Mitchell! #1 on my 'MST3K Funniest Episodes' playlist

Narrated by I.P. Freely. My official list has started, and the #1 choice wasn't too difficult, #2 will be much tougher to decide. This is also Joel's last episode before Mike finished out the last 5 seasons, and for those of you who don't know, Joel was the creator of the show and it started off very slowly from a local TV studio with extremely low budgets and poor joke writing and reading. It really came a long ways quickly though by season 2 (which is actually the 3rd season if you include the KTMA season). What is also great about this episode is the main character, the so called 'action hero' Joe Don Baker who gets brutalized by Joel and the Bots. It was said that Joe Don was quite upset about the way he was portrayed by them, and he was quoted as saying "I hate those guys!" about the MST3K crew, but hey, if you're going to be a cheezy actor in a bad movie you have to expect to get the wrath of the riff sooner or later, but as you will see, no one riffs better than these guys and no one even bothers to try, but we will see if that remains true when the new fan supported season of MST3K comes out next month on Netflix with a whole new cast, supervised though by the creator Joel Hodgson.

[@Highland_Moo]

Thank you for sharing these. I’m 45 and I live in the Scottish highlands. I never knew this whole series existed until about 10 years ago. My kids have all grown up and left home and I’ve been married 20 years and am dead from the neck down. These are so funny and make me laugh so much - especially on a day like today when it’s filthy weather and I’m bored outta my tits!

[@eab2210]

"I'm the chubby blue line" is such a great joke

[@AllOfTheHallows]

God I love how he's killing himself with alcohol every day yet has ZERO tolerance for a little weed. Lmao

[@wileyschmitt]

"That's our Mitchell!"

[@Mama-eu1ss]

Republican?

[@dperl5640]

Always warms my heart to know that Mitchell remained in law enforcement, and eventually rose up to be the chief of the LAPD. He was however killed in the line of duty in the Fletcher / Stanwyck case. RIP Mitchell!

[@JPMadden]

"How do you like your scotch?" "By the quart" Maybe it's Trace's dry delivery, but this joke makes me laugh every time.

[@wileyschmitt]

One of my favorites too.

[@bowlingstoned2113]

"Mitchell, even his name says, 'Is that a beer?' 😂

[@Nickel_The_Wise]

(thrilling 70's made-for-TV chase music intensifies) Mitchell.. Mitchell! Keep your eeeeeey~yyyee on the sammich!! Mitchell (heart's poundin'!) Mitchell (vein's cloggin') *MITCHELL!!* (ferocious wocka-chicka commences)

[@nataliewaters7415]

Home owner: HEY! Thief turns Joel: What? Thief gets shot Joel: Oh! XD that line makes me laugh no matter how many times I've seen this.

[@christieperry4361]

Natalie Waters poor Johnny Mathis

[@LchanOtakudom]

Natalie Waters Same here!

[@apexmaintenance461]

Hey! What?! Catch!

[@jillionsofcrafts6255]

Agreed!! Every time! The timing and delivery of that “Oh!” from Joel are impeccable!!

[@manicpixiefangirl4189]

This feels like something that would get a remake starring Steven Seagal only with less beer and more bad martial arts.

[@ramonosuke]

You guys watch Joe Don Baker movies? Lol I love the delivery of that line from Mike

[@drumr72]

Car horn honks : "Hey Mitchell!" LOL - so funny. Great stuff.

[@wileyschmitt]

I like the guy in the tractor during the car chase, "Well hey it's Mitchell."

[@bowlingstoned2113]

The little smirk Mike gets on his face when he says "You guys watch Joe Don Baker movies..?" 😂

[@anyviolet]

16:38 - 17:00 "Word on the street is, you're a jerk" best setup EVER

[@starmanda88]

The song they were playing during the love scene made me so deeply uncomfortable

[@MOUNTAINEER1976]

"Sorry I'mah..really unappealing..."

[@user-lb9xw4xf2q]

I wonder what kind of recording equipment they used in those older movies; dialogue is muffled and hard to hear, but the kissing is so loud it is like having your ear next to an active vacuum cleaner!

[@tornadot2025]

The fart joke starting at 18:23 has me in stitches.

[@SeanP7195]

Mitchell was an actual theatrical release, I repeat, this movie was in theaters

[@ramseydoon8277]

I would pay money for it to be in theaters again.

[@jillionsofcrafts6255]

I’d see it in a theater, but only with a guarantee of popcorn and candy. I wanna eat! But eating!!

[@BrianYapleOfficial]

Geez, did it have an Arby’s promotional tie-in??

