Season 13 - Episode 11 & Special Event 07 with Short

1311 - The Mask in 3D

Premiere Date: Friday, October 28, 2022, 5:00 PM PST 

Host: Jonah Heston

Special Guests: Max's Landlady Mrs. Kelly (Rebecca Hanson), The Skull (Yvonne Freese)

Writers: Jonah Ray, Nate Begel, Ross Bryant, Gabe Castro, Danny Gallagher, Rebecca Hanson, Conor McGiffin, Opus Moreschi, Matt Oswalt, Paul Sabourin

The spirit of the season is in full bloom, with the SOL decked out in Halloween cheer, and most everyone in costume (I had to look up Jonah's, the one nobody gets... and okay, yeah, I've seen that actor in a lot of things). Max's made me laugh, and Rebecca's Mrs. Kelly (from the picture) played off him hilariously. Speaking of which, the sketches are movie or holiday-related, including an end segment that sees the SOL bridge and hosts and skull in 3D, cool! There's also a terrific song in the mix, and noir therapy ("Her tube went all the way to heaven where even angels don't dare to fly" says Crow on femme fatale GPC).

The flick (in B&W, our first in the modern era) looks fantastic, and while the primary storyline is watchable and noirishly lit, it's the freaky 3D montage sequences by the great Slavko Vorkapić that makes the movie special. As for the MST-3D experience, I enjoyed it - the effect can be iffy in spots (the flying eyeballs), but the environments and the layers found there are nicely rendered, there's an outstretched hand that seems to reach through the screen, and it's overall eye-catching and contributes to the spooky, but entertaining vibe of the episode. 

Mad Max Headroom and Mrs. Kelly

The riffing's patchy (the scene with Dr. Soames was mostly laugh-free, and the Frasier stuff didn't land for me... of the running gags, "Doodad" was the best). There's a lot that draws from music, and plenty of holiday-appropriate movie references (a Munchie callback, and of course the Carrey film is brought up several times), though the funniest among those was the nod to Cocteau (if Beez had written on this one, I would have credited her with that riff, as it's one of her favorite films). In addition: I like cats and cat quips in general, and we get a few of those, Crow's lengthy "Zoning Board" bit was my favorite line of the night. Another thing I found amusing was that I started singing "Eyes Without a Face" at the same time Crow did (hey, you had to do it, the woman's mask recalled the mask in that other flick of the same name)

Livestream? Crow reads viewer mail. Servo, Growler and M. Waverly thank Kickstarter backers, and fan art is shown during intermission - for the after show  Matt as Perico, Jonah as the keymaster, Joel as Buffett fan, Rebecca as Subaru Forrester, Yvonne as Beaker, and Emily as Muriel share Halloween memories, then discuss the episode and -best of all- show behind the scenes photos and video - I hope they do more of this type of thing in the future as having a visual guide to go with the stories are a huge plus. The show closes with them revealing the costume winners, of those shown I voted for Jan in the Pan, Cave Dwellers, Movie Theater Floor, and Kid Kinga.

Crow references this scene... and shows off his killer Caine impression

Favorite Riffs: "We've all gotten drunk and shaved with a cat, sure" - Jonah | "Should I call his parents - "Yes call that grown man's parents right away" - Secretary/Jonah | "He blamed it (the mask) for visions and nightmares" - "Incontinence" - Doctor/Crow | "My boyfriend is operating a medical practice out of a residential building! To the Zoning Board!" - Crow as Pam to a taxi driver | "I've got late onset Abe Lincoln face" - Jonah | "Another victim of fun sized Wolverine" - Servo | "Wow, a literal 5 O'clock shadow" - Crow | "Did he have any friends or relatives?" - "Does a Sailor Moon body pillow count?" - Detective/Crow as Mrs. Kelly | "He can't stay mad at me after he sees one of my apology caricatures" - Jonah | "Wall sconces by Jean Cocteau" - Crow | "Somebody turn on the subtext titles" - Servo | "I can't hear you, I'm a book now!" - Crow | "Somewhere a Pizza Hut table stands naked" - Servo, commenting on Pam's dress

Favorite Host Segment: Mrs. Kelly and the doodads, Rebecca was pitch perfect - how nice to get back to 'cast member plays a movie character', which was such a staple of the classic era.

Amazing Colossal Grade: 3-ish - The riffing wasn't the best part of the episode, that was the sketches, the ambiance, and 3D experience.

