tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31175511010350926.post900863414037273711..comments2024-03-04T04:52:13.767-06:00Comments on Kirby's Left Eye: My review of the new MST3K rebootmyjahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11663674071797278704noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31175511010350926.post-90658622946683002282017-09-23T11:54:54.928-05:002017-09-23T11:54:54.928-05:00I really like it! However, it hasn't yet reach...I really like it! However, it hasn't yet reached the heights of seasons 8-10. At its best, season 11 is on par with seasons 3 and 4 - some real gems, but delivered inconsistently. The rapid fire delivery does get corrected in the later episodes, sometimes to the point that you can REALLY feel Joel's presence behind the scenes - this is once again a show that's primarily about watching the movie, not finding every possible opportunity to mock it. (Most opportunities, sure, but not literally every one.) Later episodes like The Loves of Hercules have almost uncomfortably long stretches of theater silence at times.<br /><br />You can really feel the crew getting their sea legs throughout the season, and they do start to feel more like a family towards the end. A few of the running gags just don't work, like the liquid TV "Kinga Vision" thing, but again, that was always Joel's calling card - things that are only sensible and/or funny to Joel - so it still rings true to the show even if I don't care for it. <br /><br />I think there are two major problems with the new season, for longtime superfans like me. However, I don't think the real issues are the cast, the new effects, or the new setting. The first big issue is that Mike Nelson isn't writing for them anymore. His tenure as head writer was about as long as Kevin Murphy's peerless run as Tom Servo, and it really elevated the original seasons of the show. Without Mike at the helm, the new seasons were never going to be quite the same, and without a single head writer, it sometimes struggles to find its voice even beyond that. Mike turned out to be a titan - THE titan - in this extremely specific area of TV comedy, and his lack of involvement with the reboot hurts it for the same reason that it's basically impossible to produce a really good remake of a Hitchcock film: the magic was in the man. I do think the new MST3K can "get there," but it'll never be quite the same, and it'll take time and practice. Like I said, things do start to tighten up as you go along. <br /><br />The second issue is simpler: they just aren't picking the same caliber of obscure, earnest, bad movies. Don't get me wrong: none of the films they picked are good, or especially well known, but most are better known than 95% of the original run's selections, and most have bigger budgets and better actors as a result. Taken to a logical extreme, this can be very funny - see the RiffTrax formula of mocking the biggest and best-received Hollywood films - but too often, they end up standing on a drab middle ground of dull movies that aren't quite howlingly bad but aren't good enough to be entertaining. Other times, they're dealing with really putrid material (The Christmas That Almost Wasn't, for example), but they still can't quite find a deep enough cut of sustained weirdness to get a firm grip. (This could also be partly due to Mike's absence, as previously discussed.) <br /><br />With that said, there are great moments in every episode, and a few episodes I would rank as on par with the run of the mill from seasons 3 through 6 of the original series - which is still high praise, all things considered. Cry Wilderness, Starcrash, and Wizards of the Lost Kingdom (I) are particular standouts, I think. And I have high hopes for the show moving forward. It's different, yes, but by the end of the season I found it more endearing than annoying. I hope it's grown on you since your original post!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31175511010350926.post-75570262260068667922017-04-24T10:00:22.340-05:002017-04-24T10:00:22.340-05:00I think saying the reboot is ok is being too kind....I think saying the reboot is ok is being too kind. I feel like it is what I imagine someone watching my friend and I try to do MST3K jokes over movies like Kull the Conqueror. I couldn't get into this new incarnation at all. <br />I see that it has a lot of great reviews, but I don't know anyone that grew up watching MST3K that has been pleased with it.<br /><br />I think this may prove my belief that Mike was, and will always be, the best.Nathan Shoptawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31175511010350926.post-43726858943327156682017-04-17T19:02:35.742-05:002017-04-17T19:02:35.742-05:00I've watched 4 episodes so far. I know from re...I've watched 4 episodes so far. I know from reading other's reactions that I'm in the minority but my impression is this incarnation is not the old MST3K I love so much. The riffing is subpar with a lot of it just mundane and banal and it's all delivered at a one-note level, no subtlety, plus there's just a constant stream of it, no timing to the riffs. The witty zingers that would come right out of left-field and delivered with immaculate timing when Mike was head writer are just not there at all. Gone are the distinct personalities of Crow and Tom and almost totally absent is the great interplay between themselves and Joel/Mike in the old MST3K. But as I said, my opinion is in the minority, most seem to love the rebooted version although I've noticed a few others share my criticisms.<br />After watching a couple of the new episodes with nary a chuckle I went back and watched a couple of old MST3K's and although I've watched both countless times was laughing out loud every few minutes.<br />we win againhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08775286204450703959noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31175511010350926.post-14508667518716911712017-04-17T18:46:19.148-05:002017-04-17T18:46:19.148-05:00I watched part of the the second episode before my...I watched part of the the second episode before my internet gave out. It seems to be much better than the first?myjahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11663674071797278704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31175511010350926.post-35936405781493123682017-04-17T13:17:56.401-05:002017-04-17T13:17:56.401-05:00I'm a rabid MSTie and also more than little un...I'm a rabid MSTie and also more than little underwhelmed at its new incarnation. Remember all the spontaneity and freshness of the show when it was being presented my Joel with Mike as head writer? All gone now and replaced with a machine-gun like flat delivery of unfunny riffs. Whereas before the riffs were immaculately timed and could come out of left field, really original and witty retorts, now it's, well, not very funny. However, got to say I appear to be in the minority, most seem to love the rebooted version.we win againhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08775286204450703959noreply@blogger.com