Huzzah! Less than three months after putting out the Mystery Science Theater 3000: 20th Anniversary Edition box set, Shout! Factory has followed up with Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume XIV.
From 1988 to 1999, the cast of Mystery Science Theater 3000 skewered B-movies from their extraterrestrial orbit. Now the revolving crew of the Satellite of Love returns in the awe-inspiring 14th collection of their most hilarious episodes. Join Joel, Mike, Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot as they supply their own playful brand of commentaries on some of cinema’s most misunderstood “masterpieces.”
The alleged masterpieces are Season 1’s The Mad Monster, Season 4’s Manhunt in Space, Season 10’s Soultaker, and Season 10’s Final Justice (“starring” legendary antagonist of the show Joe Don Baker, who also got roasted in Season 5’s Mitchell). Current IMDb ratings for the four movies are 2.8, 2.1, 1.8, and 1.5 out of 10, dismal scores which promise a banquet of MST3K riffing material. The packaging, slipcased DVD slim cases with illustrated movie poster art covers, is exactly the same as in the first Shout! Factory set, which gives the option of storing the DVD sets in their cardboard slipcases or taking the individual titles out to shelve them by season or other preference. Mini-posters of the DVD covers are included again, and each disc continues to have a different animated menu that ties in with the film it precedes. Bonus content features a brand-new interview with Soultaker star and MSTie favorite Joe Estevez, in which Estevez proves himself to be an extremely good sport about the ribbing he got for Werewolf and Soultaker; a brand-new interview with Final Justice writer, producer, and director Greydon Clark, who masterfully rationalizes getting the MST3K treatment; Mike, Tom and Crow’s appearance on ESPN Classic’s Cheap Seats without Ron Parker; and the original Mad Monster trailer.
Most excitingly, as was revealed in a press release late last year, the Volume XIV box set is comprised entirely of episodes that have never been released before. Previously, fans had access to these films solely through TV syndication and an online network of tape trading that was encouraged by Comedy Central in its “Keep Circulating the Tapes” campaign. For viewers who have only seen grainy bootleg copies of Volume XIV‘s four episodes, many generations removed from the original recordings, it’s a real treat to finally see them in first-run quality. Hopefully this trend continues, allowing MST3K home libraries to further upgrade their old, degraded tapes to a more modern and watchable format.
It will certainly be interesting to see what the themes of upcoming box sets will be. More “previously unreleased” collections? Polled favourites? Holiday sets? A special edition of Season 3’s Santa Claus Conquers the Martians and Season 5’s Santa Claus, complete with an appropriately tacky ornament, would be an obvious possibility, as would a complete set of the MST3K Shorts. Shout! Factory is open to any suggestions, so e-mail them your lists of box-set-worthy episodes and help keep the Movie Sign plugged in.
Order now at Amazon.com:
Mystery Science Theater 3000: 20th Anniversary Edition (Limited Edition)
Mystery Science Theater 3000: 20th Anniversary Edition (Standard Edition)
Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume XIV
Or order directly through the Shout! Factory website.
Mystery Science Theater 3000: 20th Anniversary Edition and Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume XIV are distributed by Shout! Factory. For more Mystery Science Theater 3000 information, please visit The Official Mystery Science Theater 3000 Website and Satellite News: The Official Mystery Science Theater 3000 Fan Site.