Special Event: A Tribute to Devil Doll + Short: Balance Beam for Girls

Premiere Date: Friday, October 14, 2022, 5:00 PM PST

The special event opens with a randomly selected short given a workover by the randomly selected Emily, and Co. The production is a dry instructional piece, but the crew brighten it up with silly observations ("Well, this is an unfortunate angle" - Crow), puckish digs ("Please watch 'Math for Girls' to understand these numbers" - Servo) or by aiding the narrator by giving cute names to various moves. Vocal inflection is equally important (no duh, right) and in this they are spot on, I don't know if the line "Don't break my ribs again, Cathy" is as funny on the page, but the way Conor delivers the riff, the annoyance in the voice, gave me one of my biggest laughs.  Rate this as another goodie from the group.

The episode held in tribute is the sci-fi favorite Devil Doll, and -thinking of a complaint I had with the last release (The Shape of Things to Come) - it was nice to re-discover that references to an actor's past or future work, didn't end with Frank's departure - we get one here when Servo notes... "You know, Kubrick saw this scene and said, “We’ve found our Heywood Floyd.”" -chefs kiss-

Sketch wise - there's some fun with the intros - (Pearl schools Synthia on how to introduce an episode, Emily and Bots talk about soul transference).  Later, Emily the skeptic mocks hypnotism, however the bots get the last laugh, which includes making her believe she's misplaced her butt... it's a childish routine, but the bots are like naughty kids, so, what can you do. (And it leads to callbacks at the close, "Where'd you go, you cheeky devil!" - Synthia).

Jonah, Servo (Baron) and Crow (Hampton) handle the thank you's, and return for a segment on Baseball vampires, which continues the trend of the bots pranking, or in this case, bashing the host.

For the after show, Tim, Jonah, Rebecca and Hampton talk about Halloweeny stuff, tease the next episode, then play a scary game (Trivia Murder Party), which wasn't as focused or funny as the last month's spy play. Plus, I wish the trivia had been more Halloween related and focused on movies, books, creatures, candy, stuff like that.

The stream closes with a Shout/Ballyhoo documentary. 

All told I liked the short and the tribute ep, the sketches were alright, the after-show game, mmm, honestly, I lost interest in it and checked out. 

Fan art and Jetscreen Trivia were part of the pre-show intro and intermission

The first 3D host segment

The cast in costume for the Mask after show

Image promoting the cosplay contest

October's lineup for Halloween Horror Month

< Previous * Next >

Synthia Selects 5: Halloween Horror Month

The Brain That Wouldn't Die

Special Guest: Tom Servo (Conor)

We catch Synthia gabbing about the lime in the coconut song, she then asks Tom what kind of brain he would he have, Tom can't decide between one that can fly and one that can turn invisible. He asks if can have a Brian instead (like Brian Bonsall) - at the end Syn laments Jan's fate while Tom wants to change his answer to Brian Dennehy, because he has many questions about FX 2, Syn nixes the idea (you're not at Wendy's Tom)

First Segment Text

Syn - "Allergic to both lime and coconut"

Servo - "The best of brains"

Syn - "Still shipping Mallory and Nick"

Gizmoblip: Tom and Crow play child and parent, who complain about Halloween falling on a Monday - Emily intervenes and implores them to think about what Garfield is going through

Second Segment Text

Syn - "Constantly panned"

Servo - "Has Brians on the brains"

Syn - "No substitutions, exchanges or refunds"

The Undead

Special Guest: Crow (Kelsey)

Syn, wearing 3-D glasses on her head, is upset about dam building double standards (she's not allowed to do, what beavers do) - she asks Crow to ponder that which is alive, is undead, which leads to magical talk and un un un stuff.  At the end, the two discuss their former lives

First Segment Text

Syn - "Dam if she does, dam if she does"

Crow - "T stand for technically"

Syn -"Un-un-unprepared"

Gizmoblip: The bots fear monsters in space, but Emily assures them space is safe, aside from depressurization. 

Second Segment Text

Syn - "Most of her friends are undead"

Crow - "The T stands for tomorrow"

Syn - "Mistakenly bought an Heir Friar"

Bride of the Monster

Special Guest: Pearl

"I lost the adapter so now it's just a regular old skateboard" says Synthia, who then asks Pearl if she's ever going to settle down and tie the knot, Pearl says no, and mentioned her many, now deceased husbands. Pearl then asks Syn if she should drop this hosting gig and get back to her chores and evil experiments (Syn ignores this completely) - the closing segment sees Syn excited by world destroying explosions, Pearl continues her intervention and threatens to take over. The show closes with a doc on Ed Wood.

