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108 of 112 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars 2 great episodes, 2 pretty good ones.
This fourth collection of episodes from the classic TV comedy show, "Mystery Science Theater 3000" (which, if you don't already know, is the program where a silhouette of a man and his two robots sitting in theater seat provide running comedic commentary to rotten movies), contains four episodes from the later seasons that appeared on the Sci-Fi Channel. That means Mike...
Published on February 26, 2004 by Claude Avary

versus
6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars So it's come to this.
Maybe it's because the Sci-Fi series ends in early 2004. Maybe it's because Sci-Fi released the rights for these four eps early. Maybe they're just having trouble securing those older Comedy Central eps. For whatever reason, Season 4 is comprised entirely of Sci-Fi channel episodes.

Many MSTies make the upfront caveat that Sci-Fi's framework never matched that of...

Published on January 20, 2004 by Justin Pierce


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108 of 112 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars 2 great episodes, 2 pretty good ones., February 26, 2004
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This review is from: Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection: Volume 4 (Girl in Gold Boots / Hamlet [1961] / Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / Space Mutiny) (DVD)
This fourth collection of episodes from the classic TV comedy show, "Mystery Science Theater 3000" (which, if you don't already know, is the program where a silhouette of a man and his two robots sitting in theater seat provide running comedic commentary to rotten movies), contains four episodes from the later seasons that appeared on the Sci-Fi Channel. That means Mike Nelson is the host, Billy Corbett is doing Crow's voice instead of Trace Beaulieu, and Pearl Forrester is now the evil scientist holding the crew of the Satellite of Love hostage.

The early DVD collections were all focused on the Comedy Central years of MST3K, so this is a nice shift in Rhino's marketing. Some fans aren't fond of the host segments in these later years, but there are some occasional funny ones. The riffing, however, is as good as ever, and has changed to an angry, sarcastic style different than the Joel and early Mike years. I love both styles, but some fans prefer one or the other. Just be aware that in this package you're getting a full-assault of the later, Sci-Fi Channel episodes. (Rhino is about release another package of Sci-Fi Channel episodes, after which I hope they'll return to some of the early seasons to maintain balance.)

Of the four episodes on this collection, two are superb, while the others are entertaining but more average. Here's what you'll find:

GIRL IN GOLD BOOTS: A really sleazy `go-go' film from the late 60s with some disturbing similarities to "Showgirls" (except it's better). Sleazy `elf boy' picks up a girl in a greasy spoon restaurant with the promise of making her a dancer in Los Angeles at the club where his drug-addled sister works. Unfortunately, Elf Boy is a bit psychotic, the boss at the club is oily and sleazy, and a poetic spouting dude named Critter (or "Yak Boy") tries to lure our girl from her plunge into a life of...(gasp!)...SIN! Oh, and there's lots of cameras leering at girls in skimpy go-go outfits dancing to lousy music. The film is similar to early MST3K episodes like "Hellcats" and "Wild Rebels" in its greasy ugliness, but the film is mostly slow and boring. Mike and the `Bots do a decent job with it, but this is only an average episode. There is a funny host segment where Mike sings a syrupy guitar ballad while the ship burns.

HAMLET. A 60s German TV production of the play, horribly dubbed into English, and starring Maximilian Schell. It's bleak, drab, slow, and shot entirely on a single very uninteresting set of black curtains and granite furniture. The amusement of this episode is watching Mike and the `Bots take on a classic of literature, and riff off of famous lines, some of which is hysterical. But the production is so ponderous and slow that you'll be screaming along with the hosts for Hamlet to just shut up and die at the end ("Is there a word in English language he hasn't said?" one of them asks). There's a funny host segment called "Alas Poor Who?" set up as gameshow, where contestants must identify celebrities based on pieces of their bones. An intriguing, if not fantastic, episode.

