Activity from JHarris
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Mystery Science Theater 3000: DEVIL DOLL
Rewatch! Dr. Vorelli is a real piece of work. He's a sinister hypnotist who performs on stage in front of audiences, but seems to hate it. He hates puppets but has one in his act. But it turns out the puppet is actually a person who's mind he's put into a ventriloquist dummy somehow. He taunts him mercilessly for some reason, dangling hopes of forbidden ham before him. It's not clear why. I guess evil is its own reward? On and about the SOL, Pearl and company are still in Roman times, looking for Bobo. Previously.
Mystery Science Theater 3000: THE HORROR OF PARTY BEACH
Re-rewatch! Monsters created by radiation lumber ashore to attack the population of old teenagers. Their savior? As always, the magic metal: SODIUM. Previously and again.
I thought to myself, what was the least zeitgeisty...
Set Side B I thought to myself, what was the least zeitgeisty thing we could create in this year of our frog 2022? As a result, me and a couple of friends have started a new gaming blog, called Set Side B! I was inspired by the final loss of the archives of old GameSetWatch, where I wrote @Play long ago. You can still find it on the Wayback Machine, but even so, that site hasn't been updated since 2011 anyway. Set Side B is our effort to do something about its loss. I will be writing on a bunch of topics there, both shortly and longly, but mostly shortly. Including roguelikes. Please enjoy our overbearing randomess!
Mystery Science Theater 3000: PRINCE OF SPACE
Re-rewatch! We've come back around again to Prince of Space, constructed out of two episodes of the old Japanese TV show Planet Prince. Our only hope against the birdish-men of planet Krankor, and their dastardly Phantom, is Prince of Space! Who works as a bootblack in a Japanese city! Unlike Underdog, he doesn't need to swallow a Proton Energy Pill, but just put on his costume and exclaim "Your weapons are useless!" It's a fan favorite episode. Previously and again.
Mystery Science Theater 3000: ROBOT WARS
"Crank Up the Carnage." While it looks kind of like the thing The Asylum would make now, this movie in fact was made back in 1993, and has some decent stop motion robot effects. The movie is similar in many ways to Robot Jox, from the same director, but their stories are unconnected. In the future the world has been divided into two factions, the "North Hemi" and the "Eastern Alliance." A war was fought between giant robots, but now only one is left, and it's currently being used as passenger transport and tourism. There follows a plot involving "Centros," perfidious Eastern Alliance military leaders, and of course at the end a giant robot fight. It's a real mess. In MST3K's story, Kinga and Max's damaged Kingadome has been saved by a financier from the future named Dr. Cabal, who tells them, for their venture to be a success, they must find a second host to subject bad movies to.... Premiered Friday early to Kickstarter backers, it is not currently possible to watch officially; its official premiere will be on May 7.
Amphibia: Escape to Amphibia
At last, with the help of their friends and family, Anne and the Plantars are on the verge of returning to Amphibia, but Mr. X and the FBI are closing in.
The Ponders of Warenting
It's April 1st, but it's no joke. Well, except in the sence that it's hilarious. It's STRONG BAD EMAIL #209, on Parenting! It's even got a page (although it links to YouTube) on the main site!
Mystery Science Theater 3000: AGENT FOR H.A.R.M.
Rewatch! A spy tries to stop the release of a dangerous flesh-eating bacterium. I don't think this was intended to be a spoof, although the title makes it seem like it must be one. This is the episode where Mike is taken to Space Court for blowing up all those planets. Notably, Patrick Brantseg takes over performing the big purple robot with this episode. It's also the first episode Mike directed! Previously.
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Tickets
This week (well, two weeks ago): Russias continuing invasion of Ukraine. In the US, the furor over Florida's "Don't Say Gay" bill targeting educators, and Disney's contributions to state legislators who support it. And Now: Jim Cramer Presents Grounds For Divorce (expressing many times his wife's love for Wendy's Baconator hamburger). Main story: the market for event tickets, and the many ways it screws over ticket buyers, from the huge market share and hidden fees of Ticketmaster, to the resale market that allows people to buy up huge numbers of tickets and then, in possession of a near-monopoly, flipping those to fans at a large upcharge. On YouTube (20 minutes).
