It’s been 20 volumes now, and the MST3K DVD sets are still going strong (thankfully). It seems there is no shortage of entertaining episodes which many of us completely forgot about—and it’s great to see that the audience is still embracing the regular releases.
Shout! continues to impress with their episode selections, even if this isn’t the strongest set we’ve seen from them. In a departure from the usual balanced trend, Volume XX surprisingly features four Joel-era episodes, including a morsel from the oft-maligned first season of the show’s cable television presence, as well as two episodes (back-to-back) which were actually just mishmashes of some old crappy pop-kung-fu television. Nevertheless, there’s plenty here to enjoy, not least of which thanks to another Russo-Finnish offering (recall Jack Frost) in The Magic Voyage of Sinbad.
Total Joel
Every MST3K fan has their individual preferences as to which era of the show was the strongest. It’s an entirely subjective matter—and although it isn’t fully correlated with which host reigned when, the notion of Joel versus Mike does have its relevance in that each host fulfills a different sort of role when paired with the bots. Mike acts as sort of a “friend” of Crow, Tom, and Gypsy, frequently the butt of their pranks and ragged on a regular basis over his nerdy youth; Joel, on the other hand, is a sort of father-like figure, which is suitable considering that, as the story goes, he actually built the robots.
Beyond that, in the seasons prior to 8 (when the show moved to the Sci-Fi channel), the riffs tend to be less dense in number and more heavily-laden with obscure references and inside jokes—and, of course, whether or not this sort of thing jives with your appreciation of the show is another matter entirely. If the show’s appeal for you lies more in its topical qualities, you may find the comparably self-contained nature of the later episodes’ riffing refreshing. Personally, I prefer the later format to the earlier, slower-paced design, so I worked to keep those sentiments in check as I enjoyed these four Joel-era episodes.
All that aside, here’s what Volume XX gets you:
Master Ninja I (and II)
The first of the two TV-episode amalgams, Master Ninja I is a cheesy attempt at action/martial arts featuring a brash punk of an American protagonist (Max Keller, played by Timothy Van Patten) who loves him some one-liners. Following a brief appearance by a young, cash-strapped Demi Moore (yep, her), he gets wrapped up in some unsophisticated Japanese-perpetrated kidnapping and fortunately finds himself being trained by one of the best in the land (Lee Van Cleef) in the ways of the Ninja.
Just to back up a moment and clarify the origins of these Master Ninja films, when I earlier said that they were merely kung-fu TV mishmashes, I meant it. Originally, this stuff came from a short-lived 1984 television series called The Master—and the Master Ninja movies were really nothing more than two episodes of the TV show (apiece) tied together and released as a feature-length film.
The result is frequently laughable—predictably lacking continuity—and it hardly amounts to more than a boring sequence of smartalec chit-chat followed by a poorly-executed action scene. Both “movies” are essentially the same, and both episodes provide a similar type and quality of entertainment, too. We get plenty of riffs on the stupid-white-guy-turned-ninja-apprentice premise, as well as frequent reminders of the problematic continuity. Oh, and yeah, and then there’s the fact that the main character inexplicably drives around with a hamster in his van… and that isn’t some sort of snide sexual metaphor.
The second Master Ninja movie… well, it’s more of the first. Something about a chick working to fight the man by forming a union against the evil corporate entity by which she is enslaved, and then after that we get to fight some terrorists. Sure!
So quite obviously, this is prime MST material, and it’s also some of the better season 3 stuff. Remember, this was the season of Pod People and Cave Dwellers… and Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, for that matter. It was a high point of the Joel era of the series, and the Master Ninja episodes are widely referenced as fan favorites of this time.
The Magic Voyage of Sinbad
If there’s one term that strikes funny into the hearts of MSTies, it’s Russo-Finnish. And wouldn’t you know it, that’s really the most accurate adjective to describe this lovely morsel of foreign nonsense. Worse yet is the localization attempt, which disposes with the original intended protagonist, Sadko (and his affiliated background), and replaces him with Sinbad. The resulting incongruity is relentless, and in response, Joel promptly cracks “Man, I never knew Arabia was so Russian!”
