It's been a good few months since anything from Mystery Science Theater 3000 was covered and well then I thought that now was the right time to a look back at another episode from this show. With this episode seeing the crew cover a movie that not alot of people know about whilst also introducing something new and different for the show as a whole and so then join me as I review the episode that see's Jonah , Tom and Crow riff a movie about giant robots with the movie and episode in question being called simply just "Robot Wars" enjoy.
The plot of this episode is with the Gizmoplex in ruins and them in debt Kinga and Max get advice from there investor which will have consequences for one unlucky soul. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually feature / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty not that bad but at the same time tho this episodes plot is one that weirdly isn't given alot of focus which is something that does standout for this show as when the show does do something that advances it's plot even a little bit then it gives it alot of focus and yet with this episode it gets mentioned once at the start of the episode and is brought up again at least once more during the episode and that's really it when it's something that should have been mentioned and referenced alot more as it is something that does have a huge impact on the plot of this season and yet it felt like that it was an afterthought and while that might have worked for something that doesn't effect either the plot of the season or the plot of the show as then it could be seen as being a throwaway episode here tho it is something that does effect the plot of the season and to a lesser extent the plot of the show as a whole as well and it therefor should have been given a bit more attention just to make the plot of this episode feel a bit more fully developed then what it already is with the plot of this episode also being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.
Starring in this episode is this episodes director and co-writer Jonah Ray as Jonah Heston and Hampton Yount as the voice of Crow T. Robot. Also starring in this episode is Baron Vaughn as the voice Tom Servo and Dr. Kabahl , The Guild creator and star Felicia Day as Kinga Forrester , Patton Oswalt as Max , Rebecca Hanson as GPC and Synthia , Emily Marsh as Emily Connor and the shows creator Joel Hodgson as Ardy.
Now then as for what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty not that bad. Which is something that's to be expected from this show as alot of the actors that are in this episode aren't trained actors with there only being two trained actors in the whole episode and that's really it and as such it's from those two actors that we get some of the best acting in this episode with the acting from Jonah , Hampton and Baron being passable at best which does work out as they've been playing there character for years at this point in time with the acting from Felicia and Patton being alot better which is something that does make sense as they are trained actors and so of course there acting would be better but at the same time tho and actor can only be as good as there actor and even tho this is Jonah's first time directing anything he really doesn't know how to get that good of a performance out of his actors which is something that might improve over time as he does direct the overall majority of the episodes in this season it is something that stands out in a negative way in this episode with the acting that's in this very episode not really being helped by the fact that this episodes script is just so bad as it gives none of this episodes actors absolutely nothing to work with interms of what it is that there respective characters personalities are even meant to be in the first place which is something that really does harm the overall quality of the acting that's in this very episode.
This episode does something that hasn't been done since season 5 of this show and that's introduce the character who would be a host in the next episode. With the end of this episode showing Emily arriving to help build the Simulator Of Love something that in the very net episode she'd find herself trapped on for the rest of the season and this is a good way to set up who the new host without getting rid of the previous host and it's something that does open the door for other characters to come on in and host an episode of the show and not have to get rid of whoever is hosting the show at that time as you could very easily explain that whoever the main bad guy that season is just wanted to torture someone else for a change or that the current host is busy doing something else and they'd still be able to cause someone some form of pain with this being something that really could have worked for the show moving forward since if the show wasn't able to get Jonah or any of the hosts back for future episodes they could just say that the host was already to begin with and it work either way and while we don't get much of Emily in this episode as she only appears in the final scene it is something that does show us the audience that she might just be a fun character and as we find out in the next episode is a great addition to the show as a whole as well but it does remain to be seen if she was as good of a host then Jonah was for example.
The movie that the crew are riffing in this episode is the 1993 film Robot Wars from Full Moon Pictures. With the film being the right kind of bad film that the tea behind this show always strive to find as the film does have some really solid picture and sound quality to it but at the same time tho the film is just primed to be made fun off as it is a film that really does look to be just that bad and boring with the film looking like a poor man's version of the Mad Max franchise only with slow and giant stop motion robots that do nothing for the vast majority of the film except to basically serve as a plane and transport people from A to B and that's really it and heck there's barely even a war in this film and so the one half of the films title is a lie and the other half basically not be there as the robots aren't that interesting and given how they look there's a good chance that they might have inspired the giant spider robot from the film Wild Wild West only the robots in this version did it better as they at least came up with the idea idea and have some good looking stop motion work but what really didn't work for this film is the fact that they treat one of the main characters like he's Jesus something that the crew in this episode not only point out quite alot but also take the time to make fun off a well and rightfully so as it is ridiculous but given that this film is made by Full Moon Pictures it's that kind of ridiculousness that's to be expected from all of there film as well.
