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So... my favorite TV show is about a man trapped in space, forced to watch bad movies as part of an ongoing experiment. (I wonder if this means that the viewers at home comprise the control group.) For the longest time, fans were told to "Keep circulating the tapes" and so they did.
And then the show became available on proper home video. VHS first, and eventually DVD. In box sets, even, alongside some individual episodes...
I think I was reluctant at first to pick up any MST3K box sets mainly because of price (I was between jobs when Rhino first started popping them out), but also, I dunno (and I’ve mentioned it before), the episodes were being made available in a “it just feels right” kind of order as opposed to order of broadcast. The ratio was usually 2 Joel episodes, 2 Mike episodes. Though sometimes it was one Joel episode, three Mike episodes. And at least one set was all Mike episodes. (But at least one set was all Joel episodes.)
Also, a few of those first box sets featured the more recent episodes from the show’s SciFi Channel years, as opposed to the Comedy Central episodes. (This is where releasing episodes in order of broadcast might have been a boon, because the early SciFi episodes, one may remember, had that story arc wherein Mike and the Bots visit alien planets and inadvertently destroy them.)
I forget when exactly I finally succumbed and got my first MST3K box set, but I remember I got it at Best Buy, and it was, maybe not surprisingly, the Gamera box set. Subsequent purchases were from Barnes and Noble (in store and online), Amazon, at least once from Alibris, a couple via my credit card when I had enough points, and, most recently, ebay (winning bids, though I would have preferred to buy on the spot. At least it wasn’t too pricey).
Maybe not surprisingly, the sets Rhino produced (except maybe Vols. 11 and 12) go for a lot wherever you look. Vols. 8 and 10 seem especially in demand. Vol. 8 because of… I don’t know, Hobgoblins? And 10 because it originally included Godzilla vs. Megalon. Well, it was one of the two Godzilla movies that were, for a time, public domain (the other being Godzilla Raids Again which is also known as Gigantis, the Fire Monster). But besides his vast strength and radioactive breath, Godzilla also has an immense team of copyright lawyers, so long story short, as TV’s Frank put it, “Toho said No-ho when I thought they meant yes!” A subsequent reissue, Vol. 10.2, swapped Godzilla out for The Giant Gila Monster.
For whatever reason… I prefer Rhino’s packaging. Different graphics on the discs and everything…
My collection of MST3K episodes is as complete as I think it can be. Shout!Factory were able to reissue some of the sets from Rhino. Due to circumstances, a few episodes are not available. I have all but one of the "lost episodes" taped off the TV (one episode I knew I had on tape seems to have gone missing) and am wondering about how to transfer them to disc. Not a total completist, because I think I would go as far as to seek out the pre-Comedy Central episodes of MST3K... but no.
And after some browsing on ebay, I succumbed to temptation and one of the Holy Grails of my favorite TV show arrived today...
And then the show became available on proper home video. VHS first, and eventually DVD. In box sets, even, alongside some individual episodes...
I think I was reluctant at first to pick up any MST3K box sets mainly because of price (I was between jobs when Rhino first started popping them out), but also, I dunno (and I’ve mentioned it before), the episodes were being made available in a “it just feels right” kind of order as opposed to order of broadcast. The ratio was usually 2 Joel episodes, 2 Mike episodes. Though sometimes it was one Joel episode, three Mike episodes. And at least one set was all Mike episodes. (But at least one set was all Joel episodes.)
Also, a few of those first box sets featured the more recent episodes from the show’s SciFi Channel years, as opposed to the Comedy Central episodes. (This is where releasing episodes in order of broadcast might have been a boon, because the early SciFi episodes, one may remember, had that story arc wherein Mike and the Bots visit alien planets and inadvertently destroy them.)
I forget when exactly I finally succumbed and got my first MST3K box set, but I remember I got it at Best Buy, and it was, maybe not surprisingly, the Gamera box set. Subsequent purchases were from Barnes and Noble (in store and online), Amazon, at least once from Alibris, a couple via my credit card when I had enough points, and, most recently, ebay (winning bids, though I would have preferred to buy on the spot. At least it wasn’t too pricey).
Maybe not surprisingly, the sets Rhino produced (except maybe Vols. 11 and 12) go for a lot wherever you look. Vols. 8 and 10 seem especially in demand. Vol. 8 because of… I don’t know, Hobgoblins? And 10 because it originally included Godzilla vs. Megalon. Well, it was one of the two Godzilla movies that were, for a time, public domain (the other being Godzilla Raids Again which is also known as Gigantis, the Fire Monster). But besides his vast strength and radioactive breath, Godzilla also has an immense team of copyright lawyers, so long story short, as TV’s Frank put it, “Toho said No-ho when I thought they meant yes!” A subsequent reissue, Vol. 10.2, swapped Godzilla out for The Giant Gila Monster.
For whatever reason… I prefer Rhino’s packaging. Different graphics on the discs and everything…
My collection of MST3K episodes is as complete as I think it can be. Shout!Factory were able to reissue some of the sets from Rhino. Due to circumstances, a few episodes are not available. I have all but one of the "lost episodes" taped off the TV (one episode I knew I had on tape seems to have gone missing) and am wondering about how to transfer them to disc. Not a total completist, because I think I would go as far as to seek out the pre-Comedy Central episodes of MST3K... but no.
And after some browsing on ebay, I succumbed to temptation and one of the Holy Grails of my favorite TV show arrived today...
