Mystery Science Theater 3000, Vol. XV (The Robot vs. the Aztec Mummy / The Girl in Lovers Lane / Zombie Nightmare / Racket Girls)

Shout Factory delivers it's third box set of the infamous Mystery Science Theater 3000. This set contains four episodes spanning the comedy central years, from season one to season six. You get two episodes features Joel and two episodes featuring Mike. The film selection covers everything from a Mexican horror film to a exploitation film about women's wrestling. Throw in an appearance by Adam West and you've got a bit of everything."The Robot vs. The Aztec Mummy" is the first film featured on this set. Since this is a first season episode of the show it means the whole vibe of the show was a bit different. The episodes have a slower feel, something that isn't necessarily bad, just a different. Things kick off well with the first episode of "Commander Cody and the Radar Men from the Moon". This serial provides plenty of fodder for Joel and the bots, with lots of silly costumes, special effects and nonsensical plotting. For me, the Commander Cody shorts are the high light of season one, and provide the best laughs.When the feature starts up things slow way down. The movie itself is, in a single word, turgid. Huge sections are taken up with lengthy flashbacks to what appears to be previous films. There are long talky scenes that suck what little energy a movie about an Aztec Mummy should have. Attempts at gothic horror are lame at best and the dubbing is wretched. The final battle between the robot (a hilarious special effect) and the mummy is not worth the effort, and the whole thing is just a bust. This type of film would work better with more energy from the riffers, but we don't get it, and they seem drained by the train wreck of the movie as well.Shout Factory adds a nifty bonus feature to the disk, a look at the old KTMA host segments. It's kinda neat to see this very early work by the crew, and fans will get a kick out of it. Also included are Comedy Channel promos for this specific episode and a double feature trailer featuring this film.Great short, poor movie, average host segments and good bonus features makes this a solid 3 star effort."The Girl on Lover's Lane" jumps ahead to season five. The difference in riffing and overall comfort with the show is evident here, and for me it makes this episode shine a bit more.The movie is a silly bit of melodrama about two drifters who roll into a small town. One is wet behind the ears, and seems to spend most of the movie clueless about hookers, and flashing his large wad of cash around in front of complete strangers. The other, Bix Duggan (called Big Stupid by Joel and the bots) is the world weary traveler. He keeps his eye on the young fool, but also falls for the naïve Carrie, who works as a waitress at the diner.Carrie and Big seem to have a future, but Big can't be tied down, so he waffles back and forth. He seems like he's about to make up his mind when, horror of horrors, the director screws up a happy ending. The movie takes a dark turn when the town nutjob drags poor Carrie off into the forest. The movie actually offers plenty of funny moments and lots of good riffing by the crew. Things never really take off, though. Part of the reason is that the film drags in the middle and Joel and bots get caught in the dullness. But the random ending actually sparks them back to life and they deliver a solid drubbing at the end, and it flows right into the host segments. These are pretty funny as well, but my favorite is when the bots come up with better endings than the one the director came up with.Shout Factory gives a nice behind the scenes look at the show in the extra on this disc. It looks like documentary footage taken from the creation of "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians". There isn't any narration, but you get to see just about every stage of the process. It was a real treat to actually see these elements that I've read about.Good movie, Good host segments, good extras. 3 stars."Zombie Nightmere" comes from season six, with Mike joining the bots in the Satellite and in the theater.Boy does this cheesefest of a film provide the ammo. Pure 80's with huge hair, bad fashions and an all synthesized score, Zombie Nightmere amps up the wattage with some rockin' metal tunes that go to 11. You'd think you were in for some fun, especially when you see Adam West and Tia Carerre in the film.After a strange prologue that looks to happen in the 80's version of the 60's, we follow a big muscled guy with a case of hockey hair around for a bit. He gets hit by a car and killed. Well, the jokers driving the car don't stop but continue on their merry way. These wicked teens are lead by one of the most annoying villains I've seen in a MST3K feature. He's such a bad boy that he throws pasta in his mother's face. Yeah, you read that right.Anyway the beefy guy is brought back from the dead by a spaz-tastic voodoo priestess. He goes on the rampage, killing all those who wronged him. The police are on the case, but the young detective is too fooling to figure out the truth. Adam West plays the police chief who may have something to hide.Mike and bots have so much to work with in this one and it's a pretty hilarious episode from beginning to end. Things slow up a bit when the detective comes nosing around, but Adam West usually shows up to make things more interesting. The Zombie is slow and non-threatening. The teens in the movie are pretty bad actors (even Tia), and the script tries to throw a curveball but it ends up hitting the batter. At least someone get's dragged into hell at the end of the film..The extra on this disc is an interview with two cast members from the film and how they feel about the MST3K treatment and what they are up to now. These guys are pretty good sports about the whole thing and it's a fun extra.Great movie, good host segments, good extras: 4 stars"Racket Girls" is the final film in the set. It opens with a short film, "Are you Ready for Marriage". This black and white film follows the adventures of a young couple who think they are ready to be married. They go to their local church for advice and are quickly assaulted by a guy who could be a relative of H.P. Lovecraft. His advise is actually sound, even if his graphs, dolls and rubber bands are really silly.The feature is a bizarre exploitation film about woman's wrestling. There is some kind of plot about a criminal underworld, but mostly that takes back seat to scenes of women wrestling (three matches, and one of them featuring women in cat masks), women working out in a gym, and one woman jogging and jumping rope while her... assets bounce all over the screen. Make no mistake this movie is all about having women bounce around and writhe all over each other. The only problem is, it's not the least bit erotic or shocking - at least to modern audiences. Sure you feel dirty watching it, but only because the movie has a kind of grime all over it.It also is pretty dull. The whole story about the criminals making deals and sneaking around is boring. The poor acting and stupid script are worthy of Ed Wood Jr., and I was shocked to see he wasn't involved in this film.As dull as the movie is, Mike and the bots attack full bore with riffs flying fast and furious. When they connect, they are right on and funny as hell. They keep the energy going, even when the movie slows to a crawl and it really helps to bring you along through it. After a while the wrestling scenes become funny because they never end. The looped crowd noise becomes a joke instead of an annoyance. The feeble attempts at a plot are just more pathetic and easier to riff. In a way it reminds me of "Red Zone Cuba" or "Starfighters". If you enjoyed the vibe from those films and how Mike and bots handled it, then you'll be on board for this one.The extras include a trailer for the film (using it's other name, "Blonde Pickup") and a trailer for something called "Hamlet ADD", that features vocal work from Trace and Kevin.Great Short, Good Movie, Great Host segments, Good extras. 4 stars.When it's all said and done you've got a good set here. Two three star discs and two four star discs round up to a solid four star box set. A fan can't really go wrong here, with "Zombie Nightmere" being a really great episode. I've seen mixed fan reaction to "Girl on Lover's Lane" (some people are really bothered by the ending) and "Racket Girls" (some people find the movie too dull). But I'll be watching all three again. Another great set from Shout Factory.

