Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume XXII

MST3K Volume XXII delivers two much sought after episodes from Season Three of the show plus one from Season Six and one from Season Seven. All episodes are from the Comedy Central era of the show. The two Season Three episodes feature show creator Joel Hodgson as host and the other two feature show head writer Mike Nelson as host. This set is not a collector's special edition set, it is a "normal" 4-disc boxed set release.

306- TIME OF THE APES
This 1987 color TV show from Japan was edited together to make a feature length film by the Sandy Frank company. The dubbing alone will cause uncontrollable laughter when you hear the over-excited voices and constant exclamation of each others names by the main characters. The story is a loose rip-off of the original Planet Of The Apes as a young woman and two younger children survive an earthquake through cryogenic freezing and wake up in a future ruled by iron-fisted apes with ham-handed acting and cheap looking costumes. Sure going out that day was dangerous, but Johnny doesn't care and we get a terrific host segment based solely on Johnny's brief exclamation, "I don't care!". You'll be saying "I don't care!" as a catchphrase for years after you see this episode (we still do around my home two decades after first seeing it). Catherine, Caroline and Johnny meet up with a lone human, Godo, who battles against ape oppression. There's a sub-plot about the ape general seeking revenge on Godo because he thinks Godo killed his son. The party of humans is aided by an ape child named, Pepe. There's a host segment loosely tying Inherit The Wind to the hyper-evolved apes in the movie and another exploring ape fashion. And of course, there's the Sandy Frank Song performed by Joel and the 'Bots to the delight of the viewers. The movie is difficult to follow and the edits made for time by MST3K make it even more so, but the hilarity is non-stop. What happens to Catherine, Caroline and Johnny at the conclusion of their adventure in the future ruled by apes? I don't care! What matters here is the amazing comedy performance this movie becomes on MST3K. Every fan of the show should see this episode.

314- MIGHTY JACK
This 1968 Japanese color production attempts to capitalize on the popularity of the then relatively new and ultra-popular James Bond franchise by featuring secret agents and high-tech gadgets as the spy organization "Mighty Jack" uses their flying submarine to battle the international crime syndicate "Q". It's more kid friendly than the James Bond movies, but unfortunately it's also a convoluted fairly low-budget mess! The special effects are sub-standard even for the time, the plot such as it is can be more than a little difficult to follow and the acting and direction are prone at times to elicit laughter from the audience. The protagonist, super-spy Harold Hatari, is shall we say not as dashing, debonair or engaging as the 007 character from which he's knocked off. However, he is more clever than his bumbling adversaries at Q. Example, when threatened with a blinding light by his captors he closes his eyes. His enemies at Q are so incompetent they don't really have an answer for that. What a hero! The host segments in this episode are all based on the movie and they are fantastic. There's a Mighty Jack pet food commercial, the 'Bots put Joel in a blinding light chamber like the hero in the movie and the cast brainstorms underwater movie plot ideas. Then there's the musical number, "Slow The Plot Down" which nicely and hilariously recaps the mess that is the movie. Mighty Jack is sometimes named as a contender for the worst movie ever done on the show along with such notorious films as Manos and Hobgoblins, so this one is not to be missed.

610- THE VIOLENT YEARS (with short: YOUNG MAN'S FANCY)
This 1956 black and white film is about a young girl named Paula Parkins, the teenage daughter of wealthy parents who never manage to make any time for her. As a result she "goes bad", becoming the leader of a girl gang that robs, steals and even assaults young men. The script was written by Ed Wood so you know it's got to be good. The preposterous and badly acted 1952 Jam Handy short subject, A Young Man's Fancy, is about a young girl trying to get the attention of one of her brother's friends who is more interested in the household's gadgets than he is in the girl. This episode opens with some nice comedy musical numbers, such as "Living In Deep 13" and there's a radio station called, "Frank". The final host segment is a recreation of a hold-up scene in the movie only Mike and the 'Bots are better actors.

