The Experiment
Our introduction to a new cast of characters and a new experiment all together! Our new host, Jonah Heston (played by Jonah Ray) is the new subject of our cruel delight. It shows the situation behind Jonah's capture and over the two months after his capture, it shows the upgrades he gave the bots. The new experiment has somewhat of a new goal in mind. Clayton Forrester's daughter, Kinga Forrester has taken over her father's evil plan and intends to profit off of the test data. Using this data, she will sell the results to large companies.
Her first choice in movie is the Danish feature known as Reptilicus. This is a blatant Godzilla clone and a feature where the only star power is Danish comedian, Dirch Passer.
Reptilicus
A horrific monster is regenerated back to life thanks to a team of scientists unearthing his remains and accidentally allowing him to grow back into a monstrosity. With a horrific dragon-like creature terrorizing Denmark, it is up to the military in collaboration with the scientific minds of Denmark's finest thinking minds to bring this beast down.
What makes this movie bad?
As far as MST movies go, this movie is not at all the pain fest we have witnessed in the past. By no means is this movie a blockbuster success, even terms of movies in its era, but it is not nail-bitingly terrible. The worst part about this movie comes from its side characters and stale sideplots. The head scientist's daughter and her annoying guy hungry antics are eye rolling and pointless in the grand scheme of things. The special effects are not especially terrible, but, of course, they did not age well.
The absolute worst parts come from the so-called "comedy relief " provided by our Danish celebrity, Dirch Passer. His bits of bumbling stupidity are cringeworthy and all around add a element of dumb that can only be noted as "harmlessly bad." Beyond that, yes the acting isn't pleasant and the storyline is predictable with character tropes typical of the genre.
The Riffs
The first notable thing I noticed when watching this episode was that they began giving Gypsy two riffs each episode. Not only are these riffs funny, but the novelty of having Gypsy riff in each episode is an absolute joy. Overall, the riffs were good. They were funny, witty, and brought a definite sense of our favorite riffers returning in full form.
The Episode
As far as episodes go, this one is most notable for the fact that it was the first episode of Mystery Science Theater's triumphant return. Not only did it introduce and re-introduce characters, but it also showed us a whole new atmosphere and feel of the show in its rebirth as a different entity.
As far as a normal episode, it's not all that remarkable. The riffs are funny but the movie itself is not bad enough to stand out as anything more than a foreign monster flick. It's not so bland as too be forgettable, but it will more than likely not be on a lot of people's favorite episode lists. Overall, still a win.