First Segment Text

Syn - "Sk8 or die"

Pearl - "Not naught knot"

Syn - "Ignoring that second part"

Gizmoblip: Emily's bots talk about the best part of Halloween, for Servo it's organizing his candies, Crow just wants to eat it, so does Em, but the bots will only allow her a razor blade (trust me, that's funnier on screen than it looks in print).

Second Segment Text

Syn - "Spoiler alter for the world"

Pearl - "Making popcorn makes the world burns"

Syn - "She's not freaking out, you're freaking out"

The Dead Talk Back

Special Guest: Synthia

Thimbles, fimbles... Synthia welcomes her greatest guest ever, herself! Who speaks to the difficulties of hosting without a mug. The duo(?) return and ponder whether the dead can sing and dance too. Includes the Shout Factory interview with Myron Natwick, one of the stars of the movie.

First Segment Text

Syn - "Where'd that mug come from"

Syn - "Wait, what?"

Syn - "Wait - for real, what?"

Syn - "Where watching her unravel"

Syn - "More like Limp Bisquick, look, things have really taken a turn around here"

Gizmoblip: The bots misunderstand Jonah and explore the art of hiding weapons in candy

Second Segment Text

Syn - "NOW she's trying to make sense of things??"

Syn - "Honestly, we're all worried about her"

Syn - "Synthia should select some professional help"

Ring of Terror

Special Guest: Servo (Conor)

We catch Synthia talking about detergent pods, she then asks Tom about his favorite ring, Servo shares a tale of the Ring of Terror, but Syn explains that what they are watching is about old medical students, and not a 15-hour German Opera - in the final bit, Syn wants to know if Tom has ever thought about going bulb-free, but he's still hung up on the Opera. The show closes with a doc on Bela.

First Segment Text

Syn - "Everyone's fave flave"

Servo - "Lord of the Brass Rings"

Syn - "Once did a tight five at Val-Ha-Ha's"

Servo - "Rushed every fraternity, accepted by none"

Syn - "Is a clone of the original Ring of Terror"

Gizmoblip: Jonah plays Halloween tricks on his blindfolded bots, the hands in the bowl gag, the bots are horrified by bot parts, but are okay with human eyeballs

Second Segment Text

Syn - "Prefers onion rings of terror

Servo - "Bulb-free since '73"

Syn - "Insert Frasier joke here"

The Unearthly

Special Guest: Jonah

Syntha asks, when is time for go to bed for you? For Jonah it's always night and he doesn't know the last time he slept. Later, Jonah asks for one of those white noise machines, but all he gets from Syn are insults.

First Segment Text

Syn - "Class, Brass and Sass"

Jonah - "He the peoples"

Syn - "Get a cool 14 hours every night"

Gizmoblip: The bots have a seance by chanting Cyndi Lauper, but Jonah breaks the spell and instead of Joan of Arc, they conjure up Joan of Arkansas. 

Second Segment Text

Syn - "Isn't the unearthly just...sky?"

Jonah - "Does he even fit in those bunk beds?"

Syn - "More of an off-white noise"

Second Synthia from the Dead Talk Back

Halloween candy from Bride of the Monster

Jonah Krueger's Cavalcade of Terror

Synthia accessorizes with Kinga-Vision 3D Glasses

Index

Season 13 - Episode 10

1310 - The Shape of Things to Come

Premiere Date: Friday, September 30, 2022, 5:00 PM PST 

Host: Emily Connor

Special Guests: None

Writers: Jonah Ray, Nate Begle, Harold Buchholz, Gabe Castro, Erik Draden, Rebecca Hanson, Conor McGiffin, Beez McKeever, Matt Oswalt, Baron Vaughn -contributing riffer, Todd Nauck

About a year ago I was watching Faith's Takes on YouTube, the ones where she filmed her reactions to season 11 episodes - with some eps she's laughing often, with others (like fan fave Cry Wilderness), not as much. I thought of that after entering the vaults the day after this experiment's debut, to catch Ring of Terror. Now, Ring isn't a huge fan favorite, it didn't make the backer's top 100 poll, and yet, if you'd filmed my reactions, it was Ring that got belly laughs out of me, not The Shape of Things to Come, and that about says it all.

