MST3K (621)

621 - The Beast of Yucca Flats (w/ Money Talks! + Progress Island U.S.A.) - Ugh. I can't believe I've now seen Coleman Francis' entire directorial output. As expected, the film was terrible. It was -- this seems impossible -- even worse than his other two films. I don't think I could make a worse film even if I were intentionally trying to make a bad movie. Monster A-Go Go is still the worst MST3K film so far, but this one is close. Very close.

Again, I didn't find this episode laugh-worthy. The riffing was forgettable. The host segments were dull. I was not into the faux election stuff at all (you can tell this was written during the '94 midterm elections). I was hoping the pair of shorts might be a bright spot in this Coleman Francis-filled show, but they were not. The riffing was far too sparse in the first short. In the second, it seemed like half of all of the riffs were just Servo negating what the narrator was saying (Narrator: "The Fortress of San Felipe del Morro..." Servo: "...is to be avoided at all times."). Either I'm in a rut, or the MST crew is.

For a RAM chip treat, let me think of some things I actually did like about this episode. Frank's face during the final host segment was quite funny. He put on this stone-still dejected expression that you can't help but crack a smile at. Mary Jo and Bridget did a great job as the mullet-haired, trailer trash partiers. I did laugh pretty hard at one riff in the first short. Just as Ben Franklin is disappearing from the boy's bedroom, Servo gives him a quick parting line: "Oh, and kill your parents."

"Greasy scarecrow boy not invited." (5/10)

film d. Coleman Francis (1961)
short 1 d. ?? (1951)
short 2 d. ?? (1973)
mst d. Jim Mallon (21 Jan 1995)

[Wow, I am sick of having to re-burn the DVDs I got from "traders." If you're going to be taking money from people in exchange for content burned onto DVD-R, do some damned research first. That spindle of 50 DVDs for $3.99 at Wal-Mart is not likely the best choice for long-term storage. A simple Google search will tell you which brands of discs are to be trusted. I'm so happy that 99.9% of seasons 7-10 come in the form of official Rhino DVDs and not-so-official (but self-burned) DAP discs. Another season full of episodes freezing in the middle and I'm libel to throw a rock at the TV... which would be a good excuse to upgrade to HD, come think of it.]