MST3K-OZ #5 10 Feb 98 Welcome to the fifth issue of the Antipodean MSTie Newsletter! Multiverse is this month! If you're not coming, you should be ashamed of yourself! See details later in this issue. As always, anyone who wants to stop getting this drivel, let me know. If you know someone else who might want to see this, please get them to e-mail me to add them to the list. I won't add anyone who doesn't request it directly. Feel free to print this, show it to your friends, blow your nose on it - whatever works for you. Remember, I think this will work best (if it's going to work at all) if this is a co-operative effort. If you've got something you want to share with us all, even if it's only a paragraph long, send it to me and I'll include it! I'm not fussy! As long as it's got something vaguely to do with MST3K and is somehow relevant to us, I'm happy to see it! As an editor I plan to have a pretty relaxed style . -------------------------------------- JOIN US! New to this issue's mailing list are the enigmatically-named Xanthi, and Jenny Erdahl. You may remember that Jenny is from Ohio in the US, and she wrote us a letter in last month's issue. Wave hello to them, everyone! ------------------------------------- MULTIVERSE 3 (repeated from last issue) Tom Marwede says: "Greetings all, Just a word to everyone about Multiverse 3, Melbourne's Premier Science Fiction Convention. Every couple of years The Official Red Dwarf Fan Club, Enterprise: The Star Trek Appreciation Society Of Victoria, The Dr Who Club of Victoria, The Australian Babylon 5 Fan Club and the Melbourne Science Fiction Club band together and bring a Multi-Universal con to all those interested. February 13th - 15th, 1998 is Multiverse 3. Special Guests include Robert Llewellyn from 'Red Dwarf' and Claudia Christian from 'Babylon 5', appearing in person. For more info check out our website http://yarra.vicnet.net.au/~multivrs/ To prepare others for the onslaught, MST3K is playing a big part in our programming, at the moment I have included approximately 10 episodes for consideration to the videos, possibly more to come. We are trying to get them screened in the theaterette at the convention, to give it the true MST flavour. Hope to see you there." Red Dwarf, Babylon 5 *and* MST3K - who could resist? (If anyone from interstate is interested in coming, but you're worried about costs of accommodation, I have a limited amount of floorspace and blankets etc. that I'm happy to provide for the weekend. All you would need to bring are pillows, air mattress or whatever, etc.) NEW ADDENDUM: Tom has volunteered Your Esteemed Editor to run a panel on MST3K at Multiverse. It will be on Sunday afternoon at about 3.00pm. That's about as much anyone, especially me, knows about it! I'll appreciate all the moral support I can get . ------------------------------------- NEW ARRIVALS Excerpted from the MST3KInfo web site: "Just a friendly little reminder -- Rhino Home Video will be releasing two new episodes next month [i.e., February]! They are: 424- MANOS: THE HANDS OF FATE (with short: HIRED! PART 2) 511- GUNSLINGER Both episodes will be available from the Info Club beginning in mid-February. Rhino will also be offering the MST3K Poopie I Tape (already available from the Info Club) in a special three-pack along with the above episodes. They will not be selling the Poopie I tape separately. For more information, visit their web site. In addition, Rhino has tentatively scheduled two more tapes for a June 16th release: 622- Angel's Revenge Mystery Science Theater: The Shorts -- Compilation of the best short subjects from the series We are being told that the June 16 date is *extremely* tentative at this time. Also, the Shorts tape is still in its early planning stages, and neither Rhino nor BBI know exactly which shorts will be included. As we learn more about this project, we'll post the information here." ------------------------------------- GIVE ME MST3K OR GIVE ME DEATH Paul Dosset has suggested that we "flood" Foxtel with requests for MST3K. It's unlikely in the extreme that any of Australia's free-to-air channels* will ever pick up MST3K (especially since they usually only buy shows in "packages" from the major US networks), but it seems to me that it would fit in quite comfortably on any of several of the pay-TV channels (e.g., Comedy Channel or Arena). Alternatively, we can request that a local feed for the Sci-Fi Channel be implemented. It couldn't hurt to point out that this channel is shown in Europe as well as the United States, i.e., it's already a "global" network. (And while you're at it, visit the Sci-Fi Channel web page - http://www.scifi.com - and send a suggestion there for them to come and land south of the Equator!) While I don't think the readership of this newsletter is enough to constitute a "flood" , several requests from all over the country might make some sort of impression. Just be polite, but let them know that "Mystery Science Theater 