“CAN I INTEREST YOU IN A REPLACEMENT DOOR?”
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I can see that I’ve been beaten to it, but it bears reiterating:
You know what really sucks? (Not this episode, because I have it as my third-favorite episode behind Mitchell and Jack Frost.) The lack of easy accessibility for this episode.
If you didn’t snap up a bootleg DVD before Shout Factory did its thing, the official XVII release, or get the episode as part of a collection in the first Kickstarter, man, you’re out of luck. If this episode ever makes it up on YouTube or DailyMotion, it doesn’t stay there for long AT ALL. You’d have much better luck tracking down the Godzilla episodes online than finding The Final Sacrifice.
Which is a shame, because it’s one of the show’s finest hours (and a half), as @RocketJForklift points out.
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But getting back to the actual episode experience, OH FREAKING WOW
This is near the top of the mountain, this one. MST3K is the funniest show ever, so for an episode to be recognized as one of the funniest in the series’ run? You KNOW that’s gotta be monumental.
Why does it work so well? It’s all about the characters. Absolutely perfect riff fodder here in the nerdy Troy (“I can’t wait until they invent the Internet!”), the Canadian answer to Mitchell in Zap Rowsdower (“We’re going to make you drink something other than beer!”), the impossibly deep-voiced big bad Satoris (“Canadian villain Garth Vader”), and the scene-stealing ol’ codger himself, Pipper (“OOOOOOOH, I HATES LEGENDS!”).
Also helping is that the movie - while hokey and silly and implausible - is actually kind of enjoyable? DON’T LET ANYONE KNOW I SAID THAT. Seriously, though, the movie really isn’t THAT bad, and you can get into it, sorta. But the gang still fires upon the movie’s dopiness with both barrels, having such good fun at its expense over car chases, on-foot pursuits, silly dialogue exchanges, and so on.
Plus you have great jabs at the sets, the “video poker” music, the costumes (“Is he a door-to-door executioner?”), EVERYTHING.
Sure, there’s a cult involved, Troy’s dad was killed, and this, that, and the other, but the movie doesn’t feel so oppressively dark that you can’t enjoy it (compare with that second half of The Touch of Satan).
Even that end credits sketch about a possible TV show adaptation is an A+. Legendarily strong installment.
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Creativity is its own cross to bear. The aspiration to achieve, the sensitivity to failure, and the reminder of the past pressing in often decades after. Tjardus Greidanus is an artist like any other. His struggles are that of any creator. His insecurities and victories are his and he’s entitled to them. Where it gets treacherous is in the expression of those feelings especially when a creation of yours is loved how The Final Sacrifice (1990) is.
Greidanus responds to the overwhelming reaction negatively. It’s not what he intended. The desire to be in control and the manner of his first work amusing people is hard to reconcile and it is seen as disrespectful to one who looks at it as his. Whether having a child or inventing something, the bond is very deep and very personal. Depending on who you are. Tjardus is in his rights to respond how he wants to though I fear in reacting as he is he’s punishing the very people who appreciate it the most.
Success isn’t an exact science. It doesn’t always go as expected but the emotions of being so involved sometimes robs us of perspective. In pulling back or insisting on something, we can harm the very thing we’re trying to protect. Which with all due respect to Tjardus Greidanus, is what is occurring with The Final Sacrifice. IMHO. Tjardus found an audience for The Final Sacrifice but it isn’t how he envisioned it and so he suffers and we suffer and one day I hope this works out. Till then enjoy it if possible and remember it in your heart.
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There’s no resolution in sight? Is there? It’s why I paid a fortune for a copy literally yesterday. I can’t forsee this improving any time soon. It would be like if Manos (1966) went OOP. A big hole is left. It’s more then me. It’s all of us. The Final Sacrifice (1990) is quintessential MST3K. It’s such a pity this is where we are. I guess there’s not much more to say. As someone who cares about Mystery Science Theater I hope this isn’t a permanent state of affairs.
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Unless Tjardus Greidanus has a change of heart after being visited by the Ghosts of Laughable Cinema Past, Present, and Future, not very likely, no.
It’s that same impossible boundary between Wade Williams and Rocketship X-M. They both love their respective films too much to see them held up to the ridicule. So it goes.
