A few thoughts from my sneak peak viewing from Sunday:

* The new doorway sequence is a treat for the eyes. However, it looks like it may be CG (not that there's anything wrong with that). If it isn't, color me impressed.

* While the Bots retain their original designs, Servo and Crow now have semi-functional arms.

* Of course there are the voice changes. The most startling is Gypsy, who has gone from Jim Mallon doing a falsetto to being performed by an actual female woman of the opposite sex.

* The film's half-baked understanding of regeneration inspired a host segment where we got multiple Servos, including Evil Servo and Southern Belle Servo.

* Some old standards that are making a return include the Invention Exchange and letter reading.

It starts with Jonah getting captured, then jumps ahead to him having been there for two months?
Why didn't Kinga start showing him movies almost immediately?

So how much of the Kickstarter budget went for all those extras in the skeleton outfits? Could they have squeezed out another episode if they hadn't splurged on extras and the non-recurring people at the beginning?

NANJAO. Was never a big fan of the Invention Exchanges, so wasn't thrilled to see its return.

NANJAO. At first I thought some of the bad SFX in Reptilicus were added by this production, then I remembered that the only times I saw Reptilicus it was on B&W TVs.

Wil Wheaton! That was a surprise – I hadn’t been spoilered about his appearance.

I’m not sure about the poor quality models at the beginning. Presumably they were a deliberate nod to the original series but here they looked incredibly outdated.

In contrast, the detail in the new tunnel sequence is phenomenally good.

I haven’t got used to the voices of the three main characters and can’t tell them apart when they’re in the theatre. I used the subtitles/closed captions when writing my favourite lines.

Svend: “Bones?”
Jonah: “Jim!”
Svend: “Fossil bones.”
Jonah: “Fossil Jim!”

“Something is rotten in the state of Denmark, and it’s this movie.”

“Little known fact: most science problems are solved right here at the dish rack.”

Martens: “A perfectly preserved specimen of a reptile.”
Jonah: “... dysfunction.”

(The footage goes fuzzy for no apparent reason)
Crow: “Did that lightning knock the movie out of focus?”
Jonah: “Maybe we’re supposed to put our 3D glasses on?”

[Jonah sings a riff on Monster Mash but doesn’t keep in rhythm with the drumbeat. Do they film this like the original series and never stop if anyone makes an error?]

Martens: “Granulation.”
Jonah: “Thank you!”

[The ‘Every Country Has a Monster’ rap was well done but it went on for too long and I was bored by the end of it, so I wasn’t happy when it was reprised during the end credits.]

Reporter: “What do you call that thing?”
Crow: “Your mom?”
Reporter: “How about ‘Reptilicus Martentius’?”
Tom: “How about ‘Reportacus Shutupacus’?”

“Fire in an aquarium? Well, that’ll sort itself out.”

[What is the purpose of the band during the breaks? And why do they do these ‘the story so far’ bumpers? It’s not like there even are breaks on Netflix! I know they try to make an excuse for it in a later episode but I just find the bumpers annoying and distracting.]

“Man, even the Pixar lamp is getting cranky!”

“Only God may play God! And sometimes Morgan Freeman.”

Grayson: “Doctor Dalby?”
(as Martens): “No, these are just glasses. Doctor Dalby was much taller.”

“Screeching sounds on a dirt road? That Jeep’s got its own Foley artist.”

Brandt (on first seeing the monster): “We found it! It’s ...”
(as Brandt): “... much cheaper than we could have possibly imagined!”

(First shot of the monster)
“Either this print is in really bad shape or it’s raining tar.”

“There’s your problem – he’s in a different movie! You’re never gonna hit him!”

“The Danish army: cheaper than extras; less busy.”

“Now he’s eating stop-motion cartoons! I gotta do something!”

(Soldiers use flamethrowers)
“Don’t cross the streams, Venkman!”

Grayson: “Regeneration?”
Crow (singing): “T-t-talkin’ ’bout regeneration!”

Martens: “Nature went through a period of experimentation.”
Tom: “... in college.”

“I can’t finish this limerick until I think of a word that rhymes with ‘beige’.”

Navy Officer: “Wilco and out.”
Jonah: “May-co, anyway.”

Radio Officer: “Commander Neilsen’s calling, sir.”
(as Grayson): “This could be about our ratings!”

“Nothing ramps up tension like a far-off shot of the action.”

“Speaking of returning to port, where’s that bottle?”

Grayson (voiceover): “Reptilicus was on the rampage. We never saw him.”
Tom: “It wasn’t in the budget.”
Grayson (voiceover): “... but we saw the trail of death and destruction he left behind.”
Crow: “And by ‘trail of death and destruction,’ we mean one ship, but we shot it from lots of angles; you gotta give us that.”

“That guy’s really put together. Even his collar has a collar.”

[Tom flying in the theatre was a little weird and distracting, but I liked him hovering over the factory with the tall chimneys as an homage to Pink Floyd’s ‘Animals’ album cover.]

(Crowds run through the streets)
Jonah: “It’s Black Friday!”
Tom: “There’s a sale on everything minimalist and functional!”

“For a movie that uses papier-maché, they sure use a lot of extras.”

Grayson: “We must keep him from returning to the heart of the city.”
Crow: “Especially during Pride.”

Grayson: “What if I use my heavy weapons? A bomb.”
Crow: “You’re gonna show him this movie?”

“Why did they cut away to that speaker? Maybe it knows something!”

Grayson: “Get hold of someone who knows about those drugs.”
Jonah: “I’ll call Walter White.”

(More crowds running through the streets)
“Hans Christian Andersen is signing his book at Barnes & Noble!”

[Gypsy floats in at one point to riff a line but even though it’s her mouth moving, she speaks in a male voice.]

Grayson: “It’s a good thing.”
Crow: “... that you don’t have high standards.”

“Reptilicus returns in Too Fast, Too Danish.”


Watching the end credits, I wondered who ‘Synthia’ was (she was played/voiced by the same woman who voices Gypsy), but found later that Synthia doesn’t actually appear until the next episode.

Who is ‘Ardy’ as played by Joel Hodgson? Is he the masked figure who sends the movie?

The long list of Kickstarter donors at the end gave me flashbacks to the Lord of the Rings/Return of the King special edition! But I wonder why they chose to list people alphabetically by first name instead of surname? Presumably it’s because some people only gave one name?

“Keep circulating the URL” just doesn’t feel the same as the old “Keep circulating the tapes.”

A good first episode.

Saw this at my local theater this weekend.

I needed my dose of cheesiness!!! Thank you!!!

"My Name Must Be Enunciated Properly!"

"We must protect the Parfumerie!!!"

Synthia is the woman you see breaking celery during the fake S.O.S. (breaking celery is the Foley method used for the sound of snapping bones). In Cry Wilderness, we learn that she's Pearl's clone.

Correct, Ardy is the guy in the HAZMAT suit.

Since it occurs in the opening credits I should mention it here rather than the episode I spotted it in (Wizards of the Lost Kingdom II).

Look at the Boneheads playing the horns.
There is no way those helmets allow them to get the mouthpiece to their mouths.

And while we really should relax, the Boneheads appear on screen far too frequently for this to be excused.

(Also, the bumpers increasingly hacked me off as the season continued. I may whinge about this more when I do a general summing-up of the whole season.)