Mike Nelson racing an RC car at Rifftrax HQ

Yep, you won’t find a more descriptive post title this side of the Internet, let me tell you what. I’m not really sure why posting this is at all relevant, but since when has being relevant ever been relevant? The Internet is for internetting!

(via TorgosPizza’s twitter)

Next on Rifftrax: Paranormal Activity

The next Rifftrax commentary, out today, is Paranormal Activity. In other words, it is something I will never watch, because I’m a huge pussy when it comes to horror films. As such, I have selected a header image to encourage happy thoughts and not evil ghost-demon-monster thoughts. You’re welcome.

You can pick up the DVD here… IF YOU DARE!

MST3K: Volume XVII announced

Ugh. Hey. What’s up? Yeah, I’m still here. Had a hell of a time these past few months (which I’ll spare you the details of) but I’m hoping to slowly get back in the habit of updating Deep Ape. Needless to say, hopefully you’ve been reading Satellite News for all your MST3K needs in the interim. There’s certainly a good amount of news that I’ve missed while I was away.

One such piece of news is the announcement of yet another volume of MST3K DVDs. Man, Shout Factory is really pumping these out, aren’t they? Good on them.  This 17th(!) set is pretty darn decent, with a reasonable selection of episodes and a surprisingly excellent load of extra content. Here’s the rundown of the set’s contents, as listed in the press release:

EPISODES

• 0101 The Crawling Eye
• The Beatniks
• The Final Sacrifice
• The Blood Waters of Dr. Z

BONUS CONTENT

• special Crawling Eye introduction with Joel Hodgson
• Mystery Science Theater Hour wrap segments for The Beatniks
• The Main Event: Crow vs. Crow at Dragon*Con ‘09 (with Trace and Bill)
• an interview with Final Sacrifice’s Bruce J. Mitchell (Rowsdower!)
• Blood Waters of Dr. Z photo gallery
• original theatrical trailers
• And, allegedly, “more.”

Now, that’s a nice selection of extras. And we finally get both the first (non-KTMA) episode of the series and fan favorite Final Sacrifice officially released on DVD. The set is scheduled for release on March 16th, 2010, and can be pre-ordered here.

MST3K: Vol. XVI is out now

Hey, guess what came out today? Mystery Science Theater came out today. Specifically, the sixteenth volume of four-DVD box sets, released by Shout Factory. The set includes episodes Night of the Blood Beast, The Corpse Vanishes, Santa Claus, and Warrior of the Lost World. There are also a few substantial movie-related extras included and, if you act fast, a small Tom Servo figurine to accompany Shout Factory’s previous Crow figurine. All in all, a pretty solid set.

Once again, if you plan on picking this up from Amazon, I would ask that you use this link to help support this site, or more to the point, support me. One of the reasons for my absence has been a slew of ridiculous health problems. Currently, I’m barely functional and on painkillers, though I should hopefully be up and running before Christmas. So, if you prefer Amazon for your Christmas shopping, please head there via this link, if you’d be so kind. Thank you.

So, Comic-Con happened — and I got to go!

Well, Comic-Con 2009 is officially over, and what a great time it was! There’s something very special about seeing so many geeks in one place, and this year was no exception. The convention hall was filled to the brim with various nerd treasures, from comic books to elaborate figurines, and even Star Trek perfume!

But of course, the real draw for me  (and Deep Ape!) were the various Rifftrax events that were going on over the weekend. Click past the break to read about it!

Woot has Shout Factory’s MST3K DVDs cheap, today only

I just wanted to throw up a quick post to let you know that Woot.com has Shout Factory’s first three MST3K DVD box sets for sale today (and today only) as a set of three — for only $50 total. That’s right. Twelve episodes for the retail price of four! Billy Mays himself (God rest his soul) couldn’t give you a better deal.

Make sure you pick them up quickly. Woot operates on a first-come, first-serve basis, offering up a great deal on a different product every day. Once they sell out, the sale is over and, either way, these DVDs will definitely be gone by midnight tonight, at the latest. So if you’re going to buy, buy now!

Hey. So, Comic-Con is happening…

Heh. Once again, it looks like I’m the slowpoke. I was preparing to type up some sort of Comic-Con post, and the good folks at Satellite News beat me to it, as usual. Instead of rehashing the specifics, I’ll just give you a general rundown of what MST3K-related shenanigans are going down this weekend, and then point you over to the Satellite News post for more details.

