MST3K (512)

512 - Mitchell - I've watched this episode more than any other in the series. There isn't a friend I have that I haven't shown this episode to and they've all cried tears of laughter with me as we watched it. It's an excellent choice for Joel to ride off into the sunset with. "Is that Linda Evans!?" said with disgust by the father of one of my friends as he walked into the room during the sex scene.

Showing this episode to friends did illustrate flaw in this otherwise excellent show. The host segments completely kill the comedic momentum of the riffs. Not being fans of the series, my friends never cared about Gypsy's quest to save Joel or the need to explain Joel's departure and replacement. And, to be honest, the host segments in this particular episode are probably -- due to their utilitarian origins, no doubt -- the least funny of the entire series so far. They're a buzzkill and I could always sense the disappointment in the room when they started. What I should do is make a host segment-free version for such occasions in the future.

The funniest riffing in this episode is done in my favorite style. Whenever JatB create a persona for one of the movie's characters, it always generates excellent jokes. The out-of-shape, panting, constantly hungry, alcoholic, not-too-bright personality they imbue into Mitchell makes this episode what it is. Pure comedy. Obscure references optional.

Joel's last word: "Goodbye!" Depending on how you count it, Joel was trapped on the Satellite of Love for 1795 days (4 years, 11 months) and watched 107 movies (98 unique movies) and 36 shorts, or he was trapped for 1436 days (3 years, 11 months, 6 days) and watched 86 movies and 36 shorts. Either way, that's a long haul. I'm going to miss him. I loved his paternal relationship with the bots. I loved his goofy sense of humor and his sleepy-eyed delivery. I loved the sense of morality he brought to the show. He's the papa of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and the next six months-worth of episodes just won't be the same without him.

Well, 7 Faces of Dr. Lao has been put in the Netflix queue. This is the real name of Joel's favorite movie and goodbye plaque source The Circus of Dr. Lao. It's in line there right next to his other favorite movie Colossus: The Forbin Project. It's the least I can do. Thanks Joel for all the laughs.

♪"Mitchell! Mitchell! (your eye on the sammich) / Mitchell! (heart's poundin') / Mitchell! (vein's cloggin') / Mitchell!"♪ (9/10)

film d. Andrew V. McLaglen (1975)
mst d. Kevin Murphy (23 Oct 1993)