The Experiment
There comes a time when an episode of MST3K tackles a perfectly bad movie. Generally when this happens, their host segments jab at the perfect angles. Their jokes can be so spot on that the joke itself becomes hilarious, despite its contents. All of this is Starcrash. The host segments in this episode are stellar!
Star Wars has never been out of MST's view. There have been Star Wars jokes sprinkled all through out the series and they are generally some of the better jokes. Well, back in MST3K's hay day, Star Wars was very relevant, and not much has changed with the new episodes being distributed by the newly acquired rights by Disney studios. Seldom do we ever see Star Wars jokes that are so on the nose than we do on this episode. Jonah's invention of BB-Servo is not only relevant to the character, but also quite cleverly done with cheap practical effects. Even the copyright claims from Disney is well done after the invention exchange is done.
Another star segment is when Jonah dresses up as Akton to an adoring set of bots. The reveal that he is a fraud is very fitting the movie character, as he is set up as a serious Gary Stu, who is perfect in every way and is able to resolve any conflict with the flick of his wrist.
The not so great host segment comes when we get our next cameo appearance. This time the special guest is none other than Jerry Seinfeld himself. He appears as a producer with whom Kinga attempts to get funding from. However, he blatantly insults their entire experiment and leaves. As cameos go in this season, this one was one that didn't take away from the episode's greatness.
Then the ending host segment of the space battle with Jonah and the bots is topped off with a hilarious line of "I love the smell of napalm in the morning, in space!"
Starcrash
A team of space pirates stumble upon a deviously evil scheme to take over the universe using a intergalactic weapon of gargantuan proportions. These pirates are employed by the Emperor of the Galaxy to take down a dark lord.
What makes this movie bad?
The fact that this is a blatant Star Wars knockoff doesn't even chip the surface of this stinker. The plotlines and plot devices are laughably atrocious, the acting is overtly terrible, the character are cardboard cutouts and the pacing is so out of whack that it is almost impossible to follow what is going on. Then there's Hasselhoff!
The real problem with this movie is that they obviously had no clear direction to go in with anything. When they reach a easy goal, the movie throws a random wrench into the gears to create synthetic tension or conflict. This direction is sporadic, and happens whether it makes sense or not.
The characters are probably the worst thing about this movie, and that's saying a lot because this movie is garbage. The main character is Stella Star, she is eye candy. She has no defining characteristics other than skimpy outfits and stilted acting. Akton, as stated before, is an overpowered walking Deus Ex Machina. His whole purpose is to be an arrogant know-it-all who has the power to get through any situation and choose when he suddenly can't do something. His powers are random, limitless and he is probably one of the worst planned characters of the whole thing.
There are so many other things to talk about, but beyond anything, there is the villain. He is a villain, nothing else. He has no layers, he has no other goal than to take over the universe and every piece of dialogue he has is nothing more than nonsensical plotting and scheming, even after he has stated his plans twenty million times over. He is as cookie-cutter as they come and his acting is so hysterically bad, that he is a perfect target for some monumental riffs.
The Riffs
Wildly funny, spot on timing and legendary to the point that it even rivals such gems of sci-fi MST films such as Space Mutiny in how beautiful it is executed. The movie itself is already worth a spit take, the riffs are simply the icing on the cake at this point! There is no scene in this entire experiment that doesn't have a remarkable riff and just when you think it's gotten to its peak, it is very quickly topped soon after. The episode already sings its praise at the top of the mountains and you would be hard pressed to not laugh at this amazing episode.
If that weren't enough, it even has a wholly original riff pertaining to the series! That's right, when Stella Star escapes from SPACE PRISON we are treated to a random and strange song sung by Jonah and the bots, complete with guitar! They sing about boarding a complete stranger's star ship and how you probably shouldn't do it. Whether this is your cup of tea or not, it isn't overly long and it does not overstay its welcome. It's funny, lyrical, and perfectly parodies the style of the Beach Boys.
The Episode
If you haven't already noticed, this episode is to be compared to some of the greatest episodes of Mystery Science Theater 3000 as a whole. Would I recommend this episode? Without a single doubt! Even with how terrible this space movie is and how it will make you want to claw out your space eyes, it is still a platinum episode with legendary riffing and gut-busting host segments. Do not miss this beautiful gem of an episode!