MST3K (TD94)
Turkey Day '94 - This year's selection of intra-episode bumpers were impeccably hosted by Adam West. His smooth voice and precise intonation eased each episode onto the screen. If you're not going to have real bumpers made by the cast of MST3K, Adam West ain't a bad substitute at all (sorry, Debbie Tobin).
Also adding to the fun were a trio of guest stars. Robert Vaughn, Beverly Garland and Mamie Van Doren all drop by to introduce the MSTied movies they starred in. Great idea. It would've been even better had these guests dropped by the Satellite of Love and chatted with Mike and the bots. Still, Adam West's rapport with his guests was fun. His pair of segments with Mamie was especially nice, with Mamie looking much younger than her then-63 years and still speaking in '50s slang.
What's with the conspicuous product placement? Many of the bumpers begin with a close-up of a not-so-tastefully arranged array of items normally confined to commercials. There's a package of AA Duracell® batteries, a baseball cap with Footaction USA® printed on it, a Gold MasterCard® and some unidentifiable brand of milk. Bad form, Comedy Central. Not only were you too cheap to pay BBI to make real bumpers, you had to make a few nickels by letting the ads leak into the show.
Another solid selection of episodes for this years marathon, even if they did cut it down by 4 hours compared to last year:
23 Nov 1994
20:00 615 - Kitten with a Whip
22:00 512 - Mitchell
24 Nov 1994
00:00 402 - The Giant Gila Monster
02:00 407 - The Killer Shrews
04:00 422 - The Day the Earth Froze
06:00 306 - Time of the Apes
08:00 321 - Santa Claus Conquers the Martians
10:00 315 - Teenage Cave Man
12:00 311 - It Conquered the World
14:00 503 - Swamp Diamonds
16:00 511 - Gunslinger
18:00 601 - Girls Town
20:00 316 - Gamera vs Zigra
22:00 604 - Zombie Nightmare
This is probably the best Turkey Day you can have without the actual cast of the show. The lack of the MST3K folks is a pretty big flaw and the product placement doesn't help at all. Adam West made the pain easier to handle. Thank you, Batman.
"Ah, cool it, Turkeyman." (6/10)
cc d. ?? (23-24 Nov 1994)