Mystery Science Theater 3000: RIDING WITH DEATH
Re-rewatch! A guy can turn invisible and kind of is a spy, and gets involved in two episodic adventures, as a truck driver and a race pit crewman. Another guy known as "Buffalo Bill" helps both times. This movie is made from two installments of the 70s TV show Gemini Man, which only got a pilot and 11 episodes, and of those only five were aired. The second episode in the movie is among the unaired ones. If someone knows the whereabouts of Robert Denby please inform Ben Murphy's nebulously-defined government agency immediately. BTW, Ben Murphy, the lead in this movie, is still alive as of this writing at the age of 80. Congrats to him! Previously and again.
Mystery Science Theater 3000: JACK FROST
Re-rewatch! In the colder reaches of the north live Russian Cinderella figure Nastinka, complete with cruel godmother and step-sister, and the oafish Ivanushka. They have various folklorical adventures like encountering bandits, being forced to do all the house chores, meeting Father Mushroom, getting turned into a bear and back, meeting Father Frost, outwitting Baba Yaga, being turned into ice and back, and eventually getting married. Fairy tale life is certainly eventful. Previously and again.
Mystery Science Theater 3000: INCREDIBLY STRANGE CREATURES WHO STOPPED LIVING & BECAME MIXEDUP ZOMBIES
Rewatch! Ray Dennis Steckler, a.k.a. "Cash Flagg," was one of the more infamous Z-list Hollywood directors, and he was responsible for this film, which is something. A guy gets hypno'd by a carnival fortune teller into becoming an insane killer. The fortune teller's assistant Ortega is a sight, and immediately became the Torgo of the Sci-Fi Channel era of MST3K. Lots of the movie is just time spent watching bad performances on-stage at the carnival, pointless and unabridged. This movie is one of the worst in the show's history. Previously.
Mystery Science Theater 3000: SANTO IN THE TREASURE OF DRACULA
a.k.a. Santo en el tesoro de Drácula, Santo and Dracula's Treasure. "A COLORES!" El Santo, the Silver Mask, is a luchador who likes to dabble both in Super Science and the supernatural. He's invented a time machine that sends a young woman back into a past life, which was turned into a vampire by Dracula, while he watches. But never mind the infernal terror, El Santo learns about the great treasure of Dracula's family, and he wants a piece! But so does the mob! There's a lot of movies in this movie. The episode is missing ending credits, and way a bit marred by technical difficulties, but it was shown last night, and was pretty good! Kinga and Max escape the storage room of Moon 13 by exploding it, causing a cave-in. So they're currently set up on Moon 1, on the lunar surface, and opening Kinga's newest venture, the Kingadome. It contains the Gizmoplex, which in the show's lore is a physical place, but it's also the website the episode can be viewed by backers of last year's Kickstarter, here. A more general release will come in May.
Mystery Science Theater 3000: PARTS: THE CLONUS HORROR
Re-rewatch! The evil organization of this movie raises dumb clones of important people, like senators, to serve as sources of spare body parts. It was the kind of movie premise that seemed plausible in 1979, I guess. What happens when the senator gets voted out? Costs a lot of money to keep a clone in feed when it might not even be needed. In subplot news, Pearl and minions babysit a trio of god children. Previously, and again.
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Sex Work
This week.... The invasion of Ukraine by Russia. And Now: A Look Back at Notable Moments in History. Main story: sex work (25 minutes), and how terribly sex workers are treated by the system. And Now: A Fond Farewell to the Wendy Williams Show.
The Legend of Lore
The Brunching Shuttlecocks was (and is) a humor website that ran from 1997 to 2003. It was founded by David Neilsen and Lore Fitzgerald Sjöberg There's a TON more links inside, but here's a taste:
Porn Star or My Little Pony? *
Ratings: Cat Toys ("Catnip Anything: Very entertaining.") *
Ratings: Star Wars Lego Figures *
The Björk Song (In RealAudio or MP3, with David Neilsen. Causes insanity.) *
Pikachewy ("'Twas Beedrill, and the Starmie Gloom/Did Grimer and Gengar in the Mew") *
Twelve AP Headlines Which Can Be Sung to 'Camptown Races' ("Man in Wheelchair Killed by Train, doo-dah, doo-dah") *
The Geek Hierarchy: Abridged But Managable - Unabridged but Large - For Printing (PDF) (Doubles Jubilee, original from 2015)
Mystery Science Theater 3000: THE GIANT SPIDER INVASION
It's a re-rewatch of savings at Menards! A terrible person finds the egg of a space-spider, and finds out it's full of diamond-like crystals. Also, he's awful to his wife, he's one of the more loatheable characters in MST history. The spider eventually kills the guy and goes on to terrorize the town. Packers win the Super Bowl, whooo! It's a fun episode. In subplot news, it's pod people time. Previously and again.
