It was a close one for me, between Time Chasers and Space Mutiny, but I had to go with Time Chasers for its true MSTiness - an earnest attempt that ultimately fails (although I love the fact that the time travel actually makes sense - no bootstrapping!)
This is a very tough one! I ended up with Space Mutiny because it’s often the episode I use to introduce new viewers to the series. It’s a lineup of classics for sure.
It was all worth that buildup to get the “THIS IS F-U-N” riff near the end with the radio-controlled plane chaos.
Also, City Limits has one of my favorite pop culture references with the nod to It’s a Wonderful Life after that one character breaks a streetlight with a rock.
And dance by the light of the moon
What’d ya wish for when you threw that roooooooooock
Watching City Limits today gave me the biggest laugh when someone said they were late due to traffic. And Joel says: Traffic?? It’s after the apocalypse. What traffic??
I have to go with Space Mutiny. But I really enjoy all of them except Shi**y Limits (apparently Rae Dawn Chong’s nickname for the movie she was in). Ironically it has the best cast by far.
This one is really hard to pick. I have to go with Warrior of the Wost World just because there is so much gold in it, and it helped me turn friends on to the show. And because of High Plains Drifter.
Very, very close behind is Parts, and Space Mutiny is approaching on Space Radar.
Space Radar is like regular radar, only with pixels and synthesizer music
#1: Warrior of the Lost World. An episode filmed with the cast at its prime. Low quality but watchable movie, top notch riffs, and some very good host segments. And MEGAWEAPON. 8 out of 10.
#2: It’s a close 2nd, but Space Mutiny is just a hair below WotLW in my opinion. The chopped up, stolen effects along with the spliced in Valarian sequences are jarring. Movie is almost watchable though, truly excellent riffs, and good host segments. 8 out of 10.
#3: Time Chasers. This movie is awful and so fundamentally unwatchable that it makes any viewing a tough one. The riffing tries, but there’s so much down-drag that it is hard even for riffs to make up for it. 4.5 out of 10.
#4: Parts: The Clonus Horror. This is a weak episode overall. The movie is icky and makes me feel sticky and dirty when I watch it. Good riffs help but I can’t pretend they’re good enough to compensate for a movie that makes me want to shower after seeing it. 4 out of 10.
#5: City Limits. Another weak episode. The movie has the plodding mundanity of Cave Dwellers but without any of the charm. The team was still finding its footing and so the riffs still weren’t quite where they could have been (but weren’t BAD). 4 out of 10.
#6: Escape 2000. This is in my bottom-10 list of MST episodes. The movie is so boring that it even drags down the riffing with it. The elements are there for a good episode, but for some reason the team just didn’t seem like their hearts were in it. Maybe because of the impending end of the show? Hard to say, but this one only gets 3 out of 10.