Hello All! I've been an MST3K fan since watching Rocketship XM in a cheap hotel

[Zooball]

many years ago in Needles, California.  Hey, they had cable, and my wife said, "You gotta see this new show!"  Think about that, the show was so good my wife and I took the time to watch it in a cheap hotel...instead of doing other things.....like looking at the flat featureless Colorado River (her field job at the time).

So, over the years we watched all the MST3Ks, taped a few, named our dog "Sampo", bought/updated the DVD releases from Rhino, bought the Film Crew DVDs from Shout! Factory, bought the Cinematic Titanic DVD,  and have even met Mike and Kevin in person (with our two oldest children in tow) at a book fair in Henderson, Nevada where we learned many things about them that should have remained secret.  Although, Kevin operating a perfect fan made Tom Servo on-the-spot was something to behold--I almost cried at the beauty of the moment (ooops, something else that should have remained secret, sorry about that).

So, even after all that, I feel like a total noobie with this RiffTrax I've been reading so much about.  I've downloaded the player and it seems to work, even after knocking my LEGO Star Wars game around during installation and forcing a reload of that title that killed off my saved games (clunky game anyways).

It would be of great help if somebody could explain, or point me towards information about the different formats (Trax, Presents, VOD).  I see some really frightening stuff in the catalog, like the fan produced Star Trek stuff (I'm a recovered Las Vegas Star Trek convention attending former fan club member--let's not dwell on those lost years, please), the old Willy Wonka, Star Wars, and the shorts look to be hilarious (except for the clowns--we all know why).

My first newbie question: I have a copy of Plan 9, but would it just be better to buy the VOD version?

Please be gentle.

[James of LinHood]

First of all, welcome to Rifftrax.

Secondly, since you already have the DVD of Plan 9, you could reauthor it.  Here's a guide on how to do that using totally free software:

http://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php/topic,413.0.html

If you don't know what reauthoring means basically you're taking the Rifftrax, combining it with the movie, and burning that to a DVD-R.  No more syncing required!  That's what I'd suggest if you have the time to do such a thing.

Otherwise, manually syncing a track isn't that hard.  If you don't have an mp3 player you could play the Rifftrax through Windows Media Player (I'm assuming you don't have a Mac) and then play the movie itself through a DVD playing program on your computer.  That could work.

Those are two alternative methods that I know about.  But I'm sure others will have more suggestions.

Again, welcome and have fun.

[RoninFox]

One important question about Plan 9 is which version do you have?  I'm guessing it's not the Legend Films version, which has the "Mike Nelson Commentary" on it already (which is identical to the Mike-solo Rifftrax) and since there might be differences between versions the one you got might not sync up with the riff perfectly.  I know there's one other version that's been mentioned as compatible, but I can't remember what it was.

[Zooball]

It is part of the Ed Wood Box set by Corinth Films/Image Entertainment, circa 2000.  It came with Night of the Ghouls, Jail Bait, Bride of the Monster, and (gulp)....Glen or Glenda.

[RoninFox]

Sounds familiar, I think I remember someone mentioning that the "Image" version was compatible, but I can't find it now.  Anyone else remember?

[Fortis]

Ah another Vegas Rifftraxer. Welcome, and how did I not know Mike and Kevin were once in Henderson! When was that!??

[Zooball]

The Henderson thing was about four-ish years ago.  Mike was promoting Death Rat, and Kevin A Year at the Movies.  My wife just happened to see an ad in some dark corner of some publication, and off we went.  Got to chat with them for a long time.  Got a couple of books signed.

The version of Plan 9 I have does not work with the RiffTrax player, so I went ahead and ordered a used copy of the color version to add to my Ed Wood set.  I'm only missing one Wood movie, so I'll have to get it someday to fulfill my sense of completion.

The Willy Wonka riff was excellent!

I tried to get One Got Fat, but my archaic dial-up will have to go now that I'm hooked.