Cheap The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection, Vol. 3 (DVD) Price

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Customer Reviews of The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection, Vol. 3

Bad, but in a good way!
I've never met a MST3K collection I didn't like, and this one is no exception. The plots of the various movies and shorts in Volume 3 have been sketched out by other reviewers, so I won't be redundant. Or be redundant. Just a few comments: <
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>In "The Atomic Brain," you can play "Name That Accent." It's fun! One character arrives from London, yet her accent is all over the map -- sometimes it's English, frequently it's Australian, sometimes it's straight from Dixie, but most of the time it's totally absent. The other foreign girls play hide and seek with their accents also. And isn't it amazing how the mad scientist accomplishes all his surgeries and brain transplants without those pesky visible incisions and stitches?? <
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>There seems to be some confusion over a major plot point in "The Sidehackers," which is totally understandable. A main character just disappears and Crow has to intone, "For those of you following at home, Rita is dead." Seems like a shoddy, un-MST3K way to do things, no? There's a good reason for it: as Mike Nelson explained in the book "The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Amazing Colossal Episode Guide" (available here at Amazon and worth every penny), "We learned a harsh lesson with this episode. When we were selecting this movie for the show, we had watched only a portion of it. When it came time to write the movie, the writing team was stunned when there came a brutal, graphic scene of Rommel's girlfriend Rita being raped and killed. We were all traumatized, the scene was cut, and from that day forward, movies were watched in their entirety before they were selected." <
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>There, now don't you feel better?

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Not the best Collection of MST3K, but great nonetheless!
In case you're new to the world of "Mystery Science Theater 3000" (MST3K for short, that's what us fans -- "Misties" -- call it), this is the famous TV show where a silhouette of a man and two robots in theater seats provide running commentary for some of the worst movies ever made. The ninety-minute episodes are scattered with sketches and songs and amount to some of the smartest, most pop-culture savvy, side-splitting comedy ever made.

This is Rhino's third MST3K collection of four DVDs. It's a bit weaker than the first two volumes (as well the next two), and probably not the greatest place to start if you're new to the show, but it's still hilarious stuff and worth four stars. It has three episodes from widely separated seasons, and a fourth disc that's a compilation of short subjects from various episodes.

Two episodes feature Joel Hodgson as the host. The first one is from extremely early in the second season, when MST3K first started to air on Comedy Central and the writers and performers were still developing the show's style. The second Joel episode comes from the late days of the excellent third season. The third DVD features Mike Nelson as host, late in the fifth season soon after he replaced Joel; he's very fresh and still learning the ropes of being host. The Shorts on the last DVD are brief films that the MST3K boys would sometimes make fun of before the movie. Originally, they watched episodes of old movie serials, but when those became tiresome, they turned to educational, commercial, and industrial filmstrips (you know, those annoying things you had to watch at school assemblies in sixth grade?). They contain some of the funniest riffing in the series, and are favorites of the fans.

Here's what's in this collection:

THE ATOMIC BRAIN. Episode #518. Mike Nelson had only recently become host when this episode was shot, so the show is in the middle of a re-adjustment, but nonetheless, Mike gets into the swing of things pretty quickly, and the show is already developing the more sarcastic style of the later seasons. This cheap science-fiction movie has an old lady and a mad scientist capturing foreign beauties in their creepy mansion so they can transplant the old lady's brain into one their bodies. There's no atomic brain, but there are sick scenes of the old lady pawing her intended new bodies. The film is fairly sluggish, but the hosts have a load of fun with the "plink-plink-plink" music and the ludicrously fake accents of the leading ladies. There is also a very funny educational short before the movie, "What About Juvenile Delinquency?" which shows just how wimpy teen gangs were back in the 1950s. (THEY STEAL PENS!) A good, solid episode.