SPACE MUTINY. Ah, here's the gravy! An awful South African-produced sci-fi stinker that rips off the plot of "Battlestar Galactica" - as well as all of its effects footage! (I'm not sure this was legally done.) The inhabitants of the giant space cruiser `The Southern Sun' - which is mostly a large basement and boiler room - face a mutiny by guys in marching band outfits. A chunky loser and his love interest (old enough to be his mother) must save the ship. There are loads of people flipping over railings as they get shot (railing kill!), mutineers who can't aim worthy a damn, a chase on vehicles that go slower than golf carts, and a hero who screeches like a woman at odd moments. Mike and the `Bots really let this film have it, and the result is one of the funniest episodes of the Sci-Fi Channel years.

OVERDRAWN AT THE MEMORY BANK. Just as great an episode as "Space Mutiny" is this horrendous Public Television-produced film. Acutally, it isn't a film: it was shot on VIDEO! Cheap and flat looking, and filled with cheesy video toaster effects, the film blows any chance of succeeding it might have had. And it had potential. It has a real star, Raul Julia, and an early cyberpunk and proto-`Matrix' idea of a man whose mind is lost inside a giant corporate computer in a dystopian future. But none of it makes the least bit of sense, and it reaches hysterical levels of incomprehensibility by the end. Mike and the `Bots are in top form, and there's plenty to laugh at here. The end sequence, where they call the tech-support line for the movie to complain, is a classic!

In addition to the films, Mike Nelson makes brief introductions to each episode, describing a bit of the behind-the-scenes torture the writers went going through. It's a nice feature, and I hope Rhino continues it.

Unlike some earlier Rhino discs, there are no "un-cut, un-MST3K" versions of the films available. Frankly, I never watched the un-cut films on the discs where is WAS available, and I don't think anyone would want to watch any of these film without Mike and the `Bots. They change awful entertainment into great entertainment - and that's a magic feat all on it's own, and why "Mystery Science Theater 3000" will live forever as one of comedy greats.

Come on, JUST PUSH THE BUTTON, FRANK, and buy this collection!

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271 of 299 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Some of my favorite episodes ever..., November 6, 2003
This review is from: Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection: Volume 4 (Girl in Gold Boots / Hamlet [1961] / Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / Space Mutiny) (DVD)
I knew there would be at least a few reviews that dismissed the SciFi era in favor of the Comedy Central years. The arguments seem to center around the host segments, which, in my opinion, are hardly the most important part of the show. Yes, one gets to feel some attachment to the characters, but the premise of MST3K is people making fun of bad movies, and in my opinion the SciFi era represents the pinnacle of Best Brains' comic writing.

First, I must admit that I didn't have Comedy Central until the ascendancy of South Park forced my cable provider to add it. We did, however, have the SciFi channel, for whatever reason. So I had to wait until the SciFi channel picked up MST3K before I could watch the show. So my association with MST3K consists primarily of these three years, though I have watched a number of the CC-era episodes now.

There are really two different periods. Joel and Mike offered two kinds of humor. Joel--sleepy-eyed, laid-back Joel--was capable of the most intellectual, wise commentary, but it was generally reserved for the host segments. The skewering of the films was relatively friendly--even when the film was as punishing as "Manos: the Hands of Fate." Joel was the class clown who made fun of the teacher's presentation, but in a way that let the teacher know he didn't really mean any harm. The pop culture references in the Joel era tended to be somewhat dated and very geared toward a baby-boomer audience.

But the "Mike" era changed that. Slowly, by degrees, the commentary began to sharpen to a razor edge. The references became more contemporary. The sarcasm was amped up, and this was probably what turned a lot of former MSTies off. The films were no longer joshed; they were skewered. Where Joel and the 'bots would often spend much of their time pretending to be characters making stupid or goofy remarks--essentially, allowing themselves to be drawn into the film, crappy as it was--Mike and the 'bots tended to comment more broadly on the action, the plot, the actors and the production values. This type of humor was much more appealing to me.

My point of all this is that the whole Joel/Mike debates are not only divisive but pointless. The two hosts--and the eras they hosted--offer two arguably different senses of humor, and many people will prefer one or the other. But I think it's unfair to demand that Rhino produce DVDs from one era over another. I've been waiting for some SciFi-era DVDs for a long time, and these represent a tiny fraction of the DVDs published to date.

