Like clockwork, the 23rd Volume of Mystery Science Theater 3000 hit my desk recently, and like clockwork, I planned the usual viewing party so that all could be subjected to the terrible films and accompanying hilarity. I’ll admit right off the bat that this particular set isn’t one of my favorites overall—it features four fairly well-known episodes of the show, but none which really stands out to me as a series highlight—but nevertheless, it’s still highly entertaining, and a couple of the extras are great (which we’ll get to in a bit).
First, let’s roll through the content as usual.
Code Name: Diamond Head
This is a spy film that Quinn Martin attempted as a sort of alternate-universe Hawaii Five-O or something. It’s pretty cheesy, too (obviously, as this is MST3K), even though there’s a decent bit of acting talent involved and the approach isn’t all that separated from the usual Quinn Martin strategy. Johnny Paul is our one-shot hero here, working to foil the plans of one “Tree”, an evil sociopath who’s working on stealing a nerve gas formula with which to do some evil deeds.
Preceding the film is a fan-favorite short, A Day at the Fair, which actually holds particular meaning for me seeing as it’s based on the Indiana State Fair apparently (just barely north of where I live in Louisville, KY, and shockingly similar in many ways to the fair we still have here yearly). More importantly, it’s also pretty damn funny—right from the start, when the narrator proclaims “This is the fairground, where the fair is held”, to which Tom Servo responds mockingly, “Any questions so far?”
This is one of the strongest episodes of the set, featuring solid, frequent riffing and a film that isn’t so terribly unwatchable as to be sleep-inducing. The short’s also comedy gold if you happened to miss it previously in the Shorts collections.
King Dinosaur
This Joel episode actually fell under the column of MST3K offerings I’d managed to miss, and judging by the name and premise alone I thought for sure that I’d find it highly amusing. I was right—Robert Lippert’s tale about a bizarre prehistoric world lost in space is certainly hilarious—but the episode overall wasn’t quite as strong as I’d expected, featuring some pretty lame host segments and a somewhat lackluster theater performance.
Still, it’s pretty good nevertheless. For starters, the short that it leads off with is a riot. You might have also seen it in one of the previous MST3K Shorts collections; it’s called X Marks the Spot, and it’s a goofy educational film about the dangers of careless driving… in New Jersey. The world’s most ludicrously bad driver (surely) dies in a fatal car wreck and confronts a heavenly judge, with guardian angel at his side, regarding his roadway transgressions.
The movie is even worse, with predictably un-special effects and a laughable plot. A group of scientists is sent by the government to explore a mysterious planet which just so happens to be filled with all sorts of prehistoric Earth-like creatures, including a few surprises like giant komodo dragons and crocodiles. Our heroes cope with the challenges at hand in the most thoughtful and compassionate way possible—by employing a pocket atom bomb to nuke the entire planet and all its unsuspecting beasts straight back to hell.
The Castle of Fu Manchu
This Joel-era snooze-fest features a tale of some evil dude who wants to rule the world by freezing the oceans. Well, an evil Fu Manchu anyway, and this movie is hella bad. Unfortunately, the riffs don’t really offer much recompense, either—it’s just that hard to deal with. It’s arguably among the worst movies MST3K ever did (at least in terms of interesting content), and it’s consequently easily the weakest episode of this DVD set. The host segments are also pretty weak. Overall, not MST3K’s strongest.
Last of the Wild Horses
I’d be lying if I said I even knew what the heck was going on in this movie. What I do know is that it’s a Robert Lippert (again!) western about a cowboy who’s wrongfully accused of murder. Throughout the course of the film, he’s tasked with clearing his name, of course, even if you can barely hear him mutter it thanks to the typical bottom-of-the-barrel audio quality of these old B-grade movies. Thankfully, Mike and the bots turn in a commendable performance riffing the otherwise relentlessly uninteresting content they’re provided. And even Dr. Forrester and Frank take their turn at lobbing riffs in the theater for the first quarter of the film, in an extension of one of the better host segments of the entire series. Overall, it’s probably my second favorite episode of the set.
Special Parts
As usual, there’s a pretty solid selection of extras on Volume 23. A couple of these are actually gems!
-
Introduction by Frank Conniff (The Castle of Fu Manchu – 3:24)
-
Vintage MST3K Promos (14:17) – Wow, one of the best extras on any set yet. This is a fourteen minute compilation of quite a few classic Comedy Central-era episode promos.
-
The Incredible Mr. Lippert (35:52) – The hallmark Ballyhoo featurette on this set, this is a comprehensive exploration of Robert Lippert’s journey to and through the world of filmmaking. As usual, a parade of film historians and other interviewees (including Frank Conniff!) takes us through the specifics, moving from such topics as how he got his start in Hollywood to the various shifting themes of his interest (from low-budget westerns to sci-fi). As always, it’s an eye-opening mini-doc on the subject—props to Ballyhoo for the continually solid contributions.
-
Code Name: Quinn Martin (6:38) – Another Ballyhoo featurette, this extra is a very brief history of Quinn Martin’s rise to fame and how it all fits into MST3K’s ribbing of one of his less successful ventures.
-
Life After MST3K: Kevin Murphy (9:24) – Always an entertaining man to spend a few minutes with, Kevin Murphy recounts his moments just after the set was “broken down and auctioned off”. Among the items on his never-do list: Going to Hollywood. Topics covered including his book, A Year at the Movies; Timmy Big Hands; The Adventures of Edward the Less; The Film Crew; and RiffTrax. For the record, Kevin Murphy’s always been my favorite “cultural sniper”.
-
Darkstar: Robots Don’t Need SAG Cards (17:50) – Darkstar is apparently some sort of craft-your-own-narrative video game, and even as a gamer, I don’t quite get what it’s about, even after watching this 18 minute infomercial of sorts.
-
Lobby Cards by Artist Steve Vance
-
Original Theatrical Trailers
-
The Castle of Fu Manchu
-
King Dinosaur
-
It’s also worth mentioning that the menus just keep getting better and better. The Last of the Wild Horses menu sequence must have been a challenge to produce!