Mystery Science Theater 3000 The Movie   Starring: Michael J. Nelson, Trace Beaulieu, Kevin Murphy and Jim Mallon Mediumrare Entertainment RRP: £15.99 FHED2936 Certificate: PG Available 11 June 2012

Stranded on a spaceship which looks suspiciously like a dog’s bone, Mike Nelson is the on-going victim of mad scientist Doctor Clayton Forrester’s diabolical (you’re telling me!) scheme for world domination. He is obliged to watch the worst movies ever made, with only the company of two sarcastic robots called Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot. However, the scientist fails to recognise into his dastardly equations man’s indomitable sense of humour...

If somebody were to explain the premise of Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K) for the first time it would undoubtedly on the face of it seem like a brilliant idea. There is no plot as such; it is essentially showing an old B-movie and ridiculing it every step of the way with inane comments and ridiculous spontaneously invented dialogue. There’s not much else to say, aside from the fact only one of these endless ‘clever’ comments actually made me laugh. The majority of the remainder didn’t even bring a smile to my lips.

The film caught with its pants down is This Island Earth, from the 1950s. I suppose with no logical direction it’s a prime candidate, but there are a lot worse films than this. Mystery Science Theatre 3000, for instance. I’m led to believe that the TV series version of MST3K has proved to be quite a hit, but I’m afraid it just doesn’t work for me. Mock the Week manages a much funnier short version of the same thing whilst making it contemporary.

There’s no commentary in the extras, because that fundamentally makes up the movie itself. So we get a making-of... featurette, with most of the emphasis on the rod puppet robots, a trailer and a stills gallery.

3

Ty Power