Mystery Science Theater 3000 - Mitchell

Mystery Science Theater 3000 - Mitchell

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DVD Reviews of Mystery Science Theater 3000 - Mitchell

DVD Review: Hysterical episode, and an important piece of MST3K history
Summary: 5 Stars

When first watching the episode, it's easy to overlook the movie and commentary and concentrate on the running subplot in the host segments about Joel escaping the ship. I won't spoil anything about it, but it's both funny and touching. Joel's farewell is a heartfelt moment and has a special place in the hearts of many MST3K fans who felt the show was never the same without him. (I personally like Mike a lot too, but there was a wonderful, laid-back `family' feeling to the Joel episodes).

But even if this episode were not a turning point in the show's history, it would probably still be considered one of the great episodes. "Mitchell" has become a classic movie for MST3K fans: an icky, cheap-looking, boring, incomprehensible cop "thriller" released to theaters in 1975. (And yes, despite the made-for-TV look, it really was in cinemas. I found old ads for it in the New York Times!) The commentary from Joel and the `Bots on this one is hilarious. This is a very `character' driven episode, with Joel and the `Bots dismantling the film's cast of unappealing personas, principally the title character, a zero-hero police detective played by Joe Don Baker. Mitchell is a smelly, stupid, boozy loser who the film tries to present as a loner hero against the system as he tries to take down a heroin ring and bust a trade-union lawyer who shot a burglar in the back (no, the two plots have nothing to do with one another). The story makes pretty much no sense at all, with long scenes of dialogue containing strings of similar sounding names that don't mean a thing to the audience (Gallano, Mistretta, Deaney). There's hardly any action; mostly Mitchell sits outside drug dealer Martin Balsam's house and occasionally has dinner with him and irritates his butler Merlin Olsen. There's a car chase, but according to Crow, "It makes `Driving Miss Daisy' look like `Bullitt'!" John Saxon is in the movie someplace, although I can't tell you for the life of me what he does. And through it all slouches the unbelievably unappealing Joe Don Baker. The love scene between him and Linda Evans will turn even the strongest stomach. And for some reason, Hoyt Axton sings the theme song. ("HOYT, HOW COULD YOU?")

Yessir, this one's a classic: great wisecracking for a wonderfully awful film, and a important moment in the show's history. The DVD contains no extras except for the original theatrical trailer for "Mitchell" (did ANYONE really want to see this film when it came out?), but this is a must-have for MST3K fans. Non-fans may want to experience a few Joel episodes before seeing this so they have a frame of reference for the story, but it's unquestionably one of the definitive episodes of the show.