The premise was simple: In the not-too-distant future, a wiseacre janitor and his robots are trapped on a spaceship, forced to watch horrible movies by evil scientists. The payoff, which allowed the audience to make fun of these grade-Z flicks with our hosts, lasted more than 10 years and attracted an intense cult following.
“Mystery Science Theater 3000” may have limped off the air in 1999, but Rhino is keeping the groundbreaking show alive by slowly issuing episodes on DVD. Volume 10 ($59.95) appears today with four shows, two shorts and limited bonus goodies.
“Mystery Science Theater” ran on Comedy Central then the Sci-Fi Channel, flowering during the “Seinfeld”-
ruled early to mid- ’90s, when bald sarcasm defined mainstream humor. The show often had the cheap look of a Saturday-morning kids program – albeit with no redeeming educational value – but the pointed barbs were frequently laugh- out-loud funny.
The characters (robots Tom Servo and Crow, and humans Joel Hodgson and, later, Mike Nelson) sit silhouetted in a theater, commenting on the inanity of the movies and of course, making us complicit. The flicks on Volume 10 include two with Joel as the host (“Godzilla vs. Megalon” and “Swamp Diamonds”) and two with Mike (“Teen-Age Strangler” and “The Giant Spider Invasion”).
The titles pretty much say it all, but the Mike-hosted films tend to age better, as blasphemous as that may sound to hard-core fans. Particularly hilarious is “Giant Spider Invasion,” a 1975 sci-fi/horror flick so unwatchable that the commentary borders on traumatized. As with all episodes, the smart pop culture references fly fast and furious. Anyone who catches them all is either brilliant or a loser.
Annoyingly random host segments punctate the holes between commercials, leaving you reaching for the remote. Of course, these interstitial moments served a purpose, adding character to the voices on screen and reinforcing the gimmicky setup. Listening to three people crack wise about cheesy movies charms for only so long, but giving them back stories and personalities helps extend it.
Still, if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all, and no one would deny that the show is at its strongest when sticking to its basic, albeit limited, premise.
Extras include an overlong outtakes reel, video jukebox and photo gallery. The picture transfer is fair, retaining the saturated color of the original episodes. The lack of subtitles is a bit distressing, but the chapter selection menu is easy to navigate and attractively designed.
The magic of home video is that it allows viewers to appreciate TV shows out of their original commercial context, sometimes elevating them to the status of films. In the case of “Mystery Science Theater 3000,” we’re definitely better off without commercials, even when they helped break up the sameness of the episodes.
Perhaps the real mystery is why these episodes, which are as funny as any currently available, are just now seeing the light of day. Either way, fans will have a lot to digest with this 375-minute, four-disc collection.
Staff writer John Wenzel can be reached at 303-954-1642 or jwenzel@denverpost.com.
