Mystery Science Theater 3000: WIZARDS OF THE LOST KINGDOM I

June 14, 2017 11:53 AM - Season 11, Episode 10

"On The Far Edge Of Fantasy The Ultimate Conflict Is Drawing Near" Young wizard apprentice Simon is aided by an ambulatory hairball and Rowsdower the Conquerer in a bid to overthrow the evil wizard Sherpa. What, it's Sherka? Whatever. Lots of people have proclaimed this the best episode of Season 11, so get ready for some massive goofiness folks. In host segment news, a plot line develops that takes us to the end of the season. Yeah yeah, just don't let it get in the way of the riffing guys! Episode 1110 is available on Netflix.

Episode 1110 WIZARDS OF THE LOST KINGDOM
MST3K Wikia - MST3K Message Board - TVTropes

Paste Magazine thinks this is the best episode of Season 11!

Movie
Rotten Tomatoes (Critics N/A, Viewers 23%) - Wikipedia - TVTropes
IMDB (1985, 2.6 stars)
"When evil screams throughout the world. When all the galaxies converge. When all that's fair and fine seems lost. A Hero will emerge." (Who the heck wrote this?)
Directed by Hector Olivera. Written by Ed Naha, as Tom Edwards. Starring Bo Svenson, Vidal Peterson and Thom Christopher -- yep, it's Troxartas again, and Hawk from Buck Rogers!

Notes: I hear that this movie was the focus of a Rifftrax, but it has been pulled from availability.

Roger Corman executive produces yet one more time.

TVTropes notes that some of the stock footage in the opening of the movie comes from (out-of-tune trumpet fanfare) from the first Deathstalker!

posted by JHarris (14 comments total)

Look, Christopher figured out how he wanted to play a power-hungry warlord, and didn't see any need to change his performance just because they changed the character name.
posted by Chrysostom at 1:02 PM on June 14, 2017 [3 favorites]

Look, Christopher figured out how he wanted to play a power-hungry warlord, and didn't see any need to change his performance just because they changed the character name.
posted by Chrysostom at 3:02 PM on June 14

Eponystherical!
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 4:46 AM on June 15, 2017

It's that time again, time to get together with a bunch of other Mefites and watch REALLY BAD MOVIES. It's time for MST3K Club!

Every Thursday night (tonight!) we watch that week's episode in an online video sharing room. Currently that room is https://www.rabb.it/rodneylives. Additionally we've been watching another Season 11 episode, of which we only have five left! This week's schedule is:
7 PM Eastern/4 PM Pacific: 1110 WIZARDS OF THE LOST KINGDOM (Season 11 episode)
9 PM Eastern/6 PM Pacific: 803 THE MOLE PEOPLE (Classic episode)
10:30 Easter/7:30 Pacific: YouTube Potluck (random bits of video contributed by interested members -- if you know of something cool to watch here, tell us at the show!)
posted by JHarris at 7:50 AM on June 15, 2017

Jharris - let me thank you for posting the youtube potlucks after each show. I have enjoyed going through them.
posted by wittgenstein at 2:46 PM on June 15, 2017 [1 favorite]

This one is my second favorite after Starcrash. It's a vaguely watchable movie, but super cheesy, the riffs are great, and I can't stop laughing at Golfax the "walking furball". And Apeula! and of course Crabby, and the same dwarf playing 30 different parts...
posted by mmoncur at 7:45 PM on June 15, 2017 [2 favorites]

I think Gypsy gets her first truly great riff in this episode: "The outfit says elf, but the mustache says Chicago Police."
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 4:55 AM on June 16, 2017 [4 favorites]

I'm not sure I remember all the videos that came up this time, but here's what sticks in mind:

• Lookwell, co-written by Conan O'Brien and starring Adam West. A great, though failed, comedy pilot about an actor who took his success in a role as a TV police detective a little too close to heart.
• The complete set of Batman '66 window cameos, including Jerry Lewis, Werner Kempler as Col. Klink from Hogan's Heroes (weirdly), and whoever it was who played Lurch from the Addams Family.
• A couple of Spike Jones bits: A medley of hits, leading off with an appearance by Jim Backus, and the infamous Beetle Bomb/Feedlebaum/Whatever.
• A bit of controversy, I linked to Ernie Kovacs' trademark bit The Nairobi Trio, a bizarre sketch involving guys in gorilla masks moving mechanically to music. It was brought up that it might be considered a bit racist today, if you take "Nairobi" as meaning Africans. Kovacs does have some bits that didn't age well (Percy Dovetonsils, perhaps?). I think the intent was to create something wholly abstract, but contexts have a way of moving out from under bits like this. Ah well, time moves on.
• Since it got mentioned in Mole People, the commercial for Blu Blockers sunglasses, once a ubiquitous fixture of cable television.
• Since we showed that, why not Crazy Calls, an ad for a novelty answering machine tape that was also once everywhere.
• Some more stereotyping, Andy's Gang, featuring eternal agent of darkness Froggy the Gremlin and hapless victim of his dark powers "Pasta Fazooli". Pluck yer magic twanger, Froggy!

There was one more bit at least, a contribution from the crowd that, alas, I didn't get, clips from a high school that catered to performing arts types including a young Margaret Cho and other later-famous folk. It's not in my YouTube history because I'm not logged into YouTube through rabb.it. Does anyone remember it?
posted by JHarris at 6:07 AM on June 16, 2017

The Crabby riffs are one of my favorite bits from this season.

Golfax makes about as much sense as the Yosemite Sam robot from Starcrash. Here's a thing, it's in the film and there's no reason for it, just go with it.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 10:39 AM on June 17, 2017 [4 favorites]

I'm surprised no one's mentioned Apeula yet, and the fact that he's partying with the good guys at the end.
posted by JHarris at 11:56 AM on June 17, 2017 [2 favorites]

(Wait, someone DID mention Apeula, sorry 'bout that.)
posted by JHarris at 10:42 AM on June 18, 2017 [1 favorite]

This is one of those movies that's just objectively terrible by almost any measure, but there are like two of three actors just hamming the hell out of it because, well, they're stuck in this damned movie either way.
posted by tobascodagama at 9:41 AM on July 2, 2017 [1 favorite]

I finally watched this and yeah, it's a very solid episode, I can see calling it their best. Also I experienced creeping recognition that I definitely saw this movie (on tv?) in the 1980s.
posted by LobsterMitten at 10:29 PM on October 17, 2017 [1 favorite]

Just re-watched it myself. Christopher is clearing having a good time hamming it up here.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:29 AM on October 18, 2017

The lead kid in this was Rugal, the Cardassian war orphan central to the plot of the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Cardassians."

mindblownericwareheim.gif
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 2:35 AM on July 17, 2018 [1 favorite]