702- THE BRUTE MAN (with short: THE CHICKEN OF TOMORROW)
The Brute Man is a 1946 black and white thriller starring acromegaly victim, Rondo Hatton, who made a career out of playing hulking murderers like The Creeper in multiple films of the day. In this film he plays, Hal Moffat, who seeks revenge on those that within the story are responsible for his disfiguring injuries. The Creeper goes on a bit of killing spree, is befriended by a blind woman (she can't see his disfigured face, so she isn't afraid of him, get it?) and is hunted by the police. It's average fare as there were certainly better, more exciting horror films produced at the time, but it's competently done and not even close to the worst movies used on the show. The contemporaneous short subject, Chicken Of Tomorrow, was produced in 1948 and is designed to enlighten viewers about the cutting edge developments in chicken farming and is at times, more exciting than the feature film used in this episode. Host segments eschew the films being shown and go off into unrelated areas completely with a story arc about Servo getting into real estate. This episode is from the infamously short Season Seven and the future of the show was uncertain at this point to say the least, yet MST3K still managed to deliver some really funny material here even under the dire and uncertain circumstances under which they were operating at the time.

Extra Features Include:
Time Of The Apes
Introduction by August Ragone (Author of Eiji Tsuburaya: Master of Monsters)
MST Hour Wraps

Mighty Jack
Introduction by August Ragone
The DVD Menus of MST3K

The Violent Years
Ed-ucation: Archival Interview with Delores Fuller
Ed-ucation: Archival Interview with Kathy Wood

The Brute Man
Introduction by Mary Jo Pehl
Trail Of The Creeper, Making Of The Brute Man
The Making Of MST3K (1997)

And
4 Exclusive Mini-Posters By Artist Steve Vance

The latest installment from Shout Factory's MST3K Volumes has 2 very much sought after movies from the Joel era and a couple of goodies from the Mike era ..
Looking at what we have

MST3K EPISODE 306 TIME OF THE APES - In a nutshell this is a Japanese version of Planet of the Apes where a lady and two whinny kids get lost in time and wind up on a world full of Apes. It actually isnt a movie but several TV shows linked together to make it appear as a movie. This one has the famous line from Johnny "I dont care" which became a riff that was used quite a bit in this episode and others. This has the famous Sandy Frank song at the end as well. Great episode and the show reached some new heights from this. This also is the first of two episodes with TVs Frank and Dr. Forester have a man sized child to take care of

MST3K EPISODE 314 MIGHTY JACK - Another great episode which also happens to be another Japanese TV series strung together to make a "movie". Think Master Ninja and there you go. This is a sci fi , crime espionage type of "movie" with Mighty Jack facing the evil Q - with spies, more toy spaceship models making more bank turns than any other scifi movie that appeared on the show. Overall its a slow methodical pace but still fun to watch. And another song "Slow the Plot Down" This one has Joel in the opening segment wearing his old Teal/greenish jumpsuit that he wore in early Season 2 episodes.

MST3K EPISODE 610 - THE VIOLENT YEARS - An Ed Wood film ! Yes, Mike's first episode where he and the bots tackle Ed Wood - basically your typical 1950s black and white exploitation film with female gangs raping young men. We also have a short in this called "Young Man's Fancy" and another song in this set "Living in Deep 13" by TVs Frank and Dr. Forester ( you would not have seen Dr. F sing in the Joel era as his character did a 180 when Mike took over) Anyway, Mike Nelson fans can rejoice as he is back in this volume with not just the Violent Years but ...

