Customer Reviews

Mystery Science Theater 3000 - Shorts Vol. 2 [VHS]

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The bad news: Tom Servo doesn't introduce the shorts so there's no transitioning from one to the next. More importantly NO "Mr. B Natural" in this collection. C'mon Rhino what are you waiting for?

However, this tape's got two of the best shorts MST's done, "What to do on a Date" and "Last Clear Chance". Apparently all we have to do on dates is find a decoration party for a garage sale (complete with Cokes and ice cream), a swim meet or a wienie roast. [If only I'd known this sooner-I could have saved the money taking girlfriends to Vienna and London]. Anyway, DID kids in the '50s really need a film to tell them what to do? I suspect this was made to prevent those "petting/make-out parties that kids nowadays are doing what with their hula hoops and lewd Rocking-and-Rolling".

"Last Clear Chance" has a death-obsessed highway patrolman dropping in uninvited to discuss fatal traffic accidents with a farm family that has no chores to do. Mike and the 'Bots rip this apart; you might have to watch it a couple times to get the jokes you missed while laughing.

The other 4 shorts are worth watching, especially the last one "Days of Our Years". A Kafkaesque nightmare of a safety film with a Reverend poking himself into railwaymen's tragic lives. A hoot. Buy This.

MST3K Shorts Volume 2 gives us 6 more classic short features with our hilarious friends on the Satellite of Love. It is a little shorter than Volume 1, coming in at around 82 minutes in length, and its contents rate a little lower than the gems featured on its predessessor, but it still delivers one laugh after another. Catching Trouble is a little problematic in that it features man's inhumanity toward animals, but Joel and the Bots not only apologize for the actions of Ross the animal trapper, their jokes are directed at him and his rather indecent activities. Basically, we watch Ross (whom the male narrator keeps creepily referring to as "my boy friend Ross") and his Indian guide capture a bobcat, two bear cubs, and three rattlesnakes in the Everglades. Rounding up snakes is one thing, but manhandling a bobcat and kidnapping two young bear cubs is something else. Joel and the Bots succeed in making Ross look the fool, though, which is this short's saving grace. What To Do on a Date is one of my favorite MST3K shorts; the title alone tells you how much fun Joel, Tom, and Crow are going to have with this one. Throw in a real goof like Nick, and you've got classic comedy. In case you are wondering, the whole point of the film's suggestions seems to consist of never allowing a couple to be alone together for a single moment. A Day at the Fair is, predictably, the story of a day at the fair. In the cattle-judging contest, the blue ribbon goes to a girl, at which point Crow unleashes the great line, "The cows are furious!"

Keeping Clean is not as funny as it is weird. Apparently, 12-year old kids had to be shown step by step how to take showers and get dressed. The short is basically a how-to guide for becoming anally retentive about grooming, and a kid would spend hours every day trying to do everthing the short tells them to do. Of course, it could be that the narrator just enjoyed watching a boy shower; he seemed just a little bit too interested in children's underwear, too. The most striking things in this short are the sweeping claims the narrator makes--being super-clean is important for your health and the health of those around you, but more than that, good appearance helps you get along with others. Conformity must have ruled the day in 50s elementary schools.

Then we come to two shorts produced by Union Pacific Railroad. They remind me of those safety films we had to watch in elementary school, the ones that tried to scare you to death. "Last Clear Chance" shows you what happens when you ignore traffic signs and signals (trains and convertibles just don't mix), while "The Days of Our Years" features death, maiming, and disfigurement. It's pretty depressing stuff, but the stories are so overdramatic and overdone that Mike and the Bots have no trouble injected lots of laughs into the experience.

What To Do on a Date is certainly a short you don't want to miss, but it's the only real classic on here. It would have been nice to have Crow or Mike "host" this volume the way Servo hosted volume 1, but the lack of a host doesn't detract from the shorts themselves. MSTies can't go wrong with any of these shorts collections.