That's not to call this a comedy fail - Emily's biting Netflix quip, then noticing commercial sign within the film shortly after that, were both a hoot and a half, but most of my reactions were of the chuckle and snort variety, rather than big hearty guffaws. 

They do engage with the film nicely, and at times successfully build character traits, which was interesting as this came up during the Q&A, where they were asked about their preferences between riffing a star actor or having a no-name that you can create a character around (Jonah likes the latter). They do this well with the robot Sparks and its interactions with other characters. I also got a smile out of the narrative they created around the lead couple... by switching their romance to a friend zone. 

"I was the Governor, you know" - Emily

Unfortunately -aside from Jack Palance- they don't seem to know what to do with the other side of that question (riffing on known actors) the careers of Gunslinger's John Ireland and Sledge Hammer's Anne-Marie Martin is never acknowledged, even in small, subtle ways. And it broke my heart that with Carol Lynley (Niki) it's mostly about her hair and shoes - they drop the ball on creating a funny character for her, and they do nothing in regard to her career. When she was looking around, sneaking through the bowels of the Citadel, they could have done an "Oh poo, I've mislaid Bunny Lake again!" or sang 𝅘𝅥𝅯 "There's got to be a morning after"𝅘𝅥𝅯. Okay, yeah, I'm old, but I grew up watching her in movies like The Night Stalker, etc, and hoped they would have done right by her, even if was noting that this wasn't her best acting (my last hope is that somehow Trace and Frank get ahold of this, I know film buff Frank wouldn't let me down, in fact I could hear he and Trace turning that riff above into a running bit about days when she did do good acting in good films... "I worked with Preminger, you know", "I worked with Olivier...")

Back to the positives, I like how they pulled out the old standby "Jim Henson's (fill in the blank) babies", and I got a kick out of Big Teresa, and all the other names Conor gave to the crew in one scene - I had no idea what Teresa was referencing (I had to look it up) the sound of it just tickled me. I even enjoyed the silly stuff... Spark's farts, the mishearing of words (bed for red, lunch for launch), or the reveal that master computer Lomax, is just a glorified Magic 8 Ball ("But you can shake me and ask again later" - Emily)

Host Segments and such? The show opens with M. Waverly and Growler discovering that being a bonehead's not all that wonderful, they're a fun pair. Most of the sketches didn't light a fire under me, though they do showcase Emily's talents, whether it's interacting with Sparks during the tepid Celebrity Roast, talking about love, or providing soothing vocal delivery for the podcast, she's simply a joy. Inventions include the Roller Coaster (drink coasters on a rail, the punch line "didn't spill a drop" was cute), and corn cob turkey holders. 

Livestream? Servo reads a letter ("It's raining on my face!" lol) Synthia, Growler, and Crow thank backers. The Q&A is a little glitchy, but otherwise, I enjoyed the conversation as Emily, Kelsey, and Jonah discuss the darkness of the ending for the roast sketch (which Joel came up with) and the sweetness of the love segment. Other topics include favorite puppets, goofy sci-fi, what kind of actor do you like to riff on, and what derails a writer's room?

Favorite Riffs: "Meanwhile at Netflix" - Emily after spotting a cancel button | "Whoa, this guy's space suit is very lung-forward" - Crow |  "Do not take Lomax if you are allergic to Lomax" - Crow | "I got to talk to the big lollypop" - Servo | "Robot knees apparently are not in the budget - Emily | "I'm picking up a high radiation level in this area" - "Well that explains my new toe" - Sparks/Servo as Jason | "They're children" - "And they're covered in dank, high-grade medical marijuana" - Kim/Servo | "I would like to help" - "I know close up magic" - Sparks/Crow | "Niki with the Irish goodbye" - Emily | "Boot to the head, boot to the head, boot to the head" - Crow | "Oh no, the crown roast of doom is making me do the pee-pee dance" - Servo as Dr. Caball 

Favorite Host Segment: The Shape of Crimes to Come Podcast - I liked the look and sound of the bit (the background art and music), and Emily was in top form, with her calming host voice

Amazing Colossal Grade: 3 - There are funny quips, but my Faith's Take style reactions were more of the smiles and chuckle variety. 

"I have many impressive things to show you" - "Like this Sit 'n Spin" - Omus/Servo

* Footnotes

Curious that there were no quips or host segs addressing Caball and Kabahl? Nor was there a "hey, they have a Kingadome too" or something along those lines when a similar dome shows up as background in a scene.  