To give this episode some credit it does spotlight a film that not alot of people would have heard off and while it might not make people want to go out and check the film out for themselves. It is a good thing that they did spotlight a little known film as that then could make people want to see if it's as bad as this episode makes it out to be and speaking off this episode even tho there essential to the plot of the episode both Kinga and Max are absent for a large portion of the episodes running time with the two of them only appearing at the start of the episode to st up the plot of the episode and then again at the end of the episode to set up the cliffhanger with Emily and that's rally it when they should have been in th episode more given that this episode is quite literally about them trying to find a second host and what's worse is that you could have had some good jokes with them quite literally auditioning people to be the second host which just that idea alone would have made for some really funny scenes and yet the episode instead focuses on Jonah and the bots still making skits about the movie that there watching which granted is in keeping with the rest of the show but at the same time tho there should have been a time and a place for stuff like that and given that the plot of this episode is all about introducing a new host having alot of skits with just Jonah and the bots doesn't work in this kind of episode but at the same time tho it's the host segments with Jonah and the bots that are the more fun segments of this whole entire episode with the episode being worth watching just for the host segments alone as there just that good.
Also introduced in this episode is Dr. Kabahl who is a time travelling financier from the future and he is a good addition to the show. As the show could get some milage out of his character and having him just appear out of nowhere and scare people will always be funny as it's always good and funny seeing how he interacts with people it's just a shame that the episode really doesn't anything with his character with him only appearing in the opening on this episode and that's really it when a character that has this much potential could have been given a little bit more screen time and while him having already met Max in the future is a funny idea as it does show that he does history with the character they don't really go into that history in this episode with him only mentioning that he's already met Max in the future as part of a joke and that's really it but at the same time tho his costume is a bit stupid even for this show as it's just a bunch of black clothing a giant black something on his head that is so fake that you can actually see it move during some scenes in this episode while this season really didn't have a huge budget once you remove the fact that they had to get the rights to show all of the films this season the fact that they really couldn't afford a decent looking costume for this new recurring character really does add an air of cheapness to the how as a whole as while the show was always made very cheaply they still always managed to have some really impressive costumes that made the show look more expensive then what it was something that just isn't true not only for Dr. Kabahl but for this season as well.
Now then this episode has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly one hour and thirty three minuets and forty three seconds. Which is pretty much the bogstanderd running time for this show to have and while the episode really doesn't have enough plot there to really cover that amount of running time that's not really a fault of this episode as its something that could also be said for alot of this shows episodes as well and to to this episodes credit when this episode does indeed focus on it's main plot it does make it count by giving us information that is either important to the plot of this episode or important to the plot of this season as a whole but at the same time tho this episode really could have used it's running time just a little bit better by giving us either some more information of Emily or some more information on Dr. Kabahl as well either of which would have worked as there both characters who appear n multiple episodes of this season and yet at the exact same time tho it's that very reason why this episode most likely didn't give us any information on them in this episode because they do appear in more episodes and heck Emily is even the host of multiple episodes and so alot of the background information on her character does indeed come out during those episodes and those scenes would feel alot like filler in this episode as well but I really will admit that this episode really does have some really good pacing to it tho.
So now then as this is a comedy that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual comedy that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual comedy that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty not that bad as the episode does have some good jokes in it. However tho at the same time tho this episodes comedy really isn't as good as it really good been with alot of the jokes that the crew make during the movie just not being that funny or are filled with missed opportunities with alot of the episodes best jokes coming from the host segments like the fact that in one segment the bots wonder what the city in Robot Wars would look like in the nineties and Jonah straight up shows them using alot of nineties slang and catchphrases which was a really joke and was easily the best joke of the episode as it was something that really did catch you off guard and it makes you wonder why alot of the episodes jokes weren't as good as that one was and while there some clever jokes in there like the fact that Jonah and the bots event seasonings that are based off of classic romantic comedies complete with pun titles but sadly tho the episode has alot more jokes in it then it does good ones and that is something that does prevent this episode from being as funny as it really could have been but when this episode does tell a funny joke it is and could be a really funny joke as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.
Overall whilst this episode did indeed show some promise and had all of the potential to be a really good and a really funny episode of the show the fact that it lacked focus on it's plot and a lack of actually funny jokes both combine to make this episode not as good as it really could have been or even perhaps should have been either with this episode being nothing more then an above average episode in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as being all of the bad things that are in this very episode in this very review and as such that really does mean that this very episode really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly a 6.5 out of 10 from me.
Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from the official Mystery Science Theater 3000 fandom wiki page , IMP Awards . Com and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get the images from this very episode that I used in this very review being the really great Google Images really simply just due to the fact that really alot of if not really all of the images that are all really from this very episode with alot of them being better quality then what you'd really think of and all of the images are really of course up and really on Google Images are also really all fairly high in quality and as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.
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