Nevertheless, the story trudges onward, somehow managing to keep a straight face while relying on a premise involving Sinbad catching golden fish in exchange for the riches of some local *cough* Arabian merchants. He does (with the help of an undersea maiden) and ends up partying—and eventually building ships—to go on a hunt for the Bird of Happiness.
The trip takes him (and his riffraff crew) to distant lands, where he’s confronted with hostility by some Vikings, whose leader eventually plays Sinbad in a game of chess. When Sinbad wins, the leader reluctantly offers him what he claims is the Bird of Happiness, but in fact, it’s really just a cursed bird with the head of a woman (yep) that condemns all within earshot to sleep.
To wrap things up (I’m trying, believe me), Sinbad drops by Egypt to chat with the Sphinx, then returns home only to be ambushed by a terrible storm. No sweat, though; he jumps into the water and chills with King Neptune and his daughters for a while, then eventually finds his way back home. When the public asks why he didn’t bring back the Bird of Happiness as promised, he feeds them some stupid line about intrinsic satisfaction and they all party.
It’s not like any of these Russo-Finnish films are ever easy to follow after localization, but this one’s got to be the toughest. It’s also my least favorite of the ones I’ve seen, but it’s still worth a viewing (and one of the best episodes on this set, in fact). The host segments are also pretty good in this episode (the mads push Chin-derwear!).
Project Moonbase
Everyone knows by now how I feel about season one episodes, but for what it’s worth, this one’s better than most. That it begins with two of the obligatory Commando Cody: Radar Men from the Moon shorts certainly doesn’t hurt its case; the film itself is poor enough that an episode filled by it would prove particularly trying. The Commando Cody shorts are more entertaining than some of the previous ones, not least because of the developmental progress that the show had made already by this point during its first season on cable. The ‘bots are starting to loosen up a bit, and the jokes are even sharper than some of the previous first-season forays.
The film is pretty bad though. It’s a 1950s pile about the USA’s space program in the 1970s. Take a guess about the plot based on its title: Project Moonbase. Yep, it’s about building a base on the moon.
The only real action in this low-budget nightmare is when one of the crew members (Dr. Wernher) of the shuttle to the moon is revealed to have ulterior motives of destroying the U.S.-owned space station by crashing the ship into it. But the production is as expected—so cheesy, in fact, that the crew take to referring to the space station, ship, and moon as a Frisbee, a battery, and a “playground ball,” respectively.
Extras
Another solid round of extras tops off this boxed set, with over an hour and a half of total extra content. Here’s what Volume XX has in store:
Tom Servo Vs. Tom Servo Panel at Dragon*Con 2010 (42:35) – J. Elvis Weinstein and Kevin Murphy share a 42-minute exchange in front of an audience about the development and evolution of Tom Servo. The discussion begins with an exploration of Beeper (and his obvious comedic limitations) and quickly transitions into a dialogue about the struggles of conveying emotion without a face and Keith Olbermann’s porn star moustache. The video’s a bit noisy, but the panel is a riot, as always. Kevin even brings along an infamous inkjet continuous-feed printout which has received reference in the Amazing Colossal Episode Guide (among other places).
Exploring the Look of MST3K with Director of Photography Jeff Stonehouse (9:23) – Not everyone is familiar with the staff behind MST3K’s technical production, but this ten-minute interview is a peer into the intricacies that sculpted the final product which is nevertheless remembered for its simplistic presentation. Jeff (essentially the man behind “Cambot” from season six and on) begins with an explanation of how he worked within these philosophical constraints (keeping things simple, yet making the magic possible) and explores his relationship with the staff and their unique breed of humor.
New Interview with Master Ninja Guest Star Bill McKinney – It’s a short six minutes in length, but as with many of the B-movie star interviews, there isn’t much said here of particular interest. It’s still fun for a single viewing though.
New Introduction by Trace Beaulieu – This intro can be found on the Magic Voyage of Sinbad disc; Trace reminisces about the experience for a few minutes to whet our appetites.
Mystery Science Theater Hour Wraps (The Magic Voyage of Sinbad)
Original Trailer (Project Moonbase)
4 Exclusive Mini-Posters by Artist Steve Vance