Friday, July 24th @ 2:30pm: Mike Salva’s Max The Hero animated short will be shown in room 26AB. The well-received short features the vocal talents of Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy, and Bill Corbett. (Here’s my original post about the short.)

Friday, July 24th @ 3pm: Immediately following that, Mike, Bill, and Kevin will be in Sails Pavilion AA8 signing autographs. There’s something about there being a “line ticket drawing” at 10:30am, so you may have to do that first. On Saturday, July 25th at 12pm, there will be a second autograph session in Sails Pavilion AA6. Both sessions will last a couple of hours.

Friday, July 24th @ 7:15pm: It’s a Rifftrax Live show! The usual trio of riffers will be mocking an unnamed short in-person, in Ballroom 6D/E. Presumably, there will also be a Q&A session of some kind, as The Internet’s Veronica Belmont is listed as hosting the panel.

Sunday, July 26th @ 10:30am: You can catch the sole official Comic-Con appearance by a Cinematic Titanic crew member by attending this live performance of The Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd podcast, in room 8. TV’s/DVD’s Frank Conniff will be performing one of the show’s characters, as he’s done before.

And throughout the weekend, Rifftrax/Legend Films will be at booth #3251 in the Exhibit Hall. They’ll be peddling plenty of merchandise, and you may even see Mike, Bill, or Kevin lingering around like the unemployed bums they are. Furthermore, if any of this information is still relevant to you, you’re probably at Comic-Con right now and I’m jealous and I hate you.

(Image taken from Amanda Palmer’s Twitter.)

Deep Reviewing: Cinematic Titanic, live in Philly!

I had a brief, 30-second conversation with MST3K creator Joel Hodgson. I had a brief conversation with Joel Hodgson. I talked with Joel Hodgson. I came into contact with Joel Hodgson. Joel… Hodgson.

On June 13th, my 26th birthday, I traveled to the city of Philadelphia to see the Cinematic Titanic crew do a live riffing of Danger on Tiki Island. Let me go ahead and spoil the article for you: It was amazing and you need to go see them live. Seriously. Now. Sell the kids, break out the rollerblades, do whatever it takes to get to a live show. Rifftrax, Cinematic Titanic, it doesn’t matter — the Brains and their work were meant to be experienced live. Click past the break for the full report.

(Please note: Due to my lack of a working camera, the header image came from Katy Beaulieu’s cell phone, hence the low quality. [That's a comment on cell phone cameras, not Katy's abilities as a photographer.] In case you can’t tell, that’s Trace on the left and me on the right. I look awful, but I photoshopped in a close approximation of how I felt at the time.)

Another monotonous post, plus MST3K XV reminder

The announcement of my return may have been a little premature. Anyway, I’m going to try to keep up with things as much as I can. Which is probably not very much, but I’ll at least finally fire off that Cinematic Titanic Live report from last month. I may try to focus less on news and more on reviews and articles, now. As you probably know, Satellite News is always your best bet for the latest in MST3K-related news.

Also, just a quick reminder that the absolutely fantastic new MST3K DVD set, Volume XV, was released recently. It contains three of the series’ most amazing episodes (The Girl in Lover’s Lane, Zombie Nightmare, and Racket Girls — plus season one’s weak The Robot vs. The Aztec Mummy) as well as some good extras. If you’d be kind enough to pick it up via this link, my (almost literally) penniless self would appreciate it. Thanks.

Like video games? Like MST3K? You might like this

Gaming Today recently highlighted a video series from the excellent video gaming site The Escapist called Unskippable. In it, two guys watch video game trailers and cut-scenes and attempt to provide witty commentary over it. It’s essentially Rifftrax Presents for the gamer crowd. And judging from the few episodes I watched, it has the same hit-or-miss ratio as a Mike-, Bill-, or Kevin-less Rifftrax Presents episode.

Of course, that isn’t to say it’s bad. It’s just not amazing. The clip I embedded above has them taking on a trio of trailers. The first and third are actually pretty funny and reasonably smart. Definitely worth checking out, if your hunger for riffs is insatiable.

