I have been a huge fan of MST3K. I've seen every episode of the show that aired on The Comedy Channel/Comedy Central & The Sci-Fi Network, plus I even watched bad vhs copies of a few of the KTMA shows. I just want you to know where I'm coming from, my love for the work of these folks is way up there.
My life has been very busy the last couple of years, so I didn't know of the existence of Cinematic Titanic until about 3 weeks ago.. A friend and I had listened to about 5 of Mike Nelson's Rifftrax, including Glitter with Mary Jo Pehl and they were all very funny. Knowing what a big fan I was of MST3K, my girlfriend recently got me two tickets to the Boston show of CT Live. I was very excited, but I hadn't yet seen CT at work. Last week I borrowed 4 CT shows (The Doomsday Machine, Legacy of Blood, The Wasp Woman & Frankenstein's Castle of Freaks) from a friend so that I could see how the new writing stands up to the MST3K stuff, that I loved, or even how it stood up to the Rifftrax material. I've made it through Doomsday Machine & Frankenstein's Castle.
First off, the CT movie choices are great. MST3K used to do some of their best work on hideous films like, "Manos" - The Hands of Fate, Mitchell, Gamera, Hercules and trashy AIP style, Roger Corman-esque Films of any genre. Also I like the slick production of CT, with the cool intro with the scaffolding and the back-story motivation as to why they're all watching the film. That's all great, but the meat of the show comes down to making fun of movies.
You don't know how much I wanted to love the show. I wanted it to be good, I really did. Oh my God was I disappointed. These were worse then the least enjoyable MST3K episodes. Even the early MST3K shows with Josh Weinstein were better then the current CT. The biggest problem is stiff delivery of bad jokes. There were a couple of good jokes, "Things a rapist would say for 400" was hysterical, but even that lost it's punch due to the round robin reading that the jokes got. The lack of interaction between the CT cast makes even the better jokes die. Other reviewers even wondered if the individual CT cast members recorded their audio tracks at different times, because the reading is so mechanical.
I wish them all the best. I want them to succeed. Hell, they pioneered this format, but to keep it alive they need to go out and get a good head writer and loosen up on screen.
Lastly, does anyone want to buy two tickets for the Fri. Feb 20, 2009 Boston show. Balcony front center, get um while they're hot!
Ouch!
I agree. CT is OK, but not great. Just me. I have a couple of them and they have their moments.
My sense of humor is a little more along the lines of what they do here. These guys make me laugh more.
I can understand the complaints, though I think they're getting much better as they go, especially the last three that they've put out. If I was in the area, I'd jump on those tickets in an instant.
I agree on the stiffness and some of the bad deliveries of lines, but they've certainly gotten better in the past few episodes. I really enjoy the little opening "walks" to the studio, too, as it made the actual riffing seem like it has some sort of point.
QuoteI can understand the complaints
I'm not complaining. I think they're OK. I just like this style a little more...kinda like I enjoy the Sci Fi episodes a little more.
Well, that said, Crow was always my favorite character. Both of them.
I will get a newer one as I only have the first two.
Quote from: Jonny Jit on January 26, 2009, 01:14:23 AM
QuoteI can understand the complaints
I'm not complaining. I think they're OK. I just like this style a little more...kinda like I enjoy the Sci Fi episodes a little more.
Well, that said, Crow was always my favorite character. Both of them.
I will get a newer one as I only have the first two.
Well I was directing that toward thinkmatic, not you.
Keep in mind thinkmatic that this is a new project in progress; and only 6 episodes have been released to date. MST didn't get the machine really rolling until Season 3, so give them some time to develop things. I guess what I'm saying is...don't give up on them yet! I have a feeling CT is only going to improve with time. :)
Quote from: CHF01 on January 26, 2009, 12:53:33 PM
Keep in mind thinkmatic that this is a new project in progress; and only 6 episodes have been released to date. MST didn't get the machine really rolling until Season 3, so give them some time to develop things. I guess what I'm saying is...don't give up on them yet! I have a feeling CT is only going to improve with time. :)
Yeah but I mean, the guys were still new to public movie riffing back then. Now, they've got years of MST3K experience behind them
Quote from: Thrifty on January 26, 2009, 01:00:37 PM
Yeah but I mean, the guys were still new to public movie riffing back then. Now, they've got years of MST3K experience behind them
Very true, but this is an entirely new project, budgeted by them. I think they were testing the waters in the beginning, so to speak, to see if they could make something real happen with CT. Joel is a slow mover when it comes to developing projects, so give this one some time to mature; I'm certain future episodes will become more polished, since this getting more attention daily. :)
It's gotten way better. The Oozing Skull was the pilot basically. I would imagine that the live shows are a hell of a lot more fun. If I had a choice between the DVD and a Live Show I'd take the Live Show every time.
