Most painful MST experience

MST3K Central
1

I always held it was the Master Ninja - Fu Manchu sandwich.

Anyone else experience deep hurting from a single ep or series of eps?

5 Likes
2

The Castle of Fu Manchu is my least favorite MST3K experience because the riffing doesn’t really help stave off the pain of a supremely boring and hard-to-watch movie.

As far as pure pain goes? I gotta give it up for Atlantic Rim. Don’t misunderstand me, I enjoy the heck out of the riffs and host segments, but it felt like that movie was the most painful to watch. It was on a different wavelength from the other MSTed titles.

4 Likes
3

My answer might be a bit off-topic, but I still want to share it. My most painful MST experience actually came from a Doctor Who fan event- Mysterious Theater 337. They’re a group that isn’t associated with MST3K, but follows the basic riffing formula of sitting in front of a film (or, in this case, Doctor Who episode) and riffing on it.

At Chicago TARDIS one year, this group riffed “Logopolis,” the last Fourth Doctor serial. I came into the show with high hopes, since the last show of theirs that I had seen (“The Five Doctors”) had been really good. I was so confident that I even brought one of my best friends, someone who I almost never hang out with in real life because we live states apart. I wanted us to spend this limited, valuable time together in the best way possible, and hoped this MT337 show would live up to our standards.

It sucked. It blew. It did everything except work. The jokes weren’t funny, the episode was dull (I hadn’t seen it before), and to make things worse, I had the worst seat neighbor. On one side, I had my friend, who I could tell wasn’t enjoying themself anymore than I was. On the other side, there was a stranger dressed as one of the classic Doctors. I could tell he meant well, but he was very disruptive and knew absolutely nothing about personal space. When a joke made him laugh (fortunately, it sounded like he was enjoying the show), he would turn to me and laugh loudly into my ear, chipping away further at my patience and sanity.

At one point, I checked my watch. An hour had passed. An hour with little laughter, uncomfortable company, and no fun with my friend.

That was when I gave up. I excused myself to get a drink of water from the little coolers outside.

I had taken only a sip from my little paper cup, about ten seconds into wondering how to tell my friend that we should ditch the show, when my friend came out too. They were really upset (sad upset, not mad upset) because they were worried about ME. Even though I had convinced them to go to the show, they were worried that I was mad at THEM for the show being bad. I had to comfort them, reassure them that I was only mad at myself and at MT337, before we were both good enough to do something else.

Again, I’m sorry if a fan group might be too off topic for this MST3K thread, but it did affect my relationship with MST3K. For MONTHS, the experience rattled me enough to make it painful to watch MST3K. I was even too anxious to show good MST3K episodes to other friends of mine. The mental connections were just too strong.

9 Likes
4

I can’t really say any of it is painful for me. Even the episodes I enjoy the least, I still enjoy.

5 Likes
5

I’ll admit that I don’t think of any of the episodes as being painful. Some I don’t really enjoy but I just don’t watch them. I gave every episode two chances and if I didn’t enjoy it after watching it twice, I stopped watching it. I watch this show for fun and I see no reason to force myself to watch. :slight_smile:

3 Likes
6

OH MY DOG! Atlantic Rim! So many times, I thought there would be some lesson learned, or some redemption gained, but NO! The one guy with a heart who is gonna go volunteer to rebuild keeps getting dumped on the whole time… when they do a high five, he doesn’t get ONE person to connect with him, and the girl stays with that asshat instead of dumping him for the one good guy… Who wrote that film? Seriously, like the biggest douche in the world couldn’t even HOPE to come off as douchey as the main character in this film is (and what does that say about the author? maybe nothing… but maybe it speaks volumes).

5 Likes
7

I really hope it wasn’t a case of “write what you know”, because… damn.

4 Likes
8

None. I’ve never found a movie painful.

I’ve found a movie boring, but usually if there’s something interesting about a movie I’ll uncover it and latch onto that.

1 Like
9

3 words: Esther Hoffman Howard.

So painfully bad.

3 Likes
10

MST can make every movie bearable, but for me the hardest to sit through is San Francisco International… that thing is like being assaulted by a personification of the 1970’s. I think I’ve rewatched that one maybe once the last 20-odd years.

1 Like
11

I watched that episode while waiting for a delayed flight at SFO. Painful only because of the :face_with_symbols_over_mouth: delayed flight.

2 Likes
12

Maybe it’s just me but for me, Alien from LA is the most painful movie I’ve seen in the MSTverse. There’s too many things that gross me out in it.

2 Likes
13

I’ve never been able to watch It Lives By Night. I mentioned this in another conversation but the guy screams at the start of the movie and I turn it off. It probably doesn’t help that I find bats adorable and not at all frightening. I know the plot but I sense that this movie probably has more to do with the fear of rabies than of bats. So, yeah, werebats don’t do it for me, even as riffing material.

1 Like
14

Double Damn… Now I’m actually thinking about someone walking around out there in the world thinking that THAT is a hero… oh, yuck.

At least I can look on the bright side and appreciate that we must have stuff that sucks to know that some stuff is cool. (Butthead said that)

2 Likes
15

HOBGOBLINS! Seriously, I really think it is the worst movie ever made.

2 Likes
16

I had my own experience where a riffing attempt was made and fell flat. This time it was in my living room with three friends who fancied themselves as improv riffers. What they actually did was sarcastically insult every character, mostly by saying “yeah GREAT idea” over and over. The movie they chose to riff? Ninja Scroll. Several other people complained. I eventually had to pause the movie and explain to them:

  1. No one can hear the movie and they’ve been politely asking you to stop for awhile now.
  2. The movie itself was not a great target for riffing given…well, everything about that movie.
  3. You are not being funny. Stop.

It was awkward but they stopped. I still feel bad about it because I really could have been a lot nicer and less mad about it.

3 Likes
17

MST hurts me good

3 Likes
18

I feel the same. Some I like more/less than others, but painful? Nah. Even some of the movies that go to dark places, like Sidehackers or Girl in Lovers Lane, are just fine with the MST treatment.

Beautifully said! But that’s exactly why I like it so much. Go ahead on, assault me with your best of the 70’s!

4 Likes
19

Now I’m wondering what such a being would look like. I’m thinking a mustache clad all in polyester. It’s coming would be heralded by the reeking scent of Brut and the distant yet ominous sound of Chuck Mangione clawing at the victim’s sanity before they are dragged off by the abomination, to its home dimension where every wall is wood-paneled.

2 Likes
20

Wait, the Anime Ninja Scroll? That’s not really riff material at all. If they were going to try riffing Anime b they should’ve picked something that is by general opinion held to be, well, bad. I’m thinking MD Geist or something like that.

2 Likes