MST3K (210)
210 - King Dinosaur (w/ X Marks the Spot) - I waited in eager anticipation almost the whole episode for the titular King Dinosaur. Is he going to be like a Godzilla thing? Maybe we'll get to see the lost stop-motion dinosaur action from Lost Continent? Nope, it's an iguana. Geez, what a rip. Worse, I ended up feeling sorry for the lizard. The filmmakers make the critter do battle with another lizard and a baby alligator. The gator even death-rolls with the poor iguana's leg in its mouth. The magic of editing ensures that our "King" wins, but it didn't look good for the pet store reject.
The alien planet is pretty much just some woods and all of the animals from the Toledo Zoo let loose. This seems goofy on its face. It's an alien planet, but the filmmakers were so financially and creatively bankrupt that all of the alien creatures are identical to earth animals, just with a few size variations. I like it, anyway. It's not so much that it's an alien planet, but that it's unexplored territory. There's barely an inch on this planet that isn't owned by someone somewhere. To suddenly find another entire planet full of untouched, but earth-like wilderness would be something special and exciting.
Of course, this is a Lippert movie we're talking about and that beautiful, unspoiled nature is soon consumed in a fireball of atomic hell. Lippert's significantly upped the stakes since Jungle Goddess (is this BIG's influence?). Back then, it was "shoot anything you don't understand." Now it's "nuke it and ask questions later." Man, I can't believe they nuked an island full of unique species. This is sort like a jungle explorer getting stung by a bee and setting fire to the whole forest.
Finally, a real short! And it's educational, too. If you drive like an asshole, you'll die at an intersection that lacks stop signs, but is clearly marked with a large, white death X. That seems fair.
Boy, Joel is a goofball in this episode. In the lemur host segment, he bounces his lemur puppet all over the place with silly glee. At one point, he makes the lemur hump the back of Servo's head. In the final host segment, he runs around the set pretending to play a bad prop version of a Theremin. I like utter goofball Joel. I hope he returns.
We're really running out of invention ideas this season. A squished Dr. F. and stinky socks aren't really inventions. I did dig the sly reference to Joel's now-missing goatee with the fake beards on the bots.
A couple of riffs didn't make me laugh, but got my attention. Nora: "You conservative doctors." Joel: "Hey, we're neoconservative doctors." Sixteen years later and the joke is timely. Crow, after a shot of an owl: "The owl footage is not what it seems." Neat, a reference to the other best TV show ever. (8/10)
film d. Bert I. Gordon (1955)
short d. Warren Murray (1944)
mst d. Jim Mallon (22 Dec 1990)