QuoteWell I was directing that toward thinkmatic, not you.
Well then...nevermind :)
They're all very experienced at riffing, but they're not used to working the way they're working for these new CT projects. Then they all worked together in a room for a week, bouncing ideas around. Now they're spread out across the country, each writing jokes and then emailing them around. Then they all get together and film a few movies at once.
I agree they're not doing as good as the best of MST3k, but they're still producing funny commentary on cheesy movies, and I get enough laughs out of their movies that I keep buying them. I do think they're getting better, and I do think each one of them gets in a few good jokes for each movie. I seem to especially enjoy hearing from J. Elvis, probably because I haven't seen the early episodes with him, and he does come up with a bunch of good lines.
Oh I agree completely. Doomsday Machine and Oozing Skull were 100% crap, in my opinion. The jokes weren't funny, the Titans were boring, and everything just sucked.
Then Wasp Woman came out and they were actually funny. Legacy of Blood was great, and Santa Claus Conquers the Martians is my favorite so far, because it's actually entertaining! It would be better if they delivered the recorded lines with the same rapid fire, have to get the line out style of the live shows though.
I haven't seen Frankenstein as I don't have the money to buy it.
But my advice is go see the live show. The live shows are always better.
Santa Clause Versus The Martians was definitely the best. Mary Jo's line "so the real Santa carries a fake beard with him?" had me in stitches.
Also, from Legacy of Blood, they find a human head and someone says "let's put this in a horse's bed". That was a great line too. But most CT episodes are about as dull as the average Joel era episode of MST3K.
Yet, due to my obsessive-compulsive DVD collection habits, I'll buy every one that comes out.
Can this be!? A sensible discussion about CT without provoking a flame-war? :clap: This has been the most informative thread discussing CT in that my expectations were much like yours, thinkmatic. And based on the available samples, I imagine my reaction would be the same. Personally, I'm waiting for the one ep that will get everyone saying, "Hey... they were slow the first [whatever] but they're reeeally hitting their stride now." SCCtM has come close. Quick question tho... wasn't the "fake beard" joke the same one in the MST3k ep?
Anyway, I think Hebs is from Boston (or somewhere near there). You might try offering the tix to her. Despite never having seen a CT ep, I still couldn't pass up the chance to see those guys in person, riffing or not (preferably riffing tho). I'd be even more stoked to realize I had a girlfriend who gave me such an awesome present. I'm gonna go cry in a corner now.
Quote from: stansimpson on January 27, 2009, 01:28:02 PM
Can this be!? A sensible discussion about CT without provoking a flame-war?
Your favorite band, movie, and TV show suck.
I would highly recommend keeping your tickets and see them live, I had a blast at their Minneapolis show.
Quote from: Thrifty on January 27, 2009, 01:11:42 PM
Santa Clause Versus The Martians was definitely the best.
Agreed. The Santa episode is the only one I've really enjoyed. The other episodes all had their moments but overall they struck me as average at best. Nonetheless, I too will continue to buy them all. Pleading guilty of obsessive/complusive DVD collecting when it has anything to do with movie riffing.
Quote from: Thrifty on January 27, 2009, 01:29:12 PM
Quote from: stansimpson on January 27, 2009, 01:28:02 PM
Can this be!? A sensible discussion about CT without provoking a flame-war?
Your favorite band, movie, and TV show suck.
No they don't. You suck.
