Guest MST3K: K18

Ah, The Million Eyes of Su-Muru. A bunch of women, some blond, angry about something or the other and on a random killing spree in China. And Frankie Avalon and his buddy Mr. West has to stop them. Or something like that. The musical score seemed oddly enthusiastic, though Mr. Avalon never does bust into song (though his character at one point wonders if he should). A dead girl in bed is played for laughs. Rich with random kissing and torture scenes, and smarmy dialog that isn't nearly as clever as it thinks it is.

I haven't seen the episode before this one, but there was a bit of a recap to clue me that the bots locked Joel outside the the ship naked, or nearly so. The mads are uncharacteristically nice enough to let him back in. I have to say, though, I was a more than a bit disappointed when Joel made it back into the SOL in his jumpsuit, not his BVD's as they implied he might.

The host segments seemed better to me than most of the other KTMAs I've seen. I liked the segment which I thought was going to a trial of the bots for locking Joel out of the ship, but rather degenerated into a raging pun-athon. Excuse me while I kiss this guy! Joel's version of the Theme Song, Unplugged version was also neat. And I found it interesting that at this point, the fan club already has 900 members. Considering that this show at this point is just being shown on one market in the upper Midwest on a lower tier channel, I'm impressed that it already attracted enough fans that were motivated enough to actually write in.

The theater segments were also pretty good. I've always liked it when Joel or Mike "interacts" with the movie, in this case by turning up the controls on a car's dashboard. The riffing was pretty solid, especially at the start, though even when Servo leaves it doesn't exactly slow to a crawl. Trace seems to come more into his own on the riffing when Josh leaves the theater segments. Josh seems better to me at the improvisational style, being faster and more aggressive in his comedic styling. I can see why going to scripted shows was better for MST's overall quality, but I can also see why someone with Josh's skills might have been unhappy with the change.

Some riffs I laughed at:

Servo:
(Credits): Dubbing editor? I thought Frankie Avalon was fully versed in English.

(At one point where Joel is trying to get Crow to appreciate a joke he's made): Laugh at it Crow, he's pretty upset with us. (Referencing the incident where the bots locked Joel out of the ship).

(An Eye of Su deals with Mr. West while wearing a formless dress in an hospital setting):
She's a patient!

Joel:
(During a Beaches of Normandy style attack on the shores of Su's Island): Good idea! Hide behind a rubber raft. There's nothing bullets hate more. Natural enemies.

-Tealeaf