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Critical Race Theory
This week.... The Ottawa trucker vaccine protests in all their immense selfishness. And Now: The Existential Despair of ABC 3 Morning News. The main story is the right's latest bugaboo, Critical Race Theory (video, 28m), which Fox News and other right-wing media sources have inflamed their viewers and listeners about. What is it, what is it not, and why has the panic around it spread?
Mystery Science Theater 3000: I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF
Rewatch! Not as terrible a movie as usually featured on the show, this has Michael Landon as the titular preadult dogboy. Much later, he'd return to the role, in a way, in the Highway to Heaven episode I Was a Middle-Aged Werewolf. In continuity, Pearl, Bobo and new accompanier Brain Guy are on "camping world." Previously.
The Adventures of Captain Symptomo
It's not a double, but the videos are a few months old so I'm using that as an excuse to post Strong Bad playing old DOS games! So far, there's FriendlyWare, FriendlyWare update, and World Games.
Ruffle and Dungeon Robber
Flash is dead, or is it? Ruffle is an alternate way to run Flash content! It's written in Rust, a language designed for memory safety, so it's much safer than Flash was. It's available as a standalone application, or a browser extension (compiled it to WebAssembly). You can even use it to run Flash apps on iOS. If you want to test it out, you could have another go at Dungeon Robber (Doubles Jubilee, 2013), a simulation of dungeon exploration using the rules from the 1st Edition AD&D DM's Guide.
Mystery Science Theater 3000: THE SHE-CREATURE
Rewatch! Because in the 50s even our creatures had to be obviously gendered. A lady is hypnotized and, as all hypnotized people do, summons a lobster woman. It's the last episode on Observer World before Mike destroys it. Oops! Previously.
Waiting for 4.0
For Doubles Jubilee, let's take another look at Godot, a compact, lightweight, yet really capable game development system. It runs on, and can make games for, many platforms! It's approaching a 4.0 release! It's gotten much better in the nearly two years since I first posted it, and had a burst of popularity spurred on by Unity's recent pushing of people towards upgrading to Pro. There are now many YouTube resources to help people learn it. For people who learn best through text, there's also the official documentation and their tutorial page. (Previously, in 2020)
1890: Caster's big toes become opposable like thumbs
𝕱or 𝕯oubles 𝕵ubilee, let us all revisit the Net Libram of Random Magical Effects (PDF), still a D10000 table a DM can roll on for incredibly random wild magic surge effects, now available as a site where you can roll on it by just pressing a button. (Previously, in 2019)
Lode Runner in HTML5
All the levels from Lode Runner and Championship Lode Runner, in your browser. GitHub, also has further documentation. (DoublesJubilee, Original from 2016)
Mystery Science Theater 3000: THE UNDEAD
Rewatch! We've seen a lot of silly depictions of hypnosis, but in this one a couple of people use it to go back in time. A lady is regressed to a past life where she was falsely accused of witchcraft. The hypnotist goes back too (he had a past life that knew her?) to try to change events. Getting mixed up in things is a real witch, a gravedigger with a whimsical (if gross) lyrical sense, and Satan himself. In the "story arc," we're on Observer world still.
Mystery Science Theater 3000: TERROR FROM THE YEAR 5000
Rewatch! Scientists invent a time machine. Lady comes from the future, where apparently most people are sterile, in order to take fertile men back with her. If there's anything these movies have taught me, it's that the future causes impotency. But she kills a nurse in order to take her place, because the future causes psychopathy too. In the show's "plot," we're still in Observer world. Previously.
Mystery Science Theater 3000: THE THING THAT COULDN'T DIE
Rewatch! Oh this one's rich. Buried in a box somewhere in the old west is an Evil Head. A psychically sensitive young woman finds it and immediately becomes its mind-controlled minion, and about 50% sluttier because we all know Evil Heads yearn to possess young women so that they can get it on by proxy. Eventually it manipulates the other people on the dude ranch (they have about 100 head of dude) to uncover the rest of its body and reunite the two, which seal together making it whole sure why not. Sadly, it then is knocked over and re-croaks, this time permanently, about 20 seconds later. So much for the power of evil. In the words of Paul Chaplin: "Alternate title: The Thing That Died." In the subplot, it's Observer Time. Previously.
