Mystery Science Theater 3000

This is really good I was a big fan of the original mst3k and they have done a good job rebooting this. The movies are definitely more watchable than some of the originals. And the riffs and jokes are funny. I am thrilled Netflix decided to make this season. Some of the jokes are pretty obscure and maybe people won't get them all but honestly I really enjoyed watching this. If you like cheesy movies or are a fan of the original give this a try.

EDIT- I feel I need to knock off a point from my initial review. At the time I was more forgiving but season 2 drives home a serious problem with the new series. There are too many jokes. For every two good jokes, it feels as though there are twenty bad ones in between and hurt the two good ones. The original series worked because it played off the movie, this is nothing but a distraction from it.

One of my favorite TV shows of all time get its second wind and the breeze is good. With a new cast and Joel behind the wheel, they have sought some great material for their 14 episodes and have given the series a nice new coat of paint. It took some time to get over the new voices for the bots, I'll admit, but nothing a little more exposure won't fix.

I love their selection. Two of them I have seen on Netflix before, Starcrashers and The Loves of Hercules, and Reptilicus is in my personal collection of $1 VHS tapes. With such quality, there is a plethora of ribs to be made. There is an android Texan for God sake, we have already crossed the camp line and I'll be damned if we aren't going to see that to the end. The other movies are strong contenders as well. In Cry Wilderness an obnoxious brat of a kid befriends Bigfoot and has to save his father from... all the while everyone throws as many insults as possible at the sole native American. Wizard of the Lost Kingdom has a doughy swordsman sort of avoid using swordsmanship to protect a bratty wizard kid. Wizards of the Lost Kingdom II has a fat wizard teach a bratty kid magic while David Carradine desperately tries to avoid swordsmanship to protect them. I am beginning to sense a trend. But Yungary... has a giant monster dance with a bratty Korean kid. But they don't just pick on kids, The Time Travellers has a bratty man child, son of a...! If I were to pick a best episode, it would have to be Wizards of the Lost Kingdom II because woof. Between the teen actor getting hit with puberty hard and the cast forgetting to act, it is just non stop fodder for Jonah and the bots. Carradine's constant heroic entrances and sudden departures are especially hilarious, half the time he doesn't even do anything. Just show up, kill a couple guards, then out the window as everyone stands around and watches. The weakest movie of the season has to be Avalanche, it starts strong and ends well but for a stretch the movie just doesn't have much to ridicule. Mainly because nothing happens, the movie stalls on endless exposition that makes one wish the avalanche would come sooner. Even then, I wouldn't call it a terrible episode, the end is ripe with cheesy goodness as Rock Howard frets over his endangered mother who might be his age and Mia farrow is as wooden as ever.

The humor is pretty diverse. The sketches have that family friendly, perhaps even PC at times, quality that was very reminiscent of Joel's seasons. They try to be inoffensive and sometimes slap on the hand of the movie for being behind the times, such as shaming Rock Hudsen's character in Avalancehe for being a poor role model. The theater however feels more like Mike Nelson's run. They tear into the movie ridiculing it for all of its faults without remorse. Bad special effects, terrible costumes, the wizard kid runs like he may have some special need, nothing is safe. Even Gypsy gets into the act, though why I can't quite understand. Her appearance has more flair then the others but her jokes just don't deserve the build. She shows up, drops something off, and leaves with a somewhat disappointing quip while Tom and Crow are left with the A material.

There is one glaring flaw I have with the new season/series, and unfortunately its the mads. I like Felicia Day and I like Patton Oswalt, but Kinga Forrester and TV's Son of TV's Frank just don't seem to cut it. There is no activity with the characters, while their fathers were very active in their segments their kids are very wooden. They deliver their scenes like a stand up routine, they just stand in front of the camera and deliver their lines. The invention exchanges are especially weak, their inventions rarely if ever call for them to do anything beyond spin a wheel or talk. Their predecessors made love to the camera, I kind of wanted more from them.

Rejoice, MiSTies! The Satellite of Love is back, and so is the Gizmonic Institute and all of those terrible movies we love to make fun of!

