Preach it!
“Cannnnnn I geta wintesssss?!”
The best episodes to try:
Pod People “Trumpy! you can do stupid things!”
Mitchell “Word on the street is that you’re a jerk!”
Warrior of the Lost Universe “Megaweapon! Megaweapon!”
Robot Holocaust “These are the saviors of the Earth!”
The Day the Earth Froze “Sampo!”
Space Mutiny “Chunk Macslab!”
These were not complete episodes, only short subject films that MST3K used to sometimes screen before the main feature, depending on whether the actual feature was long enough for the 2-hour program format. They can be insanely funny (“A Day at the Circus,” anyone?) but it seemed to me that they were a bit more hit-or-miss than the actual movies. Also, of course if you’re seeing them out of context then you’re not getting the little skits that the robots and mad scientists acted in between segments, which is essential for a proper appreciation of the show.
Best Brains, the production company, only reserved the rights of the originally screened films for two years’ broadcast time, which is why some of the funniest episodes are not being distributed for DVD sale. But if you ever get an opportunity to watch any of the “Hercules” movies as treated by these guys, you might find it more your cup of tea. Or “Time of the Apes,” that’s another good one. Or…(repeat episode titles and quotes ad infinitum)
I don’t recall anyone else in Photo class who wore black-framed–HEYYYY!
Maybe it’s not the show that’s at fault here; maybe it’s you that’s the problem! Did you ever think of that, hah? DID YOU?! huff huff
Og Almighty, YES! I couldn’t for the life of me remember what that one was called, thank you!! I just remembered that dorky alien’s name was Trumpy… and my lil’ bro and I have added lines from that into our normal everyday conversation… if we see birds, or hamsters, or heck, just a potato, you’re apt to hear one of us pondering: “Little potatoes. Hmm… little winged potatoes.”
There’s a Hercules one I adore… had something to do with a sandstorm… “deep hurting”… a song about pants… and such classic lines as:
“I want the Garfield cup.”
“Twirl me!”
“He’s cream filled!”
Oh, Og, I have to buy these on DVD. Now. *rummages for *Mr. Stasaeon’s ** credit card
The show is definitely one of those “you get it or you don’t” types. I’ve watched the show since about the second month is was on. I even got a satellite dish in 1997 in order to follow it to the Sci-Fi Channel. I have all the episodes (which I have just finished transferring to DVD-R). I even buy the Rhino versions.
It’s one of the best shows to never air on a “real” network. Even though I’ve seen them all 2 or 3 times, I can still get a good laugh from them.
Give it another try. DO NOT start with “Manos: The Hands of Fate” without proper training! 
Ain’t that the truth. I’ve had years of proper training and I still find it hard to sit through that Experiment.
Some good “Mike” movies to try: “Girl in Gold Boots” and “Overdrawn at the Memory Bank”.
Then again, I don’t mind Mike. Or Joel. I like them both.
One of the best quick scenes in “Girl…” is when the greasy guy suddenly appears in the diner.
“Overdrawn…”: “My nuts?”
The truth is… some MST3K episodes are utter comedy gold… and some of them just aren’t very good.
That’s it. That’s the secret. Same as Seinfeld episodes, really. Some are great. Some suck.
The first one I ever saw was the Rhino video release of Amazing Colossal Man, and I laughed until my sides hurt.
…but *Manos, Hands Of Fate * just wasn’t there, for me.
…but *The Creeping Terror * was rolling on the floor funny.
… but *Quest Of The Delta Knights * just wasn’t.
…and I could go on like this all day.
My take on it is that it is that it probably would have been a lot of fun when I was in college to get a bunch of guys together and get drunk and watch it every weekend. But mostly it was just dull.
I have seen one or maybe two that I liked.
“Deep hurting… DEEP HURTING!” and “Sand storm… SAND STORM!” were catch phrases around my house for years, if you can believe that!
I’d love to see some of the older episodes again, but I prefer Joel to Mike, and I lost a good deal of interest when they switched from Dr. Forrester and TV’s Frank to the old lady and the guy in the Planet of the Apes costume.
And they thought they wouldn’t survive the sand storm scene - I thought they did great for what they had to work with! The lame, half-assed puns they tossed out worked like a charm for me
I’m about the same as you, I quit the scene shortly after Joel was no longer the lead humanoid. Much as I love Tom Servo … ehhh… it was a different dynamic, I guess. Ah, well, to each their own… now I need to hunt up the old episodes. Give my lil bro a call. Connect. Ask him about winged potatoes. Or just mysteriously make those squeaky noises the woman made when she ran her fingers across Herc’s chest. He’ll know exactly who is calling and what I’m talking about.
“Rock climbing, Joel…ROCK CLIMBING!!!”
“look at my crotch!
look at my crotch!
look look look at my crotch!
looooooooooooooooooooooooooook at my crotch!”
I love the cheerleading sequence!
And the most disturbing short, ever,…
“Mr B. Natural”
another fun short was the “Design for Dreaming” GM promo short
<Servo> i’m sure this is the “up” part of her manic mood swings
<Crow> “The Shick Electric Razor Car!”
<picture of a Corvette with prominent, aggresive grille>
<Crow> RRRRRRR!!!RRRRRRRRRRRR!
<Mike> “look, dead raccoon of tomorrow…”
“Watch out, the bridge to the future’s out”
and yes, don’t view Manos without the assistance of properly trained MSTies, too easy to hurt yourself
Best. Show. Ever.
I always felt Joel’s delivery was too… sleepy.
Deathstalker, and the Warriors from Hell:
“Who are you?”
“Smelled your food.”
“That was the LAST guy’s name!”
CandidGamera: Nobody hardly ever mentions Deathstalker and the Warriors from Hell. It’s one of the greatest episodes ever.
“Guess what I’ve been doing?”
Don’t miss the Gumby short, “Robot Rumpus.”
“That squares my breasts.” /Crow
It’s right before “The Screaming Skull,” which is also hilarious:
“Can we help you movie lady? Do you need a push or something?” /Tom
So the guys are sitting in the theater, watching the opening credits. The title card comes up, filling the entire screen: Squirm
Mike and the 'bots look at one another, shrug, say “OK” … and start squirming.
The best thing about Quest Of The Delta Knights was that, during the same week – nay, the same day – that the SciFi Channel was first showing the MST3k “Quest Of The Delta Knights” episode, the SciFi Channel was also showing the Quest Of The Delta Knights movie un-MSTed!
Even The Onion made fun of this fact once.
The very first episode I ever watched was Jack Frost. Nothing else was on, I was bored, so I thought, what the hell, sat down, and started watching. And then proceeded to “laughing so hard my stomach hurt and I couldn’t breathe.” As a result, Jack Frost will always hold a special place in the heart of this MSTie.
One thing I’ve found is that the episodes are better the second time around. Occassionally, when they do a real stinker (like Space Mutiny), the movie itself is so horrid that it’s painful. But if you watch it again, you’re prepared, and can pay more attention to the riffs.
I’m a Mike gal, but I like Joel too. They’re both very sexy, IMNSHO.
My favorites: (in no particular order)
Jack Frost
Space Mutiny
Mitchell
Eegah
Touch of Satan
Puma Man
Riding With Death
Time Chasers
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank (See a very young, very attractive Raul Julia!)
Parts: the Clonus Horror
Girl in Gold Boots
Diabolik
Soultaker
Final Justice (If you thought Joe Don Baker got owned in Mitchell, wait’ll you see this one!)
The Final Sacrifice (“Rowsdower!”)
Boggy Creek II…and the Legend Continues…