Mystery Science Theater 3000 - The Brain That Wouldn't Die (1988)

Mystery Science Theater 3000 experienced a changing of the guard with this fifth-season episode. Departed series creator and lead Joel Hodgson was replaced by head writer Mike Nelson, playing a hapless temp named... Mike Nelson, who was sent into space to cover for Hodgson's escape. The opening credit sequence and title theme (warbled by Nelson) were also new, but the show's basic premise--poking fun at atrocious B movies--remained the same.

Nelson's debut "experiment" is the delirious 1960 head-transplant horror The Brain That Wouldn't Die. And while Nelson is occasionally stiff, particularly during the invention exchange (a longtime Hodgson staple, and soon to be excised), he and robot pals Crow and Tom Servo rise to the occasion during the film, which is filled with memorable zingers (Crow: "He's keeping her alive with Grey Poupon!"). Rhino's DVD presents the uncut, slightly gory version of Brain with and without the MST3K treatment. --Paul Gaita Amazon.com

HEAD GONE BAD

This was rather a Mystery Science Theater milestone, as the first Mike Nelson hosted episode (replacing Joel). Mike does a fine job.

MST3K provided Mike great source material. The Brain That Wouldn't Die is an infamous painful '50s sci-fi B-movie. An overview . . .

Brilliant surgeon is moonlighting in full body transplantation research -- girlfriend is decapitated in car crash -- surgeon preserves her functioning head in a pan in his lab as he scouts a replacement body for her (by functioning, I mean talking and the whole bit). She really has a bad personality now, sitting there in her little pan, with tubes running in and out. (Mike and the 'Bots get a lot of humor mileage out of the pan juice thing). Somehow she "communicates" verbally and telepathically with her new soul-mate, the frankensteinish goon locked up in the closest. Goon eventually eascapes, havoc ensues.

This is a very good MST3K effort, but I think the comedy, although good, was slightly tenuous due to the transition from Joel to Mike. I also think that they missed a great opportunity for a sketch with one of the robots heads functioning in a pan. Enjoy! February 22, 2008

best ever

this or pod people was, next to soem of the shorts, the finnuest episode i ever saw. the first time i watched it i laughed so ahrd i ahd to watch it twice mroe jsut to ehar all the stuff i was busy laughing over the first and second time i watched it February 8, 2008

Pure Fun

If ever I need a good laugh, I watch this. Mike Nelson and friends rip this cheesy film to ribbons. This is my favorite MST3K movie (and I've seen a lot). After experiencing Mike, I find his predecessor Joel listless and not nearly as funny. Mike is so sharp with his sardonic humor and his fantastic pop culture references. Who wouldn't want to watch b-movies with him?
There are so many quotable, fun lines throughout this movie, you have to experience it for yourself. This is a highly recommended helping of silliness. October 13, 2007

A Must See. No Question.

Well, this is the first MST3K episode with Mike Nelson as host. But that's not the only thing that makes this episode a must see. The jokes are simply hilarious from the beginning, and get even better all the way through to the end. And the movie itself just has a sense of importance to it. I read on the internet somewhere that it couldn't get released for 2 years after it was made because of the sheer violence contained in it. And yeah, the movie is pretty darn violent. But MST3K makes the violence beyond hilarious. After a monster in the closet tears the lab assistant's arm off, he stumbles around slamming his wound into the wall, and Mike says, "Now he's going to fall into a pan of lemon juice."

Also the movie brings up a lot of philosophical issues I don't see raised in other MST3K movies. Or if they are raised, they're so bland and trite that they're not worth paying attention to. However, this movie is different. You really do think about, "Hmm, is the desire for medical progress extreme enough to be classified as playing God?" and, of course, the old Frankenstein scenario, "If a bunch of human parts formed together to make a living creature, would it have a soul?" This movie's like Frankenstein in a lot of ways, but the MST3K crew doesn't care. They just make fun of everything on the screen. Sure, the monster just lit the place on fire and bit the doctor's neck off, but look, his mask is just tied in the back! July 15, 2007

Great show, good price

Any review of Mystery Science Theater 3000 written by me is boilerplate. MST3K was one of the funniest and most intelligent TV series ever to inhabit the ether. I am proud to possess a copy of every episode (except the missing K0-K3 titles, and you Misties know of what I speak).
The Brain That Wouldn't Die is one of my personal favorites. April 12, 2007

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