Quote from: stansimpson on January 27, 2009, 03:22:32 PM
Quote from: Thrifty on January 27, 2009, 01:29:12 PM
Quote from: stansimpson on January 27, 2009, 01:28:02 PM
Can this be!? A sensible discussion about CT without provoking a flame-war?
Your favorite band, movie, and TV show suck.
No they don't. You suck.
No, you do, Mister Poopypants.
I posted this same message on the CT website forum and they were all very pleasent. They had various angles on my issues with CT, but they also said that I should see the live show. I'm going to go. In any case it should be fun and since my Lady friend is into it I'd hate to disappoint her.
I'll watch Santa vs the martians soon and see if it's funny. I least I'm happy that they're working on something that involves humor and skanky old films. As for Josh I'm sure he's a wonderful guy and he did a great job writing the theme song for CT, but I don't find him very funny.
Lastly, it's Mr. Joel Hodgson's 48th birthday on the day of the show I'll be seeing, so that seems like the perfect show to go to. I think I'll give him a present.
Roy. G. Biv @ Thinkmatic
Quote from: Thrifty on January 26, 2009, 01:00:37 PM
Quote from: CHF01 on January 26, 2009, 12:53:33 PM
Keep in mind thinkmatic that this is a new project in progress; and only 6 episodes have been released to date. MST didn't get the machine really rolling until Season 3, so give them some time to develop things. I guess what I'm saying is...don't give up on them yet! I have a feeling CT is only going to improve with time. :)
Yeah but I mean, the guys were still new to public movie riffing back then. Now, they've got years of MST3K experience behind them
Well, sure, but they've been away from it for how long now? I think it is really worth giving them a chance to grow into what they are doing. Having followed them from the start I have found almost every release to be better than the previous, which is a great sign that they are getting better and will hopefully continue to.
Personally I went from thinking Cin Tit was OK to absolutely loving them.
I agree that the delivery and character interaction is really sub-par for the first couple, but to me, Wasp Woman was right up there with a decent MST episode. I think that they'll really start hitting their stride this year and am very psyched for more product.
-dale
One of two people who recently begged to see my copy of Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (MST3K) was just too tired and fell asleep during it. Anyway, while I told him that wasn't my problem, I also loathe to watch it again any time soon. I knew CT had re-done it and I've even heard it was really funny. However, I really don't recall ever paying $15 for one of these.
It's possible I did but I also once vowed to buy them all and I have fallen drastically short. Anyway, my question is wether or not I can get more than just a caseless DVD shipped in a plain envelope should I pay the expense again? It is a real pain making sure no harm comes to my original Oozing Skull copy, stored in the very same envelope it shipped in. How is the shipping situation and the highest cost of all riffing projects working out a year later? If I have to see this for the twentieth time, I'd like some new and more rapid-fire riffs.
Quote from: CM916 on February 22, 2009, 01:54:18 AM
One of two people who recently begged to see my copy of Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (MST3K) was just too tired and fell asleep during it. Anyway, while I told him that wasn't my problem, I also loathe to watch it again any time soon. I knew CT had re-done it and I've even heard it was really funny. However, I really don't recall ever paying $15 for one of these.
It's possible I did but I also once vowed to buy them all and I have fallen drastically short. Anyway, my question is wether or not I can get more than just a caseless DVD shipped in a plain envelope should I pay the expense again? It is a real pain making sure no harm comes to my original Oozing Skull copy, stored in the very same envelope it shipped in. How is the shipping situation and the highest cost of all riffing projects working out a year later? If I have to see this for the twentieth time, I'd like some new and more rapid-fire riffs.
Get a plastic case to put the Oozing Skull in, the latest CT's come in plastic cases with cover art just for whiners like you so enjoy.
Quote from: bettertomorrowamy on February 22, 2009, 05:17:02 AM
Get a plastic case to put the Oozing Skull in, the latest CT's come in plastic cases with cover art just for whiners like you so enjoy.
My copy of Oozing Skull came in a case. So nyah.
Quote from: ManUnderMask on February 22, 2009, 06:41:47 AM
Quote from: bettertomorrowamy on February 22, 2009, 05:17:02 AM
Get a plastic case to put the Oozing Skull in, the latest CT's come in plastic cases with cover art just for whiners like you so enjoy.
