MSTies Will Crow over Four Unreleased Episodes in this Hilarious New Box Set

Joel, Mike and the robots are back as the Satellite of Love cruises through space delivering four highly anticipated episodes of MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 in this new Volume XIX limited edition 4-disc box set, including a collectible Gypsy figure.

Never before released on DVD, Volume XIX includes four of the very best MST episodes in the entire series: the bizarre 1953 nightmare ROBOT MONSTER, Ed Wood's notorious BRIDE OF THE MONSTER, the ventriloquist villain tale DEVIL DOLL, and the vaguely Italian shark-topus schlockfest DEVIL FISH. Expect a good batch of extra goodies as well in addition to the Gypsy collectible, including four MST3K mini-posters designed for each title by artist Steve Vance, two new featurettes, a visit with the MST crew at CONvergence 2009 and more! Compiling about 6 hours of side-splitting entertainment, MST3K Volume XIX will launch fans and lovers of bad film riffing into orbit with hilarity.

Rarely seen on its own and long-awaited by MST fans everywhere, the nearly hallucinative ROBOT MONSTER finally makes its DVD debut after airing as the Season 2 Episode 6 in January 1990 (MST3K's first season airing on Comedy Channel). Directed by Phil Tucker in 1953 and originally released in 3D, this baffling tale of of a plastic-helmeted gorilla Ro-Man invading earth and hunting down a handful of human survivors including a boy who may have dreamed this entire apocalyptic catastrophe. The wooden acting of the human characters is compensated by the wild gesticulations of George Barrows as Ro-Man, whose broad and exaggerated ape-arm swings utterly fail to match the character's monotone voiceover dubbing to laughable effect. Following the plot is a dizzying exercise in futility, a task made less strenuous by the long, action-devoid shots of Ro-Man stumbling around the slopes of L.A.'s Bronson Canyon where much of the film was so cheaply shot. So why is this invading demi-ape from space assaulting this ragtag family of survivors with an Automatic Billion Bubble Machine?  Who cares!  It's all part of the insanity of this film which even resorts to borrowing footage from three other films (and nonsensically so) just to pad its 66-minute running time. Note: the feature presentation also includes Chapters 4 & 5 of the Republic serial shorts RADAR MEN FROM THE MOON (1952). Extras on this disc include a new introduction by MST alum J. Elvis Weinstein, a featurette Larry Blamire Geeks Out in which the cult-film parodist rhapsodizes about how delightfully awful ROBOT MONSTER truly is, and the film's original theatrical trailer in all its 1950s sci-fi glory.  One of the rarest and the best of MST's comedic canon, Joel, Crow and Servo's riffs skewer this soft target for solid laughs and make ROBOT MONSTER an accidental classic to enjoy time and again.

Next Joel and the Bots engage in some comedic crossfire with cross-dressing director Ed Wood's 1955 matrimonial mess, BRIDE OF THE MONSTER starring Bela Lugosi as the deranged Dr. Vornoff out to conquer the world with his race of atomic supermen. This is one of the best of Wood's worst, noted for its wooden dialogue, flat performances and campy take on the sci-fi/horror genre. Co-starring actress and supposed financial backer of the film Loretta King, ex-wrestler Tor Johnson plus the usual Wood ensemble Dolores Fuller and Paul Marco, BRIDE is probably best known from its prominence in the Johnny Depp biopic/comedy ED WOOD, and it was the lead-in project to Wood's ultimate cinematic cult classic, PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE.  Naturally the cheesy sets, lifeless rubber octopus and penchant for intercutting day and night shots give the MST crew plenty of riff material to send up this silly yet enjoyable Wood production. The daffy short film HIRED! precedes the feature, which is supplemented by a quite cool Shout! Factory co-production CITIZEN WOOD: MAKING THE BRIDE, UNMAKING THE LEGEND, a fun and fond study of this film by fans and historians including Joel Hodgson himself. MSTies will also enjoy the bonus feature Inventing the 'Invention Exchange' which retells how Joel and the Bots got into trading off inane inventions with Dr. Forrester and TV's Frank. The feature film's original trailer rounds out this disc's copious bonus feature selections which are terrific partners to another of MST3K's very best riffing successes in an era where the series was truly hitting its hilarious stride.