[@chrispeterson4463]

@@BrianYapleOfficial well it smelled like Arbys but that was unrelated

[@control_the_pet_population]

It was a simpler time.... when big men did nothing but drive huge Ford cars!

[@eat_pray_porg8450]

One of my all time favorite episodes.

[@dougstewart4010]

Cedar lattice.....works every time...

[@jeffreygunn3150]

I don’t know why, but this episode reminds me of Christmas when I was really young, minus the beer and desperation.

[@IAmNone]

Tom Servo’s “Hmm?”s always get me

[@deirdre108]

"Sidewalk looks like ice cream if you squint hard". 🤣

[@bowlingstoned2113]

Big buttery moon up there... 😂

[@deirdre108]

@@bowlingstoned2113Lol. One of my favorite movies they riff.

[@jer2dabear]

"Hot merging action!"

[@Blyndtyger76]

What. Are you doing Mitchell!

[@SeanP7195]

Its amazing what was considered fat in the 70s. Joe Don would be a fairly fit dad nowadays. Sometimes I feel like Mitchell. Hearts pumping......veins clogging......Rye on the sammitch!

[@wileyschmitt]

I always thought it was eye, and it might be, but I like that it could also be rye, and since it works perfectly I'll go with both! (plus some mayo and onion)

[@SeanP7195]

I've always left it to interpretation. Sometimes I hear eye, sometimes I hear Rye.

[@SeanP7195]

@@wileyschmitt Ahh got it. Did some research. According to the annotated MST guide it's "Keep your eye on the sammitch". Which is a reference to Baretta (how could I miss a Baretta reference) Keep your eye...on the sparrow".

[@Patrick_Cooper]

That was like watching the full movie, hopped up, on some serious crack, wired with some bodacious coke, and baked with too much sativa... topped off with a dose of Psilocybe cyanescens. This burst of the boy's best riffs, had me howling, or it could have been the sativa brownies...

[@Blyndtyger76]

Mitchell's a sensitive cop

[@sheltonbrightjr.5988]

I actually have a love/hate relationship with this episode. Its definitely 1 of the funniest episodes, but its also Joel's final episode. Dnt get me wrong. I love Mike, but back in the early '90s I hated when shows "Jump the shark". Took me 20 yrs to discover the Mike Era Episode. I regret all the wasted yrs. ☹

[@luvmenow33]

felt the same. but some of my favorite episodes were Mike Episodes.

[@kellyweingart3692]

“He’s sleeping with Helen Keller” 😂

[@madahad9]

My sentimental favourite is Alien From L. A. It's the first MST3K episode that I watched in its entirety. I would pause momentarily on a random episode when it usually aired on late-night Comedy Central and thought the premise of a guy and two cheap looking robots making fun of bad movies was a stupid idea but then I actually watched that fateful episode and my opinion changed instantly and I eagerly watched any episode. Some are better than others, and a few no one could make funny. But my personal favourite is The Wild World of Bat Woman. I've seen both versions an equal amount of times and enjoy it. But I have to thank them for introducing me to the strangest Christmas film known as Santa Claus (or Santa Claus vs The Devil). It became an instant classic. I don't know where I'd rank Mitchell on my own list. It has some funny lines but the movie itself is pretty dull. It doesn't have the over the top strangeness of Overdrawn at the Memory Bank or Teenage Strangler.

[@wileyschmitt]

Sounds like we both watched a lot of MST3K on VHS tapes back in the day, Cave Dwellers and Pod People were others I'd find at the rental stores quite often, along with Batwoman and Red Zone Cuba.

[@Gusterson98]

8:57 Joel's reaction to see that! LMAO

[@favoritemustard3542]

*_M¡TCHELL_*

[@control_the_pet_population]

....and she's an acrobat Ted.

[@tabomst3k466]

Hey!, What? Ohh! Funny stuff there.

[@S_B-]

Great list, I agree with it mostly. Only thing is that Future War and Final Justice has to at least be on the list, highly ranked imo! My top 10 (no particular order): Mitchell Space Mutiny Time Chasers Cave Dwellers Future War Final Sacrifice Pumaman Werewolf Touch of Satan Eegah Special mention to Pod People for getting me into the show back in the early 90's

[@wileyschmitt]

Yeah good list, and those episodes are both on the short list to get edited and go on the playlist. I'd say between 5 thru 30 it starts getting to very slim margins, but being part subjective as to what's funnier or not can get tough with these few dozen episodes, even up to where I'm currently at where it's finally starting to narrow down some but still with a lot of great ones to go. I do consider a lot of things when choosing, and though it hasn't been perfect I have allowed myself to change the order ever slightly from time to time, and the suggestions are always noted as I hope this to be as close to a definitive list as possible, though my opinion will still factor in some too.

