Mystery Science Theater 3000, Vol. XVII (The Crawling Eye / The Beatniks / The Final Sacrifice / Blood Waters of Dr. Z)

This latest terrific set from Shout! Factory includes four more never before released episodes. Two have Joel Hodgson as host and two are hosted by Mike Nelson. Joel episodes are from the Comedy Channel/Comedy Central shows and the Mike episodes are from the Sci-Fi Channel period of the show. Note that show 101 is the first network episode, a MSTie-must-have for sure!

101- THE CRAWLING EYE
This black and white 1958 film was originally called The Trollenberg Terror and based on an ITV serial. This film version stars Forrest Tucker. A weird tentacled alien creature menaces a small town high in the mountains of Switzerland. This is the very first network episode of MST3K made for the Comedy Channel and it's been a long, long time since this one was shown even compared to other episodes of the unfortunately canceled show so many MSTies still have likely not seen this, but everyone should. A lot of things would be changed and improved on the show in coming episodes, but this one gives fans a fascinating window into the show's early development and of course, it's funny! The movie itself used to be a weekend and late night staple on UHF channels across the US and I saw it many times as a child. Needless to say, Joel and the 'Bots make it more fun. There's a call-back to this episode in the final episode of MST3K.

415- THE BEATNIKS (with short: GENERAL HOSPITAL PT 2)
Paul Frees directed this black and white film in 1960. It concerns a young man's attempt to make it big as a recording artist while trying to escape from the grip of his criminally inclined childhood friends. It contains the much loved MST3K catch-phrases "shut up, Iris, shut up I tell you" and "I killed that fat barkeep" along with the song, "Leather Coat" as fans might call it. A highly entertaining episode. MST3K even makes the dismal General Hospital short hilarious. This episode first aired on the Turkey Day 1992 marathon and it's a fan favorite.

910- THE FINAL SACRIFICE
This 78-minute color 1990 film from Canada has a hero named "Zap Rowsdower", an annoying youth who tags along with him, some weird cultists in cheap outfits and not much else. It stars no one and has nothing to recommend it. Maybe that's why it's become a favorite among many fans over the years. Perhaps it's sort of the Canadian "Manos: Hands of Fate"! The writer/director's name is Tjardus Greidanus. In any case, find out what the buzz is about and don't miss this.

1005- BLOOD WATERS OF DR. Z
This 1975 horror film is also known by many alternate titles such as "Zaat" and "Dr. Z". It was directed by Don Barton and stars no one and has a cheap monster, but these schlocky horror films always worked well for the MST3K writers and this one is no exception. Of course there's a mad scientist out for revenge against those that scoffed at his ideas, thereby proving them correct when they "said he was mad". Bad monster schlock equals good jokes on the SOL.

Extra features at this time are listed as:

* The Crawling Eye Special Introduction by Joel Hodgson
* Mystery Science Theater Hour Wraps on The Beatniks
* The Main Event: Crow vs. Crow at DragonCon `09
* Blood Waters of Dr. Z Photo Gallery
* Original Trailers and Promos
* Mini-posters by Steve Vance
* ...and More Yet To Be Announced!

Two movies are hosted by Joel and two by Mike. Another noticable change is in "The Crawling Eye," where a different cast member is the voice for TOM SERVO. Here's the info on each episode:

"The Crawling Eye" - Joel Hodgson and the Bots host this 1958 Black & White SciFi movie starring Forest Tucker. This was in the early days of MST3K and Josh Weinstein does the voice for Tom Servo. If you haven't seen the early shows you will definitely notice the difference between Weinstein's deadpan Tom and the wonderful Kevin Murphy who does an emotive and emotional Tom Servo. The movie, set in a mountain resort, is somewhat scarey at times, especially when the fog comes in and nasty things happen to the humans. The ending reveals the real monster and there's even more laughs at how lame it looks.

"The Beatniks" - Joel Hodgson and the Bots host this 1960 movie that stars Peter Breck (from The Big Valley). Oddly enough, it doesn't have one single Beatnik but it does have hoods. One wants to break out of his criminal past because he can sing. He gets an offer that can bring fame and fortune. Stupidity prevails. The short is another segment of "General Hospital." Really boring old soap opera about depressed, boring medical people who you would never want to stick needles in your arm!

"The Final Sacrifice" - This one is a MUST SEE!! A favorite among most fans, Mike Nelson and the Bots host this really cheesy movie from Canada. This is the first MST3K movie in the set where Bill Corbett takes over to be the personna of Crow T Robot. A pasty, skinny, nerdy kid who lives with his aunt somehow comes across a priceless map that leads to a lost city. Immediately, a Cult of guys are after him for the map. Apparently all you need to be part of the Cult is a pickup truck, ski mask and black clothing from Walmart. A guy named Zap Rowsdower, who formerly belonged to the Pickup Truck Cult protects the kid. Although MST3K went off the air a few years ago, this one sticks out in my mind, for the homage to CANADA. (I'm Joking). Mike and Crow are singing a somewhat disparaging tune about Canadians. Tom breaks in (dressed like a Mountie) and berates them. He soon has a song of his own but goes waaaaay overboard. He winds up apologizing to the entire population of Canada! The Riffing is hilarious too.

"The Blood Waters of Dr Z" - Mike and the Bots host this awful 1975 movie that would make Ed Wood look like Steven Spielberg. A mad doctor transforms himself into a swamp creature and decides he needs mates. Enter pretty women. The beginning is a lot of voice-over and narration which almost takes up one third of the movie. Really, really cheesy creature costumes and very cheap filming make great fodder for the Crew.

In previous sets, Shout Factory added the funniest animation at the beginning of each episode, where the Bots re-create scenes from the movie. The bonus Mini-Posters were shots from the animation. Shout has added more posters with this set. (Click on the link below and you can see the posters from the previous set) Mystery Science Theater 3000: XVI [Limited Edition]

Just wanted to say Shout Factory has done an AMAZING JOB. Each one of their MST3K sets has had an outstanding mix from various MST eras and it seems as though the ratio of great to mediocre episodes is MUCH better than with that ***other*** company. And they seem to be coming out with regularity-- every 90 days or so, it seems.