MST3K

Brand loyalty is pretty tough to come by these days. Whether it’s face soap, breakfast cereal or hemorrhoid cream, customers are more apt to move along to the next great deal or discounted special if the price is right. It’s even more unusual when that company is a DVD distributor, whose traditional role is to release films that will reach as wide (and undiscriminating) an audience as possible. And yet, despite the onset of digital delivery and streaming media, companies like Criterion, Kino and Blue Underground have become like mini film festivals unto themselves, re-introducing neglected niche films on special editions with the sort of pomp and circumstance that major studios often don’t include on even their most prestigious catalog titles.

And in 2013, no one has done that better than Shout Factory and its spin-off sub-label, Scream Factory. From the lesser-known work of John Carpenter (Assault on Precinct 13, Prince of Darkness) and Sam Raimi (Crimewave) to full-blown box sets like The Vincent Price Collection that gather extras even the most die-hard fans didn’t know existed, Shout has become the go-to studio for cult, camp, horror and sci-fi. And they do it with added value items like reversible covers – newly commissioned stuff on one side, original artwork on the other – that appeal to people who want to own their favorite films, not just watch them.

That being said, a show like Mystery Science Theater 3000 couldn’t have fallen into better hands. After a long series of releases on VHS and DVD by Rhino, Shout took over series in 2008 beginning with a 20th Anniversary Edition that established a regular release pattern of a four-episode collection every 6 months or so. The extras were many and varied, incorporating new interviews and introductions from most of the original staff, but also behind-the-scenes info about the films themselves; a clever addition considering many of the films chosen for “riffing” were cult favorites many felt deserved better treatment than to be mocked by a smart-ass with two puppets.

Fast forward five years later and Shout is still proudly carrying the torch with the Mystery Science Theater 3000 25th Anniversary Edition, which packs in six episodes of the show: four new titles and two re-releases previously only available as solo DVDs from Rhino, notable as the “transition” episodes in which host Joel Hodgson stepped down and was replaced by head-writer Mike Nelson.

Moon Zero Two is culled from the show’s first season on what would become Comedy Central. Still in its “formative” years, Hodgson, Trace Beaulieu and Josh Weinstein provide the silhouette voices over this failed 1969 Hammer Films excursion into outer space. The film itself is a bit of a bore, which might explain why the riffers fall asleep at the wheel a bit here; missing out on some prime opportunities to hit an easy target.

The Day the Earth Froze picks up the pace nicely with Kevin Murphy now voicing Tom Servo and the entire gang having a field day with this Finnish fantasy flick not to mention the classic short “Here Comes the Circus.” The Leech Woman and Gorgo both come from the Sci-Fi Channel era with Mike Nelson now firmly in place on the satellite of love. The riffing is now down to a polished science, which more hits than misses on most jokes. But Mitchell and The Brain the Wouldn’t Die are the two slam-dunks of the set, not only for their historical value as “transition” episodes, but because both films are perfect vehicles for the MST3K treatment.

But beyond the episodes themselves is a feast of extras, including Return to Eden Prairie: 25 Years of Mystery Science Theater 3000, a full length documentary broken into several parts that covers the entire genesis of the show and its transformations through the years. All the significant parties are involved except for Nelson and Weinstein (read into that what you will). It’s a can’t-miss retrospective. And in keeping with previous Shout Factory releases, we get info about the film’s themselves (a 9-minute segment on Moon Zero Two, a heftier 30-minute piece on Gorgo and a quickie with the actress from The Brain that Wouldn’t Die), a solo interview with Mary Jo Pehl (“Pearl”), wraparound segments from the Mystery Science Theater Hour and 4 mini-posters for each film in the collection.