Classic MST3K Episodes Return to Netflix

We are just about a month away from the arrival of the new episodes of Mystery Science Theater 3000 (I still can't believe I get to say those words!), but today, Netflix has started streaming twenty classic episodes of the beloved show.

These include some of my personal favorite episodes, and is only missing a couple of what I would consider essential episodes.  Overall though, I can't complain about the selection.  I can't really complain about almost forty hours of MST3K.

You can check out the complete list below, and don't miss the new episodes coming to Netflix April 14!

Must-have RiffTrax Releases of 2016

One of the weirdest and saddest years is almost at an end.  A good way to celebrate the death of 2016 is with copious amounts of booze.  An even better way is to watch a bunch of terrible movies get the RiffTrax treatment they deserve!

Let's take a look at some of the standout releases from RiffTrax from this past year so you can enjoy the death throes of 2016.

Bottom Shelf Mixology Rejects: Bad Movies, Worse Drinks Pt. 2

Welcome to Bottom Shelf Mixology™!  Our staff of Mixologists have racked their brains (and livers) to come up with special "bottom shelf" versions of popular drinks, and some original creations that range from "oh, that might be interesting" to "that sounds absolutely disgusting".  

Last month, I got the bright idea to start making terrible drink recipes based on terrible movie that have had the RiffTrax and MST3K treatment.

I've chosen three more movies to theme drinks around, and I have a few more reader submitted drinks from Twitter.

RiffTrax Live 2016 Season Kickstarter Announced

Today is the day that us RiffTrax fans have been anticipating: The RiffTrax Live 2016 Season Kickstarter campaign has been announced!  This is going to be a big one, folks!

This year marks the tenth anniversary of RiffTrax, and to celebrate, they are going to have a very special live show in June (no, not like those very special episodes of Blossom or Saved By The Bell).  This is going to be a special MST3K Reunion show!

Bottom Shelf Mixology Rejects: Bad Movies, Worse Drinks Pt. 1

Welcome to Bottom Shelf Mixology™!  Our staff of Mixologists have racked their brains (and livers) to come up with special "bottom shelf" versions of popular drinks, and some original creations that range from "oh, that might be interesting" to "that sounds absolutely disgusting".  

Lately, I have been watching gobs of RiffTrax and Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes.  I started thinking about the potential of making some BSM recipes themed around some of these movies and shorts that I have been watching.  Then I realized that these films didn't deserve drinkable recipes.  These films are rejects, and deserve drinks that are down on their level.

Welcome to part one of Bad Movies, Worse Drinks.

Five Mike Hosted MST3K Episodes RiffTrax Should Release

Recently, RiffTrax started MST3K Mondays, where they have been releasing episodes of Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes that you can purchase on the site.  This is definitely something that has been a long time coming, and quite frankly, something that a lot of people never thought would happen.

This whole thing got me thinking about which episodes from Joel and Mike I would most like to see released.  Two days ago, I gave you five of my favorite Joel episodes.  As soon as I finished writing that, I started working on my list of Mike episodes.  This list was even harder for me to make, because as I discovered, I really like a lot of Mike episodes.

I finally got it sorted out, and here is my wishlist of five Mike episodes.

Five Joel Hosted MST3K Episodes RiffTrax Should Release

Last Monday, RiffTrax started releasing full episodes of Mystery Science Theater 3000.  They also dubbed it MST3K Mondays, and announced that this would be a regular thing.

Edit: I had started this yesterday, but I was babysitting a sick toddler, so I didn't get to finish it until today.  One of the movies on this list was actually released yesterday.

That got me thinking about which episodes I would most like to be able to purchase.  This was an exhausting undertaking!  There are so many great episodes that were hosted by Joel and Mike.  I almost didn't think I would be able to narrow them down to five, but I was able to persevere.

Here is my wishlist for five Joel Hosted episodes that RiffTrax needs to release.

3 RiffTrax B-Movies to Watch Instead of the Oscars

This Sunday night may be the 87th Academy Awards, but who wants to sit around for hours and watch a bunch of celebrities congratulate themselves and try way too hard to be funny?  Wouldn't you rather watch them act in terrible movies while listening to jokes that are actually funny?

I have three RiffTrax B-movies for you to purchase and then watch this Sunday evening in place of watching the Oscars.  All three of them star actors who were nominated for Academy Awards, and one who actually won the coveted Oscar.   Of course, those nominations (and win) have nothing to do with these particular films.  

Coming to Town December 4 - RiffTrax Live: Santa Claus

Thanks to an early listing by a theater chain (and confirmed to me by RiffTrax), this year's Christmas RiffTrax Live show has been revealed!

This year, the guys will be bringing us Santa Claus. This is the 1959 Mexican production of the movie, and that makes me unreasonably excited!  They riffed this movie back on the MST3K days, and it is one of my favorite episodes.

It was also the movie I wanted them to do the most for this year's live Christmas show.

As soon as tickets for this one go on sale (which is likely to be October 30, when the Anaconda Live show comes out), you should buy them.   This one is guaranteed to be great!

My Top Ten RiffTrax VoD Releases

As regular readers of this site know, I am an avid fan of RiffTrax.  In fact, I enjoy watching RiffTrax videos almost more than watching anything on TV.

