5/5 Back to the year 3000
  by Kenneth S. Curley (Covington, Georgia United States)
Those cut-ups from MST3K are at it again, tackling those not-so-beloved short films from the '50's and '60's. I've always held a special place for those little shorts that sometimes appeared before the main movies on MST3K, so you can imagine I was looking forward to this.

And I was not dissapointed! The jokes are quick and right on target, and it's nice to hear some fairly current references sprinkled throughout. I also like how they'll occasionally call one another by name...it really gives you the feeling that you're watching this with some wise-cracking friends. I've watched the whole DVD twice and am not bored yet!

As with other reviewers, I was annoyed with the little computer generated figures surrounding the final short 'Shake Hands With Danger'. I did find, however, that using the Zoom feature on the DVD player, these things are effectively removed from the screen. I recommend watching this short like this...it's easier to enjoy.

5/5 The guys still have it.
  by Scott W. Larson (Portland, OR)
If the former MST3K guys are out to prove they can still shred shorts with a barrage of riffs then they have succeeded, and at a very attractive price. This is the first RiffTrax DVD I've bought and all of these shorts are as fun as any on the original series (except for "Mr B Sharp" of course):

"Down and Out" attempts to teach us safety by showing an unfortunate klutz resembling Kramer from Seinfeld tripping over every imaginable object for eight minutes. Instead of educating us, we laugh at the poor sap all the way through it. It's like a guide for class clowns.

"Patriotism" features television star, radio star and amateur pornographer Bob Crane telling white kids (and token minorities with no lines) to be proud of what they do which seem to be mostly folding American flags and harassing local government with threatening letters. When the short runs out of ideas, it just films stuff -- leaves, ducks, trees, flowers. Too bad Bob Crane never ran out of ideas of stuff to film in his spare time.

"Buying Food" show us that this complicated task should be left to women since we men can only buy houses, cars, beer, and other things that don't require the use of something called a "shopping list". I'm going to try that technique so I'll stop buying oysters and cake like poor Henry. The short proves that different grades of products look the same on deteriorated 8mm black and white film.

"Skipper Learns a Lesson" (in color for a special reason) features a racist dog (no, really) who doesn't like the "funny looking" kids on the neighborhood. He also doesn't like the "funny looking" dogs either. Could these prejudiced thought patterns apply to human behavior? You be the judge... because the short never says. The dogs are just adorable and they get almost all of the lines.

"Right or Wrong? (Making Moral Decisions)" places us directly in the first-person moral conundrums we experienced in "Cheating" from MST3K season five. The short promises not to judge, apparently to let the troublemakers in the classrooms reveal themselves by openly sympathizing with the kid. If you hear creepy voices telling you right from wrong like these people do, seek psychiatric help immediately.

"Drugs are Like That", featuring anti-homosexuality advocate "Miss" Anita Bryant, starts with an arty film noir introduction and follows with screaming close ups and spacey slow-motion photography to appeal to those "artsy" kids who are at risk for drug use. The controversial short takes the issue of drug abuse head on by showing stupid children playing with Legos, eating Oreos, running down sidewalks and a baby sucking a pacifier to suggest drug use might be quite harmless. Do not show to your children.

"The Trouble with Women" starts off by plugging Alcoa's aluminum products (?) and shows that women need men to show them how to use oscilloscopes. Our hero Brad at first thinks women are lot of trouble in the work place but it turns out he had just never spoken to a woman in his entire life.

"It Must Be the Neighbors" shows how galvanized steel garbage cans and their tendency to rust was a common cause of petulance, epidemics and domestic disputes in the 50's. Are your neighbors starting a yellow fever plague? Set your children loose to investigate them!

The riff of "Shake Hands With Danger" creates a new widescreen format with the guys as 3D animated characters in front of a movie screen, a great (yet expensive) advance over the silhouettes of MST3K. The short is lazy dumb guys doing their best to outwit dangerous machinery and losing (like sticking their hand into a grinder), all to the theme from Dukes of Hazzard.

All are densely riffed with line after line of brilliance that will take you back to the best days of MST3K.

5/5 Great sample of 50's educational films with funny commentaries
  by Rextrent (Wichita, Kansas USA)
If you like MST3000, you should enjoy this. However, the source material is not movies, but shorts on various topics, mostly educational films from the fifties, which on their own merits are fun and hilarious to see.
Overall, I am really enjoying this. It's great for short-time viewing when you don't have time to see a feature-length show.

5/5 Jokes and Songs to cheer you up!
  by Michael Valdivielso (Alexandria, VA)
First, there are the nine shorts. Buying Food is, to me, the best of them. Have a big family? Buy a big can. Small family? Small can. Really? NO!?! The others sound just as bad as they...well, sound.
Down And Out is about workplace safety that shows only idiots getting hurt.
Skipper is about a racist dog.
It Must Be The Neighbors is about rats and trash and blaming others.
Patriotism is about doing everything for others and society and grandma and your dog.
Right Or Wrong is a short about deciding if you want to tattle on your friends.
The Trouble With Women is hard to explain, so just watch it.
Drugs Are Like That is about thinking before you pop that pill. And has a weird song
Shake Hands with Danger has a nice song and, like Down and Out, is full of idiots getting hurt, getting limbs sliced off or being killed. Fun stuff. Liked the song.
Oh, and there are three songs from Bill, Kevin and Mike, so enjoy! Enjoy the humor that is Rifftrax SHORTS! Songs!


4/5 A fun bunch of shorts!
  by James D. Crabtree (Guantanamo Bay, Cuba)
These shorts (most of which I had seen in any other collections but WITHOUT the commentary) are great! Could Patriotism be any more vague? Could dogs have whimpy inner voices? Could buying groceries be any more complicated? You have to watch this DVD and find out!

I don't feel like the last short, "Shake Hands With Danger," was done that well. I've seen the short without commentary and the song that goes through it is hilarious, but for some reason the sound levels are really off on this one. I'm suprised that it went to production like this.

From some of the guys who brought you MST3K...