WhileMST3Ks sister seriesRiffTrax might throw out at least one Christmas riff every December,MST3Konly has three.
Coincidentally, theres one for each host.
Thats kind of neat.
There are certain episodes that fit in one way or another.
On Mars, the children are all learning and no play, which makes them empty and joyless inside.
Its kind of insane, but theres a lot to laugh at.
Its the one that gets rid of Joel and brings in Mike as the new host.
Its essentiallyDirty Harry, only more grimy than dirty.
And also very bloated.
Just unsavory in general.
Yeah, Joe Don Baker gets roasted in this one hard.
So why is it a Christmas episode?
Even though it has no bearing on anything in the plot,Mitchelltakes place during Christmastime.
In the opening, John Saxon plays a rich dude who shoots and kills a would-be burglar.
Meanwhile, the background shows a Christmas tree with a bunch of gifts underneath.
Its just that instead of a jolly fat man we get a cantankerous one instead.
Much like the Christmas theme, John Saxon proceeds to vanish from the film.
A unique and fatherly superhero with a nonsense power set, ridiculous headquarters, and questionable sidekicks.
His strange existence is compounded with even stranger details to cover up all the flaws in his concept.
He mainly focuses his attention on a poor girl named Lupita, who desperately wants a dolly.
All things considered, the movie totally owns and is pretty well-made for its time.
Its just that despite the competence, its too bonkers not to laugh at for most of the time.
Its a Russian fairy tale.
Youre going to get some nutty situations.
You know the punch in.
Ivan ends up being turned into a half-man/half-bear by a magical, tiny man with a mushroom head.
The only way to break the curse and ultimately win over Nastya is to understand humility.
Then Jack Frost himself appears with like 20 minutes left to go.
Theres also a house with legs and a magic pig sled.
Like I said, nutty situations.
EXPERIMENT 820: SPACE MUTINY
On the surface,Space Mutinyhas nothing to do with Christmas.
Its an over-the-top space flick about a meathead living action figure fighting bad guys on a spaceship.
So why is it on this list?
Then the two have lots of conversations filled with unnecessary pauses.
Not great if you want jokes about snowmen, gift-giving, and St. Nick.
Even though its July.
Theres even a driving montage with a song playing over it about how it is very much Christmastime.
Then, as they park and leave their car, they end up going to a haunted house.
Uh… Merry Christmas, I guess.
A little boy named Paul claims to be best friends with Bigfoot himself (whose costume lacks gloves).
Bigfoot appears to him at night and warns him that Pauls father is in great trouble.
The final scene, for no real reason, begins with Pauls classmates wishing their teacher a Merry Christmas.
So…yeah, go figure.
Stuff just happens in this movie.
Its an absolute trip.
