Fan Vids

     Fanvids often suffer from the same maladies. First, the skits are often, well... really bad. Sketch work is difficult even for those who make it their profession. How many times have you watched an SNL skit and groaned? Second: There are some funny people out there but a lack of timing and delivery can sabotage the best efforts
     Mystery Spatula Theater's work on Corman's "Fantastic Four" is undercut by both: The skits are groaners - The main problem being that they ramble on and on and on and... (My advice, keep the Host segments short and simple). And the riffing is hurt by both poor timing and delivery. A good example of this is found during a scene when the F4 examines the nature of their powers. Sue is shy, so she turns invisible. Johnny's a hot head so he flames on! When they get to the Thing, the Servo-like Petra quips "And Ben, your as dumb as a brick". Cute, I liked that line. But then they follow this up with one 'rock related' bad pun after another. Instead of taking a breath and working with the movie, the riffing becomes a battering ram. It's all too much, with no (laughter) payoff and each quip is delivered in the same shouted manner. After a while it became like an endless droning in my ears.
     In Spatula's favor, they did go in a different direction and wrote out new characters. This is a good idea, and is one that limits unfair comparisions with the masters. They also pack their vid with a lot of bells and whistles (subtitles, commentary track, etc) but I'd could have done with less extras and more laughs.

     Which brings me to the next two titles on my Fanvid journey: While John Sprengel doesn't heed advice on lengthy host segs, his Count Xigeous is so darn funny I can forgive a few miss-steps. Yes, the over-long "Viewer call-in" skit should have been left on the editing room floor, but overall, John is a talented comedic performer and his work on the movie, My Grandpa is a Vampire is golden. This guy has both the timing and the delivery down pat. He gets into the flow of the movie and engages it smartly. There are few throwaway quips here, in fact I think it's the best riffing I've heard on any fanvid.
     The show isn't set in space, but rather in the Counts haunted, er, apartment. He is visited by friends and family, who join in the riffing -the best coming from a guy called Eegah- Though it's Low-Fi (Thus reminiscent of the 'movie host' vibe of the early years. Kind of Joel Hodgson mixed with Doctor Gangrene), The Count's efforts offer up consistent laughs throughout.

     The crew who riffed on Star Trek the Motion Picture get it, and do skits better than anyone. They understood that amateurs need to keep them short and sweet. Their skits don't ramble, they are not embarrassingly corny. They get right to the point and deliver the lines and get back to the theater. It's simply the best way to approach fanvid Host Segments (and the bit which parodies the movie's worm-hole scene is clever and fun).
     Riffwise, they too do not fall into the trap of overwhelming the movie with massive quips. Allow the movie to speak for itself and then react. While not as quick witted as John Sprengel, these guys are right up there with "Mystery Fandom Theater" in terms of consistent quality work. Often laugh out loud amusing - "The ship's powered by a lava lamp" - with many a nod to classic MST3K moments; MST3K Season 11 offers a solid mix of pop culture reference, just like the masters did (For example, Shatners famous role in a Twilight Zone episode is referenced a few times)
     An overall solid effort - Though they over-do the "Fries are up" gag and short sheet the bald jokes (There is a Yul Brynner & Nair joke; but what? No singing of, "Nothing Compares 2 U?". No; "Hey lady, who does your hair, Tor Johnson?" - Sure I'm being unfair, the BBI were in a class by themselves; but you know the SOL crew would have hysterically hammered away at having a bald lady in a flick). I must point out the human host, Lewis Willimason (played by Lewis Lovhaug), is the glue that holds the project together. He has a very personable on screen presence and delivered his lines professionally and often with nuance.


Mystery Fandom Theater 3000

F01 Little Red Riding Hood
     From the makers of "Santa Claus" comes this bit of crapola. A great choice and it fits right into the Mst3k Mythos!
     The look of the video is very professional with top quality sets all the way. The actors are not bad -hey, it's a tough act to follow- Though the host segments are overlong and the comic timing seems off, they shine once they are in the theater.
     The riffing provides many on the mark jabs (The 'Hydrocephalic' line would do the real Mike proud!) but also a few missed opportunities (The village elder looks like a lawn elf, and when Red was singing on rout to Grandmother house (bringing to mind Heidi), I found myself riffing, "We're missing the Jets game for this?!"). Still, a good solid effort that had me wanting more.

F02 Invasion of the Animal People
     The second offering from MFT3K is even better, sharper. The riffing comes at a quick pace, especially on the 2 shorts (the Unleavened Pillows line in the 2nd short is a hoot! In "Drop and Cover" tho, didn't that teacher look like Curly Lambeau? Missed one there :).
     The Feature is narrated by a familiar name to Msties, John Carradine, and the riffing is pretty solid. Also another thing I enjoyed about the tapes was the vintage commercials they added. In episode #1 there is a funny one with Fred and Barney enjoying a smoke!

F03 Starcrash
     Yet another flick which fits right into MST universe. In this Star Wars ripoff, produced by Roger Corman, you get really bad SFX, actors like Marjoe Gortner and David Hasselhoff and plenty of deus ex machina; Stop the flow of time? It's a riffers dream come true!
     As to the MFT actors: Adam Riggs is too placid to play the scenery chewing Forrester and his Crow lacks that "Bite Me" attitude; tho he does come to life in the theater. You can't complain about Mike Hagen (Mike), as he continues to grow more comfortable on screen and his delivery has improved with each episode. Brian Underwood as TVs Frank is a bit stiff on camera, but he's very sharp when he takes on the role of Tom Servo.      Though the actors voices sound similar in tone and inflection and thus, lose the distinct personalities found in the original; the Theater segments remain Fandoms strength. The bit about the laser pointer was hysterical and the guys get off some nice quips during those scenes where our Heroes freeze up.
     The host segments are getting better. This ep had some clever ideas, Paul Fritschie is very good as the decorating villain (perhaps he should voice Crow?) and seeing Mike's getup in the 2nd segment had me doing a spit take. And of course, you gotta love the commercials (Living down South I enjoyed the one from 'Kroger'). All in all, despite my nit-picks, I think these folks are doing a wonderful job and I'm looking forward to seeing what they offer up with F04.

My Own Msting: An experience from beyond reason!

Gino hears a noise and spots something horrible off screen!



Ed Asner in a Thong? Nooo!!!


In a scene that would do Lippert proud. 2 space guys walk and walk and walk and... One riff: "Is this the directors cut of Solaris?" and another...



In space, no one can hear you yawn!