Cinematic Titanic

Take one barely skilled Chinese martial artist. Add a beefy hunk of traditional blaxploitation, and top off with a complete selection of Asian actors who played bad guys on M*A*S*H. Stir rigorously.

Bake for two hours under the high heat of Mystery Science Theater 3000-inspired quips, and you end up with the new live DVD from Cinematic Titanic, "East Meats Watts."

This latest release from MST3K veterans Joel Hodgson, Trace Beaulieu, Josh Weinstein, Mary Jo Pehl and Frank Conniff features a clunky 70's mess on celluloid mocked before an affectionate live audience. While Cinematic Titanic's earlier DVD releases all pack more than the U.N.-mandated share of laughs, the energy provided by the comics' interactions with the crowd make this the comic troupe's most successful DVD release so far.

Consider this your way-too-far-in-advance sneak preview at a future DVD extra for a Mystery Science Theater 3000 set for Shout! Factory. On January 17, MST3K creator Joel Hodgson and original cast member and writer Trace Beaulieu gave a crowd at M.I.T. a peek behind the scenes of the venerable sci-fi comedy show with their lecture, "The Design and Speculative Technology of MST3K," which they filmed to use as a future DVD extra.

For the uninitiated, Joel was the original host, was shot into space by evil scientists (Dr. Forrester was played by Beaulieu) and forced to watch (sing it with me, MSTies) "cheesy movies, the worst we can find." To help him handle the torture, Joel built four robot friends, two of which, Crow (also originated by Beaulieu) and Servo, watched the movies and made fun of them with Joel. Together, Joel, Crow, and Servo cut the best silhouette in show business (at least to comedy and movie geeks like myself).

But then, if you're reading this, you probably know all of that.

Fa la la!

We told you last month about the new 20th anniversary DVD set for Mystery Science Theater 3000 that is going to be released later this year. The gang announced the details and the release date for the set yesterday at Comic-Con.

The 4 DVD set from Shout! Factory will be released on October 28 and will include four never-before-released movies: Laserblast, First Space on Venus, Werewolf, and Future War. Along with the movies will be tons of new interviews with everyone ever involved in the show, a documentary about the history of MST3K, footage of the Comic-Con Reunion panel, lobby cards, and even a collectible Crow T. Robot figurine! The set will come in a special 20th anniversary tin box (see pic above).