Don’t forget your Sonic Screwdriver as you get into your TARDIS because it’s time for RiffTrax. The comedy trio of Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy, and Bill Corbett once again come together to mock bad movies for your entertainment. Can the team recover after the less than spectacular showing of The Summer Shorts Beach Party by taking on one of the most infamous science fiction franchises to come out of the United Kingdom?
Play Safe
The evening kicked off with an education animated short from the UK called Play Safe. It features warnings about the dangers of playing around electricity as taught through the lessons of an animated Robin and an Owl. The trio and the audience are treated to some very graphic depictions of why kids shouldn’t hang around substations and other electrical based locations. The team takes the time to poke at Birdemic and the very dire consequences of messing around with electricity. It was a bit of a surprise as the short talked about looking overhead there was no drone jokes made. A wasted opportunity but the jokes used were on point.
Doctor Who: Five Doctors
Finally, it was time for the main event. Doctor Who: The Five Doctors special was the 20th anniversary event for the long running franchise. It featured three previous Doctors (and one added in with editing), coming together to meet the current Doctor, played by Peter Davison. How did the trio fair against a series with a lot of history behind it?
The team were able to make a lot of great jokes during the presentation. There were a lot of pokes and jabs at the poor production, costuming, and plot holes littered through the special. Jokes about enemies being feet away but going unnoticed were especially comical. The team also made sure to bring up Japanese game shows, Neville Chamberlain, and a joke about the Dark Tower which was particularly amusing. The comedy was able to take advantage of the more talkative scenes to employ some really great jokes as well.
The movie is a tad long and filled with a lot of unneeded scenes. Still, it doesn’t make you wish, “Oh God, why won’t it end.” Overall, it was one of the best events Rifftrax has put on in a while. It’s still not up to their performance of Samurai Cop but few movies will ever reach caliber of entertainment.
An encore of the presentation will take play on August 24th and was presented by Fathom Events.
