Jake

Itd be more hardcore if it just flashed back to a cutscene for no reason. An intercut silent flashback like that, happening as someone in the present recounts the tale would feel aesthetically at home in the Mad Max aesthetic.

I really liked the demo. I wasn't following this game at all but I ate the demo up and am excited for more.

I may have also seen it before the show, or at least before I saw most of the show. (My girlfriend in college loved it and preferred it to the main series by far and we watched it together. I remember being totally bowled over at the time that something as simple and benign as the shot of the old sign on the power pole outside the trailer park could be evocative and kind of intimidating. It was years until I saw the full series past the first couple episodes.)

I love RealtimeCSG. I've been using it a lot lately.

Uh Really though you're right. I have no idea where the clip featuring Chris is. I think hes he's been edited out of the video. OR I TRAVELED HERE FROM ANOTHER DIMENSION WHERE CHRIS WAS INTERVIEWED!!!

I know. I think that is the only place to see it. I don't have flash so I took other people's word for it.

Oh man The Talking Moose holy shit. Stone cold classic Macintosh Extension.

Love the look of this.

its linked in the show notes!

I'm a little over half way through the season and can more or less tell the voice actors apart, and I'm used to the joke speed now, but wish that they were all about a half second later - it feels like an editing mistake but I know it's not. I hope they get another season because I bet they will iron a lot of things out if they do. The criticisms of the new show seem pretty consistent, and pretty consistently couched in "they did a great job and it feels more like MST3K than I expected it would, but" praise, so I am hopeful they'll be heard. This season son was recorded very differently to the old ones and I think that's where the different pacing in the movie riffing segments comes from. In the old show the three actors would sit down together in the theater seats in front of a huge blue screen and watch the whole movie (or each 30 minute chunk) and record their riffing and silhouette acting and puppetry in one go. The new show is recorded in piecemeal with the voice actors and Jonah Ray each recording their riffs separately like voice over, one line read at a time, then an editor put together an audio track, which they more or less pantomimed against for the silhouette segment. I think this was done due to actor availability but it shows. It's the #1 thing I hope they can account for better and fix if they do a second series for Netflix. Ive always been a sucker for the host segments and invention exchanges and all the cardboard and plywood and foam rock production design, and everyone involved seems to be in the right frame of mind about it all (the right balance of earnestness and hamminess and just-happy-to-be-doing-this) for me that I don't mind they're actors I already know. It might be because I watched enough MST3K in my youth that all of those actors are also totally known names to me at this point? It's probably that I just want to look at a purple-underlit set with some crappy drainage hose tubing involved so badly that I'll overlook anything.