With Dori Doreau (Anne-Marie Martin), they could have just referred to her by that character's name, as was done with the Paper Chase Guy in Warrior of the Lost World, or Lovejoy in Diamond Head, and that would have been fun, that would have sufficed.    

I'll give them a pass on Palance's "Turn it off" scene (not doing any George C. Scott in Hardcore quips), since Rifftrax covered that angle fully. 

< Previous * Next >

Synthia Selects 4: Espionage & Intrigue

Final Justice

Special Guest: Emily Connor

"Whoever made Sanka's fired" - Synthia - And irksome Emily fields the question, "what is Joe Don Baker's deal?" - Later Snth thinks she gets Joe Dons deal, Em wants to have a drum circle. so, they can really connect - Syntha responds with a pun (dumb circle)

First Segment Text:

Syn - "The face that Sanka thousand ships"

Em - "Once waved at JDB at a boat show"

Syn - "Her mug runneth over"

GizmoBlip: Crow punches Em because he thinks he's Jason Bourne, Tom believes he's more a Manchurian Candidate and he and Em try and help come up with a sleeper agent trigger name

Second Segment Text:

Syn - "Preferred "Penultimate Justice""

Em - "You'll have to specify which face hole"

Syn - "Keith Moon 13"

Code Name: Diamond Head

Special Guest: Jonah

"It should be hard to cancel a gym membership... because of the puritans" - Synthia. Jonah is asked what he likes to stay away from, he lists Mads, hibernating bears, the cold vacuum of space and Jim (because you don't mess around with Jim). Later Syn denies his request for water and tell him he can bathe in his own humiliation.

First Segment Text:

Syn - "She's billed monthly by the Curves in Sheboygan"

Jonah - "Clearly stays away from combs"

Syn - "Has tugged on Superman's cape"

GizmoBlip: Emily and crew want to update Bond girl names for modern sensibilities and replace them with blander, un-sexy names. They then do bad impressions of Connery.

Second Segment Text:

Syn - "Code Name: Cubic Zirconia Head" 

Jonah - "Code Name: Tourmaline"

Syn - "Is one of those "people""

Danger!! Death Ray

Special Guest: Pearl

"Cold cream can work as whipped cream in a pinch" - Synthia - Pearl chastised Synthia and tells a story that proves she's own weapon of destruction, one that desires to put everyone and everything in danger. At the end, Syn plays with silly Fargo names, which irritates a silly name hating Pearl

First Segment Text:

Syn - "Currently in a pinch"

Pearl - "Currently doing the pinching"

Syn - "Test drove a stingray (the animal)"

Gizmoblip: Emily and the bots are embroiled in a series of double-crossing spy games; this one involves a licked donut... or is it?

Second Segment Text:

Syn - "Still in that pinch"

Pearl - "Has heard and dated them all"

Syn - "aka Fart Bargo"

Mighty Jack

Special Guest: Servo (Baron)

Synthia talks banana peels and poses the question, "hot ice, how can this be?" The closing bit features the discussion, Mighty or Mightiest Jack, and remembering the Alamo (hu?).

First Segment Text:

Syn - "Doesn't get the ap-peel"

Servo - "The smallest of bots"

Syn - "The hottest solid"

Gizmoblip: Tom and Crow, agents of HIASHAY (hello I am a spy how are you) requests that Jonah put a soft bag over his head and come with them, he agrees.

Second Segment Text:

Syn - "She's mighty mighty, just letting it all hang out"

Servo - "He's mitey mitey"

Syn - "It's a Titanic joke, you see"

Invasion, U.S.A.

Special Guest: M Waverly

Synthia talks Paul Revere logic and Waverly barges in again and the duo talk hypnotism - M attempts to figure out the trigger word that'll make Syn quack. Stay to the end, as theirs a piece on producer Albert Zugsmith

First Segment Text:

Syn - "Never been to British"

Waverly - "You're killing me, Smalls"

GizmoBlip: With Jonah - what makes a good henchman, plus the trio do their Wilhelm screams. 

