Cinematic Titanic visits MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann

I kind of missed the boat on this one (BIG SURPRISE!) but Trace, Joel, and Josh appeared on MSNBC last week, on long-time MSTie Keith Olbermann’s show. You can see it above and, yes, it’s about as charmingly Midwest-Awkward as you might expect. With exposure like this, I expect to see not just a ton more live shows, but I wouldn’t be surprised to hear of them heading into the studio sometime this year.

Not that I want to start a stupid Rifftrax vs. Cinematic Titanic discussion, but has Rifftrax ever received this level of promotion? Or is this the most mainstream exposure a Brains project has gotten since MST3K?

Free Lou Ferrigno/Bill Bixby Rifftrax for everyone!

In case you missed it, Rifftrax has continued its dabbling in the field of combining Rifftrax with video and passing the savings on to you. They’ve now partnered with Overcast Media for a test-run of a new (old) style of riffing, taking free-and-legal video from Hulu.com, and using Overcast to automatically sync in the Rifftrax commentary.

Their first attempt can be found here, a riffing of an episode of the classic Incredible Hulk TV series, starring Lou Ferrigno and Bill Bixby. And best of all, the cost is absolutely free. In all honesty, I wasn’t that enthused by the riffing, but if this means more free riffs, then I’m all for it. (Word of caution, though: The Hulu servers are getting smashed, so the video may not work is temporarily down. Also, there may be syncing problems. If so, check the forums for assistance.)

The KTMA pilot exists — and here it is!

You might have heard that the Cinematic Titanic cast was on-hand for the recent 32nd Archon convention in St. Louis. And you know, that’s just wonderful. Always good to see ’em. But the real news to come out of the convention? The original, never-before-seen KTMA pilot for Mystery Science Theater was shown in its entirety at the panel, with an introduction and some commentary by the Cinematics.

Someone was smart enough to video-tape the event, and the Digital Archive Project was kind enough to get a digital copy out to the interwebs. You can torrent it through this locale (registration required).  I also uploaded the 18-minute video to Google Video, and you can watch it above. The quality isn’t perfect, but it’s a lot better than what we had a month ago — which was nothing.

Watching it, you can easily see why the cast and crew never wanted anyone to watch these early episodes, once they got their riff-groove. Really, the pilot is just a proof-of-concept video, with almost nothing in the way of riffing. Still, the skits (which we’ve seen in clips before) are charming, and the event is definitely a huge moment in MST history. This also means that Jim Mallon must be softening up…

(Thanks to P. Keller, who finally got me off my ass to post this.)

“Whatever, Martha!” is predictably terrible

Also, the sky is still blue.

A while back, the MSTiverse was abuzz about the MST-inspired series concocted by Martha Stewart, in which her daughter and one of her underlings’ daughter poked fun at old footage of her TV series. Sounds like comedy gold, right? Right? No? Okay.

Anyway, I just read Satellite News’ uncharacteristically biting review of the series, so I decided to look for footage of the recently-debuted show. I came across the above video, which doesn’t even manage to inspire a smile, until perhaps the last line of the clip. Am I surprised? No, not really. If anything, I’m just a little ashamed that MST3K has to be even marginally associated with this.

This is not MST3K. This is Lifestyles of the Shrill and Catty.

Martha Stewart drinks MST3K’s milkshake

The intertubes are all abuzz about Whatever, Martha!, so you’ve probably heard about this already.  Apparently, Martha Stewart has given the thumbs-up to this show, which will involve two women — Alexis Stewart (Martha’s daughter) and Jennifer Koppelman Hutt (daughter of the chairman of Martha’s empire, and no relation to Jabba The) — poking fun at clips of Martha’s 1990s TV show. Sound familiar?

Evidently, Martha herself came up with the concept, after watching some late-night reruns of Mystery Science Theater. So, either this idea has been stewing in Martha’s well-kept brain for almost ten years, or she has created her own private TV network that still shows MST3K episodes. The latter would be less surprising.

Whatever, Martha! debuts on September 16th, and will air on the Fine Living network, which apparently exists. Frankly, I hold no hope for it. Sure, Martha’s ripe for riffing, but when the riffers are her daughter and her top employee’s daughter? Despite Fine Living’s claims of the commentary being “candid and often acerbic,” I’m voting guilty until proven innocent.