The first of two Mike Nelson-hosted films follow as MST throws its voice and riffing skills at DEVIL DOLL, a 1964 low-budget thriller about the Great Vorelli, a master ventriloquist (with the creepiest fake beard in cinema) who holds strange supernatural powers over his performing puppet, Hugo. Vorelli uses his hypnotic powers to mesmerize audience members during his act, which is how he meets Marianne, a beautiful heiress he plans on coercing into marriage to inherit her fortune. Oh yes, and Vorelli captures people's souls to possess Hugo who murders his foes for his master — that is until the devilish doll gets his own idea on reversing who will be the enslaved puppet in their act!  Unless you're one of those who live in mortal terror of ventriloquist dummies, you won't find DEVIL DOLL frightening at all, especially as Mike, Crow and Servo lampoon this laughable film with a rapid-fire barrage of riffs on the ugly doll to the dismal direction on screen. As the 18th episode of MST's Season 9, the S.O.L. crew had settled in to its first year airing on Sci-Fi Channel, as the ever-expanding cast of supporting characters (Pearl, Brain Guy and Bobo) and highly polished look of the show demonstrate. DEVIL DOLL also arises from one of MST's better late-run seasons, surrounded in its schedule by episodes riffing on the banal brilliance of PRINCE OF SPACE, TIME CHASERS and the truly awful OVERDRAWN AT THE MEMORY BANK. This disc's bonus features include a featurette interview with the film's executive producer THE PUPPET MASTER: RICHARD GORDON ON DEVIL DOLL, and the original theatrical trailer.

Last yet certainly not least, Pearl and the Observer send Mike and the Bots DEVIL FISH, the 1984 vaguely Italian rip off of JAWS which has an entirely European cast pretending to be Florida researchers doubling as live bait for a ridiculous man-eating shark-octopus. This fishy film is a floundering disaster filled with aimless editing of interrupted scenes and some truly terrible voice dubbing of the Italian actors. As Nelson describes it: "The director's vision: lots of shots of things."   The sharktopus monster more closely resembles a giant polliwog on atomic steroids with a tree-mulching maw of enormous teeth, providing a wealth of riffing potential for the Satellite satirists. Pearl, Brain Guy and Bobo concoct an equally funny diversion as they sell passage on their castle as a cruise ship, then must entertain a couple by turning Mike, Servo and Crow into stereotyped copies of the DEVIL FISH characters. This episode has a number of small, enjoyable moments where the boys just chuckle at the ineptitude of the film without punchline commentary, non-plussed by the absurdity of what's happening before their eyes, which is a very inclusive feeling at the heart of the MST3K experience.  The fourth stand-out success on this disc makes the entire Volume XIX guaranteed DVD delight, as does the featurette MST3K: Origins and Beyond at CONvergence 2009, a recording of Joel Hogdson, Mary Jo Pehl and Frank Conniff's appearance at the convention in a funny discussion/Q&A full of history and anecdotes about MST's 11 seasons and beyond, as the trio joined up again with Trace Beaulieu and J. Elvis Weinstein to form Cinematic Titanic touring across the country to carry on the riffing tradition. The original DEVIL FISH trailer rounds out Disc Four.

Whether you're already a devoted fan or you're just looking for a DVD gift of cinematic hilarity, the new MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000:  VOLUME XIX 4-disc set packs countless laughs and hours of laughs.  A quartet of notoriously, enjoyably inept movies suffer the slings and arrows of riffing from the Satellite of Love crewmates as they poke fun at and with these failed flicks, and add plenty of MST bonus feature treats to boost the value of this box set even higher.  Enjoy the fun for the first time or all over again, with great video quality and a complete lack of interrupting commercials!  Uberfans be sure to go for the Gypsy collectible figure set to populate your own robot sidekick crew, or to start one. Check it out in the not too distant future!

FILMEDGE Visit the official Shout! Factory website MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATHER 3000: VOLUME XIX is available on DVD All original content of this site is © 2010 FilmEdge.net. All rights reserved Program content from MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 © 1990, 1993, 1997, 1998 Best Brains, Inc. All rights reserved