Second Segment Text:

Syn - "Is nothing but regrets"

Operation Kid Brother/Double 007

Special Guest: Crow (Hampton)

Syn plays with her fingers ("only cool clones can do this") - Crow loses it when he finds out he has no older brother. Later, Syn offers to create him a big brother, but he's good. Afterwards we see Joel's DVD introduction

First Segment Text:

Syn - "Talented phalanges"

Crow - "Only" "Child"

Syn - "Her sister is a tube"

GizmoBlip: The best thing about being a spy is code names, Jonah's is Viper, Servo's is Bazooka and Crow is Code Name: Darryl Hannah

Second Segment Text:

Syn - "Double oh no she didn't"

Crow - "Has big LBE (L'il Brother Energy)"

Syn - "Has big LBE (Literal Big Ego)"

Crow battles Emily during "Final Justice"

Index

Season 13 - Episode 09 & Special Event 06 with Short

1309 - The Million Eyes of Sumuru

Premiere Date: Friday, September 2, 2022, 5:00 PM PST 

Host: Jonah Heston

Special Guests: Magic Voice (Sharyl Volpe), joins Joel and Emily in a skit

Writers: Devon Coleman, Tammy Golden, Tim Ryder, Mary Christen, Harold Buchholz, Sarah Morisano, Mary Jo Pehl, Howie Michael Smith, Kevin Sciretta

Great start on this one - Kabahl offers marketing advice, the bots notice that Jonah is grotesquely tall - and the experiments... mug of doom (Patton was in peak form with this), and business skittles (check out the label on "Sycophant Strawberry"), were all funny as heck. Theater-wise? I took a quick 20-minute listen to the other versions and noticed a few riff overlaps (Kill Bill and a baptism were in Rifftrax, and - "Is that Twiggy?" (KTMA) version, vs. "I'm evil Twiggy" - Jonah, which was discussed during the after show), aside from that, the revisit is actually about as relaxed as the KTMA original,  and more mature than what Rifftrax dished up - even when they go lowbrow, the work on MST didn't come off as dumb or childish (even Crow's "what knockers", which is a shout out to Young Frankenstein - speaking of which, plenty of movie references for the film buffs in this one - Room 237 and that bad Risky Business slide, for example, were cute)

First impressions? While there are notable riffs that tap nicely into the movie ("Here you go, some champagne, if you want more, I’ll have to get the shop vac"), the work was maybe too playful and easygoing (or loose, see the Q&A)? Some of this is still funny, and I understand that they're not going to give a movie the full "Mitchell" treatment these days, but I'd like a little more bite than I'm hearing, especially with a movie like this. With its sexism and senseless plotting, it's okay to lean into it and throw a few haymakers. (Most of the comments on those topics were closer to love taps). 

Primary host segments? Not bad, there are solid ideas drawn from the film (the acronyms bit was sharp) - most provide a moment, a funny line read or reaction, even if they didn't gel in total for me. Saying that, Magic Voice, yay!

Trivia? Sumuru shares the same director as season 8s "Devil Doll". And there's a Bikini Kill reference in the ep... the name of the band was actually inspired by this movie.

Oh, and I'm surprised they cut the "chips" bit from the movie, as that would have been my choice for stinger (see my KTMA write-up). Though to be fair, maybe the edit wasn't theirs, as there are several versions of the film, one that runs 80 minutes, another that runs 95. 

Livestream: Growler and M. Waverly introduce MSTs first Halloween cosplay contest - Q&A? guests writers Devon Coleman, Tammy Golden, Tim Ryder, and Kinga herself, Felicia Day, discuss the senselessness of it all, the song and the shared space suit (really, in these Covid days). They compare a clip from this and the KTMA episode and then speak to timing and the looseness of the riffing in the episode. They also address riff vetoes and appeals, and more. So overall, until it bogs down with Monopoly talk, it was a composed and informative session.

Favorite Riffs: "Let's use this distraction to get baby Moses down to the Nile" - Crow | "Security by General Zod" - Servo | "Hu, this page of the script just says, "drinking in despondency"" - Jonah | "You guys, you can see down to the bottom of the lake, it's like a whole new world down here" - Crow | "There were five mistakes in that scene, can you name them all?" - Jonah as Erna | "Sorry Pal Quit Reading" - Servo, interpreting sign | "And you will go to your posts all over the world" - "Some of you go to Akron, I'm sorry" - Sumuru/Jonah | "No one can defeat me on a beach, Frankie go!' - Servo | "Why won't they let the cameraman off the boat?" - Jonah | "The rare schadenfreude" - Servo | "Nobody's that British" - Crow | "Are they escaping into a foxhunt?" - Crow (on music)

Favorite Host Segment: Jonah is tall, let's climb him (also liked Kinga and the Synthia's Supervillainess song)

Amazing Colossal Grade: 3 - Good, mid-level experiment, could have used more pepper.

