Season 13 - Episode 03

1302 - Beyond Atlantis

#40 in Mighty Jack's Top 100 

Premiere Date: Friday, April 28, 2022, 5:00 PM PST (soft launch - May 8 official launch)

Host: Emily Connor 

Special Guests: Jonah Heston / GPC2 makes her first onscreen appearance - April 28 Livestream Q&A: Matt McGinnis, Emily Marsh, Conor McGiffin, Kelsey Ann Brady, Joel Hodgson | May 8 Q&A: Yvonne Freese joins Joel, Emily, Conor & Kelsey (and briefly Joel)

Writers: Tim Ryder, Sara Benincasa, Ross Bryant, Mary Christen, Devon Coleman, Michael Druker, Yvonne Freese, Tammy Golden, Emily Marsh, Hallie Haglund, Paul Sabourin

They're new! But not really, they've been around. And even during Kickstarter appearances you saw these folks had a natural connection, that was only honed during the tour. But for the show proper, Emily, as Connor, makes her debut as host, trapped in Kinga's new "Simulator of Love" with new versions of the Bots, who already know the score (Crow instructs E.C. on button pushing). Ems instantly likable, quick (she has an invention at the ready) and adds a physicality to her hosting skills - I got a kick over her panic at movie sign, it's very theatrical but funny. And her deadpan delivery of Jim Carrey's "Somebody stop me" was just one of several pitch-perfect moments in the theater. 

Conor McGiffin's her Servo, he slips comfortably into the role; and proves to be a steady presence and smooth voiced riffer. I also enjoyed his take on the theme song (with added backing, nice). Crow's done by Kelsey Ann Brady, she has a rather cartoonish voice (not an insult, I'm an animation fan), and that might take some time getting used to, but she made me laugh and her spirited vocal energy reminded me of RiffTrax's Janet Varney. Yvonne Freese is heard as GPC (1 & 2)

The jokes? They were freaking hilarious. I love riffing where the references are clever, and the crew are really in sync with the film, and notice the details, like when Patrick Wayne enters a scene with his shirt unbuttoned, and Conor sings a little Tom Jones ("It's not unusual..."). They tackle the sexism, play with the pearls and tease the eyes (bug-eyed islanders on Syrene's regular sized peepers, "How can she even see?") Also... "charcuterie", lmao, knowing when to use a funny sounding word can make all the difference in a riff. This trio is already a well-oiled machine, even with Kelsey joining the studio group late in the game (she did tour with them), the blend works. 

GPC2 makes her on-screen debut

Host segs? While there was a lot of deserved buzz over the song "Mothercrabber", and Max's reaction ("We got to get me to the studio, I'm spitting heat!"), the one that got me laughing most was the game show. Kelsey's vocal inflections and line delivery, coupled to Emily's reactions, were priceless. The Jonah/Emily meet-up was cool, the remaining skits were fair, but with moments (Ems beard helmet). Note, the Mads experiment involves a plant with chattering teeth, which echoes Joel's first ever experiment (KTMA), the Man-eating Plant. 

The look? With Max and Kinga, I like how their base spins, so you get a sweeping view of their surroundings in the window behind them, you see the Gizmoplex, the Simulator and Emily's ride as it takes off. On the negative, there was excessive movement in the final host seg, with constant tilts and zooms (what is this, Firefly?) I needed some Dramamine with that bit.

The movie was a good fit, providing several pearls to poke fun of (the lamb, the cardinal points, the father/daughter relationship) and cast with actors like Sig Haig and George Nader. Along with John Ashley and Patrick Wayne, who are apparently playing the same person, lol. Though it's a bummer by the end with all that death and destruction and greed, it was easier to sit through than Robot Wars, and was on the receiving end of stronger riff-work. 

April 28th Livestream Q&A introduces us to our new Crow, and we get some insights on Kelsey's approach and thoughts on her bot. Joel checks out early, but the trio (with Matt) share some funny stories (Emily mispronouncing WHOM on tour), and are just a fun crew, fun to spend time with. 

Oh, and I prefer how the commercials were aired throughout the episode here, rather than lumped together at the middle.

Update May 8 - The screener: Picture and audio-wise, the Mads and Emily no longer look so red in the face - Joel's voice has been added to Ardy (and they change his response to Bonesy from "Maybe later buddy", to "Oh, Bonesy, don't go there") - the little video glitches were repaired (none of the freezing and stuttering of the original livestream) - With there being no intermission on these screeners, they need to figure a better way to transition from one bit to the next at mid-point (perhaps just the old spinning moon with music?) Here, Servo shouts, "Crow you're a madman!" and it cuts off abruptly to a black screen, when we return, there's Em with Jonah... I can live with it, but it's jarring. 

