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SILVERMAN!! ENTOURAGE!! L-WORD!! HOW I MET YOUR!! BIRDMAN!! SPACE GHOST!! HercVault!!
SPOILER ALERT !!
I am – Hercules!!
Strictly speaking, The Film Crew: Hollywood After Dark
? Not a TV title!
But I’m covering it here anyway because this direct-to-DVD project does mark a bold return to the vintage-cinema mocking of three “Mystery Science Theatre 3000” vets: Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett, who played Mike, Servo and Crow.
These are not, I grant you, the original “MST3K”-ers. Corbett replaced Trace Beaulieu as Crow in 1997. Head writer Nelson replaced comedian Joel Hodgson as series lead in 1993. Even Murphy replaced Josh Weinstein as Tom Servo way back in 1990.
“Film Crew” Mini-FAQ:
Is it as funny as MST3K?
The commentaries for “Hollywood After Dark” and “Killers From Space” both qualify as laugh-out-loud funny, as both literally made me laugh aloud. As with many MST3K installments, there are dry patches aplenty, but they’re worth sitting though to get to the good stuff.
Is a pre-feature short mocked?
There are no pre-feature shorts.
Do we see the commentators’ shadows in front of the screen?
No. During the movie, Nelson, Murphy and Corbett are heard but not seen. (The trio watch their movie on a tiny monitor; Kevin Murphy’s shadow alone could obscure the entire picture.)
Isn’t this already downloadable on Mike Nelson’s website or something?
You might be thinking of rifftrax.com, which offers audio-only commentaries that you’re supposed to synch up with expensive DVD swill like “The Phantom Menace,” “Star Trek: Generations” and “Fantastic Four.” Nelson often does these with Murphy, and sometimes with Murphy and Corbett, and other times with his hot, funny wife and at least once with the dude who played Doogie Howser. But Rifftrax is a separate, similar, project separate from The Film Crew. Did I mention separate?
Are there Film Crew skits?
There are!
How can there be skits without commercials to break up the movie?
There’s a pre-movie segment, a “lunch break” segment and a post-movie segment. Each disc also comes with a brief bonus skit featuring one of the players.
Do the commentators dwell in space on a super-secret satellite? Are the commentators put there to see how much filmic torture they can endure?
No and no. The three commentators are merely hired by a mogul named Bob Honcho to create commentary tracks for DVDs that have none.
Is there a funny title song explaining the premise? Is the phrase “you should really just relax” employed?
There is some goofy, twangy title music. The premise is so simple, however, that no lyrics are required (or offered).
Do you miss the bots?
I miss the bots. The graying, well-fed team of Murphy and Corbett are rather less telegenic than their puppet counterparts.
Space Ghost went on to about 100 segments of “Space Ghost Coast to Coast, but the interplanetary space-cop’s origins can be traced to the 20 episodes of Space Ghost & Dino Boy: The Complete Series that ran on CBS Saturday mornings from 1966 to 1967 and introduced the world to space-villains Zorak, Brak and Moltar. It premiered a year after CBS’ “Lost In Space” (a likely inspiration) and two days after “Star Trek.”
In those days, Space Ghost ran with a masked monkey and a pair of equally-masked fraternal twins named Jan and Jace. Jace was voiced by a kid actor named Tim Mathieson, who would grow up, change his last name to Matheson, and play Otter in “Animal House” and vice president John Hoynes on “The West Wing.” Space Ghost was voiced by future “Laugh-In” announcer Gary Owens.
Each of the 18 half-hour first-season episodes contained two self-contained 8-minute “Space Ghost” stories separated by one 7-minute “Dino Boy” story. Dino Boy, who never met Space Ghost in the show, was a tween whose plane crashed on a prehistoric island where dinosaurs (and a friendly caveman named “Ugh”) dwelled.
Dino Boy was pushed out of picture in September 1967 when two more “Space Ghost” half-hours (containing a total of six “Space Ghost” segments) aired. These two episodes, also included on the new set, served to introduce audiences to guest-stars who were about to star in their own Saturday-morning series on CBS that season, among them the Mighty Mightor, the Herculoids, Moby Dick, and Shazzan the Genie.
Not included on the set are the “Space Ghost” segments made in 1981 to serve as components of NBC’s 11-episode hourlong “Space Stars” show (which featured also new episodes of “The Herculoids,” the “Jetsons” spin-off “Astro and the Space-Mutts,” and “Teen Force”).