Now, as for the episodes themselves--I must admit, "Hamlet" and "The Girl With the Golden Boots" are not two I would have chosen for the DVD. That said, both are amusing.

But the real meat of this set are "Overdrawn at the Memory Bank" and "Space Mutiny." The former is a movie, made for public television, that inexplicably stars Raul Julia. It is very, very bad, and yet, watching it, one can't help but notice that it has a lot in common with "The Matrix." Both films deal with a world where computers control everything and a single programmer who must fight back; and both films are bad. (Ooh, that's going to cost me some "helpfuls").

But "Space Mutiny"...ah, Space Mutiny. So perfect. So unbelievably amusing. It's one of those films that must have written itself in the MST3K office. My favorite line: when the villain attempts to escape in what appears to be a cherried-out golf cart, and the heroes quickly board another one to give chase, Mike notes, "You could walk on your hands and catch up to the guy!"

Personally I hope for more SciFi era releases..."Riding With Death," would be wonderful, as would "It Lives by Night" and the two Japanese superhero films, "Invasion of the Neptune Men" and "Prince of Space."

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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars are you ready to laugh?, October 11, 2005
By 
This review is from: Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection: Volume 4 (Girl in Gold Boots / Hamlet [1961] / Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / Space Mutiny) (DVD)
What do insanely funny people in Minnesota do in there spare time? Mystery Science Theater is one of the results, and here are four very entertainingly awful "experiments:"

Girl in Gold Boots: This one has everything - bad lighting, bad acting, really bad editing, and a purplexing storyline: wannabe dancer Michele leaves her abusive dad at "Eat" (the restaurant they run) and hops a ride with Buz, the greasy dope-dealer who says he'll get her a job in a "groovy Hollywood nightclub." Along the way, they pick up Critter, a folksy gentleman who bears a strange resemblence to Paul Rudd. This movie features bad 60's music, terrible dancing, and some of the ugliest men you'll find in L.A.

Hamlet: I feel a duty to advise you to stay away from this if you find Shakespeare boring. But it's easier to understand Mike and the 'bot's zingers about this dubbed German version of the greatest drama of all time. Funniest of all is Hamlet's famous "To be or not to be" speech. If you can get through this, kudos to you.

Overdrawn at the Memory Bank: I know I still love Raul Julia (Gomez of the Addams Family), but I hate his decision to star in this made-for-PBS-film about a man rebelling against his futuristic workplace. While trapped in a computer. Watch this one a couple of times and it'll become one of your favorites. Enjoy the guys' jokes about Julia's obsession with Casablanca (yes, the classic movie) as it plays out inside the computer.

Space Mutiny: This is a must-see for diehard MST3K fans. A soggy Star Wars rip-off, this is a great example to aspiring filmmakers what NOT to do. Some of MST3K's best jokes are here, including an ongoing rambling list to rename the movie's muscular "hero" (i.e., "Butch Deadlift," "Punch Rockgroin"). The funniest (unintentional) character? Kalgon, the head mutiner, with greased-back hair and a widow's peak drawn on his forehead.

All in all, one of my funnier collections. Enjoy!
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars The Best and Worst of MST, October 2, 2005
By 
CBlaze (Batavia, IL) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection: Volume 4 (Girl in Gold Boots / Hamlet [1961] / Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / Space Mutiny) (DVD)
This box set is the ultimate question mark. How can a show that is so funny in the midst of it's prime bomb out so badly in one episode?

Space Mutiny - is by far the funniest episode I have seen! Beef Hardslab (or whatever his name is), Grand-ma daughter, Commander Santa Claus and Kalgan are enough to make this episode funny without Mike & the Bots ripping it a new one. It's basically a cheesy 80's sci-fi movie - one of those movies if the world would stop in the 80's and the future grew out from that point - this is what it would be like. The chases in the golf carts/floor buffers are hilarious, the acting is down right awful, the main character is so easy to make fun of... This is MST gold - no wait PLATINUM! This episode is worth getting this box set!

