Top 5 Mystery Science Theater 3000 Episodes

Well I promised random top 5 lists in this blog so I figure I ought to make good on that threat. So in honor of them helping me feel less miserable (Les Miserables?) while I was sick earlier this week, I give you my five favorite outings from Joel, Mike, Tom, and Crow (in chronological order).

Cave Dwellers (301)
It's kind of funny when a film has as large a cast as this one, and yet only four characters have any real amount of dialog. Favorite moments include Joel and the Bots (J&TB) reenacting the jerky, slow motion opening credits, berating the invading soldiers for neglecting to use the stair rails, and the constant invitations to Thong (Dong? Fong?) to say something.

Gamera vs. Guiron (312)
This has to be the silliest premise of all the Gamera films, and has one of the worst dubs of any film that I have encountered; the pace is halting and whoever did the translation had a rudimentary grasp of English at best. Of course this adds up to quite an enjoyable viewing experience, especially with J&TB along for the ride. Favorite moments include Tom mimicking the awkward wording of the dialog, Crow's string of appendage puns as Gaos is cut to pieces, the bicycle song, and the "Hello" "Thank you" scene, which must be seen to be fully appreciated.

War of the Colossal Beast - with short Mr. B. Natural (319)
The amazingly ill-conceived plot accompanied by J&TB's relentless and hilarious jabs make Mr. B. Natural the favorite short of so many people (including myself) and would be enough to put this episode on any top 5 list even without the quite funny War of the Colossal Beast. Favorite moments include Mr. B's introduction, Buzz's first meeting with Mr. B. with J&TB supplying what Buzz really should be saying, and Glen's slide show.

Angels' Revenge (622)
For the life of me I can't figure out what the filmmakers were trying to do with this picture. If it's supposed to be a feminist film, why are the ladies so stupid? If it's supposed to be an action film, why the cartoonish sound effects in the fight scenes? And that does not even begin to delve into the inconsistencies that run rampant in this film. Jim Backus should have run away from this film as fast as he could (and you'll agree once you see his soup scene). Favorite moments include every time Michelle Wilson is introduced ("Hey, she sucks!"), every time M&TB comment on our crew of heroines lack of mental prowess, and the complete randomness of the host segments.

Jack Frost (813)
Maybe I don't get the film because I'm not Russian, but this Russian fairy tale has very little in the way of a cohesive plot, but that quite often makes for better riffing from M&TB. There does seem to be some effort on the part of the filmmakers to create a fairy tale world visually, which also helps this film stand out as one of the more colorful MST3K episodes. Favorite moments include all the Tolkien references, a very clever Biblical reference, and Mike Nelson IS Lord of the Dance!