MST3K: Episode 802 - The Leech Woman

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

Episode 802: The Leech Woman

First aired: Sci-Fi Channel on 8 February 1997
Availability: MST3KVideos.com fan copy

No leeches were harmed in the making of this film.

This one was hard to get through. And, the funny thing is, when I first saw it back in the late 1990s, I don't remember it being that hard to get through. Perhaps I didn't sit down to watch it uninterrupted. Or, perhaps I did.

I'm not sure because when I watched it again this week as part of my "watch 'em all" project, I didn't manage to watch it uninterrupted. So, I don't know if the interruptions are what made it hard to get through, or if it being hard to get through caused me to be more open to interruptions.

Whatever the case, my watching it this time was painful. And long. Took three days. Or four. They all seem to run together.

Still, I can't put my finger on what I didn't like. They did a good job on the riffing. I found that I laughed, at least. And the host segments were so-so. So, maybe that's it. I just never did get into the whole Planet of the Apes thing. Loved the movie, but, oh, I don't know. The MST3K segments just didn't cut it for me. So far, at least. I really don't remember these host segments, though the movie is more familiar.

Oh, wait. I know why.

Used to be, when they'd leave the theater for the commercials or Host Segments, I'd do my commercial breaks. Grab something to drink or a snack or something. So, I didn't always watch the Host Segments during the this season. Don't know why. Oh, well.

Mala is old.

Later, Mala is young.

In this movie, Husband of the Year Paul is tired of his Old Wife June but when Really Old Woman Mala shows up and convinces him that she has the secret to youth, HOTY Paul convinces OW June to travel to Africa with him and learn the secret, which turns out involving killing a man to get fluid from his pineal gland, but that doesn't bother HOTY Paul, who convinces OW June to go through the transformation herself, and she does, but turns the tables on HOTY Paul and picks him as the person for the "donation" of the secret ingredient, and she gets all young again, being transformed into Young Widow June, so YW June and the Expedition Guide escape, but along the way, YW June discovers the transformation is temporary, so she kills EG and turns young again, then flies back to the U. S. and sets out to get Good Lawyer but Bad Boyfriend Neil away from Girlfriend Sally, and her plan works, but GF Sally doesn't take kindly to it, so she confronts YW June, who kills GF Sally and drains her pineal gland, but then GLBBBF Neil shows up, then the police show up, and YW June turns back into OW June, and then discovers that the fluid from a woman doesn't work, so, with the police after her, she jumps out a window and dies. The end.

At first, June is old.

Then she becomes young.

Then she's even older.

Wow. I didn't realize just how much was going on in this film. And not much of it is good.

Still, the riffing was fine. Maybe it's the Host Segments. I never did care much for the Nanites. This time around, they've been in two episodes, and I haven't warmed to them yet.

Maybe it's the Ape Planet.

Whatever it is, this episode just didn't do it for me. Not a bad episode. That is, I wouldn't dread watching it again. It just ... oh, I don't know. It just didn't all come together.

Maybe the next time I watch it, it'll be better.

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