This is always unsure until its sure. Given Joel’s advocacy of talking about The Bubble (1966) and his insistence to its Manos (1966) similarities (including him hosting it) I’m hedging it’s a Joel episode. He’s the only one speaking for it. If @crimzind’s Den of Geek link is accurate (and I believe it is), Joel is exactly midway in the season with Demon Squad (2019) and as the 12th episode of Season 13 The Bubble is the best way of balancing two Joel hosted shows by placing one in the middle and one near the end. This is my Season 13 Bingo Card so far…
Santo (Jonah) [Verified]
Robot Wars (Jonah) [Verified]
Beyond Atlantis (Emily) [Verified]
Munchie (Jonah) [Verified]
Doctor Mordrid (Emily) [Verified]
Demon Squad (Joel) [Verified if Jonah is saying “Joel”]
Gamera v. Jiger (Jonah) [Verified]
The Batwoman (Emily)
The Million Eyes of Sumuru (Jonah)
H.G. Well’s The Shape of Things to Come (Emily)
The Mask 3D (Jonah) [Verified]
The Bubble (Joel)
The Christmas Dragon (Jonah, Emily, and Joel) [Verified]
An alternate version is where Emily tackles the two women pictures back-to-back leading to a Jonah back-to-back.
Santo (Jonah) [Verified]
Robot Wars (Jonah) [Verified]
Beyond Atlantis (Emily) [Verified]
Munchie (Jonah) [Verified]
Doctor Mordrid (Emily) [Verified]
Demon Squad (Joel) [Verified if Jonah is saying “Joel”]
Gamera v. Jiger (Jonah) [Verified]
The Batwoman (Emily)
The Million Eyes of Sumuru (Emily)
H.G. Well’s The Shape of Things to Come (Jonah)
The Mask 3D (Jonah) [Verified]
The Bubble (Joel)
The Christmas Dragon (Jonah, Emily, and Joel) [Verified]
Joel isn’t one to riff the same movie twice. Understanding Demon Squad (2019) is a Joel episode. The natural companion is The Bubble (1966) owing to him being its primary champion and promoter dating back to the Kickstarter.
Personally I want Emily to avoid being the “MST For Her” crew just to have her tackle sexist movies with lady leads. She and her castmates are exceptional, and they deserve more than to just take themed movies based on gender. Bridget and Mary Jo kinda carved a niche of that on RiffTrax, and while there is charm to their chatty trashtalking take of riffing over women-targeted movies, I want Emily’s crew to be 100% in the MST grinder like Jonah’s is. Doctor Mordrid is a good indication that they won’t be going in the Bridget and Mary Jo direction for her though, so I’m happy about that.
I think the alternating pattern is most likely. It looks pretty positive that Emily will be getting Batwoman and I’m pretty sure she’ll be getting Shape of Things to Come, depending on Joel’s second episode being The Bubblr.
Reviewing the Virtual Visit #2 footage again minutes ago, there is a Mad intro to a Joel experiment where Kinga says, “You’re experiment today Joel may possibly be one of the worst films we’ve ever presented. Sorry not sorry.” This pretty much confirms to me this is The Bubble (1966). What else could it be with that kind of introduction?
Aware of Joel as we are, most of us realize Joel cast Emily due to being Emily. Her personality effortlessly suits the show. I too would bet the alternating pattern late season is the lock. I threw out the other to propose another path where Emily’s presence and approach and the nature of the experiments might go there out of the perceived mesh and chemistry of Emily and her crew and the films in question. Not the subject matter at all. Were that to be the order there’s reasons in play outside the obvious. Joel rarely is a simple to read guy. The man normally has a motive he and he alone decides on. It’s who he is. I posed what most felt probable without any further analysis. Regardless of how it comes, it’ll all work out. “In Joel We Trust…”
On the other hand, Joel is the host who has redone a lot of episodes.* I believe he’s reriffed 8 KTMA episodes in later seasons (it may be more, I just glanced at the episode list). Really he’s the only only host so far to have done movies twice as episodes.
*Jonah reriffed Eegah as a live show, and Mike has redone a lot of episodes through Rifftrax, but of course that’s not in the role as an MST3K host.
An aftereffect of the hop from KTMA to Cable at the time. Once the alchemy and form of MST3K riffing evolved to hundreds of jokes after a couple here and there and starting locally to then landing a national audience select experiments were repurposed and fleshed out in further MST seasons. After the program matured beyond Season 3, the reliving of past KTMAs to Comedy Central ceased. You aren’t off. Joel is the only one thus far to do so back during the growing pains of the format. In the years since especially post-The Return, Joel effusely insists on passing the baton to newer hosts. Jonah Heston, The Christmas That Almost Wasn’t (1966), Emily Connor, The Mask 3D (1961). A KTMA do-ever now may not mean Joel hosting unlike in the 1990s. “We shall see…”
Exactly. I referenced the run of the series on television not the live shows which are a unique animal altogether. The licenses and rights factors for streaming or TV today are greater than that of on stage. Monetary-wise certain pictures currently would be harder to option now than 30 years ago.
The defining words are KTMA and re-reriffed. The move to cable necessitated reimaging particular experiments with a higher budget and broader sophistication. Seasons 1-3 invited such upgrades. By Season 4 on Comedy Central, what Best Brains wanted to re-do they had.
I’m perfectly happy to be proven wrong, but The Batwoman’s outfit invites a number of riffs to be made about its impracticality that will be funny delivered by Emily (and Kelsey!) in a way that the Jonah crew might not do.
Million Eyes of Sumuru despite the female lead, is a more a cheesy example of the over-the-top macho of 60s Bond-wannabe, that either Emily or Jonah will be good at it, but I’m leaning more towards Jonah as the two switching off allow for more narrative tension for the “Revolt of the Test Subjects” storyline they’re doing.
The Bubble (1966) is scheduled to premiere November 11th 2022 aka Veteran’s Day. Since November is MST3K’s birth month and Turkey Day is so associated with the program keeping in mind The Bubble is Joel’s baby and Jonah is hosting the Halloween Special, I predict one hosting veteran may be doing the honors on Veterans Day.