Rifftrax DVDs hit Amazon

Those aforementioned ten Rifftrax DVDs have been up for sale on Amazon. They’re quite affordable, at just under $10. If you feel like picking them up, please do so via this link. It would help feed the children — or more specifically, me — and I would appreciate it muchly. (Sorry for the short post. It’s hot and my back hurts and stuff.)

Oh hi, Deep Ape — I’m back!

Did I ever tell you guys (that is, if anyone is still reading) that I was going to be Internetless for a while? Well, I was, and now I’m back! Try not to get too excited! I managed to make it out to a Cinematic Titanic live show in Philly, so you can expect a recap over the next couple of days. I’m in the process of moving, so bear with me, but I hope to return to normal operations soon.

In the meantime, the guys from Rifftrax recently released a commentary for The Room, a movie that I (somehow) didn’t even know existed. It looks glorious, as you can see in the above preview clip. Enjoy!

New Rifftrax DVDs exist, by the way

While I’ve been off doing science and magic, the folks at Rifftrax have been wading deeper into the DVD pool, bringing their total number of Rifftrax-on-a-disc to nine — and soon to be ten. These are pretty self-explanatory, effectively playing out like The Film Crew DVDs, with Mike, Bill, and Kevin’s commentary already synced up with the video. Yeah, you know the drill. Here’s the full list:

• Carnival of Souls
• House on Haunted Hill
• Little Shop of Horrors
• Missile to the Moon (not the Fred Willard commentary)
• Night of the Living Dead
• Plan 9 from Outer Space
• Reefer Madness
• Rifftrax Shorts: The Best of, Vol. 1
• Swing Parade

All of the DVDs feature the newer commentaries with Bill and Kevin joining in, not Mike’s older, solo commentaries. And if you’re afraid of giving the Internet your money, these DVDs will be available at brick-and-mortar retailers on June 16th. Furthermore, there will also be a second volume of shorts coming soon, though they’re “not exactly sure when.” Here’s the tracklist, as it stands now:

• One Got Fat
• Lunchroom Manners
• Each Child is Different
• Why Doesn’t Cathy Eat Breakfast/Petaluma Chicken
• Act Your Age
• Harm Hides at Home
• Coffeehouse Rendezvous
• Are You Popular?
• Good Health Practices

Of course, those shorts can also be found in digital form here, if you want to pick-and-choose and save a few bucks. (No word on whether or not Vol. 2 will have any exclusive content.) But still! DVDs! For your DVD player of choice! Buy!

New Cinematic Titanic shows added to tour

The Cinematic Titanic crew has announced an additional five stops on their 2009 live tour. They’ll be doing their usual routine, this time with the as-yet-unreleased films East Meets Watts and Danger on Tiki Island (confirmed for, at least, the first two shows). Here are the dates:

• May 15-16 in Atlanta, Georgia, at The Woodruff Arts Center.
• May 22-23 in Phoenix, Arizona, at The Piper Theater at the Mesa Arts Center.
• May 29-30 in Portland, Oregon, at The Newmark Theater, inside Antoinette Hatfield Hall at the Portland Center for the Performing Arts.
• June 5-6 in Dallas, Texas, at The Lakewood Theatre.
• June 12-13 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at The Trocadero.

If any of those dates tickle your fancy, check out Satellite News’ post for ordering/pre-ordering information. The first two dates are already up for order and pre-order, respectively. I would also like to note that I live within 40 minutes of Philly, and June 13th is my birthday. Cue me hyperventilating and trying to figure out how to make this happen. Argh! Curse my lack of both funds and transportation!

Deep Ape review: Legacy of Blood

Every once in a while, a movie like Manos or The Incredibly Strange Creatures comes along, and it’s just so repulsive and completely unappealing that it leaves a thick, black layer of sin and shame on your soul that can take days, maybe even years, to shake off. Yet, even amidst all that sheer celluloid evil, you’ll still often find a Torgo or a Madison to brighten your spirits and remind you that every dark raincloud filled with urine has a silver lining.

Still, what happens when there isn’t a silver lining? When no matter how deeply and desperately you claw and scrape at the filth and grime, you just can’t find any redemptive quality, any soul worth saving? What happens when there is no sweet, smiling Torgo in that dark, dark sky? Well, you get Legacy of Blood. Click ahead to read my long-delayed (sorry!) review of Cinematic Titanic’s fourth DVD release.