My copy of Oozing Skull came in a case. So nyah.
I guess you weren't an early adopter like us.
I hold out for the pressed copy of the DVD, but I still make thinpak covers for them to save space.
Hmmmm, maybe I should go the download route.
Quote from: CM916 on February 22, 2009, 01:54:18 AM
One of two people who recently begged to see my copy of Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (MST3K) was just too tired and fell asleep during it. Anyway, while I told him that wasn't my problem, I also loathe to watch it again any time soon. I knew CT had re-done it and I've even heard it was really funny. However, I really don't recall ever paying $15 for one of these.
It's possible I did but I also once vowed to buy them all and I have fallen drastically short. Anyway, my question is wether or not I can get more than just a caseless DVD shipped in a plain envelope should I pay the expense again? It is a real pain making sure no harm comes to my original Oozing Skull copy, stored in the very same envelope it shipped in. How is the shipping situation and the highest cost of all riffing projects working out a year later? If I have to see this for the twentieth time, I'd like some new and more rapid-fire riffs.
Where are you shopping? I bought all the single MST3K movie releases at Amazon back in the day, and they were all 14.99 (still are). It was the same price for The Film Crew (although some of those were 17.99). You can do a little better at Deep Discount, but not by much. The Oozing Skull was CT's pilot episode. They didn't know they'd be continuing after that one - it was a test - and I'm sure that was why they distributed it through EZTakes. They're distributing everything themselves now (in cases), and they're still self-funded. Cut 'em some slack. They're not priced any higher than anyone else for the same type of product.
I'm interested to see what thinkmatic thought about the show. I went to one here in Dallas when they did The Wasp Woman. It was great to see them do it live and it may have something to do with why I like that episode more than most people around here seem to.
I have downloaded 5 of 6 of the CT ep's and purchased SCCTM. I was having some issues with the dvd's i burned- but found that using DVD shirnk to burn the files vs the ez takes software fixed that quite a bit. Yeah downloads are 9.99- and if you can't find the hi res cover art on the ez takes site- usually someone posts it on the Cinematic Titanic forum.
I'll admit to being a cheapo- thats why i downloaded it :) But FYI if you get the dvd's at a show the price is closer to 25 bux... so buy online or download if money is tight.
;D
Yeah, I've downloaded all 6 myself. Since it's basically the same thing everyone else is getting and I have decent printer (won't print on discs, though), why bother waiting for shipping?
Now if only Rifftrax could do a DVD image download for their VOD stuff . . .
Quote from: MSTJedi on February 24, 2009, 06:23:48 AM
Yeah, I've downloaded all 6 myself. Since it's basically the same thing everyone else is getting and I have decent printer (won't print on discs, though), why bother waiting for shipping?
Well, you Do get a little autographed sillhouette from a single CT star with the bought DVD :o
Quote from: RVR II on February 24, 2009, 06:38:09 AM
Quote from: MSTJedi on February 24, 2009, 06:23:48 AM
Yeah, I've downloaded all 6 myself. Since it's basically the same thing everyone else is getting and I have decent printer (won't print on discs, though), why bother waiting for shipping?
Well, you Do get a little autographed sillhouette from a single CT star with the bought DVD :o
Yeah, but I have all their autographs from when they came here to Dallas. Joel even signed my Tom Servo shirt. It would be cool to have the separate autographs, but I'm on a tight, damn near non-existent entertainment budget here.
Quote from: bettertomorrowamy on February 22, 2009, 06:43:31 AM
I guess you weren't an early adopter like us.
I couldn't afford it when it first came out. However, one divorce later and suddenly she wasn't using all the money, and wow, I had some left over! So I spent it on Cinematic Titanic. That marriage is worth it.
Quote from: MSTJedi on February 24, 2009, 06:46:09 AM
Yeah, but I have all their autographs from when they came here to Dallas. Joel even signed my Tom Servo shirt. It would be cool to have the separate autographs, but I'm on a tight, damn near non-existent entertainment budget here.
I had them all sign a two dollar bill that Mike, Bill, and Kevin had already signed. Plus the DVD covers of Wasp Woman and Legacy of Blood.