# What's the best MST3K episode? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 12, 2004, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-mst3k-episode/254670 "2004-07-12T05:39:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ms\_Boods](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5e9695/32.png) [@Ms\_Boods](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms_Boods)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2004, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-mst3k-episode/254670/41 "2004-07-12T20:58:13Z")
> [@slortar](#): > > Nobody’s mentioned **Village of the Giants** yet? For God’s sake, people, it’s got **Beau Bridges** , pre- **Happy Day’s** Ron Howard _and_ Toni Basil. And giant hippies. It doesn’t get any better than that. Bah, Beau Bridges, Ron Howard, and Toni Basil – it’s got the _BEAU BRUMMELS_! love from Ms Boods who likes the Beau Brummels a lot and has all their records and autographs and can clear any room in five seconds flat just offering to put on a record. Thanks to **Teenager Strangler** , I have an extremely handy, every day phrase, ‘And I didn’t steal no bike, neither!’ I was thrilled to see Joe Don Baker in recent James Bond films to be able to shout ‘Mitchell!’ whenever her was on screen (not in a crowded theatre, no worries; might have the same effect as shouting ‘Fire!’ – widespread panic and rioting, etc. **Pod People** is quite lovely, as is **Time of the Apes** ; \*\*Teenagers from Outer Space \*\*was the first one I ever saw. The **Fugitive Alien** one with the song about Ken and trying to kill him with a forklift; it has been a right sacrifice not referencing that in the Ken Jennings-Alex Trebec threads. Other favourites in Boodsland: **Daddy-O The Human Duplicators** (if only to practice speaking as Richard Kiel does) **Manos Eegah! Alien from LA Outlaw TeenAge Crime Wave** (He’ll never touch you, Terry - you’re dirt!) **San Francisco International High School Big Shot Deathstalker Laserblast Werewolf Danger: Diabolik** (I actually like the film) \*\*Incredibly Mixed Up Zombies, etc \*\* Crikey, too many to list…it would be easier to list the ones I don’t care for! PS I’ve never downloaded a film; mine are just from vids I made off tele at the time of transmission or bought…just saying which ones I like best… ---
**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2004, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-mst3k-episode/254670/42 "2004-07-12T21:23:59Z")
I watched MST3K from (almost) the beginning so my favorites are some of the earlier episodes **Robot vs. the Aztec Mummy** Narrator: How far can the mind of man penetrate the mysteries of the great beyond? Crow: 13 feet, 7 inches: 1930 Mexico City Olympics **Cave Dwellers** Joel: How much Keef is there in this movie? Tom Servo: _Miles_ O’Keef! **Mighty Jack** _Scene: Secret agent screws several attachments to a gun barrel_ Crow: This makes it silent, and this makes it loud again, and _this_ is for those hard-to-reach assassinations! **Fugitive Alien** All: He _tried_ to kill me with a forklift! ---
**Author:** ![Wolfian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7ea924/32.png) [@Wolfian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolfian)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2004, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-mst3k-episode/254670/43 "2004-07-12T21:54:47Z")
Great, now I’ll be humming the **Final Sacifrice** theme all night. The best? Hmmm. **Squirm** had the best short ( **A Case of Spring Fever** starring Coily and his army of death). I guess I’d go with **Space Mutiny**. Its one of the experiments that you can tell tell geninuely hated, hated, hated, hated the movie. Hated it. “So the best boy they could find was Fuzzy Skinner?” ---
**Author:** ![Kallessa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7993a0/32.png) [@Kallessa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kallessa)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2004, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-mst3k-episode/254670/44 "2004-07-12T22:20:51Z")
Is \*\*Teenagers from Outer Space \*\* the one where the aliens come out of the space craft looking like pre-preppie student body officers? In v-neck pullover sweaters? If so, this is the first MST3K I ever saw, and I still have fond memories of it. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2004, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-mst3k-episode/254670/45 "2004-07-12T22:28:55Z")
> [@Kallessa](#): > > Is \*\*Teenagers from Outer Space \*\* the one where the aliens come out of the space craft looking like pre-preppie student body officers? In v-neck pullover sweaters? If so, this is the first MST3K I ever saw, and I still have fond memories of it. Glad to see you survived the TOR-CHA! ---
**Author:** ![Ms\_Boods](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5e9695/32.png) [@Ms\_Boods](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms_Boods)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2004, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-mst3k-episode/254670/46 "2004-07-12T22:40:30Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > Glad to see you survived the TOR-CHA! And the ACTING. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2004, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-mst3k-episode/254670/47 "2004-07-12T22:40:52Z")
I guess you _can_ be too rich and too thin… And from **Eegah** : Watch out for snakes! ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2004, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-mst3k-episode/254670/48 "2004-07-12T22:45:36Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > Take it to the Pit or STFU. Don’t you have somewhere else to be inaccurately self righteous? ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2004, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-mst3k-episode/254670/49 "2004-07-12T22:48:14Z")
