-i-have-no-idea-whats-going-on/501440.md?page=3)