Stop by Moon 13!
Jonah (Jonah Ray) just wants to do his job as a space miner when he walks into a trap by Kinga Forrester (Felicia Day) and Max aka TV’s Son of TV’s Frank (Patton Oswalt). Now, Jonah is trapped on Moon 13 and being subjected to the worst movies that Max and Kinga can find. Can Jonah survive Kinga and Max’s plans with the help of his robot friends Gypsy, Cambot, Crow, and Tom Servo?
Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Return—Season 1 is also called Mystery Science Theater 3000—Season 11. The series was crowdfunded but picked up by Netflix. The series was positively reviewed.
What’s the deal with MST3K…is it Season 11 or Season 1?
Mystery Science Theater 3000 was totally a college show. I’d watch it Saturday afternoon after I woke up and worked on the computer. The shows were sometimes great and sometimes they were so-so. The new MST3K is much like the original in that some stuff works, some stuff doesn’t.
The writing is the key to MST3K, but it also is the downfall for MST3K. As said in the song, “they can’t control when the movies begin or end” and they also can’t control the movie. The movie is the key to most of the MST3K moments and MST3K: The Return has so-so movies to work with. Movies like Cry Wilderness are perfect but I also really enjoy the basic Avalanche. There are a number of movies that kind of work, and I feel that some movies miss joke opportunities…but to be honest, that is the case with most of the MST3K episodes. It is luck of the draw and the writing follows (and attempts to make a real plot like the marriage storyline don’t really matter).
I kind of like Kinga and Max…
I don’t really have a problem with changing out the lead. MST3K did it first with Joel Hodgson (who cameos a couple times in this season) and Michael J. Nelson…I can give Jonah Ray some leeway. I actually prefer Felicia Day to Pearl (Mary Jo Pehl who also appears) and Patton Oswalt is a good TV’s Frank replacement. Original stars Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett appear though Hampton Yount, Baron Vaughn, and Rebecca Hanson play the new Crow T. Robot, Tom Servo, and Gypsy. The season also features cameos by Neil Patrick Harris, Jerry Seinfeld, Erin Gray, Wil Wheaton, Joel McHale, and Mark Hamill.
The visuals remain in sync with the original series. That adds to the original style. Gypsy now hangs from the ceiling and Tom Servo can fly. I actually wish they had used the flying Tom Servo a bit more because it seemed gimmicky when he would do it since it wasn’t used enough…Gypsy was always annoying.
Some of your favorites (?) return…(never a big fan of these 3 but nice see them again)
I’m glad Mystery Science Theater 3000 is back. There is always so much potential for the series and I wish that the series would pony-up money for at least one of episode of the series so we got a bigger movie like they did with MST3K: The Movie. I think criticism of the series is more from people who were used to the original series because there was a lot of criticism with “Mike” episodes when he started. Ok, we all know Joel was better but once we got used to Mike it was still ok…I hope Jonah gets the chance to latch on to the new viewers (if he is back after the finale) and look forward to season 2.
Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Return—Season 1 Complete Episode Guide:
“Reptilicus”
1.1 Reptilicus Release Date: 04/14/17
Receiving a distress call Jonah (Jonah Ray) comes to Moon 13 and finds himself trapped by Kinga Forrester (Felicia Day) and Max aka TV’s Son of TV’s Frank (Patton Oswalt). With Crow and Tom Servo, Jonah is forced to watch Reptilicus (1961)…a Danish kaiju movie. Jonah is now part of the great experiment and the horrors of Reptilicus could break his mind.
“Cry Wilderness”
1.2 Cry Wilderness Release Date: 04/14/17
Kinga and Max serve up another stinker to Jonah, and Jonah, Tom, and Crow must survive the family Bigfoot movie Cry Wilderness (1987)…is Bigfoot real?
“Time Travelers”
1.3 Time Travelers Release Date: 04/14/17
A portal in time is opened in Time Travelers (1964) and Tom Servo, Jonah, and Crow are forced to watch the adventure into the future.
“Avalanche”
1.4 Avalanche Release Date: 04/14/17
Crow, Tom Servo, and Jonah watch the Rock Hudson/Mia Farrow disaster film Avalanche (1978)…if only an avalanche could end Jonah’s suffering.
“The Beast of Hollow Mountain”
1.5 The Beast of Hollow Mountain Release Date: 04/14/17
Cowboys battle dinosaurs as Kinga and Max force Jonah, Crow, and Tom Servo to watch The Beast of Hollow Mountain (1956).
“Starcrash”
1.6 Starcrash Release Date: 04/14/17
The Hoff stops by Moon 13 when Tom Servo, Crow, and Jonah watch David Hasselhoff in the Star Wars rip-off Starcrash (1979).
BasementRejects Review of Starcrash (1979)
“The Land that Time Forgot”
1.7 The Land That Time Forgot Release Date: 04/14/17
Doug McClure teams with Nazis to explore The Land that Time Forgot (1975), and Jonah, Tom Servo, and Crow must survive Doug McClure and the dinosaurs.
“The Loves of Hercules”
1.8 The Loves of Hercules Release Date: 04/14/17
Kinga and Max subject Tom, Crow, and Jonah to the husband and wife team of Jayne Mansfield and Mickey Hargitay in The Loves of Hercules (1960).
“Yongary”
1.9 Yongary Release Date: 04/14/17
South Korea presents their finest kaiju in Yongary (1967) but Crow, Tom Servo, and Jonah can’t feel the love.
“Wizards of the Lost Kingdom”
1.10 Wizards of the Lost Kingdom Release Date: 04/14/17
Sword and sorcery rule in the ’80s B-Movie Wizards of the Lost Kingdom (1985) which is sure to drive Jonah, Tom Servo, and Crow crazy.
“Wizards of the Lost Kingdom II”
1.11 Wizards of the Lost Kingdom II Release Date: 04/14/17
With Wizards of the Lost Kingdom failing to push Jonah over the edge, Kinga and Max throw the sequel Wizards of the Lost Kingdom II (1989) at Jonah and the robots. Kinga has an idea for a plot twist!
“Carnival Magic”
1.12 Carnival Magic Release Date: 04/14/17
Kinga announces her plans to marry Jonah as she submits Jonah, Crow, and Tom Servo to Carnival Magic (1981)…a movie about a magic talking chimpanzee named Alex.
“The Christmas That Almost Wasn’t”
1.13 The Christmas That Almost Wasn’t Release Date: 04/14/17
It’s Christmas as Kinga and Max are “celebrating” with The Christmas That Almost Wasn’t (1966), but for Jonah, Crow, and Tom Servo a movie about the war on Christmas won’t cheer them up.
“At Earth’s Core”
1.14 At the Earth’s Core Release Date: 04/14/17
Kinga and Jonah prepare for the big wedding day, and Jonah finds himself, Crow, and Tom saddled with Troy McClure and Peter Cushing as they explore At the Earth’s Core (1976).