Glad you got a copy, for sure!
Aw, man… that would be unthinkable!
I hear ya on that, man. Loud and clear.
Still… [gestures to the username] … hope springs eternal and all.
There was a time when no one thought The Pumaman could land on DVD, and boom, Shout Factory came through.
There was a time when no one thought Quest of the Delta Knights would ever see any kind of release, and boom, Shout Factory negotiated the streaming rights.
With The Final Sacrifice, it’s different, as Shout Factory once had the rights to release it, and then those rights went -poof.- Could they be reacquired at some point? Stranger things HAVE happened.
Hell, this series came back after almost eighteen years of radio silence, so… who knows?
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True that. Hope runs eternal. Who would have ever thought a decade ago we’d have the show back? Miracles are possible. We have to look around us to see it. Thanks.
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Very welcome!
You know, Bruce… every year of my life, I grow more and more convinced that the wisest and the best is to fix our attention on the good and the MST3K… if we’ll just take the time to look at it.
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“THIS IS WHERE I’VE SECRETED AWAY ALL MY RED SWEATERS.”
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There was definitely a time for me when I was totally convinced MST3K would never come back. (There’s a reason why Diabolik was incredibly tough for me for the longest time) But there was always a thought in the back of my head: “Wouldn’t it be cool if it did? I would so be there if it happened…”
And well, what do you know… here we are! 
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Without a doubt. One’s focus dictates your reality. I’ve felt that for a long time. At our weakest moments, we must keep that in mind. The moral of the show is essentially that. Making the most out of what you have.
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“Do you know how fast you were going, Rowsdower?”
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EXACTAMUNDO! That was key alllllllllllllllll the way back in the beginning, with the KTMA theme lyrics saying as such: “Joel says when you’ve got lemons / You make lemonade”
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MVP, SUPER BOWL VIII, FOR MIAMI
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You usually say what I want to say, but before I can say it and better, so it’s only fair you get beaten to the punch once in a while.
But, really… Can’t we just have one more Final Sacrifice?
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Heh, fair enough, yeah! And great minds and all of that!
We have a title! WE HAVE A TITLE!
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I didn’t know my box set was so valuable. I just bought it when I had a little extra money and decided to show my appreciation for MST3K getting me through grad school by throwing some money their way instead of only watching for free on YouTube. I never thought it would be one that was removed from circulation.
No, it’s not for sale.
That being said, I’m with @RocketJForklift and @optiMSTie in actually liking the movie somewhat. I think the story being told is good. It has all the classic elements of a good fantasy story with the reluctant hero with a mysterious past, the villain out to rule the world, the boy who holds the secret but is also searching for answers and the adventure that ensues. Greidanus knows how to craft an interesting story. However, this movie definitely suffers from a shoestring budget (or less) and that affects the outcome.
Oh, and I know it’s because of the riffing, but although people always talk about Troy as a major wimp, he’s not actually portrayed that way in the movie itself. Sure, the actor is scrawny, but he’s a teenager. Look at what Troy actually does. He is smart enough to decipher the code he found in his father’s things. He survives an attack by the cultists without even knowing that they were coming after him, including knocking one out with a baseball bat. He has the presence of mind to get away from them more than once without Rowsdower. All in all, he does quite a good job both on his own and with Rowsdower.
I wish I could tell Greidanus that, while I love the riffing on the movie, I actually enjoy the movie for itself as well and it would be fun to see this movie remade with a real budget.
(Oh, and by the way, the Lemon Mine is a real thing. The Legend of the Lost Lemon Mine)
“No wonder Dad lost everything. He invested in lemon mines!”
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That, and who is it that takes down Satoris at the end? It’s definitely not Rowsdower!
I -will- say that I love the riff: “I should tell you that I wheeze loudly when I’m scared. EHHHHHHHHHHHHH EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
One of the more fascinating “what if” questions about the MST3K canon, no?
So flippin’ cool that you snagged that set while the snaggin’ was good!
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Another fave riff over a shot of Troy eating:
Mike: “Mmmm… cold Crazy Bread… really is crazy.”
I don’t know what it is, but Mike’s delivery always hits me hard there.
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