Mystery Science Theater 3000 on DVD.

[JupiterMission]

Mystery Science Theater 3000

The Rhino Years: Singles.


The Rhino Years: Collections.


Shout Factory: Collections.


Shout Factory: Rhino Single Re-Releases.


Shout Factory: Rhino Collection Re-Releases.

[JupiterMission]

Sorry for the eight month delay there, friends. Totally forgot I'd started this. I think it's all up to date now. Happy collecting!

[Dynamo of Eternia]

How does volume 10.2 work? lol

[JupiterMission]

Originally Posted by Dynamo of Eternia

How does volume 10.2 work? lol

That was a weird one. They released it with "Godzilla vs Megalon" at first, then quickly either lost the rights to it or found out they didn't have them, so they withdrew the release, and re-released it soon after with "Giant Gila Monster" in its place. (The other three movies are the same.) Then, for people who had snagged the original release, they put out a single disc that just had Gila Monster on it.

[captveg]

I feel very fortunate to have the original Volume 10 with Godzilla vs. Megalon. (IIRC they licensed it from someone who turned out to not have the rights as they had claimed. That was Rhino for ya.)

[Syrena]

Originally Posted by captveg

I feel very fortunate to have the original Volume 10 with Godzilla vs. Megalon. (IIRC they licensed it from someone who turned out to not have the rights as they had claimed. That was Rhino for ya.)

Me too! Compulsive preordering FTW!

[thatguamguy]

I posted this list on the MST3k forum, but this seems like a relevant thread; Rhino had the unfortunate habit of cutting not only the commercial bumpers, but also some footage on either side of the bumpers. Shout stopped doing that, but they often cut out the non-bumper commercial fade. Here's the full list that I've put together of missing footage; I don't have Shout volumes 8-12 yet, and I am also missing the Shout "Beginning of the End" (my understanding is that it's intact), so perhaps somebody can update with those, but otherwise, I believe this is complete.

Rhino releases missing all/most bumpers plus bits of footage (including non-bumper fade):
202 - The Sidehackers (also missing "Turn Down Your Lights")
204 - Catalina Caper (also missing "Turn Down Your Lights")
209 - The Hellcats (also missing "Turn Down Your Lights") (note that it does include the non-bumper commercial fade intact)
301 - Cave Dwellers (also missing "Turn Down Your Lights") (also stretched a little wide)
303 - Pod People (also missing "Turn Down Your Lights") (also stretched a little wide)
309 - The Amazing Colossal Man (VHS only) (it really annoys me to note that Rhino did actually keep the "Lights" intact in the VHS era but not a single DVD)
406 - Attack of the Giant Leeches (missing very little footage)
407 - The Killer Shrews (also missing title slate)
424 - Manos: The Hands of Fate (missing less than a second of actual footage) (also missing title slate)
506 - Eegah (also has a point when 4-6 frames repeat) (also missing title slate)
507 - I Accuse My Parents (also missing title slate)
511 - Gunslinger (also stretched a little wide) (also missing title slate)
512 - Mitchell (also missing title slate)
513 - The Brain That Wouldn't Die (also missing title slate)
515 - The Wild World of Batwoman (note: Shout solo release is identical, including missing title slate)
517 - The Beginning of the End
518 - The Atomic Brain (also missing stinger and a globe and title slate) (also stretched a little wide)
606 - The Creeping Terror
607 - Bloodlust [note that tape hits on Rhino are generally not the same as tape hits on Shout]
609 - The Skydivers[INDENT]an oddity: the theater footage on this disc is unfaded, but rather than cutting the faded footage, many times the footage is intact but with no fades
619 - Red Zone Cuba
622 - Angels Revenge (also stretched a little wide)
701T - Night of the Blood Beast (Turkey Day version) [Shout] - the original Turkey Day version had episode-specific bumpers, comprable to prior Mike episodes; the Shout release just duplicates the non-Turkey Day globe-only bumpers