NBC’s answer to “Space Ghost” was Birdman & The Galaxy Trio , which premiered in 1967.
Birdman’s real name in those days was Ray Randall, who was drafted by a top-secret government agency after the sun-god Ra endowed Ray with wings, a solar shield and the ability to project solar rays. Birdboy, Birdgirl, Mentok, Vulturo and the eagle sidekick Avenger, familiar to fans of “Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law,” made their debuts here.
The Galaxy Trio, who had their own segments (and never met Birdman in the series), were Vapor Man, Meteor Man and Gravity Girl, superpowered extraterrestrials who worked for the Galactic Patrol interplanetary law enforcement agency. They share their superpowers with other natives of their respective homeworlds, suggesting they may have been inspired, in part, by DC Comics’ Legion of Super-Heroes. Gravity Girl came from the planet Gravitas. “Gravitas” is Kiefer Sutherland’s favorite word.
Following the pattern of “Space Ghost and Dino Boy,” each of the 20 “Birdman and the Galaxy Trio” half-hour episodes on the new set . Each episode features two self-contained “Birdman” segments and one self-contained “Galaxy Trio” segment.
It's not cool that the Galaxy Trio didn't play a bigger role in "Harvey Birdman."
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TV-on-DVD Calendar
Last Week
Beauty and the Beast 2.x
Bewitched 5.x
Extras 2.x
Extras 1.x/2.x
Home Run Derby Vol. 1
Hustle 3.x
My Super Sweet 16 1.x/2.x
Punky Brewster Vols. 1-6
Shark Week: 20th Anniversary Collection
This Week
Adventures of Sonic The Hedgehog Vol. 1
America's Funniest Home Videos: Guide To Parenting
Birdman & The Galaxy Trio: The Complete Series
Bozo Vol. 1
The Business 1.x
College Hill: Virgin Islands
The Film Crew: Hollywood After Dark
Grafters 1.x
Gunsmoke 1.x
The Incredible Hulk 2.x
Masters of Horror: The Black Cat
The Minor Accomplishments of Jackie Woodman 1.x
Most Haunted: Castles of Britain
Most Haunted: The Collection
Most Haunted: London Haunts
Overhaulin 3.x Vol. 1
Payback 1.x
Rising Damp 4.x
The Rookies 1.x
Space Ghost & Dino Boy: The Complete Series
Vincent: The Complete Series
Voyagers! The Complete Series
Wanted: Dead Or Alive 2.x
William & Mary: The Complete Miniseries
Next Week
Beer Nutz 1.x
Benson 1.x
A Bit of Fry & Laurie 3.x
A Bit of Fry & Laurie 4.x
A Bit of Fry & Laurie: The Complete Collection
The Crow: The Complete Series
Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law 3.x
Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law 1.x-3.x
Land of the Giants: The Complete Series
The Pink Panther Vol. 6
The Real McCoys 1.x
The Secret of Isis
Spawn: 10th Anniversary Gift Set
Spenser: Judas Goat
Spenser: A Savage Place
Stargate SG-1 10.x
Star Trek: Captain's Log
Suspense: The Lost Episodes Vol. 1 <--- NEW!!
Tales From The Crypt 6.x
Three Sheets 1.x
Underdog: Ultimate Collection Vol. 1
Underdog: Ultimate Collection Vol. 2
Underdog: Ultimate Collection Vol. 3
Weeds 2.x
Weeds 2.x (Blu-Ray)
Woody Woodpecker & Friends
July 31
The Archie Show: The Complete Series
Babylon 5: The Lost Tales
Dallas 7.x
Hawaii Five-0 2.x
The Kids of Degrassi Street: Complete Series
Popeye 1933-1938
The Rhinemann Exchange: The Complete Miniseries
Sabrina The Teenage Witch 2.x
Sons of Hollywood 1.x
Space 1999: The Complete Series
Thunderbirds: The Complete Series
August 7
The Adventures of Jim Bowie: Complete Series
Charlite & Lola Vol. 5
Daniel Boone 5.x
Darkwing Duck Vol. 2
The Dresden Files 1.x
8 Simple Rules 1.x
The Film Crew: Killers From Space
The Foursome 1.x Vol. 1
Full House 7.x
Happy Tree Friends Vol. 3
Home Improvement 7.x
The Hills 2.x
Inside The Actors Studio: Barbara Streisand
The Jimmy Dean Show: Best Of Vol. 2
Man Stroke Woman 1.x
The Muppet Show 2.x
My Hero 2.x
Rome 2.x
Roseanne 8.x
Saved By The Bell: The Movies
The Simpsons 10.x
Soul Food 2.x
The Suite Life of Zack & Cody: Vol. 2
Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 5.x
That Girl 3.x
The Tick Vs. 2.x
Voltron: Revelations
August 14
All Creatures Great and Small 7.x
All Creatures Great and Small: The Complete Series
Avatar 2.x Vol. 4
Baby Looney Tunes Vol. 4
Doctor Who: Robot
Doctor Who: Survival
Dynasty 2.x
Elvis: The Miniseries
The Fugitive 1.x Vol. 1
Home Improvement 7.x <--- NEW!!
