I'm watching all of the Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes in order. More about that here and here.
Video: Tom Servo's All Time Favorite Host Segments
First released: Spring 1998 (Volume 1)
Availability: Best Brains VHS (all volumes/out of print), Amazon VHS (out of print), Best Brains DVD (Volume 1 only)
Okay, this isn't an episode. You know it. I know it. I know you know it. And you know that I know that you know it. You know?
We're done with Season Nine and ready to start Season Ten, but during and shortly after Season Nine, some videos were released. These were made available during the run of MST3K, and, since I've covered others, I'll cover this one. Only, not so much.
Let me explain.
In the Spring of 1998, around the start of Season Nine, Best Brains released a VHS entitled Tom Servo's All Time Favorite Host Segments. It contained Host Segments from the first seven seasons. Here's a list.
The video contained an intro by Servo, stating that this was the definitive collection of his favorite Host Segments.
Apparently, it was successful. So much so that they released Tom Servo's All Time Favorite Host Segments Volume II later in the year. It came with a brand-new intro, with Servo saying he had found another great batch of Host Segments. A list of those are here.
Around the beginning of Season Ten, Tom Servo's All Time Favorite Host Segments Volume III was released. There was no introduction. The tape just started playing Host Segments. Here's a list of that tape's contents.
About the time Season Ten ended, Tom Servo's All Time Favorite Host Segments Volume IV was released, again, without an intro. Here's the list of the Host Segments on that tape.
In early 2000, the final tape in the series, Tom Servo's All Time Favorite Host Segments Volume V was released. Here's a listing of its contents.
I really need to sit down and compare all of the Host Segments on the five tapes with the actual Host Segments, but I think they actually covered all the Host Segments from the Comedy Channel/Comedy Central years. There are no Host Segments beyond Season Seven on any of the five tapes.
I don't know if they didn't get the rights to those episodes, but I don't think that's it. I suspect -- I don't know this, mind you -- that they began planning this series around the time Comedy Central canceled the show. If that's the case, they'd have made up the different volumes then, before they filmed any of the Sci-Fi Channel episodes.
Just because the results fit the scenario don't mean the scenario isn't true. I'm just taking a shot as to why there are no Sci-Fi Host Segments on any of the volumes. Again, I don't think it's a rights issue, as the entire Episode 908: The Touch of Satan was released on VHS by Best Brains, along with three episodes from Season Ten. Of course, it could be that they didn't get the rights to release those episodes until after the Favorite Host Segments volumes were already released. Of course, they could have done Volumes VI and VII with the Sci-Fi episodes. Maybe.
Anyway, the Host Segments tapes are fun to watch, but they do go about 90 minutes each. It's like watching an episode that's nothing but Host Segments. Five episodes, actually.
If you already have all the episodes, you have all the contents from these tapes. But, if, like me, you're a collector, you'll definitely want them.
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