MST3K (K12)

K12 - Fugitive Alien - (aka Sutâurufu: "Episode 1" + Sutâurufu: "Episode 2") This would easily have been the best KTMA ever, were it not another "Trace is missing" episode. Had Crow been in the theater, the theater segments would've been just like any of the average cable episodes. Without him, things still go fairly well. The riffing is pretty steady and Joel and Servo seem to have a grand old time. Josh gets Joel to crack up more than once and they perform many duets together. Most memorable was the extended parody of the Beatles' "Strawberry Fields Forever."

If I were a Twin Cities UHF addict in 1989, this is the episode during which I would've become a full-on Joel fan. In particular, when the mussed-haired, sleepy-eyed Joel breaks into his "Fugitive Alien" song with absolutely no shred of embarrassment or self-consciousness, I would've realized what kind of unique talent we had standing next to those puppets.

I thought the movie itself was keen, as well. I'm looking forward to re-watching it and seeing the sequel. Sure, it was heavily influenced by Star Wars, as JatB point out several times, but it was SW with kooky Japanese charm. Remember: never kill someone with your same name.

"Luke Skywalker liked peyote." I just had to get that K12 quote in here for random Google searches to pick up. (6/10)

film d. Minoru Kanaya & Kiyosumi Kuzakawa (1978)
mst d. Vince Rodriguez (5 Feb 1989)