Episode 111 - Moon Zero Two (32nd episode overall)
Airdate - January 20th, 1990 (speculated)
Film Release Date - October 26th, 1969
Genre - Comedy/Sci-Fi
Color
Out of every episode of MST3K, this is probably the one that I’ve watched the most. It’s my ultimate comfort episode. I love Moon Zero Two so much not just because the movie and the riffing work well together, but also because it was one of the first episodes to show how great the show would become. While the pace is still slow, the riffing is much sharper here than in previous KTMA and season 1 episodes. The riffing here is much more about funny observations and critiques, and is less reliant on puns as early episodes tend to be. As a fan of video games, I also really get a kick out of the references to Nintendo and Atari in this episode. The Power Glove joke in particular is a great one. Josh Weinstein does some of his best riffing here, as he keeps the commentary lively and hilarious. It makes me sad that Josh didn’t stick around for at least another season, because he showed a ton of promise in this episode.
The movie featured here is quite a bizarre one. It’s a science fiction movie that’s also a bit of a comedy. The plot of an evil millionaire trying to make money off of an asteroid is an interesting one. The scenes with the characters walking around on the moon actually look pretty nice. The film seems to be heavily inspired by 2001: A Space Odyssey. And while the effects come nowhere near the same quality as 2001’s effects, they’re still very appealing. The costumes and interior sets also help to give this movie some flavor. It’s certainly never a boring film to look at. It’s also quite refreshing, as it’s one of the few episodes of season 1 that features a color movie. While it doesn’t have the best writing or acting, it does have a ton of flair.
The host segments are probably the weakest part of the episode, but there’s still a couple gems. I particularly like the recreation of the moon landing by Joel and the Bots. The invention exchange also has the incredibly funny celebrity toothpastes, while Joel shows off some magic tricks with food. The other segments aren’t special, but they get the job done. Moon Zero Two used to be in my top ten favorite episodes, but it has since been nudged down by ones that are simply funnier. However, Moon Zero Two still matters a lot to me. It’s still a personal favorite, and one that I can always enjoy. It may not be the funniest episode of the entire series. However, it’s the best episode of season 1 and it did the best job of showing that MST3K had a bright future ahead of it.
Review written by Jaden Houghton