Home Run Derby Vol. 2
Kids in the Hall: Pilot
Loonatics Unleashed 2
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Nice, he made the cover of the Office Season 3.
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I think they would probably have a better chance at selling the DVDs with a little name recognition. Oh well. Probably rent the first one and see what it's like before passing final judgement. :P
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You heard me. You freakin mook.
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It looks like you can look forward a lot of our terrible British ITV and Cable shows coming out on disc in the near future.
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She wasn't on SNL-90S special.
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...all the shitty shows of theirs we've been getting for years.
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The funniest show you're not watching.
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I really mean it. That cover should be illegal. Masters of Horror could learn a lesson or two from this Bozo fella. No wonder he's the most famous one.
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Killer clowns give me nightmares.
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Hi Herc, How come you keep listing Twin Peaks when it doesn't seem to be listed for sale? I get all excited when I see that it's coming but my heart breaks when I see that I've been had, again!
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I picked it up at Best Buy a few weeks ago.
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They were both God-awful. From concept, to drawings, to story, and acting. Bad stuff.
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Interesting?
Nope. -
Am I just missing it or is it really nowhere to be found?
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Well? When the hell is that coming out? I sooooooooo wan't that series.
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Why not? We get shows that were cancelled in their first seasons, like Studio 60, yet a show that was on for a few years is still in DVD purgatory. Hell, I've been waiting for years for "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis", which was on for many years, yet has not received a DVD release. I really thought we'd finally see it after Bob Denver died but, alas, we did not.
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It wasn't funny then and it ain't funny now. Just seeing the pictures on the box makes me want to punch my computer.
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Go here for all the info, http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=7679 Be warned, this show sucked, it was a borefest (e.g., "Hey Indy, take a break from the action for an hour and come meet Mozart").
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The info on the cartoons I found interesting was Herc's write up.
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although most of the episodes with the 10 year old Indy are forgetable.
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Is the whole season packaged with "Langoliers" and "The Stand", or just the pilot?
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It was that pesky "dash" between the L and the W.
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It seems like Amazon is the only place that decided THE L WORD needed a dash in the title. It's not actually called that onscreen or on the packaging or on IMDB or even on other sites...
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Huh? Please?
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...while DUCKMAN is, once again, not.
Someone is DEFINITELY getting kneecapped for this. -
I DON'T CARE HOW MUCH IT'LL COST TO GET 'EM!!! JUST HAND 'EM OVER!!!
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What prize pranny decided this was worth releasing on DVD? It's bad enough catching it just once as you flick past the channel this dreck is shown on. It consists primarily of some camp charlatan 'medium' talking bollocks about feeling a presence, then Yvette Fielding being filmed through a light intensifier, screaming her head off every time a cameraman farts. Avoid. Avoid. Avoid.
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Love this cunt.
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The music rights would be INSANELY expensive, so they'd probably pull a WKRP and replace most of the period songs with generic alternatives.
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Jul 18, 2007 10:32:28 AM CDT
luckily duckman sucks/silverman rocks/WHERE IS KUBIAK?
by batmanthehorse
rather have sailverman and the tab episode than that duck show. seriously, where the fuck is parker lewis can't lose? that kid had all that crazy shit in his jacket! AND KOOB!
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I know exactly what you're saying. The show actually improved substantially in Season 4.It really felt like the folks behind the show realized how much of a melodramatic chore the show had turned into and made it imperative that they get back to the energy they had in earlier seasons.With or without a "dash" in the title.
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Best Buy has The X Files at 19.99 per season. That makes the entire series under $200.
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