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.
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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.)
