Mystery Science Theater The Return (Season 11)

[javakoala]

THE CHRISTMAS THAT ALMOST WASN'T: Santa Claus hires a pro-bono lawyer because his kid-hating landlord is threatening to evict him from his North Pole workshop before he can make all the toys, thereby making Christmas almost not. Not a fun movie or a good episode, which is made even more unfortunate by the fact that it's going to be compared against the two classic Christmas MST3K episodes. Riffing is OK but a bit labored: they had a running "adult baby" joke about the barrister but it seemed completely arbitrary. One of the bottom three episodes of the season, with only one left to go.

Agreed.

I think I almost would have had more fun watching this movie without them. They pile the riffs on top of each other and hope something sticks. On a movie this bad, you pretty much need a unified effort to create riffs that build on each other, not fire off like a shotgun and hope for the best.

Damn kids!!

[Rev. Powell]

AT THE EARTH'S CORE: Doug McClure and Peter Cushing ride their Iron Mole to the earth's core, where they find prehistoric monsters, humanoid slavers, and primitive English-speaking tribes. The movie is OK, colorful and almost psychedelic with its underground fungi forests, although it makes little sense. McClure is an uninspiring action hero, poor aging Cushing is silly as comic relief, and Caroline Munro shows up as eye candy. What makes this episode memorable are the host segments, particularly the wild cliffhanger wedding finale with unexpected guests. In fact, although not the best riffing or movie, I think the ending makes this my favorite episode of the season. Having finally seen them all I'd rank them:

1114 AT THE EARTH'S CORE
1112 CARNIVAL MAGIC
1106 STARCRASH
1102 CRY WILDERNESS
1101 REPTILICUS
1108 THE LOVES OF HERCULES
1111 WIZARDS OF THE LOST KINGDOM 2
1110 WIZARDS OF THE LOST KINGDOM
1104 AVALANCHE
1103 TIME TRAVELERS
1109 YONGARY
1113 THE CHRISTMAS THAT ALMOST WASN'T
1107 THE LAND THE TIME FORGOT
1105 THE BEAST OF HOLLOW MOUNTAIN

I have a feeling that AVALANCHE and CRY WILDERNESS are going to improve on a second viewing.

Season 11 was good enough that I want Season 12, which means it was a success for me, even though the best episodes were only average for the series' run and the worst were among some of the worst ever. I suspect they will be renewed and will come back stronger. This new crew did better than the Season 1 crew and about on par with the first half of Season 8.

[Sitting Duck]

I too have finished the new season and have ranked them in order of preference. Mine is somewhat different from yours, though.

Starcrash
Wizards of the Lost Kingdom 2
Wizards of the Lost Kingdom 1
At the Earth's Core
The Land That Time Forgot
The Time Travellers
The Beast of Hollow Mountain
The Loves of Hercules
Reptilicus
The Christmas That Almost Wasn't
Avalanche
Yongary
Cry Wilderness
Carnival Magic

My comparatively high ranking for Beast of Hollow Mountain is partially due to how I have a soft spot in my heart for weird Westerns. Even if it's plainly a conventional Western with the weird element sloppily tacked on to the end. As for my ranking Carnival Magic dead last, I find it had too much in common with my least favorite genre of film seen on MST3K, Sordid Crime. Now I don't hate all Sordid Crime episodes (the earnestness of I Accuse My Parents and the Seventies camp of Mitchell make them more palatable). But by and large, I find such films to be about greasy, loathsome people being greasy and loathsome. Mark Hamill as a singing interstellar carnie was a hoot, though.