MST3K EPISODE 702 - THE BRUTE MAN - This movie has the Creeper ( the legendary Rondo Hatton) getting even with his college "friends" who disfigured him in a science experiment. It is a creaky old 1940s film that could have easily fit into the Season 1 schedule.
Some of you might recall Rondo as the Creeper in a Sherlock Holmes movie or in the Universal horror House of Horrors. The Brute Man was the least of the movies he did. We also get a short "The Chicken of Tomorrow"

As per Satellite News - here are the bonus materials

Time of the Apes extras:
INTRODUCTION BY AUGUST RAGONE (Author of Eiji Tsuburaya: Master of Monsters)
MST HOUR WRAPS

Mighty Jack extras:
INTRODUCTION BY AUGUST RAGONE
THE DVD MENUS OF MST3K

The Violent Years extras:
ED-UCATION: ARCHIVAL INTERVIEW WITH DELORES FULLER
ED-UCATION: ARCHIVAL INTERVIEW WITH KATHY WOOD

The Brute Man extras:
INTRODUCTION BY MARY JO PEHL
TRAIL OF THE CREEPER: MAKING THE BRUTE MAN
THE MAKING OF MST3K (1997)

A great set and certainly something to look forward to in December ! :)

Even tho we get some great Season three episodes with this set, overall this isnt a box set that rates five stars the way the GAMERA box set is. This is a boxset that will be remembered mostly for these highlights: 1.Another ED WOOD film gets riffed 2.The release of the 1997 SCIFI channel "The Making of MST3K" half hour special 3. More season 3 releases, including TIME OF THE APES. These two episodes from Season three are both cobbled together Japanese TV series, created for the American market by Sandy Frank productions. If i could give this set FOUR AND A HALF STARS, i think that would be fair, since THE BRUTE MAN from Season 7 is neither a good film nor a good MST3K episode. TIME OF THE APES is a platant "PLANET OF THE APES" rip-off, but one of the great episodes, as is MIGHTY JAKE. (which is one of the most miserable films they ever riffed on.) Naturally, anytime you get an ED WOOD film (THE VIOLENT YEARS), you have an instant classic of kitch cinema. I'll mostly review the EXTRAS, since the other reviewers did a pretty good job with explaining the films.

1. TIME OF THE APES. (Episode 306) Based on a 26 episode Japanese TV series about a planet WHERE APES EVOLVED FROM MEN, Sandy Frank once again hacks together 80 minutes of BLAH. Ironically, the worst the film, the better the job that MST3K tends to do. As far as films goes, this has a fun, childlike kookiness to it, that's missing from the other three Episodes. Once more, we are getting EXTRAS that revolve around a series of filmed interviews with AUGUST RAGONE. (He talked about the GAMERA films last time.) Apparently filmed the same day as the GAMERA interview, August just gives a 3 minute talk about this TV show, and how it was compressed into a film. The interview's value lies in revealing the 1970's Japanese zeitgeist that gave birth to this TV show. Including the MST Hour wraps have nostalgic value for those of us who first saw MST3K in this format.

2. MIGHTY JACK. (Episode 314) One of the WORST FILMS that MST3K ever worked on, according to TV's Frank in "the MST3K Episode Guide". Joel compared watching the film to sitting thru two hours of Lou Reed's METAL MACHINE MUSIC. (ie, Harsh electronic feedback.)The Extras for this DVD provide a few minutes of good ole AUGUST revealing his erudite insights on Japanese monsters and TV shows, and little piece dubbed "DVD MENUS OF MST3K". If you watched these DVDs since SHOUT has taken over the franchise, you'll notice the animated DVD start screens. The two computer animators who create these, talk about the slow evolution of what is essencially 45 second long skits showcasing Tom and Crow, with images from whatever film is being viewed. Not too interesting unless computer animation is to your liking. However, I appreciate that extra mile SHOUT seems to go to give MSTies more bang for the buck.