Wow. I loved this video. A collection of shorts including CATCHING TROUBLE, WHAT TO DO ON A DATE, LAST CLEAR CHANCE, A DAY AT THE FAIR, KEEPING CLEAN, and THE DAYS OF OUR YEARS. I have never laughed so hard and so constantly as I did through the 80something minutes of this video. CT, though a very disturbing look at pre-PETA days, has Ross and his "Indian guide"--ha! tracking down poor defenseless animals in the Everglades to send to a zoo. Joel & TBs root for the animals to maul Ross by the end of this nasty flick. WTDOAD is so dumb that I would laugh even without the commentary. Obviously the kids of the fifties and sixties (read: our parents) found better things to do on a date... since we're all here! LCC tells us about the dangers of reckless driving and the policeman in this is just hilarious. It goes something like this... Our young hero: Oh, sure, officer. I know that guy. He's a good pal of mine. Officer: Well... He's DEAD! KC is another MST3K classic. "Now you're officially an obsessive-compulsive!" ADATF follows a family on their "fun day" at the fair. And last but not least is Days Of Our Years. Man, that was a disturbing short. Only Joel & the bots could have gotten me through that buzzkill of a public service message from Union Pacific Railroad "UPR make the best movies!" All in all, a wonderful viewing experience. But Days of our Years might make you cry!

This collection of Short Films from Mystery Science Theater 3000 has some of MST3K's best work on it. Yet it's still not as good as the first one. CATCHING TROUBLE was a okay short but the riffs weren't that funny. WHAT TO DO ON A DATE was a funny one. The riffs from Joel & the bots were funny, and the short was just plain silly. LAST CLEAR CHANCE is the best short on the tape and Mike & the bots do a good job on that one. A DAY AT THE FAIR is the third funniest with all those Redneck jokes. KEEPING CLEAN is the second best short. THE DAYS OF OUR YEARS had Mike & the bots at a high but the short was kind of scary... The tape is good and it's worth buying but I suggest you get the first shorts tape first before you get this one. If you have the first one and you just loved it then this is the tape you need to get. Have a nice day and Enjoy...

I LOVED the original Shorts, so I had to buy this VHS. To my amazement, it was as classic as the first. I absolutely died of laughter at the shorts presented in this collection. The 'bots and Mike and Joel light up the screen with their killer commentary and amazing wit. You'll be amazed at just how bad the shorts before movies can truly be, and yet, how much fun you can make out of them. An essential for any MST3K fan, as well as a great introduction for any newcomer. Too funny! Also, I recommend the first Shorts. If you aren't hooked already, you will be!

It is unlikely we as a nation will ever find another television program that equals "Mystery Science Theater 3000". It has faded into history now, but thanks to the efforts of Rhino Video, their legend lives on with things like "Shorts Too". This second collection of the mini-films lampooned by Joel, Mike and the 'Bots is far better than the first. If "What To Do On A Date" doesn't have you cracking up, you should have your IQ tested and apply for some Federal Assistance Progam for the Terminally Clueless. This tape is a riot! It gets a TV rating of TV-WTF(way too funny).

This set of shorts is hilarious! "Catching Trouble" has some riffs from the guys that are great (Ross catches a bear cub, Tom says "Hit him again, Ross! That'll teach him for trying to get away!"). "Last Clear Chance" has to be the hands-down winner on the tape though, with some of the riffs being so funny it left me in tears! All in all, I highly recommend this one!

Aside from the fact that the video contains only 6 shorts, though long advertised by Rhino as a set of 7, Shorts Vol. 2 is a fascinating look at arcane Americana. I'd give it 5 stars but for four reasons: 1, it lacks the 7th short, "Uncle Jim's Dairy Farm"; 2, "What To Do On A Date" is even funnier un-MSTed; 3, the video ends on a very depressing note with a Union Pacific film about "industrial accidents" and why they should be avoided; and 4, the video isn't "hosted" by Tom Servo, unlike the first volume. These are quibbles, anyway. Worth every penny - buy it!

This tape has the best shorts from MST3K ever. That guy Joel who is in some of the short is so cool. I miss Joel, he was the best host of MST3k. So I woulds suggest buying this tape now...

What a great show...I wish they still made them. Check out any MST3K videos you can get your hands on!