THE UNEARTHLY. Episode #320. The Joel Hodgson years were in high gear when this episode was shot, and it's the best of the three full episodes in this set. "The Unearthly" has a lot in common with "The Atomic Brain," with a mad scientist capturing people in his lonely mansion so he can conduct experiments on them. But "The Unearthly" has real B-movie snap, with such stars as John Carradine (the world's greatest mad scientist), the incomprehensible Tor Johson (from Ed Wood's films), and smug Myron Healy. There's also a perky blonde and a wisecracking palooka, and a lot of scenes of people walking up and down stairs. Adding to the enjoyment are not one, but two hilarious 1950s education shorts shown before the film: "Posture Pals" (elementary school kids, STAND UP STRAIGHT OR ELSE!) and "Appreciating Our Parents" (elementary school kids, OBEY OBEY OBEY!). A great episode all around.

THE SIDEHACKERS. Episode #202. This is only the second episode of the years that the show was on Comedy Central. Kevin Murphy had just taken over the role of Tom Servo, and the show was still a bit wobbly, but they were rapidly improving. This is one of the best episodes from this season, but isn't as sharp as anything from seasons three or four. The movie, however, is a wonderful stinker: a sleazy, icky 60s biker revenge flick centered on the odd sport of `sidehacking' (motorcycle racing with a man in a side car balancing out the bike on turns). This is an important episode for fans because it provided many of the show's running gags: "He Hit Big Jake!" , "Chili Peppers Burn My Gut!" and "That Was Number Nine!" Some good stuff here, and a promise of the terrific stuff to come.

SHORTS, VOL. 2. These short films come from many seasons, and all are great. "Catching Trouble" (from episode #315) is a reprehensible documentary from the 30s about a wild game trapper who cruelly torments baby animals. The hosts are frankly disgusted by the whole thing, but this is a great episode for satiric humor. "What to Do on a Date" (from episode #503) teaches teens of the 50s how to save money on dates by showing how a loser named Nick lures Kay to a...gasp...scavenger sale for their first date. Kiss the second date goodbye, Nick! "Last Clear Chance" (from episode #520) is aimed at farm kids getting their drivers' licenses. A cruel cop explains the many ways a train can kill you, and despite his lectures, people die anyway. "A Day at the Fair" (from episode #608) is sponsored by the Four-H Club to tell you how much fun visiting the local fair can be. It all looks pretty bleak. "Keeping Neat and Clean" (from episode #613) explains to elementary school kids how to conform to 1950s beauty standards through relentless grooming. "The Days of Our Years" (from episode #623) is similar to "Last Clear Chance," only instead of a cop, it's the minister of a small railroad town who wonders why people keeping maiming and killing themselves around trains. This is a great short, with bitter and sharp commentary. Overall, the funniest disc in this collection!

This is another fine collection from Rhino. There's more comedy in this package than you'll find in almost anything made in the last ten years, but first-time MST3K viewers should look at Volumes 1 and 2 first before picking up this one.

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Not as good as it could've been...
This set contains episodes with Joel and Mike, so that's definately a plus. I don't think one's better than the other, I think it varies on what movie they are making fun of. Anyway to this DvD set:
The Atomic Brain: 5/5
This is the best movie of the set, and it's very funny when Servo starts singing the song about the old lady. The cracks never stop when the old lady is in the frame. Classic lines!
The Unearthly: 3/5
The shorts are great, but the movie, ehh... there wasn't much to work with here. While there are some very funny parts, it doesn't compare to other episodes. So moving on.
Sidehackers: 4/5
This movie is just ,well, bad! They do a great job making fun of the guy who's girlfriend is murdered, then they go so far as to right a song about sidehacking and they even create the terminology for it! Classic!
Shorts Vol. 2: 5/5
Here's the good stuff, right here. These shorts are some really [crummy] ones, but the MST3K cast is there to ease our pain. Of course we all know that union pacific railroad always make the "best" shorts. Some shorts feature Joel, while others feature Mike, so it's a good even trade.
All in all this is a must for any Mistie out there. Also check out the superior Set 4 which features Girl in Gold Boots, Hamlet, Overdrawn at the Memory Bank, and the infamous Space Mutiny.