MST3K (SBR2)

2nd Annual Mystery Science Theater 3000 Summer Blockbuster Review - Pretty much the same deal as last year's offering, though they covered twice as many movies:

• The X-Files: Fight the Future
  
• Ever After
  
• Halloween: H20
  
• The Truman Show
  
• Pi
  
• Saving Private Ryan
  
• Small Soldiers
  
• Godzilla
  
• Deep Impact
  
• Armageddon
  

Of those, I only own one on DVD: Halloween: Water, which was an OK horror sequel in my book. I have to say, 1998's summer offered a much better selection of movies than 1997. After seeing the clips in this special, I wouldn't mind rewatching several of these now. Also: Deep Impact > Armageddon.

They claimed that they weren't allowed to show any footage from Godzilla or even say its name for this show. I wonder if Sony, stinging from the massive failure of this film, wasn't about to allow a rinky-dink puppet show to throw more lemon juice in the wound? Or, it might've been that the MST3K crew was just funning around, making Godzilla the butt of the standard "hope we don't get sued" joke. I wish there was an ACEG for these specials for some behind-the-scenes info.

If MST3K were to have survived in a leaner form post-cancellation, specials like these would've been a fine way to go. There's no crew better to offer reviews of up-coming blockbusters and the shorter length of these specials is far friendlier to syndication, rerunning, and kids' short attention spans.

"I can only hear naked people." (7/10)

mst d. Michael J. Nelson (4 Sep 1998)