Livestream Q&A - Same group, but with Yvonne joining in - she and Emily share memories of the writer's room, Kelsey was asked about voicing and puppeteering Crow (though initially Conor was spotlighted, like he was going to answer the question, Haha!) and we learn that she worked for Disney. Conor talks Tom and all the practice he put in, and Emily addresses her character's last name (and others they considered). Again, these folks are funny and informative and my favorite aftershow guests so far. (Plus, no tech issues, so that helped).

"They stuck their little Japanese flags all over me" - Emily

Favorite Riffs: "Not Margaret Keane's best work" - Servo on guy with huge eyes | "Weekend at Bernie's 3, Havana nights" - Emily | "Say, it turns out you can save money on a script by not mic'ing any of the actors, hu?" - Crow | "Uh, Eddie, that's the bidet" - Servo as Ed sits in bath | "It's delayed Beatlemania!" - Crow | "He's wearing half a cape because he's a humble superhero" - Emily | "Do that what's expected of you!" - "This guys obviously never had a teenager" - Nereus to Syrene/Servo | "Hard to argue with your dad when he's in his power clam" - Crow as Syrene | "Nereus buddy, you never going to win this staring contest" - Servo | "Marty Feldman's got terrible aim" - Crow | "My precious" - Crow | "Wanna feel old, this is the Nirvana baby now" - Emily

Favorite Host Segment: Game show parody, "Milk & Honey" 

Amazing Colossal Grade: 4.25 - I laughed steady and it was even better on a second viewing. This is not only the best of the season to date, but also arguably funnier than anything in season 12 (or at least the equal of Ator)

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Season 13 - Episode 02 & Special Event 02 with Short

1302 - Robot Wars

Premiere Date: Friday, April 1, 2022, 5:00 PM PST (soft launch - May 7 official launch)

Host: Jonah Heston

Special Guests: April 1st Livestream hosts: Matt McGinnis, Gabe Castro & Josh Warner - intro and after-show discussion: Matt, Joel, Ivan & Lesley | May 7th after show: Barbara Crampton w the Matts, Joel & Jonah | In show: 1st appearance of Baron as Dr. Kabahl and Emily Marsh as Emily Connor

Writers: Jonah Ray, Harold Buchholz, Sara Benincasa, Ricky Carmona, Storm Dicostanzo, Billy Lopez, Matt Oswalt, Mary Jo Pehl, Paul Sabourin, Hampton Yount

Soft Launch Review: To start, the in-studio intro was fun, with an off-the-cuff, live TV feel to it (and a glimpse of the band, The Farid Baron Combo). I prefer this over skit-based bits, as there's a clear separation between the Livestream material and the episode proper. 

The experiment opens with Max reading an issue of Battlepug (funny, because that comic's creator, Mike Norton, was involved with the art and design of the Gizmoplex). I like the set-up for bringing Emily on board, and Baron was great as Dr. Kabahl (the mysterious financier from the future), much humor was derived from him being a serene, confident knower of all things. In addition, the overall look on the moon -visuals, lighting, etc- was an improvement.

Emily arrives!

The SOL host segs as a whole worked better this episode, though some ran a little long and rambled (it's almost like we've gone back to season 1 or 2). I appreciate that they cut out the fat in the middle (no kitchen sketch) ... though I don't like breaking into the host seg to present ads.  Finish the host seg, then go to the commercials.  Despite that nitpick, I think the flow of the Livestream was smoother.

In the theater? I didn't find this as rib-tickling as Santo, while the humor's cute in spots (Crow's excitement over seeing his papa) it mostly gave me smiles and chuckles rather than guffaws. Plus, the fan pandering callbacks, and the return to end credits commentary, didn't land in a big way (Jonah's made-up trivia about the inventor of kitty litter was the exception, maybe because I'm a cat fan, but that got a "ha!" out of me). Edit: A viewer said that they added new riffs on the official release version, especially during the end credits. The original Livestream is gone so I can't check and confirm that, however, it did sound a bit fuller, and funnier in that section.

I did like the thermos gag, that quick Pee-Wee Herman laugh, and the John Wayne quips. I noticed too, that the guys frequently went to the movies for their riffs, Thelma and Louise, John Wick, Barb and Star, Annie Get Your Gun, Hannibal Lecter, "Not the bees!"  

It probably doesn't help that the flick's a drag, with one of those loathsome sexist creeps as its hero. I didn't have much fun with this picture.

