MST3K: Play MST for Me, Part 1

I'm watching all of the Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes in order. More about that here and here.

Video: Play MST For Me

First released: VHS, Best Brains, 1991
Availability: Best Brains VHS (out of print), Best Brains DVD (Play MSTie For Me Triple Decker)

One of my favorites.

This isn't an episode of MST3K. It's a video. But, it was released during the run of the show.

When I started this quest to watch all of the episodes of MST3K, I didn't realize what kind of world I was about to enter. It's different. Really different.

How many other TV shows do you know where fans have recordings of shows that haven't been released on home video? For me, none.

There is a whole market of MST3K unreleased shows. Most of them follow The Code. That is, don't deal in episodes that are available commercially. They only deal in episodes that haven't been released to the home market. If and when the episodes are eventually released, the fan recordings go "off the market," for lack of a better term. They are no longer available for trade or barter.

Frank sings!

Anyway, it's a different world than that to which I'm used.

As I purchased episodes on DVD and on iTunes, I found out about the availability of unreleased shows. I obtained some. Heck, I got them all. Some of the recordings I have are very good. Some aren't. I'm slowly upgrading all of my unreleased episodes to the recording that are available from MST3KVideos.com. Skyroniter, who operates that site, follows The Code. And, the quality of his unreleased episodes is top notch.

So, what's all that got to do with a video released in 1991?

Not much, actually. Just a reminder of what I got myself into. I discovered that all of the episodes were available. And, that more than just episodes were released.

The clowns in the sky sing Clown in the Sky.

The Play MST For Me videos, for instance. And a whole lot more.

Best Brains (BBI, for short) released their first video, Play MST For Me on VHS back in 1991. It's out of print, but is sort of available. It's part of the Play MSTie For Me Triple Decker DVD that BBI sells. The DVD contains all three videos in the Play MST For Me series.

I don't have the VHS. It's one of the 11 VHS tapes I don't own. I have the other 8 BBI VHS tapes, but this is one of the ones missing from my collection.

Merry Christmas from the Satellite of Love.

I do have all of the Rhino VHS releases, though. It's only the BBI stuff I'm missing. More about that in a minute.

About this video...

The Play MST For Me series are the songs (most of them, anyway) performed on MST3K. It starts with Season Two's Sidehackin' from Episode 202: The Side Hackers. There are no songs from Season One. Actually, that's because there were no songs in Season One ... except the very last episode, Episode 104: Women of the Prehistoric Planet, which features a singing commercial for Clay & Lar's Flesh Barn. That didn't make the video.

It contains most of the songs from Season Two and Season Three, when the video was released:

J&tB roast Sandy Frank.

• Sidehackin' from Episode 202: The Side Hackers. A Beach Boys type 60s rocker.
• Creepy Girl from Episode 204: Catalina Caper. Kevin Murphy shines in his first starring segment.
• If Chauffeurs Ruled the World from Episode 206: Ring of Terror. Frank Conniff gets his feature. Worth watching an awful movie and short just for this song.
• Wild Rebels Cereal from Episode 207: Wild Rebels. A commercial. Fun, but no Creepy Girl or If Chauffeurs Ruled the World.
• Tibby, Oh Tibby from Episode 302: Gamera. Tom's ode to his turtle.
• Clown in the Sky from Episode 303: Pod People. The video misspells the name of the episode. It's rendered as Pop People. They would have fixed it in editing, but that's where the error actually occurred.
• Sandy Frank from Episode 306: Time of the Apes. A funny but mean-spirited song about the man who gave us a whole slew of Japanese imports, and not Toyotas.
• A Michael Feinstein Gamera from Episode 312: Gamera vs Guiron. Mike gets his first starring song. The video misspelled Feinstein's name as "Finestein."
• Slow the Plot Down from Episode 314: Mighty Jack. A sea shanty that sums up all of our feelings about Episode 314: Mighty Jack.
• The Many Tunes of Gamera from Episode 316: Gamera vs Zigra. Not a fan of this one, but at least it sucks. Well, not entirely. I liked Gypsy's Brünnhilde from Die Walküre.
• The Waffle Song from Episode 317: The Saga of the Viking Women and their Voyage to the Waters of the Great Sea Serpent. Now, I want waffles. Mmmm. Waffles.
• A Patrick Swayze Christmas from Episode 321: Santa Claus Conquers the Martians. I'd probably enjoy this more if I had ever seen a Patrik Swayze movie. Okay, I've seen Red Dawn, but that's it. Really.

What didn't make the cut?

• Clay & Lar's Flesh Barn from Episode 104: Women of the Prehistoric Planet. The only song from Season One, and the only song featuring Dr. Erhardt.
• Only Love Pads the Film from Episode 202: The Side Hackers. This and Sidehackin' are most of what made this episode tolerable.
• The Godzilla Genealogy Bop from Episode 213: Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster. Not much could save this movie.
• Hike Your Pants Up from Episode 307: Daddy-O. I have no idea why they left this one out. It's a classic.
• The Fugitive Alien Medley from Episode 318: Star Force: Fugitive Alien 2. This should have made the tape.
• Master Ninja Theme Song! from Episode 322: Master Ninja I. Meh.

How "They Tried To Kill Me With A Forklift" didn't make it, I'll never know.

An enjoyable video.

Oh, I should have covered this one between Season Two and Season Three, but I didn't. Consider this me playing catch-up. I plan to cover Play MST For Me 2 when we get to that point in the timeline.

One more thing. About the BBI tapes I'm missing? Here they are:

• Play MST For Me Got it!
• Play MST For Me 2 Got it!
• MST Poopie & Scrapbook (the combo release; I own the individual releases)
• Episode 1006: Boggy Creek II: and the Legend Continues...
• Episode 1002: Girl in Gold Boots
• Episode 908: The Touch of Satan
• Episode 1009: Hamlet
• Mr. B's Lost Shorts??!!
• Tom Servo's All Time Favorite Host Segments Vol. V Got it!
• Play MST For Me 3
• Assignment Venezuela and Other Shorts

Again, it's only these Best Brains VHS tapes that I don't have. I have all of the Rhino VHS releases, as well as the Rhino, Shout, and Best Brains DVD releases. If you have any of these, or know someone who does, and you (or they) would be open to selling them, let me know.

Okay, enough of this. Back to the episodes.

Soon.