Under the guidance of Joel Hodgson, Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Return feels like old times. Sure, some things are different. Of course the cast is new, with Jonah Ray taking over command as Jonah Heston, this edition's poor hapless guy who's being tortured with bad movies. His companions are the same (primarily Crow and Tom Servo), but they're voiced by different people (Hampton Yount and Baron Vaughn, respectively). And the Mads (mad scientists) are new as well, with Dr. Forrester's daughter Kinga (Felicia Day) taking over, ineptly assisted by TV's son of TV's Frank (Patton Oswald).

You may need to adjust your set... just a little. We actually get to see poor Jonah's "origin" story...and amusingly, due to crappy recording technology, he has to literally act it out every episode. But at first it's a little jarring to hear the theme song grind to a halt right in the middle.

And whereas the old series used to show silly bits over the opening theme, the new one shows Jonah's kidnapping as a smug Kinga sings about how she'll send him cheesy movies, the worst she can find. Yes, with minor modifications, it's still the same catchy, loopy song. Cha-ching!

There are a few other things to get used to. Gypsy's throaty falsetto voice has been replaced by a midwest woman, and of course Tom and Crow sound different.

And the most important part, the movies? Well, they're actually improved. They're more recent and in color, but they're still B-movies. I have to admit being concerned that the series got off to a REALLY slow start with the first episode's riffs on "Reptilicus". I don't think I laughed once during Jonah and the 'bots' mockery, because the writing just was unfunny, weak, and frankly kind of desperate. Things improved in episode 2, and by episode 3 there were genuine belly laughs to be had. Guess it took them a while to get back into the groove of things.

So if you're still wondering how he eats and breathes and other science facts, repeat to yourselves it's just a show -- you should really just relax.

Mystery Science Theater 3000 is back!

Shut up already! More non-funny jokes faster only fails faster. Tried to watch 'The Land That Time Forgot'. Horrible banter, found the original movie on YouTube and watched it there. Tell Hollywood that bad German accents are just as inappropriate as all the other things we're not allowed to do in our 'free' society anymore.

Mst3k is one of my all time favorite shows. Joel has never been a favorite of mine, but I really do enjoy the episodes when he is a host. When Mike became host, however, I think they polished the show exactly where they wanted it. Almost every joke was on point and hilarious.

Throughout the entire run, there was almost a humble way of presenting it. They didn't need famous people or cameos at all and it seemed to do really well with the limited characters. It didn't need anything else. For a show with such a zany and not-so-serious premise, the story was great that you could follow it. If it had a cast change, they would make a comment or explain why a certain thing was a certain way. They would always acknowledge questions. The show also ended on a great note.

With the new season, it seems like it was painfully rushed and sloppy. The story is lackluster and doesn't answer a lot of questions you may have. For example, they have a lot of callbacks to previous episodes and seasons and seem to go into detail about certain things, but gloss over why the bots are back on the SOL in the first place. I know "it's just a show and I should relax", but with them including details to link the story to past seasons and then gloss over why the bots are back doesn't make too much sense.

I actually don't mind the new cast. Jonah makes a good host that reminds me of Joel and the actor for Crow plays it very well. Tom Servo's voice however is rough. It seems like he is just trying to imitate Kevin Murphy's Servo most of the time. It is obvious because he doesn't seem to have a personality so far. I don't think it was a good casting choice, but it is the very beginning of the new season. Speaking of voices, Gypsy's new voice is terrible. I don't think that because it is a woman's voice, but because it makes the character no longer that interesting. Gypsy, to me, was always great because it was obviously a man imitating a woman. With this new voice it just doesn't add anything new. Also, her dropping in the theater to make a joke is super distracting.

The new mads are decent. I like Oswalt's character, but Kinga is far too overacted. Even for this show she is over the top and doesn't strike me as genuine like the past mads. She is rarely funny and doesn't scream "evil" to me. I may just have to get used to her because I found Pearl Forrester to be perfect in every way. I absolutely loved Mary's character and her timing.

As I said before, the riffs are too quick and the jokes are lackluster at best. They almost talk over one another and don't let the jokes breathe. They cram too much. Also, all these cameos are awful. They don't add anything to the show and it is not needed. I am hoping it gets renewed for another season as I think there is a lot of potential. Hopefully Joel lets Jonah make it his show a little bit rather than a rehash of Joel jokes. Overall it is a decent watch, but I don't think it demands repeated viewings.