Shout Factory has brought us another set of MST3K episodes for their next set Volume 15. This set is as follows :EPISODE 102 - THE ROBOT VS THE AZTEC MUMMY - this is the earliest episode to date (only 101 and KTMA episodes would be earlier). This is a K Gordon Murray low budget movie (he also gave us Santa Claus and other south of the border gems) Joel and the bots ( Tom Servo is Josh Weinstein - the only way to see him as Servo or Dr Erhardt is from Season 1) riffle through this OK, but not as good as later episodes when they mastered the technique. It is still fun to watch and interesting in a historical sense since it is an early episode. Joel & the bots big segments are with the Demon Dogs ! This has the short Commando Cody - Radar Men from the Moon Part 1 as well..EPISODE 509 - THE GIRL IN LOVERS LANE - This is a fun, campy cult B movie with Brett Halsey (Return of the Fly) as a drifter with a young inexperienced drifter named Danny who settle into a town & stop drifting. Brett is Bix Duggan called Big Stupid by Joel and the bots. Bix falls in love but he wants to drift again. Bix also teaches Danny how to survive in the urban jungle & morals as well. Bix gets lynched too in this. Jack Elam plays a greasy bad guy in this. Jack was a great character actor & Crow does a segment to show us that he is. A very good episode and happy it is finally coming out. This is also on Alpha DVD where you can see the scenes that were cut including Joyce Meadows death scene where Jack goes after her at the end...EPISODE 604 - ZOMBIE NIGHTMARE - Quite possibly one of the best and most popular Mike episodes (this is subject to debate but a lot of MST3K fans did rejoice on this coming out) John Mikl Thor is the zombie (until the ending)killing kids who ran him over. This has the one and only Adam West - TVs Batman. Why he got involved in this is anyone's guess...but you know it is not that awful. No it is not great, but it is a credible movie on its own.A great rock soundtrack (Motorhead's Ace of Spades is the songs intro). A few gore scenes were cut, but for those that want it uncut, toward the later part of 2009, this movie will come out on DVD from Code Red - uncut with a high def transfer.Great episode, a personal favorite Mike episode.EPISODE 616 - RACKET GIRLS - This is the one that contains female pro-wrestlers such as peaches. A harmless obscure fun B movie Gangster/Female wrestling movie - that really cant cause Mike and the Bots any pain. If you like WWE this ones for you.This has the short "Are you ready for marriage". I think it is a solid episode, not a popular one but I like the old black & white ones.In a way it reminded me of a cross between Violent Years, Sinister Urge and any gangster movieThis set contains the following bonus features.Glimpses of KTMA (This was the channel MST aired on - a local Minneapolis channel before Best Brains became part of Comedy Channel)The Design And Speculative Technology Of MST3K: Joel Hodgson And Trace Beaulieu Visit M.I.T.(NOTE - THIS FEATURE HAS SINCE BEEN AXED FOR TECHNICAL PROBLEMS)New Interviews with "Zombie Nightmare" stars Frank Dietz, Jon Mikl Thor and John Fasano. I met Thor a few years ago and looked like Billy Idol on HGH. He is not tall, but super buffed and is a great guy - it was a honor to meet him. He played with his Thorchestra in a nightclub in my hometownKevin Murphy And Trace Beaulieu in a Sneak Peek of the upcoming independent feature film Hamlet A.D.D.Trailers/promos4 limited edition mini-posters (like you've seen in previous sets)Overall another great set with some nice bonus features. If you own all the other MST sets, don't pass this up either. A chance to have more good episodes on DVD quality. Not every set will please everyone but overall this has some diversity with 2 Joels and 2 Mikes, and we get 2 Tom Servos as well. No Sci Fi in this set, which hasn't happened in a long time. A lot of fans came during the scifi era that did not catch all the Comedy Central episodes, this is a good opportunity for some fans to see something that they haven't seen before. Overall, personally I feel this set has solid episodes, a historical 1st season episode. I think it is well rounded & I would call this a good batch of episodes. It wont please everybody(no set does), but it should please those of us who love the show & appreciate just having more titles on DVD with superior image quality. Even if there are some episodes we like better than other,the fact is any MST3K episode released to DVD is a good release. Thank you Shout Factory, keep up the great work.

Not all 5 start quality, but earns it from Girls in Lovers' Lane alone! Wonderful MST3K as usual!

our son has taken a shine to this series,

It's awesome

I cannot believe that they ever made such a movie as Aztec Mummy. We almost missed the riff track just watching this garbled mess from the cinema bargain bin.