Mystery Science Theater XXXII has arrived! And I can heartily recommend it. Three great flicks are packed into this set. And for the first time, nearly all the extras are worth watching. It’s nice to see more and more of the extras concentrating on the cast and crew behind the show rather than the stinkers getting justly torpedoed. The packaging is your standard issue from Shout Factory and this one, once again, includes the nifty little mini-posters we’ve come to expect.
Box set XXXII includes Hercules, Radar Secret Service, San Francisco International and Space Travelers.
Full disc specs:
Hercules
Episode 502 – Joel Hodgson vs. Dr. Forrester
Animated Disc Menu featuring Hercules
Extras:
New Introduction by Frank Conniff
Barnum of Baltimore: The Early Films of Joseph E. Levine
Theatrical Trailer
A fun little flick. I found it a bit difficult to follow the plot. I noticed several plot jumps, which are probably the result of the MST3K staff cutting out chunks for running time. There are a handful of good jokes made during the running time. The extras are quite light. I liked the intro by Frank. I could have used more of that. The spotlight on the guy who bought these from Italy and dumped them in the US is mildly interesting and the trailer is a trailer.
Radar Secret Service
Episode 520 – Mike Nelson vs. Dr. Forrester
Preceeded by short film “Last Clear Chance”
Animated Disc Menu featuring “Radar”
Extras:
New Introduction by Frank Conniff
MST-UK With Trace & Frank
Another great choice for this collection. The movie is well-riffed nonsense about the “magic” of Radar. It’s just bad enough to be thoroughly enjoying. The short before the film is actually even-better riffed than the film. Just about perfect. Both of the extras this time around are good. Another intro by Frank with his memories of the production of the episode. The MST-UK piece follows Trace and Frank as they travel to the UK for a fan convention special appearance. They hit the sights and have some brief coverage of their appearance. It’s nice to see updates on the guys. Best all around disc I’ve reviewed yet!
San Francisco International
Episode 614 – Mike Nelson vs. Dr. Forrester
Animated Disc Menu featuring the hippie
Extras:
Sampo Speaks! A Brief History of Satellite News
Just well-balanced enough movie to be entertaining. There are a few stretches that drag on, but the jokes come in just fast and accurate enough for a mild thumbs up. The only extra is a brief piece interviewing the website admin of the Satellite News, the MST3K official fan site. I still have a few of the original newsletters that were sent to the mailing list way back. I never even realized they’d stopped coming. It was a good way-back piece. I’m going to have to dig those up now…
Space Travelers aka Marooned
Episode 401 – Joel Hodgson vs. Dr. Forrester
Animated Disc Menu featuring Gene Hackman freaking out
Extras:
New Introduction by Frank Conniff
Marooned: A Forgotten Odyssey
Theatrical Trailer
The most star-studded flick to ever grace MST3k, with Gregory Peck, Richard Crenna, David Janssen, James Franciscus, and Gene Hackman. And it’s terrible. Terrible! It’s so long and dry and boring that it’s unwatchable. Sadly a knock against an otherwise perfect box sets. Well three out of four ain’t bad. Another introduction by Frank. Wouldn’t mind getting these on every disc, with with Frank or any of the other cast members.
Final thoughts: So I missed box set XXXI, so perhaps I missed the payoff, but…what happened to THE FRANK?? Have there been any other dropped hints? Where are the updates on this?
I’m trying to include more detailed info about the features and bonus features of each disc. Is there information I’m missing that you’d like? Just leave a comment below and I’ll see about adding it for the next review.
For more on Mystery Science Theater 3000 Volume XXXII visit:
https://www.shoutfactory.com/film/film-comedy/mst3k-volume-xxxii