Mystery Science Theater 3000: THE DEADLY MANTIS
Rewatch! A big frozen bug from prehistory is thawed out and begins eating people. They swat it with a jet plane. This is the last episode with Deep Ape, and begins the "chase" subplot that lasts most of the rest of the season. Previously.
Mystery Science Theater 3000: THE MOLE PEOPLE
Rewatch! Albinos oppress humanoid creatures beneath the surface of the Earth, and the situation is remedied by white guys from the surface. Warning: contains The Load. Previously.
スーパーマリオブラザーズ
Zelda code dives and Breath of the Wild shenanigans
For Zelda Day 2021:
- Behind the Code looks into disassemblies of the code of NES Zelda games to explain weird behavior: Item Drop Manipulation in Legend of Zelda - Hit Detection in Zelda - Bugs in Zelda II.
- Here's some chests in BotW that are very hard to open,
- and Youtuber/Breath of the Wild expert Kleric shows us (with a great deal of effort) how to open an "impossible" one, as well as how to do a 'flurry rush' wherever you want, how to get the Master Sword whenever, finishes a Divine Beast (a dungeon) with only a pot lid, and presents a short and entertaining collection of moments from his other videos.
8th Annual MST Club Christmas Marathon Social Distancing II
Here we go again! It's our eighth year sending out a constant stream of riffing, Christmas specials, video weirdness and strange movies, from midnight the morning on December 23, all through the 24th, and all through Christmas Day, and slightly beyond. This is where it'll all go down. We're here if you need us, or want us, whether to use for fun background, to fill odd moments, to see really really strange things late at night, to escape from family, or to obsessively watch over long periods (as those of us running it tend to do). With Omicron running rampant and many families choosing to distance again this year, we hope to lighten what may be a second sad year apart. More info inside!
Mystery Science Theater 3000: THE LEECH WOMAN
Rewatch! A married couple h-a-t-e each other, but the guy's hate diminishes when he discovers he can make his wife young again with special magic neck juice supplied by an African lady. They go to Africa to get more and, well, things deteriorate. Concerning the show's "story arc," the SOL is still in orbit above Deep Ape. There's only four Deep Ape episodes and this is the second one. Previously.
HELLO (WORLD|APPLE)
Taking advantage of a bug in Apple's PNG display code, this image says something different if you're using an Apple or a non-Apple renderer.
Mystery Science Theater 3000: REVENGE OF THE CREATURE
Rewatch! The creature from the Black Lagoon is put in a marine park for people to gawk at, until he escapes and causes immense danger. Great job, guys! And hey, it's Clint Eastwood's first movie! As for the show, it's been a few months and a different channel in real time, and 500 years in narrative time. The SOL is now orbiting a planet of apes, although Pearl is also there, and she's continuing the experiment for some reason. Also, Crow's different. Previously.
Mystery Science Theater 3000: LASERBLAST
Re-rewatch! A kid living out in the desert gets a ray gun that also turns him green, and he takes out his frustrations in an orgy of laser violence against innocent Star Wars signs, until goofy lizard aliens stop him. It's the last episode of the Comedy Central era of the show. Previously and again.
U Can Beat Video Games
As the host of the YouTube channel U Can Beat Video Games will tell you, the NES is known for having dozens of games with a difficulty level way above what current-day players are used to. But what if he told you about strategies and tactics to get you through the worst the system has to offer? And demonstrated how to perform them, playing through the whole game in the process? But... is he really just a golden retriever?
BAR-7-N-Grapes-Orange
Many slot machines on Native American reservations actually, and somewhat surreptitiously, play Bingo! Why? - What are "Class II" machines? - Some of its consequences. - Is it fair?
Amphibia: Froggy Little Christmas
Mrs. Boonchuy has wanted a float for her restaurant in the city's Christmas Parade for years, and finally gets the opportunity, but turns it down due to the danger to the Plantars being discovered. So, Anne, the Plantars and their friends make one in secret. Meanwhile, the Plantars try to make sense of Christmas... and Andrias sends another robot assassin.
MST3K: Turkey Day 2021
The folks who provide the show Mystery Science Theater 3000 stream a day-long series of episodes for folk to watch over Thanksgiving Day, and at that time we in MST Club "traditionally" put the YouTube embed of the stream in our cytube page, in place of our usual weekly show, as a shelter from the official feed chat's overwhelming scroll rate. The show is currently producing a 13th season right now, and it's known they're producing new material for between-episode interstitials this year, and going to announce the episodes for the new season. Assuming nothing goes wrong (it might), all of this takes place at the above link, starting at 9 AM Eastern Time.
