The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection, Vol. 5

This will be another set of Sci-Fi Channel episodes: 851 Time Chasers, 908 Touch Of Satan, 1003 Merlin's Mystical Shop Of Wonders and 1006 Boggy Creek II. Rhino has made a statement that this doesn't mean they will no longer be releasing episodes from the Comedy Central years. Don't worry fans, more are coming. But hold on to your vhs ep tapes for now.

You must admit this is 4 of the best MST3Ks, Sci-Fi Channel years or otherwise. Oddly, none of these films even touch the worst that Mike & The Bots (or Joel & The Bots) had to ordeal on the SOL. Sure, they're bad, but not Manos bad or Hobgoblins bad. Time Chasers and Merlin could be considered decent fare if you happened to be up late, bowl of popcorn in your lap because you couldn't sleep. They are made much better thanks to the guys and gals at Best Brains (the studio behind Mystery Science Theater 3000). I must say that if you've never watched the show before (which is now off the air, probably for all times) this set would be a great place to get to know the show. I've seen each of these more times than I remember and they never disappoint.

Mike Nelson (co-host of MST3K) recorded new intros for these (much longer than the ones he did for Vol 4). Kevin Murphy also did some material for this release.

I'm relieved to know that Rhino is dedicated to releasing Mystery Science Theater 3000. I'm a huge fan and would hate to see this show disappear. Finding episodes is difficult without these releases.

"Mystery Science Theater 3000 Vol. 5" contains "Touch of Satan," "Merlin's Shop of Mystical Wonders," "Boggy Creek 2," and "Time Chasers." These episodes all have some pretty good riffing ("Merlin" being my favourite), although overall, this is my least favourite MST3K boxed set yet. Most of the episodes have stretches where the jokes just aren't very funny, and like most sci-fi era MST3K episodes, the host segments are very lame (with the exception of "Time Chasers"). Still, there are a lot of good moments in these episodes, and die-hard MST3K fans are going to want it anyway.
On DVD, the host segments look bright and sharp, and are probably a little better than on TV (and a lot better than the bootleg copies that have been circulating). The movies look faded and scratchy, although that doesn't matter (and since most of these are relatively recent movies for the series, they look better than the movies in the other boxed sets). Unfortunately, it seems that Rhino Home Vidoe has discontinued putting the uncut versions of the movies on these DVDs for good, which is a shame because the price has remained the same. In compensation, there is a pretty good interview with Mike Nelson and Kevin Murphy that covers the history of the show, as well as a theatrical trailer for "The Touch of Satan."

All of these are good choices from the SCIFI years, but the absolute best of all of these is with out a doubt, Boggy Creek II. I never get tired of watching that one and often times show it to friends. Even people from Arkansas laugh at it.

What gets me the most about this film is that the director, who also wrote and stars in it along with half his family, really truly believes he is cool, but comes off as such an ass.

It's also funny that the state of Arkansas helped fund this film, because it makes never ever want to visit there.