missing title slate:
404 - Teenagers From Outer Space (both)
407 - The Killer Shrews (both) (Shout also missing four frames of unmoving no-riff silhouette while the picture is black)
408 - Hercules Unchained (both)
409 - The Indestructible Man [Rhino]* (also missing non-bumper fade)
410 - Hercules Against the Moon Men (both)
413 - Manhunt in Space [Shout]
414 - Tormented [Rhino]* (also missing non-bumper fade (Tom has a reaction noise that is lost; not quite a line, but humorous))
415 - The Beatniks [Shout]
417 - Crash of the Moons [Shout]
419 - The Rebel Set [Rhino]*
423 - Bride of the Monster [Shout]
501 - Warrior of the Lost World [Shout]
503 - Swamp Diamonds [Rhino]*
504 - Secret Agent Super Dragon [Rhino]* (off-model slate)
505 - Magic Voyage of Sinbad [Shout]
506 - Eegah! (both)
507 - I Accuse My Parents (both)
509 - Girl in Lovers Lane [Shout] (also missing non-bumper fade)
511 - Gunslinger [both vol5 releases; but Shout solo is completely intact]
514 - Teenage Strangler [Rhino]*

missing "Turn Down Your Lights":
206 - Ring of Terror [Rhino]
207 - Wild Rebels [Rhino]
208 - Lost Continent [Shout] (also missing non-bumper fade)
211 - First Spaceship on Venus [Shout]
212 - Godzilla vs. Megalon [Rhino]
320 - The Unearthly [Rhino]
321 - Santa Claus vs. the Martians [Rhino]
322 - Master Ninja [Shout]
324 - Master Ninja II [Shout]
402 - The Giant Gila Monster [Rhino]

missing non-bumper fade:
105 - The Corpse Vanishes [Shout] (off-model, the correct version only fades in one direction)
110 - Robot Holocaust [Shout]
113 - The Black Scorpion [Shout]
209 - The Hellcats [Shout, but not Rhino] (Shout disc also has random missing frames)
302 - Gamera [Shout] (a Joel riff is removed because of this cut) (also missing Godzilla sound FX in host segment)
304 - Gamera vs Barugon [Shout]
307 - Daddy-O [Shout]
308 - Gamera vs Gaos [Shout]
313 - Earth vs the Spider [Shout]
315 - Teenage Caveman [Shout]
316 - Gamera vs Zigra [Shout]
318 - Star Force: Fugitive Alien II [Shout]
406 - Attack of the Giant Leeches [Rhino, but not Shout]
422 - The Day the Earth Froze [Shout]
510 - The Painted Hills [Shout]
513 - The Brain That Wouldn't Die [both] (Shout cuts extra frames)
516 - Alien from L.A. [Shout]
523 - Village of the Giants [Shout]
524 - 12 To The Moon [Shout] (the group rendition of the 2001 noise is cut off because of this cut)
611 - Last of the Wild Horses [Shout]
620 - Danger!! Death Ray [Shout]
624 - Samson vs the Vampire Women [Shout]
701 / 701T - Night of the Blood Beast [Shout]
801 - Revenge of the Creature [Shout]
802 - The Leech Woman [Shout] (also missing a globe)
803 - The Mole People [Shout]
805 - The Thing That Couldn't Die [Shout]
820 - Space Mutiny [Rhino, but not Shout]
821 - Time Chasers [Rhino, but not Shout]
908 - The Touch of Satan [Rhino, but not Shout]
909 - Gorgo [Shout]
912 - The Screaming Skull [Shout]
1005 - The Blood Waters of Dr Z [Shout]
1006 - Boggy Creek II [Rhino, but not Shout]


Miscellaneous:
101 - The Crawling Eye (Shout) - missing the sound effects track on all host segments

204 - Catalina Caper (Shout) - badly cropped

301 - Cave Dwellers (Shout) - badly cropped

303 - Pod People (Shout - missing final bumper)
-original broadcasts of "Pod People" repeated three shots on either side of the final bumper. The silhouettes were different, and there was one repeated joke that sounds like the same performance dubbed in twice. Both DVDs removed the repetition and the bumper. The Rhino disc uses the "before the commercial" take, which is cut off and missing a riff. The Shout disc uses the "after the commercial" take.
- the theme song (on both releases) is mixed wrong, missing at least "What a cool guy"
- Supposedly, the MST3k Hour version included a bit of extra footage, including a joke from Servo.


