Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie

As Seen On TV

As I spent some time in the US, I was aware of Mystery Science Theater 3000 (or MST3K, as it sidesteps the issue of the English and American spelling problem - my rule is that we have to go with the country of origin, even if I personally don't like it) on the Sci Fi Channel. In it, an earthman is made to watch genuine B movies from the '50s and '60s that are quite rubbish, with two robots for company. These films are supposed to do something to him, I'm not quite sure what, but he and the robots just take the piss out of the film. It is a great idea, and could be hysterically funny (although not the bits in between the film, where they would do some character interaction for some reason), particularly if it was a totally awful film. It was great late night viewing, and someone thought it would be a good idea to make it into a film. I'm not sure if they were completely right.

Here, and I don't know if this is different from the series, but our earthman is being made to watch the films by a mad scientist because it will somehow enable him to rule the earth. Whatever, we don't really care; we just want to see the bad film and have them rip the shit out of it. The film in question is This Island Earth, which is quite poor, and the guys dutifully ridicule it seven ways from Sunday. However, it is not eye-poppingly awful, which always worked better on the TV series, and there is a lot of dialogue, which doesn't allow much breathing space for tearing into it. Subsequently, we don't get the high levels of hilarity that the show used to provide on a regular basis, which is a shame, as it doesn't represent the twisted genius of the people involved.

It must have been very odd to watch the film in the cinema, showing the three main characters in silhouette in movie seats in front of a cinema screen watching a bad film and shouting abuse at it, as it might have confused the uninitiated, thinking there were people in the front row being annoying. This is especially the case in the States, as people tend to talk during movies much more than we do here in the UK. I got more out of it watching it on the small screen, where it is more at home, where you get the feeling of intimacy that the idea strives for. I mean, who hasn't sat at home with some mates watching a diabolical film and slated it at every turn for one's own amusement?

Rating: DA