Mystery Science Theater 3000, Vol. XIV (Mad Monster / Manhunt in Space / Soultaker / Final Justice)
by Kevin Murphy
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DVD details
Actor: Joel Hodgson, Mike Nelson, Trace BeaulieuDirector: Kevin Murphy
Brand: Universal Studios
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Box set, Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 360 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2009-02-03
Audience Rating: Unrated
Model: SF11035
Studio: Shout Factory
Product features:
- MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000-XIV (DVD MOVIE)
DVD Reviews of Mystery Science Theater 3000, Vol. XIV (Mad Monster / Manhunt in Space / Soultaker / Final Justice)
DVD Review: "Don't compare yourself, Mike. It ain't healthy..."
Summary: 4 Stars
Introduction
Shout! Factory moved quickly after acquiring the DVD rights for Mystery Science Theater 3000. Not only did they roll out a DVD box set celebrating the twentieth anniversary of the show's debut, but they swiftly produced a follow-up, the 14th box set, retaining the numbering system started by Rhino Records. Ironically, at least one of the episodes from this box set probably would have been more appropriate in a celebratory anniversary set. However, this is not a time to quibble about box set labeling. The important question is: how are these episodes?
MAD MONSTER (1942)
(with short: an episode of the serial, RADAR MEN FROM THE MOON)
This is your typical WWII-werewolf movie where a mad scientist turns his faithful but slow-witted gardener into a wolfman in order to demonstrate how to create an army that would beat the Nazis. As an added bonus the mere existence of this new species of half-man, half-wolf proves that his ex-colleagues were pathetically wrong about his mental balance while simultaneously increasing the schadenfreuden by having them brutally killed.
This is the third episode from the first national season of the show and is currently the earliest episode of the show to be released on DVD. We're early enough that Best Brains were still experimenting with how best to display the black theater seat silhouettes onto a black and white film. At many points watching the brightness and contrast shift on Joel and the bots is more interesting that what's going on in the creaky and slow-moving film.
MAD MONSTER is a tough episode to get through. I find often that in the first season the jokes aren't quite as sharp or (more importantly) as rapid-fire as we became used to in later seasons. So a dull movie like this really takes a toll on the audience.
(As an aside, this episode is so early that an apparent mistake left in the show has Joel accidentally mixing up the names of Tom and Crow in the theater.)
MANHUNT IN SPACE (1956)
(with short: an episode of "General Hospital")
This film is actually an edited-together collection of a few related episodes of "Rocky Jones, Space Ranger" and is very much a product of its era. For example, the cast features a precocious and annoying kid. The bad guys are inconceivably dumb. The good girl wears a mini-skirt and the bad girl wears a slinky evening gown. Astronauts don't need to wear spacesuits, just ill-fitting helmets over a t-shirts and slacks.
The plot meanders around quite a bit, which isn't surprising given its episodic nature. The story opens with space pirates attacking helpless ships and closes with an unresolved storyline involving the invention of a Romulan-type cloaking device. Fortunately, there are many good riffs from Joel and the bots to keep the action going. Also, the short film featured at the front of the episode was an excerpt from "General Hospital". MST3k did a few episodes of this, and this take was the first one I've seen. I'm glad they put this on here, and it bodes well for future releases of episodes with "General Hospital" shorts.
SOUL TAKER (1990)
Four teenagers are involved in a fatal car accident and attempt to cheat death by having their souls leave their bodies and run very quickly away from Joe "Brother of Martin Sheen" Estevez and Robert Z'Dar who are the odd couple Angels of Death. As Death slowly catches up with them, their souls are captured in little black rings and then taken to the attic of the city hospital which apparently doubles as either purgatory or the pearly gates; the exact theology is a little unclear. Also confusing is the exact nature of the Soul Takers: are they just collecting souls who have naturally reached the end of their natural life or are they hunting down people and collecting souls for their own purposes?
This is not the worst movie that MST3k ever tackled (indeed, there's aspects of the film that I quite like), but its occasional silliness and lack of coherence make it ideal for the riff treatment. This is one of the stronger episodes from the Sci-Fi Channel era, although it's more notable among many MST3k fans for the host segments featuring the cameo return appearances by Joel Hodgson and Frank Coniff than it is for the movie-riffing.