309 - The Amazing Colossal Man (VHS only) - the stinger consists of two shots; one of the army man backing away in fear, second of the colossal man laughing. The broadcast version is cut differently than the VHS version; they are about the same length, but with different start times. So the broadcast version has a longer first shot, where the VHS has a longer second shot. They also replaced the "Best Brains Production" text with a different font.
512 - Mitchell (Shout) - drops 4-6 frames
606 - The Creeping Terror (Shout) - missing random frames
607 - Bloodlust (Shout) - missing random brief bits of footage (2-10 frames each)
622 - Angels' Revenge (Shout) - missing random frames; I think the stinger is cut off too
I only compared the Rhino discs that were missing footage, and these missing frames were common enough that I suspect it's more prevalent

804 - The Deadly Mantis (missing a globe)

1002 - Girl in Gold Boots - officially released in two different cuts; Rhino released the "family friendly" version intended for Saturday mornings, which removes a brief scene where the lead smokes marijuana. Shout released the "midnight" version, which included the scene.

XX00 - Satellite Dishes - for some reason, Shout added fades to almost all of the host segments, so most of them are missing a little bit at either the head or the tail.

Originally Posted by Syrena

Me too! Compulsive preordering FTW!

Same, and made a disc and digital back up.

[Mikezilla3k]

Are the Shout re-releases better than the Rhino sets?

[Jay H.]

Originally Posted by Mikezilla3k

Are the Shout re-releases better than the Rhino sets?

They're identical.

[Mikezilla3k]

Originally Posted by Jay H.

They're identical.

In video quality?

[thatguamguy]

Originally Posted by Mikezilla3k

Are the Shout re-releases better than the Rhino sets?

There's no hard rule. Sometimes Shout is missing footage, sometimes (much more often) Rhino is missing footage. Sometimes they're both missing different footage. Sometimes Rhino drops random frames, sometimes Shout adds random frames. Sometimes video noise is identical, sometimes video noise hits on completely different frames. Sometimes Shout accidentally releases a chunk of the movie in black and white, or crops 20% of the picture. One thing you can say for sure is that with bonus features, Shout will have the same features or better, although in at least one case, the transfer is substantially worse.

The only release that is "identical" that I'm aware of is "Wild World of Batwoman". As a broad generalization, the PQ on the Rhino discs is better than the PQ on the Shout discs, because the master tapes have been slowly degenerating, but there are plenty of exceptions to this as well.

[Mikezilla3k]

Originally Posted by thatguamguy

There's no hard rule. Sometimes Shout is missing footage, sometimes (much more often) Rhino is missing footage. Sometimes they're both missing different footage. Sometimes Rhino drops random frames, sometimes Shout adds random frames. Sometimes video noise is identical, sometimes video noise hits on completely different frames. Sometimes Shout accidentally releases a chunk of the movie in black and white, or crops 20% of the picture. One thing you can say for sure is that with bonus features, Shout will have the same features or better, although in at least one case, the transfer is substantially worse.

The only release that is "identical" that I'm aware of is "Wild World of Batwoman". As a broad generalization, the PQ on the Rhino discs is better than the PQ on the Shout discs, because the master tapes have been slowly degenerating, but there are plenty of exceptions to this as well.

Ah, which releases are the best for each episode then?

[thatguamguy]