SDCC: Comic-Con Rocks, But You Knew That Already

To those who were unable to attend Comic-Con 2008 this year (Hugh included), I have been asked to report the goings-on to your eagerly awaiting computer screens.

By now, you all know that the DVDs for the 20th Anniversary Box Set are Laserblast, Werewolf, Future War, and First Spaceship on Venus, but did you know that Dr. Forrester has a third lightening bolt streak…in his pants? Yeah, I didn’t think so. Kudos to Trace for sharing that deeply intimate detail! Unfortunately, it made Mike and Kevin try to rip out their own eyeballs.

Anyway, the 20th Anniversary panel was a roaring success, and everyone on the panel seemed to be having a great time. No tension at all, just fun. At the beginning, the lights were dimmed and we were treated to our favorite opening theme song, mishmashed so that all the eras were blended into a single song. Joel’s voice flowed into Mike’s and each of the Bots were given a double Robot Roll Call to cover the cast changes for each one. (Click for more, after the cut.)

Crow T. Cylon will frak you up

Ladies and gentlemen, I want to share with you one of the most incredible things I have ever seen, as a Mystery Science Theater fan. The Sci-Fi Channel’s DVICE tech website and Make Magazine are hosting a “Make a Cylon” contest. In case you can’t figure it out from the post’s title, one particular entry had a bit of an MST3K theme to it.

As you can see above, someone took the standard Crow T. Robot model and slapped some Cylon mods on it — and quite professionally, I might add. With a working scanner-eye-thingy, cannon-arms, and a fresh coat of silver paint, it’s the Crow T. Robot that Crow T. Robot always wanted to be. Seriously, if I was ridiculously wealthy, I would stop at nothing to own this. Another video is after the cut.

No word on whether or not he’s written an “Ode To Six” yet, though.

Rifftrax Riffs On Politics, Hilarity (and Hillary) Ensues

A year-or-so ago, Mike Nelson did some humorous voiceovers overtop of some California political ads. Fortunately, he’s finally taken the opportunity to do a repeat performance, this time for the current crop of Presidential candidates. You can find the ads embedded in Mike’s post, and I’ve embedded my favorite above. They’re all surprisingly solid, though. After the break, I’ve also embedded one clip that seems to be missing from the latest edit(?) of Mike’s blog.

I’d like to make a special request, however: Could we please kill that big, booming voice at the end of every clip? It’s really, really annoying, not to mention tacky as all get-out. Pretty please? For ol’ Hugh?

Bonnie ‘Hammerzeit’ Hammer Leaves Sci-Fi

Bonnie Hammer, long-time head of The Sci-Fi Channel and the woman who cancelled such shows as Farscape, Stargate SG-1, and — oh, what’s it called? That puppet show in space, with the guy? You know the one. Anyway, she has left her position as the network’s chief. Despite dragging the network down into a disgusting, rippling orgy of pro wrestling, paranormal reality shows, and atrocious b-movies starring actors who once appeared on Stargate, she has helped the network rise to a “No. 6 channel” — apparently, at the cost of actual, good science fiction.

In closing, I would like to quote the last lines of her Wikipedia entry:

Hammer is a published author and an accomplished photographer. Many fans of the sci-fi network wish she would quit that job and concentrate on her accomplished photography.

Your time has come, fans. Your time has come.

Next Rifftrax: Star Wars Holiday Spec- THE HELL?!

In a move that is equal parts benevolent and malevolent, the folks at Rifftrax are finally giving fans a Rifftrax that they’ve long been asking for – and one that will surely scar them irreparably. 1978’s Star Wars Holiday Special will be the next Rifftrax, just in time for the Christmas season. It releases on December 10th (the same day as a certain other project) and will feature our usual trio of riffers.

Now, if you know anything about this disgusting piece of sci-fi history, you know that it is not currently available on DVD. Despite the fact that George Lucas is the man who made the Star Wars prequels happen and he, thus, has no shame, he refuses to let this special see the light of day. So that makes one smart decision, for George. Mike, Bill, and Kevin apparently used the only widely available copy of the special – the one on Google Video. Seeing as though that idea is fraught with disasterous potential, you might want to go download it off of Google’s page ASAP (it’s easy; you’ll only need Quicktime to play it), lest it be removed by LucasFilm’s attack monkeys.

