Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha... I don't get it.

[Trekker4747]

There's bound to be jokes in these riffs that are over some people's heads, one's you just don't get either due to your own lack of exposure to certain popular culture elements, not living in the mid-west (where the guys do/did and often use as a source of humor) or because M&TB like to  make very esoteric riffs.   So come, sit down, and ask others to maybe explain those riffs you just didn't quite get.

Me?

I didn't get the "Hawwwk" or variations there-of when Robert Langella was on screen.

[TheUnabeefer]

I'd suggest you get (and watch) the "Over The Top" riff. Not only one of the BEST Mike solo riffs, but one of the best riffs in general. 

A Stallone-induced, truck-driving, arm-wrestling, child custody battle EPIC!!

[Tony Farms AKA Puma Man]

It was Robert Loggia, not Frank Langella.  In 'Over the Top' Stallone plays a character named 'Lincoln Hawk' and sometimes 'Lincoln Hawks'.

Loggia plays the bad guy who calls him HAAAWK!  or HAAAAWKS!  depending on what was in the script at the time.

[Trekker4747]

Thanks.

Stupid names and my inability to get them right.

I may check out the OTT riff, then. 

[Locuststakethesky]

They seem to have had the Over The Top riff on their minds a lot lately.  I can't remember which riff but they were mentioning "double elimination" again.

Over The Top is probably my favorite of the Mike solo riffs, definitely recommended.

[Tony Farms AKA Puma Man]

Definitely recommend it.  The movie is completely ridiculous and Mike nails pretty much everything

[Trekker4747]

Problem is, if I buy the riff I then have to get a hold of the movie.

[D.B. Barnes]

[Sugar Ray Dodge]

I've never actually watched a Mike solo riff. I've said this in another thread, but the single riffer style has never worked for me. I've always felt that it should be Mike and AT LEAST one other person. The one exception is The X-Files movie with Bill and Mary Jo Pehl. I just feel that the chemistry between Mike, Kevin and Bill creates the sense that, if you are watching it alone, you really AREN'T watching it alone. This isn't a criticism of single person riffs, in fact it's probably my own preconceived notions that keep me from checking them out. I really can't point the finger at anybody else other than me in this.

[Sugar Ray Dodge]

Problem is, if I buy the riff I then have to get a hold of the movie.

I think this might be one of the reasons they've been doing a ton of VODs the last three years. The trouble to get the movie, especially ones we have no intention of watching otherwise, is a deal killer for a lot of people, (I speculate.) I usually rent the movies first if I don't already own them, and many times I actually end up buying the movie so I can play the riff over and over. I own all the Twilight movies and Harry Potter 3 - 6 because of RiffTrax. But copies of, say, The Wizard and Super Mario Bros require some effort, so I'm imagining that's why they haven't been riffed, even though many of us have been begging for them to do so. I think this, along with the "syncing hurts my brain" crowd, is the reason for the focus on VODs. Even though they are more expensive, they are much more user friendly and require not great amount of work to watch, which make them sell better. Not that I'm complaining, though. The licensed VODs that have come out this year alone have already made 2013 one of their best years ever.

[Trekker4747]

Yeah, I feel the same way on the solo riffs which I've also never really looked into and sort-of wish they'd re-do with Bill and Kevin.  Just the same I may check out the OTT riff and, heck, Roadhouse too. I'm sure I can get those two on DVD pretty cheap on Amazon.

Anyway, enough about me... The floor is yours, gents, I'm sure others out there also hear riffs they don't get.

[TheUnabeefer]

I don't think you're alone there. I enjoy many of the Mike solo riffs, but there's something about there being someone for them to work off of. I like the Bill/Kevin riffs just as much.... and the Mike/guest riffs too... So it doesn't just have to be "Mike+someone" for me.  But I really enjoy the ones with more than one riffer FAR better than the single-riffers.

There's more energy to them.

[Tony Farms AKA Puma Man]

As much as I like all three, I have to admit that Roadhouse and Over The Top are my two favorite RT.  It could just be because I find 80s movies so ridiculous that they just are funny on their own anyway

[mstgator]

Loggia plays the bad guy who calls him HAAAWK!  or HAAAAWKS!  depending on what was in the script at the time.

Ah... that also explains the "Bate / Bates" riff (when the Doctor drives Norman back to the motel for the first time).

[TheUnabeefer]

I actually really like this idea for a thread.... We should do one for every riff, provided there's running jokes that people wouldn't get if they haven't absorbed every single Rifftrax.  Good way to not only discuss their origins, but also promote other riffs to people!!

I've gone back and re-watched Over The Top simply because this thread made me want to see it again!