Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection Volume 10
Picture: C+ Sound: C+ Extras: B Film: A
Rhino
strikes again, releasing its tenth Mystery
Science Theater 3000 (MST3K) boxed set! Like previous versions, this box contains four
seemingly random episodes covering various seasons of the show’s illustrious
run. For the uninitiated, MST3K enjoyed
a long life in the late 1980s through the 1990s, serving up a campy brand of
bad-movie humor while watching some of the worst movies in the history of cinema. The show aired on two networks (Comedy
Central and Sci-Fi), delighting fans (known as “Mysties”) the world over.
This
tenth volume happens to contain two of the most popular episodes in series
history, each one from a different “era” of the show. Godzilla
vs. Megalon might be the funniest
send-up of a giant monster movie the crew has done, featuring creator Joel
Hodgson at the height of his comedic powers. The
Giant Spider Invasion presents
Mike Nelson at his deadpan deadliest, lancing the film’s white-trash cast with
his well-timed barbs.
The other
two features, Swamp Diamonds and Teen-Age Strangler round
out the collection, and include a pair of hilarious 1950’s shorts on dating and
relationships. Appropriately quirky and
thematic packaging make this boxed set another strong installment in the
series.
If you
have read previous reviews of MST3K boxed sets, then you won’t be surprised to
learn that the sound on all of these discs is adequate, but suffers from the
same problems that all boxes in this series have. The combination of the audio (her in Dolby
Digital 2.0) from the actual movie and the cast’s scathing commentaries
sometimes results in an overall washout, at times making it difficult to
understand what Mike, Joel, and the bots are cracking wise about. The picture (shown in chopped-up bad prints in
1.33 X 1 framing) on the films is predictably bad, but the video quality of the
satellite sequences does the job, and actually enhances the camp quality of the
entire presentation.
The extras
on this volume are a step up from Volume Nine, and include the MST3K Video
Jukebox (a selection of funny songs from the show’s sketches), outtakes, and a
photo gallery. Mysties and fans of bad
cinema take note, this one is another must-have for the collection.
- Scott R. Pyle