Speaking as a Mistie only, why don’t both of you drop it!? ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2004, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-mst3k-episode/254670/50 "2004-07-13T00:47:19Z")
Speaking as an SDMB moderator, why don’t both of you drop it? Consider this a warning. Ho ho ho. Also speaking as such, please don’t steal anything that doesn’t belong to you. ---
**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2004, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-mst3k-episode/254670/51 "2004-07-13T01:26:12Z")
**Bloodlust!** The best shorts are **Uncle Jim’s Dairy Farm** and **Chicken of Tomorrow**. ---
**Author:** ![xvxdarkknightxvx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/34f0e0/32.png) [@xvxdarkknightxvx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xvxdarkknightxvx)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2004, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-mst3k-episode/254670/52 "2004-07-13T01:35:41Z")
Quick hijack: Can someone give the original for MST3K, and what it actually is? I’ve heard that it’s just people making fun of the movie? What’s the incentive to watch the MST3K version when I can crack wise myself? Sorry for the hijack. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2004, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-mst3k-episode/254670/53 "2004-07-13T01:55:32Z")
What’s your incentive? Joel (or Mike) and the robots are probably funnier than you. ---
**Author:** ![Zap\_Rowsdower](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3da27b/32.png) [@Zap\_Rowsdower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zap_Rowsdower)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2004, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-mst3k-episode/254670/54 "2004-07-13T01:59:45Z")
There are so many good episodes its hard to list my favorite. That being said the ones I feel are the best are _Gamera vs. Guiron_, _Skydivers_, _The Girl in Lovers Lane_, _Blood Waters of Dr. Z_, \*Manos the Hands of Fate, Godzilla vs. Megalon, \*. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2004, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-mst3k-episode/254670/55 "2004-07-13T02:01:48Z")
Yeah, remember, it wasn’t just some guys adlibbing quips at a bad movie. It was a team of comedic genius writers who picked and sifted through things to bring us just the right joke at just the right point in the flick. And the skits were priceless! ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2004, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-mst3k-episode/254670/56 "2004-07-13T02:04:20Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > Yeah, remember, it wasn’t just some guys adlibbing quips at a bad movie. It was a team of comedic genius writers who picked and sifted through things to bring us just the right joke at just the right point in the flick. > > And the skits were priceless! this is why I never understood the Joel v Mike debate. Mike was always the head-writer of the program…or at least every ep I’ve ever seen has him listed as headwriter. That means that Joel the Genius was probably _gasp\*\*shock_ using some of Mike’s lines! I love them both equally anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2004, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-mst3k-episode/254670/57 "2004-07-13T02:06:20Z")
They get a week to practice their material instead of doing it spur-of-the-moment and have a staff to pick out the most choice movies. The difference is day-for-night and day. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2004, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-mst3k-episode/254670/58 "2004-07-13T02:07:34Z")
The writers have to sit through a movie some 10-12 times to write all the jokes. The next step is to figure out who gets to say what. It is then painstakingly scripted down the the second. Ad-libs, though rare, are frowned upon since it can screw up the whole script. Way back when the show was on KTMA-23 in Minneapolis, the jokes were done on the fly. I have all the 18 available episodes from that time and let me tell you, it can be excrutiatingly painful to watch. There are many times where nothing is said for several minutes and you actually have to, GASP, WATCH THE MOVIE!! ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2004, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-mst3k-episode/254670/59 "2004-07-13T02:10:59Z")
Well, Joel was the creator of the show idea. And his character was delightfully wierd. But, Mike was good, too. The biggest growth in viewership came during his reign (tho I can’t find the cite, maybe it was a CC interview?), after all. Coincidence? Maybe. Or maybe he’s damn funny, too! I watched it from the 1st CC season, and have seen all (I think) of the original MN shows. So, just like growing up with Kirk, I still prefer the Joel, as he was my MST3K cherry buster. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2004, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-mst3k-episode/254670/60 "2004-07-13T02:11:28Z")
Also, the staff learned a hard lesson when they did _The Sidehackers_. They had only skimmed through the movie when they chose it thinking it was perfect for the show. What they didn’t know was that there was a brutal rape/murder scene which drives the second half of the movie. They were pretty skaken up. After that, that watched a movie all the way through before choosing it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-mst3k-episode/254670.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-mst3k-episode/254670.md?page=4)