Overdrawn at the Memory Bank - this movie made me squirm in my seat the first time around - squirming because I wanted it to end so badly - but I was laughing while I was squirming! This is another movie that seemed like it'd be funny without M&tB's but you throw in the MST crew you have something that'll make you laugh so hard you'll cry. Raul Julia plays a guy bored at his job - and he "scrolls up cinema's" or basically downloads movies to his work station. He get's caught and sent out on a mandatory vacation where his brain is inserted into a baboon. THEN if that wasn't wacky enough they lose his body and he becomes one with the computer and he does this entire Casablanca reality for himself. Note to movie makers - don't put a good movie into your bad movie to try to make your bad movie seem good - it doesn't work! This one too is worth the price of the box set!

Girl in Gold Boots - This movie is a dumb 60's - I want to be a famous dancer so I'll get with this creepy guy who I met at a diner and he'll show me the way - type of movie. First off, the girl can't dance to save her life - Elaine from Seinfeld looked just as good as she does. Then you have the creepy guy she meets at the diner - who looks like Regis Philbin - and he's not as creepy per-se more like an icky-elf. Then their is the true love interest a guy named Critter - oh yeah ladies line up - and take a number for a ride on the Critter! He's your typical rebel with a heart of gold type of guys... Mike and the Bots rip this movie to shreds - and again this one makes this box set very appealing!

Then we get to Hamlet... What can I say... I haven't actually watched this entire episode because I was afraid I'd fall asleep. It's too talky for Mike & the Bots to get in good one-liners. And it's pretty much word for word (TV version of course) Hamlet. No, dumb lines to make fun of. No, extremely stupid car chases in golf carts. No, vacations inside of a baboon's body. No, icky-elves. Nothing. I'll probably put it on one day when I'm cleaning and try and over hear parts - but it's the worst MST out there (which is incredibly rare finding a bad MST).

So, all in all - I'd give this box 5 out of 5 if it wasn't for Hamlet - but each of the other episodes tries their hardest to make up for Hamlet. I really want to say 5 out of 5 - but you can't ignore it... it is part of this package... Such a shame.
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Hamlet In Gold Boots At The Memory Bank Causes Space Mutiny, June 12, 2004
By 
Mike King "Mike Vegas King" (Taunton, MA United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection: Volume 4 (Girl in Gold Boots / Hamlet [1961] / Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / Space Mutiny) (DVD)
Rhino has seen fit to release more MST3K movies from the Sci-Fi era which, considering that the Sci-Fi Channel has stopped broadcasting reruns, couldn't have come at a better time.

"GIRL IN BOLD BOOTS" is a swinging, sixties musical mystery tour. Michele is a waitress in a roadside diner who wants to become a professional dancer. One day, Buz walks in and tells her that his sister is a famous dancer. If she'll provide him with companionship, he'll drive her to L.A. and help her break into show business. Before they can leave they also meet Critter, a charming drifter. Long story short, all three end up at the Haunted House, the nightclub in L.A. where Buz's sister Joan is the head dancer. If you look up the word sleazy in the dictionary, you'll find a picture of the nightclub owner. He's also a big time drug pusher, who soon has Buz dealing for him. He's already got Joan hooked on drugs. Joan is washed up and the nightclub owner wants the younger Michele to take her place. Critter winds up stuck as a janitor and stuck on Michele. He refuses to get involved with any illegal activities, except for the fact that he's a draft dodger! This Elvis wannabe is content to sing sappy love songs and stay on the sidelines. A host highlight has Crow T. Robot doing a go-go dance while wearing gold boots!

"HAMLET" stars Maximillian Schell in the title role, and was produced for German television in 1960. Max really puts the ham in Hamlet. This is the biggest bomb the Germans dropped on England since World War II. The voices of the actors are dubbed in English with German accents. Stranger still, the voice of King Claudius sounds like it was done by Ricardo Montalban! At one point in the film, Crow makes a remark about fine Corinthian leather. There is also a strange background sound heard throughout the movie. No doubt, it was the sound of William Shakespeare spinning in his grave!