Idle Thumbs 300: Our Weird Monstrosity You look around the table and see faces that comfort you. Maybe they don't look exactly how you expect, but in their presence you feel safe and at home. More faces appear on a big screen in the corner you didn't notice before—faces you haven't seen in ages, not in this room at least. This isn't what you expected. As face after face fills the screen, you feel something growing in your throat, and realize it's an overpowering sense of nostalgia as you get to spend time hanging out with a bunch of friends you miss. Eventually, a montage goes on way too long and you delete the episode before it's over. (We'll be back in two weeks with another episode. See you then!) Discussed: Nontraditional use cases for 3D televisions, invert-X vs invert-Y, resisting scratching an itch, Mortal Kombat, Metal Gear Solid, nostalgia in virtual spaces, brotherhood and growing up, what we look like, Cribbage with Grandpas, Resident Evil VII, Dark Souls, living in haunted houses from the 1970s, Idle Thumbs Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Important If True 10: The Rooster's Stupid Secret You've been given the chance to re-live your life from the start, with everything you know now. A chance to right wrongs, a chance to show them all? Maybe, if you're lucky. A chance—with our help—to really figure out the mysteries of the world that you missed the first time through? Things like: What do roosters have against Swedish labor unions? How did Sinbad hide himself in plain sight, in every child's copy of the movie Kazaam? What was that guy yelling about outside your apartment that one time? What is a "tooth worm?" Definitely. In fact, we just did. Your life wasted, you pursue one final question: Can you re-live your life from the start, knowing absolutely none of this? Send us email at questions@importantiftrue.com. If you enjoyed this and would like to subscribe to an ad-free feed, please consider supporting Idle Thumbs by backing our Patreon. Discussed: ugh... "memes", Swedish labor union screaming rooster, Nick Breckon overhearing a disaster, psychic billionaire baby, John Titor, Early Edition, beautiful medieval teeth, tooth worm, Kazaam/Shazam, First Kid trailer on the Kazaam VHS Nick's Endorsement: Boston Cooler (Vernor's Ginger Ale over vanilla ice cream) Chris' Endorsement: Buckwheat tea, aka soba tea Jake's Endorsement: Late Night Work Club animated short films Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Idle Thumbs 306: Nick Breckons: 1, Mackle: More "Now boarding all rows, all groups." Lemore was running late. Stepping up to the gate, he presented a creased boarding pass. The crisp sound of denial emanated from the machine. "I'm sorry, Mr. Macklemore, but this is telling me you've already boarded." Fist clenched, Lemore stared down the tunnel in disbelief. "It's Lemore," he said under his breath in a defeated tone. "Professor Mack Lemore." But it was no use. Once again, he'd been had. Discussed: Horizon: Zero Dawn, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Dark Souls, Sonic/Mario ROM hack, Trespasser: The Lost World - Jurassic Park, identity fraud Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Important If True 5: The Convergence Compulsion Some questions are like an itch you can't scratch, or worse, an itch you can scratch as much as you'd like, but the itch doesn't go away. Today we indulge our compulsions and scratch away at the unscrachable, like: When did George Clooney start showing off so much skin? Why does the flu virus really want you to party? And what drew three painters of video game box art to the same back-alley brawl, in the same town, on the same night? We will tread these paths again and again until we discover the truth, or are tricked by our own minds into believing we have. Plus, thanks to a helpful reader, major steps are taken to record for all time the 45 brains that control existence. If you enjoyed this and would like to subscribe to an ad-free feed, please consider supporting Idle Thumbs by backing our Patreon. Important Reference Material: self-driving car, self-driving flying car, robots wearing skin, The Terminator, Arnold Schwarzenegger, flu-prompted sociability, Streets of Rage cover art, Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Amazon, iTunes), Steven Spielberg's early career, 45brains.online Nick's Endorsement: Flonase Allergy Relief (Nick promises this is not a paid endorsement) Chris' Endorsement: Kitchen salt jar (alternatively: a "salt pig." ugh.) Jake's Endorsement: Berkeley High School morning announcements Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

BTW I love "Hey Ya!" So cool to have a celebrity on here.

Important If True 9: Wetzel's Podcasts No one asked us to answer these questions. No one asked these questions at all, but as hosts of this podcast we must do our best: If a tree falls in the middle of a forest and it doesn't leave a will, who gets all its stuff? What's hidden in Chef Boyardee's past that someone really, really wants you to know? And when you met a robot in the mall who could see through time, space, and maybe reality itself, what do you ask it? We'll need your help with that last one, but leave the rest to us. Send us email at questions@importantiftrue.com. If you enjoyed this and would like to subscribe to an ad-free feed, please consider supporting Idle Thumbs by backing our Patreon. Discussed: knife-wielding stabbing machine, The Tree That Owns Itself, Pepper the robot, Wetzel's Pretzels, Chef Boyardee, dumpsters Jake's Endorsement: Better Call Saul (all seasons on Amazon & iTunes) Chris' Endorsement: Sliding down the stairs on your heels as a kid (or something) Nick's Endorsement: Walking an unfamiliar city alone Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Idle Weekend April 11, 2017: Making Up Is Hard To Do Yes, this is something of a make-up episode, since we have been tardy lately. Comically so! But that won't stop us from discussing things that we stick with, even if we don't think they're super great. Related: we appreciate that YOU stick with us, even when we aren't super great about being on schedule. Discussed: Caprica, Snake Pass, Battlestar Galactica, The Bridge (FX series), Jay Cutler of the Chicago Bears, The Young Pope, Nier, Nier: Automata, The Last Express, Ashes (comic), The paintings of Mark Tansey at the Broad Museum Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

You might want to watch some older MST episodes. They're more organic than the new season (still pre-prepped but they're recorded in a far more laid back way). If Netflix has Mitchell, maybe, that's a good example ep.