* volume 1: Shout's "Catalina Caper" is much worse. The Rhino discs have the uncut movies, which the Shouts dropped. I think one of the Shout discs is badly cropped, but I can't remember which.
* volume 2: Shout's "Cave Dwellers" is badly cropped, but Rhino cuts out a lot of footage around the bumper (maybe the most of any cut). Shout's "Pod People" is a much worse transfer for the colors, although the Rhino one is stretched a little bit wide, as is the Rhino "Angel's Revenge". Shout discs have the "MST3k Hour" host segments.
* volume 3: Shout's "Sidehackers" is a worse transfer, but Rhino's "Atomic Brain" is missing the title slate and the stinger at the end. Shout has a solo release of that one if you really want the best release for each title. Shout discs have the "MST3k Hour" host segments.
* volume 4: Shout's "Girl in Gold Boots" is a longer cut with an "uncensored" riff over a scene where the characters smoke marijuana. I don't have any notes here, as I remember it, the Rhino discs looked marginally better (especially "Gold Boots") but overall, with this one, I'd give it to Shout, unless you have a preference for "rated PG" MST3k (no criticism intended if that's your thing, or if you want to watch with your kids, or whatever)
* volume 5: kind of a toss-up. Rhino botched "Merlin's Magic Shop of Wonders", but Shout's "Touch of Satan" is a big step down from Rhino's.
* volume 6: Shout, but if you already have the Rhino, it's not much of an upgrade. The solo release of "Gunslinger" is better than either boxed version.
* volume 7: Rhino's "Hercules Against The Moon Men" and especially "Prince of Space" are much better. Rhino's original release of "Killer Shrews" was accidentally cut, but they did a pretty widespread replacement program, so as long as you can get the replacement disc, Rhino's the way to go. Also, the "Assignment: Venezuela" has two different sources, Rhino's looks much better but has a more prominent burned-in timecode.

I don't have the Shout releases for vol 8 - 12, the only things I know is that Shout has added minor extras, and they messed up "The Horrors of Spider Island" on vol 11.

Solo releases get a little complicated because they've been released in different iterations, but it boils down to:
"Mitchell" and "The Brain That Wouldn't Die" are both released in vol 28 by Shout. Rhino's releases have marginally better picture quality, but Shout wins for those.
Shout's "Singles Collection" has the better "Eegah" and "I Accuse My Parents", and I don't think there's a big difference in "Crawling Hand".
Rhino's solo "Hellcats" is better than the Shout one in the Singles collection, though it's a slight uptick.
Rhino's "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians" looks much better than Shout's. (Shout's has nice features, though, including the "MST3k Hour" host segments.) Rhino only released it in a collection called "The Essentials".
"Manos: The Hands of Fate" - the Shout release is cool for all the extras, and the transfer is only marginally worse, but if you're getting Rhino's "Essentials" for Santa Claus, the other disc is "Manos", so I would say just stick with that unless you love bonus features.
If you want the original uncut movie, you'll want the Rhino "Crawling Hand", "Hellcats", "Eegah", "Brain That Wouldn't Die", and the Shout "Manos".

"Beginning of the End" - I don't own the Shout disc, but my understanding is that it's a worse transfer, and I'm sure it drops the uncut movie
"Wild World of Batwoman" - transfers are absolutely identical; Shout drops the uncut movie
"Red Zone Cuba" - neither transfer is great, but Rhino's is much better

[Mikezilla3k]

Originally Posted by thatguamguy

* volume 4: Shout's "Girl in Gold Boots" is a longer cut with an "uncensored" riff over a scene where the characters smoke marijuana. I don't have any notes here, as I remember it, the Rhino discs looked marginally better but overall, with this one, I'd give it to Shout.

Does this also apply to the Shout single?

[thatguamguy]

I think the only time that a Shout solo release and a Shout non-solo release of the same episode are different is "Gunslinger".

I don't own absolutely every variant, and I don't have the "Gold Boots" solo, so I don't want to claim 100% absolute certainty, but I'm relatively sure that the disc contents are the same as the vol 4 release.

[Mikezilla3k]

OK, what was the problems with Shout's release of Spider Island?

[thatguamguy]

Some chunk of it is in black and white. I think it's the entire first host segment all the way through to the first commercial break in the theater riffing, something like that.

EDIT: I saw another report with a bit more detail, it sounds like it's the actually a chunk of theater into the fourth host segment.

[Mikezilla3k]

Late news, but Volume 34 is now OOP.

https://www.amazon.com/Mystery-Science-Theater-3000-XXXIV/dp/B015I14600

Source: http://www.mst3kinfo.com/?p=30095

Looks like Susan Hart strikes again!

[Dr. Seymour Love]

I have all the original Rhino/Shout releases, including the tins and the original Vol 10. Don't have any of the single re-releases, except the Manos one.