3000" is the show you want to see! Note: we can safely assume, I think, that even if the show were to be picked up by any local channel, it would only be the new Sci-Fi Channel episodes; if there's no chance of the old Comedy Central episodes being shown again in the US, I doubt that anywhere else in the world will have better success. So personally I wouldn't waste time demanding that the series be run from the very beginning or anything like that. But in any case, let's let 'em know we're out there: http://www.foxtel.com.au/. * ... except maybe SBS? Of all the FTA channels, they're more likely to "experiment" than the others. Can't hurt to ask! http://www.sbs.com.au/. [Actually, I bet I know *exactly* when MST3K will come to Australian cable TV. It will be the week after I move to my new house in the far eastern suburbs of Melbourne, where I will be unable to get cable at all. I just know it.] ------------------------------------- HARDWARE UPGRADES Your Esteemed Editor has been spending money again ... one new improved VCR and (very soon) a new Digital Video Converter will mean I will have the capability to do true NTSC <--> PAL conversions. For those of you who have suffered through my "PAL 60" conversions, this should be a blessing! -------------------------------------- JANUARY MELBOURNE GATHERING REPORT A future Melbourne gathering is tentatively scheduled for Feb 21. Note that the Feb gathering is contingent on people not being wasted from Multiverse the weekend before. I think MSTies are inherently hardy chaps (and chapettes) so it shouldn't really be a problem, I would hope .... Another poor attendance this month. Is it the time of year, or do I just smell bad? Oh well, Paul Dossett and I sat down and watched "Laserblast", an amazingly bad film (although the aliens are neat). This episode is also notable as the final episode of the show's "Comedy Central" era, and has several excellent spoofs on "Star Trek: Voyager" and "2001", amongst others. Not to be missed! ------------------------------------- CORRESPONDENCE: PIGEON HOLES Kim Huett (rub@macquarie.matra.com.au) writes: "I didn't think the debate about archetypical MST3K episodes was all that useful. Mainly because my impression of the movies they've done is they fall into a number of groups that don't really have all that much in common. I haven't gone into this in any detail but I would suggest three possible groups in sf/fantasy, US society of the '50s, and foreign dubbed films. Neither "Manos" or "Monster A-Go-Go" fit into these groups in my opinion, though they do seem to fit together in some sort of unhealthy manner. For what it's worth it's the US society of the '50s movies I find hardest to watch. I think it has something to do with the 'good guys' being presented as paragons of virtue when they are really deeply loathsome. There is no way for example that I'm EVER going to watch 'Teenage Crime Wave' all the way through. I want the bad guy and his girlfriend to kill the others and dance on their blood-soaked corpses too much." I don't necessarily agree with Kim's comments here, but there is food for thought in the idea that there are different "categories" of MST3K episodes, and that some of these categories work better than others. However, I don't think Kim's categories cover everything, and in the case of his "sf/fantasy" category, I think it's too broad to really be meaningful. I would add a "sleazy crime" category, and break the "sf/fantasy" category into various genres: "alien invasions", "space exploration", "science gone wrong", etc. I think my favourite category would be a toss-up between "foreign fantasy" (e.g., the Godzilla movies, "Magic Voyage of Sinbad" etc.) and "sleazy crime" ("Sinister Urge", "I Accuse My Parents" etc.). The former because it's invariably just so irrepressibly goofy and the latter because they're just impossible to take seriously - but audiences were expected to be thrilled by how true-to-life they were. My least-favourite category would probably be "science gone wrong" - I tend to find them rather tedious watching, even when the riffing is good. And I have to admit I have seen one or two episodes where I found the plot of the movie reasonably interesting, and the riffing became distracting ... but that just means the original movie wasn't all that bad, really, and is not a consequence of any particular category they might fall into. ------------------------------------- REVIEW - by Paul Dossett (astroboy@netspace.net.au) Cave Dwellers, aka The Blade Master, aka Ator the Invincible, aka The Return, aka Ator the Blade Master How much O'Keeffe is in this movie, anyhow? MILES O'Keeffe! That's right folks, a film so bad they had gave it five titles to try and sell it to distributors. A 1984 Italian shocker or a modern day 'Defiant Ones' - you decide. Like father, like son; think about it, won't you? A classic MST3K episode in my opinion, this Joel-era experiment not only entertains, it educates. Where else could