Special Event: A Tribute to Secret Agent Super Dragon + Short: Cavalcade

Premiere Date: Friday, September 16, 2022, 5:00 PM PST

Spoilers are a given in my write-ups, so be aware - and I'm only pointing that out because the reveal of who's riffing this short was such a delightful surprise. Who were the lucky duo? None other than Pearl and Larry, that's right, the hilarious Mary Jo and the incomparable J. Elvis, in the theater together for the first time (though yes, they quipped together as members of Cinematic Titanic). And I tell you, while neither wrote on this one, their vocal delivery and personally adds so much to the fun. The short is newsreel style, with pieces about electrical towers, telescopes, lead, ostrich racing ("We eat the winner!" - MJ), and the world's first rotisserie automobile... according to Josh. I don't know that it's the keenest writing they've done this season, but I got laughs, and it lifted my spirits, it might even replace the Penn short as my favorite of the year. Oh, and Pearl makes Erhardt sit a seat away from her... she don't want no shenanigans! LMAO

After the short, Pearl and Synthia set up the movie, striking Bond-like poses. Jonah and the bots discuss the death of jazz, which takes us to this month's tribute, starring the smoothest spy in the biz. I think it's cool that they are spotlighting episodes beyond the usual fan favorites like Pumaman - Dragon might not be as heralded, but it's aces, with riffs that go low ("secret agent super booger" - Crow) and high (Joel's witty observation... "His eyes have a zoom feature"). 

Live stream originals?

Emily explains the ads and thanks a handful of backers. Crow (Kelsey) reads viewer mail, with stillstore (that was a real treat), later he returns to thank more viewers (Servo does the same - giving shout-outs to backers and reading letters in his way works better than interrupting Q&As as they did in previous eps). 

There's a crazy spy sketch with Emily and the bots doing wandering accents. 

At the end, Jonah returns and asks for screenplay writing advice from Crow, before sending it back to Pearl and Synth, who are under Minsky's thrall (Dr. Kabahl suddenly pops in and just, stares... creepy). 

The show closes with a Super Dragon rap (and it's no Mother Crabber, unfortunately), and, surprise, surprise, Penn Jillette introduces the trailer as in days of old? Lastly...

Tim Ryder (Spymaster) plays DIYSPY with Emily (Missy Livingstone), Conor (Danny Landon), and Kelsey (Miss Chevious). All I can say to this is, "the hell?" Did someone slip me some goofy gum? Nope, it's actually an improv story game using suggestions from viewers - and while all 4 have their moments (Kelsey's line about crunchy pickle children), Emily -cosplaying some kind of Doctor Who/Bert from Mary Poppins hybrid- was the funniest part of this silly play, especially when she makes the others break character. 

In total? I'd score it as a win: We had original after show material (rather than an old DVD doc), there were callbacks to the past, a delightful short with an unexpected pairing, and one of the jewels of the Joel era.  

September's lineup for Espionage & Intrigue month

< Previous * Next >

Season 13 - Episode 08 & Special Event 05 with Short

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. 

August's lineup for Not-So-Superhero Month

< Previous * Next >

Sythnia Selects 4: Not-So-Superhero Month

Master Ninja I

Special guest: Crow (Kelsey) Syn explains that she didn't call these "picks" because she wasn't a guitarist, then asks Crow to proceed, which discombobulates the bot as he was expecting an interview type question, after a back-and-forth Syn asks, "what the hardest thing you ever broke with you head?" Crow goes with softer woods and particleboard, and Synthia scoffs (as she's broken Oak with her noggin in the past). At the end Crow celebrates the cast, while Syn just digs smashed windows.

First Segment Text:

Syn - "First she gonna rock, then she gonna roll"

Crow - "Proceeding with caution"

Syn - "Pointing"

Crow - "Point recipient"

Syn - "Yodels in her sleep"

Crow - "Black belt in mischief making"

Syn - "Whiskey smashed personified"

GizmoBlip: Jonah and the bots discuss secret identities, and whether having a secret ID turns everyday folk, like Mrs. Doubtfire, into superheroes?