In case you’re unfamiliar with the Holiday Special, it was made the year after the first Star Wars’ release, likely to cash in on the film’s popularity. The two-hour special features numerous guest stars, including a frightening-looking Mark Hamill, a Harrison Ford-looking Harrison Ford, and Carrie Fisher looking hot as usual. There’s also Bea Arthur and Art Carney, but they just make me scared and sad, respectively. I won’t tell you anything else about it, because that would require that I remember it.

Next Rifftrax: Heroes

After a bit of a break, Mike Nelson’s ready to fire up those cylinders again, or some such car metaphor. His next track will be just that, his and his alone. He’ll be waxing sarcastic on the first two episodes of NBC’s Heroes. If you’re not familiar with Heroes – well, then, you’d be a sane human being. But if you like invincible cheerleaders sticking their hands down garbage disposals and having their chests cut open, then you’re sure to enjoy it. That Hayden Panettiere, such a cutie, even when disemboweled. The horrific, gender-bending poster is behind the cut, where it belongs. The commentary hits the interpipes on September 4th.

Next Rifftrax: Grey’s Anatomy

Looks like Rifftrax is taking another shot at television’s big guns. This time, Mike will take on the first two episodes of medical drama Grey’s Anatomy. (A series whose sexy cast apparently likes to stand in fields of wheat.) That’s not all, though.

As with his other foray into the realm of TV riffing, Mike will be bringing along another former Brain to lighten the load. Only, this time, the Brain is considerably softer on the eyes than Mr. Kevin Murphy – Mike’s wife, Bridget Jones-Nelson, will be riffing Grey’s alongside him.

The track is out on June 11th.

If you’re wondering why there’s no cover art here, there was actually a bit of controversy involved with it. Apparently, an (unbeknownst to the Riffstaff) unapproved photoshop depicting Bridget giving Mike a rectal exam was posted in the track’s announcement thread. Once the mistake was found, the image was removed. Oops. Unfortunately(?), I missed seeing it. I’ll update this post with the new artwork, once it’s made available.

UPDATE: The new poster is up, after the cut. So, apparently it’s okay when Disembaudio gives Mike a rectal exam, but not when Bridget does it. What kind of lifestyle is Mike living, here?

The Eegahffice

On last night’s The Office, apparently there was a little somethin’-somethin’ that, in all likelihood, was a reference to our dear old MST3K. Can you find Waldo? Give it a look:

In case the video gets torn down by the NBC/YouTube gremlins, I’ll spell it out for you: While getting off the bus at the beach, Steve Carell‘s Michael Scott randomly advises his employees to, “Watch out for snakes!” a la Eegah. The manner in which it’s done, and the fact that Carell’s character in The 40-Year-Old Virgin had an MST3K: The Movie poster, and the fact that another Office cast member mentioned MST3K in a DVD commentary… well, my money is on its being intentional.

Next Rifftrax: Lost (Pilot Episode)

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a Mike Nelson/Rifftrax first. (Amirite?) The riffmeister and Kevin Murphy will be sinking their teeth into the two-hour pilot episode of ABC’s Lost, right before yanking said teeth out of their mouths, sans painkillers. (Okay, yes, that was Cast Away, but still… shut up.) Typically, new Rifftrax are released the Friday following the announcement, so that will probably be the case here, too. So, keep an eye on the main page, in about a week.

Okay, so, I know what most of you are probably thinking. “How the heck am I supposed to watch this Rifftrax? Do I have to buy the whole friggin’ season of Lost?” The answer, my friend, is blow it out your- Just kidding! Um, don’t hit. The answer is iTunes. If you have iTunes installed, just click on this link and you’ll be able to purchase both parts of the pilot episode for just under $4 total. This might be one of the cheapest Rifftrax deals you’ll ever encounter.

Enjoy!

[via the Rifftrax forums]

The Revenge of Orville Popcorn

Looks like Godzilla vs. Megalon‘s semi-almost- kind-of-controversial “Orville Popcorn” sketch might not be too far off the mark after all.

Last month (I’m playing catch-up, okay?), Orville Redenbacher was brought back from the dead via that great necromancer of the modern age, CGI. The 30-second commercial used a real-live stand-in for the body, but fabricated the late Orville’s head via the creepiness of computers. [video] How long will it be before Orville’s popcorn empire regains its prominence? How long until the coming popping-corn overlord seeks vengeance on those who’ve wronged him? And what the heck did happen to his son?

Incidentally, you don’t by any chance suppose that it was this very skit that crippled Rhino’s Volume 10 set, do you? It’s out-there, but nothing would surprise me, at this point.