FINAL JUSTICE (1984)
MST3k didn't only make fun of sci-fi/fantasy films and it's nice to have a non-genre offering from an era that had only a few such examples; this is less of a Spaghetti Western and more of a Spaghetti Standard-Joe-Don-Baker film. Here, Baker stars as the improbably named Deputy Sheriff Thomas Jefferson Geronimo III who loses track of an international criminal while transferring him to the European authorities and must chase the crook all over the island of Malta.
FINAL JUSTICE is certainly dull in places, but is not an overwhelmingly bad film. The last Joe Don Baker movie riffed by the crew was MITCHELL, during Joel Hodgson's final episode, and they pick up right where they left off with laughs galore coming mostly at the expensive of the Baker's previous Mitchell character. This is another funny episode and I liked the gag of Mike thinking it was his time to depart the Satellite of Love since Joel's escape has coincided with his viewing of a bad Joe Don Baker movie.
Extras
This box set includes two interview subjects: Greydon Clark (writer/director/producer of FINAL JUSTICE) and Joe Estevez (star of SOUL TAKER). Both men have been associated with other MST3k-ed episodes, but they're only apparently asked about the episodes in this release. There's not a lot of insight to be had, although the pair independently come across as grateful for the extra exposure and good sports about the MST3k process (although it might be fun to see them on polygraph machines for that).
The other extra of note is a cameo appearance of the silhouettes of Mike Nelson, Crow T. Robot and Tom Servo in a 2005 episode of EPSN's "Cheap Seats Without Ron Parker". While it's nice to have these things out on DVD, my reaction to watching this again is about the same as it was four years ago: my mileage varied. Now, if the powers that be would release the episodes of "Talk Soup" featuring these guys, then I'd be very happy.
Stinger
This isn't the strongest MST3k box set that we've seen, but even average MST3k is worthy. Overall, I'm happy with this set and can't wait to see what Shout! Factory will put out next.
More Mystery Science Theater 3000, Vol. XIV (Mad Monster / Manhunt in Space / Soultaker / Final Justice) reviews:
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Description of Mystery Science Theater 3000, Vol. XIV (Mad Monster / Manhunt in Space / Soultaker / Final Justice)
MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000:XIV - DVD MovieAside from reminding audiences just how unique and hilarious Mystery Science Theater 3000 was, the comedy series' 20th anniversary in 2008 also kicked off a new round of DVD releases, the latest of which is compiled in Volume XIV. Longtime fans of the Peabody Award-winning show should be pleased to see that the set's four episodes are split evenly between original host and creator Joel Hodgson and his replacement, head writer Mike Nelson. Joel rides herd on one of the earliest MST3K episodes, Season 1's B&W chiller The Mad Monster, which also features writer J. Elvis Weinstein as both the voice of Tom Servo and Dr. Lawrence Erlich, assistant to Trace Beaulieu's Dr. Forrester. It's an enjoyable episode for hardcore fans and collectors, but nowhere near as polished as the work done by the original core lineup--Hodgson, Beaulieu as Crow and Kevin Murphy as Servo--in Season 4's Manhunt in Space, a grisly mash-up of episodes from the '50s TV sci-fi series Rocky Jones, Space Ranger. It's by no means a classic from the Hodgson era, but definitely contains its shares of laughs and even some quirky host segments (the movie prompts an amusing debate on the use of the word "space" as a modifier). The Mike Nelson episodes, produced after the show shifted over to The Sci-Fi Channel, are equally solid efforts. Soultaker undergoes a punishing barrage of riffs from Mike and the 'bots, and even features brief cameos from Hodgson and Frank Coniff as the much-loved TV's Frank. Final Justice puts Joe Don Baker--star of the MST3K favorite Mitchell--in the line of fire again for a mostly funny show that focuses largely on the star's beefy physique. Though none of the shows are high water marks for the series, you're likely to find more laughs and creativity here than on most of the sitcoms plaguing the airwaves, and as such, are worthwhile investments for veteran MiSTies and first time viewers alike. The four DVD set includes all four complete episodes, as well as several extras ? a slightly smaller batch than the 20th Anniversary Edition set, and less historically important, but entertaining all the same. Soultaker star Joe Estevez and Final Justice director Greydon Clark (Black Shampoo) show what good sports they are about being drubbed by the show in brief interviews, while Mike and the 'bots reunite for an all-too-brief session of zingers on a 2005 excerpt from ESPN's Cheap Seats Without Ron Parker. A trailer for Mad Monster rounds out the set. -- Paul Gaita
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