Last Thanksgiving – in honor of “Turkey Day” (the annual marathon of Mystery Science Theater 3000 which Comedy Central used to air, back in the early 90’s) – Shout! Factory announced that they were going to be releasing a box set of all five cult-classic MST3K Gamera episodes. That was an informal announcement, but now it’s officially official, with a release date and everything. Satellite News, the MST3K news source, has let it be known that the tin-boxed MST3K vs. Gamera 5-DVD set will bow on August 2nd. They’ve also announced the extras. In addition to the fully-riffed feature films Gamera, Gamera vs. Barugon, Gamera vs. Gaos, Gamera vs. Guiron, and Gamera vs. Zigra (all featuring host Joel Hodgson, now fronting Cinematic Titanic), you can expect:
* So Happy Together: A Look Back at MST3K and Gamera
* Gamera Vs. The Chiodo Brothers
* Gamera Obscura: A Brief History by August Ragone (author of Eiji Tsuburaya: Master of Monsters)
* Original Japanese Trailers
* 5 limited edition mini-posters by artist Steve Vance
[UPDATE 5/5] Shout! has confirmed the MST3K Hour wraps, hosted by Mike Nelson, will be included as well.
These were among the best episodes of MST3K, and now that the elusive DVD rights have finally been nailed down by Shout, MSTies who didn’t catch them when they originally aired – or have only watched them via low-quality fan tapes two decades old – can at last see what they’ve been missing. Don’t expect Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster anytime soon, though. Toho’s a bit protective of the big green lizard…but we all know that rocket-powered flying turtles are way cooler.
