Did MST3K ever feature Eegah! with Richard "Jaws" Kiel, gurang? I absolutely love that stupid little movie. If not for Trog, it'd be the Citizen Kane of caveman movies.
The one thing I didn't like about MST3K was that they featured the great Mario Bava's Danger: Diabolik. That was/is a terrific movie, I thought. Even the score (by Ennio Morricone) was fantastic. Have it on VHS and I will defend that movie to my dying breath.
Really.
Eegah was rendered by the MST3K group.Haven't seen it in either version (nor Diabolik), but I plan to see it one of these days.
Re: MST3K and "good movies" - my initial perception of MST3K was that it was a perfect way to get back at bad movies. My perception has somewhat changed. MST3K still works best when they are making fun of those bad movies. However, some of the humor of the show is derived as well by focusing on a single element visible onscreen, and developing a comic riff on it. What distinguishes MST3K from any jerks of the street wisecracking over a movie is that their wisecracks emanate from a wide variety of sources, both literate and lowbrow. MST3K is as rich in allusion as
The Simpsons, though sometimes their references are more obscure.
And since a lot of these jokes are taken from individual elements, such elements from which the jokes are derived can appear in good movies as well as bad. Take for example the line I quoted earlier, "I must shoot Donald Regan to prove my love for Lisa Foster." That line resulted from the appearance on the credit sequence of the name "Lisa Foster". One gets the joke only if he/she remembers that John Hinckley shot President Ronald Reagan to prove his love for Jodie Foster. (and icing on the cake if one also remembers who Donald Regan was) Since the name "Lisa Foster" can appear as well in the credit sequence of a good movie, the comic value of the line would be the same whether or not the movie is bad or good.
The MST3K movie (which was my first encounter with the group) featured
This Island Earth, which is actually acknowledged as one of the better, if not one of the best sci-fi flicks of the 50s, even as acknowledged by the group. However, there were enough elements in that old movie that were sufficient for MST3K to do their thing, and do a funny film as a result.
MST3K is not for all tastes. But for those that do, it is a rich meal. Incidentally, it was, along with Futurama, Al Gore's favorite TV show. Al Gore's favorite movie was Being John Malkovich. God I wish he were US president instead of Dubya.