by lhb412 » Mon Jul 10, 2017 1:21 pm
I watched the first three episodes of the revival in their first days of release, and I did like them (especially Cry Wilderness, which I think is one of those films MST3K will be famous for discovering) but somehow I became petrified by the newness of it. It was a delayed reaction. I knew it would be different; with different writers and performers and it wouldn't be the same and I've always thought (as Joel does) that if MST3K were to be this big ongoing series that's the way to do it, like Doctor Who, constantly rebooting itself over the years. But somehow around episode three it just hit me; I'd been watching essentially the same group of writers and performers as MST3K for like 3/5ths of my life and the newness got to me and I just stopped.
Then a couple of weeks later I decided to essentially replicate how I first watched the series at age 12: one episode a week, mostly during the weekends and I guess that was the ticket because I warmed up to everything. Just finished The Loves of Hercules and a) so happy they got an Italian sword and sandal movie because those are great, and b) man, Mickey Hargitay is the worst Hercules I've ever seen. Surprisingly, I think Avalanche has been my favorite episode so far. It reminds me of the movies they did at KTMA: almost credible copies of the then popular disaster genre with name stars. Yongary is next and I'm excited for it.
Accepting Yont was automatic, as his Crow is so essentially Crow-ish it's kinda uncanny (I read somewhere that he had to be dissuaded from doing too uncanny an imitation of Trace because it kinda creeped Joel out). For me, Jonah Ray was the biggest question mark before the show came out, but now I see I shouldn't have worried - he's such an MST3K uber-fan I think he understands the performance style of the riffs the best and anchors some the earliest roougher patches with Hampton and Baron kinda gloming onto it from Jonah as it goes on. Jonah also has an easygoing nature that I'm sure appeals to Joel and fits the tone of the show. Also, I don't know what difficulties may or may not exist between Joel and the classic cast members, but it seems Jonah has befriended practically every one of them, so hopefully that bodes well for everyone coming back in some capacity as time goes by. One element that I did instantly love were the 'station ID' bumpers by Patton Oswald's Max. Such a neat little idea, and it makes me nostalgic for the format of older TV (I say while watching on a futuristic streaming service).
I do think MST3K is unsuited for the binging model. You don't watch a bunch of it at once (except on Turkey Day), you hang out with it a few times a week or month or whatever. It's just as much a hang-out show as a comedy show. My biggest complaint with the new show is that the incredibly, monstrously tight filming schedule means the performers really had to rush through and sometimes they almost seem whipped up into a frenzy. I think with more time to film they'll all be able to relax a bit into the MST groove and I think everything will come together a bit more.
Hopefully they'll announce the next season at the Comic Con panel!