"OVERDRAWN AT THE MEMORY BANK" was so awful that Raul Julia watched his performance in it and died of shame. No expense was spared in paying Raul to star in this made-for-PBS movie which, unfortunately, left little money for special effects. Raul plays Aram Fingal, a computer programmer who works for Novicorp, a giant corporation that exists somewhere in the future. When caught watching "Casablanca" at his desk, he is required to undergo rehabilitation therapy. His mind is transferred into the body of a baboon, in order to give him a new outlook on life! While monkeying around, his real body is misplaced and his mind is transferred into a computer. With the help of Appolonia James, a medical technician, Fingal manages to reprogram himself into a simulation of his favorite movie. This film takes "Casablanca," "1984" and "Planet Of The Apes," puts them in a blender, and hits the fast button!

"SPACE MUTINY" nearly causes one aboard the Satellite Of Love! All is not well aboard the Southern Sun spaceship. The old space captain, played by Cameron Mitchell, looks like a cross between an aging hippie and Santa Claus. He is content to explore the galaxy forever. John Phillip Law plays Kalgan, the mutineer who wants to take over the ship and divert it to a habitable planet. His acting is so far over the top that, when he laughs menacingly, you expect him to twirl a nonexistent, handlebar mustache. The captain's daughter is a brainless bimbo, while the pilot picked to succeed the aging captain is a giant slab of muscles with no acting talent whatsoever. There's lots of shooting with space guns, followed by a succession of space-suited stuntmen falling over handrails. The big chase scene involves the use of modified golf carts. My favorite scene takes place in the spaceship's bar, where the space travelers wear disco outfits and the women use hula hoops when they dance! While watching this in amazement, Crow asks, "So, in the future, there is absolutely no shame?"

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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars 2 classics make this a great set., March 11, 2004
This review is from: Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection: Volume 4 (Girl in Gold Boots / Hamlet [1961] / Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / Space Mutiny) (DVD)
A man and two robots he created are forced to endure bad movies in a mad scientist's experiment..

1. Girl in the Gold Boots - One of my favorite episodes! A small town waitress dreams of being a great dancer and joins a drifter on his way to L.A. But she finds the L.A. life isn't all the glitz and glammer she thought it was. Oh man! What a bad movie, but I laughed all the way through! Watch out for critter. 10/10

2. Hamlet - Mike beats Pearl in 3-Card Monty and gets to pick the movie, so he picks the greatest drama of all time, Hamlet. So of course Pearl picks the worst adaptation of Hamlet ever.. Actually one of the worst episodes, boring and there not much to make fun of. 5/10

3. Space Mutiny - Like Battlestar Galactica (in fact I believe some of BG's footage was actually used) a ship travels through space to an unknown destination. The Bad guys plan to take over the ship but some muscle-headed hero and his mom plan to stop 'em. Stinky movie, funny episode! 10/10

4. Overdrawn at the Memory Bank - A made-for-TV movie starring Raul Julia. In the future Raul is fed up with his job and his boring life. So he's forced to reabilitate, which means his mind is put into a computer, BUT SOMETHING GOES WRONG. Now he's stuck inside. He plans to use this by changing the government and stuff. Pretty funny episode with the Casablnca references and the anteater-bashings. 9/10

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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Another great collection from the funniest show ever on TV, November 25, 2003
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This review is from: Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection: Volume 4 (Girl in Gold Boots / Hamlet [1961] / Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / Space Mutiny) (DVD)
Although many of us are still wishing for Rhino Video to release more episodes from the Comedy Central era, these are four strong episodes nonetheless that any fan of the show will enjoy. Especially strong are Space Mutiny and Girl In Gold Boots. Space Mutiny stars Cameron Mitchell and for some reason his real life daughter along with some beefy no-name as the hero. The stock footage of the space ship battles is from Battlestar Galactica, so that tells you how much effort and money went into this hilarious attempt at "space opera". The acting and action sequences will have you rolling on the floor in spasms of laughter. For example, the climactic chase in the odd little golf cart-type vehicles at the end of the film will make your eyes water it is so goofy. Girl In Gold Boots is from one of the kings of grade-Z movies, Ted Mikels (of Astro Zombies fame), and is surpisingly good for him, but is nevertheless great fodder for Mike and the 'Bots, who proceed to find humor in all of the crazy 60's characters and issues in the film.