you learn that sound effects people make the sound of buffalo by rolling hamsters around in a cardboard box? For water buffalo, simply add milk... The plot of Cave Dwellers basically goes like this: The Great Wise One, Akronus, looks after a powerful item known as the Geometric Nucleus. Exactly what this does is never explained, although when it's finally destroyed, some stock footage shows that it's a nuclear bomb cunningly disguised as a rear view mirror. When Akronus' castle is attacked by the evil Zor (who looks rather like Freddy Mercury, except for the large black swan he wears on his head), he sends his daughter Mila to fetch his pupil, Ator. Ator and his sidekick, the inscrutable Thong, make their way to Akronus' home, defeating a large velour snake, hordes of villainous thugs, invisible enemies and a mime (honestly!) in the process. They must be cautious, for Zor has the assistance of Sander, a powerful magician who moonlights as a country singer. Zor hasn't counted on Ator's cunning and intelligence, however, as Ator invents the hang glider and explosives in five minutes to defeat his guards and win the day. Okay, so the plot's terrible. Unfortunately, the acting and direction is worse. You really believe that Akronus is wise, because he looks bored and speaks haltingly, just like all intelligent people (oh, I see how ... HUH?!). Miles O'Keeffe is a terrible actor (you've probably forgotten his first feature, the execrable 'Tarzan the Ape Man') and the action scenes are anything but. I agree with Bruce - the worse the film being riffed, the better the episode. Of course, it helps when the team are really 'on', and all cylinders are definitely firing here. It's consistently entertaining, unlike some other episodes I've seen. Outside the screening room, the crew re-enact the opening movie credit scene by dressing in cheesy costumes and running around with swords ("Isn't this kind of fruity?" "You know, I hadn't really thought about it.." "Joel ... it is") and discuss ways to jazz up cheesy props with over-elaborate titles. And if you had your choice of name, what would it be? Available from Video Online Express (http://www.videoexpress.com) and runs for around $16 US. "What do you want from us? We're evil ... EEE-VILLL!!" ------------------------------------- BROWN PAPER PACKAGES TIED UP WITH STRING A new regular feature, perhaps? Tell us *your* favourite things! Kim Huett bares his soul to us: FAVOURITE MOVIES Cave Dwellers (301) Warrior Of The Lost World (501) 12 To The Moon (524) Bride Of The Monster (423) Attack Of The The Eye Creatures (418) Village Of The Giants (523) As it happens "Cave Dwellers" is both my all time favourite by reels and reels, and the first episode I ever watched. I like to think one is not the result of the other. It's interesting to note my preference for those movies which are theoretically sf and fantasy. I have an unconfirmed suspicion that the riffing was usually better when the movie falls into either of those categories. FAVOURITE SHORTS The Undersea Kingdom Pt. 1 (406) Catching Trouble (315) Design for Dreaming (524) Circus on Ice (421) Aquatic Wizards (315) In other circumstances I might have placed "Catching Trouble" at the top in honour of it being so relentlessly unhealthy. However "Undersea Kingdom" edges it out for now due to the hotdog missiles and the coolest badguy headgear I've seen in years (even better than "Cave Dwellers"). FAVOURITE INVENTIONS Porkerina (506, Joel) Dog Squeeze Toy Guitars (213, DF & TVF) Insti-Adolescent Kit (406, Joel) Chocolate Bunny Guillotine (424, DF & TVF) Chin-Derwear (505, DF &TVF) Renaissance Festival Punching Bags (402, DF & TVF) I've said it before and I'll say it again, 'Any music which involves fondling a pig is alright by me!' Speaking of which I'm going to make my own dog squeak toy guitar. If nothing else I want to see what US customs say when I visit next. FAVOURITE SKITS All is not well at the Popcorn Mansion. (212, S4) Miles O'credits in the shoebox format. (301, S2) More Steve Allen than Steve Allen. (501, S3) Captain Joe goes nutzoid. (310, S3) Kiss my clown feet! (406, Prologue) Mousse mish-mash mess. (522, S5) The achievements of country folk. (406, S4) MST3K doggie style. (411, S2) Eat it boy, taste it all! (501, Prologue) I never did like Zardoz. (508, S3) It might just be me but I've found most skits not especially memorable. Obviously there are a few which will haunt me to my grave, but they aren't a significant percentage. I put this down to the sheer number of items that had to be written each season. ------------------------------------- That's it for this time around. Please let me know about anything you liked (or didn't like)! Keep those cards and letters coming! Time to push the button .... Bruce MSTie #72759 Any of these e-mail addresses will get to me, all are checked regularly: bprobst@vitgbsd3.telstra.com.au <-- work bprobst@ibm.net <-- home generic internet 100372.1643@compuserve.com <-- CompuServe (duh)