In this new six-way battle of classic episodes, which title in the May vault collection stands out as your favorite? Which offering brings the biggest laughs and the greatest comfort? Whose cuisine will reign supreme?!
It has to be The Killer Shrews as it was my first episode watched back in the summer of 92! Watched it in Wildwood NJ while on vacation there from Bucks County because we didn’t have Comedy Central yet back at home. I was hooked immediately.
I remember getting guff from my friends because they wanted to go out and have fun on a Saturday night on the Boardwalk, whilst my comedy nerd ass wants to watch robots poking fun at Roscoe P Coltrane.
#1: Beginning of the End (8 of 10) is the best of this group without question. Movie is basically watchable while still being silly, and the riffing is top-notch from start to finish.
#2: Pod People (7 of 10) has some really good host segments and some of the best riffs around, but sadly the movie itself is empty and dull in a lot of places and it pulls the episode down a little bit.
#3: Gamera (6.5 of 10) has to come in third. Iconic first movie in the Gamera MST collection, it is not the best MST outing but the movie is good and there’s some solid riffing in place.
#4: Killer Shrew (6 of 10) comes in just behind Gamera on this list. Good riffs and a ridiculous premise but such a plodding script and low-to-no-action pacing make it a tougher viewing than others.
#5: Werewolf (4 of 10). I know some people really like this one, but sorry … aside from the bad accent of the female lead there is really nothing to like about this episode. It’s pacing is worse than Killer Shrew, and the riffing is overall of even lower impact. I consider this to be one of MST’s weakest entries period. It gets 4 out of 10 and only just barely gets that for “Paul you is a warhwulf” as a memorable line (but it’s not even a RIFF).
#6 is King Dinosaur (4 of 10). Boring movie. Merely OK riffs. It gets 4 out of 10 because of the amusing short before the movie “X Marks the Spot”.
-Emily offers some thoughts on The Killer Shrews
-Servo chimes in on King Dinosaur
-Jonah talks about Gamera
-GPC weighs in on Werewolf
-Crow joins Synthia for Pod People
-Emily comes back for The Beginning of the End
Every single one a gold-plated classic episode… It was soooo hard to pick a favorite, but Beginning of the End is such a classic 50s B-movie, really the bread and butter of MST3K. That said, Killer Shrews is just a peach of a film… it just don’t play Dixieland Jazz…