[@S_B-]

@@wileyschmitt Agreed, choosing those top 20-ish spots are like choosing the best diamonds in a hill of diamonds. I saw you made a short video on the 'fred burroughs' riff from future war, 'ladies and gentlemen... fred burroughs!' makes me laugh every time! Definitely give Final Justice another watch when you have time, and see if it manages to break your list. Joe Don Baker is just as riffable as he was in Mitchell. That one or 'Horrors of Spider Island' would probably have been number 11 if I'd done a top 11 list.

[@deirdre108]

I would add "The Girl in the Gold Boots" and "Teenage Strangler" (if only for the hit song "Yipes Stripes"!).

[@soft_serve_666]

2:38 😂😂😂😂 My favorite part ❤

[@christieperry4361]

Next week on Mitchell, the cloverleaf

[@christieperry4361]

When they sing "papa was a rolling Stone"

[@sheltonbrightjr.5988]

11:16- A Killdozer cameo!!

[@Blackjack621]

This movie makes no sense (which makes it perfect for the MST3K treatment) Why would Martin Balsam take Mitchell into his confidence if he knew he was a cop. Why did Mitchell pursue Balsam on his boat? The drugs turned out to be fake. Still, it's pretty funny.

[@purplebec9112]

Looks like I'm not the only one who is actually paying attention to the movie.

[@wildsmiley]

For me it’s - 1. Manos the Hands of Fate 2. Space Mutiny 3. Mitchell

[@wileyschmitt]

Yeah there's never any wrong choices, especially with this show, plus about 75% of the episodes are hilarious. In my opinion though Manos lacks a bit in the writing compared to cream of the crop (like Mitchell and Space Mutiny which you also mentioned). I think the reason that Manos is so commonly known and looked at as a top episode is because it was the episode that was most available to us growing up when the show was out, and being that having cable TV wasn't the norm we had to rent our episodes on VHS from the local video movie rental place, and often Manos available (along with Pod People and Cave Dwellers). The movie itself is a laugh riot and the likes of which we may never see again, and though many other top episodes have a similar likeness in pure movie absurdity I found that Manos wasn't quite on par when it came to the jokes and riffs (but this is of course by a very thin margin as Mike's writing is never disappointing). I feel that The Star Wars Holiday Special highlights Mike's writing at it's best, plus all three of them are having such a great time while riffing it.

[@georgenelson8917]

“ Mano hands of fate” is by far THE WORST MOVIE EVER TO BE MADE ; CAN EVER BE MADE . It make me ashamed to be a human .

[@MOUNTAINEER1976]

"Hot merging action!!!"

[@wileyschmitt]

One of my favorite riffs.

[@christieperry4361]

Santa? Johnny Mathis! Chances ar-huh? Our hero... Got any moist towelettes? Man, he's good He's talking to commissioner Gordon I wanna eat! I'm the chubby blue line Fluffernutter Woh, is that a beer Empty plate breaks my heart Uncle fester? What was that He was hastliy put together Hot Merging Action

[@bewdragon2908]

Go about your business

[@DomIstKrieg]

But eating!!!!!

[@garysuarez9614]

Hot rod Ben Hur!

[@greedyd5524]

Bite me,Mitchell

[@markhope4979]

Bro! how could you leave " It lives by night" off the list! Lol that's number one for me. Any other one i would have in my top mst3k you have touched base on but that one I mentioned particular can't be left off the list

[@paultapner2769]

Credit where credit is due: Bruce J. Mitchell was much better than Joe Don Baker at pretending to be running. He didn't look like he was going to have a coronary in the process.

[@Zorak9595]

I'm very surprised "The Final Sacrifice" isn't on this list.

[@wileyschmitt]

It is, or was, and it's #3, but the director of that movie has gone waaaaaay out of his way for some reason to make sure that it doesn't appear on KZbin. My previous edits of it, including certain compilations, got me multiple copyright strikes, not warnings, which are much more common, but full on strikes.

[@JamieSwitzer]

@@wileyschmitt I just emailled him on his website and asked him to reconsider the MST3K version of Final Sacrifice, here's hoping he listens.

[@soft_serve_666]

​@@wileyschmitt​ When I noticed #3 was missing, I immediately knew it was The Final Sacrifice. Thanks for confirming that. Tjardus Greidanus may have that wonderful episode taken down over and over again, but he can never take the memories. Rowsdower forever lives in our hearts.❤

[@christieperry4361]

Cut out that Rockford music. I'm Mitchell

[@apexmaintenance461]

7:34 ( I wonder if there's an opening in the fire department?)

[@thegreat1007]

HILLARIOUS