Final Segment Text:

Syn - "Synthia De-Forrester-ation"

Crow - "Has replaced his share of windows"

Syn - "Has replaced her share of windows 95"

Bonus: Looking back at "The Master" with Bill McKinney

Master Ninja II

Special guest: Servo (Conor)

Are all turtles potential Ninjas? Tom argues that turtles are not slow, but methodical - Later, Synthia wishes that Van Cleef were her gruff sensei, speaking of which, Tom announces that he's a sensei for a turtle farm in the Everglades. "Cowabunga y'all, and good night" - Syn

First Segment Text:

Syn - "Still looking for Schroeder"

Servo - "Owns a Ninja, uses it for smoothies"

Syn - "Never adds up"

GizmoBlip: With Emily, what's the best part of being a superhero, flying, helping others, or brooding next to a gargoyle on top of a building?

Final Segment Text:

Syn - "Master of nothing"

Servo -"More of a David Carradine guy"

Syn - "Always up for more pizzas"

Fugitive Alien

Special guest: CPC

GPC brought her own discussion topic, forklift safety, she warns against forklift matador, forklift joust, forklift chess. At the end, the ladies talk about love. Syn's against it, GPC has many thoughts, but is quickly cut off

First Segment Text:

Syn - "Trips every time"

GPC - "Not that bold"

Syn - "Will respect forklifts when they respect her"

GizmoBlip: Servo has some harsh thing to say about Aquaman - what comics do you love? Tom reveals he's into the X-Men, Jonah adores that beautiful blond man, Thor, while Crow's controversial favorite superhero is Dagwood, which leads to questions about Garfield (he's a supervillain, because he's filled with hate, hate of Mondays), Kathy, Jughead, and Tintin - Tom gets some phelmish caught in his throat.

Final Segment Text:

Syn - "Everyone's favorite mistake"

GPC -"Thinks love should stick to tennis"

Syn - "Not hip about time"

Invasion of the Neptune Men

Special guest: Emily

This vault pick opens with a trailer from the movie, and then once again, Emily is confused by a question (Neptune the planet, or the God?) she doesn't think the planets a jerk, and at least it's not Uranus, Synthia takes offense. And is still upset at the end, Emily's constant "buts" don't help matters.

First Segment Text:

Syn - "Former Mrs. Bean"

Emily - "Can't carry a Neptune

Syn - "Recently purchased a high horse"

GizmoBlip: Jonah tries to explain Batman, Robin, Nightwing and Bluhaven, but the bots are not impressed and want comic book action (though Crow is interested in hearing about those havens of blood) 

Final Segment Text:

Syn - "Yup, still riding that high horse"

Emily - "Would be fine with that"

Syn "She cracked"

Bonus: Mary Jo talks about the episode and movie

Prince of Space

Special guest: Pearl Forrester

Synthia's excited to have her best friend, Pearl, as her guest, but Pearl puts her in her place (I'm the evil genius, you're a minion), and says that she prefers to think of herself not as a Queen, but as a "Space Empress", Syn doesn't get it which annoys Pearl further. In the final segment, Syn is delighted by Krankor's infectious laugh, Pearl agrees, if by infectious she means contaminating, pestilential and virulent. Synthia responds to this by doing the Krank-laugh. 

First Segment Text:

Syn - "Has a designated Hot Pocket pocket"

Pearl - "Genetic O.G"

Syn - "Never gets it"

Pearl - "Czarina of space"

GizmoBlip: Crow denies any knowledge of Emily's missing Thin Mints and blames a multiverse Crow

Final Segment Text:

Syn - "Your weapons have no effect upon her"

Pearl - "Immune to laughter"

Syn - "Didn't understand any of those words"

The Wild World of Batwoman

Special guest: M. Waverly

Synthia doesn't have a guest, the spotlights all on her, until Wavery stops by.  asks Waverly who he'd spy on if he had an atomic hearing aid, she is not impressed with his answer (anyone with an Irish accent, he finds the sound soothing) and offers that she would listen in on Fleetwood Mac backstage, there's still drama.  At the end, Syn exclaims that she liked the movie better than "Dark Knight Rises". but Waverly doesn't think it was wild enough.

First Segment Text:

Syn - "Doesn't understand atmosphere"

Wavery - "You're really cramping my style, guy... it's called a lower third for a reason"

GizmoBlip: The Batman suffer from Batman throat, with also gives them a gruff Batman attitude. To clear it up they demand Emily bring them some hot tea, "Where is tea!" (this really cracked me up) 

Final Segment Text:

Syn - "Alone again, naturally"

A couple of screengrabs...

Last month Emily was seen in the robot's repair shop, this time it's the sleeping quarters

Funny, Pearl still has her stuff from Castle Forrester

Index