It may grate on you tremendously, not sure. MST3K is at its best when it's goofing around "with" the movie more than ironically scorning it. I think Rifftrax can get more mean/"tired of this" at its worst points, which is less fun for me. I don't need to spend two hours of my life being told what I'm watching is uh bad actually (especially when it's a legit good modern movie). the 1999 season on Netflix is actually a compilation of 20 fan-picked episodes from the original 89-99 ten season run. I recommend just just jumping into the new season at this point though, and going back to the old stuff if you like it at all. I also kind of recommend starting with the second new episode, Cry Wilderness. Also I have merged our MST threads and accidentally kept my title because I did the merge backwards. Wrong thread title.

For whatever it's worth, as a counterpoint to some of the weirder casting, Gypsy is now played by a woman comic from the Midwest instead of one of the producers doing a voice. Wil Wheaton only has a couple lines in the first episode as a enthusiastic idiot and he plays them well, and I think Patton Oswalt does a legit good job in his role (the angry brooding nerd persona isn't at all a part of his character here), but I know why you'd want to stay away!

I love the intro so much. It's so good. It looks cheap as fuck in its production design, except that they change it every episode, so its actually not cheap at all!

So there's that new MST3K season on Netflix. I've only watched a few episodes - the first third of the season - and I really like it. I was expecting it to be bad -- I think I was expecting it to be more mean spirited and ironic in a "too cool for this" sort of way* -- but nope. It has some hits and some misses, on all fronts, but at its core it seems to be coming from the place of earnestness and enthusiasm that the old series did. It's definitely not a show put on by a bunch of midwestern stand up comedians anymore, but everyone involved seems incredibly excited to be there, game for trying new experiments, and not worried that some are going to fail on camera and some are going to land really well. Cry Wilderness, episode 1102, is actually an all-timer for me. (I'm on 1104 right now, so I have a ways to go, but man that episode is a perfect MST3K friendly mixture of stupid animal photography, precocious children with magical amulets, and 1980s muscle-yokels.) What do you all think? * I was never as big a fan of the Sci-Fi channel episodes because everyone felt tired and kind of mean during that run, as it went on. I know there are some total classic episodes in that run, but the overall vibe of those years was never quite for me, I guess. I like that the Netflix series is tonally a throwback to seasons 1-5's wide eyed earnestness and dorking around in its setup and host segments, while the in-theater riffing is a lot sharper and more fast paced, which reminds me more of the best parts of the Sci Fi Channel years.

Idle Weekend April 15, 2017: The 90s Were Great, Ok? This weekend, we get good and mad about genres that just happen to be from the decade we were kids/teens in that get stomped all over, like the 3D platformer and the FMV. Why? Because some people on the internet are besmirching the good name of our dearest Banjo and/or Tex. Don't worry, we have plenty to say about newer games as well! Discussed: Yooka-Laylee, Super Mario 64, Banjo-Kazooie, Banjo-Tooie, Conker's Bad Fur Day, Psychonauts, FMV Adventure, Tex Murphy, Gabriel Knight 2: The Beast Within, Wing Commander 3, Contradiction: Spot the Liar, C&C: Red Alert 3, Mass Effect: Andromeda, Uncharted 2, Nier: Automata, Life is Strange, The Uncle Who Works at Nintendo, Caprica Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Yeah, fair enough - for instance, the scenes with Anne are an example of scenes which have more specific meaning and which your brain can apply knowledge of backstory if you have read the book, but it seemed like a super deliberate choice by the director to not include that storyline in the film. If one considers "it contains more information about the plot" an improvement by default, reading the book would be an additive experience that might "improve" the movie for you, but I definitely don't hold an opinion like that* and think the film did a great job at choosing which scenes to include, which plot to include, and had its own good reasons for it. For their purposes, I think having less worked in their favor. *I'm not saying you do either, Cordeos! This post is a thought that is an offshoot from what you said, not intended to be at odds with it.