The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection, Vol. 1

We all serve the greater good in our own way. Some people cure polio. Some build rockets that go to the moon and back. The MST3K guys made unwatchable movies watchable, livening up terrible B-films with zinging commentary and mocking goofball skits during ten seasons on local TV and later on cable. Ordinarily we hate people who talk during movies, but there are some films so wretched that the audience must start sassing back in self-defense. This box set is a good introduction to the MST madness, with episodes featuring both original host Joel Hodgson and replacement Mike Nelson. Of the four films in this collection, the best of the worst is easily The Creeping Terror, a schlocky 50s monster movie made so incompetently that the director narrates most of the film himself because he accidentally dropped his recording equipment in a lake while filming. And Bloodlust is worth it just for the spectacle of seeing a young Robert Reed (future sitcom dad Mr. Brady) chased down like a dog. The DVDs also include the original versions of each film, though you should be warned that without the ameliorating buffer of wisecracking robot puppets, these cinematic trainwrecks might be extremely dangerous, or perhaps just boring.