Featured TV on DVD Review: MST3K: Season 12: The Gauntlet
November 24, 2019
MST3K: Season 12: The Gauntlet - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
MST3K revival hit Netflix last April and I loved it. Fortunately for me, enough other people loved it that it got another season, The Gauntlet. What is The Gauntlet? And why can’t I say that word without doing the silly hand jester Kinga does? I can’t answer the second question, but keep reading for the answer to the first one.
We learn right away what The Gauntlet is. It’s Kinga Forrester’s latest diabolical plan. She is planning to create a binge-watchable version of MST3K and not only that, she’s making Tom, Crow, and Jonah binge-make it. They’ve picked six of the worst movies ever made, starting with...
This movie is about a family of aliens that accidentally hitch a ride on an Earth probe and arrive on Earth. The family is separated and either Mac or Me winds up with a new family. At first the alien is in hiding, but then... I’m not actually sure what happens next, because despite watching the complete season at least three times, my brain blanks out the movie.
The show starts with an attempt to dismiss the ending of season 11 and after the set-up, we have the invention exchange and Algernon, the smart pill, and the Spez Dispenser. “Un-spez-ant.” In the first host break, Jonah is trying to right his memories of the events of last season’s finale and gets help from Max and Synthia Forrester using the aliens’ whistle language to communicate. The second host segment takes place at a birthday party at McDonah’s, the forced fun foodery, where if you don’t have fun, you are forced to go into the ball pit. Finally, the three guys are brought to Kinga’s lair where they have to expand the the cannister holder. ... It’s not much of a segment on its own, but it is setting up more to come.
Mac and Me is remembered for two things: Blatant product placement and being infamously bad. It lives up to its reputation. In fact, it is so bad that I don’t even mind the product placement, because it feels like something a rival would do to ruin their competition. The movie is terrible, but in a way that has plenty to mock, so it is one of the better episodes this season. The host segments are all funny, with the possible exception of the last one, which isn’t going for humor, but to set up the overarching story for the season.
It’s a rip-off of Pacific Rim that was released three days before the film it was ripping off came out. That’s all you really need to know when it comes to the plot of the movie.
The show starts with the aftermath of a break-in at the Gizmonic Institute. Like the last part of the first episode, this does very little, except to setup a continuing storyline. Invention exchange includes the Air Dancer Organ and Supposi-stories. I’m not going to explain either of them. Kinga demands the gang create a new viral song like “Every Country has a Monster” from last weekend. The next host segment has the gang bragging about... I’ll let you discover that. The final host segment has the gang decide to celebrate making it through movie two with some day drinking, but first they have to pour one out for those who didn’t make it.
This is a cheap rip-off made quickly enough to come out just as the original hit theaters. The low budget and the rushed production schedule is perfect for creating a mess of a movie with plenty to riff on. To be fair, it has Graham Greene in it, and while he’s given nothing to work with, he still manages to make his character fun to watch. The second host segment is a little weak, but still funny. I don’t think it is something you will be quoting to your friends.
The crew of an underwater lab is looking forward to the new crew replacing them. Most of them are, at least. Dr. Claire McDowell is annoyed that she’s being removed from her science project where she’s investigating an unknown organic specimen that seems to give psychic visions. The replacement crew don’t make it and from there things just get worse and worse.
The episode begins with the gang working on the containment down on Kinga’s lair when Tom and Crow steal the original plans, which will be needed for their plan. The gang’s contribution to the invention exchange is only slightly less gross than the Supposi-stories, while Kinga’s invention isn’t as intimidating as she had hoped. The first host segment has Tom and Crow using the sample from the movie to make Jonah reveal embarrassing things about himself. In the second segment, Tom and Crow have to do a rock, paper, scissors type contest to figure out who’s right, but their rhyme before the game gets out of hand. Finally, Kinga and Max interview Dr. Donna St. Phibes of the St. Phibes Habitat for B-Movie Monsters, who brought the psychic monster from the movie to the lair. It goes about as well as you would expect.
I would watch this film without the riffing. It’s not a good movie, but it is the kind I enjoy, despite its problems. It’s a Roger Corman movie. Nuff said. It’s a low budget movie with enough talented people working on it that it has a visual flair that makes it intriguing, while giving more than enough material for the gang to riff on. I think the host segments here are better than the previous episode, as is the movie riffing, making it the high point of the season so far.
A family moves to the desert during a trinary super nova and they have an encounter with a U.F.O. and then something happens, but not really. This is the most boring movie out of the six on this list.