The other episodes include a German version of Hamlet. Since Shakespeare is one of head-writer Mike Nelson's great loves, it's loads of fun hearing him unleash his wit on this botched version of what may be the greatest play ever written. Finally, Overdrawn At The Memory Bank is a low-budget PBS version of a story by SF writer John Varley. Raul Julia's always adequate acting ability cannot save this film from everything else in it that is just plain wrong. The host segments making fun of PBS pledge drives are some of the best from the Sci-Fi Channel episodes of MST3K.

I personally enjoyed all of these episodes and purchased this DVD set as soon as it became available. Note that this set, unlike other Rhino MST3K releases, contains some new commentary by Michael J. Nelson.

Now, Rhino Video, please hear my pleas and release more Comedy Central episodes, especially those for which you already own the movie rights, like Teenagers From Outerspace or Giant Gila Monster. How about some Robert Lippert film episodes, like Rocketship X-M, King Dinosaur or Lost Continent? We want them now!

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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Somewhere in time and space..., December 5, 2003
This review is from: Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection: Volume 4 (Girl in Gold Boots / Hamlet [1961] / Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / Space Mutiny) (DVD)
I was looking forward to this release from the moment it was announced. You see, the last three seasons of Mystery Science Theater 3000 felt like "my" years. It was only after the show jumped from Comedy Central to The Science Fiction Channel that I would be able to watch regularly on my cable provider. So, when I heard that the fourth DVD box set would be a selection from those years, I was pleased. And when the episodes themselves were listed, I was happy with the picks. These are good MST3k episodes.

Here are some short comments on each of the four episodes included in the DVD box set:

GIRL IN GOLD BOOTS -- A grumpy and moody drifter, an intellectual who randomly loses his beard halfway through the film, and a woman who looks like a frumpy Angelina Jolie travel to LA. Once there, they get involved in some drug-dealing scheme that makes little sense. The mocking that the film receives from the crew is a little run of the mill, but still makes for an entertaining episode. Also included on this disc is a melodramatic movie trailer for GIRL IN GOLD BOOTS and a fun, cheesy TV spot.

HAMLET -- Yes, that Hamlet. I remember when this episode was first broadcast; early Internet rumors spoke of a German-produced Shakespeare play that had been translated, first from the original English into German, and then literally translated straight back into English without regard for the original. Unfortunately, those rumors turned out to be much more interesting than what we got. This German version of Hamlet is boring, and, well, boring. The MST3k crew does a decent job of mocking both Shakespeare ("I thought frailty's name was Carl...") and this production's rather stilted direction. One gets the feeling that the writers had been holding onto some of these riffs since High School English class. I liked this one, but I don't feel it was one of their strongest efforts. Still, it's nice to see them moving outside their established genre of movies.

OVERDRAWN AT THE MEMORY BANK -- An awful mid-80s movie, with annoying mid-80s music, shot in a mid-80s office building on mid-80s videotape. This stars the talented Raul Julia who, as the cast informs us from time to time, usually turned in much better performances than this one. In any event, he gets lost inside a Virtual Reality computer where he creates a Virtual Reality Casablanca for himself. I wouldn't mind getting lost in a Virtual Reality Casablanca, but I would hope that I'd find myself a better script than this. Oh, and apparently in the future, the world is ruled by a bloated version of Doctor Who writer Terrance Dicks. This is one of the goofiest episodes of the show and also one of the most hilarious. I still cannot think of the film's climax with smirking, and the telephone call that Mike makes to the film's technical support line during the closing credits is one of the more original and amusing jokes that they did in the series.

SPACE MUTINY -- In a giant spaceship resembling a warehouse, a space mutiny is taking place... but nobody cares. There are also some weird space babes jumping around a dark room, but after seeing the film three or four times, I still have no idea what they're supposed to be doing. This film rivals the previous movie for sheer goofiness. The mocking that it receives is one of the sharpest that I've seen. The bots' attempts to keep track of the films high number of "railing kills" are an absolute hoot.

