Cheap Mystery Science Theater 3000 - Beginning of the End (DVD) (Peter Graves, Peggie Castle, Morris Ankrum) (Bert I. Gordon) Price

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Customer Reviews of Mystery Science Theater 3000 - Beginning of the End

We've got movie sign...and giant grasshoppers!!!!
One of my favorite MST3Ks: a great example of the mid 1950s "atomic monster" genre, with laughable special effects. Giant mutant grasshoppers attack the mountains and deserts of central "Illinois," before moving on to destroy Chicago by crawling up picture postcards of the Wrigley Building and being lured into Lake Michigan by electronic grasshopper mating calls made by a young Peter Graves ("Hi, I'm Peter Graves. Tonight on 'Biography'..."), ironically the nuclear scientist responsible for the whole giant-mutation thing, not to mention his deaf-mute assistant Frank's gruesome dismemberment and death at the chomping mandibles of one seriously big mother of a locust. America's finest fighting force (the Illinois National Guard) is powerless against this giant hopping threat. Another 1957 monster classic from infamous science fiction filmmaker Bert I. Gordon, the undisputed master of movies about giant animals attacking California cities masquerading as the midwest. Don't miss the riveting post-opening credits scene: an apparently endless car-approaching sequence (Mike: "Folks, we'll start the movie as soon as our ride gets here."), and the incessant, earsplitting, marching-band music soundtrack. An early Mike Nelson episode, it's a great example of classic MST3K: bad sci-fi flick, hilarious riffing on the film by Mike and the bots, including a *seriously* weird host segment where rubber grasshoppers attack postcards Mike just happens to have lying around. I actually saw this one week before I moved to Chicago, which is all-but-destroyed in the movie, and it seriously creeped me out for a while, though I've never been able to drive by Champaign-Urbana without looking over my shoulder for giant grasshoppers.

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A fine episode of MST3K...next time on "Biography."
"I'm Peter Graves. This week on Biography, the story of how I defeated a horde of radioactive mutant grasshoppers who invaded Chicago."

"The Beginning of the End" (episode #517) is a typical episode from the Mike Nelson years of the classic TV show "Mystery Science Theater 3000": in other words, it's hysterical, satiric, and pop-culturally sharp from beginning to end (even when the End is just Beginning!). The movie itself isn't horrendously awful -- certainly not on the level of some other flicks screened on the program, like "Eegah!" and "Manos: The Hands of Fate." But it is the perfect kind of stuffy, quickly slapped together "B" Atomic horror movie of the 50s that people associate so closely with the show. And at this point Mike and the 'Bots were firing on all cylinders, and the comedy is non-stop. Mike had only recently taken over the role as host from Joel Hodgson, and it is with this episode that he finally seems completely at ease with his role.

If you're unfamiliar with this amazing comedy show (known as "MST3K" to fans), here's what you need to know: a human (Mike Nelson or Joel Hodgson) and his two mechanized pals, Crow T. Robot and Tom Servo, appear in a silhouette of a theater seats projected in front of a bad movie. The three hosts provide sidesplitting commentary to the film, filled with popular culture references and smart-aleck bitterness. The movie-watching sequences are occasionally interrupted with comedic sketches and musical numbers, making for an all-encompassing comedic experience: a humorous puppet-show sitcom with cynical wisecracks that turn rotten movies into fabulous entertainment.

"The Beginning of the End" was released in 1957 by independent director-effects technician Bert I. Gordon, who rivaled Roger Corman in this period as the top creator of 'B' science-fiction cheapies. Gordon was obviously trying to copy the success of the classic giant-ant movie "Them!", only with giant grasshoppers instead. The film's tagline is a classic of ridiculous overstatement: "So Big...we had to coin a new words for it...NEWMENDOUS!" It's all downhill from there, folks.

Peter Graves plays the stock scientist character who discovers that the recent vanishing of an Illinois town was caused by giant locusts, who mutated after they consumed some of his radioactive-treated plants in his laboratory (good one, Peter!). He and perky female reporter Peggie Castle try to warn the military in time, but soon the flightless locust plague descends on Chicago. Can anything stop them? Well, yes, since they're obviously just normal-sized grasshoppers optically matted over the footage, an effect that never looks good and lacks the magic and fun of stop-motion or suitmation techniques. Some of the effects are unbelievably rotten, such as the scenes of grasshoppers climbing Chicago "buildings" that are obviously just postcards or large photographs with real grasshoppers walking on them (the grasshoppers keep "stepping off" the building). The MST3K boys have great fun with this gag, doing a sketch where they have grasshoppers attack various postcards: Oldenberg IN, The Beatles, Earl Hines, etc. Graves manages to do very little in the movie except tell the military all the things they CAN'T do, instead of offering any real suggestions.

The wisecracks are great, as usual for this season of the show. It's especially fun listening to them make cracks about Peter Graves as host of "Biography," Albert Glasser's hysterically overblown musical score, and the grasshoppers 'touring' Chicago. ("Hey, we're in the famous Loop now, Harry!") Between segements, Crow puts on a play based on Peter Graves's life at the University of Minnesota, all done in his "Biography" voice ("I'm Peter Graves, and I'm in the right class.")

As a dubious 'bonus,' you can watch the un-cut version of the film on the flip side of the disc. Well, it's not that awful a film, but there isn't any reason to watch it without the MST3K commentary once you've experienced the comedy and laughs of this all-around fine episode. Recommended for newcomers and long-time fans alike. It's typical of the show during the excellent fifth season and shows Mike easing into his new role and the program format changing toward its more sharp-tongued and fast-moving later seasons.

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One of my least favorite episodes...
Look...to be fair, one man's BOTE is another man's "Manos". What I mean by that is some people may love this ep, but I personally didn't find it very funny and the movie is so bad that the sub-average riffing doesn't save it. The best lines that Mike & the robots make are when they speak for a character and add a line to something a person says. Unfortunately, the feature's horrible pacing, slow dialogue scenes, and atrocious acting are not enough, and it seems like the writers took a break on this one. Of course, even weak MST3K is better than pretty much any other show, but I must say this is certainly my least favorite episode from season 5 and at times feels like a Season 1 episode (the riffing is sparse and not really funny). If you are a newcomer and would like to see this show at it's best, get either "Manos: Hands of Fate" or "Red Zone Cuba".