3. The VIOLENT YEARS. (Episode 610) Mike is back! So is ED WOOD! Actually, since Ed Wood only wrote the script, we discover what his films would have looked like, with some money and a trained director. This movie is famous for presenting the most bizarre sexual fantasy in MST3K movie history. A gang of beautiful high school girls pull over a young couple making out in a car, then strip the woman and tie her up. NEXT, the female gang force that girl's boyfriend into to woods to "have their way with him." Of course, "PLAN 9" is more believable. Tom, Crow and Mike practically worship Dr. F for sending them this film. The "SHORT" that preceeds the film talks about the wonders of an ELECTRIC kitchen, while a high school girl gets all "woozy" over her big brother's College buddy home for the weekend. The EXTRAS for this film are two interviews with Ed Wood's former partners, Dolores and Kathy Wood. It seems to me I've seen parts of these interviews before. Around the time of Tim Burton's film about Ed Wood (mid 90s), A&E--or some TV channel like it--produced an Ed Wood documentary. These interviews were filmed for that TV project. (These interviews were not created solely for this project.) Again, great DVD extras, but dont expect the extraganza documentary SHOUT made for BRIDE OF THE MONSTER.

4. The BRUTE MAN (Episode 702). Another MIKE film, this time minus TV's Frank, and with Mother Forester. The skits are the ONLY thing that make episode interesting. Mother Forester dates a guy, and leaves CROW in charge of Dr. F and the guys on the S.O.L. The skits in Deep 13 are obviously Oedipian. The short is THE CHICKEN OF TOMORROW, which has already been released on SHORTS volumn 1. (And found on the second MST3K 4DVD boxset.) Obviously this means the Best Brains considered this particular Short one of the best they ever did, and it is. The film however is a dark, dismal, black and white affair. A scientist has been horribley disfigured by an experiment gone wrong. The actor who portrayed the scientist had a glandular disorder, which caused the bones in his face and hands to grow abnormally. The extra to this film is a short interview with Mary Jo Pehl (aka "Mother" Pearl Forester). She considered this a weak episode for MST3K for a variety of reasons. She thought the movie was hard to riff on, because the actor obviously has a painful disfiguring condistion, and how can THAT be funny? In fact, she doesnt think that MST3K SHOULD have picked the film at all. In addition, all the Best Brains were in LA trying to get their deal with the SCIFI channel, leaving the writing of the episode in the hands of Mary Jo Pehl and Paul Chaplin. The REAL goodie with this Extra, in fact one of the stand-out bonuses found so far in the whole DVD box set series, is the SCIFI channel 22 minute long "MAKING OF MST3K" documentary. When SCIFI took over the show from the COMEDY CHANNEL in 1997 for seasons 8-10, this was used to introduce the SCIFI audience to the MST3K concept. Since the show changes so much at this point, it was planned to prepare former fans to the new Show's premise. Since NOTHING like this documentary had been produced for broadcast before or since, its a chance to see the show from the standpoint of the puppet pit, or from the other side of the theater chairs. Obviously, of GREAT interest to the fans of the show, no matter HOW you personally feel about the SCIFI years. The closest there is to this, is the three part documentary that SHOUT FACTORY has on VOLUME 13, aka the TWENTIETH ANNIVERITY EDITION. It's a fantastic extra, and more than makes up for the weakness of the episode itself, and for those of us who already paid to own CHICKEN OF TOMORROW on SHORTS VOL ONE.

So as you see, a good box set, but not a great one, which i give four and a half stars. Its good to see SEASON THREE (or, the SANDY FRANK Saga)continue to be released on DVD. ANd its wonderful to get reacquainted with that old SCIFI documentary again after so many years. If you want to introduce someone to the show, I dont know if I'd start with MST3K VOL 22, since overall the episodes included here are inconsistant. Someone new to MST3K might start with VOL.1 or 2, VOL 11 or VOL 13, or the MANOS/SANTA VS THE MARTIANS paring. (For Xmas gifts, the MANOS/SANTA paring is obvious.) For diehard fans, EVERY box is essencial. Overall, i love the great job SHOUT FACTORY has done with their MST3K box sets.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 10 reviews  4.5 out of 5 stars