For this DVD box set, host Mike Nelson has recorded all-new introductions where he basically explains that the writers and producers of the show don't know what the deal was with any of these movies either. He sort of looks like they just woke him up. Perhaps he just went into shock at the thought of all the hours he spent watching these bad movies.

In any case, this is another strong release from Rhino. The DVD box sets have generally been of great quality, as even where there is a less funny episode included it will have three top-notch companions to raise the average. This, the fourth release, continues the run of worthy packages, and is recommended to long-time fans or to anyone who still hasn't gotten into this great series.

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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Rhino has done it again!!!, November 3, 2003
By 
Gary Bowden (Fort Smith, Arkansas United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection: Volume 4 (Girl in Gold Boots / Hamlet [1961] / Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / Space Mutiny) (DVD)
It's great they're releasing the Sci-Fi eps,but I hope they'll continue to release the Comedy Central eps as well...I love these eps on this box set,though Hamlet is probably the weakest one of the bunch,but I'm not not saying it's bad either!! There are some good quips in it...I love the packaging,too! Rhino if you're reading this,please,please,please release the Comedy Central eps,like the more obscure eps.....How about some extras like interviews of the cast and such?? Maybe some trivia about the movie and things like that?Just a thought.Other than that,looks great!! Keep up the superb job!!!!!
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Everything I Touch Turns To Flies, May 6, 2006
This review is from: Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection: Volume 4 (Girl in Gold Boots / Hamlet [1961] / Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / Space Mutiny) (DVD)
When MST3K came to the Sci-Fi Channel in 1997, it was understood that the movies up for MST'ing would be bad science fiction/horror movies (and let's face is, there are billions of them; at least a thousand are being made as I write this, I am sure). And the first two Sci-Fi seasons consisted mostly of science fiction and horror movies. But in its last season, all that changed.

Witness "Girl in Gold Boots." It's horrible, to be sure, but not a horror movie, unless you count the fact that the titular girl dances in a go-go joint called "The Haunted House." And if you are looking for a reason to buy this collection, this is the stand-out episode. Fanboys laud "Space Mutiny" as the best thing Mike, Servo and Crow ever did in the history of the show, and although I agree it is a fine episode, it is not my favorite. And I am not entirely comfortable with Mike and the bots riffing on Shakespeare, even if it is a stagy German film of "Hamlet". And God knows "Overdrawn At the Memory Bank" has its legions of fans and to this day I sometimes sing, "Come as you are to my mall, to my a-a-trium." But "Girl in Gold Boots" - consider it "Manos! The Musical!"

There is just so much to love about "Girl in Gold Boots." The movie itself - a kind of badly lit, badly written, badly directed, badly acted version of "Rebel Without a Cause," if James Dean's character had been a homicidal maniac and Sal sang bad folk songs and Natalie worked at a greasy spoon. What the movie wants to say, at least from the hilarious trailer included in the DVD, is that young people in the 60s faced many temptations - drugs, committing petty crime, dancing, oily club owners, girls not only in gold boots, but also in silver boots. But if they held tight to their beliefs, listened to their hearts and played their guitars in the rain, they could find the right path.

The riffing in "Girl in Gold Boots" is impeccable. My hat is eternally off to Tom Servo for his "Charles Manson is walking the streets/The Zodiac Killer's at large/Charles Bukowski is puking out the window/and Santa Claus is on his way!" during the epic drive into L.A. And how lovely of Crow to note Buz's teleportation into a scene in a bar with a snappy "I'm back!" and calling the trio "natural born cheapskates" as they decide how to divide up the bill. And Mike - Oh, Mike - he just had to ruin Buz's moment in the sun, marveling over his front-page worthy gas station heist in which he stole $40 and left the attendant slightly injured. Luckily the crime was committed on a day when L.A. was riot-free. Like wow, man.

I implore the powers that be to keep the Sci-Fi episodes rolling on DVD. Let's all collectively pray that "Riding With Death," "The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living And Became Mixed-Up Zombies," "The Agent From H.A.R.M.," "The Thing That Wouldn't Die," and "Werewolf" all make their way safely to one of these collections very soon.

Always remember: keep your silver bra filled with breasts!
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