We watched some of his work in my one college Film Studies class: 1988-ish. That’s how I knew who they were talking about.
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I think it would only automatically be tougher if one were trying to riff a good comedy. It would be pretty presumptuous to imagine one could make riffs that would be better than the onscreen comedy in movies like Duck Soup, Some Like It Hot or Blazing Saddles. But if your subject matter is a comedy that is lame, unimaginative, hackneyed or poorly executed (and I would contend one or more of those descriptions do apply to Catalina Caper), it should not be much more difficult than riffing a monster movie or teen delinquent movie or any genre movie which shared those same traits.
Mary Jo and Bridget have done quite well riffing the Teen-Agers “comedies” over at Rifftrax, for example.
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The one Teenagers I saw is good. But remember: they’ve had 30 or so years of skill-cultivating which they didn’t have in the Catalina days. 
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My ultimate comfort episode. It has all the feels of early cable television, with just a hint of the sharpness to come in Seasons 3 and 4. I could watch it daily if I needed to.
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At the jump a lifetime ago, the comedy twice over of the experiment and the commentary threw me off. Darting back to it, Catalina (1967) increasingly is satisfying like biting into a candy bar you were introduced to in childhood. The Tommy Kirk connection, the parading dancing, Little Richard, the Pink Pantherness of the opening titles and the main plot. A fun time and an unusually frivolous mainstream selection that hits a note infrequently touched on in the history of MST. It’s instant nostalgia and one of the standout shows of Season 2.
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It is closest to what MST3K transforms into by the Godzilla episodes and beyond of the early shows. Joel’s red jumpsuit, the having fun with the movie (which they did and it’s obvious), the iconic Host Segments (Joel Remembers The 60s, Creepy Girl), the riffing itself (cool, literate, and engaging), and the overall quality of 204 outside of a few tells might fool you into thinking of Season 3 if you squinted. A classic MST? Maybe not quite but it has legs if you sit back and just enjoy it. And I appreciate it greater as I go back to it.
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Catalina Caper is truly one of my favorite episodes. The innocent and inept comedy combined with early rock n’ roll (I was quite the Little Richard fan as a youngster) and what passed for dancing in that day just make for a fun movie and a funny riff. Then the host segments just knock it out of the park. I have seen this one over and over, and am sure I have many rewatches yet to come.
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It rang some bells for me too. I had just watched Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday (1953) on DVD not long previous and the movie reference gave this a jolt in realizing these people would reference anything. I had known that before but this made it apparent and I never forgot it. Today as I see Catalina (1967) my Hulot introduction is tied into it. A twofold memory.
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The Legend of Tommy Kirk Continues. 
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I get why they don’t like writing riffs to comedies, or things that think they’re comedies, but I think they did a great job with this one. It’s really strong for a season 2 episode and it’s just a fun, goofy movie.
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I just want someone to sing to me the way Tom does to Creepy Girl. I think this episode is an absolute bop- light, breezy fun
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As someone who was watching the show in real time, CC stands out because it was where they started to hit their stride comedically. The host segments are wonderful, especially Creepy Girl, but the riffing is beginning to hit that sweet spot.
It might not mean as much if you caught the show long after it aired - it’s definitely been surpassed numerous times.
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I FREAKED OUT AT THE TATI/HULOT REFERENCES BECAUSE THAT MAN AND HIS FILMS ARE TREASURES 
And yeah, the detective is basically Mr. Hulot with the serial numbers filed off.
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(For that matter, I was freaking out at the Jacques Tati reference in Reptilicus as well, because I was NOT expecting them to dive that deep. The new crew impressed me right off the bat!)
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This one really is a lot of fun. Even attempting an Intentional Comedy deserves a lot of props and they did very well here.
And yes, Creepy Girl is so adorable. Bless Kevin Murphy’s singing voice forever!
Definitely one I like to turn to whenever I’m in the mood something very light and/or to wind down to.
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I agree completely. While every episode of MST can be enjoyable, some I really have to be in the right mood to watch them because the movie is too depressing/annoying/dull/etc.
Catalina Caper is one I can watch any time because I know the movie is slight and inoffensive. I was a kid when The Boatniks came out. I saw The Boatniks in a theater. This movie is no worse than The Boatniks. It’s like typical 1960’s sitcom level of comedy, Technically funny, but y’know . . . 
And the crew did a great job riffing this comedy. It helps that the movie doesn’t take itself at all seriously and that the comedy in the movie doesn’t clash or compete with their own style of comedy.
I hope they do tackle more comedies. I consider Village of The Giants to have been intended as a comedy/fantasy, so that’s another one they successfully riffed.
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The line that makes my family laugh the most isn’t even a riff: “Duty calls your master away!”
One of the most ridiculous lines from a ridiculous character.
But really, this is in my top five, and one i’m always down to rewatch.
“Book of Love” gets sung way too often around here.
I don’t know if it would go on a universal “best of MST” list, but something about it makes it classic.
I can’t imagine choosing to watch it without the riffs, either.
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RE: Comedy
This is the episode everyone brings up when people challenge the fact that you can’t riff a comedy. The result is delightful, so it makes a case that you can, but I think it has to be a certain kind of comedy.
Specifically, I think it has to have something going on besides comedy. There needs to be some other genre at work for it to support the riffing. This had a heist element to it. Mac and Me was a comedy with some Sci-Fi, and Munchie had a fantasy aspect to it. It has to give the riffers something to fixate on other than, “Boy, this comedy fails to be comedic.”
Simply put: I think it would be possible to riff Jim Carrey’s The Mask, but not Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.
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I love this episode!
Favorite riff: " He’s not my son , y’know… He’s Marty Milner’s kid"
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