This time of year is great for us RiffTrax fans, because we are right in the middle of the RiffTrax Live season.  The live riff of Sharknado was outstanding, and I am really anticipating upcoming Godzilla '98, Anaconda, and unannounced Christmas Riff (rumored to be Santa & The Ice Cream Bunny).  Couple that with the barrage of VoDs and Shorts that RiffTrax has been releasing, and you have before you a happy man (with a sad wallet).

Because of this near euphoric state I find myself in, and with some of the recent VoDs that have been absolutely bonkers, I decided it was time to make an updated list of my top favorite VoD releases.

Now, I have done some lists before of RiffTrax VoD essentials, but those have all been movies that I think every RiffTrax fan should see.  They were not necessarily in my top ten.

Next RiffTrax Live Announced: Sharknado

RiffTrax has gone and announced the first Live riff of 2014, and it is Sharknado!  The movie from The Asylum that should have been an amazing C movie schlock fest, but turned out to just be terrible, is now going to be amazing thanks to Kevin, Mike, Bill, and the rest of the writers at RiffTrax.

The show will be broadcast live on July 10, and it looks like a repeat broadcast will be happening on July 15.  Tickets will go on sale on Friday, May 2.  Make sure to buy them right away, because this one will most likely sell out.  And if you want a reminder from Fathom Events, you can text RIFFNADO to FATHOM (328466).

Also: RIFFNADO is one of the greatest words ever.

Manos: The Gifs of Fate

Never has the process of making gifs from a movie been so difficult.  Trying to watch through the non-riffed version of this movie was physically painful.  It gave me a headache that I am still feeling the effects of the following morning.  And no, it isn't a hangover, I made the mistake of doing this sober.  Never again.

HMM '13 Special: RiffTrax Live Night of the Living Dead

It's October! The doorway to not only the start of the greatest food season (early October to Christmas), but also to sexy nurses, zombies, and grown men dressing up like ponies. That also means it is time once again for Halloween Movie Madness! This year, I'll be taking a look back at the movies of my youth. Every movie this year was released before I turned eighteen. These are the Halloween movies that shaped me into the man I am today. Some of them are scary. Some are funny. Some are fantastical. Some are just weird. And not all of them are good. But to me, they are all Halloween movies. Now, stand back, for your own safety! 

Night of the Living Dead
1968

This was the zombie movie that started it all.  With this movie, George Romero set the rules in place about what a zombie should be: slow, shambling creatures who want nothing more to feast on your flesh.

Last night, I had the pleasure of watching this movie being torn apart by the crew from RiffTrax.  For those of you who are not familiar with RiffTrax, what the hell man?  RiffTrax is what three of the guys from MST3K(and if you don't know what that is, there might not be hope for you) are doing now.  Mike, Kevin, and Bill do a mixture of newer blockbuster movies(Twilight, Harry Potter, The Avengers, etc.), old feature length films (like they did on MST3K), and the most amazing shorts I have ever seen.  A handful of times throughout the year, they do special live broadcasts of movie riffing.  A few months ago, they did Starship Troopers, and on December 5 they will be doing a live riff of Santa Claus Conquers the Martians.

Son of Must-Have RiffTrax Shorts

The library of RiffTrax Shorts is a vast and confusing place.  It is one where you can hear the call of drugs, choking, and turkeys.  It can be hard to figure out why to spend your hard earned dollar (or two) on.  Don't worry though, because I am here to make it all okay.  And to help you make up your mind by showing you five more of the best of the best RiffTrax Shorts.

Five More Must-Have RiffTrax Shorts

When I made my first list of must-have RiffTrax shorts, I realized that I was have a very difficult time narrowing the list down to just five.  In fact, I ended up with over twenty.  I decided that I would just need to make more lists.  So, here are five more must-have RiffTrax Shorts.

Five Must-Have RiffTrax Shorts

One Saturday, while visiting my Grandma, I found this show on Comedy Central where this guy and two robots were making fun of an old black and white movie.  That show was Mystery Science Theater 3000, and I have been a huge fan ever since. After the show was cancelled, all I could do was exchange VHS copies of episodes with people online.  There was a hole in my heart that could only be filled by cheesy movies that were being riffed.  Imagine how happy I was when I discovered RiffTrax!  My life was whole once again.

With RiffTrax, Mike, Bill, and Kevin have been releasing short films, full length B-movies (in the same vein as MST3K), and audio files that are riffs of current movies being released on DVD, like The Avengers and the Twilight movies (some of the best riffs of all time).  Getting started with RiffTrax can be daunting due to the size of their catalog, so I have decided to make a few lists of my favorite riffs to help get you started.

Let's get things started with five must-have RiffTrax Shorts, and may God have mercy on your soul.

CSM '12: Santa Claus

It's December, and almost Christmas! Therefore, I've decided to do a follow up to my surprisingly popular Halloween Movie Madness! Every night through Christmas Eve, I will be watching a different Christmas movie or special and then rambling on about them, sometimes even being coherent!

Santa Claus
(1959)

It's time once again for an insane entry in Christmas Special Mania!  This time, it's Santa Claus, a Mexican movie from 1959.  And just like Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny, it is best when watched with our favorite film riffers mocking it.  This movie was used in Mystery Science Theater 3000, with Mike and the Bots helping us to get through it with the help of laughter.