1308 - The Batwoman
Premiere Date: Friday, August 19, 2022, 5:00 PM PST
Host: Emily Connor
Special Guests: No one new, though we do get a glimpse of Waverly and Growler as Boneheads
Writers: Jonah Ray, Nate Begle, Felicia Day, Ryon Day, Storm Dicostanzo, Jon Gutierrez, Lesley Kinzel, Conor McGiffin, Matt Oswalt, Nell Scovell, Hampton Yount
Director René Cardona has been very, very good to MST, gifting them with the season 5 masterpiece, Santa Claus, and now, two crimefighting wrestler flicks, Santo in the Treasure of Dracula, and The Batwoman... which, like its predecessors is plumb goofy. Conor's so tickled by it (movie and riffs) that he gets the giggles, and that's the proper response to this kitschy treat, which pits the scantily clad Batwoman against an emotional scientist who uses a plastic toy doll and pineal fluid to create a monstrous Gil Man (oddly, there are no callbacks to Leech Woman on that last plot point).
The riffing justifiably drinks from the waters of Batman lore... from Servo's lengthy "Na, Na, Na, Na's", which leaves him exhausted, to the "Biffs" and "Pows" from the Adam West series given a hilariously mundane going over ("GRAB!") And speaking of water, I love that they threw in an Aquabats reference, considering how much time Batwoman spends under the sea (according to E&TBs, she acquires great strength doing this, as is custom for bats, lol).
Some of the material took me back to the early days, like the gang's discomfort at being far too close to a guy's junk in tiny shorts, and the batty twist on the classic "Hi-Keeba!" which warmed my heart and earned a big guffaw.
Names were also a hoot, like the ones Emily gives to the superhero (wrestlers), or the brief mishearing of the Gil-Man's appellation (Feces?)
Sensual jazz score, check, man playing with sand, yup, hot merging action, got it! Conor's Brando impression, Sinatra, Sartre, fish vomit, Ramones, and a Space Ghost quote ("BANJOOO!") present.
Mega-Bat-Synthia is on the scene!
SOL host segments come from the movie, and like many this season are carried by the personalities more than the comedy. With her background in theater, on tour, Em frequently goes big - with her expressions and arms waving about, she's the complete opposite of laid-back Joel - but there such a fun charm in this, and in her warm connection to her robot pals (in one sketch she beams and hugs upon learning she's part bot). On the moon, Mega Synthia gets a laugh out of her experiment (the duct tape dispenser in the shape of a duck - that added "quack" as she pulls tape was a brilliant topper). As does Max who's completely lost without Kinga (she's off on a trip with Grandma).
For the after show, Yvonne Freese, Conor McGiffin, Kelsey Ann Brady, and Emily Marsh join Matt for Q&A. They talk superheroes, touch on the riffs being very music heavy, and for Conor, address the challenge of writing for repetitive moments (car chases, the swimming scenes)
Favorite Riffs: "I'm, cold" - Emily as underdressed Batwoman | "Um, Danny Elfman lost his job to an alarm clock" - Crow | "This is the only exit" - "That's one more than Sartre had" - Bad guy/Crow | "Wow, Gotham got hit hard by the recession" - Emily | "Batwoman thought this was going to be a casual autopsy" - Emily | "Ghost World: Fury Road" - Crow | "Door Dash, lobster rolls" - Servo as scuba divers sneak on boat | "This is Batwoman's side hustle, delivering whale tampons" - Emily | "It's important to floss the ocean every day" - Servo | "Only God knows why" - "I do" - Servo as Diaz | "This abomination will make bath-time fun" - Emily | "Hey, it's my cousin, Juan Servo!" - Servo | "From here to infirmary" - Crow | "Excellent" - "Sí, señor Burns" - Mad Dr./Emily
Favorite Host Segment: Mega Synthia's invention was the funniest - The Batwoman franchise starter kit was cute
Amazing Colossal Grade: 3.75 - Fantabulous first hour, and while it does tail off a hair in the final 30, sometimes an episode hits you where you live, taps into your jam, The Batwoman was that for me.
Special Event: A Tribute to Pumaman + Short: The Wonder of Reproduction
Premiere Date: Friday, August 5, 2022, 5:00 PM PST
Emily's crew is up to bat this month, and if that guy in the short looks familiar it's because the Mads covered a flick with the same character and setting, in a piece titled, "The Wonder of the Body". I think we need more Moody Institute shorts, because "The Wonder of Reproduction" spotlights some drop dead funny lines, with one of the season's biggest laughs coming from a risqué jest uttered by Servo ("Who's Bubbles?") Now, it's a relaxed riffing, and at first, I thought there were too many gaps, as in "Sleep for Health", but another go through revealed it's not so much that, than it's an easy, breezy stroll, they're not swinging fists (not even at the Christianity, aside from a groan, they're mostly playful). Highlights: the haircut quips and puns (The Violent Fins, Seventh Sea Adventist), and the Riffer-added interactions between fish and Bob, and kids, added much mirth.
Onto the feature, which was "surgically enhanced". Joel stops by to explain what that means (it's akin to HD upscaling) and shares a before and after comparison. We then fly on over to Pearl and Syntha, and Emily and the bots, who set up the tribute - while I enjoy these sketches (more for the personalities involved, though the Emily spots give up the giggles) wouldn't it have been a gas to have Pearl address her failed party from this episode? (Other bits: Jonah's Bot's are frustrated in their efforts to gain superpowers - on Emily's side of it, we have Crow's conspiracy theories, which Pearl mocks, but Synthia buys into).
Sitcom ending freeze frame anyone?
The enhancement itself? While I'm not a fan of the cropping (they removed a little too much of the shadowrama), the overall work they did on this was amazing. The picture is no longer faded, there's more detail - and having a clean clear image can allow me to better focus on the comedy (RiffTrax's Magic Sword is an example of this). Yes, there's a tricky balance to be struck, the process wouldn't suit experiments where the poor quality of the feature becomes part of the joke, but I'd say that with this episode, it was a definite boon. (it's important to note that the original broadcast version still exists).
The tribute closes with SHOUTS DVD extra (an interview with the film's star), which is fine, but I own this disc and have seen this already - so, as with last month's tribute, I'd have preferred something original, more celebratory - trivia, a quick look at what was going on during April 4th, 1998, what were fan's or staff's recollections of seeing the episode for the first time - you could ask SHOUT about the difficulty in getting the episode released, offer a Roger Whitaker and Pearl reunion, or just see if Kevin wouldn't mind pre-recording a message or song, anything to make it fresh and unique.
The picture enhancements helped to make this more special than the Guiron tribute, and with one of the season's finer shorts releases, I did enjoy the evening.