The episode begins with Max talking to Jonah to make sure Jonah and the robots are using their work in the Moon Base as a way to get back Max and Kinga. Jonah assures him they wouldn’t do that. The invention exchange involves the fortune food and mustard gas. The first host segment has the gang holding a BBQ as three men of a certain age. The second segment reenacts the writing of the script for The Day Time Ended. Finally, Dr. Laurence Erhardt, one of the original mads, returns to the moon base. He swore a blood oath to scatter the remains of Kinga’s father on Mearth, but needs Kinga’s help to carry it out. He needs the song “Idiot Control Now”.
While the movie itself is very boring, it is at least bad in a riffable way, so the episode is still funny. Likewise, the host segments are arguably the weakest so far, at least in terms of jokes. If you are a long time fan of the show, then getting to see J. Elvis Weinstein return as Dr. Laurence Erhardt is a blast and this helps compensate for the weaker jokes. I would still argue it is the weakest episode of the six, but it is not so bad that it really stands out.
A group of thieves steal priceless emeralds and stashes the gems at the bottom of a lake for safekeeping. However, to prevent any of his fellow thieves from stealing the gems for themselves, he’s guarding the gems with killer piranhas. Meanwhile, a model and her photographer husband have come to the same lake for a photoshoot.
The episode begins with Kinga and Max looking over the footage of Synthia’s search for “Idiot Control Now” and riffing along the way. The invention exchange involves alchemic glue and time traveling ovens. In the first host segment, the gang try to predict what kind of fish are the killers in this movie. Yes, the movie is more than a third over before we find out. It’s one of those movies. The second host segment has the gang trying to figure out how to save the cast of the movie in a scene reminiscent of Apollo 13. Finally, Synthia figured out how to allow people to play “Idiot Control Now” by drinking the song.
This is only the second film of this season that I wouldn’t mind watching without the riffing. Again, it isn’t good, but it is my kind of bad. The cast has enough talent and charisma to carry the film and I like heist movies, even ones like this. As for the episode, it is one of the more entertaining of the bunch, as the premise lends itself to riffing. The host segments are also consistently funny, with some foreshadowing.
A sword and sorcery movie, the first of this season. Ator is prophesied to destroy the Spider Cult. On the day of his wedding to his adopted sister... don’t ask... she’s kidnapped by said Spider Cult and he goes off to rescue her.
The episode begins with “Idiot Control Now” being delivered, while Jonah, Tom, and Crow struggle with the effects of the Gauntlet. Both inventions in the invention exchange deal with food. I honestly don’t know which one is less rational. In the first host segment, Crow plays Griba the Guru trying to train Jonah. He’s not a good student. In the second host segment, Kiog the bear shows up, but Dr. Donna St. Phibes comes and takes him away. Finally... Comeuppance!
Sword and sorcery films like this are riffing on easy mode. They provide the perfect combination of bad acting, cheesy fight scenes, and cheap sets and monsters. It’s everything you could want in a riffable movie. It is a little dull at times, which keeps it from being among the best episodes of the revival. The host segments wrap up the plot nicely and if the series were to end there, I would be satisfied. I would also be really, super upset, because really want more of the show, but at least the show would have a conclusion I would enjoy re-watching.
While most of the review can be seen in my opinions of individual episodes, I do have some thoughts on the overall season. The Gauntlet is unique among seasons of MST3K, as it is the only one with a continuing storyline. This is both a good thing and a bad thing, but mostly a good thing. On the negative side, this means you can’t grab an episode at random and enjoy it 100%, as there are plot points that depend on you having seen previous episodes. Also, there are some parts that do nothing but set up later elements of the plot, so there’s not as many jokes as you would expect. That said, I really enjoyed the longer plot threads that we got this season and I hope they continue next season. Please let there be another season.
There are no extras on the retail version of the Blu-ray. On the other hand, if you were a backer, then the Pledge Drive Edition comes with four behind-the-scenes / making of featurettes with total running time of 85 minutes.
I love MST3K and I think the reboot lives up to the original show. Season 12: The Gauntlet is just as good as the first season, perhaps better, if you enjoy the continuing storyling. I am disappointed that the retail DVD / Blu-ray has no extras, but it is still a Pick of the Week contender. The show is that funny on its own.
The Show
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Filed under: Video Review, Priscilla Barnes, Roger Corman, Graham Greene, Miles O'Keefe, Patton Oswalt, Jonah Ray, Baron Vaughn, Felicia Day