Amphibia: Hollywood Hop Pop/If You Give a Frog a Cookie
Hollywood Hop Pop: Hop Pop, a failed actor in Amphibia, gets an audition for a Hollywood commercial and nails it, and it gets him an audition for a big movie role, but his face being everywhere makes it easy for Mr. X to track him down. If You Give a Frog a Cookie: the Plantars are homesick, resulting in Anne seeking the help of crazy Dr. Frakes, who's been working on a portal machine, to try to get them back home.
Mystery Science Theater 3000: ESCAPE 2000
Rewatch! An evil construction company is ruthless in its dealings with people hanging onto their residences. Is actually the sequel to the movie 1990: The Bronx Warriors. There was a time when the premises of movies like this seemed a lot more laughable than they do now. Do we really know Amazon wouldn't resort to measures like this if they really wanted a new warehouse? Anyway, this is the next-to-last Comedy Central episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000. Next week is Turkey Day! Previously.
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Union Busting
This week.... Continuing investigations into the perpetrators of the January 6 insurrection. And Now: The Many Questions of Fox & Friends' Brian Kilmeade. Main story: Union busting (24 minutes), how companies are served by an entire industry of people who provide them scripts and videos on how to do it, and how easily they can get away with it. And, at the end, this is the final episode of Season 8 of Last Week Tonight, so we check in with some friends: George Clooney, an assortment of other celebrities, and The Void from earlier in the season, who has a new talk show! So long John, see you next time.
Amphibia: Spider-Sprig/Olivia & Yunan
Spider-Sprig: Sprig decides to become a superhero, and does a pretty good job of it, but gains a rival in the form a local safety supervisor. Olivia & Yunan: Back in Amphibia, Olivia and General Yunan attempt to rescue Marcy from King Andrias's clutches.
Mystery Science Theater 3000: THE INCREDIBLE MELTING MAN
Rewatch! One of MST3K's Double Adjective Man movies, the others being The Amazing Colossal Man, Teenage Cave Man and Amazing Transparent Man. (There's also Indestructable Man, The Brute Man, The Projected Man and, of course, The Pumaman.) An astronaut returns to Earth and is affected by something that makes him kill people, kind of like a slightly more competent Monster A-Go-Go. In the host segments, Crow shepherds his movie Earth Vs. Soup to completion and through focus groups, a sequence inspired in no small part by Best Brains' experiences in getting MST3K The Movie made. Previously.
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: The Power Grid
This week... electorial problems for Democrats in last Tuesday's election, and, at the COP26 climate summit nations promised to limit emissions to stall global warming but are unlikely to actually do it. And Now: People On TV Saying Things Wrong. Main story (22 minutes): the power grid, a little-regarded engineering marvel, yet one beset by many threats, from squirrels to balloons to age to climate change, but its biggest problem is the push to renewable sources, and transporting that power from the places where it is generated over long distances to where it is needed.
Amphibia: Mr. X/Sprig's Birthday
Mr. X: An FBI special agent and alien enthusiast finds evidence of frogs from another dimension, and chases Anne and the Plantars through a movie theater, while Anne's parents figure out a way to save them. Sprig's Birthday: On hearing that Amphibians don't make a huge deal over birthdays, Anne resolves to give Sprig a birthday he'll never forget. As a result they almost die.
Mystery Science Theater 3000: DEATHSTALKER AND THE WARRIORS FROM HELL
Re-rewatch! In a fantasy realm there is this guy called Deathstalker, and he's kind of a hero? Previous movies make him seem a lot more unclothed and morally questionable, whereas here he's just a smug jerk with a sword. Anyway, here he enlists the aid of undead warriors against the villainous sorcerer "Troxartus" or something. Great riffing in this one. Previously and again.
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Homelessness
This week.... Facebook announces their company is now called "Meta." (MeFi). Congress is hammering out Biden's final spending plan. And Now: Once Again, Our Annual Look At What Happens When Local News And Halloween Collide. Main story: Homelessness (25 minutes), and how our institutions make a bad situation for a lot of people worse.
Amphibia: Fixing Frobo/Anne-sterminator
Fixing Frobo: Polly tries to fix Frobo, the frog robot made when they found the factory way back in early Season 2. As a result they almost die. Anne-sterminator: The other frog robot, the advanced model sent to kill Anne, is given an ultimatum by Andrias: kill Anne in an hour, or be self-destructed. It finds the Boonchuy residence and attacks. As a result, yeah, you get the picture.