Final thoughts: There's an April Fool's joke near the start (all hail white dot), and at the end, we do see Emily - Love how she was introduced (as a chatty technician, there to install Kinga's latest doohickey) and I hope to see her riffing away next ep.

Joel's intro and the closing conversation clarify the aim of the soft launch and give us some insight into their goals, and the show's identity.

Update May 7 - Official launch: No new introduction in this Livestream, but white dot stops by to say "hello, again" and then we are told the projector broke and was being repaired. Soon, Matt assures us that this is like a ride at Disney (lol, Matt is so going get sued (j/k) and it'll be ready to roll shortly. 

I checked out both the screener and original Livestream to compare - and while they pull in closer on the Mads segments in the screener (which cuts off the top of Kabahl's helmet), they pull back on the Emily sequence? Also, the first Mads segment is lighter in tone on the screener version.

The special aftershow guest was 'Robot Wars' own Barbara Crampton, who was a little out of synch, but it was still neat to have her join in. With her were Matt and Matt (McGinnis & Oswalt, whose audio, unfortunately, failed or was choppy), and Jonah, and Joel (looking very relaxed). 

All told it was a bumpy night; delayed start, tech issues caused a few pregnant pauses in the Q&A. The screen froze and slowed during the film at one point.

Transmission commences in... The original pre-show countdown saw characters pulled on a tether, by either Crow or Servo. BTW, this technique is called -as Joel noted- Papermation.

Favorite Riffs: "I've been on this thing for weeks, Annie" - "I've got 2 whole pictures and some dirt" - Leda (talking about her investigation)/Crow | "You know Drake, sir" - "Not Biblically" - Pritchard/Jonah | "Wa-Lee's having more fun than a 16-year-old at a cat house" - "You know how teens love cats" - Pritchard/Crow | "Jokes on you Wa-Lee, I keep an extra white guy in my bag!" - Jonah as Annie | "I'm going to rock down to, Electric Avenue" - Servo as robot | "Oh I'm going to throw up from my bottom" - Jonah

Favorite Host Segment: Max and Kinga meet Dr. Kabahl (1990s Crystal Vista & The flight attendant bits were good too)

Amazing Colossal Grade: 2.5 - The skits were solid, but the riffing was fair at best.

Special Event: A Tribute to Future War + Short: Let's Make a Meal in 20 Minutes

Premiere Date: Thursday, May 12, 2022, 5:00 PM PST 

Special Guests: Jonah, Emily, Kelsey, Yvonne, and Conor

The second Livestream for "events week" is the delayed tribute to Future War, with Let's Make a Meal in 20 Minutes, which stars the daughter from A Date with Your Family. This is a very short short (not sure if they edited this as they did with the previous one, it seems intact, and Simmel-Meservey made a few quickies like this; see Let's Make a Sandwich, lol, yes that's a real short). This is another covered by Jonah and crew, and there are some cute to be heard (Hampton's line about Georgia O'Keefe, and Sally tackling an usher, Jonah's quick "yum?" and Baron's panicked reaction when Sally notices the time). However, with its scant runtime there no time for our riffers to get into the flow, it's more like, rush in, empty your quiver and before you know it... done. It's a tasty meal, but not very filling.

The event was originally scheduled to be part of "Dystopian Futures" month in April (with 6 curated classic episodes, under the heading "Vault Picks") - as with the Manos tribute, we get new host segments from Pearl n' Synthia (with cameo from Dr. Kabahl, yay), and Jonah and his bots, who discuss the 90s, dystopias, and sponsorship (in reference to the Droppy sketch - I got a laugh out of Crow's line, "I sprinkle plenty")

I've not watched the experiment in quite a while, so I was happy to revisit it, it's a funny one. 

The aftershow Q&A was a madhouse, marked by audio issues, but eventually, we hear a letter read by Tom Servo, the first of the new era. Topics included tour activities, plaids, impressions (Yvonne kills with her Emily, and the bit closes with a gang doing their Joels, all at the same time). Special for me, I had a question featured, I asked "If you were involved in a Future War, what action hero would you want at your side?" (and I love the answers, Emily apparently really likes Chuck Norris as this is the second times she's name dropped him, Conor went with Charlize Theron from Atomic Blonde, Jonah selected Emily Blunt from Live, Die, Repeat, Kelsey wants Uma Thurman from Kill Bill, and Matt took Bruce Campbell. Yvonne didn't chime in, but for mine, I'd go with Milla, Alice from Resident Evil.)

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