Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection Volume 10

 

Picture: C+     Sound: C+     Extras: B     Film: A

 

 

Rhino strikes again, releasing its tenth Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K) boxed set!  Like previous versions, this box contains four seemingly random episodes covering various seasons of the show’s illustrious run.  For the uninitiated, MST3K enjoyed a long life in the late 1980s through the 1990s, serving up a campy brand of bad-movie humor while watching some of the worst movies in the history of cinema.  The show aired on two networks (Comedy Central and Sci-Fi), delighting fans (known as “Mysties”) the world over.

 

This tenth volume happens to contain two of the most popular episodes in series history, each one from a different “era” of the show.  Godzilla vs. Megalon might be the funniest send-up of a giant monster movie the crew has done, featuring creator Joel Hodgson at the height of his comedic powers.  The Giant Spider Invasion presents Mike Nelson at his deadpan deadliest, lancing the film’s white-trash cast with his well-timed barbs.

 

The other two features, Swamp Diamonds and Teen-Age Strangler round out the collection, and include a pair of hilarious 1950’s shorts on dating and relationships.  Appropriately quirky and thematic packaging make this boxed set another strong installment in the series.

 

If you have read previous reviews of MST3K boxed sets, then you won’t be surprised to learn that the sound on all of these discs is adequate, but suffers from the same problems that all boxes in this series have.  The combination of the audio (her in Dolby Digital 2.0) from the actual movie and the cast’s scathing commentaries sometimes results in an overall washout, at times making it difficult to understand what Mike, Joel, and the bots are cracking wise about.  The picture (shown in chopped-up bad prints in 1.33 X 1 framing) on the films is predictably bad, but the video quality of the satellite sequences does the job, and actually enhances the camp quality of the entire presentation.

 

The extras on this volume are a step up from Volume Nine, and include the MST3K Video Jukebox (a selection of funny songs from the show’s sketches), outtakes, and a photo gallery.  Mysties and fans of bad cinema take note, this one is another must-have for the collection.

 

 

-   Scott R. Pyle